The following school histories were painstakingly compiled by Mary Lewis, who was President from 2009-2012.
BATTERSEA
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the population of Battersea started to increase partly due to the introduction of the railways which gave easier access to areas closer to the then existing conurbation of London. Many Catholics were among this expanding population and in 1868 a new church Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St Joseph was built to the east of Battersea Park. In 1870 the Sisters of Notre Dame came to Battersea recognising the need for Catholic Schools for the poor children in the area. A convent was built thanks to the generosity of Sister Mary of St Francis (the Hon Laura Petre) to whom Catholic education in England owes so much. A public elementary school and a private day school were erected on the same site. On May 26th1870, the house and school opened and the Sisters began their work.
In the immediate years following, the Sisters took charge of other Catholic schools in the area.
By 1899 the convent and day school had become too small for the increasing numbers. Two ground floor classrooms had already been built and two more storeys were added to provide accommodation for boarders. One of the downstairs classrooms was extended and a new convent chapel was built above. The extended room below became for the school hall.
In 1901 the day school ceased to exist and it reopened as “Notre Dame High school for Young Ladies” and in 1904 it was officially recognised by the Board of Education. In august 1906 the London County Council granted permission for the acceptance of LCC County Scholarship holders. As a result the numbers rose from 45 to 112 and the future of the school was secured.
In 1907 a new wing was built which included a large hall with classrooms and dormitories above.
Being situated in London the Sisters and their pupils were very conscious of the events of the time.Here are some excerpts from the annals
23rd May 1900 “The Sisters remained up till 10 o’clock to look at the torchlight procession in hour of the relief of Mafeking”
28th April 1909 “Recreation at dinner for the great event of Man flying from London to Manchester”
7th May 1910 “Recreation at dinner to talk about King Edward who lies dead in Buckingham Palace”
At the beginning of the First World War, Sisters and children from Belgium sought refuge and hospitality with the Sisters of Battersea
June 1917 “the Corpus Christi procession had to be diverted from its usual course as the lawn has been planted with potatoes. “
At the outbreak of the Second World war in 1939 the whole High School (Sisters and pupils) was evacuated to Llandovery in Wales. All returned in 1943.
There were no resident pupils after 1919 and the dormitories were converted into classrooms and a library. The school was further expanded after the second world war and in 1972 the grammar school became comprehensive. The building opposite, formerly Battersea County School was taken over the accommodate the increase in numbers. The school closed in 1982 and the building was sold. It is now known as the Cloisters.
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With thanks to Mary Donaghey and M Bloomfield
BATTERSEA ASSOCIATION (BOND) 
BIRKDALE
Birkdale was founded in 1868 . It was a little convent based in Clyde House which consisted of six rooms and a kitchen. In 1869 the High School was opened and when the number of pupils reached twenty three it had to move to Oaklands a much larger house near St Josephs’s Church.
In 1878 the main building of the Convent was finished and the boarding school was opened. The day school later moved to another house in Albert Road.The house next to the convent was acquired – St Anne’s and in 1910 yet another house ‘St Joseph’s to which the day school was transferred.
Birkdale grew, with the Sisters teaching in the elementary schools and later opening a day and boarding school. The secondary school flourished until the introduction of a national policy of comprehensive schools in the 1960s led to its closure – much to the regret of the local community.
The School itself was demolished in 1982
However, the Notre Dame order continued to be active in education in Southport with Sisters teaching and undertaking chaplaincy work at Christ the King School for many years.
THEN NOW
BIRKDALE ASSOCIATION
Birkdale ND Association closed during the 1990s
BLACKBURN
Such was the reputation of the Sisters of Notre Dame following their arrival in England in 1845 that requests from Parish Priests around the country were being made for the Sisters to provide education for the poor in their parishes. In 1850 Fr Kaye of St Albans Parish in Blackburn had heard of the reputation of the Sisters of Notre Dame and asked for some Sisters to come to provide some education in his parish. When they arrived it is reported that they were viewed with some curiosity by the locals.
They occupied a small house in Paradise Street provided by the parish.We have no information about where in fact their pupils were taught.
Sisters often arrived at a parish one day and started teaching the next!
In February 1859 Brookhouse Lodge was purchased from Edward Kenworthy with money from Hon Laura Petre (later Sr Mary of St Francis)
The Sisters of Notre Dame moved across town to the Brookhouse site in 1859. Work on the new school was completed in 1862. Later, more land was purchased, and the school was extended. For a number of years the Convent was a Boarding school as well as a Day school, later becoming a Grammar school and, in September 1978, a mixed Comprehensive.
