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Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic
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 ...
boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake,
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, approximately from
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the
Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...
about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father
Antonio Rosmini-Serbati Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati, IC (; 25 March 17971 July 1855) was an Italian Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity, and pioneered the concept of social justice a ...
in 1845 as a
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
. In 1847, the buildings were converted for use as a boarding school for upper-class boys. The college became coeducational under the presidency of Father Tony Baxter in the mid-1970s. As of the 2023-2024 academic years, there were 920 students on roll at Ratcliffe, from ages 3 to 18. The school buildings were designed by the Victorian
Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
ist Augustus Welby Pugin. Pugin, who is associated with Catholic
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
throughout the Midlands and north of England, is also noted for his collaboration with
Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...
in the reconstruction of the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
. The Square was designed by Charles Francis Hansom, brother of
Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal ''Building (magazine), The Builder'' i ...
, the designer of the
Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...
. Various building works over the years have contributed to Pugin and Hansom's work, and modern buildings include a "new" gothic
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
(constructed in the early years of the twentieth century) and a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
-style church.


Management

The school, operated by Rosmini's Institute of Charity, used to use the title "Father President" for the most senior member of staff who, up until 1996, was always a Father of the Institute. In 1996, the school appointed its first lay President, Tim Kilbride, and the position was renamed Headmaster. He was succeeded in 2000 by Peter Farrar and then in 2009 by Gareth Lloyd. Its current Headmaster is Mr Jonathan Reddin who took up the post in January 2017.


Former Presidents and Headmasters

* Father Peter Hutton IC 1851 – 1880


Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

Ratcliffe College is regularly inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). This is the body approved by the Department of Education for the purpose of inspecting schools belonging to Independent Schools Council (ISC) Associations and reporting on compliance with independent school regulations. The School received Excellent report in all areas, during the latest ISI Inspection, 2022 - Focused Compliance and Educational Quality Inspection. The Educational Quality Inspection reports on the quality of the College’s work. It focuses on two key outcomes: 1. The achievement of the students, including their academic development. 2. The personal development of the students. The College was judged “Excellent” for both outcomes, the highest grade possible.


Partnership with Leicester City Football Club

Ratcliffe College has a partnership with the Leicester City Football Club Academy Programme. Academy players complete their GCSE programme studying and boarding at Ratcliffe College in Years 10 and 11.


Cricket ground

The college
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
ground is used by the college cricket team. The first recorded use of the ground came in 1948, when Ratcliffe College played
King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...
. The ground has also played host to a single List-A match, when the Leicestershire Cricket Board played
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in the 1st round of the
2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy The 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 29 August 2002 and 30 August 2003. The competition was won by Gloucestershire who beat Worcestershire by 7 wickets at Lord's. Format The eighteen fi ...
which was played in 2002.


Notable former pupils

Former pupils of Ratcliffe are known as Old Ratcliffians. They include: * Terence Alexander, film and television actor, singer * John Arnold, bishop * Fin Back, professional footballer *
Ian Bannen Ian Edmund Bannen (29 June 1928 – 3 November 1999) was a Scottish actor with a long film, stage and TV career. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for his performance in ''The Flight of the Phoenix ( ...
, noted Scottish actor and
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
nominee for Best Supporting Actor (1965) * Major Shaun Brogan, MC, SAS officer decorated for Dhofar campaign. * Sir Peter Caruana, KCMG KC, former
Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of Government of Gibraltar, His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is Elections in Gibraltar, elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representat ...
* Douglas Chamberlain, CBE KSG, cardiologist who transformed clinical care * Kit Cunningham, disgraced British priest * Louis Deacon, England and Tigers rugby player *
Willie Doyle William Joseph Gabriel Doyle, (3 March 1873 – 16 August 1917) was an Irish Catholics, Irish Catholic priest who was killed in action while serving as a military chaplain to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during the First World War. He is a candida ...
, Irish Jesuit Priest (killed in action during World War I) * Sir Patrick Robin Fearn, KCMG, Diplomat, British ambassador to Cuba and Spain * Gerald Garcia, classical guitarist and composer * James Gillick, portrait and figurative artist * François Grosjean, psycholinguist and researcher on bilingualism * Michael Louis Hearn, Irish Nationalist MP for Dublin South * Peter Hildreth, British hurdling athlete * Major General David Jolliffe, CB FRCP, Director-General of British Army Medical Services * Tim Knox, FSA, Art historian, Director of the
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...
and former Director of Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. * Joseph Lauwerys, prominent educationalist who helped to found UNESCO *
Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...
, American-born actor of Irish parentage who rose to fame in the British film and TV industry: starring in the 1960s television series ''
Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...
'' and cult classic ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...
''. * Jon Moynihan, Lord Moynihan of Chelsea, businessman, venture capitalist and life peer. * Kevin Myers, Irish journalist and writer. * Patrick Nuttgens, noted architect,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
* Sir Gordon Reece, former advisor to
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
* Kevin Shinkwin, Lord Shinkwin of Balham, Conservative politician and life peer. * Michael Shipster, diplomat * The Rt. Hon Lord St John of Fawsley, PC, former
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
minister under
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
* Sir Henry Joseph Twynham KCSI, British administrator in India, Governor of Central Provinces. * Richard Wallace, former editor of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' * Tim Wilson, finalist of '' The Circle'' * Luke Wright, Sussex CCC, and England cricketer. * Martine Warmann, powerlifter


References


Bibliography

* ''Ratcliffe College 1847–1947'' edited by Rev. C. R. Leetham with an Appendix at the back entitled 'Alphabetical List of Students 1847–1950'From a copy of book published by the Ratcliffian Association in 1950 which contains black-and-white photographs


Coat of arms


External links


School WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website {{Authority control Private schools in Leicestershire Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Educational institutions established in 1845 Cricket grounds in Leicestershire 1845 establishments in England Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of Nottingham Boarding schools in Leicestershire Catholic boarding schools in England Sports venues completed in 1948