Ardingly College

Woodard Musician of the Year

Seven Ardingly students competed in the final of the Woodard Musician of the Year 2013 on Saturday, the largest number from any Woodard school. As in previous years it took place in St John's Smith Square, next to the Palace of Westminster. With 31 finalists in both the junior and senior sections it was as much a national celebration of Woodard musical talent as a competitive event.

U15s Victoriious in Sussex Cup Final

The Ardingly College U15 Football team capped a fine football season off by winning the Sussex Cup, triumphing over an organised Cardinal Newman team after a penalty shoot out on Friday night.

Cricket successes early in the season for Ardingly

The 1st XI travelled to Reigate to compete in the National 20/20 competition last Sunday. Ardingly were drawn against the excellent Cranleigh School in the first match and scored 110 from their first innings.

Harriet Castle wins National Indoor Hockey Title with East Grinstead

Ardingly 1st XI Girls captain, Harriet Castle was part of the East Grinstead Under 18 Girls Indoor squad who won the National Under 18 Indoor Clubs Championship on Saturday 27th April at Bromsgrove School, following in the footsteps of Lower Sixth pupil, Tim Strueven, who won the Men's indoor title with EG back in January.

Trip to Barcelona

This year's overseas Sixth Form art trip was to Barcelona at the end of the Lent Term. The group travelled around the sunny city, seeing the fascinating architectural works of Antoni Gaudi, travelled on the funicular railway up Montjuic Hill to the Miro and Catalunyan Art Galleries, and saw the harbour area and bright, white Contemporary Art gallery in the centre of the city.

Take a Risk

The Take a Risk Business presentation evening took place on 14 March. The 24 students involved worked incredibly hard over a six week period to come up with a business idea and write a business plan ready for presentation to three judges in a 'Dragon's Den' style format. The winning team was a business called GapAM who offered a service that simplified the planning of GAP years. The members were Edmond Claoue, Thomas Gibbens, Nicola Miller and Kendal Moir.

Talk on The Great Gatsby'

On Monday 29th April, the English Department were delighted to welcome Nicolas Tredell to talk to LVI AS and IB students about 'The Great Gatsby'.

Sixth Form Spring Ball

This year's Masquerade Ball took place on Friday 19th April. It was a wonderful evening with over 240 guests. The students embraced the masquerade theme by wearing a fabulous collection of flamboyant masks. As always the guests were 'dressed to impress' with the boys smartly turned out in black tie and a fabulous array of colourful evening gowns amongst the girls.

Five HeadStart places offered to Ardingly students

HeadStart is a course organised by the Engineering Development Trust for the LVI, where students are placed in universities for a trial week. It is highly competitive and highly respected, with usually over 3,000 applicants for under 1000 places. This year, due to the quality of our students and the support given to HeadStart by Ardingly staff, we have already received five sought-after places at the top Russell Group universities, including Oxbridge. Well done to Michael Awang, Tom Badger, Michael Holmes, Anna Urquhart and Jenya Morrice.

Villiers Park Masterclasses

Villiers Park Educational Trust hold week-long courses, which are opportunities for very able students to consider aspects of their Advanced Level /Higher Level subjects in depth, introducing them to exciting current research and offering a challenging and enriching experience through masterclasses, lectures and group discussions. So far this year three LVI students have successfully completed Villiers Park courses: Juliet Frost completed a week long course called 'Mathematics: Chaos or Clear Cut', Roselyne Grieve attended a 'Social and Forensic Psychology' course, and Jonathan Lee completed 'Complex Problem Solving in Engineering'.

Woodard Master Class 2013

From Monday 8th – Wednesday 10th April 2013 eight LVI students joined a group of talented Sixth Formers from other Woodard Schools for the annual Woodard Master Class held at Trinity College, Oxford. The eight students were nominated by Heads of Department to attend a series of demanding subject sessions and practice interviews. The students involved were Emmanuelle Dahan and Thomas O'Dell for History, Kate Karpenko and Oliver Altman for Mathematics, Ann-Kathrin Henning and Emma Elgee for English and Jennifer Förster and Silas Anderson for Biology. The students were stretched and challenged academically over the three days and the programme was an invaluable insight into undergraduate level study.

Boys Hockey: 1st XI Bath Hockey Tour

The first weekend of the Easter holidays saw a young, inexperienced 1st XI hockey team travel to Bath to take part in four matches at the prestigious Bath Hockey Festival. The team included three members of the Under 15A squad, Michael Makepeace, George Southgate and Louis Evans. All were making their 1st XI debuts. The added youth not only bought energy to the squad but also brought the best out in the senior players who needed to act as leaders on and off the pitch.

Girls Tennis Report 3rd Mar 2013

The girls' tennis season has got off to a flying start with all teams remaining undefeated. There was a clean sweep of victories over Christ's Hospital, with two pairs Zoe Andrews and Maren Hegger along with Ciara Branagan and Sharna Louise-Hoskins winning all three of their sets in some style.

Andrew Brown - Artist in Residence in 2013-14

Born in Southwest Scotland in 1976 Andrew studied sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art and The History and Philosophy of Art at Edinburgh University gaining an MA in Fine Art in 1999. Over the following decade Andrew has won a number of prestigious awards including awards at the Royal Glasgow Institute and the Royal Scottish Academy Summer exhibitions. He has also completed a number of large scale public commissions, most recently an over life size depiction of Robert The Bruce cast in bronze and sited in Annan town centre. Andrew is currently based in West Sussex where he is Director of Sussex Sculpture Studios.

Andrew has been commissioned by the Headmaster for the College to produce a sculpture for the college, will be unveiled in June.

"My interest in sculpture lies in the depiction of humans and animals in all their complexity of form and expression, and in capturing the subtlety of their moods and movements ."

Cricket Report

The cricket season has started at a fast pace, with the cricket club playing their first fixtures against St Bedes on Saturday. The 1st team bowled and fielded well, restricting St Bedes to 220. However, the batting performance was lacklustre, as the team capitulated in a defeat by 140 runs. However, brighter news came from the rest of the cricket club. Henry Howard scored 56 as the 2nd Xi won by 3 runs. The U15As won comfortably in a game where Freddie Knott scored 82, and the U15Bs followed this with a fine victory. Jack Mangan scored 49 not out in a match that Ardingly won by six wickets. The U14Bs secured an excellent maiden victory as a combination of Tom Tweedie Smith's off spin and Adam O Dell's brisk 20 accounted for their counterparts, and the U14As had an excellent day at the office, restricting their opposition to 135 off their 35 overs, and knocking them off in just 12 overs, losing no wickets, as Riyan Mohammed scored a devastatingly quick 98 not out in the 10 wicket victory. Harry Rollings supported with an assured 39.

Charles Godwin Opens Godwin Hall

Thursday 7th March saw the official opening of Godwin Hall, the new Upper Sixth House offering 96 en suite bedrooms, studies for day pupils and light, spacious facilities for all.

Ardingly ArtsFest Short Story Competition

Welcome to the Ardingly ArtsFest Short Story Competition

Ardingly College is delighted to announce the launch of a new short story competition for 13-18 year old students to celebrate the inaugural Ardingly College ArtsFest 2013.

• First Prize: £100 book tokens

• 2 runners up: £50 book tokens

Judge : Tom Gatti Editor of The Times Review Section

Please click here for more details.

Intermediate Individual Maths Challenge Success for Fifth and Remove students

102 Ardingly students from Remove and Fifth sat the Intermediate Individual Maths challenge on Thursday 7th February. To achieve a certificate in this places you within the top 15% nationwide of able mathematics students in the Remove and Fifth years. Our students collectively achieved: 13 Gold, 21 Silver and 25 Bronze certificate with 6 students (qualifying for the next round.

Ardingly Shakespeare Conference

On Monday 11th March, mid-Sussex was immersed in Shakepeare and snow in almost equal measure as the inaugural Shakespeare Conference was held at Ardingly College.

University academics, staff and students gave papers based on the theme of Silence and Concealment in Shakespeare. Although guest panellist Simon Russell Beale sadly was delayed by public transport disruption, the three distinguished keynote speakers gave a series of inspirational lectures.

IB Visual Arts Exhibition

The art department hosted an exhibition of studio shows from our Upper Sixth IB artists, Tess Russell, Claire Lemaigre, Mehri Huseyenova, Felix Giorgetti, Lucy Wisada, Jade Edment.

100% A* for early entry accelerated IGCSE Mathematics students

In January 2013, 27 accelerated Mathematics students who were entered for the IGCSE Mathematics examination two terms early attained a 100% A* pass rate.

