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School Name Change

As of 1st September 2022, our school will be called Greyfriars Catholic School (formerly St Gregory the Great Catholic School).

Our school is on a journey of improvement to ensure it provides the best learning environment for all its students and as part of this journey, we have made some important changes to suit our context.

One of the things students have often missed in the pandemic is an opportunity to participate in clubs and in the community. These experiences are enriching and have been much missed by so many of our children. Therefore, we are building enrichment opportunities into our school day. These are called electives. 

Electives are enrichment sessions that are taught by teaching staff and chosen by students; there is a broad range of opportunities across the school. For example, painting, cooking, gardening, fitness and charity work. We see this as contributing to the life of the school and supporting the well-being and emotional health of our students. We feel that this will build connections across the school community and we know that feeling connected promotes well-being. 

We feel that this will contribute to the Catholic life of the school and will foster pride, student leadership and participation in the community. A core aspect of Catholic social teaching is engagement in community activity. This initiative will give our children a wealth of opportunities and experiences and really promote participation that we hope will stay with them.  It will mean the Catholic heart of our school is distinctive and purposeful. 

Given the extent of these changes, the school will feel like a new school and so we made the decision to change the uniform and the name of the school to Greyfriars Catholic School.  We have chosen this name as we are in Greyfriars Parish, but also because of the links to St Agnellus (a Franciscan) and Oxford University, and the links to Pope Francis. We feel this name links us to our local community and Catholic history. Of course, being part of the Pope Francis Mac ties all of this together too. 

This is a significant change to the school - it is not just a name change but a significant shift in the school experience; these opportunities are the best possible experience for our students in helping them become happy, successful and active members of society so they flourish as rounded individuals in our school community and beyond.