Friends of St Mary's

OCR Transcript:

ST MARY'S COLLEGE was founded in 1919. It is, therefore, the youngest by sonic years of the six Grammar Schools in the Borough of Crosby.

After the Education Act of 1902 and in the decade before the First World War. Archbishop Whiteside was anxious to provide Grammar School education for Catholic boys who lived in the wide arc of the Lancashire coast from Southport to Bootle. He asked the Superior-General of the Christian Brothers to found such a school and arrangements were in hand for a foundation in 1915. The outbreak of hostilities, however, delayed matters till its conclusion.

The Brothers were not strangers to Merseyside. The Order was founded in Waterford in the year 1802 by Edmund Ignatius Rice. At the time he was in middle-age, a widower and a rich Merchant. He decided to devote the remainder of his life to good works: the deplorable state of ignorance of many young boys of the time aroused his charity and he established a school for their instruction: the success of his first efforts led to other foundations and in his own life time schools were established in England, Gibraltar and Australia. Since his death in 1844 it has spread throughout the English speaking world.

The first foundation in Britain was in Preston in 1825 and by the middle of the century the Brothers were conducting six schools in Liverpool: St. Patrick's. Park Place: St. Vincent's; St. Peter's, Seel Street; St. Mary's, Highfield Street; St. Nicholas', Copperas Hill and St. Anthony's, Scotland Road. During the cholera epidemic in 1846-7 of the schools were converted into temporary hospitals, the Brothers nursed the sick and several gave their lives in this charity. For a variety of reasons the Brothers withdrew from these Liverpool schools, to return in 1900 to take charge of the Pupil Teachers' Training Centre in Mersey Street and of the Catholic Institute, Hope Street. The success of these ventures under the direction of Bros. C. S. Leahy and J. G. Robinson led to the Brothers being asked to open the school in Crosby.

On the signing of the Armistice, 1918. No time was lost and in that November the property known as Claremont House,' Liverpool Road with two acres of land, was purchased. On the 18th century maps of the district the area is called ‘The School- field,' a coincidence that in fact a school should be built on it?

The original ‘field' was divided into three sections earlier in the 19th century and the property purchased by the Brothers had had a strange history. In 1861 it was bought by a John da Costa who built ‘Claremont House' as his residence. A local character, Tom Barnes, in an unusual document thus describes the house- ‘Claremont House where one of the old time Spanish Merchant Princes lived, at that time the finest mansion in the whole of Crosby. As well as being a large house there were some thousands of feet of glass in the greenhouses and vinerys.' Tom Barnes was not a scholar: neither was da Costa a Spaniard, he was Portugese.

When the Brothers took possession the only buildings were residence, stables and greenhouses. Brother Leahv was appointed first Principal and named the school ‘The Catholic Institute,' Crosby, on its inception in September 1919, with 62 pupils on the roll. Times were difficult: there was a shortage of accommodation, the chronicler records: ‘The Brothers lixed upstairs and taught downstairs,' there was a lack of funds and the general rail strike of this year meant that there was no school furniture for the first weeks of the first term.

Numbers rose slowly but steadily- 62-80- i 10-120. By 1922 placing trust in Provdence and in the many friends they had made, plans were made for the con- struction of the first school buildings. Before they could be translated into action Brother Leahy was recalled to the Catholic Institute.

Brother P. Duggan, his successor, was a man of force, drive and determination. Within weeks words were translated into action and the first sod was cut. On the occasion the name of the School was changed to ‘St. Mary's College.' The building was opened in 1924 by Archbishop Keating and consisted of classrooms and a ‘Science' room. Unfortunately it was only part of the intended whole, but financial difficulties were a problem even then. At the Official Opening Brother Duggan said: ‘To many the work seemed un- promising: as with pioneer work a beginning was made under difficulties due entirely to the want of proper classroom accom- modation and suitable facilities for developing our work ... Hitherto the school was of necessity more or less of a preparatory nature. Our new curriculum will include c'. er' subject usually taught in the best secondary schools and in our highest forms the standard will he that required for entrance to Universities.' In the circumstances with less than 150 pupils tip to 13 or 14 years of age, no candidates for the lowest level of public examination, and with a heavy burden of debt. these were brave but prophetic words. Determined and forthright lie pushed ahead: a playing field was purchased, recognition as a Direct Grant School was given by the Ministry and the school was well and truly set on its way, before he retired owing to ill-health.

Between 1925 and the outbreak of the Second World War steady, unspectacular but sound progress was made. A Sixth Form-devoted to Moderns'-only was established and the first University places were gained. It seemed that St. Mary's would just fulfil the purpose of Arch- bishop Whiteside and no more.

