Kelly College
 | |
| Motto |
Fortiter Occupa Portum ("Defend your harbours bravely") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1877 |
| Closed | 2014 |
| Type |
Independent school Day and boarding school Co-educational |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Head Master | Graham Hawley BSc. PhD. |
| Chairman of the Governors | Rear Admiral Christopher Snow CBE DL |
| Founder | Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly |
| Location | Tavistock |
| DfE number | 878/6009 |
| Staff | c.66 |
| Students | 310 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 3–18 |
| Houses |
School (Boys) Marwood (Girls) Russell (Girls) Courtenay (Boys) Newton (Boys) Conway (Mixed) 1st & 2nd years only |
| Colours | Navy & white |
| Publication | Kelly College Chronicle (Annual) |
| Former pupils | Old Kelleians |
| Ofsted | Good |
Kelly College was a coeducational independent school situated in the outskirts of Tavistock, Devon, with around 350 students ranging from ages 3 to 18; there was an associated preparatory school for primary school children, Kelly College Preparatory School, nearby.
The college had twenty acres (eight hectares) of landscaped grounds, including playing fields, set on the edge of Dartmoor and including a stretch of the River Tavy, and four separate senior boarding houses, and a junior house, each with its own facilities. The college enjoys a very good academic reputation, and is renowned for its strength in sports, particularly swimming and rugby.
The last headship was of Mr Mark Semmence who joined the college in 2013. The college's motto is fortiter occupa portum - "defend your harbours bravely", a quotation from Ode XIV from the first Book of Odes by Horace.(1)
It offered many extracurricular activities, such as the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) and the DofE Scheme; in addition to a wide variety of sporting activities.
History
The school was founded in 1877 after Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly left the great part of his real and personal estate to Trustees, founding a charity which he directed should be called "The Kelly College", which should be for the education of the "sons of Naval officers and other gentlemen". The school opened in October 1877, under the Headmastership of Robert West Taylor, late fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, with twelve boys on the school roll. It became co-educational in the early 1970s, initially with entrants into the Sixth Form, and in September 1991 welcomed thirty one girls into the First Form, fourteen of whom became Kelly Veterans in 1998.[1]
In June 2014 the school formally merged with Mount House School. The new school is now known as Mount Kelly School.
Houses
The School had six houses;
School house (Girls Year 9-11 boarding/day House) (founded 1877), Courtenay House (Senior Boys House boarding /day) (founded 1901), Newton House (Boys Year 9-11 boarding/day house) (founded 1939), Conway House (Junior house, 1st and 2nd form only) (founded 1975), and Marwood House (Senior Girls House) (founded 1983),
Notable attendees
- Chris Wells, Operation Yew Tree - Runner Up
- Pierre Lauze, Eurotrash Presenter
- Oliver Sainter, Once drank an entire bottle of red wine before a history lesson
- Christopher Lambert, World famous competitive eater and Global Haribo Ambassador 2001-2004
- Dawn Airey, Chief Executive of Channel 5
- Sharron Davies, swimmer
- Flora Duffy, Bermudan triathlete[2]
- Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigerian politician
- George Hacker, Bishop of Penrith
- Andy Jameson, BBC sports commentator & former Olympic swimmer
- John Lucas, Archdeacon of Totnes
- Sir Gordon Minhinnick, cartoonist
- Gerald Seymour, novelist and former ITN correspondent
- Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark
- Charles Symons, Chaplain-General to the Forces
- Sir Hugh Thornton, civil servant
- Sir Richard Gordon Wakeford, RAF officer
References
- ↑ (1) Kelly College Chronicle 1997 - 1998
- ↑ "Meet the Plymouth athletes competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland". Plymouth Herald. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015.