St Joseph's Catholic College
| Type | Academy |
|---|---|
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Principal | Paul Hughes |
| Location |
Ocotal Way Swindon Wiltshire SN3 3LR England Coordinates: 51°33′53″N 1°45′52″W / 51.5646°N 1.7645°W |
| DfE number | 866/5409 |
| DfE URN | 136980 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | School homepage |
St. Joseph's Catholic College is a secondary school in Swindon. It is a Roman Catholic school but is open to other religions. It is a mixed sex school of approximately 1256 pupils. The school's uniform changed from September 2014 with a phased introduction being compulsory for year 7 and in years 8-11 the new uniform pieces being introduced when replacements are required.The new uniform includes a blazer with red piping and the college badge, a white shirt, tie with school crest and a grey ‘v’ neck with College logo.
As the only Catholic Secondary school in Swindon it is culturally diverse, taking pupils from all over Swindon and the surrounding villages. There are four Catholic feeder schools in Swindon; Holy Family, Holy Rood, St Catherine's and St Mary's. The school specialises in Business & Enterprise[1] and encourages students to use special skills like teamwork, communication and enterprising, known as B&E Skills. The school offers Years 12-13 as well as schooling for years 7 to 11. In 2011, the school created houses for the tutor groups; as a religious school the houses are named after Christian places of pilgrimage and these are Glastonbury, Walsingham, Buckfast and Evesham.
The Principal Maureen Harries retired at Easter 2013 [2] and the governors announced the appointment of a new Principal, Mr Paul Hughes in June 2013.[3] Mr Hughes will take up his post in September 2013. Stephen Lake is the Chair of Governors.
The College was rated as Good in all areas by OFSTED in its report published in 2014.[4]
On 21 March 2011, St. Joseph's commenced the application process for converting to Academy status[5] and were awarded this status in August 2011.[6]
In November 2012, the college was awarded the contract to build and run a new primary school in central Swindon [7] which opened in September 2015. It now occupies a portion of what was part of college's playing fields.[8]
Results
In 2014 the college achieved 67% of students with five or more A* to C GCSE grades, including 89% A*-C in English and 79% A*-C in Maths. At least 24% of students achieved at least one top grade. At A-level, 75% of students achieve 3 or more qualifications with a 98% pass rate. Results page of the College Website
In 2013 the College achieved 82% of students with five or more A* to C GCSE grades, with 67% achieving 5 or more A* - C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and Maths GCSEs. At A-Level, 70% of students achieved 3 or more A Levels, 96% 2 or more, and 99% 1 or more.
Notable former pupils
- Andrew Pierce, Journalist, broadcaster and Consultant Editor of the Daily Mail