Finchley Catholic High School

Finchley Catholic High School
Address
Woodside Lane, North Finchley London, England
Information
Type	RC Boys' Business & Enterprise College (mixed 6th form)
Motto	Da Nobis Recta Sapere (Grant that we may be always truly wise)
Established	1926
Founder	Rev Monsignor Canon C. H. Parsons
Headmaster	Seamus McKenna
Number of students	1000 - 1100 approx
Website	www.finchleycatholic.org.uk

Finchley Catholic High School for Boys is in North Finchley, part of the London Borough of Barnet. Founded in 1926, it has over eighty-three years of history (which in 1971 saw its two institutional forbears, Finchley Catholic Grammar School ("Finchley Grammar") and the Challoner School, merge to become Finchley Catholic High School). Its motto, "Da Nobis Recta Sapere"(Grant that we may be always truly wise) comes from the collect (opening prayer) of the Mass of Pentecost. The School aspires to an inclusive and community-focused ethos, of which staff and pupils are very proud; and since 2002 has been designated a specialist status Business & Enterprise College by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

Finchley Catholic Grammar School was founded by Father (later Canon, then Monsignor Canon) Clement Henry Parsons, Parish Priest of the local (Roman) Catholic parish of St. Alban's, Nether Street, North Finchley. He also founded the Challoner School (a fee-paying grammar school for boys who had not passed their 11+); as well as St. Alban's Catholic Preparatory School ("The Prep" - now absorbed into Woodside Park International School) as a feeder primary for the Grammar and the Challoner Schools.

The School newsletter, "The Albanian", is named after the School's patron saint, St Alban, Britain's protomartyr. It is sent out six times a year (every half term) to all parents, governors and other key members of the School community.

Ethos

The school has a Catholic ethos. Religious Education is taught twice a week in Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9); and, as in all Catholic schools in England, the GCSE is compulsory (Key Stage 4 - years 10 and 11), also being taught twice weekly.

Products with the Fairtrade Certification Mark are encouraged, and the School has an action group dedicated to making Barnet a Fairtrade borough.

Every year, during Lent, students raise money for charities such as CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development), and various local and national charities, including the neighbouring (and non-denominational) North London Hospice.

Overview

Finchley Catholic High School is a school for boys aged 11–16 accommodating years 7 - 11. However, a large percentage of boys who gain the required grades are happy to stay on at the school's sixth form, which also admits girls from nearby St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School.

The sixth form is increasing in size, and 25% of the intake will be offered to girls as of the 2007/8 academic year.

Sport

There is an extensive range of clubs offered in FCHS, including the highly successful football teams, rugby teams that often win county cups and league cups. As well as football and rugby teams there is a hockey team, a rowing team, and many more teams. With the new full size astroturfed pitch, and playing fields nearby, the School has a lot to offer and has produced some professional sportsmen.

Music & Drama

The standard of Performing Arts at FCHS has increased dramatically over the past few years. The show "Remember" written by Mark Sell and Lena Santos, and performed by students of FCHS and St.Michael's, has been a major success. It is about the remembrance of the Holocaust, and has been to Poland, where it was the first-ever performance in the Auschwitz camp itself. Music includes Partisan music, and other music with Yiddish and Hebrew lyrics.

As well as "Remember" the school has performed many other plays, including 'Twelve Angry Men' and other classics.

Science & Engineering

The School offers a government-funded Engineering Club to Key Stage 3. It is currently working on making a Green energy supply to run an oxygenating system for the school pond, in the form of a wind turbine. Students are enthusiastic about this opportunity and it is run by two physicists with plenty of scientific experience.

Languages

French or German are compulsory throughout Key Stage 3, and optional at GCSE. French is also taught up to A2 level. There are after-school lessons in Latin, which is available up to GCSE.

SNAAP

The SNAAP club (St. Nicholas Academy for Autism Project) is held on the School premises under the auspices of Barnet. Pupils from FCHS help there every Wednesday 15:30 - 18:00. Activities are I.T. based, but sports and art are also practised commonly as well. It is a strong base with linking people on the autistic spectrum and the School. Over 200 families affected by autism attend the club.

School Buildings

The School's buildings vary in age and quality.

The 'White House', built around 1870 by Cubitt, is the School's oldest building. Grade II listed, it houses the School's reception, main offices, a small chapel and a medical centre.

