St John Fisher Catholic High School (Dewsbury)

St John Fisher Catholic High School was opened in 1958, under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Leeds, to serve the Catholics living in Dewsbury, Batley and surrounding areas. It was reorganised in 1974 and the Sixth Form was added in 1979.

The school, an 11-19 mixed Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Comprehensive School, has about 1200 pupils on roll, including 200 in the Sixth Form. It is also a specialist sports college, as of 2005.

History

From the school Journal

GP Dwyer, Bishop of Leeds, opened St John Fisher in 1958, to provide a Catholic education to the children of the Heavy Woolen District. The cost of the school was £225,000 and the school was built to accommodate 500 pupils of secondary modern standard.

At the opening ceremony, the Bishop stressed the need or tolerance of other creeds and the then Mayor of Dewsbury Cllr C Fox emphasized that a spiritual education was the foundation stone for real learning.

Sixteen years later, an all-ability comprehensive intake was granted in 1974, and after a very effective and dogged campaign by Governors, Staff and Parents, a sixth form was added.

Mission statement

"Following the example of our Patron, St John Fisher, priest and scholar, we aim to love one another throughout our life at school, to learn and develop our full potential in the image of Christ.”

In public life

The school holds a Prize Night each October, hosted by a local dignitary (such as editor of the local press, the Bishop of Leeds, etc).It also performs the nativity and the crucifixion at Christmas and on Good Friday respectively, outside the United Reformed Church in Dewsbury

The head teacher is Kevin Higgins.

Notable Alumni include:
*Arthur Roache, Bishop of Leeds
*Francis Cummins, a rugby player for Leeds Rhinos
*Margaret Watson, deputy editor of the Dewsbury Reporter
*Jonny Irwin, current Middleweight and Light Heavyweight SFN champion
*Jordan Firth, current Welterweight SFN champion

Logo and motto

The school motto is "Per Crucem Vincemus" - which is Latin for "through the cross we shall conquer" (even though the school no longer offers Latin or classics as a subject)

Uniform

Boys wear a white shirt, grey jumper with logo, school tie (red and grey diagonal stripes), black trousers and black shoes.

Girls wear a grey skirt or trousers, grey jumper with logo, school tie, white blouse or shirt and black shoes (no heels)Girls in years 10 and 11 wear black skirts/trousers and do not wear a tie.

There is no uniform for 6th Form students, provided that clothes worn are appropriate for a learning environment.

St John Fisher at 50

Jubilee CelebrationsSt John Fishers is celebration its golden jubilee in 2008. This great celebration is being marked by a large number of special events and celebrations, not least a large open air mass and festival of sport and various pilgrimages by the different year groups in school.

The Sixth Form

Although religious criteria apply to school admissions, the sixth form considers all applications, and offers BTEC First Awards to those not receiving sufficient GCSE grades to study at A-Level Standard.The Sixth Form, now in its 27th year, offers the following subjects at A-Level:
*English Literature,
*English Language,
*Foreign Languages (French or Spanish)
*Health and Social Care (single or double AVCE)
*Business Studies (single or double AVCE),
*ICT,
*Law (at Dewsbury College)
*Maths,
*Product Design,
*Hairdressing,
*IPro,
*Chemistry,
*Physics
*Biology
*History,
*Geography
*Psychology (distance learning),
*Art,
*Media Studies,
*Music,
*PE,
*Travel and Tourism (single or double),
*Theology (giving exemption from compulsory RE)
*Theatre Studies, as well as a Sport Award, Certificate or Diploma, equal to one, two or three A Levels respectively.

Because the resources of the 6th form are not infinite, it is not possibly to take any combination of subjects - option blocks must be adhered to. Although this may be a fair way of organising a timetable, it means that each year some people may be unable to take their ideal choice of subjects.

Wednesday afternoon are dedicated to Sport, but attendance is not enforced.

The Sixth Form is responsible for electing the Male and Female School Presidents - (i.e. Head Boy and Girl)

External links

* [http://www.stjohnfisher.org.uk/ The School Website]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/107/107783.pdf OfStEd Report]

References

*www.stjohnfisher.org.uk