St Paul's Catholic Comprehensive School and Performing Arts College
Encyclopedia
St Paul's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School and Performing Arts College, known locally as St Paul's School, is a voluntary-aided
Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form
in Evington
, Leicester
, teaching years 7-13.
in the Leicester area, the other being English Martyrs Catholic School
. There are currently 1080 students on roll at St Paul's, 180 of whom are sixth-formers. They are organized into years, with years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3
years) constituting the "lower school"; years 10 and 11 (GCSE years) constituting the "upper school"; and years 12 and 13 (A-Level years) constituting the "sixth form". Years 7-11 are headed by a Year Head (also called a Progress Leader), and years 12 and 13 are headed by the Head of Sixth Form, assisted by an Assistant Head of Sixth Form.
It is situated off the B667, just west of City of Leicester College
.
on Spencefield Lane (B667). The Convent of the Nativity Junior School was on the same site.
, which is now the site of the non-denominational Crown Hills Community College
since 1978. The current building includes the original Evington Hall building as well as several new wings built over the years. The new additions have made the school building roughly twice the size it was upon the school's foundation. The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee
in 2002, with an open day for alumni, hosted by students and staff. In 2003, the school attained specialist Performing Arts College status, and it has enjoyed excellent results in this field.
From September 2011, the former site of the grammar school, at Evington Hall, will become the Leicester Krishna-Avanti Primary School, a Hindu free school
. It had previously been occupied until 2008 by the Junior School of the independent Leicester Grammar School
, which moved to Great Glen
. The owners of the building failed to get planning permission for housing.
, and as such receives a reduced amount of government funding. However, the school is equipped with modern computer facilities, a well-stocked library and a state-of-the-art performing arts
department which includes a recording studio, drama suites, dance suites and a Drama Hall with a high stage and curtains. It was officially opened by Labour
MP
s Jim Knight
(then-Minister of State
for Schools) and Keith Vaz
, MP for Leicester East
. There is also a Catholic chapel on the premises, which features a plaque blessed by Pope
John Paul II
.
It also features two big hard-court areas, one with basketball posts and a modern sports court with various equipment including two full size football goals. Most of the teaching rooms are equipped with interactive wipeboards and computers.
UPDATE:
"Our primary concern as a governing body has always been to secure enough land to meet our immediate requirements in terms of outdoor play space and also provide sufficient land for future expansion of built facilities. With this in mind we have purchased the whole of the playing fields to the rear of the school." St Paul's School Governors
St Paul's Catholic school agreed to withdraw its appeal against housing being built on the Leicester Grammar site, in return for Leicester Grammar selling St Paul's their playing fields.
, A-Level and BTEC
qualifications, as well as a mandatory PHSE programme.
, and also have achieved some of the highest A Level results in the city.
Leicester LEA has low GCSE results, but the school is one the few to gain good GCSE results, and in 2010 was third best, behind another catholic school, English Martyrs Catholic School (in the north-west of Leicester). St Paul's gets slightly better A-level results than English Martyrs, with the second best A-level results in Leicester, behind Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
. It has A-level results slightly above the England average, and gets the best results for the three 11-18 Leicester schools.
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
in Evington
Evington
Evington is an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. It used to be a small village centred around Main Street and the Anglican church of St Denys but was close enough to Leicester to become one of the outer suburbs in the 1930s...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, teaching years 7-13.
Admissions
It is one of only two Catholic comprehensivesComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in the Leicester area, the other being English Martyrs Catholic School
English Martyrs Catholic School
English Martyrs Catholic School is a co-educational comprehensive school with attached sixth form in Leicester, England. In 2009, Ofsted rated the school and Sixth Form as Good with Outstanding features. The school was also judged by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to be one of...
. There are currently 1080 students on roll at St Paul's, 180 of whom are sixth-formers. They are organized into years, with years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14...
years) constituting the "lower school"; years 10 and 11 (GCSE years) constituting the "upper school"; and years 12 and 13 (A-Level years) constituting the "sixth form". Years 7-11 are headed by a Year Head (also called a Progress Leader), and years 12 and 13 are headed by the Head of Sixth Form, assisted by an Assistant Head of Sixth Form.
It is situated off the B667, just west of City of Leicester College
City of Leicester College
The City of Leicester College is situated on , Evington, Leicester. It is a mixed secondary school for ages 11–18. It has around 1400 pupils...
.
Grammar school
Evington Hall Convent Grammar School was a girls' grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
on Spencefield Lane (B667). The Convent of the Nativity Junior School was on the same site.
