BRIGHTON COLLEGEREVIEW

2011–12

The top co-educational school in England

The Times, 2011

more space for everyoneThe College’s acquisition of Roedean Junior School over the summer has been wonderful for our youngest pupils, with the 210 children of the Pre-Prep relocating to their new state-of-the-art junior school, with its airy classrooms, superb outside space and breathtaking sea views. But the senior boys and girls have benefited just as much.

The former Pre-Prep with its 17 classrooms has been transformed over the summer into a home for the Mathematics department, while the Chowen building is now a wonderful new base for sixth form teaching. The former Pre-Prep Hall is unrecognisable, reborn as a superb new fitness and conditioning suite. It is perfectly situated adjacent to the Home Ground and the Sports Hall.

Elsewhere, the large Pre-Prep playground is now in the happy hands of the Lower and Middle School.

Results in sussex GCse ResULTs (RANKeD BY A* / A)

90%+ 1. Brighton College 91.0%

80%+

70%+

60%+ 2. St Leonards-Mayfield School 68.9%

3. Christ’s Hospital 68.0%

4. Burgess Hill School for Girls 66.8%

5. Roedean School 64.0%

6. Eastbourne College 61.0%

50%+ 7. Lancing College 56.2%

8. Worth School 55.0%

9. Ardingly College 53.0%

10. Farlington School 51.8%

11. Battle Abbey School 50.4%

40%+ 12. Brighton & Hove High School 49.6%

13. Moira House School 41.7%

30%+ 14. Seaford College 31.2%

20%+ 15. St Bede’s School 29.7%

A-LeVeL ResULTs (RANKeD BY A* / A)

70%+ 1. Brighton College 77.8%

60%+

50%+ 2. Lancing College 58.8%

3. Eastbourne College 57.0%

4. Christ’s Hospital 56.3%

5. Burgess Hill School for Girls 54.7%

6. Brighton & Hove High School 53.85%

7. Moira House Girls’ School 50.0%

40%+ 8. Roedean School 49.0%

9. Our Lady of Sion 45.8%

10. St Leonards-Mayfield School 44.8%

11. Farlington School 40.0%

30%+ 12. St Bede’s School 39.1%

13. Seaford College 33.5%

14. Battle Abbey 30.3%

N.B. Hurstpierpoint College (59% in 2010) has not revealed its results.

N.B. Hurstpierpoint College (47% in 2010) and Ardingly College have not revealed their results.

Left: Pupils training in the new fitness and conditioning suite

Bottom:Sixth formers have replaced Year 1 in the Chowen Building

The top school in sussex – again!There were smiles on every face this August as boys and girls celebrated record results at GCSE and A-level, establishing Brighton very firmly as the top school in the county, with clear blue water now established between the College and other independent schools in Sussex.

Of the 1,364 GCSE exams taken, not one paper was failed and there were only 11 C grades. The most common grade was an A* with 717 A* grades, 524 A grades and 112 B grades. Remarkably, 90 pupils gained A* or A grades in every single subject.

At A-level, 95.8% of grades were at A*–B, the grades now demanded by leading universities. 99 pupils gained A*/As in all their subjects.

Given that Brighton is not particularly selective, these are stunning results, which reflect the energy, expertise and enthusiasm of an incredibly gifted teaching body.

A* grades at GCSE

717 Three of our six sets of twins celebrating on results day with the Head Master

BRIGHTON COLLEGE NURSERY & PRE-PREP

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sri Lanka – sticky, Raw, Frontline Charity Painting murals, playing sports, planting tea, repairing walls, and teaching English in Sri Lanka – sounds great? A number of our sixth formers certainly thought so, spending much of their summer working with children in rural schools devastated by the Tsunami of 2004.

The English pupils with A*s in Mandarin ChineseSome people said that English teenagers would never be able to master Mandarin Chinese but Brighton’s pupils have proved them very wrong. After only three years of learning the subject, every single pupil studying the language gained an A* or an A.

The stark benefit of independent schoolingFigures published this month show that the independent sector continues to outperform the state sector by a very significant margin at GCSE:

• the % of pupils nationally gaining A*/A:

• the % of pupils in independent schools gaining A*/A:

• the % of pupils at Brighton College gaining A*/A:

11+ applications keep on going up Word is spreading about just how fantastic the Brighton College Lower School is. 11+ registrations are higher than ever. The 44 children admitted every year enjoy a wonderfully liberating curriculum that includes Mandarin for all, the innovative Story of Our Land course, specialist sciences in the same labs with the same teachers as for sixth formers and so much more. The boys and girls also have an impressive common room of their own in the new Skidelsky Building, providing them with a warm and friendly base.

