St Aloysius' College, Glasgow

St. Aloysius' College (Glasgow) is a Jesuit secondary school located in the United Kingdom in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859, and named after the famous Jesuit, St. Aloysius Gonzaga. Its strong Jesuit ethos emphasises practice of the Catholic faith both in the church and in the community, with many charitable and community-based groups in the school.
St. Aloysius' College is a co-educational school with a kindergarten, junior school and senior school. There are four houses: Campion, Loyola, Ogilvie and Xavier, all named after Jesuit saints.
The College motto is Ad majora natus sum, which means "I was born for greater things". As in many Jesuit schools, pupils are instructed to inscribe AMDG (Ad majorem Dei gloriam - "to the greater glory of God") on all work. The school emblem is an eagle, and the college hymn is Eia Deo Accinamus.
==History==
The school was originally established at Charlotte Street, near Glasgow Green, in the East End of Glasgow. Here lived the city's largely migrant Catholic community from Ireland and the Highlands, which the school was intended to accommodate. Since 1866 the College's main campus has been situated in Garnethill on the north side of Glasgow city centre, adjacent to the Glasgow School of Art. Notable buildings include the original grade-B listed Italianate Chandlery Building, including the administration block, library and refectory. Its 1908 and 1926 extensions are known collectively as The Hanson Building and accommodate classrooms for languages and the humanities as well as the school chapel and gymnasium. The Mount Building, which originally housed the city's first Royal Hospital for Sick Children from 1882, and until recently housed the junior school, today houses music, art and drama and the kindergarten. More modern additions include the Clavius Building housing the Mathematics, Science and Technology faculty and the Junior School Building, both of which have won RIBA architectural awards,"St Aloysius maths building, Glasgow, elder & cannon architects", glasgowarchitecture.co.uk, URL retrieved 27 September 2006 and have been identified as amongst the best modern Scottish buildings. The school is associated with the nearby Jesuit church of St Aloysius, which was opened in 1910 and modelled on the Church of the Gesù in Rome.
A new sports complex is being build on the College campus, due to be open for use in August 2017.
*The current Headmaster is Mr Matthew Bartlett, continuing the trend of lay Headmasters.
*The current Depute Headmaster is Mr Frank Reilly.
==Social activity==
The school usually takes part in the annual Doors Open Day. This takes place in September, and on 15 September 2007, its doors were open to the public from 10am - 4pm.
St. Aloysius' College also has various established charities including supporting Marie Curie, SCIAF, Justice and Peace, Children's Fund and Fairtrade, as well as being affiliated with a sister school in Kibeira, Kenya. 
The pupil magazine "The Goldfish Bowl" recently restarted after a hiatus of several years.
==Uniform==
The School uniform consists of a myrtle green woolen blazer emblazoned with the school emblem. Girls wear a grey knee-length skirt and stockings or black tights while boys wear grey trousers. Both genders wear a white shirt, school tie, grey pullover and polished black shoes. Sixth Year students wear a myrtle green pullover instead of a grey pullover.
A variety of school ties exist. For First Years to Fifth Years, there is a unique tie for each House. For Sixth Years, a Sixth Year version of the House Tie can be worn. Additionally, there are Captains Ties worn by College Captains; Colours Ties, worn by students awarded with Colours; Schola Cantorum Ties, worn by students in Schola Cantorum; Service Ties, worn by students who have demonstrated excellent commitment to College charities and the service of others - this is the highest possible honour one can achieve at their time at the College. A number of ties exist which were made specifically for Rugby trips. These ties are worn by students who attended those trips.
Outstanding students may be awarded Colours, in which case they wear gold trim around their blazer. All Sixth Year students wear gold trim. Those students who achieved 5 A Grades or more in their Higher examinations in Fifth Year wear a flash of red on their breast pocket.
