School told: you’ve got our blessing

Pupils from Feeder Schools to the New Catholic High School name the new School on Broadway as Blessed John Henry Newman Catholic High School

Top honour for staff and pupils

Oldham’s new Catholic high school will be the first to be named after a former Oxford academic since his beatification by the Pope in September.

Blessed John Henry Newman was chosen by the Bishop of Salford from a shortlist of three names voted for by pupils and parishioners.

Delighted head teacher designate Mike McGhee said: “While there are many schools and colleges in the country named after Cardinal Newman, it is considered a great honour that Oldham’s new Catholic high school will be the first to carry the title ‘Blessed John Henry Newman’ as a consequence of his beatification.”

The school will replace Our Lady’s, Royton, and St Augustine’s, Werneth, in September, 2011.

It will open in their existing buildings before moving into a new school in Broadway, Chadderton, a year later.

Pupils from the borough’s two Catholic secondaries and 12 primaries researched and collated a list of 10 possible names to reflect the school’s story.

Voting took place at the start of this month. The other two most popular names were All Saints and SS Peter and Paul.

The Right Rev Terence Brain made the final decision and chose Blessed John Henry Newman in honour of his beatification.

He rejected All Saints, which topped the poll, because there are already schools in Tameside and Blackburn with the name. Cardinal Newman was born in 1801 and was originally an evangelical Oxford academic and a clergyman in the Church of England.

He converted to Catholicism and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the UK, the final stage before sainthood.

Known for his commitment to the poor within cities, his feast day on October 9 will be celebrated in the new school next year.

Mr McGhee added: “He valued education for the liberation of the mind that it allowed, saying ‘growth is the only evidence of life.’

“Catholic education is all about allowing young people to live life to the full, and to allow them to grow as human beings in a greater understanding of the love and knowledge of God.”