St Mary's Catholic School (formerly St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School) is an
English 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) ...
in
Longbenton,
Newcastle,
England. In September 2013, following conversion to Academy, the '
Comprehensive' was officially removed from the school's name.
History
St Mary's started life as a technical school for boys in 1954, and was located on the west side of Frederic Street (Rutherford Street not Frederic Street) (now a part of St. James' Boulevard), a short street between Bath Lane and Westgate Road in Newcastle until September 1966. It then moved to its current site in Benton Park Road in Longbenton where it continued to be a boys-only school until 1977. As a result of the re-organisation of Catholic Schools in 1977 St Mary's became a co-educational Catholic Comprehensive. The school was based on three sites, one in
Longbenton, one in
Walker and one in
Killingworth. These three sites were brought together some years later to its current site in Longbenton and is now the only Catholic co-educational secondary school in Newcastle. The school is part of the family of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
New School Building
New buildings for the school were completed in September 2011, including an atrium, the chapel, the main hall and sports facilities and so on. The original building was demolished and the site landscaped to provide a range of sports areas, a memorial garden, a wildlife area, and seating areas for students.
Achievements
In July 2007 the school was awarded Humanities College status by the government, and given an additional £500,000 to develop further expertise in English, religious education and the performing arts.
The school has also been awarded the
Arts Mark, and has the
Healthy Schools Award. Its website has also won the purpleyouth.com Bronze award for best school website.
Emblem, logos and identities
The
Fleur-de-lis contained within the
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
of St Mary's is the symbol most commonly used by the school, and is used on letterheads and newsletters as the logo. The lily represents the
Mother of God and the three castles represent the city of
Newcastle upon Tyne. The present arms of the school were designed by the long serving ex Art teacher John Croney and replaced an earlier version. The motto of St Mary's is "Auxilium Christianorum" a title of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
from the
Litany of Loretto
The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto (Latin: ''Litaniæ lauretanæ''), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lo ...
.
Notable alumni
St Mary's RC Boys' Technical School
*
Brian Chambers (footballer)
Brian Mark Chambers (born 31 October 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played in the Football League for Sunderland, Arsenal, Luton Town, Millwall, AFC Bournemouth and Halifax Town, before mo ...
, former professional footballer.
*
Bill Green (footballer), former professional footballer.
*
Mick McGiven
Mick McGiven (born 7 February 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for Sunderland and West Ham United. After retiring as a player he joined the coaching staff at West ...
, former professional footballer.
References
External links
St Mary's Catholic School WebsiteBBC News Article- BBC News Article - St Mary's participation in Operation 60 GCSE.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Catholic School
Educational institutions established in 1954
Secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne
Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
1954 establishments in England
Academies in Newcastle upon Tyne