St. John Bosco College 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) ...

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 ...

, located 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 ...

in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

, England. Housed nea
Battersea Square
a short walk from Clapham Junction and Battersea Bridge, the school has grown in size and reputation since it moved to its new premises in the Autumn of 2015. The school is run under the joint trusteeship of the RC

Archdiocese of Southwark The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Southvarcensis'') is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is headed by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Ecclesiastical ...

and the Salesians of Don Bosco, and is administered by

Wandsworth London Borough Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, eac ...

. It is named after

John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19t ...

, an

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

n priest, educator, and writer, who dedicated his life to improving the education of

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

and other disadvantaged youth.

History

Salesian education in Battersea

There is a history of Salesian education in Battersea. St John Bosco College is situated on the site of its predecessor school

Salesian College A Salesian school is an educational institution run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Congregation of Saint John Bosco (or Don Bosco), and one that uses his methods. Salesian schools are dedicated to young people in an educational and formative envir ...

which was founded in 1895 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by the religious order of the Salesians of Don Bosco. They had first 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 parish church of Sacred Heart adjacent to the school was first built in 1875 and the first Salesians who arrived in 1887 were Fr. Edward McKiernan, Fr. Charles Macey and Br. Rossaro. Salesian College closed in August 2011, under the Headship of Stephen McCann, to open St. John Bosco College

A new Roman Catholic School for Wandsworth

The school was established to provide a single, co-educational, Roman Catholic School in the Borough of Wandsworth by its joint Trustees; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark and the Salesians of Don Bosco. St John Bosco College opened in September 2011 with Dr. Simon Uttley as Headteacher. Dr. Uttley was succeeded by Mr Paul Dunne as Head in January 2017. The school was initially located on the site of the former John Paul II School while the new building was constructed in Battersea. The school moved to its present site in October 2015. The move came under criticism due to the use of the old site for housing developments instead of a new primary school as campaigners had sought, citing the shortage of huge numbers of school places in the area.

The Salesian Family

St. John Bosco College is part of the worldwide family of Salesian schools. The Salesians have over 3000 schools in more than 130 countries worldwide. St. John Bosco College has five sister schools in England in Bolton,

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

, Chertsey,

Croxteth Croxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Although housing in the area is predominantly modern, the suburb has some notable history. At the United Kingdom 2011 Census it had a population of 14,561. ...

and Farnborough. The school has links to many other Salesian schools around the world including schools in Turin, Borgomanero, Darjeeling, Bethlehem, and Madrid.

References

External links

St John Bosco College official websiteSalesians of Don Bosco UK official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John Bosco College Secondary schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark Salesian secondary schools Voluntary aided schools in London