The John Fisher School was founded in 1929 by The Most Reverend Peter Amigo, Archbishop-Bishop of Southwark; the original premises were at Duppas Hill in Croydon.
In its first year, the School community consisted of twenty students and four members of teaching staff led by the first Headmaster of the School, Canon Byrne.
The School moved in 1930 to Peaks Hill, Purley, and until 1977 it was a fee-paying boys Grammar School. In that year the School became a Voluntary-Aided comprehensive school maintained by the London Borough of Sutton. From 1992-1999 the School was Grant Maintained following which it reverted to Voluntary-Aided status. In 1998 the School expanded to six forms of entry admitting 150 boys each year, and in recent years the Governors have further increased the number of boys admitted into Year 7 to 180 students.
At present there are 1165 students on roll, 230 of whom are Sixth Formers. In recent years the School has developed close links with other local schools, particularly St Philomena’s Catholic High School for Girls, in offering a range of courses at Sixth Form level.
Memories of Our School
In July 2013, The John Fisher School hit the airwaves with the broadcast of 'Memories of Our School' on Ridge Radio. This Local History Project was the inspiration of Ms Tanya Smith, Head of History who, together with a team of dedicated History students, embarked on a mission to interview past and present members of our school - both students and staff.
A forty minute-long radio feature, including an extract of the programme featuring our school during the second world war, was broadcast from the studios of Ridge Radio. The radio programme included interviews with Ms Smith together with three of the many students who took part in the project; Tom Foster, Will Simpson and Michael O'Leary. This is the second Local History project undertaken by our students, with the support of The Bourne Society - in 2012 they researched and produced a special film on the History of Croydon Airport.
Congratulations and thanks to all those who contributed to the making of this unique oral history programme which will help to preserve our school's special history for many years to come.