Thornleigh Salesian College
Encyclopedia
Thornleigh Salesian College is a Salesian
and Catholic
secondary school
in Bolton
, Greater Manchester
, England
.
It became a boys' direct grant grammar school
catering for a wide area in Lancashire
. In 1979, following the reorganisation of Catholic
schools in Bolton to a comprehensive system, Thornleigh joined with St Anne's High School, to form a six form entry Voluntary Aided Mixed Comprehensive School with a Sixth Form Centre to serve the needs of all Catholic Sixth Form pupils. Catholic Secondary Schools in Bolton reorganised again in 1986, and Thornleigh combined with St Cuthbert's school, which had been founded in 1963, to form a new seven form entry Voluntary Aided Mixed Comprehensive School with a Sixth Form centre which continues to serve the whole of the borough. The school is under the Trusteeship of the Salesians of Don Bosco
.
For ten years from 1980 Thornleigh was a split site school. £4 million of investment in new buildings in the years 1986 to 1989 enabled the whole school to consolidate at Sharples Park from September 1990. A new building for the Sixth Form was opened in 1987 and an £800,000 extension was added to it in 1995. A five class room extension for 11-16 pupils plus a new two storey dining room, costing £1.1 million in total, were added during 2000. In 2004, Thornleigh received a Sports College
and Investor in People status.
On the same site is the Thornleigh Sixth Form. The head of the Sixth Form is Mr.E. Kirk. In total (2002), there are currently 1624 students at Thornleigh, with 370 studying at the Sixth Form.
of Psalm 42, and can be loosely translated as 'As the Hart'. The motto is that of the Hargreaves family, and the head of a hart (a male deer) was the family crest. The crest is worn on the blazers of every student.
The Hargreaves were a wealthy Bolton family who owned the house at Sharples Park which was bought by the Salesians when Thornleigh was founded in 1925. The crest and motto were kept by the school and the school took its name from the house.
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
and Catholic
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"...
secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, 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...
.
History
Thornleigh College was founded in 1925 by The Salesian Order of Don Bosco at the request of the Clergy of Bolton.It became a boys' 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....
catering for a wide area in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. In 1979, following the reorganisation of Catholic
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"...
schools in Bolton to a comprehensive system, Thornleigh joined with St Anne's High School, to form a six form entry Voluntary Aided Mixed Comprehensive School with a Sixth Form Centre to serve the needs of all Catholic Sixth Form pupils. Catholic Secondary Schools in Bolton reorganised again in 1986, and Thornleigh combined with St Cuthbert's school, which had been founded in 1963, to form a new seven form entry Voluntary Aided Mixed Comprehensive School with a Sixth Form centre which continues to serve the whole of the borough. The school is under the Trusteeship of the Salesians of Don Bosco
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
.
For ten years from 1980 Thornleigh was a split site school. £4 million of investment in new buildings in the years 1986 to 1989 enabled the whole school to consolidate at Sharples Park from September 1990. A new building for the Sixth Form was opened in 1987 and an £800,000 extension was added to it in 1995. A five class room extension for 11-16 pupils plus a new two storey dining room, costing £1.1 million in total, were added during 2000. In 2004, Thornleigh received a Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
and Investor in People status.
On the same site is the Thornleigh Sixth Form. The head of the Sixth Form is Mr.E. Kirk. In total (2002), there are currently 1624 students at Thornleigh, with 370 studying at the Sixth Form.
Badge & motto
The Latin Motto "Sicut Cervus" is the incipitIncipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
of Psalm 42, and can be loosely translated as 'As the Hart'. The motto is that of the Hargreaves family, and the head of a hart (a male deer) was the family crest. The crest is worn on the blazers of every student.
The Hargreaves were a wealthy Bolton family who owned the house at Sharples Park which was bought by the Salesians when Thornleigh was founded in 1925. The crest and motto were kept by the school and the school took its name from the house.
Notable former pupils
- Danny BoyleDanny BoyleDaniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
- Oscar winning film director - Conor McGloinKinesis (band)Kinesis were an alternative rock band from Bolton, England. The group formed in September 2000 whilst at school, and split after five years in June 2005. During this time they recorded two full studio albums, a mini album and several singles under three record labels.When Handshakes for Bullets was...
