St Joseph’s College

The opportunity to achieve

About the College

St Joseph’s College is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged from 3 to 18. Founded in 1937 as an all boys’ school, St Joseph’s became co-educational in 1995 following a merger with a local girls’ school. It is an educational charity overseen by a board of trustees. The current Principal, Mrs Danielle Clarke, was appointed in January 2014 and the current Chair of Governors, Mr Paul Clement, was elected in July of the same year. St Joseph’s occupies a beautiful 60-acre site close to the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, and has in recent years seen substantial investment in new buildings and facilities.

From the Principal, Mrs Danielle Clarke

“Our school feels different and we are proud of the special ethos that makes it stand out. It combines strong Christian values with a unique approach to supporting and nurturing children within a family environment.

We challenge all of our students to ‘be their best’ in every aspect of College life and we set high standards for everyone in our community. Parents, pupils and staff work together to ensure we produce young people who are confident without being arrogant, team players who will stand up for what is right, and compassionate, caring members of society.

We set high academic standards and see our Sixth Formers progress to a range of top universities, art schools and colleges. Some take gap years, using the confidence they’ve developed at St Joseph’s to travel the world; a small number go directly into the workplace, forging careers as diverse as professional musician and City banker, midwife and restaurateur, dentist and magazine editor.

Ask any parent what they want most for their children and they will say they want them to be happy. We want that for our students, too, and we believe an outstanding education helps to provide a foundation for a happy life. We value them as they are now – the strivers, the dreamers, the high fliers, ballroom dancers, poets, bagpipe players, off-the-scale mathematicians – and we want to see them fulfil every ounce of potential. Once members of the St Joseph’s family, they will remain members for life.

We have ambitious plans for our students and also for the College itself, with a ‘Building for the Future’ plan which sets out exciting developments for facilities and the campus. Phases 1 and 2 have already been completed, including a new Technology Centre in September 2015 and a new Sixth Form Centre in September 2016. We are also fortunate to have an outstanding Prep School of an award-winning design on our campus.

I believe in St Joseph’s – and not just as the Principal, but also as a very happy parent; my daughter attended the Prep School and moved up to the Senior school in September and my son completed his GCSEs and A-levels at the College and is now at Loughborough University. Do visit us and discover for yourself what the St Joseph’s difference could mean to your children’s education.”

Mrs Danielle Clarke, Principal

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