Cheam School

Cheam School stands on the Hampshire–Berkshire border in a 40-hectare park once called Beenham Court. Founded in 1645 by George Aldrich, it began in Cheam, Surrey, before moving in 1934 to its present grounds. The school once admitted only the sons of gentlemen, dismissing one pupil when his father’s London cutlery shop was discovered. The school now educates boys and girls aged three to thirteen, both day-pupils and boarders. It is divided into four houses: Aldrich (yellow), Beck (green), Gilpin (red), and Tabor (blue). Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, attended before the move, and his son, King Charles III, later followed. Visitors find red-and-blue school colours on blazers and flags. The grounds include playing fields, woodland paths, and the old house’s mature gardens. Headmasters have led the school for centuries, from Aldrich in the 17th to Nick Milbank today.