- guitarist in the band KinesisKinesis (band)Kinesis were an alternative rock band from Bolton, England. The group formed in September 2000 whilst at school, and split after five years in June 2005. During this time they recorded two full studio albums, a mini album and several singles under three record labels.When Handshakes for Bullets was... - Damon Gough - musician, known as Badly Drawn BoyBadly Drawn BoyDamon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
- Maurice LindsayMaurice Lindsay (Rugby League)Maurice Lindsay is the current Chairman of Preston North End FC and the former chairman of Wigan Rugby League Football Club and had two stints at the club after being one of the 'Gang of Four' directors that used to run the club when it domininated the league in the 1980s.- Career :Lindsay was a...
- chairman, Wigan Rugby League Football ClubWigan WarriorsWigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
, former chief executive of the Rugby Football LeagueRugby Football LeagueThe Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships... - Ian McAllisterIan McAllisterSir Ian Gerald McAllister, CBE is a Scottish businessman. Formerly chairman of Ford Motor Company UK, he was appointed chairman of Network Rail in 2002 and stepped down from this post in 2009.-Biography:...
- former chairman of FordFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, current chairman of Network RailNetwork RailNetwork Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland... - Helen FlanaganHelen FlanaganHelen Joyce Flanagan is a British actress best known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.Flanagan has played Rosie Webster in Coronation Street since 2000, when she was ten years old....
- actress - Frank FinlayFrank FinlayFrancis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
- actor - Brian FinchBrian FinchBrian Finch was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. He had long and/or influential associations with several British dramas. Perhaps his longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, Coronation Street, for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989...
- television writer - Richard Henry McFarlane - poet, known as Hovis PresleyHovis PresleyHovis Presley was an English poet and stand-up comedian from Bolton noted for his down to earth humour.Born as Richard Henry McFarlane, he attended Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton and went on to graduate from Bradford University...
- Bernard WrigleyBernard WrigleyBernard Wrigley is a singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog"....
- actor, comedian and musician - Norman Prince - guitarist in the folk band the Houghton WeaversHoughton WeaversThe Houghton Weavers are an English folk music band formed in 1975 in Westhoughton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The current band members are David Littler , Steve Millington and Tony Berry .David Littler...
- Tony Berry - vocalist in the folk band the Houghton WeaversHoughton WeaversThe Houghton Weavers are an English folk music band formed in 1975 in Westhoughton, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The current band members are David Littler , Steve Millington and Tony Berry .David Littler...
- Mike Pollitt - goalkeeper for Wigan Athletic FC
- Kerry PollardKerry PollardKerry Patrick Pollard is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected at the 1997 general election as Member of Parliament for St Albans, and held the seat until his defeat at the 2005 general election....
- politician, former Member of ParliamentMember 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 St AlbansSt AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt... - David Atherton - entrepreneur, founder of online retailer dabs.comDabs.comdabs.com is an e-commerce retailer in the United Kingdom. It is one of the UK's largest internet retailers of IT and technology products. dabs.com was founded in Bolton by David Atherton and Bruce Smith in 1987; Dabs is an acronym of the initials of the founders' names...
- Stuart Flinders - Reporter and Presenter on BBC News and BBC North West Tonight
- Danny JonesDanny JonesDaniel Alan David "Danny" Jones is an English musician who is one of the lead vocalists and guitarists for pop rock band McFly, alongside fellow members Tom Fletcher , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd .-McFly:McFly rose to fame in 2004, in part due to their association with Busted who helped launch...
- singer, member of British band, McFlyMcFlyMcFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records... - Tom ParkerTom ParkerTom Parker may refer to:*Tom Parker , American travel journalist*Tom Parker , Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court*Tom Parker Tom Parker may refer to:*Tom Parker (actor), American travel journalist*Tom Parker (Alabama judge), Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court*Tom Parker (basketball) Tom Parker...
- vocalist from rising boy band The WantedThe WantedThe Wanted are a British-Irish boy band based in London, England. The band consists of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes. Their debut single, "All Time Low", was released in July 2010 and reached number one in the United Kingdom for one week...