Denstone College

General information

Denstone College is an independent co-educational day and boarding school, situated in the village of Denstone, Staffordshire, England. Founded by Nathaniel Woodard in 1868, it is a Woodard school with strong Anglo-Catholic and public school traditions. It has an impressive academic record, with results about double the Staffordshire average. A range of academic and sporting scholarships are offered. The College is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.HistoryNathaniel Woodard founded the school, originally called St Chad's College, as his flagship school in the midlands, following earlier foundations in southern England. Work on the school began in 1868 and it opened in 1873 with 46 boys, under the direction of Edward Clarke Lowe, provost of the midland district of the Woodard Corporation. The buildings were designed by William Slater and Richard Carpenter in the Neo-Gothic style. The school buildings, hall, chapel and war memorial are all Grade II listed. The school's chapel was built in 1879–87 by Carpenter and Benjamin Ingelow in a late 13th-century Gothic style; it consists of a four bay nave with polygonal apse. Land for the school was given by Sir Thomas Percival Heywood who owned the nearby Riverside Doveleys mansion. Sir Thomas was the school's first bursar.