Notre Dame Catholic College

Notre Dame Catholic College is a Voluntary Aided Co-educational Catholic Comprehensive School. Since September 2012 the college has admitted boys, and by September 2016 the college became fully co-educational. The college has been in existence for 147 years and enjoys an excellent reputation in the community. The college has outstanding facilities enhanced by the provision of a Performance Arena, Drama Studio and Dance Studio, each of which is equipped for multipurpose use. We also have a Learning Resource Centre with facilities for enhanced Learning Support, four Science Laboratories, five fully equipped Computer Rooms, a Music Technology Suite and College Chapel.

Notre Dame Catholic College has made a sustained contribution to the education of its students since 1869 and, underpinned by our Catholic ethos and the foundation of the Sisters of Notre Dame, continues this mission into the twenty-first century.

To succeed in this demanding work we aim to ensure that: We challenge our pupils to become reflective and creative thinkers who embrace their lives with optimism, imagination and the confidence and courage to think for themselves. We maintain high expectations of all members of the college, staff and pupils alike, challenging them to be the best they can be, academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. We all actively work to make a significant and positive contribution to the community, local, national and international. We create a community which is welcoming of all cultural traditions in a climate of joy, tolerance and respect.

We at Notre Dame College continually strive to provide a high-quality education for the pupils whom we are privileged to have entrusted to our care, giving them, in the words of St Julie, “what they need for life”, so that we might fulfil our mission and do our very best for the communities we are called to serve.

Moving on to the next phase of your education is an exciting and challenging time and we warmly welcome students from other schools, including all faiths and backgrounds, as well as Year 11 students from our main school.

We have very high expectations of all of our pupils and it is assumed that you will have a serious approach to your studies and make every effort to fulfil your potential in all areas of College life.

Notre Dame Catholic College believes in lifelong learning and actively encourages all students to continue education and training beyond 16 in order to prepare them for a place in Further or Higher Education and eventually the world of work and the responsibilities of adult life. Hard work will be essential if you are to be successful and you will receive excellent tuition and pastoral support from staff at the College.

​Complementing your Level 3 studies will be a range of enrichment activities which will enable you to grow in maturity and social responsibility. They will help you to develop initiative, independence, leadership and organisational skills, all of which are essential tools when applying to university or employment.

​Much success is due to the quality of teaching and learning and hard work of staff, who know the students well and are able to offer individual support and guidance. Students are well supported in their applications to university, college or employment. It is our aim to provide the best educational opportunities, both academically, and in the wider sense of developing the whole person.

​We aim to create a friendly, safe and supportive environment where our students enjoy an excellent standard of teaching, access to a wide and challenging choice of courses and the guidance needed to ensure success. We encourage our students to continue into higher education, training or employment and support them whilst they are with us to make the best possible choices and decisions for their future.

The Notre Dame Catholic College was originally the residence of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Liverpool, and began as a pupil-teacher centre with links to local primary schools. The collegiate school did not actually come into existence until 1902, with this merging with the pupil teacher centre in 1908. It was known as Notre Dame Collegiate School and became a direct grant grammar school in 1946.

In 2001, the school inserted the word ‘Catholic’ into its title to become Notre Dame Catholic High School, but 2002 saw the school become a specialist ‘Performing Arts College’ – returning the institution to a College as it once originally was.

The former all girls College began accepting boys into Year 7 in September 2012. Boys were already enrolled into Sixth Form. In September 2013, the College moved to a new, state-of-the-art building next to Everton Park sports centre on Great Homer Street as part of the wider Project Jennifer scheme.