Cardinal Newman Catholic School is a

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 let ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

that caters for pupils aged between 11 and 18, located in the Warden Hills area of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Opened in September 1968, the current head is Andrew Bull, with the deputy heads being Fleur Musonda and Lucy Whelan. There are currently over 1500 students on roll. The school is named after a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church,

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. As the only Roman Catholic secondary school in the whole of Luton, the school is constantly oversubscribed with over 400 applicants yearly, yet with 270 places to offer. Cardinal Newman was the only secondary school in Luton to have its own

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 ...

until 2011 when Stockwood Park Academy (then Barnfield South Academy) launched a sixth form. Its sixth form has over 150 places to offer students from both inside and outside the school.

Specialisms and academy status

The school has previously acquired Specialist Science Status with Mathematics. This award has given the school funding to build and complete a new sixth form and science block extension, install a new computer and server network across the whole school, install brand new equipment including SMART Boards in many classrooms, purchase new equipment in many departments, especially in maths and science and the renovation of certain areas of the school site including the PE block. Despite the specialist schools programme ending, the school continues to offer science and mathematics as specialisms. 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 ...

, in September 2015 Cardinal Newman Catholic School converted to academy status.

Ofsted report

Its last Ofsted report gave the school excellent feedback, including talking about the 'good quality of the teaching in lessons' and the 'very good management and leadership in the school'. Main areas for improvement included the ICT provision and the induction process of new students. These areas and others, are currently being addressed and substantially improved with the help of funding and support from the

feeder schools A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

and the

board of governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

Notable former pupils

There have been several famous people that have attended Cardinal Newman and this includes: *

Janoi Donacien Janoi Denzil Naieme Donacien (born 3 November 1993) is a Saint Lucian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ipswich Town and the Saint Lucia national team. A versatile defender, he is capable of playing at full-back and centr ...

, left back at

Accrington Stanley F.C. Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...

, and ex-footballer at Aston Villa *

Cliff McNish Cliff McNish is an English author of fantasy and supernatural novels for young adults. His best-known works include the 2006 ghost novel '' Breathe'', '' The Silver Sequence'', and '' The Doomspell Trilogy'', which has been translated into 26 ...

, author *

Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima. Ear ...

, ex Luton Town Football Club manager *

Kingsley Black Kingsley Terence Black (born 22 June 1968) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1987 until 2002, He notably featured in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, and also had spells with Luton Town and Grimsby T ...

, ex Luton Town Football Club player *

Gary Doherty Gary Michael Thomas Doherty (born 31 January 1980) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender, having previously also played as a forward. He gained international honours for the Republic of Ireland. He began his caree ...

has played for

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and is currently at Charlton Athletic F.C. football club * Kevin Foley, footballer * Liam George, footballer * Keith Keane, currently plays for Preston North End Football Club * Conor Travers, the youngest ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' champion winning at the age of 14 years studied for his GCSEs and then moved to do his

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 au ...

s at Luton Sixth Form College

References

External links

Official website

Ofsted inspection results

School profile on BBC News
{{Authority control Secondary schools in Luton Further education in Luton Educational institutions established in 1968 Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Northampton 1968 establishments in England Academies in Luton