City of London Freemen’s School
Freemen’s is a traditional school with a contemporary and forward-looking approach. Like you, we want the very best for the young people in our care; we take the time to guide them towards making positive choices, giving them the confidence to contribute in a world that can be both challenging and uncertain. We aim to provide our pupils with the skills they need to prepare them for life beyond Freemen’s.
We want children at Freemen’s to learn, to lead and to make a difference. We do this by:
- Nurturing a community of learners – adults and children – who are ambitious about what they might achieve in and out of the classroom.
- Providing relevant opportunities for pupils to expand their horizons intellectually and socially; athletically and creatively; emotionally and spiritually.
- Establishing an environment at Freemen’s where everyone involved in the community is respected, trusted and supported.
- Encouraging responsibility and capability; honesty and reliability; pride and passion.
- Promoting determination and innovation; flexibility and adaptability; kindness and consideration.
- Fostering in our pupils the confidence, curiosity, independence and wisdom to succeed in the next stages of their lives.
Freemen’s is academically selective and is a leading co-educational school in the area. We have a unique mix of students at Freemen’s with many pupils coming from local independent or state schools, while others come from further afield. We provide them all with the same friendly, warm welcome.
Historically Freemen’s students have always achieved excellent outcomes but our recent achievements have gone from strength to strength with outstanding results at both A Level and at GCSE. We teach and the students learn in ways which encourage the development of habits that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives, from learning what to do when you don’t know what to do, to understanding that making and learning from mistakes is a vital and valuable part of learning. As a result, our older students leave Freemen’s with the qualifications and skills to learn, lead and make a difference and an excellent understanding of themselves and how they can thrive in the world beyond School. The majority of students from Freemen’s continue their studies at Russell Group Universities with a significant number of students securing a place at Cambridge or Oxford each year. Although academic achievement is the ‘bread-and-butter’ of life at Freemen’s, we provide a truly holistic education for the young people in our care and the School is rightly proud of the high standards achieved in sport, music and drama and by the range of enrichment opportunities available to pupils in the School.
The School is one of three independent schools managed by the City of London Corporation (City of London). The City provides financial support in the form of bursaries and scholarships. Other links with the City of London and the Livery Companies are strong. Freemen’s is a forward-looking school with an ambitious agenda to support its pupils’ development.
Category: Preparatory, Senior, Sixth Form
Pupils: Co-Education
Type: Day & Boarding
Religious Affiliation: Non-Denominational
Roll: 476 Boys / 425 Girls
Day pupils: 845
Boarder Number: 56
Age Range: 7-18 Years
Founded: 1854
Location Description
Freemen’s is located in 57 acres of beautiful Surrey parkland, only 40 minutes from London and with School transport available.
School Contact Details
Headteacher: Mr Roland Martin
Ashtead Park, Ashtead, Surrey
Tel: General Enquiries: 01372 822400
Email: admissions@freemens.org
Facilities
Sport
Freemen’s is located on a magnificent 57-acre site in Ashtead Park, Surrey, where the many outstanding facilities are available to all pupils. Extensive playing fields, a floodlit all-weather pitch, award-winning swimming pool and a large indoor sports hall, ensure that the sports facilities available are second to none.
Opened by the Lord Mayor of London in December 2017, the 25-metre swimming pool at Freemen’s has been awarded three RIBA awards for the South East Region.
Music and Drama
Our fully equipped Music School opened in the summer of 2014 and as well as including a Steinway-D concert grand piano, provides four classrooms, 12 instrumental teaching rooms, a recording studio and a magnificent Recital Hall which seats 250 people. Two of the classrooms include a suite of apple macs. Students are able to access composition software such as Sibelius, Logic Pro and Garageband. A broad range of peripatetic music lessons are available to students in a range of instruments, and students from all year groups are encouraged to join one of the many choirs, ensembles and orchestral groups on offer through the co-curricular programme.
Our studio theatre provides an auditorium for all productions, recitals, concerts and lecture facilities. The Ferndale Theatre is equipped to professional standards; a computerised lighting system, digital sound system, together with facilities for digital projection. This allows students to undertake a full range of backstage and technical activities, from lighting and sound – supported by our Drama technician – to costume, make-up and hair. In addition, we have a Mac suite available to students to facilitate and enrich their knowledge of industry marketing and inclusive media capabilities for the stage, including tuition in the latest computer aided lighting design software.
Sixth Form Centre
Freemen’s Grade II* listed Main House, proudly occupying a central position in the Freemen’s 57 acre site, has undergone one of the most exciting and innovative restoration projects in the Freemen’s Estate Development Plan.
Main House is the hub for Freemen’s Sixth Form students, providing catering facilities, teaching and social spaces, and remains a focal point for pupils across the School. Students and staff together enjoy teaching rooms, quiet spaces, break-out facilities and conference rooms against a backdrop of restored historic architecture, hand-in-hand with the best in modern facilities.
Facilities are dual purposed, with flexibility for both learning and teaching. Providing break-out group spaces to think creatively and work in teams, spaces encourage the collaborative learning ethos of the building. Contemplation rooms provide students with space to think and reflect while Harkness-style teaching rooms create a university environment to prepare students for their next phase of learning. Media suite rooms are equipped with the latest technology, with connections to external visiting speakers and resources reaching far beyond the classroom. The Sixth Form facility is designed to prepare students for life beyond Freemen’s.
Boarding
Walbrook is a home-from-home for our pupils. It provides a safe, happy, family-like environment in which pupils and staff work together to promote a positive and supportive atmosphere which encourages success in all aspects of School life.
Freemen’s provides a small, happy boarding environment in which the boarding pupils work together and support each other. Because numbers are small, staff know the pupils well and every boarding house pupil benefits from individual attention and care; ’Cherishing the individual’ is a reality, not just a sentence in the prospectus.
Walbrook, built in 2014, is a purpose-built facility that accommodates up to 60 students from Year 9 to 13 and is home to a mixture of full and weekly boarding students. It is a multi-cultural environment with British pupils and international students joining us from all over the world including Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sudan and the United States.
Each pupil is accommodated in a ‘pod’ with nine other pupils in single and double rooms. Each room has desks, ample storage and a basin. Each pod has a bathroom and social area shared between the 10 members of the pod.
The Hub area is the main space between the boys’ and the girls’ accommodation. It is a large open plan area with space for Play Station, TV, table football and board games. There is a ‘chill out zone’ which is device-free, and two kitchens where boarders can make snacks.
Scholarships
Freemen’s Scholarships are awarded in recognition of excellence, achievement and potential in academic study or music. They carry considerable prestige for the award holder but are of limited financial value (up to a maximum 5% discount of School fees).
Academic and Music Scholarship awards are offered on entry to:
- Year 7 (11+)
- Year 9 (13+)
- Year 12 (16+)
They are available to both external candidates and to current Freemen’s pupils. For further detailed information please visit www.freemens.org/scholarshipsbursaries
Academic Scholarships (up to a maximum 5% discount of School fees).
Pupils in receipt of an Academic Scholarship will be offered a specific programme that recognises their ability and will challenge them to broaden their educational horizons and develop their critical thinking skills. The programme will include talks and discussions on complex and challenging issues, educational visits designed to broaden the pupil’s cultural experience, and access to a range of Senior School clubs and societies.
Music Scholarships (up to a maximum 5% discount of the fees, plus free tuition in one instrumental study) and Music Exhibitions (free tuition in one instrumental study).
There is a fantastic amount on offer for Music Scholars at Freemen’s. As well as being key members of the School’s larger ensembles, Freemen’s Scholars take part in smaller chamber groups where they have a unique opportunity to broaden their musical horizons under expert guidance. There are Jazz groups that rehearse weekly and a Music Production Club runs too for those students who want to explore more contemporary styles. Freemen’s Music Scholars are invited to perform in the frequent concert opportunities that are hosted in the department. Music Scholars access a 5% discount on fees and free tuition in one instrument. Music Exhibition Awards are also given which also qualify for free tuition in one instrumental study.
Bhargava Award
Eligibility: As a ‘Women in STEM’ initiative, female pupils applying for entry into the Sixth Form to study Mathematics with a view to studying Mathematics or related disciplines at university are eligible for this award. The student must live within fifteen miles of the school (KT21 1ET) in keeping with Mrs. Bhargava’s own links with Ashtead and Leatherhead, currently attending a maintained sector school or academy. Preference will be given to students whose families could not otherwise afford full School fees.
