St Mary's Catholic High School, Chesterfield

The school opened on 8 January 1856. It was part of the Church of the Annunciation, a Roman Catholic church in Chesterfield built by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and completed in 1854.[3] The church at the time was also known as St Mary's. The school later moved to a site on Cross Street, also in Chesterfield, around 100 meters from the church. The buildings on Cross Street are now home to St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a feeder school to St Mary's Roman Catholic High School. Both schools are linked with the Church of the Annunciation.

The first brick was laid on 30 May 1978. Phase 1, consisting of the Gym, Drama Hall and Music room (the current IT2) Block and the Admin, Design Technology and Canteen Blocks were handed over by the developer on 27 November 1980. Work was underway on Phase 2 (Art, Chemistry, and Humanities) and this was completed by the summer of 1981. The school grounds opened to pupils in September 1981, although construction of the Biology and Language Blocks (Phase 3) was still underway. Phase 4, the Sixth Form block, was completed in 1984 along with its architectural highlight 'the Bridge'. Phase 5 was never constructed.[4] The large playing fields were finally handed over by the developer in the mid-1980s, much later than planned, due to issues with landscaping and coal mining shafts being discovered. A primary school was marked on plans for the East 'mound' area of the field, but this was cancelled in the late 1980s.

The present campus was officially opened in 1982, one year after its completion. In 1996, a new Music Block and Maths/Physics Block were built, and in 2000 a new building was built to house the school's I.C.T. facilities and sixth form study.

Looking west from the Lower Precinct in the evening.

In the middle of 2002, work in building an all-weather astro-turf sports pitch was completed. The pitch has facilities for football and hockey, and is floodlit for use during the evening, particularly for after-school sports fixtures and the Chesterfield Hockey Club.

Looking North across the "Cage" from the Astro all weather sports pitch.

View of Reception before the perimeter fencing was installed.

Aerial view of school site from c1983. Water Lane can be seen on the left, running almost parallel to Newbold Road. The Sixth Form block is under construction in the centre of the photo. Also note the original bus turning circle.

Footballer Harry Maguire presents a signed shirt to Mrs. Cain and Mr. McKee on 10 January 2018.

View South to Maths and Physics block.

Looking North East towards the Humanities Block.

In September 2003, work on a £1.6 million Sports Hall was started, the building was completed in June 2004. The building was dedicated, and blessed in the same month.

In 2004, work started on a new building to house the school's English Department; this was completed in the middle of 2005 and features five classrooms, three offices, and toilet facilities.

On the morning of 15 March 2011, a bus carrying pupils to school collided with a bridge near Barrow Hill. The single decker bus, which usually operated the route, was not operating that morning and so a replacement bus - a double decker prohibited from the route due to low bridges - was run instead. One student was seriously injured, with seventeen others sustaining minor injuries.[5]

The school celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) on 30 January 2015. A competition took place during art lessons to design a new logo for the school. A time capsule was buried in the “Alleyway” between the Admin and Sixth Form blocks, to be opened in 2065. There is a plaque located above the site of it. Planting of trees also took place to replace the one destroyed by the extension of the Drama Hall.

A history book of the school, written by former pupil Leonie Martin, was published in 2015 to mark the anniversary.[6]