St Simon Stock Catholic School is a mixed secondary school 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 A-l ...

with academy status, located in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1967 and is the only

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 ...

secondary school in the area. It was named after the Carmelite

St. Simon Stock Simon Stock, O.Carm was an English Catholic priest and saint who lived in the 13th century and was an early prior of the Carmelite order. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, t ...

, who was believed to be born in Aylesford and is linked to the nearby

Aylesford Priory Aylesford Priory, or "The Friars" was founded in 1242 when members of the Carmelite order arrived in England from Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Richard de Grey, a crusader, sponsored them, and conveyed to the order a parcel of land locate ...

and St Francis' Church, Maidstone.

School

St Simon Stock is a mixed

comprehensive co-educational school with an academic and pastoral tradition. Its function is to serve the educational needs of

students in the Mid Kent area. The students of the school range from 11–18 years. Students are also admitted from other Christian denominations and other faiths only is there are left over places. The school's official name with the

DfES The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. Th ...

was officially changed in 2001, with "Catholic School" added to the end. The headteacher at the time, Mr McParland, stated that this was to emphasise the school's Catholic ethos.

History

The school was opened in 1966 to serve the growth of the Catholic community within the Maidstone area, originally with the intention of the school serving as the centre for a new Catholic parish. In the early 2000s, after the appointment of John McParland as headteacher, a drama studio was built in memory of Kath Topping, a former school governor, along with two new science classrooms. The school was designated as a

Specialist Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were ...

by the

in 2003, with the additional funding used to provide a new Sports Hall and Sixth Form building/teaching rooms, including a conference room. One other new block has been built, which contains three specialist ICT rooms, which are equipped with a full class set of 30 desktop computers, and

interactive whiteboard An interactive whiteboard (IWB), also known as interactive board or smart board, is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform task ...

s. The block also includes two business studies classrooms. On 30 November 2009, it was announced to the school that Mr McParland would be departing as headmaster, to take up the role of principal at a new academy to be formed from the old Christ Church C of E School in Ashford, Kent. At the end of the 2009/10 academic year, it was announced that Brendan Wall, a headteacher from a Catholic school in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, would take up the post of headteacher from September 2010. From September 2011, the school's specialist status was changed to a Science college, owing to the facilities afforded by the newly refurbished science classrooms after a significant upgrade. On 1 January 2014 the school converted to academy status. In late 2016 the schools’ reputation was brought into question after it emerged that Lily Madigan had brought legal action against the school for transphobic rules and conduct at the school. An agreement was reached to change the rules without further legal action. Mr Wall issued an apology and training was introduced as part of the agreement.

Notable former pupils

Shaun Williamson Shaun Williamson (born 29 November 1965) is an English actor best known as Barry Evans in '' EastEnders'' and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC/ HBO sitcom '' Extras'', 'Barry off EastEnders'. Early life Williamson was born in Park ...

- ''Eastenders'' actor * Nic Fanciulli - Grammy-nominated producer and International DJ *

Mark Beeney Mark Raymond Beeney (born 30 December 1967) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is a goalkeeping coach for Premier League side Chelsea's reserve and youth teams. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1986 to ...

- Gillingham/Maidstone United/Brighton/Leeds Utd goalkeeper *

Doug Loft Douglas James Loft (born 25 December 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Tonbridge Angels F.C., Tonbridge Angels. A Non-League football, non-League player at Hastings United F.C. ...

- Brighton/Port Vale footballer *

Jon Harley Jon Harley (born 26 September 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer. A left-back, he played for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Fulham F.C., Fulham in the Premier League, Wimbledon F.C., Wimbledon, Sheffield United ...

- Chelsea/Notts County footballer *

Harry Arter Harry Nicholas Arter (born 28 December 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for club Nottingham Forest. He began his career at Charlton Athletic, progressing through the club's youth academy befor ...

- Footballer * Bunmi Mojekwu - Eastenders/''E20'' actress *

Danielle Buet Danielle Josephine "Dani" Bowman (née Danielle Josephine Buet, born 31 October 1988) is an English people, English football coach and a retired international footballer. She is currently a first-team coach for West Ham United. Club career Bowma ...

- Footballer * Damian Matthew - Footballer *

Alessia Russo Alessia Mia Teresa Russo (; born 8 February 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United in the Women's Super League and the England national team. She has previously played for Chelsea, Brighton ...

- Footballer * Lily Madigan - First Trans woman to hold the position of Women’s Officer in the Labour Party constituency of Rochester and Strood.

Notes and references

External links

* School Website
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Simon Stock School Secondary schools in Kent Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark Educational institutions established in 1967 1967 establishments in England Academies in Kent Schools in Maidstone