Year 10 Team Maths Challenge Competition Success

On Thursday 7th May four Remove students travelled to Worthing to compete in the regional final of the Year 10 Mathematics Team Challenge competition, run by the Further Maths Support network. The boys worked very well as a team and managed to come in comfortable first place, beating off Lancing College (2nd) and Bede’s (3rd). They will represent Ardingly at the South East final to be held at Sussex University in early May.

Ardingly are Double County Hockey Champions

On Tuesday 26th February, Ardingly Under 14As defeated Hurstpierpoint 4-0 in the final of the Sussex Cup, following in the footsteps of the 1st XI in winning the Sussex title and qualifying for the South Finals as Sussex Champions.

Four Four Two magazine feature Ardingly College

'So footballers are a bunch of thickies? Not any more. Step inside the learning lair where the English Schools Under 18 skipper is honing his skills while studying to be a doctor.'

Click here to view the full article.

Under 15 Hockey Girls Reach County Final

Congratulations to the Under 15A hockey girls who defeated Millais 4-1 on Thursday 7th March to reach the final of the Sussex Cup. The quarter final was almost a distant memory despite it being a nailbiting penalty shootout win over Hurst in November and with the netball season meaning the team were limited to just one training session before the match, this was always going to be a tough challenge. However, the girls started well and took an early lead when Charlotte Childs set up Charlotte Martin-Linsley to score at the far post. Ardingly's pace in attack was a real feature of the game and after another fine attack, Alex Medlicott doubled the lead with a neat finish. However, with Millais pulling a goal back just before half time the game remained in the balance and Ardingly were indebted to a couple of excellent saves from Maddie Moore to maintain their lead.

ISFA award U15's Fair Play Award

Over the holidays, the Chief Executive of the Independent Schools Football Association, Mark Dickson wrote to The Headmaster:

"I am delighted to inform you that, in addition to performing with great credit by reaching the quarter-finals of the Investec ISFA Cup, the Ardingly College U15 XI regularly received excellent marks from match officials, both at home and away. Referees have been consistently impressed by the manner in which your players have conducted themselves on and off the field and, as a result .. Ardingly are the winners of this season's Fair Play Award at Under 15 XI level."

Gani Nuredini experience as England Captain

Ardingly College Sixth Former Gani Nuredini has now played twice for the English Schools' Football Association U18 team in the Centenary Shield, the only independent school player in the squad. Gani represented England in their 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland and had the honour to captain England against Wales in what turned out to be a very tough fixture. England dominated the whole game but were very unfortunate as their strikers were out of luck.

Gani now Captain of the Full English Schools FA team

Ardingly's football captain, Gani Nuredini, has just added another accolade to his footballing career. Gani, who has already captained the Independent Schools National U18 side, has now been made captain of the full English Schools FA team, who are due to play all the home nations in the Centenary Shield, starting with a match against Wales on Friday 1st March at Lincoln City Football Club.

Fencing Report

Fencing reports for matches against Eastbourne College, Worth, Whitgift and Staff.

'Focus on' subject related newsletters

To a read a summary of what our sport, art, drama and music departments have been doing over the last term, please view our 'Focus on' newsletters.

House Singing

Thursday 14th February 2013 Once again, Flecker Hall was the venue for the annual House Singing Competition and we were very pleased to welcome Mr. Mark Shepherd, Director of Music at Charterhouse, as the adjudicator. The standard across the board was particularly high this year and this made his job even more difficult.

Department of Drama & Theatre Studies Recent Performances

One of the best things about studying drama as an academic subject is that it gives students real world opportunities to try their own ideas out, to work independently and to gauge responses to their work from a real live audience. This isn’t merely regurgitating facts in an examination hall, hiding behind a candidate number for your work to be marked by a stranger, seen by no-one and later destroyed. This is putting your neck on the line, standing up and being counted and testing your hypothesis under the stark, honest spotlight of human scrutiny.

Drama Trips

So far this term there have been two fantastic Drama trips. ‘Master and Margarita’ and 'Metamorphosis’.

Preparation for a sculpture

On Saturday 9th February, a small group of L6th art students ventured into Standgrove Woods with Mrs Grover, Berni Baker, Matt (the Head of Grounds) and professional wood/withy sculptors – Mark and Rebecca Ford of ‘Two Circles Design’

Basketball - league champions for the 3rd year in a row.

The Basketball Team completed their league matches last week, playing Michael Hall away. This was a nail-biting end to the season because the team knew it could well have been the match that clinched the champions title once more.

Octavo - Cross Country

Ardingly College hosted the Octavo relays and welcomed schools from Oxford, Charterhouse. and Harrow. Over 160 competitors took part. They ran on a relay course of the Steepo, with each leg a gruelling 3km in thick mud. Ardingly secured 5th place out of nine schools. Congratulations to Sean Pontikos, James Price, Ed Jobling and Will Durkin who achieved the fastest times.

Ardingly goalkeepers enjoy masterclass with Czech International Filip Neusser

On Tuesday 12th February, Ardingly's hockey goalkeepers enjoyed a training session with Filip Neusser, a Czech international who plays for East Grinstead HC. Filip is renowned as the world's best indoor hockey goalkeeper and recently played a starring role in East Grinstead's Maxifuel Super Sixes National title victory at Wembley Arena.

U15 Football reach final of the Sussex County Cup

We are delighted to announce that Ardingly’s U15 Football team have reached the final of the Sussex County Cup Competition. Playing Chichester High School for Boys in the semi-finals, a close first half saw both teams go in at 0-0, despite Ardingly having several chances to take the lead. However, after a team talk from manager Mr Ian Nicholls, Ardingly’s possession began to count five minutes into the second half, with a quick double strike by Oscar Haynes Brown. Ardingly then played some excellent free flowing football, and Oscar Haynes Brown managed to add a third, being set up by fine approach play from Jak Alcock and Teddy West. Eddie Davis then got in on the act, scoring two fine goals from crosses, before Miguel Rodriguez wrapped up the victory with a typically astute finish. The match finished with Ardingly winning 6-2. So far in the competition. The U15s look forward to the final in March.

Witches and Devils in Early Modern England

Historians in the Senior School enjoyed an entertaining and, at times, rather gruesome talk from Professor Michael Questier of Queen Mary University on the subject of witches and devils in early modern England.

Careers in Medicine speed talk

The third of our career speed talks took place on the 31st January and we were delighted to welcome Dr Mary Gibbens, Dr Jan Nawrocki, Dr Brodie Forrest, Dr Lucy Free, Isabel Darbyshire and Theodora Verner as our guests. We also welcomed a number of students from Hurstpierpoint College to join Ardingly students in this event.

Charlemagne and the great coronation PR stunt

The History Society was privileged to have a return visit from Robin Nonhebel, former teacher at St Benedict’s School , Ealing.

Top of the Bench

On Wednesday 16th January, Ardingly College joined a large number of schools to compete in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench competition for the region. The team from Ardingly consisted of Patrick Moore and George Tardrew (nicknamed ‘Brain and Brawn’ because of their separate and unique approach to Chemistry) for Shell, Benedict McConnell for Fifth and Cameron Millar for Remove.

Debating

Following their success in their first round of local debate, the English Speaking Union Schools’ Mace debaters went to Eastbourne College last week. Proposing the motion “This House would prosecute parents for the crimes of their children”, Oscar Baker and Kimberley Pardaihe-Galabrun won the round. They fought off Roedean, Eastbourne College, Burgess Hill School for Girls and, in the first round, Worth. They made it through to the Regional Final in London on Tuesday 26 February, and will be arguing that “The economic strategy of austerity has failed to repair the damaged economies of the E.U. nations”.

VIth form theatre trip to Euripides' Trojan Women

Miss Ambler, took ten LVI Form students studying Latin, Classical Civilisation, Drama and English to watch the UCL Classical Drama Society’s production of Euripides’ Trojan Women at the Bloomsbury Theatre. This is a timeless tragedy poignantly highlighting the prolonged agony of the women and children of Troy, now captured by the Greeks, as they contemplate their fateful suffering as prisoners of war.

Down House trip

Down House, the home of Charles Darwin, occupies a unique place in the history of science. On Sunday February 10th, students had the opportunity to visit the study where Darwin wrote “On the Origin of Species”, arguably the most influential scientific work of the last two hundred years. The house and gardens have been restored to how they were in Darwin’s time and, sheltering from the icy weather, students walked through the greenhouses where Darwin worked on his meticulous and eclectic experiments on everything from earthworms to orchids. Having studied evolution by natural selection in the classroom, this visit helped place the humble origins of that revolutionary concept.

