Eastbourne College
Address
Old Wish Road Eastbourne , East Sussex , BN21 4JY England
Coordinates	50°45′46″N 0°16′52″E / 50.7627°N 0.2811°E / 50.7627; 0.2811
Information
Type	Public school Private day and boarding
Motto	Ex oriente salus ("The haven [the bourne] from the East")
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1867
Founders	William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire and other prominent Eastbourne citizens
Local authority	East Sussex County Council
Department for Education URN	114650 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
President	Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire
Chairman of the College Council	Philip Broadley[1]
Headmaster	Tom Lawson
Chaplain	Daniel Merceron
Staff	236~
Gender	Co-educational
Age	13 to 18
Enrolment	630~
Houses	5 day, 5 boarding
Colour(s)	Maroon   White   Crimson
Mascot	Stag
Publication	The Eastbournian The Old Eastbournian
Former pupils	Old Eastbournians
Website	eastbourne-college.co.uk

Eastbourne College is a co-educational private school in the English public school tradition, for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson.

Overview

The college was founded by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, and other prominent Eastbourne citizens in 1867.

The college is in the Lower Meads area of Eastbourne, a mainly residential area. Most of the school buildings are on a central campus area but many others are scattered in the immediate vicinity, such as the Beresford hockey and the links rugby pitches.

The motto, Ex Oriente Salus, is a play on "Eastbourne", meaning "The haven [the bourne] from the East". Salus also means health or salvation, the latter making an allusion to Christ, who came, from the English point of view, from the east.

History

Charles Hayman, an Eastbourne medical practitioner and member of the town's first council, together with other prominent local citizens, decided an independent school should be established and the support of William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, was sought. He was supportive of the venture and provided 12 acres (4.9 ha) of land for purchase at a modest price. This link with the Cavendish family is evidenced by the stag in the arms of the school.

From 1867 to 1869 it occupied Ellesmere Villa, now called Spencer Court; the location is now marked by a blue plaque. Architect Henry Currey was assigned by the duke to design a new school building, and College House, now School House, was built in 1870. The school chapel was constructed that same year.

During the 1880s, the school went through an impoverished period. Through the intervention of George Wallis, first mayor of Eastbourne and the work of new headmaster Charles Crowden, formerly of Cranbrook School, the school was saved from financial disaster.^[2]

The college admitted its first girls in 1969 when the sixth form became coeducational, becoming one of the first HMC schools to admit girls. The college is now fully coeducational.

In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents.^[3] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.^[4]

Uniform

Front view of the Wargrave House

Boarding and day houses

Boarding houses

• Gonville (Boys)
• Nugent (Girls)
• Pennell (Boys)
• School (Girls)
• Wargrave (Boys)

Day houses

• Blackwater (Girls)
• Craig (Boys)
• Powell (Boys)
• Reeves (Boys)
• Watt (Girls)

Many of these houses were donated to the school in wills and named after their benefactors; for example, Powell was given to the college by Stanley Powell.

Eastbourne College in 2008

Extracurricular activities

Birley Centre

On 17 October 2011, Gus Christie, chairman of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, opened the Birley Centre.^[6] It was named after Michael Birley, former Headmaster of Eastbourne College (1956-1970), and now has facilities such as a recording studio and a state of the art theatre space.

In popular culture

The Southern Railway made great use of steam locomotive names for publicity, and the carrying of pupils to boarding schools at the beginning and end of school terms was a significant traffic flow.^[7] Locomotives of the 'V' or "Schools" Class, introduced in 1930, were hence named after prominent English public schools. The fifteenth locomotive, no. 914, was named Eastbourne after the college. Built at Eastleigh in October 1932, no. 914 remained in service until withdrawn by British Railways in July 1961.^[8]

Headmasters

• 1867: Rev. J. R. Wood^[9]
• Rev. Thompson Podmore^[9]
• 1887–1888: Rev. G. R. Green^[9]
• 1888–1895: Rev. Dr Charles Crowden^[9]
• 1895–1900: M. A. Bayfield^[9]
• 1900–1906: Harry Thomson^[9]
• 1906–1924: Rev. F. F. S. Williams^[9]
• 1924–1929: E. C. Arnold^[9]
• 1929–1938: Gordon V. Carey^[9]
• 1938–1956: F. J. Nugee^[9]
• 1956–1970: Michael Birley^[9]
• 1970–1973: John Kendall-Carpenter
• 1972–1973: Donald Perrens, acting headmaster^[9]
• 1973–1981: Simon Langdale^[9]
• 1981–1993: Christopher Saunders^[9]
• 1993–2005: Charlie Bush^[9]
• 2005–2016: Simon Davies^[9]

Notable Old Eastbournians

Notes

• College Archives
• Allom, Vincent Mulcaster; Eastbourne College (1967). Ex Oriente Salus - A Centenary History of Eastbourne College. ISBN 978-0950355900.

References

Bibliography

• "Schools Guide 2012 - Eastbourne College". Tatler.

External links

• School website
• Eastbourne College Society
• Profile on the Good Schools Guide
• ISI Inspection Reports
• Ofsted Social Care Inspection Reports