Churcher's College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

fee-charging

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 ...

, founded in 1722. Churcher’s College is regarded as a leading private school in the south of England. The Senior School (ages 11–18) is in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

with the Junior School and Nursery (ages 3–11) in nearby

Liphook Liphook is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Bramshott an ...

. It is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

(HMC). The College was founded in Petersfield in the 1720s by the will of Richard Churcher to educate local boys in the skills needed for service in the East India Company. The headmaster is Simon Williams who replaced Geoffrey Buttle in September 2004.

Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

are known as Old Churcherians or OCs.

History

The school was founded under the will of Richard Churcher in 1722. Churcher was a wealthy local

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who had made his fortune through interests in the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. His will, dated 1722, decreed that the College was to educate: Under the terms of the will, Churcher's College was created from a £3000 gift as a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

foundation, a status it has kept to this day. The original school, built in 1729, is in College Street and is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The school became increasingly popular due to its successes, and in 1881 moved to its present location in Ramshill, accommodating 150 boys, on land donated by the J&W Nicholson & Co family of gin makers. From 1946 to 1964 Broadlands, opposite the college grounds in Ramshill, was the preparatory school for Churcher's. It was Grade II listed in 1949. For much of the 20th century Churcher's College operated as a

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

. In 1979, Hampshire County Council decided to cease to maintain the college, which became an independent fee-paying school. The school's expanding population (by the mid-20th century the school educated some 400 boys, of whom about a quarter boarded in three separate houses: Mount House, Ramshill House and School house) has necessitated the addition of a number of modern buildings alongside the original 1881 buildings. Girls were first admitted to the Sixth Form in 1980, and the school became fully co-educational in 1988. Reflecting its naval history, the college's

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

are named after the naval heroes

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, Grenville,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Rodney, with the later addition of Collingwood. In 1993 the school purchased

Moreton House School Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks Surname * Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist * Andrew Moreton, a p ...

in Petersfield, which became Churcher's College Junior School. Like the senior school before it, the junior school is very successful, and soon outgrew its premises. Following an unsuccessful attempt to relocate in Petersfield, the school eventually purchased an existing school campus in Liphook (Littlefield's School), which from 2003 became the junior school's new site. Simon Williams has been headmaster since 2004.

Sport and outdoor pursuits

Pupils at the school play rugby, hockey, netball and cricket. The College was the first school to affiliate to the

Hampshire RFU Hampshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the county of Hampshire, England. It represent clubs sides not just from Hampshire but also from the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, who take part in many of the compe ...

in 1924. OC Frank Guy was responsible for the founding of local rugby union club Petersfield R.F.C. in 1927. In 2015, Churcher's won the

NatWest Schools Cup The National Schools Cup (currently known as the Continental Tyres Schools Cup for sponsorship reasons) are a set of annual England, English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup ...

under-18 Vase with 13-5 victory over SEEVIC College, the first Hampshire school to do so. The school has

equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

and recently

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams and events and competes in contests such as the

Ten Tors Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike in early May, on Dartmoor, southwest England. Organized by the British Army, starting in 1960, it brings together teams of six young people, with the 2,400 young participants hiking to checkpoints on ten spec ...

, and Ten peaks (a churcher’s college made event, due to unselection in 2023) Churcher’s College won Ten Tors in both 2014 and 2015, the

Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England. The race is held every Easter over a course of from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London. It has been run since 1948. Starting at D ...

, and the Charlton Chase and annually sponsor/host the Butser Hill Challenge events. There are

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

and

Duke of Edinburgh Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

programmes, as well as the World Challenge and First Challenge expeditions for the 4th and 5th and 6th form students.

Notable alumni

* Michael Auger (born 1990), member of the band

Collabro Collabro are a UK-based ''musical theatre'' group and winners of the ''eighth series'' of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2014. The group consisted of Michael Auger, Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan, Thomas J. Redgrave and Richard Hadfield, who le ...

which took the top prize in the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, 2014 *

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

Henry Baxter CBE GM, Commander of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

1973–6; awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

1957 for removing an IRA bomb in Armagh * Charles Beeson (1957–2021), TV director * Diccon Bewes (1967-2025), author * Dr

Geoffrey Boxshall Geoffrey Allan Boxshall FRS (born 13 June 1950) is a British zoologist, and Merit researcher at the Natural History Museum, working primarily on copepods. Early life Son of Jack Boxshall a Canadian bank manager and Sybil Boxshall (née Baker) ...

