History
Mount St Joseph School was established in 1902 by the Sisters of the Cross and Passion.
It started life on August 25, 1902 when the Sisters of the Cross and Passion opened a private school in a cottage in Avery Terrace, now Willows Lane in Bolton.
Sister Bruno was the first headmistress of Mount St Joseph High School and five pupils were entrusted to her care.
The first girl to be officially enrolled on the register was Frances (Franny) Gibbin, a talented student both academically and musically who later went on to study at Newnham College, Cambridge.
In October, 1903 it was recognised there was a need for secondary education in the Bolton area, and it was proposed that a Catholic secondary school for girls should be established in Deane under the trusteeship of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion.
On November 25, 1903 a meeting of local catholics was held to discuss the proposal and the meeting was addressed by the Right Rev Bishop Louis Casartelli.
Although the financial burden was great, the following year the Bishop laid the foundation stone of what was to become the first Catholic secondary school in Bolton on a site provided by the sisters.
The sisters also agreed to meet half the cost of the project, the remainder being paid for by the catholics of the town.
On September 4, 1905 the house in Willows Lane was closed and the 19 pupils enrolled were transferred to the new building. It was formally opened by the Bishop on September 23 and its name changed to Mount St Joseph School.
In that month it also received recognition from the board of education.
In the early days the curriculum followed the grammar school tradition. All pupils studied RE, English, history, geo-graphy, maths, needle-work, drawing, music and two languages which were usually Latin and French.
In the early days the girls did not wear any specific uniform.
Later they wore navy dresses and black straw hats and the uniform remained predominantly navy into the forties.
During the 1960s there was silence on entering the school and in the cloakrooms and corridors. At dinnertime pupils could not leave the table until all food had been eaten. There had to be no waste.
In those days pupils began written work with the letters AMDG (for the greater glory and honour of God).
The new school was built at a cost of £4,000.
Although the school was built to accommodate 130 pupils, only 67 were in attendance in 1905.
In 1912 a new wing was added to the Convent to house boarding pupils. This was closed in 1948 and was used for extra classrooms.
A kindergarten school was annexed to the secondary school at this time. In 1912 a new wing was added to the Convent to house boarding pupils. This was closed in 1948 and was used for extra classrooms.
Six years later and additional classrooms were built for the increasing number of pupils and an ever expanding curriculum, and in 1931 a completely new section was added which included a gymnasium, domestic science room, art room, dining room and kitchen.
Direct grant grammar school
After World War II it became a girls' direct grant grammar school.
The 1944 Education Act established Mount St Joseph’s as a direct grant school.
Due to this financial aid the school expanded, the number of pupils increased and extra teachers were employed.
Further extension work took place between 1957 to 1959. The design of these new blocks was typical of much architecture of that time with large windows and sections composed of brick and concrete.
Comprehensive
It was converted to a comprehensive school in 1979. The school lost its Sixth Form and became a school for 11 to 16-year-old pupils. It was amalgamated with St Augustines in 1986 and operated on two sites — Hawthorne Road, Deane and Harrowby Street, Farnworth.
Two years later the pupils transferred to a new purpose-built site in Minerva Road which is the current site.
The school was awarded Business and Enterprise College status in the early 2000s and was renamed Mount St Joseph Business & Enterprise College for a time.
The school's centenary was celebrated in 2002 with the design of a stained glass window in the chapel in the central area of the school. This was designed by a former pupil and incorporates the religious background of the school in its Roman Catholic Heritage.
Admissions
Today Mount St Joseph is a voluntary aided school administered by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford. [3] The school offers GCSEs, BTECs and NVQs as programmes of study for pupils.
As of the academic year of 2011-2012 the school has used a house system, consisting of Nelson Mandela House, William Shakespeare House and Edward Jenner House. The most successful house as of May 2016 is Shakespeare House with two consecutive house competition wins over the running period. The competitions are based upon many factors from punctuality of the students to checking of equipment.
The school offers a wide range of curriculum in a wide range of subjects such as: GCSE Mathematics, GCSE English Language, GCSE English Literature, GCSE Core Science, GCSE Additional Science, GCSE Biology, GCSE Chemistry, GCSE Physics, GCSE Geography, GCSE History, GCSE Religious Studies, GCSE Graphic Design, GCSE Computer Science, GCSE French, GCSE Spanish, GCSE Physical Education, GCSE Art, GCSE Photography, GCSE Catering, BTEC IT, BTEC Business Studies, BTEC Health and Social Care and Level 2 Certificate in Further Mathematics.
The school's Latin motto "Vitae Via Virtus" translates and means "Virtue is the way of Life".
