St Ignatius' College

For other uses, see Saint Ignatius College (disambiguation).

St Ignatius' College

Motto	"Ad maiorem Dei gloriam"
Established	1894
Type	Voluntary aided school
Religion	Roman Catholic
Headmaster	Mr. John-Paul Morrison
Chaplain	Fr. T. Byron
Chairman	P. Bolger
Specialism	Humanities
Location	Turkey Street Enfield Middlesex EN1 4NP England
Local authority	Enfield
DfE URN	102058
Ofsted	Reports
Students	1,300 approx. (2006)
Gender	Boys
Ages	11–18
Grades	73.8% in 2006
Website	St Ignatius' College, Enfield

Coordinates: 51°40′23″N 0°03′21″W / 51.672939°N 0.055751°W / 51.672939; -0.055751

St Ignatius' College is a Catholic secondary school for boys, aged 11–18, located in Enfield, Middlesex. Formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed their Eleven plus exam, its educational philosophy was originally based upon the Jesuit precept of Ignatius of Loyola:

Give me the boy and I'll give you the man.

Its current Headmaster is Mr John-Paul Morrison, whose appointment was announced on 22 June 2007, succeeding Mr Paul Adams.

History

The school was founded in Stamford Hill, South Tottenham, London N.15. on 10 September 1894.

The College and the Jesuit community were initially accommodated in two houses called Morecombe Lodge and Burleigh House, located near Tottenham High Road. The school originally had only 46 boys, 4 Jesuits and a dog in 1894. In 1907 the College was recognised by the Board of Education and began to receive public money towards its support.

From the early 1950s the school complement averaged about 700 boys. Its longest serving Headmaster, Fr Guy Brinkworth SJ, retired in 1963. Today the school has about 1,300 pupils. The school remained at Stamford Hill as a grammar school until 1968. The school then became a two-tier, seven-form entry comprehensive school, the Lower School being located at the old Cardinal Allen School, which had been there for eight years prior to the school moving there, and the Upper School located in Stamford Hill.

Turkey Street Building

In 1987, the Lower and Upper schools amalgamated at Turkey Street, a development made possible by a major building programme. The school became Grant maintained in 1993 but returned to Voluntary Aided status in September 1999. At the centenary celebrations in 1994, the newly refurbished chapel was unveiled, and every pupil received a book detailing the history of the school and past teachers. In 1998 the school started to build the 'Octagon' which houses a computer suite and a library. The building work was completed in 2000 and was handed over to the school later that year. Also in 2000, the newly refurbished Roselands centre for the sixth form was opened.

In 2006 the school won a specialist status in Humanities after raising £50,000 through various events held at the school and donations from past pupils.

School buildings

Main building

Originally built in the early 1970s to alleviate the problems of over crowding at the Stamford Hill and Morecombe Lodge site, the main building of the school has seen improvements made to it such as new extensions. Years 7 to 11 occupy the building. There are 3 floors, each one holding at least 3 departments such as the Art Department or the Maths Department. Originally the school only used 2 floors for years 7 to 11, and the 6th form occupied the 3rd floor. However, overcrowding again became a problem and the school acquired the "Roselands" building from the Jesuits who had a place of residence there. Also the school built another floor on top of the current technology wing to serve as the "First Line" block, in this extension project a section dedicated to the study of music was built and a new gym, commonly known to students as the "New Gym." In 1987 there was another extension which added several new rooms to the side of the building, one of which is the current staff room. In 1999 a further extension, known as the Octagon was built.

Roselands

Roselands was originally built as a place of residence for the Jesuit Priests. However, as the number of priests in Roselands diminished, the Jesuits no longer saw fit to occupy the Roselands site and sold off the building to the main school. Roselands has now become the place for the Sixth form to study, however some subjects such as science cannot be taught in Roselands since there is no facility to and, as a consequence, some Sixth Form students have to go to the main building.

The Octagon

The Octagon is a 2 story octagonal building on the site which houses the computer suite and the "Loyola" library. Opened in 1999, it is the most recent extension to the school. On the top floor there is an ICT suite which contains 40 computers, as well as various smaller offices dedicated to tasks such as housing the servers and ICT teachers. On the bottom floor is a library containing a vast array of books primarily for study, but there is a large selection of fiction too. The library and the ICT suite are both open at lunch time for pupils to study in.

CCF Hut

Where the CCF section training is centred. Used for administration and training of the cadets.

