Runnymede College is a private school which offers a British education to boys and girls of all nationalities from the age of 2 to 18. The Senior School (11 to 18 years of age) was founded in 1967 and the Junior School in 1987.
The aims of the School are:
1. To provide an all-round academic, humanistic education to all pupils regardless of their sex, race, religion or nationality. There is no religious education.
2. To help children to maximise their potential, whether intellectual, artistic or physical by expecting high standards and using methods appropriate to achieve this. Health education is an integral part of the curriculum and also a part of the way of life. Smoking is forbidden.
3. To encourage positive social attitudes: respect and consideration for others, of all ages, whether younger children, classmates or teachers, visitors, ancillary staff, secretaries, dining-room staff, groundsmen etc. Good manners and personal cleanliness and appearance are considered very important.
4. To create the conditions of a happy atmosphere we believe that in an unstructured environment children feel insecure. Reasonable discipline is maintained, and the School rules are known to all.
5. The education described above, academic, artistic and sporting, and the civilised atmosphere of the School, help to prepare pupils for adult life. This is supplemented by specific advice about careers and further and higher education.

The Junior School

The Junior School has more than 250 pupils currently on roll and provides a British education for children from the ages of 2 to 11. All teachers are British and fully qualified. The maximum number of children per class is 22. The school is committed to academic excellence and sets high standards of behaviour and social conduct, fostering the development of mutual respect and responsibility. Children are prepared for entry to the Senior School (for which they sit an exam) and also for independent and state schools in Britain, the U.S.A. and elsewhere.

The curriculum mirrors the current developments in the United Kingdom although many of our children are capable of exceeding National Curriculum levels. At the Infant stage (5 to 7) the subject areas are integrated, but careful records are kept to ensure essential skills are covered. The integrated approach is continued in the Junior years (7 to 11) but by year 5 a more specialised, subject-area method is followed in preparation for the Secondary School. As well as the basic subject areas–English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, and Art (and Craft, Design and Technology)–children are also taught Music and a foreign language, Spanish. The use of computers as a teaching aid is gradually being extended across the curriculum.

P.E. is taught by specialists twice a week. There is a fully equipped gymnasium and children are taught basic skills and take part in team games. Sports include football, basketball, cricket, swimming, cross-country running and riding.

Visits to concerts, museums, and zoos as well as to places of historical and cultural importance are seen as an important aspect of School life. Trips to a farm and camping weekends Are also organised. Other extra-curricular activities, according to demand include the production of school newspapers, a chess club, a drama club, and a computer club.

The Senior School

Founded in 1967, the School has earned renown amongst parents from all over the world as a centre of academic excellence, borne witness to by the large number of Old-Runnymedians that every year enter prestigious Universities in the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Europe and Asia. The G.C.S.E. and A Level examinations taken are also recognized by Spanish Universities.

In the first five years, pupils have the opportunity to be prepared for the (International) General Certificate of Secondary Education in ten of the following subjects: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, World History, Geography, French, Spanish, Latin, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Music and Art. Special importance is given to advanced courses in Hispanic Literature, History and Culture. There are regular computer classes, and computers are used in the teaching of some subjects. In the last two years of the Senior School, all the above subjects are available to the Advanced Level of the General Certificate of Education except Music. Economics is also offered.

Physical Education is an integral part of the curriculum. Sports include: football, basketball, volley-ball, hockey and riding. There is an annual ski week.
Extra-curricular activities include debates and quizzes, a chess club, a choir and a recorder ensemble, the production of newspapers and news sheets, cultural visits to art, science and archaeology museums, concerts, French and Spanish films and theatre, and field trips to places of historical interest.

All the teachers are fully qualified and most are graduates with teaching qualifications with previous experience.
The total number of pupils in the Senior School is about 250. A majority come from English-speaking countries: 40% from the U.K., 15% from the U.S.A., several from Commonwealth countries.
There is a Parents’ Council which facilitates communication between parents and the School. Among other activities it has a Welcoming Committee to help new families settle in.