Xaverian College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xaverian College is a Roman Catholic sixth form college in the city of Manchester. It lies in the inner city suburb of Rusholme close to Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road. The College's location means that its intake is extremely diverse with many students coming from ethnic minorities as well as from various socio-economic classes.
As well as running conventional AS-Level and A-Level courses, the college also provides facilities for the resitting of core GCSE subjects and various vocational courses. The college also accommodates a group of around 50 students from the University of Manchester taking a foundation degree in dentistry and medicine. Evidence of the college's success can be seen as many past students have gained places at Oxford University and the University of Cambridge among other Russel Group Universities and Colleges.
As well as accommodating for Roman Catholic students primarily, the College also accommodates for any students from any faith that comply and adhere to the colleges policy of Peace and Harmony. The college prayer is the Salve Regina.
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[edit] History
The College has rich and diverse history spanning over several decades, including connections with first Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera and Mancunian Films, a film production company.
[edit] Pre-1977
The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier (CFX) are a religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The order is dedicated to Catholic education in the Britain, The United States and many other countries around the world. The existing Xaverian brothers are, to this day, travelling around the world inplacing Xaverian institutes where they are needed most.
The College was founded by the Xaverian Brothers in 1872 on open parklands. It was originally housed in just a single building known as Firwood but over time through new building projects and acquisition, the Campus has grown. For this reason, buildings date from 1840 onwards.
Firwood was home to the brothers up until 1993 when the last of them left. It has been rumoured that the first Irish Prime Minister, Eamon de Valera, was hidden within the building while fleeing the British authorities.[citation needed] Another former house which has now become part of the college, Ward Hall, was used as a camp for American servicemen during the Second World War.[citation needed]
Mancunian Films, a motion picture production company, used the exterior of the College in several of their films, including It’s A Grand Life starring Frank Randle and Diana Dors. The film company sold their local Dickenson Road Studios to the BBC in 1954, making Dickenson Road Studios the first regional BBC TV studio. When the BBC left in 1974 to move to their present location on Oxford Road, Xaverian College inherited their lighting rigs, now used in the Drama studio in Redcliffe.
[edit] Post-1977
The College operated as a Roman Catholic grammar school for boys until 1977, when it became a mixed sixth-form college. This allowed a significant expansion.
The College is very well known in the City of Manchester where it is one of the most successful and renowned colleges in the city. This is because of the colleges outstanding Ofsted report which rates the college as outstanding: grade 1, the highest grade of the scheme. also, the college has a very strong Academic reputation in Manchester and indeed the rest of the country with many subjects having 100% pass rates.
More recently, additions and renovations have been ongoing. The Ryken Centre and Mayfield buildings have been added within the last decade and provide students with high-tech information technology equipment. The Ryken building was suitably named after one of the institutions founders, Theodore James Ryken of the Xaverian brothers.
[edit] Buildings
Xaverian College consists of many buildings situated on two sides of Lower Park Road. In total there are 8 buildings that make up the campus. They are; Ward Hall, Redcliffe, Marlylands, Firwood, Xavier, Sunbury, Ryken and Mayfield. The buildings on campus date back from 1840 onwards. The college buildings revolve around a central green where sports and social activities take place.
Ward Hall accommodating Modern Languages, Geography, History, Ancient History and Classical Civilisation.
Redcliffe for Sport Studies, Drama and Music.
Marylands for English Language and English Literature.
Firwood houses the main student common room, Catering Facilities, student services, learning support suite, additional learning support and tutorial rooms, college chapel and RE rooms, administration offices and the main reception.
Xavier is home to the University of Manchester foundation courses in Biology, Medicine and Dentistry and also houses Mathematics and Sciences.
Sunbury housing RE classes, Art Foundation students and a computer network laboratory.
Ryken holds the careers service and library. It also provides a seminar room for visiting speakers and a large drop centre where students are able to make use of college ICT facilities. The ground floor of the building plays host the College Art Department and Photographic Studio.
Mayfield accommodating Business Studies, Economics, Film Studies, Health and Social Care, ICT, Computing, Media Studies, Psychology and Sociology.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Afshan Azad – British actress; best known for playing Padma Patil in the Harry Potter films
- Anthony Burgess – author, poet; most famous for his novel A Clockwork Orange
- Mark Collins – guitarist, member of the British indie/rock band The Charlatans.
- Martin Hannett – record producer and Factory Records co-founder
- Bernard Hill – British actor; best known for playing King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
- Gary Mounfield – member of The Stone Roses
- Tachia Newall – actor, plays the character of Bolton Smilie in Waterloo Road
- Chris Ofili – Turner Prize award–winning artist
- Tim Willocks – British doctor and novelist
- Shaun Wright-Phillips – Premier League footballer for Manchester City F.C.
[edit] External links
- Xaverian College website
- Audio interview with Brother Cyril - headmaster of Xaverian College from 1962 to 1989.