Awards: The Bhargava Award can cover the School day fee and extras, subject to financial means testing, in order that a deserving candidate from a financially limited background would not need to worry about covering fees, transport, uniform and trips costs.
Entrance Requirements
Apply – Our application process is all online. To apply for a place for your child, simply complete the online registration form, which you will find in the Admissions section of our website at www.freemens.org/apply. A registration fee is also required at this stage. The deadline for application is 15 October in the year prior to entry.
Assessment – We are an academically selective school but we are looking for more than just good grades. Exam results are only part of the story. Life at Freemen’s is also about the accomplishments your child will make outside of the classroom in the wide range of co-curricular activities we offer and their contributions to wider School community. Our assessments are designed to ensure that every child who is offered a place will thrive at Freemen’s.
Year 3 to Year 6 – Entrance examinations in English, Mathematics and Non-Verbal Reasoning. In addition, we invite all candidates to an interview, to enable us to find out more about their interests, likes and dislikes.
Year 7 to Year 10 –Entrance examinations in English, Mathematics and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Pupils will also partake in a carousel of assessed group activities and will have an individual interview.
Sixth Form – Students are required to achieve eight or more GCSEs at grade 5 or above, with a minimum average points score across all subjects of 5.5. Students must also meet specific requirements for their chosen A Level subjects. Those students who are not sitting GCSEs or are taking less than the required number, will be invited to sit the UKiset test to enable us to asses them for entry.
All Sixth Form applicants are required to complete a questionnaire to detail their likely A Level choices, their plans for Higher Education and career aspirations as well as their interests and hobbies. Candidates who meet our academic entry requirements are invited for a one-to-one interview with our Head of Sixth Form. For overseas students, the interview can be conducted via Skype or Facetime.
Current School Report – For all points of entry, we request a confidential report from the student’s current school. This forms an important part of our assessment process and we cannot make an offer without it.
Fees
2020/2021
Year 3 (7+) – Year 8 (12+): Day only: £4,970 – £5,521 per term, exclusive of school lunches
Year 9 (13+) – Year 11 (15+): Day: £6,832 per term, exclusive of school lunches
Weekly Boarder: £10,729 per term, inclusive of school lunches
Full Boarder: £11,889 per term, inclusive of school lunches
Year 12 (16+) – Year 13 (17+): Day: £7,038 per term, exclusive of school lunches
Weekly Boarder: £10,942 per term, inclusive of school lunches
Day only: £12,095 per term, inclusive of school lunches
Flexi / Ad Hoc Boarding (subject to availability): £65 / night
Additional Fees. All per term
School Lunches: Year 3 (7+) – Year 4 (8+) £238; Year 5 (9+) – Year 13 (17+) £265
(lunches are included in the fees for boarding students)
Music lessons: Year 3 (7+) – Year 13 (17+) £248 for music lessons, £37 for instrument hire
Affiliations/Memberships
- Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS)
- Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC)
- Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS)
- Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA)
- Society of Heads (SoH)
- Association of School and College Leavers (ASCL)
Reports
OPEN DAYS
All visits are welcome, please contact the school
Freemen’s Fun Digital Activity: Wednesday 28 Apr 2021 -
Whole School Open Evening: Wednesday 5 May 2021 -
Personal Appointments with our Admissions Team
Given the current situation, and until we are able to welcome you to the School, we are offering the option to book a personal appointment with one of our Admissions Team. To arrange an appointment with a member of our Admissions Department at your convenience, please call 01372 822423 or email admissions@freemens.org. Our team will be able to answer all of your questions until such time as we are able to welcome you to the School for a tour or attend one of our open events.
Until such time as we are able to welcome external visitors to Freemen’s once more, we are holding the following online events for prospective families looking to join Freemen’s in 2022.
Freemen’s Fun: Wednesday 28 April 2021- Join us for our digital activity session for children who are in Year 1 at their current school, at the time of the event. Pupils are invited to join the fun and take part in some online activities
For more details and to book, visit https://www.freemens.org/openevents
Whole School Open Evening: Wednesday 5 May 2021 – Explore Freemen’s with our unique Digital Open Evening. We provide access to scheduled talks throughout the event.
For more details and to book, visit https://www.freemens.org/openevents