Classical civilisation presentation

Miss Ambler, the new Head of Classics, gave a presentation to Shell pupils about the value of studying the Classical World today. Despite what one might think, people graduating from Classical Studies are highly valued by employers; they learn to think logically, to compile and evaluate evidence and to express themselves clearly and succinctly both orally and in writing. Classicists can make their way into careers as diverse as computing, the civil service, gold dealing, insurance, journalism, law, accountancy, public relations and the wine trade. With famous Classicists such as J.K. Rowling, Boris Johnson and Chris Martin from Coldplay, anyone can study the ancient world if they are interested in the origins and ideologies of Western Civilisation, ranging from art and drama to politics and religion.

LVI Classical civilisation study day at the British Museum

The LVI Classical Civilisation set travelled with Mr Storey to a special study day on Mycenaean Greece at the British Museum as part of their AS Level course on Mycenaean Archaeology. They took part in a series of seminars assembling and evaluating the evidence for trade, burial practices, palatial architecture and economy before being taken on a guided tour of special artifacts in the galleries, including Linear B tablets, which have helped archaeologists decipher the values of Mycenaean society and economy.

1st XI Boys Retain Sussex Under 18 Title

Congratulations to the 1st XI hockey boys who successfully retained their Sussex title on Tuesday 12th February with a 3-2 victory over Eastbourne College in the final. Three clinical first half short corners converted by Tim Strueven (2) and Will Godfrey raced Ardingly into a 3-0 lead and despite a spirited Eastbourne fightback in the second half and Ardingly being reduced to ten men for a five minute period towards the end of the match, Ardingly hung on. They now qualiify for the South finals as Sussex Champions for the second year in a row. These regional finals will take place on Wednesday 13th March.

Independent Schools Skiing Championships in Les Deux Alpes

On the last day of term 15 students left for the Independent Schools Skiing Championships in Les Deux Alpes, France. Due to large snowfalls in the weeks leading up to the trip, they were all blessed with excellent skiing conditions. As a result, the students were very enthusiastic about embarking upon two days of race training by the French instructors: everyone found the sessions very useful and learned valuable skills for the racing which followed. The first two races were individual events, a giant slalom followed by the more technical slalom event. In each event the 82 skiers completed the course twice and their times were added together. Jonathan Turner performed well, finishing 7th in the Giant Slalom. Jamie Butt excelled in both events, comfortably finishing second in the boys’ races, and only beaten by a student who regularly competes for Great Britain.

Michaelmas Term Writing Competition

The English Department would like to announce the winner of the Michaelmas Term Writing Competition. The quality of the entries this term was very high and several pieces will be published in 'The Wonderful Bird' anthology at the end of the year. However, one poem stood out as particularly original and haunting. The winner is Henry Gould (Shell) for his poem entitled 'Fishing':

Speed Talk

On Thursday, 17th January we hosted our second careers 'speed talk' event this time for students interested in the broad field of marketing, PR and advertising. We were lucky enough to welcome six speakers; Debbie Hindle, Managing Director of a public relations agency, Four bgb; Ben Priest, Creative Director of adam&eveDDB; Jono Marcus, Digital Partner of Inkling Ltd; Tony Smith, Marketing and Communications Manager at Accenture and Jennie Curran and Jules Stapleton, who both have extensive experience in marketing prior to moving to Ardingly College.

ToK Talks

On 17th January Dr. Peter Vardy from Heythrop College, University of London spoke to all Remove and L6th IB students as well as students from Roedean and Hurstpierpoint on various topics to do with the construction of knowledge.

Students were stimulated and intellectually challenged by a series of lectures on the following topics:

1.What can we know?

2.The limits of reason

3. Rules and consequences as the basis for ethical decision making

4.The value of stillness and silence as a route to knowledge

UK Mathematical Trust Individual Senior Maths Challenge

Upper and Lower VI Further Mathematics and IB Higher Mathematics students sat the UK Mathematical Trust Individual Senior Maths Challenge paper, which sets students across the UK a series of non-standard lateral thinking Maths problems. Of the able sixth form students who sit this nationally, only the top 10% of students receive a gold certificate, the next 20% silver and the next 30% bronze. Sixteen Ardingly students attained a certificate, including two gold and eight silver.

Football achievements

The Ardingly 1st XI captain, Gani Nuredini has recently been selected for the final English Schools National Football side to play in the Centenary Shield against the other home nations.

Gani will now play five matches against the home countries, all shown on Sky Sports, and is the only representative from the Independent Schools’ sector in the team.

Josh Taylor, the Ardingly 1st XI vice-captain has been offered a high level Football Scholarship to St. Edward’s University in Justin, Texas.

Success at Cassini - Ardingly pupils are UK’s top scientists – yet again!

For the fourth year running, Ardingly College students have won the prestigious national Cassini Scientist for a Day Competition facilitated by the UK Cassini team and Queen Mary’s, University of London. The 12-14 year old category winner is Remove's Cameron Millar, while the 15-17 year old category winner is Yevgeniya Morrice, who is in Lower VI. Many congratulations to them and to their teacher, Mr Igor Zharkov.

Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench Success

England Netballer, Ama Agbeze, visits Ardingly College

Following on from a hugely successful three match whitewash in the recent netball series against Australia Ama Agbeze, the England team goal defence visited the College last week to give the girls a master class in defending. Over eighty girls from the senior school were involved in the training sessions. This is the third year in a row that Ardingly have benefitted from a training session run by an England netball player.

U19 Fastnet Tournament

On Saturday the 1st netball team took part in a Fasnet tournament. Fastnet is an adaptation of netball which is designed to be faster and more furious than the original game. Rolling subs are used and players can score from outside the normal shooting zone gaining extra points. Teams also select a quarter in which to use their ‘power play’ this doubles the points that they score within that quarter.

1st XI Boys through to Boarding Schools Cup Quarter Finals

Congratulations to the 1st XI who avoided the snow and ice last weekend (Saturday 26th January) by travelling all the way to Cheltenham to play Dean Close in the prestigious Boarding Schools Under 18 Cup. This is a competition for 16 invited schools who have a greater number of boarders to day pupils. The size of the task was reflected by the fact that Dean Close were last year's National Under 16 Champions and recently reached the National Under 18 indoor finals

Ardingly Pupil helps East Grinstead win National Hockey Title

Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupil Tim Strueven who was part of the victorious East Grinstead Hockey Club indoor squad who won their fifth successive national title, the Maxifuel Super Sixes Indoor Championship, on Sunday 27th January. In the semi-final against Canterbury, Tim, who is part of the German Under18 national squad, scored a fabulous individual goal. He also played an important part in the final against Reading in front of 7000 fans at the Wembley Arena which was televised live by Sky Sports 2. Tim said how much he enjoyed, “the incredible atmosphere playing in front of such a large crowd,” and the other highlight of the day, “photo opportunities with hundreds of fans!”

The Ardingly Football Academy record their first win over Premiership Opposition!!

Ardingly’s U15 Football Academy have had a busy week, playing Luton Town and Fulham in consecutive fixtures.

Ardingly win through to Sussex Cup semi finals

Ardingly's U15 carried on their run in the County Cup competitions with a hard fought win against Peacehaven Community School.

U14's Hockey qualify for Sussex Cup Final

Congratulations to the Under 14 hockey team who have qualified for the Sussex Cup Final and the regional rounds for the National Under 14 Cup.

Music Diplomas with distinction

Congratulations to Charlie Jackson who received his DipRSL (Rockschool diploma) with distinction on guitar, and Georgina Barry who was awarded her DipLCM with distinction (Diploma of the London College or Music) on saxophone.

Katharine Hughes triumphs again

Katharine Hughes came 3^rd overall at the U16 South of England fencing competition. Katharine will now go on to compete at the U16 Great Britain national fencing competition in Sheffield next May; an especially excellent achievement as, at only 14 years old, she is competing with girls two years older than her. Its first time she has qualified having been a Novice in previous years. She entered via her club Crawley Sword.

Football Scholarship to St. Edwards, Texas for Ardingly's Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor, the Ardingly 1^st XI vice captain has been offered a high level Football Scholarship to St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

This follows Danielle Boyd’s scholarship last year to America for a Ladies Football Scholarship.

Gani Nuredini selected for England ESFA U18 side.

ESFA is delighted to congratulate Gani Nuredini of Ardingly College on his selection for the England Schools U18 Squad for this season. He is the only Independent Schools player in the squad.

http://www.isfa.org.uk/boys/24-about/other-news/312-isfa-pupil-in-england-schools-squad

Accolade of Mr Lilley in the Geography Department

Paul Lilley in the Geography department was recently awarded a Masters with Distinction in Geography from King’s College London, and this week he was also awarded the ‘Best Thesis Award’ for the MA Geography programme for the 2012-2013 academic year, as the author of the highest marked Masters dissertation on the programme.

Chilly pelican

Basha building, stalking, creeping, leading, protecting, communicating and discipline, all the skills learned in one night of exercise during Chilly Pelican in Standgrove Woods

Sussex Country Novice Foil

In a non-school tournament called the Sussex County Novice Foil for adults aged 14+, two of our fencers, Dominic Morgan and Josh Hardy, entered and competed on Sunday 2nd December.

Headmasters Lecture - James Reynolds

On Tuesday 20th November James Reynolds, recently returned from the Turkey-Syria border, gave an HML on his work as a BBC Correspondent. Mr Reynolds studied languages at university and his Spanish gave him the opportunity to become the BBC’s correspondent in South America. Since then he has covered several areas of the Middle East, China and most recently the conflict in Syria. Despite the fact that the BBC is currently banned from Iran, Mr Reynolds holds the role of BBC Iranian Correspondent

UVI Economics visit to the Espirito Santo investment bank in London

On Tuesday 27th November, the IB Upper VI Economics students visited the Espirito Santo Investment Bank in London to learn more about investment banking, equity and a career in the city. Accompanied by Mr Davies and Miss Collier, the students attended eight talks from members of different sectors of the ESIB as well as two of their investment customers, covering the different jobs in this sector, the future of the emerging countries’ economy and the Euro crisis.

Cabaret

The opening night of Ardingly College’s musical ‘Cabaret’ was truly spectacular and captivated the audience right from the start. This was a challenging production to pull off, but the collaboration of director, Tim Coker and musical director, Robert Costin, resulted in a chilling masterpiece.

Rome Trip

Three days is insufficient to see all of the wonders on offer in Rome, just as it is difficult to sum up the fantastic time we had there in just a few paragraphs. The trip was split into three sections: Christian Rome, the physics department’s Rome and ancient Rome. The lines between these sections, however, were blurred each day as we explored and discovered as much of Rome and The Vatican City as we could.

Discovery Fun Day organised by Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre.

On Sunday the 18th of October, a group of Ardingly College student volunteered at the Discovery Fun Day organised by Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre. The centre provided a wide range of self-discovery activities for children with disabilities in a safe and supportive environment.

Ardingly VIth Girls help launch Crossroads Care.

Crossroads Care South Central is a charity based in Climping, which now runs a weekly session for a small group of adults affected by dementia at St Peter’s Church centre in Ardingly. It aims to provide carers the opportunity to gain some respite while their partners affected by dementia attend the social activities run by the charity.

British Heart Foundation Collecting in Haywards Heath

Ardingly’s involvement with the British Heart Foundation started on the 1^stDecember with a number of our students from the Vth and VIth forms volunteering to collect donations for the charity in the shopping area of Haywards Heath. Dressed up as Santas, they stand in the main shopping area of the town with a big smile on their face and collected a great amount of donations.

Santa in the Park

The British Heart Foundation Santa in the Park Fun Run took place in Victoria’s park in Haywards Heath. 6 IB CAS students helped to run the event as marshalls, not an easy task considering they had to stand in the cold keeping an eye on and encouraging all the participants.

Movember

Congratulations to the male staff that took part in Movember. They raised an impressive £805.90

Headmaster's Lecture - Mr Poynter

On 4th December Ardingly students welcomed Mr Poynter, a member of the English department, to what was to be the final Headmaster’s Lecture of the year. Mr Poynter gave an insightful and exclusive angle on ‘The Reality of War – A Soldier's Perspective’. Having served in the Rifles Regiment for seven years, in a range of different situations, from peace-keeping operations in Kosovo to high intensity war fighting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was well placed to capture the attention of the students.

Friends Pamper Evening

On 22nd November 2012, thanks to a dedicated group of mums, the most amazing transformation took place and the Atrium and its corridors became home to mini shopping experiences including designer clothes, beauty products, jewellery, children's clothes, photography, cards and exotic gifts and homewares.

Institute of Education visit by D&T students

On Monday 26th November 11 Sixth Form Design Technology Students travelled to the Institute of Education in London to hear a series of lectures under the banner of ‘Inspired By Design’. The lectures were hosted by Pascal Anson a practising designer and lecturer at Kingston University and featured the key note speaker Wayne Hemmingway MBE.

Concert for St.Cecilia

On Thursday 22nd November, we celebrated the Patron Saint of Music with our annual Concert for St. Cecilia at 7pm in the Chapel. There was huge variety in the programme which featured six ensembles and one solo item. The Jazz Band, in fine fettle as usual, kicked of proceedings from the back of the Chapel with three numbers: One O’Clock Jump, Georgia on my Mind and Latin Quarter.

Institute of Motoring

Last Thursday Ardingly Solar Car team were invited to an evening lecture organised by the Institute of Motoring and our dear friend Mr Douglas Wragg the Southern Area Chairman. The lecture was given by Tom Dixon from Michelin Tyres. It was a grand evening and allowed some of our senior team to network with 73 representatives from the motor trade. One of these new contacts from MIA electric cars is kindly lending one of their electric vans to the College. This will allow our estates to test the feasibility of going electric and our team a chance to look at the controls in more detail. The institute is also impressed by our students and has asked us to give a lecture in March about the Ardingly Solar Car project.

Visit to Cambridge University Queens' College to Lauch Solar Car Design

On Saturday five Ardinians were the guests of Queen’s College Cambridge. The formal dinner in the grand hall was to launch Cambridge’s new solar car design. This radical pear drop car design, at the moment affectionately called 'Daphne' is to meet the new rules for the Solar Challenge race from Darwin to Adelaide in 2013.

Mid Sussex Music Festival 2012 - Ardingly Successes

There were a number of Ardingly success at this year’s Mid Sussex Music Festival held recently at Burgess Hill School for Girls.

Youth Speaks Competition

On the 12th of November, two teams of Ardingly students took part in the Rotary Club “Youth Speaks” competition.They faced fierce competition as they spoke about controversial issues such as social networking and the new paradigm of art in a public area.

Bursar, Paddy Jackman chairs conference on Student Accommodation

Since joining Ardingly from Imperial College our Bursar, Paddy Jackman has maintained his links with the Higher Education sector.

Ardingly's New Football Academy play their first match.

On Sunday, Ardingly’s newly formed Academy played their first match against a strong Brighton and Hove Albion U15 team.

Art Competition around the theme of 'principled'

The whole school were invited to submit their works of art around the theme of 'principled'. Please view the entries here.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Achievement

12 students successfully completed their Gold expedition during the Long leave, starting and finishing at Princetown in the middle of the two Moors on Dartmoor, Devon. Their routes took them onto both areas, North and South, discovering the boggy areas early on, which unfortunately meant that they continued the rest of the journey with wet socks and boots.

Author Aifric Campbell inspired members of Ardingly’s new Literary Society

The author Aifric Campbell inspired members of Ardingly’s new Literary Society on November 8^thwhen she gave a lively introduction to fiction writing. Aifric’s own novel, On The Floor, was long-listed for the Orange Prize for fiction this year and this was a wonderful opportunity for Ardingly Sixth Formers to listen to her advice on how to spark ideas and create engaging characters.

Schola Cantorum perform at the Voces Cantabiles Music Friends

On Wednesday, 7th November 2012, the Schola Cantorum and Mr Costin took a trip to London, having been invited by VOCES8 to perform at the Voces Cantabiles Music Friends event held at the church of St Mary-at-Hill. We took a minibus to London and after hunting for a parking space were met by Barney Smith, artisitcone of the group's founder members. After a rehearsal, supper and roaming around the area, we sat down, along with a full audience and listened to VOCES8 sing. They sang songs from their most popular repertoire alongside some pieces from their new CD ‘Christmas’.

House Music Competition

We were delighted to welcome Mr Chris Tambling, Director of Music at Downside School, to adjudicate this year’s House Music Competition. There was the customary flurry of musical activity leading up to this annual event, and our visitor was not to be disappointed with the variety and quality of performances from the nine houses.

