La Sainte Union Catholic School
| Motto | Cuique Omnes et Omnes Deo - Each for all and all for God |
|---|---|
| Established | 1861 |
| Type | Voluntary aided school |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Headteacher | Maureen Williams |
| Founder | Jean Baptiste Debrabant |
| Location |
Highgate Road London NW5 1RP England Coordinates: 51°33′36″N 0°08′58″W / 51.56°N 0.14942°W |
| Local authority | Camden |
| DfE URN | 100059 |
| Gender | Girls (mixed 6th Form - LaSWAP) |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Bottle Green, White & Gold |
| Website |
www |
La Sainte Union Catholic School is a girls' Roman Catholic secondary school based in Highgate, Camden in North London.
History
Formerly, a grant-maintained school, La Sainte Union Catholic School is now a voluntary-aided school which teaches girls aged 11–18. It is a Specialist Science College. It was awarded Beacon school status in 1999. The school is a part of the LaSWAP Sixth Form consortium, together with William Ellis School, Acland Burghley School and Parliament Hill School. As such, although the main student body is female, the school has a mixed sixth-form.
The school is named after the order of sisters that founded and continues to run the school, the Sisters of La Sainte Union des Sacrés-Coeurs. This teaching order was founded in 1826 by Father Jean-Baptiste Debrabant, a Belgian priest who felt that the future of the Catholic Church lay in the hands of the young women who would eventually bring up future generations of the faithful, declaring that "a Christian-based education offers sure hope for the future of religion and society".[1]
The school site is on Highgate Road/Croftdown Road, opposite Parliament Hill Fields. It was originally a small private boarding school, becoming a grammar school in the 1960s, and then a comprehensive in the 1970s.[2] During the 1990s the school had grant-maintained status. It was one of the first schools in London to be named as a Beacon school in a government scheme designed to recognize outstanding achievement in inner-city schools. The school has recently also been awarded specialist school (science and mathematics) status.
LaSWAP Sixth Form
The LaSWAP Sixth Form is the sixth form consortium of four North London schools: Acland Burghley School, La Sainte Union Catholic School, Parliament Hill School and William Ellis School. It is one of the largest sixth form consortia in the Greater London area offering some 42 different AS and A2 courses, AGCEs, BTECs, NVQs and GCSE courses. The name was formed from the first three letters of La Sainte Union and the first letter of the other three schools.
Notable former pupils
- Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, British space scientist
- Tulisa Contostavlos, musician, N-Dubz, attended the school during her early secondary years
- Gloria Hooper, Baroness Hooper, Conservative MEP and life peer
- Imelda Staunton, actress, 'Vera Drake', and 'Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix
Sister schools
- St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls England
- St. Anne's Catholic School (Southampton) England
- Grays Convent High School England
- La Sainte Union Convent School England
- La Sainte Union College of Higher Education England
- Banagher College Ireland
- Our Lady's Bower School Ireland
- Debrabant School Tanzania
External links
References
- ↑ Report on the school by the Archdiocese of Westminster
- ↑ "London schools in re-shuffle". Catholic Herald. 6 March 1964.