Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College

Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College is a secondary school based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. The school specialises in maths and computing, and is named after Blessed Thomas Holford, a 16th-century priest from Cheshire.[2] The college has a strong Catholic identity,[3] and all pupils are required to wear uniform.[4] The school's principal is Mr J Cornally MBE.

Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College
Address
Urban Road Altrincham , Greater Manchester , WA15 8HT  England
Information
Type	Voluntary aided Secondary Modern
Motto	Inspiring People, Changing Lives
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Local authority	Trafford
Department for Education URN	106376 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Head teacher	J Cornally MBE Headteacher National Leader of Education
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1,401[1]
Houses	6(Newan,Sienna,Stien,Romero,Bosco,Teresa)
Website	http://www.bthcc.org.uk/

Curriculum

The college puts special emphasis on maths and computing, and follows the Key Stage process. At Key Stage 3 in year 7 & 8, the pupils take the following subjects:

• English (3 hours)
• Maths (4 hours)
• Science (3 hours)
• Religious Education (2.5 hours)
• Design Technology (3 hours) - Woodwork, food technology, graphic design, art, music, PSHCE
• Computer Science (1 hour)
• French/Spanish (2 hours)
• History (2 hours)
• Geography (2 hours)
• Physical Education (2 hours)
• Drama (1 hour)

For GCSE, the pupils take core subjects including English language, English literature, Science, Mathematics, RE, computer science or BTEC and PE although not to complete as a GCSE. Pupils choose from a variety of additional subjects, including history, geography, art, child care, physical education, food technology, business studies, electronics, music, dance, textiles, French, German, Japanese, Spanish. BTEC courses for art and sport are also available. Pupils have to take at least one, but not more than three, of History, Geography, Spanish and French. Out of all the other subjects a maximum of two can be chosen.[5] In 2019, the school was above national average for Section 48 and got outstanding as well in 2012 and 2009 by Ofsted.[6]

Football Academy

The school has a UEFA-standard FieldTurf artificial grass football pitch which was opened in April 2007 by Bobby Charlton.[7] The pitch, which cost £1 million to install, was used by the England national football team for training prior to an away game against Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, as it uses the same surface as the Russian pitch.[8]

References

1. "Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College". Department for Children, School and Families. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
2. "The Life of Our Patron, Blessed Thomas Holford". Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
3. Cornally, J. "Headteacher's Message". Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
4. "Uniform". Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
5. "School prospectus" (PDF). Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
6. "League Tables - Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College". BBC.co.uk. 11 January 2007.
7. "Sports Pitch". Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
8. Morrison, Steven (24 September 2007). "England make Russia plans". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2007.