Shiplake College was founded in 1959 by Alexander and Eunice Everett. The land on which the school now stands was bought by Robert Harrison in 1888 and the original buildings date from 1890. The main building, which houses Skipwith House and the Great Hall, was built as a private residence for the Harrison family. The house was sold in 1925 and was at first a private home to Edward Goulding, 1st Baron Wargrave and then a prep school, before being sold to the BBC in 1941. Initially the BBC used Shiplake Court as a storage facility until in 1943 the BBC Monitoring Service moved to Caversham and the house became a hostel for BBC staff. The BBC closed the hostel in 1953 and the house remained largely unused until the arrival of the Everetts in 1958. The College now stands in 45 acres of land on the banks of the Thames. In late 1958 the Everetts purchased Shiplake Court with the intention of founding a school which duly opened as Shiplake Court on 1 May 1959. In 1963 John Eggar, a Derbyshire cricketer who had been a housemaster at Repton School, became headmaster and in 1964 renamed the school Shiplake College. By the time he retired in 1979, numbers had increased to 300. Girls aged 16–18 were introduced towards the end of the 20th Century, forming a co-educational Sixth Form.
Houses
The pupils are allocated into one of eight houses with boys becoming members of either Orchard or Skipwith or Burr, Everett or Welsh. Girls are members of Gilson House, whilst Upper Sixth boys reside in College. Pupils in years 7 and 8 are members of the Lower School.
Co-curricular activities
Two afternoons per week are dedicated towards co-curricular activities and clubs. Pupils help out at the Kikunduku schools project and participate in a wide range of other activities such as climbing Mount Kenya.
Sport
The Good Schools Guide notes that "Rugby, rowing, hockey, cricket, athletics and netball plus a good smattering of minor sports and house fixtures are important, improving, inclusive and competitive. In line with school spirit, fixture boards welcome the opposition and wish them luck." Rowing is a school sport, with the College located on the banks of the River Thames. Shiplake crews recently have won Schools Head of the River in 2017 and 2019 and the Child Beale Cup at National Schools' Regatta in 2015. Several boys have represented England and Great Britain. Most notably, former pupil Will Satch claimed an Olympic Gold medal at Rio 2016 in the Men's Eight, and an Olympic Bronze medal at London 2012 in the Men's Pair event. As well as rowing, the College plays Rugby. Former pupil Tom Howe now plays for London Wasps. Every season, Shiplake take part in a local rugby event called 'Friday Night Lights' hosted by Henley Hawks RFC. In November 2013, Shiplake beat Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood 26-7 in front of a crowd of over 500 people.
Headmasters
The following have served as headmasters of the school:
