St Patricks R C Primary School

General information

Our school has a very rich history that dates back to 1836, when three Presentation Sisters arrived from Ireland to open a school. We are very proud of the fact that our school was the first school to give free education to girls. In 1886, over 1,000 girls aged between 7 and 14 attended the school. Thomas Lavery a local rich silk merchant, was horrified at the conditions that very young girls had to endure whilst working with their mothers in his mill. He determined to do something about this and funded the first free school in England for the girls of poor families. We were also the first school in the country to offer free school meals and possibly also the first school to offer free nursery education. This heritage informs our mission today - as we still try to respond to the needs of people in our community in innovative ways.

We have had many famous people attend our school; including world champion boxer Jackie Brown, European Cup Winner Brian Kidd and world champion footballer Nobby Stiles. Here is Brian Kidd with Sr. Veronica who taught him all he knows about football whilst he was a young boy at St. Patrick's!