Switch to lay head
ST COLUMBA'S College in St Albans is to appoint a lay headteacher in September for the first time in its history. The Hertfordshire Catholic independent school, run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, has announced the switch after acknowledging that a lay headteacher would be better suited to meet the changing demands of the national curriculum. A brother of the order will retain the title Campus Director, and will be responsible for the Catholic ethos and administration of the school.
RIDGEWAY, the junior part of Catholic independent school Claires Court, in Maidenhead, Berks, is to develop new facilities for technology, art, science and drama in time for next year. Its 450-pupil secondary counterpart has meanwhile expanded its intake from 48 to 60 boys a year, with a view to opening a coeducational sixth form also in September 1994.
BISHOP Christopher Budd of Plymouth will conduct a service of dedication at St Joseph's combined school in Poole next month. The Bishop will celebrate Mass on 10 March and bless the new buildings at the Dorset school, supported by the local major and education officers.
NETBALL is the unusual introduction to the curriculum at Barrow Hills Schools in Godalming, Surrey, 18 months after allowing girls to attend the school for the first time. Headmaster Fr Roger Barralet, said of the new venture on the sports field: 'MX course a sound academic approach is essential but we are concerned with the whole child."
THE largest infant school in Liverpool Archdiocese, St Francis de Sales, Walton, has been given the go-ahead to build three new classrooms after 10 years of overcrowding.