School Description
News & events from Cheltenham College
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Cheltenham College students and 1st XI players, Emily and Jemima, recently represented Wales at U18 level in a test series against Scotland. Jemima made her international debut; a special occasion for any player. Emily recieved recognition and a great reward for her performance during this series and previous matches with a call-up to the Wales Senior Women's Development squad. This is another great opportunity for her to showcase her talents at a senior performance level.
Mrs Nicola Huggett joined the school as Head in September 2018.
Mrs Huggett says, “Our aim above all is to inspire young people who are willing to learn, ambitious to achieve and keen to get involved. Boys and girls who join College at any age, will leave us as well-rounded young men and women, having fulfilled their true potential and gained a place at a top university of their choice. They will have been prepared for life beyond school and be able to contribute positively to society.
I feel it is a great privilege to live and work within this wonderful community. We warmly welcome you to come and visit us and see why we believe this is a school where your child will truly flourish."
The foundation of the first class, modern education our pupils receive is our experience and history as a co-educational independent boarding school.
We build on this foundation with five characteristics that set every pupil’s time at Cheltenham College apart:
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
AN ALL-ROUND EMPHASIS
THE SUPPORT TO SUCCEED
OUTSTANDING PASTORAL CARE
COMMUNITY VALUE
Mrs Nicola Huggett is Head at Cheltenham College, an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 3-18.
Mrs Huggett read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. After successfully completing a graduate management scheme in advertising with J Walter Thompson Ltd, she returned to Oxford to take a PGCE in History and began teaching in 1994.
From 1996 to 2007 Mrs Huggett taught Politics and History at Haileybury. She became a Housemistress in 1999 and Head of Boarding in 2005. In 2007 she was appointed as Deputy Headmistress of Downe House School in Berkshire, where she remained until her appointment as Head of Blundell’s in 2013.
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
I spent a week observing the most amazing Head of History at a local state school and he completely sold me on teaching as an alternative to my existing career in advertising. I have never regretted it – not for a single second. He had a terrific rapport with the pupils – firm but fair, fun yet challenging. He taught them with a light touch, so they didn’t realise they were actually teaching themselves. I am forever in his debt as a role model.
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
Each year I see our school leavers take to the stage on Speech Day as independent and confident young men and women. After their time spent at Cheltenham College they leave us with everything they need to succeed. This is what makes me most proud. In-between these big days are the regular small triumphs over challenge that I see and hear about by teaching in the classroom or chatting to pupils in the lunch queue, the Boarding House or on the touchline.
What does a successful school look like to you?
A successful school is one that enable pupils to fulfil their own potential. That potential will be and look different for every child, but the outcome of a successful education is for our pupils to really believe that there is nothing you can’t achieve if you put your mind to it. We have to create the right atmosphere and environment to let the small seeds of ambition in any field of interest grow into fully fledged success.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
Confidence and graciousness – in equal measure. You have to make your own luck in this world. A Cheltenham College education is a gift and we must all recognise how lucky we are to have the opportunity of being here, and in turn we must then put it to the best possible use, confidently and energetically.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Our ethos is embodied in the 5Cs that we stand for as aims; Character, Community, Creativity, Curiosity and Continuous Excellence. Cheltenham College is a place to develop character, a sense of community, to be creative and curious and to always aim for continuous excellence in all that we do.
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
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