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Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and
day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...
for pupils aged 13–18) in
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
foundation and is known for its outstanding linguistic, military, and sporting traditions.


History

Two Cheltenham residents, G. S. Harcourt and J. S. Iredell, founded the college in July 1841 to educate the sons of gentlemen. The plan to establish a "Proprietary Grammar School" had been agreed at a meeting of residents at Harcourt's home on 9 November 1840.Michael Croke Morgan, (1968), ''Cheltenham College: The First Hundred Years'', page 219, (published for the Cheltonian Society by Sadler) It originally opened in three houses along Bays Hill Terrace in the centre of the town. Within two years it had moved to its present site, with Boyne House as the first College Boarding House, and soon became known simply as Cheltenham College. Accepting both boarding and day boys, it was divided into Classical and Military sides until the mid-20th century. The 1893 book ''Great Public Schools'' by E. S. Skirving, S. R. James, and Henry Churchill Maxwell Lyte contained a chapter on each of what they considered England's ten greatest public schools; it included a chapter on Cheltenham College. The college is now an independent fee paying school, governed by Cheltenham College Council. A few girls were admitted in 1969. In 1981 the first girls' house opened and the Sixth Form became fully co-educational. In 1998, girls were admitted to all other years. In 1865, a Junior Department was added to the main College buildings. In 1993 it opened its doors to girls and also opened a pre-Prep department, Kingfishers, for 3- to 7-year-olds.


Student body

Cheltenham has approximately 720 pupils (a fifth being day pupils) between the ages of 13 and 18. The fees are between approximately £37,000–£50,500 per annum, making it amongst the most expensive schools in the United Kingdom. The school claims to have a strong academic reputation, with the majority of pupils going to The
Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to governme ...
Universities, and around 7% going on to
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
universities. Both GCSE and A Level results are among the highest in Gloucestershire. Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Prep are home to over 100 international students from over 30 countries. These students all need an Educational Guardian as part of admission.


Military tradition

In the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
702 Old Cheltonians (former pupils) were killed in the service of their country, and a further 363 died in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Cheltenham is one of only three schools in England to have its own military colours (last presented in 2000 by The Princess Royal). (The others are Eton College and the Duke of York's Royal Military School.)


Combined Cadet Force (CCF)

Cheltenham College has an affiliate tri-service Combined Cadet Force which has a history dating back to 1862. Cheltenham College CCF (Army Section) is attached to the Rifles Regiment, and consequently Army cadets' berets have the Rifles Bugle as their cap badge.


Sport


Rugby

The rugby club dates back to 1844. Cheltenham competes with larger single gender schools. The first inter-school rugby football match was played between Rugby School and Cheltenham College, Cheltenham beating Rugby. The "Cheltenham Rules" were adopted by the Rugby Football Union in 1887. Cheltenham's rugby XV was undefeated in the 1957, 2008 and 2017 seasons. Eddie Butler, former Welsh, Barbarian and British Lions international rugby player, taught French at the school. The school's director of rugby is former Gloucester Rugby and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
rugby player Olly Morgan.


Rowing

The Boat Club was founded in 1841. The Boat House itself is located at the foot of Tewkesbury Abbey on the banks of the River Severn. Key events in the rowing calendar are; Schools' Head of the River Race, The National Schools Regatta and
Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...
. At the 2013 National School's Head of River, the 1st IV+ came first in their division.


Rackets

Cheltenham College plays Rackets. At times, they have dominated the Queen's Club Public Schools Competition: Cheltenham have been National Champions three times from 2003 to 2011. Chris Stout won the Foster Cup (the individual championship for public schools) at Queen's Club in December 2011. The current World Champion, Jamie Stout (Chris's brother), is an Old Cheltonian as well.


Polo

Cheltenham were National Schools Champions in 1997, 1998, 2004, & 2005 and Arena Champions in 2004, 2005, and 2006.


Cricket

Cheltenham has a longstanding tradition of cricket and is the home of the Cheltenham Cricket Festival. Gloucestershire County Cricket Club played its first game at the College cricket ground in 1872, making this the longest running cricket festival on an out-ground, in the world.


