Motto |
Legis Plenitudo Charitas (Charity is the fulfilment of the law) |
---|---|
Established | 1847 |
Type | Independent day and boarding |
Religion | Roman Catholic (Rosminians) |
Headmaster | Mr Jonathan Reddin MSc |
Founder | Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati |
Location |
Leicester Leicestershire LE7 4SG England Coordinates: 52°43′46″N 1°04′33″W / 52.7294°N 1.0758°W |
DfE number | 855/6001 |
DfE URN | 120316 Tables |
Students | 825 |
Gender | Coeducational |
Ages | 3–18 |
Publication | The Ratcliffian |
Former pupils | Old Ratcliffians |
Website | www |
Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately 7 miles (11 km) from Leicester, England. The college, situated in 100 acres (0.40 km2) of parkland on the Fosse Way about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati in 1845 as a seminary. In 1847, the buildings were converted for use as a boarding school for upper-class boys. The college became coeducational under the presidency of Father Tony Baxter in the mid-1970s. As of the 2016–2017 academic years, there were 825 students on roll at Ratcliffe, from ages 3 to 18.
The school buildings were designed by the Victorian Gothic revivalist Augustus Welby Pugin. Pugin, who is associated with Catholic architecture throughout the Midlands and north of England, is also noted for his collaboration with Charles Barry in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster. The Square was designed by Charles Francis Hansom, brother of Joseph Hansom, the designer of the Hansom cab. various building works over the years have contributed to Pugin and Hansom's work, and modern buildings include a "new" gothic refectory (constructed in the early years of the twentieth century) and a Byzantine-style church.
The school, operated by Rosmini's Institute of Charity, used to use the title "Father President" for the most senior member of staff who, up until 1996, was always a Father of the Institute. In 1996, the school appointed its first lay President, Tim Kilbride, and the position was renamed Headmaster. He was succeeded in 2000 by Peter Farrar and then in 2009 by Gareth Lloyd. Its current Headmaster is Mr Jonathan Reddin who took up the post in January 2017.