Welcome to Brentwood School. We are one of the UK’s leading independent schools for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 with a history spanning almost 500 years.
Our values are at the center of everything we do. Although the words from our school motto – ‘Virtue, Learning, Manners’ – were written in 1622, they are remarkably timeless. They guide our core purpose in helping young people discover and develop their talents with both self-assurance and humility. Our pupils are kind, ambitious, and seek to make a positive contribution in the present and the future: our role is to help them achieve their successes – in whatever shape they may come – without any sense of entitlement.
To do this, we need to prepare our pupils for a fast-paced and ever-changing world. They will need to solve problems we don’t yet know about (in addition to those we do) and many will take on jobs that don’t yet exist. Our pupils are active participants in this journey and distinguish themselves as enterprising young people who always strive to be the best version of themselves. They excel in many areas – academically, in the visual and performing arts, and sports.
In an age of instant gratification and immediate rewards, our pupils understand the value of perseverance, learning from mistakes, and the fact that patience is a virtue. They are willing to take managed risks and celebrate their successes and those of their peers with equal enthusiasm, whilst accepting Winston Churchill’s premise that ‘success is not final and failure is not fatal. We cultivate this approach by modeling the behaviors we want to help our pupils develop, and by teaching with genuine passion and intelligence in a stimulating environment. The consequences of this culture of continuous learning are our excellent record of exam results and onward success of our pupils, but we are a School that offers much more than such measurable and finite outcomes: many schools promise to develop the whole person but few can claim to do so as well as Brentwood.
We are also a day and boarding school with a difference – our boys and girls are taught separately until the Sixth Form and this allows us to encourage freedom of expression and create space for individual identity within the classroom whilst maintaining and developing social integration beyond it. All our pupils enjoy access to our modern facilities, set in the heart of Brentwood yet surrounded by 75 acres of playing fields and gardens.
In 1557 Sir Antony Browne, the Lord Chief Justice, acquired the land on which Brentwood School was first built. During Mary Tudor's reign, hundreds of Protestants were burned at the stake and a well-known Brentwood Protestant, William Hunter, was ordered by Sir Antony Browne to be executed. This act may have led Sir Antony Browne to found Brentwood School.
The facilities at Brentwood School are of the highest quality across academic, arts, and sports areas for all ages from 3 – 18 years. Set within a 75-acre site, in the heart of Brentwood town, and a direct train ride from London Stratford station, our campus provides a stimulating environment for innovative teaching and a first-class education.
We are continually improving and developing the School site to support our innovative approach to learning. Being mindful of our great heritage, we blend the traditional with the modern, helping to keep our campus in shape for the next generation.
These iconic developments are indeed impressive, but what is more important is the impact they have on pupils’ learning. At the heart of our development plans is the desire to enrich the everyday learning experience of our students, to raise their aspirations, and to support a multi-faceted curriculum both inside and outside the classroom.
VIDEOS