The War Years, lively and dangerous, presented many problems: the School as considered to be in a ‘safe' area and was not evacuated; with the blitzing of the Catholic Secondary school in Bootle, St. Mary's opened its doors to accommodate the Catholic boys of that Borough. The problem now was lack of adequate accom- modation. The effects of the Butler Act of 1944 accentuated this problem of accommo- dation. It had been said in the 1930's that the school would never reach a roll of 300. By now there were 600-700-800.

St. Mary's will always owe a great debt to Brother J. B. Thompson, Principal from 1943-9. With amazing foresight he began an extensive programme of academic expansion in Science and Classics. He pioneered the teaching of instrumental Music as a class subject-every boy receiving tuition in string or wind instrurnents. He purchased the adjoining premises of Everest House' as a separate Preparatory School. He saved and planned for the future. As soon as possible the building of large extensions which doubled the previous accommodation were started in 1949 the year he retired. The facilities now provided included- Chemistry, Physics and Biology laboratories, a Library, Art Room, Crafts Room, Geography Room, further classrooms and a dining hall. In 1952 the Preparatory Department was transferred to Blundell- sands.

Now that there were room and scope a further major development took place in the 1950's: many additions to the curri- culum including a third Modern language, Economics and Russian for Sixth Form Science students and a large increase in numbers in the Sixth Form. The offer of the industrial Fund for the Advancement of Scientific Education in Schools was accepted and the opportunity was taken to complete the original school building.

The College now has six laboratories, a suite of lecture rooms including a large lecture room of ultra modern design of which an University would be proud, fully equipped for all forms of projection, including large screen television. The grounds opening on to Everest Road have been re-designed to provide a magnificent frontage to the College, set off by a clock tower.

From its foundation St. Mary's has recognised that its principal duty is to instill into its pupils the fundamental fact that man does not live by bread alone.' Christian Instruction holds first place and it strives to make the teaching as practical as possible: each day school work begins and ends with prayer. As the clock strikes the hour all school work ceases that it might be offered in silent prayer to the Creator: thus may life be made more fruitful: boys are taught that Christianity is a Way of Life. The School is proud of the fact that there are more Old Boys ordained priests than years since its foundation and that there are at the present time over 40 past students in seminaries or members of religious orders. Naturally special devotion is shown in honouring the School Patron. She whom our ancestors called ‘St. Mary, the Virgin.' In five of the last eight years groups of boys have gone on pilgrimage to Lourdes: the largest (over 200) were there last Easter. While placing true emphasis on the Christian foundation of education the School's academic record is notable. There are now over 150 pupils in the Sixth Form in nine classes. Open Scholarships in Classics, Moderns and Science subjects to Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities, an average annual University entry of over thirty pupils has fulfilled the hopes expressed by Brother Duggan in 1924. St. Mary's. however, is not interested only in the bright boy-special care is taken of the pupil of lesser mental gifts. Full advantage has been taken of the right of entry by its own Entrance Examina- tion and many who would otherwise have been denied the chance of a Grammar School education have been given this opportunity. Well over thirty of these have now entered Universities.

Despite the disadvantage of having playing fields a mile away every use is made of them-five afternoons a week. The grounds are well appointed: three pavilions with showers and kitchens provide proper facilities: two fine cricket squares ensure that the cricket season is stimulating. full of runs and of action. Athletics have made great strides in the last eight or nine years: pupils have won Lancashire Schools Championships, Old Boys have run for Oxford and for England: in the winter the College fields twelve distinct We, pupils have played for Lancashire. Old Boys for Lancashire, Cheshire, Northumberland, Dorset and Wiltshire. England and Ireland.

Annual School Plays have been one of the high-lights of the year. ‘St. Joan,' ‘The Happiest Days of Your Life,' ‘Arsenic and Old Lace' and especially ‘The Winslow Boy' reached a very creditable standard. The Annual Speech Day at the Philharmonic Hall-the singing and playing of massed choirs of over two hundred voices and an orchestra of over eighty instrumentalists, show that the seeds planted in the time of Brother Thompson are now part of the school tradition.

The College is a relatively young school: although seventy names on the War Memorial show that the pupils of the time played their true part, as yet none of its Old Boys are distinguished soldiers, sailors, airmen, lawyers, doctors or poli- ticians. It has, however, set up many men in professions and in industry; it is, now, sending forth a steady stream of men of the future: besides the professions-the nuclear physicist at Geneva, the Chemist lecturing in ‘GSA, members of the Foreign Office, Parliamentary Private Secretaries and Missionaries to far-off lands with the school motto as their message:

Fidem Vita Fateri.'