St. Nicholas Catholic High School
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| St Nicholas High School | |
| Motto | In Omnibus Labora |
| Established | 1965 |
| Type | Comprehensive secondary |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Headteacher | Gerald Boyle |
| Location | Hartford Cheshire England |
| LEA | Cheshire |
| Ofsted number | 111450 |
| Students | 1,288 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Website | http://www.stnicholas-school.org.uk/ |
St. Nicholas Catholic High School is in Hartford, near Northwich, in Cheshire, England. It also has a sixth form college. Both the main school and college perform very well in Ofsted reports: the sixth form in was described as "good" in the last report.[citation needed] The current head teacher is Gerald Boyle.
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[edit] History
St Nicholas Catholic High School opened as a secondary modern on the 6th September 1965,[1] with Michael O'Connor as its first head teacher, and Father R.Velarde, Parish Priest of St. Wilfrid's, Northwich as the first Chairman of Governors.[1] It was the first Catholic secondary school in mid-Cheshire. The initial building programme cost £160,000, 70% of which came from the local Catholic communities, with the remainder being provided by the LEA.
In 1972, the school became a comprehensive, and changed its name to St Nicholas High School.[1] At the same time, a new science and languages block was built to the side of the original building. In 1979, a new sixth form block was opened by Mark Carlisle, the Secretary of State for education. Remodelled science laboratories followed in 1989, and a music suite and additional science laboratories in 1992.
In 1995, O'Connor retired after 30 years as headmaster, and was replaced by Gerald Boyle.[1] In 2003, the school was awarded Business and Enterprise status.
St Nicholas has extended and refurbished the originally standing sports hall with science and language rooms at the rear at a total cost of ₤11.5 million as well as a refurbished Sixth Form Centre and new Geography rooms.
[edit] Catchment Area
As there are few Catholic high schools in Cheshire St Nicholas' catchment area extends as far away as Frodsham and Knutsford. It also includes Barnton, Davenham, Middlewich, Weaverham and Winsford. The Sixth Form catchment area also includes the area of St Thomas Moore Catholic High School in Crewe, which does not have it's own Sixth Form. Buses run from all the mentioned towns and villages to and from St Nicholas.
[edit] Residentials and Retreats
Residentials and retreats are normally organised during the month of January. Year 7 pupils usually stay at Conwy centre in Anglesey for five days. Year 9 pupils usually stay at Kingswood in Staffordshire for 3 days. Year 10 pupils have attended retreats to Savio House in Bollington for a number of years, more recently some have attended retreats at Brettargh Holt in Cumbria and Middleton Grange in North Yorkshire. Year 12 pupils also attend retreats. In 2001 teachers were finding it difficult to find a place for a record number of year 12 pupils to go in January 2002. They managed to find one place in Abbots Hall in Cumbria. The first set of pupils to go liked Abbots Hall and the surroundings, however, did not enjoy the retreat organised by 'Youth 2000'. Consequently, year 12 pupils still visit Abbots Hall but do not attend a retreat organised by Youth 2000.
[edit] Former Teachers
In addition to Michael O'Connor, mentioned above, a number of other former teachers have spent over 20 years teaching at the school including:
- Martin Smith (fomer Deputy Head and History, RE & Latin teacher)
- Gerard Donavan (former Head of Modern Languages)
- Paul Martin (former Head of Sixth Form and Geography teacher)
- Ian Jefferson (fomer Head of Science and Head of Chemistry.)
