St John Payne Catholic Comprehensive School
 | |
| Mottoes | Avita Pro Fide |
|---|---|
| Type | Voluntary aided school |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Location |
Patching Hall Lane Chelmsford Essex CM1 4BS England Coordinates: 51°45′07″N 0°27′47″E / 51.751847°N 0.463039°E |
| Local authority | Essex |
| DfE URN | 115238 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1250 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Augustinian, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, Servite |
| Website |
www |
Saint John Payne Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided school located in Chelmsford, Essex. Established in 1959, the school serves the mid Essex deanery in the Diocese of Brentwood.
School History
Blessed John Payne Roman Catholic School was opened in 1959 in the original building now called the Bosco Building after St John Bosco. Later the school was expanded with the addition of a second building, now called the Merici building. It became known as St John Payne Roman Catholic School after Pope Paul VI canonized the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on 25 October 1970. In 1977 the former Chelmsford Technical High School building was acquired by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood and this is now known as the Aquinas building.
These three buildings and the Sports Hall provide the teaching areas in the school which sit in 25 acres of grounds. The Columbus School and College are close neighbours and students from St John Payne often are involved with liaison and support activities.
The school's motto is Avita Pro Fide which means Zeal for the Faith .
House System
Upon admission to St John Payne, all pupils are assigned to a 'house' of a religious order, of which there are six:
- Augustinians
- Benedictines
- Carmelites
- Dominicans
- Franciscans
- Servites
Students compete in their respective houses in inter-house sports competitions.
Academic results
- The school does well in the performance tables published by the Department for Education www.dfe.gov.uk
Competing schools in the area
Other schools of similar stature in competition with St John Payne Catholic School in the area include:
- St Mary's School
- Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School
- Felsted School
- The Boswells School
- Gosfield School
- St John's School, Billericay
- New Hall School
- Brentwood School
- Great Baddow High School
- Colchester Royal Grammar School
- Colchester County High School for Girls
Admissions
St John Payne School was founded by the Brentwood Diocese to provide education for children of Catholic families. The school is Voluntary Aided and is conducted by its governing body in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ.
The governing body is an independent admissions authority and has responsibility for admissions to this school. It usually admits 190 pupils to Year 7 and 130 to Year 12 of the sixth-form.
If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, the governing body will give priority to baptised Catholics using faith-based oversubscription criteria.