The John Fisher School was established in 1929 by The Most Reverend Peter Amigo, Archbishop of Southwark. It is called ‘The John Fisher School’ rather than St John Fisher because its patron saint was not canonised until after the school’s foundation. Initially situated at Duppas Hill in Croydon, the school relocated to Peaks Hill in Purley in 1931. In its early years, the school operated as a fee-paying boys' grammar school. In 1977, it transitioned to a voluntary-aided comprehensive school maintained by the London Borough of Sutton. Between 1992 and 1999, the school was Grant Maintained, after which it reverted to Voluntary-Aided status.
Throughout its history, The John Fisher School has been committed to providing a Catholic education, nurturing students to become the best version of themselves. The school has many distinguished alumni, including: the noted historian, Jack Scarisbrick; Rear Admiral John Walters; actor Bill Nighy; Archbishop Maurice Couve de Murville and Bishop Howard Tripp. An article in the Catholic Herald refered to John Fisher as “the school that’s’ solving the vocations crisis” on account of the large number of former students who have been ordained to the priesthood, including in recent years.
The school has developed a national reputation for sports and academic excellence and hosted the first ever National State School Rugby festival in 2024, attracting schools from all over the country and favourable press coverage from the BBC and The Times among others. The list of sporting alumni is long and includes rugby internationals, Olympic finalists and cricketers.
Roll of Honour