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 ten 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 on Thursday mornings. Through the Edmund Rice International 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, water polo and football, 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 and whole school productions, 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 them 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, a 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 280 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. In recent years we have had significant success with applications to universities in the USA via The Sutton Trust. Our NEET figures evidence the strong careers education and guidance in place. We celebrate the achievements of our boys annually through different awards ceremonies 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. With these changes now in place, we believe we have a PSHCE programme offer as strong as anywhere, and the outcomes, as well as curriculum information found on our website demonstrate part of the evidence of the strength and breadth of our curriculum. 

Examination results place us amongst the highest achieving schools in the country in terms of both attainment and progress. Since 2019, our attainment 8 score has risen each year, moving from 69.14 to 2024's record (unvalidated) score of 73.71. Almost 70% of all grades at GCSE are graded 9-7. In terms of progress, GCSE Progress 8 has ranged from +0.5 to +0.9, and we have a track record of strong grades and average points scores in the 6th Form.

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

Mr D Rainey

Principal