Editing Leatherhead (section)

==Education==
===Early schools===
The earliest record of a school in Leatherhead is from 1596, when reference is made to a [[charity school]] for ten boys, which was probably held in the tower of the parish church.<ref name=Heath_Parish/> By 1712, the school had expanded to included eleven girls<ref>{{harvnb|Heath|1986|p=13}}</ref> and, later that century, two bequests to fund the[salary of a schoolmaster are recorded.<ref name=Heath_Parish/>

In 1838 a boys' school was established in Highlands Road by the then Vicar, Benjamin Chapman, and a girls' school followed a year later.<ref name=Heath_Parish/> The two institutions were [[National school (England and Wales)|National schools]] and were funded by a combination of local subscriptions and grants from the [[National Society for Promoting Religious Education]].<ref>{{harvnb|Heath|1986|p=19}}</ref>

===Maintained schools===
Leatherhead Trinity School opened in 2010, having been created by a merger of three existing schools. It traces its origins to the All Saints’ School, which opened in 1877 in Kingston Road. Trinity School is a primary school and educates children up to the age of eleven.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadtrinity.surrey.sch.uk/history-of-leatherhead-trinity-school/ |title= History of Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 18 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210118003152/https://www.leatherheadtrinity.surrey.sch.uk/history-of-leatherhead-trinity-school/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School was founded in September 1947 and was initially located next to St Peter's Church in Garlands Road. The school's present site in Grange Road was opened in 1958.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stpeters-leatherhead.co.uk/page/?title=About+Us&pid=6 |title= About us |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= St Peter's Catholic Primary School |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 30 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201130144653/https://www.stpeters-leatherhead.co.uk/page/?title=About+Us&pid=6 |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[Therfield School]] was founded in Kingston Road in 1913 as the County Upper Mixed Senior School. It moved to Dilston Road in 1953<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadweb.org.uk/therfieldalumni/go_to_history.htm |title= History of the schools on the Woodville (Kingston Road) site |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= Therfield alumni |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 13 December 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171213045943/http://www.leatherheadweb.org.uk/therfieldalumni/go_to_history.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> and was renamed in 1964 after John de Therfield, a former lord of the manor of Pachesham, who was awarded the land in 1205 by [[John, King of England|King John]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp253-254>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=253–254}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadweb.org.uk/therfieldalumni/go_to_history.htm |title= Our history from 1945 |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= Therfield alumni |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 13 December 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171213045943/http://www.leatherheadweb.org.uk/therfieldalumni/go_to_history.htm |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[St Andrew's Catholic School]] was founded in Grange Road in 1935 by five nuns from the [[Order of St. Andrew|Order of St Andrew]]. The main building was constructed in 1952 and, in 1971, the school became a co-educational comprehensive.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp253-254/>

West Hill School is a [[special education|special school]] for children with learning needs.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.west-hill.surrey.sch.uk/School/About-West-Hill/ |title= About West Hill |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= July 2020 |publisher= West Hill School |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 7 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190107064327/http://west-hill.surrey.sch.uk/school/about-west-hill/ |url-status= live }}</ref> It was founded at West Hill, Epsom in 1960<ref>{{harvnb|Heath|1986|p=109}}</ref> and moved to Leatherhead three years later.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp253-254/> Fox Grove School, a second school for pupils with special Education Needs, opened in September 2021 in Molesey. It is due to move to Leatherhead, to a site adjacent to West Hill School, in Spring 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last= Armstrong |first= Julie |date= 5 October 2021 |orig-date= 28 September 2021 |title= New special educational needs school building opening delayed until next year |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/new-special-school-building-opening-21698813 |work= Surrey Live |access-date= 27 November 2021 }}</ref>

