St Nicholas Catholic High School

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St Nicholas Catholic High School
SNCHS logo.png
Address
De Gaye Place

Hartford
Northwich
,
Cheshire
,
CW8 1JW

England
Coordinates53°14′56″N 2°31′43″W / 53.248767°N 2.528660°W / 53.248767; -2.528660Coordinates: 53°14′56″N 2°31′43″W / 53.248767°N 2.528660°W / 53.248767; -2.528660
Information
TypeVoluntary aided school
MottoIn Omnibus Labora (Labour in all things)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1965
Local authorityCheshire West and Chester
Department for Education URN111450 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairMr. Jonathan Reid
Head teacherRichard Woods
GenderMixed
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1,288
Colour(s)teal (blazer), Black, white, red and Gold              
Websitehttp://www.st-nicholas.cheshire.sch.uk/

St Nicholas Catholic High School is a mixed voluntary aided school and sixth form in Hartford, near Northwich, Cheshire for students aged 11 to 18. Since 2017, the head teacher has been Richard Woods.[1] The students who enroll there study for 5 years and after GCSEs, they have the possibility of going to the associated Sixth Form.

History[]

St Nicholas Catholic High School opened as a secondary modern on 6 September 1965, with Mr. Michael O'Connor as its first head teacher and Father R. Velarde, Parish Priest of St. Wilfrid's, Northwich as the first Chairman of Governors. It was the first Catholic secondary school in mid-Cheshire.

In 1972, the school became a comprehensive, and changed its name to St Nicholas High School. At the same time, a new science and languages block was built to the side of the original building. In 1979, a new sixth form block was opened by Mark Carlisle, the Secretary of State for Education. Remodelled science laboratories followed in 1989, and a music suite and additional science laboratories in 1992.

In 1995, O'Connor retired after 30 years as headmaster, and was succeeded by Gerard Boyle. In 2003, the school was awarded Business and Enterprise status. The school also holds the Eco-Schools Green Flag, Healthy Schools status and the .

St Nicholas has extended and refurbished the originally standing Sports Hall with Science and Language rooms at the rear at a total cost of £11.5m, as well as a refurbished Sixth Form Centre and new Geography rooms.

Following the retirement of Gerard Boyle at the end of the 2009 term, his successor was Kieran Kelly.[2]

After a visit to inspire creativity within the school, the school received a donation of £40,000 from award-winning costume designer Phoebe de Gaye in mid-2021 to be used for the Art, Design and Technology departments. Her donation was used to fund the refurbishment of the Design and Technology facilities and provide students with industry-grade equipment; and a school-to-industry programme which shows students the possibilities a career in design.[3] The street of which the school is situated will be renamed to De Gaye Place to honour this donation, following an assembly to students in December.

Ofsted[]

In its 2004 Ofsted inspection, the school and sixth form was rated "very good".[4] In the July 2011 inspection, it was rated "outstanding".[5] The school was reassessed in 2019[6] and is now graded 'good' with 'above average' performance.

Catchment area[]

As there are few Catholic high schools in Cheshire, St Nicholas' catchment area extends as far away as Helsby and Knutsford. It also includes Barnton, Davenham, Kingsmead, Middlewich, Weaverham and Winsford. The Sixth Form catchment area also includes the area of St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Crewe, which does not have its own sixth form. Buses run from all the mentioned towns and villages to and from St Nicholas, but due to recent cuts the bus service has come under threat.

Residentials and retreats[]

Residentials and retreats are normally organised during the month of January. Year 7 pupils usually stay at in Anglesey for five days. Usually, Year 7 pupils go on a retreat day to St Josephs Catholic Primary School. Year 9 pupils usually stay and do mock SATS in residential week. Year 10 pupils have attended retreats to Savio House in Bollington, Cheshire for a number of years, more recently some have attended retreats at in Cumbria and in North Yorkshire.

Former pupils[]

References[]

  1. ^ "St Wilfrid's Parish Newsletter" (PDF). St Wilfrids Roman Catholic Church, Northwich. 2009.
  2. ^ "Gerard ready for retirement". Northwich Guardian. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  3. ^ "28 May Newsletter". St Nicholas Catholic High School.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "2004 Inspection Report" (PDF).
  5. ^ "2011 Inspection Report" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Ofsted report from 2019 on the school's website" (PDF). St Nicholas Catholic High School.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Former Northwich footballer David Mannix banned by FA over betting charge". Chester Chronicle. 29 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Fast Food Lucy's still dish of the day". Chester Chronicle. 28 April 2004.

External links[]

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