150 Years of Denstone College | Staffordshire

Building work begins on the College. and was completed five years later as the flagship independent boarding school of the Midlands. The school is set in a site of more than one hundred acres of rolling Staffordshire countryside, close to the Derbyshire border. According to Pevsner, the building is Victorian Gothic "with sweeping composition" and is built on an 'H' principle with longer wings to the back and shorter to the front of school.

Denstone began life as a school in 1873, with 46 boarding boys as pupils, organised into eight houses named after benefactors. Numbers remained small until the First World War, when they swelled to 314.

Denstones onsite Chapel is dedicated as a house of God.

St George was unveiled, standing proudly in Lonsdale Quad. The war memorial honours the lives lost in WW1 and WW2. The two wars took their toll of pupils with 272 pupils losing their lives: they are commemorated at the College Remembrance Service and there are memorials in Chapel, the Library and the Lonsdale Quadrangle.

Denstone opens its doors to female pupils for the first time. 2026 will be a year of celebration so please do follow our Alumni events for more information soon.

Smallwood Manor Prep moved to Denstone College, offering an uplift of the classroom block which was originally erected in 1926. The upgraded facility offers dedicated facilities suitable for pupils aged 4-11.

With facilities expanding, Denstone is able to offer education to over 700 pupils

Denstone College is 150 years old. The milestone was celebrated with a series of events including a Big Birthday Party and the opening of our Heritage Centre.

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A series of events will be announced regarding this significant landmark in the College histor