The Douay Martyrs RC School is a Roman Catholic school for 11-18 year olds, based in Ickenham

Ickenham

Ickenham is a suburban area centred on an old village in Greater London, part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain have been discovered during archaeological surveys, and the...

 within the London Borough of Hillingdon

London Borough of Hillingdon

The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...

. It is a voluntary aided mixed comprehensive secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 which serves around 1500 pupils from a wide range of social backgrounds. The school is designated as a specialist engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 college, and its current Headmaster is Mr Martin Rainsford. It has close links with other nearby educational institutions, including Uxbridge College

Uxbridge College

Uxbridge College is one of the general further education with colleges in London. It has two campuses one in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon and the other one in Hayes in the same borough.-Facilities:...

, Vyners School

Vyners School

Vyners School is a secondary comprehensive school and specialist mathematics & computing college in Ickenham within the London Borough of Hillingdon.The current Head teacher is Susan Gould, who took over on 1 September 2007.- History :...

, and Bishopshalt School.

The school provision was rated 'Good' by Ofsted

Ofsted

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 ....

 in its most recent inspection report.

History

The school opened in 1962 with 450 pupils, eventually rising to 862 by 1982.

Douay Martyrs is split into two campuses separated by Long Lane. The Arrowsmith campus contains the original building, and is situated in Edinburgh Drive near Ickenham Station. The Cardinal Hume campus, though older, did not become part of Douay until 1974 formerly being Swakeleys Girls school, though this was not its first identity. A Level studies mainly occur on this site though a certain amount of cross over occurs; increasingly so with year group. It is nearer to Hillingdon tube station

Hillingdon tube station

Hillingdon tube station is a London Underground station in North Hillingdon in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ickenham and Uxbridge stations and in Travelcard Zone 6.-History:The...

 on Long Lane.

The author Colin Dexter

Colin Dexter

Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, is an English crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as a television series from 1987 to 2000.-Early life and career:...

, creator of the Inspector Morse

Inspector Morse

Inspector Morse is a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation of the same name, in which the character was portrayed by John Thaw. Morse is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley...

novels, visited the school on 6 December 1991.

Building work on a new canteen and chapel for the Arrowsmith Campus was completed in 2010.

Mission and Values

The school puts strong emphasis on its fostering of Catholic moral values throughout the time of study. Its mission statement (“To create a Christ-centred learning community where every individual is enabled to fulfil their true potential” http://www.douaymartyrs.hillingdon.sch.uk/mission.html) and motto (Pro Fidi Petri) reflect this. Religious courses are compulsory for all years, taking the form of a Maryvale Diploma for sixth formers.

Uniform

The uniform has changed notably twice in the school's existence. At first consisting of black blazer, grey trousers and white shirt, the uniform was changed to differentiate it from other local schools. For many years girls wore similar attire to that of boys but with skirts. This was further changed in 2008 in an attempt to improve uniform standards. The girls now wear a blue blouse with a fitted blazer with the new smaller school badge which looks smarter than the original bigger badge. Girls used to wear a blazer, shirt and tie. The boys' uniform has changed slightly. The only thing that has changed is the blazer.

External links

• http://www.douaymartyrs.hillingdon.sch.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Home&pid=1