St Margaret's Church of England Academy
 | |
| Motto |
Fide et Labore (Latin: "[by] Faith and Work") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1879 |
| Type | academy |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headteacher | Mr Stephen Brierley |
| Location |
Aigburth Road Aigburth, Liverpool L17 6AB England 53°22′07″N 2°55′48″W / 53.3686°N 2.9301°WCoordinates: 53°22′07″N 2°55′48″W / 53.3686°N 2.9301°W |
| Students | 964 |
| Gender | Boys, with mixed sixth form |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Diocese | School Hymn - Sing it in the Valleys |
| Website | St Margaret's CE Academy |
St Margaret's Church of England Academy is a secondary school for boys (with a mixed sixth form) in Aigburth, Liverpool, England.[1] It is popularly known as St Margaret's, Aigburth, frequently shortened to "SMA" or "Essemmay". Essemmay is also the name of the former students' association.[2] The "SMA" tag applied equally well for the school's original home in Anfield, Liverpool.
Admissions
The school accepts 160 boys per year, and girls are accepted in years 12 and 13. St Margaret's Sixth Form is part of the Faiths Partnership with fellow member schools St Hilda's Church of England High School, Archbishop Blanch School and Bellerive FCJ Catholic College. Together, the schools offer Sixth Form students an extensive range of courses.
The school is on Aigburth Road (A561) just north of Aigburth railway station in Aigburth, just east of Otterspool. It is next to the Church of St Anne, Aigburth (C of E) which is the local parish covering the school. JMU have their I M Marsh Campus nearby to the east and Liverpool Community College had their Riversdale Centre (a former nautical college) to the south, before it was turned into 93 houses and 148 flats.
History
These drawings were the school Christmas card for the 1979 centenary
The school was founded by Alderman William Preston, one time Mayor of Liverpool, and the Vicar of St. Margaret's, Anfield, Reverend John Sheepshanks. The school opened in 1879 by the parish dignitary and MP for West Toxteth, Mr TB Royden. The school's first Headmaster was Mr E Crossley and an early teacher and benefactor was Mrs Gertrude Langton.
Preston, Sheepshanks, Royden, Crossley and Langton are commemorated in the names of the current School Forms. In the 2015/2016 academic year, the form Walton was added in commemoration of the school's first female headteacher.
The school began as a Higher Grade School and after the 1918 Education Act, St Margaret's was recognised as a Central School with a selective intake based on a competitive examination. After the Education Act 1944, the school was restyled St. Margaret's Church of England School and during the 1950s courses leading to the GCE 'O' Level and 'A' Level examinations were established. In 1963 the school moved from Anfield to Aigburth. In the 1970s it had around 550 boys. In 1980 it was enlarged to a four-form entry school for students from 11 to 18 years of age. This was the year that the school had their first intake of girl students.
There were two other secondary schools in Liverpool also called St Margaret - St Margaret Mary's RC Secondary Modern School, a mixed school on Pilch Lane and St Margaret Cltherow RC Secondary School, a girls' school on Ullet Road.
St Margaret's is a Church of England High School and was awarded Technology College status in 1997, and Specialist Language College status in 2008. The school increased its intake to five-form entry in September 1998. In September 2015 the school again increased its intake to six-form entry. It is now an Academy as of 2014.
New buildings
In recent years, three major building developments, the Technology Suite, Sixth Form Centre and the Humanities and Administration Suite, have considerably improved the school's teaching and administration facilities. The Cricket and Sports Centre opened in 2006. In 2010 the school were given funding on behalf of Building Schools for Future Program. Originally the school was going to move to a new site on Edge Lane; however, the Governors disagreed, and the school remained at Aigburth, but instead the school rebuilt the main office, and the main corridor was updated. In 2014, 6 more classrooms and a new examination hall have been built to replace old classrooms on the yard, taking the place of the old gymnasium.
In 2016, new food technology and drama departments were built, as well as the renovation of the cafeteria.
Academic performance
St Margaret's has consistently high placings in the local League Tables. The 2007 SAT results placed the school in the top 25% of schools, nationally. Following the recent Ofsted inspection and record-breaking examination results, the school has been identified by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as a High Performing Specialist School.
Sport
Several pupils have been on trial with football clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athlectic and some attend the Liverpool FC Academy. Last year the football team beat 4 other schools and came second only to Impington Village College in the English FA Schools Cup. The school also excels at rugby; in 2012 and 2013 the year 8 and then year 9 team won the Lancashire Emerging Schools Cup.
Streets of Culture
SMA has its own gaming company, St. Margaret's Games. In 2006, students collaborated with Jaguar, Liverpool Hope University and Lateral Visions to create a state-of-the-art car racing computer game, entitled Streets of Culture. The game shows different Liverpool landmarks situated around a racetrack, in 2008. All profits from the game go to BBC's Children in Need. The creation of this is to be highlighted in the Teachers TV programme, Inspirations, and premiered on 8 January 2008. The programme can be seen "here". Teachers TV. .
Watch "An interview with the boys involved". YouTube.
SMA are currently part of the gaming company Inter-School Visions, along with fellow Liverpool secondary schools St Hilda's Church of England High School, Shorefields Technology College, St Benedict's College and Parklands High School. They have now created Streets of Culture 08: The Liver Mysteries, a computer game that was released to tie-in with Capital of Culture Year.
Musical & Talent Productions
Every year there is a Music For A Summer Evening concert in which students show off their music talents. There have also been productions of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and A Christmas Carol.
The School Council
The school has a Student Council consisting of two representatives from each house group. Each year group council has twelve representatives, two of which are elected to represent their year group.
Notable former pupils
- Gary Ablett, footballer
- Billy Ashcroft, footballer
- Kenneth Hesketh, composer
- Paul Horton, Lancashire cricketer
- John Madden, composer
- Elliot Morley, Labour MP from 1997-2010 for Scunthorpe and from 1987-97 for Glanford and Scunthorpe
- Mark Ramsden, musician, writer, composer
- Norman Sheil, cyclist (Anfield site)
- Stephen Tall (politician)
- Bill Tidy, cartoonist (at the Anfield site)