The John Fisher School (England)

The John Fisher School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided boys’ faith school based at Peaks Hill, Purley, Croydon, Surrey, England. Today the school operates as a local standard Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, educating boys mainly from around South and Central Croydon. However, the school has a history of selection, and in the past (as a selective entry grant-maintained school, and before that as a fee-paying boys’ grammar school) has drawn pupils from across London and South East England.

In spite of its Croydon postcode and location, the school is funded by the London Borough of Sutton. The school has operated selective admissions policies twice in its history, from when it was founded in 1929 until 1977, and more recently from 1991 to 2008. It was, alongside the London Oratory School, one of the last selective entry Catholic comprehensive schools to defy the Schools’ Admissions Code by continuing to interview prospect pupils and their parents. There have been no parental interviews since 2008, with the final cohort of boys selected by interview leaving the school in the Summer of 2014.

The school has grown since the end of its selection policy from 700 pupils to over 1000, and is set to grow even more beginning in 2016 (30 additional places). In May 2012, it launched its new website, www.johnfisherschool.org. The school occupies the former site of the 19th century Falconbury School.