This year, our 44 new pupils came from 33 different primary and preparatory schools across East and West Sussex, Kent and London. Our 44 Lower 3rd are

from 33 different schools

GCse League Table 2011 – Co-educational schools

school % A* / A grades

1. Brighton College 91.0

2. Royal Grammar School, Newcastle 88.94

3. Highgate School 88.65

4. Alleyn’s School 86.79

5. Oundle School 85.89

6. Bancroft’s School 82.85

7. City of London Freemen’s School 82.23

8. Sevenoaks School 82.20

9. Kingston Grammar School 81.88

10. Concord College 80.35

11. Latymer Upper School 78.49

12. Canford School 78.24

13. King’s School, Chester 76.74

14. King Edward’s, Bath 75.70

15. Grange School 75.20

16. Wellington College 74.97

17. Rugby School 74.83

18. Cheadle Hulme School 74.55

19. Portsmouth Grammar 72.98

20. King’s School, Worcester 72.12

The Times puts Brighton College top in England

Boarding at Handcross Park The merger of Handcross Park and the College in June means that we can now offer boarding to Year 7 and Year 8 pupils at this beautiful school just north of Brighton. The boarding accommodation has been transformed over the summer, creating beautiful new rooms for both girls and boys. Handcross itself is booming – with numbers up 22% since the announcement of the merger with Brighton. A long and happy partnership between two of Sussex’s oldest schools looks certain.

increase in Handcross Park numbers since merger with Brighton

+22%20.9%60.2%91.0%

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INDIVIDUAL SUCCESSES

Sophie Benton Sophie Benton exceeded her wildest dreams this year by being selected as goalkeeper for the England Under 18 Hockey team. Sophie is now aiming for the England Under 21 Team.

Beth ConnellanBeth Connellan maintained her status as a national champion at the 2011 All England Dance Festival, where she achieved two Gold Medals in the classical section.

Alexander BoyleAlex Boyle cycled from Brighton to Paris for the charity, Leo House. The journey took him four days and he raised £980.

Melita Cameron-Wood and Kate Aspinall Congratulations to Melita Cameron-Wood and Kate Aspinall on winning places with the National Youth Theatre last summer. Both starred in last year’s gripping college production of ‘David Copperfield’ and each will be directing plays in Montague this term.

Harriet Barsham

Will EmeryWill Emery has been selected to perform with the prestigious National Youth Theatre Music Company. The Company has nurtured the finest British theatrical talent for 50 years, including Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Derek Jacobi.

Cameron Dashwood Cameron Dashwood has been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Engineering scholarship. He beat off fierce competition to secure the scholarship, which is a national scheme aimed at supporting the most promising future engineers and designers in the country. Cameron will receive sponsorship throughout the sixth form, and is hoping to secure work experience from his sponsor company.

Corinne HullCorinne has just achieved her third Grade 8 Distinction! She now holds the highest award for violin, piano and singing. To gain a hat-trick at such a level requires dedication, talent and an immense amount of hard work.

Harriet Barsham took part in the British Festival of Show Jumping held at Stafford county showground, where she reached the finals in the Under 16 age group.

Ross and James Chisholm

Former college captain, Ross Chisholm, is now a key player in Harlequins first team, having only left the College two years ago, while his younger brother, James, is a Brighton & England player. He has already been in action for the 1st XV, helping Brighton overcome Cranleigh in their traditional start of the season clash (22–20) and then Hurstpierpoint College (41–10).

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Teddy Truneh Congratulations to Teddy Truneh, who performed in the Royal Albert Hall over the summer in the BBC Prom Concert given by the National Youth Orchestra.

Conducted by Vladimir Jurowsky, the programme included the Britten Piano Concerto and Prokofiev’s famous ballet music for Romeo and Juliet. Teddy is currently leader of the College’s Symphony Orchestra.

Alex MarshallAlex Marshall (centre, holding trophy) was selected to play for the Bermuda team in the international squash tournament held in Ghana. She came third overall and is now preparing for the next championships in Canada. Nathan Pigott

Nathan Pigott achieved a distinction in his ATCL Performer’s Diploma on saxophone. This is a remarkable achievement for a school pupil and gives Nathan a formidable start as he continues his musical education at the University of Manchester.

Aldo Maland Aldo Maland played a significant part in the recent feature film ‘Hanna’, starring alongside Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana.

Anya Olsen Anya Olsen was one of six golfers selected to represent Sussex. She has also been nominated for the English Women’s Golf Association’s national training squad.

