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Principal's Welcome

I am absolutely delighted to be Principal at St Ambrose College and consider it a privilege to be entrusted with the leading of the College at such an exciting time.

Saint Ambrose College is a Catholic, state funded independent grammar school with a selective intake. As a state funded school, there are no fees. We are one of eleven schools in England in the Edmund Rice Schools Network and also have ties with the global Edmund Rice community. Despite our independent status, we enjoy strong relationships and partnerships within the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Saint Ambrose is first and foremost a Catholic college shaped in the vision and charism of Blessed Edmund Rice, and we endeavour to reflect the Eight Essentials of an Edmund Rice education in all that we do.

Students are actively involved in the liturgical life of the college and develop their faith and spirituality through liturgical celebration. All boys have the opportunity to take part in retreats during their time at St Ambrose and Mass is celebrated in the atrium every Thursday morning. Through the Edmund Rice International Group, Justice and Peace Group and other charitable and immersion opportunities, the boys ensure that the Eight Essentials of an Edmund Rice education relating to compassion and concern for others are visible in daily college life.

The College is rich in extracurricular activities. We believe that there truly is something for everyone. The main team sports are rugby, athletics, cricket, and water polo, but beyond sport there are numerous other activities and clubs to participate in including the always popular Politics Society, the full suite of Duke of Edinburgh awards and thriving creative arts societies including a range of music clubs to name but a few. At St Ambrose College, we believe in a broad curriculum offer to ensure that the boys ‘have life to the full’ and this is reflected in the opportunities to engage with inside and outside the classroom. We are fortunate to have the facilities we have on site including a state-of-the-art sports hall, a full 4G pitch, lecture theatre and a top class swimming pool.

Saint Ambrose College has a prominent house system with students split into 4 houses; Aquinas (blue), Augustine (green), Ignatius (red) and Newman (yellow). There is a competitive element to the house system and boys are proud of the houses they represent. All students have a designated Form Tutor and Head of Year, with additional pastoral support provided by our Student Welfare Manager and our age appropriate, targeted PSHCE programme. We are firmly of the belief that healthy minds and positive mental health are essential for us to be able to fulfil our Mission Statement and ensure that our boys are ‘equipped to make a positive difference in the modern world’

There are over 1000 boys on the college roll, including over 250 gentlemen in the Sixth Form. We are proud to say that they proceed to a range of third level opportunities, particularly to Russell Group universities and a number to Oxford and Cambridge. Our NEET figures evidence the strong careers education and guidance in place. We celebrate the achievements of our boys annually through different awards evenings for different key stages.

Saint Ambrose College was rated ‘Good’ in our most recent OFSTED report in February 2020 and is rated as 'Outstanding' in our most recent denominational inspection in December 2021. The OFSTED rating of ‘Good’ is one we agreed with at the time given that we were in the early stages of making changes to our curriculum, as well as changing how PSHCE was to be delivered.

Examination results place us amongst the highest achieving schools in the country in terms of attainment with average GCSE grades being around 7. In terms of progress, GCSE Progress 8 is consistently around 0.5, and we have a track record of positive value added in 6th Form.

To arrange a visit to our college please contact: admissions@st-ambrosecollege.org.uk.

Mr D Rainey

Principal