Salesian College was 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 ...

voluntary-aided school for boys aged 11 to 16 (previously 11 to 18, until it had to jettison its Sixth Form). It was founded in 1895 in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, by the religious order of the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

, who arrived in Battersea in 1887 as part of Don Bosco's dream to establish a Salesian presence in Great Britain and the British Empire, with its missionary potential. The College aimed to provide an education loosely based on the

principles A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...

of St John Bosco, founder of the

History

At the end of August 2011, Salesian College and the John Paul II School, both in Wandsworth Borough, merged to create a new school - St John Bosco College. This opened on 1 September 2011 and occupied the Wimbledon site of the former John Paul II School. St John Bosco College moved to the old Surrey Lane site when the new buildings were completed in 2015. In the meantime, it has served as the location of BBC3 sitcom Bad Education and art studios of the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art (ACAVA).

Notable former pupils

* Brian Curtin (b. 1951) - former Irish judge. *

Kevin Day Kevin Hunter Day (born 3 May 1961) is a British stand up comedian, comedy writer and sports presenter. He came to prominence in the British alternative comedy stand up scene of the late eighties and early nineties, playing clubs like The Comedy ...

(b. 1961) - comedy writer and sports presenter. * Brian J. Dooley (b. 1963) - human rights activist. * Andrew Grima (1921–2007) - jewellery designer. * Sir Alfred Hitchcock, KBE (1899–1980) - film director; only spent one week there (as a boarder in 1908). *

Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both Britain and Australia. Early life Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educated at th ...

(1938–2019) - actor. * Mgr Nicholas Morrish, Regional Vicar of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

for Great Britain since 1998. * Lord O'Donnell, GCB (b. 1952) - former

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

. * Jim Reid-Anderson (b. 1959) - Chairman, President & CEO of

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

. * Yuri "Aggro" Santos (b. 1989) - Brazilian-born rapper. * Joseph Spence (b. 1959) - Master of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...

(b. 1969) - comedian, actress, personality. *

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Ma ...

(b. 1939) - writer. * Patrick Wilde, playwright and screenwriter. *

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

(b. 1970) - playwright, screenwriter, and producer.

References

External links

Salesian College websiteSalesians of Don Bosco UKSaint John Bosco School websiteGraham Wilmer Salesian abuse victim
{{authority control Salesian secondary schools Boys' schools in London Educational institutions established in 1895 Defunct schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark 1895 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2011 2011 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures in Battersea