Matthew Prior Former college cricket captain Matthew Prior is now officially the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world, with a Test average of 44.71 – the best for a wicket-keeper in the history of the sport.

In the recent Ashes series, he claimed 23 catches including an unprecedented six in the first innings at Melbourne.

Matthew’s Test average – the best in the world for a wicket keeper

44.71

Becky WilliamsBecky Williams came 17th in the Under 12 section of the British Fencing Championships earlier this year. Becky is the one wearing the fluorescent socks!

Tabitha Worsley In horse racing, Tabitha Worsley won the Aldington Ladies’ Open with her horse, Alfarid.

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SPORT

In last week’s block fixture against Lancing, every single team won comfortably with Brighton scoring 50 goals and conceding only 3. The 1st XI’s victory confirms their unbeaten season to date, enjoying wins over Ardingly (7–0) and Churcher’s (7–3). The team also won the Christ’s Hospital Hockey Festival.

In the group matches, the College beat St John’s, Leatherhead (6–0), KES Witley (5–0) and Tormead (2–0). Success in the semi-finals against the hosts (3–0) meant a final against a very competitive Epsom College. Ultimately, Brighton was too strong and the girls brought the trophy home to the College.

Gold medal for Yasmin Coleman in European Triathlon ChampionshipsCompeting for Great Britain, Yasmin Coleman won the gold medal at the 2011 Under 19 European Triathlon Championships held in Pontevedra, Spain in June. Competing in the Olympic category, she completed the three events in the winning time of 2hrs 52s. This involved a 1.5km swim followed by a 40km bike ride and finally a 10km run. Her split times were: swim 29min 27s, bike 1hr 26min 25s and run 52min 26s.

Cricket coaching gets better and betterOne of the most experienced batting coaches in the country, Les Lenham, will be leading the batting coaching in the College across all the age groups this winter. Les currently works with Sussex and has been an England batting coach in previous years – including working with Graham Gooch, the leading run scorer of all time.

He will be joined by current Sussex player, Chris Liddle, the fast left arm seamer who is one of the county’s leading wicket-takers this season.

College Cricketers Represent Sussex at the National FinalsA highly successful summer season of college cricket saw college girls representing Sussex Girls’ Under 17, Under 15 and Under 13 sides in the National County Championship finals. The Under 17 team featured Georgia Adams, Izi Noakes and Rebecca Silk who beat Kent to become Under 17 National County Champions. The Under 15 team qualified for the finals as group winners and included Izzy Collis and Lucy Knott. The Under 13 team featuring Lucy D’Orsaneo finished runners up having played Lancashire in the final.

Jordan Auburn wins national hurdles titleFive college athletes qualified for the English Schools’ Athletics Championships held in Gateshead in June. Jordan Auburn and Nathan Parker won silver medals in their respective hurdles events. Jordan went on to win the national title in the 5th fastest time ever recorded (12.76s) to cement his place as the top 100m hurdler in the UK this year. He has been invited to the UK School Games in Sheffield.

The 5th fastest time ever for the100m hurdles

12.76s

Rugby season off to excellent startThe 1st XV have started the season with an impressive win over a very competitive Cranleigh School (22–20) and a more comfortable outing against Hurstpierpoint College (41–10). The depth in strength among the senior pupils has been particularly pronounced this year, with the 2nd XV defeating Cranleigh School 39–16 and Hurstpierpoint College 63–0.

Hockey girls put 50 goals past Lancing

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MUSIC DRAMA

Music, the Marathon and Montreux Thousands of runners, including our own pupils and staff, were supported down the final stretch of the Brighton Marathon by some stirring tunes from the Brighton College Swing Band earlier this year. The band also performed at the world famous Montreux Jazz festival.

The new Music School goes centre stage The design of the College’s new Music School has been unveiled. It will be situated in the heart of the campus, nestled between the Grade I listed Gilbert Scott Main Building and the Home Ground.

The Music School will house a concert room for formal recitals and full orchestral rehearsals, a number of music practice rooms, an IT suite, music library and a recording studio. Work is planned to start in July 2012 with completion in 2014.

New recital room unveiled As part of the plans to move the Music Department back into the heart of the College in a new purpose-built Music School, a brand new music studio adjacent to the Performing Arts Centre has been opened. Housing a new grand piano, the studio offers the Music Department excellent new facilities for advanced instrumental lessons, chamber music coaching, academic seminars and masterclasses.

