King William's College
From ManxWiki
King William's College (Manx: Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for ages 3 to 18, situated near Castletown near Isle of Man Airport. The College is located on two sites in Castletown; the main estate overlooking the shore of Castletown Bay, and The Buchan School which is the College's junior school, located in the Westhill part of Castletown.
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Brief History
The College was founded with financing from the Bishop Barrow Trust in 1833, opening with 46 boys. The school was named after King William IV who is said to have offered the founders "my most valuable possession, my name" when asked for a financial contribution.
The College widened entry from boys-only to co-educational in the 1980s.
Today there are approximately 500 pupils. King William's College attracts a high number of international students, and offers the International Baccalaureate to Sixth Formers.
General Knowledge Paper (GKP)
Every year since 1904 the College has set an annual general knowledge test, known as the General Knowledge Paper (GKP). The pupils sit the test twice; once unseen on the day before the Christmas holidays, and again when they return to school in the New Year, after having spent the holiday researching the answers. Once compulsory, the test is now voluntary.
The quiz is introduced with the following Latin motto: "Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est", which translates as: "To know where you can find anything is, after all, the greatest part of erudition."
The quiz is popular with non-pupils, and has been published in The Guardian since 1951.
The current quizmaster is Dr Pat Cullen, a retired GP, who has been setting the quiz since 1997. He reports that he now checks questions by typing them into Google and changing them if necessary to make sure the answers cannot be found immediately.
Location Map
Contact Information
- King William's College
- Castletown
- Isle of Man
- IM9 1TP
- Email: reception@kwc.sch.im
- Telephone: +44 1624 820400
