Press release - 6 July 2013 

The Principal and staff at All Hallows Catholic College, a voluntary academy in Macclesfield, have been selected for a top role, supporting schools in challenging circumstances.

Tony Billings is one of only 96 headteachers to be appointed to the role of National Leader of Education (NLE) in the latest recruitment round. He will now be invited to the National College for Teaching and Leadership’s learning and conference centre in Nottingham in October for a formal induction and training for the role in driving school improvement.

NLEs use their success and professionalism as school leaders, along with the staff in their school - designated a National Support School - to provide additional leadership capability in struggling schools or those in transition to federation or academy status. The deployment is tailor-made to suit the needs of each school. The type of support provided is flexible and can involve NLEs becoming acting or executive headteacher of the client school or schools. They also have responsibility for bringing on the next generation of NLEs and National Support Schools. 

Jacquline Feeley, Chair of Governors said: “This is such exciting news! The awarding of "National Support School" to All Hallows Catholic College and "National Leader of Education" to our Principal, is timely recognition of the great work of all staff inspirationally led by Tony Billings.  It reflects our Mission "to be more rather than have more" and the high standards achieved by our staff and students. We will now be able to share expertise, knowledge and skills with other schools to raise expectations and standards of Teaching and  Learning to enable all to fulfil their true potential. We, the Governors, are very proud of this excellent achievement which places Tony Billings as one of the National Leaders of Education, and of all our dedicated staff members who work and study selflessly and tirelessly as a dynamic team for the good of all our students. Congratulations and Well done to everyone!”

Many in the National Leaders of Education/National Support Schools scheme see improvements in exam results at both the support and client schools with progress achieved in excess of the improvements nationally. 

There are now well over 800 NLEs across the country and the number is set to rise to about 1,000 by 2015. Tony Billings, Principal of All Hallows said:  “This is a recognition of the extensive work we are already doing, sharing best practice with a number of schools facing challenging circumstances. We are delighted to be invited into such important work making a difference to the lives of students and their teachers.”

Charlie Taylor, Chief Executive of the National College for Teaching and Leadership, said: “It’s great that heads like Tony Billings are willing to look beyond their own school gates to help more pupils achieve. Their efforts will be at the heart of a self-improving, school-led education system.

“School-to-school support is having a growing impact and the results speak for themselves with benefits for both the schools being supported and those providing the support.”

Notes to editors:

For further information contact: All Hallows Catholic College, Principal, Tony Billings at 01625 426138 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

All Hallows Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy, drawing students from Macclesfield, Alderley Edge, Congleton, Wilmslow, Handforth, Poynton,Stockport,Whalley Bridge, Knutsford and surrounding areas.

For press enquiries about the national NLE programme contact Richard Earle on 07776 494545, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit: www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege   

Pupils at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe are supporting the CAFOD Big IF campaign “Hungry for Change”. CAFOD, the Catholic Association for Overseas Development works in many countries to tackle poverty, encourage development and fight for global justice.

The pupils have learnt that there is enough food in the world for everyone, but it’s not shared fairly. They know that the way forward is to act collectively to push for change hence they signed a pledge which was sent to David Cameron and to bring up at the G8 summit to end world hunger.

“The pupils were very keen to support the Hungry for Change campaign after learning that nearly one billion people go to bed hungry every night and two million children die from malnutrition every year,” explained Miss Kathryn Meehan, RE teacher at Saint Paul’s. “Our pupils were inspired by the values of the CAFOD charity – compassion, hope, dignity, solidarity, partnership, sustainability and stewardship, As part of the Catholic community, we were eager to support this charity and help those in need.”

“At Saint Paul’s, pupils are encouraged to consider their place in the wider community, develop a strong sense of social responsibility and support those less fortunate than themselves.” commented Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. Our hope is that, through their exposure to a range of activities and causes, our pupils will develop a sense of the type and scale of need that exists in modern life.”

PRESS RELEASE - June  2013

Saint Paul’s one of the top 20% of schools in England for improving its GCSE results year-on-year!

Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe was delighted to be recognised nationally for achieving some of the fastest improving GCSE results in the country.

The school recently received official recognition of their achievement from the SSAT (The Schools Network). They were recognised as one of the top 20% of schools in England by improving its GCSE results year-on-year from 2009 to 2012 by at least 17 percentage points overall.

This reinforces the message earlier in the year when Saint Paul’s was recognised by the Minister of State, the Rt Hon David Laws MP, as one of the 100 most improved schools in the country.

The school was highlighted by the Minister as one of the 100 most improved schools in the country in terms of the progress the pupils have made between their Key Stage 2 results (i.e. when the pupils left primary school) and their GCSE results.

