St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls is a school for girls (aged 11–18) in

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, England. In 2008,

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 ...

rated the school as 'good'.Ofsted report
Ofsted report of 2008 The Chair of Governors is Dr. M Howard and the Headteacher is Ms M Noone.

History

Foundation

The school was founded by the

Daughters of the Cross The Daughters of the Cross of Liège (french: Filles de la Croix) are Religious Sisters in the Catholic Church who are members of a religious congregation founded in 1833 by the Blessed Marie Thérèse Haze, F.C. (1782–1876). The organizatio ...

in 1893 and is situated in twenty-five acres of parkland with some notable buildings. The main building on the property was once Carshalton House, a grand manor house built in the early eighteenth century by Edward Carleton. It was the home of the noted physician, Dr. John Radcliffe until his death in 1714. Other owners included

Sir John Fellowes, 1st Baronet Sir John Fellowes, 1st Baronet (baptised 1670 – 1724) was an English merchant who was one of the founding directors of the South Sea Company. Life He was the fourth son of the London merchant William Fellowes and his wife Susannah Coulson, ...

, Sub-Governor of the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

;

Lord Anson Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, (23 April 1697 – 6 June 1762) was a Royal Navy officer. Anson served as a junior officer during the War of the Spanish Succession and then saw active service against Spain at the Batt ...

, admiral; and

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, (1 December 16906 March 1764) was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1 ...

, Lord High Chancellor.

Modern

In 1999 the school was featured in Rock band Travis' musical video for hit single Driftwood. In 2004, the school was awarded

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 April 2006, it was awarded a Language College status alongside the Technology College status. In 2007, a new Learning Resource Centre, including a library, was opened. In 2016, a new classroom block, the Veritas Centre opened. The new block consists of eight total classrooms, the ground floor accommodating two Food Technology classrooms and two Science laboratories, and the upper floor with dual-purpose Arts and Textiles classrooms. Staff/equipment rooms that connect between classrooms are also on each floor. The school should not be confused with St. Philomena's School at St. Mary Cray near Orpington, Kent, a RC foundation operating from the 1950s.

Controversy

In April 2012, a student reported St Philomena's to Pinknews.co.uk for urging its pupils, some as young as 11, to sign an anti-gay marriage petition in protest at the government's proposal to allow gay couples to marry in civil ceremonies.

School Houses

References

External links

St. Philomena's School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Philomena's Catholic High School For Girls Girls' schools in London Educational institutions established in 1893 Secondary schools in the London Borough of Sutton Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark 1893 establishments in England Voluntary aided schools in London