St Michael's Catholic Grammar School is a

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

for girls, and boys in the sixth form, situated in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

, London. Its current headmaster is Michael Stimpson.

History

The school was founded as St Michael's Convent in 1908 by the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus and is now under their trusteeship. It was the first

school in Finchley since the Reformation. It was a small fee-paying school serving the parish. Under the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

, in 1958, St Michael's became a

grammar school to complement the all-boys Finchley Catholic Grammar School (now

Finchley Catholic High School Finchley Catholic High School is a boys' secondary school with a coeducational sixth form in North Finchley, part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. The current head teacher is Niamh Arnull, who had previously been a member of the teac ...

). When the Barnet LEA abolished the

tripartite system The Tripartite System was the selective school system of State school#United Kingdom, state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 onwards in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementa ...

, St Michael's did not turn comprehensive and has remained a grammar school to this day.

Ofsted inspection reports

: ''St Michael's is a high achieving school where relationships are excellent. The pupils are happy and well cared for morally, socially and spiritually. The school's national reputation in the Catholic community is justifiably high.'' (

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

, 1995) :''St Michael's is an exceptional school; which is outstandingly effective because of its excellent leadership, management, teaching and learning'' (

, 2005)

St Michael's curriculum

Classes offered include Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, History, Geography, Science, Music, Art, Physical Education, Drama, Technology, ICT and Education for Living with Citizenship. Pupils have a choice of either Food/Graphics Technology as well as Physical Education.

St Michael's traditions

School uniform

The uniform consists of a pleated purple skirt, a lilac shirt, and a purple jumper. In addition, there is a purple blazer which must be worn when travelling to and from school. During winter months, the blazer is supplanted by a long black coat. The color originates from St. Michael's flower, the Michaelmas Daisy. The royal purple symbolizes the status of

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

as the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

who quelled the rebellion of

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

School motto

The School motto "Quis ut deus" is a Latin translation of the sarcastic rhetorical question uttered by Archangel Michael as he slew Lucifer: "Who is like God?"

School song

The school song ''Dux Michael'', which is sung in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, is a praise of

St. Michael the Archangel Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

. It is always sung on St. Michael's Day and at various key stage certificate assemblies along with the school prayer.

Committees and clubs

In Year 12, a husting takes place to elect the Head Girl/Boy and the two Deputies at St. Michael's. As well as this, several committees and clubs are set up according to the interests of the girls, which vary each year.

School events

St Michael's Day is considered the most important day of the academic year at St Michael's. On this day the whole school, pupils and staff, join in the celebration of Mass in the school hall with a liturgy of music and drama. After Mass, free ice cream is given out to pupils and staff in celebration of St Michael the Archangel. Mass is not only celebrated on St Michael's Day, but on the Holy Days of Obligation found in the Catholic Calendar. There are additionally Masses on every Friday at lunchtime as well as on the last days of academic terms. These practices form part of St Michael's Catholic ethos, along with daily prayer. The staff assembly takes place on the last school assembly before the term breaks for Christmas. It is here that the staff organise an assembly for its pupils, either a talent show or a mini pantomime. Many events are organised throughout the year by the staff or various committees. An example includes the Cultural and Charity Committee which organise the traditional "Nigeria, Ireland & Montserrat v. The Rest of the World" netball match played by the staff on St Patrick's Day, with all proceeds donated to charity. St Michael's celebrated their centenary on 28 September 2008, the day before St Michael's Day. The Duke of Gloucester was invited to the school to mark the centenary with the opening of the new sports hall.

Notable former pupils

Jill Paton Walsh Gillian Honorine Mary Herbert, Baroness Hemingford, (née Bliss; 29 April 1937 – 18 October 2020), known professionally as Jill Paton Walsh, was an English novelist and children's writer. She may be known best for her Booker Prize-nominated ...

(1937-2020) - author *

Karen Harrison Karen Harrison (16 November 1960 – May 2011) was the first woman in Britain to be appointed as a train driver, during which time she was an active trade unionist and political campaigner. Early years Karen Harrison, the daughter of a custom ...

(1960-2011) - first woman in Britain to be appointed as a train driver, trade unionist and political campaigner *

Jessica Martin Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin (born 25 August 1962) is an English actress, singer, and illustrator. Specializing as an impressionist, her television roles have included ''Spitting Image'', '' Copy Cats'' and two series with Bobby Davro. Sh ...

(b. 1962) - actress and comedienne *

Lisa Jewell Lisa Jewell (born 19 July 1968) is a British author of popular fiction. Her books include ''Ralph's Party'', ''Thirtynothing'', ''After The Party'' (a sequel to ''Ralph's Party''), ''Then She Was Gone'', ''The Family Upstairs'', ''Invisible Girl ...

(b. 1968) - author *

Natasha Collins Natasha Louise Collins (7 September 1976 – 3 January 2008) was an English actress and model. Following a car crash that curtailed her career, she fatally overdosed on cocaine, which Mark Speight, her fiancé, was initially suspected of supply ...

(1976-2008) - children's TV presenter * Lois Joel (b. 1999) - footballer for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

References

External links

St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School websiteFinchley Catholic High School websiteSchool Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael's Catholic Grammar School Grammar schools in the London Borough of Barnet Girls' schools in London Educational institutions established in 1908 Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster 1908 establishments in England Voluntary aided schools in London Finchley