Nicholas Breakspear School
Academy in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School (NBS ) is a secondary school with academy status situated on the rural fringe of St Albans , an old Roman city in Hertfordshire , England .
The school takes its name from the 12th-century priest St Albans-born and educated Nicholas Breakspear , who, as Pope Adrian IV, is the only Englishman ever to have occupied the papal chair . The school makes an annual pilgrimage to his tomb in Rome.[ 2] (The school goes to Rome each year, but has only once gone to the tomb)
Recent history
After a 2008 renovation of the science classrooms, Chris Reeves made a nativity scene composed of sculptures made from the discarded 1960s desks.[ 3]
In September 2013 the school celebrated its golden anniversary with a service offered by the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster at SS Alban and Stephen Church in the presence of the mayor of St Albans. The mass was followed by a tree-planting ceremony on the school grounds.[ 4]
It was recently categorized in 2016 as a 'Good' school but still remains a school with below average teachers.[ 1]
On 13 January 2016, Prince William ate lunch with Breakspear students at John Henry Newman School as he waited for paramedics. The East Anglian Air Ambulance , of which the Duke of Cambridge is part of, frequently uses the Newman School fields.[ 5]
The student leaders' take part in a trip to Hoima and Kasambya in Uganda supporting a charity; Kiddies Support Scheme (KiSS) helping families become self-sufficient. To date this team has led a school community to raise over £50000 for this charity.
House system
Breakspear has six houses, each named after a saint whose life is intended to serve as an example to the community. Students are assigned to one of the houses on entrance to the school in Year 7 where they remain until the end of 6th form ; whenever possible younger siblings become a member of the same house.
Each member of staff is also attached to a house.
Each house has two designated Year 11 House Captains , and one Sixth Form House Leader, who aides in coordinating house teams, organise activities and events and represent their house at relevant meetings. Houses compete between themselves for the most point accumulated during both terms of the school year.
List of houses
School staff
List of Headteachers
Name
Tenure
From
To
J C White
pre-2000
2005
Phil Jakszta
2005
2013
Declan Linnane
2014
present day
Notable alumni
References
Independent (preparatory)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster
Churches
St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater
St Casimir, Bethnal Green
Benson Memorial Church
Brompton Oratory
Holy Trinity, Brook Green
St Mary, Cadogan Street
Our Lady of Hal, Camden Town
Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic, Camden
Our Lady of Dolours, Chelsea
Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea
Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick
St Peter, Clerkenwell
St Etheldreda, Ely Place
Immaculate Conception, Farm Street
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Fulham
St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham
St Andrew Bobola, Hammersmith
St Augustine, Hammersmith
St Theodore, Hampton
St Francis de Sales, Hampton Hill and Upper Teddington
Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury, Harrow
Our Lady Queen of Apostles, Heston
St Joseph, Highgate
St Monica, Hoxton
Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock, Kensington
Our Lady of Victories, Kensington
Sacred Heart, Kilburn
St Hugh of Lincoln, Letchworth
St Anselm and St Cecilia, Lincoln's Inn Fields
Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane
St Mary Moorfields
Mary Immaculate and St Peter, New Barnet
Notre Dame de France
St Monica, Palmer's Green
St Alban and St Stephen, St Albans
St Patrick, Soho Square
St Anselm, Southall
St James, Spanish Place
St Ignatius, Stamford Hill
St Mary and St Michael, Stepney
Sacred Heart, Teddington
English Martyrs, Tower Hill
St James, Twickenham
St Margaret of Scotland, Twickenham
Holy Rood, Watford
St Mary Magdalen, Whetstone
St Edmund of Canterbury, Whitton
Patronal Feasts of the Diocese
Schools
Our Lady of Lourdes School, Arnos Grove
Sacred Heart Primary School, Teddington
All Saints Catholic College, North Kensington
St Edmund's Roman Catholic Primary School
Bishop Challoner Catholic School
Bishop Douglass Catholic School
Cardinal Pole Catholic School
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Greenford
The Douay Martyrs School
St Augustine's Priory, Ealing
St Benedict's School, Ealing
Finchley Catholic High School
Gumley House Convent School
Gunnersbury Boys' School
John F Kennedy Catholic School
The John Henry Newman School
La Sainte Union Catholic School
London Oratory School
Loreto College, St Albans
Maria Fidelis Roman Catholic Convent School
Mount House School
Newman Catholic College
Nicholas Breakspear School
Our Lady's Catholic High School, Stamford Hill
Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith
Sacred Heart Language College
St Anthony's School, Hampstead
St Aloysius' College, Highgate
St Angela's Ursuline School
St Anne's Catholic High School
St Claudine's Catholic School for Girls
St Dominic's Sixth Form College
St George's Catholic School
St Gregory's Catholic Science College
St Ignatius College, Enfield
St James' Catholic High School, Colindale
St Joan of Arc Catholic School, Rickmansworth
St Mary's Catholic School, Bishop's Stortford
St Mark's Catholic School, Hounslow
St Michael's Catholic Grammar School
St Michael's Catholic High School
St Columba's College, St Albans
St Paul's College, Sunbury-on-Thames
St Richard Reynolds Catholic College
Salvatorian College
St Thomas More Language College
St Catherine's School, Twickenham
St Edmund's College, Ware
Westminster Cathedral Choir School
St Thomas More Catholic School, Wood Green