The team at Blanchelande Collage have released a welcome message as they prepare to meet their counterparts in Masnieres this June. You can watch the video here
Aimed at encouraging exchanges between pupils in both locations the crafted video message, sponsored by Head Teacher Rob O'Brien (above) and created and edited by Nick Creed, it has been a great 'ice breaker' and showcase in both French and English
A Very Brief Blanchelande History
The earliest records of Blanchelande College date back to twelfth century and a priory to which was a school was attached. Both school and priory were closed by Henry VIII in the 1530s.
Three centuries later the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (fleeing repressive e under the name Blanchelande, purchasing in 1902 the 'fief de Blanchelande' and opening in 1904. At the same time The De La Salle Brothers arrived in Guernsey in 1904. At Les Vauxbelets there was a primary school, a secondary day school for local boys, and an agricultural college for French boarders.
The school flourished until the Occupation, when most of the Brothers and boys evacuated to Cheshire, south of Manchester, where they founded St Ambrose College (still a leading school in the region).In 1956 the Sisters of Mercy agreed to take over the running of the school and ran the college until their departure in 1992.
From there, a group of parents and teachers, strongly supported the States of Guernsey, resolved to establish the new Blanchelande. At Easter 1992 the new College (with 41 pupils) opened at the site of the former Girls’ Grammar School in Rosaire Avenue.
The new Blanchelande Girls' College moved into Les Vauxbelets in 1999. In 2015 with mixed pupils it became 'Blanchelande College'
