At 18 he entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated ninth wrangler and third in the second class of the Classics tripos in 1832.
He was appointed second master[clarification needed] at Bristol College[a] in 1836 and then for some years conducted a private school at Clifton.
From 1847 to 1854 he was Principal of Elizabeth College, Guernsey, was university preacher at Cambridge in 1850, obtaining the degree of D.D., and after 1854 was curate for two or three years to his father at Hull.
He was then appointed headmaster of the newly founded Church of England Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia, where he arrived in February 1858 with his wife and nine children.
[2][3] Bromby as a headmaster encouraged games and relied more on a good moral tone than strict discipline.