[1] The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation by Sir William Laxton in 1556.

The success of Sanderson can be attributed to his educational ethos; he believed in teaching pupils what they wanted to learn, and as a result helped to introduce subjects such as the sciences, engineering, and to modern languages to the English public school curriculum.

The school has an extensive programme of voluntary clubs and societies (approaching 50 in number), which range from poetry and debating to croquet and wine tasting.

A new subject, Trivium, gives Third Form pupils timetabled engagement with extension topics for their own sake, using methods of thought drawn from the traditional liberal arts.

Outside term time pupils are given the opportunity to participate in the countless regular school trips which explore all corners of the globe.

[6] A large proportion of the school gathers to support the 1st XV rugby team on the Two Acre during the Michaelmas and Christmas quarters.

[6] Musical and non-musical pupils are encouraged to get involved in the house shout and part song competitions in the Lent term which are independently judged and contested fiercely.

Possibly the greatest success in the practice of music at the school is its rock society, which can count the likes of Bruce Dickinson among its earliest members.

[18] The CCF offers pupils the opportunity to practise their leadership skills whether on parade at school, on the termly field weekends, or on the annual camps.

[19] Many pupils choose to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme which provides an ideal combination of the skills they acquire during CCF and Community Action.

She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT Director General, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer.

Former pupils of the school include Professor Maxwell Hutchinson, Past President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Supreme Court Justices of the United Kingdom David Richards, and David Kitchin, evolutionary biologist and science writer Richard Dawkins,[32] rock musician Bruce Dickinson, England rugby players (and twins) Tom and Ben Curry, architect Christopher Alexander, and feminist campaigner, researcher and writer Caroline Criado-Perez.

Three Old Oundelians were awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in the presence of the enemy during the First World War:[33] The official school song is Carmen Undeliense (words by R.F.