St Anselm's College, Birkenhead
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St Anselm's College is an 11–18 boys, Roman Catholic, grammar school and sixth form with academy status in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was established in 1933 and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. It is one of four Roman Catholic secondary schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, and one of three
Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Irelan ...
schools in the Merseyside area.


Admissions

Founded in 1933, the school was in recent years granted Technology College and then Academy status, in cooperation with
Upton Hall School Upton Hall School FCJ is a catholic girls' grammar school with academy status located in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1849 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ). Admissions It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolita ...
, the local Catholic girls' school. The school used its
specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
status as an opportunity to improve some teaching facilities and broaden aspects of the curriculum.


History


Foundation

The college was founded as a fee-paying school in 1933 by the trustees of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, at the invitation of Hugh Singleton, Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury. In 1946 it became a
direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
and continued as such until 1975, when the trustees opted for the school to be independent in order to continue as a single-sex


Grant-maintained status

The Education Act 1993 gave the trustees the chance to re-enter the maintained sector and so, once again, offer parents the choice of a Catholic Grammar School education for their sons, irrespective of their ability to pay. In 1995, the school became one of the first Independent schools to re-enter the maintained sector. The prep department retained its independent status and was previously known as
Redcourt St Anselm's Redcourt St Anselm's was a Catholic preparatory day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 11 in the Oxton suburb of Prenton, Merseyside, England. It closed in 2019. History Redcourt St Anselm's began as the prep department of St. Anselm's Colle ...
; however, Redcourt closed in 2019. In September 1999, the school became voluntary aided in line with the
Education Act 1998 Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...
.


Specialist School status

After two unsuccessful applications, the school finally achieved joint Technology College status together with
Upton Hall School Upton Hall School FCJ is a catholic girls' grammar school with academy status located in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1849 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ). Admissions It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolita ...
, another local Catholic grammar school, as part of the UK
specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
s initiative. The school had, at the time, been unable to apply for specialist Language College status because, Wirral Grammar School for Girls, another school in the Wirral LEA had already applied for this as a first specialism. Upon achieving the status the school further developed its programme for
A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
and
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
in
ICT ICT may refer to: Sciences and technology * Information and communications technology * Image Constraint Token, in video processing * Immunochromatographic test, a rapid immunoassay used to detect diseases such as anthrax * In-circuit test, in ...
, installed a wireless computer network in many areas of the school, increased the number of computer workstations available to students for academic work, and also made an email service and extranet available to all students and staff. In 2006 the joint Technology College designation expired, and the school announced its intention to make an application, independently from
Upton Hall School Upton Hall School FCJ is a catholic girls' grammar school with academy status located in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1849 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ). Admissions It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolita ...
to renew its status. The school also announced, because of the success of the programme, its intention to apply for a second specialism in Languages. Both applications were successful. In 2009 the college was invited to take up a third designation as a Leadership Partner School.


Academy

The school converted to academy status on 1 June 2011.


Links with the church

The teaching staff at this and other Christian Brothers schools have traditionally been avowed Christian Brothers, but over the decades, the responsibility for this provision has been passed down to what is now a full-time lay teaching staff of 44, maintaining strong links with the Edmund Rice Family and with the guidance of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.


Ethos and mission

Education at the school is, at its core, Roman Catholic, and inspired by the work of Blessed Edmund Rice. It is fundamentally based on the ''Eight Essentials of Christian Brothers Education'', and the religious studies programme at the school follows that prescribed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. The study of the history and ethos of the college forms a part of the Religious Studies programme at
Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...
, and is a common focus for the weekly assemblies. (The Christian Brothers resident in the house that adjoins the college ensure that Sixth Form students are kept well informed about the ethos of the college by an annual programme of discourse which complements the PSHE programme.


Patron saint

Saint
Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...
(1033 or 1034 – 21 April 1109).


Sports

The college has a reputation for sporting achievement far outstripping its size. Notable sporting achievements include winning the National Schools Cross Country Championship at Intermediate Level and winning the Northerns Schools Championship countless times, regularly attending the National Schools Athletics Final and travelling the country competing in various rugby union competitions. The school also partakes in Hockey and Cricket competitions.


Affiliations

The college had traditionally been affiliated with Redcourt - St Anselm's, a local independent primary school, and although now independent from the secondary school, both schools are part of the Edmund Rice Family, and share sports facilities in
Noctorum Noctorum is a suburb of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Administratively it is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral as part of Claughton Ward. Noctorum is in the north east of the Wirral Peninsula, bounded by the Beechwood estate to ...
. The joint-technology college status of the school with
Upton Hall School Upton Hall School FCJ is a catholic girls' grammar school with academy status located in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1849 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ). Admissions It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolita ...
until Autumn 2006 gave rise to increased cooperation between the two Catholic grammar schools on the Wirral Peninsula. Other joint activities include language talks and spiritual activities.


Notable alumni and staff

Alumni of the school are referred to as ''Old Anselmians'', or within the school as ''Old Boys'', reflecting the single-sex nature of the school. The alumni association of the college is the ''Anselmian Association''. *
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, footballer with Mansfield Town F.C., academy graduate of Everton FC * Peter Davenport, footballer with
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*
Bob Fitzharris The Ven Robert Aidan (Bob) Fitzharris (b August 1946) was the Archdeacon of Doncaster from 2001 to 2011. Fitzharris was educated at St Anselm's College and the University of Sheffield. He was a dentist from 1971 to 1987. He studied for the pr ...
,
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from 2001 to 2011 * Christian Furr, UK artist who painted HRH * John Gorman (entertainer) in ''
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Chris Pilgrim Chris Pilgrim (born 13 January 1986 in Birkenhead) is a retired English rugby union player, his position is scrum-half. He played for Newcastle Falcons in the Guinness Premiership. He made his debut in 2009 at Welford Road against Leicester T ...
, Newcastle Falcons rugby player * Prof
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References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Anselm's College Schools in Birkenhead Boys' schools in Merseyside Grammar schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Academies in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Shrewsbury Educational institutions established in 1933 1933 establishments in England