Established 1830 Headmaster James Murphy-O'Connor Phone +44 1225 835353 Founded 1830 | Religion Catholic Chair Mr A M H King Motto Deo Duce Deo Luce | |
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Type Independent school
Public school
Day, full boarding & weekly boarding school Location Ralph Allen Drive
Bath
Somerset
BA2 5AH
England Address Ralph Allen Dr, Bath BA2 5AH, UK Founder Congregation of Christian Brothers Colors Sky Blue, Steel blue, Azure Profiles | ||
Prior park college what life is all about
Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building.
Contents
- Prior park college what life is all about
- A day in the life of prior park college
- Overview
- History
- Facilities
- Prior Park Preparatory School
- Notable former pupils
- References
One wing of the mansion includes a chapel of our Lady of the Snows, built in 1863 by Scoles and Son which is Grade I listed; there is also a chapel in the original house.The chapel is unfinished, with the pillars at the back remaining unsculpted as they were in 1863. The adjoining 57-acre (23 ha) Prior Park Landscape Garden is now owned by the National Trust.
The Prior Foundation consists of Prior Park College, Prior Park Prep School (Cricklade), the Paragon Junior School (Bath) and Prior Park School Gibraltar.
A day in the life of prior park college
Overview
Founded in 1830 to be England's first Catholic university, Prior Park College has remained a Roman Catholic school. It was established by the Benedictine, Bishop Baines, as a seminary, and provides co-educational schooling for students aged 11 to 18 in the Catholic tradition and ecumenical spirit.
In 2008, students achieved the best A-level results in the history of the school, with over one-fifth of all students getting three A's and 77% receiving A and B grades.
In July 2009, Giles Mercer retired. He had been head teacher since 1996, and with his previous position as head of Stonyhurst College, he became the "longest serving Catholic senior school headmaster in England" His successor was James Murphy-O'Connor, nephew of former Prior Park pupil Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
The school is part of the Prior Park Foundation which includes the Paragon Junior School in Bath and Prior Park Preparatory School in Cricklade, Wiltshire.
History
The Palladian hillside mansion housing Prior Park College was designed and built by John Wood, the Elder in 1742. He was commissioned by Ralph Allen: "To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see"
in 1828 Bishop Baines purchased the mansion for £22,000 and used it as a seminary named the Sacred Heart College. Renovations were made according to designs by H. E. Goodridge in 1834. The seminary was closed in 1856 after a fire in 1836 caused extensive damage and subsequent renovation caused financial insolvency. The estate was later bought by Bishop Clifford who founded a Roman Catholic grammar school.
The Chapel was designed by J. J. Scoles in 1844 but not completed until 1863, following 18th-century French models such as Chalgrin's St. Philippe-du-Roule in Paris. Pevsner describes it as "without any doubt the most impressive Chapel interior of its date in the county".
The grammar school closed in 1904 and the estate was occupied by the army during the First World War and by a series of tenants until 1921; the Christian Brothers founded a boys' boarding school in 1924. Prior Park College continues to occupy the main house. In 1993 11.3 hectares (28 acres) of the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust and have been extensively restored.
Prior Park Landscape Garden was laid out between 1734 and 1744 with the Allens benefiting during the first phase from the advice of their friend Alexander Pope. The Palladian bridge and the lake that it spans were added in 1755; the final phase with the green slopes from the house to the lake are thought to have been planned by Capability Brown in the 1760s. The garden is now owned by the National Trust.
The mansion has been victim of fire twice. The 1836 event left visible damage to some stonework. The 1991 fire gutted the interior, except for parts of the basement. Rebuilding took approximately three years. Unusually, the blaze started on the top floor, and spread downwards.
Facilities
Prior Park uses The Monument Field, a National Trust-owned site named after a triangular Gothic building with a round tower erected by Bishop Warburton. It has a circular staircase and contains a tablet inscribed in Latin in honour of Ralph Allen.
Since 2000, improvements include the indoor swimming pool, an Information and communications technology Centre, classroom extensions including the Mackintosh Dance Studio opening in September 2006, the Art & Design Centre opening in September 2014 and the new Sports Centre, which opened in April 2015.
Sports facilities are located at the National Lottery-funded University of Bath Sports Village, the training camp of the England rugby union and netball teams, Bath Rugby Club, and the Great Britain rugby league team.
Prior Park Preparatory School
In 1946 the Congregation of Christian Brothers opened a preparatory school linked to Prior Park College, at Calcutt Street, Cricklade, Wiltshire. The school's main building is the late-19th century Manor House, with extensive grounds.
At first a boarding school for boys, the school admitted day boys in the 1970s. After the Christian Brothers left Bath and Cricklade in 1980, the school was sold and came under lay management. Later, girls were admitted, and today the school caters for ages 3-13, with boarding available from age 7. In January 2015 there were 205 pupils.