New Eco English Centre at Ratcliffe College
Ratcliffe College are delighted to announce that the Father William Doyle Association has warmly welcomed the decision, to name their new English Centre in honour of the Servant of God, Fr. William Doyle, who was a student at Ratcliffe College between 1884 until 1890, and is the first ‘Old Ratcliffian’ to be formally proposed for canonisation.
The new building has been developed for the English Department at Ratcliffe College. It contains nine classrooms and is known as the Fr. William Doyle English Centre.
The £2.5 million English Language Centre is Ratcliffe’s first carbon-zero building, with a passive air system monitoring the CO2 levels, helping provide an optimum teaching and learning environment for all. The building features:
- Nine classrooms with four entrance atriums
- A sedum roof, accompanied by 40 solar panels
- Air source heat pumps, with a heat recovery system recycling excess heat
Speaking at the official opening of the building held on Tuesday 16th May 2023, the President of the Fr. William Doyle Association, Patrick Kenny, said:
“The teenage years have a profound impact on all of us, and it is clear that Fr. Doyle’s spirit and priestly ministry were shaped by his experience at Ratcliffe. Fr. Doyle was a prize-winning student and a very keen cricketer. It was at Ratcliffe that his decision to become a priest matured. The College must have had a warm place in his heart. This is the very first building in the world to be named in Fr. Doyle’s honour, and we are sure that Fr. Doyle’s good humour, sincere holiness and selfless heroism will inspire future generations of students at Ratcliffe.”
As a sign of the Father Willie Doyle Association’s gratitude to Ratcliffe College, Fr. John Hogan, the diocesan postulator for the canonisation cause of Fr. Doyle, presented a small fragment of Fr. Doyle’s military clothing to the College during the official opening. This keepsake that will now stand on display in the College for years to come.
Mr Jonathan Reddin, Headmaster said: “We were delighted to welcome Mr Patrick Kenny, President of the Father Willie Doyle Association and Fr. John Hogan, postulator for the canonisation of Father William Doyle, to our official blessing and opening of the new English Centre. Patrick shared with us a little about Fr. William’s life as a
boy here at Ratcliffe College and about his ministry prior to and during the First World War.
We are overwhelmed to receive a small fragment of Fr. Doyle’s military clothing and will ensure this item is treasured at Ratcliffe, inspiring many future generations for years to come. We are incredibly proud of this stunning building and would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone involved in the project as part of our Whole School Strategic Vision.”
