The Campion School
The Campion School is a Roman Catholic boys' comprehensive secondary school and coeducational sixth form in Hornchurch, London, England. The school converted to academy status in August 2011, and has a specialism in science.
History
The Campion School was founded in September 1962 by the Society of Jesus as a grammar school for Roman Catholic boys from the ages of 11 to 18. The first headmaster Fr Michael Fox SJ died that year. In 1965, after two successive headmasters, administration of the school was handed on to the Diocese of Brentwood. On opening, some of the original second and third year intake were transferred from St Ignatius' College, which was then located in Stamford Hill. For the first couple of years, Jesuit teachers were in the majority. The Jesuit community lived on the school site in rooms with full facilities in The Community House, which later became the first of three Sixth Form Blocks. Later, only a single, non-residential, Jesuit chaplain was retained as a link to the order.Pupils who attend the school are mainly Catholic and the school has a Catholic ethos. Around 1970, the first girls to attend Campion came from Ilford Ursuline School for specific sixth form classes such as Russian and Greek at the school, but there were not many. The school has an attached Sixth Form which admits a number of girls.
The school has been the subject of a number of Ofsted reports. The latest was published in 2022.. The school was awarded Specialist Science College status before converting to an academy in August 2011. however the school continues to offer science as a specialism.
Forms / Classes
In the first year of the school there were three forms each with three classes named A, B and C. In the second year the classes were renamed Fox, Fisher and More after Fr Michael Fox SJ and Saints John Fisher and Thomas More. However, each boy also belonged to a House named Gerard, [Robert Robert Southwell (Jesuit)|Southwell (Jesuit)|Southwell] and Garnet, denoted by a green, blue or red ribbon strip sewn the length of the top of the blazer pocket edge. The Houses met regularly, had a House Master and competed in sports. Later, for a year or two, school blazers even had a different crests for Fourth, Fifth and Sixth forms too.The school currently has five classes for each form:
- Fisher
- More
- Fox
- Garnet
- Southwell
Sport
The school has an outstanding sporting reputation both locally in Havering and nationally with a tradition of rugby. In 2001, The 1st XV won the Daily Mail Cup, becoming the first comprehensive school to win the competition.Headmasters
- Fr Michael J Fox, S.J.
- Fr William Webb, S.J.
- Fr Peter Hackett, S.J.
- Philip J. Moloney
- Dr John F Rowbottom
- John Johnson
- Keith Williams
- Paul Larner
Notable former pupils
- David Alton – politician
- Paul McCreesh – conductor
- Damian Cronin – ex-Scotland rugby player
- Tony Diprose – rugby player
- Colin Lynes – IBO light welterweight world champion
- John Rudd – rugby player
- Alan Soper – scientist
- Kevin Sorrell – rugby player
- Denis Keefe — Diplomat
- Frank Key - Author