Page 17 - The Gonzaga Record 1986
P. 17
non-selective. It would be a Jesuit school, and therefore a Catholic one,
but designed with the specific aim of moving towards Christian unity,
and exploring the form of the Christian school as distinct from a
Catholic one. It would welcome children of other Christian faiths, and
ensure that their religious education was cared for as well as that of
Catholic pupils.
At present Gonzaga draws from a five mile radius, but 60 per cent
of its pupils live within a mile of the school. We are not proposing a
limited catchment area, but we would take cognisance of the
educational advantages of serving pupils who live close to the school.
At present six pupils apply for every vacant place. If the school took
girls also and catered for all ranges of ability, the evidence for an
adequate intake is overwhelming.
The size of the school envisaged is based on at least a four-form
intake (4x25) which would amount to a total school in six years of 500
- 600 pupils, depending on the drop-out after fifteen.
It is envisaged that the present Junior School would be phased out,
since a fee-paying feed to a free secondary school would be an
anomaly. The last intake of eight-year-olds would be that accepted in
the autumn after the decision to change Gonzaga is made: probably
this means that the 1975 intake would be the last one, and the Junior
School would have disappeared by 1979. Until and including that year
there would be some forty to fifty boys, selected academically and fee-
pay entering the senior school, and it might be necessary to postpone
or modify plans for co-education until after 1979.
The comprehensive school having been set up, it would be necessary
to negotiate for purchase of more land to cater for the pupils needs.
Buildings
Much of the present plant and buildings are obsolete. The planning of
the new school would need to be based on the entire campus, and
should:
a) envisage catering for residence of the Jesuit community on the
campus;
b) use the experience of the Building Unit from Existing Comprehens-
ive and Community schools, in order to plan for educational needs of
future decades; including the need for adult education.
Procedure
This document, or an elaboration of it, should be presented to groups
in the following order:
a) To the Jesuit Provincial and his Consultors.
b) To the Minister of Education, to get his agreement in principle.
15
but designed with the specific aim of moving towards Christian unity,
and exploring the form of the Christian school as distinct from a
Catholic one. It would welcome children of other Christian faiths, and
ensure that their religious education was cared for as well as that of
Catholic pupils.
At present Gonzaga draws from a five mile radius, but 60 per cent
of its pupils live within a mile of the school. We are not proposing a
limited catchment area, but we would take cognisance of the
educational advantages of serving pupils who live close to the school.
At present six pupils apply for every vacant place. If the school took
girls also and catered for all ranges of ability, the evidence for an
adequate intake is overwhelming.
The size of the school envisaged is based on at least a four-form
intake (4x25) which would amount to a total school in six years of 500
- 600 pupils, depending on the drop-out after fifteen.
It is envisaged that the present Junior School would be phased out,
since a fee-paying feed to a free secondary school would be an
anomaly. The last intake of eight-year-olds would be that accepted in
the autumn after the decision to change Gonzaga is made: probably
this means that the 1975 intake would be the last one, and the Junior
School would have disappeared by 1979. Until and including that year
there would be some forty to fifty boys, selected academically and fee-
pay entering the senior school, and it might be necessary to postpone
or modify plans for co-education until after 1979.
The comprehensive school having been set up, it would be necessary
to negotiate for purchase of more land to cater for the pupils needs.
Buildings
Much of the present plant and buildings are obsolete. The planning of
the new school would need to be based on the entire campus, and
should:
a) envisage catering for residence of the Jesuit community on the
campus;
b) use the experience of the Building Unit from Existing Comprehens-
ive and Community schools, in order to plan for educational needs of
future decades; including the need for adult education.
Procedure
This document, or an elaboration of it, should be presented to groups
in the following order:
a) To the Jesuit Provincial and his Consultors.
b) To the Minister of Education, to get his agreement in principle.
15
