The Archbishop of York (former parent) recently summed Ardingly up. He said: “ Ardingly transforms children who may be just ordinary into extraordinary young people.” Dr John Sentamu's son, Geoffrey, attended Ardingly College: “My son is extraordinary; the school did something wonderful for him.”
Colin Morrison (Chairman of the Royal Wanstead Children's Foundation). His daughter attended Ardingly's sixth form and is now in the first year at Exeter, her first choice of university: “Ardingly is a great school and has equipped our daughter so well. Soon after she joined Ardingly, we could see the impact of the school on her motivation, manners, and her whole attitude to studying. And this from a girl who has not always found schoolwork especially easy. My daughter was lucky enough to benefit from the truly life-changing experience of The Gambia and just about everything she experienced - and everybody she got to know - at Ardingly has made our daughter a happier, better-educated and better person. We have been thrilled to be part of your wonderful school community and our daughter has benefited hugely from your very high standards of teaching and also pastoral care.”
Helen Smith, whose daughter is preparing to leave Ardingly’s prep school to go into Shell (year 9), the first year of Ardingly’s senior school. "I am an Ardingly parent who has been an educational consultant for over 15 years and provided guardianship for young people from overseas in almost 150 schools around the country. At Ardingly over the years I have seen pupils achieve success across the ability spectrum, thanks to the really close attention and care they receive. The cricket and violin playing daughter of friends achieved the 4th highest IB mark in the world at Ardingly a couple of years ago. In the same year group was a Hong Kong boy in my guardianship who had moved to Ardingly when he was bullied elsewhere and who was of only average ability. The school’s extraordinary pastoral and academic support meant he ended up with A, B, C at A level, a real achievement for him. For the last two years I have worked with a Personal Tutor who guided another boy to gain a place to study architecture; he was quite simply the best tutor I have come across in all 15 years, not least because he communicated so effectively, efficiently and willingly at every stage with the boy, his mother and with me."
The Earl of Limerick, a member of our School Council, who selected Ardingly for his three boys says “Ardingly is friendly and inclusive, and seems to avoid much of the clannishness and cliquery that permeate some schools.The school mantra that this is a 'day school with a boarding ethos' allows parents to pick and mix between day, weekly boarding and boarding with B&B facilities for day pupils. This flexibility can be very useful for parents if they are away during term-time.”
Student, Ana Jackson, a boarder from Colombia, believes: “Ardingly College is school of passion. You can feel it a mile away. A passionate student is a successful one. I think Ardingly is a school for those who are proud to be and do the best they can. Succeeding is not just promoted by teachers or parents, but by peers and classmates. While it is not even remotely as warm as it is at home (Colombia), I have to admit Ardingly makes up for the cold with its atmosphere. Ardingly takes versatility to another level. Finding a school that offers and succeeds at everything from bee keeping to hockey to debating is rare. I'm proud to be a part of it."
