Shebbear College

Shebbear College (the College) is a co-educational Methodist Public School (privately-funded and independent) located in Shebbear, Devon, 39 miles from the county seat of Exeter, in the South West region of the United Kingdom and is one of a group of independent boarding schools that form part of the Methodist Church's involvement in education.

Shebbear College

Headmaster	Robert (Bob) Barnes
School type	Independent
Religious affiliation	Methodist
Early history	1829 - Founded as 'Prospect College' 1841 - Re-founded as 'Shebbear College'
Location	Shebbear, Devon, United Kingdom
Enrolment Age	Kindergarten (3), Junior (5), First Year (11), Lower Sixth (16)
Surroundings	Rural
Main Sports	Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Football
School Motto	"Ad Gloriam Per Spinas" ("To Glory Through Thorns")
School Song	"Integer vitae scelerisque purus non eget Mauris iaculis nec arcu nec venenatis gravida sagitis Fusce, pharetra Pone sub curru nimium propinqui, solis in terra domibus negata, dulce ridentem, lalagen amabo. Dulce loquentem." (Adapted from Horace's Ode 1.22)

History

The College was founded as 'Prospect College' in 1829 by the Bible Christian Church and reformed as 'Shebbear College in 1841. The second-oldest Methodist school in Britain, the College was originally formed for the sons of Bible Christians to train for the ministry. Edgehill College, founded for Methodist girls in nearby Bideford in 1884, is considered the College's 'sister-college'. The College became co-education in the 1990s. In 1993, the school's closure was announced but the decision was subsequently reversed.

The College Today

Houses

The College is consistently small in size and currently averages attendance of around 300 pupils from ages three to 18. The College is divided into three Houses that compete both academically and in sport; namely:

• Ruddle - named after the College's most influential headmaster, Thomas Ruddle
• Way - named after Sir Samuel Way
• Thorne - named after one of the founders of the College, Samuel Thorne

The school is also divided into houses within boarding;

• Ruddle - The girls' boarding house - named after the College's most influential headmaster, Thomas Ruddle
• Pollard - The senior boys' boarding house - named after the Methodist missionary and writer, Sam Pollard
• Pyke - The juniors' boarding house

The College has a number of well-known alumni and a strong academic record, with a number of pupils proceeding to prominent universities

Headmasters

• Hallifield Cosgayne O'Donnoghue (1840-1842)
• Thomas Ruddle (1864-1909)
• Leslie Johnson (1933-1942)
• Jack Morris (1942-1964)
• George Kingsnorth (1964-1983)
  
• Russell Buley (1983-1997)
• Leslie Clarke (1997-2003)
• Robert Barnes (2003-Present)

Prefects

2005-06:
Head Boy - Jack Warner (Plymouth)
Head Girl - Emily Cooper (London)
Prefects - Christopher Goode, Dennis Cook, Sam Smeddle, Ivan Wong, Briony Marks, Emma Adams, Sarah Birkett, Lauren Down, Kit Chow

2006-07:
Head Boy - Josef Schmalfuss (Hamburg,Germany)
Head Girl - Claire Ashworth (Holsworthy)
Prefects - James McCaffrey, Adam Horne, Peta-Louise Baggott, Kelvin Sy, Tony Tsoi, Vince Chan

2007-08:
Prefects: Maxwell Green, Tristan Brown, James Scott, Jonathon Betambeau, Thomas Wong, Greg Paton-Kerr, Ruth Hillier, Maria Grigg, Vanessa Wong, Candy Lai

Notable Old Shebbearians

• Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Way QC (1836-1916) - Chief Justice; Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia[1]
• Sir (Reginald) Pridham Baulkwill (b.1895-d.1974) - Solicitor
• Sir Ivan Stedeford GBE (b.1897-d.1975) - British Industrialist and Philanthropist
• Sir Alfred Earle GBE (b.1907-d.1990) - Former RAF Vice Chief of Defence to Lord Mountbatten; Director General of British Defence Intelligence 1966-1968
• Wilf Weeks (b.1949) - Head of the Private Office of Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath (1976-1980); Chairman, Heritage Education Trust
• Ernest W. Martin (b.1912-d.2005) - Prominent British Author[2]
• Leslie Scrase (1942 - ????) - Author
• Steve Drowne - (dates unknown) Jockey; Winner, 2000 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot
• Andrew Hall - (b.1972 -) Staff Captain; Queen Elizabeth 2 & Queen Victoria [Cunard Line]
• Jim Hancock - BBC Political Correspondent; Presenter, "The Politics Show"
• Simon Birks - Prominent UK Barrister[3]
• Professor Hugh F Durrant-Whyte - pioneer in probabilistic methods for robotics.

References

• Ernest Walter Martin "EW Martin - Sensitive chronicler of the changing English countryside" Guardian 11 May 2005
• Simon Birks "Islam dress ban 'breached' rights" BBC News 27 May 2004
• Sir Alfred Earle GBE "Biography"

External links

• Official website
• The "Old Shebbearians Association" official website

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