Ardingly College

Ardingly College is an independent co-education school for pupils aged 2 – 18 offering both A level and IB. Founded in 1858, Ardingly College is a school of over 1050 pupils, including those in the Prep and Pre-Prep. Located in the beautiful Sussex countryside nestled in 230 acres, Ardingly College also benefits from being twelve minutes by train from the vibrant university city of Brighton, while London is 45 minutes away by train and Gatwick airport 20 minutes by car.

Senior School

The Senior School is a co-educational day and boarding school with approximately 620 pupils aged 13 – 18. The Senior School provides an all-round education centred on a strong academic core with excellent academic results. Recent success has seen the school rise to number 7 in the UK IB rankings with an IB average of 38, and in the same year the school became a top 50 school for A Levels in the  2019 Telegraph league table for sixth form results. The most recent ISI report judged the College to be excellent in both pupil achievement and personal development. Academic results are excellent. Last year the school achieved a jump in A*-A in A Levels from 46% to 54%,  and its highest number of 9s at GCSE in the school’s history.

College life is based on a strong boarding provision with a progressive ethos around preparing the students to be ready for the world, and all staff are expected to contribute to the pastoral and co-curricular life and duties in this busy and successful school. The school offers an outstanding range of co-curricular activities and has a proud tradition of sporting achievement, particularly in football, where the school won the U18 ISFA cup for two consecutive seasons in 2015 and 2016, and girls’ hockey where the team reached the national finals in 2015 and 2017. Music and Drama are particularly strong, with a vibrant extra-curricular provision including international music tours, concerts held at a range of venues across the South East including St John’s Smith Square London, while the Drama department frequently takes productions to Chequer Mead Theatre in Sussex and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Students also participate in the exciting Solar Car Project which saw Ardingly College enter the recent 2019 World Solar Race in Australia, beating famous global university teams.

Over the past ten years, the College has built a Sports Hall and fitness suite, three new boarding houses, including a £6 million co-educational Upper Sixth house, and most recent additions include a new £5m STEM building opened in 2019, and a new girls’ day house due to open in September 2020. The School is also planning a new theatre for September 2023.

Ardingly College celebrates diversity and approximately 25% of the students are from overseas. Around thirty nationalities are represented at the college, giving the school a genuinely global outlook. The school also offers many opportunities and workshops, giving students a suite of life skills to prepare them for successful transition to university and beyond.

Prep

The Prep School is co-educational and has around 300 pupils from Year 3 to Year 8. Year groups start as two forms per year and increase in size to three forms by Year 5 and 6 and to 4 forms by Year 7 and 8. Pupils in Key Stage Two broadly follow the national curriculum, which is enhanced with a Creative Curriculum that enables them to make links between subjects through a common topic. In Years 7 and 8 pupils currently study the Common Entrance curriculum in the core subjects, whilst our own curriculum for the Humanities has been developed in consultation with Senior School Heads of Department to provide learning more suited to preparing pupils for Senior School courses. There are further plans to improve all of this in the core subjects, going forward, as part of our 11-18 curriculum.  

Pre-Prep

Ardingly College Nursery and Pre-Prep is a wonderful setting in which to work, learn and teach. We are fortunate to be a self-contained unit situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, with easy access to all the facilities of the main school site. The Pre-Prep offers a well-equipped, bright and modern teaching environment with purpose-built classrooms, playgrounds and our own dining room. The Pre-Prep School, known locally as the Farmhouse, is situated in an idyllic location and we make extensive use of the 230 acres of woodlands, streams and fields to enhance learning and create a unique, child-lead curriculum. 

The school is co-educational and has up to 100 children from Reception to Year 2 in addition to those attending the Nursery. We aspire to deliver an outstanding education through the highest standards of teaching and staff are encouraged to develop their skills and understanding. The school has a warm and friendly atmosphere where children and staff can flourish and fulfil their potential and where learning is fun.