Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire)

Wycliffe College
Motto 'Bold and Loyal'
Established 1882
Type Public School
Independent school
Co-educational
Boarding
Religion Non-denominational
Headteacher Margie Burnet Ward (Senior), Adrian Palmer (Preparatory)
Founder G. W. Sibly
Location Bath Road
Stonehouse
Gloucestershire
GL10 2JQ
England, United Kingdom
Students ca. 800
Gender Mixed
Ages 2–18+
Houses Senior School: Collingwood, Haywardsend, Ivy Grove, Haywardsfield, Ward's, Robinson, Loosley Halls, Lampeter

Preparatory School: Grenfell, Lincon, Shaftesbury, Scott
Colours Red, Black (Traditional)
         
Purple, Grey (Contemporary)
         
Publication Wycliffe Times
The Wycliffian
Website www.wycliffe.co.uk

Wycliffe College is a co-educational public school located in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds. The school was founded in 1882 by G. W. Sibly,[1] and comprises a Nursery School for ages 2–4, a Preparatory School for ages 4–13, and a Senior School catering for ages 13–18. In total, there are approximately 800 pupils enrolled at the school. The College is set in 52 acres of land[2] distributed among three separate campuses and offsite facilities.

Nursery School

The Nursery, which first opened in 1983 at the Grove, and was originally located within the same grounds as the Preparatory School boarding houses and sports fields. The Grove, a house built of Cotswold stone, was destroyed by fire in 1994. In 2012 the nursery school split into the nursery and pre-prep departments, the latter being moved to join with the Preparatory school under leadership of Head of Lower Prep, Mrs Oliver.

Wycliffe Preparatory School

The Prep School has extensive sports grounds separated by a main road from the main campus. The pupils use a specially built bridge to cross over the road safely. The Prep School has two boarding houses: Pennwood housing the male boarders and Windrush housing the female boarders. The school amenities include an indoor swimming pool, performing arts centre, tennis courts and extensive sports fields.

The Senior School

The Senior School is located a short walk away from the Preparatory School. With over 400 students, the Senior School is the largest campus of the three. The main reception is located in School House – the principal building in the College. The school fields teams in the following sports: rugby, cricket, squash, rowing, football, tennis, netball, hockey and swimming.

Students are separated into eight different houses; this is where both their prep rooms and common rooms are located. With the exceptions of Collingwood House, a mixed house for day pupils, and Loosley, a mixed sixth form boarding house, the houses are single gender boarding houses. All of the houses have common rooms for the juniors and seniors; some houses are equipped with saunas and pool tables. The school holds inter-house competitions, the most significant of which is the annual House Music Competition. Other inter-house activities include drama, debating, public speaking, football, netball, hockey, and rugby.

Accreditation

The school is the first independent school in the country to have achieved recognition with National Academy for Able Children in Education (NACE). The school has also achieved 'CReSTeD' accreditation for teaching dyslexic pupils.[3] A 2007 Ofsted inspection report on the welfare and facilities for boarders assessed the overall quality as good, with some aspects being outstanding.[3]

Sport

Wycliffe is a major squash-playing school, due to their recent and previous success in the squash court. Among other options, pupils may choose squash as either a games option or an extra-curricular activity.[4] Other sports played at Wycliffe include rugby, hockey, football, cricket, rowing, tennis, volleyball, gym, athletics, cross country, badminton, polo, hockey, netball, tennis, rounders, and athletics. Since 1935, Wycliffe's boathouse is located on the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal with around 30 km of still training water.[5]

Curriculum

The academic structure targets exams of both standard English curriculum GCSE and the International GCSE, and A level subjects at the standard English curriculum. Other activities include a Combined Cadet Force and a Round Square Association. Extracurricular activities include: cryptology club, science club, beekeeping, shooting, Model United Nations among many others.[6] The school currently holds many national squash titles, and are the first school to hold both the U15 and U19 titles at the same time.

Head Teachers (Senior)

Notable Old Wycliffians

Notable Old Wycliffians include:

References

  1. ↑ Independent Schools Council Retrieved 13 October 2009
  2. ↑ Wycliffe College Information Retrieved 29 June 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ofsted report December 2007 Retrieved 13 October 2009
  4. ↑ http://www.wycliffe.co.uk
  5. ↑ http://www.wycliffe.co.uk/rowing/
  6. ↑ Good Schools Guide Retrieved 13 October 2009
  7. ↑ Charlie Barnett on Cricinfo Cricketers on Cricinfo
  8. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 October 2007
  9. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 October 2007
  10. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 October 2007
  11. ↑ "Distinguished Old Wycliffians". Wycliffe College. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  12. ↑ Gilbert Parkhouse on Crickinfo Cricketers on Cricinfo
  13. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), Oxford University Press, Retrieved 8 October 2007
  14. ↑ "Distinguished Old Wycliffians - Living"

External links

Coordinates: 51°44′37″N 2°16′47″W / 51.74361°N 2.27972°W