LVI Theatre Trip to see 'One Man, Two Two Guvnors'

On Tuesday 6th November, fourteen AS English students made the trip to London’s glittering West End to see the highly popular and critically acclaimed play, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

Catering Managers visit Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

The Catering staff, who are key to the College Hospitality were very privileged to be invited to Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saison in Oxfordshire.

Ardingly Girls Sussex Indoor Hockey Runners Up

Congratulations to the Ardingly girls indoor team who narrowly lost out to Hurstpierpoint in the final of the Sussex Under 18 Indoor Cup on Wednesday 14th November

Ardingly Boys Sussex Indoor Champions

Ardingly boys are now the reigning outdoor and indoor Under 18 Sussex champions having won the Sussex indoor Under 18 Cup on Tuesday 13th November to go with their success in the outdoor competition back in March.

D&T Students trip to the Design Museum

On 7th November the Remove and Sixth Form Design and Technology students embarked upon a day of discovery and creativity at the Design Museum in London. All the students are studying the Product Design course, designed to encourage students to be able to design and make products with creativity and originality, using a range of materials and techniques.

The Careers Department launch their ‘Speed Talk’, starting with finance.

Giving a presentation to an assembled hall or raising a hand to ask a question in front of a hushed and expectant audience can be a daunting experience for both speaker and audience members alike. So this term the Careers Department launched the first of our ‘speed talks’ designed to enable students, in the security of small groups, to rotate around the room, asking questions, of not just one speaker but several.

Fundamental Particle Physics Week including a trip to CERN

To celebrate the confirmation (almost) of the Higgs Boson by the CMS detector in July, the Ardingly Physics Department undertook la week of particle activities.

Drama workshops with Will Dickie

This term our Theatre Practitioner in residence, Will Dickie has been working with the Sixth form Drama students in a series of half day workshops.

Kate Hughes ranked 12th at Sussex Fencing Championship

Katharine Hughes took part in the Women's Foil Competition at the Sussex Open Championship last month. Fencing against adults, some with national rankings, Kate was placed 12th overall and was the top placed Under 18 fencer. Kate, 14, said "I entered the Open to get some more competition experience as the number of women fencers in youth and school competitions tends to be limited. I had a great day, learned a lot from some talented fencers and was really pleased to be the top Under 18 in the competition"

CCF Remembrance Parade

On Sunday 11th November, twelve CCF Cadets took part in the West Hoathly Remembrance Church Parade. The parade was led by the British legion representatives who proudly marched along the road followed by members of our cadet force - and representatives from the scouts, guides, cubs, brownies, beavers and the little girls from the rainbows.

Ardingly Spanish trip to Córdoba 2012

The last Friday of half-term saw the VIth form Hispanists make an early departure, to be spirited to Córdoba, Andalucía. By midday all students were ensconced in their host families for the week, most of whom had sons or daughters of a comparable age.

F1 driver Max Chilton, a former pupil of Ardingly College opens a new Sports Pavilion

Marussia F1 team's Max Chilton, a former pupil of Ardingly College, flew in from Abu Dhabi and went back to school to open a new Sports Pavilion on Saturday, November 10th. He said he was thrilled to be back and was full of praise for Ardingly and its sporting achievements.
The new pavilion was built after a fundraising appeal was launched in June 2011.

Ardingly opens new Football Academy

Last week, Ardingly opened up it’s very own Football Academy for some of the elite youngsters in our U14 and U15 age groups. It involves the players having two extra high quality sessions a week, and developing a full Sunday fixture list against Professional clubs.

Ardingly College has a little piece of the Olympic Village

Our pupils are now selecting their food from the counters used to serve the likes of Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis and Chris Hoy.

The catering have purchased the counters direct from the Olympic Village and the are now installed in our kitchen servery.

Ardingly triumph in weekend football against St Bedes

Ardingly had a strong footballing weekend (10th November) , beating local rivals St Bedes at all levels. The 1st XI put together an impressive team performance to overcome the opposition 1-0, whilst the U15s beat their counterparts 10-2! In the U14 games, the A team won 6-1 and the B team won 7-0. Nick Tester, the Head of Boys’ Sport said, “This has been an exciting weekend for the Football Club, and we are pleased with the way things are progressing.”

The U15s are still going strong in the Sussex County Cup and the Independent Schools’ FA Cup, whilst the U14s are also in the Sussex County competition.

Ardingly sports film, just released.

U14A National Schools hockey tournament

The U14A hockey team took part in the National Schools hockey tournament last week. The frozen astro first thing slightly altered the programme for the day, with games being shortened to 15 min one way. Ardingly made the most of their first game, playing excellent hockey and beating Sackville 3-0 with strong goals from Immy Waters and Amelia Ellis.

Geography Trip to Iceland 2012

The Geography department trip had a fantastic trip to Iceland during Long Leave, and Ardingly geographers saw for real what they have been studying in tectonics, coasts, glaciation, energy and tourism topics.

Old Ardinian, Max Chilton has his first taste of Formula One Grand Prix

Max Chilton has completed laps of the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the test pilot for Marussia. This was his debut in the first practice session round the Yas Marina Circuit, and he did very well, coming close to the race pace of the car.

BBC Radio interviewed teacher Mr Cole, to find out what he was like as a pupil at Ardingly. Listen to the interview here (go to 2hrs 50 mins).

Watch Max interviewed in the BBC program 'Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Inside F1 with Max Chilton' here

Max will be opening the new Sports Pavilion at Ardingly College this Saturday (10th November). Click here for details.

Ardingly Hockey Coaches selected for England

Two Ardingly College hockey coaches, Darren Cheesman and Mark Gleghorne, have been selected for England.

Sports Science experience at Brighton University

A selection of Physical Education students and Sport Scholars were lucky enough to use the incredibly high-tech equipment at the Sports Science labs at the University of Brighton, in a day trip just before half term

THE STEEPO: 2012

The rain held off for Steepo 2012 but it was heavy going under-foot due to a wet Autumn. This is the biggest sporting event of the year in terms of the number of students (467 crossed the finishing line) there were also many teachers involved.

Second Annual Nathaniel Woodard Lecture, The Heavens are telling the Glory of God

On Tuesday 9th October the Second Annual Nathaniel Woodard Lecture, The Heavens are telling the Glory of God: CS Lewis, Narnia and the Planets, was delivered by Dr Michael Ward, Senior Research Fellow, Blackfriars Hall in the University of Oxford. Dr Ward is the author of Planet Narnia, The Narnia Code and co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to CS Lewis. He was also featured in the BBC documentary, The Narnia Code, based on his book of the same name, now available as a DVD. He held the audience enthralled, as one of the foremost contemporary CS Lewis scholars.

Launch of the Ardingly Solar-Powered Car Campaign

Last Saturday saw Ardingly's busiest ever Open Morning teamed with a very special event. Ardingly’s Solar Car team launched their 2015 campaign to race in the World Solar Car Challenge: 3060km across Australia

U16 Hockey reach semi finals of Sussex rounds

Congratulations to the Under 16 girls hockey team who reached the semi finals of the Sussex rounds of the National Schools Cup on Monday 1 October.

Ardingly’s Jeans for Teens Day

Jeans for Teens Day took place on 5thOctober to focus on the Senior School’s local charity, The Chestnut Tree House.

Ardingly’s Jeans for Teens Day

Jeans for Teens Day took place on 5thOctober to focus on the Senior School’s local charity, The Chestnut Tree House. The only children’s hospice in Sussex, The Chestnut Tree House provides a safe environment for children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses and their families. A representative from the hospice, located in Arundel, came and spoke to an appreciative and interested group of students in the Lower Library. She expressed her gratitude to the Senior School, on behalf of the hospice, for all money raised this year in support of this worthy cause.

The total raised for the Jeans for Teens day was £464.19.

Ardingly’s Schola Cantorum have been invited to sing at at the VOCES8 Friends event

This will take place in London on the 7th November. For more information please visit www.voces8.com

Ardingly College stars in Ian Hislop’s Stiff Upper Lip

Ardingly College played a major role in the second episode of Ian Hislop’s Stiff Upper Lip, an Emotional History of Britain, on Tuesday October 9th on BBC 2 at 9 p.m.

Mr Smith and his Popagami are in the Dragons Den

Over five years ago, Mr Smith, our Chemistry Technician started designing origami paper designs, they have now led him to the Dragons Den.

Woodard Music Night

The remarkable musical talent of some of the pupils in Woodard was displayed last Monday during the informal concert held in the Forum.

