| Brighton College | |
| Coordinates: | 50.8196°N -0.1197°W |
| Pushpin Map: | East Sussex#England#United Kingdom |
| Motto: | ΤΟ Δ’ΕΥ ΝΙΚΑΤΩ (Let right prevail) |
| Type: | Public School Private day and boarding school |
| Head Label: | Headmaster |
| Head: | Richard Cairns |
| Chair Label: | Chairman of the Governors |
| Founder: | William Aldwin Soames (1787–1871) |
| Address: | Eastern Road |
| Country: | England |
| Postcode: | BN2 0AL |
| Urn: | 114614 |
| Dfeno: | 846/6008 |
| Staff: | 150 |
| Enrolment: | 1088 (ages 11–18) |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Lower Age: | 3 |
| Upper Age: | 18 |
| Houses: | 15 |
| Publication: | Brighton Review |
| Free Label 1: | Former pupils |
| Free Label 2: | Chaplain |
| Free 2: | Canon David Stone |
Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton College Preparatory School (children aged 8 to 13, located next to the senior school) and the Pre-Prep School (children aged 3 to 8).
Brighton College was named England's Independent School of the Year in 2019 by The Sunday Times. In 2018 it was ranked fifth in the country for average A-level results,[1] with 99% of grades being A*–B.In 2023, the school saw 80% of its A-level candidates score A*/A. Brighton College has been listed in The Schools Index since 2021 as one of the world's leading 150 private schools and one of the top 30 in the UK senior schools category.[2] [3]
In 2011, Brighton College opened its first international campus in Abu Dhabi. Brighton College International Schools (BCIS) has subsequently opened campuses in Al Ain, Bangkok, Dubai and Singapore.[4] Brighton College Abu Dhabi is also listed in The Schools Index as one of the top 15 schools in the Middle East.[5]
In September 2023 the college opened a prep school in Kensington, central London.[6]
Founded in 1845 by William Aldwin Soames, Brighton College was the first Victorian public school founded in Sussex.[7] Soames originally planned for use of the Brighton Pavilion, but after refusal by Queen Victoria built the school in the suburb of Kemptown, Brighton.
Brighton College led the legal fight to secure the charitable tax status currently enjoyed by all registered charities. A long-running legal action between the school and the Inland Revenue from 1916 to 1926 produced a series of changes to tax law in the 1918 Income Tax Act, the 1921 and 1922 Finance Acts and, above all, section 24 of the 1927 Finance Act. The case (Brighton College v Marriott) went to the High Court in 1924,[8] [9] the Court of Appeal later that year,[10] and ultimately the House of Lords in 1925.[11]
It was the first independent school to introduce compulsory Mandarin Chinese from the age of 13, and in 2006 was the first public school in England to sign a deal with the Chinese government to encourage the teaching of Mandarin and Chinese culture.[12]
Large numbers of Brighton College boys fought in both World Wars, with 149 Old Brightonians fallen in World War I[13] and 173 during World War II.[14]
The pastoral system at Brighton College is house based. There are 15 houses which are split by gender (with the exception of Alexander House). Staff of both sexes can be attached to any house. Houses contain between 48 and 85 pupils and are supervised by a house master or house mistress (HMM) and a team of personal tutors. Boarding houses also have a matron and house keeping staff. The HMM appoints Upper Sixth Formers (Year 13) as house prefects to look after and mentor younger members,[15] and one as head pupil to represent their house at house events and competitions.
In September 2017, Brighton College's 14th house was opened, Alexander House. This was the first mixed-gender house in the college and is only for the Upper Sixth formers, who decide during their Lower Sixth year if they wish to move into this house, with all members coming from other boarding houses. In their final year, roughly half of boarders choose to enter the house.
For years 7–8 there is a single house, Lower School, for those aged 11, 12, and 13 years old who took the 11+ test. This house does not have boarding and is for both boys and girls.[16]
Brighton College is located in Brighton's Kemptown area, in the east of the city.[19] The school occupies three sites, facing south onto Eastern Road. It is immediately to the east of the site of the former Kemptown railway station, across Sutherland Road. Its principal buildings are in the gothic revival style by Sir George Gilbert Scott RA (flint with Caen stone dressings, 1848–66). Later buildings were designed by his pupil and former student at the college Sir Thomas Graham Jackson RA (brick and flint with cream and pink terracotta dressings, 1883–87; flint with Clipsham stone dressings 1922–23).
