Blanchelande College

Blanchelande College is an independent Catholic school in Les Vauxbelets valley, Saint Andrew, Guernsey, taking children ages 3 to 16.

The College was first established in 1902 as Blanchelande Girls' College, set up under a charitable trust and recognised by the Diocese of Portsmouth. Blanchelande was supervised by the Sisters of Mercy from 1956.

By the early 1990s the order had made the decision - as many orders had by this time - to step back from teaching, and the announcement was made that the school was to close. However, a successful campaign organised by teachers, parents and the Catholic community saved the school from closure and in 1992 the school relocated to Rosaire Avenue in St. Peter Port under headmaster Charles Harkins. The new College continued the traditions and success of its predecessor, quickly growing from strength to strength. Having grown from only 40 pupils to over 200 in just five years, the College sought larger premises and, in April 1999, moved to a beautiful rural site in Les Vauxbelets thanks to the generosity of Brother Christiantian and Les Freres Ecoles Chretiennes.

The brothers have a long and illustrious history at Les Vauxbelets, where they first ran a school for boys and then a language school for over 90 years. During this time the very beautiful Little Chapel was built by Brother Déodat in 1914, the guardianship of which now rests with the college. The last few Brothers were planning to return to France and Brother Christiantian remembered Blanchelande's hunt for a new home. The Brothers granted Blanchelande a perpetual lease to ensure these historic Guernsey buildings remain in Catholic education for generations to come.

Major alterations were started in summer 1998 and, with the generous support of friends and parents, were completed in time to move in Easter 1999. The generosity of the Brothers has been commemorated in the dedication of the Prayer Room in their name.

Blanchelande Infants was opened in September 2003, following the conversion of Victor House into new Infant and Pre-School classrooms. The school incorporated pupils from Cordier Hill infants school, which closed the same year and had also been run by the Sisters of Mercy. This was the first time boys were admitted into the school, and it has since begun accepting boys up to year 6.

As of September 2015 the college is accepting boys from years 7 to 11, making it the only fully coeducational independent school on the island.

The school motto is Semper Fidelis: Always Faithful.

See also

• List of schools in Guernsey

External links

• Blanchelande College