A Tradition of Development
The Leys has never benefited from a large capital endowment and has always relied on the generosity of its friends and supporters to meet the School’s evolving needs. The Leys was founded on an act of charity and the extraordinary support of successive generations of Old Leysians, parents and friends of the School have enabled it to carry out a number of key physical developments over the last 134 years:
| 1875 | Founding of The Leys. Supporters are asked to subscribe £50 (Donors) or £100 (Life Donors) towards a total endowment target of £15,000 (the equivalent of £700,000 at 2009 prices). |
| 1893 | The Kelvin Building, which today houses the Bursary and Development Office, is opened providing the School's first dedicated science facilities. |
| 1905 | At the request of the Chairman of Governors, Sir George Hayter Chubb, a small group of leading Methodists and Old Leysians provide funding for the construction of the School Chapel. The building is completed in 1906. |
| 1930 | Donations enable the School to purchase the Latham Road playing fields. |
| 1973 | The Queens Building is opened. It currently houses teaching resources for English, Drama and Theatre Studies. |
| 1987 | The Percy Rugg Centre, housing new facilities for technology and the creative arts, is completed with major support from the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation and contributions from parents and Old Leysians. |
| 2002 | The Clapham Building is opened by HRH Prince Phillip, housing spacious modern classrooms for the teaching of Humanities subjects, a computer room, Sixth Form seminar rooms and the School’s Archive Centre. |
| 2005 | The Music School opens following a successful four year Development Campaign which raises £1.38m. |
| 2008 | The Sports Pavilion project is finished with support from a number of Old Leysians, completing the final phase of sports facilities development begun in the 1990s with the construction of the Sports Hall and the Neil White all-weather hockey pitch. |