St John Fisher Catholic High School (Dewsbury)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St. John Fisher Catholic High School | ||
|---|---|---|
| Per Crucem Vincemus (Through the cross we shall conquer) |
||
| Founded: 1958 | ||
| Type: Mixed Comprehensive | ||
| Location: Oxford Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire | ||
| LEA: Kirklees | ||
| Ofsted number: 107783 | ||
| Centre Number: 37445 | ||
| School Category: Voluntary Aided | ||
| Headteacher: Mr. K Higgins | ||
| Students: 1200 | ||
| Age Range: 11-19 | ||
St John Fisher Catholic High School was opened in 1958, under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Leeds, to serve the Catholics living in Dewsbury, Batley and surrounding areas. It was reorganised in 1974 and the Sixth Form was added in 1979. The school, an 11-19 mixed Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Comprehensive School, has about 1200 pupils on roll, including 200 in the Sixth Form. It is also a specialist sports college, as of 2005.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] From the school Journal
The Rt Rev GP Dwyer, Bishop of Leeds, opened St John Fisher in 1958, to provide a Catholic education to the children of the Heavy Woolen District. The cost of the school was £225,000 and the school was built to accommodate 500 pupils of secondary modern standard.
At the opening ceremony, the Bishop stressted the need or tolerance of other creeds and the then Mayor of Dewsbury Cllr C Fox emphasied that a spiritual education was the foundation stone for real learning.
Sixteen years later, an all-ability comprehensive intake was granted granted in 1974, and after a very effective and dogged campaign by Governors, Staff and Parents, a sixth form was added.
[edit] Hymn to St John Fisher
When the faith was sore oppress'd/ By selfish men o'erfcome by greed,/ Then rose to aid the Church distress'd/ A Priest who saw his country's need/
Dear Saint help us ne'er to roam/ from the path once trod by thee,/ O guide us to our rightful home/ there to dwell eternally/
Some were tempted to ignore/ the truths which England long held dear/ The Martyr's crown our Patron wore/ with steadfast faith and coscience clear/ (Chorus) Dear John Fisher, Martyr - Saint!/ They glorious life and death shall be/ our joy and pride; when faith grows faint/ with living trust we turn to thee.
[edit] Aims and mission statement
[edit] Mission statement
"Following the example of our Patron, St John Fisher, priest and scholar, we aim to love one another throughout our life at school, to learn and evelop our full potential in the image of Christ.
[edit] In Public Life
The school holds a Prize Night each October, hosted by a local dignitary (such as Editor of the local press, the Bishop of Leeds, etc). It also performs the nativity and the crucifiction at Christmas and on Good Friday respectively, outside the United Reformed Church in Dewsbury
Within the Kirklees Local Education Authority, this school ranks:
- 14th of 29 for GCSE Results (53% scoring 5 or more A*-C grades)
- 12th of 29 for Value-Added scores
- 5th of 10 for A/AS results
(2006 results and league table positions to be added when published) The head teacher is Kevin Higgins.
Notable Alumni include:
- Rt Rev Arthur Roache, etc, Bishop of Leeds
- Frances Cummings, a rugby player for Leeds Rhinos
- Magaret Watson, Deputy Editor of the Dewsbury Reporter
- Other sportmen, mostly rugby players.
[edit] Organisation
[edit] Hierarchy
There are five members of management:
The Headteacher mrhiggins, The Deputy Head , Two assistant heads and the Head of 6th Form Each year group (7-11) has a head of year, and each department has a head. The Governors also hold some sway over school decisions, such as expulsions, admissions, appointments and dismissals. The Governors exist of Foundation Governors, Parent Governors, Church Governors and Teacher Governors.
The Sixth Form is headed by the Head of 6th Form, and managed by the Director of Sixth Form.
