A World Ready Education

“I am intellectually curious, with well-developed critical thinking skills.”​

Ardingly is proud of the strong academic results our students achieve. However, while public examination results are important, they do not represent the totality of academic achievement. Equally important are the critical thinking skills we seek to foster and, particularly crucial in an AI world, the ability to robustly evaluate sources and to have an enquiring mind that actively and independently searches for knowledge and understanding.

The strategic aim of this component is to ensure every student reaches their full academic potential.

Actions towards this include to:

• Become a leading digital learning school to realise the potential of AI and other digital applications, ensuring our students enhance their digital skills while developing a critical analysis of the limitations of these tools.
• Introduce and implement a new digital skills framework across the College via a self-directed e-Learning platform, which will also develop independent learning skills.
• Embed a strong culture of literacy across the College in which students continue to enjoy reading and become articulate writers and persuasive speakers.
• Adapt the curriculum to further develop students’ literacy and presentation skills.
• Develop academic agency and collaboration through increased project-based learning by revising schemes of work to ensure at least one project-based learning topic per subject every academic year.

“I have found my passion! My co-curricular interests develop me as a person, give me enjoyment and enrich my life.”

We want every student at Ardingly to find their passion and enjoy their time at the College. While some will find their passion in the classroom, the breadth of our co-curricular offer means others will find it in sports, music, drama, dance, art or the Enrichment Programme of more than 150 different activities. This programme fosters essential life skills and ensures that every student takes regular physical exercise – whether their priority is elite athletic competition or simply recreation, we aim for all students to find a physical activity they enjoy enough to continue after Ardingly, to help keep them fit and healthy in adult life.

The strategic aim of this component is to enable every child to find and develop a co-curricular passion.

Actions towards this include to:

• Develop a sports strategy that aims to find a sport for every student and develop enjoyment of it. The sports strategy also aims to provide fixtures for all sports, educate children on healthy physical exercise, and provide opportunities for student leadership in sport.
• Establish a performing and creative arts strategy that encourages participation, builds confidence and technical aptitude, and enables students to experience enjoyment of the creative process and the thrill of collaborative performance.
• Strengthen and widen our Enrichment Programme (Shaping My World Programme in the Prep School) to ensure a broad range of stimulating opportunities, with the goal that every student finds a co-curricular activity which they enjoy and can succeed in.
• Encourage greater student leadership and agency over the Enrichment Programme.

“I can look after myself and others with care, compassion and resilience.”

At Ardingly we believe our outstanding pastoral care is what underpins and supports our students’ success, enabling them to reach their potential and enjoy school life to the full.  After all, if a child is not happy and comfortable in their own skin, they won’t achieve their full potential in the classroom or in other areas of life. Our Care & Wellbeing programme seeks to promote and maintain a culture of care in which all children are safe, protected and valued. We commit to maintaining our small pastoral groups, so that every individual child will be known and supported, and any difficulties can be quickly and effectively resolved. This component also seeks to strengthen the College’s pastoral partnership with parents and places student voice at the heart of our community.

The strategic aim of this component is to further develop a culture of care to support every child.

Actions towards this include to:

• Design and deliver a rolling five-year Safeguarding Plan to ensure that we continue to promote the safeguarding and wellbeing of every individual child.
• Review and further strengthen the Tutor system and House structure, maintaining the small pastoral groups that underpin the pastoral care of our students.
• Audit existing opportunities for student voice and explore student appetite for further representation through regular pupil surveys and wellbeing assessments.
• Gain external recognition as a leader among independent schools for excellence in Care & Wellbeing.

“I am equipped with the skills I will need to succeed in a changing world of work.”

Ardingly College aims to become a leader in the education sector in terms of how best to equip students to succeed in a radically changing world of work. We have employed an outstanding Director of Enterprise & Employability who has a wealth of ‘real world’ experience, having spent the last decade in the corporate world training adults in transferable employability skills, working in various geographies across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She will work with our academic subject leaders and Senior Management Team to design and lead the delivery of a comprehensive Enterprise & Employability programme to develop essential employability skills and foster entrepreneurism across the whole College, from our Prep School all the way to the Upper Sixth.

The strategic aim of this component is to equip students with the employability and enterprise skills they will need to succeed in a rapidly changing modern workplace.

Actions towards this include to:

• Design and deliver an innovative Employability Skills programme across all year groups at the College to reflect real world experience of employers’ likely future focus in this rapidly changing world of work.
• Develop and implement an Entrepreneurship programme to foster enterprising thinking and behaviour across all year groups at the College.
  Design and roll-out a more structured programme of Work Experience to ensure that every student undertakes at least one meaningful placement during their time at the College.
• Develop and brand a regular Speaker Series of inspiring talks from alumni, parents and other guest speakers (to include a focus on how their field or sector is changing, as well as ensuring we feature talks from successful entrepreneurs).
• Provide an “end of programme” certification, to include useful external qualifications that our students can achieve while at the College.

“I understand my own social context and am able to advocate persuasively, while empathising with others and respecting differing viewpoints.”

The Society & Me component will deliver a carefully designed new programme that goes well beyond the limits of the statutory PSHE curriculum.  It will provide students and staff with opportunities to explore and understand changing and sometimes conflicting social attitudes. It will help students better understand societal changes and how these might relate to their own lives, while providing opportunities for student-led forums and focused discussions. Students will develop empathy through a good understanding of complex issues that allows them to have an opinion and provides opportunities to hone their persuasive advocacy skills, but also ensures they will appreciate and respect other viewpoints.

The strategic aim of this component is to help every student engage constructively to form their own views on complex societal issues, while always respecting other viewpoints.

Actions towards this include to:

• Design and implement a new, comprehensive Social Education programme at an age appropriate level for each year group, which will include topics such as freedom of speech, fake news, identity, race, colonialism, sex and gender.
• Ensure a student-centred approach to this programme, which should be evident in renewed and constructive engagement with student forums and effective student leadership.
• Review and further strengthen the Tutor System to support the effective delivery of this component’s aims.

“I have a global perspective, while being engaged in initiatives to improve my local community.”​

The Local & Global component provides opportunities for Ardingly students to learn alongside those from other schools, both locally and globally. Over the last decade the College has built up a network of local and global partnerships – from our ground-breaking STEM solar car partnership with businesses and local schools, to our new international school in China – and our goal is for every student to engage in at least one significant partnership project during their time at Ardingly. This will enable them to develop transferable life skills, while helping them appreciate cultures and socio-economic diversity outside their own experience.

The strategic aim of this component is to broaden students’ horizons through meaningful connections locally and globally.

Actions towards this include to:

• Create and maintain sustainable STEM projects with local school and business partners.
• Maintain partnership support for local primary school provision in curriculum areas beyond their current facilities and resources.
• Further develop opportunities for our students to engage with those overseas through exploring membership of organisations such as Round Square and by strengthening initiatives such as our Model United Nations programme.
• Build on the successful launch of our first international school by creating a global network of Ardingly schools and developing opportunities for students at the College to collaborate in joint projects. with pupils at our international schools.
• Design and deliver a successful Ardingly Summer School to attract a good range of international students who might be potential applicants for the College.