English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College

This article is about the school in Hartlepool, UK. For other schools of the same name, see English Martyrs School (disambiguation).

The English Martyrs Catholic School and Sixth Form College is a secondary school and sixth form college located in Hartlepool with academy status. English Martyrs (referred to locally as "EMS" and "Martyrs") is the only Catholic secondary school in Hartlepool. The school and college are both located on the same site on Catcote Road, however, a newly built specialist sixth form block provides the majority of A-Level classes, as well as some 11–16 school lessons.

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The English Martyrs Catholic School and Sixth Form College
Address
Hell
Coordinates	54°40′32″N 1°14′11″W
Information
Type	Academy with faith designation[1]
Motto	Per Unitatem Virtus (Latin for Strength through unity )
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic
Established	1973
Local authority	Hartlepool Borough Council
Department for Education URN	140867 Tables
Chair of Governors	Claire Harrison
Headteacher	Mrs Hogarth
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1480
Houses	5 houses
Colour(s)	Red, black, gold & white
Specialist School	Arts College Young Enterprise centre of excellence 2011 British Council International School Award 2012-2015 Investor in People Fair trade School Healthy School
Telephone Number	01429 273790
Website	https://ems.bhcet.org.uk/

History

St Joseph's Convent School was founded in 1885, and became a direct grant grammar school following the Education Act of 1944. St Francis RC Grammar School was opened in 1956,^[2] and two new secondary schools, St Bede's for boys and St Anne's for girls, were opened in 1963.

St Peter's secondary modern school opened in King Oswy Drive in 1960 replacing St Bega's school. The school had approximately 200 students and the headmasters were Timothy McCarthy, followed by Robert Garraghan.^[3]

In 1973, the national policy of Comprehensive education led to all the Catholic secondary schools in the town being merged as the English Martyrs' Comprehensive School. These were St Anne's, St Bede's, St Francis', St Joseph's and St Peter's schools, each of which is represented by a star on the school badge. The new site was the buildings of St Bede's and St Anne's^[4] and the St Francis site which was closed down in 1985.^[3]

List of previous headmasters

Previous headmasters include:^[5]

1. Canon John Bell (1973-1980). Bell was the first headmaster of English Martyrs, having previously been headmaster of the subsumed St Francis Grammar School.^[6]
2. David Relton (1980-1995)
3. Joseph Hughes (1995-2010^[7]
4. Michael Lee (2010–2015). Lee began his career at English Martyrs teaching history in 1977. Before being appointed head in September 2010, he had been head of sixth form and deputy headteacher.^[8]
5. Stephen Hammond (2015–2021)
6. Sara Crawshaw (2021–2024)
7. Colette Hogarth (2024–Present)

Statistics

The following statistics are summarised from the following Evening Gazette,^{[9][10][11][12]} Northern Echo^[13] and BBC News articles.^[14]
National averages are given in (italics) after the school's score.

Year	Number of children on the school roll	% eligible for free school meals	Value added score	Ratio of pupils to teachers	Total school spend per pupil / £	Budget spent on supply staff	% Gaining 5 A*-C GCSEs incl. English and Maths	% of pupils persistent / missing 15%+ of sessions	% of pupils staying on in any education	A/AS-Level performance (points)
2014-15[12]	1,520	11.7% (13.9%)	1011.9 (1000)	14.1 (15)	- (5,944)	-	-	4.2% (5.4%)	96.2% (90.2%)	-
2013-14	1,559	13.3% (15.7%)	993.7 (1000)	14 (15)	5,577 (5,856)	1%	62% (56.6%)	5% (5.3%)	-	-
2012-13	1,638	13.2% (16.3%)	1000.3 (1000)	14.9 (15.5)	5,677 (5,848)	1%	83% (59.2%)	5.53% (6.4%)	88.9% (88.3%)	-
2011-12	1,665	12.4% (16%)	995.5 (1000)	15 (15.6)	5,438 (6,058)	1%	68% (59.4%)	9.4% (6.8%)	90.6% (86%)	-
2010-11	1,700	-	997 (1000)	14.5 (16.3)	5,338 (5,051)	1%	72% (59%)	9.3% (9.5%)	91% (86%)	-
2009-10	-	-	-	-	4,945 (5,492)	1%	51% (53.5%)	3.7% (4.2%)	90.7% (84.7%)	-
2008-9	-	-	990.1 (1000)[14]	-	-	-	66% (49.8%)[14]	2.6% (5.9%)[14]	-	793.2 (739.1)[14]
2007-8	-	-	-	-	-	-	51% (47.6%)[14]	-	-	820.3 (740)[14]
2006-7	-	-	-	-	-	-	54% (46.3%)[14]	-	-	789.7 (731.2)[14]
2005-6	-	-	-	-	-	-	51% (45.6%)[14]	-	-	773.7 (721.5)[14]

Gazette ratings

Date	Overall score	Overall rating	Rank / out of x state schools	Local rank	Attainment	Teaching	Behaviour	Attendance	Outcomes
July 2016[12]	61.10		637 / 3,109	1			-
July 2015[11]	48.18		1,569 / 3,123	12			-
July 2014[10]	58.72		809	2			-
September 2013[9]	55.37		1,194 / 3,079	1				-

Ofsted ratings

Date	School part	Overall effectiveness	Outcomes, Achievement/ and standards	Behaviour and safety	Personal development and well being	Quality of provision/teaching	Leadership and management
17 May 2017[15]	School Overall	Requires Improvement	Requires Improvement	Good		Requires Improvement	Requires Improvement
	Sixth Form	Good	-	-	-	-	-
25 January 2012[16]	School Overall	Good	Good	Good	-	Good	Good
18 March 2009[17]	School Overall	Good	Good	-	Outstanding	Good	Good
	Sixth Form	Outstanding	Outstanding	-	Outstanding	Outstanding	Outstanding
5 October 2000[18]	School Overall	Good	Good	-	Outstanding	Good	Good
	Sixth Form	Good	Satisfactory	-	Outstanding	Good	Good