July 1987 marked the end of Notre Dame education in the town, one hundred and thirty seven years after the arrival of the Sisters in Blackburn.
The school amalgamated with St. John Rigby High School to create Our Lady and St. John High School. www.olsj.blackburn.sch.uk
A former pupil and Blackburn NDA member, Eileen Tomlinson made this video in 2010 about the school before and after the buildings were demolished You may find this interesting and also moving.
The following link is to the ‘cottontown site’ where you will find the video ‘Stepping Back in Time’.
www.cottontown.org/Education/Pages/Schools-and-Colleges.aspx#2
BFNDA members from all associations may also be interested in the following poems by George Hull (1863-1933)
One is an ode to a Sister of Notre Dame by whom he seems to have been educated in his early years and the second is a poem/prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and looks as if it was written during the First World War.
George Hull poems
THEN NOW
BLACKBURN ASSOCIATION
The Blackburn ND Association disbanded sometime in the 1980s
CLAPHAM
The Sisters of Notre Dame came to Clapham in 1848 following their first attempt to establish a thriving school in Penryn. Within two weeks of arriving n Clapham they had begun a Poor school in their house in Bedford Road. Later they received new boarders and they also took over the Catholic girls elementary school in Park Road. Lack of funding was a real problem however.
When Hon Laura Petre entered the Notre Dame Novitiate in 1850 she placed her inheritance at the disposal of the Order’s educational work. Clapham was one of the first beneficiaries. In 1851 the Thornton estate was bought by the Sisters. The central Georgian buildings were originally the residence of the Thorntons. John Thornton was an Evangelical and a philanthropist who lived here until his death in 1790. His son Robert lived in the adjacent house.
The buildings housed a boarding and day school for girls which produced income for the establishment of a girls primary school in St Mary’s parish.
Clapham ND Convent School closed in 1939. After the war the Notre Dame Council House Estate was built on the site.
THEN 
CLAPHAM ASSOCIATION
Clapham ND Association closed sometime in the 1970s. As far as the BFNDA is concerned their most notable alumna was Mrs Winefride D’hopital who was instrumental in bringing the various ND Associations together to form the BFNDA in 1929
LEEDS
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur first came to Leeds in 1898. Sister Marie Eugenie as Superior with four other sisters arrived in August 1898 to open a new convent in St Mark’s Ave. This was at the invitation of Canon Croskell of St. Anne’s Cathedral who wished the Sisters to provide a Pupil Teacher’s centre and at the same time, take charge of the schools of which he was manager, namely St Anne’s Higher Grade, St Anne’s Cathedral Schools and the Holy Rosary School. Canon Croskell also was instrumental in bringing the Jesuits to Leeds some years later. He is remembered by a plaque beneath the Perpetual Succour Ikon to the right of the Lady Chapel in the Cathedral.
In September 1898, only a month after their arrival, the Sisters opened the schools being assisted by many Pupil Teachers who taught during the day and themselves studied each evening and at weekends for the Entrance Examination to Training College. They were instructed by the Sisters who themselves had also done a full day’s work. The early days were hard.
The formal opening on 12th October 1905 of the newly built Notre Dame Collegiate School was the culmination of much planning and the surmounting of many difficulties and setbacks. In 1920 two netball courts were added and also the new Chapel and the extension to the convent. In more recent years Trinity, Cuvilly the Holy Lawn and the Bottom Courts have disappeared to make way for more classrooms and specialist accommodation.
From those small beginning in 1905 when there were 7 teachers and 75 pupils, 11 boarders and 64 day girls, numbers grew steadily until the 1930s when numbers (including boarders) increased to 300.
At the outbreak of WW2 St Anne’s Higher Grade were evacuated to Kirk Sandal, the Junior Collegiate pupils to Boston Spa and the Seniors to Lincoln.
During the post war years the numbers of pupils grew to 600+. These were day girls living locally or travelling in from the West Riding. In the early sixties the school changed its name to Notre Dame Grammar School, no doubt to reflect the fact that the school had become a Direct Grant School and although in the ten years or so after the war there were still some paying pupils, the majority, having passed the eleven plus, were being paid for by the local education authority.
