Seaford College

History

The college was founded at Corsica Hall, Seaford on the East Sussex coast, in 1884 by Colonel Frederick Savage, who also served as headmaster from 1884 until 1920. In 1940 the college was disrupted by a government order requisitioning all boarding school premises in Seaford and giving only six weeks in which to find a safe home elsewhere. The college was evacuated to Worthing for the duration of World War II, and once peace had resumed, the new Headmaster Canon Charles Johnson began to look for a more suitable site, the college having outgrown its original premises in Seaford. In 1946 the decision was made to buy the estate at Lavington Park and the school moved to its current location. As of the academic year 2022/23, Senior School day fees are approximately £25,000 per year, with Senior School boarding fees approximately £38,000, though a number of bursaries and scholarships are available.

The main school building, previously Lavington Park country house, is a Grade II* listed building.

School features

In the 2010 GCSE results, 87.5% of the school's pupils achieved five or more passes at grades A* to C, with 73% of pupils achieving five or more passes at the higher grades, including English and maths.

Old Seafordians

Politics

• Ahmed Chalabi (1945–2015), President of the Iraqi Governing Council (2003) and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq

Arts

• Anthony Buckeridge (1912–2004), children's author
• Lance Dossor (1916–2005), pianist
• Val Guest (1911–2006), film director
• Gareth Neame (b. 1967), television producer
• Tom Odell (b. 1990), singer
• Matthew Rose (b. 1978), opera singer
• Toby Stephens (b. 1969), actor

Sport

• Luc Benkenstein (b. 2004), Essex cricketer
• Mats Grambusch (b. 1992), Olympic medal-winning field hockey player
• Tom Grambusch (b. 1995), Olympic medal-winning field hockey player
• Jeremy Groome (b. 1955), former Sussex cricketer
• Nathan Jibulu (b. 2003), Harlequins rugby player
• Adrian Jones (b. 1961), former Sussex and Somerset cricketer
• David Purley (1945–1985), Formula One driver
• Christopher Rühr (b. 1993), Olympic medal-winning field hockey player
• Charlie Tear (b. 2004), Sussex and Scotland cricketer

Other

• Hugh Bentall (1920–2012), pioneer of open-heart surgery
• Sir Louis Blom-Cooper (1926–2018), lawyer and chairman of the Press Council
• Uri Dadush, economist
• Sir Roger De Haan (b. 1948), chairman of Saga Group
• Derek Marks (1921–1975), editor of the Daily Express (1965–1971)
• Tatiana Reed (b. 2002), automotive-based social media influencer

Headmasters of Seaford

• Colonel Frederick Savage (1884–1920)
• L.S.A Cowan (1920–1928)
• The Revd John Macnutt (1928–1931)
• The Revd William Hindley (1931–1935)
• W. Leslie Land (1935–1944)
• The Revd Charles Johnson (1944–1990)
• Charles Hannaford (1990–1996)
• Toby Mullins (1997–2013)
• John Green (2013–present)

Notable associations

• Constantine II of Greece – patron
• George I of Greece – patron
• George II of Greece – patron
• Paul of Greece – patron
• Richard Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough – Chairman of Governors
• Bill Cuthbertson – housemaster
• Harold Maxwell-Lefroy – assistant master

References

References

1. [http://www.independentschools.com/england/seaford-college_1022.html Seaford College – Reviews, Rankings, Reports, Stats & News 2009/10]
2. "Fees".
3. {{NHLE
4. http://www.bognor.co.uk/news/features/gcses_seaford_college_1_1517770 {{Dead link. (February 2022)
5. (4 November 2015). "Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi politician - obituary". The Telegraph.
6. Hawtree, Christopher. (29 June 2004). "Anthony Buckeridge". Independent.
7. Mark-Bell, Jenny. (16 February 2015). "20 Sussex headteachers - class of 2015".
8. Brown, Maggie. (9 August 2015). "'We don't have to have completely happy endings at Downton Abbey'".
9. Bone, Steve. (3 December 2021). "Seaford College breaks into The Cricketer's top 100 schools". Sussex Express.
10. Gilmour, Rod. (25 January 2023). "Hockey World Cup 2023: Germany break England resolve in epic shoot-out victory late show". The Hockey Paper.
11. (8 February 2023). "Harlequins Academy front row pair sign contract extensions".
12. "Three Old Seafordians Compete in Rio 2016 Olympics Hockey". Seaford College.
13. Read, Martin. (17 June 2025). "Tear's triple century makes Horsham cricket history". Sussex Express.
14. Fitzgerald, Edward. (20 September 2018). "Sir Louis Blom-Cooper obituary".
15. Drake, Matt. (2 January 2022). "Sir Roger De Haan: The multi-millionaire who helped change the face of Folkestone". Kent Live.
16. "Marks, Derek John".
17. (10 August 2021). "Congratulations to all of our students on another year of strongest ever A Level results!".