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I am delighted to welcome you to Varndean College, a community where students become academically accomplished and flourish as a part of a welcoming, inspirational and close-knit family. We inspire academic excellence, high expectations and a thirst for knowledge, developing a curiosity and passion for lifelong learning.
Varndean College is a wonderful place to study and to work in, it is a college with a difference. Unique in that we are set on a lovely spacious green campus with stunning views of Brighton and the sea, offering over 30 traditional A Levels, a wide range of vocational courses, a small but significant number of GCSEs, as well as the popular and internationally recognised International Baccalaureate Diploma.
Varndean is truly exceptional; we have an outstanding academic track record, as well as a real community ethos where students thrive and where we put student happiness at the heart of everything we do. We have a dynamic culture which engages staff and students, celebrates achievement, encourages innovation, and strives for continual improvement. Each and every student is valued as an individual and those who visit the College comment on how they are overwhelmed by the warmth, energy and atmosphere which makes Varndean so special.
We are proud of our impressive environment where our students experience a stimulating and enriching education characterised by academic excellence, outstanding teaching, learning and support, as well as extensive opportunities for personal development and growth. Our aim here at Varndean College is to develop our students into well-rounded, confident and free-thinking individuals, who are excited and ready to move on to the next stage of their lives. This is demonstrated in our excellent record of results and our ALPS value added score which places us in the top 10% of 16-19 providers in England.
Students say that one of the greatest things about studying at Varndean College is that you feel part of a community. Students and staff communicate on a first-name basis, everyone is treated like an adult and we provide an excellent transition between school and university or employment. Students tell us they choose to study here because of the welcoming, supportive atmosphere, the sense of a ‘Varndean family’, as well as of course our academic distinction and the ability to bring out the best in everyone. Our staff are passionate about the subjects they teach, dedicated to ensuring students reach their full potential and help them every step of the way; whether it be on to university, further training or employment. We are tireless in our belief that a happy student is a successful student and in ensuring that all students make excellent progress here.
It is always our desire to improve and expand upon the facilities we offer to students and this can be seen in our new development, the wonderful new STEM Centre, created to inspire our next generation of engineers, mathematicians and scientists. We were also recently awarded funding by the Uk Government’s Post-16 Capacity Fund to develop our quads and extend our social space for students. This expansion, which is due to be completed in February 2024, will create four additional classrooms, office space, as well as beautiful outdoor amphitheatre style seating for students to enjoy in their independent study time. Planning permission has also been approved for a seven-year masterplan to enhance the campus, including new high quality teaching space, a new entrance building, student café and communal space, as well as a new sports hall.
I know that the students who come to Varndean are happy; and happy students make successful students. Wherever you choose to go, it is important to select somewhere that feels right for you. I would encourage you to come along to our College Open Events to meet our subject tutors and current students to hear first-hand about just how inspiring it is to study here. I hope that in doing so you will feel that Varndean College is the place for you and we will have the opportunity to welcome you here next September.
Donna-Marie Janson, Principal and CEO
Varndean College will transform the lives of our students and our community through our provision of exceptional education.
Varndean College is very proud of the fact that students who study here do significantly better than would be expected of them based on their GCSE results they come here with.
In the Department of Education’s “16-18 Schools and Colleges Performance Table for Value Added” Varndean College is in the top 10% of UK schools and sixth form colleges.
‘Value Added’ scores are Government calculations which provide a measure as to how much more or less successful students have been by declaring how much ‘value’ has been added to their results. This means that Varndean students perform better than 99% of all other schools/sixth forms in the country compared to students with the same GCSE grades on entry. This confirms the high quality teaching support, care and guidance that takes place here.