Malvern College

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Malvern College is a coeducational British independent school, founded in 1865. It is located in Malvern, Worcestershire.

The Good Schools Guide called the school a "Traditional co-ed rural public school with a surprising number of aces up its sleeve."^[1]

History

Main Coll in snow

The College chapel with the Porter's Lodge and the Malvern Hills in the background

The school opened in January 1865 with about 24 boy pupils and around six teachers. Initially, there were two houses but expansion was rapid and by 1877 there were six Houses and 290 boys. Further expansion of pupil numbers and buildings continued from 1918 after the Great War, but during the Second World Warfrom 1939 to 1945 the college premisses were requisitioned by the Admiralty between October 1939 and July 1940, and was temporarily relocated to Blenheim Palace. The college was again needed for government use by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) from May 1942 to July 1946 and was housed with Harrow School. QinetiQ, the successor to the research facility, is still sited on former College land.

In 1992, the school, which had been for boys only aged s 13 to 18, merged with Ellerslie Girls’ School and Hillstone prep school to become coeducational with pupils from 3 to 18 years old.^[1]

In 2005 Malvern College was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents.^{[citation needed]} Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2008, the College merged with The Downs prep school on The Downs' existing site in Colwall.^[2]

2008 also saw the start of a multi-million pound development scheme that included a new Sports Centre, two new Boarding Houses and new athletics and viewing facilities at the pitches. ^[3] The Sports Centre and new houses opened in September 2009. One of the houses opened as an eleventh house, Ellerslie, to commemorate Ellerslie Girls' School which merged with the College in 1992. The other will become the new permanent residence for the boys of No. 7.

Sport

A new Sports Complex and hospitality suite was opened by Prince Andrew in October 2009. Until 1995 sport for boys was split between the original major sports of football, cricket, and rackets (rugby was added later), and minor sports and colours were awarded for each major sport as appropriate. After 1995 the distinction between major sport and minor sport was removed. Traditionally Malvernians would consider the college to be a football school. although cricket sides have produced players among the Old Malvernians who have gone on to play at international level. The girls' main sports are hockey and lacrosse in the winter, lacrosse and netball in the Lent Term and tennis and rounders in the summer. The School also plays a multitude of other sports such as Rackets, Fives, Athletics, Tennis, Squash, Croquet, Basketball and Badminton. Some boys' hockey and girls' football and cricket are played.

Year names

• Foundation Year (FY) -Year 9
• The Remove -Year 10
• The Hundred -Year 11
• Lower Sixth -Year 12
• Upper Sixth -Year 13

Houses

There are at Malvern. With the exceptions of School House and Ellerslie, the eleven houses are named with numbers 1 to 9, a system used at Roedean School, which was founded by the sisters of Sir Paul Ogden Lawrence, an Old Malvernian and eminent Judge. Each house has its own colours. The houses, in order of foundation are:

Events

Commemoration Day

The main social event of the school calendar Commemoration Day, or "Commem" as it is known in the school, celebrates the founding of the school. A service is held in the Malvern Priory church, and speeches are made and prizes are awarded at the Malvern Theatres, and a cricket match takes place between the 1st cricket XI and the Free Foresters. The inter-house Athletics competition and the Summer Concert take place on the Friday before Commem. It is held on the Saturday of Half-term in the Summer term

The CVS Ball

The School Council organises a charity ball, a Black Tie themed event that takes place in the 5th week of every Autumn Term. A similar event called The Autumn Ball is held for the Lower School.

The Ledder

The Ledder, or Ledbury Run, is a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) cross country race that starts in the town of Ledbury, goes over the Malvern Hills and finishes on the Senior, the main cricket pitch in the centre of the College. The first 9 runners receive Ledder Caps. In its early days there was no organised route and pupils simply had to get back to college as fast as they could.

St. George and the Quad on Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday

Held on the Sunday closest to the 11th of November, the entire college assembles in front of St. George to await a procession of parents, alumni, guests and teachers. A two minutes silence followed by The Last Post and a reading. Representatives of the student body (the Senior Chapel Prefect {the Head Boy or Girl}) and of the Old Malvernian Society then place wreaths at the foot of St. George. A memorial service follows in the chapel for the the more than 400 Malvernians who lost their lives in the Great War.

Innovations

In 1963 the college was the first independent school to have a language laboratory, it pioneered Nuffield Physics in the 1960s, Science in Society in the 1970s, and the Diploma of Achievement in the 1990s. At the beginning of the 1990s, Malvern College became one of the first schools in Britain to offer the choice between the International Baccalaureate and A-Levels in the Sixth Form.

Each summer the staff and some older pupils run a summer school, Young Malvern, which incorporates many sports, activities and learning experiences.

Malvern College is one of the two schools in the country to offer Debating in the curriculum, with all FY pupils taking one lesson per week The other is Dulwich College.

Carmen Malvernense

The school song was written and composed by two masters, M. A. Bayfield and R. E. Lyon. Although not sung for the past decade it has recently been revived and was sung at the 2008 Commem.

Exultemus, O sodales,

Iam cessare fas novales,

Paululum laxemus mentes,

Dulcem, domum repententes,

Age soror iuxta fratrem,

Celebremus Almam Matrem,

Quae nos ornat, haec ornanda,

Quae nos amat, adamanda.

The same song became the school song of Eastbourne College when Bayfield became headmaster there in 1895.^[3]

Notable Alumni

Two of the school's former pupils have become Nobel Laureates. Some past pupils are royalty from various nations, and others have become Heads of State, high ranking military officers, leading jurists, authors, and famous sportspeople. The Malvernian Society holds many annual reunions and events and Old Malvernians, including former pupils of The Downs, Hillstone, and Ellerslie schools which have merged with Malvern College, benefit from a remission in fees for their own children. ^[4]. Other Old Malvernian clubs and societies include Court Games, Cricket, Football, Golf, OM Lodge, Sailing, and Shooting.

See also

• Pepper v Hart

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/malvern-college.html
2. ^ http://www.schoolsguidebook.co.uk/schools/view/279/Malvern-College/HMC/Malvern-College-Malvern-Worcestershire-WR14-3DF
3. ^ A history of music at Eastbourne College from its foundation in 1867, 18 August 2008, retrieved 5 January 2009.
4. ^ {http://www.malcol.net/old-malvernians/ Old Malvernians web page} Retrieved 6 Devember 2009

External links

• Malvern College official web site
• The Downs, Malvern College Preparatory School official web site
• Profile at the Good Schools Guide

Coordinates: 52°06′14.97″N 2°19′34.30″W / 52.1041583°N 2.326194°W / 52.1041583; -2.326194