The John Henry Newman School


The John Henry Newman School is a Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status at Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England. In its most recent Ofsted inspection it was classed as a good school and the diocesan report, assessing quality of Catholic education, classed it as outstanding. It converted to academy status on 1 March 2012.

History

Hitchin

St. Michael's College was established in Grove Road, Hitchin—next to the site of a new Catholic church—in 1903 by Fr. A. Prével of the Society of Saint Edmund. In 1925, the priests from the Order of Augustinians of the Assumption assumed control of both the church and the college.
St. Michael's College was a Catholic boys' school which housed a number of boarding pupils. In 1953, following a General Inspection, the College was granted temporary recognition as an independent grammar school and this status was made permanent in 1958

Stevenage

The expansion of Stevenage New Town during the 1960s led to the relocation of the school to Sandown Road, Stevenage, in 1968. It changed its name to St. Michael's School and became a comprehensive.
In 1985, the process of merging St. Michael's School with St. Angela's School for Girls began. The merging process was completed in 1987 under the leadership of Chair of Governors, John Alan Scouller and the site of St. Michael's was sold, while the new "John Henry Newman School" moved to the former site of St. Angela's on Hitchin Road. The name of the school commemorates Cardinal John Henry Newman.

School facilities

The school's drama, music and dance facilities are in a 'pavilion' building built in 2015 that cost £3 million.
The school's sporting facilities including a hockey/football astroturf, tennis courts, sports hall and 2 full size pitches.

Notable people

Former pupils