Ratcliffe College

Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic private boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately from Leicester, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati in 1845 as a seminary. 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 revivalist Augustus Welby Pugin. Pugin, who is associated with Catholic architecture throughout the Midlands and north of England, is also noted for his collaboration with Charles Barry in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster. The Square was designed by Charles Francis Hansom, brother of Joseph Hansom, the designer of the Hansom cab. Various building works over the years have contributed to Pugin and Hansom's work, and modern buildings include a "new" gothic refectory (constructed in the early years of the twentieth century) and a Byzantine-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 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. The ground has also played host to a single List-A match, when the Leicestershire Cricket Board played Denmark in the 1st round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy 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, noted Scottish actor and Oscar 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
* Douglas Chamberlain, CBE KSG, cardiologist who transformed clinical care
* Kit Cunningham, disgraced British priest
* Louis Deacon, England and Tigers rugby player
* Willie Doyle, 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 and former Director of Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
* Joseph Lauwerys, prominent educationalist who helped to found UNESCO
* Patrick McGoohan, 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'' and cult classic ''The Prisoner''.
* Jon Moynihan, Lord Moynihan of Chelsea, businessman, venture capitalist and life peer.
* Kevin Myers, Irish journalist and writer.
* Patrick Nuttgens, noted architect, CBE
* Sir Gordon Reece, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher
* 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 minister under Margaret Thatcher
* Sir Henry Joseph Twynham KCSI, British administrator in India, Governor of Central Provinces.
* Richard Wallace, former editor of the ''Daily Mirror''
* 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