2011 is a very important year for Woodard. It marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Nathaniel Woodard and also the creation of the National Society (CofE) for Promoting Religious Education. A number of events and services have been planned to commemorate both occasions starting and ending with:

A Eucharist, with all Woodard Schools participating, on the 200th anniversary of Nathaniel Woodard’s birth was held on Monday 21 March 2011 at Lancing College.

For details of The National Society for Promoting Religious Education please click here

Nathaniel Woodard

21 March 1811 – 25 April 1891

A priest in the Church of England, Nathaniel Woodard founded an incredible 11 schools for the middle classes in England during his lifetime. His aim was to provide an education with a fundamental foundation based on “sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith”.

In his lifetime, he was surrounded by and shocked by social conflict, poverty, deprivation and lack of aspiration in a chaotic society and he set out to try and transform this situation. He firmly believed that education was the only way to aid this transformation and began his life long work of founding schools. In 1870, he was made Canon of Manchester Cathedral in recognition of his efforts and received a generous stipend with this position. He used the majority of this towards funding the building of his schools.

Today, Woodard Schools form the largest group of independent Church of England schools in England and Wales and as part of the Woodard Corporation, strive to promote Nathaniel Woodard’s educational principles.

His first school, Lancing College was founded in1848 and his tomb is in the College Chapel. 2011 will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of this remarkable, educational visionary. 

National Service of Thanksgiving on Thursday 24 November 2011 at Westminster Abbey

Schools from across the country took a leading role in a service at Westminster Abbey on 24 November to mark the birth of one of the country’s leading lights in the field of education.

Pupils from all over England and Wales travelled to London to join over 1,000 other staff and pupils from the Woodard family of schools. The service celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of educational visionary, The Reverend Canon Nathaniel Woodard (1811 – 1891). The Church of England priest founded eleven schools during his lifetime.

Today, 46 Woodard Schools form the largest group of independent Church of England schools in England and Wales and, as part of the Woodard Corporation, strive to promote Nathaniel Woodard’s educational principles. As a leading group of church schools, Woodard firmly believes in the value of an educational tradition with foundations in the Christian faith.

Director of Education of Woodard Schools, Chris Wright, says “Our schools are value-rich and value-driven communities in which each student is valued as an individual and as a member of society. We very firmly believe that education is much more than just part of the ‘service economy’ – the students at the service proved that today. Through their worship and interaction with one another they demonstrated Christian values in action and this is something they will all take home with them from today and remember in the future”.

Chris adds that he believes that Woodard’s Christian ethos has much to offer the 21st century setting and the way we care for and educate our children and promote social justice. He adds “At its best, education should be about working to change the world for the better, to pursue peace and justice, and to serve all – both God and society – in a way which is both inclusive of others and empowering for the individual”.

Senior Provost of Woodard Schools, Canon Brendan Clover, says “Taking part in this national service today to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Nathaniel Woodard’s birth is a huge opportunity and honour for everyone involved in our schools, both staff and students. It’s a big occasion and one in which everyone here has played their part. Our unique position as a group of schools spanning both the independent and state maintained sector enables the students to come together with their peers and celebrate together in a unique way.

“Nathaniel Woodard has had a major impact on the way Christian education has developed in this country and he deserves more recognition. Like Nathaniel himself, today as custodians of his vision we see education as a transformative agent that can make the society and communities we live in better.

“His legacy and our approach is to continue to offer an education which looks seriously at the big questions about what it means to be human, to care about social justice and instil in one another a searching and longing for the truth. We want our schools to help students become academically, spiritually and emotionally mature young people who are well equipped to go out into the world and engage with it in the fullest way possible.”

Woodard very much sees itself as offering a unique educational experience in all of its schools, one based firmly in the Christian tradition but which engages with the modern world at every level. This relevance makes the group ideally placed to continue to develop its schools in their communities while offering a national perspective on educational issues.

‘In Search of Nathaniel Woodard – Victorian Founder of Schools’ 

£16.00 (excluding P&P)

‘In Search of Nathaniel Woodard – Victorian Founder of Schools’ by David Gibbs is published to coincide with the celebrations of the 200th Anniversary of the Founder’s birth on 21 March.

It is a fascinating account of the life, times and legacy of this remarkable man. It helps to put into context this very special year for all involved with the Woodard family and provides a tangible memento of this year and of the world that he created.

Without doubt Nathaniel Woodard’s achievements were to education what Brunel was to engineering and still his name is unknown both in the nation and, sadly, in the Church of England. We need to do everything we can during this 200th Anniversary Year to bring honour to his name and to raise his profile in the Nation. David’s book is a valuable tool for this endeavour. I hope that you will buy it and enjoy it, with an appropriate sense of pride in being part of such a diverse, interesting and accomplished group of schools.

For a subscription offer order form please click here

Woodard Musician of the Year

To celebrate the birth of Nathaniel Woodard the first ever Woodard Musician of the Year competition took place in May 2011.

As was wonderfully demonstrated at the Woodard Schools Concert at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, in 2007 we can be very proud of the wealth of musical talent within the Woodard family and we hope that this new competition can “make a difference” to gifted musicians in our schools.

The aim of this new competition is to celebrate the wealth of talent amongst young musicians within the Woodard family of schools.

The winner of the Junior Musician of the Year 2011 was Cameron McEwan and Moon Yiu won the Senior prize.  Both Cameron and Moon are pupils at Ardingly College.

The Musician of the Year competition is to become an annual even.  The 2012 finals will be held on Saturday May 5 at St John's, Smith Square, London.

The Birthday Gift - The Woodard Langalanga Secondary School Project

The Woodard Langalanga Secondary School Project is a Woodard-wide fundraiser to raise sufficient money (£250,000) to build a much needed secondary school in the Rift Valley, Kenya.

For further information please click here