Neil’s visit to Shiplake College

Now here are Neil’s findings from his day at Shiplake College.

Located in rural Oxfordshire, this British boarding school is only 5 miles from central Reading, which is itself 20 minutes by train from London and well connected to Heathrow airport. Set within a 47-acre campus, the main building is Skipwith House, a Victorian mansion built on the site of an earlier Elizabethan manor, which has a wood panelled dining hall reminiscent of Hogwarts.

Historically a boys’ school, the Sixth Form has admitted girls since 1998 and the whole College is gradually becoming co-educational, with the first Year 7 girls joining in September 2023. The College is not heavily selective academically, preferring to focus on value added, but it is selective in seeking students who can get the most from the opportunities available. The 3 “I”s (Inclusive, Individual, Inspirational) drive the College’s approach in all areas, while the “Shiplake 7” characteristics (Curious, Open-minded, Motivated, Reflective, Determined, Creative, Independent) demonstrate the importance attached to developing interpersonal skills as drivers of success.

Academic

Innovative and interactive teaching methods ensure teachers find a way to connect with pupils of all levels and learning styles. Active teaching screens are used in the classrooms, which allow pupils to concentrate on gaining understanding rather than on copious notetaking, while pupils can access teachers’ notes online. Academic Support Clinics are held daily, allowing pupils to meet with teachers after school to work through tricky or challenging areas. The innovative, bespoke John Turner (JT) Building houses the “Thinking space”, a multipurpose area to foster creativity, collaboration and independence. Doubling as the school library, it is split into different sections: a book nook for reading, a “flow” room for independent work, a boardroom, and a large central space for focussed and collaborative work. Work in the Thinking Space is supervised and supported, enabling review and feedback on work, proofreading, study skill development, and support with past papers – an innovative approach to building skills for academic performance. The JT is also home to the Learning Development Centre, where the strong and well-established SEN Department offers guided study support to the 10-15% of pupils who need it. 25 subjects along with the EPQ are available in the Sixth Form.

Boarding

Well-appointed boarding houses with spacious common areas provide accommodation to students from Year 9. Of the 500+ students in years 9-13 around 40% board to some degree and 5% are from overseas. Boys in Years 9 to 11 tend to share rooms of 3 or 4, most of the Year 12 boys have a room of their own or share with one other student, while all Year 13 boys have their own room in College House. All girl weekly and full boarders are in Gilson House and have a room of their own, with a few double rooms allocated for flexi-boarders. All students, whether day or boarding, are also a member of one of 5 traditional Houses, each with a Houseparent supported by a matron and team of tutors, who together are responsible for the academic, co-curricular, emotional and social aspects of the students’ lives. 

Sport

Sport is valued highly, for teaching key life-skills as well as for health and wellbeing, and Games lessons are timetabled almost every day. Ambitious, but with inclusivity as a guiding principle, the school runs multiple teams in basketball, cricket, football, hockey, rowing, netball, rugby, tennis, and even clay pigeon shooting (Yr13 only). The main playing fields are to the front of the College buildings, overlooked by a modern cricket pavilion and with the Sports Centre near at hand. Hockey has a long and distinguished history, as well as close links with Premier League Reading Hockey club, which is used for training and fixtures. With an impressive new boathouse on its own stretch of the River Thames, Henley just a few miles away and the GB Olympic rowing venue Dorney Lake nearby, it should come as no surprise that Shiplake has a great track record in rowing. Along with the fleet of boats and more general water sports equipment, the Boathouse also houses a two-storey climbing wall, a room full of ergometers, a weights room and an indoor archery/rifle range.

Creative Arts

As well as its academic functions, the JT Building houses the Music School, with a recording studio, 7 practice rooms and 2 large ensemble classrooms. Central to school life, music is regarded as a vehicle for team working, confidence building and leadership opportunities, and all Year 7 pupils are entered in the lower school orchestra, regardless of ability. The well-resourced Art department is housed upstairs in light and airy studios and offers a broad range of techniques. DT has 2 well-equipped multi-media design workshops and a design studio. Elsewhere on campus, the Tithe Barn theatre is used for Drama teaching and smaller productions, while whole college drama productions are performed in the professional Kenton Theatre in Henley.

If you’d like to know more about this British boarding school or any of the others we recommend, please get in touch.