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Malvern College

Coordinates: 52°06′14.97″N 2°19′34.30″W / 52.1041583°N 2.3261944°W / 52.1041583; -2.3261944
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Malvern College
Address
Map
College Road

Great Malvern

Worcestershire
,
WR14 3DF
Information
TypeIndependent school
MottoSapiens qui prospicit
(Wise is the person who looks ahead)
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
DenominationChurch of England
Founded1865
HeadteacherAntony Clark, MA (Cantab)
ChaplainThe Rev. Andrew Law
StaffCirca 100
GenderCo-educational
Age13 to 18
Number of students660
Houses11
Colour(s)Green and White    
SongCarmen Malvernense
PublicationThe Malvernian, Malvern View, The Gryphon, Inklings
School fees£5423-£5591 (Day); £8183-£8731 (Boarding); £9211 (Sixth Form Boarders) per term(2008/2009)[1][2]
AlumniOld Malvernians
Ofsted numberSC043042
ISC number52643
ISI number6671
DfE number885/6011
Websitewww.malcol.org

Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre (101 ha) campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England.[3] Founded on 25th January 1865,[4][5] Until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18. Following a series of mergers, with private primary schools and a girl's school in the area, it has since become coeducational with pupils from 3 to 19 years old.[6] As at February 2008 the school had a total of 600 pupils, of which 477 were boarders aged 12 - 19.[6] The school is known for its innovative approaches to education and for sports. Among its alumni are at least two Prime Ministers,[7] two Nobel Laureates and an Olympic Gold medalist. The novelist C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia was also a former student of the school. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Rugby Group of prestigious British independent schools.

History

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

Set in the Malvern Hills, the school's location owes much to Malvern's emergence in the nineteenth century as a fashionable spa resort, appreciated for its unpolluted air and the healing qualities of its famous spring water. The school opened its doors for the first time in January 1865. Initially, there were only about twenty four boy pupils, around six teachers and two houses.[6] Expansion was rapid and in 1877, there were 290 boys and six Houses; it was one of the twenty four Public Schools listed in the Public Schools Yearbook of 1889. and by the end of the 1890s the school had around 600 boys in 10 boarding houses.[6][8] Further expansion of pupil numbers and buildings continued between the end of the Great War in 1918 and the start of the Second World War in 1939.

During World War II the College premises were requisitioned by the Admiralty between October 1939 and July 1940, when the school was temporarily relocated to Blenheim Palace. In 1942, its premises were again needed for governmental use, on this occasion by the TRE and, from May 1942 to July 1946, the school was housed with Harrow School. QinetiQ, a private sector successor to the government's original research facility, is still sited on former college land.[9]

Having traditionally been a school for boys aged 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.[9][10] In September 2008, the College's Prep School merged with The Downs prep school on the latter's nearby site in Colwall, Herefordshire to form The Downs, Malvern College Prep School.[11]

The year 2008 also saw the start of a multi-million pound development scheme[12] that included a new sports complex, new athletics and viewing facilities at the pitches and two new boarding houses. The sports complex and new houses were opened in October 2009 by HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Ellerslie House was opened for girls, commemorating the eponymous former girls' school, and the other new house has become the new permanent residence for the boys of No. 7.[13]

Governance

The school is governed by a College Council, chaired since 2002 by Lord MacLaurin[14]

Curriculum

While academic success is considered important, emphasis is also placed on the all-round development of the individual rather than on academic results alone.[15] In the Sixth Form, courses are offered at A-Level in art, business studies, classical civilisation, design and technology, drama and theatre studies, economics, English literature, geography, Greek, history, history of art, key skills, Latin, mathematics, modern languages (French, German, Spanish), music, music technology, physical education, politics and the sciences (biology, chemistry, physics).[10] Further courses are available at International Baccalaureate level[16] and special arrangements are sometimes made for other courses upon request.[17]

Academic performance

An Ofsted report, following a February 2008 inspection, rated the school against specific criteria and assigned an overall quality rating of Grade 2 (good) with Grade 2 (good) ratings for organisation and health and safety provision and Grade 1 (outstanding) ratings for "helping children to achieve", to "make a positive contibution" and to "enjoy what they do".[6]

