Prior Park College

Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building.The adjoining 57acre Prior Park Landscape Garden is now owned by the National Trust.The Prior Foundation consists of Prior Park College, Prior Park Prep School (Cricklade), the Paragon Junior School (Bath) and Prior Park School Gibraltar.OverviewFounded in 1830 to be England's first Catholic university, Prior Park College has remained a Roman Catholic school. It was established by the Benedictine, Bishop Baines, as a seminary, and provides co-educational schooling for students aged 11 to 18 in the Catholic tradition and ecumenical spirit.In 2008, students achieved the best A-level results in the history of the school, with over one-fifth of all students getting three A's and 77% receiving A and B grades.In July 2009, Giles Mercer retired. He had been head teacher since 1996, and with his previous position as head of Stonyhurst College, he became the "longest serving Catholic senior school headmaster in England". His successor was James Murphy-O'Connor, nephew of former Prior Park pupil Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.