St Aidan's Catholic School
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| Motto | Deus Lux Nostra trans. God is Our Light |
|---|---|
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Headteacher | Mr S Hammond |
| Chaplain | Father Maridas |
| Specialism | Language College |
| Location | Willow Bank Road Ashbrooke Tyne and Wear SR2 7HJ England |
| Local authority | City of Sunderland |
| DfE URN | 108869 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1237 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.staidanscatholicschool.co.uk |
Coordinates: 54°53′35″N 1°23′18″W / 54.89298°N 1.38839°W
St Aidan's Catholic School is a voluntary aided boys' comprehensive school situated in the Ashbrooke area of Sunderland. It caters for boys from ages 11 to 18, providing GCSE and A Level education. Recently it has started to offer GNVQ qualifications as part if its teaching programme. The school was founded by the Christian Brothers, and is coupled with St. Anthony's Girls School, its sister school which is located nearby. It is also twinned with St Joseph's Agricultural School In Blama, Sierra Leone.
St Aidan's has six forms into which each year is divided. These forms are Aquin, Bede, Rice (together they are known as ABR) and Corby, Fisher and More (known as CFM). The school is split into two main buildings: the main school, which caters mainly for boys up to year 11, and the Briery, which provides facilities for the 6th Form.
[edit] A brief history
St Aidan’s school can trace its roots back to the ‘Roaring Twenties.’
Canon Smith, then parish priest of St Mary’s in Sunderland, founded St Mary’s Grammar School at Bede Towers in 1928/29. The building in Burdon Road is a villa in Italianate style originally the home of mayor John Moore. Records show the first schoolmaster, Mr J Goundry, was a layman.
The Jesuits took over the running of the school in 1935 – two years after taking on Ashbrooke Hall as a retreat for local Catholic men and renaming it Corby Hall.
Ashbrooke Hall, in Ashbrooke Road, had originally been built for glassmaker James Hartley in 1864 by architect Thomas Moore, whose masterpiece was Monkwearmouth Station.
It later became the home of the Short shipbuilding family, before being taken over by the Jesuits. The original Superior of the teaching staff, and of Corby Hall Retreat House, was Father SJ Whittaker.
The school transferred from Bede Towers to The Briery in Ashbrooke Road in 1936 – previously the home of Mr Craven of Craven Ropery. There was a pedestrian tunnel under the road to gardens opposite which the school later used as a sports ground
The name was then changed to Corby Hall, to avoid confusion with another school.
Further confusion arose, however, between Corby Hall and Corby Hall School, so that “an interchange of letters was necessary after each of the postman’s rounds,” according to Jesuit archives.
Just a year later, in 1937, the name of the school was changed yet again, to Sunderland Catholic College, and in 1939 it became Corby School.
The dedication of both Corby School and Corby Hall recalled, according to the Jesuit archives, the historical association of Sunderland with Father Ralph Corby who was captured by Puritans in 1644 and hanged.
The name Corby School lasted until 1948, when the Jesuits left and handed running of the school over to the Christian Brothers of Ireland. It was renamed as St Aidans RC Grammar School and remained a grammar school until 1975, when a new school block and gymnasium building was completed on the opposite side of Ashbrooke Road and linked to the old school site by a tunnel. At this date the school was reclassified as a comprehensive school. St Aidans retained the Briery building for use by the sixth form.
Ashbrooke House was used as a retreat by the Brothers for many years, but was sold off in the 1970s and demolished to make way for flats. St Aidans school uniform is black blazer with school crest, black trousers, white shirt, yellow and black tie. St Aidans pupils have the option of wearing a grey school sweatshirt with their blazers.
[edit] Notable almuni
- Micky Hazard- former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea footballer
- Mick Harford- football manager and former Sunderland and Newcastle United footballer
- Kevin Dillon- former Portsmouth, Newcastle United, and Birmingham City footballer. Now assistant manager at Reading
- Steve Howey- former Newcastle United footballer
- Lee Howey- former Sunderland A.F.C. footballer
- James Riise - Broadcaster & football scout.
- Dan Smith- Aberdeen footballer
- Chris Steele- Television Doctor
- Mike Elliott- Actor, Comedian and radio show host.
- Lucas Renney- Former lead singer of band The Golden Virgins, now working solo.
