Holy Family of Nazareth Convent School was a

girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

in Pitsford Hall in the village of

Pitsford Pitsford is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. According to 2001 census, the parish's population was 636 people, increasing to 671 at the 2011 census. The village's name means 'Peoht's ford'. Pitsford ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England. The convent school was run by the

Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are a Roman Catholic religious institute that was founded in Rome in 1875 by Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd (Franciszka Siedliska). The Sisters of the Holy Family are an apostolic, international ...

(The Holy Family Convent School), and existed from 1947–1984. It was started after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

girls school for children of emigrants. The order of religious who took on the project was founded by

Franciszka Siedliska Maria Franciszka Siedliska (12 November 1842 – 21 November 1902), also known by her religious name Maria of Jesus the Good Shepherd, was a Polish Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazaret ...

who had opened the first Polish school in London in the 1890s. The "Pitsford" school provided education at elementary and secondary levels, finishing with the GCE – A level exam (the equivalent of the Polish ‘matura’ certificate). In the 1970s and 1980s the school gained a

multiethnic A multinational state or a multinational union is a sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or states. This contrasts with a nation state, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population. Depending on the definition of ...

character; in the 1980s about 50% schoolgirls were of Polish origin, while the rest were native

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. By 1984 about 1,500 girls had graduated from the school. After its closure it later reopened in 1989 as the

Northamptonshire Grammar School Pitsford School, established 1989, is a co-educational, 3-18 independent school in Pitsford, Northamptonshire. Originally called Northamptonshire Grammar School, the school changed its name to Pitsford School in September 2011. Pitsford School i ...

(now

Pitsford School Pitsford School, established 1989, is a co-educational, 3-18 independent school in Pitsford, Northamptonshire. Originally called Northamptonshire Grammar School, the school changed its name to Pitsford School in September 2011. Pitsford School i ...

References

*A. Stawicka - "''Pitsford''" Warsaw 2009 Defunct schools in West Northamptonshire District Defunct Catholic schools in the Diocese of Northampton Educational institutions established in 1947 1947 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1984 1984 disestablishments in England {{Northamptonshire-school-stub

See also

References