Sue Williamson,Chief Executive of SSAT, said: “St Paul’s Catholic High School should be congratulated for their stunning achievement in improving their GCSE results.”

She continued: “St Paul’s Catholic High School has proved itself to be one of the best schools in the country at improving GCSE outcomes for their students. There is plenty that other schools could learn from Saint Paul’s success.”

“These results are testament to the commitment and hard work of the students, teachers and leadership team at Saint Paul’s and a vindication of their belief in high expectations, good teaching and ambition for every young person.”

The school achieved excellent GCSE results in 2012: the eighth year running that they had celebrated improved GCSE exam results.

2012 saw the best ever GCSE results for Saint Paul’s with 59% of pupils achieving 5 A* - Cs including Maths and English GCSEs (the government’s preferred measure), an increase of 11% from 2011. Also, the number of pupils attaining 5A* - Cs increased to an all time high of 90%.

“We are delighted to be celebrating national recognition for achieving some of the fastest improving GCSE results in the country; this is another milestone for the school and is a remarkable achievement,” said Head Teacher, Mr Wiktor Daron. “We are very proud of the year-on-year improving GCSE results which students and staff at the school worked very hard to achieve.”

As part of the Enrichment program, 39 students opted for a Visit to the Historical, Religious and Artistic sites The 'Eternal City' of Rome has to offer.  Travelling as a group of year 12 they spent 5 days exploring the sites while enjoying the fantastic weather, food and company. Taking in visits to The Vatican - scaling the never ending staircase into the cupola of Michelangelo, marvelling at his work in the Sistine chapel and attending the Papal Audience with Pope Francis.  The Coliseum, the Forum and the Catacombs to name but a few.  Students also enjoyed the activities the Borghese gardens had to offer.   Alistair Sidebotham won the biggest Gelato ordered hands down!

PRESS RELEASE - July 2013

Pupils at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe are encouraged to cycle or walk to school in-line with the school’s policy to promote healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyles. To support this, Year 7 pupils at the school recently took part in the Bikeability scheme. This is the updated Cycling Proficiency Test, designed to give the pupils the skills and confidence to ride their bikes safely on today's roads.

The pupils’ training included how to control their bikes, being able to look and assess traffic, how to communicate and where to position themselves on the road.

Initially the sessions were based in the playground so that the instructor could assess the groups' bike handling ability and practise skills such as balance, control and observation without worrying about traffic. Once basic skills had been developed, the lessons moved onto the road, a vital step in raising awareness and putting the playground practice into a real-life situation.

Whilst at Saint Paul’s, the Bikeability instructors were also able to advise the pupils on safety equipment and how to check and do simple maintenance on their bikes.

“Cycling is an ideal form of transport for young people providing a healthy, cheap and environmentally friendly way to get about,” explained Ms Diane Keary, Head of Year 7 at Saint Paul’s. “The government recommends that young people should have a minimum of one hour’s moderate physical activity each date so that they stay healthy and help prevent serious illness in later life. Cycling to school is a simple and practical way of achieving this.”

Ms Keary added: “It is obviously vital that children can handle their bikes competently and that they know how to ride safely and with consideration for others. They need to learn about potential hazards and how to deal with traffic safely which is why we provide this training for them.”

“The course included basic road manoeuvres, assessing risks, holding good road positioning, awareness of traffic and a general understanding of the highway code. The pupils started off with basic riding techniques and then moved onto more challenging situations.”

“The course was not just about teaching children to ride a bike to national standards but also about introducing them to cycling as an everyday and fun activity and an alternative mode of transport. Cycling is a very efficient and eco-friendly way of getting around which we would like to encourage.”

“Getting children interested in cycling at an early age is a great way to encourage them to exercise,” commented Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. “However, young people between 11 and 15 are most vulnerable on the roads, and only one-third of children ever do any cycle training so we wanted to emphasise the importance of training and safety to our pupils.”

 “By undergoing some training and by following a few simple safety rules, we hope we can make sure our pupils keep out of trouble on the roads.”

The Year 9 girls from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe made the school proud when they recently won the Wythenshawe Rounders Tournament.

The girls had great wins over Manchester Health Academy and Newall Green High School and went on to be crowned as the overall winners of the tournament.

“Winning the Wythenshawe Rounders Tournament was a fantastic achievement for our Year 9 team,” commented Mrs Janice Stuart, PE teacher at Saint Paul’s. “The girls beat all the other teams they played against very comprehensively. They thoroughly deserve the success they have worked so hard for.”

Mrs Stuart added: “The girls demonstrated extremely knowledgeable tactical fielding which greatly contributed to their success. I was also delighted to see the good sportsmanship of the players as they went out of their way to congratulate the other teams for their efforts.”

