Facilities

The sports facilities are tremendous: tennis dome, huge sports hall, netball courts, athletics field, cricket pitch, rugby fields, all-weather AstroTurf pitch, heated pool and 9-hole golf course.

The Good Schools Guide

Our facilities in stats

1

On-site gym

2

Cricket pavilions

1

Water-based astro pitch

11

Boarding houses

2

Theatres

2

Outdoor learning areas

1

Dance studio

7

Chapels

1

Indoor shooting range

1,000

Acres of beautiful countryside

9

Hole golf course

2

Indoor grand slam tennis courts

22

Sports pitches

35,000

Artefacts within our museum

1

On-site museum

5

Libraries across the Stonyhurst campus

1

Outdoor clay pigeon shooting range

5

Libraries across the Stonyhurst campus

7

Soundproof practice pods

1

Bay golf cage

1

Indoor golf simulator

1

Rugby pavilion

4

Organs

1

Strength and conditioning suite

65,000

Books in our historic library

The Ambulacrum, built in 1851, was one of the first indoor sports halls of its kind. This large sports hall, situated centrally in the main building, lends itself to a variety of sports including badminton; basketball and netball. In addition this facility is used by the CCF for drills, Rhetoric for their annual fair and for a range of social events such as the Poetry Banquet and Rhetoric Ball.

Cricket Pavilions

Dance Studio

Golf Course

Golf Simulator

Gym

Our brand new, state-of-the-art fitness suite which opened in early 2017, operates on two levels and offers everything necessary to complete a full work out.

Both air-conditioned floors are fully equipped with thirty-seven fitness stations, from free weights and resistance machines for toning and muscle development, to a range of cardio equipment including rowing machines, treadmills, cross trainers, recumbent and exercise bikes.

Six televisions, surround sound and mood lighting all serve to enhance our pupils' fitness experience. Pupils can use the gym as a games option, where they will be given a training programme to work through under supervision. Higher Line pupils are also allowed to use the gym in their free time as part of our encouragement of a healthy lifestyle.

Click here to visit the Gym virtually

More Library

The More Library was originally built as the Study Place, with desks arranged in rows, before being converted into a library in 1966. The library renovation was completed in 2006. The library plays a central role in the life of the College. It contains over 35,000 books and is extensively used for reading and research throughout the day and is a popular venue at break times, lunch times and after school. The library provides access to academic online databases as well as a wide range of academic journals and popular magazines. Our libraries are places of creative freedom; they feed and inspire curiosity.

Click here to visit the More Library virtually

Music Facilities

Stonyhurst is blessed with some wonderful spaces in which to make music.

St Peter’s Church and the College Chapel

The Schola Cantorum sings at Mass every Sunday morning during term-time in St Peter’s, the magnificent parish church. The choir loft, with its state-of-the-art 3-manual Viscount Ouverture organ, is the scene of some of the best music in the school. For those pupils who take lessons on the organ, the College Chapel provides a beautiful practice and rehearsal space, with a 2-manual 1898 Bishop & Sons organ. There is also a small 2-manual 1980 Corkhill in the chapel at St Mary’s Hall.

Click here to visit St Peter's Church virtually

The Top Ref

Formerly the Elizabethan Great Hall when Stonyhurst was a family home, the Top Ref has a Steinway grand piano which is always available to pupils for practice. Since 2023 there has also been a two-manual Lammermuir organ, which is of a quality surpassed in few, if any, schools.

The Top Ref is our primary performance space. The instruments available in it, the generous acoustic, and the atmospheric surroundings, make performing in or attending a concert here a special occasion.

Click here to visit the Top Ref virtually

Music Department

In the Music Department at the College there are fifteen practice/rehearsal rooms in total; one of these is our largest room, the Orchestra Room, which comes replete with much orchestral percussion and two grand pianos. Five of the rooms are soundproofed booths, and most have an upright piano.

There are two well-equipped classrooms in the College, and a further classroom at Saint Mary’s Hall.

There is also the facility to store pupils’ instruments safely during term-time, and we have a number of instruments available for loan. Unusually amongst English schools, this loan is completely free of charge, provided the pupil takes part in at least one ensemble.

These facilities are replicated in part at St Mary’s Hall, where there are a further two soundproofed booths and several more pianos.

Click here to visit the Orchestra Room virtually

Click here to visit the Soundproof Pods

Boarding Areas

There are also a number of pianos in playrooms, common areas and boarding houses, allowing pupils to practice and enjoy music during their free time.

New Ref

The New Ref is the bright and modern refectory in which our pupils dine. Breakfast, lunch and supper are taken in the New Ref and are available to our day pupils as well as our boarders. Our excellent catering team prepare a wide choice of main meals, salads and deserts and there is always fresh fruit available.

Click here to visit the New Refectory virtually

Observatory

Professional Theatres

The Academy Room - Stonyhurst College

The Academy Room is a fully functioning professional theatre space encompassing an auditorium for approximately 400 audience members. The Academy Room is well used by the whole community for College assemblies and talks by visiting speakers, as well as for our whole school drama and dance productions.

Surrounded by a beautiful proscenium arch, the deep stage provides performance opportunities for both large and small scale productions. The space is flanked by wings on both sides with ladder access to the grid above the stage. There are two lighting rigs in the Academy room, with both generic and intelligent lights. The space has a state of the art lighting desk and a modern sound system and pupils are encouraged to become part of the Lights and Sound team, led by a College staff expert. The entire school community will get involved with our productions, through set painting and design, costume and make-up as well as multiple performance opportunities.

Click here to visit the Academy Room virtually

The Centenaries Theatre - St Mary's Hall

The Centenaries Theatre was completed in 1994 and is the home to a wide range of showcases including plays, concerts, music and drama productions at the Prep School. With state-of-the-art facilities, the Centenaries Theatre provides a perfect space for our pupils to discover and develop their performing potential.

Click here to visit the Centenaries Theatre Virtually

Shooting Range

Sports Centre

Stonyhurst Sports Centre is situated within the grounds of Stonyhurst College, in the heart of the Ribble Valley, and offers a wide range of sports and state-of-the-art facilities to members throughout the local area.

The Stonyhurst Sports Centre first opened its doors as a 25 metre, six lane swimming pool 30 years ago. Since then, it has grown considerably to include an all-weather pitch, world-class tennis dome, multi-functional gym, fitness studio and café.

Beyond the facilities, we also offer individual and group swimming lessons, lifeguard courses, tennis, rugby and multi-sports camps, fitness classes and tennis court and pool hire.

We pride ourselves on creating a friendly, positive and productive atmosphere in which to improve your health, fitness and well-being.

Visit the Stonyhurst Sports Centre website to learn more

Sports Pitches

Stonyhurst Musem and Historic Libraries

Pupils at Stonyhurst have access to our unique Collections, which are made available to them through the work of our Curator and Archives Manager. There are a number of ways in which our pupils are able to experience all the benefits that our Collections can offer them. For more general information on the Collections, please see the Collections web page by clicking here.

Around the campus

Many of the finest paintings, prints, and statues in the Collections are on display throughout the buildings at Stonyhurst. Pupils can see works on display by notable artists including Albrecht Dürer, Quentin Matsys, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Allegretto Nuzi, Bernard Partridge, Frank Brangwyn, John Nost, Peter Lely, Jacob Huysmans, and Godfrey Kneller.

Lessons

Objects from the Collections are used regularly in lessons to broaden and deepen the curriculum experienced by pupils at Stonyhurst.

Among such a vast collection, students of history view objects and books linked to members of the royal family during the Wars of the Roses, and possessions associated with important figures of the English Reformation including Thomas More and Thomas Cranmer. Pupils learning English can access the First Folio of Shakespeare and manuscripts by Gerard Manley Hopkins as part of their lessons. Artists can gain inspiration from the many works of art around the buildings in lessons on many artistic techniques.

Study

Rhetoric (Upper Sixth) pupils can apply to gain access to our Historic Libraries during restricted hours as a place of silent study. Pupils who take up this opportunity are subject to the usual rules of comparable special collections libraries at universities. The curatorial staff are on hand to advise and guide personal study projects and to explain how to use rare books and access manuscripts for primary research.

The Bay Library is a quiet and inspiring space. For many, this is an ideal place to focus on essays and other set work.

Research and Volunteering

Pupils are encouraged to use books and objects in the Collections as inspiration and source material for research projects or simply for their own extra-curricular interest. With the guidance of curatorial staff, the Historic Libraries are available to pupils for research and reference, and objects can be retrieved from the store for careful study, if requested. The curatorial team are all experienced researchers in their own fields and can support and advise pupils in their research.

Pupils often also give some of their free time to volunteer to help the Collections with specific projects. Recent projects by pupils have included: museum photography, learning palaeography, digital transcription of 16th century manuscripts, metalwork conservation, research using fossils, and cataloguing the College stamp collection.

Swimming Pool

Opened in 1987 by Olympic gold medallist David Wilkie, our sports centre features a 25 metre, six-lane swimming pool, heated to 28 degrees.
Our swimming pool is very much at the heart of the Centre, with our gym overlooking the 25m pool area, and a viewing balcony for parents and supporters.

Pupils can take swimming as a games option, as well as a co-curricular activity and our swimming team takes part in regular galas and competitions around the UK.

Click here to visit the swimming pool virtually

Tennis Dome and Courts

As well as 7 outdoor tennis courts, Stonyhurst College’s world-class tennis dome was opened in May 2017 by tennis legend Tim Henman OBE. The dome is 10m high and offers two Grand Slam size tennis courts with high-performing acoustics and glare-free playing conditions. College pupils can take tennis as a summer games option, and the tennis dome allows for a range of training options throughout the year for keen players. These training options are led by our Director of Tennis and former professional tennis player, Mr David Shaw.

Click here to visit the Tennis Dome virtually

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