Epsom College - Development and Charity

Development and Charity

It was founded in 1855 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession. Funding for such a bold undertaking proved inadequate to the task, resulting in a reduced number of buildings and therefore insufficient space to support 100 pensioners and 100 boys. In the 1860s, partially as a result of this, the school was opened up to children of non-medical parents. In subsequent decades, pensioners were supported off-site, until there were none on campus by the end of the 19th century. These moves mark the transition towards the College becoming a public school in the modern sense.

The college continued its charitable activities, alongside its strictly educational role, throughout the 20th century. It was only in 2000 that the Royal Medical Foundation was formed as a separate entity, funding the support of four Foundationers at the College, 27 outside it; and paying 20 pensions and supporting one doctor at a medical home.

In the 1920s the junior school side of the college was run down and thereafter it catered only for 13-18 year-olds. In 1976, girls were first allowed into the sixth-form. Twenty years later, the school became fully co-educational.

Its campus is on the outskirts of Epsom, near Epsom Downs on the North Downs, near the racecourse, home to the annual the Epsom Derby. Its buildings date from 1853 and are mostly influenced by the Gothic revival architecture, described by Prince Albert as the "pointed style of the 14th Century". In 1974, the main building and the College Chapel attained Grade II listed status.