Catholic Life

DIOCESAN INSPECTION

Our Diocesan Section 48 inspection took place in March 2019, these occur every five years, the last one was in 2014. Everyone at Sacred Heart is delighted with the outcome, our school continues to be Outstanding, in every category.

Some of the most pleasing comments made by the Inspection team refer to:

‘All pupils deeply value and participate in the distinctive mission of this Catholic school. They show great respect for themselves and for others and actively embrace all that is on offer within the school.’
‘There is a strong sense of belonging which is evident within relationships at every level. Understanding and respect for everyone within the community ensures that students thrive and grow spiritually, socially, emotionally and educationally.’
‘Behaviour is exemplary within this diverse school community. Service to others is routine and palpable…’
‘Religious education is outstanding. In the vast majority of lessons, teaching was consistently outstanding at all key stages and never less than good.’

Inspection Report

To read our latest Diocesan Inspection Report please click the button below:

R E A D

ETHOS

Sacred Heart School is founded upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His teachings and values as seen in the light of the tradition of the Society of the Sacred Heart. The Society has always devoted itself to promoting the education of women and the pursuit of academic excellence.

Each student is entitled to a curriculum which is broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated to suit her individual needs. The school aims to encourage and challenge each student to achieve her full potential. Within this broad framework our aim is that she will:-

Be respected for her personal worth and dignity as a woman and be supported and cared for appropriately
Be guided and helped towards spiritual development with opportunities for prayer and worship
Be helped to develop a broad vision of the world, an awareness of environmental issues and a willingness to express concern in action
Be encouraged to develop a caring attitude to those around her
Develop knowledge of, respect for, and tolerance of other races, religions and cultures
Develop competence in communication and numeracy
Understand and experience technological processes and attain an awareness of technology’s impact on society
Enjoy a range of cultural, aesthetic and leisure pursuits
Be guided and helped towards mental and physical well-being
Be encouraged to develop self-discipline and to take responsibility for her decisions and actions
Enjoy her years at Sacred Heart

GOALS

FIVE GOALS:
In recent years as the sisters have withdrawn from day to day contact with the schools, other ways of maintaining the connections have been sought. The values which motivated Madeleine Sophie and all those who followed after her have been distilled into FIVE GOALS. These were originally drawn up in the USA but are now being adopted across the world as a way of emphasising the challenges and principles which we all share. In an ever changing world we are reminded that we must ‘keep our eyes open upon the distant horizons, our minds listening to seize every indication that can enlighten us; reading, reflection, searching, must never stop.’ (Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ)

In September 2010 The English Network of Sacred Heart Schools held its inaugural meeting. Since then we have met twice a year to organise joint projects and reflect upon what the Goals mean for our individual schools.

• To help nurture a personal and active FAITH in God.
• To develop respect for INTELLECT.
• To encourage SOCIAL AWARENESS which motivates us to take action.
• To build a COMMUNITY which serves as a beacon of Christian values.
• To provide a setting where PERSONAL GROWTH can develop in an atmosphere of wise freedom.

FOR THE SAKE OF ONE CHILD:

Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart, once said, ‘for the sake of one child, I would have founded the Society’. For the staff of Sacred Heart, Fenham each of our students is that ‘one child’. Our aim is to provide a first class education in the broadest sense of the word for each and every girl in the school.

Worldwide Family

As a Sacred Heart School we are part of a world wide family of schools and universities.

In England there are five schools and one university College which are Sacred Heart foundations. One, of course, is our school here in Fenham. The others are :

Digby Stuart College, University of Roehampton
Sacred Heart Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne
Sacred Heart Primary School, Roehampton, London
Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith, London
Woldingham School, Surrey

Each school has its own individual identity but all are linked by the fact that they are rooted in the Gospel message as interpreted over the years by the Society of The Sacred Heart. The spirit of that message is one of courage and generosity. The educational philosophy of the Sacred Heart is contained in the message of Jesus Christ and the vision of Saint Madeleine Sophie. ‘By the love you have for one another everyone will know you are my disciples’.

If you would like to learn more about the work of the Society of the Sacred Heart please visit:

https://rscjinternational.org/ and https://www.rscjuk.org/

You will also find links to other society pages on our main menu under 'Sacred Heart Network'

HISTORY

SACRED HEART SOCIETY IN ENGLAND:

On 8 December 1842 (during the reign of Queen Victoria) a small group of Sacred Heart sisters travelled on a boat from France to open a new community and school in London.

By 1905, a small community of sisters had already settled in Carlisle and then moved to Gosforth to start teacher training and open a small boarding and day school.

On 11th November 1905, a small community of sisters from the Society purchased the building known as ‘Fenham Hall’ and established a school and teacher training college on the site. The school opened with 60 pupils, two training college students and the religious community. By 1920 the school was granting scholarships to able girls and after 1945 virtually all the girls were scholarship students.

In November 2005, we celebrated one hundred years of Sacred Heart Education at Fenham. This was such an exciting milestone for the whole Sacred Heart Community. Thousands of young women have been educated in our schools and many have trained as teachers in the training college.

In the 1980’s provision for Catholic girls of all abilities from outside the city was made available at Sacred Heart. Between 1977 to 2005 the buildings of the school were on two sites.

Students from Year 9 upwards were housed in the buildings on Fenham Hall Drive while the Lower School, situated on Lewis Drive, catered for students in Years 7 and 8. We were delighted that in the summer of 2005, new state of the art buildings were completed to allow us to house everyone on the Fenham Hall Drive site.

Today, we are proud to continue to provide a Sacred Heart education for over 1400 girls still very much rooted in the philosophy of our foundress.

Our foundress, St Madeleine Sophie Barat, said that she would have founded the society ‘for the sake of one child’. It is remarkable that this wonderful spirit of care for each child, coupled with excellent standards of education for young women, is very evident today, over one hundred years after the foundation of the school in Fenham. To celebrate our centenary, past and present pupils, staff, Sacred Heart Sisters and Friends of the school attended an Open Day on Saturday 12th November 2005. From 8 December 2022 and throughout the academic year, we celebrate 180 years of the Society's work in England.

Our school is founded on the visionary and courageous spirit of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat. In 1800, St. Madeleine Sophie founded the Society of the Sacred Heart with a profound mission in mind: to educate a new generation and inspire social transformation in the wake of the revolution.

The first Sacred Heart school took root in Amiens, France, in 1801, marking the beginning of a growing network of schools. These institutions, built upon the values of the Heart of Jesus and the dignity of every individual, soon grew in numbers across France and beyond.

At the time of her death in 1865, there were Sacred Heart schools on four continents.