A World Ready Education
Ardingly is a forward-looking school in a traditional setting.
Our mission is for every child to lead enjoyable and fulfilling lives; to make the most of their talents at school and be ready for the world beyond.
Ardingly students have the benefit of studying in a beautiful campus, with plentiful space and facilities in which to learn, make friends and grow. At the heart of an Ardingly education is the assurance that every child is known, valued and encouraged. Every child has a unique character, a unique range of abilities and a unique contribution to make.
Our purpose is to understand and develop their character, enhance their abilities, encourage and recognise their contribution, while fostering the values, personal qualities and skills they will need to thrive in the world beyond Ardingly.
Ready for a Changing World
As we look towards 2030, we recognise how rapidly the world is changing. While we are proud of our students’ academic achievements, it is clear that exam results are not the only or even the best indicator of a student’s potential to succeed in this ever-changing world. Increasingly, children need to develop aptitudes and personal qualities outside the scope of examined courses to thrive in societies disrupted by new technologies, fresh career opportunities and changing social attitudes.
To meet this challenge, we have revised our World Ready mission for the next generation. The World Ready education we outline below aims to equip children with the skills to make sense of change and the ambition to help shape it. In short, to become agents of change.
Comfortable in Their Own Skins
To be effective agents of change, who are able to capitalise on the opportunities of this evolving world, we believe our students need first, and most fundamentally, to become comfortable in their own skins. To achieve this, they need to develop self-belief in their own potential, without arrogance, tempered by a self-awareness of how others perceive them. These qualities will help them effectively persuade, advocate and collaborate. They also need the ability to self-regulate their work, habits and emotions in a world with digital and other distractions at every turn.
The real world is co-educational. One of the key strengths of an Ardingly education is the opportunity for our girls and boys to develop these “three selves” of self-belief, self-awareness and self-regulation in a truly co-educational environment.
The Six Components of World Ready
To encourage and equip our students to be effective agents of change, every aspect of life at Ardingly will be shaped by these six components of World Ready:
Each of these components has a detailed, multi-year and measurable action plan to ensure effective delivery. We believe these components will ensure that our students:
- Develop the transferable employability and entrepreneurial skills they need to succeed in a radically changing world of work.
- Learn highly-developed literacy and critical thinking skills, trained to robustly evaluate information, to communicate effectively and persuade.
- Gain the ability to understand themselves in relation to the wider world, different cultural perspectives and shifting social attitudes.
- Are comfortable in their own skins, having identified their strengths and found their passions.
*In the Prep School these components will be entitled ‘Community & Me’ and ‘People & Planet’ respectively, to reflect the age-appropriate level of the activities planned.