“All the girls have a real passion for the game and this is a well deserved achievement for them,” said Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. “I am very proud of all those who took part; the team has shown great spirit and determination.”

Early last week, (before the snow descended) the SOLSTICE planning group met.   As you may be aware we have parents, one member of staff and Sister Patrick who are all undergoing treatment for various types of cancer.  Cancer in all of its forms is a disease which respects no-one and attacks young and old alike. Fortunately there have been breakthroughs in detection and treatments but research requires money and support of sufferers also needs money. So we have selected Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer as the two charities to support with our SOLSTICE events.

Back in April, The Towers Convent School in Upper Beeding made the decision that as a number of our parents, a member of staff and Sister Patrick were all undergoing treatment for various types of Cancer we wanted to support Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer and began planning our Solstice event.  Also, we decided that, as this is my tenth and final year as Head, we would aim for a total of £10,000. We thought that we were being optimistic and perhaps a little too ambitious but decided that it would be better to aim high.  As I write this the total is just over £13,500 with money from the sponsored runs and silent auction still to come. The original plan was to give £5,000 each to Macmillan and Cancer Research UK and then anything above that amount could go to the Worthing Hospital Scanner Appeal.

The first ‘event’ was our money mile where everyone was invited to place loose change on the tape around the school. The money is still coming in and we are at 1194 yards. Not quite a mile but equating to over £500.  There have been many individual events such as the Daisy Chain Challenge (£88), a parent who asked her dinner party guests to pay for their pudding (£55) cake sales at various churches to name but a few.

Then the Summer Solstice arrived and the Seniors arrived dressed in pink and green outfits plus trainers to do the 5km fun run along the banks of the river adur. The first girl back was Ellie-Rose Teatum with a time of 19 minutes 20 seconds.  In the afternoon all of the Juniors and nursery ran or walked around the field as many times as they could manage. For one nursery child one lap was enough before he declared to Hayley “I have had enough, my feet won’t do anymore” whilst the girl who did the most laps was Amelie Somers completing 48 laps closely followed by Harriet Thornton completing 47 laps.  The sponsor money from both of these events this has yet to be counted but even if each child only raises £10 then that would be a further £3200!

In the evening the auction alone raised an amazing £3905.  With ticket sales and bar sales, lockery and tombola adding a further £1600 to the proceeds from the night.  All 23 lots sold with some competitive bidding, particularly for the tickets to the Ashes which sold for £370 and the Florida apartment which reached an amazing £1000. The champagne tea at South Lodge, Dinner, bed and breakfast at Dean’s Place, a Mappin and Webb watch, signed cricket bat and the bakery courses at The Artisan Bakery were also very popular, each reaching around £200. There were many more items donated and a silent auction for these is still in process.

Saturday saw some serious competitors warming up with exercises demonstrated by Kat O’Neill before setting off on a steep hill over the Downs for a 5 or 8K run, jog or walk. This raised over £1000 in entry fees. Congratulations not only to Will Chambers and ex-pupil Lydia Growns who respectively won the two categories but also to Ellie-Rose Teatum who repeated her achievement of the previous day and was the first Towers pupil to return.

During the afternoon the fete was declared open by Sister Patrick and followed an afternoon of busy its busy stalls, entertainment and games went ahead despite the windy weather.  The rain held off until it was time to pack away and to start the barbecue. Venison or pork burgers provided by a parent were delicious and the entertainment first ‘Fat Owl’ followed by ‘No Pressure’ soon had literally everyone up and dancing to round off a fabulous weekend.

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3 June 2013 - Press Release

All Hallows Catholic College has received national recognition for the high attainment of pupils in the GCSE examination in 2012.

All Hallows Catholic College qualified as one of the top 20% of non-selective schools in England for the high average grades achieved by students.

Every school in the country has been ranked according to how well they performed in their GCSE results in 2012 by SSAT - the representative body for schools.

The new rankings, calculated by SSAT using official data, compare how schools nationally performed by counting all students' best 8 GCSE subjects and reflect schools' desire to achieve the very best results for their students.

Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT said, " All Hallows Catholic College should be congratulated for their stunning achievement is securing some of the best GCSE results in the country.

"All Hallows Catholic College has proven itself to be one of the best schools in the country at securing superb GCSE outcomes for their students.There is plenty that other schools could learn from All Hallows Catholic College's success.

"These results are testament to the commitment and hard work of the students, teachers and leadership team at All Hallows Catholic College and a vindication of their belief in high expectations, good teaching and ambition for every young person.

"Successful schools like All Hallows Catholic College understand the value of data, such as these attainment measures, in helping to ensure that all young people perform to the very best of their ability. The attainment measures show how schools are focused on their performance and out comes of all their students."

