King William's College

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King William's College Colleish Ree Illiam

Motto	Assiduitate Non Desidia
Established	1668
Type	Independent school
Founder	Bishop Isaac Barrow
Principal	Mr. Philip John BA
Students	Circa 650
Location	Castletown, Isle of Man
Accreditation	World School
Colours	Purple, Black, White
Website	www.kwc.sch.im

The coat of arms in the centre of the College's crest is that of Bishop Isaac Barrow who in 1668 set up a trust to fund education in the Isle of Man which was later used to found the College. On the left can be seen St. Brigida holding a church, while below can be seen the Three Legs of Mann. The mitre on top represents Bishop Barrow. The latin motto is Assiduitate Non Desidia – By Constant Practice, Not Laziness.

1 General Knowledge Paper (GKP)
2 Houses
3 Præpositors
4 Combined Cadet Force
5 Notable alumni
6 External links

[edit] General Knowledge Paper (GKP)

Since 1904, the College has set an annual general knowledge test, known as the General Knowledge Paper (GKP). The pupils sit the test twice; once unseen on the day before the Christmas holidays, and again when they return to school in the New Year, after having spent the holiday researching the answers. However, the test is now voluntary. It is well-known to be highly difficult, a common score being just two correct answers from the list of several hundred. The best scores are 40 to 50 for the unseen test and about 270 out of 360 for the second sitting. Traditionally, the best scorers were given a free half day off school (not of bitter), while anyone doing particularly badly was given a detention.

The quiz is always introduced with the following Latin motto: "Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est", which translates as: "To know where to find anything is, after all, the greatest part of education."

The quiz is popular with non-pupils, and has been published in The Guardian since 1951.

The current quizmaster is Dr. Pat Cullen, a retired GP, who has been setting the quiz since 1997. He reports that he now checks questions by typing them into Google and changing them if necessary to make sure the answers cannot be found immediately.

Today the GKP is sent home to parents, there being a prize of £100 for the winning family. There is great competition between the local manx families over this competition.

[edit] Houses

Colbourne House - Boys' Boarding House

Dickson House - Mixed Day House

School House - Girls' Boarding House

Walters House - Mixed Day House

[edit] Præpositors

A Præpositor is an equivalent of a Prefect; a member of the Upper Sixth Form who has considerable responsibility within the school. The title Head of School is the title given to the most senior Præpositor. The Head of School can either be male or female. Depending on the gender of the Head of School their subordinate colleague will be known as either the Head Boy or the Head Girl. The Head of School is a long-established post, with the first recorded appointment in 1846.

[edit] Combined Cadet Force

The school has a CCF that hosts a 50m range. One of the oldest Cadet Forces in Britain (started in 1904), King William's College has a strong military tradition. In 2005 CCF at King William's was made completely voluntary and this has caused a drop in numbers, however, it is again becoming increasingly popular. Upon joining, Cadets may choose which branch of the CCF they wish to participate in: Army, Navy, or Air Force.