La Sainte Union Catholic School is a girls'

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 lette ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

based in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

History

Formerly, 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 ...

, La Sainte Union Catholic School is now a

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 mo ...

school which teaches girls aged 11–18. It is a Specialist Science College. It was awarded Beacon school status in 1999. The school is a part of the LaSWAP Sixth Form consortium, together with

William Ellis School William Ellis School is a voluntary aided secondary school and sixth form for boys located in Highgate, London, England. Admissions The School is located near Hampstead Heath. It is situated just east of Parliament Hill and north of Gospel Oa ...

Acland Burghley School Acland Burghley School is a mixed comprehensive secondary school in the Tufnell Park area of the London Borough of Camden, in London, England. The school received specialist status as an Arts College in 2000 and is a part of the LaSWAP Sixth For ...

and

Parliament Hill School Parliament Hill School is a secondary school for girls with a mixed sixth form located in the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in City of London, London, England. In 2013, there were 1,250 students on roll, between the ages of 11 and ...

. As such, although the main student body is female, the school has a mixed sixth-form. The school is named after the order of

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

that founded and continues to run the school, the Sisters of La Sainte Union des Sacrés-Coeurs (also known as the

Holy Union Sisters The Holy Union Sisters, officially known as the Sisters of La Sainte Union Des Sacrés-Coeurs (the Holy Union of the Sacred Hearts), are a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church founded at Douai, France, in 1828, by Father Jean Baptist ...

). This teaching order was founded in 1826 by Father Jean-Baptiste Debrabant, a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

priest who felt that the future of the Catholic Church lay in the hands of the young women who would eventually bring up future generations of the faithful, declaring that "a Christian-based education offers sure hope for the future of religion and society". The school site is on Highgate Road/Croftdown Road, opposite

Parliament Hill Fields Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band ...

. It was originally a small private

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, becoming a omprehensive schoolin 1966, following its amalgamation with Our Lady of Sion Girls' Grammar School which closed its school in Eden Grove, Holloway and moved to the Highgate site. During the 1990s the school had grant-maintained status. It was one of the first schools in London to be named as a Beacon school in a government scheme designed to recognize outstanding achievement in

inner-city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists sometim ...

schools. The school in 2004 been awarded specialist school (science ) status., and High Performing Specialist School status in 2008. The school was recognised as a good school by Ofsted in 2010, and confirmed as such in a Section 8 inspection in 2019.

LaSWAP Sixth Form

The LaSWAP Sixth Form is 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 ...

consortium of four

schools:

, La Sainte Union Catholic School,

and

. It is one of the largest sixth form consortia in the Greater London area offering some 42 different AS and A2 courses, AGCEs, BTECs, NVQs and GCSE courses. The name was formed from the first three letters of La Sainte Union and the first letter of the other three schools.

Media

La Sainte Union has been featured in ''The Westminster Extra'', ''The Camden New Journal'' and ''The Ham&High'' multiple times for their school plays and acting opportunities. The school was mentioned in the Guardian, in October 2020 after 13 girls were hospitalised after sharing some sweets.

Notable former pupils

Kathleen Mary Cook Kathleen Mary Cook (25 August 1910–1971) was a mechanical engineer who was president of the Women's Engineering Society from 1955–1956. Her father, P. V. Cook, who was also a mechanical engineer, worked with the earliest aeroplane engines. ...

, mechanical engineer *

Maggie Aderin-Pocock Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock (; born 9 March 1968) is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London's Department of Physics and Astronomy. Since February 2014, she has co- ...

MBE, British space scientist *

Tulisa Contostavlos Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...

, musician,

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

, attended the school during her early secondary years *

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

, actress, 'Vera Drake', and 'Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

Sister schools

St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary school located in the Bexleyheath area of the London Borough of Bexley, England. The school was established by La Sainte Union (Holy Union) sisters in 1953 as a conve ...

England * St. Anne's Catholic School (Southampton) England *

Grays Convent High School (We Are One With God) , established = , closed = , type = Catholic voluntary aided school , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label ...

England * La Sainte Union Convent School England *

La Sainte Union College of Higher Education La Sainte Union (LSU) in Southampton was a teacher training college. It was owned and run by the La Sainte Union des Sacrés Coeurs order of nuns, and this Catholic background was reflected in the student makeup. In addition to teacher traini ...

England * Banagher College Ireland * Our Lady's Bower School Ireland * Debrabant School Tanzania

External links

La Sainte Union Catholic School

LaSWAP sixth form consortium

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Camden Girls' schools in London Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Voluntary aided schools in London Highgate