John F Kennedy Catholic School is a

coeducational 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 lette ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

located in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. It opened in 1967 and has a current student population of approximately 1,100, aged 11 to 18. The secondary school currently has a student population over 170 in 6th form, which is its largest 6th form on record. The school's motto is ''Pacem in terris'' (peace on Earth). The school is also part of a local partnership of secondary schools, offering a variety of subject choices for post-16 students, but as of 2020, this partnership is more limited. In September 2009, the school opened a major £8.4m ($16.2m) new building project which has expanded facilities for several of the school's subject departments. The building project includes: * A new teaching block, taking up part of the area where the school's current tennis courts used to be * 4 new tennis courts on currently unused field area * A new sports hall in the 'spinney' (a wooded area on the school site) * A new playground in front of the school's largest teaching block, the 'B Block' * A new car park to help deal with local parking issues, which will take up the remainder of the current tennis court area The school has minimised the impact on the local environment by avoiding significant loss of trees. The project also involved the planting of new trees, and using trees which are required to be cut down as wood-chip paths and for the construction of the gazebo-type structure in the so-called 'spinney'. Previously a

voluntary aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In mo ...

administered by

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

, in June 2023 John F Kennedy Catholic School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the All Saints Catholic Academy Trust, but continues to be under the jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster The Catholic Diocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne (in Surrey), and th ...

Achievements and recognition

The school gained

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 59 ...

status in 1998, has received

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 reports describing it as "outstanding", and appeared on Ofsted's "honours list". It has also received the following special recognitions: * Schools Curriculum Award 2000 * Investor in People

Alumni

Luke O'Nien Luke Terry O'Nien (born 21 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder or a defender for EFL Championship club Sunderland. Career Watford O'Nien joined Watford as an Under-9. Having signed his fir ...

(b. 1994) - professional footballer,

Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1967 establishments in England Buildings and monuments honouring American presidents in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 1967 Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Schools in Hemel Hempstead Secondary schools in Hertfordshire Academies in Hertfordshire