The house at Farnborough Hill was originally built for the publisher Thomas Longman by Henry Edward Kendall Jr. in 1860.

Following Longman's death in 1879, the exiled Empress Eugénie, widow of Emperor Napoleon III of France, later bought and expanded the house in 1880.

The Empress bought other land in Farnborough at around the same time and founded St Michael's Abbey as a mausoleum for her husband's body (relocated from its initial burial place in Chislehurst) and that of her recently deceased son the Prince Imperial who had died while serving with the British forces during the Anglo-Zulu War.

Over the years there has been further expansion and development, most recently a new Sixth Form centre, all of it in keeping with this Grade One listed building.

The school chapel was built in 1932, a classroom block was opened in 1953 and further extensions to teaching facilities were added in the 1960s including a gymnasium and science laboratories.

Farnborough Hill is set in 65 acres of parkland and uses much of this for sports including tennis, hockey, netball, football, rounders, athletics and cross-country.

A wide range of extracurricular activities are on offer from Sport, Music and Drama to Sixth Form Expeditions and trips abroad.