Ardingly College

Ardingly College was founded as "St Saviour’s College", Shoreham, in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard whose aim was to provide education firmly grounded in the Christian faith.{{cite book | last = Gibbs | first = David | title = A School with a View: A History of Ardingly College 1858–2008 | publisher = James & James Publishers Ltd | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1-903942-83-3}}

St Saviour's College opened on 12 April 1858, occupying the New Shoreham buildings in the lee of the churchyard of St Mary de Haura which had been vacated by another Woodard School, Lancing College, when it moved to its permanent home in April 1858. The site at Shoreham however was never intended to be permanent and it was left to Woodard to scour the South of England for a suitable permanent location for St Saviour's School.

In 1861 Woodard came across the 196 acre (0.79 km²) Saucelands estate at the southern edge of Ardingly village, which was acquired in 1862 for £6,000. Woodard employed Richard Carpenter as the school's architect, and the foundation stone at Ardingly was laid on 12 July 1864 by Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville. St Saviour's College moved to the partially completed site at Ardingly on 14 June 1870 when the new school was officially opened by the Bishop of Chichester, with the inaugural sermon delivered by Samuel Wilberforce.

File:Ardingly College poscard.jpg of the 'Main Schools']]

Today Ardingly occupies a 420-acre (1.7 km²) site situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.{{cite web|url=http://www.ardingly.com/article_22.shtml |title=Ardingly College |access-date=20 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080717183136/http://www.ardingly.com/article_22.shtml |archive-date=17 July 2008 |url-status=dead }} Ardingly is divided into three autonomous schools, comprising a Pre-Preparatory School catering for pupils aged 2½ –7, Junior School catering for pupils aged 7–13 and Senior School for pupils aged 13–18.{{cite web|url=http://www.ardingly.com/schools.shtml |title=Ardingly College – One College, Three Schools |access-date=29 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613163715/http://www.ardingly.com/schools.shtml |archive-date=13 June 2008 |url-status=dead }} Both Junior and Senior Schools accommodate boarders who make up the majority of the Senior School student population.{{cite web|url=http://www.woodard.co.uk/ardingly_college.htm |title=Woodard Schools – Ardingly College |access-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006181824/http://www.woodard.co.uk/ardingly_college.htm |archive-date=6 October 2008 }} All Junior and Senior School students are assigned to a boarding house in which boarders live and study and where day-pupils have study areas. File:The Masters of Ardingly College.jpg of Ardingly in 1904]]

The college's Combined Cadet Force was established in 1902 in the wake of the Second Boer War. Around 1,200 Old Ardinians went on to fight in the First World War, 146 of whom were killed, along with two former members of staff; their names are recorded on the war memorial in the college chapel. In addition, 88 Old Ardinians died in the Second World War; their names are recorded in a book of remembrance in the crypt and on the memorial board in the Under.

In 1958, the school celebrated its centenary. On 9 June 1958, as part of the celebrations, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Ardingly. A stone plaque on the terrace parapet commemorates the visit, where she "beheld the view". Later that week, on 14 June 1958, the then Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, visited the school to open the Centenary Building, which comprises the college cricket pavilion and upstairs Centenary Room. On 8 May 2008, the Duke of Kent visited Ardingly as part of its sesquicentenary celebrations and officially opened a new teaching block at the pre-preparatory school.{{cite web|url=http://www.ardingly.com/article_469.shtml |title=Ardingly College – 150th Anniversary Celebration |access-date=22 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724160721/http://www.ardingly.com/article_469.shtml |archive-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead }} According to a Freedom of Information Request the school withdrew from the Teacher’s Pension Scheme on the 31st December 2020.{{cite web | url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/763181/response/1830358/attach/3/FOI%20Response%20Smail.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 | title=Teachers Pension Scheme - Independent Schools - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Education | date=6 June 2021 }}

File:Boys at Ardingly Public school.jpg break at Ardingly in the early 1900s]]

There are three academic terms in the year:{{cite web |url= http://www.ardingly.com/Term-Dates |title= The Michaelmas Half |publisher= Ardingly College |access-date= 9 September 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160917235944/http://www.ardingly.com/Term-Dates |archive-date= 17 September 2016 |url-status= dead }}

• The Michaelmas term, from early September to mid December. New pupils are now admitted only at the start of the Michaelmas Half, unless in exceptional circumstances.
• The Lent term, from mid-January to late March.
• The Trinity term, from late April to late June or early July.

Similarly, there are five academic years:{{cite web |url= http://www.ardingly.com/Introduction-to-Admissions |title= Years at Ardingly |publisher =Ardingly College }}

• "Shell", pupils in their first year at Ardingly (year 9).
• "Remove", pupils in their second year at Ardingly (year 10).
• "Fifth", pupils in their third year at Ardingly (year 11).
• "Lower Sixth", pupils in their fourth year at Ardingly (year 12) which start studying for their A levels or IB.
• "Upper Sixth", pupils in their fifth and last year at Ardingly (year 13).

