All Saints Catholic Primary School – Thirsk Barkston Ash Catholic Primary School – Barkston Ash Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC Primary School – York Sacred Heart RC Primary School – Northallerton St Aelred's RC Primary School – York St Benedict's RC Primary School – Ampleforth St George's RC Primary School – York; St John of Beverley RC School – Beverley St Joseph's Catholic Primary School – Tadcaster St Mary's RC Primary School – Malton St Mary's RC Primary School – Market Weighton St Mary & St Joseph's RC Primary School – Pocklington St Wilfrid's RC Primary School – York[2]
The school has a split site. The Upper Site is between South Bank and Scarcroft Road in the south side of York, England, and is where years 10–13 are taught. The Lower Site is on Nunnery Lane close to Micklegate Bar and is where years 7–9 are taught.
In 2022, it was announced that All Saints is the best school in York, fifth best School in the North.[6][5][4][3]
The school has been serving the Catholic population of York and more broadly Yorkshire (in some form) since 1665, and plays a role in the Catholic education of the region as the only Catholic Secondary school and Sixth Form in York.
Admissions
All Saints is a secondary school and sixth form (being the single largest Catholic school in the region) for children from the York and Yorkshire Catholic Parishes, however welcomes students from other faiths and belief backgrounds.[7][8][9][10][11]
Traditional entry points are at the beginning of each Key Stage when form (re)attribution also takes place.
At Sixth Form ⅔ of the student body is typically from other York secondary schools.
History
Founding
Mary Ward, a nun from York, initiated a mission in 1665 to educate girls in the Catholic faith, with the aim of preserving Catholicism for future generations. She assumed leadership of the community and established convent-run schools on the Continent, where Catholicism was still legal. Following her passing, the Sisterhood returned to York in 1686. With the assistance of Thomas Gascoigne, a Yorkshire businessman who desired his daughters to receive a local Catholic education, the Bar Convent Girls School was founded. Gascoigne provided a £450 donation to set up the school.[12] The school eventually became the first Roman Catholic institution to teach girls in the nation.[13] The site was chosen because it lay beyond the city walls, beyond the reach of city authorities tasked with identifying and prosecuting Catholics.[14]
During the 18th century the school had a lavish garden and small farm, where livestock was said to have been kept. In April 1769, the first Roman Catholic mass is celebrated in the school chapel, built earlier in 1769 the chapel features a hidden dome concealed by a pitched slate roof. It was strategically designed with eight exits for rapid escape during anti-Catholic raids. Renovations in the 21st century also revealed a priest hole, designed due to the death penalty Catholic Mass carried with it.[15][16]
'no more than a boarding school for young ladies of Roman Catholic families'. – Drake describing the Convent and school in 1736
During the 1800s, an additional wing was added for a day school, as the school was growing.[13]
First World War
The school played a significant role in the war effort, notably establishing a military hospital in September 1914. The sisters' offered to establish a military hospital as early as September 1914, and by 16 October 1914, the hospital had been opened, situated in the newly constructed Concert Hall. It operated until late 1917, the hospital was managed by the teachers, supported by nurses from York County Hospital and numerous volunteers from the local VAD. Over three years, nearly 400 patients received treatment at this facility.[17][16]
Bar Convent school, as it was then known, also accommodated nun and refugees from Belgium during this time, in the dormitories traditionally used by pupils.[14]
In 1925, the Bar Convent School became a grammar school, allowing locals to apply for scholarships.[13]
Second World War
During the Baedeker raids of 1942, the school infirmary was bombed and destroyed in the Luftwaffe's bombing campaign. At the time, the school was being utilised as a military hospital, and medical equipment was installed in the school hall. Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the school's facilities were expanded, and an additional seven classrooms, a laboratory, a needlework room, and a dining room were constructed, effectively doubling the school's accommodation. 5 of the schools teachers were killed in the bombing.[13][16]
Comprehensive Education
During the mid-1970s, the school began admitting boys.[12] Following the elimination of the grammar school system in the early 1980s, the responsibility for the school was transferred from the Sisterhood to the Diocese of Middlesbrough, ensuring the continuation of free Catholic education in the region. The school was reopened as All Saints Roman Catholic School in 1985, with the inclusion of pupils from St. George's and St Margaret Clitherow Secondary Schools (due to the Vale of York Catholic School restructuring), resulting in a doubling of the school's size. Additionally, the Upper School and Sixth Form were relocated to Mill Mount, a neighbouring converted Manor House property obtained by the school from the council after the closure of the Mill Mount County Grammar School for Girls.[18]
Mill Mount County Grammar School For Girls
Charles Heneage Elsley Recorder of York, Owner of Mill Mount Manor House
The school was established in 1920 and was initially administered by the City of York Education Committee until 1974 when it was taken over by North Yorkshire County Council. The school had 124 girls enrolled in March 1921, some of whom were transferred from Queen Anne School.
The original Manor building and stables (still used on the upper site), which was built in 1850 for Charles Heneage Elsley Esq., J.P. and Recorder of York, was purchased and adapted by the municipal authority for use as a school.
