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Salesian College (Farnborough)
Encyclopedia
Salesian College, Farnborough, Hampshire
is an independent
Roman Catholic school. It admits boys from the age of 11 to 18, and girls in the Sixth Form
.
The College was founded in 1901 as a small preparatory school
for boys, but soon expanded to provide boarding
secondary education owing to its increasing popularity.
For the 2007-2008 academic year, the College announced that it would admit girls into the Sixth Form for the first time.
The college has a strong record of academic achievement, with a 100% pass rate at A Level and GCSE in 2010.
By 1902 a reporter in Sheldrakes Military Gazette noted that the thirty 'poor Catholic waifs and those sons of sore stricken Roman Catholic parents' had a home 'comfortable in every respect', and were learning trades to prepare them for life's struggles.
Under its current Headmaster, Mr Wilson, the College has witnessed substantial structural growth, most recently with the erection of the Sean Devereux Sixth Form Centre providing facilities for ladies, and with new classrooms built for the ladies. Upon the announcement that ladies were to be admitted for the first time in the Sixth Form, the Headmaster was quoted as saying, “At this time more and more boys’ schools are finding that the advantages of single sex schooling up to the age of 16 are best followed by having ladies in the sixth form environment as a preparation for higher education."
The College continues to maintain links with Farnborough Hill and Alton Convent.
Pilgrimage to Lourdes
. In the past, refugees from Poland and Romania have joined the students from Salesian College.
; Salesian missionary and aid-worker Sean Devereux
, assassinated in Kismayu, Somalia in 1993 while working for UNICEF. There is a stained-glass window to commemorate Sean's life and work in the College Chapel.
Racing driver and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
contestant Jeremy Metcalfe
also attended the College.
England international rugby player Phil Taylor and musical theatre actor, Daniel Boys
also attended the college.
Naturalist, writer and television presenter Steve Backshall
attended for a few years in the 1980's.
Each year Old Boys form a group of pilgrims for the HCPT Pilgrimage to Lourdes
.
For those Old Boys who live locally, the OSA organises activities throughout the year, such as a Remembrance Mass in November, OSA soccer matches and the soccer tour, OSA golf days and the golf tour, the Annual Reunion and AGM (two weeks after Easter), a presence at the College's Garden Fete, as well as funding OSA Prizes at Prizegiving. The OSA regularly assists the Salesian family in various local undertaking and around the world by activity or financial aid. The OSA maintains links with the wider Salesian family by means of the Salesian Past Pupils UK and Ex Allievi di Don Bosco.
In the 1970s the OSA donated a marble tablet in commemoration of the Old Boys who gave their lives in the Second World War. The tablet shows the OSA (at that time the Salesian Old Boys Association Farnborough) badge and the motto "Salesian Old Boys Let not the glory fade away Keep bright the flame of memory and honour them 1939-1945."
The new President of the OSA is Greg Sudell (a pupil from 1988-1995), who succeeds John Clenshaw (a pupil from 1937-1944).
Mr Wilson is the first headteacher who is not an ordained priest.
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
is an independent
Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council is a non-profit organisation that represents 1,234 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector...
Roman Catholic school. It admits boys from the age of 11 to 18, and girls in the Sixth Form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
.
The College was founded in 1901 as a small preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
for boys, but soon expanded to provide boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
secondary education owing to its increasing popularity.
For the 2007-2008 academic year, the College announced that it would admit girls into the Sixth Form for the first time.
The college has a strong record of academic achievement, with a 100% pass rate at A Level and GCSE in 2010.
History
In 1901, Bishop Cahill of the Diocese of Portsmouth invited the Salesians of Battersea to take over the orphanage, a former tin factory, in Queen's Road, Farnborough. This marked the beginning of the Salesians' work in education in the local area and as a parish.By 1902 a reporter in Sheldrakes Military Gazette noted that the thirty 'poor Catholic waifs and those sons of sore stricken Roman Catholic parents' had a home 'comfortable in every respect', and were learning trades to prepare them for life's struggles.
Under its current Headmaster, Mr Wilson, the College has witnessed substantial structural growth, most recently with the erection of the Sean Devereux Sixth Form Centre providing facilities for ladies, and with new classrooms built for the ladies. Upon the announcement that ladies were to be admitted for the first time in the Sixth Form, the Headmaster was quoted as saying, “At this time more and more boys’ schools are finding that the advantages of single sex schooling up to the age of 16 are best followed by having ladies in the sixth form environment as a preparation for higher education."
The College continues to maintain links with Farnborough Hill and Alton Convent.
HCPT's annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Every Easter, boys and girls from the Lower Sixth go on the HCPTHCPT
HCPT – The Pilgrimage Trust is a United Kingdom based charity which takes children with special needs on pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France.-History:...
Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
. In the past, refugees from Poland and Romania have joined the students from Salesian College.
Notable former pupils
Among the College's alumni is the host of Britiain's first-ever Prime Ministerial Debate (in April 2010), ITV News journalist and presenter Alastair StewartAlastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
; Salesian missionary and aid-worker Sean Devereux
Sean Devereux
Sean Devereux was an English Salesian missionary and aid worker murdered in Kismayo, Somalia in 1993 while working for UNICEF...
, assassinated in Kismayu, Somalia in 1993 while working for UNICEF. There is a stained-glass window to commemorate Sean's life and work in the College Chapel.
Racing driver and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was an E4 temporary replacement to Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off series of the British reality television programme Big Brother, airing on E4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on the same channel...
contestant Jeremy Metcalfe
Jeremy Metcalfe
Jeremy Metcalfe is a British motor racing driver who last competed in 2008 in the British GT Championship where he finished the season as Vice-Champion along with team-mate Luke Hines. Racing in the Formula Renault UK championship prior to his move into GT, Metcalfe enjoyed a good level of success...
also attended the College.
England international rugby player Phil Taylor and musical theatre actor, Daniel Boys
Daniel Boys
Daniel Boys is a British musical theatre actor, best known as a contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do in 2007.-Acting Career:...
also attended the college.
Naturalist, writer and television presenter Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall is a British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV's "Deadly 60'. This series sees Backshall travelling the world in search of predators that are, "Not just deadly to me, but deadly in their own world"...
attended for a few years in the 1980's.
Each year Old Boys form a group of pilgrims for the HCPT Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
.
Farnborough Old Salesians Association
The Farnborough Old Salesians Association (OSA) is a society for former pupils who wish to contact other Old Boys. It has its foundations in the 1920s, with its first formal meeting held in 1927. The Association has organised whole-year reunions. The Association aims to provide all of its Old Boys around the world with information on other Old Boys, on events at the College, and on the OSA's activities.For those Old Boys who live locally, the OSA organises activities throughout the year, such as a Remembrance Mass in November, OSA soccer matches and the soccer tour, OSA golf days and the golf tour, the Annual Reunion and AGM (two weeks after Easter), a presence at the College's Garden Fete, as well as funding OSA Prizes at Prizegiving. The OSA regularly assists the Salesian family in various local undertaking and around the world by activity or financial aid. The OSA maintains links with the wider Salesian family by means of the Salesian Past Pupils UK and Ex Allievi di Don Bosco.
In the 1970s the OSA donated a marble tablet in commemoration of the Old Boys who gave their lives in the Second World War. The tablet shows the OSA (at that time the Salesian Old Boys Association Farnborough) badge and the motto "Salesian Old Boys Let not the glory fade away Keep bright the flame of memory and honour them 1939-1945."
The new President of the OSA is Greg Sudell (a pupil from 1988-1995), who succeeds John Clenshaw (a pupil from 1937-1944).
Headmaster
- 1997- present Mr Wilson
Mr Wilson is the first headteacher who is not an ordained priest.
See also
- Basilica of Our Lady Help of ChristiansBasilica of Our Lady Help of ChristiansThe Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians is a church in Turin, northern Italy. Originally part of the home for poor boys founded by John Bosco, it now contains the remains of Bosco, and 6,000 relics of other saints....
- Bishopric of the ForcesBishopric of the ForcesThe Bishopric of the Forces is the Latin-rite Catholic military ordinariate which provides chaplains to the British Armed Forces across the United Kingdom and overseas. The chaplains are drawn from the dioceses of England, Wales and Scotland, and from some religious orders...
- Cathedral Church of St. Michael and St. GeorgeCathedral Church of St. Michael and St. GeorgeCathedral Church of St Michael and St George serves as the Roman Catholic cathedral for the Bishopric of the Forces. It is located in Aldershot, England. The church was designed in 1892 by two military engineers and, because the building was originally intended as the principal church for the...
- Dominic SavioDominic SavioDominic Savio was an Italian adolescent student of Saint John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy....
- John BoscoJohn BoscoJohn Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century, who put into practice the convictions of his religion, dedicating his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth and employing teaching methods...
- Patronage of the Blessed Virgin MaryPatronage of the Blessed Virgin MaryA list of Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary by occupations and activities, dioceses, and other places:- Occupations and activities :The Blessed Virgin Mary may be taken as a patroness of any good activity; indeed, she is cited as the patroness of all humanity...
- Roman Catholic Diocese of PortsmouthRoman Catholic Diocese of PortsmouthThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The episcopal see is the Portsmouth Cathedral and is headed by the Bishop of Portsmouth...
- Salesians of Don BoscoSalesians of Don BoscoThe Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...