| Malvern College | |
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.jpg) Aerial view of main college building (right) and chapel (left) | |
| Location | |
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College Road ,, WR14 3DF United Kingdom | |
| Coordinates | 52°06′15″N2°19′34″W / 52.1042°N 2.3261°W /52.1042; -2.3261 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public School Privateboarding andday school |
| Motto | Sapiens qui prospicit (Wise is the person who looks ahead) |
| Established | 1865 |
| Local authority | Worcestershire |
| Department for Education URN | 117017Tables |
| Chairman of Council | Jonathan Penrice |
| Headteacher | Keith Metcalfe[1] |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 3[2] to 18[2] |
| Enrolment | 640 (2025) |
| Houses | 11 |
| Publication | The Malvernian |
| School fees | £59,295 for boarding, £40,245 for day pupils |
| Alumni | Old Malvernians (OMs) |
| School song | Carmen Malvernense |
| Website | www |
Malvern College is a coeducational Englishpublic school (fee-charging school forboarders andday pupils) inMalvern,Worcestershire, England, and is a member of theRugby Group and of theHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Founded in 1865, the college has remained on the same campus since its establishment, near the town centre ofGreat Malvern covering some 250 acres (101 ha) on the lower slopes of theMalvern Hills. Its presence in Malvern has only been interrupted by war; duringWorld War II the campus was requisitioned by the government for military research and the college was relocated, firstly toBlenheim Palace inOxfordshire in 1939, and then in 1942 toHarrow School. At the 24 July 2025 inspection 640 pupils aged between 13 and 19 were enrolled at the school. It has a history of innovation in education practice; it became fullycoeducational in 1992, expanded the pupil age range from 13–18 to 3–18, and adopted a mixed model of accommodating both boarders and day pupils. The college operates overseas campuses in China, Egypt, Hong Kong and Tokyo which opened in September 2023. The college celebrates its 160th anniversary in 2025.
Among thealumni of the college are theNobel laureatesFrancis William Aston,Frederick Sanger andJames Meade; the novelistC. S. Lewis, author ofThe Chronicles of Narnia; twoprime ministers of theBritish Commonwealth,Godfrey Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern andNajib Razak; two holders of theVictoria Cross,Kenneth Muir andDavid Younger; theOlympic gold medalistArnold Jackson, and other notable persons from various fields including military figures, businessmen, journalists, aSpeaker of the House of Commons and aChief Medical Officer for England.
Situated in theMalvern Hills, the school's location owes much to Malvern's emergence in the nineteenth century as a fashionable spa resort, appreciated for its unpolluted air and the healing qualities of its famousspring water.[3] The school opened its doors for the first time on 25 January 1865 with twenty-four boys, of whom eleven were day boys, six masters and twohouses, named Mr McDowall's (No.1) and Mr Drew's (No.2).[4] The new school expanded quickly: a year later, there were sixty-four boys;[5] by 1875, there were 200[6] on the roll and five boarding houses; and by the end of the 19th century, the numbers had risen to more than 400 boys[7] and ten houses.[8] The school was one of the twenty-fourpublic schools listed in the Public Schools Yearbook of 1889 and was incorporated byroyal charter in 1928.[9]
The school song, "Carmen Malvernense", was written and composed by two masters,M. A. Bayfield and R. E. Lyon. It was first sung on speech day in 1888.[4] The same song became the school song ofEastbourne College when Bayfield became headmaster there in 1895, though presumably with a change of title.[10] In 1909,Henry Morgan began the construction of his first motor car in the engineering workshop at the college, which led to the establishment of theMorgan Motor Company.[11]
Further expansion of pupil numbers and buildings continued between the end of theFirst World War in 1918 and the start of theSecond World War in 1939. A total of 715 former pupils were killed in both World Wars.[12] Two of seven former pupils who flew in theBattle of Britain were killed in action.[13] The dead are commemorated in twomemorials at the college: a statue and a library.[14][15]
