"Let us Rejoice in the Lord" , established = 1957 , closed = , type =

Voluntary Aided 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 m ...

, religious_affiliation =

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 ...

, president = , head_teacher = , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founders =

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

, address = Hall Lane , city = Maghull, Merseyside , country = United Kingdom , postcode = L31 3DZ , local_authority = Sefton , ofsted = yes , urn = 104960 , staff = , enrolment = 1,300 , gender = Mixed , lower_age = 11 , upper_age = 18 , houses = , colours = Maroon and gold , publication = Maricourt Voice , free_label_1 = , free_1 = , free_label_2 = Diocese , free_2 =

Archdiocese of Liverpool The Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool ( la, Archidioecesis Liverpolitana) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese ...

, free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website = Maricourt Catholic School, in Maghull, Merseyside, United Kingdom, formerly ''Mater Misericordiae Grammar School'', was one of two

secondary schools administered by the

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

, the other being Broughton Hall,

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...

. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007 with the new headmaster Brendan McLoughlin. The former headteacher Sister Mary Teresa RSM

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

was the last of the Sisters to be Head the school and ceased her duties in 2007, opting to remain as deputy chair of the Board of Governors. The school offered both GCSE and

Advanced 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 ...

qualifications for male and female students.

History

The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy on 12 September 1957, originally known as ''Mater Misericordiae Grammar School''. It opened in the convent parlour of Quarry Brook House, former home of

Meccano Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nut ...

inventor and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Frank Hornby Frank Hornby (15 May 1863 – 21 September 1936) was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the inven ...

, with only 16 eleven-year-old girls. The school eventually moved to the first small external section in January 1958. This section was formally blessed by Cardinal Heenan on 8 March in the same year. Due to the interest taken in it by the Bootle Education Committee, it rapidly grew in building size and pupil numbers, and became a voluntary aided

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

ing. It was the first co-educational voluntary aided school in the Archdiocese, opened under the new title of ''Maricourt Catholic High School'', with Sister Mary Magdalen as headmistress. She retired at Christmas in 1989 and was succeeded by Sister Mary Teresa, who led the school until 2007. The school is now the largest Catholic secondary school in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. A jubilee mass was celebrated on 21 September 2007 in the

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and locally nicknamed "Paddy's Wigwam", is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Li ...

. The chief celebrant was the Archbishop of Liverpool, Patrick Kelly, with thousands of friends, students, past and present attending the ceremony to celebrate the milestone.

Sixth Form

The

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 ...

at Maricourt was rated as gaining some of the highest

results in

and stand consistently above the national average, as well as enjoying a regular 100% pass rate for Advanced Level students. Maricourt works alongside

Maghull High School Maghull High School is one of three secondary schools in Maghull. History The school was produced in 1982 by the merger of Ormonde Drive High School and Old Hall High School on the Ormonde Drive site. By 1988, the Old Hall site was empty. Old Hal ...

and

Deyes High School Deyes High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form situated in Maghull on the outskirts of Liverpool, England. History The school was opened in March 1939 by Sir Peter Meadon, Lancashire's director of education at a cost of � ...

to form the ''Maghull Collaborative'', in which students may study across these sixth forms to broaden the A-Level curriculum available within them. Facilities at Maricourt, based in Quarry Brook House, were subject to substantial refurbishment during the 2011 August Holidays with modified study areas as well as the conversion of one of Quarry Brook's larger first floor rooms into an Oratory for use by students.

School Grounds

Maricourt is split across two sites, Newman Hall and Arnold Hall, upper and lower school respectively. Newman Hall, named in the honour of Cardinal

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 ...

, is considered the school's main site and is home to both the administrative offices and most subject offices. School years 9 to 11 and the

reside on this site for the majority of their lessons, and years 7 and 8 visit the site to use the available facilities, such as sports, drama and technology. Arnold Hall, previously the site of St Paul's Comprehensive, serves as the primary site for years 7 and 8, with sports facilities and rooms used by all students. Both sites have a large field used for recreation, physical education and sporting events.

Previous Headteachers

Until 2007 previous headteachers had been both female and members of the Sisters of Mercy. , , 2015-2016

Notable former pupils

Alumni of Maricourt Catholic High School are known as Old Maricourtians. Noted Old Maricourtians include: *

Heidi Range Heidi India Partakis ( Range; born 23 May 1983) is an English singer, best known as a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group before they released any mater ...

, member of British girlband

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

. *

Simon Richman Simon Andrew Richman (born 2 June 1990) is an English semi-professional footballer who last played for club Bradford (Park Avenue) as a midfielder. A former youth team player with Port Vale, he was a regular in the first team throughout the 2 ...

, professional footballer. * Stephen Darby, professional footballer. * Aaron McGowan, professional footballer. * Joe Rafferty, professional footballer. * Liam Nolan, professional footballer. * Jimmy Ryan, professional footballer. *

Alex Whittle Alex Whittle (born 15 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for York City. He has played for Dunfermline Athletic, AFC Fylde, Southport, York City, Forest Green Rovers, Southport, Boston United, Gloucester C ...

, professional footballer. * Adam Cummins, professional footballer. * Paul Lewis, professional footballer. * Conor Grant, professional footballer. * George Green, professional footballer. * Niall Watson, professional footballer. *

Tom Scully Tom Scully (born 15 May 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played for the Melbourne Football Club, Greater Western Sydney Giants, and Hawthorn Football Club. A star midfielder at junior level, Scully was originally s ...

, professional footballer. *

Terry McPhillips Terence Peter McPhillips (born 1 October 1968) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a forward in the Football League. He is currently the Chief Scout of Forest Green Rovers. Early life McPhillips attend ...

, former professional footballer.Liverpool echo
/ref> *

Peter Charles Peter Charles, (born 1 January 1960) is an Irish-British equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping. Originally a competitor for Great Britain, Charles changed nationalities to Irish in 1992. In 2007, he relinquished his status as an ...

Show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist.

References

External links

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council official siteAssociates of the Sisters of Mercy official siteWebsite of the Sisters of Mercy
{{authority control Secondary schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Liverpool Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in England Sisters of Mercy schools Voluntary aided schools in England Maghull