The Laurels School

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The Laurels School - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Laurels School

Address

1 Our Lady’s Close Upper Norwood Croydon , Greater London , SE19 3FA England
Information
Type	Private school
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	2013
Department for Education URN	140356 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headmistress	Linda Sanders
Gender	Girls
Age	11 to 18
Website	thelaurelsschool.org.uk

The Laurels School is an 11–18 girls Roman Catholic private day school and sixth form. Established in 2013 by the PACT Educational Trust, it is based in the Upper Norwood area of the London Borough of Croydon in England.^[1]

The school relocated to its present site in September 2021; it is the former location of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School, a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school for girls. This space is shared with The Cedars School for boys.

In common with the neighbouring boys school and other members of the PACT Educational Trust, the ethos of The Laurels School is reportedly inspired by the teachings of St Josemaría Escrivá and the organisation he founded, Opus Dei.^[2]

History

The original building on the site was a hunting lodge (of unknown age). In the late 1700s, the building was owned by the Earls of Bristol, and was known as Norwood House, the residence of the notable socialite Mary Nesbitt.^[3] In the early 1800s the lodge was sold and became known as the "Old Park Hotel".^[4]

Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School

Mother Saint Mary (Henriette le Forestier d'Osseville; 1803–1858), who had arrived in the United Kingdom in September 1848 with the intention of establishing a school under the patronage of Cardinal Wiseman, acquired the site with funds provided by her father, Count Theodose le Forestier d'Osseville in 1857.^[4] The current building was designed by William Wardell and built in phases in the gothic style to accommodate Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School commencing at that time.^[4] The convent is part of the Sisters of Our Lady of Fidelity, an international Roman Catholic religious organisation, founded in France in 1831.^[4]

Due to financial pressures and lack of funds for building repairs, Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School closed at the end of the 2021 Summer term.^[5]^[6]

The Laurels School

The Laurels School was established in 2013 in Clapham Park. In 2015 the school was visited by Lord and Lady Windsor, both of whom are supporters of the PACT Educational Trust.^[7]

The school relocated to Shelley House on Chelsea Embankment in 2019. Shelley House had been used by the Opus Dei Catholic institution since 1978 for the education of women.^[8] The school rapidly outgrew this site and relocated to the former Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School in September 2021.^[9]

Profile

The Laurels School is academically selective, and also operates a small sixth form.^[10]^[11] The site is shared with The Cedars School for boys, and both schools use the same sports hall.^[12]

The school environment reflects a strongly Catholic ethos; a prayer is said at the beginning of every lesson, and alongside a mainstream academic curriculum, girls attend talks on motherhood and family life.^[13]

Notable former pupils

Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School

Maura McGowan (b. 1957) - High Court judge^[14]

References

^ "The Laurels School". The Laurels School.
^ "Schools inspired by Opus Dei to open in London next year". Opus Dei. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
^ Stevenson, Janet H. (2004). "Nesbitt (née Davis), Mary". Oxford Biography Index. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "A short history of the Convent and Church of the Faithful Virgin at Upper Norwood". The Norwood Society. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
^ Porter, Toby (5 February 2021). "Doomed Virgo Fidelis School will revive as two single-gender Catholic private schools thanks to mystery benefactor".
^ "Virgo Fidelis Convent School in Croydon facing closure from financial problems and buildings "not fit for purpose"". London News Online. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ "Royal Visit to the Laurels School in Clapham Park". Catholic Independent Schools' Trust. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
^ "About the School". The Laurels School.
^ "The Laurels - September 2021". The Laurels School.
^ "Admissions Procedure". The Laurels School.
^ "The Sixth Form at The Laurels School". The Laurels School.
^ "The Cedars School - Relocation 2021". The Cedars School.
^ "Catholic Good Schools Guide 2022: A-Z of Independent schools". Catholic Herald. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
^ "McGOWAN, Maura Patricia", Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014

