St. Aloysius' College is a Roman Catholic

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

, boys-only state school in the London Borough of Islington

London Borough of Islington

The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...

, North London

North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...

. Each year around 180 pupils are admitted to Year 7 (aged 11 or 12) on the basis of examination, however the local education authority also assigns students without a school to this school.

St Aloysius’ College was founded in 1879 by the Brothers of Mercy as a Roman Catholic Independent part boarding and day school, then a grammar school, remaining so until it became comprehensive in 1971. The control of the college was passed to the De La Salle Brothers in 1960. St Aloysius’ College is the oldest surviving foundation of its kind in the Archdiocese of Westminster.

The school merged with another local boys comprehensive (St. William of York) in the 1980s, which began a decline in standards for many years, as opposed to the high standards set in its previous history. It lost its sixth form in the 1990s. Today, St Aloysius’ College is a comprehensive day school for Roman Catholic boys in the age range 11–16 and is currently undergoing an extensive rebuilding and refurbishment programme.

The school is used by the National Youth Theatre

National Youth Theatre

The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....

 for many of its auditions and courses.

Famous former pupils include the actor Peter Sellars, Liverpool F.C. star Joe Cole

Joe Cole

Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...

, Gary Breen

Gary Breen

Gary Patrick Breen is an Irish footballer who made more than 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League. He played for numerous clubs over a 20-year career, including more than 100 appearances each for Coventry City and Sunderland...

, Everton F.C player, Moses Barnett

Moses Barnett

Moses Barnett is an English footballer who currently plays for Welsh Premier League side Aberystwyth Town, having been released by Everton in 2010...

 and actors Michael Gambon

Michael Gambon

Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...

 and Femi Oyeniran

Femi Oyeniran

Oluwafemi Oyeniran is a British actor and grime artist, notable for his role as "Moony" in the 2006 film Kidulthood and its 2008 sequel Adulthood.-Career:...

 and N-Dubz

N-Dubz

N-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...

 leadman/rapper Dappy

Dappy

Costadinos Contostavlos better known by his stage name Dappy, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper, actor of Greek descent. He is best known for being the lead singer of the Camden-based Grime/hip hop/R&B trio N-Dubz, with his cousin Tulisa and their friend Fazer...

 but he got kicked out.

Most recent Ofsted inspection

The school underwent its most recent Office for Standards in Education

Office for Standards in Education

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....

 inspection in November 2006, receiving a Grade 2 ("good") in overall effectiveness. That inspection describes the school as follows:

The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who do not speak English as their home language are much higher than in the great majority of colleges. Pupils' attainment on entry varies but is usually below average. The college is part of the extended college initiative. The college was placed into special measures

Special measures

Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...

 in January 2003. Subsequently, it experienced recruitment and retention difficulties. The governing body was disbanded in summer 2003 and an interim executive board established to govern the college. A new governing body was established in June 2005. The college was led by an acting headteacher for a period before the current substantive headteacher was appointed as acting headteacher in January 2004 and the appointment confirmed in September 2004. The school was removed from special measure in 2004.

The report begins its summary of the school's overall effectiveness as follows:

St Aloysius has emerged from a turbulent period and is now a good college. Standards are now rising faster than the national trend. This successful transition owes much to a dedicated core of teachers who are passionate about the college. The headteacher has been instrumental in galvanising and marshalling their enthusiasm, by raising their expectations as to what pupils might achieve and consequently increasing the morale of the whole staff. Through his excellent leadership, the staff have united, there is a common sense of purpose and a strong determination to do the very best for the boys at St Aloysius.

External links

• www.sta.islington.sch.uk for "Official Home Page St Aloysius College Islington"
• Website for "old boys and existing pupils of St. Aloysius' College"
• Redevelopment Plan for St Aloysius’ College, part of Islington
  Islington
  Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
  
  ’s "Schools for the Future" initiative
• St Aloysius RC College Islington from the BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  English School Tables 2006