Clifton College

Clifton is a school that encourages a lust for life and all that it offers. We are housed in some splendid grand buildings but everything about the education we offer is modern.

Described as ‘the handsomest suburb in Europe’ Clifton benefits from the fizz and buzz of being in the vibrant city of Bristol and is surrounded by some spectacular countryside too. It is an ideal place for young people to study.

We are co-educational throughout and welcome pupils from all over the world. We offer day, flexi and full boarding places. We offer the finest all-round education based on the highest academic standards. Nearly all of our leavers go on to the best universities in the UK.

Clifton College is a leading co-educational public boarding school welcoming pupils aged 2-18 from all over the world. We offer day, flexi and full boarding places. We offer the finest all-round education based on the highest academic standards. Nearly all of our leavers go on to the best universities in the UK.

To be a leading national educational institution with international reach. To inspire each child to seize learning and opportunity and realise their full potential through an eagerness to embrace life with passion, integrity and resilience, and to make a positive difference to the lives of others.

To be a school with exceptional pastoral care, inspirational teaching, first-class inclusive sport, diverse co-curricular activities and an outstanding environment.

From 8-18 pastoral care is House-based, where Housemasters and Housemistresses and their teams offer a ‘home from home’. Our Pre-Prep pupils’ pastoral care is provided by their dedicated classroom teachers. We meet the needs of each child through their own personal development programme. We have a culture that encourages participation and tolerance.

We provide a rigorous and stimulating academic curriculum and we select teachers that lead in their field and share best practice. They encourage intellectual curiosity and independent learning, engendering academic self-belief and confidence in our pupils.

Our ethos encourages participation and all of our pupils engage with a diverse range of co-curricular activities and experiences. Through these activities we provide opportunities and challenges for pupils to find new strengths and talents and encourage collaboration. In all our activities we seek to perform at the highest level.

The College successfully combines heritage with modernity, enjoying the best of both. Landscaped greenery surrounds our magnificent Grade II listed buildings, which are on the outskirts of a vibrant international city. The Chapel is one of our most cherished buildings, the Redgrave is the second largest theatre in Bristol and the Joseph Cooper Music School offers pupils cutting-edge facilities. Our superb sporting facilities include The Close and the 90-acre site known as ‘Beggar’s Bush’, which is Bristol’s biggest outdoor sports complex, providing all the latest sporting facilities.

At Clifton we are committed to providing pupils with an outstanding environment within which to live and study. Clifton College successfully combines heritage with modernity, enjoying the best of both. Landscaped greenery surrounds our magnificent buildings, and, every quarter hour, the distinctive chime of the Chapel Clock can be heard echoing around the South Quad.

The distinctive, historic buildings at Clifton provide an inspirational backdrop for learning, with an enviable mix of modern facilities and traditional 19th century architecture. The Percival Library is a beautiful Grade II listed building, home to more than 15,000 books and a computer suite; this and other specialised buildings, such as the Joseph Cooper Music School and the Redgrave Theatre, ensure our pupils have access to first class facilities, which enhance their educational experience. Clifton also enjoys an unrivalled science heritage of Nobel Prize winners. This arose from the highly equipped and staffed Science School, which includes the Stone Library, containing approximately 5,000 scientific books.

Another of our most cherished buildings is the beautiful Grade II listed Chapel, which has provided a focal point for the College for over 150 years, hosting services, concerts and a wide range of other events.

The school’s impressive sports facilities total 90 acres, providing pupils with international-standard indoor and outdoor sporting facilities.

The College’s 150-year heritage is evidence of its ethos and achievements. Clifton has a unique story amongst leading public schools which explains the character and achievements of today’s Cliftonians.

Clifton was set up by Bristol businessmen and led by Dr John Percival, a visionary, intellectual Head Master who believed in science, the education of women and racial tolerance. He was a Victorian ahead of his time; he aimed to produce “children of varied but definite character” and built a school where the teaching, library and chapel were central to our private school.

His curriculum and activities outside the classroom developed young people who were confident without arrogance and had a sense of responsibility towards others; characteristics which remain today.

The buildings have a rich history of their own, from the famous architects who designed them to the people who occupied them. In the 1880s, the provision of education for Jewish pupils fostered cultural understanding, whilst in the 1940s, occupation by the US Army meant the pupils had to be evacuated to Cornwall, producing a modern, focused outlook amongst the pupils and staff.

This ensured the next generation was well-equipped to handle the social changes in the 1960s, when many equivalent schools struggled. These unique events ensured an easy transition into co-education in the 1980s.

Individuals throughout the College’s history have made their names and changed the way society operated. Old Cliftonians who have gone on to become household names include actors Trevor Howard and Simon Russell-Beale, comedian John Cleese, inventor of the Belisha Beacon Leslie Hore-Belisha, General Douglas Haig, journalist John Inverdale and GB Hockey player Lily Owsley, whose team won gold in the 2016 Olympic Games.