External links

v t e Schools and colleges in Croydon
Primary	Oasis Academy Shirley Park West Thornton Primary School Whitehorse Manor Junior School Winterbourne Boys' Academy
Secondary	Archbishop Lanfranc Academy Archbishop Tenison's School BRIT School Coloma Convent Girls' School Harris Academy Beulah Hill Harris Academy Purley Harris Academy South Norwood Harris City Academy Crystal Palace Harris Invictus Academy Croydon The John Fisher School Meridian High School Norbury High School for Girls Oasis Academy Arena Oasis Academy Coulsdon Oasis Academy Shirley Park Orchard Park High School The Quest Academy Riddlesdown Collegiate St Joseph's College St Mary's Catholic High School Shirley High School Thomas More RC School Woodcote High School
Special	Rutherford School St Giles School
Independent	Al-Khair School Cambridge Tutors College The Cedars School Croydon High School Elmhurst School Laleham Lea School The Laurels School Old Palace School Royal Russell School Trinity School of John Whitgift Whitgift School
Further education	Croydon College Coulsdon Sixth Form College John Ruskin College
Defunct	Commonweal Lodge Croham Hurst School Falconbury School Purley High School for Boys St Andrew's CE High School Selhurst High School

v t e Archdiocese of Southwark
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishops and bishops of Southwark I: Thomas Grant II: James Danell III: Robert Coffin IV: John Butt V: Francis Bourne VI: Peter Amigo VII: Cyril Cowderoy VIII: Michael Bowen IX: Kevin McDonald (Bishop Emeritus) X: Peter Smith XI: John Wilson Auxiliary bishops in Southwark Charles Henderson Paul Hendricks John Hine John Jukes Patrick Lynch Howard Tripp Philip Moger
Churches St George's Cathedral, Southwark – Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George St Osmund, Barnes Sacred Heart, Battersea St Edmund, Beckenham Our Lady Help of Christians, Blackheath Corpus Christi, Brixton Sacred Heart, Camberwell St Thomas of Canterbury, Canterbury St Michael the Archangel, Chatham St Mary, Chislehurst St Mary, Clapham St Mary, Croydon St Paul, Dover St Thomas More, Dulwich Our Lady of the Angels, Erith Our Lady of Gillingham St Thomas Aquinas, Ham Our Lady of Loreto and St Winefride, Kew St Agatha, Kingston St Saviour, Lewisham St Mary Magdalen, Mortlake St John the Evangelist, Putney St Augustine, Ramsgate St Ethelbert, Ramsgate Our Lady Queen of Peace, Richmond St Elizabeth of Portugal, Richmond St Joseph, Roehampton Most Precious Blood, Southwark St Winefride, South Wimbledon Sts Simon and Jude, Streatham Hill St Raphael, Surbiton St Anne, Vauxhall St Patrick, Waterloo Sacred Heart, Wimbledon Christ the King, Wimbledon Park St Peter, Woolwich
Patronal Feasts of the Diocese St Augustine of Canterbury (27 May) Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (8 December) St Thomas of Canterbury (29 December)
Schools Bishop Challoner School Bishop Thomas Grant School Bonus Pastor Catholic College The Cedars School Christ the King Sixth Form College Coloma Convent Girls' School Donhead Preparatory School Holy Cross School, New Malden Holy Cross Preparatory School The John Fisher School La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School The Laurels School Marymount International School London Notre Dame Roman Catholic Girls' School Richard Challoner School Sacred Heart Catholic School, Camberwell St Anselm's Catholic School St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls St Columba's Catholic Boys' School St Edmund's Catholic School, Dover St Francis Xavier College, Clapham St Gregory's Catholic School St John Bosco College, Battersea St John Fisher Catholic School St John's Catholic Comprehensive School St Joseph's College, Upper Norwood St Mary's Catholic High School, Croydon St Matthew Academy St Michael's Catholic College St Paul's Academy, Abbey Wood St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls St Simon Stock Catholic School St Thomas More Catholic School, Eltham St Thomas the Apostle College St Ursula's Convent School Thomas More Catholic School, Purley Ursuline College, Westgate-on-Sea Ursuline High School, Wimbledon Wimbledon College
See also National Shrine of Saint Jude Aylesford Priory St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate Minster in Thanet Priory St Mary's Church, Nettlestead St Anselm's Church, Pembury Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain Apostolic Vicariate of the London District
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