Chester Catholic High School or CHSC but officially called The Catholic High School, Chester is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

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 let ...

secondary school and

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 ...

with academy status, located on the outskirts of

Handbridge Handbridge is a district of Chester, England on the south bank of the River Dee. A settlement has existed on the site since the Iron Age , but the site saw major expansion during the collapse of the Roman occupation of Britain, as the city grew ...

, Chester, England. The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the school expands into Lache and Blacon, with some buses transporting pupils from as far afield as

Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Nes ...

and

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

. The school has over 1,000 pupils. The general uniform is a white shirt, bottle green tie, a black blazer and black trousers or skirt. The current

head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

is Mrs C McKeagney; previous head teachers have included John McCann (acting, 2003–04), Victoria Ratchford (1994–2003), Christine McCann (no relation to John) and Michael Balfe. The school transferred to the present site in September 1972; previously the school site was occupied by the Overleigh Boys School. In 2006 Ofsted called its Sixth Form "Outstanding". Building work was completed in Autumn 2008 and comprised a new building accommodating the Sixth Form and the Performing Arts, along with two new Science laboratories and new office and staffrooms. The school now has a new Emmaus Building which was built especially for the sixth form is also used for whole school music and drama. It is solar power electricity generated, the water comes from rain water and the drama rooms have

underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and ...

. It was officially opened on 12 February 2008 by Russell Cooke, Dean of Chester, standing in for Brian Noble,

Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury The Bishop of Shrewsbury is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury in the Province of Birmingham, England. The diocese covers an area of of the counties and unitary authorities of Cheshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin ...

. In 2017, a new all-weather hockey pitch was opened by the Olympian Sam Quek. The school was awarded specialist Science College status in 2003, in addition to being a classified Beacon school. In March 2013 the school converted to academy status. Following consultation the Governing Body of the Catholic High School decided upon a new school uniform in March 2014 coming into effect in September 2014.

History

The Catholic High School, Chester was established in the early 1970s based on its two predecessor schools, The Ursuline Convent, based near the Roman amphitheatre in the middle of the city, and St Bede's Catholic School in Handbridge. When the school was opened it took over the buildings of the old Overleigh Boys School, while Overleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary School was opened on the old St Bede's site. An external frieze of St Bede can be seen to this day at the front of the primary school. The Catholic High School opened with Michael Balfe as its first headteacher, and he was succeeded by Christine McCann and then Vicky Ratchford followed by John Murray. The current headteacher is Mrs C McKeagney, who was appointed in 2019. The school was founded by and is part of the Catholic church, and the relationship with the Diocese of Shrewsbury and our partner parishes is crucial to the school's identity.

Alumni

* Caitlin Flood * Julian Knight, Conservative MP for

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

. *

Rebecca Long-Bailey Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey (' Long; born 22 September 1979), is a British politician and former solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Long-Bailey served in the Shadow ...

, Labour MP for

Salford and Eccles Salford and Eccles is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Rebecca Long-Bailey, a member of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created following the Boundary Commission's Fifth Per ...

, former Shadow Business Secretary and Shadow Education Secretary.

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester Schools in Chester Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Shrewsbury Educational institutions established in 1972 1972 establishments in England Academies in Cheshire West and Chester