Chair’s Review 2025/26

In my first year as Chair of the Board of Governors, I am delighted to have seen that Finton House School’s core values continue to define our school community and its ethos remains clearly encapsulated in the school motto “open hearts and guiding hands.”

From its inception the school’s aim has been to educate and develop children of all abilities, including some who need dedicated support. This approach continues to be underlined by the school’s values of self-belief, kindness, respect, morality and resilience.

Thanks to the wisdom and generosity of Finton’s founders, it is constituted as an educational charitable trust. This ensures that all efforts are dedicated towards providing the best possible educational experience for the children in the school’s care. Finton House has no external shareholders – which means that any financial surplus is reinvested back into improving pupils’ learning experience.

Finton House further achieves its charitable aims by actively supporting the local community and offering bursaries to children, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from a Finton House education. In terms of community engagement over the last 12 months Finton House has supported six charities including Home Start Wandsworth, Little Village, St George’s Hospital Charity, Tom’s Farm, Trinity Fields and Wandsworth Foodbank. In addition to this Finton House shared its facilities with several local schools including, amongst many, Bertrum House, Donhead Preparatory School, Prospect House School, Smallwood Primary School and White House School.

Following the imposition of VAT, increases in National Insurance and general inflationary pressures the Governors are acutely aware of the financial pressure many parents are facing in privately educating their children. We remain resolutely focused on ensuring that Finton House provides the best value for money with the best educational experience.

The 2025/26 academic year has seen Finton House achieve exceptional results across all disciplines. For a school our size and mixed ability, Finton House is punching way above its weight in all areas, competing against much larger schools both locally and nationally. From a Year 6 cohort of 47 pupils, consisting of 24 boys and 23 girls, they achieved a total of 144 offers from leading secondary schools across the UK, averaging three offers per pupil. This year saw a record 39 scholarships, specifically 16 Academic, 13 Sport, 2 Art, 2 Dance, 2 Drama and 1 All-Rounder.

Beyond our graduating class’s successes, the rest of the school also celebrated an extraordinary array of achievements. Notably, Finton House made history, as the only school ever to win both national tournaments at the IFSA Under 11 seven-a-side Football Cup and the EFL Utilita Kids Cup. 20 Finton artists had their work displayed at the Young Art Exhibition at Christie’s, with six pieces ‘Commended’ and one ‘Highly Commended’. The Quiz Club reached the National Quiz Finals and several pupils achieved individual national honours – including at Cambridge University in the Primary Bee Translation and the Poetry By Heart Best in County Award.

Although significant, these extraordinary achievements are a testament to the school’s educational approach. Beyond the academics, Finton House continues to shape character, empower change-makers and nurture the global citizens of tomorrow, guided always by the school’s core values.

Recent marketing analysis and parental survey feedback highlight that word-of-mouth recommendations from past and present families play a vital role in our ongoing success, alongside the dedicated work of Finton’s staff and community. Thanks to their collective effort, the school is entering the 2026/27 year with a full school role for which I and my fellow Governors are deeply grateful.

We are far from resting on our laurels or replying on Finton’s strong reputation. As Governors our focus is to help the continuous building on these strengths to ensure the long-term, sustainable success of Finton House. As always, the success of Finton House rests on the excellence of our teaching and support team led by our Headmaster, Ben Freeman and his Senior Leadership Team who make Finton House what it is today. Their dedication, open mindedness and intellectual curiosity to constantly seek new and better ways to enhance pupils’ development and learning experience is exemplary.

The successful introduction and roll out of the PSB Learning Skills aimed at developing independent enquiry, research, writing and presentation skills, all key lifelong skills, is a wonderful example of this. My fellow Governors and I are extremely fortunate to work with such a dedicated and talented executive team who are the beating heart of the school.

In these challenging times all Governors are acutely aware that global and economic changes are happening all around us. We recently held a strategy day involving the Governors and the Senior Leadership Team which concluded that, whilst not being complacent in the face of numerous challenges facing the private education sector, Finton House does occupy a unique space in the marketplace. We are determined to maintain this for the years ahead so future cohorts of children can continue to enjoy the benefits of a Finton House education.

I am extremely fortunate and humbled to have been appointed Chair of Governors. To be able to support and help to guide such a unique and special school continues to be a great privilege. My own children attended Finton House over 25 years ago and to find that the founding ethos of the school has remained unchanged and is as relevant today as it was in 1987 is a testament to all my predecessors and the founder’s foresight. As Governors we are determined to maintain Finton House’s unique character, spirit and values in the years ahead.

James Vickers
Chair of Governors