In popular culture and media

Cheltenham College was used to film the majority of the school scenes in the popular 1968 British film '' If....'', starring Malcolm McDowell, although an agreement between the school's then Headmaster, David Ashcroft, and the film's director, Lindsay Anderson (who was a former pupil and Senior Prefect), prevented the filmmakers from crediting the school. Additional interior scenes were filmed at Aldenham School in Hertfordshire, which gained sole accreditation in the film's closing credit.


Notable alumni

See List of Cheltenham College alumni


Principals, headmasters and head

The current head of Cheltenham College is Nicola Huggett. The full list of past principals and heads is contained in Cheltenham College Who's Who 5th edition, 2003, and is as follows: * Principals (1841–1919) ** Alfred Phillips, 1841–44 ** William Dobson, 1845–59 ** Henry Highton, 1859–62 ** Alfred Barry, 1862–68 ** Thomas Jex-Blake, 1868–74 ** Herbert Kynaston (né Snow), 1874–88 ** Herbert Armitage James, 1889–95 ** Robert Stuart de Courcy Laffan, 1895–99 ** Reginald Waterfield, 1899–1919 * Headmasters (1919–2019) ** Henry Harrison Hardy, 1919–32 ** Richard Victor Harley Roseveare 1932–37 ** Arthur Goodhart Pite 1937–38 ** John Bell 1938–40 ** Alan Guy Elliott-Smith 1940–51 ** Guy Pentreath 1952–59 ** David Ashcroft 1959–78 ** Richard Martin Morgan 1978–90 ** Peter David Vaughan Wilkes 1990–97 ** Paul Arthur Chamberlain 1997–2004 ** John Stephen Richardson 2004–2010 ** Alex Peterken 2010–2018 ** Crispin Dawson (acting headmaster – 2018) * Head (2019- ) ** Nicola Huggett 2019 – * Heads of the Junior School (1863–2013) ** Thomas Middlemore Middlemore-Whithard 1863–65 ** Francis Joseph Cade 1896–1910 ** Charles Thornton 1911–23 ** Basil Allcot Bowers 1923–33 ** William Donavan Johnston 1933–46 ** Hugh Alan Clutton-Brock 1946–64 ** William Philip Cathcart Davies 1964–86 ** David John Allenby Cassell 1986–91 ** Nigel Iain Archdale 1992–2008 ** Adrian Morris 2008–2010 ** Scott Bryan 2010–2012 ** Noll Jenkins 2012–2013 (acting head) * Heads of the preparatory school (2013–present) ** Jonathan Whybrow 2013–2018 ** Tom O'Sullivan 2018 –


See also

* Cheltonian Society * College Ground, Cheltenham * Thirlestaine House * List of people educated at Cheltenham College *
Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...


References


Bibliography

* ''Cheltenham College: The First Hundred Years'' by Michael C. Morgan halfont St. Giles: Richard Sadler, for the Cheltonian Society, 1968 A formal history, starting with the meeting on 9 November 1840 of Cheltenham residents (presided over by Major-General George Swiney) who decided to set up a 'Proprietary Grammar School' and appointed a committee to achieve this. ISBN unknown/unavailable. * ''Then & Now: An Anniversary Celebration of Cheltenham College 1841–1991'' by Tim Pearce, (Cheltonian Society, 1991). The author explains in the Preface that this is "more of a scrap book than a formal history, and like all scrap books it reflects the tastes and interests of its compilers and depends on what in the way of pictures and documents may be available to them". * ''Cheltenham College Who's Who'', 5th edition ed. John Bowes, (Cheltonian Society, 2003) No ISBN on book. * ''Floreat'', A collection of photographs of College life from the 1960s and early 1970s compiled by the late M.F. Miller, a Physics master at the school


External links


Cheltenham College website
{{Authority control Cheltenham College Educational institutions established in 1841 1841 establishments in England Boarding schools in Gloucestershire Private schools in Gloucestershire Schools in Cheltenham Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Racquets venues Schools cricket