Coloma Convent Girls' School is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

in a semi-rural location in Shirley, on the outskirts of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, South London, England.

History

The school regards its founder as being the Very Reverend Canon Constant Van Crombrugghe, who founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1817. There is a bronze bust of Van Crombrugghe in the Main Hall and a painting of him in their Performing Arts Centre. The school opened on 2 August 1869, with one pupil. In 1871, property was found in Tavistock Road, Croydon, and named Coloma. The school remained there until its move in 1965 to the present site. At the start of its history, the school's motto was Timpore in Silvam (in time a forest) but after it became an established place of learning it was changed to Laborare est Orare (to work is to pray). Previously a

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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, Coloma became a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

in 1978, and was a

grant-maintained school Grant-maintained schools or GM schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective ad ...

in 1994–1999. In 2000 the school opened a sixth form. From September 2010 until late 2018 The Quest Academy was part of the separate Coloma Trust, an academy trust that later also included the Archbishop Lanfranc school. 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 m ...

administered by

Croydon London Borough Council Croydon London Borough Council, which styles itself Croydon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, elect ...

, in November 2022 Coloma Convent Girls' School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by SELCAT, but continues to be under the jurisdiction of

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark The Archdiocese of Southwark () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is led by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Ecclesiastical province, Metropolitan Province of Province of Southwark, ...

Admissions policy

Girls wanting to attend the school are admitted using a religious observation points system, which is intended to give priority to candidates who are seen as the most devout, and to families who are most active in the church. The school is one of a small group of Catholic comprehensives to have adopted this system, along with the

London Oratory School The London Oratory School, also known as "The Oratory" or "The London Oratory" to distinguish it from other schools, is a Selective Catholic Voluntary Aided secondary school for boys aged 7–18 and girls aged 16–18 in West Brompton. Foun ...

, Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School and the John Fisher School. Prior to the year 2000 most of these schools admitted a percentage of their pupils based on ability, aptitude or through an interview process. The points system is seen by some as a way for these schools to protect the Catholicity of their intake. The school also selects a number of pupils at 11+ or 16+ for music scholarships.

House System

Each pupil attending the school is a member of a house; each year group contains six houses: St. Barbara's (red) St. Bernadette's (green), Edith's (yellow), St. Margaret's (light blue), St. Theresa's (purple) and St. Winifred's (dark blue). The house a pupil is sorted into will be the same as any other family member who may have attended the school. Inter-house competitions and events take place throughout the year, culminating at the annual summer Sports Day.

Combined Cadet Force

While the school does not have their own

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

(CCF), a few of the girls per year get to attend CCF training at Royal Russell School enabling them to experience the Army or the RAF.

Headteachers

*Madame Helene, 1875 - 1892 *Madame Elitrude, 1892–1919 *Mother Winefride, M.A., 1919–1945 *Mother Marie Winefride, M.A., 1945 - 31 Aug 1948 *Interregnum 1 Sept - 31 Dec 1948 *Sister Mary Cuthbert, 1 Jan 1949 - Apr 1980 *Sister Mary Gabriel, 21 Apr 1980–1989 *Miss M Dolan, 1 Jan 1990 - Nov 1994 *Sister Sheila (Acting), 1 Sep 1994 - 31 July 1995 *Mrs M Martin OBE, 1 Aug 1995 - 2017 *Mrs J Johnson, 2017 - 31 Aug 2019 *Mrs S Collins, 2019 - March 2021 *Mrs E Englefield, 2021 - Oct 2023 *Mrs D Bumford-Sinclair, 2023 - present

Alumni

Coloma Convent Girls' School

* Paula Ann Bland (b. 1968) - actress, played Claire Scott in ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' * Mwaka Mudenda (b. 1995) - television presenter * Mya-Lecia Naylor (2002–2019) - actress, model and singer * Jenny Shircore, make-up artist

Coloma Girls' Grammar School

* Barbara Jones (1912–1978) - artist, writer and mural painter *

Mavis Batey Mavis Lilian Batey, MBE (née Lever; 5 May 1921 – 12 November 2013), was a British code-breaker during World War II. She was one of the leading female codebreakers at Bletchley Park. She later became a historian of gardening, who campaign ...

(1921–2013) - World War II codebreaker * Marie Angel (1923–2010) - illustrator and calligrapher known for her book illustrations * Sarah Thomas (b. 1952) - actress * Erica Pienaar (b. 1952) - teacher, Dame * Cathy Shipton (b. 1957) - actress who played ''Duffy'' in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Croydon Formerly selective schools in the United Kingdom Catholic points-based admission school Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark Girls' schools in London Academies in the London Borough of Croydon Educational institutions established in 1869 1869 establishments in England