(''Blessed are the pure in heart'') , established = , closed = , type = Public School

Independent School An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

, religious_affiliation =

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

, president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Dominic Mott , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = Chairman of Governors , chair = Tony Jarvis , founder = Canon Nathaniel Woodard , specialist = , address = College Lane , city =

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an area of 2029.88 ha and a population ...

, county =

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, country =

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, postcode = BN6 9JS , local_authority =

, ofsted = , dfeno = 938/6206 , staff = , enrolment = c.1,337 , gender = Mixed , lower_age = 4 , upper_age = 18 , houses = 13 , colours = Red and White , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = Old Johnians , free_label_2
Alumni Website
, free_2
www.theojclub.com
, free_label_3 = Affiliation , free_3 =

Woodard Corporation Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools (both primary and secondary) affiliated to the Woodard Corporation (formerly the Society of St Nicolas) which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, a Church of England priest in the Anglo- ...

, website = http://www.hppc.co.uk/ Hurstpierpoint College is a public school (English

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

), located just to the north of the village of

. The College was founded in 1849 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard and is a member of the

History and overview

The school was established in 1849 as St John's Middle School, based in Shoreham. Its first headmaster,

Edward Clarke Lowe Edward Clarke Lowe (15 December 1823–30 March 1912) was an English educator and a key participant in the foundation and development of the Woodard Schools. Early life and education Lowe was born in Everton Liverpool, in 1823, the youngest s ...

, had worked with

Woodard Woodard (, ) may refer to: * Alfre Woodard (born 1952), American actress * Beulah Woodard (1895–1955), American sculptor * Brandon Woodard (born 1990), American politician * Charlayne Woodard (born 1953), American playwright and actress * Char ...

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

and stayed at Hurstpierpoint for 22 years until 1872. The school moved to Mansion House in

and then, thanks to the local benefactors the Campion family, on 21 June 1853 made its move to the present site. Intended to resemble the collegiate system at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Nathaniel Woodard designed the College to have adjoining Inner and Outer

quads The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

and the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

and dining hall adjacent to each other. The school was inspected by the

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations ...

in 2019.

Houses

The senior school consists of 13

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

including the recently added Wolf house. All students in their last year (Upper Sixth), whilst retaining affiliation to their former houses, join the 13th house, the co-educational day and boarding 'hall of residence', St John's House. In the early 70s the senior school comprised just seven houses, named: Eagle, Martlet, Shield, Red Cross, Chevron, Fleur de Lys and Star. Each house had a house master and house tutor who were also teachers within the school.

Traditions

The school preserves ceremonies, which for the most part were taken from other schools such as

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

, in order to give the school a feeling of tradition back in its early Victorian days. "Hurst" has performed a

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play every year since 1854, beginning with ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'' after the first headmaster, Dr Lowe inspired the first players onto stage. Hurstpierpoint College boasts the oldest Shakespeare society in existence, older even than that of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

which was not formed until 1875. ''The Hurst Johnian'', the school magazine, founded in May 1858 is a source for the School's history. Its policy has been to maintain the annals of the school, and it continues to publish current reports and articles on the past. Evidence from the national archives suggests that it is the oldest school magazine in the country.

Notable Masters

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

: Novelist and composer of hymns, the most notable being "

Onward, Christian Soldiers "Onward, Christian Soldiers" is a 19th-century English hymn. The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. Sullivan named the tune "St Gertrude," after the wife of his friend Erne ...

". He was a Master of the College from 1855 to 1864. Baring-Gould had an eccentric reputation, and archives tell how he would teach with a bat on his shoulder and took weird holidays, bringing home a pony from Iceland, which lived for years in the North Field. Whilst the Hymn is thought to have been written in Yorkshire in 1865, a story recounts how Baring-Gould (known as "Snout") on one occasion gave a pupil of the College thirty-six (sic) cuts, and then washed his hands and sat down and wrote "Onward Christian Soldiers." A talented artist, he made and painted (well heraldically) the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales, which for many years appeared in the proscenium. Baring-Gould designed the cover of the Johnian (the College's publication), and designed the bookshelves and cases with their wrought iron, originally red and gold, in the Boys' Library. He also painted the window jambs with scenes from the "

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...

" and the "Faery Queen", and probably did work for the Fellows' Library. In 1860 he was one of the "Hurst Rifle Volunteers," who used to drill at the New Inn, which lead Hurst to be one of the founding Combined Cadet Forces schools. *

Thomas Fielden (musician) Thomas Perceval Fielden (24 November 1883 – 15 September 1974) was a British pianist and music teacher. He was director of music at three public schools (Hurstpierpoint College, Fettes College, Fettes and Charterhouse School, Charterhouse) ...

: He was a famous Director of Music at Hurst,

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 Londo ...

and Fettes, as well as a noted pianist, and Professor of Pianoforte at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...

for over 30 years. *

Percy Henn Reverend Canon Percy Umfreville Henn (21 January 1865 – 25 February 1955) was a clergyman and teacher in England and later Western Australia. He is best known for his time as Headmaster at Guildford Grammar School and later for the building o ...

: Noted clergyman and teacher in England and later

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

Notable Old Johnians

Past students of Hurstpierpoint College are referred to as 'Old Johnians'; for details of notable alumni see Old Johnians.

Headmasters

(1849–1872) * William Awdry (1873–1879) * Charles Cooper (1880–1902) * Arthur Coombes (1902–1923) * Henry Bernard Tower (1924–1937) * Walter Dingwall (1937–1945) * Ronald Howard (1945–1964) * Roger Griffiths (1964–1986) * Simon Watson (1986–1995) * Stephen Meek (1995–2004) * Tim Manly (2005–present) Hurstpierpoint College

Southern Railway Schools Class

The school lent its name to the nineteenth steam

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

( Engine 918) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40. This Class was also known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English Public Schools. 'Hurstpierpoint', as it was called, was built in 1934 and was withdrawn in 1961. Its nameplate is now housed in the School's Science Block.

References

External links

Hurstpierpoint College website

schoolsguidebook
*

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

Inspection Reports
Prep School

Senior School
* Alumni Websit
www.TheOJClub.com
{{Coord, 50, 56, 35, N, 0, 09, 54, W, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Anglo-Catholic educational establishments Educational institutions established in 1849 Boarding schools in West Sussex Independent schools in West Sussex Woodard Schools Mid Sussex District Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Co-educational boarding schools 1849 establishments in England Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Chichester International Baccalaureate schools in England