Motto

The school motto Ad maiorem Dei gloriam – meaning to the greater glory of God – was abbreviated to AMDG and is still customarily appended to students' essays or homework, in much the same way as quod erat demonstrandum or Q.E.D. was used to sign off the proof of a mathematical theorem.

Religious life

The College aims to assist each individual pupil in his spiritual development. The range of opportunities offered at the college increase as pupils progress through the school.

Mass

The first formal act of each school day is Mass every morning in the College Chapel before school, when the school day and school community is offered up to God. The whole school meets for Mass at the beginning of each academic year and at the conclusion of each term. All pupils have an opportunity to attend Mass on holy days of obligation and on some other major feasts.

Morning Prayers

At the beginning of each day at registration, the whole form class says a prayer from the college diary. This is so pupils are reminded that the work they do is for the Greater Glory of God (AMDG). Other occasions pupils are invited to say the Rosary during May and October, Advent prayer and Stations of the Cross during Lent.

Chaplaincy Team

Helping in all aspects of religious life is the College Chaplain. The Chaplain often celebrates mass for the school and at special college occasions.

The outgoing college chaplain is: Fr. John Moffatt S.J., M.A., M.Theol, who has been succeeded by the Liverpool FC mad Fr Tim Byron S.J., M.A. (Hons). Members of the college from various years help with running masses, for both yeargroups and the whole school. These boys are called sacristans, and are headed by the master of ceremonies, an upper 6th former.

Chaplaincy Groups

There are 4 groups that members of the Sixth Form can join. These groups help to run spiritual activities and help to celebrate the Mass.

They are:

• Arrupe - Arrange Retreats
• Gonzaga - Paired Reading Scheme
• Loyola - Justice and Peace
• Ogilvie - Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

Retreat opportunities

The opportunity for pupils regularly to take part in Retreats, devised and directed according to their stage at the school, is an essential part of the Jesuit educational ideal. A Retreat is a time when, away from their usual environments of home and school, the pupils can reflect on their personalities, their relationships with others, and with God.

The College offers a sequential programme of Retreats, carefully structured in content and style to address the perennial and changing needs of the pupils as they move through the school.

Members of years 7, 9 and 11, have retreat days each year and these take place in the pastoral centre, a detached property which stands on the College site.

Residential retreats are organised for members of the Second Line, Year 10 and Sixth Form. A variety of centres and formats are used. Most recently, these retreats have been held at St John's Beaumont, Old Windsor, southwell house, at the Jesuit youth centre in Hampstead, and at the De La Salle centre at Kintbury.

Awards

At the College there are a number of chances to be given an award. Awards are usually given for good behaviour or for exceptional work.

• Commendations - A small certificate that says the name of the pupil and how they attained the award.
• Merits - For exceptional work or a big achievement. These are presented in front of the school.

Speech Day

The college has an annual speech day, normally held around the end of November [1]. At speech day a vast array of prizes are awarded. In years 8 to 11, each class has prizes for general attainment, general effort, religious education, which are awarded based on their achievements in their previous school year. Also, one pupil from each class in years 8 to 11 is awarded the class prize. For the lower sixth form there is a single prize in each subject. There are also 15 college prizes, each of which have their own criteria for winning. The recipients of all of these prizes are determined by the relevant staff.

At speech day, GCSE and A-Level certificates are also distributed. Speeches are normally made by the headmaster and the principal guest.

Prefecture

When Sixth formers enter the Sixth form they are given a recommendation from their previous head of year if they should become prefects or not. Prefects are appointed by the Headmaster, in consultation with the Head of Sixth Form and his tutorial staff. At the college, a prefect is identified by his maroon tie, while a normal Sixth form student wears a blue tie.

College Captaincy

The title of College Captain is the highest honour that a student can receive. Before Easter, a poll is taken from members of the Lower Sixth as to who they believe should be the college captain for the next year. The Headmaster, who selects the Captain and Vice Captains is not bound by the results of the poll. The Captain and the 2 Vice Captains are announced at the college mass at the end of the Spring Term.

House system

At the College there are 6 houses per year, excluding the 6th Form (Year 12). For the first half term at the College, pupils are placed into mixed ability classes, eg: 1.1, 1.2... etc. Pupils then sit the NFER test. The test is designed to help teachers predict what kind of grades the pupils will achieve later in their career at the school. This process is commonly known at the school as "Banding", and does not solely rely on the NFER test but also from teacher recommendations. From the beginning of the next half term, pupils are placed into Houses.

