St Ignatius' College
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St Ignatius' College is a Catholic secondary school for boys, now located in Enfield, Greater London. Formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed their 11-plus exam, its educational philosophy was originally based upon the Jesuit precept of Ignatius of Loyola:
- Give me the boy and I'll give you the man.
Nowadays, St. Ignatius' College adopts a more liberal and relaxed approach, while its pupils continue to achieve very good academic results.
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[edit] History
The school was founded in Stamford Hill, South Tottenham, London N.15. in 1894.
The College and the Jesuit community were initially accommodated in two houses called Morecombe Lodge and Burleigh House, located near Tottenham High Road. In 1907 the College was recognised by the Board of Education and began to receive public money towards its support.
The school remained at Stamford Hill as a grammar school until 1968. The school then became a two-tier, seven-form entry comprehensive school. The Lower School being located at the old Cardinal Allen School, which had been there for eight years prior to the school moving there, and the Upper School located in Stamford Hill.
In 1987, schools amalgamated at Turkey Street, a development made possible by a major building programme. The school became Grant maintained in 1993 but since has returned to the Voluntary Aided status in September 1999. At the centenary celebrations in 1994, the new refurbished chapel was unveiled. Also every pupil received a book detailing the history of the school and past teachers. In 1998 the school started to build the 'Octagon' which houses a computer suite and a library. The building work was completed in 2000 and was handed over to the school later that year. Also in 2000, the newly refurbished Roselands centre for the sixth form was opened.
In 2006 the school won a specialist status in Humanities after successfully raising £50,000 through various events held at the school and successful donations from past pupils.
[edit] Motto
The school motto ad majorem Dei gloriam – meaning to the greater glory of God – was abbreviated to AMDG and is still customarily appended to students' essays or homework, in much the same way as quod erat demonstrandum or Q.E.D. was used to sign off the proof of a mathematical theorem.
[edit] Sports
Soccer was frowned upon at St Ignatius, since rugby union and cricket were the school's preferred sports. However, its playing fields at White Hart Lane were adjacent to the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. football stadium.
The school has a prestigious sporting background. One notable achievement is the under 11s winning a soccer tournament and obtaining a mini-bus for the school.
The school recently signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to allow the use of Tottenham's playing fields.
[edit] Discipline
Most Old Ignatians will recall the form of corporal punishment administered at the school. The cane was never used: instead it was the ferula (whale bone covered in leather) which was administered on one hand. In serious cases the punishment would be twice six on two hands, but administered on separate days on account of the hand becoming numb. Adding psychological to corporal punishment, offenders were given a week to decide when they would receive their ferula otherwise additional punishment was liable to be added (according to the school rules). Corporal punishment ended in the early 1990s.
[edit] Headmasters
From the early 1950s the school complement averaged about 700 boys. Its longest serving Headmaster, Fr Guy Brinkworth SJ, (nicknamed Chang), retired in 1967. Today the school has about 1,300 pupils. During the mid-80s the lower and upper schools were merged into one site with further expansion of the Turkey street site. Michael Blundell became the college's first lay Headmaster when he succeeded Fr Antony Forrester SJ, in 1986. Mr Blundell was in turn succeeded as Headmaster by Mr P Adams, who is the current Headmaster. Mr A M Dickson and Mr J Duffy, are Deputy Headmasters. Brian Duffy was a highly respected Deputy Headmaster for much of Father Forester's Headship. He had formerly been Head of PE.
[edit] Notable former pupils
Famous alumni include:
- film director Alfred Hitchcock
- musician Bernard Butler
- hypnotist Paul McKenna
- actor George Sewell (Get Carter, Z Cars, Canned Carrott and many more) and,
- Sky Sports presenter, Mathew Lorenzo
- Reginald Dunne, Former Second in Command of the London IRA
- Cardinal Heenan, Head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales 1965 -75
- Brian Hanrahan, BBC Diplomatic Editor
- Patrick Haseldine, former British diplomat, who accused apartheid South Africa of responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing
- George Martin, who signed The Beatles and greatly influenced their sound and success by producing many of their albums, including the 1967 Sergeant Pepper LP
- Dave Sexton, Manchester United F.C. manager (1977 -1981)
- British actor/producer, Edmund Purdom, star of the 1954 MGM film The Student Prince
[edit] Academic record
St Ignatius' College has an excellent pass rate for pupils who take GCSE. In 2006, 73.8% of pupils received at least 5 A-C grades.
[edit] Contact information:
St Ignatius College, R.C. for Boys
Turkey Street
Enfield EN1 4NP
Telephone: 01992 717835
Fax: 01992 652070
Email: Admin@St-Ignatius.co.uk
