St Brendan's is a state funded
sixth form college located in Brislington,
Bristol, England. Over 1700 students study A-levels, BTECs & GCSEs on one purpose-built, university style campus.
History
St Brendan's was founded by the
Irish Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice.
Their first school was opened in Waterford, Irelan ...
as a Catholic school for boys in 1896 in
Berkeley Square in Bristol.
During the first fifty years of its existence it played a part in developing an educated Catholic laity in and around Bristol. Many of its pupils entered the priesthood as well as other professions.
Direct grant grammar school
Following the 1944 Education Act, Saint Brendan's became a boys'
direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
and by the late 1950s had outgrown the Berkeley Square site. The Brothers purchased a house (the Beeches) and extensive grounds of
Brislington House in
Brislington, built the present accommodation, and moved to Brislington in 1960.
[ The grammar school was wound down over several years, the last of the old grammar school students, some having joined the Preparatory School in 1975, many having joined the senior school in 1978, joined the sixth form in 1983.
]
Present-day: sixth form college
In the late 1970s, as a result of a reorganisation of Catholic secondary education in Bristol and Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, St Brendan's became a coeducational sixth form college providing a range of A level, BTEC and other Level 3 courses for students aged 16+.