Our History

St Saviour's School, Shoreham is founded by the Reverend Nathaniel Woodard for “the sons of tradesmen, small farmers, mechanics and others of limited means”

St Saviour's was the third school founded by Woodard, after Lancing (1848) and Hurstpierpoint (1849) Colleges. It was also his “third tier” school, designated for the lower middle classes, and the fees were kept low.   Just one pupil arrived on the very first day in April 1858, followed by six more by the end of the month.

St Saviour's School moves to Ardingly

In 1862, Woodard bought 196 acres of land near Ardingly for his school. Building work started in 1864 with the laying of the foundation stone, and the school moved to Ardingly in June 1870.  The architects’ ambitious vision was not realised and the buildings were incomplete when the boys moved in. The site consisted of only two wings (School House & South School, then known as Headmaster's House), and the Dining Hall block. A third wing, North School, was built in 1880. Conditions were bleak - there was no running water, heating or lighting.

The Annals, the school magazine, is published for the first time

The Annals is still published annually today, and whether you’re reading an 1871 number or the most recent offering, you’ll find sports write-ups and school updates.

The outdoor swimming bath is built

“The possession of such a luxury” was “most thoroughly appreciated by all” (July 1876 Annals). Today’s heated indoor pool sits in the same spot as the original 19th century swimming bath.

The first inter-dormitory football tournament is held

Pupils had been playing football for years – against other schools, local teams and Ardingly's Old Boys (in 1873, the College vs Old Boys match was 25-a-side as too many people wanted to play!), but it wasn’t until 1875 that the first inter-dormitory football tournament took place.

The Terrace is carved out

The carving out of the Terrace was funded by H.M. Gibbs, an Old Boy of Lancing and an early benefactor of Ardingly.

Ardingly College wins every cricket match

This photograph is of the 1886 team rather than the 1881, but it is wonderfully evocative of the time period. Spot Sussex County Cricketers and Old Ardinians George Brann and William “Billy” Newham.   Other 19th century cricketing successes include a June 1883 match where the College scored a huge 672 runs against the MCC!

The Chapel is dedicated

Building work started on the Chapel in 1875 but it wasn’t completed until 1883. Before then, services had been held in the assembly room.

The Junior House – precursor to the Prep School – is established for the youngest pupils

Junior House – or JH – was based in North School. Before this, boys of all ages between 8 and 18 housed together indiscriminately in the dormitories.

The First World War

More than 1000 Ardinians (masters and alumni) fought in the war, and more than 150 died. The war memorial was unveiled in the Chapel in 1921, and the Book of Remembrance is on display in the Crypt. The Roll of Honour was published termly in the Annals, and a separate volume was produced in 1920.

The River Ouse floods – but the annual Steeplechase goes on

Ardingly's Steeplechase (or Steepo) has been a fixture in the calendar since at least 1872. In 1927 the River Ouse flooded, but rather than cancel the race the boys had to swim across – and at least one needed rescuing by a master! Today's course has no river crossings!

The New Wing is built, completing the “H” shape of the main buildings

The first steps in the construction of New Wing were made in 1913 – plans were made, foundations were dug and a foundation stone was ceremonially laid. Progress halted due to lack of funds and the outbreak of war.   In 1926 the building of New Wing re-commenced and when completed in 1927 it greatly improved the school’s facilities. It provided not only desperately needed classrooms but also an art room, gymnasium, vestry, music rooms and some changing rooms.

The College plays its first hockey season

There are reports of hockey being played at the College from as early as the 19th century, with the first short-lived attempt at formalising it coming in 1914. It wasn’t until E. Winnington-Ingram – a Hockey Blue – joined the staff in 1933 that things advanced, and the first formal hockey season was played in 1934.

The Gap is filled in, creating the Archway as we know it today

While the central arch was built in 1894, there was nothing else linking the Chapel and Dining Hall buildings until 1938 when the gap was finally fully filled in. The room above the Archway – for a long time the prefects’ study – was known as “the Gap” for years afterwards.

The Second World War

The Reverend E. C. Crosse (Headmaster 1933-46) wanted life at Ardingly to carry on as normally as possible, and the College remained open throughout the Second World War.   There were definite changes to daily routines, though. All windows in the College (12,000 square feet of glass) were covered with blackout paper, prefects had special “fire duties” and the College established its own Land Army – which had produced over 100 tons of potatoes by the end of the war. The College buildings were even taken over by General Montgomery and his staff for a tactical exercise for two nights in December 1941.   88 Ardinians died fighting in the Second World War. Their names are included in the Book of Remembrance in the Crypt, and a Roll of Honour was published in the Annals.

House names are introduced

The seven dormitories were known by the letters A-G until the Reverend George Snow (Headmaster 1946-61) introduced house names in September 1948.   The names were taken from previous headmasters and benefactors: Mertens, Hilton, Lewington, Gibbs, Rhodes, Lea and Warren. A further house, Crosse, opened in 1956. The eight houses remained almost unchanged until 1991, when they were merged into four. Those named after headmasters remained, but Lewington, Gibbs, Lea and Warren were retired.

