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Malvern College

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Malvern College
File:Malcol.png
Location
Map
Great Malvern
,
Worcestershire

England England
Information
TypeIndependent school
MottoSapiens qui prospicit
(Wise is he who looks ahead)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1865
PresidentThe Lord Bishop of Worcester
Chairman of the College CouncilIan MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth
Incoming HeadmasterAntony Clark, MA (Cantab)
StaffCirca 100
GenderCoeducational
Age13 to 18
Houses10
Colour(s)Green & White    
PublicationThe Malvernian
ChaplainThe Rev. Andrew Law
School SongCarmen Malvernense
Former PupilsOld Malvernians
Websitehttp://www.malvern-college.co.uk

Malvern College is a coeducational British Public School, founded in 1865. It is located in Malvern, Worcestershire.

History

Main Coll in snow
The College chapel with the Porter's Lodge and the Malvern Hills in the background

The school opened in January 1865 to two dozen boys and half a dozen masters. Initially, there were two Houses but expansion was rapid and by 1877 there were six Houses and 290 boys.

Further expansion of pupil numbers and buildings continued after the Great War, but during the Second World War the College suffered more than any other comparable independent school, being twice ejected and shrinking to half its former size. Required to make way for the Admiralty between October 1939 and July 1940, it found a temporary home at Blenheim Palace. The College underwent a further period of exile from May 1942 to July 1946. Ordered out at one week's notice, the school was housed with Harrow School. The College's premises were then occupied by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), and the modern QinetiQ and DSTL are still sited on former College land.

Until 1992, it was an all boys' school, taking boys from 13 to 18 years old. In 1992, it merged with Ellerslie Girls’ School and Hillstone prep school to become coeducational with pupils from 3 to 18 years old.[1] In September 2008, it will merge with The Downs prep school on The Downs' existing site in Colwall.[2]




Present-day

The presence of girls within the college and the teaching of the IB has seen academic standards improve dramatically. In 2007 Malvern College was ranked by The Times newspaper as the 5th best co-educational independent school in the country.

Malvern College is one of the only schools in the country to offer Debating as a subject to Foundation Year (year 9 pupils). The other being Dulwich College.

Malvern enjoys a friendly rivalry with Shrewsbury School.

Year Names

  • Foundation Year or FY (traditionally Shell A and Shell B) -Year 9
  • The Remove -Year 10
  • The Hundred -Year 11
  • Lower Sixth -Year 12
  • Upper Sixth -Year 13

Houses

Malvern is unusual in that the names of houses are numbers (1-9) with the exception of School House. (It shares this distinction with Roedean, which was founded by the sisters of Sir Paul Ogden Lawrence, an Old Malvernian and eminent Judge). There are six boys and four girls houses. Nine are situated on the school's campus while House 7, uniquely lies further out close to the school's '9 acre' field.

  • No.1- Red and white (boys)
The boys of School House playing croquet
  • No.2- Blue and white (boys)
  • No.3- Light Blue (girls)
  • No.4- Maroon (girls)(traditionally Brown and white on black)
  • No.5- Black and white (traditionally Red and Black) (boys)
  • No.6- Yellow (girls)
  • No.7- Black and purple (boys)
  • No.8- Pink (girls) (Traditionally Blue and Black)
  • No.9- Black and green (boys)
  • School House (SH)- Black, Blue and Magenta (boys)


While in recent years The No. 5 colours have been black and white, they are to revert to the original red and black at the start of the next academic year.

Construction has begun on an additional two houses as well as a new sports hall. No.7 will be moved to one of the houses while the other will be a new girls house named Ellerslie house. Planning permission has been granted for the College to build an all weather athletics track and another astro-turf at the Pitches.

