St Joseph's College, Ipswich
| Motto |
Fides Labore Et Tenacitate ("Faith by Work and Tenacity") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1937 |
| Type | Independent day and boarding school |
| Religion | Christian |
| Principal | Mrs D Clarke |
| Location |
Belstead Road Ipswich Suffolk IP2 9DR England 52°02′38″N 1°08′05″E / 52.043986°N 1.1348°ECoordinates: 52°02′38″N 1°08′05″E / 52.043986°N 1.1348°E |
| DfE number | 935/6044 |
| Students | 600 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 3–18 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Former pupils | Old Birkfeldians |
| Website | www.stjos.co.uk |
St Joseph's College is a co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils between the ages of 3 and 18 in Ipswich, England. The College is situated near the centre of the town in extensive grounds. The beautiful 60 acre campus includes administration offices in the Georgian Birkfield House, an unusually designed and award-winning Prep School, the College Chapel – the heart of the school’s community - a new Sixth Form Centre and teaching and sports facilities. Within the grounds are also the College’s boarding houses, Goldrood House and Birkfield Mews. Together with its traditional motto, Fides, Labore et Tenacitate (‘Faith by Work and Tenacity’), St Joseph’s College has the less formal maxim ‘Be Your Best’. Students and staff alike are urged to keep it at the forefront of their minds.
St Joseph’s College was established in 1937 by the De La Salle Brothers, a Catholic order. In 1995 the School merged with the girls school "Jesus and Mary" and became independent of the De La Salle order, however, the order retained the freehold and charged rent to the school. In 2014 school bought the freehold for several million pounds. The College maintains its Christian ethos, accepting children of all denominations.
The College campus has evolved over the decades and still continues to do so, with an ambitious ‘Building for the Future’ programme underway. Phases 1 and 2 have already been completed, with a new Technology Centre and a state-of-the-art Sixth Form Centre. In building the latter, the College sought the input of its Sixth Formers. Other important buildings on the site include the award-winning Prep School, featuring bright colours, rounded walls and a circular library – together with high tech classrooms. The 60 acres of grounds in which the College stands retain many trees, shrubberies and gardens, together with a series of sports pitches and casual open spaces. The College has an Astroturf for all weather sports, tennis courts, a sports hall and a dedicated changing room block/PE office. St Joseph’s is known as a centre of sporting excellence.
The College has used various house systems throughout its history. In the current system, there is no strong house rivalry, as in many other independent schools, due to the nature of the school as both coeducational and containing a mix of boarding and day students.
Currently, there are four houses:
The house system at the original Birkfield campus consisted of four houses, two for border and two for day students. The four houses where named after major figures in England’s Roman Catholic history. These original houses where:
Boarding students at St Joseph's College live in either Goldrood House or Birkfield Mews, commonly shortened to 'the Mews'. The College offers full, weekly and flexi boarding and its boarders come from both the United Kingdom and overseas.
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