Admission

Generally, parents register their children up to two years in advance, in order to secure a place at age 13, through sitting a Common Entrance exam, or via the award of an open Academic Scholarship. Sixth Form entry is gained either through a scholarship exam, or by tests in the subjects to be studied. Bursaries are available for new entrants, and subject scholarships are awarded for Art, Drama, Music, Science/Technology and Sport.[10]

Sport

The school has a strong sporting tradition. For boy's sports, some Malvernians would consider the College to be best known as a football school although its cricket sides have also produced players who have gone on to play at international level. Traditionally, sport for boys used to be split between the original 'major sports' of football, cricket, and rackets (rugby was added later), and 'minor sports'. Colours were awarded for each major sport, as appropriate. After 1995, the distinction between 'major sport' and 'minor sport' was removed. The girls' main sports are hockey and lacrosse in the winter, lacrosse and netball in the Lent Term and tennis and rounders in the summer.

The College also plays a multitude of other sports such as Rackets, Fives, Athletics, Tennis, Squash, Croquet, Basketball, Badminton and Polo. Some boy's hockey and girl's football are played.[18]

On October 16, 2009, a new sports complex and hospitality suite was opened by Prince Andrew. The opening was attended by several well known sports personalities including athlete Dame Kelly Holmes, cricketers Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch, footballer Peter Shilton, rugby union player Jason Leonard, athlete Christina Boxer and hockey player Rachel Walker.[19] The indoor complex, which was built on the site of the old sports hall and swimming pool, offers an 8 court sports hall, a dance studio and fitness suite, a climbing wall, two squash courts, a shooting range, a large function suite, and a 6 lane swimming pool and its facilities are also available for use by the wider community. [20] They are also used by Worcestershire County Cricket Club for their winter training programme.[21][22] In February 2010, the school also hosted the England Blind Cricket squad for training sessions.[23]

Activities

Activities offered in addition to the academic curriculum include sports (see above), Combined Cadet Force (CCF), the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, First Aid, Orchestra/Band, Orienteering, Outdoor Pursuits, Photography, Practical Engineering, Riding, and Skiing.[10] A wider range of activities depending on the demand may also be available and include, Ballet/Dance, Ceramics, Chess, Choir, Climbing, Community Service, Current Affairs, Dancing, Debating/Public Speaking, Design/Technology, Drama/Theatre Studies, Life Saving/First Aid, Outdoor Pursuits, Photography, Practical Engineering, Textiles, and Young Enterprise.[10]

Facilities are also available (in some cases, by prior arrangement) for independent extra-curricular activities such as journalism and music rehearsal.[10]

Year names

Year Year Name
9 Foundation Year (FY)
10 The Remove
11 The Hundred
12 Lower Sixth (Sixth Form)
13 Upper Sixth (Sixth Form)

Houses

A House is a component of the school community and a place where pupils reside and engage in private study. Normally, a pupil remains at his chosen House until he leaves the school. Each house has its own colours. Competitions are regularly arranged between the Houses in a range of academic, artistic and sporting activities. With the exceptions of School House and Ellerslie House, the eleven houses at Malvern are named with numbers 1 to 9, a system which used to be used at Roedean School, a girl's school founded by the sisters of the Old Malvernian judge Sir Paul Ogden Lawrence. The houses, in order of foundation are:

House Sex House Colours
School House Boys Black, Magenta and Blue      
No. 1 Boys Red and White    
No. 2 Boys Blue and White    
No. 3 Girls Light Blue  
No. 4 Girls Maroon  
No. 5 Boys Red and Black    
No. 6 Girls Light Yellow  
No. 7 Boys Purple and Black    
No. 8 Girls Pink  
No. 9 Boys Green and Black    
Ellerslie House Girls Teal  

Events

Commemoration Day

The main social event of the school calendar Commemoration Day, or "Commem" as it is known in the school, celebrates the founding of the school. A service is held where prizes are awarded. A cricket match then takes place between the 1st cricket XI and the Free Foresters. The inter-house Athletics competition and the Summer Concert take place on the Friday before Commem. It is held on the Saturday of Half-term in the Summer term.

the CVS Ball

The School Council organises a charity ball, a black tie themed event that takes place in the 5th week of every Autumn Term. A similar event called The Autumn Ball is held for the Lower School.

the inter-house Singing Competition

This is held annually in the summer term. It is one of the most significant inter-house events on the school social calendar.

