Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School

Motto	Nihil Nisi Deo (Nothing without God)
Type	Comprehensive voluntary aided school
Religion	Roman Catholic
Headteacher	John Casey
Founder	Hugh Cook Faringdon
Location	Fawley Road Reading Berkshire RG30 3EP England
Local authority	Reading
DfE URN	110107 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	806
Gender	Mixed
Ages	11–18
Colours	Maroon
Website	hughfaringdon.org

Blessed Hugh Faringdon is a Catholic state secondary school in Reading in Berkshire, England. The school has approximately 850 pupils on roll and around 100 teaching and non teaching staff. The school specialises in Mathematics and the Performing Arts. Blessed Hugh Faringdon is one of the many Catholic schools in and around Reading but the only secondary and is under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Portsmouth. The school is a member of the Partners in Excellence group of schools.

History

Blessed Hugh Faringdon was founded in the 1950s by and for the Catholic Community in Reading. £200,000 was raised by the Catholic Community to purchase the land and build the school. The efforts were led by Archbishop John Henry King who encouraged the parishes of Reading to raise money through subscriptions, garden fetes, bazaars and bank loans.

The school opened in 1958 to 60 pupils and the first Governing Body consisted of 9 people including Canon Murphy, and Fathers Kirk, Collins, O'Malley and Donnelly. The first of the school's Headteachers was appointed, Mr MP Healy, and he stayed for 18 years. The school celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2008. The current Headteacher is Mr John Casey, who started in 2009.

In 2013 72% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C inc English and Maths and 100% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C. Its Value Added figure for this was 1,043.3, against a national average of 1,000. This placed the school in the top 2% of schools in England using the Raiseonline measure. In November 2013 the Sunday Times published its list of the top 500 state schools and BHF was placed at number 472, placing it in the top 10% of schools in England.

The school received a full Section 5 OFSTED inspection in November 2012 and was graded as a "Good" school. The school received a Portsmouth Diocesan Section 48 inspection in June 2013 and was graded "Good with outstanding features".

The school holds the International Schools award, the UNICEF Rights Respecting Foundation Award and is part of the iCan charity Secondary Talks programme.

The school is part of the Business in the Community Reading cluster and has been partnered with the Prudential, a local Reading company.

Blessed Hugh Faringdon was Abbott of the Reading Benedictine Abbey in 1520. He frequently entertained Henry VIII at the Abbey but fell out with the King when he supported the church. He was martyred in 1539 opposite the present St James Church.

In 2009 the Diocese of Portsmouth inspection reported; " BHF is a good Catholic School, where the spiritual and moral formation of young people is a strength".

External links

Official website