A Portrait of Cumnor
A Portrait of Cumnor
Commitment to individual opportunity, excellence and community is the foundation on which the school was built and continues to thrive. A foundation which respects tradition and welcomes innovation.
Cumnor House Sussex was founded in 1931 as an all-boys’ prep school in Croydon. With the advent of World War II, the school was forced to evacuate its South London base, first to Littleworth Cross in Surrey (from 1939 to 1945), and then to the Birchgrove Estate in Sussex, home of the Macmillan family.
In 1949, Cumnor moved to nearby Woodgate, in Danehill, a beautiful estate with a working farm overlooking the South Downs, where it has been ever since.
Over the past decades, the school has consolidated its position as one of the largest independent prep schools in Sussex. Becoming fully co-educational in 1970, Cumnor has seen continuous, steady growth and expansion, with unusually low levels of leadership turnover. Fergus Llewellyn, the current Headmaster, is only Cumnor’s fourth Headmaster since the War.
Much of the growth in the school has been over the past 25 years. Investment in facilities has been significant, and today, Cumnor boasts a state-of-the-art, purpose-built theatre, complementing its existing traditional outdoor theatre, a new STEM centre, an Olympic-sized Astroturf, a 25m indoor swimming pool and purpose-built Nursery and Reception buildings.
Outside, the estate’s grounds now accommodate extensive sports facilities, a boating lake, a 9-hole golf course and Woodpeckers, Cumnor’s own forest school.
Past traditions are still alive and well at Cumnor and include the House system and House Shield competition, established in 1946, and the Year 8 Shakespeare performance – one of the pupils’ final moments at Cumnor – remains the same today as in 1941.
If you are an Old Cumnorian, we would love to hear from you.
The past and the present are walking hand in hand, we believe, towards a very bright future.
Come and see Cumnor today
A warm welcome awaits. Our informal personal visits will show you why Cumnor is an exceptional experience.
