SAINT JOAN OF ARC CATHOLIC SCHOOL in Hertfordshire, Rickmansworth

Education Centre Information: Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School:

Establishment Type:Voluntary Aided School
Phase of Education: Secondary
Status: Closed
Local Authority: Hertfordshire
Reason Establishment Closed: Academy Converter
Establishment Close Date: 29/02/2012
Boarders: No Boarders
Sixth Form: Has a sixth form
Urban/Rural Description: Urban > 10k - less sparse
Special Classes: No Special Classes
Religious Character: Roman Catholic
Diocese: Archdiocese of Westminster
Total Pupils: 1266
Number of boys: 625
Number of girls: 641
Admissions: Comprehensive
Age Range: 11-18
Gender: Mixed
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Background:

The Daughters of Jesus, a congregation dating from 1834 in Brittany, founded the school in Rickmansworth in 1905. It was a Convent Girls' Grammar until 1975, when it became a six-form entry co-educational comprehensive catering for Catholic children. The over-subscribed school is set in 12 acres of gardens, surrounded by lakes. A moat is the central feature of the school. The administrative block was formerly a large Georgian house belonging to George Eliot. 'Extensive' fields allow pupils to take part in soccer, rugby, hockey, athletics, cricket, tennis, netball and basketball, and there is an indoor gymnasium. There are also opportunities to participate in swimming, sailing canoeing and dry-slope skiing off-site. Many pupils have represented the school in district and county sports. A separate block exists for the arts, with three studios built in the 1980s. A 'complete range' of musical tuition is offered: many pupils learn two instruments and perform in termly concerts. A new teaching block for maths and ICT has recently been completed to improve the quality of provision for students in these areas of the curriculum. The 'Catholic ethos' means that the school aims 'to ensure that each individual is cared for spiritually, morally, intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally'.