St Columba's College, St Albans
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St Columba's College is a co-educational 4–18
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,
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day school and
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in
St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1939 by Phillip O’Neil and taken over by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in 1955. It 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 ...
. Facing
St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It ceased to be an abb ...
across the
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, the college is built around two historic houses, Watling House and Iona House.


History

Originally a boys'-only school, St Columba's College announced its move to co-education in June 2020, with the first girls being admitted as pupils in 2021. The school originally opened in 1939, on Beaconsfield Road before moving to its current site in 1948. In 1955, it was taken over by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart (New England Province) who also purchased the neighbouring Watling House and undertook major construction across the school site. St Columba's College also expanded to include a primary school, first named 'Sacred Heart Junior School' before being renamed to 'St Columba's College Preparatory School'. Since then they have continued to expand the facilities; building separate Sixth Form, English and Science & DT blocks. In 2013, the college completed a major building project, refurbishing the main school hall as-well as introducing new classrooms, meeting and seminar rooms, offices and a Fitness Suite. In 2021 the Sixth Form Centre was refurbished, creating new learning, collaboration and social spaces for the students. In 2022 the College is building new sports pitches.


Houses

Prior to 2005, both the college and the prep had the same four houses, named after four English Catholic
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s: * Alban * Becket * Fisher * More At the start or the 2005–6 academic year, a new house system was introduced in the senior school, to provide smaller tutor groups for greater personal development of students, as well as to cater for an increase in numbers of students entering. The prep school kept the original houses. The new houses are named after other Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools in North America (given in brackets): * Charles ( Mount Saint Charles Academy) * Guertin (
Bishop Guertin High School Bishop Guertin (BG) is a college preparatory independent private Roman Catholic high school in Nashua, New Hampshire. Named for Bishop George Albert Guertin (1869–1931), it was founded by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in 1963. Scholasti ...
) * Joseph ( St. Joseph High School) * Martin ( Brother Martin High School), formerly Vandebilt ( Vandebilt Catholic High School), until 2011 * McClancy ( Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School) * Stanislaus ( Saint Stanislaus College) The six senior houses create the pastoral structure of the senior school, each overseen by the Head and Deputy Head of House. Pupils with older siblings follow them into the same House. Pupils remain in their House throughout their time in the Senior school, but have different tutors as they progress to meet the needs of different age groups. Students' houses are represented in the school uniform by the colour of their tie or blazer badge (taking the respective colours as given above). Prep and sixth form students have their own school ties and blazer badges, as do prefects.


Curriculum

St Columba's College provides a broad curriculum linked to the national curriculum and also to Diocese of Westminster rules – mandating the teaching of Religious Studies for a set period every week. More than 20 subjects are offered at
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, including the core subjects of English (Literature and Language), Mathematics, Science and Religious Studies. Additional subjects offered at
A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
include Drama & Theatre, Psychology and Sociology. Sixth Form students can also study towards gaining the Certificate of Financial Studies and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). In 2021 St Columba's Prep School became a member school in the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB) group and has embedded the framework in the curriculum since September 2021.


Notable alumni

Former pupils of the school are called Old Columbans. * The Rt. Hon. Sir Conor Burns MP, Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West, Minister of State for Northern Ireland and former Minister of State for International Trade. * Bill Grimsey, CEO of Focus (DIY), formerly CEO of Wickes,
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and
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. * Noni Madueke, footballer * Mark Lawson, broadcaster * Mick Luckhurst, former
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player * Jim McCaffrey, former professional footballer * John Payne (singer), singer with rock band Asia * Julian Perretta, singer-songwriter * Saving Aimee, band * Matt Ball, footballer * Colin Grant, author * Peter Townsend, golfer. *
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...
, actor, attended St. Columba's Prep School


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Columba's College, St Albans Roman Catholic private schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Private schools in Hertfordshire Boys' schools in Hertfordshire Educational institutions established in 1939 1939 establishments in England Schools in St Albans