The Bourne Block, completed in 1936, is the largest building and houses most of the classrooms, as well as the Sixth Form common room and a newly-built business centre.

The Challoner Block, completed in 1954, originally housed the separate Challoner School, until it became part of FCHS in 1971. It contains the second largest number of classrooms.

Bampfield House, a private residence built before 1920, was acquired in the early 1950s as a dormitory block for the Challoner School. FCHS used it as a music and drama centre until the construction of the Performing Arts Centre (see below).

The School Hall, built in 1956 and originally used solely as a chapel, now functions as an assembly hall.

The Stephenson Block, also known as the '1971 Block', houses the ICT and art rooms, a small library and the recently-renovated cafeteria.

The Performing Arts Centre, built in 2004 and opened by local girl Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), replaced Bampfield House as a multi-purpose music and drama centre, including three music rooms and a drama studio. It also houses a seminar room for conferences.

There are two other buildings of note. Challoner Lodge, built around 1930 as a house for the Founder's aged widowed mother, is now the School Keeper's residence. Parsons Lodge, originally the coachman's lodge for the 'White House' and also Grade II listed, was recently converted into two private flats. There is another structure, which could be mistaken for a neglected gatehouse, but is in fact the School's very own electricity substation (strictly out of bounds!).

School Houses

The School is made up of 5 (sometimes 6) houses, which are represented by each year's form classes, which in turn are represented by the colour of stripes on their ties. These are named after prominent Catholics (mostly with some personal connection to Finchley): Bampfield (green), Bourne (blue), Feckenham (gold), Fisher (white), Challoner (red), More (orange) and Alban (purple). Purple is not always included, but sometimes another form is made to accommodate more students, typically every other year.

The forms (houses) each have their own letter, which together make up the initials of the school. This is FRCHSB, standing for Finchley Roman Catholic High School for Boys, and each letter is for a different form.

At the beginning of the 2006/07 school year, another tie colour, orange, was introduced due to a complication about the number of students admitted that year.

As stated by the School:

F(inchley) is Green Tie. Bampfield

R(oman) is Blue Tie. Bourne

C(atholic) is Gold Tie (often referred to as Yellow - Yellow and Gold being heraldically equivalent)Feckenham

H(igh) is White Tie. Fisher

S(chool) is Red Tie . Challoner

B(oys) is Purple Tie

A(lban) is Orange Tie

F,R,C,H and S are the only ties which appear in each year group. Once every 2 years, it seems a new year 7 group get purple (B).

In 2006 the applications of many of the applicants were lost in the post. After the appeals of many parents, the school decided to take an additional class of boys. As the school was celebrating its 80th anniversary, it was decided to commemorate this house to Alban hence the 'More Alban'. This event has only happened once.

Notable Old Boys

• Dom Aidan Bellenger, currently Abbot of Downside Abbey; former Head Master of Downside School.
• Dermot Clancy & Kevin Clancy, brothers who established the construction and engineering company Clancy Docwra.
• Declan Danaher, rugby player, back row London Irish.
• Terry Forrestal, stuntman extraordinary; former soldier (SAS).
• Giuliano Grazioli, former striker for Barnet F.C. (until 2007).
• Jim Griffin, founder of national minicabs giant Addison Lee.
• Sir John Hegarty, founder of global advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
• Martin Ivens, Deputy Editor and political columnist for the Sunday Times.
• Jerry Lordan, composer of hits "Apache" and "Wonderful Land" for The Shadows.
• Troy Kennedy Martin, screenwriter; co-creator of 1960s British TV hit series Z-Cars, scripted 1960s box-office smash hit The Italian Job. Died 15th September, 2009.
• Damian McBride, former adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown; now working for the School as "Business and Community Manager".
• Fr. John McDonald, former Chaplain to the Catholic Stage Guild.
• Sean Milligan, son of Spike Milligan (famous comedian, who as co-founder of the Finchley Society, helped to get the main School building its Grade II listing).
• Nicholas J. Phillips, hologram pioneer
• Paul Rincon, BBC News, broadcast Journalist, specialist in science & technology.
• Sir Hugh Rossi, Conservative MP for Hornsey, then Hornsey and Wood Green, 1966-92.
• Carl Smyth, better known as Chas Smash, drummer in British band Madness.

External links

• Finchley Catholic High School website
• St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School website
• SNAAP Club's Website