Warlingham Park School has been in existence since September 1986 when it opened its doors to the very first intake of children. There has, however, been a school on this site for many years. The original schoolroom was opened in 1834 by the curate of Chelsham, Richard Crampton Fell. Further expansion took place when it became St. Leonard's School, which was maintained by Surrey County Council until the summer of 1984.

The Independent Primary and Secondary Education Trust (IPSET) negotiated a lease for the school, completing the purchase of the freehold in September 1989.  Since then there have been many developments including the conversion of the old swimming pool building into the Sexton Hall.  This provides an assembly hall and theatre as well as a sports pavilion and changing rooms, with the Millennium extension providing new classrooms.

The school's founder, Stuart Sexton, was an adviser to the Secretary of State for Education and Science at a time when the value of practical work, in particular technology, was being realised. By combining these workshop skills and computer understanding with traditional teaching methods for English and Maths, a balanced modern education could be achieved. Although nationally many of the ideas centred on secondary education, Mr Sexton strongly believed that the same successes could be achieved in the primary sector. Suffice it to say that this innovation met with great interest and many headteachers and others from all spheres of education came to see the school and learn from its methods. Today, almost all primary schools are involved in the teaching of technology and computer skills. This in itself is a reflection of the pioneering work done by this school