Uckfield College Grand Opening

Uckfield College celebrates its history and a new era

Last Thursday saw the official opening of Uckfield College’s superb new facilities, attended by a representative group of staff, both past and present, students, governors and the Director of Children’s Services for East Sussex, Alison Jeffery. 

Though staff and students moved into the initial stage of the new building in September 2020, work has continued on the site, culminating most recently in a gold standard rugby pitch situated on the position of the old buildings in the centre of the campus.

The facilities for students at Uckfield now include the 3G pitch, new Multi-Use Games Area, the new Rugby pitch to complement the existing Sports Fields, a new Sports Hall, Apple Mac suites, Music practice rooms, Dance studio, Drama studio, Theatre, Hall, Science Labs, Eco Garden, Technology rooms and an inspiring Reading Room.

In her speech, Alison Jeffery said “Uckfield College has gone from strength to strength and we are proud to have such a great school in East Sussex. The recent excellent Ofsted report emphasised how happy, as well as how successful, the students are and the excellent relationships between students and staff, always a key feature of a really good school. I am delighted to be able to join in the celebration of the final stages of a hugely successful building programme, brilliantly overseen by the strong leadership team at Uckfield.”

The newly appointed Principal  is Sara Marshallsay, who worked previously at the College  as Deputy Principal and Head of School.  Mrs Marshallsay said,  “All of our young people deserve these great facilities and it makes such a difference - the classrooms are light and spacious and the facilities  mean that we can offer a genuinely outstanding curriculum and a huge range of opportunities.  It’s been really special to mark the completion of the project today.”

Also attending the opening was Hugh Hennebry, recently retired Principal, who had overseen the multi-million pound building project.  He said “This fabulous new school building project started back in March 2015, so it is wonderful to see it finally getting completed.  All the planning has paid off: it is a superb set of facilities that will enable students to flourish and have a brilliant start in life.”

Representing staff was John Whilde, who also retired in July, following 33 years of service at the College teaching Geography. With him is pictured Anna Fletcher, who is the most recently recruited maths teacher, but who has a special link to the College as she herself had attended as student.  Jon had actually taught Anna in one of his classes!  Anna said, “I’m so excited to be back at Uckfield as a teacher and be working alongside some of the teachers who made such an impact on me. It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to give back to the college and share my love of maths with current students.”

Amidst the new buildings, the College’s history is also being celebrated, with a new display in the entrance hall for staff, students, parents and visitors, which tracks its development, moving from 50 students in its beginnings in 1953 to over 1600. Over the years, the College has transformed, now being a leading school in the area and very recently recognised by OFSTED as having many outstanding strengths.

Mrs Marshallsay also explained that the College is keen to hear from its alumni. “We would really like to keep in touch with previous students of the College and also know how much current students can benefit from and be inspired by hearing from past students. We run a variety of events including practice interviews, networking events, Careers Fairs and guest speaker opportunities.”

If you were a student at Uckfield College,  please get in touch with Stephanie Aguilera,  Aspirations Leader, s.aguilera@uckfield.college if you would like to hear more and be involved. You can also join Uckfield College’s growing network of Alumni on our LinkedIn page Uckfield College Alumni - LinkedIn"