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Varndean College
Varndean College
Address
	Surrenden Road; Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 6WQ; England
Coordinates	50°51′06″N 0°08′37″W / 50.8516°N 0.1435°W
Information
Type	Sixth form college
Established	1884
Department for Education URN	130668 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Donna-Marie Janson
Gender	Coeducational
Age	16+
Enrolment	1800
Website	http://www.varndean.ac.uk

Varndean College is a sixth form college in Brighton and Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults.

Location

Varndean College is on Surrenden Road, in the northern part of Brighton. It shares the Surrenden campus with Balfour Junior School, Balfour Infants School, Dorothy Stringer School and Varndean Secondary School.^[1]^[2]

History

The college was founded in 1884 in York Place, Brighton, as a boys' secondary school and moved to its current site (overlooking the city and the sea) in 1932, later attaining grammar school status, becoming Varndean Grammar School for Boys, administered by the Education Committee for the County Borough of Brighton. In 1972 the first girls were admitted to the school (a small number of girls attended A level physics classes at the school in 1970–71), and in 1975 it became a sixth form college under its first principal, David A.G. Turner.^[3]

Former Headmasters and Principals

Varndean Grammar School for Boys

1884–1901 Edwin H. Lethbridge (died 1932)
1902–1932 William J. Stainer (died 1937)
1932–1963 Eric J. Hutchins (died 1972)
1963–1970 John E. Mollison (1916-2003)
1970–1975 David A.G. Turner (died 1997)

Varndean College

1975–1988 David A.G. Turner (died 1997)
1988–2006 Alan Jenkins (died March 2020)
2006–2020 Philip Harland
2020–present day Donna-Marie Janson

Notable alumni

The Old Varndeanian Association exists to maintain a network between former pupils and students of both the school and college, as well as former pupils of Varndean Girls' School. The association maintains contact with thousands of Old Varndeanians and organises regular reunions and other functions.

Alfie Deyes, youtuber
Celeste, singer^[4]
Bobby Barry, musician^[5]
Darius Danesh actor, singer, reality star.
Tommy Fraser, footballer (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Darren Freeman, footballer (Brentford, Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion)
Lucy Griffiths, actress
Natasha Kaplinsky, television presenter
Toby MacFarlaine, rock musician
Russell Martin, footballer (Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough, Norwich City)
Lisa Francesca Nand, journalist and broadcaster
Dan and Tom Searle, twin musicians from the Brighton based band Architects
Rebecca Stephens, musician
Gwendoline Christie, actor ^[6]

Varndean Grammar School for Boys

Desmond Lynam, broadcaster
Walter Hubert Baddeley, bishop of Melanesia, Whitby and Blackburn
David Blanchflower, Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College and University of Glasgow
Frank Bridge, composer
David Collings, actor
Anthony French, professor of physics 1964–1991 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, worked on the Manhattan Project
Dave Greenfield, The Stranglers (keyboards) 1960–1967
Harold Foster Hallett, philosopher
Norman Hammond, archaeologist and archaeology correspondent of The Times since 1967
Ralph Hone, governor of North Borneo 1949–1954
Eric James, Baron James of Rusholme, high master of the Manchester Grammar School (1945–62) and first vice-chancellor of the University of York (1962–73)
Steve Ovett, Olympic athlete
Ian Ritchie, architect
Simon Schaffer, historian
Paul Scofield, actor
Peter Sharpe, chief constable 1994–2000 of Hertfordshire Constabulary
Eric Shepherd, professor of investigative, security and police sciences at the City University, London
Martin William Wallace, bishop of Selby 2003–2013
Mike Winch, Commonwealth Games shot-putter and national coach

References

^ "Varndean College principal praises resilience of A-level students on results day". Brighton and Hove News. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ "Pride and success for Varndean College students in first public examinations".
^ 'Onward and Upward, York Place to Varndean 1884–1975' by Tony Allt and Brian Robson. Published privately in 1993 by the Old Varndeanian Association.
^ "On The Radar: Celeste". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ Promisloff, Samantha (17 July 2007). "Wrap Your 'Arms' Around Monster Bobby". SPIN. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ "Gwendoline Christie: a famous face in Burgess Hill". CommunityAd. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2024.