The school added a chemistry laboratory in 1922 and a cookery centre in 1925. By 1933, there were 272 girls enrolled, and extensions were added in 1935 to provide accommodation for 150 more girls. A games field at Nunthorpe was opened in 1938. By March 1946, there were 383 girls attending the school.[13] The curriculum was expanded over the years, with subjects such as chemistry, general science, and physics being added, and the original School Certificate being replaced with General Certificate of Education (GCEs). In 1965, a plan was proposed to turn York into a comprehensive education system by 1970, with Nunthorpe and Mill Mount joining to become a sixth form college, and the two other grammar schools becoming a comprehensive. However, this plan fell through, and the school remained a girls' grammar school until 1985, and the site was sold to All Saints RC.
St George's Roman Catholic Secondary School
The exterior of the St George's RC Secondary School, which was located on Walmgate
During the period of 1927–1932, St George's School in Margaret Street underwent a reorganization, resulting in three separate departments for Senior Boys, Mixed, and Infants.
In 1939, construction of a new building for the Senior Boys department began, and was completed in 1948, adjacent to the Primary school.
By 1956, both schools had become voluntary aided schools, with 240 children enrolled in the primary school and 290 boys in the secondary modern school.[19]
However, the Senior school was eventually closed in 1985 due to discussions on the reorganization of York's Catholic Senior schools in the late 1970s. The buildings remained abandoned for many years before being demolished in 1996 to make way for housing. The school was incorporated into All Saints RC School, with the campus relocated to Nunnery Lane and Mill Mount respectively.[20]
Headteachers
Headteachers since the creation of the School in its current form:
The exterior of the Bar Convent, Located within the same building as All Saints RC School Lower Site
Specialist Schools Programme
All Saints School was formerly a Language and Performing Arts College which was part of the Specialist schools programme. This meant that it received extra funding for language teaching. It no longer holds this title as the programme was abolished.
Academisation
Previously a voluntary aided school administered by York City Council,[22] the school attempted to join the Saint Margaret Clitherow Catholic Academy Trust (SMCCAT) which was established by the Diocese of Middlesbrough for the central vicariate, however following a change in structure, SMCCAT[23] was dissolved and in May 2023, All Saints Roman Catholic School converted to academy status[24] sponsored by the Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust[25] which had originally been formed for the northern vicariate. On 5 May 2023, the School was renamed All Saints Catholic School when it became an academy.
Present day
At present, the Bar Convent serves as a museum, guest house, and café. The Mary Ward sisters and Sacristan live in the Convent, and the Lower School shares the chapel.[26][27] The School was linked closely to Saint Francis-Xavier School (SFX) in Richmond for a brief period in 2022–23, when All Saint's headteacher (previously headteacher of SFX) became executive headteacher of both schools.[28]
Chaplaincy & Tradition
Religion
English Martyrs Church on Dalton TerraceDome of the shared school and Bar Convent Chapel
All Saints, being the only Catholic high school in York, plays an important role in the Catholic community and history of the city. In addition to serving the parishes in the Central Vicariate of the Diocese of Middlesbrough (York), the school accepts students from parishes and primary schools in Thirsk, Malton, Pocklington, and Tadcaster.
All Saints shares its chapel with the Bar Convent, and have free-use of this. It was built in 1769 by Thomas Atkinson, secretly as Roman Catholic activity was still punishable by death, it has a unique pitched roof to disguise the domed ceiling of the chapel. In the school chapel is also the hand of prominent York saint, Saint Margaret Clitherow.
The school has links with English Martyrs Church which is located 300 meters from the upper site. The school gathers regularly in English Martyrs to celebrate important masses such as Epiphany (which is traditionally celebrated within the first week of the Spring term) Ash Wednesday, Ascension, Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
In addition, every year, the whole school gathers at York Minster for All Saints Day mass and an Advent service (traditionally held in the evening of the first Monday of advent).
Annual pilgrimages are organized to Lourdes in collaboration with the diocese and other diocesan schools.[29]
In response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in 2022, All Saints organized a prayer chain along the streets of the city in solidarity with Ukrainians.[30]
St Michael's day
In around 1696, a mob threatened to destroy the Bar Convent. To keep the children safe, most of them were sent away. The relics were hidden, and the community waited anxiously for what might happen that night. Reverend Mother Bedingfield placed the convent under the protection of Saint Michael by hanging his picture above the convent door.
Those in the house opposite saw a tall figure on a white horse wielding a sword above the convent. The mob retreated, leaving the convent and its occupants unharmed.
Following tradition, the youngest pupil in Year 7, along with several other Year 7 pupils, attended the procession. The procession begins in the Bar Convent hall and includes the retelling of the story as well as hymns being sung.[31]
Form System
The School operates a form system for sports and school events, each form is named after a Saint who represents a Catholic Virtue essential to spiritual development. Traditionally Form Feast Days are celebrated vertically between forms of the same saint in different years, where students will come in wearing their form saint colours to a mass in honour of the value/saint. Each form, traditionally, delivers one annual assembly detailing how the catholic value relating to their specific saint can be expressed and shared in the world.
