A new college set to open next year has announced the appointment of its first principal.

Tess St Clair-Ford will be the founding principal of Oxford International College Brighton, which is due to open in Ovingdean next September.

Ms St Clair-Ford has been head of senior school at Harrow Shanghai since August 2020 and her career has spanned more than a decade of teaching in independent schools, including at Epsom College.

She said: “I'm delighted to be returning to the UK for this role at OIC Brighton. It's a genuinely unique and exciting opportunity to bring together the best of the UK's boarding tradition.

“The site is beautiful. It's going to be a really wonderful school, and I can't wait to welcome our first students through the gates.”

The Argus: The site is set to open to students in September 2023The site is set to open to students in September 2023 (Image: Oxford International College)

She has led programmes designed to prepare students for entry to Oxford and Cambridge universities and has been described as “an advocate of student wellbeing".

The independent college will be taking students from year 9, offering GCSEs and A-Levels for day pupils and boarders.

It is said to prepare students for competitive degrees at the world’s top universities, fostering an environment that nurtures students’ academic growth in an international community.

The college will be on the site of Ovingdean Hall, which was previously a school for deaf children.

The prospectus says students will be “spoilt for choice” in the area, with the “perfect mix of vibrant city culture, rolling hills and fresh sea air".

In 2019, Oxford International College earned the top position in the UK Independent Schools league tables after its students achieved record A-Level results. This year, more than 92 per cent of students achieved A*/A grades, and 100 per cent of students received offers to study at Russell Group universities.

The college said it will be posting several teaching jobs in the new year.