In the 1970s the Sisters handed over the school to the Diocese of Leeds in order to channel their talents in other directions. In 1978 there was yet another name change, this time to Notre Dame High School. The school in common with all the other Diocesan Direct Grant Schools became a comprehensive school for girls aged 13-19 years.
Another decade and another change , for in 1989, the school, still on the original site, became Notre Dame Sixth Form College. The sixth forms of Mount St Mary’s, St Michael’s and Notre Dame were merged to become a Sixth Form College which now has over 2000 pupils. Many of the buildings are unrecognisable but much of the convent and the chapel have been taken over by Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy.
Our thanks go to Margaret Green for this short history
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For further information about Notre Dame Sixth Form College www.notredamecoll.ac.uk or Contact Us
LEEDS ASSOCIATION
The Leeds Association closed almost 20 years ago but some former members keep in touch via the Direct Members Association . A few meet up for lunch on occasion. Details may be found on the Other Events page.
MANCHESTER
The Sisters came to Manchester in 1851 to Stock Street next to St. Chad’s church. In 1893 they moved to larger premises in Bignor Street. This building had previously been Cheetham Reform Club. As the school grew, the buildings were extended along Heywood Street and Bignor Street. Many former pupils will remember the new buildings of 1954, 1962 1964, 1970 and 1973.
In 1977, the Catholic Secondary Schools of Manchester were reorganised into Comprehensive High Schools. Notre Dame High School closed in July 1977 and Our Lady’s High School opened in September linking Notre Dame and St Clare’s Blackley. www.olsc.manchester.sch.uk
The pupils were taught on both sites until 1981 when the Bignor site closed and new classrooms were built on the Blackley site. The last two Headteachers at the school were Sr Mary of the Dolours SND 1948-1960 and Sr. Marie Therésè SND 1960-1977.
The school and convent have since been demolished and replaced by a housing estate.
Submitted by Veronica Miles
THEN
Convent of Notre Dame, Bignor St Manchester Chapel as seen from the Garden
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This picture was taken in March 2011 by Pauline Yates. It shows a stone plaque which used to be outside the main door of the convent and which is now incorporated into a wall on the Housing Estate.
MANCHESTER ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT Margaret Dolan SECRETARY Judith Maher
NORTHAMPTON
The Northampton School was established in 1852 after a merger of two Orders. The Sisters of Jesus who had been resident in Northampton since 1845 were in danger of closure as four of their Sisters had died in a typhus epidemic and so it was suggested that they join the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Northampton had a very small Catholic community, so the school had a large number of non-Catholic students. In 1870 a new building was erected dominating the eastern end of Abington Street in the town centre. There were additions to the school buildings in 1938 and in 1950 a Domestic Science and Biology block was built. By 1970 the building was obviously unsuitable for the needs of a modern Comprehensive school and its future became doubtful.
Amongst many things the school was noted for its musical successes. Sister Gabriel and Sister Gerard (in charge of elocution) produced Nativity plays and entered choirs, soloists and speakers for the local Eisteddfod. Northampton Notre Dame earned a reputation for winning most of the top awards.
Sister Gabriel also liaised with the Notre Dame Association to start a musical society and the choir entered for Eisteddfods and performed many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Sadly the school closed in 1975 and the building was demolished. Existing pupils transferred to the Thomas Becket Comprehensive School. Submitted by José Sear
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At the end of a lane called Notre Dame Mews (off Abington Street) is the Sisters’ cemetery – all that remains of Notre Dame.
If you click here you can read an update on the restoration of the cemetery
Submitted by Margaret Bradbury
Notre Dame, however, still lives on in the flourishing Association. The Annual General meeting and Reunion is the highlight of the year with over 160 members still attending.
NORTHAMPTON ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT Mrs Margaret Bradbury SECRETARY Mrs Wendy Banyard
NORWICH
Notre Dame High School opened in October 1864 when the Sisters of the Order of Notre Dame arrived in Norwich. At that time, they had only seven students.
In 1889 a new wing was added to their premises which then accommodated about 70 boarding pupils. Land was purchased in 1915 and the present main building built which opened in 1926 when there were 238 girl pupils. A year later, the school became recognised by the Ministry of Education. In 1939 and 1973 additional buildings became available and further improvements were made
On 1 September 1979 the ownership of the school was transferred from the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to the Diocese of East Anglia, and the school’s status changed from girls’ direct grant grammar school to a voluntary aided mixed comprehensive school.
Mr John Pinnington became the first lay headmaster of the school in January 1997, as successor of Sister Mary Cluderay SND, RIP.