Chapel Choir at St Paul's Cathedral

The Chapel Choir had the privilege of singing for Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral on Monday 15th October, the second year in a row. The 70-strong choir sang their hearts out in music by Radcliffe, Wood and Chilcott, including the latter's beautiful anthem Be thou my vision. The 1800 people in the congregation experienced a truly uplifting service, so many congratulations to the choir.

CCF trip to the Wye Valley

Eight Intrepid cadets set off on Saturday 30th June heading for the Wye Valley for a week of adventurous training.

Four students complete Gold Duke of Edinburgh

Four students who left the school in U6th at the end of the summer term having completed everything for their Gold DofE except the expedition, managed to complete this last section during the summer holiday.

Art Trip to the Tate Modern and Edvard Munch Exhbition

The Fifth Year Art Students enjoyed an inspiring visit to the Tate Modern in London on Wednesday 26th September, using the day to explore the massive range of work and incorporate the art they saw into their own projects. They were lucky enough to visit the touring Edvard Munch exhibition whilst there, and many have gone on to use the influence of his expressive, colourful and meaningful work within their own units. Everyone in the group agreed that it was a very positive day, helping them develop their personal GCSE coursework projects.

Art Trip to Chichester

On Friday 5th October the Sixth Form artists were lucky enough to be taken on a multi-layered art trip to Chichester.

Football Focus

It has been a strong few weeks for the Football club at Ardingly. The 1st XI have had good wins against Ibstock Place (4-0) and Tunbridge Wells Grammar (1-0). As well as this the U15s have got through to the next round of the ISFA Cup (beating Aldenham 9-1) and the next round of the Sussex Cup (having beaten Thomas Bennett 5-2). As well as this, the U14s are now through to the next round of the Sussex Cup, beating Lancing College 5-2.

In representative football, Gani Nuredini and Josh Taylor are through to the next round of trials for the national team, whilst Alex Summerfield has been selected into the South of England U16s for Independent Schools, and will trial for the full national team later on this month.

Sports Talk - Dealing with pressure

On Thursday 4th October, we welcomed sport Psychologist Sarah Murray back to the College to give a talk about how to deal with pressure in sport.

Following the success of last year, a 6 week Sport Psychology workshop will run after half term for anyone who is interested in improving their mental game.

Indoor Hockey begins at Ardingly

On Tuesday 15th October Ardingly hosted our first ever indoor hockey match as the boys 1st team took on Hurst. Indoor hockey is a 6 a side game played in a sports hall using wooden sideboards making it a quick, technical and physical game. It is an ideal game for our hockey players to develop vision on and off the ball and to develop a better understanding of tactics and set plays.

Fencing News

Ardingly have recently drawn swords at Worth and St Benedict's

National Schools Hockey

Congratulations to the Under 16 girls hockey team who reached the semi finals of the Sussex rounds of the National Schools Cup on Monday 1 October. Ardingly were drawn in a tough group but started the tournament well defeating Brighton College 1-0 with a late penalty corner goal from Alice Harvey. This gave the girls great confidence and Lewes Old Grammar were swept aside 3-0 with a hat-trick from Charlotte Childs, all hit powerfully past the keeper. This meant that the winner of the Hurst versus Ardingly match would progress to the semi finals and helped by some tenacious team defence (typified by Vicky Crawford and Cara Rocks) mixed with some real pace in attack, Ardingly came from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

Eco Conference

The first Ardingly Eco-conference took place on Tuesday 9thOctober. It was well attended, mainly by sixth form students and several teaching and support staff. Our guest speaker, Ms Joy Dyson, from Mid-Sussex District Council gave a presentation on recycling which was very informative.

Any Questions?

First broadcast in 1948, “Any Questions” broadcast on Radio 4 is the longest running topical debating programme in the world. On 28thSeptember, Charlie Lewis and Will Salt, two members of Upper VI hoping to study Politics next year at university level, witnessed the live broadcast of the programme, chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby.

Security Council crisis simulation at Christ’s Hospital.

On Friday 5th October, a group of 10 students attended a Security Council crisis simulation at Christ’s Hospital. The crisis simulation placed the delegates in a fast paced and rapidly changing security scenario. The simulation was a challenging and exciting experience for our students, developing their understanding of the powers and limitations of the United Nations Security Council during times of crisis.

National Poetry Day

The sun came out, as it always seems to do, for National Poetry Day which was celebrated on Thursday 4th October. The day began with the invitation to all tutor groups to compose a cinquain and submit it for the competition to find the best.

A Fearsome Medieval Debate

On Wednesday 10th October, the History Society hosted a highly entertaining medieval debate watched by numerous students, staff and parents alike. Our two sets of Lower VI Medieval historians were engaged in a battle of wits, knowledge and rhetorical skills with ten scholars from Hawthorns Prep School.

Pupils witness Any Questions Debate

On 28^th September, Charlie Lewis and Will Salt, two members of VI Upper hoping to study Politics next year at university level, witnessed the live broadcast of the programme, chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby.

Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip

In his new three-part series, Ian Hislop asks when and why we British have bottled up or let out our feelings, and how this has affected our history. Exploring emotion and identity over the last 300 years, Ian gives us his personal take on our evolving national character. The series starts on Tue 2^ndOct from 21:00-22:00h on BBC2. The Ardingly College episode, filmed here, is Episode 2. There is a good little synopsis here on the production team's website which you might like the link to, click here

LPO Orchestral Day

In a continued partnership between the orchestra and the College, members of this world-famous orchestra visited and coached our ‘middle school’ students. They were joined by students from Downlands Community School, Oathall Community College and Cumnor House. There were workshops throughout the day, culminating with short concert at 4.30pm in the Chapel

VOCES8 are staying until 2016

After the wonderful opening concert in our fifth Music@Ardingly series given by VOCES8, Ardingly is delighted to announce that the group’s residency has been extended by a further three years until summer 2016.

Lunchtime Recital at All Saints Church, Hove

On Thursday 20th September, 15 students gave a lunchtime recital in one of Loughborough Pearson’s finest church buildings – the beautiful setting of All Saints Church, Hove. The Lunchtime Recital Series is in its twenty-second year and it remains a firmly established tradition in the musical calendar of the city of Brighton and Hove and has featured hundreds of artists from around the world. To an audience in excess of 100, seven students gave delightful solo performances and the school jazz band rounded off a fantastic concert to rapturous applause.

Sailing Success against Eton

Last Saturday (15th Sept) the preparatory sailing team raced in the senior Ardingly challenge.

Ardingly appoint Great Britain International Mark Gleghorne to Hockey Staff

Ardingly are delighted to announce that Mark Gleghorne has joined the hockey coaching staff

Girls Hockey Report

After a difficult first week of fixtures against Eastbourne College the girls have worked hard in training on applying simple principles and patterns of play allied with a lot of hard work. The results are already beginning to show...

The Forty Club

Ardingly College won the district round of the the Henry Grierson Trophy (The Forty Club Trophy) for the season just ended.

Geography Field Trip to the Yorkshire Dales

Over the weekend of September 15th to 18th, 31 Lower Sixth Geography students and four members of staff set off for the Yorkshire Dales to collect data for public examinations (AS) and coursework (IB).

Biology Field Trip to Dale Fort

On a wet and windy Sunday morning in early September the intrepid Upper Sixth biologists embarked on the annual pilgrimage to Dale Fort.

Success at Cambridge University’s annual Chemistry Challenge Competition

At the end of June several Lower Sixth Chemists took part in Cambridge University’s annual Chemistry Challenge Competition.

Launch of the Inquiring Curriculum

On Friday 21^stSeptember the Shell strand of the 11-14 Inquiring Curriculum was launched with parents. There was a very warm reception from parents who seemed excited by the connectedness of the Shell Humanities curriculum around the common theme of ‘The World’.

Design and Technology Exhibition

Viewing opened of the newly located Design and Technology exhibition with a private view on Wednesday 12th September, with many parents, students and staff attending. The display includes a piece that has been awarded the Young Craftsman of the Year Special Award, and many other beautiful products and furniture made by the Fifth, Lower and Upper Sixth Design and Technology students. Courses studied are Resistant Materials, Graphic Products and Product Design, resulting in a wide, eclectic range of innovative pieces from tables and chairs to scaled architectural models. The display will be open until 11th October when the work will be returned to its rightful owners, the students. Huge thanks go to the Art Department for allowing us to borrow their gallery. Do please feel free to pop in to the Art Gallery to view the wonderful work on display.