The House system is named after 6 Jesuit Martyrs:

Top Band:

• Campion - St Edmund Campion SJ, (1539–1581)
• Southwell - St Robert Southwell SJ, (1560–1595)

Main Band:

• Arrowsmith - St Edmund Arrowsmith SJ, (1585–1628)
• Garnet - St Thomas Garnet SJ, (1575–1608)
• Lewis - St David Lewis SJ, (1616–1679)
• Page - Blessed Francis Page SJ, (15?? - 1602)[2]

Pupils change bands if the Line Master feels that the pupil is not coping or the pupil would be more suited to another band. Students may also change between classes in the same band, usually to break-up troublesome groups of friends. This can take place at any time the line master feels necessary but usually happens around the time of a "Band Review", in which every pupil is re-assessed to make sure that they are progressing well.

Extracurricular activities

Publications

The Ignatian

The Ignatian, the college magazine, is published yearly and features a selection of highlights from the previous school year. Pictures of art and reports on music and sport in the college are normally included, along with the Headmaster's report. It is produced and edited by members of the Sixth Form. It is customary to ask the Art students to produce a piece of artwork that will become the front cover of the Ignatian. The Deputy Head editor will ask students and other Sixth formers to write articles that can be included into the magazine. The editors will usual complete the magazine in time for before the start of the summer holidays so that when the pupils come back to school in the following year they can get a copy.

The 2006 version is available to read here [3]

The yearbook

For the first time in the school's history, in 2006, it was decided to produce a yearbook for the outgoing Year 11. Instead of being a soft back publication, the yearbook is a hardback and had a price of £5. Again, a pupil doing art was asked to produce a front cover for the year book.

College newsletter

Every Half Term, a newsletter summarising the college's achievements for that half term, is published. It also includes a list of Merits attained for that half term.

Copies are available to view here. [4][5]

CCF

The College has a Contingent of the Combined Cadet Force. The Contingent has both an Army Section and a Royal Air Force (RAF) Section. Weekly Section training takes place on a Monday at the College. Cadets also get the chance to attend camps, Field Training Exercises (FTX), Adventurous Training (AT) and courses throughout the UK and occasionally abroad. Courses include flying, parachuting, signalling, catering, physical training instructor (PTI), schoolboy commando course, mountain leader training and rock climbing.

The CCF is administered and supported by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Regular and Reserve Army and Air Force. Trainng is carried out by Permanent Staff Instructors (PSIs) from the college staff and Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) from specialist army Cadet Training Teams (CTT) and RAF Training, Evaluation and Support Teams (TEST).

Sports

Sports played at the College include:

• Football
• Rugby union
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Cross country running
• Cricket
• Swimming

The school has a prestigious sporting background. The school regularly attends Sporting tournaments all around the UK. One notable achievement from one of the tournaments is the under 11s winning a mini-bus for the school.

The school recently signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to allow the use of Tottenham's playing fields.

Old Ignatian Association

Former pupils of the school are commonly referred to as "Old Ignatians." The main objective of the Old Ignatian Association is to serve the interests of the former pupils of the College. They provide spiritual, social, recreational and sporting facilities so that they may serve the interests of not only the Old Ignatians but, the current pupils at the College. Although having been in existence for many years, the Old Ignatian Association changed dramatically in the early 1960s. Through the efforts of a dedicated and enthusiastic group of Old Ignatians a sports ground was acquired and a pavilion built on a site in Woodford. In the 1970s the proposed motorway, the M11, caused the association to be subject to a compulsory purchase order and were left without a suitable meeting place for the good part of the 1970s.

In 1999 the Old Ignatians purchased a former sports ground in Turkey Street, Enfield, and planned to build their new headquarters there. Their plans are to re-establish a social centre and to provide some new sporting facilities that were not available in the Woodford centre. Their plan also, is to make sure that the new facilities at the new site not only cater for the sports minded people, but the less so as well. In 2002, after obtaining planning permission for the new pavilion, building began. The now completed pavilion named 'The Loyola Ground' was opened in 2008 and is used by the Association as well as the school for sporting, social and many other events.

Old Ignatian Football Club

The Old Ignatian Football Club is open to former and present pupils of the College to play football on Saturday afternoons throughout the season. They run 5 teams plus a vets side on a Sunday so every level of ability is catered for. With the new clubhouse completed the OIFC once again have a place they can call home after many years without a base. They now play their home matches on the main pitch as well as sharing the schools bulls cross pitches at the Loyola Ground on Saturday afternoons. The football club has seen a new generation of players make the transition from the college sides to the Old Boys sides in the last couple of years and hope to attract even more leavers in future years.