The Ledder

The Ledder, or Ledbury Run, is a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) cross country race that starts in the town of Ledbury, goes over the Malvern Hills and finishes on the Senior, the main cricket pitch in the centre of the College. 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.

St. George and the Quad on Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday

On the Sunday closest to the 11th of November, known as Remembrance Sunday, the entire college assembles in front of St. George to await a procession of parents, alumni, guests and teachers. Two minutes silence is followed by The Last Post and a reading. Representatives of the student body (the Senior Chapel Prefect, who is the Head Boy or Girl) and of the Old Malvernian Society then place wreaths at the foot of St. George. A memorial service follows in the chapel for the more than 400 Malvernians who lost their lives in the Great War.

Carmen Malvernense

The school song was written and composed by two masters, M. A. Bayfield and R. E. Lyon. Although not sung for the past decade it has recently been revived and was sung at the 2008 Commem.

Exultemus, O sodales,
Iam cessare fas novales,
Paululum laxemus mentes,
Dulcem, domum repententes,
Age soror iuxta fratrem,
Celebremus Almam Matrem,
Quae nos ornat, haec ornanda,
Quae nos amat, adamanda.

The same song became the school song of Eastbourne College when Bayfield became headmaster there in 1895.[24]

Innovations

In 1963 the college was the first independent school to have a language laboratory.[9][25] Under the direction of John Lewis,[26] a former master, it pioneered Nuffield Physics in the 1960s,[27] Science in Society in the 1970s,[28][29] and the Diploma of Achievement[26] in the 1990s. 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.[9][25] The school was one of the first boy's public schools to become coeducational for pupils from 3 to 18 years.[9]

Each summer the staff and some older pupils run a summer school, Young Malvern, which incorporates many sports, activities and learning experiences, and with Dulwich College, Malvern College is one of the two schools in the country to offer Debating in the curriculum and pupils participate in regional and national competitions including the Debating Matters competition and the Three Counties Tournament.[30][31] The subject is compulsory at Foundation Year level.[31]

Notable alumni

See also: List of Old Malvernians

The school's alumni are known as Old Malvernians, or OM's. The Malvernian Society holds many annual reunions and events and Old Malvernians, including former pupils of The Downs, Hillstone, and Ellerslie schools which have merged with Malvern College, benefit from a remission in fees for their own children.[32] Other Old Malvernian clubs and societies include OM Lodge, Court Games, Golf, Sailing, Shooting, the Old Malvernians Cricket Club, and the Old Malvernians Football Club, a record breaking club competing in the Arthurian League.

Old Malvernians have been instrumental in the formation of sporting and charitable organisations such as Blackburn Rovers FC[33] and the Docklands Settlements[34].

At least two of the school's former pupils have become Nobel Laureates. Some past pupils are royalty from various nations, and others have become Heads of State, high ranking military officers, leading jurists, authors, and famous sportspeople.

Fire damage

In 2010 part of the school suffered serious damage when fire broke out on 10 April in one of the boardihg houses.[4] The 1871 Grade 2 listed building which was the boarding house for 55 girls and living accommodation of the housemistress and her family,[35] was almost completely destroyed.[7] Over 70 firefighters and 13 fire engines from Malvern, Worcester and Stourport-on-Severn depots fought the blaze.[36]

