Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College

Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College is a highly popular, over-subscribed school for Catholic parents in South Manchester. The school is a vibrant family community, inclusive and proud of the achievements of all our pupils. We have 1600 pupils on roll, including 220 students in the Sixth Form.

We are proud of our strong Catholic ethos and mission which daily supports the work and achievements of the school. The aims of the school are contained in the Mission Statement which places a strong emphasis on aspiration and family ethos. Our school seeks to offer both an excellent 21stcentury education and an educational experience that upholds traditional catholic values.

Our school motto is Inspiring People Changing Lives. Over the last three years, the school has performed well against national averages and very well against similar schools at both GCSE and A Level. The proportion of pupils attending university from our Sixth Form is 96% with destinations including Cambridge, Durham, and Russell Group Universities. The remaining students enter apprenticeships and employment.

We have designed a curriculum that is equitable for all pupils. The curriculum is broad and balanced. All pupils have equal access to all subjects at key stage 3, and key stage 4.

Prayer and liturgy are an important part of our school and at least six times a year we hold school masses celebrated by one of our local priests, which allows our school to get together to celebrate its Catholic identity. Our Catholic life is also sustained by our weekly Friday Mass for pupils and parents and our Wednesday Prayer Group.

In a denominational inspection, dated June 2019, the school was judged outstanding for its provision for Religious Education and Catholic Life, which includes Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural Development (SMSC).

We are an experienced legacy Teaching School providing support to other schools, we have an agreement with bright Futures, based at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, to lead the ECT Framework across 4 Greater Manchester authorities. The agreement includes delivery of NPQ in Senior Leadership and NPQ in Leading Learning across the hub.

Every teaching post is an important one for the future of our school and the successful candidate will be somebody with a high work ethic and unstinting commitment to our children. We want somebody with a strong ambition to develop their own career but, above all they want to make a significant and long-lasting impression on the future lives of our pupils.

Mrs Clare Hogg

Headteacher