News and Events

EXCITING DIOCESAN VISION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
IN MIDDLESBROUGH

Bishop Terence Patrick Drainey’s commitment ‘to seek imaginative solutions to develop positively Catholic education across all parts of my Diocese’ has led to an exciting new vision for Catholic education in Middlesbrough.

The Diocese wishes to formalise the very close relationship between Trinity Catholic College and St Mary’s College with the potential for bringing the provision together within a single legal entity, perhaps as early as September 2011.

Under the Building Schools for the Future initiative, Trinity Catholic College is benefiting from a new build on its Saltersgill site. Our vision provides for discrete post-16 provision on the St Mary’s site, which is adjacent.

The Diocese is working with Middlesbrough Borough Council both to achieve its vision for Catholic education and to play a full part in enabling the Local Authority to ensure the best possible curriculum offer for the town as a whole.

Peter Coady, the headteacher of Trinity Catholic College, said that he was delighted with the new vision ‘which, building on Trinity’s partnership with the Catholic primary schools, would mean the seamless provision of Catholic education in the town for young people 3 to 19.’

For his part, Don Lillistone, the principal of St Mary’s College, added that ‘within the context of the demographic decline in the area, bringing the 11-19 Catholic provision together in a single legal entity has all the benefits of collaborative working and economies of scale, whilst maintaining physically discrete sixth form provision for the older students.’

Fr Derek Turnham, the Diocesan Schools Commissioner, underlined the fact that the physically discrete sixth form will remain open entry to young people from the Diocese’s 11 to 16 schools, Sacred Heart, St Patrick’s and St Peter’s, and also to young people from all other schools who wish to continue their studies in a Catholic environment. ‘We are working very positively with the Local Authority in order to progress our vision which provides a golden opportunity to develop further both Catholic education and post-16 learning opportunities across the borough,’ he said.