Ardingly celebrates its centenary with visits from HM Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Phillip, and the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited on 9 June 1958. It's said that their tour route could be identified for years afterwards as it was the only part of the school to have been freshly painted!   The Prime Minister was the guest of honour at the Centenary Lunch on 14 June.

The College takes over College Farm

The farm was part of Woodard's original land purchase in 1862. It was rebuilt from 1878-81 when H. M. Gibbs, a benefactor of the College, employed architect William Butterfield to design new farm buildings, including a beautiful octagonal buttery.   Owned by the College, the farm operated as a working farm until 1966 when the last tenant farmers left.     The College took control of the site and in a fit of "Do It Yourself" from 1967-74, boys and masters renovated the buildings themselves, turning them into spaces useful to the College. This included an Art School, social space, tuck shop, an activities centre and staff accommodation.

The first girls start in the Sixth Form

Just three girls started in September 1972. They joined a senior school of more than 300 boys.   The journey to co-education carried on into the 1980s: 1982: First girls in Shell (Year 9) 1983: First girls’ boarding house (Woodlands) 1984: Girls in all years of the Senior School 1986: First girls in the Junior School

Day boys join the Senior School

The first day boys had joined the Junior School nine years earlier in 1967.   Along with the first girls, the introduction of day pupils was a huge shift in the ethos and identity of the school.

Girls’ houses are established and Woodard House, a mixed boys’ and girls’ Upper Sixth house, opens

Until 1988, girls joined the pre-existing boys' houses. Boarding girls developed a joint identity, being members of both their boarding house (Woodlands) and their boys' house.   In 1988, Aberdeen, Bulteel, Neal and Toynbee Houses opened for girls. Bulteel House was retired in 1999. Also in 1988, Woodard House opened for the entirety of Upper Sixth. Boys and girls occupied separate wings of this new house. In 2013, Woodard Boys and Girls moved into Godwin Hall, a modern, purpose-built day and boarding house.

The Pre-Prep opens in the farmhouse

Over the years the Pre-Prep expanded into the rest of the farm buildings as Senior School activities migrated back up to the main site.

Ardingly starts offering the International Baccalaureate (IB)

The first IB cohort began their studies in 2001, sitting their final exams in 2003. Today, A Levels, BTECs and the IB are all offered in the Sixth Form.

Purpose-built boys’ boarding houses open

The dormitories finally moved out of the main school building, where they had been since 1870.

Burgess House – a girls’ day house – opens, named after the first woman to be a permanent member of the teaching staff

Burgess House brought the number of boys’ and girls’ houses to 4 each. Mrs Esther Burgess joined in 1940 to cover for a Classics master who had gone to war. She remained at the College after he returned, becoming the first woman to be a permanent member of the teaching staff.   As well as a well-respected Classics teacher, she was a prolific children's author, publishing over a dozen books.

Ardingly Solar races in Australia

In October 2019, Ardingly Solar, a collaborative project between Ardingly College and Ifield Community College, competed in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia. They were the only schools in Europe to enter (the prestigious event is usually entered by universities and corporations), and one of 31, out of an original 52, to complete the journey from Darwin to Adelaide. Ardingly Solar outperformed both Cambridge and Stanford Universities.

Covid-19 halts life as we know it

The Covid-19 pandemic and instigation of lockdown brought with it the sudden move to online learning and working from home. All Senior School students and staff had been issued with Surface Pros in 2019, so the pivot to online learning was a smoother process than it might otherwise have been.

The Lower School opens, bringing Years 7 & 8 into the Senior School

Lower School is based in North School, the old home of the original Junior House. Lower School pupils join one of four new coeducational houses.

Ardingly's first international school, Ardingly College Zhongshan, opens in Zhongshan, China

Ardingly College Zhongshan is the first Ardingly College International school. 70 minutes by ferry from Hong Kong, the school’s buildings have been designed and equipped to an exceptionally high standard. Ardingly College Zhongshan educates students from 3-18 years of age, with a curriculum that is a bilingual blend of Chinese, UK and IB content and pedagogy.

Ardingly Astana, the first of Ardingly’s international schools in Kazakhstan, opens

Ardingly is in the process of opening two new international schools in Kazakhstan; the first of which opened in Astana in September 2024, followed by a sister school in Almaty to open in September 2025. The partnership also includes the potential to open three further regional schools in Kazakhstan.

Great Walstead Prep School joins Ardingly College’s family of schools

The two schools have enjoyed a close relationship for many years, with Great Walstead being a significant feeder prep school to Ardingly College’s Senior School. Crucially, both schools share a similar ethos of delivering an all-round education with a strong focus on the individual needs and interests of each child and inspiring their personal, academic, sporting, cultural and creative development. This new partnership will allow Great Walstead School to enter the next phase of its strategic development, to grow and develop for the future, while ensuring its long-term stability. It also ensures that local families retain the choice of a ‘through school’ option from 3 to 18 with Ardingly College, or Great Walstead’s more traditional Prep School offer until 13, with entry into a range of Senior Schools.