Intake

Main school

The majority of secondary school students come from 6 feeder primary schools:^[19]

• Sacred Heart School
• St. Bega's School
• St. Cuthbert's school
• St. John Vianney's School
• St. Joseph's School
• St. Teresa's School

Sixth form

• Pupils who obtain 5 grade Cs or better at GCSE can choose any Level 3 course i.e. an A Level or an Applied A Level course
• Pupils who obtain 4 grade Cs or above at GCSE are advised to follow a double award Applied A Level course, plus additional AS subject/s
• Pupils who obtain fewer than 4 grade Cs at GCSE are advised to follow a Level 2 course – either the BTEC First Diploma in Business or in Health and Social Care^[20]

Annual school events

Annual awards evening principal guests 1981-2012

A tradition of the school since 1981 where awards are given to students of both the school and sixth form college. Recognition is given to achievement at GCSE, 'A' level and GNVQ levels."^[21]

Annual John Bell Lecture

This once-a-year lecture is usually given around March in the school's St Anne's hall. The lecture is in honour of Canon John Bell, the last headmaster of St Francis and the first headmaster of the new English Martyrs school.

Principal guests, school shows and John Bell Lecturers

Academic Year Start	Awards Evening Principal Guest[21]	School Show	John Bell Lecturer	Headteacher
2017	TBA	Annie[22]	TBA	Stephen Hammond
2016	Craig Hignett[23]	Little Shop of Horrors	Tony Green, former Royal Marine and Police Officer[24]
2015	Gary Pallister	The Sound of Music	Michael Lee, former-headmaster of the school (2010–2015)
2014	Jeff Stelling	The Wizard of Oz	Daniel Robinson, Alumnus and only non-American to have flown the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.	Michael Lee
2013	Graham Onions	Jesus Christ Superstar	David Eagle, Alumnus and member of the sea shanty band the Young Uns[6][25]
2012	Stuart Whincup, BBC Look North, with special guest Savannah Marshall.	Beauty and the Beast	Chris Joseph, Alumnus and autobiographer[26]
2011	Tony Mowbray	We Will Rock You	Jez Lowe, Alumnus and folk musician[27]
2010	Séamus Cunningham, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle	Les Misérables[28]	Anne, Tony and Declan Stokle[29]
2009	Philippa Gregory	Oliver!	Father Phil Marsh[30]	Joe Hughes
2008	Wendy Gibson, BBC Look North	Grease	Joy Yates, Editor of the Hartlepool Mail[31]
2007	Peter Beardsley MBE	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2006	Jonny Wilkinson OBE	Bugsy Malone	Chris Gorman OBE, Alumnus and entrepreneur[32]
2005	Kevin Dunn, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle	The Wiz[33]
2004	Lord Puttnam CBE FRSA	Little Shop of Horrors
2003	Lord Alton of Liverpool
2002	Lady Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE
2001	Niall Quinn
2000	Simon Weston OBE
1999	Philip Madoc
1998	Kevin Whately		Ann Widdecombe DSG PC, Shadow Home Secretary[34]
1997	Tessa Sanderson CBE
1996	Ronnie Corbett CBE
1995	Bob Holness	Journey to the Center of the Earth[35]
1994	Sir Ron Norman OBE DL and Lady Norman			David Relton
1993	Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton DSG DL Baroness Masham of Ilton
1992	Ambrose Griffiths, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle		Peter Mandelson PC, MP for Hartlepool[34]
1991	Jeremy Beadle MBE
1990	Frank Carson KSG	The Boy Friend[35]
1989	Sir John Hall	Oklahoma![35]
1988	Sir Cyril Smith MBE
1987	Peter Egan
1986	Cardinal Basil Hume
1985	Major Sir Denis Thatcher MBE TD	My Fair Lady
1984	David Bellamy OBE	Calamity Jane
1983	Brian Clough OBE
1982	Lord Longford KG PC
1981	Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk
1980	New creation.
1979				John Bell
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
School founded.

Notable alumni

For a longer list, see Category:People educated at English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College.

• Paul Arnison, former professional footballer with over 350 professional appearances^[36]
• Pete Donaldson, radio presenter and podcast host^[36]
• Kieran Bew, TV, film and stage actor.^[37] Kieran attended alongside his brother Duncan who works as a doctor at King's College Hospital.^[36]
• Matthew Dolan, professional footballer whose former clubs include Middlesbrough, Hartlepool United and Bradford City^[36]
• Janick Gers, guitarist in Iron Maiden who opened the school's new music block in 2007^[38]
• Michael Gough, retired cricketer and cricket umpire (umpire of the year 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015)^[39]
• Peter Hartley, retired professional footballer and former Hartlepool United captain^[36]
• Michael Hunter, British, European and Commonwealth Bantamweight Boxing Champion^[36]
• Andy Linighan, retired professional footballer and scorer of the winning goal in the 1993 FA Cup Final who attended along with his brothers who were also footballers, Brian Linighan and David Linighan.^[36]
• Jemma Lowe, Olympic swimmer^[40]
• Savannah Marshall, Olympic boxer and boxing world champion^[41]
• Philip Middlemiss, actor and businessman^[36]
• Professor Gerard Parkin FRSC, Professor of Chemistry, Columbia University^[36]
• Kevin Walsh, Paralympic swimming bronze medallist^[36]