St. Anselm's College

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St. Anselm's College
Motto	Fides Quarens Intellectum "Faith Seeking Understanding"
Established	1933
Type	voluntary aided, grammar
Religion	Roman Catholic
Headmaster	Simon Duggan
Founders	Congregation of Christian Brothers
Specialisms	Technology and Languages
Location	Manor Hill Birkenhead Wirral CH43 1UQ England
LEA	Wirral
Ofsted number	105114
Staff	44
Students	844
Gender	Boys
Ages	11 to 18
Website	www.st-anselms.com
Coordinates: 53°23′24″N 3°02′53″W / 53.390°N 3.048°W / 53.390; -3.048

St. Anselm's College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided grammar school located in Merseyside, England. It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, and one of three Irish Christian Brothers schools in the Merseyside area. The school is located within the Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Admissions

Founded in 1933, the school was in recent years granted Technology College status, in cooperation with Upton Hall School. The school used its specialist school status as an opportunity to improve teaching facilities and broaden the curriculum.

History

Foundation

The school was founded in 1933 by the trustees of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, at the invitation of the Rt. Rvd. Hugh Singleton, Bishop of Shrewsbury. In 1946 it became a direct grant grammar school and continued as such until 1975, when the trustees opted for the school to be independent in order to continue as a single-sex Selective school.

Grant-maintained status

The Education Act 1993 gave the trustees the chance to re-enter the maintained sector and so, once again, offer parents the choice of a Catholic Grammar School education for their sons, irrespective of their ability to pay. In 1995, the school became one of the first Independent schools to re-enter the maintained sector.

In September 1999, the school became voluntary aided in line with the Education Act 1998.

Links with the church

The teaching staff at this and other Christian Brothers schools have traditionally been avowed Christian Brothers, but over the decades, the responsibility for this provision has been passed down to what is now a full-time lay teaching staff of 44, maintaining strong links with the Edmund Rice Family and with the guidance of the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Ethos and mission

Education at the school is, at its core, Roman Catholic, and inspired by the work of Blessed Edmund Rice. It is fundamentally based on the Eight Essentials of Christian Brothers Education,^[1] and the religious studies programme at the school follows that prescribed by the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

The study of the history and ethos of the college forms a part of the Religious Studies programme at Key Stage 3, and is a common focus for the weekly assemblies. (The Christian Brothers resident in the house that adjoins the college ensure that Sixth Form students are kept well informed about the ethos of the college by an annual programme of discourse which complements the PSHE programme.

Patron saint

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 or 1034 – April 21, 1109), patron saint of the college, was an Italian medieval philosopher and theologian, who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of Scholasticism, he is famous as the inventor of the ontological argument for the existence of God.

Room locations

Recent additions to the school grounds include the Br O'Halloran Building and the Br Senan Kerrigan Sports Hall. Completed in time for the 2004/2005 academic year, the Br O'Halloran (named after one of the current Brothers who live adjacent to the college) is a specific language and mathematics block.

Here are the locations of some specific rooms in the building:
100s - English, Religion, Technology
200s - English, ICT, Art, Geography, History, Latin
300s - Sixth form
400s - Sixth form
500s - Science
600s - Maths, Spanish, German, French
700s - PE
800s - Music

Specialist School Status

First Specialism

After two unsuccessful applications, the school finally achieved joint Technology College status together with Upton Hall School, another local Catholic grammar, as part of the UK Specialist schools initiative. The school had, at the time, been unable to apply for specialist Language College status because, Wirral Grammar School for Girls, another school in the Wirral LEA had already applied for this as a first specialism.

Upon achieving the status the school further developed its programme for A-level and GCSE in ICT, installed a wireless computer network in many areas of the school, increased the number of computer workstations available to students for academic work, and also made an email service and extranet available to all students and staff.

Reapplication and Second Specialism

In 2006 the joint Technology College designation expired, and the school announced its intention to make an application, independently from Upton Hall School to renew its status.^[2] The school also announced, because of the success of the programme, its intention to apply for a second specialism in Languages. Both applications were successful.

In 2009 the school was invited to take up a third designation as a Leadership Partner School.^[3]

Sport

The school has a reputation for sporting achievement far outstripping its size. Notable sporting achievements include winning the National Schools Cross Country Championship at Intermediate Level, regularly attending the National Schools Athletics Final and travelling the country competing in various rugby union competitions.

Affiliations

The College had traditionally been affiliated with Redcourt - St Anselm's, a local independent primary school, and although now independent from the secondary school, both schools are part of the Edmund Rice Family, and share sports facilities in Noctorum.

The joint-technology college status of the school with Upton Hall School until Autumn 2006 gave rise to increased cooperation between the two Catholic grammar schools on the Wirral Peninsula. This has particularly seen fruit in the sixth form, where students have the opportunity to take certain subjects offered at either school. A minibus is used to transport the students across the 3 miles between the two schools. Other joint activities include language talks and spiritual activities. There has been talk among the members of the sixth at both schools about whether this may lead to the development of co-education in the sixth forms at the schools, as has been the case at the neighbouring Weatherhead High School.

Notable alumni

Alumni of the school are referred to as Old Anselmians, or within the school as Old Boys, reflecting the single-sex nature of the school. The alumni association of the college is the Anselmian Association.

• Prof Michael Campbell OBE, Director of Policy and Research since 2008 at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills
• Christian Furr, UK artist who painted HRH Queen Elizabeth II aged 28.
• Austin Healey, England rugby team.
• Ben Johnston, England Saxons rugby team.
• Simon Mason, Irish rugby team
• Prof Dennis Kavanagh, Professor of Politics from 1996-2006 at the University of Liverpool
• Paul McQuail, Chairman of the National Retail Planning Forum from 1995-2005 and of Alcohol Concern from 1996-2002
• Paul O'Grady, UK television presenter and creator of the character Lily Savage.
• Peter Stanford, writer and journalist.
• David Thomas, Principal Ombudsman since 2000 at the Financial Ombudsman Service
• Rev Frank Topping, broadcaster

See also

• Anselm of Canterbury
• Congregation of Christian Brothers
• Edmund Ignatius Rice
• Grammar school
• Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
• Upton Hall School FCJ

References

External links

• Official website
• EduBase