Trent College
52°54′00″N 01°17′03″W / 52.90000°N 1.28417°W
| Trent College | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
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| , , NG10 4AD | |
| Information | |
| Type | co-educational, independent, boarding school |
| Established | 1868 |
| Founder | Francis Wright |
| Head teacher | Gill Dixon |
| Age | 3 to 18 |
| Website | http://www.trentcollege.net/ |
Trent College is a co-educational, HMC independent day and boarding school. There are 760 pupils in the Senior School and 330 pupils in the Junior School, The Elms School. The campus is located in grounds situated in Long Eaton, Derbyshire between Nottingham and Derby.
It was founded in 1868 by Francis Wright; the foundation stone being laid by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire.
History
The foundation of Trent College was proposed In 1868 by Francis Wright at a meeting of the Midland branch of the Clerical and Lay Association. At the time, he intended Trent College to be one of many schools established in the region; it was the only one of its kind in the area.[citation needed]
Wright was an influential man, a partner in the Butterley Company – the greatest industrial concern in Derbyshire by the time of his death[citation needed] – as well as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire (1842) and Deputy Lieutenant in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. [citation needed] He and many of the notable men of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire became the founding Directors of Trent College.
The school opened in April 1868 with 53 boys on roll and within four months, the number had risen to 118, and by 1870, 225 boys were registered as pupils. The school’s initial success was hit by the outbreak of Scarlet Fever in 1873 and the death of its first Headmaster, Thomas Ford Fenn, in 1883. Francis Wright was actively involved with the school until his death in 1873. In 1875 a school chapel was opened in his memory.
The Chapel
The foundation stone of the Chapel was laid after the death of Francis Wright. The building, which cost £300 and was designed by a Mr Robinson of Derby, has been re-modelled three times; first in 1949 by Sir Albert Richardson, president of the Royal Academy, then the chancel was redesigned after a new organ was installed in 1976, and finally in 2001 the pews and lighting were replaced. The west door curtain was a part of the interior of Westminster Abbey at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The wooden collection plates are carved from olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane outside Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was arrested before his crucifixion. These were a bequest from the Broadhurst family.
Buildings and facilities
The Warner Library was built by pupils in 1929 and contained about 6500 books, fiction, non-fiction and reference materials. The Obolensky, a modern lunch hall/meeting place, was opened in February, 2008 and is named after Russian Prince Alexander Obolensky, a former pupil of Trent College. A new library (a sensitive conversion of the former dining hall conserving original wood panelling) was opened in 2010 and is named 'The Duke of Devonshire Library' after the school's president. This popular facility boasts state of the art IT and learning facilities with a wide array of material,at the heart of the School. The "Warner" is now a performing arts space.
Sport
Trent College girls' hockey team were crowned U16 champions at the National Schools Finals in Staffordshire in Spring 2010.[1] Rugby is also an important sport at Trent,
Heads
| Years |
Headteacher | |
|---|---|---|
| 1868–1883 | The Revd T.F. Fenn, MA (Cantab) | |
| 1883–1890 | The Revd John Robert Blayney Owen, MA (Oxon) (Second Master 1871-1881) | |
| 1890–1895 | The Revd W.H. Isaacs, MA (Cantab) | |
| 1895–1927 | The Revd J.S. Tucker, MA (Oxon) | |
| 1927–1936 | G.F. Bell, Esq., MA (Oxon) | |
| 1936–1968 | R.G. Ikin, Esq., MA (Cantab) | |
| 1968–1988 | A.J. Maltby, Esq., MA (Cantab) | |
| 1988–2006 | J.S. Lee, Esq., MA (Oxon) | |
| 2006- | Mrs Gill Dixon, BSc (Warwick), MBA (Leicester) |
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Trent from the Sports Field -
The new School Library -
Views of the school
Notable alumni
- Aric Prentice Director of Music at Lincoln Cathedral
- Rex Alston, Cricket commentator
- Albert Ball VC MC, English First World War fighter ace from WW1
- Lord David Gillmore, Baron Gillmore of Thamesfield [2]
- Georgia Groome, actress
- Alexander Obolensky, Russian Prince, and International Rugby Union player for England
- Kukrit Pramoj, thirteenth Prime Minister of Thailand
- Seni Pramoj, three times Prime Minister of Thailand
- Harry Daft (1866 – 1945), England footballer
- John Birch, former Master of the Choristers at Chichester Cathedral
Staff
- Abraham Shuker cricketer and founder of the Trent Association[3]
