Wimbledon College

Wimbledon College
Location
Edge Hill Wimbledon Greater London , SW19 4NS United Kingdom
Information
Motto	cor numinis fons luminis ("The heart of the divine is the fount of light.")
Religious affiliation(s)	Christianity
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Founded	1892
Authority	London Borough of Merton
School number	315/4701
Chairperson	Andrew Kennedy
Headmaster	Adrian Porter SJ
Gender	boys
Age	11 to 18
Number of pupils	1363
Houses	Southwell House, Campion House, Fisher House, More House
Colour(s)	maroon, gold, and dark green
Affiliation	Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Website	wimbledoncollege.org.uk
School prospectus 2007

Wimbledon College is a state-maintained voluntary-aided Roman Catholic (Jesuit) secondary school for boys aged 11 to 19. The school is based at Edge Hill, Wimbledon, London. It was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning to the greater glory of God and the common good".

Organisation

The school has a joint sixth form with the all-girls Ursuline High School, Wimbledon. That school is situated nearby, on Crescent Road.

Currently the Headmaster is Father Adrian Porter SJ, who took over from Father Michael Holman SJ in 2004.

Every year it takes about 200 mostly from Catholic schools in South London, some of these schools include Donhead (prep school) Sacred Heart in Teddington, Sacred Heart in Raynes Park and Saint John Fisher in Morden.

Wimbledon Stinks of shit!!! Daniel Kadlubowski has an erectile peen

Developments

Father Holman's main contributions to the school, around the turn of the century, include an entire renovation of the old gym and swimming pool into a new Sports Hall, Learning Resources Centre (LRC) and IT Suite. Shortly after leaving the post of headmaster at the College, Father Holman was appointed the Jesuit Provincial for Great Britain.

Since Father Porter's appointment as headmaster, the College has undergone further changes, including a new visitors' entrance; refurbished classrooms, the addition of an electronic registration system which is used in parallel with the traditional registration system, and the movement of the LRC and IT Department to the location of the Sixth Form Centre. The Centre has been relocated to the former LRC/IT Department site.

Activities

The College specialises in sports (especially rugby), extracurricular activities and Drama. A new music department was constructed in 2005. It is notable for its school productions and to assist in these a revolving stage has been built in the auditorium. At least one dramatic or musical show has been produced every year since 1972. The Strings Project was activated in 2005 to give 50 boys in Figures the opportunity to learn the violin, viola, cello or the double bass.

The College encourages students to take part in at least two of its wide selection of extracurricular activities. These range from a Drama club to the Chess club, and also from a Debating club to numerous optional school trips over the year. The College also has a selection of major and minor sports. Rugby is the biggest major sport and is played up to Christmas. During the lent term rugby is still played along with football. In the summer term rugby is no longer played. Instead cricket and athletics become the major sports. Athletics is practised at Wimbledon Park athletics track and cricket is played on the usual playing field at Coombe Lane.

In the last week of the academic school year there is House Cricket tournament where all the best cricketers from the four different houses(More, Fisher, Southwell and Campion)play. Also in the last week of the school year this a Sports day. All students participate. Years 7 and 8 have their sports day a day before years 9 and 10. The sports takes place at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium. Most track and field events are practised. The winner of the "A" team races get medals. The boy with the most medals on the day also get the "Victor Ludorum"

Notable alumni

Academic

• Sir Anthony Leggett - winner of 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Peter Milward S.J., Shakespeare scholar and emeritus professor of English Literature at Sophia University, Tokyo

Sport

• Jay Tabb - footballer

Entertainment, media and the arts

• Christopher Hewett - actor
• Des Kelly - journalist and columnist
• George Malcolm - musician
• Paul Merton - comedian, writer and TV presenter
• Mike Paradinas - musician
• Eric Porter - actor

Military

• Eugene Esmonde - WWII naval pilot, led attack on Bismarck, awarded the Victoria Cross after Channel Dash
• Sir John Keegan - military historian
• Gerald Robert O'Sullivan - WWI Victoria Cross holder
• Patrick Reid - Colditz Castle escapee (WWII) and author

Politics, public service and the law

• Peter Duffy (QC) - barrister
• John Patten, Baron Patten - politician
• Sir Michael Quinlan - civil servant

Religion

• Father Michael Holman, SJ, head of the British Jesuits

See also

• Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon
• Donhead
• Ursuline High School (Wimbledon)
• List of Victoria Crosses by School

External links

• Official site
• Old Wimbledonians Association website ("the Old Boys")
• "The Jesuits in Britain"
• Wimbledon College Southern India Project Website
• DFES page
• Merton Council information
• Ofsted inspection report, 2001 (downloadable pdf)