St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School
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| Headmaster | Mr Stephen Foster |
| School type | Comprehensive / Specialist Technology and Languages College |
| Religious affiliation | Catholic |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Location | Forest Gate, London |
| Enrollment | circa 1276 |
| Age Range | 11-18 boys |
| School colour(s) | Brown, Gold, Black |
| Form Groups | Atkinson, Bell, Coleman, Forest, Gregory, Heath, Wall |
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St. Bonaventure's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, also known as St. Bons is located in Forest Gate, London Borough of Newham, United Kingdom, and is a voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive secondary school for boys aged 11-18. The school generally does very well in the local and national league tables at GCSE level, and in 2007 over 80% of Year 11 Pupils achieved five or more A*-C passes, well above the national average. It has a large co-educational sixth form in partnership with its local sister school, St. Angela's, which also attracts a considerable number of students from other schools in the borough, and often beyond, wishing to continue their education post-16. The sixth form offers various qualifications, from the traditional GCE A-levels to intermediate and advanced GNVQ courses, and has a good tradition of preparing pupils for admission to prestigious higher education institutions and courses such as medicine.
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[edit] Background
The school is led by current headmaster Mr. Stephen Foster and has had Technology College status since 1996 and Science College status since September 2004. The vast majority of pupils are Catholic, but mostly from ethnic minorities which represent the socio-economically deprived local catchment area. It is traditionally heavily oversubscribed for entry to Year 7 and on average accepts 180 new students each year, although in recent years the school has started to substantially reduce its intake of students from other faiths and denominations.
Being a strict Catholic school, all pupils are entered for a compulsory GCSE in religious studies. In 2006, the school officially became a Language College, meaning that all pupils are also entered for a GCSE in a modern language (normally French or German). The director of sixth form studies is TBA following Dr. Andrew Stone departure after taking up the Headteacher's Post at Holy Family Catholic School, and due to the limited space and resources, as well as the large number of students, sixth form teaching is usually split between the St. Angela's and St. Bonaventure's campuses. Sixth form teaching was also shared with St. John's Catholic School in Green Street as part of the 'Sixth Form Consortium' of Catholic secondary schools until its closure in 1990.
[edit] History
It was originally founded as a private RC school in 1875 by Franciscan monks based in the St. Antony's area of Forest Gate. It became St Bonaventure's Grammar School in 1890. It became a state secondary school in 1904, then in 1908 changed its name to West Ham Grammar School. In 1944, it became again St Bonaventure's Grammar School. The school has a strong relationship with St. Antony's Church, which is adjacent to the site, and whole school masses are held here at the end of each term, although these are arguably slept through by many students. It is governed by the Diocese of Brentwood and strongly encourages and incorporates liturgical worship in all aspects of school life.
[edit] Notable alumni
Distinguished old boys include:
- Jermain Defoe - Portsmouth F.C. and England footballer
- Victor Ebuwa - contestant on Big Brother 5
- Terry Morrison - musician and comedic actor
- William Sharp - Former Balliol College, Oxford Entertainment representative and International Schools Mace Debating Champion 2005
- Lewis Iwu - President elect of the Oxford University Students' Union and the current World Universities Debating Champion
- Timothy Campbell - The Apprentice 2005 series winner
- Martin Ling - former Leyton Orient footballer and current manager
- Chris Hughton - former Tottenham Hotspur footballer and first-team coach
- David Amess - Conservative MP for Southend West
[edit] Headteachers
Former headteachers include:
- Mr Stephen Foster, Headmaster, 2003 - present
- Sir Michael Wilshaw, Headmaster, 1985 - 2003
- Mr Owen Craddy, Headmaster, 1974 - 1985
[edit] Sport
St. Bonaventures RC School have an excellent Physical Education department who commit a lot of Hard Work and time in achieving the best possible results. Over the past few years they have reached National Finals in Football and Basketball; London Cup Finals in Football; Essex Cup Finals in Basketball and Football.
On 9 March 2008 they became English Schools Basketball Association Under 14 Boys National Champions. The first team to do so in St. Bonaventures history.
