Publications
Saint Saviour's, Ardingly, Annals. no. 1-32. 1871-Dec. 1881, by Ardingly College, published 1881 accessible at: British Library
A Register of S. Saviour's School, Ardingly. By an Old Boy. pt. 1, published 1913 (88 pp., Oxford: Alden & Co.) accessible at: British Library
Sussex Schools. 3 - Ardingly College, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 6, article, pp.490-496) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]
Ardingly 1858-1946: A History of the School, by R. Perry, published 1951 (Old Ardinians Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5980] & The Keep [LIB/506166] & West Sussex Libraries
Ardingly - its building and buildings : a record of the school's establishment, the progress it has made up to 1980 and the development of the property and estate it occupies / researched and assembled by Stanford Letts, published 1985 (ix + 160 pp., Old Ardinians' Society, Reading) accessible at: British Library
Ardingly College, 1939-1990, by Nigel Argent, published 1991 (London: Autoclys Press) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12932] & West Sussex Libraries
The Ardingly I remember: reminiscences of old Ardinians and staff and an Ardingly quiz, by Nigel Argent, published 1995 (Ardingly College) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12933] & West Sussex Libraries
A School with a View: A History of Ardingly College, 1858-2008, by David Gibbs, published 1 April 2008 (155 pp., London: James and James, ISBN-10: 1903942837 & ISBN-13: 9781903942833) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:Rev Nathaniel Woodard founded the School in a few small rooms in Shoreham in 1858. It was to be the 'Jewel in the Crown' of his grand design of a national system of schools to restore the Anglican Church to the heart of the nation. Very low fees at £15 per annum meant that it was affordable to the lower middle-classes thus meeting a real need in society.
In the subsequent 50 years Ardingly has gone from strength to strength and become one of the leading co-educational schools in the south of England. This fascinating hardback book by David Gibbs, an author with intimate first-hand experience of the School traces its remarkable history over the last 150 years and is laced with anecdotes and reminiscences, richly illustrated throughout with over 200 archive and contemporary images.
''....acting, writing and performing reviews, I found it all very stimulating. I always remember the sense of humour and there also seemed to be a lot of lunacy, as when Nick Newman and Simon Parke organised a roller bike event round the Front Quad and ran a commentary from the Chapel Tower.'' Ian Hislop, Editor of Private Eye, writing about his schooldays at Ardingly
''The period of adolescence is a time when strong memories are laid down, and Ardingly had a strong and distinctive personality. I knew at the time that my debt to the School was great, but looking back more than 30 years I am more than ever conscious of the enormous and benevolent influence it has been on my life.'' James Lancelot, Master of the Choristers and Organist at Durham Cathedral
In the subsequent 50 years Ardingly has gone from strength to strength and become one of the leading co-educational schools in the south of England. This fascinating hardback book by David Gibbs, an author with intimate first-hand experience of the School traces its remarkable history over the last 150 years and is laced with anecdotes and reminiscences, richly illustrated throughout with over 200 archive and contemporary images.
''....acting, writing and performing reviews, I found it all very stimulating. I always remember the sense of humour and there also seemed to be a lot of lunacy, as when Nick Newman and Simon Parke organised a roller bike event round the Front Quad and ran a commentary from the Chapel Tower.'' Ian Hislop, Editor of Private Eye, writing about his schooldays at Ardingly
''The period of adolescence is a time when strong memories are laid down, and Ardingly had a strong and distinctive personality. I knew at the time that my debt to the School was great, but looking back more than 30 years I am more than ever conscious of the enormous and benevolent influence it has been on my life.'' James Lancelot, Master of the Choristers and Organist at Durham Cathedral
In Search of Nathaniel Woodard: Victorian Founder of Schools, by David Gibbs, published 15 March 2011 (112 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 1860776671 & ISBN-13: 9781860776670)
Abstract:Immensely energetic, driven, sure of his own faith and destiny, Canon Nathaniel Woodard founded ten schools between 1848 and 1890. Surrounded and shocked by social conflict, poverty, deprivation and a lack of godliness, he firmly believed in education as the means for transformation. His grand design was to create a national system of High Church Anglican schools accessible to the tradesmen and lower middle classes. Today there are 45 schools in the Woodard family. Characterised by their core Christian ethos, the family is unusual in that it embraces the independent and the maintained sectors, as well as primary and secondary levels. Members range from its fi rst born Lancing College with its majestic Gothic chapel high on the Sussex Downs, to its most recent additions, four transformational academies, beacons of hope to young people who have been failed by the educational system. The Woodard schools are a significant part of the national educational landscape, especially in an age when the religious dimension to education is oftencontroversial. But who was Nathaniel Woodard? Where did he come from? What shaped his outlook? What sort of person was he? Often seen as a divisive force in the Victorian church, he was sacked from his fi rst curacy yet gained the support of many of the great and the good, including two future prime ministers, Gladstone and Salisbury. His achievement in terms of bricks and mortar was enormous.