Pupils are celebrating today after receiving an astonishing 43 offers from either the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge – the highest number in the College’s history. We are immensely proud of our pupils - a huge congratulations!
On Friday 5 December 2014, the unveiling of the Tower was marked by an elaborate and creative ceremony. The morning’s festivities featured a mass dance by over 80 pupils, a horse-drawn carriage (featuring Queen Victoria!), a rendition of The Tower Song and a variety of music, chanting and rap.
The event reached a crescendo with the dramatic unveiling of the Cairns Tower itself, with two abseiling workmen revealing the stunning façade to the cheering crowd of pupils and staff.
Everyone involved was kitted out in Victorian clothing in reference to the Tower’s gothic design and the fact that it had been designed back in 1884 by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, a former pupil of the school who went on to become a distinguished architect of the late Victorian period.
The Tower was originally designed to be the crowning glory of Sir Thomas Jackson’s additions to Brighton College in the 1880s, but a shortage of funds meant his creation was left unfinished for well over a century.
A generous contribution by an anonymous donor finally allowed for the completion of the final two storeys. In 2013, the school engaged historic building specialists to complete the original external design of the tower, closely following Jackson’s original designs.
The unveiling of the Tower, alongside the building of New House in 2013, finally saw the completion of Jackson’s original plans for the front quadrangle of the school.
Now, ten years after the completion of the Tower, and 100 years since the death of Sir Thomas Jackson, we can all admire his stunning contribution to the school’s landscape.