Sutton Grammar School (formerly Sutton Grammar School for Boys) is an 11–18 boys selective state grammar school located in South London. The school's main site is in Sutton and its playing fields are in neighbouring Cheam, Surrey. In 2022, a total of 1,034 students were enrolled at Sutton Grammar School, with 355 enrolled in the co–educational sixth form provision at the school.
Sutton Grammar School converted to become an academy school in May 2011.
As of 2025, the school is now enrolling year 7 forms of 30 pupils, rather than 27 in previous years, so will have a total enrolment of 1105 students by 2029, including approximately 360 in the co-educational sixth form.
History Establishment
The school has undergone several name changes; it used to be known as Sutton County Grammar School, Sutton Manor School (owing to its proximity with the old Sutton Manor) and more recently Sutton Grammar School for Boys.Heater, D, "Keeping Faith: A History of Sutton Grammar School", p12
The first headmaster of the school was E H Hensley, who read mathematics at Cambridge University and became a wrangler by achieving a first class degree.Heater, D, "Keeping Faith: A History of Sutton Grammar School", p13 The first Second Master (or Deputy Headmaster) was L A Valencia, who read Classics at Cambridge University.
The school was founded on a site between Throwley Way and the High Street in Sutton, and officially opened in a ceremony on 21 July 1899. The main building was opened in 1928 on Manor Lane, directly opposite Manor Park in Sutton.
The Sutton School Song was composed in 1935 by the chairman of the governors, Courtenay Gale, and the words were written by a Mr Horn, a classics master, with the school motto, "Floreat Suttona" (Latin: "May Sutton flourish"), as the refrain. In 1954, however, "Keep Faith" was adopted as a new motto, with "Floreat Suttona" being used only occasionally, for example, as a sign off in communiqués to old boys of the school (known as "Old Suttonians").
Recent history
Since 1 June 2011, the school has had academy status, and its name formally changed from Sutton Grammar School for Boys to Sutton Grammar School, although it remains a selective grammar school for boys. From September 2017, however, it began accepting applications from girls to join the sixth form.
The current headmaster is B Cloves, who joined in 2019. His predecessor, G D Ironside, was headmaster of the school for 29 years. The deputy headmistress is a Mrs Ross who joined in 2018.
The current Senior Leadership Team includes: Mr B Cloves (Headmaster), Mrs K Ross(Snr Dpt Head, Dsg Safeguarding Lead, Pastoral Lead), Mr J Costello (Dpt Head), Mr S Brook (Asst Head), Mr C Robson (Asst Head, Head of Sixth Form, DDSL), Mrs N Bennett (Director of Finance & Operations) and Mr R Murrill (Chair of the Governing Body).
Other leadership posts are held by: Mr A Marsh (Head of Upper School, DDSL), Mrs L McDonald (HY13), Mr O Green (HY12), Mr A Heasman (HY9), Mr J Bird (HY8), Mr C Roy (HY7), Ms M Mahmoud (SENDCO), Mr J Tuck (Asst SENDCO) and Mr A Blunt (Head of PE & Games, DDSL).
The school is divided into three sections – the Lower School (years 7–9), the Upper School (years 10 and 11) and the Sixth Form (Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth) – each of which attracts its own dress code. Uniform consists of a maroon blazer with a house tie in the Lower School, a black blazer with a house tie in the Upper School and a lounge suit and tie of the pupil's choice in the Sixth Form.
The school operates a prefect system with a head student, three deputy head students, senior prefects and part-time prefects from the Sixth Form.
Overview Academic and performance
The school is consistently ranked amongst the top schools in the country. It placed 13th out of all secondary schools in England in academic league tables in 2015, putting it in the top 0.05%.Telegraph, Top 100 secondary schools by GCSE results 2015, 21 January 2016 The school regularly features in The Sunday Times' list of the "Best secondary schools in London", placing seventh in 2020 and eleventh in 2023. It was named the 10th best state secondary school in London by The Sunday Times in 2022 and again in 2024.
In 2016, The Independent described the school as part of "a small group of elite feeder schools" in South East England that sends a disproportionate number of pupils to Oxbridge and contributes to a north-south bias in Oxbridge admissions.Independent, 'Elite' state schools contribute to Oxbridge north-south admissions bias, study reveals, 16 August 2016 In 2016, for example, over 11% of all university places secured by pupils in the sixth form were at Oxbridge, with all Oxbridge applicants having successfully secured their place.The Suttonian 2015–2016 Edition, p8
In 2017, The Sunday Times and The Independent featured the school in articles about the top schools in England that "eclipse Eton in ranking for A-level science", referring to a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics league table in which the school placed 12th in the country. In the same year, the school was nominated under the category "Science, technology and engineering teacher or team of the year" in the Times Educational Supplement Schools Awards 2017.
