St Lawrence College, Ramsgate
Motto |
In Bono Vince (Latin for Conquer with Good) |
---|---|
Established | 1879 |
Type | Independent day and boarding school |
Religion | Church of England |
Principal | Mr Antony Spencer, MA (Oxon), ACA |
Deputy Headmaster | Mr David J Jackson, BA (Durham), Mr Simon Heard, BA (Exeter) |
Chairman of the Council | Mr D.W. Taylor, MA (Oxon), PGCE, F.R.S.A. |
Location |
College Road Ramsgate Kent CT11 7AE England Coordinates: 51°20′35″N 1°24′54″E / 51.343°N 1.415°E |
DfE URN | 118947 Tables |
Gender | Coeducational |
Ages | 3–18 |
Colours |
Maroon and white |
Publication | The Lawrentian |
Houses | 7 |
Former Pupils | Old Lawrentians |
School Song | Carmen Laurentium |
Website |
www |
St. Lawrence College is a traditional co-educational independent school situated in Ramsgate, Kent and has been established as a "public school" ever since it was founded.
History
The college was founded in 1879 as South Eastern College (colours: gold and black). The name was changed because of the association with the Railway network to St Lawrence College by its location in the St Lawrence area of Ramsgate. New colours were also given: maroon and white. The school rapidly outgrew the single house, leading to the main building of the present day college by 1884. The chapel was completed in 1927. During the world wars, the school was evacuated to Chester (1915) and Courteenhall in Northamptonshire (1940), seat of Sir Herewood Wake, because of its position on the South-East coast. Later in the school's existence, girls were admitted, and the current mix of sexes is now roughly equal. There were initially 4 houses:- Light Red, Dark Red, Light Blue and Dark Blue. These became Grange, Tower, Manor and Lodge. During WWII a fifth house was added called Courtenay when a nearby school having failed to maintain numbers was incorporated into the school. Newlands was later added for day scholars and Deacon followed as the Junior end of this house.
Senior and Middle School
The Senior School is divided into five separate houses. The oldest, Tower and Lodge, the two boy's boarding houses, were created in 1889. Newlands is the boys' day house, while Laing is the girls' day house. Boarding girls are part of Bellerby. All houses are located in the main school building except Bellerby, who have their own building which is situated in the site of the previous Taylor Hall.
Cameron and Courtenay are mixed boarding and day sub-houses, respectively, for the Middle School (Kirby). They accommodate students from age 11 to 13. They are housed in the modern Kirby House Building, a state-of-the-art education facility, which opened in January 2007 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. In January 2013, Mark Aitken retired his post of Headmaster and was succeeded by Antony Spencer.
Junior School
St Lawrence College Junior School is located on the same site as the Middle and Senior schools and accommodates pupils from age 3 to 11. The Junior School pupils study in the Hamblyn Block which includes classrooms for Years 3-6.
Performance
In 2009, the Daily Telegraph placed the school 330 in its League Table of Independent School A-level results, with 48.81% of pupils gaining A or B grades at A-level.[1] In 2012, the school gained an outstanding performance in their examinations with a pass rate of 92.9% with 18% of them being at grades of A and A* at A-level. The GCSE results were also outstanding with a pass rate of 86.5% and 15.5% being at grades of A*.
Old Lawrentians
Old Lawrentians (OLs) of note include:
- Alfred Bellerby, Olympic long jumper[2][3]
- Hubert Broad, World War I aviator and test pilot[4]
- Sir Conrad Corfield, KCIE, CSI, MC and Chief Advisor in India
- John Russell Carlisle, Director of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association
- General Sir Richard Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff, defense advisor to the Conservative party.
- Gordon Edington, CBE, chair NCH[5]
- Captain David Hart Dyke, CBE LVO ADC RN, HMS Coventry, Falklands War 1982
- Humphrey Hawksley, BBC World Affairs Correspondent (BBC News)
- Sir Martin Laing CBE DL FRICS, construction industry entrepreneur
- Sir George Middleton, diplomat
- Major Claude Myburgh, cricketer and soldier
- Major General Frank Crowther Roberts, VC DSO OBE MC
- John Ruddock, actor
- Alexander Siddig, actor
- Michael Steed, political scientist
- The Right Honourable John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
- John Vernon Taylor, Bishop of Winchester
- Colin Tilsley, missionary
- Peter Heath, OBE[6]
References
- ↑ League Table of Independent Schools, London: The Daily Telegraph, 15 September 2009, retrieved 10 October 2011
- ↑ Alfred Bellerby profile at sports-reference.com
- ↑ Alfred Bellerby profile at This is Kent
- ↑ 1911 Census of Thanet, RG14PN4536, Hubert Stanford Broad, Hollicondane Ramsgate.
- ↑ Gordon Edington profile at Debretts Online
- ↑
External links
- St Lawrence College website
- Old Lawrentian Society
- Profile on the ISC website
- Profile on the HMC website