Colston's Collegiate School
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Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) 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 ...
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 ...
in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, England, and 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 an ...
. It was founded in 1710 by the merchant, slave trader, philanthropist and Member of Parliament
Edward Colston Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, Atlantic slave trade, slave trader, philanthropy, philanthropist and Tories (British political party), Tory Member of Parliament. Colston followed his father in th ...
as Colston's Hospital, originally an all-boys
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
. Day-boys were admitted in 1949 and girls were admitted to the sixth form in 1984. In 1991 it merged with the Collegiate School, a girls' school in Winterbourne, and was given the name Colston's Collegiate School, but this was reverted to Colston's School in 2005. The current headmaster of the upper school is Jeremy McCullough (since September 2014); he joined the school from
Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...
.


Motto

The school motto ''Go and do thou likewise'', was the motto for the Colston family. It is also one of the mottos for
Colston's Girls' School Montpelier High School (formerly Colston's Girls' School) is a girls secondary Academy, located in the Montpelier area of Bristol, England. The school building was designed by William Venn Gough and dates from 1891. It uses a polychrome mix of ...
. Its origin is
Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...
10:37, the conclusion of the
parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whe ...
of the
Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...
.


Beginnings

Colston made a donation to
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is a 7–18 private boys' day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Eliz ...
in 1702 and proposed endowing places for a further 50 boys. This came to nothing, probably because of Colston's insistence that the children of
Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...
should be excluded. Instead, he persuaded the
Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which went on to fund the 15th-century voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a mono ...
to manage a school he established for 50 boys on Saint Augustine's Back, where the
Bristol Beacon Bristol Beacon, previously Colston Hall, is a concert hall and Grade II listed building on Colston Street, Bristol, England. It is owned by Bristol City Council. Since 2011, it has been managed by Bristol Music Trust. The hall opened as a con ...
now stands. It cost him £11,000 on capital cost and an endowment income of over £1,300. The boys (soon increased to 100) were admitted between the ages of seven and ten years and stayed for seven years. The curriculum covered reading, writing and arithmetic, and the church catechism. On leaving they were to be apprenticed to a trade. Colston was opposed to
Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
and proposed that any boy who attended a service of worship in any place other than an Anglican church should be expelled. He also told the Merchant Venturers that if they apprenticed a boy to a Dissenter they would be in breach of their Trust. In 1794 its master was James Gadd, of Temple Street. The school moved in 1861 to the old Bishops' Palace at Stapleton, which 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 ...
, and ceased to be a charity institution with a limited curriculum. It also accepted fee-paying boys as well as the 100 boys on the charity foundation. By 1955 the school had 35 foundation scholars, selected by open competition, among its 200 boarders and 100 day boys.


Name

In April 2022, the school announced that, from September, it will be known as Collegiate School, Bristol. The change followed consultations over the desire to drop the reference to Edward Colston, a notorious slave trader, in its name. The school merged with the Collegiate School in Winterbourne in 1991.


Houses

Before the advent of the day-boys there were four boarding houses, North, South, East and West. These were renamed Aldington, Mortlake, Roundway and Beaufort, with Dolphin being the day-boys house. Later, King's was added as an additional day-boys house. Now there are four day houses, one of which each pupil is allocated at the start of their Collegiate career. The school's boarding house Mortlake was closed in 2010 when Colston's School ended a long tradition as a boarding institution. The House Cup is contested by the four day houses using a points system over the course of each academic year. The house with the greatest number of points at the end of that academic year will be awarded the Cup. Points are gained by either the collection of commendations, awarded by teachers for outstanding pieces of work, or through performance in house competitions. Sports competitions are played on a round robin basis; Years 7 and 8, Years 9 and 10 and Year 11 and 6th Form. Sports competitions include: * Rugby * Hockey * Cricket * Netball * Cross Country * Athletics * Tennis Non-Sports competitions include: * Art * Design * Poetry * Debating * Music * Song * Drama * Creative Writing * Photography The biggest house competition in the school calendar is the House Music. Any individual or group of pupils may enter the preliminary round, displaying any kind of musical performance, and all are awarded points for entering. The best performers will advance to the evening concert. In addition to this, each of the four houses pick a song to rehearse and perform as a house. An independent adjudicator is brought in by the school to judge the four house songs and select a winner of the House Song.


Facilities

Collegiate’s sporting legacy is supported by a wide range of facilities, dispersed over 30 acres of landscaped grounds - on site; unique to central Bristol schools. The vast open spaces include areas of woodland, which make it an ideal venue for Collegiate pupils to explore and create a challenging cross country circuit. The site includes an athletics field with pavilion, 6 rugby pitches, 2 cricket squares, a floodlit all-weather hockey pitch, 6 floodlit tennis courts/ 4 floodlit netball courts, a fully equipped fitness suite, 2 squash courts, table tennis facilities, a sports hall with 4 badminton courts/ basketball court, indoor cricket nets and an axe throwing range.


