The first headmistress was Miss Margaret Whyte, and there were 80 pupils on the opening day, 17 January 1884.

It has been listed in "Top 100 Independent School" Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, November 2011.

In the period between the world wars the buildings were extended westward along Cheam Road, and in 1932 Suffolk House was acquired.

In the 1990s a new "Garden Building" was built, and the former Dene Hotel was bought and converted into a sixth form unit.

The school opened its new sustainability-built prep building, Fernwood House,[3] and its new MUGA or multi use games area[4] in September 2022.