Grimm Tales Grimm by name and grim by nature: shivers constantly ran up the spines of the audience as ghoulish characters circled their prey in search of poor defenceless victims. As part of Arts Week, Montague Studio was transformed into a dark mysterious setting for the Lower School Play “Grimm Tales”. Conventional seating was dispensed with; instead, the audience stood in the middle of the performance space whilst the actors performed dark fairy tales around them.

The Mikado beckons We eagerly anticipate the performance of “The Mikado” later this term, a triumphantly timeless piece of ensemble comic musical theatre where Gilbert & Sullivan’s special blend of charm, silliness and gentle satire will entertain us all.

1312

EVENTS

Brighton College Abu Dhabi Brighton College’s first overseas school has opened its doors this term. Three years in the planning, Brighton College Abu Dhabi welcomed a remarkable 580 new Brightonians aged 3 to 14. BCAD will be offering its pupils a Brighton College curriculum and over 100 activities each week in its state-of-the-art campus.

Brighton to sponsor London Academy for disadvantaged children Brighton College has teamed up with Eton College, Harrow School, City of London School, Hampton School, Highgate School and KCS Wimbledon to bid for funding for the creation of a sixth form college in East London for gifted and talented youngsters from deprived backgrounds. Our intention is to identify bright children from the age of 11, advise them in their choice of GCSE courses, support their learning through school and then enrol them in the new Sixth Form Free School, which will only offer academic A-levels and will prepare students for access to top universities. Our aim is to gain more places at Oxford and Cambridge than 75% of independent schools by 2015. The scheme has won support from the Prime Minister.

New pupils have enrolled in Brighton College Abu Dhabi

580Smith Building to open in January While the exterior of the new Simon Smith Building in the Woolton Quad takes shape, the College has appointed DDSB to design a luxury interior for its communal spaces. Responsible for Terminal Five’s First and Business Class lounges and currently overseeing JFK Airport’s redevelopment, DDSB’s vision for the café is elegant and chic – combining light airy spaces, functionality and a variety of natural materials to create a relaxing and enjoyable home for pupils and staff.

Diamond Jubilee Pavilion

Over the summer the grounds team has erected covered seating for the netball courts, re-oriented the pitches and relocated the artificial wickets in preparation for the new Jubilee Pavilion and Outdoor Centre. Contractors have been chosen and we expect the first spade to enter the ground in October, courtesy of Olympian Daley Thompson.

A second phase of development is also being planned. Eminent OB Christopher Bradley-Hole has provided a landscaping plan for the whole New Ground which will transform the remainder of this beautiful, too-long neglected site.

Prime Minister praises Brighton as Head visits Number 10 The Head Master was one of half a dozen leading public school Heads to be invited to Downing Street for a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education in September.

In a wide-ranging discussion of educational issues around the cabinet table in Number 10, Mr Cameron singled out Brighton’s imaginative and fruitful partnership with Kingsford Community School in East London as an example to all schools in the independent sector. He and Mr Gove also expressed their enthusiasm for the Head Master’s vision for a sixth form academy in Newham for gifted but disadvantaged youngsters.

In a subsequent BBC television interview, the Prime Minister specifically highlighted the determination of Brighton and two other schools to ensure that the independent sector plays its part in society rather than standing apart from it.

make A Difference Day Pupils and staff volunteered on over 70 different projects across the city and Sussex as part of the College’s annual ‘Make a Difference Day’ in September. A broad range of activities included downland conservation with the National Trust, coaching sport to children with severe learning difficulties and laundry duty for the life boatmen at the RNLI.

Pupils also served food at homeless shelters, worked in charity shops and helped out at a number of after-school clubs across the city. Each year, more and more pupils have been encouraged to volunteer on a more regular basis, which is one of the key aims of the day.

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Launch of Entrepreneurship Scheme This month saw the launch of the Lower Sixth Entrepreneurship Programme by entrepreneur Ed Wray, who set up BarbeSkew, in 2006. Five years on and BarbeSkews are being sold all over the UK and, predictably, all over Australia!

£250,000 Upgrade of Boarding The facilities for boarding at Brighton have been further improved this summer with refurbishments of studies taking place in both Abraham and School House. This brings the quality of accommodation to a very high standard across all four houses. The boarders also await the completion of the Smith building in December, which will provide wonderful new social and study areas for them. It is a great time to be a boarder at Brighton!

Record Numbers of New Boarders A record number of new boarders have joined the College from 28 different prep schools. Boarding numbers are now at their highest since 1929. We need another boarding house!

