| Whitgift School is at the heart of the host family community in Croydon!
The School was founded in 1596 by John Whitgift, Elizabeth I’s last Archbishop of Canterbury, and opened in 1600, making it Croydon’s oldest school; the present Headmaster, Dr Christopher Barnett, is the twenty-sixth in the School’s history. There are approximately 300 boys in the Junior School and 800 boys in the Senior School . Haling Park, to which the School moved in 1931, was at one time the home of Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of the Fleet and it retains the appearance of an attractive country estate.
The original buildings have been supplemented by many additions and improvements including an outstanding Music School and Concert Hall, a major new sports complex and a separate Junior School building. In 1990, one of the largest and most innovative educational building projects in Britain was completed to provide an integrated facility for science, technology, art and design together with library and resource centres of exceptional quality.
Whitgift enjoys a beautiful parkland site – there have been peacocks at Whitgift since the 1930’s. They have been joined by white peafowl, Crowned and Demoiselle Cranes and a variety of African and Asian species. There is also a breeding colony of red squirrels in the Andrew Quadrangle.
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