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SSAT (The Schools Network) Ltd is an independent  membership organisation that works with schools and partners to shape a world class education system. it represents almost 2000 members in England. The company operates with the same broad educational objectives as the old Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

Contact : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Twenty-eight RE students from seven different schools joined MPs at the House of Commons to campaign on behalf of Religious Education (RE) in schools on Monday, June 24. 

The schools were invited by the All Party Parliamentary Group on RE to update MPs and Peers about two new initiatives designed to give RE a much needed boost in schools. 

The RE Quality Mark (REQM) is a new accreditation supported and monitored by the Religious Education Council for England and Wales to celebrate and recognise quality RE in all primary and secondary school classrooms. 

When it is well taught in secondary schools 11-16 year olds value GCSE Religious Studies as a strong humanities subject. The RE Young Ambassadors programme is a new initiative that draws on this support by bringing together a diverse group of young people from different secondary schools. They volunteer their time to champion RE as subject they believe to be important. 

Stephen Lloyd MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Religious Education (RE), said:

“We have found many excuses are given for relegating RE in schools to a single slot, often taught by a non-specialist teacher who has not benefited from subject training. Given the current social and political climate this is shocking, and today it is tremendous to welcome so many schools and young people who want to support RE in our schools. We are working hard to ensure the subject is given a long term view and is not ignored in any curriculum reforms.”

As society becomes more religiously diverse it is widely acknowledged that RE offers pupils the opportunity to explore their own beliefs and reflect on the challenges of serious commitment, allowing them to investigate how different beliefs have shaped individuals, families, communities and cultures. RE is a challenging subject to teach and one that requires support through training and space in the curriculum. By ignoring RE the current Government is threatening to put issues of faith, belief and diversity to one side and not make the most of schools as a safe space to educate, inform and question. 

ENDS

Notes to editors 

1.    The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Religious Education was set up in November 2012 and is chaired by Eastbourne and Willingdon MP, Stephen Lloyd. In November 2012 it announced its inquiry into the supply of and support for teachers of RE. A list of submissions to the inquiry and a full copy of the report is available by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

2.    The Young Ambassadors Programme was created by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, and the REC supports and monitors the RE Quality Mark (REQM). The REC brings together academic and professional associations specialising in religions and religious education. It also includes the individual religion and belief organisations which represent the range of faith communities found nationally, including the British Humanist Association. 

3.    For further media information about the Religious Education Council contact: Colin Hallmark / Harriet Johnson, 3:nine Communications. Tel: 0207 736 1888; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press Release - 19 July 2013

Youth homelessness charity Depaul UK is calling on the UK’s Catholic schools to get involved with its first ever annual sponsored Sleep Out/Sleep In and raise vital funds to support their nationwide work with young homeless people.

The Sleep Out/Sleep In will take place on 27th September 2013, to coincide with the Feast Day of St Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of charity whose work and values inspires the work of Depaul UK.

Schools can hold their sleep out in the playground or playing field. Students can also sleep inside the school.

The Sleep Out/Sleep In comes at a time when the need for support for young homeless people is particularly pressing. Most recent figures show that around 80,000 young people will experience homelessness in a year and that the number of young people seeking help from homelessness organisations and agencies is rising.

Tim Harford, Depaul UK’s Head of Donor Care and Individual Giving said, “We’re really hoping to build on the tremendous support we’ve had from the Catholic community to date with our first ever annual Sleep Out/Sleep In.  It’s not just an opportunity for schools to raise funds for the work we do with really vulnerable young people throughout the country- young people who have often had to cope with challenging situations since they were very young -it’s also an opportunity to encourage pupils to think about those less fortunate than themselves and put into action the virtues of charity and compassion.”

Depaul UK’s Sleep Out/Sleep In is supported by the charity’s patron, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.  The Archbishop says: “ Depaul UK helps young people who find themselves homeless to overcome their circumstances, which are often traumatic. It does so by helping them to find stability, a place to call home, and a hope for their future.  As patron of Depaul UK, I am pleased to offer my endorsement of this sponsored schools Sleep Out/Sleep In.  Schools wishing to participate do so with my encouragement and blessing.”

Teachers can register their school and get further information about how to organise and hold their Sleep Out/Sleep In at www.depauluk.org/sleepout.  For any questions email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 0207 939 1276. 

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Notes to Editors

1) About Depaul UK. Depaul UK is the UK’s largest youth homelessness charity. It provides and supports over 125,000 bednights a year to homeless and vulnerable young people and has helped more than 50,000 people since it was founded in 1989. The charity continues to work with more than 5,000 young people a year. Depaul UK is the new name for Depaul Trust, Registered Charity No .802384.  www.depauluk.org. Twitter @depauluk