Saints Church, Hove - Ardingly College

CONTENTS
Faith 6
Unity 18
Vision 24
Faith, Unity
& Vision within the
Ardingly Community 40
The Editorial Team
Headmaster Peter Green
Editors Paul Ryan / Gesa Paulfeierborn
Photography ‘The Ardingly Paparazzi’
Design and Production www.mercerdesign.co.uk
FROM
THE
HEAD
MASTER
What a terrific start to the year. At just
over 900 pupils, the College is at its
biggest ever, and our academic results
have been spectacular. As ever, it is very
difficult to compare Ardingly with other
schools because just under half the
cohort take the IB Diploma. Ardingly’s
IB results were an average, once again,
of 36 points, which is the equivalent of
3 A* grades and an A at A Level. If you
combine our IB grades, using UCAS
points per candidate, with our A Level
grades, Ardingly’s overall showing is just
under 90% A*-B and a fair representation
of Ardingly’s academic character in the
Sixth Form. Our GCSE candidates who
have now joined the Sixth Form achieved
over 60% A*-A, and they have been
joined by 25 very able students from
different educational traditions.
Having said all of this, there is much
more to an Ardingly education. Alistair
Campbell’s now infamous declaration,
‘We don’t do God,’ summarised the
reluctance of politicians in the Blair years
to enter the religious arena. Religion and
politics may be a no-go zone, but without
doubt Divinity and Philosophy at Ardingly
have a continuing relevance, and we
continue to communicate that relevance to
our boys and girls, parents and governors.
At Ardingly it is essential that our pupils
can reflect on such questions as ‘Why
is there something instead of nothing?’,
‘What do I want and why do I want it?’, and
‘How do I make sense of my life?’
Ultimately, Divinity, and the study of
faith, is about God as a concept and,
through the three major monotheistic
religions, a reality. We want our children
to go to the National Gallery to see the
Leonardo Exhibition, to listen to Mozart,
to read Milton and Shakespeare and
Golding, and to grasp the full meaning
of what they see and hear. We make a
conscious statement that it is God and
not just Religion that is the object of
our study. Of course, a number of our
students do not believe in God, though
at least they are searching for the
transcendent; but Augustine, Aquinas,
Bach, Newton, Milton and Einstein did
believe in God. Divinity and Philosophy
are at the heart of the Woodard
tradition, and at Ardingly we are called
to be a theological community. In other
words, we want our students to speak
about God. We may not all believe, we
do not all agree, but we talk and we
listen because this is the beginning of
wisdom, and surely wisdom, and the
search for wisdom, is what an Ardingly
education is all about.
But with faith, and the discussion
of faith and God, comes unity.
International-mindedness is a key
characteristic of the College. Our
pupils are mindful of, and build
greater understanding of, their own
cultural routes - linguistic, historical,
religious, geographical – and they
are also aware of, and build bridges
towards, those from other cultural
backgrounds. We continue to develop
their leadership skills through thinking
and communication, which enables
them to become confident, global
citizens. We promote an awareness
and social responsibility towards
communities beyond the confines
of the College, and an awareness of
environmental stewardship, and we
encourage exchanges, international
dialogue and co-operation with others.
Although remaining a quintessentially
British school, Ardingly’s international
dimension is one of its greatest
strengths, providing an environment
where the boys and girls can become
the best possible version of themselves
that they can.
This leads to our vision. Combining
faith and unity, Ardingly has a very clear
outlook to continue to be a worldleading
and outstanding school. To this
end, we are entering into our second
phase of major campus redevelopment,
and construction has started on our
new Upper Sixth 96 en-suite-single
rooms for boarders and several ensuite
day rooms – the biggest building
project since the founding of the
School, our Prep School will be
re-housed in South School, and we
are negotiating a new 4G and Pro-
Dome facility. There will be a Phase
Three, but more of that at a later date.
The most important group within
the College are our pupils, staff and
parents, so we will have magnificent
facilities, but it is what happens in the
tent, rather than the tent itself, that
is key. We continue to improve our
academic provision by embedding the
Ardingly Learner Profile and introducing
a new 11-14 Curriculum. In addition, we
will further develop links with the wider
world, including Kenya and The Gambia,
and forge stronger links with our local
community. We intend to create Cricket,
Soccer and Hockey academies, both
for the wider community and also for
our own students, we will develop
our partnership with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra and Voces 8.
We will look to enhance further our
music provision, with an increasing
number of masterclasses.
Ardingly’s Woodard ethos remains
at our core. We are becoming an
increasingly academic, but inclusive,
school, our boarding ethos becomes
stronger, our building and facilities are
being enhanced to create a truly safe
and beautiful environment, essential for
the development of the human spirit,
and giving to others remains central to
Ardingly’s Woodard ethos.
At Ardingly we continue to recognise
the important difference between being
fully qualified and fully human.
Beati mundo corde
Peter Green