During World War II, the college premises were requisitioned by theAdmiralty between October 1939 and July 1940, and the school temporarily relocated toBlenheim Palace inWoodstock 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north ofOxford. In 1942, its premises were again needed for governmental use. On this occasion, for greater safety from Germanstrategic bombing, theTelecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), was moved from the English Channel coast atWorth Matravers for the development ofH2S airborne radar.[16] "Within six weeks a huge steel-girdered workshop with 14” brick walls have been roofed and equipped, and a large canteen capable of feeding 1,500 people at least at one sitting has been completed, the whole of the grass space between the Science Schools and No.3 was bristling with huts, and in many parts of the grounds strange buildings of a special design rose up."[17] Thousands of local people were engaged in the logistics and the supply of electricity to the town was upgraded from Gloucester and Worcester.[18] The arrival of TRE saw the college's second relocation and from May 1942 to July 1946 the school was housed withHarrow School near London.[19] The TRE installations in the college were visited on 19 July 1944 by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. A nine-minute film of their tour of the premises is part of a collection at theImperial War Museum.[20]
Since the occupation of the college by theMinistry of Defence in 1942, research and development into defence physics and electronics have been the major sources of employment in Malvern.[21]Malvern Hills Science Park was built in 1999 and is now home to over 30 science and technological businesses. Privatised by the government in 2001,QinetiQ, the successor to the government's original research facility, continues defence research and technology on former college land and continues to be the town's largest single employer and a key company in Worcestershire.[21][22][23]
In 1965, the college celebrated thecentenary of its foundation with a visit byQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother andHarold Macmillan, the recently retiredprime minister. The college's 160th anniversary will be commemorated in 2025.[24]
Having been a school for boys aged 13 to 18 since its foundation, in 1992 it merged with Ellerslie Girls’ School and Hillstonepreparatory school (independentprimary school) to become coeducational and to offer education for pupils aged 3 to 18.[25] The college also departed from the full boarding model of many Englishpublic schools by admitting day pupils, although over two-thirds of pupils board.[26]
A development scheme was initiated in 2008.[27] This included the building of a new sports complex, new athletics and viewing facilities at the pitches and two new boarding houses. The sports complex and new houses were opened in October 2009. Ellerslie House was opened for girls, commemorating the eponymous former girls' school, and the other new house has become the new permanent residence for the boys of No. 7.[28]
In April 2010, part of the school suffered serious damage when a fire broke out in one of the boarding houses. TheGrade II listed building, built in 1871, was home to 55 girls and the housemistress, although no one was in residence at the time of the fire.[29][30] In 2024, the college submittedplans for the adaptation of the War Memorial Library to aSixth form centre.[31]
The original preparatory school, Hillstone, opened in 1883. When the college went coeducational, Hillstone was absorbed into Malvern to become its preparatory department. In 2008 this was merged withThe Downs preparatory school in the nearby village ofColwall, Herefordshire to form The Downs, Malvern College Preparatory School.[32] Boarding is available to pupils in the preparatory school aged 7 and above, who reside in a separate boarding house known as The Warren.[33]
The school is governed by aCollege Council of approximately 18 members, chaired by Jonathan Penrice. The Malvern College Corporation owns the College property, land and assets which are managed by the Council whose members are also the directors of the registered charity company.[34]
Educationalist and former Cambridge Universitycricket playerAntony Clark joined the school as headmaster in 2008.[35][36] Clark was succeeded in 2019 by Keith Metcalfe.[37]
Entry to the main school (Years 7 to11, ages 11–16) is by a process of visits, interviews and assessments.[38] Entry to the Lower School (Years 1 to 6, ages 5–11) and theSixth form (Years 12 to13, ages 16–18) follow a similar process.[39][40]Busaries andscholarships are offered to support students for whom theschool fees would otherwise be prohibitive. In addition to academic scholarships, subject scholarships as offered in art and design, drama, music and sport.[41][42]
For 2025–2026, the annual fees for boarders are £59,295 and £40,245 for day pupils.[43] As of 27 January 2025, 655 pupils aged between 13 and 19 were enrolled at the school.[2]
