Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic private boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately from Leicester, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati in 1845 as a seminary. The college became coeducational under the presidency of Father Tony Baxter in the mid-1970s. As of the 2023-2024 academic years, there were 920 students on roll at Ratcliffe, from ages 3 to 18.

History

Ratcliffe College was founded in 1845 on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, founder of the Institute of Charity, as a seminary. Two years later, in 1847, the buildings were converted for use as a boarding school for upper-class boys.

The school is operated by Rosmini's Institute of Charity. Until 1996, the school's senior leader used the title "Father President", a position traditionally held by a Father of the Institute. In 1996, Tim Kilbride became the first lay president, and the role was subsequently renamed Headmaster. Peter Farrar succeeded Kilbride in 2000, followed by Gareth Lloyd in 2009 and Jonathan Reddin in January 2017.

Ratcliffe College became coeducational in the mid-1970s during the presidency of Father Tony Baxter. As of the 2023–2024 academic year, the school had 920 pupils aged between 3 and 18. The college also maintains a partnership with the Leicester City Football Club Academy Programme, with academy players studying and boarding at the school during Years 10 and 11.

Buildings and architecture

The school buildings were designed by the Victorian Gothic Revivalist Augustus Welby Pugin. Pugin, who is associated with Catholic architecture throughout the Midlands and north of England, is also noted for his collaboration with Charles Barry in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster. The Square was designed by Charles Francis Hansom, brother of Joseph Hansom, the designer of the Hansom cab. Various building works over the years have contributed to Pugin and Hansom's work, and modern buildings include a "new" Gothic refectory (constructed in the early years of the twentieth century) and a Byzantine-style church.

Site

Ratcliffe College is situated near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately north of Leicester, England. The campus occupies around of parkland along the Roman Fosse Way.

Management

thumb|right|500px|Ratcliffe College, the front

Former Presidents and Headmasters

  • Father Peter Hutton IC 1851 – 1880

Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

Ratcliffe College is regularly inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). This is the body approved by the Department of Education for the purpose of inspecting schools belonging to Independent Schools Council (ISC) Associations and reporting on compliance with independent school regulations.

The School received Excellent report in all areas, during the latest ISI Inspection, 2022 - Focused Compliance and Educational Quality Inspection. The Educational Quality Inspection reports on the quality of the College’s work. It focuses on two key outcomes:

1. The achievement of the students, including their academic development.

2. The personal development of the students.

The College was judged “Excellent” for both outcomes, the highest grade possible.

Cricket ground

The college cricket ground is used by the college cricket team. The first recorded use of the ground came in 1948, when Ratcliffe College played King Edward's School, Birmingham. The ground has also played host to a single List-A match, when the Leicestershire Cricket Board played Denmark in the 1st round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy which was played in 2002.thumb|right|250px|School [[Combined Cadet Force in the Square (now known as the Lockhart Garden).]]

Notable former pupils

Former pupils of Ratcliffe are known as Old Ratcliffians. They include:

  • Terence Alexander, film and television actor, singer
  • John Arnold, bishop
  • Fin Back, professional footballer
  • Ian Bannen, Scottish actor and Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor (1965)
  • Shaun Brogan, SAS officer decorated for Dhofar campaign
  • Sir Peter Caruana, former Chief Minister of Gibraltar
  • Douglas Chamberlain, cardiologist who transformed clinical care
  • Kit Cunningham, disgraced British priest
  • Louis Deacon, England and Tigers rugby player
  • Willie Doyle, Irish Jesuit Priest (killed in action during World War I)
  • Sir Patrick Robin Fearn, diplomat, British ambassador to Cuba and Spain
  • Gerald Garcia, classical guitarist and composer
  • James Gillick, portrait and figurative artist
  • François Grosjean, psycholinguist and researcher on bilingualism
  • Michael Louis Hearn, Irish Nationalist MP for Dublin South
  • Peter Hildreth, British hurdling athlete
  • David Jolliffe, Director-General of British Army Medical Services
  • Tim Knox, art historian, Director of the Royal Collection and former Director of Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
  • Joseph Lauwerys, prominent educationalist who helped to found UNESCO
  • Patrick McGoohan, American-born actor of Irish parentage who rose to fame in the British film and TV industry: starring in the 1960s television series Danger Man and cult classic The Prisoner
  • Jon Moynihan, Lord Moynihan of Chelsea, businessman, venture capitalist and life peer
  • Kevin Myers, Irish journalist and writer
  • Patrick Nuttgens, architect
  • Sir Gordon Reece, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher
  • Kevin Shinkwin, Lord Shinkwin of Balham, Conservative politician and life peer
  • Michael Shipster, diplomat
  • Lord St John of Fawsley, former Conservative minister under Margaret Thatcher
  • Sir Henry Joseph Twynham, British administrator in India, Governor of Central Provinces
  • Richard Wallace, former editor of the Daily Mirror
  • Tim Wilson, finalist of The Circle
  • Luke Wright, Sussex CCC, and England cricketer
  • Martine Warmann, powerlifter

References

Bibliography

  • Ratcliffe College 1847–1947 edited by Rev. C. R. Leetham with an Appendix at the back entitled 'Alphabetical List of Students 1847–1950'

Coat of arms

  • School Website
  • Profile on the ISC website