History
Dr Charles Hayman, an Eastbourne medical practitioner and member of the town's first Council, together with other prominent local citizens, decided that an independent school 'for the education of the sons of noblemen and gentlefolk' should be established and the support of the 7th Duke of Devonshire was sought. The Duke was supportive of the venture and provided 12 acres (30 mi) of land for purchase at a modest price. This link with the Cavendish family is evidenced by the stag in the school emblem.
The school opened with three staff and 14 pupils. From 1867 to 1869 it occupied Ellesmere Villa, now called Spencer Court; the location is now marked by a blue plaque. Architect Henry Currey was assigned by the Duke to design a new school building - College House, now School House, was built in 1870. The school chapel was constructed that same year.
During the 1880s, the school went through an impoverished period. Through the intervention of George Wallis, first mayor of Eastbourne and the tireless work of new headmaster Rev Dr Charles Crowden, formerly of Cranbrook School, the school was saved from financial disaster.
In 1967 Eastbourne College celebrated its centenary. Ex Oriente Salus - A Centenary History of Eastbourne College was published for the occasion and consists of a compilation by Vincent Mulcaster Allom, who spent over 30 years teaching at the school, of old photographs, news articles and illustrations of the school.
The college admitted its first girls in 1969 when the sixth form became coeducational, becoming one of the first HMC schools to admit girls. It is now fully coeducational.
Read more about this topic: Eastbourne College
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