Itchen College opened on 6 October 1906 as a Pupil Teacher's Centre in Raymond Lodge, Bridge Road, Woolston.

[2] Pupils started at the centre at age 13 and took the Cambridge Junior Local Examination after completing a two-year course.

The land was rough and covered with gorse, bracken, and blackberry bushes, and World War I broke out before work could start to clear it.

Work at erecting temporary structures to house the new influx of post-war students was slow, however, and the centre couldn't relocate until 1921.

[2] The foundation stone for the present building in Middle Road was laid in December 1925, but the school wasn't finished until 1938.

[2] When World War II broke out in 1939, the government's plans to evacuate children from danger areas to safer parts of the country were put into effect.

Upon arrival, staff and senior boys dug air raid shelters before settling into life outside of Southampton.

This schedule posed difficulties for the students, as classrooms were full of stale air and they had to conduct lessons using gas lamps with blackout curtains up at the windows.

In 1940, French troops who had escaped Dunkirk, were given tea and sandwiches by the WRVS through the window of the Domestic Science room.

[2] Itchen Secondary School's evacuation ended in December 1944 with the pupils returning to the Southampton site after spending 16 terms studying at Andover.

The metal railings surrounding the grounds had been removed for scrap-iron during the war effort and the field and cricket pitch had been damaged.

All attempts to repair the field and cricket pitch kept failing, as without fencing, people repeatedly trampled and ruined the new turf that had been laid.

New facilities within the extension included: science laboratories; needlework and housecraft rooms; and geography classrooms with a terrace that linked them to the observatory on the roof.

[2] Philip Vennis was appointed as Principal of the new Itchen Sixth Form College in 1971 and remained until his retirement in 1988.

[citation needed] Students are mainly from areas of Southampton, east of the River Itchen and along the M27 corridor towards Fareham.

The college runs an extensive bus service, and is close enough to Sholing Railway Station to allowi access from all over Hampshire.

[citation needed] Full-time students study a wide range of courses including vocational, GCSEs, BTECs, and A Levels.

[citation needed] International students are offered English as a Foreign Language courses; they stay with police-checked local families, and are referred to as Homestays.

[9] Despite being primarily for 16-19-year-old school leavers, Itchen Sixth Form College offers adult education classes for students over 19.

[12] On air at least three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday[12]), regular shows include: Half Time Oranges (sports news); international music; interviews with members of staff, politicians, and local celebrities (e.g. Matt Le Tissier[13]); and discussions about current affairs.

In 1920, Itchen Pupil Teacher's Centre headmaster Mr Hemmings started up the 'Old Students Association'.

Renamed the 'Old Issonians Association' by Principal Cotemann after the evacuation ended, the name was taken from the school's then current initials ('I.S.S.