The college follows theEnglish national curriculum[44] and offers courses of study in a range of academic subjects, preparing pupils forGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) atA-Level (Advanced level)[45] andInternational Baccalaureate (IB) examinations.[46] Additionally, the college offers a "super-curriculum", a pupil-directed course of elective studies. The additional curriculum was introduced by the headmaster, Keith Metcalfe on his appointment in 2019, and in 2025, it was the basis of his nomination and finalist for the 2025 annual national award for Headteacher of the Year (Independent) run by the awards of theTES magazine (formerly theTimes Educational Supplement).[47][48]
In 2011, the school was ranked joint 8th for the average grades of its IB pupils.[49] In 2023, 28% of pupils scored A*-A for their A-Levels examination, whereas 60% scored A*-B. For IB, the 2024 cohort scored an average of 35 or more IB points against the global average of 30.32 points.[50] In its ranking of independent schools by GCSE, resultsThe Guardian placed it 148th.[51]
A report on the college authored by theIndependent Schools Inspectorate and issued in January 2025 found that all requirements for leadership, education, pupils' physical, emotional and mental well-being, social and economic education and safeguarding were met.[52]
The college offers sports such asfootball,cricket,rugby,rackets,fives,athletics, tennis,squash,croquet, basketball,netball, volleyball, badminton, golf, andclay pigeon shooting.[53][54][55] All sporting activities are available to girls and boys.[56][57]
On 16 October 2009, a new sports complex and hospitality suite were opened by the then Duke of York (laterAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor).[58] The indoor complex, which was built on the site of the old sports hall and swimming pool, has an eight-court sports hall, a dance studio and fitness suite, aclimbing wall,squash courts, ashooting range, a suite of rooms for social and academic functions, and a six-lane swimming pool. The facilities are also available for use by the wider community in Malvern,[59] and are used byWorcestershire County Cricket Club for their winter training programme.[60][61] In February 2010, the college hosted the England Blind Cricket squad for training sessions.[62]The college holds an annualcross country race, the Ledbury Run or the "Ledder". Pupils from Years 11, 12 and 13 can take part in the eight-mile long run from the town of Ledbury to the college campus. While optional, most boarding houses encourage students to take part. Old Malvernians also participate.[63]
The school has occupied the same site covering some 250 acres (101 ha) near the town centre ofGreat Malvern on the lower slopes of theMalvern Hills since its foundation.[64]
The Main Building of the college was designed byCharles Francis Hansom and built between 1863 and 1865.[a] It forms three sides of aquadrangle, with a centralgatehouse for which Hansom drew inspiration from Lupton's Tower atEton College.[66] The building material is local stone and the style isTudor Revival. The block is aGrade II* listed building:[66] in the United Kingdomlisted buildings are structures of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. They are classified under three categories, Grade I, the highest grade, Grade II* and Grade II.[67] The Main Building is described byPevsner as "large and impressive".[65] Hansom's design was innovative for its time, although it followed his work atClifton College. The Main Building was entirely given over to teaching and administration, with boarding pupils being accommodated in a series of houses, ultimately numbering nine, which circle the school campus.[65]
The chapel to the south dates from 1897 and was the work of SirArthur Blomfield.[68] The style isPerpendicularGothic Revival. Pevsner described the exterior as "rather fussy".[65] It contains areredos by Blomfield's nephew,Reginald, and muchVictorianstained glass byCharles Eamer Kempe andClayton and Bell.[65] The overall scheme for the glass was designed byM. R. James, an Englishmedievalistscholar andprovost ofKing's College, Cambridge.[b][69] In 1908, Blomfield's son, Charles undertook an extension.[70]
The college has two memorials to its pupils killed in the First and Second World Wars; the War Memorial, including a statue ofSaint George byAlfred Drury, which stands in the main quadrangle;[14] and the War Memorial Library, built in 1924 to the designs of SirAston Webb.[c][15] The library has achimneypiece designed byLeonard Shuffrey.[71] Other listed buildings on the campus include the School House;[72] three of the college's boarding houses, Nos. 3, 4 and 6;[73][74] and two sets of gates.[75][76]
