St Anselm's College is an 11–18 boys,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

with academy status in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. It was established in 1933 and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. It is one of four Roman Catholic secondary schools in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

, and one of three Irish Christian Brothers schools in the Merseyside area.

History

Foundation

The college was founded as a fee-paying school in 1933 by the trustees of the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

, at the invitation of Hugh Singleton, Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury. In 1946 it became a

direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...

and continued as such until 1975, when the trustees opted for the school to be independent in order to continue as a single-sex school.

Grant-maintained status

The Education Act 1993 gave the trustees the chance to re-enter the maintained sector and so, once again, offer parents the choice of a Catholic Grammar School education for their sons, irrespective of their ability to pay. In 1995, the school became one of the first Independent schools to re-enter the maintained sector. The prep department retained its independent status and was previously known as Redcourt St Anselm's; however, Redcourt closed in 2019. In September 1999, the school became

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 m ...

in line with the Education Act 1998.

Specialist School status

After two unsuccessful applications, the school finally achieved joint Technology College status together with Upton Hall School, another local Catholic

, as part of the UK

specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...

s initiative. The school had, at the time, been unable to apply for specialist Language College status because, Wirral Grammar School for Girls, another school in the Wirral LEA had already applied for this as a first specialism. Upon achieving the status the school further developed its programme for

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

and

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

in ICT, installed a wireless computer network in many areas of the school, increased the number of computer workstations available to students for academic work, and also made an email service and

extranet An extranet is a controlled private computer network that allows communication with business partners, vendors and suppliers or an authorized set of customers. It extends intranet to trusted outsiders. It provides access to needed services for au ...

available to all students and staff. In 2006 the joint Technology College designation expired, and the school announced its intention to make an application, independently from Upton Hall School to renew its status. The school also announced, because of the success of the programme, its intention to apply for a second specialism in Languages. Both applications were successful. In 2009 the college was invited to take up a third designation as a Leadership Partner School.

Academy status

The school converted to academy status on 1 June 2011.

Overview

Admissions

Founded in 1933, the school was in recent years granted Technology College and then Academy status, in cooperation with Upton Hall School, the local Catholic girls' school. The school used its

status as an opportunity to improve some teaching facilities and broaden aspects of the curriculum.

Links with the church

The teaching staff at this and other Christian Brothers schools have traditionally been avowed Christian Brothers, but over the decades, the responsibility for this provision has been passed down to what is now a full-time lay teaching staff of 44, maintaining strong links with the Edmund Rice Family and with the guidance of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Ethos and mission

Education at the school is, at its core, Roman Catholic, and inspired by the work of Blessed Edmund Rice. It is fundamentally based on the ''Eight Essentials of Christian Brothers Education'', and the

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

programme at the school follows that prescribed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. The study of the history and ethos of the college forms a part of the Religious Studies programme at

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

, and is a common focus for the weekly assemblies. (The Christian Brothers resident in the house that adjoins the college ensure that Sixth Form students are kept well informed about the ethos of the college by an annual programme of discourse which complements the PSHE programme.

Patron saint

Saint

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

(1033 or 1034 – 21 April 1109).

Sports

The college has a reputation for sporting achievement far outstripping its size. Notable sporting achievements include winning the National Schools Cross Country Championship at Intermediate Level and winning the Northerns Schools Championship countless times, regularly attending the National Schools Athletics Final and travelling the country competing in various rugby union competitions. The school also partakes in

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

competitions.

Affiliations

The college had traditionally been affiliated with Redcourt - St Anselm's, a local independent primary school, and although now independent from the secondary school, both schools are part of the Edmund Rice Family, and share sports facilities in Noctorum. The joint-technology college status of the school with Upton Hall School until Autumn 2006 gave rise to increased cooperation between the two Catholic grammar schools on the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

. Other joint activities include language talks and spiritual activities.

Notable alumni and staff

Alumni of the school are referred to as ''Old Anselmians'', or within the school as ''Old Boys'', reflecting the single-sex nature of the school. The alumni association of the college is the ''Anselmian Association''. * Dave Balfe, keyboard player in various Liverpool bands especially The Teardrop Explodes and manager of

Blur (band) Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, ''Leisure'' (1991), incorporated the sounds of Mad ...

* Harry Charsley, footballer with

Oldham Athletic A.F.C. Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league syst ...

, academy graduate of Everton F.C. * Peter Davenport, footballer with

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...

, Sunderland A.F.C. * Bob Fitzharris, Archdeacon of Doncaster from 2001 to 2011 *

Christian Furr Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England) is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II. Education Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall, and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He ...

, UK artist who painted HRH * John Gorman (entertainer) in '' The Scaffold'' * Austin Healey, former England international rugby player (

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

) * Ben Johnston, England international rugby player ( England Saxons) * Prof Dennis Kavanagh, Professor of Politics from 1996 to 2006 at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

* Ross MacManus, UK musician; father of

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

* Chris Malkin, former footballer with Tranmere Rovers F.C. * Prof Paddy Nixon FBCS FRSA FRSN, Vice-Chancellor of

Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

* Sean O'Connor (producer), Executive Producer since 2016 of ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', and former Editor of ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Mark Palios Markos Palios (born 9 November 1952) is an English chartered accountant, football administrator and former professional footballer. In August 2014, it was announced that he and his wife Nicola were taking ownership of Tranmere Rovers F.C., wher ...

, former chief executive of

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

and owner of Tranmere Rovers F.C. * Chris Pilgrim,

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

rugby player * Prof Christopher J. Schofield FRS, chemist, Head of Organic Chemistry since 2011 at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and Fellow of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

* Oliver Shannon, footballer with Everton FC and

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

* Peter Stanford, writer and journalist, Editor from 1988 to 1992 of '' The Catholic Herald'' * Scott Wootton, footballer with Perth Glory F.C., formerly with

and Leeds United F.C.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Anselm's College Schools in Birkenhead Boys' schools in Merseyside Grammar schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Academies in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Shrewsbury Educational institutions established in 1933 1933 establishments in England