{{main|Ardingly College Chapel}}

File:Stained-glass windows at the chapel of St. Saviour, Ardingly College.jpg windows at the Chapel of St Saviour]]

The Grade II listed chapel bears the historical name of the school, being laid the foundation stone 12 July 1864. The architects were R. H. Carpenter and William Slater. The structures are in Gothic Revival style in red brick and tiled rooftops. The chapel possesses the east end of the mid block, having four bays each containing a glass-stained window of Decorated sort. It stretches out into a further two narrows east of the west wing. Over the rooftop there is a bell tower.Letts, S; Ardingly: Its Building and Buildings. Old Ardinians Society (1985)

In 1976, cartoonist Nick Newman was expelled from Ardingly in his last term of Upper Sixth for wiring the Chapel to play rock music during a school Mass.{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=163015|title = Collections Online | British Museum}}

File:Frederick Mertens.jpg

{{colbegin|colwidth=25em}}

• 1858–1894 Frederick Mertens
• 1894–1904 Francis Hilton
• 1904–1911 Herbert Rhodes
• 1911–1914 Marchant Pearson
• 1915–1932 Thomas Wilson
• 1933–1946 Ernest Crosse
• 1947–1961 George Snow
• 1962–1980 Christopher Bulteel
• 1980–1998 James Flecker
• 1998–2007 John Franklin
• 2007–2014 Peter Green
• 2014–Present  Ben Figgis

{{colend}}

The school has its own Masonic lodge, Ardingly College Lodge, which is a member of the Public School Lodges council.{{cite web |url=http://www.pslc.net/|title=Public School Lodges' Council|access-date=20 July 2008}} The lodge, which is open to male Old Ardinians as well as those with an affiliation to the college, was founded in 1922 by the then headmaster, Thomas Erskine Wilson, together with masters, the Provost of the school and the Bishop of Lewes.{{cite web|url=http://www.parabola.co.uk/ardingly.htm |title=Ardingly College Lodge |access-date=7 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123054423/http://www.parabola.co.uk/ardingly.htm |archive-date=23 November 2008 }}

Freemasonry at Ardingly takes its form from the Enlightenment in England during the 18th century, and shares characteristics with charitable organizations. It provides a common meeting place for Old Ardinian men with similar interests.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ardinglycollegelodge.org.uk/index.html |title=Welcome to Ardingly College Lodge |access-date=11 April 2018 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704012811/http://ardinglycollegelodge.org.uk/index.html |url-status=dead }}

File:Rifle range at Ardingly College.jpg boys of Ardingly at one of the school's rifle range's in 1919]]

The Ardingly College Combined Cadet Force, or CCF, has existed in its various forms since 1902, with the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The Ardingly College CCF is split into six categories. These are Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, Drum Corps and Marching Band. The Army section is affiliated to the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, allowing cadets to take part in military and adventure training not readily available to non-cadets.[http://www.ardingly.com/Charity-and-Service Charity and Service | Ardingly College]

Ardingly takes part in the World Solar Challenge, a biennial solar-powered car race in Australia. The school's students worked in the project for three years, achieving to complete the race 23 October 2015.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34614424/uk-school-crosses-australia-in-solar-car-challenge UK school crosses Australia in solar car challenge – BBC Newsbeat]

The current patron of Ardingly Solar is Prince Albert II.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ardingly.com/Solar-Car-Sixth|title = Solar Car Project}}

File:Cricket Pavilion at Ardingly College.jpg]]

As of the academic year 2024/25, Shell–5th boarding fees are £44,775 per annum while Shell–5th day fees are £29,463 per annum. Sixth form boarding fees are £46,422 per annum, while Sixth form day fees are £30,318 per annum.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-01 |title=Ardingly College: Admissions and Fees |url=https://www.ardingly.com/admissions/fees/ |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Ardingly College |language=en-GB}}

{{main|Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip: An emotional history of Britain}}

The school was featured in the second episode of the BBC series Stiff Upper Lip: An emotional History of Britain, where the protagonist Ian Hislop returns to Ardingly, his former school, to describe his experiences there as well as the impact of the British public school system in shaping men in Victorian era.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nd1ly BBC Two – Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip – An Emotional History of Britain, Heyday]

In February 2014, the BBC confirmed that several fossils had been discovered at the school grounds. The remains were found by staff and pupils during the construction of a new boarding house for girls. According to the Natural History Museum and Imperial College in London, some of these bones were around 140 million years old.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26051391 Ardingly College dinosaur find confirmed – BBC News]

{{main|List of Old Ardinians}}

Notable former pupils include four former Conservative MPs, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, actor Terry-Thomas,'TERRY-THOMAS, (Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens)', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016 author Neil Gaiman, band leader Victor Silvester,'SILVESTER, Victor Marlborough', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016 Formula One World Champion Mike Hawthorn, and Crufts dog show founder Charles Cruft.

Fictional Old Ardinians include Tim Nice-But-Dim from The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11764687/In-defence-of-the-Tim-Nice-But-Dims.html In defence of the 'Tim Nice-But-Dims' – Telegraph][https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/4263659/Ardinian-creation.html Ardinian creation – Telegraph]

File:Making a Splash - Formidable obstacles in Ardingly College steeplechase.webm

{{main|SR V Schools class}}

The school lent its name to the eighteenth steam locomotive (Engine 917) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40.{{cite web |url=http://www.semgonline.com/steam/v_classdat.html|title=Southern Railway Schools Class|access-date=29 June 2008}} This class was also known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English public schools. Ardingly, as it was called, was built in 1934 and withdrawn in 1962.

• Argent, N; Ardingly College 1939–1990. Autolycus Press (1991)
• Gibbs, D; A School with a View: A History of Ardingly College 1858–2008. James & James Publishers Ltd (2008)
• Letts, S; Ardingly: Its Building and Buildings. Old Ardinians Society (1985)
• Perry, R; Ardingly 1858–1946: A History of the School. Old Ardinians Society (1951)

• List of SR V "Schools" class locomotives

• {{note|reference_name_A|a}}Ardingly Green (#01613a), seal brown (#59260B) and mellow yellow (#FDEE00).

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Ardingly College}}

• [http://www.ardingly.com/ Ardingly College website]

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