In 2012 Notre Dame High School Norwich acquired academy status and it became a founding member of the St. John the Baptist Multi Academy Trust in 2016.
THEN
NORWICH ASSOCIATION
The Norwich Notre Dame Association closed sometime in the 1980s
For more information about Notre Dame High School Norwich www.ndhs.org.uk
Or contact us
PLYMOUTH
In 1858 William Vaughan, Bishop of Plymouth invited the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to look after the Poor Schools which had been set up in Plymouth. On 26th July 1860 they settled in the presbytery of St. Mary’s, which until 1858 had served as the Pro –Cathedral, and taught at the Cathedral and Devonport Missions. In 1865 land was bought in Wyndham Square and they opened a girls boarding and day school. The school moved into their new premises in 1868.
In April 1941 the school was damaged by an air raid during the ‘Plymouth Blitz’.
THEN Wyndham Square and THEN Bomb damage
The school was evacuated to Teignmouth, where there was already an existing Notre Dame school. The school returned to Wyndham Square in 1945.
In 1966 the school moved to its present location in the grounds of the former Convent of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Looseleigh Lane. In 1981 the Bishop Vaughan Secondary Modern school merged with Notre Dame and St Boniface’s to form two comprehensive schools one for girls and the other for boys.
The school presently has over 800 pupils. NOW
This website would like to thank Notre Dame RC School Plymouth for permission to use these photographs.
For further information www.ndonline.org
or Contact us
PLYMOUTH ASSOCIATION
There used to be a thriving Old Girls Association. This was started sometime in the early days of the Federation circa 1930. The Association folded in 2007 but several members still keep in touch via the Direct Members Association.
The School has a facebook page to which a few members subscribe (see above)
OXFORD
As yet we have not published a history of Oxford Notre Dame High School and there is no longer an Association but a Facebook page has been set up by a former pupil.
SHEFFIELD
In 1855 Canon Scully of St Marie’s Church approached the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur with a request for some of the Sisters to come and teach in a school which together with a chapel for the many Irish immigrants whose numbers were increasing steadily. This was St Vincent’s. The Sisters were also to teach in St Marie’s. The Sisters arrived in July 1855. They were to teach at St Vincent’s for just two years. During this time, they made several improvements. In 1857 the new church of St Vincent was opened and the sisters of Charity came to the parish so the sisters of Notre Dame withdrew and kept on St Marie’s school and their own school which they opened in Holly Green House. In 1862 a new convent was opened in Cavendish Street. The finance for this came from the Hon. Mrs Petre ( Sister Mary of St Francis) who financed several new convents. (see History of Southwark ND).
Numbers of pupils grew steadily from less than a dozen in 1862 to between 30 and 40 in 1885. A new extension was built in 1890, another in 1908 and a science laboratory in 1913-14. In 1919 the sisters bought Oakbrook House and estate. The house had been built by Mark Firth the steel magnate. The immediate benefit of this purchase was that the sisters could move there and release room to expand the school. It was clear at the time that the intention was to build at Oakbrook and move the whole school there. Lack of finance was a possibly reason why it took so long before building commenced. Numbers however were increasing and by 1935 were over 500. The plans were drawn up in 1932/33 and the new school opened in 1935. The new building had marvellous advantages of space and clean air outside the city. One of the many facilities were ‘state of the art’ domestic science rooms which Cavendish Street pupils shared.
Any further progress was halted by the beginning of the Second World War. 145 pupils were evacuated to Derwent Hall in early September 1939. Conditions there were not good, Oakbrook House was crowded and because of fears that Cavendish Street might be requisitioned, Cavendish Street was opened again in September 1940. In December 1940 after a heavy raid on Sheffield, the school suffered bomb damage and was closed again for some time. Some of the school remained at Derwent because many parents were reluctant to allow their children to return to Sheffield. The school however left Derwent in July 1941 as conditions had been getting steadily worse. The local authority inspectorate declared that the Hall was derelict and living conditions impossible.
The 1944 Education Act presented new challenges. The school was given Direct Grant status in 1945. Sr Marie Pierre made a strong case for continuing provision for non-academic as well as academic children. The opportunity of developing practical subjects had begun with the building of Oakbrook domestic science rooms. One major problem was the increasing numbers of applications for the preparatory department and the necessity to balance the increasing demands with available resources. There were increasing numbers with limited space at Cavendish Street, while there was spare capacity at Oakbrook. It was decided in 1947 to amalgamate the two schools. The preparatory pupils would transfer to Oakbrook plus four forms of “practical course pupils”. The Oakbrook pupils following an academic course would transfer to Cavendish Street. Following a General Inspection in 1952, the school was again divided this time between juniors at Cavendish Street and seniors at Oakbrook. The inspectorate did not think that the division of the school into academic and non-academic was ideal. The preparatory school was closed altogether.
