Sir William Perkins's School


Sir William Perkins's School is an independent day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Chertsey, Surrey, England. It is situated on 49,000 m2 of greenbelt land on the outskirts of Chertsey. The Good Schools Guide described the school as "a friendly school with very good academic standards - ideal for unstuffy girls who enjoy healthy competition and getting stuck into what is on offer."

History

The school was founded in 1725 by a wealthy Chertsey merchant, Sir William Perkins. Originally for twenty five boys, the school extended its education to include twenty-five girls in 1736. It moved to purpose-built accommodation on its present twelve-acre site in 1819.
In 1944, the school became a voluntary controlled grammar school for girls maintained by Surrey Education Authority and in 1978 became fully independent as an educational foundation administered by trustees.
When the educational institute became a girls school, there were just two houses: L and P. The girls who were perceived to be more literary from their entrance exam were put into L and the girls more inclined towards Mathematics were put into P. The additional houses, M and Q, were added in the later formative years of the school that stands today. In 2014, the house names were changed, from single letters to names of famous and intelligent women of Britain: Lonsdale, Montagu, Pankhurst and Quant. Each house bears its own crest and colour: Lonsdale, Montagu, Pankhurst and Quant.

Curriculum

The 2010 ISI inspection rated the school curriculum as "excellent". The school has had a tradition of academic excellence and is often at the top of examination result tables in the county.
The school adopted the Harkness Table in 2016.

Old Perkonians