Christ College, Brecon, is a

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 ...

, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

in mid-

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It currently caters for pupils aged 4–18 years.

History

Christ College was founded by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1541 by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

as 'the College of Christ of Brecknock'. Its aim was to provide education to the local area. The school still uses the medieval chapel and halls of the Dominican friary which was closed during the Dissolution of the monasteries. The maintenance of the buildings was difficult during CCB's early years, due to its small original endowment, and the reluctance of local prebendaries to offer

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...

to the college. During the English Civil Wars many areas of the school were destroyed by Parliamentary Commissioners including Roger Thomas of Llanfrynach. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, repairs of the college were undertaken by the Bishop William Lucy, whom had been appointed as the Dean of Christ College Brecon. In the 19th century, the college fell into decline until the school was refounded by Act of Parliament in 1855. The buildings were restored by Seddon and Prichard, creating School House – now the school's oldest boarding house and currently one of two boys’ boarding houses for students aged 13 to 18, alongside Orchard – and much of the original chapel interior. Further renovations were undertaken again by W. D. Caröe in the 20th, and are a Grade I listed structure. The school has been ranked in the top three of UK independent schools in terms of "value for money" by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' newspaper. In December 2017, Estyn (HM's Inspectorate for Education & Training in Wales) assessed Christ College's performance as "excellent" across all five inspection areas – the highest grade that can be awarded. In 2024, the overall pass rate at A Level was 100% and 60% of results were at A*-A, with 100% A*-A in Further Mathematics and Physics.

Houses

There are five houses in the school. There are: two senior boys' boarding houses, Orchard and School (age 13-18); two senior girls' boarding houses, de Winton and Donaldson's (age 13-18); and Alway House, for boys and girls aged 10–12. The Prep School is located in St Nicholas House and admits day pupils from age 4, with boarding available in Alway House from age 10.

Cricket ground

The first recorded match held on the college cricket ground was in 1888, when the college played Llandovery College. During the West Indies 1991 tour of England the ground was used to host a limited overs match against Wales,

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely renowned as one of the greatest Batting (cricket), batsmen of all time. He holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest in ...

scoring 82. In use for the entire 20th century, the ground was used by

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

for a

List A cricket List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the num ...

match against the touring Zimbabweans. The Glamorgan Second XI used the college ground for Second Eleven Trophy matches, firstly in 1996 when they played the Somerset Second XI and secondly in 1997 when they played the Hampshire Second XI.Second XI Trophy Matches played on Christ College
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Notable alumni

* Robert Ackerman – rugby player * Dick Atkin – lawyer and judge * William Aubrey – Regius Professor of Civil Law, Oxford * Collin Bowen – archaeologist and landscape historian * Andrew Davies SHR – Cricketer *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

– rugby player * Simon Hughes – former MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey, former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats * James Dickson Innes – painter * Arthur Harding – rugby player * Henry Lewis James – theologian * Hubert Rees – actor * Jack Jones – rugby player * Maurice Jones – priest and bard * Thomas Jones – artist * Thomas Babington Jones – cricketer * Andrew Lewis – rugby player * Willie Llewellyn – rugby player * Kieran Marmion – rugby player *

Teddy Morgan Edward Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for scorin ...

– rugby player * Thomas Morgan – Navy chaplain * Jamie Owen – Presenter for the BBC Wales Today news programme * Matt Powell – rugby player * David Price – Orientalist * Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) - historian and Welsh language advocate * Brinley Rees – Classical scholar * Paul Silk – Parliamentary clerk *

Peter Watkins Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English filmmaker, documentarian, writer, and Film theory, film theorist. He is known as a pioneer of the docudrama and the mockumentary genres, typically with heavy political content. His films presen ...

– film director * Lloyd Williams – cricketer *

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

- former MP

References

External links

*
Profile
on the ISC website *

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning 'to reach (out), stretch or extend'. Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and stand ...