Ardingly College

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Ardingly College
Motto "Beati Mundo Corde"
(Latin:Blessed are the pure in heart)
Established 1858
Type Public School
Religious affiliation Church of England
Headmaster Mr Peter Green
Chairman of Governors Mr Robert Alston CMG
Founder Canon Nathaniel Woodard
Location Ardingly
West Sussex
England Flag of England
Students c.750
Gender Mixed
Ages 2 to 18
School colours Senior School:

Blue and Yellow          

Junior School:
Green and Yellow          
Former pupils Old Ardinians
Affiliation Woodard Corporation
Website www.ardingly.com

Ardingly College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard.[1] The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present location in 1870.[2] The school's headmaster, Peter Green, is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the school is a member of the Woodard Corporation of independent schools and as such has a strong Anglo-catholic tradition.[3] The school became fully co-educational in 1982.[4]

Contents

Overview

Ardingly is divided into three autonomous schools, comprising a Pre-Preparatory School catering for pupils aged 2 1/2 to 7, Junior School catering for pupils aged 7-13 and Senior School for pupils aged 13-18. Both Junior and Senior Schools accommodate boarders, who make up the majority of the student population. In all, the college has approximately 750 pupils. 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. As is the case with many traditional boarding schools, there are certain rivalries between houses.

As of the academic year 2007/08 Senior School day fees are approximately £17,500 per year, with Senior School boarding fees approximately £23,000, though a number of bursaries and scholarships are available.[5]

Academic

In 2001 the school introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme enabling students entering the sixth-form to choose between the conventional A-Levels or the IB programme.

In 2007 Ardingly was 13th in the UK based on the average points of sixth formers taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.[6] In the same year The Times ranked Ardingly 83rd in the UK in terms of the average UCAS points achieved per pupil; pupils achieved an average of 386.8 UCAS points, with 40% of A-Level entries being awarded A grades.[7]

Buildings & areas

  • The main school building is a three-storey, H-shaped red brick building, built of red brick extracted from the nearby Kiln Pond, incorporating the Under and Green Room, the Dining Hall and the later added kitchen extension, the Chapel (properly St. Savior's Chapel) and four wings below.
    Main School as viewed from Junior School
    Main School as viewed from Junior School
  • South School: A wing of the Main School including the Boys' Laundry, the Computer or ICT Suite, a (mainly) English classroom called SS29, 'The Corridor of Power' (where the Headmaster, The Deputy, The Director of Studies, the Chaplin, The IB Coordinator, Director of Co-curricular Studies, and their secretaries have their offices) and the former location of the Houses of Mertens and Hilton, the former now a suite of Mathematics classes and the latter due for renovation in the 2007-2008 year.
  • School House: A wing of the Main School including the Drama workshops, Learning support classrooms, Crosse House, and the former location of Rhodes house, recently redesigned to accommodate several Art Studios and a gallery.
  • Junior School Wing: A wing of the Main School housing the Junior School Houses, some classrooms and the Studio, a Theatre and Cinema used by the Junior School.
    Main School
    Main School
  • The New Wing or ABC block: A four-storied later edition to the Main School where most lessons are held in classrooms on the top three floors, respectively know as A, B and C floors downwards. The A floor comprises Languages and Geography classrooms, the B floor is home to the History and English Departments, and the two rooms on C floor are the abode of Religious Studies and Theory of Knowledge. Also on the C floor is found the McLaren Library. Below the C floor are the offices of various departments, the server room and the newly refurbished Lower Library, used for lectures, film screenings and as an extra classroom. Steps at the Chapel end of the New Wing provide access to the Tower and the Organ Loft in the Chapel.
  • The Snow Quad: The area between the New Wing, the road and the CCF Hut. Used mainly as a turning circle and car-park, The Snow Quad also includes the Snow Building, home to resident staff, Gap Students and staff offices.
  • The Language Lab Quad: The area enclosed by the South School, The Headmaster's Garden & House and the Crypt and Chapel. The Language Lab Quad is mainly occupied by the Modern Languages Building, incorporating the offices of the Modern Languages department and the Language Lab, a classroom with technology for recording and listening to cassettes of the language being studied. The equipment is in need of replacing however, and the epitaph on the desks gives an idea of just how old - 'Made in W[est] Germany'.
  • The Headmaster's House and Garden:Home to the present Headmaster of the College.
  • CCF Hut Used by the College's CCF students, including the armory and the Rifle Range.
  • The South Quad & Terrace: The open area between the South School, the West Wing and The Cloisters, is mostly lawn, with a wide gravel path down the centre and a red-brick path around the edges. The Terrace consists of a concrete surface at the far end of the Quad, used for School Photographs, Fire Practices and the like. The Terrace terminates with a low brick parapet, from which the famous view can be beheld. A stone plaque commemorates Her Majesty the Queen's visit to the school, where she 'beheld the view' Below the parapet is the Headmaster's Garden, beyond is 9-Acre.
  • The North Quad, The open area bounded by the New Wing, the Chapel and Dining Hall and the East Wing used as parking and drop-off zone.

Terminology

Main school as viewed from the Terrace
Main school as viewed from the Terrace

Much of Ardingly slang is the same as other public school slang, however there are numerous Ardingly-specific phrases which are sometimes perplexing to outsiders.

