Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

boarding and day school near the village of

Ratcliffe on the Wreake Ratcliffe on the Wreake is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 179. It is just to the north of the River Wreake, opposite East Goscote. ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

, approximately from

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, 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 (Bath), ...

about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father

Antonio Rosmini-Serbati Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797 Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered ...

in 1845 as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. 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 2018–2019 academic years, there were 850 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, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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 constructing buildings ...

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 a British 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 respon ...

in the reconstruction of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...

. 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, '' The Builder'', in 1843. Career ...

, 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 safety ca ...

. 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 monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

(constructed in the early years of the twentieth century) and a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-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 Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

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. A team of ten inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate spent four days examining every aspect of school life. You can download and read the complete report at: www.isi.net/schools/6822/. The School received 'Excellent' report in all 9 categories: * Pupils’ achievements and learning * Curricular and extra-curricular provision * Teaching * Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development * Pastoral care * Welfare, health and safety provision * Boarding * Governance * Leadership and management, including links with parents

Partnership with Leicester City Football Club

In January 2015 Ratcliffe agreed a deal to educate 16 Thai students who had been selected by Leicester City FC to come to Leicester and who would benefit from regular exposure to the Academy facilities at Leicester City. Ratcliffe's Head of Boys' Boarding and former Director of Sport is ex-LCFC player,

Phil Gilchrist Philip Alexander Gilchrist (born 25 August 1973) is an English former footballer and manager. He played as a defender. Career Gilchrist first joined Oxford United from Hartlepool United for £100,000 in February 1995. He soon formed one of the ...

Cricket ground

The college

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

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 The Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket Board is the governing body for all recreational cricket in the historic counties of Leicestershire and Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. T ...

played

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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.

Alumni

Former pupils of Ratcliffe are known as Old Ratcliffians. They include: * Terence Alexander, film and television actor, singer * John Arnold, bishop *

Ian Bannen Ian Edmund Bannen (29 June 1928 – 3 November 1999) was a Scottish actor with a long career in film, on stage, and on television. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in '' The Flight of the Phoenix'' (1965), the first ...

, noted Scottish actor and Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor (1965) * Sir Peter Caruana, KCMG QC, former

Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British monarch. The incumbent chi ...

Louis Deacon Louis Deacon (born 7 October 1980, in Leicester) is a former English professional rugby union footballer. He played lock. Career His playing career started as an eight-year-old, playing with Wigston, before joining Syston RFC and as a Ratcli ...

, England and Tigers rugby player * Willie Doyle, Irish Jesuit Priest (killed in action during World War I) * François Grosjean, psycholinguist and researcher on bilingualism *

Tim Knox Timothy Aidan John Knox, (born 9 August 1962) is a British art historian and museum director. Since March 2018, he has been Director of the Royal Collection, the private art collection of the British Royal Family. The Royal Collection, held in ...

, 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 royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

* 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, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engl ...

, 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 b ...

'' and cult classic ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

''. * Kevin Myers. * Patrick Nuttgens, noted architect, CBE * Sir

Gordon Reece Sir James Gordon Reece (28 September 1929 – 22 September 2001) was a British journalist and television producer who worked as a political strategist for Margaret Thatcher during the 1979 general election, which led to her victory over then ...

, former advisor to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

* Michael Shipster, diplomat * The Rt. Hon

Lord St John of Fawsley Norman Antony Francis St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, ( ; born Norman Panayea St John Stevas; 18 May 1929 – 2 March 2012) was a British Conservative politician, author and barrister. He served as Leader of the House of Commons in t ...

, PC, former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

minister under

* Richard Wallace, Editor of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'' * Tim Wilson, finalist of '' The Circle'' *

Luke Wright Luke James Wright (born 7 March 1985) is an English former cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. Wright joined Sussex in 2004, having started his career at Leicestershire. He was named in England's squad for t ...

, 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

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website {{Authority control Independent 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 independent schools in the Diocese of Nottingham Boarding schools in Leicestershire Catholic boarding schools in England Sports venues completed in 1948