George Bell, Bishop of Chichester created the school grounds as an extra-parochial ecclesiastical district. Placed outside the parish of St. Matthew's, Brighton, the school chapel holds an episcopal licence to perform weddings.
Under the stewardship of Head Master Richard Cairns, the school has added a series of buildings to the college campus:
In January 2016, Head Master Richard Cairns announced that Brighton College would abandon gender-specific uniforms and instead introduce a "trouser uniform" and a "skirt uniform,"[22] with both boys and girls under age 16 being free to choose which to wear. According to Cairns, Brighton College is "reacting to a changing society which recognizes that some children have gender dysphoria and do not wish to lose their emotional gender identities at school".[23] Parental consent must be provided in order for a pupil to choose their uniform, and a pupil must wear either the "trouser uniform" or the "skirt uniform" in totality rather than a combination of the two. In addition, such a choice must be made on a permanent basis.[24]
In 2017 the school invited Stonewall Ambassador Ian McKellen to share its anti-bullying message. The school has regularly made headlines for its pro-LGBT stance, emphasizing the right of all pupils to feel safe and supported.[25] For the 2013–14 academic year the school appointed the first openly gay head boy of an English independent school.[26] [27] In August 2017 the school participated in the Brighton Pride Parade, becoming the first public school in the United Kingdom to do so.[28] The float was backed by Ian McKellen. This has become an annual event for the school, with pupils and staff designing and making the float.
The school positions community service as a "vital part of school life". Pupils are involved in 328 days of community service a year – which includes visiting elderly people, teaching pensioners about technology, and working with local community initiatives.
The school is recognized as having an ethos of kindness and respect, in addition to academic excellence. The school's most recent Independent Schools Inspectorate report summarizes:
For the 2023/24 academic year the fees were £30,080 for day pupils. Boarding ranged from £54,520 – £60,000. The school offers a number of scholarships and bursaries, offered on the basis of merit and need.[29]
In the 2019 A-level examinations Brighton College achieved 99% A*B (82%A*/A). In the 2019 GCSE examinations they scored 94% 9–7.[30] Class sizes at GCSE average 18, and at A-level they average 8. 26 subjects are offered at A-level.[31]
The school has an extensive co-curriculum provision, with the option of "over 100 clubs and activities"[32] in which pupils may participate. This includes drama (with 15 productions a year), dance (7 styles of dance and 70 classes per week), music (22 music groups) and art (100% A* results).
The school has an ethos of "sports for all"[33] and offers a range sport choices. The major sports are athletics, cricket, netball and rugby. All pupils participate in games of their choice twice a week. The college was selected to provide training ground for Japan during the course of Rugby World Cup 2015. Going forward, England Head Coach Eddie Jones, Japan coach then, has hosted the elite player squad training camps at the college.[34]
The title of principal was changed to Head Master in December 1885.[35] The requirement for the Head Master to be an ordained priest of the Church of England was removed in 1909.[36] Given the international growth of the school, Richard Cairns became Principal of the Brighton College family of schools in August 2024, and Steve Marshall-Taylor became the Head Master of Brighton College itself.
Note: Simon Smith returned to his position as Second Master after Richard Cairns took leadership in 2006.[37]
See main article: List of people educated at Brighton College.
In 2010, Brighton College announced that it was "helping to set up schools in Abu Dhabi".[38] This venture was a for-profit franchise operation through a company the school had set up, Brighton College International Schools Ltd, in a joint venture with a UAE property development company called Bloom Properties. Brendan Law, previously of Westbourne House School in Chichester, West Sussex, was named Headmaster of Brighton College Abu Dhabi in September 2010,[39] and the school opened in September 2011.[40] Law was replaced by Ken Grocott, former Head of Geography at Brighton College, in September 2012.[41]
Brighton College went on to open affiliate schools in Bangkok in 2016,[42] in Singapore with Cognita in 2020,[43] and in Hanoi in 2023 in partnership with Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup.[44]
In 2023, the Prince's Gardens Preparatory School in London, UK was reopened as Brighton College Prep Kensington.[45] It is owned by Cognita and is operated in partnership with Brighton College.[46] This is the first time a leading independent school outside London has established a new prep school in the UK capital.[47] The current Head of the school, Lois Gaffney, was appointed in 2022 from Brighton College Singapore where she was Deputy Head since 2020.[48] The school teaches pupils aged 2 to 13 years old.[49]