The college has a history of innovation in the field of education. In 1963, it was the first independent school to have alanguage laboratory.[25][77] The Old Malvernian Society claims the college was the first in the country to have had acareers service.[78] Under the direction ofJohn Lewis, a former head of the science department,[79] the school pioneeredNuffield physics in the 1960s,[80] "Science in Society" in the 1970s,[81][82] and the "Diploma of Achievement" in the 1990s.[79] At the beginning of the 1990s, Malvern College became one of the first schools in Britain to offer the choice between theInternational Baccalaureate andA-Levels in thesixth form.[25][77] The school was one of the first boys' public schools to become fully coeducational from the preparatory department to sixth form.[25]
Each summer, the staff and some older pupils run a summer school, Young Malvern, which incorporates many sports, activities and learning experiences.[83] Malvern College is one of the two schools in the country (the other beingDulwich College) to offerdebating in the curriculum and pupils participate in regional and national competitions including the Debating Matters competition and the Three Counties Tournament.[84][85] The subject is compulsory at the Foundation Year level.[85]
The college has five overseas campuses under the governance of Malvern College International; a previous Swiss campus was closed in 2023:[86]
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The school's alumni ("old boys") are known asOld Malvernians, orOMs. The Malvernian Society holds many annual reunions and events.[91] Old Malvernians, including former pupils of schools which have merged with Malvern College, benefit from a reduction in fees for their own children.[d][93] Other Old Malvernian clubs and societies include an OMfreemasonry lodge,[94] court games,[95] golf,[96] sailing,[97] shooting,[98] theOld Malvernians Cricket Club,[99] and theOld Malvernians Football Club, a club competing in theArthurian League.[100]
College alumni have gained recognition in such fields as the military, politics, business, science, culture and sport - especiallyfirst-class cricket and the eighteencounty cricket clubs. Among the most famous Old Malvernians are the spymasterJames Jesus Angleton, former head of the CIA's counter-intelligence;[101]Aleister Crowley, the controversial but influential occultist;[102] the historian SirJohn Wheeler-Bennett;[103] the actorDenholm Elliott,[104]Reginald 'Tip' Foster, the only man to have captained England at both cricket and football;[105] theOlympic gold medalist and highly-decorated war veteranBrigadier General Arnold Jackson,[106] and the novelistC. S. Lewis, author ofThe Chronicles of Narnia.[e][107] Other well-known personalities include the businessmanLord MacLaurin, a former chairman ofTesco andVodafone;[108]Jeremy Paxman, journalist, author, andBBC presenter ofNewsnight andUniversity Challenge;[109]Lord Weatherill, a formerSpeaker of the House of Commons,[110] and SirChris Whitty,Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to theUK Government at the time of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[111]
Old Malvernians who have becomeheads of state orgovernment include the eponymously titledGodfrey Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern, who served asPrime Minister of Southern Rhodesia and of theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland;[112] andNajib Razak, the sixth prime minister of Malaysia.[113] The former was theBritish Commonwealth's longest-serving prime minister by the time he left office.[112]
Military figures educated at the college include two posthumous holders of theVictoria Cross,Captain David Younger who received the award following his death in theSecond Boer War,[114] andMajor Kenneth Muir, who received his award following his death in theKorean War;[115] theFirst Sea LordAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg;[116]Air Marshall Sir Denis Crowley-Milling;[117] andGeneral Sir Charles Harington,Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff.[118]
Old MalvernianNobel Prize winners includeFrancis William Aston, winner of the 1922Nobel Prize in Chemistry,[119]James Meade, winner of theNobel Prize in Economics in 1977,[120] andFrederick Sanger, who is one of only three people to have won multiple Nobel Prizes in the same category (Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and one of five persons withtwo Nobel Prizes.[121]
Old Malvernians have been instrumental in the formation of and charitable and sporting organisations such as the Docklands Settlements supporting families in London'sEast End, andBlackburn Rovers F.C., a six-times winner of theFootball Association Cup.[122][123]
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| Geographic | |