==Houses==
A house system was established by headmaster Fr Adrian Porter in 1997. The four houses, named after notable Jesuit saints, compete against each other in events including rugby, hockey, athletics, inter-house debating and a quiz. Each house also has a housemaster and a colour:
*Edmund Campion- Housemistress: Mrs Kirsty Devlin - Colour: Blue 
 
*Ignatius Loyola- Housemistress: Mrs Barbra Dunn - Colour: Red
*John Ogilvie- Housemaster: Mr Michael O'Duffin - Colour: Green 
*Francis Xavier- Housemaster: Mr Geoff Anderson - Colour: Gold
House system has now been replaced with year system, except for sports
As of 2016, Campion House does not exist. It's name has been changes to "Gonzaga".
==Chaplaincy==
*Junior School Chaplain- Fr Peter Granger-Banyard SJ
*Senior School Chaplain- Fr Gerry Gallen SJ 
*Mrs Lynn McWilliams 
*Mrs Julie McWilliams 
*Mr Michael McLaughlin 
==Sport==
Boys play rugby from primary four to second year when they are allowed to choose whether to continue or not. The girls play hockey in the same time frame. The College's playing fields are located at Millerston.
In 2005, the school produced its first competitive football side in 50 years. This was largely due to growing pressure from pupils and many members of staff. Coached by Paul Kinnaird, the team enjoyed a reasonably successful first year, reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Independent Schools Cup. 
There has also been a football team made out of Primary 7 boys to represent the college at St.Joseph's Football Festival which was hosted at Williamwood High School on 23 June 2007 which they went on to win, winning all their games and beating St.Cadoc's Primary School 5-2 in the final.
The school has intended to sell the Millerston grounds for several years and subsequently intends to build a sports centre on the current Junior School playground or to buy a former public park for rugby and hockey use.
==Retreats==
Three residential retreats take place in the senior school:
*"Finding God in the Desert"- which takes place in S3
*"Finding God in the City"- which takes place in S4
*"Kairos"- which takes place in S5
==Music, art and drama==
The college takes pride in considering the arts key to the development of its pupils. It has a reputable music programme, consisting of the college choir, orchestra and band, and has contributed to the West of Scotland Independent Schools orchestra and wind band since their inception in 1994. Both individual music tuition and music as an academic subject are available. The school has performed many plays, recently including The Canterbury Tales and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Winter play of 2007 was Godspell. The art department regularly organises field trips to other countries to examine locations of architectural and cultural significance. The most recent trip was to New York City. The art department organised a trip to the Andy Warhol exhibition in Edinburgh in October 2007.
In 2012, Mr Keith Roberts was employed as the Head of Choral Music. He revolutionised music at the College by creating the Schola Foundation. In 2017, he announced his departure from the College. His successor will carry on his work as of August 2017.
==Noted alumni==
;Media
* Paul Coia, Broadcaster
* Armando Iannucci, Comedian
* Sanjeev Kohli, Comedian
* Hardeep Singh Kohli, Comedian
* Romeo, Clyde One DJ
* Quentin Reynolds, Comedian & Writer known as "Q from Airdrie"
;Arts and music
* James Loughran, Conductor
* A. J. Cronin, Author
* Christopher Whyte, novelist
* John Cummings, musician with Scots rock group Mogwai
;Academia and medicine
* Professor John Haldane, philosopher
* Michael A.R. Kersland, philosopher
* Dr Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland
;Clergy
* Rt. Rev. Peter Antony Moran, Bishop of Aberdeen
;Politics and law
* The Rt Honourable Lord Gill, Justice Clerk
* John Thomas Wheatley, Baron Wheatley. Scottish Labour Politician and Judge
* Lord Gordon of Strathblane (James Stuart Gordon)
* Sir William Hamilton Stubbs, civil servant
* Gerald Malone, former MP
* Gerald Warner, journalist, Conservative Party parliamentary candidate and author
;Sport
*Michael McFarlane, athlete
* Simon Lynch, footballer, now living in Australia
* Ryan O'Leary, footballer
* Paul Di Giacamo, footballer
* Darren O'Dea, footballer
==References==
==External links==
*Official website for St. Aloysius' College (Glasgow)
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Secondary schools in the United Kingdom
Category:Aloysius Gonzaga