Box Hill School

Box Hill School

[[File: Box Hill School |center|frameless]]
Established	1959
Type	Independent school
Religion	Non denominational
Headmaster	Mr Mark Eagers
Location	Mickleham Dorking Surrey RH5 6EA England
Students	425
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	11–18
Houses	Spartans, Olympians, Corinthians & Athenians
Colours	green      purple
Publication	The Boxhillian
Founder	Mr Roy McComish
Former pupils	Old Boxhillians
Contact No	01372 373 382
Website	Box Hill School

Box Hill School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school situated in the village of Mickleham near Dorking, Surrey, England. The school has approximately 425 pupils aged 11–18, about a quarter of whom are from overseas. The school has offered the International Baccalaureate since September 2008. It is situated 40 minutes from central London on the direct Dorking and Leatherhead line, and thirty minutes from both Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Headmaster

Mark Eagers has been Headmaster since September 2002, taking over from Dr. Rodney Atwood.

History

Dalewood House, the main school building, was constructed in 1870 by Edward Gardner. In 1890 the house was sold to David Evans (the owner of the Oxford Street store DH Evans), on whose death it passed to his daughter Sarah Fosberry until 1939. The house was requisitioned by the Army as the headquarters of the Pay Corps during the Second World War. In 1951 the house was taken over and run as a school by two Australian sisters.

Dalewood House in the Winter

Founder

The school was founded in September 1959 by Roy McComish, a housemaster and art master at Gordonstoun School in Scotland. It is one of the founding schools of the international Round Square association.

Round Square IDEALS

The school was one of the founding members of the Round Square international association which has over eighty different schools all around the world. The school actively partakes in all the IDEALS of the Round Square. These are:

I- Internationalism: The school welcomes students from all over the world and the school community in total speak around thirty different languages. The community is one of diversity, and is made a much richer experience for the pupils that go there because of it.^{[citation needed]}

D- Democracy: The school has a thriving and influential student council and Syndicate body where the students of the school have a large say in the pastoral care they receive and the activities program that is run in the school.

E- Environmental concern: Much work is done on Box Hill to help keep the area, classed as "an area of natural outstanding beauty", looking in such immaculate condition. The enthusiasm of the students at the school has resulted in the school having an amazing natural resource in Box Hill.

A- Adventure: The school organises expeditions on a yearly basis for years 7-9. These expeditions are a great opportunity for the students to express themselves and learn about the world they live in. The School is also a keen participant in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme with a very high percentage of each year completing gold, silver and bronze levels. In addition to this, students take part in a wide range of challenges and projects, both at home (mountain biking in the Lake District, etc) and abroad (languages trips, cultural exchanges, etc).

L- Leadership and Service: The school has its own student council that takes part in deciding the way the school is run, this results in a balanced environment which is perfect for both learning and enjoyment. As well as this the school has a Syndicate, or prefect system, in place encouraging students to take responsibility for the community they live in. Every year students from various year groups take part in service projects in Hungary, Cambodia, South Africa, and other global destinations.

Thirds

Each student is assigned to a group or third for competitions in music, sports and various other events. These are similar to 'houses' in other boarding schools. The current thirds are:

1. Spartans
2. Olympians
3. Corinthians
4. Athenians

Box Hill School from the rear

Performing arts

The school runs a very full Performing Arts programme, adding a million-pound purpose built Music School in November 2009.^{[citation needed]} At Christmas 2011 Box Hill players performed 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller, directed in the round by Donna Walton and Helen Glen. The Summer 2011 production was an open air rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Summer 2012 is scheduled for Bugsy. The Performing Arts have a separate website which can be accessed through www.bhsperformingarts.com .