Wellington College Prep, as Eagle House, celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2020, making it one of the oldest Prep Schools in the country. At the time of its foundation by Joseph Railton in 1820, the school kept boys “until they went into the world”.

Eagle House opened a Pre-Prep for boys and girls in the 1990s and followed this with a Nursery, The Nest. Today it is a thriving 3 – 13 co-educational day and boarding school.

Why Eagle House? There was a large house of red brick facing Brook Green, Hammersmith, where Eagle House began, and there were two large magnificent eagles made of solid lead at the gateway. In 1833 the Rev Edward Wickham took over and the school became the typical preparatory school that we recognise today.

Because of the poor condition of the house in Hammersmith, the then headmaster, Edward Huntingford decided to move the school to Wimbledon in 1860. At the end of the summer term of 1886, headmaster Dr Arthur Malan announced that the school would be moving to Sandhurst so ‘the boys would appreciate the open spaces and the countryside.’

The present building was built by Dr James Russell, surgeon, local Medical Officer of Health and Public Vaccinator. His main interest was hunting hence the lodge design of the main house. James Russell only used renowned artisans which cost him a great deal of money, so much so he had to relinquish the estate and this allowed Arthur Malan to rent the property for the school.

The school was owned by subsequent headmasters until in 1968 Wellington College bought the school. In the 1970s Bigshotte School in Crowthorne closed down and many of the pupils and some of the staff joined Eagle House, increasing the pupil population twofold. As the school grew, buildings and facilities were added.

The links with Wellington College are strong and today about 60% of pupils move on to the College as well as to a host of other leading independent schools.

The school is proud of its heritage and the history of the name Eagle House, but moves forward as a progressive school in the 21st century, encouraging all pupils to embrace learning, kindness and ambition and will continue to do so under the new guise of Wellington College Prep.