Lord Wandsworth College

Lord Wandsworth College is named after Baron Sydney Stern, a Liberal MP and the second son of a Jewish banker. Granted a peerage less than four years after winning the seat of Stowmarket in 1891, Stern took the title of Lord Wandsworth in reflection of his many links with the area.   When he died in 1912 he left a generous bequest to educate the children of agricultural workers; children who had lost one or both parents and needed the support of a boarding environment.  Lord Wandsworth’s Trustees purchased the site on which the College now stands and the first ‘Foundationers’ arrived in 1922, followed by fee-paying students in 1945.  Our site houses the College buildings, our considerable facilities and Stern Farm. This arable farm provides a timely reminder of those early students and of the College’s agricultural heritage.

Today, Lord Wandsworth College is a  successful, well-respected boarding and day school for 560 boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.  Located in 1200 acres of rolling countryside on the North Hampshire/Surrey border, LWC offers a broad, well-balanced curriculum and an incredible range of sports, activities and co-curricular opportunities.  Committed to upholding the wishes of Lord Wandsworth, every year the Lord Wandsworth Foundation offers a number of assisted ‘Foundation’ places to children who have lost the support of one or both parents and would benefit from an outstanding education in a caring, nurturing environment. Our Foundationers come from a very wide range of backgrounds and have faced difficult challenges in their personal lives; we are proud that our Foundation has such a positive impact on them as well as the friends, housemates and teammates who live and work alongside them.

We believe that cognitive ability is not the primary determining factor in the happiness, prosperity and positive contribution to society of our pupils.  It is one’s character and application that really shape one’s destiny.  At LWC we aim to establish a foundation upon which all pupils feel able to build a full and happy life. We want them to leave school with a better understanding of who they are, their strengths, moral values and aspirations.  To achieve this we need to equip pupils with emotional intelligence and literacy, a growth mind-set and a schooling in the characteristics that allow a person to be a good, decent member of society.  This is called our character education programme.

Character is who you are.  It is what makes you…you.  It is what you believe in and how you act with others and when you are on your own.  It is your values and your virtues.

Every aspect of the delivery of the curriculum, co-curriculum and pastoral provision endeavours to imbue pupils with the following “moral” character attributes: Fairness, Generosity, Empathy, Gratitude, Loyalty, Courage.  Learning and achievement will be rewarded emphasising Perseverance, Self-control, Engagement, Optimism, Curiosity and Creativity.  These “performance” attributes are taught, monitored and developed by every member of staff in all areas of school life.  By promoting character education, we give our pupils the best chance of realising their full potential.