Delving into history of Lancing College

"It's a fascinating job", Anne says. "It's constantly amazing.

The school has so many OLs (old boys) of interest. You are always discovering something. There is always something new whether it is something that has just come in or something that you come across in the existing archives."

Inevitably and rightly, the school archive genuinely reflects the rich history of an august establishment.

Lancing College was founded in 1848 by the Rev Nathaniel Woodard, whose primary objective was charitable. As curate of Shoreham, Woodard saw the poverty and hardship of the agricultural and seafaring workforce and the "ignorance and ungodliness" of the middle classes who could not afford a public school education.

He started 11 schools in his lifetime and now there are 43 in the corporation that bears his name. The first three, Lancing, Hurstpierpoint and Ardingly, all began life in the vicarage at Shoreham. They were intended to tackle social problems by providing "a good and complete education of sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith".

More than a century and a half later, a big part of the thrill for archivist Anne is that those principles still hold strong.

"The archives give you a picture of 19th century life in a private school. What I like is that when you look at the school magazine, there is so much that is still here such as the various societies. What amazes me is the continuity of life that hasn't changed.

"Of course things are modern. The school has changed a great deal and yet it has managed to preserve its ethos of a good Christian education. The school achieved good results in the 19th century and it is still achieving good results in the 21st."

Just to be in the school buildings is inspiring: "The buildings are marvellous."

All of which is a tribute to the good Rev Woodard: "This man had drive. He was extraordinary. He was very determined. It must have come from his religion.

"He saw around him the need for a system of schools for the middle classes. He saw that the upper classes had Eton and the lower classes were getting the primary schools, the church schools. He decided that the middle classes needed to be catered for."

And for historians, the good news is that so much of his work is extant still in the archives '“ his pamphlets, letters to him and letters from him. The great and the good of Victorian England are among his correspondents '“ all preserved in the archive which has grown up in the past 30 years or so.

Less survives from the Lancing days of the literary giant Evelyn Waugh. His school reports and his school diaries are in various other institutions.

"But we do have the debating society book which minutes his contribution to various debates. He was the editor of the Lancing College magazine. We have his editorials and his letters which he sent into the magazine and which were printed."

Other oddities include details of the Corpse Club which he founded: "It was meant to be for those that were weary of life!

"He was interesting. I think he was someone who was very very self-aware and also very afraid of mediocrity.

"He was determined to use all his talents. He pushed himself to achieve, certainly when he was in the sixth form."