Handcross Park School is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

preparatory school in

Handcross Handcross is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A23 road south of Crawley. At the 2011 Census the population fell within the civil parish of Slaugham. Nymans Garden, of parklands run by the Nation ...

, between

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath ( ) is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. The school provides private co-education from the Nursery aged 2, through Pre-Prep and into Prep until aged 13, with a mix of day pupils flexi, weekly and full boarders.

History

The school traces its origins back to 1887, when it was known as Wykeham Hall, based in Hampshire. In 1918 Wykeham Hall was bought by the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

who used it as part of their Officers' Mess, and the School move to the opposite side of the airfield into Seafield Park and moved the school to

Lower Beeding Lower Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the B2110, B2115 and A281 roads south-east from Horsham, and is centred on Holy Trinity Church and The Plough public house, where t ...

a town near

changing the name to Newells. In 1968 following a major fire where one pupil died, the school relocated to

and merged with Desmoor School from Ewhurst in Surrey. In 1974 the school changed its name to 'Handcross Park' which has stuck since. Originally there were two headmasters, Captain Peter Hope-Lang and Mr Alan McNeile, until Hope-Lang's death in 1970. For a time the school was also known as Newells and Desmoor School. In 2011 Handcross Park joined a 'family of schools' with

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

and St Christophers. As of 2019, the School has 414 pupils. The Headmaster, Jonnie Besley, joined the school in 2023, taking over from Richard Brown, who became Head in 2016. A former headmaster, Graeme Owton has become Executive Head of the Brighton College Prep Schools. In January 2025 it was announced that the school would merge with

to become Brighton College Prep Handcross from 2025

Badge

The school continues use of the badge that was in use when the school was at Newells, Lower Beeding, and before then, at Seafield Park,

Lee-on-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...

. It is a device comprising an heraldic style shield of gold on a blue background, over the motto, worded in Middle English, "Be Trewe".Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, USA 1997, p. 1053

Grounds and Facilities

The School is based in 52 Acres of parkland in rural

. The school is a leading institution in Educational Resources such as interactive smartboards, and

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

Chromebooks Chromebook (sometimes stylized in lowercase as chromebook) is a line of laptops, desktops, tablets and all-in-one computers that run ChromeOS, a proprietary operating system developed by Google. Chromebooks are optimised for web access. They al ...

. There is also an Art & Design Center, that includes a Gallery, Kiln, and Pottery Wheel. For sport there is an all-weather pitch that accommodates Football, Hockey, Cricket, and PE. A large sports hall used for theater productions, an on-grass Athletics Track, a 6-Hole Golf course and multiple Tennis courts, The school also has an indoor swimming pool.

Further Education

With 35% of Alumni graduating to Brighton College the remaining latter move on to other schools including: *

Ardingly College Ardingly College () is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public school (UK), public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school ...

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

* Hurst College *

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

* Wellington School *

Winchester School Winchester College is an English public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 as ...

Governors

As of February 2024: * Chair of Governors - Miles Templeman * Safeguarding Governor - Adrian Ford * EYFS Governor - Wendy Challen * Finance Governor - Emma Dobson MA * Boarding Governor - Jane Hamblett-Jahn * Staff Governor - Shirley Harris BEd HONS * Education and Compliance - Jo-Anne Riley MA * Health and Safety Governor - Rishi Soni BSc, ACA, FCA * Governor - Lady Serena Soames

MA Oxon In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts (BAs) are promoted to the rank of Master of Arts (MA), typically upon application after three or four years after graduation. No further examination or study is required for ...

, Wife of Lord Nicholas Soames

References

External links

Official website
(2011)
Ofsted - Inspection report for early years provision
(2006)
Brighton College, Junior Boarding (11-13) A Brighton College School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1887 Mid Sussex District Preparatory schools in West Sussex 1887 establishments in England