St Oscar Romero Catholic School

This article is about the school in West Sussex, England. For the school in Ontario, Canada, see St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School.

St Oscar Romero Catholic School
Address
Goring Street Goring-by-Sea Worthing , West Sussex , BN12 5AF England
Coordinates	50°48′58″N0°26′01″W / 50.81606°N 0.43361°W / 50.81606; -0.43361
Information
Former names	St Mary's Catholic Secondary Modern School (1957—1959) Blessed Robert Southwell Catholic Secondary Modern School (1959—1973) Chatsmore Catholic High School (1973—2020) [1]
Type	Voluntary aided school
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1957 (as St Mary's Catholic Secondary Modern School)
Local authority	West Sussex County Council
Department for Education URN	126096 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Governing chair	Chris Silk
Headteacher	Peter Byrne
Staff	100+
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11to 18
Enrolment	1050
Colour(s)	Orange, Blue, Black, Purple, Green
Website	stromeros.co.uk

St Oscar Romero Catholic School (formerly Chatsmore Catholic High School; formerly Blessed Robert Southwell High School) is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school located in the Goring-by-Sea area of Worthing, West Sussex, England. ^[2]

It is a voluntary aided school administered by West Sussex County Council and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The school is named after Archbishop Óscar Romero.

On 13th March 2025, a Court Result was published by Sussex Police, naming the headteacher, Peter Byrne, as a 'dangerous driver', and outlining a driving offence committed on the A24 road at Southwater, on 24th March 2024. It went on to say 'Byrne was sentenced to a one-year driving disqualification, subject to taking an extended retest. He was fined £4,615, and must also pay £650 court costs and a surcharge of £1,846.' Source: https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/dangerous-driver-sentenced-for-travelling-wrong-way-on-a24/

Óscar Romero

Main article: Óscar Romero

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador and became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on March 24, 1980.

After his assassination, Romero was succeeded by Monsignor Arturo Rivera. In 1997, a cause for beatification and canonisation was opened for Romero, and Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God. His canonisation was finalised in 2018. ^[3] He is considered by some of the unofficial patron saint of the Americas and El Salvador and is often referred to as "San Romero" by Catholics in El Salvador. Outside of Catholicism, Romero is honoured by other religious denominations of Christendom, including the Church of England through the Calendar in Common Worship. He is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London, a testament to the respect for him even beyond the Catholic Church. ^[4] In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy by the Europe-based magazine A Different View .

Controversy

In 2008, the school banned the drink Red Bull as it believed that the drink had an adverse effect on the behaviour of the pupils. ^[5]

In 2025, headteacher Peter Byrne was convicted of dangerous driving for driving the wrong way into traffic on the A24. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sat-nav-takes-ex-teacher-161033506.html https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sat-nav-takes-ex-teacher-161033506.html

Notable former pupils

• Brenock O'Connor – actor, best known for his role as Olly in the Game of Thrones series
• Leo Sayer - singer

References

1. Holden, John (17 September 2020). "Worthing high school renamed for fourth time". Worthing Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
2. "St Oscar Romero | Catholic School". stromeros.co.uk.
3. "Murdered Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero canonised". 14 October 2018.
4. "Westminster Abbey: Oscar Romero".
5. Clout, Laura (6 June 2008). "School bans Red Bull after bad behaviour rise". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media group. Retrieved 30 April 2009.

^[1]

https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/dangerous-driver-sentenced-for-travelling-wrong-way-on-a24/

Further reading

Dunn, Karen (3 August 2023). "School is planning to make a sixth form".

1. "stromeros.co.uk/sixth-form/".