The Henley College (Henley-on-Thames)

For other uses, see Henley College (disambiguation).

The Henley College
Location
Deanfield Avenue Henley-on-Thames , Oxon , RG9 1UH England
Coordinates	51°32′10″N0°54′29″W / 51.536°N 0.908°W / 51.536; -0.908
Information
Type	Further education/sixth form college
Motto	Come Questioning, Go Seeking, Grow
Established	1987
Local authority	Oxfordshire
Department for Education URN	130789 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Satwant Deol
Age	16to 19
Former name	Henley Grammar, King James's College and South Oxfordshire Technical College
Number of campuses	2
Website	http://www.henleycol.ac.uk

The Henley College is a sixth form college in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It was founded as a tertiary college in 1987 and changed its status to a sixth form college in 2010.

History and origins

The college's roots date back to 1604, when the Free Grammar School of King James I was founded at the Chantry House in Henley. The charity school, which was more vocational than academic, was endowed by Dame Elizabeth Periam in 1609. The two schools were amalgamated in 1778 as a grammar school. ^[1]

In 1974, local secondary education of children aged up to 16 was transferred to Gillotts School, and the grammar school became King James's College. ^{[2] [3]} This merged with South Oxfordshire Technical College in 1987. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

South Oxfordshire Technical College had been created in 1873, originally as the Henley-on-Thames School of Science and Art, later the Henley Technical Institute. ^[5] It became South Oxfordshire Technical College in 1960/61. ^[5] In 1972, it had 1,600 full-time students and 15 full-time staff. ^[6] The college's first principal was Roland Wilcock, who was appointed to the Order of the British Empire for services to education. ^[7]

The newly merged institution was a tertiary college. ^[3] In 2010 the college applied for sixth form college status, which was granted. ^[3]

Current campus

The college offers a range of academic and vocational courses including more than 60 A-Levels, BTEC and other courses and also a number of vocational and part-time day and evening courses. Among the sports on offer are rugby union, football, basketball, netball and rowing. College rugby is linked with the London Wasps academy. A recently completed sports hall has been built at a cost of £2 million. Since its foundation the college has more than doubled in size and its catchment area has extended to cover a large part of the Thames Valley. The college was awarded Beacon status in 2010.

The college consists of two campuses, Deanfield and Rotherfield. A third campus, Southfield, was demolished in 1998 and the land sold to fund improvements to the rest of the site, notably a new building on the Deanfield campus.

Notable staff

The botanist Vera Paul taught at the school. ^[8]

Notable alumni

Henley Grammar School

• Bert Bushnell, gold medal rower, 1948 Summer Olympics ^[9]
• John Churchill, publisher ^[10]
• Tim Dakin, bishop ^[11]
• David George, surgeon ^[12]
• Roy M. Harrison, environmental scientist and academic ^[13]
• David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon, Labour MP for Swindon from 1970–83 ^[14]
• H. C. Wylly, colonel and military historian ^[15]

King James's College

• David Arch, composer ^[16]
• Julia Crouch, Governor of Anguilla ^[17]
• Sally Dexter, actress ^[18]

South Oxfordshire Technical College

• Tanya Willmer, journalist and bureau chief ^[19]

The Henley College

• Katie Crowhurst, para athlete ^[20]
• Danny Goffey, musician, drummer in Supergrass ^[21]
• Alec Hepburn, rugby union player ^[22]
• Matt Maltese, musician ^[23]
• Oliver Dench, actor and director ^[24]
• Luke Nelson, basketball player ^[25]
• Jack Willis, rugby union player ^[26]
• Tom Willis, rugby union player ^[27]

References

1. Allen. The Henley College. Tempus. ISBN   0-7524-3246-X.
2. "KING JAMES' COLLEGE". Heritage Search. Oxfordshire County Council. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
3. "Our History". The Henley College. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
4. "King James's College of Henley". Get Information about Schools. GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
5. "SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE TECHNICAL COLLEGE". Archives Hub. Oxfordshire History Centre. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
6. Townley, Simon (2011). A History of the County of Oxford: Henley-on-Thames and environs. Boydell & Brewer. p. 157. ISBN   978-1-904356-38-7 . Retrieved 13 October 2025.
7. "Roland Wilcock OBE: Central role in creating college". Oxford Mail. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
8. "Women's Institute roundup". Henley Standard. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
9. "Olympian who became 'Recirc Bert' of cruiser hire". Henley Standard. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
10. Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1887). "Churchill, John Spriggs Morss"  . Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 10. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
11. The Church of England Yearbook. Church Information Office [and] Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 2007. p. 487. ISBN   978-0-7151-1027-0 . Retrieved 13 October 2025.
12. Wallersteiner, Rebecca (15 June 2023). "David George: pioneered breast cancer detection and management services" . British Medical Journal. 381: 1362. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1362 . Retrieved 13 October 2025.
13. "Research profile: Professor Roy M. Harrison". Journal of Environmental Monitoring. 5 (3). Royal Society of Chemistry: 39N. 2003. doi:10.1039/b305100p. ISSN   1464-0325 . Retrieved 13 October 2025.
14. Langdon, Julia (23 November 2020). "Lord Stoddart of Swindon obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
15. Who's who. A. & C. Black. 1931. p. 3489. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
16. "Our boy's the musical star of Strictly but hates fame". Henley Standard. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
17. "Crouch, Julia Catherine". Who's Who. 1 December 2024. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U298554 . Retrieved 29 August 2025. King James Sixth Form Coll.
18. "My mum said I needed a part in Emmerdale". Henley Standard. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
19. "Tanya Willmer, December 10, 1962 - June 15, 2025". Henley Standard. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
20. "College Student Katie Wins Commonwealth Gold". Henley Herald. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
21. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (24 November 2015). "Supergrass: how we made I Should Coco". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
22. Harris, John (26 January 2015). "Hepburn snapped up by Chiefs". Henley Standard. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
23. "College Music Student Wins Oxfordshire Arts Award". Henley Herald. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
24. Harris, John (3 November 2014). "Hamlet becomes 'dench' at Henley Fringe". Henley Standard. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
25. Harris, John (21 April 2013). "Nelson bags winner". Henley Standard. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
26. Henson, Mike (13 November 2020). "England v Georgia: Jack Willis on his roundabout route to Test debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
27. "Former College Students to Make Their Rugby International Debuts". Henley Herald. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2025.

Further reading

• King James's College of Henley: A Short Record of a Bright Life, 1976-1987, Keith Dawson (1987)

External links

• College website