The Campion School is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

boys' secondary school and coeducational

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

, London, England. The school converted to academy status in August 2011, and has a specialism in science.

History

The Campion School was founded in September 1962 by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

as a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

for

boys from the ages of 11 to 18. The first headmaster Fr Michael Fox SJ died that year. In 1965, after two successive headmasters, administration of the school was handed on to the

Diocese of Brentwood The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in England. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Westminster. Overview The diocese covers the traditional county of Essex, an area of ...

. On opening, some of the original second and third year intake were transferred from

St Ignatius' College St Ignatius' College is a Catholic voluntary aided secondary school for boys aged 11–18 in Enfield, London, England, founded by the Society of Jesus. It was formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed the Eleven plus exam. ...

, which was then located in

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the l ...

. For the first couple of years, Jesuit teachers were in the majority. The Jesuit community lived on the school site in rooms with full facilities in The Community House, which later became the first of three Sixth Form Blocks. Later, only a single, non-residential, Jesuit chaplain was retained as a link to the order. Pupils who attend the school are mainly Catholic and the school has a Catholic ethos. Around 1970, the first girls to attend Campion came from Ilford Ursuline School for specific sixth form classes such as Russian and Greek at the school, but there were not many. The school has an attached Sixth Form which admits a number of girls. The pupils that attend the Sixth Form do not have to be Catholic but have to respect the Catholic ethos that the school represents. The school received an

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

report in May 2012. The inspection judgements were rated as 2 (good) in all five categories. The school was awarded Specialist

Science College Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics. Schools that suc ...

status before converting to an academy in August 2011. however the school continues to offer science as a specialism.

Forms

Originally, when the school had around 660 all boys, it had three forms named after Fr Michael Fox SJ and Saints

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

and

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

. However, each boy also belonged to a House named

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, Southwell and

Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

, denoted by a green, blue or red ribbon strip sewn the length of the top of the blazer pocket edge. The Houses met regularly, had a House Master and competed in sports. For a year or two school blazers even had a different crests for Fourth, Fifth and Sixth forms too. The school currently has five forms: * Fisher * More * Fox * Garnet * Southwell

Sport

The school has an outstanding sporting reputation both locally in Havering and nationally with a tradition of rugby. In 2001, The 1st XV won the

Daily Mail Cup The National Schools Cup are a set of annual English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup and Vase competitions are held at Twickenham Stadium, whilst finals for the Plate and Bow ...

, becoming the first comprehensive school to win the competition.

Headmasters

* Fr Michael J Fox, S.J. (1 March-27 October 1962) * Fr William Webb, S.J. (Deputy and Acting) (28 October 1962 – 6 April 1963) * Fr Peter Hackett, S.J. (7 April 1963 – 1965) * Philip J. Moloney (1965–18 July 1980) * Dr John F Rowbottom (2 September 1980 – 1993) * John Johnson (1993–2011) * Keith Williams (September 2011–July 2022) * Paul Larner (September 2022-)

Notable former pupils

Former pupils at the school include: *

Lord Alton David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, (born 15 March 1951) is a British politician. He is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who has sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 1997 ...

– politician *

Ben Dirs Ben Dirs is a freelance writer and journalist. He was a sports journalist for the BBC news website from 2001 to 2017. Whilst at the BBC he covered a wide range of major sporting events. He provided live blogging on sports including boxing, golf ...

– sports journalist * David Cairns – musician,

Secret Affair Secret Affair are a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012. Career Formed after the demise of the ...

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube Content creation, content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' ( ...

– Saracens rugby player *

Paul McCreesh Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor. Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...

– conductor * Damian Cronin – ex-Scotland rugby player *

Tony Diprose Tony Diprose (born 22 September 1972, in Orsett) is a former English rugby union footballer. He played at number 8. Diprose attended The Campion School, Hornchurch. Club career Diprose signed for Harlequins from Saracens in April 2001 and m ...

– rugby player *

Colin Lynes Colin Lynes (born 26 November 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2017. He held the IBO super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. At regional level, he held the British super lightweight title in 2007; the ...

– IBO light welterweight world champion * John Rudd – rugby player * Alan Soper – scientist *

Kevin Sorrell Kevin James Sorrell (born 6 March 1977, in Harold Wood) was a rugby union player who played as a centre for Saracens and is now on the coaching staff as backs coach. Sorrell was selected for the senior England England is a country that ...

– rugby player *

Alex Iwobi Alexander Chuka Iwobi ( ; born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Everton and the Nigeria national team. Iwobi began his career at Arsenal, making 149 appearances and scoring 15 goals, and wi ...

– Footballer *

Ola Aina Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina (born 8 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a wing-back or right back for Serie A club Torino, and the Nigeria national team. Club career Chelsea Early career Ola Aina signed for Chelsea as ...

– Footballer * Matt Garvey – Rugby player * Matt Rowe – songwriter and producer,

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

Denis Keefe Denis Edward Peter Paul Keefe CMG (born 29 June 1958) is a British diplomat and former Ambassador to Serbia. Biography Keefe was educated at Campion School, Hornchurch and studied Classics at Churchill College, Cambridge and Hellenistic Greek ...

— Diplomat * Frank Key - Author

Notable popular culture references

Sounds of Silence ''Sounds of Silence'' is the second studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, " The Sound of Silence", which orig ...

'' is the second studio album by American folk rock duo

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

, released in 1966. The album cover photo features the duo on a trail looking back towards the camera. It was shot at

Franklin Canyon Park Franklin Canyon Park is a public municipal park located near Benedict Canyon, at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The park comprises 605 acres (245 ha), and is located near the geographical center of ...

in Los Angeles. The secondary school scarves they are wearing were from The Campion School, Hornchurch, UK. This school was attended by the boys of the Brentwood family, with whom

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

lodged during his time in the UK.

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1962 Academies in the London Borough of Havering Boys' schools in London Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Brentwood 1962 establishments in England Secondary schools in the London Borough of Havering Hornchurch