Paston College

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Engraving of 'The New School House' circa 1767

Paston College is a sixth form college in North Walsham, Norfolk, England.

1 The Paston School
2 Paston College
3 Notable ex-pupils
4 External links

[edit] The Paston School

The College started life as The Paston School founded in 1606 by Sir William Paston, a member of an important local family. Originally a public school with boarding and day pupils, the school became the grammar school for the North Norfolk area in the 1950s, and by 1981 was wholly owned by Norfolk County Council Education Authority.

Among its famous pupils have been Admiral Lord Nelson, who attended the school in the late 18th century, before moving away to join the Royal Navy.

In 1984 the school property was merged with North Walsham Girls' High School, to create a new sixth form college teaching 16–19-year olds. The Paston School site was renamed "The Griffins" and the Girls' High School Site "The Lawns." The griffins in question are to be found as stone carved sentinels mounted atop the school gateposts, a three-dimensional representation of the Paston School heraldry.

[edit] Paston College

Students on the Paston College Griffin site

The college occupies The Paston School buildings, the oldest of which is 'The School House' - an enormous early Georgian brick mansion in a somewhat over-simplified Palladian style dating from 1764-1767, together with ranges of newer buildings constructed between 1905 and 1930.

The majority of students are aged between sixteen and nineteen, and the college offers over thirty AS and A level subjects, as well as vocational courses.

In 2005, Paston was among the top ten colleges in England and Wales for AS-level results, and in the top twenty-five for A-level results. The college also managed a pass rate of 97 per cent at A-level and 90 per cent at AS-level — both figures exceeding the national average for all colleges and sixth forms. Fifteen of the twenty-five A-level courses and eight of the thirty-one AS-level courses had 100 per cent pass rates.