As of 1st September 2022, our school was renamed Greyfriars Catholic School (formerly St Gregory the Great Catholic School).

Our school is on a journey of improvement to ensure it provides the best learning environment for all its students and as part of this journey, we have made some important changes to suit our context.

One of the things students often missed in the pandemic was an opportunity to participate in clubs and in the community. These experiences are enriching and have been much missed by so many of our children. Therefore, we are building enrichment opportunities into our school day. 

The enrichment sessions are taught by teaching staff; there is a broad range of opportunities across the school. For example, painting, cooking, gardening, fitness and charity work. We see this as contributing to the life of the school and supporting the well-being and emotional health of our students. We feel that this builds connections across the school community and we know that feeling connected promotes well-being. 

We feel that this contributes to the Catholic life of the school and will foster pride, student leadership and participation in the community. A core aspect of Catholic social teaching is engagement in community activity. This initiative gives our children a wealth of opportunities and experiences and really promotes participation that we hope will stay with them.  It means the Catholic heart of our school is distinctive and purposeful. 

Given the extent of these changes, the school feels like a new school, and so we made the decision to change the uniform and the name of the school to Greyfriars Catholic School.  We chose this name as we are in Greyfriars Parish, but also because of the links to St Agnellus (a Franciscan) and Oxford University, and the links to Pope Francis. We feel this name links us to our local community and Catholic history. Of course, being part of the Pope Francis Mac ties all of this together too. 

This is a significant change to the school - it is not just a name change but a significant shift in the school experience; these opportunities are the best possible experience for our students in helping them become happy, successful and active members of society so they flourish as rounded individuals in our school community and beyond.