School History

St. David's Schoool in Purley was founded in 1912 by two Welsh sisters, the Misses Talfourd-Jones, hence the name. Miss Bailey was the principal from 1928 to 1944, when Miss D Clark, a member of staff since 1930, became Headmistress.

During the Second World War a second school was opened in a farmhouse called Upton Wold in Gloucestershire and some staff and children were evacuated to it. The two schools ran for four years and then towards the end of the war Upton Wold closed and St David's became itself again.

In 1960 the school became a non-profit making educational trust and various alterations and additions were made to the buildings.

The school is a member of the Independent Schools' Association, which is a constituent member of the Independent Schools' Council. St. David's holds full Accreditation status as a result of inspections carried out by the above body. Click here to see the report of our Autumn 2008 inspection.

Further expansion occurred under the leadership of Mrs Stranack, who became Headmistress in 1979 following Miss Clark's retirement. Mrs Stranack retired in 1991 and Mrs Lynne Randall, who had held the post for seven years, was appointed Head.

Further facilities continued to be developed, including a new Design and Technology room.

On the retirement of Lynn Randall in 1999 Mrs Lindsay Nash assumed responsibility for the headship having been a member of staff and then Deputy Head for eight years.

In April 2003 major building work was embarked upon, which provided a new hall, music room, two classrooms and a reinstated kitchen plus further enhancement of most other areas.

In September 2007 Mr Vincent Fox was appointed Headmaster of St. David's.

The maximum pupil number of 172 remains the status quo.