Bellerive FCJ Catholic College

Faithfully serving Catholic Educationin Liverpool since 1844

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Welcome to Bellerive and thank you for taking the timeto find out more about us.

Bellerive is a popular and oversubscribed school and we arelocated in a pleasant area of the city, adjacent to two parks.We are a non-selective school for girls, with boys admitted tothe Sixth Form. The intake is from over 40 primary schoolsthroughout the city and beyond.

At Bellerive, we value achievement in its widest sense:academic, personal, social and cultural. The heart of theschool is rooted in a strong Catholic tradition and we seekto nurture the spiritual development of each individual pupil.Over the years, we have welcomed pupils of other faiths whoare comfortable with our values.

After careful consideration and consultation the collegeaccepted the invitation in June 2012 to become a voluntaryacademy. The freedom to manage all aspects of the schoolbrings us to an exciting period in the school's long historysince it was established in 1844.

Improvements to the site are on-going: already we have afantastic new Hall. This has been named 'Marie MadeleineHall', after the foundress of the FCJ Sisters. Our extension tothe Elmfield site, bringing with it 5 additional state of the artclassrooms, has just recently been completed.

We know you will want to ask questions about Bellerive soplease free to visit our website (www.bellerivefcj.org) orcontact us at school and we can arrange a further guided tourof the site.

With many thanks to parents, staff, governors and pupils whoall help make Bellerive such a wonderful school.

Sister Brigid

Welcome from our HeadteacherSister Brigid Halligan

FCJ, MSc, OBE

Bellerive FCJ Catholic College has been educating youngwomen in Liverpool since 1844. We are proud to beunder the trusteeship of the Society of the FaithfulCompanions of Jesus. The first FCJ school in Liverpoolopened at number 3, Great George's Square in 1844offering instruction in 'geography, use of globes, botany,history, writing, arithmetic and French and Italianlanguages.' The Foundress wished to establish a boardingschool, partly to finance the work among the poor of thecity and partly as a means 'of doing good among thosewho would be in a position to influence others later on.'

The original Bellerive convent building still remains andover the years we have continually improved the site to

become the one you see today. 170 years on, we stillretain the values that inspired Marie Madeleine to foundthe school. We are proud of our history but determinedto prepare our students for the challenges of the world asit is today.

The most recent Ofsted report remarked that Bellerivewas a good school with outstanding features. In particular,they praised the students for their behaviour and their“exemplary levels of courtesy” and the Archdiocesanreport said that “Bellerive FCJ is an outstandingCatholic College committed to its vision of ‘personaland academic excellence’. Outcomes for individualsand groups of pupils are outstanding.”

Who we are

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Our vision and aims

Inspired by the Gospel and true to Marie Madeleine’sfounding ideal, our vision is that FCJ schools arecommunities of personal and academic excellence.Strong in companionship, the unique giftedness of everyperson in these faith communities is recognised,nourished and celebrated.

Our hope and expectation is that, through God’s graceworking in us all, each young person grows into their bestself, with zest for life and the generosity and confidenceto use their talents and gifts in the service of others.Underpinning all that we do are the FCJ values ofCompanionship, Dignity, Excellence, Fairness, Gentlenessand Hope.

Marie Madeleine d’Houet became a religious sisterand foundress of a group of Catholic sisters known asthe Faithful Companions of Jesus, which was formedin France in 1820.

The first companions worked with women and childrenin Amiens, and Marie Madeleine founded poor schools,day schools and boarding schools, orphanages, nightclasses for women and retreat centres.

As the Society developed, Marie Madeleine travelledextensively founding communities in France, England,Ireland, Italy and Switzerland and today is spreadacross the world, including Sierra Leone, Indonesiaand Bolivia.

Bellerive FCJ is one of the family of schools run by theFaithful Companions of Jesus, which also includesUpton Hall School FCJ in Wirral. The Bellerive MissionStatement states we aim to be a “worshippingcommunity”. We are lucky to have a beautiful schoolchapel for classes to use for meditation or guidedprayer during lessons.

Morning Prayer takes place in the chapel duringAdvent, Lent and at times when issues in our worldneed prayer. School masses take place in the schoolhall and are one of the highlights of school life. Theseare prepared by the school Liturgy Group, which ismade up of representatives from the vast majority ofdepartments and our school chaplain.

In the Ignatian spirit that inspired Marie Madeleine,we endeavour to find God in all things, using languages,art, drama, music, powerpoint slideshows, and otherdiverse methods to enable the pupils to reflectand pray.

Mass is not the only Liturgy pupils experience atBellerive FCJ. Penitential services, reflections andeven baptisms have been part of our faith experience.Liturgy is for everyone, prepared by everyone and wevalue the friendship of the priests who love workingwith our community.

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The FCJ Story

Our aim is to enable each pupil to make the most of everygiven ability and enjoy and achieve personal growth andacademic excellence. We will support and encourage themto succeed and prepare for their adult life, playing a full partin a modern global society. Our teaching staff work tirelesslywith the students and as a result relationships for learning arevery strong. Ofsted concluded that “the relationshipsbetween staff and students, and between students, arefirst class. They are warm, friendly and respectful andenable learning to proceed smoothly.”

At Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) we offer a broad andbalanced curriculum, which aims to offer every girl theopportunity to maximise her potential. Bellerive builds on pastexperiences to help all girls to become confident, successfullearners and be responsible citizens. Students will study a fullrange of core and foundation subjects.