Busy Boarders Boarding activities at the College have really taken off this term, with a plethora of clubs and activities being made available to the full and weekly boarders in the evenings and at weekends. In addition to the daily swims and sports hall sessions, we have Zumba classes, yoga, book club, chess club, debating societies, boxercise, jazz dance and tennis. The boarders have also visited Brighton Pavilion, been go-karting, paintballing and rock climbing at weekends.

Some of the new boarders

PREP SCHOOL

Spelling Maestros Having won the regional round for the South East, our Year 7 team spelled its way to a magnificent second place in the UK (out of over 1,200 schools who entered the competition) in the 2011 Times Spelling Bee final, held at the 02 Arena in London. The team was also featured on Radio Sussex.

Tenderfoot Extends Fundraising events such as the parents’ association Christmas Fair and umpteen sponsored events and cake sales by pupils, meant that BCPS was able to give £11,000 to our link school Tenderfoot Self-Help School. Tenderfoot, in the suburbs of Nairobi, will use the gift to help build their much-needed extension.

Hot Work Many prep school pupils took to the stage in ‘Burn the Dance Floor’, the College’s annual dance show – a feast of stunning choreography and style. The show was performed on two summer evenings to large, appreciative audiences.

100% Beautiful, 0% Beastly Following the brilliant production of the musical Oliver! by Years 7 and 8, our Year 6 pupils were superb in their performance of Beauty and the Beast.

Sporting Legend At our speech day in the wonderful Brighton Dome, our pupils, parents and teachers were all thrilled to hear our guest speaker, the famous Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies. Sharron gave an inspiring talk and was then very busy signing autographs for pupils! She expects also to be extremely busy next year, broadcasting for the London 2012 Olympics.

Top-Notch Research Centre The excellent BCPS library has been further developed with the installation of the school’s second state-of-the-art ICT suite. Pupils have been taking advantage of the new suite in lessons, research sessions and lunch-time breaks.

The amount BCPS raised for Tenderfoot Self-HelpSchool, Nairobi£11,000

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PRE-PREP SCHOOL

Literacy LaunchLocal children’s author-illustrator, Emily Gravett, visited the school, sharing with the children events from her early childhood and encouraging them to write alternative versions of her stories. A special book swap, a ‘You Are What You Read’ competition and the launch of the Year 3 publication, ‘The Magical Book of Cinderella Stories – with a Twist!’, all made for a very exciting week.

A Bright New FutureThe Nursery and Pre-Prep School has settled into its new home on Eastern Road. It is without doubt the best site and facility for educating young children in the Brighton area and it will further enhance the education our wonderful children receive. These are very exciting times indeed.

3 acre site with a playing field and playground attached.

26% more space in the new Nursery & Pre-Prep School.

104 years of Brighton College teaching experience moved into the new school.

Read all about it!The Pre-Prep Summer Show, ‘In the News’, featured key events in history and involved every child in the school. Highlights included Beatles Mania and The Great Fire of London.

Pioneering Scooter TrainingIn association with Brighton and Hove City Council’s Road Safety Team, the school piloted an exciting initiative to teach key scooter skills to children as young as four years old.

AnimazingReception pupils’ animals topic was made all the more exciting by bug hunts and encounters with a range of creatures, including: Terry the leaping toad; Jabba, a giant frog from Africa; a blue tongued skink lizard; hissing cockroaches; a tarantula; a royal python and even a skunk without a smell.

Maths Challenge WeekProblem solving and strategic planning skills were put to the test over three special days. The children moved in rotation around the classrooms, completing a range of maths challenges. At the end of the week they were all treated to a special show by Andrew Jeffrey, who extended their minds further with some special mathematical tricks.

Burn the Dance FloorThis year’s annual dance show was a roaring success. The Pre-Prep children took to the stage alongside over 150 pupils from the college and wowed the audience with their street dance, classical ballet, and tap dance routines.

Sports for AllSports day proved to be great fun for all, including the sixty parents who took to the track with an egg and spoon!

1918

BRIGHTON COLLEGE

01273 704200registrar@brightoncollege.net | www.brightoncollege.org.uk

• Extensive bus routes across Sussex• Day, Weekly and Full Boarding

College Open morning(11+, 13+, 16+)saturday, 4th February 20129.30 – 12.00 noon

Pre-Prep and Prep Open morning(3+, 7+, 8+)saturday, 28th January 20129.30 – 12.00 noon

sixth Form Open morning (16+)saturday, 5th November 20119.30 – 12.00 noon

“ A caring and supportive ethos permeates all aspects of school life”. 2011 iNsPeCTiON

The top co-educational school in England

The Times, 2011