Salesian College was a
Roman Catholic voluntary-aided
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 ...
school for boys aged 11 to 16 (previously 11 to 18, until it had to jettison its Sixth Form). It was founded in 1895 in
Battersea
Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park.
History
Batter ...
,
London, by the religious order of the
Salesians of Don Bosco, who arrived in Battersea in 1887 as part of Don Bosco's dream to establish a Salesian presence in Great Britain and the British Empire, with its missionary potential. The College aimed to provide an education loosely based on the
principles of
St John Bosco, founder of the
Salesians of Don Bosco.
History
At the end of August 2011 Salesian College and the John Paul II School, both in Wandsworth Borough, merged to create a new school -
St John Bosco College. This opened on 1 September 2011 and occupied the Wimbledon site of the former John Paul II School. St John Bosco College moved to the old Surrey Lane site when the new buildings were completed in 2015. In the meantime, it has served as the location of BBC3 sitcom
Bad Education and art studios of the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art (ACAVA).
Notable former pupils
*
Brian Curtin, former Irish judge.
*
Kevin Day
Kevin Day (born 3 May 1961 in London) is a British stand up comedian, comedy writer and sports presenter. He came to prominence in the British alternative comedy stand up scene of the late eighties and early nineties, playing clubs like The Comed ...
, comedy writer and sports presenter.
*
Brian J. Dooley
Brian J. Dooley (born 1963) is an Irish human rights activist and author. He is Senior Advisor at Washington DC-based NGO Human Rights First. In October 2023 he was made an Honorary Professor of Practice at the Mitchell Institute, Queen's Univer ...
, human rights activist.
*
Andrew Grima
Andrew Grima (31 May 1921 – 26 December 2007) was an Anglo-Italian designer who became known as the doyen of modern jewellery design in Britain.
Early life
Grima was born in Rome to Italian-Maltese parents and raised in London, where he atten ...
, jewellery designer.
*
Sir Alfred Hitchcock, KBE, film director; only spent one week there (as a boarder in 1908).
*
Bryan Marshall
Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both his native country and Australia.
Early life
Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educ ...
, actor.
* Mgr Nicholas Morrish, Regional Vicar of
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work an ...
for Great Britain since 1998.
*
Lord O'Donnell, GCB, former
Cabinet Secretary.
*
Jim Reid-Anderson, Chairman, President & CEO of
Six Flags.
*
Yuri "Aggro" Santos, Brazilian-born rapper.
*
Joseph Spence, Master of Dulwich College
*
Catherine Tate, comedian, actress, personality.
*
Danny Thompson, writer.
*
Patrick Wilde
Patrick Wilde is an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and director for television, film and theatre.
Early work
Most of Wilde's early work was centred on the classics. He played Hamlet, Mark Antony for ATC and Amnon in Tirso de Molina's ...
, playwright and screenwriter.
*
Martin McDonagh
Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...
, playwright, screenwriter, and producer.
References
External links
Salesian College websiteSalesians of Don Bosco UKSaint John Bosco School websiteGraham Wilmer Salesian abuse victim
{{authority control
Salesian secondary schools
Boys' schools in London
Educational institutions established in 1895
Defunct schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark
1895 establishments in England
Educational institutions disestablished in 2011
2011 disestablishments in England
Buildings and structures in Battersea