Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Catholic secondary school with academy status in the

Darley Abbey Darley Abbey is a former historic mill village, now a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is located approximately north of the city centre, on the west bank of the River Derwent, and forms part of the Darley ward along with Little Ches ...

district of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. The school maintains a Catholic ethos, being the only Catholic secondary school in the

City of Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

. It educates around 1500 students, with more than 100 teachers, as well as a non-teaching support staff such as Learning Support Assistants and House Administrators.

School history

The school was built on its current site in, after the land had been acquired by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

, and St. Philomena's High School for Senior Girls moved from Broadway, where it had been located since 1947. In 1971, St. Philomena's merged with the local St. Mary's Secondary School. The two Catholic secondary schools in Derby -

Saint 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 H ...

and Saint Ralph Sherwin - merged in 1986, to make the current site unique as secondary Catholic education within the city of

. The school was named after

St. Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

, and had a logo with a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

, 'Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti' ('the cross of our holy father Benedict'), until the school logo was changed in 2002, to show a more angelic looking version of St. Benedict.

Buildings

The school is split into two bases, North Block and South Block, around five minutes' walk apart. The blocks used to be separate schools. Each houses a variety of resources such as the Sports Hall and Theatre. The larger collection of buildings is at 'South Block', where a library, music suite, sports hall, languages centre and design and technology block have been added since the early 1990s.

Enhanced Resource Base (ERB)

This is a dedicated unit set up for supporting students with a wide range of difficulties such as visual impairment, physical impairment and other learning difficulties. There are adapted computer study/teaching rooms, as well as additional rooms for staff and students to use. The ERB also has input from external specialists in careers and physio advice on a regular basis. The ERB has its own on-site IT Technician to deal with ICT related problems and a Resource Technician to handle enlargements of exam papers and texts. The ERB also has a council made up of representatives from all school years, to deal with issues surrounding the ERB and the school.

North Block

North Block is home to a variety of subjects like Religious Studies, Food Technology, science, Sociology and Humanities. As well as North Block reception which doubles up as the box office for The Robert Ludlam Theatre. The school chapel and the chapel garden may also be found in this building.

Robert Ludlam Theatre

The Robert Ludlam Theatre is a 270-seat venue with a diverse programme of entertainment including dance, drama, art, music,

theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...

, comedy, films, family Entertainment, rock and pop events, and workshops. It provides a home for many of Derbyshire's amateur production groups.

Lafayette Suite

This multi-functional space is for public speaking, network events and exhibition galleries. In June the range of Art and Textiles GCSE and A level examination work of the school's own pupils filled the gallery. External visitors flocked to the venue to view the presentations. All the exhibitions are open to the public during school days until 4:00 pm, although this is by prior arrangement with the box office.

South Block

The majority of lessons are taught in the earliest South Block building. It includes a floor dedicated to maths, a floor dedicated to English, and a section dedicated to Art and Design. This building also features a Gym, Dining Room, Cooking Room, Computer Room, Pottery Room and Science Rooms. A newer building adjacent to south block proper houses the main reception, library, 2 ICT Suites, the IT Technicians' office, Staff Room, Science Room, and Vocational subject rooms used for Lesuire and Tourism studies.

Vocational Centre

The Vocational Centre is the main room used for teaching business studies. The room is a second home for Business teachers and has the business staff room and McAuley office next door.

The Music Block

The department continues to provide lessons for drum kit, brass, woodwind, cello, keyboard, violin, classical guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar and voice. Pupils have taken Associated Board Exams, Trinity Exams and Rock School Exams. Based in the Saint Cecilia Music Suite, the studio is used extensively in school and is also available for hire with technician support. The equipment is scheduled to be updated this year and will then be available again for CD recordings by bands, choirs, individuals, or ensembles.

Sports Hall

Sport is a high priority at Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy with the Physical Education Department being staffed by 6 extremely well qualified teachers. In May 2006 the Department was successful in regaining the Sportsmark Award made by Sport England. This prestigious award which runs for 3 year cycles following the original award made in 1997 and which recognises the excellence of PE and sport in the school. The facilities include a purpose built Sports Hall (with 3 badminton courts, basketball, netball and volleyball court), a multi-gym, gymnasium, hard play area for netball and extensive playing fields with football, rugby and hockey pitches. A 400-metre athletics track is marked out in the summer.

School Council

Saint Benedict has a long tradition of having a pupil voice through its School Council, the school council consists of pupils from all areas of the school and is a fair representation of school. Each house has two house captains and they usually decide that one of those will be part of the school council.

Head Boy and Head Girl

Year 13 students may apply to become part of the Student Leadership Team. They are then interviewed by senior staff. A Head Boy and Head Girl are chosen, and lead the Team in various activities, including Takeover Day.

Notable former pupils

Tracy Shaw Tracy Shaw (born 27 July 1973) is a British actress and singer. Early life Shaw was born into the hotel and pub trade, at the time when her parents ran the Talbot Hotel in Belper, Derbyshire. She attended Saint Ralph Sherwin Comprehensive Schoo ...

, actress (

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) *

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, actor (''

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'') *Chris Riggott, Footballer for Derby County and Middlesbrough *

James Tague James Thomas Tague (October 17, 1936 – February 28, 2014) was a car salesman who received minor injuries during the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963 ...

, Footballer *

Keiran Lee Adam Diksa (born 15 January 1984), better known by his stage name Keiran Lee, is an English pornographic actor, director, and producer who works mainly for Brazzers. He is one of the highest-paid pornographic actors. He has received several aw ...

, Pornographic actor *

Michael Socha Michael Robert Socha (born 13 December 1987) is an English actor, known for his roles in the films ''This Is England'' and ''Summer'', and the television series ''This Is England '86'', '' '88'', '' '90'', '' Being Human'', '' Once Upon a Time ...

, Actor *

Lauren Socha Lauren Marie Socha (born 9 June 1990) is an English actress. She rose to prominence during her role as Kelly Bailey in the E4 comedy-drama television series ''Misfits'', for which she won a BAFTA TV Award in the Best Supporting Actress categor ...

, Actor *

Durrell Berry Durrell Joel Berry (born 27 May 1992) is an English footballer who last played for Mickleover Sports in 2019. He began his career with Notts County's centre of excellence and progressed through Aston Villa's academy to sign his first professi ...

, Footballer *

Luke Gunn Luke Gunn (born 22 March 1985) is a British male track and field athlete who competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He married fellow athlete Hannah England in 2013. Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Luke Gunn studied Sport and Material ...

, Athlete

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy Educational institutions established in 1986 Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Nottingham Secondary schools in Derby 1986 establishments in England Academies in Derby Christianity in Derby