St Columba's College, St Albans

St Columba's College is a 4–18 independent, Catholic day school and sixth form in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1939 by Phillip O’Neil and taken over by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in 1955. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

St Columba's College
Address
King Harry Lane

St Albans
,
Hertfordshire
,
AL3 4AW

United Kingdom
Coordinates51.743°N 0.35°W / 51.743; -0.35
Information
TypeIndependent day school
MottoLatin: Cor ad Cor Loquitur
(Heart speaketh to heart)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1939 (1939)
FounderPhillip O’Neil
Local authorityHertfordshire County Council
OversightRoman Catholic Diocese of Westminster
Department for Education URN117638 Tables
HeadmasterDavid Buxton[1]
GenderCo-educational
Age range4–18
Enrolment835 (2018)[2]
Capacity865[2]
Houses
  • Charles
  • Guertin
  • Joseph
  • Martin
  • McClancy
  • Stanislaus
Prep school houses:
  • Alban
  • Becket
  • Fisher
  •   More
Colour(s)Black, red and white
Publication
  • Opus
  • The Columban
AffiliationHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
AlumniOld Columbans
Websitewww.stcolumbascollege.org

Facing St Albans Cathedral across the River Ver, the college is built around two historic houses, Watling House and Iona House.

History
School uniform badge, circa 1971

The school originally opened in 1939, on Beaconsfield Road before moving to its current site in 1948. In 1955, it was taken over by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart (New England Province) in 1955.

Houses

Prior to 2005, both the college and the prep had the same four houses, named after four English Catholic martyrs:

At the start or the 2005-6 academic year, a new house system was introduced in the senior school, to provide smaller tutor groups for greater personal development of students, as well as to cater for an increase in numbers of students entering. The prep school kept the original houses. The new houses are named after other Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools in North America (given in brackets):

Current students were assigned to the new houses by drawing balls from a hat. New students entering the college that year were assigned randomly and this practice continued for all new students afterwards, however students related to others already enrolled in the College are usually placed in the same house.

Students' houses are represented in the school uniform by the colour of their tie (taking the respective colours as given above). Prep and sixth form students have their own school tie, as do prefects.

Curriculum

St Columba's College provides a broad curriculum linked to the national curriculum and also to Diocese of Westminster rules – mandating the teaching of Religious Studies for a set period every week. At GCSE, core subjects include English (Literature and Language), Mathematics, Double Science and Religious Studies.

Since September 2012, the College introduced a new timetable of 7x 50-minute lessons, designed to give students more teaching time during the week. This was a change from the previous 7x 45-minute lessons, plus a 20-minute tutor period. This change resulted in the school day ending at 3.45 pm, instead of 3.40 pm.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of the school are called Old Columbans.

References
  1. "Welcome from the Headmaster". St Columba's College. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  2. "St Columba's College". Get information about schools. GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
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