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From the Headmaster, Mr Gareth Lloyd:

A very warm welcome to you, and thank you for visiting the Ratcliffe College website.

We are currently preparing a new website, which we hope to launch in January 2010, to give you a better insight into our really fantastic community. In the meantime, you will of course gather much information from our present website, but why not make an appointment for a tour of the School where you can sample the unique Ratcliffe atmosphere?

I have only just taken up the reigns of Headship here at Ratcliffe, and I can truly say that my family and I have been overwhelmed by the warmth of welcome from staff, students, parents and governors. Ratcliffe College is first and foremost a really vibrant and happy community, where we can proudly say we offer our students an education for life, whether they are a day student or a boarder. The most important thing for me is to see happy and healthy children. Happy children are receptive children, and receptive children will enjoy learning and growing in the fullest sense - which is exactly what we, as a school, are all about.

Our aim is to achieve excellence through happiness, and to create a learning community in which young people may grow to become confident, competent, articulate members of society. We have just achieved our best ever sets of results in public examinations, yet we firmly believe that a good school is about much more than academic success alone. Children of all ages enjoy a wonderful variety of activities outside of the classroom, including sport (for which we have outstanding facilities), music, drama and cultural opportunities, to name but a few. Several students, past and present, have represented the School at district, county and national levels in sport and music, and we are rightly proud of them. Yet we also celebrate achievement in many other areas, to allow every child to be recognised for the unique person that he or she is.

We are a co-educational day and boarding school for children aged 3 - 18. Our Nursery School children (aged 3-5), Junior Department pupils (aged 5-11) and Senior School students (aged 11-18) enjoy excellent teaching within the same campus. Our School extends to over 100 acres of beautiful countryside in a very safe and secure rural environment, yet within easy reach of major international airports, including those in London, the Midlands and the North of England.

The School has a rich history, dating back to 1847 when the celebrated architect Pugin built the stunning buildings we enjoy today. Originally founded by the Institute of Charity, or Rosminian Fathers, we are a Catholic school which welcomes children of other Christian denominations and, indeed, of other Faiths. We are now embarking upon a very exciting Five Year Development of the School, and would like to invite you to consider us as the possible educators of children, from your community, within a boarding school environment.

Our next Open Morning will be on Saturday 13th March 2010. If you are unable to attend, please feel free to visit at a more convenient time. I would be delighted to welcome you in person for a visit to Ratcliffe College. I could then share with you some of the very exciting plans for our future, so that you are fully informed of what we have to offer to prospective parents and students. And for a snapshot of what life is really like at Ratcliffe College, why not right click on the link below, and enjoy a brief film of us at work and play?

With all good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

 

Mr Gareth P. Lloyd,
Headmaster.

ITN Visit to Ratcliffe - see the film!

You can now watch this here online, by choosing your connection speed - Broadband | Dialup