The Blessed William Howard Catholic School is a mixed

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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 ...

located in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in th ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England. The school was originally opened in 1963. The name Blessed William Howard comes from the site on which the school is located. William Howard was the 1st

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

in the 17th century, and owned the land on which the current school is built. He was convicted of treason and executed in 1680, wrongly so, as it is viewed by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The Church therefore beatified him in 1929, and he became known as Blessed William Howard. Thus the school is named eponymously. Blessed William Howard was previously a

voluntary aided school 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 ...

administered by

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. 62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council In England, local auth ...

, and gained specialist

Arts College An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to England i ...

status in 2003. In March 2016 the school was converted to academy status, however Blessed William Howard continues to coordinate with Staffordshire County Council for admissions. The school continues to be under the guidance of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshire ...

. The sixth form provision forms part of the

Stafford Collegiate The Stafford Collegiate is a partnership of several state schools based within the Stafford catchment area. The collaborating institutes include: Blessed William Howard Catholic High School, King Edward VI High School, Stafford Manor High School ...

which includes all Stafford secondary schools and

Stafford College Stafford College is a large provider of further and higher education based in Stafford, England. The college campus is on Earl Street in Stafford Town Centre. Qualifications taught include a wide range of A-levels, with additional choice offere ...

Notable former pupils

* Tom Edwards,

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

footballer * Peter Turnbull, cricketer

References

External links

Blessed William Howard Catholic School official website
{{authority control Schools in Stafford Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham Educational institutions established in 1963 Secondary schools in Staffordshire 1963 establishments in England Academies in Staffordshire