The Governors are delighted to announce the appointment of Alastair Tighe as the new Head of Ardingly College, effective from September 2026. This follows the news that Ben Figgis, our current Head, will be joining Munich International School as Principal this September, after over a decade of outstanding service at Ardingly.
The College’s Chair of Governors, Jayne Adams, commented:
“We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Alastair Tighe as the new Head of Ardingly College, after a rigorous selection process from an extremely strong field of applicants. Alastair impressed us all with his proven track record of successful leadership at Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, where he has been Head Master for the past seven years, and we are confident he has the vision and qualities to lead the College into an exciting new chapter, building on the success of Ben Figgis’s transformative decade of headship at Ardingly.”
“Alastair will join Ardingly when the College is in its strongest ever position in our nearly 170-year history. We have a record number of students on roll, outstanding academic results, including being ranked as the top boarding school in the UK for the International Baccalaureate, several national awards to celebrate, as well as a growing family of schools, both in the UK and internationally. We are looking forward to working with Alastair and are excited to see Ardingly continue to go from strength to strength under his leadership.”
Alastair Tighe commented:
“I’m honoured to have been appointed Ardingly’s new Head. The College’s values and aims align wonderfully with my own, and I look forward to leading the school in its mission to educate the ‘whole child.’ It has been a pleasure to have met some super and impressive staff and pupils already, and I can’t wait to get to know the entire community. It will be a privilege to build on Ben’s legacy, to join a school with so many exciting opportunities and to play my part in ensuring that Ardingly thrives as a caring, ambitious and creative school.”
Alastair and his husband, Gavin, will move to Ardingly in the summer of 2026, ready for the new academic year in September.
About Alastair Tighe
Alastair joined Wells Cathedral School as Head Master in 2018, having previously worked at Bedford School as Deputy Head (Academic) and at Eltham College as Director of Music. He started his teaching career at Oundle School, where he was Deputy Director of Music and an Assistant Housemaster. Alastair read English and then Theology at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was also the College’s Organ Scholar.
About Ardingly College
Ardingly College is an award-winning coeducational day and boarding school of over 1000 pupils, located in 240 acres of beautiful West Sussex countryside. Ardingly is currently ranked as the top British boarding school for the International Baccalaureate and is in the top 10 schools in the world for the IB diploma, with our students also achieving consistently outstanding GCSE and A Level results. Last year Ardingly won three national awards for its innovative Enterprise & Employability programme, which prepares students to succeed in a rapidly changing world of work. The College was one of the first major boarding schools in the UK to become truly coeducational and celebrated the 50th anniversary of girls at Ardingly in 2022. Ardingly’s thriving Prep School was founded on site in 1912. The College’s family of schools already includes another Sussex prep school, Great Walstead School, which has operated successfully for over 100 years. The College already has established international schools in China and Kazakhstan, with our first school in Vietnam opening in 2026 and plans well underway to announce other new joiners to our growing family of schools later this year.
