Chester Catholic High School

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The Catholic High School, Chester
Location
Old Wrexham Road Chester CH4 7HS
Information
Principal	John Murray
Enrollment	approx. 1, 000
Type	Mixed comprehensive
Motto	Christo Fidelis (Faithful to Christ)
Established	September 1972
Information	01244 981600
Colors Religious Affilliation	Green & gold Roman Catholic
Homepage	http://www.chs-e.com

The Catholic High School, Chester or CHS is a Roman Catholic secondary school on the outskirts of Handbridge, Chester, England. The school is a mixed 11-18 comprehensive school with a Sixth Form. The catchment area of the school expands into Lache and Blacon, with some buses transporting pupils from as far afield as Neston and Frodsham. The school has over 1,000 pupils. The general uniform is a bottle green sweatshirt or polo shirt with black trousers. The current head teacher is John Murray, previous head teachers have included John McCann (acting, 2003 - 2004), Victoria Ratchford (1994 - 2003), Christine McCann (no relation to John) and Michael Balfe. The school transferred to the present site in September 1972; previously the school site was occupied by the Overleigh Boys School. In 2006 Ofsted called its Sixth Form "Outstanding." The school motto is "Christo Fidelis," a Latin phrase meaning "Faithful to Christ".

The school has been recently been awarded "Specialist Science College" status, in addition to being a classified Beacon school.

The school have recently struck a deal with Chester City FC to use the schools facilities as a training ground for the current first team and youth team squads.

The school 6th form football team came runners up in the Chester and District Schoolboy Cup, but the girl's Under 16 team won the equivalent trophy in 2008.

Catholic High School Chester recently produced 'Grease - The Musical' - playing to sold out audiences over 3 nights. The Cast were lead by James Dee as 'Danny' and Lucy Norbury as 'Sandy'. The show was directed and produced by Drama teachers Karen McCarthy and Dave Hussin. Past productions include 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (2005) and 'Guys and Dolls' (2003).

CHS is also home to the 'City Jazz Orchestra', a jazz ensemble of approximately 45 players from all years. The band, under the direction of musical director Kevin Tout, have performed on 13 european tours as well as featuring at the Cork International Jazz Festival four times. In 2008, they performed at the Wigan Christmas Lights switch on. They recently celebrated their fifteenth anniversary.

The school was also home to the Deva Ultimate Frisbee Team until it was disbanded.

The school has recently been fund-raising for the 'East Appeal'. The building work is due to be completed in Autumn 2008 and comprises a new building accommodating the Sixth Form and the Performing Arts, along with two new Science laboratories and new office and staffrooms.