The College of Richard Collyer (colloquially Collyer's ), formerly called Collyer's School, is a co-educational sixth form college in Horsham, West Sussex, England. The college was rated as being 'excellent’ by Ofsted in 2025.

It is the second oldest school in West Sussex after The Prebendal School in Chichester and the fourth oldest school in Sussex. The college is Grade II listed by English Heritage.

Admissions

Collyer's serves about 2100 students between 16 and 19 years of age. It offers A-level courses in 45 different subjects, including a selection not taught at other local colleges. 20 further subjects are offered towards BTEC and vocational certifications and GCSE examinations.

A wide variety of adult education classes are offered at Collyer's in the evenings. It is situated on the B2180 opposite Horsham Community Hospital, and close to the fire and police stations.

History

The College was founded in 1532 (Old Style) in the will of Richard Collyer, who was born in Horsham, and became a wealthy member of The Mercers' Company of the City of London.

Under the terms of the will the money was not freed until 1540, and the new school was eventually opened in the early summer of 1541. The education granted to those sixty scholars, who were naturally all boys, was to be provided "freely without any money paying therefor", with the Mercer's Company paying the masters' salaries.

The original building was on the site of the current St Mary's Church of England Primary School, adjacent to the parish church. However, it was extended then rebuilt in 1660, in order to accommodate "neare an hundred scholars ... with diligence and good success" by 1666, such that none of Collyer's original structure survives. (Part of the 1660 building remains in structure of Arun House, in Denne Road.) In the eighteenth century it fell into disrepair, such that the Mercers' Company surveyor reported that it would cost £1,040 to renovate, "but you will still have a very old and imperfect building." Accordingly, in 1840 the second building was demolished (save for the part incorporated into Arun House), and a new, late-Elizabethan style structure built for the sum of £2,240. and built by Joseph Potter in 1893 for a contract price of £5,795. It is now grade II listed by English Heritage. Above the entrance is a stone engraved with, "Grammar School, Founded by Richard Collier AD 1532". (Historically the founder's name was often spelled as 'Collier', but from the twentieth century it has always been spelled as it is today. bequeathed £22,000 to the school "for its general purposes". The bequest paid for a new laboratory block, gymnasium and changing rooms in 1961, and an assembly and dining hall with theatrical stage facilities, modern kitchens attached, and a 'Small Upper Hall' above the new foyer, all completed in 1963. The new hall was named the 'Duckering Hall', and the smaller hall the 'Duckering Room'. (The final phase of building work, to be a new classroom block replacing the World War Two emergency wooden huts, was never undertaken.) Between 1960 and 1963 the playing fields were also extended, levelled, and new sports facilities were added. In 1964 a headmaster's house was built on the site, replacing the accommodation that was originally included in the 1892 school block.

Sixth form college

It started its transition to become a voluntary-aided sixth form college in 1976. The other three state secondary schools in Horsham (Forest Boys, Forest Girls and Horsham High School for Girls) became comprehensives. Collyer's had taken its last first form intake in the previous September, and started to expand its sixth form. Initially this was done by taking students from the two existing secondary moderns to do O-levels, and girls from Horsham High School who wanted to study A-level choices that were not offered by their previous school.

In the early 2000s, annual reports from the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) have deemed the school outstanding. Following the 2021 inspection the 2022 report dropped the headline rating to 'Good'. On the strength of a recent OFSTED Grade One for Science provision, the college was awarded 'Beacon Status' for Science in 2005 by the Department for Education and Skills. In the same year, it achieved the status of Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for sport and recreation. A new £2 million, three storey Learning Resources Centre was unveiled during this period. In 2006 work began to extend the Sports Hall, or Cowley Building, to provide more teaching and social space.

thumb|The £2 million Learning Resources Centre, 2009

Houses

From the 1920s the students and some teaching staff in the college have been divided into a number of different houses. All houses names are associated with the history of the college or the town. The current six houses are:

  • Denne – after a local area of Horsham;
  • Mercers' – after the Mercers' Company, a livery company based in London, a member of which founded the original school;
  • Pirie – After William Pirie, a previous headmaster at the college, who served for 46 years and raised standards significantly in the college. There is a small square in the town centre known as Pirie's Place, with a sculpture of Pirie in a horse-drawn cart, commemorating the achievement of the headmaster;
  • Richmond – After a road bordering the college;
  • St Leonard's – After the forest to the east of Horsham;
  • Whittington – After a member of the Mercer's company.

Former house names include Collyer's, Hurst, Garnett, Duckering, and Weald.

thumb|250px|Sculpture of William Pirie, Piries Place, Horsham

Headmasters

The following list of the headmasters from the school's opening until 1965 was provided in the history of the school that was published in that year.

  • 1706–1712 Rev. Thomas Pittis
  • 1712 Rev. Peter Stockar
  • 1712–1722 Rev. John Reynell
  • 1722–1773 Rev. Francis Osgood
  • 1773–1806 Rev. William Jameson
  • 1806–1821 Rev. Thomas Williams
  • 1822–1868 William Pirie
  • 1868–1883 Richard Cragg (the younger)
  • 1883–1890 James Williams
  • 1890–1917 Rev. Dr. George Thompson
  • 1917–1922 William Major
  • 1922–1926 Rev. Canon Wilfrid Peacock
  • 1922–1956 Philip Tharp
  • 1956–1964 Douglas Coulson
  • 1964–1966 Vernon Davies (acting head)
  • 1966–1983 (Eldred) Derek Slynn

Principals

In 1976, the title was changed from Headmaster to Principal. Since then the college's principals have been:

  • 1983–1999 David Arnold
  • 1999–2004 Michael Marchant
  • 2004–2014 Dr. Jacqueline Johnston
  • 2014–2020 Sally Bromley
  • 2020–present Dan Lodge

Academic performance

After recovering from a country-wide low point in schooling in the eighteenth century, headmasters from William Pirie to George Thompson successively raised standards, such that in 1904, when the school had 110 pupils, six OCs held open awards at Oxford or Cambridge, and another was a City and Guilds scholar. By 1962, university education also having been made free to students, the school sent 55 students out of 80 leavers into higher education.

  • Simon Nye, writer of Men Behaving Badly
  • Paul Parker, Sussex cricketer
  • Lt.-Col. George Styles GC, commanded the 28th Commonwealth Brigade's Ordnance Field Park Regiment from 1958 to 1961, and bomb disposal expert in Northern Ireland in the 1970s
  • Rajesh Thakker FRS, Professor of Medicine at Oxford University
  • Eric Thompson, actor, and voice of The Magic Roundabout
  • David Westwood, Chief Constable from 1999 to 2005 of Humberside Police

References

  • The College of Richard Collyer
  • The Old Collyerians' Association (the association for alumni)
  • Press release announcing 2005 OFSTED school inspection results
  • A Brief History of Richard Collyer's School 1532–1964
  • The Mercers' Company
  • Collyer's today with up to date photographs
  • Contemporary photographs and text of English Heritage's Grade II listing
  • Edubase