Frensham Heights is a highly distinctive independent day & boarding school. We welcome students from the age of 3 to 18 and we give them the tools to succeed in their education, helping them to extend their abilities and exceed their expectations.
Our EthosFrensham is a different school in many ways – and we’re very proud of that.
However, it’s only very different in the context of a traditional English public school. If you’re imagining boaters or tartans or children with badges down their lapels, then we are not that. Yet if you have experienced an international school or an American school, then we’re not very different at all. So many areas that today are heralded as pioneering in education lie at the heart of what Frensham Heights has stood for since 1925.
We have stayed true to our founding principles of child-centered learning and mutual respect. We have pioneered and grown without compromising what we do or how we do it. We have evolved to reflect the educational needs and realities of our students but we have not had to adapt to or adopt changes to survive.
We have not had to embrace coeducation to fill places – we have welcomed boys and girls equally from the start.
We have not dropped uniforms to compete with sixth form colleges – we have had no uniform for 40 years. We have not introduced a student council to meet a new trend – we have always respected the importance of the student's voice.
We are always ambitious for our students to achieve their potential in whichever area they choose to pursue. Students at Frensham are exposed to a wealth of opportunities where they can discover and identify their talents – talents that, through programs such as Gifted and Talented, are subsequently nourished and celebrated.
Respect is one of the key foundations of our educational philosophy. Respect cannot be forced – if it is, to be honest, it has to be earned. No form of the community can be truly successful unless its members have respect for each other and themselves.
We place great emphasis on equality. From the start, Frensham has welcomed boys and girls as students. Yet equality goes deeper than that. By recognizing that each member of our school community has equal responsibility towards maintaining that community, we create an atmosphere that is relaxed, engaging, and tolerant.
We have a long tradition of welcoming those who have suffered prejudice and cruelty. This began during and after the Second World War when Frensham became a haven for young people fleeing Nazi Germany. Today we continue to refuse to discriminate based on race or religion.
Frensham offers young people freedom with responsibility. In keeping with our approach of mutual respect, tolerance, and celebrating the individual, we keep the number of hard and fast rules to a minimum. This means that the rules that do exist are there for a reason – to ensure Frensham is a secure place where each person takes responsibility for maintaining that security.
At Frensham, cooperation means every individual, whether staff, parent, or student, is encouraged to approach any situation not thinking ‘what will I get out of this?’ but rather ‘what can I contribute?’ Visitors often remark how our students offer support and assistance without prompting and without hesitation.
Creativity has many meanings at Frensham and it is found in every aspect of the school, from the classroom to the art studio, from the dance hall to the theatre, and from the staff room to the study. Creativity is not confined to the stage or the orchestra.
The fact that we have no uniform and are called by our first names demands much more from the whole community than traditional approaches. Choices, value judgments, and recognizing the human qualities of each daily are much more demanding than conformity, blind acceptance, and feeling powerless.
