Shiplake College is a co-educational day and boarding school set in 45 acres on the banks of the River Thames, just outside Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It was founded in 1959 by Alexander and Eunice Everett, who bought the Victorian country house of Shiplake Court and opened it as a school that same year. The main house, built in 1890 for the Harrison family, had passed through the hands of a peer, a prep school and the BBC before the Everetts arrived, and today it houses Skipwith House and the Great Hall at the heart of the campus. The school took its current name in 1964 under headmaster John Eggar, the former Derbyshire cricketer who guided it through its formative years.
The College educates around 580 pupils aged 11 to 18. Originally a boys' school, it opened its sixth form to girls in 1998 and became fully co-educational in 2023, when girls began joining in Year 7. Pupils are divided into eight houses, the school colours are black, maroon and gold, and former pupils are known as Old Vikings. The motto, Exemplum Docet - the example teaches - captures the school's emphasis on character and leadership alongside academic work.
Sport is central to life at Shiplake, with 17 sports on offer. Its riverside location makes rowing the flagship pursuit, and the Shiplake College Boat Club has won medals at Henley Royal Regatta, the National Schools' Regatta, the Schools' Head of the River Race and Henley Women's Regatta. Two Old Vikings have won Olympic gold in the men's eight: Ben Hunt-Davis at Sydney 2000 and Will Satch at Rio 2016, the latter having also taken bronze in the pair at London 2012. The school also has its own island on the Thames, The Lynch, which serves as a base for rafting, camping and outdoor education.
Rugby has a strong tradition of its own. Shiplake was a long-standing participant in the Friday Night Lights fixtures hosted by local clubs, and its alumni include Tom Howe, the professional rugby union player, and Chris Cracknell, who coached the Fiji sevens team at the 2016 Olympics. Beyond sport, the school has produced a varied cast of notable names including actor Alex Pettyfer, touring car