St John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate
| Motto | Educating for life |
|---|---|
| Established | 1958 |
| Type | Voluntary aided school |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Head Teacher | Mr R Pritchard |
| Chair of Governors | Mr Peter Davies |
| Location |
Hookstone Drive Harrogate North Yorkshire HG2 8PT England Coordinates: 53°59′02″N 1°31′05″W / 53.983886°N 1.518040°W |
| Local authority | North Yorkshire |
| DfE number | 815/4609 |
| DfE URN | 121717 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 2000 |
| Ages | 11–19 |
| Website |
www |
St John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, is an 11–19 Catholic comprehensive school. It has developed steadily during the past 50 years and has around 1,400 pupils on roll.
The school is set in 22 acres (8.9 ha) on the south side of Harrogate and skirted by Hookstone Wood.
History
The school buildings were first built in 1903 to hold a Catholic convent school under the Society of the Holy Child Jesus which moved from a building on Clarence Drive near Valley Gardens. The school was founded in 1958 on the site that is now the Area Education Office within the Harrogate High School campus. The school outgrew its facilities and moved to its current site on Hookstone Drive - using the buildings of the convent school although many nuns remained for some time to teach. The sisters of the Order of the Holy Child no longer teach at the school but maintain a convent over the road.
Buildings and grounds
Part of the site is made up of the original stone buildings of the convent. The science and technology building (along with the current school hall) was built in 1978 and is of a concrete construction. A sports hall of breeze block construction has been opened since to the rear of the buildings. Because much of the site was not purpose built as a school, much of the main buildings are unsuitable for modern educational use, this has led to a number of portable buildings and prefabricated cabins being built in the grounds. The school has large playing fields to the rear of the site which back onto Hookstone Woods. The school was ranked 20th in the country for public school GCSE results in 2014
In 2001 the school gained Specialist Arts Status, the first school of its type in North Yorkshire and opened the 'Keelan Centre' (named after the former headteacher, Terry Keelan), a new building linking the existing school and the school sports hall. This facility included a new dance and drama studio along with a new music block.
Sixth form
The school forms part of an associated sixth form with St. Aidan's C of E High School.
See also
Other schools dedicated to John Fisher in Britain are located in Dewsbury, Purley and Wigan.
