Our
History
Lord Wandsworth College is named after Baron Sydney Stern, a Liberal MP and the second son of a prosperous banker. Granted a peerage less than four years after winning the seat of Stowmarket in 1891, Stern took the title of Lord Wandsworth in reflection of his many links with the area.
When Lord Wandsworth died in 1912 he left a generous bequest to educate the children of agricultural workers; children who had lost one or both parents and needed the support of a boarding environment.
Lord Wandsworth’s Trustees purchased the site on which the College now stands and the first ‘Foundationers’ arrived in 1922, followed by fee-paying students in 1946.
Today, our 1,200-acre site houses the College buildings, our considerable facilities and Stern Farm. This arable farm provides a timely reminder of those early students and of the College’s agricultural heritage.