===Independent schools===
[[Downsend School]] was founded in [[Hampstead]] in 1898<ref name=Downsend_history>{{cite web |url= https://www.downsend.co.uk/about-us/our-history/ |title= History of Downsend |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 3 January 2017 |publisher= Downsend School |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 17 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210117194140/https://www.downsend.co.uk/about-us/our-history/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and moved to its current site in stages between 1918 and 1940.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp187-189>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=187–189}}</ref> The school underwent a period of expansion in the late 1970s and 1980s, which included the purchase of pre-preparatory departments in Leatherhead, Ashtead and Epsom.<ref name=Downsend_history/> In 2002, the school was sold by the Linford family (who had owned it since its opening) to Asquith Court Schools Ltd and it was bought by [[Cognita]] in 2006.<ref name=Downsend_history/> In 2017, the school announced that it would build a new study centre to accommodate students studying for [[GCSE]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last= George |first= Sarah |date= 14 November 2017 |title= Leatherhead school wants to build a new £3 million block so it can start teaching to GCSE level |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/leatherhead-school-wants-build-new-13887140 |work= Get Surrey |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 1 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201001090416/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/leatherhead-school-wants-build-new-13887140 |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[File:The_dining_hall,_St_Johns_School_(geograph_6276552).jpg|thumb|right|Dining Hall and the Quad War Memorial, [[St John's School, Leatherhead|St John's School]]]]
St John's School was founded in [[St John's Wood]] in 1851 by [[Ashby Haslewood]] and moved to Leatherhead in 1872.<ref name=SJS_history>{{cite web |url= https://www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk/history |title= Our history |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= St John's School |access-date= 21 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201128231325/https://www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk/history |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Stuttard |first1= JC |year= 1997 |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_6_NO_1_1997.pdf |title= St John's School celebrates 125 years in Leatherhead |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 6 |issue= 1 |page= 2 |access-date= 1 February 2021 }}</ref> Initially intended for the sons of poor clergymen, the school began to accept fee-paying pupils at the start of the 20th century. In 1989, girls were accepted into the [[sixth form]] and the school became fully coeducational from 2012.<ref name=SJS_history/> Several parts of the school are [[Grade II listed]], including the library, formerly the chapel, which was built in 1876.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1028621|desc=Library at St John's School|grade=II|fewer-links=yes|access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref>

===Royal School for the Blind===
[[File:Lavender Court (formerly the Royal School for the Blind), Leatherhead (geograph 6243608).jpg|thumb|Lavender Court]]
{{main|SeeAbility}}
The School for the Indigent Blind was founded at [[St George's Fields]], [[Southwark]] in 1799 and, for the first 102 years of its existence, was based in London.<ref name=SeeAbility_Hist>{{cite web |url= https://www.seeability.org/about-us/our-history |title= Our history |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= August 2021 |publisher= The Royal School for the Blind |access-date=  |archive-date= 10 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211110210621/https://www.seeability.org/about-us/our-history |url-status= live }}</ref> In 1900, it purchased 15 acres of land in Leatherhead and construction of a new building, in Highlands Road, began the following year. The new school, capable of accommodating up to 250 students, opened in 1904.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p220/> The school was granted royal patronage by [[George V]] in 1911, at which point it became known as the Royal School for the Blind.<ref name=SeeAbility_Hist/>

By the mid-1930s, the focus of the school had changed from classroom-based learning to the teaching of practical skills in a workshop setting. During the Second World War, the building was requisitioned by King's College Hospital and, although part of the premises were returned to the school in 1946, a group of [[Chelsea Pensioner]]s continued to live on the site until the 1950s.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p220/> A redevelopment took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which included converting the dormitories into apartments. Students were increasingly encouraged to take responsibility for their everyday living, with the aim of facilitating their integration into wider society.<ref name=SeeAbility_Hist/>

The charity adopted the name "[[SeeAbility]]" as its [[brand|operating identity]] in 1994 and, later in the same decade, began to transition away from offering residential education and towards providing community-based support. In the early 2000s, the main school building was sold and converted to apartments. It is now known as Lavender Court.<ref>{{harvnb|Heath|Tarplee|2005|p=11}}</ref> The headquarters of the charity has since moved to Epsom.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|p=119}}</ref>