One of the school's pupils, Krtin Nithiyanandam, received international press coverage in 2015 after he developed a test for Alzheimer's disease and autism aged 15,Telegraph, 15-year-old schoolboy develops test for Alzheimer's disease, 13 July 2015 for which he was awarded the Scientific American Innovator Award in 2015. He again received widespread press coverage in 2016 after he discovered a way to make deadly triple negative breast cancer more treatable.Telegraph, 16-year-old devises way to make deadly breast cancer more treatable, 28 August 2016Independent, Breast cancer treatment breakthrough claimed by 16-year-old boy, 29 August 2016 He conducted this research in the school's laboratories.Your Local Guardian, Sutton Grammar School pupil Krtin Nithiyanandam from Epsom claims breakthrough in triple negative breast cancer treatment, 6 September 2016 The Guardian named him alongside Sasha Obama (daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama) and Brooklyn Beckham (son of David and Victoria Beckham) in its "teen power list" of 2016, and profiled him as a "rising star of 2017".
Houses Upon entry to the school, boys are allocated to one of five forms, each form being associated with one of the five houses:
– Manor – Warwick – Greyhound – Lenham – Throwley
If a pupil has a brother already at the school, he is ordinarily placed in the same house as his brother upon entry. The names of the houses represent the four boundary roads of the existing school site and the road upon which the school was originally founded just a short distance away (Throwley Road). These names were suggested in 2017 by head of geography and Old Suttonian R Pletts to replace the houses of Blue, Brown, Green and Red, previously Scott, Drake, Nelson and Hood which had been in existence since 1920 and had themselves replaced the original houses of North, South, East and West.
House Shield
The House Shield is a competition based on house points, awarded for academic and sporting achievement.Sutton Grammar School for Boys, Official school website As part of the House Shield, the following events are held each year:
House art House athletics House charity House chess House cricket House cross-country House counterstrike House cubing House drama (Lower School) House dodgeball House football House gymnastics House handball House humanities mastermind House maths House music House photography House physics olympiad House poetry House points House rackets House raffle ticket sales House table tennis House trade fair
House captains Each year, the house masters appoint house captains, secretaries and occasionally vice-captains, who lead pupils in pastoral activities throughout the year. Many address pupils during assemblies, help to organise sports teams, lead the warm-up lap in opening the annual house athletics championship and, at the end of their tenure, help to select their successor. They are assisted by a secretary and occasionally a vice-captain.
In popular culture Scenes for the Hollywood film Black Sea, starring Jude Law and directed by Kevin Macdonald, were shot outside the school on 1 August 2013. Law appears in the scenes getting in and out of a car whilst pupils walk out of the school in the background.
Fictional music character Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer, who performs "chap hop" (hip-hop delivered in a Received Pronunciation accent), is described as having attended the school by his creator, Jim Burke, a British parodist.
A prank played by pupils at the school attracted national press coverage, including from The Sun, and generated online debate in 2009. Pupils moved numerous bricks onto the roof of the main building to spell out the word "cock" in large letters, which was spotted on Google Earth.
A photograph of Sutton Grammar School students appeared on the thumbnail of a YouTube video titled "Americans React to British vs American Education Systems," released on March 2, 2024. The video discusses differences between the American and British educational systems.
Admissions The school is selective, requiring pupils to pass an eleven plus examination in order to gain admission. In 2013, The Telegraph ranked it third in a list of the most oversubscribed schools in England, describing it as part of "an elite group of grammar schools...with more than a thousand applications".Telegraph, Top state schools 'flooded with over 1,000 applications', 6 January 2013 The school sells mock entrance examinations to parents of prospective pupils, which generated an income of £70,000 in 2016.
5 News broadcast a report on the school in 2016, interviewing headmaster G D Ironside and pupils and covering issues including elitism and life at the school.
The school admits pupils from ages 11–18, or years 7–13 in the English academic system, although the majority of students join the school in year 7 or year 12. There are 140 pupils in each year in the Lower School (years 7–9) and Upper School (years 10 and 11), and slightly more in the sixth form, varying year-on-year.
Combined Cadet Force
The school's Combined Cadet Force was raised in early 1915 and officially recognised by the War Office in June 1915.Heater, D, "Keeping Faith: A History of Sutton Grammar School", pp30–31 Over the years, boys from the school’s CCF have both served and fought for their country in successive campaigns and wars.Heater, D, "Keeping Faith: A History of Sutton Grammar School", p29 & p70 In the school's main building, the World War I memorial lists the names of the 80 boys and one master who died during the war. More recently, a World War II memorial was built at the Walch Memorial Playing Fields. It was constructed from 114 stones cemented together in a cairn, each representing a single former pupil who died during the war, and each collected and carried down from over 100 peaks in the United Kingdom. On 15 November 2015, a dedication ceremony was conducted by Old Suttonian Jack Noble and attended by staff, former staff, cadets, former cadets, parents and old boys. A guard of honour was held, executed by year 11 and upper sixth cadets under the command of Old Suttonian serving officers, and the names of the dead were read, as well as the Laurence Binyon poem, "For the Fallen".