Comprehensive
The school was created in 1977 from the merger of two local Catholic schools - Evington Hall, the girls' grammar school that served the city and county; and Corpus Christi, the local secondary modern school built in 1950 on Gwendolen Road opposite Leicester General HospitalLeicester General Hospital
Leicester General Hospital is a National Health Service hospital located in Evington, about 3 miles east of Leicester City Centre, and is a part of University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust. It has approximately 680 beds.-External links:*...
, which is now the site of the non-denominational Crown Hills Community College
Crown Hills Community College
Crown Hills Community College , is a secondary school in Leicester, England with more than 1200 pupils and more than 200 staff members.There are 9 classes in each year with over 30 students in each class....
since 1978. The current building includes the original Evington Hall building as well as several new wings built over the years. The new additions have made the school building roughly twice the size it was upon the school's foundation. The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee
Silver Jubilee
A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...
in 2002, with an open day for alumni, hosted by students and staff. In 2003, the school attained specialist Performing Arts College status, and it has enjoyed excellent results in this field.
From September 2011, the former site of the grammar school, at Evington Hall, will become the Leicester Krishna-Avanti Primary School, a Hindu free school
Free school (England)
A Free school is a school in England funded by the taxpayer, non-selective and free to attend but not controlled by local authorities. The concept of free schools is based upon a similar model found in Sweden as well as US charter schools....
. It had previously been occupied until 2008 by the Junior School of the independent Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School , is an independent secondary school situated in Great Glen, Leicestershire, England. It was founded in 1981, after the loss of the city's state-funded grammar schools....
, which moved to Great Glen
Great Glen, Leicestershire
Great Glen , also known as Glen Magna, is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, about seven miles south-east of Leicester. Its name comes from the original Iron Age settlers who used the Celtic word glennos meaning valley, and comes from the fact that Great Glen lies in part of the...
. The owners of the building failed to get planning permission for housing.
Facilities
St Paul's is a voluntary aided schoolVoluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
, and as such receives a reduced amount of government funding. However, the school is equipped with modern computer facilities, a well-stocked library and a state-of-the-art performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
department which includes a recording studio, drama suites, dance suites and a Drama Hall with a high stage and curtains. It was officially opened by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s Jim Knight
Jim Knight
James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for South Dorset from 2001 until 2010, when he lost his seat. Knight held several ministerial posts during his time as an MP including Minister for the South West and Minister for...
(then-Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Schools) and Keith Vaz
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
, MP for Leicester East
Leicester East (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :In 2005 this seat bucked the national trend as there was a swing to Labour whereas the national swing was 2.5% to the Conservatives.- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1970s :...
. There is also a Catholic chapel on the premises, which features a plaque blessed by Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
It also features two big hard-court areas, one with basketball posts and a modern sports court with various equipment including two full size football goals. Most of the teaching rooms are equipped with interactive wipeboards and computers.
Failed planning application
A planning application had been submitted by Leicester Grammar Junior School (a school which neighboured St. Paul's until 2008) to build houses on the land adjacent to St Paul's School. The land has been designated as being for educational and community use, and St Paul's have offered to buy the land at a cost which reflects this. However, despite knowing for several years of the Grammar school's plans to sell off the land, St Paul's declined to make an offer on the land, and was thus put up for private sale. The students of St. Paul's have used this large area of grassland for P.E lessons and games at break times and lunchtimes. Owning the land would allow the school to continue to develop as a centre of educational excellence for decades to come, building on its recent designation as one of the country's High Performing Schools. The students would also not have to travel to another school for their P.E lessons. If the land was developed the school would instead have to adjust to functioning on a site shared with housing with the obvious difficulties over safety and privacy.UPDATE:
"Our primary concern as a governing body has always been to secure enough land to meet our immediate requirements in terms of outdoor play space and also provide sufficient land for future expansion of built facilities. With this in mind we have purchased the whole of the playing fields to the rear of the school." St Paul's School Governors
St Paul's Catholic school agreed to withdraw its appeal against housing being built on the Leicester Grammar site, in return for Leicester Grammar selling St Paul's their playing fields.
Curriculum
St Paul's offers GCSEGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
, A-Level and BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....
qualifications, as well as a mandatory PHSE programme.
Academic results
St Paul's Catholic School recently got the second highest GCSE grades in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and also have achieved some of the highest A Level results in the city.
Leicester LEA has low GCSE results, but the school is one the few to gain good GCSE results, and in 2010 was third best, behind another catholic school, English Martyrs Catholic School (in the north-west of Leicester). St Paul's gets slightly better A-level results than English Martyrs, with the second best A-level results in Leicester, behind Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, or "Q.E" is a sixth form college in Leicester, England.-Admissions:There are 1,865 full-time 16-18 year-old students and 140 teaching staff. More than 40 subjects are offered at A Level. Somewhat against the national trend Mathematics and Sciences account...
. It has A-level results slightly above the England average, and gets the best results for the three 11-18 Leicester schools.