Notre Dame High School (Norwich)
Encyclopedia
Notre Dame High School is a Catholic
school
located in Norwich
, England
. The current Headteacher is Mr Brian Conway. The school was opened in 1864 and is now a Specialist Language, Science and Training School and a Sixth Form College
, teaching 11-18 year olds. The school currently teaches around 1,400 students, 400 of whom are in the sixth form
. The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia
, Norfolk County Council, and the Department for Education
all support Notre Dame High School.
. In 1939 additional buildings became available for the dining hall and domestic science and in 1973 the Lady Julian Building, which had formerly housed the Notre Dame Preparatory School, became part of Notre Dame High School.
A major development in the school took place on September 1, 1979 when ownership of the school was transferred from the Sisters of Notre Dame to the Diocese of East Anglia, and the school's status changed from girls' direct grant grammar school
to a voluntary aided
mixed comprehensive school
.
Since 1980, the St Peter's Building (Science & Technology completed in 1994), the St Paul's Building (Sports Hall, 1985), the St Julie's Building (Reception and Administration, 1996) and St Catherine's Building (Modern Languages, 1996) have been acquired and modernised. In 1995 the Lady Julian Building (Library, Careers, History and Sixth Form Centre) was refurbished. In 2006, the St Paul's building was extensively refurbished, providing a Drama Studio and four new classrooms for Religious Education. This allowed the old Chapel, up until then used as a Drama studio, to be refurbished and turned back into a Chapel. A new building is currently being built; it is expected to be completed by the end of October 2006, and will house a Sixth Form centre, a cafeteria, a library and extensive language classrooms. The St Catherine's building will then be used for staff training. The St Mary's building, currently the cafeteria, will be demolished. The school has purchased a plot of land, once belonging to Norwich Union, for use as a playground for students once the new building is completed.
Mr John Pinnington became the first lay headteacher of the school in January 1997, as successor of Sister Mary Cluderay. The school was awarded specialist school status for Languages in September 2000. Since then the school has become very much involved in charity work, including a student visit to Phuket
, Thailand
by two students in October 2005. As well as this the school also works closely with the charity HCPT
, which raises money for sick children, to take part in an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
in southwestern France.
The school has also recently been awarded the specialist science college as well. The school also has a new teacher training building. Mr. Ed Balls, the education secretary, is due to visit the school on December 19, 2008.
An astroturf multi-use games area was added during the summer of 2008.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
located in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The current Headteacher is Mr Brian Conway. The school was opened in 1864 and is now a Specialist Language, Science and Training School and a Sixth Form College
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
, teaching 11-18 year olds. The school currently teaches around 1,400 students, 400 of whom are in the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
. The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia
Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia
The Diocese of East Anglia is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church covering the counties of Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk and also Peterborough in eastern England. The East Anglia diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage....
, Norfolk County Council, and the Department for Education
Department for Education
The Department for Education is a department of the UK government responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education....
all support Notre Dame High School.
History
In 1889 a new wing was built to accommodate around 70 students, and in 1915 what is now Franchise House with adjoining land on Surrey Street, was purchased. On this land the present main building was erected and opened in 1926 when there were 238 female students. A year later, the school became recognised by the Ministry of EducationMinistry of Education (United Kingdom)
The administration of education policy in the United Kingdom began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 for England and Wales, and the Education Act 1872 for Scotland...
. In 1939 additional buildings became available for the dining hall and domestic science and in 1973 the Lady Julian Building, which had formerly housed the Notre Dame Preparatory School, became part of Notre Dame High School.
A major development in the school took place on September 1, 1979 when ownership of the school was transferred from the Sisters of Notre Dame to the Diocese of East Anglia, and the school's status changed from girls' direct grant grammar school
Direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a selective secondary school in England and Wales between 1945 and 1976 funded partly by the state and partly through private fees....
to a voluntary aided
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
mixed comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
.
Since 1980, the St Peter's Building (Science & Technology completed in 1994), the St Paul's Building (Sports Hall, 1985), the St Julie's Building (Reception and Administration, 1996) and St Catherine's Building (Modern Languages, 1996) have been acquired and modernised. In 1995 the Lady Julian Building (Library, Careers, History and Sixth Form Centre) was refurbished. In 2006, the St Paul's building was extensively refurbished, providing a Drama Studio and four new classrooms for Religious Education. This allowed the old Chapel, up until then used as a Drama studio, to be refurbished and turned back into a Chapel. A new building is currently being built; it is expected to be completed by the end of October 2006, and will house a Sixth Form centre, a cafeteria, a library and extensive language classrooms. The St Catherine's building will then be used for staff training. The St Mary's building, currently the cafeteria, will be demolished. The school has purchased a plot of land, once belonging to Norwich Union, for use as a playground for students once the new building is completed.
Mr John Pinnington became the first lay headteacher of the school in January 1997, as successor of Sister Mary Cluderay. The school was awarded specialist school status for Languages in September 2000. Since then the school has become very much involved in charity work, including a student visit to Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
by two students in October 2005. As well as this the school also works closely with the charity HCPT
HCPT
HCPT – The Pilgrimage Trust is a United Kingdom based charity which takes children with special needs on pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Lourdes, France.-History:...
, which raises money for sick children, to take part in an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
in southwestern France.
The school has also recently been awarded the specialist science college as well. The school also has a new teacher training building. Mr. Ed Balls, the education secretary, is due to visit the school on December 19, 2008.
Recent building work
The new building is now ready and available. It has been named St. Mary's. The new playground, created as a result of this recent building work, is now open. St. Mary's is a language block, and it also consists of a LRC, a languages computer room, MFL department and refectory. This was opened by bishop Michael Evans and was recently visited by Tessa Jowell, the sports minister.An astroturf multi-use games area was added during the summer of 2008.
Notable alumni
- Margaret BeckettMargaret BeckettMargaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
- MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Derby South and former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. - Myleene KlassMyleene KlassMyleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...
- Classical pianist, broadcaster and former member of the manufactured pop group Hear'SayHear'SayHear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...
. - Jack Bannon- actor on CITVCITVCITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
. - Deita Howard- renowned psychologist at the University of NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...