| Elizabeth College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Semper Eadem (always faithful/the same) |
| Established | 1563 |
| Type | Secondary (11-18yrs) All-male, Junior and Pre-School(3-11yrs) Mixed |
| Principal | George Hartley |
| Location | St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands |
| Rival | Victoria College, Jersey |
| Website | http://www.elizabethcollege.gg |
Elizabeth College is an independent school in the town of St Peter Port, Guernsey, founded in 1563 under the orders of Queen Elizabeth I.[1]
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Elizabeth College was founded in 1563 under the orders of Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth referred to it as her "Grammar School". It was the fourth school to be established on the island, the others being the (loose) equivalent of primaries in St Peter Port, St Peters and St Martins.[1] The first schoolmaster was Belgian scholar Adrian Saravia, who went on to become one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. In order to create a site for the college, Franciscan friars were moved from their lands on La Rue Des Frères. The College still occupies this site. The College lands extended from College Street through the Grange all the way to Upland Road. However, the main College building of the time was the Cottage on the corner of the current campus, near to the top of Smith Street (Le Rue des Forges).[1]
Until the 19th century, the school was poorly administered, and there was frequently only a very small number of students. Then in 1824 the governor of the island, Sir John Colbourne established a committee to perform a full review of the school,[1] and by 1826 there was a new staff and a more complete curriculum, and the school was in a position to attract fee-paying students from England. On 19 October 1826 the foundation stone of a new building was laid, and the school was renamed as the Royal College of Elizabeth.[1] The building, which remains a prominent feature of the St Peter Port skyline, was designed by John Wilson, who was also the architect of the French Halles, Castle Carey, and the former Church of St James the Less.
The entire school was evacuated during World War II to Great Hucklow in Derbyshire as a result of the occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany, and tradition says that a ghost of one of the Nazi soldiers walks the corridors at night.
Another once popular ghost story was that of a young boy that walks the corridors near the Le Marchant Library. He was said to have been locked in detention, but then forgotten about during the summer holidays, and subsequently starved to death.
The College also keeps records of every single student that has been taught there since 1824, in several volumes, with their name, birthdate and college number. The prestigious number "1" belongs to James Colborne (born 8 September 1815), later Baron Seaton.[2]
The attached primary school is called Beechwood (head Mrs Battey).
The school is split into three main sections, the main school, a pre-prep school and a pre-school. The upper school is situated overlooking the town and harbour of St Peter Port. On separate sites, it has playing fields totalling roughly 20 acres (81,000 m2).[3]
Elizabeth College has traditionally been a boys-only College. In the early 1990s, the college briefly admitted female students in the sixth form in order to cover the relocation of Blanchlande school. In 1999, a Sixth Form partnership arrangement was established with Ladies' College with shared teaching of AS and A2 lessons, split across the two Colleges.
As an independent school, the majority of pupils are fee-paying; however the States of Guernsey awards scholarships annually on the basis of Eleven Plus results. Students of Beechwood, the junior school section of Elizabeth College, are not permitted to take the eleven plus, and therefore must be fee-paying students if they are to attend the college.
Elizabeth College is a selective school, all prospective pupils (from states schools or the Junior School) must pass the entrance exam in order to be offered a place.
The school has traditionally focused on three major sports (football, hockey and cricket) one in each of the three school terms. It has also been particularly successful in rifle shooting, regularly supplying members of the Athelings (GB Cadet) rifle team as well as combining with Victoria College to form the Channel Islands rifle team, that has won the Cadet National match several times in recent years. The sport of Fencing has recently grown in the College with the school now regularly sending a team to the annual public schools fencing championships and other domestic competitions.
The school also participated in many swimming galas mainly competing with Victoria College, Jersey.
Since the 1820s, all pupils have been allocated a unique (sequential) school number. These are quoted below where known.
The College has four Victoria Cross holders amongst its former pupils:
The following Bailiffs of Guernsey were educated at Elizabeth College: