Ursuline College (formerly Ursuline Convent School) is a Catholic comprehensive

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

with

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

status, located in

Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet District, Thanet Districts of England, local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy ...

, in north-east

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Aimed at pupils aged 11 to 19, the college is based within the Ursuline and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

ethos, aiding and teaching its pupils within this regime.

History

The school in Westgate-on-Sea was established in 1904 when a group of Ursuline Sisters fled

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

with a number of their pupils. Although their school in Boulogne-sur-Mer had existed since 1624, laws passed in France had made it impossible for the Sisters to continue their work of Christian education in France.Foundation of Westgate
ursulines.co.uk. Retrieved on 6 August 2012. Initially the school was set up as a

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. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls, meeting the needs of parents working in the Colonies or serving in the Forces. The school was based on the Ursuline movement, or, moreover, the Ursuline Community, which in turn was inherited from the actions of

Angela Merici Angela Merici ( ; ; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic religious educator who founded the Angelines, Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service ...

in Italy in 1535. In 1995, following the sudden closure of the neighbouring St Augustine’s College (a Catholic independent day and boarding school for boys), the school became coeducational. In mid-1998, due to social and local pressures from members of the prospective public, the school was reborn as an aided comprehensive for children aged 11 to 19. A separate school, St. Angela's, was born out of this disconnection, still providing a private education for its younger students, although this later also closed. Over the ensuing decade, the school became increasingly involved with sport, specifically

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

, and in 2006 became a Catholic Comprehensive Specialist

Sports College Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education. United Kingdom Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled sec ...

. In January 2015 the school converted to academy status.

Ursuline mission statement and sisterhood

As part of the Ursuline regime, the school's mission statement includes the promotion of a generic positive regime and environment for its students. Furthermore, the college relishes its sisterhood with the Ursulines and maintains good working relations with the other colleges, which can include foreign student exchange programs.

Campus

The school includes the grade II listed Hatton House, which was built in 1886 as the home of William Jarrett, a tea planterSpring 2009 Newsletter
Margate Civic Society. Retrieved on 6 August 2012. and a chapel and cloisters constructed of

Kentish ragstone Kentish ragstone is a hard grey limestone in Kent, England, drawn from the geological sequence known as the Hythe Beds of the Lower Greensand. For millennia it has been quarried for use both locally and further afield. Geology Ragstone occurs ...

. The school is currently made up of five buildings: *The main building (Hatton House) *The new building (St. Ursula's) *The new Information Technology building (St. Carlo Acutis) *The sports centre (St. Joseph's) *The Sixth Form Centre (St. Angela's)

Notable alumni

Rula Lenska Rula Lenska (born Roza Maria Leopoldyna Lubienski 30 September 1947) is an English actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions and is known in the United States for a series of television advertisements in the 1970s ...

(b. 1947) -

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

known for her extensive television and theatre work. * Dame Ann Dowling (b. 1952) - Head of the Department of Engineering,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(2009-2014) and President of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

References

External links

Official School WebsiteBBC League Tables
{{authority control Secondary schools in Kent Educational institutions established in 1904 Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark 1904 establishments in England Ursuline schools Academies in Kent