Framlingham College   Framlingham College Framlingham College

Framlingham College was founded in 1864 in memory of Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, whose statue takes pride of place at the front of the College. ‘It is situated on an eminence,' wrote the author of the first prospectus, ‘in a healthy and pleasant position. It is about ten minutes walk from Framlingham Station on the Great Eastern Railway, and is distant 90¼ miles from London. The building is well arranged and thoroughly suited to its purpose. It is built for the accommodation of 300 boys. EACH BOY HAS A SEPARATE BED, and the dormitories are spacious and airy.' Clearly even at its founding, the Albert Memorial College had many advantages. Today the College continues to enjoy a fine situation, looking across the mere to the 12th Century Castle and the historic parish church of St Michael. The College grounds are extensive, the result of a seventeenth-century legacy that links Framlingham with Pembroke College, Cambridge. Moreover, the building remains ‘well arranged and thoroughly suited to its purpose', although the original mock-Gothic pile has been significantly altered and added to over the years, most spectacularly as a result of the governors recent £4 million development initiative. By way of contrast, however, there is no longer a railway station at Framlingham and the College now enjoys a fine reputation as a fully co-educational school, large enough to enjoy the benefits of outstanding facilities, but small enough to retain a friendly and caring atmosphere. Needless to say, all of our pupils still enjoy the pleasures of ‘A SEPARATE BED', although large-scale dormitories have long since disappeared, and study-bedrooms have become very much the norm. During its formative years both junior and senior pupils were educated at the College. However, in 1948 the junior school was moved a few miles away to the equally idyllic neo-Tudor setting of Brandeston Hall. In 1992 a pre-prep department was established there so that the College now caters for children from 4 to 18. Not surprisingly, Brandeston Hall enjoys an excellent reputation in its own right and continues to maintain close links with its senior counterpart. All Brandeston Hall pupils are prepared for Common Entrance or Scholarship Examination at 13+, making the transition to the College a smooth, ‘seamless' and natural process.