| Motto | Ad majora natus sum - Latin (I was born for greater things) |
|---|---|
| Established | Monday 12th September 1859 |
| Type | Independent school |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Headmaster | John E. Stoer |
| Location | 45 Hill Street Glasgow G3 6RJ Scotland |
| Students | 567 (Junior School) 1,200 (Senior School) |
| Gender | Mixed-sex education |
| Ages | 3–18 |
| Colours | Myrtle and Gold |
| Publication | The Eagle Eye |
| Grades | Scottish Qualifications Certificate Intermediate 2 Higher Advanced Highers GCSE |
| Website | St Aloysius' College |
St. Aloysius' College is a selective fee-paying independent Jesuit school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859, and named after the famous Jesuit, Aloysius Gonzaga. Its strong Jesuit ethos emphasises practice of the Roman Catholic faith both in the church and in the community, with many charitable and community-based groups in the school.
St. Aloysius' College is a co-educational school with a kindergarten, junior school and senior school. There are four houses: Edmund Campion, Ignatius of Loyola, John Ogilvie and Francis Xavier, named after Jesuit saints.
The College motto is ad majora natus sum, which means "I was born for greater things". As in many Jesuit schools, pupils are instructed to inscribe AMDG (ad maiorem Dei gloriam - "to the greater glory of God") on all work. The school emblem is an eagle, and the College hymn is the Carmen Aloisianum.
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The school was established on 12 September 1859 at Charlotte Street, near Glasgow Green, in the East End of Glasgow. Here lived the city's largely migrant Catholic community from Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, both groups which the school was intended to serve. Since 1866 the College's main campus has been situated in Garnethill on the north side of Glasgow city centre, adjacent to the Glasgow School of Art.
Notable buildings include the original category-B listed Italianate Chandlery Building, including the administration block, library and refectory. Its 1908 and 1926 extensions are known collectively as The Hanson Building and accommodates classrooms for languages and the humanities as well as the school chapel and gymnasium. The Mount Building, which originally housed the city's first Royal Hospital for Sick Children from 1882, and until recently housed the junior school (whose patron is St John Ogilvie), today houses music, art and drama and the kindergarten. More modern additions include the Clavius Building housing the Mathematics, Science and Technology faculty and the Junior School Building, both of which have won RIBA architectural awards,[1] and have been identified as amongst the best modern Scottish buildings. The school is associated with the nearby Jesuit church of St Aloysius, which was opened in 1910 and modelled on the Gesu in Rome.
In 2011, the number of buildings and the size of the campus increased with the acquisition of the Mercy Convent site and buildings. The anticipated use of the buildings is at the moment unclear, although the school's gym and staff room are currently located there.
The current Headmaster is John Stoer, the first lay person in that role. The Senior Deputy Headmaster is Mr Frank J Reilly and the Deputy Headmaster is J Philip Crampsey.
The school usually takes part in the annual Doors Open Day in September each year.
St. Aloysius' College also has various established charities including supporting Pro-Life charities, Marie Curie, SCIAF, Justice and Peace, Children's Fund and Fair trade, as well as being affiliated with a sister school in Kibera, Kenya.
The Senior School uniform consists of a myrtle green woollen blazer emblazoned with the school emblem. Girls wear a mid-grey pleated skirt and stockings or black tights. Boys wear grey trousers and grey socks. In S4 to S6 pupils can be awarded colours - this means that they have the right to add a gold trim around the edge of their blazer. Academic colours can also be awarded to pupils who perform exceptionally well in their 5th year examinations. This is shown by red trim across the breast pocket of the blazer. Both genders wear polished black shoes, white shirt, applicable house tie, S6 tie, Honours tie or Captains tie as well as a grey pullover or green Sixth year jumper.[2]
A house system was established by headmaster Fr. Adrian J Porter SJ in 1997. The four houses, named after notable Jesuit saints, compete against each other in events including rugby, hockey, athletics, inter-house debating and a quiz. Each house also has a housemaster and colour:
Under headmaster John E. Stoer, the house system was replaced with the year system, except for sports and chess. This meant that instead of each house having its own housemaster, each year would have a Head of Year and a Deputy Head of Year.
Boys play rugby from primary four until the middle of third year when they are allowed to choose whether or not to continue. The girls play hockey in the same time frame. The College's playing fields are located at Millerston.
In 2005, the school produced its first competitive football side in 50 years. This was largely due to growing pressure from pupils and many members of staff. Coached by Paul Kinnaird, the team enjoyed a reasonably successful first year, reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Independent Schools Cup. The 2007-2008 team have proceeded a step further than their predecessors and have reached the Scottish Independent Schools Cup Final which took place on the 21st of May 2009 at Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh where the College ran out winners. The First XI football team is composed of 5th and 6th year students, and is coached by Mr Craig Masterson and Mr Paul Higgins and again on the 20th of May 2011 competed against Stewart's Melville College from Edinburgh, at Tynecastle Stadium, successfully defending their win from 2010.
There has also been a football team made out of Primary 7 boys to represent the college at St.Joseph's Football Festival which was hosted at Williamwood High School on 23 June 2007 which they went on to win, winning all their games and beating St.Cadoc's Primary School 5-2 in the final.
The school has intended to sell the Millerston grounds for several years and subsequently intends to build a sports centre on the current Junior School playground or to buy a former public park for rugby and hockey use.
S2 pupils have 1-day retreats during the summer "Activities Week" while older pupils are on exam leave.
Three residential retreats take place in the senior school:
S6 pupils have the chance to participate in the retreat experience by acting as leaders for retreats they have already been on. Each retreat tends to have six S6 leaders. The onus on sixth-year leaders is particularly great on Kairos retreats, where they take a great hand in organising, as well as delivering talks to the retreatants and leading small-group discussions.
The college takes pride in considering the arts key to the development of its pupils. It has a reputable music programme, consisting of the college choir, orchestra and band, and has contributed to the West of Scotland Independent Schools orchestra and wind band since their inception in 1994. Both individual music tuition and music as an academic subject are available.
The Petrasancta Society is a group of young Scottish students and former students of St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, who pursue a shared interest in the classical Jesuit discipline of Emblematics - embracing not only emblems themselves but heraldry, vexillology, numismatics and iconography.The Society have researched in Venice and Bruges and in 2008 spent a week in Uganda working in an orphanage for children whose parents have died from AIDS. They have also gone to Kibera, a slum outside Nairobi, Kenya, for the past two years and visited our sister school, St. Aloysius' High School, Kibera and the Junior School's is Laini Saba School in Kibera.
McCabe, John V. (2000). A History of St Aloysius' College 1859-1999. St Aloysius' College. p. 215. ISBN 0 9538287 0 0.