I do hope you enjoy reading The Bulletin which accompanies this folder. I am sure you will agree that these, together with our website, give a fairly comprehensive idea of everyday life at Ashdown House. Of course, literature in whatever form paints a good picture, but a visit to see a school in action and meet the staff and children are the only means by which to gauge whether it will be the right one for your child. We are confident you will be enamoured with Ashdown when you visit.

Ashdown House is predominantly a full boarding school and our ethos is very much centred on the traditional values of a whole community living in close proximity to one another. We also welcome day children though hope they will board by Year 6. With many staff living on site, we set out to achieve a warm, family atmosphere that engenders trust, care, high expectations and happiness.

We hold firm to our belief that boarding means just that and a full programme of activities, outings and visiting specialists keeps everyone occupied during the evenings and weekends. Of course we welcome parents to matches, concerts, plays and plenty of other events, but we are always aware of the child whose parents are overseas and ensure that the dynamics of the group is not jeopardised. We are 20 minutes from Gatwick Airport and just over an hour from central London and Heathrow Airport.

Ashdown House is a home from home for both children and staff and is small enough to ensure that all children receive the individual attention they so need. Our pastoral system is one of the most important aspects in place and is designed to make certain every child is given every opportunity to excel and fulfil their potential.

As you will see from The Bulletin and the website, the children go on to all of the major national public schools. We provide expert teaching and coaching to enable them to fulfil their potential, but equally important is to give them the confidence to tackle the step up to their next school and for life in general. A sheet of scholarships and the schools to which children have gone can be found in the folder.

Our sport, music, art and drama bear witness to the breadth of the curriculum and everyone participates. All children will be involved in a theatrical performance every year (sometimes more than one) and concerts and variety shows enable the children to appreciate all sorts of different music. Football, rugby and cricket are the main boys’ sports of the year with netball, hockey and rounders for the girls.. Our indoor swimming pool, the Barn (indoor games area) and the nine-hole golf course add to the facilities and, of course, 40 acres of grounds over half a mile from the nearest road ensure maximum security.

The school is part of The Cothill Educational Trust. One of the major benefits of this is that our children in Year 7 spend an entire term at Chateau de Sauveterre in the south of France to immerse themselves in French and the French way of life. We also have access to The Old Malthouse in Dorset for Science, Geography and outward bound trips.

I could carry on for pages extolling the virtues of Ashdown, but come and see it for yourself. Annie and I would love to meet you and show you this wonderful part of Sussex.

Haydon Moore

Headmaster