You stay in the same form throughout each Key Stage, with membership reassigned at the start of the next Key Stage. Upon leaving Sixth Form, you hold membership to your previous form.
Certain other form saints can be used for year groups, in order to facilitate diversity, inclusion and the growth of student body. These include: Augustine, Bakhita, Magdalen, and Siena. These do not benefit from vertical feast days but participate in celebration.
Forms make up a crucial part of Interform tournaments. These occur once per term in Years 7–11 and are tournaments in Hockey, Netball, Football, Basketball, Rugby and Athletics, in which year groups compete separately. This leads to rivalry between forms as certain forms have sporting reputations.
Form Saint
Virtue
BE
Bernadette
Compassion
CL
Clitherow
Truth
JB
Bosco
Respect
KO
Kolbe
Forgiveness
RO
Romero
Justice
TE
Teresa
Service
AL
Aloysius
Gentleness
DP
De Porres
Humility
FR
Francis
Stewardship
MA
Magdalen
Witness
The School has a student leadership team, headed by two head students, chosen through an application process in the Sixth Form, these speak at major events/masses and open evenings; as well as coordinating a student-led vision. These Head Students, and their deputies, form part of the six core-student leaders, alongside the two chairs of student council. Student leadership roles last 1 year and typically begin in the Summer term of Lower Sixth.
Building relocation/modernisation
Since its establishment in its current form, All Saints has operated a split-site school, which as (then Headteacher) William (Bill) Scriven described in 2013:
"Running a split-site school costs us about £300,000 extra a year, and we get a £137,000 split site allowance from the council with the rest of the money coming from our budget. If we were in one building we would be able to avoid a lot of the current duplication of costs."[32]
Therefore the school has long sought to relocate to meet the demands of its growing student body as the largest Catholic school in Yorkshire. This posed a challenge as the site would need to be in close proximity to the rail station and other transport connections to facilitate the Catholic community from outside the York area attending the school. This was the reason for a failure for the bid of a £20million new school in 2013.[18] In March 2022 the debate about whether the school buildings are fit for use and large enough was reignited due to the government announcing the School Rebuilding Programme. Local MP Rachael Maskell raised the safety and wellbeing of the school buildings for the student body in the House of Commons:
"Parts of the school date back over 300 years. I have had the tour with the estates team at the school; it is taking ever more of their time just to try to keep the site safe, which is a major challenge."[33]
"Needless to say, the behaviour of inebriated racegoers poses a risk, as they urinate on their way back to the city through the school premises (…) need to be taken into account in the programme for rebuilding schools"
In December 2022, it was announced that the school had succeeded in their application to the Schools Rebuilding Programme, and would receive funding for a refurbishment of one or more of the buildings. Rachael Maskell spoke again:
"While the details of the school rebuilding programme are yet to be released, I am delighted that, at long last, the school has been recognised as requiring an upgrade (…) This news is most definitely a fantastic Christmas present for all in the All Saints community"[34][35][36]
The school applied for planning permission to improve the nature of the school's uppersite in May 2024.[37][38]
Attainment
In 2023, 9% of all GCSE grades were at grade 9 which is almost double the national average and 36% of all grades at were 7 or above which is double the average for Yorkshire and the Humber.[20]
All of the students studying A Level Further Maths attained an A* in the subject, In drama over 70% of the students achieved an A or A* and in philosophy and fine art this was 60% and 63% respectively. 77% of history students achieved an A*-B, in biology 69% achieved A*-B and psychology and English language 73% and 70% respectively attained the top grades.
All Saint's BTEC results are the best the school has ever achieved with all students achieving a merit or higher.[19]
In November 2022, the school achieved the fifth position amongst state schools in the North, as ranked in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2023.[3] It also secured the first place in the northern comprehensive School, northern Catholic School and York Secondary School categories.[4]
The school was judged Outstanding by Ofsted in 2016 and 2024.[39]
In addition, the school has won many awards including UK linguistics Olympiad school of the year in 2011.[40]
Old Saintsians
Alumni of All Saints are called Old Saintsians, as students currently studying at the school are All Saintsians. The school runs an alumni service to keep in contact with students who have left, this is majoritively carried out by the Sixth Form.
However due to All Saints being a merger of multiple schools and buildings, alumni before 1985 are very difficult to trace:[41]
St Georges RC Senior School
Incorporated into All Saints in 1985 during the reform of Catholic education in the Vale of York.
All Saints covers the national curriculum as well as the Catholic educational curriculum. Qualifications attainable from the school are BTEC, GCSE, A-level and Level 2 Qualifications.
The school has been used in several films including Bonus Track a british musical coming-of-age romantic comedy film, starring Joe Anders and Samuel Small.[50][51] The Film4 production Extra Geography, an adaptation of Rose Tremain's short story was partially filmed at All Saints.[52]
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