St Joseph's Catholic Academy

St Joseph's Catholic Academy
Motto Caritas Christi Urget Nos
2 Corinthians 5:14
The Love of Christ Spurs Us On
Established 1959
Type Academy
Religion Roman Catholic
Headteacher Frank O'Neill
Chair Mr T Carney
Location Mill Lane
Hebburn
Tyne and Wear
NE31 2ET
England Coordinates: 54°57′35″N 1°31′21″W / 54.95985°N 1.52255°W
DfE number 393/4603
DfE URN 139878 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Staff 157
Students 1536
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–18
Colours Royal Blue and Gold
Former name St. Joseph's Grammar School
Diocese Hexham and Newcastle
Website www.stjosephs.uk.net

St Joseph's Catholic Academy (formerly St Joseph's RC Comprehensive School) is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status, located in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, England.

The school currently caters for students aged 11 to 18 and also a number of Vocational courses for 14 to 19 year olds. It is the only secondary school in the local authority area that has a sixth form. The only other sixth form is found at South Tyneside College.

The school is on the B1306, near the A185 junction, in the south of Hebburn, one mile north of the terminus of the A194(M). It is on the district boundary with Gateshead. Further down Mill Lane until 1992 was the Monkton Coke Works.

History

The school opened as St. Joseph's Grammar Technical School in 1959, being officially opened on 9 June 1960 by James Cunningham, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. It was a grammar school with a technical focus (similar to a technical school) for catholic children in the north of County Durham, and the County Borough of South Shields. Further grammar technical schools were to be opened in Gateshead, Lanchester, Stockton and Whitley Bay.

St Joseph's became a comprehensive in 1974 when it merged with the neighbouring St James' RC Secondary Modern School, which was on the same site. The school gained specialist Technology College status in 1996.

The school converted to academy status in July 2013 and was renamed St Joseph's Catholic Academy.

Former teachers

Austin Kane, Headmaster 1959-1974 James Vincent Curran, Headmaster 1974-1982 Bill Moran 1962 - 1992 Headmaster 1982-1992 Joseph Campbell ? - 2012 Frank O'Neill 2012 -

School prayer

Lord, help us to become the people you want us to be.

In our School, may there be prayer,learning and humour,hard work, faith and friendship. May we respect everyone we meet, use our gifts and encourage each other. Send your angels to guide us and let your peace be with us and our families always.

We ask all these things through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Academic performance

The school performs well above the local authority average and currently holds the best GCSE and AS/A level scores in South Tyneside, with 84% of its students reaching grades A*-C at GCSE and an average AS/A level point score of 645.9.[1] The academic achievement, vocational and pastoral targets of the school was recognised by the DfES in the award of "Leading Edge" status in September 2003. An Ofsted report credited the students for "exemplary behaviour in lessons and throughout the school".[2]

At GCSE in 2010, the school came second in the local authority area, above the England average and second to another faith school, Whitburn Church of England Academy in Whitburn.

Notable former pupils

Notable former pupils of St. Joseph's RC Grammar Technical School include:


Former teachers

David Edgar - footballer (Newcastle, Burnley, Swansea, currently at Birmingham City)

References

  1. ↑ 2006 GCSE and A-level results: South Tyneside | Schools special reports | Education Guardian.co.uk
  2. ↑ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_reports/display/%28id%29/104045

External links

News items