Shiplake College lies on a beautiful 63-acre site on the banks of the River Thames just 2½ miles upstream from Henley-on-Thames.
The main buildings are centred on Shiplake Court, a fine Victorian manor house built in 1890. The house has since been named after David Skipwith, a key figure in the early days of the College. The focal point of the ground floor is the Great Hall, which hosts major College events and is used day-to-day as a dining room for pupils and staff. Our experienced onsite medical staff are located in the Medical Wing. The upper floors in Skipwith House accommodate day pupils; this is just one of the day and boarding houses which are dotted around the College site.
The majority of academic departments are located within the Goodwin, Bevan, Marjorie White, Jubilee and John Turner Buildings, with dedicated, fully equipped, classrooms available for each subject. In the Stableyard area there are more classrooms, the Lower School (Years 7 and 8), and the Tithe Barn Theatre, which is used to host many College Drama productions.
The state-of-the-art John Turner Building, named after a former governor and one of the first boys to attend Shiplake College, opened in September 2014. In addition to housing first-class Music, Art and Learning Development Departments, the building contains a contemporary Thinking Space. This is where pupils of all ages can collaborate, reflect, read and research, with access to a variety of digital learning technologies. There is also a Lecture Theatre with tiered seating for up to 140 people, providing a superb venue for many events such as meetings, recitals, performances and presentations. Situated opposite the John Turner Building, is the Marjorie White Building, with Marjorie's Café equipped for Years 12 and 13 to enjoy.
The College also boasts a range of excellent sporting facilities, allowing pupils to enjoy representing their school and further enhancing Shiplake’s proud sporting reputation. A modern cricket pavilion overlooks the front field and a large, multi-purpose sports centre lies at the heart of the College, which includes a fully-equipped cardiovascular room and designated weights room for strengthening and conditioning. In addition to Front Field, the Phillimore Fields (in use from September 2024) and New Field provide a number of high quality pitches for all outdoor sports. Full-time grounds staff maintain the pitches to an excellent standard all year round. There is also a small all-weather Astroturf pitch on-site which is a popular recreational area for pupils at lunchtimes and after-school. In January 2025 the Paddocks Pitches, with a full-size artificial pitch (predominately for hockey but also netball and tennis), training MUGA (for football and rugby) and additional cricket nets, were completed.
Located on the banks of the River Thames, Shiplake College has its own stretch of water providing an exceptional setting for rowing. The College has extensive rowing facilities and in 2020 the Davies Centre was opened to house the College's fleet of rowing boats, as well as a fitness suite, an indoor archery and rifle range, a two-storey climbing wall and storage for other watersports, CCF and Duke of Edinburgh's Award equipment.