St Boniface's Catholic College is a secondary school for boys, under the direction and trustees of the Roman Catholic Community in the Plymouth area in the South West of England. Founded in 1856 as an independent boarding and day school for "young Catholic gentlemen" in the West Country, it is now a comprehensive school. The College is named for St Boniface who was born in Crediton, Devon and is the patron saint of Germany. The school has a list of distinguished former pupils including Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell GBE KCB KCVO, the writer and intelligence agent Alexander Wilson, and Sir Julian Priestley KCMG, Secretary General of the European Parliament from 1997 – 2007. The College is a five-form entry college of 528 students between the ages of 11 to 18, taught by a full-time staff of 24. Its main campus is at Manadon Park with sports facilities at Marsh Mills. Its sister school is Notre Dame Catholic School. It is colloquially known as "Bonnies" or abbreviated as SBCC. The school is situated on the west side of the A386, north of the A38 interchange – between the A38 and the B3413. History Foundation St Boniface's College was founded in 1856 as a school for "young Catholic gentlemen" by the great, if austere, first Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, Dr Errington (1804–1886). As a result of Bishop Errington's appointment as Coadjutor Archbishop of Westminster in 1855, the College was almost immediately placed under the patronage of his successor as Bishop of Plymouth, The Right Reverend William Vaughan (1814–1902). The College's first school building was in Wyndham Square, Plymouth. Early history In 1863, the school was renamed "St Boniface Boys' Catholic School" and relocated to a larger building to Melbourne Street, and later to North Road with Mr Clarke, an old boy of the Christian Brothers' School in Gibraltar, as Head Master. From the beginning both boarders and day boys were catered for. Mr Clarke resigned his post in 1883, but in September of the same year the Basilian Fathers, exiled from France, bought over the property at Beaconfield, Plymouth. This was at the time a considerable distance from the city's residential area and the efficient transport system of today did not exist. Hence, whilst the boarders were accommodated at the residence at Beaconfield a small school for day boys was opened at Grosvenor Street near the centre of Plymouth.