Basic Information & Location
Lancing College is a co-educational day and boarding school. It is located in West Sussex in Southeast England and approximately 1 km west of Brighton. The enormous 550-acre campus is set on a hill overseeing wonderful natural scenery. It also has one of the most magnificent chapels in the country. Compared with the chapel, the school’s other facilities are a bit overshadowed. The college is also well located for Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, only 40 minutes and 75 minutes away respectively. Regular shuttle services to the above airports are available at the beginning and end of term. As the senior school of Woodard Schools, Lacing was founded in 1848 to serve boys of the middle classes, and later became a co-educational school, with girls first admitted in 1970. In March 2017, the college was rated as “Excellent” in the inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). The college accepts UKiset results for admission, and it is a popular choice among many Chinese and Hong Kong students.
Academic Development
Lancing seeks to offer academic excellence, inspiration and enrichment for every pupil. The teacher-student ratio is 1:8, whereas A-Level classes do not exceed 15 students. The college has sustained remarkable academic results over the years, with a high reputation for Mathematics, History, Art and the Sciences. There are over 20 subject choices at A-Level, including the newly added Drama and Theatre Studies. In 2017, 75.4% of A-Level grades achieved A*-B, whilst 81% of GCSE grades achieved A*-B. Over half of the students secured places at Russell Group Universities, and nearly 10% of students were admitted to Medicine or Biomedical Sciences. A personal tutor is assigned for every student. Through regular meetings, the tutors provide support and encouragement to students and help solve their problems.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
Lancing aims to nurture responsible, sociable and considerate young people by promoting confidence and self-reliance in a lively and enjoyable environment. It has nine single sex houses in total. Four are girls’ (Field’s, Handford, Manor, and Sankey’s), and five are boys’ (Gibb’s, Head’s, School, Second’s, and Teme). Except for the two houses which serve day pupils, all houses provide full boarding and flexi boarding for pupils aged 13 or above. Boarding Houses at Lancing span the five year groups in the College, so that pupils can spend time with their own age group. To ensure pupils’ well-being, Lancing has a well-equipped health centre which opens 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, run by a team of six qualified Sisters with professional nursing experience.
Extracurricular & personal development
Lancing encourages students to participate in different extracurricular activities to develop their own interests. In addition to the extensive sports, music and drama facilities, the college also owns a 70-arce farm which provides practical experience for students wishing to develop their interests in agriculture, veterinary care and animal husbandry. The farm project enables students to raise animals by themselves, such as pigs, sheep, and rabbits, which helps nurture their compassion and sense of responsibility. Moreover, the state-of-the-art equestrian centre opened in 2017 to offer riding for all abilities, and it is equipped with an all-weather are and bridleway access to the riding in South Downs National Park.
Lancing also believes the extracurricular activities could enrich students’ experience. Besides encouraging students to participate in Youth Enterprise Scheme to gain business experience, Lancing also suggests senior form students join internship programmes outside school during holiday. Students who are interested in the technical aspects of theatre can join the college’s stage team to learn about light and sound from a full-time Technical Manager, while others can learn the art of stage make-up and wardrobe.
