Carmel College (formerly Carmel RC College) is a secondary school on ''The Headlands'' in
Hummersknott
Hummersknott is an area in the western end of Darlington, County Durham England. It is a ward in the unitary authority of Darlington. It consists of mainly post-war houses, and is closely linked to Mowden. The population of the ward taken at ...
,
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It also has a sixth form,
Carmel College Sixth Form admitting about 150 students each year. Following 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 ...
inspection in 2013, Carmel was graded as outstanding in all categories. It is part of the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust (formerly Carmel Education Trust) which includes 35 schools in the North East Region.
The current principal is Melanie Kane.
Admissions
Carmel College is the town's only
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
secondary school. It has four main feeder schools at Primary level. These are St Teresa's RC Primary, St Bede's RC Primary, St Augustine's RC Primary and Holy Family RC Primary. There is also another school, Abbey Road Junior School, which feeds Carmel; although this school is not Catholic, it is local to Carmel. Carmel also has a sixth form.
Carmel College has eight forms which consist of C, A, R, M, E, L and J, P (from former Pope John Paul II) with three houses St. Aidans, St. Bedes and St. Cuthberts.
History
It began life as St Mary's Grammar School, a boys'
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 ...
, becoming comprehensive and co-educational in September 1974 when it merged with the Immaculate Conception Grammar School, a girls' Catholic grammar school.
The modern-day "St. Mary's" building, also known as Hummersknott House, has long been rumoured to be haunted by the college ghost, Harriet.
The John Caden Hall was opened by former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
in 2004, and is named after Father John Caden, who died in 2013.
Carmel underwent a multimillion-pound building project, completed in 2008, which included three brand new teaching blocks and the refurbishment of many of the old facilities. Carmel also upgraded its Sixth Form facilities; expanding the common room and providing a learning resource centre in the schools library. This was carried out in Summer 2010, and opened the following school year.
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
paid his last school visit as Prime Minister in 2007 at Carmel before he resigned, officially opening the brand-new "Newton" building housing the Physics, Chemistry and Biology Departments, including 8 laboratories.
The campus went through a further transformation in the school year 2012/2013 involving the full reconstruction of the schools "Upper" dining hall with new classrooms placed above which were required due to the schools recent expansion to 8 "form" groups per year-groups. The new dining Hall included new flat-screen televisions and a new glass wall between the dining hall and the lower floor of the schools library. The upgrade also included the replacement of the roof on the school library and reception building and a major refurbishment of the schools Gym located near to the Music Department and the Science "Newton" Block.
On 1 November 2011, Carmel RC College was officially closed, and Carmel College: A Catholic Academy was opened, as the school converted to an academy on this date. The school was named in July 2019 as a computing hub for the
National Centre for Computing Education
The National Centre for Computing Education is a government-funded initiative, offering teacher training and resources for computer science. The National Centre is delivered by a consortium of STEM Learning, Raspberry Pi Foundation and British ...
.
In 2021, A multimillion pound development project was initiated creating a new building over the old stable and connected to the sports hall to create a brand new sixth form centre which will consist of stay areas and a state-of-the-art fitness centre alongside a production suite overlooking the sports hall. The project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however was opened in mid 2022.
Academic performance
The GCSE exam results of 2012 were the best to date, having 100% of students getting at least 5 A*-C GCSE certificates (95% including English and Mathematics). The A-level pass rate was 99%
at A2, with 52% achieving the highest grades of A*, A or B. The average point score was of 1030 points per student.
[https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137622/carmel-college/2021/secondary&showFinal=true Carmel College: Results]
Accreditations
Carmel College is the Lead school in Carmel Teacher Training Partnership, an accredited ITT provider, training teachers for Qualified Teacher Status
QTS in both primary and secondary schools through
SCITT
The School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme is a teacher-training course in England.
The SCITT enables graduates to undertake their training within a school environment, leading to Qualified Teacher Status. Some SCITT programmes ...
and
chool Direct Carmel College was recognised in its most recent (as of 2020) Ofsted inspection as Outstanding in all categories in 2013. Carmel College was accredited as a 'Teaching School' in April 2012. However, The Government and DfE launched a new teaching school hub programme in September 2021 and Carmel College Teaching Alliance has now rebranded as Carmel Professional Training Centre (CPTC).
Notable former pupils
St Mary's Grammar School
* Sir John Smith
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1933–40)
*
Oswald O'Brien
Oswald O'Brien (6 April 1928 – 10 March 1997) was a United Kingdom, British and European Labour Co-operative politician. He was one of the shortest serving Members of Parliament of modern times, serving just seven weeks and one day.
Early lif ...
, former Labour MP for
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
from March–June 1983 (1939–46)
*
Colin Atkinson
Colin Ronald Michael Atkinson (23 July 1931 – 25 June 1991) was an English first-class cricketer, schoolmaster and the headmaster of Millfield School.
Education
Born at Thornaby, Yorkshire, Atkinson was educated at St. Mary's Grammar Sc ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, former President of
Somerset CCC (1942–49)
*
Adrian Raine
Adrian Raine (born 27 January 1954) is a British psychologist. He currently holds the chair of Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology & Psychiatry in the Department of Criminology of the School of Arts and Sciences and in the Departmen ...
D. Phil (York) psychologist. Chair, Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology and Psychiatry & University of Pennsylvania. (1965–72)
Carmel RC College
*
Zoe Birkett
Zoe Birkett (born 16 June 1985) is an English singer and musical theatre performer.
Birkett was the highest placing female contestant on Pop Idol in 2001 and later appeared on Big Brother. Her first single, Treat Me Like A Lady, was release ...
, ''Pop Idol'' finalist and runner up, West End performer.
*
Tom Craddock, ex professional football player.
References
External links
Carmel CollegeEduBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmel College - A Catholic Academy
Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Educational institutions established in 1974
1974 establishments in England
Secondary schools in the Borough of Darlington
Academies in the Borough of Darlington
Schools in Darlington