Xaverian College

Last updated

Xaverian College
Xaverian College logo.png
Address
Xaverian College
Lower Park Road

,
M14 5RB

England
Coordinates 53°27′18″N2°13′23″W / 53.455°N 2.223°W / 53.455; -2.223
Information
Former nameThe Catholic Collegiate Institute
Type Sixth Form College
MottoConcordia res parvae crescunt
(In harmony, small things grow)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established
  • 1977 - Xaverian Sixth Form College
  • 1945 - Xaverian Grammar School
  • 1862 - The Catholic Collegiate Institute, All Saints
Founder Congregation of Saint Francis Xavier
Local authority Manchester
Department for Education URN 130504 Tables
Ofsted Reports
PrincipalTony Knowles
Gender Coeducational
Age16to 19
Enrolmentc.2,500
Colour(s)    Blue, yellow, white
NewspaperThe Manchester Xaverian
Diocese Salford
Website xaverian.ac.uk
Xaverian College Logo.jpg

Xaverian College is a Roman Catholic college in Manchester, England, two miles (three kilometres) south of the city centre in Rusholme. Established in 1862, Xaverian College has become one of the most oversubscribed Sixth form college in Greater Manchester, along with Loreto College and Ashton Sixth Form College. It consistently ranks in the top 10 facilities for 16-18 education.[ citation needed ] Xaverian College is a member of the Association of Colleges. As of 2019, the acceptance rate is 30%.

Contents

It is near the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music. As it is in partnership with the University of Manchester, Xaverian houses the foundational courses of Sciences on behalf of UoM and Xaverian College students are also able to access the University of Manchester Library.

History

1862-1976

Francis Xavier was the basis of the Xaverian Brothers who would found numerous educational institutions across the world. St Francis Xavier (Xaverian).jpg
Francis Xavier was the basis of the Xaverian Brothers who would found numerous educational institutions across the world.

The Xaverian Brothers, or Congregation of St Francis Xavier (CFX), are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after St. Francis Xavier. The order is dedicated to Roman Catholic education in the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries.

Ward Hall in 1960 Old Ward Hall.jpg
Ward Hall in 1960

The college was founded by the Xaverian Brothers in 1862 and until 1903 was housed in a four-storey building on Oxford Road, Manchester. On the move to the then gated Victoria Park, it was originally housed in a building known as Firwood, but over time, through new building projects and acquisition, the campus grew.

Firwood was home to the Brothers until 1993 when the last of them left. Another former house which has now become part of the college, Ward Hall, was used as a camp for American servicemen in the Second World War.

Mancunian Films, a motion picture production company, used the exterior of the college in several of their films, including It's A Grand Life, starring Frank Randle and Diana Dors. The film company sold their Dickenson Road Studios to the BBC in 1954, making Dickenson Road Studios the first regional BBC TV studio. When the BBC left in 1974 to move to Oxford Road, Xaverian inherited their lighting rigs, now used in the drama studio. From 1946 to 1977, the school was a direct grant grammar school.

1977 to present

The college was a Roman Catholic grammar school for boys until 1977, when it became a mixed sixth-form college. [1] Direct Grant Grammar School status ended and Xaverian became a Sixth Form College for young men and women aged sixteen to nineteen within the Manchester Local Education Authority. In 1993, the College Principal Mrs Quinn led an expansion in student numbers, refurbished and modernised many of the buildings and updated the curriculum with vocationally based courses and the introduction of information technology across many subjects. Her greatest success, however, was to maintain the distinctive Xaverian mission and ethos in a period of much change and uncertainty.

Capital from the Xaverian Brothers and grants from the FEFC allowed a new multi-resource building, The Ryken, to be constructed in 2002. By 2005, the FEFC had become the Learning and Skills Council and recognised the college's progress by part funding a state-of-the-art new building, which was named Mayfield.

In 2007, Mrs Mary Hunter was made Principal. Her appointment can be seen as another watershed in the life of Xaverian. Hunter, whose previous experience was in the general FE sector, brought both an objective eye and a heart-felt empathy to a college truly committed to a special Mission. This was recognised in the latest Ofsted Inspection when the college was graded outstanding in all areas of the report. The college was subsequently awarded Beacon status.

Campus

The college consists of nine buildings on two sides of Lower Park Road: Ward Hall, Birtles, Marylands, Firwood, Xavier, Sunbury, Ryken, Mayfield, and Teresa Quinn built from 1840 onwards. Additions and renovations have been an ongoing feature of the campus's development, with Birtles a key example of this process. The Ryken and Mayfield buildings, added at the start of the 21st century, along with Teresa Quinn, opened in 2020, house information technology equipment. The Ryken building was named after one of the founders of the Xaverian order, Theodore James Ryken. The college buildings are around the perimeter of a central grassed area where sporting and social activities take place.

