Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School is a Roman Catholic

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. The School was established in 1953 and in 2006 it was awarded specialist status as a Humanities College. The school is named after

William Bernard Ullathorne William Bernard Ullathorne (7 May 180621 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century. Early life Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest o ...

(1806–1889), the first Roman Catholic

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

. Initially the school had three separate parts; a boys' secondary modern school, a girls' secondary modern school and a grammar school. In 1968 these formed the core of the current comprehensive school, each of the three separate parts being initially identified as the Lower School, the Middle School and the Upper School. The grammar school later became the home of the Coventry Centre for the Performing Arts before being sold to

Bovis Homes Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes Group, is a British home construction company based in Kings Hill, England. Bovis Homes completed a deal to acquire Galliford Try's housing arm in January 2020, renaming the combined business Vistry. It is lis ...

who built a housing estate on the land. The two remaining buildings were re-dubbed 'A Block' and 'B Block' after the sale of the grammar school and the previously empty space between them was built on to form a single building. This area is now a passage for staff and allows quick movement between the two structures, with students only being allowed access during heavy rainstorms or with special permission.

Academics

The school currently has approximately 970 pupils, and includes a sixth form college. Bishop Ullathorne School has a good academic record and in 2012–13 91% of GCSE students gained 5 A*-C passes. At A Level, 72% of students achieved 3 A-C passes in 2012–2013. Students come from a wide range of backgrounds as the school draws in Catholics from around the city. Around a third of students are eligible for free school meals and 17% learn English as a second language. It is consistently ranked within the top 10 schools in Coventry in local league tables.

Sport

Although relatively small, the school has a rich history in sport, football, gymnastics, cross country and rugby. The school has won many Coventry Schools cups in football as well as winning the West Midlands Schools Cup. In the past five years the school has been in ''The Coventry Evening Telegraph'' Cup final four times, winning it three times. A special win came in 2006 when it was the first final to be played at The Ricoh Arena, resulting in a 3–0 victory.

Former pupils

* Andrew Campbell (b. 1959) – computer scientist *

Cathy Cassidy Cathy Cassidy (born 13 June 1962) is an English author of young adult fiction. She was born in Coventry, Warwickshire. For a number of years she lived near New Galloway in Scotland where she started writing her novels, but has since returned to ...

(b. 1962) – children's author *

Mary Creagh Mary Helen Creagh (born 2 December 1967) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry East since 2024, having previously served as MP for Wakefield (UK Parliament cons ...

(b. 1967) – MP for Coventry East ( Labour) * Joel Fearon (b. 1988) – bobsleigher * Theresa Griffin (b. 1962) – former

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the North West of England ( Labour) * Gary McSheffrey (b. 1982) – footballer *

Chris Moran Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh Moran, (28 April 1956 – 26 May 2010) was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of RAF Air Command, Air Command at the time of his unexpected death ...

(1956–2010) – Air Chief Marshal * George Shaw (b. 1966) – artist and

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

nominee * Adam Walker (b. 1991) – footballer

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Coventry Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham Academies in Coventry