Under each Head of Year, there are seven form tutors, each responsible for the administration of each form. Forms are named J, F, I, S, H, E and R, with around 28 pupils per form. Although lessons are only taken as a form, forms are grouped together for administration and assembly purposes. (NB, the Class graduating in 2003 had an "N" form, because of the surplus number of pupils)
[edit] The Journal
Each year pupil receives a journal, which serves as a homework diary, hymn and prayer book, and a means of communication bewtween school and parent. The cover of the journal is coloured according to year. In school year 2006/7, year seven has white, year eight has green, year nine has yellow, year ten has pink and year eleven has blue. Hence, in school year 2007/8, year seven will have blue, year eight will have white, and so on and so forth lauern harwood like coca cola. Pupils are responsible for looking after the journal and ensuring that it remains in respectable condition - failure to do so can result in punishment.
[edit] Admissions Policy
(quoted directly from School Website) The governing body has responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 198 pupils to Year 7 in the school year, which begins September 2006.
[edit] Over subscription criteria
At any time where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the school's order of priority.
[edit] Order of priority
(Descending)
- Looked after children from Catholic families.
- Baptised Catholics who are resident in the parishes of St Aidan’s, Holy Spirit, St Joseph’s, St Mary’s, St Patrick’s, St Paul of the Cross, St Paulinus and St Thomas More attending a Catholic Primary School serving these parishes.
- Other Baptised Catholic children resident in the above-named parishes.
- Other Baptised Catholic children in the Catholic primary schools serving these parishes, i.e., Holy Spirit, St Joseph’s, St Mary’s, St Patrick’s and St Paulinus.
- Other Baptised Catholic children.
- Other looked after children.
- Children of other Christian denominations or of other Faiths whose parents are in sympathy with the aims and ethos of the school and who attend the catholic schools in the deanery as identified in priority 4 of this policy.
- Children of other Christian denominations or of other Faiths whose parents are in sympathy with the aims and ethos of the school and whose application is supported by a minister of religion or an appropriate religious leader.
- Children whose parents are in sympathy with the aims and ethos of the school.
- Other applicants.
[edit] Futher criteria
Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church are to be given priority next after Baptised Catholics in each of the above categories.
Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the categories listed above would lead to over-subscription the following provisions will be applied.
The attendance of a brother or sister at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category.
The governing body may increase the priority of an application within a category where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child, which can be most appropriately met at this school.
[edit] Tie break
Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the sub-categories listed above would lead to over-subscription, the places up to the admission number will be offered to those living nearest to the school. ‘Walking distance’ will be used as the measure
[edit] Logo and uniform
[edit] Logo and motto
The school motto is "Per Crucem Vincemus" - which is Latin for "through the cross we shall conquer" (even though the school no longer offers Latin or classics as a subject)
[edit] Uniform
Boys wear a white shirt, grey jumper with logo, school tie (red and grey diagonal stripes), black trousers and black shoes.
Girls wear a grey skirt or trousers, grey jumper with logo, school tie, white blouse or shirt and black shoes (no heels) Girls in years 10 and 11 wear black skirts/trousers and do not wear a tie.
There is no uniform for 6th Form students, provided that clothes worn are appropriate for a learning environment.
[edit] The Sixth Form
Although religious criteria apply to school admissions, the sixth form considers all applications, and offers BTEC First Awards to those not receiving sufficient GCSE grades to study at A-Level Standard. The Sixth Form, now in its 26th year, offers the following subjects at A-Level:
- English Literature,
- English Language,
- Foreign Languages (French or Spanish)
- Health and Social Care (single or double AVCE)
- Business Studies (single or double AVCE),
- ICT,
- Law (at Dewsbury College)
- Maths,
- Product Design,
- Chemistry,
- Physics
- Biology
- History,
- Geography
- Psycholgy (distance learning),
- Art,
- Media Studies,
- Music,
- PE,
- Travel and Tourism (single or double),
- Theology (giving exemption from compulsory RE)
- Theatre Studies,
as well as a Sport Award, Certificate or Diploma, equal to one, two or three A Levels respectively.
Because the resources of the 6th form are not infinite, it is not possibly to take any combination of subjects - option blocks must be adhered to. Although this may be a fair way of organising a timetable, it means that each year some people may be unable to take their ideal choice of subjects.
Wednesday afternoon are dedicated to Sport, but attendance is not enforced. (For this year, students of Art or French are exempt from PE)
The Sixth Form is responsible for electing the Male and Female School Presidents - these positions displaced those of Head Boy and Girl
