Plymouth College

Our History: 

Founded in 1877 as a boys’ school, Plymouth College has a rich tradition of delivering first-class, holistic, and outward-looking education. In the mid-20th century, the College operated as a direct grant grammar school until becoming independent in 1976 - the same year the first girls joined the Sixth Form. It became fully coeducational in 1995, and in 2004, the College merged with St Dunstan’s Abbey School, with the Prep School relocating to the former St Dunstan’s site. In September 2021, the Prep School joined the Senior School on the Ford Park site, bringing all pupils together for the first time in 70 years.

As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2027, the College is preparing a series of celebratory events to honour our heritage and bring together the entire Plymouth College community.

Plymouth College Today: 

Plymouth College is a dynamic and inclusive educational community, committed to providing a broad, balanced, and enriching experience for every pupil. The Senior School currently educates around 400 pupils, 80 of whom are boarders from a large range of countries across the world. Many are drawn by the College’s reputation for elite sports provision, particularly in swimming and modern pentathlon, which adds to the vibrant international character of our school. The Prep School educates over 100 pupils, with numbers continuing to grow steadily. This diverse and supportive environment fosters academic excellence, personal growth, and a strong sense of belonging.

In its most recent integrated ISI inspection in 2019, the College was praised for the excellent quality of pupils’ academic and personal development. 

Our Mission: 

Our educational mission is to be excellent in every aspect of the education that we offer and we are constantly evaluating what we do to ensure that we deliver this. This excellence manifests itself in numerous ways. Our latest ISI inspection report concluded that every aspect of our educational quality was excellent. Our public examination results, particularly when measured in terms of added value, are consistently outstanding and our pupils secure places at the world’s best universities. Most importantly, Plymouth College pupils are widely regarded as rounded, grounded, interesting, mature and successful young people.

Our mission is to educate, enrich and empower all members of our community. Our primary function is to educate pupils but, crucially, not just to pass exams. Holistic education is just part of what we do, even in these difficult times, with more extra-curricular activities on offer than ever before.

We develop our pupils intellectually, academically, socially, morally and physically by creating an environment that is genuinely intellectually stimulating, progressive, adventurous and dynamic. Secondly, we need to ensure that everything we do – every lesson, every form period, every activity – is a truly enriching experience. Thirdly, our pupils are genuinely empowered so that they may become successful young people, ready to make a difference in whatever field they go into. 

Our Ethos:

Plymouth College seeks to produce happy, knowledgeable, successful and compassionate pupils who develop into independent citizens that contribute positively and responsibly to our global community. The School is a caring community in which every individual is of equal importance and in which we seek to work together for the benefit of all members of the community.

Whilst academic success is the first priority, we recognise that each person has talents which may lie in other areas. Our intention is to ensure that every pupil reaches their full potential in whatever sphere he or she may excel, whilst broadening their interests by pursuing a variety of activities.

Whilst the School is of a Christian tradition and pupils are familiar with, and encouraged in, the tenets of the Christian faith, we are very much an inclusive community and pupils of all religious beliefs and of none are welcome. We celebrate diversity.

ISI Inspection

“The school is extremely successful in fulfilling its aim to produce happy and knowledgeable young adults who strive to reach their potential and gain confidence in their learning. Pupils benefit from an extremely broad, balanced and flexible curriculum in both the prep and senior schools, and from an exceptional elite sports programme in the senior school as part of wide-ranging extra-curricular provision.”