Back to our roots

On Thursday 13th September Father David led the annual visit of the Shell pupils to Shoreham and Lancing, enabling them to learn more about our Priest Founder and his vision. We visited the Parish Church of St Mary de Haura and three other related sites in Shoreham-by-Sea, where he was the parish priest and from where the first three schools of what was to become the Woodard Corporation were founded, before moving on to Lancing College to visit the Chapel, which is also the Minster Church of the Corporation, paying our respects at his tomb and in his own Chantry Chapel, the latter contained within the Chapel of Our Lady and St Nicholas

Open Day Special

We have arranged to officially launch our campaign at our Open Day on Saturday, 13 October. This launch is being supported by Cambridge University and they will be bringing to Ardingly their solar powered car, which raced in the 2011 Veolia World Challenge. The launch will show how the programme is providing pupils with sought after skills outside the traditional teaching environment, making them very attractive recruits into university and industry. If you, or one of your team, would like to attend the presentation, please contact Dr Spiers andrew.spiers@ardingly.com.

Gambia 2012

On the 26th June, twenty four students and five staff set off from Ardingly College, bound for the Gambia. During their time in the Gambia, they worked in three very different schools, including one for deaf children, and stayed in two different locations, one rural and one urban.

2012 Kenya Trip

The 2012 Kenya Trip has been an unforgettable journey full of hard work, fun and insights into a complete new environment. After a year of busy fundraising including marathons, bicycle rides, the Christmas fair, a concert and the annual hunger lunches organised by the catering dept, twenty six of us, including four members of staff, flew out to Nairobi with excitement and a lot of curiosity.

Abidine accepted onto the U19 National Cricket program

Upper Sixth Former Abidine Sakande has been accepted onto the English Cricket Board's Under 19s programme. In January 2013 he will be joining an Under 19 tour to South Africa and he is working towards representing England in the World Cup in April 2014. Abidine enjoyed his first taste of playing for England in 2011 when he successfully completed the England Cricket Board Under 17s’ tour in South Africa, taking 7 wickets for 157 off 38 overs, the third highest score on the team.

U14 ISFA National Squad Achievement

Congratulations to Oscar McConnell and Sam Rattle who have both been selected for the U14 ISFA National Squad. They will meet up with the rest of the squad and play two games in October 1/2 term.

The 2012 J P Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race

There is something magical competing in this 50 mile race round the Isle of Wight. It is probably the sheer size of the fleet (1650 boats ); perhaps fulfils part of our Island heritage!

London Road Theatre Trip

Last Thursday (6th Sept) the Drama & Theatre Studies Department ran a trip to the National theatre in London to see the final performance of the award-winning musical London Road.

Shell Teambuilding

The Shell induction day on the first Sunday of term is always busy, with lots of new places to find and people to meet. Having met House staff and found their studies, Shell spent a busy first day taking part in different activities.

Water Sports Morning

Last Saturday (8th Sept) saw the largest number of students in the history of our college used the reservoir . In total 130 Ardinians participated in water activities. These included kayaking, sailing, wind surfing and raft building.

Tatler - School Guide 2013

Find out what an independent journalist from Tatler's Good School Guide had to say about Ardingly College after a visit.

Ardingly 1st XI reach the final at the National 6 a-side football tournament.

Ardingly 1st XI reach the final of the National 6 a-side football tournament.

Ardingly College Celebrates a Quarter of All GCSE Grades at A*

Record results for our A Level students!

Timeline has just been published

The first issue of Timeline, The Ardingly College Journal of History & International Relations has just been published.

Please click here to view

An OA astronomer visits the Physics Department

The physics department was delighted to welcome the return of an Old Ardinian Ana Jackson, she is presently just about to start her third year at University College London studying Physics.

Excellent IB achievements for Ardingly pupils

The “excellent” hard work of high achieving Sixth Formers at Ardingly College has paid off in their end-of-school International Baccalaureate exams yet again.

Ardingly College is 'Outstanding'! - Inspection 2012

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) has praised Ardingly College as highly successful, with excellent leadership and some exceptionally high achieving pupils.

British Isles Music Festival Concert Program Launched

Ardingly College Summer School is delighted to be hosting The British Isles Music Festival, one of the most enterprising and ambitious master class and chamber music courses in Europe. For details of the concert program click here.

Desert Rat Chief at Ardingly Commemoration Day

The Commander of the Desert Rats in the first Gulf War, Major General Patrick Cordingley, opened his address at Commemoration Day, the Ardingly College Speech Day, on Friday 29th June by saying how honoured he was to be asked to Ardingly.

Gwilym completes his 2012 Challenge

Jonah Adomakoh Inter-county Schools Success

Jonah Adomakoh 3rd in County Champtionships.

Godwin Hall Blessed

An important stone laid as Godwin Hall takes shape.

Congratulations Jade Edment - Better Tomorrows Sculpture Winner

Breakfast at Ardingly?

Ardingly has long had a bee colony, currently tended by Dr Klinge and his team of Apiarists. The annual distribution of Honey from Ardingly is always keenly anticipated, and demand far outstrips supply – the latest harvest, amounting to 54 jars, had interesting hints of herbal flavours.

Press Cutting - IAPS National Sailing Regatta May 2012

Headboy, Josh Williams accepted by LAMDA

Congratulations to Josh who has been accepted onto the Foundation Course at LAMDA. An in intensive course, he will study various forms of drama, movement and improvisation and get the chance to collaborate with a writer and director to create a piece of new work through a process of research, improvisation and rehearsal.

"I’m thrilled to have been accepted by LAMDA - the prospect of beginning my training at one of the best drama schools in the world is of course really exciting! I am one of 30 students to have been accepted onto the one year foundation course and usually, a large number go on to gain places on a three-year BA acting course commencing the following year, either continuing on at LAMDA or going to Guildhall, RADA etc. Or I might go straight into things afterwards. It’s going to be intense work next year, but from what I’ve seen during the audition process, which has been going since last December, LAMDA is a pretty chaotic place and I’m going to have lot of fun living in London and training there".

The 'Visit to Hopeton'

The Visit to Hopeton, Jonathan Caldicot’s reworking of Dürenmatt’s classic play Der Besuch der alten Dame triumphed for three nights last week at Ardingly. A whole school production, including a cast of over 60 girls and boys and a prep school choir, was a significant undertaking and its success was due to the tremendous commitment of the young cast and crew.

My Fair Lady Post Production Party

The ‘My Fair Lady’ cast and crew celebrated the success of the show with a glamorous film premiere evening on Monday 31^st January.

“Smashing, Positively Dashing”…My Fair Lady

‘The musical was unquestionably the finest production we have ever seen at Ardingly! It was truly a world class performance. A massive well done to all concerned, most especially to Josh Williams and Olivia Bell. What extraordinary futures lie ahead for them both, and what a privilege for the rest of us to watch the crysalii emerge! Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn were smiling indeed. A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT! ‘

Caucasian Chalk Circle

Towards the end of the Michaelmas I, along with many Ardinians and parents had the privilege of being in the audience at this year's production of 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' - a new version adapted and directed by Mr Jonathan Caldicot and set to music by Mr Darren Jameson.

RADA

Talented Emily Williams who is in the UVI and lives in Ardingly has won a coveted place at RADA, one of only 32 students to do so among thousands of young hopefuls.

2nd Annual Ardingly Cricket Coaching Festival

Cumnor House were the guests of Ardingly last Wednesday for the 2nd annual Ardingly Cricket Coaching Festival.

A terrific finale to the Music@Ardingly 2011/12 series

Emma Johnson, Julian Lloyd Webber, John Lill closed the Music@Ardingly 2011/12 season.

Ardingly Students win Young Craftman of the Year Award

Two students were presented with awards at the South of England Show in the Young Craftsman of the Year awards.

A busy year in the Art Department

The Senior School Art Department has had another successful, jam packed year of activities, trips and talks whilst maintaining its characteristic air of creativity and calm throughout lesson times and extra activity sessions.

Sculptures around our grounds

Some of the more observant amongst you may have noticed that some sculpture work has escaped from the art department and is now displayed around the College grounds. The work was created as part of IB and A Level projects and was specifically made to be displayed outside in the environment. The large tree outside the Prep School entrance has Rafael Jardim’s large scale transparent seed pod hanging from the branches, making a bold statement as you enter the College. Perched on the rooftops overlooking the Terrace are rows of metal crows made by Euan Greaves-Smith, and spinning beneath the hanging branches of a tree on the grass opposite is the decorative wise owl made by Lisa Kroiss. Within the buildings, outside the entrance to the Art Galleries, hangs Anna Cook’s large scale Wooden Leaf Panel. Less noticeable is a painted tree nestled in a wooded glade near the Swimming Pool, completed by Sophia Syed. All students will leave their artistic mark on the College as they leave in June and should be congratulated on the success of their hard work.

