A London school like no other, our pupils experience a taste of two very different worlds: a busy city school set within 50 acres of grounds, surrounded by Epping Forest.

Forest is well connected to central London with fantastic transport links close to the school.  We are a 10-minute walk from Snaresbook tube station which is just 15 minutes away from Bethnal Green and 28 minutes away from Oxford Circus on the Central Line. We are also a short bus journey away from Walthamstow Central, which is served by the Victoria line and London Overground.

Some interesting facts about the School grounds

  • In 1830 the School was originally opened as Exeter College but was reestablished as Forest Proprietary Grammar School by a new group of founders in 1834, which included William Morris’ father
  • The first new addition was the Chapel of St John Baptist, built in 1857 along with the adjoining Cloisters. Inside there is 17th Century panelling from Jesus College, Oxford, and a stained glass window from the William Morris workshop
  • As the School grew, the dining hall was moved in 1881 from what is now the Upper Library, to the newly built Dining Hall. The glitter ball hanging from the ceiling was a later addition
  • The 1950s saw the building of the Aston Block, and the Whitmore Building, the latter a replacement for the building that was flattened by the V1 bomb in August 1944
  • With the inclusion of girls in 1981 came the Gilderdale Building
  • More recent additions include the Sylvestrian Leisure Centre in 2008, the magnificent Martin Centre for Innovation in 2013, and a fully refurbished Science block in 2016
  • We are really proud of the Prep School rebuild with its beautiful roof-top play area, finished 50years after the original Prep was founded in 1970

The Park

The School owns a further 25 acres of sports grounds, known as the Park, which is easily accessed through the forest, and can be seen in the image below. Pupils have use of football and cricket pitches, athletics tracks and an all-weather Astro Turf facility in the Park.