Welcome to the Priory C of E School, which is situated on the outskirts of Dorking in the beautiful Surrey Hills countryside. The school is a thriving, vibrant and oversubscribed 11-16 Church of England school of 811 students.    

The Priory School has a very positive ethos which encourages all students to feel confident and enjoy their learning. The school has many strengths; students who are motivated and successful, a highly professional and enthusiastic staff and good partnerships with our parents. We have excellent facilities with high quality pastoral care and offer activites which encourages each student to achieve his or her very best.

The Priory School is all about high standards and expectations in all aspects of school life. We place great importance on achievement and success for all students.

Good teaching provides pace, challenge and opportunities for students to develop their unique strengths, talents and skills. This is matched by good facilities, a vibrant learning community and a strong partnership with parents.  

We aim to provide the highest quality teaching and therefore expect the highest standards of work and behaviour. The school aims to provide an educational environment which encourages students to become confident, competent, self reliant and happy members of society, fully prepared for adult life and the world of work.  

“Behaviour is outstanding and students are well prepared for their future economic well being through improved standards in English and mathematics, and good skills in information and communication technology.” OFSTED  

At the heart of the school community is a set a shared values from which they seek to act. At The Priory we believe that every student should be given the opportunity to thrive at school and beyond. They seek to celebrate the positive aspects of diversity within our community. We believe that all persons have a part to play in leading each other to respectful and responsible attitudes in our school community and beyond.  

The Priory School is a Voluntary Aided Church of England school and we believe that every student has a right to the highest standards of teaching and learning in a caring, supportive and nurturing learning environment.   We place great emphasis on our relationship with parents, dealing with issues in a thorough and sensitive way and we realise that support from home does much to aid the progress of each and every student. As a school, we work with strong Christian values to ensure the education of the whole student. As a Christian school we recognise the example offered to us of the perfect form of relationship through The Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this relationship the qualities of equality, honesty, humility, sacrificial love and generosity are revealed.  

“The values of the school are well articulated and are lived out by the learners preparing them to be confident and successful young people when they leave The Priory. The relationships are excellent and underpin the family atmosphere where all young people and adults are valued and respected.” SIAS Inspection

The Enlighten Learning Trust (ELT) was born from the Esher Learning Trust in Autumn 2020, which was founded in March 2014.

The re-naming of the Trust was undertaken to provide a break from the original founding school as we have grown to partner with other schools. We want to be clear that there is equality among the constituent schools and that we are a family of schools who have mutual goals and values.

At the Enlighten Learning Trust we believe that education can help bring about social change. We aim to realise that potential by building and supporting a network of schools that not only provide excellent education, but redress inequalities of access and opportunity, inspire and foster aspiration, and nurture the enjoyment of learning, creative expression, and practical application.

To find out more about ELT, please click here