Following the government decision to abolish grammar schools and move to the comprehensive system, there was much discussion and disagreement This scheme was put into place in 1976 about the various models put forward for the integration of Sheffield’s Catholic schools. The initial arrangements allowed for two Catholic 11-18 comprehensives, of which Notre Dame was one and two 11-16 comprehensives. The Notre Dame order considered this decision and decided that in view of the considerable financial burden the reorganisation would bring, they would hand over the school to the diocese of Leeds. In September 1976 Notre Dame became a mixed comprehensive. By the early 1980s it was clear that the two 11-16 comprehensives schools were under subscribed so each were merged with one of the 11-18 comprehensives. In 1984 Notre Dame merged with St Peter’s. Cavendish Street was very overcrowded. The Amalgamation however did mean that there was an opportunity to move the whole school to Oakbrook as the LEA would consider financing the project. In the summer term of 1988 Notre Dame said goodbye to Cavendish Street with various celebrations attended by two former headmistresses Sister Mary and Sister Marie Philippa and of course Sister Helen Geilty the existing headmistress. On 12th September 1988,the first year and sixth year pupils were joined at Oakbrook by the rest of the school who because building work was not completed had had a prolonged summer break. Finally, the dream of the sisters in the 1920s had been achieved. Those sisters who remained in Sheffield moved to a smaller house in Broomhill.
The move from one site to two meant that the LEA started to put pressure on the school as they were considered over staffed. At the same time, there were also new government initiatives in place for the management of schools. In September 1989 the school learnt that Sister Helen had been elected by the general chapter of the Notre Dame sisters as their Moderator General and the governors agreed that Sister Ellen could be released from her role and a lay head teacher appointed. The school kept its name but the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, while keeping links with the school, no longer had one of their Sisters as the headmistress.
The school continues to build on the inheritance left to them by the sisters. In their mission statement, the school is challenged to “judge if they were being faithful to the spirituality and mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur”.
THEN NOW
The present school holds a regular Alumni day. For further information about Notre Dame High School Sheffield see below
www.notredame-high.co.uk
SHEFFIELD ASSOCIATION
Sheffield Old Girls Association disbanded in 2005. Former members sometimes meet up for lunch. See Other Events.
SOUTHWARK
The school was founded in 1855, when six sisters arrived at Preston House, St Georges’ Rd in response to a request from Bishop Thomas Grant to teach in St George’s Cathedral school. They also opened a day and Sunday school on their own premises.
The early years were hard for the sisters and the early pupils who paid 9d per week. Land adjoining the school was bought in the name of the Hon. Mrs Petre (Sr Mary of St Francis) and the first stage of expansion began.
In 1870, the sisters opened a boarding school for pupil-teachers who taught in the school and other schools in the area. As numbers increased, a new building attached to Preston House was erected in the 1890s.
A large five storey building replaced the original Preston House in 1908. The number of pupil teachers dropped until the system was finally abolished in 1923. The boarding school was closed in 1935 and another phase of building began as day pupils increased. The Duke of Norfolk opened a new building, attached to the 1902 extension, in 1937.
The Second World war saw the pupils and staff evacuated to Weymouth, where some lessons were actually taught on the beach! By 1940 many girls had returned to London but the Blitz necessitated a second evacuation-this time to Northampton where they shared the facilities of the local Notre Dame school. The London School was quite badly damaged but by 1943 it had reopened.
The 1944 Education Act nominated the school as a Grammar school, in which capacity it flourished during the post war years. By the 1970s however, the school widened its intake to become a Comprehensive school. This was made possible by the generous decision of the Sisters to move out of the building. To broaden the curriculum, the school joined a consortium of local schools but the Diocese decided to set up a Sixth Form College in Clapham to cater for the sixth form needs of the local Catholic schools. This was set up in 1985. Southwark Notre Dame therefore became an 11-16 school.
The most recent development has been the building of a new wing at right angles to the front of the school. It was opened in 2012 and has provided better dining facilities and freed up space in the main building for more music and drama.
