Cranleigh School Development Plan
The Cranleigh School Development Plan of 2015 initiated the production of a master plan. The results of this master plan were to take a phased approach to campus development with the first phase commencing in 2016 and taking broadly four years. The overall theme of the Development Plan was to enhance pastoral support, and teaching and learning. It was considered that the girls’ boarding houses, at around 110 pupils were too large and that two new boarding houses for girls should be developed, leading to four girls’ houses, each for around 75 pupils, in addition to the four boys’ houses, each of around 100 pupils.
The teaching facilities in the Connaught Block (to the right of Speech Hall) were considered to be past their best and so a decision was made to build a new teaching facility for English, the Humanities, Economics and Business Studies as well as Learning Support and Careers; the latter being broadened to Cranleigh Futures. A need was also identified at the Senior School for new squash courts and a modern café for pupils. At the Prep School, a number of the older buildings in the middle of the campus were outdated and it was decided to build new teaching facilities for Science, Design Technology and Art.
Girls’ Boarding Houses
The first major project was the creation of a third girls’ boarding house, Rhodes. This project was completed in October 2017 and after one year it has bedded into the Cranleigh landscape seamlessly. The opening of the van Hasselt Centre allowed existing classrooms in the Connaught Block to be converted back to their original use as boarding accommodation. We were delighted to open a fourth girls’ house in September 2019, named Martlet (after the birds on the School’s shield).
New Teaching buildings
The building of the two new teaching buildings, one at each school, started in early 2017. The Prep School building progressed on schedule and their exciting new facility, including a flexible area for staff known as the Hub, was opened in early July by the former Chair of the Governing Body, Anthony Townsend, whose name the building takes. The new van Hasselt Centre at the Senior School, which includes both new classrooms and social spaces in the old squash courts, was completed in November 2018 and is now in full use. The centre is named after Marc van Hasselt, Cranleigh’s Headmaster from 1970-84. These two new facilities are both spectacular and evidence of the School’s strong commitment to core academic subjects.
Squash Courts
The final element of the master plan will be to build new squash courts to replace the old courts which have been subsumed into the van Hasselt Centre. These will be built onto the side of the Trevor Abbott Sports Centre and a new gym will be included.
These new facilities add to the already impressive campus and will take Cranleigh School forward as a leading co-educational dedicated boarding community. It is an exciting time to be at Cranleigh.
Vision 150
Our ethos and the roots established over the last 150 years at Cranleigh underpin a strategy for the future that will enable us to provide the highest quality of education and opportunity for our pupils and our community.
Our development programme, established in our 150th year, outlines the way we will support this strategy, with buildings, funds and foundations that will ensure Cranleigh is at the forefront of educational thinking and practice for the next 150 years.