Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire is the largest private Catholic boarding school in the UK, and it is often referred to as the "Catholic Eton". It first opened in 1802 and is run by the Benedictine monks of Ampleforth Abbey (the community of St Laurence ).
The school's primary academic concern is to promote a Catholic ethos among its pupils. For this reason, its academic admissions policy isn't as strenuous as that exercised by other English public schools. As a result, the school often comes low down on the annual league tables of public examination results. However, the school's administration claims that by looking at the top 50% of candidates - those who would have been able to get into selective schools had they wanted to (the so-called "value added" results) - the school's teaching appears to score just as well as, if not better than, other famous English public schools.
As a result of the school's association with the monks, religion is central to the life of the school. All pupils are expected to take religious education at GCSE level, and also at A or AS level. Mass is attended by all pupils twice a week, once on a weekday (in the house) and once on Sunday in the Abbey Church.
The school also has an excellent choir (the Schola Cantorum) which sings at High Mass on Sunday and also at a choral Mass on Friday nights during termtime. The choir has made various recordings and tours throughout the world.
Though originally only a boys' school, over the recent past years the school has progressed from accepting just day girls in the sixth form to the present situation with girl boarders of all ages.
The school is arranged into houses, with boys (and now girls) living in the separate houses, eating together as a house and playing sport together as a house in inter-house competitions. There are currently ten houses, each named after a Saint: St Aidan 's, St Bede's, St Cuthbert's, St Dunstan's, St Edward-Wilfrid's, St Hugh's, St John's, St Oswald 's, St Margaret's and St Thomas'.
Sport is a large part of school life, with pupils able to participate in a wide variety of sports including rugby, shooting, tennis, cricket and football. As well as many rugby and cricket pitches, the school runs the St Alban's Centre (SAC), a sports centre with a large hall (also used for school assemblies and official ceremonies), a 25-metre swimming pool, three squash courts, and a fitness suite. SAC is also open to the general public for a fee.
The college is colloquially known as "SHAC": the current explanation for this is that the acronym stands for "Senior Houses, Ampleforth College", although there is much to suggest that it was originally referred to as "the shack" in the early 20th Century because of the state of the school buildings at that time. School monitors play an important role in the smooth running of the school and are known as "shackies" to all in the college.
The school is situated in a picturesque valley, which has many sports pitches, forest and lakes.
Notable alumni
- Thomas Burgess (1791–1854), Roman Catholic Bishop of Clifton, 1851–1854
- John Polidori (1795–1821), physician and writer
- Athansius Allanson (1804–1876), Benedictine monk, and Abbot of Glastonbury, 1874–1876
- Leonard Calderbank (1809–1864), Roman Catholic priest
- Francis Salvin (1817–1904), falconer
- Cuthbert Hedley (1837–1915), Roman Catholic Bishop of Newport , 1881–1915
- Joseph Turner (1853–1897), composer and organist
- Herbert Railton (1857–1910), illustrator
- Roderic O'Conor (1860–1940), artist
- Major-General Sir Freddie de Guingand (1900–1979), Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Montgomery, 1942–1945
- Harman Grisewood (1906–1997), Chief Assistant to the Director-General of the BBC, 1955–1964
- Gabriel Turville-Petre (1908–1978), Professor of Ancient Icelandic Literature and Antiquities, University of Oxford, 1953–1975
- Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat (1911–1995), commando officer
- Colonel Sir David Stirling (1915–1990), founder of the SAS
- Sir Hugh Fraser (1918–1984), Secretary of State for Air, 1962–1964
- Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (born 1921), Grand Duke of Luxembourg, 1964–2000
- Auberon Herbert (1922–1974), campaigner for Eastern European causes
- Basil Cardinal Hume (1922–1999), Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey , 1963–1975, and Archbishop of Westminster, 1975–1999
- Neville Braybrooke (1923–2001), writer and editor
- John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute (1933–1993), Chairman, Historic Buildings Council for Scotland , 1983–1988, and National Museums of Scotland, 1985–1993
- Hugo Young (1938–2003), journalist
- Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles (born 1939), soldier
- Michael Ancram (born 1945), Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party, 2001–
- Philip Lawrence (1947–1995), Headmaster, St Joseph's School, Maida Vale, 1993–1995, and murder victim
- Captain Robert Nairac (1948–1977), George Cross, intelligence officer murdered by the IRA
- Julian Fellowes (born 1949), actor and writer
- Antony Gormley (born 1950), sculptor
- Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk (born 1956)
- Rupert Everett (born 1959), actor
- Lawrence Dallaglio (born 1972), England rugby player
- Simon Easterby (born 1975), Ireland rugby player
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