Basic Information & Location
Founded in 1970, Hurtwood House is a private co-educational sixth-form school for students aged between 15 and 19. Located in Dorking, Surrey, it occupies an Edwardian country house set in extensive grounds.
Hurtwood’s reputation is built on its academic excellence on both traditional and creative subjects. Alumni including Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and famous actress Emily Blunt. Majority of students are from professional families, less than a half of them come from overseas.
Academic Development
Hurtwood prepares students in a wide range of subjects and a great flexibility of choice. Students can choose from 22 A-level subjects with any combination by their own strengths and passions. All A-level courses are fully linear and are examined at the end of the two-year course.
Over the past two decades, its A-level results have put Hurtwood at the top of the League Table for co-ed boarding schools. In 2018, 58% of all the grades achieved by its students were A* or A, compared to a national average of 26.4%. Over 85% of grades were A*, A and B. Students are leaving the school for Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, UCL, LSE, Bristol, Warwick, Bath and Durham.
As for overseas students or those in needs, the school also offers a limited number of GCSE subjects as a one-year foundation course. Students can take up to five GCSE subjects; a minimum of four-and-a-half hours teaching is provided in each subject each week. Class sizes are very small to ensure in-depth communication.
Regarding language skill, the school provides alternative choice for overseas students – English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). It aims to equip international students for life after Hurtwood. ESOL classes provide students with the essential language building blocks including grammar and vocabulary, consider a wide range of topics and prepare students thoroughly for their IELTS examination.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
Students live in one of five country houses or their lodges, some of which are on the campus and some nearby. To take care of students, each house has a Housemaster who lives in and a team of House Tutors. Students will have a study bedroom which is shared with the other student, there are some singles for second year students and a few triples.
Extracurricular & personal development
Sport plays an important part in Hurtwood life. There is a full non-compulsory programme of sports and other activities every afternoon. The school also offers an Enigma Programme, providing experiential learning experience ranging from recreation and lifestyle to fitness and creative and performing arts on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Students have outing opportunities to attend conferences and visit exhibitions, theatres, museums and galleries, sports tournaments, outdoor education weekends and subject-related European excursions.