  • Boundaries: A 4 mile cross country run around some of the school borders, Balcombe reservoir and Viaduct, sometimes issued as a punishment.
  • Callover: registration in houses.
  • Congers: congregational hymn practice in chapel.
  • Crypt: A compulsory chapel service in the mornings. Each House paired with another house for their weekly Crypt service - a quick philosophical/religious reflection by a member of the teaching staff, most often the Chaplain, accompanied by prayers. A Sunday evening (optional) Eucharist is also held in the Crypt.
  • Evening School: a period in which boarders and any students staying late, are to do their homework in their respective houses. This lasts from 19:15 (after dinner) until 20:45.
  • Hoggy: high tea.
  • Gobbos name given to the operatives in the kitchen, laundry or cleaning departments, said to relate to Lancelot Gobbo, the servant in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
  • Task: a piece of homework.
    The College entrance
    The College entrance
  • The Bricks: the bricked walk in front of Junior School, and the brick path around the edge of the South Quad.
  • The Heath: Haywards Heath (nearby town).
  • The San: the School Sanatorium (although now officially known as the 'Health Centre').
  • The Steepo: annual three and a half mile run in which all students participate.
  • The Under: staged venue located above the dining hall, which plays host to school plays, concerts etc.
  • The Vill: the village (i.e. Ardingly itself).
  • Tolly: butter or (more usually) margarine
  • Weekend leave: boarders may gain permission to leave on Saturday or Friday and return on Sunday evening or Monday night.
  • Long Leave: the name given (mainly by staff) to the termly mid-term break.
  • The Cinders: the path down to the Kiln and Games fields.

Moreover, Ardingly, in common with a number of other public schools, has an unusual system for naming the school years; in the senior school, Year 9 is referred to as 'Shell', Year 10 is known as 'Remove', and Year 11 is called 'Fifth or Vth'.

Notable Old Ardinians

Past students of Ardingly College are referred to as Old Ardinians. See also Category:Old Ardinians.

Academia

Main school as viewed from the headmaster's garden
Main school as viewed from the headmaster's garden

Media

Politics

Diplomatic Service

Arts

The Church

Sport

Miscellaneous

Notable Staff Members

Headmasters of Ardingly College

  • The Revd Frederick Mertens (1858 - 1894)
  • The Revd F.K. Hilton (1894 - 1904)
  • The Revd Herbert Rhodes (1904 - 1911)
  • The Revd Marchant Pearson (1911 - 1914)
  • The Revd Thomas Erskine Wilson (1915 - 1932)
  • The Revd Ernest Courtenay Crosse (1933 - 1946)
  • The Revd George D'Oyly Snow (1947 - 1961)
  • Christopher Bulteel (1962 - 1980)
  • James Flecker (1980 - 1998)
  • John Franklin (1998 - 2007)
  • Peter Green (2007 - )

Houses

Junior School:

House   Type  
Arundel      Junior House
Bodiam      Junior House
Bramber      Junior House
Pevensey      Junior House

Senior School:

House   Colours   Type  
Mertens (A)          Boys' Boarding house, Shell - LVIth (Housed in New Mertens)
Hilton (B)          Boys' Boarding house, Shell - LVIth (Housed in New Hilton)
Rhodes (E)          Boys' Day house, Shell - LVIth (Housed in New Rhodes)
Crosse (H)          Boys' Day house, Shell - LVIth (Housed in Crosse - the only house still in its original position in the main school)
Neal Girls' house, Shell - Vth (Housed in Woodlands)
Aberdeen Girls' house - Shell - Vth (Housed in Woodlands)
Toynbee Girls' house - LVIth only (Housed in Pearce, next to Woodlands)
Woodard UVIth only, both male and female accommodation (Housed in the Woodard Building)

Trivia

  • The School lent its name to the eighteenth steam locomotive (Engine 917) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40. 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.The locomotive bearing the School's name was withdrawn in the early 1960s.
  • The Head Boy, according to tradition, has the right to keep a goat in the Headmaster's garden, although this right is rarely exercised. Other privileges bestowed upon Head Boy include the right to grow a beard and smoke a pipe (the only pupil allowed to do so). Moreover, should the Head Boy and Head Girl ever marry (after leaving), they are offered the use of a house in the school grounds for the first year of their marriage.
  • The four grass rectangles in the two quads are out of bounds for most students, except full school colours holders, prefects and the Head Boy and Girl. On house activities day, the Left lawn is used for croquet and the gravel pathway between is used for pétanque.
  • The red-brick main school building was originally designed to be comprised of two adjoining quadrangles, mimicking the quadrangles of Oxford University, with an adjoining archway and chapel, dining hall and Under in the centre, with four wings joined to form a figure of eight shape but the project was never finished at Ardingly (as it was at Hurstpierpoint and Lancing) leaving the four wings 'Floating'. The two open areas that are semi-enclosed are however, still known as the North and South Quads.

References

  1. ^ Independent Schools - Ardingly College. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  2. ^ History of Ardingly, West Sussex. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  3. ^ HMC Schools. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  4. ^ UK School Guide - Ardingly College. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
  5. ^ Ardingly College Fees 07/08. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  6. ^ UK IB League Table 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  7. ^ The Times A-Level Results 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.

Further reading

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

External links