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

History

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 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 :
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. 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, 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 3.45pm, instead of 3.40pm.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of the school are called :Category:People educated at St Columba's College, St Albans|Old Columbans.