Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a benevolent institution which provided a boarding school education for sons of poor or deceased members of the medical profession and also accommodation for pensioned doctors. Soon after foundation the college opened to pupils from outside the medical profession. Over time the charitable work for medical professionals in hardship moved to a separate charity. By 1996 the school was fully co-educational and now takes day pupils throughout. The headteacher is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Foundation The school was founded in 1853 by John Propert as the Royal Medical Benevolent College, with the aim to provide accommodation for pensioned medical doctors or their widows and to provide a "liberal education" to 100sons of "duly qualified medical men" for £25 each year.Taken from notes of the First General Meeting 25 June 1851, quoted in Salmon 1980: 4
The establishment of the college was the culmination of a campaign begun in 1844 by the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, the forerunner of the British Medical Association.Salmon 1980: 2 The scheme saw the medical profession was "in regard to charitable institutions for the aged and infirm, the widow and the orphan, the worst provided of all professions and callings" and took as its aim the alleviating of poverty and debt.British Medical Journal, 1851, Scadding 2004: 5 Discussions were chaired by Sir John Forbes, Physician to Prince Albert and the Royal Household, and followed similar plans establishing schools for the Clergy and the Royal Navy in desiring to raise money to found "schools for the sons of medical men", providing an education which would otherwise be "beyond the means of many parents".1844 prospectus, quoted in Scadding 2004: 6
By 1851, the Medical Benevolent Society had limited itself to the foundation of a single Benevolent College and met in Treasurer John Propert's house in New Cavendish Street, Marylebone.Scadding 2004: 8–12 The new campaign's fund-raising activities included dinners, which numerous doctors and Members of Parliament attended, and concerts, for example at one such event, on 4 July 1855, composer Hector Berlioz conducted the UK premiere of his symphonic suite Harold in Italy.Scadding 2004: 12Salmon 1980: 8
The foundation stone was laid on 6 July 1853. Almost two years later, on 25 June 1855, the college was formally opened by Prince Albert and his son, the future King Edward VII, in front of an unexpectedly large crowd of around 6,000.Salmon 1980: 11 In March 1855, Queen Victoria consented to become patron, and the school's relationship with British monarchs has continued since. King Edward VII became patron after the death of his mother, followed by King George V in 1936,Salmon 1980: 35 King George VI in 1937,Salmon 1980: 48 and Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1980, it was estimated by a history of the college that a third of its 10,000 alumni had entered the medical profession.Salmon 1980: 64
Development and charity It was founded in 1855 to support poor members of the medical profession. Funding for such a bold undertaking proved inadequate, resulting in a reduced number of buildings and insufficient space to support 100 pensioners and 100 boys. In the 1860s, partially due to this, the school was opened up to children of non-medical parents. In subsequent decades, pensioners were supported off-site until there were none on campus by the end of the 19th century. These moves mark the transition towards the college becoming a public school in the modern sense.
The college continued its charitable activities, alongside its strictly educational role, throughout the 20th century. It was only in 2000 that the Royal Medical Foundation was formed as a separate entity, funding the support of four Foundationers at the college, 27 outside it, and paying 20 pensions and supporting one doctor at a medical home.Scadding 2004: 133
In the 1920s, the junior school side was run down, and thereafter the college catered only for 13- to 18-year-olds. In 1976, girls were first allowed into the sixth form. The school became fully co-educational in September 1996.
Its campus is on the outskirts of Epsom, near Epsom Downs on the North Downs, near the racecourse, home to the annual Epsom Derby. Its buildings date from 1853 and are mostly influenced by the Gothic revival architecture, described by Prince Albert as the "pointed style of the 14th Century".Prince Albert, quoted by a contemporary newspaper account, Scadding 2004: 19
St Luke's Chapel was designed by Arthur Blomfield to replace the existing chapel, which the school had outgrown. Built of red brick with ashlar dressings and a slate roof, the building was consecrated in October 1896. In February 1925, the nave was extended and dedicated as a memorial to the 140 former pupils who died in the First World War. In 1974, the main school building and the chapel attained Grade II listed status.
Epsom College in Malaysia
In 2009, the college announced the foundation of a new school in Bandar Enstek, just south of Kuala Lumpur. Epsom College in Malaysia was officially opened in September 2014. The school offers a British educational style for pupils aged three to eighteen years. Students are also offered a wide variety of recreational and competitive sporting opportunities, such as badminton, squash, hockey, tennis, and swimming.
OFT inquiry
In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times newspaper, although the schools made clear that they had not realised that the change to the law (which had happened only a few months earlier) about the sharing of information had subsequently made it an offence. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
Jean Scott, the then-head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed".
Failed inspection
In 2021, a regulatory compliance inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate found that the college was not meeting its statutory requirements in respect of safeguarding, safeguarding of boarders, behaviour and measures to prevent bullying, and that the standards relating to leadership and management of the school were not met. A short visit the following year after the appointment of a new head (Emma Pattison) focusing on these issues found that they had been rectified and the standards were now met.
Death of head teacher and family On 5 February 2023, headteacher Emma Pattison, her husband George, and their seven-year-old daughter Lettie were found dead in their residence, the Head's House, on the school's grounds. Pattison, who was the school's first female head, had been appointed headteacher in September 2022 after six years as head teacher of Croydon High School. Surrey Police suspect that George Pattison had killed his wife and daughter with a firearm, before committing suicide.
Paul Williams was appointed as acting head immediately, with Sir Anthony Seldon, former head of Wellington College, announced as interim head on 17 February 2023 in an email to parents. He was due to be headmaster from 1 March 2023. From September 2024, he was succeeded by Mark Lascelles.
Houses
House Name Composition Colours Named after Motto Founded Housemaster/MistressCarr (C) Day Boys Dr. William Carr Pro Christo et Patria Dulce Periculum 1883Scadding 2004: 55 Rob YoungCrawfurd (Cr) Boarding Girls Sir Raymond Crawfurd, member and former chairman of council Durum Patientia FrangoLiterally: "With patience I break the hard (thing)", more pleasingly: "Patience means I can do hard tasks", colloquially (c 1969) "I patiently break even the hardest condom" (an allusion to the brand Durex) 1935 as a Day Boys HouseScadding 2004: 93 Rachel LeeFayrer (Fa) Day Boys Sir Joseph Fayrer Quo Aequior eo Melior 1897 as a Junior Boys HouseScadding 2004: 167 Christopher Telfor-MasonForest (F) Boarding Boys An early College Benefactor Semper Forestia 1883 Jonny BaileyGranville (G) Boarding Boys Earl Granville Frangas non flectes 1883 as 'Gilchrist'. Renamed 1884. Owen AlsopHart Smith Closed 1965 Robinson was created in the building previously occupied (after a short interval as the Sanatorium) by Hart Smith. The Hart Smith colours were passed to Robinson, presumably because of the location. Former Headmaster Rev. T.N. Hart-Smith-Pearse 1931 for Foundationers aged under 13 n/aHolman (H) Boarding Boys Treasurer Sir Constantine Holman 1897 as a Junior Boys House Jonny TidmarshPropert (P) Day Boys Founder John Propert Dyfalad 1883 as Boarding Boys House Alex BuhagiarRaven (Rv) Day Girls Dame Kathleen Raven, member of council Faith in Adversity 1999Scadding 2004: 134 Rhiannon JohnsonRobinson (Rn) Day Boys Henry Robinson, chairman of council Virtute non Verbis 1968Scadding 2004: 122 Paul GillespieRosebery (R) Day Girls The Earl of Rosebery 1926Scadding 2004: 92 as a day boys house became girls in 2008 Beth Eliott LockhartWhite House (Wh) Day and 6th form Boarding Girls Original Building Name 1976 Faith Smith Wilson (W) Boarding Girls Sir Erasmus Wilson Expecta Cuncta Superna 1871, as an independent Boarding Boys House,Scadding 2004: 47 named 1883 & incorporated into the College 1914.Scadding 2004: 77 Rebecca WilsonMurrell (M) Day Girls Dr Christine Murrell Be of Good Courage 2017 Céline Winmill
House colours are seen in the stripes in the ties worn by the majority of boys (those not wearing colours or prefects' ties); on a rectangular brooch occasionally worn by the girls; and at the neck of girls' school pullovers. They are also used in house rugby and athletics tops. Each house occupies its own building, and they compete with each other in several inter house competitions throughout the year.
In addition to the senior school houses, students in the lower school (years 7 and 8) also have houses that act as their primary classes for both years of their lower school life. These houses are: Wardroper, Hutchinson, Glyn Hughes, Jeffrey and Doudney. Unlike senior school houses, they do not have their own building and do not participate in senior school events.
Sport
Association football Association football became the major sport for boys in the Lent Term in 2014. Previously the sport was an option and played at Sixth Form level only. It is now played across all age groups from Under 12 to U18. The college is currently part of the Southern Independent Schools Lent Term League. Many students have represented football academies alongside the College at football, including Chelsea, Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon. Students have also represented England and Wales internationally.
Rifle shooting Epsom College has a long history of target rifle shooting, both small-bore and full-bore, and describes itself as the premier rifle shooting school in the UK. The college rifle team has won the national schools fullbore championships, the Ashburton Shield, 17 times, most recently in 2026, the highest number of wins by a school.
Rugby football