On a very restricted footprint, the school has flourished over 150 years from a small insignificant establishment to a very successful Comprehensive in S.E. London
With many thanks to Angela Parsliffe.
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With thanks to Vezendi Scabina
SOUTHWARK ASSOCIATION
This Association is still flourishing and has a wide variety of activities. See Association Events
ST HELENS
The First Sisters arrived in St Helens on 3rd May 1858. The Jesuit fathers from Lowe House provided a house for the Sisters in Hardshaw Street. It contained no furniture and two large rooms. These two rooms became the beginning of Notre Dame High School. The two rooms were soon insufficient to accommodate the numbers applying for admission. The sisters acquired a property in North Road and it was there that Notre Dame High School began to establish itself. The curriculum became more varied and classrooms were added at various times throughout the century. Laboratories were added in 1904.
The school became a Direct Grant School following the 1944 Education Act. The foundation stone of a new school in Eccleston was laid in September 1951. This school was finally completed in September 1954.
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The school closed in 1987 when it joined with West Park, St Edmund Campion and Mount Carmel to form an 11-16 Comprehensive School -De la Salle School based on the Notre Dame site. www.delasalle.st-helens.sch.uk
The needs of those over 16 was provided for by a new Sixth Form College based of the site of the Mount Carmel School. www.carmel.ac.uk
ST.HELEN’S ASSOCIATION
This closed sometime at the end of the 1990’s.
TEIGNMOUTH
In about 1826 the Redemptorist Order of Priests and Brothers bought a site on Bugridge Farm. The monks built a monastery, Notre Dame, with a small public church and a private chapel. Within 20 years the monastery was felt to be too big for the Order and it was offered for sale
It was bought by the Sisters of Notre dame de Namur and it became a boarding school for girls in 1901. The school grew and became both a boarding and a day school with a first class reputation. It was extended and then expanded into neighbouring properties.
During World War 2 following the destruction by bombing of the convent and school in Plymouth some of the Sisters moved to Teignmouth. Many of the pupils were evacuated there and continued their education at the Teignmouth school.
In 1977 the Sisters decided that the school as it was, was no longer economically viable. The parents of the pupils did not want the school to close and formed a trust to buy the school, which became known as Trinity School, and was both ecumenical and co-educational. The Bishop of Exeter and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth were patrons.
THEN NOW
TEIGNMOUTH ASSOCIATION
This closed some time in the 1970s
WIGAN
The 29th April 1854 four Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur came to Wigan. They were invited by The Bishop of Liverpool and the Jesuits serving the parish of St Johns to help with the parish school. Within days they had begun classes in the school and a week later the Convent day school to be the forerunner of the future girl’s school opened with five pupils. Providing education for pupils from both ends of the social spectrum was necessary. The Sisters needed an income for their basic necessities and the parishes whose schools they were supporting were in very poor areas.
The work of the sisters increased dramatically during this period. Not only did they have the parish schools of St Johns and others and the Convent school but also in 1856 they took on the work of pupil teacher training. This centre provided part time training for women working in the schools as teachers prior to them obtaining full training at a training college. In 1904 the Centre provided full time training helped by staff from Mount Pleasant Training College. Needless to say more Sisters were required for this work
Eventually the Convent School began to accept boarders and in 1888 two houses adjacent to the property belonging to the Sisters were bought. These original houses no longer exist. In 1891 the foundation stone for a new Convent School was laid. This was extended in 1900 and in 1917 the school ceased to take boarders to make way for more day pupils. No more room was available on or near this site, so a third storey was built over certain parts of the buildings. In 1906 Sr Edith of the Blessed Sacrament came from the training college in Glasgow in to be head mistress and remained in this position until 1947!
During WW1 the school became a refuge for refugees from Belgium and Poland, while the convent provided shelter for Sisters from their Institute in Antwerp.
In WW2, Sisters from The Mount Pleasant High school in Liverpool were housed in the convent as were the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary from Bootle whose pupils had been evacuated to Blackburn.
The school became a direct grant school in 1946 .
In 1954 there were more than 500 pupils in the High School and nearly 200 pupils in the Preparatory School . At this time Mr John Trickett purchased a large house The Hollies which eventually housed the Preparatory school and 7 acres of land for playing fields.
Notre Dame High School for Girls, Standishgate, Wigan closed in 1974
THEN
WIGAN ASSOCIATION
Wigan Association disbanded sometime in the 1980s.