Discipline

Most Old Ignatians will recall the form of corporal punishment administered at the school. The cane was never used: instead it was the ferula (whale bone covered in leather) which was administered on one hand. In serious cases the punishment would be twice six on two hands, but administered on separate days on account of the hand becoming numb. Adding psychological to corporal punishment, offenders were given a week to decide when they would receive their ferula otherwise additional punishment was liable to be added (according to the school rules). Corporal punishment ended in the early 1990s.

The ferula was usually administered in the current technology wing on the bottom floor.

Two types of ferula or "Tolly" were used - the one mentioned above for the lower school and a longer one for the upper school.

Discipline today

Nowadays, discipline is in the form of a detention which is 1 hour long and takes place after school with the subject tutor. In extreme circumstances, line masters can issue a pink detention form with requires the pupil to attend a Saturday Detention. For less serious offences, Line masters can give litter duty to the pupils which involves them collecting litter around the school.

However, if pupils seriously break the College regulations and rules on frequent occasions, the Headmaster and the Board of Governors may wish to exclude a pupil for a set amount of time or to expel the student indefinitely.

Curriculum

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3 Pupils follow the same subjects for years 7-9.

Religious Education	Music
English	Art
History	Design Technology
Geography	PE
Information Technology	Games
Mathematics	French
Science
Latin or Classical Studies

Pupils in Top Band take Latin and German (in year 9), and pupils in Main Band take Classical Studies.

Key Stage 4

In Year 9 pupils can choose what subjects they wish to take for their GCSEs. All pupils take Maths, Science (Double Science), English, Religious Education and Physical Education.

Pupils choose from:

Top Band:	Main Band:
Art	Art
German	Classical Studies
Music	Music
History	History
Triple Science	ASDAN course
Latin	Computer Studies
Sports’ Science	Sports’ Science
French	French
Technology*	Technology*
Geography	Geography
Statistics (Only Top Set Maths)	Capel Manor course
English Literature	English Literature
	Leisure & Tourism

* Technology is split into 3 groups; Resistant Materials, Graphic Products, Systems and Control - (Electronics)

Key Stage 5

Entry to the 6th form is subject to a satisfactory report from the Year 11 Line Master and an interview with the Head of the 6th form. In the 6th form, pupils again choose what they would like to study. This time there are two routes which they may take. Pupils may take a 1-year BTEC course in either Business Studies or Information Systems, or AS/A2 levels. The conditions for taking AS/A2 Levels are:

• the pupil has gained a minimum of 5 A* to C grades at GCSE level in a suitable combination of subjects.
• a recommendation from the appropriate Head of Department.

Pupils can then choose from:

Art	Computer Studies
German	Physics
Biology	Double Mathematics
History	Politics
Business Studies	Economics
Latin	Product Design
Chemistry	English Literature
Law	Religious Studies
Christian Theology	French
Mathematics	Sociology
Classical Civilisation	Geography
Music Technology	Sports Science

Some years, Music is offered when a sufficient number of pupils of the necessary standard (minimum grade 5 in an instrument and theory) enter the 6th form.

Notable staff

Michael Blundell became the college's first lay Headmaster when he succeeded Fr Antony Forrester SJ, in 1986. Mr Blundell was in turn succeeded as Headmaster by Mr P Adams, who has retired as of 2007, and has now been replaced by Mr J P Morrision. Mr A M Dickson and Mr J Duffy, are Deputy Headmasters. Brian Duffy was a highly respected Deputy Headmaster for much of Father Forester's Headship. He had formerly been Head of PE. Bernie Cove, formerly Head of PE, is one of the longest serving members of staff having been at the school since 1968.

Notable former pupils

Main article: List of St Ignatius' College people

See also Category:Old Ignatians

Performance

St Ignatius' College has a high pass rate for pupils who take GCSE - in 2007, 69.9% of pupils were awarded at least 5 A*-C grades, which is down 3.9% from 2006 but up 3.2% from 2005. The pass rate for Advanced Level exams is similarly high, with 97.9% of exams passed in 2007 (up 1.8% from 2006), of which 39.8% were with A or B grades (up 6% from 2006). [6]

References

External links

• St Ignatius' College, Enfield