Art Outings

The sixth form art trip to Paris this Easter was a huge success. The group stayed in the hub of the city and packed in visits to many areas and museums. They took time to absorb the atmosphere of Paris and the bright spring sunshine permitted a walk to the Eiffel Tower, around the area of Notre Dame, the Tuileries Gardens and a day in bohemian Montmartre. Work was undertaken in the amazing Musée d'Orsay, the beautiful little Musée de l'Orangerie, The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville du Paris and the huge Pompidou Centre. A portrait competition was hotly contested and judged by staff on the steps of the Sacre Coeur – but the expressive use of colour used by one student in his portrait of a friend won him the prize of a Monet Rubik’s Cube! The positive, friendly and hard working attitudes of all on the trip meant the four days will remain memorable for all involved.

2012 Ardingly Art Exhibition

A magnificant exhibition was held to showcase the work of our A-level and GCSE students.Click here to view the portfolio

CCF Parade

The Headmaster’s Parade took place on Monday 28th May on the terrace in glorious sunshine, with the Deputy Headmaster, Captain Stapleton taking the Inspection.

Ardingly Wins Year 10 South East England Maths Challenge

After winning the Brighton heat of the Year 10 team maths challenge in March against 26 local rivals, the Remove team of Larry Costick, Jonathan Shoesmith, James Price and Matei Marin has gone on to even greater glory.

Woodard Musician of the Year competition

The final of the second Woodard Musician of the Year competition took place in St John's Smith Square, London on Saturday 5th May.

‘Better Tomorrows’ recycled sculpture competition

The Art Department L6th IB students have recently created work for a West Sussex Eco ‘Better Tomorrows’ recycled sculpture competition.

IAPS Sailing Regatta

IAPS Sailing Regatta Press Cutting. Click Here.

U14 footballers join ISFA National squad

U14 footballers from Ardingly who attended the recent ISFA National squad gathering at Bradfield College during the Easter holiday.

Easter Rugby tour to Gibraltar

The rugby tour to Gibraltar at Easter turned out to be a fantastic success with both our under 14 and under 15 teams performing remarkably well.

Delegates attend the Model United Nations Conference

On Friday the 23rd of March, the Ardingly College Model United Nations team left to attend the annual Haileybury MUN conference.

An Easter Visit to Rome, The Eternal City.

Over the Easter holidays 2012 a party of 23 highly fortunate Ardinians visited Rome, the Eternal City.

Ardinians take to the slopes in Switzerland

On the 1st April 2012, a group of very lucky students met at Gatwick airport to travel to Switzerland for a week of skiing.

Ardingly's big presence in Hockey County Squads

This season 21 of our hockey players have been selected to represent Sussex as part of the Junior Academy Centre from Under 13 to Under 17 level.

Sixth Form Artists inspired by Parisian Exhibitions

The sixth form art trip to Paris this Easter was a huge success.

IB Art Exhibition

Thursday 22nd March brought the arrival of the final art exhibition of Visual Arts Work, after nearly two years of creativity from the U6th students.

Extra Curricular Activities On Offer

Please click here to see what activities are on offer >>

The Second Staff Art Exhibition

On Wednesday 12th October the 2011 Staff Art Exhibition was unveiled in the Senior School Gallery, showing the wealth of creative talent the College possesses.

'Power Undressed'

Last years' Upper sixth student Anna Wise gained a prestigious finalists' position in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Student Exhibition with her playful diptych 'Power Undressed'.

Year 10 pupils Are The South East Regional Maths Champions

Ardingly Boys’ Hockey 1st XI are Sussex Champions

Avalanche of Donations For Big Snow Challenge

Ardingly Hockey reaches Sussex and South of England Finals

International success for Ardingly Cricket!!!

Stand Up for Ed Petrie!

More Ardingly Footballers push the boundaries!!!

The Chichester Cathedral Choir Comes To Ardingly

Choral Evensong at Selwyn College, Cambridge

Inter-Schools Cross Country Relay Race, The 'Octavo'

Netball Success

Chapel Choir Sings at Windsor Castle

Adam Boulton

ALP Solar - Ardingly students attempt to build a solar powered car

ALP Solar is a highly ambitious whole school engineering project to design and build a solar powered car to race from Darwin to Adelaide.

Tamsin Greenway Coaching Day

Sporting Success this weekend!!!

Stedman and Cheesman link up to push Ardingly Hockey onwards!

Michaelmas Term 2011

The 'Visit to Hopeton'

Mid Sussex Music Festival 2011 – Ardingly Successes

Football Success

Ardingly have continued their dominance in School fixtures, recently beating Alleyns 4-0 in the Elgin Southern Independent Schools League, to confirm our place as second in the overall competition.

Welsh Exiles Play the Irish Exiles

Building A Secondary School in Kenya

'Next Steps'

Science Trip to CERN in Switzerland

Shooting Star

Netball Tour to Spain 2011

The Annual College Cross Country Event : 'The Steepo'

The 2011 Staff Art Exhibition

Voces8 Prep School Choral Workshop

Voces8 Concert Review

Rowing returns to Ardingly!

Hockey Success

Our Senior Librarian is honoured for excellence

Sporting Success in Golf and Basketball

Ardingly inter team come 2nd in ESAA cross country cup

Recital at All Saints Church, Hove and Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral

Ardingly Home Clothes Day raises over £10,000 for a Woodard Secondary School in Africa.

Football Success

The 1st XI Football team has made a strong start to the new season.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra Workshop

Former England Hockey Players Coach St Andrew’s PS pupils

Neil Gaiman

GCSE Results 2011

A Level results, 2011

Excellent IB Achievements for Ardingly pupils

The Headmaster's Report

Click here to view the Headmaster's Report.

Summer Term 2011

Ardingly Annals 2011

Click here to view the Ardingly Annals 2011.

The Wonderful Bird 2011

Click here to view The Wonderful Bird 2011.

Ardingly Is 'Outstanding'

Ardingly was identified as an outstanding provider following an inspection during 2010/2011

Click here to view the report >>

Monty Gimpel signs for Leeds United!!!

The Sixteen Review

The Bunbury's and Mark Lawrence Memorial Cricket Match

Ardingly Students Set Sights Sky High

Ardingly Triumphs and Wins First Place in the Senior and Junior Woodard Musician of the Year Competition

By George He's Got It!

Hockey Success for our Girls!

The Sixteen: Immortal Legacy

6th Form Band Raise Money For The Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton’s Royal Sussex County Hospital.

The Mark Lawrence Memorial Cricket Match, Sunday 15th May 2011

'Star Date' March 2011

Biology Olympiad

The Headmaster's Lecture Programme

Chapel Choir sings Mass at Westminster Cathedral

Our Imperial Bursar

Exciting College Development Plans

The Physics Department Has Much To Celebrate

Hockey Success For Our Boys And Girls

A Standing Ovation for our Director of Music, Robert Costin

Theory of Knowledge Conference

Creative Writing and Prize Essay Competition Winners

Ardingly Certified as Top UK International Baccalaureate School

We are proud to have been certified as one of the Top UK IB Schools in the 2010 league tables published on http://www.best-schools.co.uk

“Smashing, Positively Dashing”…My Fair Lady

New Deputy Headmaster

'Out Of This World Success At Ardingly'

Adolfo Barabino Winter Piano Celebration

'Ardingly News', Michaelmas 2010 Edition

Recent Sporting Achievements

OA 1986-1992 Reunion at the House of Commons

The Queene’s Concert

Ardingly College is hailed as one of the UK's top performing IB schools

We have been described as one of the UK's top performing IB schools, coming 9th out of 217 UK IB Diploma schools in the league table compiled by specialists in education.

VOCES8 become Ardingly's Musicians in Residence

The U15 Hockey Team are County Champions

Lecture by our Head of Divinity & Philosophy

'The Steepo'

The Headmaster's Half Term Newsletter

Reaching For The Stars

Prep Schools Choral Day Workshop with Voces8

Our most impressive set of results yet

Old Ardinian, Ian Hislop, returns to Ardingly

Writer and broadcaster Ian Hislop visited Ardingly College, his old school, on June 25, to unveil a special sculpture, a galvanized wrought iron statue of a pelican preparing to take flight from the school terrace.