The Royal Medical Benevolent College
Epsom College was founded in 1853 by Dr John Propert with a specific mission: to educate the sons of doctors and to provide a home for retired medical men and their widows. The school was originally called the Royal Medical Benevolent College, and its early intake was drawn almost entirely from medical families. Prince Albert and the future Edward VII formally opened the college on 25 June 1855, in front of an unexpectedly large crowd of 6,000.
The medical connection shaped the school's culture. Science teaching was strong from the start, at a time when many public schools regarded it as a lesser subject. That emphasis endures. Epsom has produced generations of doctors, surgeons, and researchers, and its science facilities remain among the best in the independent sector.
From Single Purpose to Co-education
In 1874, the school opened its doors to boys from outside the medical profession. The name changed to Epsom College in 1910, though the benevolent foundation – supporting the children of medical families in financial difficulty – continues to this day. Girls were admitted from 1996, completing the transition to full co-education. Around 900 pupils now attend, split roughly evenly between boarders and day pupils.
Campus and Character
The 72-acre campus overlooks the Epsom Downs, with the main buildings arranged around a central quad. The chapel, a Grade II listed Victorian structure, anchors the site. Significant investment in recent years has added a new science centre, a performing arts facility, and improved boarding houses.
Stewart Granger, the Hollywood actor, and John Piper, the artist and stained-glass designer, are among the best-known Old Epsomians. Jeremy Vine, the BBC presenter, Tony Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia, and Sir John Scarlett, a former Chief of MI6, are more recent graduates. The school sits less than a mile from Epsom Downs racecourse, and Derby Day remains a fixture in the school calendar.
