St Joseph's College, Ipswich
Encyclopedia
St Joseph's College is a co-educational independent school
for both day and boarding pupils between the ages of 2½ and 18, in Ipswich
, England
.
It was originally a Catholic foundation, the boys' school having been set up in 1937 by the Brothers of the De La Salle order
. In 1995 there was an amalgamation with a local Catholic girls' school. Today St. Joseph's is a Christian school in the Lasallian tradition of its foundation.
The college is situated near the centre of Ipswich
in extensive grounds, on the site of Birkfield House. The grounds of Goldrood House and the Birkfield Mews, now boarding houses and infant school, were a later addition to the college.
In 2006, the college had 588 pupils aged from 2½ to 18, with 160 aged 2½ to 10 in the junior school, 321 aged 11 to 16 and 107 in the sixth form. There are currently 90 boarders of whom 80 are from overseas.
An even more recent refurbishment programme has taken place with a multi-million pound, state of the art, eco-friendly, junior school being built. Goldrood House has now gone back to become a boarding house instead of Hilbrow House that was off of the college's campus.
s 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:
An earlier version of the system which was in use in the 1980s and 1990s had four houses named after major figures in England’s Roman Catholic history:
Brian Eno
and Richard Ayoade
are two of St. Joseph's College's notable former-pupils.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
for both day and boarding pupils between the ages of 2½ and 18, in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It was originally a Catholic foundation, the boys' school having been set up in 1937 by the Brothers of the De La Salle order
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation, founded in France by Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle and now based in Rome...
. In 1995 there was an amalgamation with a local Catholic girls' school. Today St. Joseph's is a Christian school in the Lasallian tradition of its foundation.
The college is situated near the centre of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
in extensive grounds, on the site of Birkfield House. The grounds of Goldrood House and the Birkfield Mews, now boarding houses and infant school, were a later addition to the college.
In 2006, the college had 588 pupils aged from 2½ to 18, with 160 aged 2½ to 10 in the junior school, 321 aged 11 to 16 and 107 in the sixth form. There are currently 90 boarders of whom 80 are from overseas.
Recent developments
Since May 2000, the college has undergone a programme of refurbishment and reorganisation and improved its facilities and resources, including a new teaching and learning centre, science computer atrium, new arts and photographic suite, computer networking, a music technology suite and enlarged boarding accommodation. A new junior school is about to be built on the campus, releasing space for the further development of boarding. The current head, Mrs Siân Grant, was appointed in January 2002.An even more recent refurbishment programme has taken place with a multi-million pound, state of the art, eco-friendly, junior school being built. Goldrood House has now gone back to become a boarding house instead of Hilbrow House that was off of the college's campus.
House system
The College has used various house systemHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
s 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:
- De la Salle (Blue)
- Thevenet (Yellow)
- Xavier (Red)
- Celsus (Green)
An earlier version of the system which was in use in the 1980s and 1990s had four houses named after major figures in England’s Roman Catholic history:
- Campion (Green; named after St Edmund CampionEdmund CampionSaint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
, an English Jesuit and martyr) - Sherwin (Yellow; named after St Ralph SherwinRalph SherwinSaint Ralph Sherwin was an English Roman Catholic martyr and saint. He was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire, and was educated at Eton College...
, an English martyr) - More (Red; named after St Thomas MoreThomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, English lawyer, politician and martyr) - Beckett (Blue; named after St Thomas Beckett, an early archbishop of Canterbury and martyr)
Old Birkfieldians
The Old Birkfieldians is the Alumni Association of St Joseph’s College. It is named after the site of the original school (Birkfield House). It has been merged with the Alumni Association of the old Junior School (Old Oakhillians).Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
are two of St. Joseph's College's notable former-pupils.
Recent inspections
SJC was inspected in 2006. It came back with outstanding results. Inspectors commented that it was a "school that was going places" and that the "relationship between all members of the college, staff, pupils and parents is fantastic". It was awarded 9.5/10. http://www.stjos.co.uk/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=3&Itemid=55External links
- Linkedin Old Birkfieldians Group