FRS,

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

1974 to date *

Rhidian Brook Rhidian Brook (born March 1964) is a Welsh novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster. Biography Brook was born in Tenby in 1964. He attended Churcher's College in Hampshire, leaving in 1982. His first novel, ''The Testimony Of Taliesin Jones'' (Ha ...

, writer and broadcaster *

Arthur Brough Arthur Brough (born Frederick Arthur Baker; 26 February 1905 – 28 May 1978) was a British actor, theatre founder, producer, and director. He is best known for portraying the bumbling senior menswear salesman Ernest Grainger on the BBC TV sitc ...

, actor (''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...

'') * Rt Rev

Harry Carpenter Harry Leonard Carpenter, OBE (17 October 1925 – 20 March 2010) was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing. He was presenter of programmes such as ''Sportsnigh ...

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

1955–70 *

Calum Chambers Calum Chambers (born 20 January 1995) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City. Originally a member of Southampton F.C., Southampton's Southa ...

, footballer for

Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional Association football, football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English foot ...

and England *

Howard Drake Howard Ronald Drake (born 13 August 1956) is a British former diplomat who was High Commissioner to Canada from 2013 to 2017. He retired from the Diplomatic Service in August 2017. Education Drake was educated at Churcher's College. Caree ...

OBE, High Commissioner to Jamaica from 2010 to 2013, and Ambassador to Chile from 2005 to 2009 * Sir

Jeremy Farrar Sir Jeremy James Farrar (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization since 2023. He was previously the director of The Wellcome Trust from 2013 to 2023 and a professor ...

, Professor of Tropical Medicine,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and Director of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

* Tim Footman, writer and quiz show regular *

Reg Gammon Reginald William Gammon (9 January 1894 – 22 April 1997) was an English painter and illustrator. Biography Gammon was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, on 9 January 1894 and educated at Churcher's College there. His father was a builde ...

, artist * Jim Hetherington, former England rugby union player *

Simon Ings Simon Ings is an English novelist and science writer living in London. He was born in July 1965 in Horndean and educated at Churcher's College, Petersfield and at King's College London and Birkbeck College, London. Ings has written a number o ...

, writer * Edward Kelsey, actor (''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'' – Joe Grundy, '' DangerMouse'') *

Alex Lawther Alexander Jonathan Lawther (born 4 May 1995) is an English actor, writer, and director. He made his professional acting debut originating the role of John Blakemore in Sir David Hare's ''South Downs'' in the West End. He made his feature film ...

, actor (''

The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American biographical film, biographical thriller film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore (writer), Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography ''Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The ...

'', ''

The End of the F***ing World ''The End of the F***ing World'' is a British black comedy-drama television programme. The eight-part first series premiered its first episode on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017, after which the following episodes were release ...

'') *

Rear Adm Rear may refer to: Animals *Rear (horse), when a horse lifts its front legs off the ground *In stockbreeding, to breed and raise Humans *Parenting (child rearing), the process of promoting and supporting a child from infancy to adulthood *Gende ...

Philip Mathias MBE, Director since 2010 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Nuclear), and President in 2004 of the

Admiralty Interview Board The Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) is a key element of the officer selection process for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. It is an equivalent of the Army Officer Selecti ...

John Peters (RAF officer) Squadron Leader John Peters (born 1961) is a former pilot of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Early life He attended the independent Churcher's College in east Hampshire, leaving in 1980. By the age of 17, he had his pilot's licence. He attended th ...

, pilot shot down in first Gulf War on 17 January 1991 *

Stuart Piggott Stuart Ernest Piggott, (28 May 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex. Early life Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of G. H. O. Piggott, and was educated ...

(1910–1996), archaeologist * Fiona Pocock, rugby union player for England *

Barrie Roberts Barrie Roberts (Hampshire, 1939 – 2007)Barrie Roberts
at Fantasticfiction.co.uk was an Engl ...

(1939–2007), author, folk singer, freelance journalist and criminal lawyer *

Tim Rodber Timothy Andrew Keith Rodber (born 12 July 1969) is an English former rugby union footballer who played at number eight, flanker or lock for Northampton Saints, England, and the British Lions. Background Rodber excelled at rugby from an early ...

(born 1969), former England rugby union player *

Tiny Rowland Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland (; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in p ...

(1917–1998), businessman and chairman of the

Lonrho Lonrho is a London-based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc. It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. History Lonrho ...

conglomerate 1962–1993 * Tim Spanton (born 1957), journalist *

Chris Snow, Flag Officer Sea Training since February 2009, and commanded HMS ''Ocean'' from 2005 to 2006 * Robert Tronson, TV and film director, including police dramas and '' The Darling Buds of May''

History

Sport and outdoor pursuits

Notable alumni

References

Further reading