See also

List of masters of Malvern College

References

  1. ^ "Malvern College", The Good Schools Guide, 2010, retrieved 17 August 2010
  2. ^ "Malvern College", Guide to Independent Schools, retrieved 17 August 2010
  3. ^ Malvern College homepage, retrieved 18 August 2010
  4. ^ a b Malvern College to reopen as normal after serious fire. BBC News. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010
  5. ^ Cookson, R.T.C, ed. (1905), The Malvern Register 1865-1904, (Originally compiled by Laurence Sidney Milward & Edward Clifford Bullock) (2nd ed.), Malvern, UK: Malvern Advertiser, p. xvi, retrieved 29 August 2010 2009 reprint via Google books (Note: Google's authorship citation is inaccurate - see Internet Archive version for actual title page)
  6. ^ a b c d e Taylor, D., & Hall, T (February 2008), Malvern College: Inspection report for boarding school (PDF), Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), retrieved 18 August 2010{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b Crews tackle serious fire at Malvern College. BBC News. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010 Cite error: The named reference "BBC2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ see Cookson, R.T.C (1905), p.XL for table of Master's Houses circa 1900
  9. ^ a b c d e "Our History", in General Information, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Malvern College", Profile at Independent Schools Council website, retrieved 18 August 2010
  11. ^ Jones, Sally (29 June, 2007), "EDUCATION: Schools build for future as link is agreed", Malvern Gazette, Newsquest Media Group, retrieved 18 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "The Development Plan", in General Information, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  13. ^ "Opening Celebrations", in General Information, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  14. ^ Malvern College: College Council Retrieved 4 September 2010
  15. ^ "Mission Statement", in General Information, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  16. ^ "Malvern College", in IB World Schools section, International Baccalaureate, retrieved 19 August 2010
  17. ^ "A-Level & International Baccalaureate Booklet", in Academic Overview, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010 {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Sports, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  19. ^ "Stars To Open Malvern College Sports Complex", in Countries section: England: Community Cricket, cricketworld.com website, 2 October, 2009, retrieved 18 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Malvern College Sports Complex & Function Suite", in Leisure and Culture, Leisure Facilities section, Malvern Hills District Council website, retrieved 19 August 2010
  21. ^ "in Counties: Worcestershire section", BBC Sport, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2 December 2008, retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
  22. ^ "in Counties: Worcestershire section", BBC Sport, BBC, 12 January, 2010, retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: |chapter= ignored (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Malvern College welcomes England Blind Cricket Team as they prepare to face Pakistan. www.conference-worcestershire.org. February 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  24. ^ A history of music at Eastbourne College from its foundation in 1867 (PDF), Eastbourne College, 18th August 2008, p. 9, retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ a b "The 16-plus course that is growing in popularity", Malvern Gazette, Newsquest Media Group, 26 September, 2002, retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ a b Sir Christopher Ball (30 December, 1994), Education for life, TSL Education Ltd (TES Connect website), retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) (Originally published in TES Magazine)
  27. ^ "Science teacher is 'best this century'", Malvern Gazette, 2 February, 2001, retrieved 19 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Snippet view for Journal title", Science and Public Policy, Vols. 9-10, Science Policy Foundation & Beech Tree Publishing: p.168, 1982, retrieved 20 August 2010 {{citation}}: |chapter= ignored (help); |page= has extra text (help); |volume= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Lewis, John L (1 September, 1978), "Science in Society", Physics Education, 13 (6): 340, doi:10.1088/0031-9120/13/6/001, retrieved 20 August 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Malvern College", at Debating Matters Competition website, retrieved 20 August 2010
  31. ^ a b "Debating", in Academic & Careers, Malvern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  32. ^ Old Malvernians, Malern College (official website), retrieved 18 August 2010
  33. ^ "Amateurs in the FA Cup", at The [[Independent Schools Football Association]] (I.S.F.A.) website, retrieved 20 August 2010 {{citation}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  34. ^ "Charity Background", at Dockland Settlements website, retrieved 20 August 2010
  35. ^ Tarik Al Rasheed (11 July 2010), "Worcestershire college house set to rise from ashes of devastating blaze", Malvern Gazette, retrieved 20 August 2010
  36. ^ Claire Fry (10 April 2010), "Major blaze at Malvern College", Worcester News, retrieved 20 August 2010

Further reading

  • Blumenau, Ralph (1965), A history of Malvern college, 1865-1965, London: Macmillan
  • Chesterton, George (1990), Malvern College: 125 years, Malvern, UK: The Malvern Publishing Co, ISBN 0947993606 Alternative ISBN 978-0947993603

52°06′14.97″N 2°19′34.30″W / 52.1041583°N 2.3261944°W / 52.1041583; -2.3261944

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