Hollies Convent FCJ School
The Hollies Convent FCJ School was a girls' direct-grant RC grammar school in south Manchester.
History
In 1830 Marie-Madeleine d'Houët, also known as Marie Madeleine Victoire, founded the society of the Faithful Companions of Jesus in Amiens, France.
The school began at the Hollies in September 1900 in Fallowfield.
Grammar school
In the mid-1940s it became a direct-grant grammar school. The University of Manchester acquired the site in the late 1950s for student accommodation (Fallowfield Campus), so a new site opened at West Didsbury in September 1961. A new preparatory school was built too. 520 girls joined the new £250,000 school in Didsbury, with grounds of 16 acres. By 1973 there were around 720 girls. [1]
The school had an excellent academic reputation.
Comprehensive
In 1976 the school was requested to become a comprehensive, as direct grant schools were being phased out. It became a comprehensive in 1977. In 1983 The RC Salford Diocese planned to amalgamate the school with the St Marks school, on the St Marks site, with the Hollies site closing in August 1984.
The Hollies High School closed in 1985.
Demolition
The site was demolished, and it is now a housing estate.
Structure
The school was around a half-mile north-east of the M63 (now M60) junction 5, close to the River Mersey, near the B5167.
Alumni
- Caroline Aherne, actress
- Dame Joan McVittie, headteacher, President from 2011-12 of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)
- Paula Wilcox, actress