Head Master's Welcome
Independent day & boarding school for boys and girls aged 2 to 18

Head Master's Welcome

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Ryde School with Upper Chine.  For over 100 years the School has been educating young people from the Isle of Wight and beyond.  At the heart of the educational experience here are the elements that make up the Ryde School crest.  The torch that symbolises knowledge, learning through experience and exploration, not just books.  The three stars for body, mind and soul which represent physical, mental and spiritual learning.  The gold represents the excellence to be achieved and the chevrons the reward for doing so, and for building character.  This has been at the forefront of the education delivered throughout the School’s history and highlights how there is more to an education than excellent exam results.  This is therefore a school that prides itself on a rounded and holistic experience for all its pupils, which was as relevant in 1921 when the School was founded as it is today.  

As the leading independent day and boarding school on the Isle of Wight we welcome not only a diverse community from across the Island; children aged 2 to 18, from West Wight to Ventnor but many pupils who travel the short distance across the Solent to us from Portsmouth and surrounding areas and a growing number of international students and UK boarders from Scotland through to France, the USA, Hong Kong and beyond. With a full range of skills, needs and talents, all our pupils come together in our ambitious, vibrant and supportive community.

Whilst justifiably proud of our academic results, both for those who go on each year to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge or those who, with great effort and determination from teacher and pupil, secure GCSE results way above their national predictions, we are committed to educating the whole child. Our sports and clubs all flourish, we have very active Duke of Edinburgh's Award and CCF groups and drama and music is a joy in our new Jenny Kerry Performing Arts Centre, opened in the summer of 2022.  

We are very fortunate to have a beautiful setting here on the Isle of Wight.  There is much to explore and learn on the Island while being a pupil here, combined with an international outlook beyond the shores of the Solent and English Channel.  We are a Round Square and IB World School. To that end, we are an island school with a global outlook.  I encourage you to come and visit us to see this for yourself.

Will Turner 
Head Master


Annual Newsletters 

2023 Newsletter

2022 Newsletter

2021 Newsletter