Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School (NBS) is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

with academy status situated on the rural fringe of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, an old Roman city in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The school takes its name from the 12th-century priest St Albans-born and educated

Nicholas Breakspear Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name ...

, who, as Pope Adrian IV, is the only Englishman ever to have occupied the papal chair. The school makes an annual pilgrimage to his tomb in Rome. (The school goes to Rome each year, but has only once gone to the tomb)

Recent history

After a 2008 renovation of the science classrooms, Chris Reeves made a nativity scene composed of sculptures made from the discarded 1960s desks. In September 2013 the school celebrated its

golden anniversary A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"স� ...

with a service offered by the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster at SS Alban and Stephen Church in the presence of the mayor of St Albans. The mass was followed by a tree-planting ceremony on the school grounds. It was categorized in 2016 as a 'Good' school but remained a school with below average teachers. On 13 January 2016,

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

ate lunch with Breakspear students at John Henry Newman School as he waited for paramedics. The

East Anglian Air Ambulance The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an air ambulance providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) across the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The appeal to fund the service was launched in t ...

, of which the Duke of Cambridge is part of, frequently uses the Newman School fields. The student leaders' take part in a trip to

Hoima Hoima is the second capital of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Hoima District. It is also the location of the palace of the Omukama of Bunyoro. Location Hoima is located approximately northwest of K ...

and Kasambya in Uganda supporting a charity; Kiddies Support Scheme (KiSS) helping families become self-sufficient. To date this team has led a school community to raise over £50000 for this charity. As of a November 2023 Inspection the school was rated 'Outstanding'.

House system

Breakspear has six houses, each named after a saint whose life is intended to serve as an example to the community. Students are assigned to one of the houses on entrance to the school in

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia and England) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 ...

where they remain until the end of

6th form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare ...

; whenever possible younger siblings become a member of the same house. Each member of staff is also attached to a house. Each house has two designated

Year 11 Year 11 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is the eleventh or twelfth year of core education. For some Year 11 students it is their final year s ...

House Captains, and one Sixth Form House Leader, who aides in coordinating house teams, organise activities and events and represent their house at relevant meetings. Houses compete between themselves for the most point accumulated during both terms of the school year.

List of houses

More House More House is the Catholic chaplaincy for the University of York in Heslington, York. The building itself dates from the late 18th century. The chaplains were formerly Carmelite friars resident in the building, but since 2021 priests from York ...

* Soubirous House * Lisieux House * Kolbe House * Bosco House * Bakhita House

School staff

Notable alumni

* Tom Cahill, Satoshi Ishida, and Sean Lemon - musicians who played in the band Saving Aimee. *

Matthew Connolly Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly (born 24 September 1987) is an English professional association football, footballer who last played as a Defender (association football), defender for club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City. Having started his car ...

(b. 1987) - professional football player, he started his career at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and most notably played for

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. * Nick Isiekwe (b. 1998) - professional English rugby union player.

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Hertfordshire Schools in St Albans Academies in Hertfordshire Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Educational institutions established in 1963 1963 establishments in England