School Vocabulary

  • Aeger- sick in house
  • Big School- School hall
  • Coll Stacks - the school shop
  • Cwm Llwch- The College cottage in the Brecon Beacons.
  • Senior Chapel Prefect- Head of School
  • Junior Chapel Prefect - Deputy Head of School
  • Commendation- This is presented for a piece of outstanding work
  • Distinction- For a piece of school work that is of an exceptionally high academic calibre.
  • Ducker - the swimming pool - an expression acquired at Harrow
  • St. Edmonds Hall- A school hall usually reserved for informal concerts. The hall belonged to the chapel of the old monastery that is now the College music school.
  • Ernie- punishment where pupils get up at 6.30am to help the porter with chores
  • The Griffins- 2nd XI Football
  • The Grub- tuck shop
  • Hall- The College's name for prep. The name originates from when the boys did prep in the hall of Big School
  • The Junior- The 2nd XI Cricket pitch
  • The Longy- Sixth-form common room below St. Edmonds Hall
  • Main Coll- The main school building
  • Mem lib - Memorial Library (Staff Common Room - former Library) The Mem Lib was built to commemorate the lives of over four hundred Malvernians who lost their lives in the Great War.
  • The Senior- The 1st XI Cricket pitch. The pitch in considered one of the finest in England. However, sixes cannot be hit at Malvern. The Master of Cricket, the 1st XI and the groundsmen are the only people permitted to set foot on the Senior.
  • Red Book- A little booklet containing information on staff and pupils.
  • Sinbin- 2 hour detention on a saturday night
  • Tardy- punishment where pupils must sign a book at Maincol at 7.30am before breakfast and then return to their houses
  • The Twenty two- 2nd XI Cricket
  • Vol - short for 'Voluntary Run' - a punishment meted out to those who had not played enough sport and usually involved a supervised run to the top of the Worcesterhire Beacon and back
  • Wagger - a waste paper basket
  • Yarder - a game of football or cricket played in the house yard. Each house has developed its own rules over the years.

Events

  • Commem

Commem (Commemoration Day) is the main social event of the school calendar. It is held on the Saturday of Half-term in the Summer Term to commemorate the founding of the school. Sunday dress is worn and following a service in the Malvern Priory speeches are made and prizes are awarded at the Malvern Theatres. The day is an opportunity to bid farewell to the Leavers, recognise academic achievemnts and for Old Malvernains and parents to visit the school. While lunches and drinks are served in the houses’ gardens the 1st cricket XI play their annual match against the Free Foresters. The inter-house Athletics competition and the Summer Concert take place on the Friday before Commem.


  • The CVS Ball

This is a charity ball which takes place in the 5th week of every Autumn Term. The School Council is responsible for the Ball's preparation. It takes place in St. Edmunds Hall and the Longy bellow and is always lavishly decorated. Black Tie is worn. The theme for 2007 was ‘The Masked Ball’. There is a similar event for the Lower School (FY to Hundred) called The Autumn Ball. This takes place in The Rogers Theatre.


  • The Ledder

A 9 mile cross country race that starts at Ledbury, goes over the Malvern Hills and finishes on the Senior. The first 9 runners receive Ledder Caps. In its early days there was no organised route and pupils simply had to get back to college as fast as they could.

Main Coll in snow


  • Remembrance Sunday

Held on the Sunday closest to the 11th of November. The entire college assembles in-front of St. George at 10:45 and waits for a procession of parents, OM's, guests and masters to line the Quad. At 11:00 there is a minutes silence followed by The Last Post and a reading. Representatives of the student body (the Senior Chapel Prefect) and of the Old Malvernian Society then place wreaths at the foot of St. George. The college then makes its way into the chapel for a remembrance service to commemorate the more than 400 Malvernians who lost their lives in the Great War.

Innovations

The school has played a significant role in the development of educational projects. In 1963 it was the first independent school to have a language laboratory, it pioneered Nuffield Physics in the 1960s, Science in Society in the 1970s, and the Diploma of Achievement in the 1990s.

Also at the beginning of the 1990s, Malvern College became one of the first schools in Britain to offer the choice between the International Baccalaureate and A-Levels in the Sixth Form.

Each summer the staff and some older pupils run a summer school, Young Malvern, which incorporates many sports, activities and learning experiences.

Notable Old Malvernians

File:Histcol2.jpg
Statue of St George by the Main Building
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