Wimbledon College

Infobox School
name = Wimbledon College


imagesize =
caption =
location = Edge Hill
region = Wimbledon
city =
state =
district =
province = Greater London
county =
postalcode = SW19 4NS
country = United Kingdom
coordinates =
telephone = 020 8946 2533
fax = 020 8879 9302
email = mail (at) wimbledoncollege (dot) org (dot) uk
schoolnumber = 315/4701
authority = London Borough of Merton
religion = Christianity
denomination = Roman Catholic
oversight =
affiliation = Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
founder =
head_label = Headmaster
head = Adrian Porter SJ
chairperson = Andrew Kennedy
staff =
classrooms =
classes offered =
avg_class_size =
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gender = boys
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 19
houses = Southwell House, Campion House, Fisher House, More House
schooltype =
fundingtype =
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system =
grades =
campus =
campus size =
campus type =
Hours_in_Day =
motto = "cor numinis fons luminis" ("The heart of the divine is the fount of light.")
accreditation =
uniform = yes
mascot =
mascot

school_colours = maroon, gold, and dark green
founded = 1892
pupils = 1363
footnotes = [http://www.wimbledoncollege.org.uk/WebsitePages/Admissions/Prospectus%202007.pdf School prospectus 2007]
website = [http://www.wimbledoncollege.org.uk/ wimbledoncollege.org.uk]

Wimbledon College is a state-maintained voluntary-aided Roman Catholic (Jesuit) secondary school for boys aged 11 to 19. The school is based at Edge Hill, Wimbledon, London. It was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning to the greater glory of God and the common good".

Organisation

The school has a joint sixth form with the all-girls Ursuline High School, Wimbledon. That school is situated nearby, on Crescent Road.

Currently the Headmaster is Father Adrian Porter SJ, [ [http://www.wimbledoncollege.org.uk/WebsitePages/Contact.htm "Wiimbledon College Contacts", Wimbledon College] ] who took over from Father Michael Holman SJ in 2004. Father Porter is due to leave the college at the end of 2009/10 school year.

Every year it takes about 200 mostly from Catholic schools in South London, some of these schools include Donhead (prep school) Sacred Heart in Teddington, Sacred Heart in Raynes Park and John Fisher in Morden.

Developments

Father Holman's main contributions to the school, around the turn of the century, include an entire renovation of the old gym and swimming pool into a new Sports Hall, Learning Resources Centre (LRC) and IT Suite. Shortly after leaving the post of headmaster at the College, Father Holman was appointed the Jesuit Provincial for Great Britain.

Since Father Porter's appointment as headmaster, the College has undergone further changes, including a new visitors' entrance; refurbished classrooms, the addition of an electronic registration system which is used in parallel with the traditional registration system, and the movement of the LRC and IT Department to the location of the Sixth Form Centre. The Centre has been relocated to the former LRC/IT Department site.

Activities

The College specialises in sports (especially rugby), extra-curricular activities and the Drama. A new music department was constructed in 2005. It is notable for its school productions and to assist in these a revolving stage has been built in the auditorium. One or more shows have been produced and shown every year since 1972. The latest, in 2008, was "The Mysteries". The school is now preparing for next years productions of "The Life Of Galileo" at Christmas. And the traditional musical, which will be performed at Easter, is going to be "Sweeney Todd". The Strings Project was activated in 2005 to give 50 boys in Figures the opportunity to learn the violin, viola, cello or the double bass.

The College encourages students to take part in at least two of its wide selection of extracurricular activities. These range from a Drama club to the Chess club, and also from a Debating club to numerous optional school trips over the year. The College also has a selection of major and minor sports. Rugby, of course, is the biggest major sport the College can offer. There is also swimming (competitive and non-competitive), golf, ski trips, football, basketball and many others.

Notable alumni

;Academic
* Sir Anthony Leggett - Winner of 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics
* Peter Milward s.j., emeritus professor of English Literature at Sophia University, Tokyo

;Business
*Clifford Bernard Davis - Corporate Treasurer of the Telstra Corporation Limited (Australia)cite encyclopedia| editor = Suzannah Pearce| encyclopedia = Who's Who in Business Live!| title = DAVIS Clifford Bernard| accessdate = 2007-12-05| date = 2006-11-17| year = 2007| publisher = Crown Content Pty Ltd| location = North Melbourne, Vic]

;Entertainment, media and the arts
* Christopher Hewett - Actor
* Des Kelly - National newspaper journalist, columnist
* George Malcolm - Musician
* Paul Merton - Comedian, writer and TV presenter
* Mike Paradinas - Musician ;Military
*Maurice Dease -winner of the first VC of World War I
* Eugene Esmonde - WWII naval pilot, led attack on Bismarck, awarded the Victoria Cross after Channel Dash
* Sir John Keegan - English military historian
* Gerald Robert O'Sullivan - Captain awarded the Victoria Cross in WWI
* Patrick Reid - Colditz Castle escaper, WWII, and author subsequently

;Politics, public service and the law
* John Patten, Baron Patten - Politician
* Sir Michael Quinlan, GCB - Former Permanent Under Secretary of Defence
* Peter Duffy QC - Human Rights Barrister

;Religion
* Father Michael Holman, Head of the Jesuits in Britain [ [http://www.jesuit.org.uk/latest/050319.htm "New British Jesuit Provincial announced"] , The British Province of the Society of Jesus, 19 March 2005]

References

ee also

* Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon
* Donhead
* Ursuline High School (Wimbledon)
*List of Victoria Crosses by School

External links

* [http://www.wimbledoncollege.org.uk/ Official site]
* [http://www.owa.org.uk/ Old Wimbledonians Association website ("the Old Boys")]
* [http://www.jesuit.org.uk/schools/wimbledon_donhead.htm "The Jesuits in Britain"]
* [http://www.wcsip.co.uk/ Wimbledon College Southern India Project Website]
* [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/dfe1x1_04.pl?Code=&No=315&Type=&Reg=&Mode=Z&School=&back= DFES page]
* [http://www.merton.gov.uk/schools/schoolsdirectory/wimbledoncollegeschool.htm Merton Council information]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id= Ofsted inspection report, 2001 (downloadable pdf)]