St Mary's College was a school in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

, Lancashire, England, from 1925 to 2022. It was established in 1925 by the Marist Fathers as a Catholic boys grammar school. It later became a

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

. The college closed on 1 August 2022.

History

Grammar school

The college was founded by the Marist Fathers as a Catholic boys grammar school in 1925. The former football ground of

Blackburn Olympic F.C. Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire in the late 19th century. Although the club was only in existence for just over a decade, it is significant in the history of football in England as the ...

was subsequently acquired as a site for the school, which was known as St Mary's College RC Grammar School.

Sixth form college

The school became a co-educational Catholic sixth form college in 1978. The Finley-Stokes Centre was opened in March 2005, named after former principal Michael Finley, who retired in 2008, and former deputy principal Peter Stokes, who died in 2004. The building was opened by former teacher Right Rev. Bishop Thomas Burns. A science block was opened in August 2007, named after a former headmaster, Father Graystone. A performing arts complex was opened in February 2008, named after former college principal, Rev. Kevin O'Neill. In 2017, allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by O'Neill led the governing body to remove his name from the performing arts centre. In 2017, allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by the late Kevin O'Neill led the governing body to remove from the performing arts centre all mentions of O'Neill's name. A case study was submitted during 2020 to

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their Duty of care in English law, duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced ...

, a statutory inquiry for England and Wales "The Marist Fathers Their culture and concealment of child sexual abuse, and the ‘watchdogs’ that refuse to watch, bark or bite." St Mary's was the smallest sixth form college in the UK. It closed in August 2022 with £8 million of debt. The college said in a statement: "Despite good leadership and effective governance, St Mary’s have been unable to meet the financial challenges as a small standalone College". THE SOCIETY OF MARY Charity number: 1179085: The charity accounts for the society ending 31 December 2022 show a £5m uplift following the sale of St Mary's College Blackburn; this is despite the £8m debits carried by the College at closure. The main building was recently used as a wedding venue however planning permission was not granted.

Alumni

* Sir

Gerald Barling Sir Gerald Edward Barling (born 18 September 1949), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Barling, is a retired judge of the High Court of England and Wales. He was educated at St. Mary's College, Blackburn and New College, Oxford. He was called to the ...

QC *

Thomas Burns (bishop) Thomas Matthew Burns KC*HS (born 3 June 1944) is a British Roman Catholic bishop. On 16 October 2008, he was appointed Bishop of Menevia by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming so on 1 December 2008 when he took possession of his new see, on which day h ...

Mike Duxbury Michael Duxbury (born 1 September 1959) is a former footballer who won ten caps for England. At club level, he played in the Football League for Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City, and in the Hong Kong First Division League ...

, footballer - Manchester United and England * Anthony Green, actor * John Hopkins, landscape architect (

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

, 2012) *

Brian Miller (footballer) Brian George Miller (19 January 1937 – 7 April 2007) was an English professional footballer and England international who played as a wing half. Born in Hapton, Lancashire, Miller played only for Burnley during his career. He won his on ...

- Burnley and England. Manager - Burnley FC *

Greg Pope Gregory James Pope (born 29 August 1960) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hyndburn from 1992, until retiring at the general election of 2010. He was a government whip from 1997 until 2001. Ear ...

, Labour MP for

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying ...

* Sir John Skehel, virologist *

Fred Smithies Frederick Albert Smithies (12 May 1929 – 24 September 2018) was a British trade unionist. Born in Lancashire, Smithies was educated at St Mary's College, Blackburn and St Mary's College, Twickenham, qualifying as a teacher. He taught in Accr ...

, trade union leader *

AJ Odudu Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the ITV2 reality shows '' Big Brother'' (since 2023) and ''Celebrity Big Brother'' (since 2024) alongside Will Best, and previously the spin-off sh ...

TV Presenter

References

External links

The former official St Mary's College website

Video clips

The official St Mary's College YouTube page
{{authority control Education in Blackburn with Darwen Defunct Catholic schools in the Diocese of Salford Sixth form colleges in Lancashire Educational institutions established in 1925 Catholic universities and colleges in England 1925 establishments in England