Notable alumni

Sixth form college

Grammar school

See also

Related Research Articles

The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Francis Xavier University</span> University in Antigonish, Canada

St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier College</span> Roman catholic school in Melbourne, Australia

Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huddersfield New College</span> Sixth form college in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England

Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Doctor Alban. On 17 May 2016 the college was assessed as 'Outstanding' in all 6 inspection domains following an OFSTED review. They are the first Sixth Form College to receive such an accolade under the new inspection framework.

Whalley Range is an area of Manchester, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 15,430. Historically in Lancashire, it was one of the earliest of the city's suburbs, built by local businessman Samuel Brooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchen College</span> Sixth form college in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Itchen Sixth Form College is a mixed sixth form college in Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1906 and was originally a mixed secondary school, it later became Itchen Grammar School under the reforms of the Butler Education Act. It became its present state following further reform in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Xavier's School, Ranchi</span> Private school in Doranda, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

St. Xavier's School is a private Catholic primary and secondary school located in Doranda, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. The school was founded by the Jesuits in 1960 and named in honour of Saint Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Jesuits. It is run by the Society of Jesus and provides education from kindergarten to standard 12. Plus two (+2) was started in 2000 and was run under the guidance of the late Hira Prasad. The school is boys-only until standard 10 with its plus two section being co-educational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Preparatory School (Massachusetts)</span> Roman Catholic boys day school

St. John's Preparatory School is a grade 6–12 private, Catholic, all-boys college-preparatory school located at 72 Spring Street, Danvers, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1907 by the Xaverian Brothers.

St. Mary's Ryken High School, located on an 87-acre (350,000 m2) waterfront campus on Breton Bay, is a coeducational, secondary school sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers. SMR is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and recognized as an independent, Catholic school by the Archdiocese of Washington and the Maryland State Department of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir George Monoux College</span> Sixth form college in London, England

Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, London. It is a medium-sized college with around 1,620 full-time students as of 2018.

Clapham College was a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in South London.

Clonard College is an independent Roman Catholic secondary day school for girls, located in Herne Hill, a suburb of Geelong, in Victoria, Australia. Founded and owned by the Brigidine Sisters in 1956, Clonard College follows the traditions of the Brigidine order and Kildare Ministries. Luci Quinn is the College Principal.

St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school located in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1954, it became an academy sponsored by the St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust in 2020.

Theodore James Ryken, CFX was a Dutch Catholic missionary who founded the Xaverian Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loreto Grammar School</span> Grammar school in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England

Loreto Grammar School is located in Trafford, England. Pupils must sit an entrance exam to enter, and fulfil several other entry criteria. It is part of the worldwide Loreto community, and the Altrincham school was founded by the Sisters of Loreto in 1909. It has also assumed the status of an academy and is a specialist school for maths and science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John Rigby College, Wigan</span> Sixth form/further education school in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England

St John Rigby College is a sixth form college in the Orrell district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester situated in a 30-acre (12 ha) estate. As a college for students who intend to proceed into higher education, students are accepted from across the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and Metropolitan Borough of Bolton areas of Greater Manchester as well as parts of Merseyside and Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellerive FCJ Catholic College</span> All-girls secondary school and a coeducational sixth form located on Windermere Terrace in Liverpool

Bellerive FCJ Catholic College is an all-girls secondary school and a coeducational sixth form located on Windermere Terrace in Liverpool. It is a Roman Catholic school, and has academy status.

For the school of the same name in Quetta, Pakistan, see St Francis Grammar School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayfield College</span> Private boarding and day school in Mayfield, East Sussex, England

Mayfield College is a defunct Roman Catholic boys' boarding school founded as the Holy Trinity Orphanage For Boys in 1865–1866 by the American-born Dowager Duchess of Leeds, Louisa Catherine Caton, one mile from Mayfield, East Sussex. The main building and attached chapel were built in the Gothic style, primarily of red brick and are Grade II listed, having been designed by E. W. Pugin. After closure in 1999 both the main building and chapel were converted into luxury apartments now called collectively Mayfield Grange. Officially opening in 1868 it was also known as the Xaverian Brothers School, St Xavier's College and Xaverian College at various times. Mayfield College was built as one of a pair of orphanages at the Duchess's expense, the other originally known as St. Michael's Orphanage for Girls in Bletchingley, East Sussex, also designed by Pugin.

St Paul's Catholic High School, also known as St Paul's RC High School, is a mixed Roman Catholic secondary school located in the Newall Green area of Manchester, England.

References

  1. Staff (22 March 1978). "Direct Grant Schools". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  2. Mark Bryant (18 August 2004). "Obituaries > Brian Bagnall" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  3. Burgess joined the Xaverian College on 15 September 1928, and stayed to complete his School Certificate examinations. His first published poems appeared in the school magazine, The Manchester Xaverian, under his birthname of John Burgess Wilson.