Varndean College
Varndean College is a sixth form college in Brighton and Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults.
Varndean College
- Name
- Varndean College
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Varndean College is a sixth form college in Brighton and Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Varndean College. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- unresolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Varndean College • Established — 1884 • Type — Sixth form college • Head Label — Principal • Head — Donna-Marie Janson • Address — Surrenden Road • City — Brighton • County — East Sussex • Country — England • Postal Code — BN1 6WQ • Ofsted — yes • Urn — 130668 • Enrolment — c. 2,000 • Gender — Coeducational • Lower Age — 16–19 • Website — https: www.varndean.ac.uk
Location
Location
Varndean College is on Surrenden Road, in the northern part of Brighton. It shares the Surrenden campus with Balfour Junior School, Balfour Infants School, Dorothy Stringer School and Varndean Secondary School.
History
History
The college was founded in 1884 in York Place, Brighton, as a boys' secondary school and moved to its current site (overlooking the city and the sea) in 1932, later attaining grammar school status, becoming Varndean Grammar School for Boys, administered by the Education Committee for the County Borough of Brighton. In 1972 the first girls were admitted to the school (a small number of girls attended A level physics classes at the school in 1970–71), and in 1975 it became a sixth form college under its first principal, David A.G. Turner.
Former Headmasters and Principals
Former Headmasters and Principals
Varndean Grammar School for Boys • 1884–1901 Edwin H. Lethbridge (died 1932) • 1902–1932 William J. Stainer (died 1937) • 1932–1963 Eric J. Hutchins (died 1972) • 1963–1970 John E. Mollison (1916–2003) • 1970–1975 David A.G. Turner (died 1997) Varndean College • 1975–1988 David A.G. Turner (died 1997) • 1988–2006 Alan Jenkins (died March 2020) • 2006–2020 Philip Harland • 2020–present day Donna-Marie Janson
Notable alumni
Notable alumni
The Old Varndeanian Association exists to maintain a network between former pupils and students of both the school and college, as well as former pupils of Varndean Girls' School. The association maintains contact with thousands of Old Varndeanians and organises regular reunions and other functions. • Alfie Deyes, YouTuber • Celeste, singer • Bobby Barry, musician • Darius Danesh actor, singer, reality star. • Lucy Griffiths, actress • Natasha Kaplinsky, television presenter • Dan and Tom Searle, twin musicians from the Brighton based band Architects • Gwendoline Christie, actor
Varndean Grammar School for Boys
• Desmond Lynam, broadcaster • David Collings, actor • Dave Greenfield, The Stranglers (keyboards) 1960–1967 • Steve Ovett, Olympic athlete • Simon Schaffer, historian • Paul Scofield, actor • Mike Winch, Commonwealth Games shot-putter and national coach
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 September 2026.
Elsewhere in General
22,759 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Värmdö MunicipalityPlace
- VarmoPlace
- VarnaPlace
- VärnamoPlace
- VarnhemPlace
- VarniaiPlace
- VarnsdorfPlace
- VárpalotaPlace
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Varndean College?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.