Uniform

Colston modelled his school on
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...
and the 18th-century uniform reflected this – a long blue coat, knee britches and yellow stockings. By the middle of the 20th century this was mirrored by the yellow tops of the knee stockings worn by all boys until they graduated to long trousers at the age of 13. At that time caps were worn whenever a boy left the premises of the school. They were the typical peaked cap with a coloured band around the rim and an embroidered dolphin at the front, the colour reflecting the house the boy belonged to – Dolphin's was maroon, for example.


Activities


Drama

It is the only school in Bristol that can offer all 14
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
theatre options. There are a number of shows throughout the year across the age range, including GCSE A-Level and Drama Club productions. In May 2010 Year 9 students devised and produced their own version of
Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
which raised just short of £1000 for the charity
Barnardo's Barnardo's is a global charity headquartered in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. It was founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each ye ...
.


Cadet Force

The school's
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 ...
(CCF) of 256 cadets, the largest since its formation in 1915, and the biggest in Bristol. The CCF has
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
sections and is compulsory for Year 9 and Cadets above Year 9 are trained in teaching all sections of the CCF syllabus to aid with the 3 Permanent CCF Staff. The CCF normally parades every week and carries out activities, including rifle shooting on the school's 15m pipe range, command tasks, climbing, camouflage and concealment, flying, sailing and walking with regular camps. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
section has access to sailing boats which are owned by The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
these include Laser Picos, Toppers and an RS200 racing boat.


Rugby

The school plays
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
. It 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 ...
(previously the Daily Mail Cup) at U18 level seven times, including six years in a row between 1995 and 2000. In 1999 there was a change in regulations which restricted the number of newcomers into a Sixth Form who could play in the competition. The school went on to win the competition on a further two occasions in 2000 and 2004 under these new regulations. Over 50 old boys have played in the top tier of professional rugby with 11 players representing their countries during the professional era Collegiate School is located at the top of Bell Hill, a road running close to the
M32 motorway The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body. Th ...
. The school is approximately from the city centre.


Notable former pupils

Former students, known as Old Colstonians, include: * Callum Braley, rugby union footballer and current Benetton rugby union footballer, International player for Italy * Jake Polledri, rugby union footballer and current Gloucester rugby union footballer, International player for Italy *
Olly Barkley Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981) is a former English rugby union player who played for Bath, Gloucester, Racing Metro, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at fly-half between 2001 and 2016. Early career Barkley was born in Hammers ...
, former rugby union footballer for London Welsh and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. *
Thomas Chatterton Thomas Chatterton (20 November 1752 – 24 August 1770) was an English poet whose precocious talents ended in suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge. Alth ...
, romantic poet and child prodigy, who died aged 17 * Jordan Crane, rugby union footballer and current Bristol player * John Ebling, Marine Biologist and Professor of Zoology * Shane Geraghty, rugby union footballer and current Bristol player * Andrew Ibrahim, convicted terrorist known as 'The Boarding School Bomber' *
Peter Mathias Peter Mathias, (10 January 1928 – 1 March 2016) was a British economic historian and the former Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of Oxford. His research focused on the history of industry, Business history, business, ...
, former Master of Downing College, Cambridge *
Lee Mears Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979) is an English former professional rugby union player who played as a hooker. He played his club rugby for Bath from 1998 until his retirement in 2013. He also played for the England national team from 2004 to 2012 ...
, rugby union footballer * Alan Morley MBE, holder of world record for tries scored in first class rugby union and current board member at the
Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
*
Jack Spoors John Ainsworth Spoors (1 July 1886 – 19 March 1963)Jack Spoors Lions profile
...
, British Isles international rugby player *
Robert Syms Sir Robert Andrew Raymond Syms (born 15 August 1956) is a Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Poole from 1997 to 2024. He received a knighthood in 2017. Early life and career Robert Syms was born on 15 Au ...
, Conservative MP for Poole, Dorset * Chris Taylor, Gloucester county cricketer, current England fielding coach *
Tom Varndell Tom Varndell (born 16 September 1985) is an English rugby union player who plays on the wing as a player-coach for Bury St Edmunds. Varndell also has caps for England and England Sevens, as well as having represented other Premiership Rugby si ...
, rugby union footballer and current Bristol player. * Robert Walter, former Conservative MP for North Dorset *
Amber Reed Amber Victoria Reed (born 3 April 1991) is an English former rugby union player. She won the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup as a member of 's squad and was selected for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad. Domestically she played for Bristol Bea ...
, English rugby union footballer *
Bryan Webber Bryan Ronald Webber, FRS, FInstP (born 25 July 1943) is a British physicist and academic. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1973 to 2010, and Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge from 1999 to 2010. ...
, theoretical physicist; co-winner (2012) of the J.J.
Sakurai Prize The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, also commonly referred to as just the Sakurai Prize, is a prize awarded by the American Physical Society. It is presented annually at the Society's April meeting and honors "outstanding a ...
for Theoretical Particle Physics
Rich White
World Ranked Amateur Disability Golfer. Plays on the EDGA Tour (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association). *


References


Further reading

*Roger Wilson, Chapter 22, "Bristol's School", in ''Bristol and its Adjoining Counties'', 1955


External links

*
Profile
on the
Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...
website {{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1710 1710 establishments in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Grade II listed buildings in Bristol Private schools in Bristol Charities based in Bristol Grade II listed educational buildings