Saint John Payne Catholic School is a Roman Catholic

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 mo ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, Essex. Established in 1959, the school serves the mid Essex deanery in the Diocese of Brentwood. The school holds strong ties with the Catholic Church, while upholding a prevalent Catholic ethos within school life.

School history

Blessed John Payne Roman Catholic School was opened in 1959 in the original building now called the Bosco Building after St John Bosco. Later the school was expanded with the addition of a second building, now called the Merici building. It became known as St John Payne Roman Catholic School after

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

canonized John Payne, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on 25 October 1970. In 1977 the former Chelmsford Technical High School building was acquired by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in England. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Westminster. Overview The diocese covers the traditional county of Essex, an area of ...

and this is now known as the Aquinas building. In 2018, the school's Sixth Form building was opened, and named after St Anne Line. It was officially opened by The Rt. Rev. Dr. Alan Williams in October 2018. These four buildings and the Sports Hall provide the teaching areas in the school which sit in 25 acres of grounds. The Columbus School and College are close neighbours and students from St John Payne often are involved with liaison and support activities. The current headteacher is Thomas Coen, who was appointed in 2018. The school's motto is ''Avita Pro Fide'' which means ''Zeal for the Faith''.

House system

Upon admission to St John Payne, all pupils are assigned to one of six houses, each named after a religious order. Each house is led by two house captains. *Augustinians *Benedictines *Carmelites *Dominicans *Franciscans *Servites Students compete in their respective houses in inter-house sports competitions.

Notable people

;Former student *

Sam Ryder Sam Ryder Robinson (born 25 June 1989) is a British singer, songwriter, producer, composer and social media personality. He rose to prominence in 2020, after posting music covers on TikTok, during the first UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

(2000-2007), British singer who represented the United Kingdom in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

;Former teacher *

Des Kelly Desmond Kelly (born 19 February 1965) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Kelly is the Chief Reporter and interviewer for British broadcaster, BT Sport. He is part of the live broadcast team mainly for the channel's Champions League and P ...

, former football player and coach who spent over thirty years at the school and served as Head of PE and Deputy Headteacher

References

External links

St. John Payne's RC Schools official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John Payne Catholic School Schools in Chelmsford Secondary schools in Essex Educational institutions established in 1959 Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Brentwood 1959 establishments in England Voluntary aided schools in England