Students within Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11) follow acurriculum which enables pathways appropriate to individualsand progression into the Sixth Form, university and the worldof work. We run a comprehensive support programme toprepare students to select their option subjects and workexperience takes place during either Years 10 or 11. Studentswill have careers interviews and presentations from our sixthform team in Year 11 to prepare them for decisions affectingtheir education post-16.

We are committed to ensuring parents are fully involved intheir daughters learning so we report on progress on a regularbasis. We are constantly working with our teaching andsupport staff to ensure that the experiences of all of ourstudents are the very best that they can be.

“Good and outstanding lessons are characterised byactivities which quickly capture the interest and attentionof students.” (Ofsted 2012)

Students continue their learning out of school through ourhomework timetable. Each year group has a separate home-work timetable and we offer students use of our resourcesbefore, during and after school to help them continue theirstudies. Homework is recorded in the student journal, anessential tool in our communication with home. The journal ischecked weekly by form tutors and we expect parents to signit as well.

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The learningexperience

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“Bellerive FCJ is an outstanding Catholic Collegecommitted to its vision of ‘personal and academicexcellence’.” (Section 48 inspection report June 2012)

Our commitment to our students is seen in the ongoingbuilding and improvement programme you will see around theschool. Our most recent addition are the 5 state of the artclassrooms on the Elmfield site which will allow us to betterserve the needs of all of our students.

Bellerive became an academy in June 2012. Our status asan academy has given us the freedom to think ever morecreatively in the interests of our students. We continue towork in partnership with many other schools in our Sixth Formand we have continued our long standing relationship with theArchdiocese of Liverpool.

We are very proud of the quality of the care we providehere at Bellerive. Our students are looked after by adedicated team of form tutors, led by Year Heads andmembers of the leadership team. The form class is thecore of Bellerive life and forging a form identity is oneof the key aspects of the settling in process in Year 7.Students gather together as a form group at thebeginning of every day and the form unit takes the leadin preparing assemblies and raising money for charitiesamongst other activities.

Each year group has a head of year. The heads of yearwork very hard to ensure all the students in their yeargroups are happy, safe and make the right decisions toensure they fulfil their potential. The year heads meet

frequently with our senior leadership team to ensure weare providing the best possible care. This level of supporthas borne fruit and the recent Ofsted inspectionconcluded that “Students’ behaviour and safety areoutstanding.”

To ensure the safety and learning of all students, weinsist on the highest standards of behaviour at all times.Equally, we pride ourselves on the excellent standards ofuniform we maintain. We want all Bellerive students tofeel proud to attend the school and wear our uniform.As the Ofsted team concluded in June 2012: “Studentsshow exemplary levels of courtesy to visitors. Theyact as excellent ambassadors for their school.”

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Care and support

Bellerive offers a wide range of experiences outside thenormal school day. We strongly encourage our students totake advantage of these to develop their confidence and widerskills base.

Music is a particular feature of Bellerive life. We have a rangeof choirs and orchestras in which students of all abilities canparticipate. Our students are also able to access freeinstrumental lessons and our students are central toperformances at celebration evenings, school liturgy andschool concerts. We are also strongly involved in competitionssuch as the Wirral Speech and Drama Festival, where we haveenjoyed considerable success.

We have many other opportunities available in sport, where awide range of teams and clubs participate in netball, footballand athletics amongst other sports. In addition to our ownfacilities, we are fortunate to be able to use the 2 beautifulparks situated adjacent to our school.

Bellerive has ran many exciting trips and visits in recent years.These have included visits to Europe and sporting trips to watchthe Wimbledon Tennis championships. We have introduced theDuke of Edinburgh award scheme to encourage our students tobecome independent and resourceful young adults.

To deepen our students understanding of the FCJ values thatunderpin all we do, we run an FCJ club. Students haveworked with many of the FCJ sisters in community andcharitable events.

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Enrichingthe learningexperience

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Our sixth form is at the heart of the school. Sixth Formprovision is widened by our reciprocal partnership withArchbishop Blanch, St Hilda’s and St Margaret's Highschools. Students from all of these schools can benefitfrom a wider learning experience by studying at othercentres in the partnership. Bellerive's Sixth Form Centreis housed in a separate building to the main school.

Benefits to students include a large common room, witha kitchen area and excellent study facilities. The SixthForm Centre is within a listed building and has gardensoverlooking a park lake, offering a tranquil place to study.During break and lunch times, students are able to relaxand enjoy the friendly atmosphere, with the addedcomfort of music and a newly refurbished common room.

There is a purpose built, air-conditioned fitness suite,equipped with a range of contemporary Techno gym

exercise machines. Students have the opportunity to usethis facility and designated changing rooms. Studentsalso make use of specialist facilities in the adjacentBellerive building, which include the Resource Base andspecialist Art, Technology and Science facilities. Bellerivehas invested in refurbishing all computers throughout theschool. A new Sixth Form Resource Base has beenequipped with 48 new computers with the latesttechnology in software and hardware. They are availablefor all Sixth Formers to use for research during lessonsand study periods.

Our students are supported every step of the way duringthe university application process and we are proud ofthe numerous Bellerive students who have progressed touniversity courses.

Sixth Form

Bellerive FCJ Catholic CollegeWindermere TerraceSefton ParkLiverpool L8 3SB

Telephone: 0151 727 2064Fax: 0151 727 8242www.bellerivefcj.org

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