About Us
A brief history of St. Patrick's College London
ST PATRICK’S CHURCH
St Patrick’s Church is in Soho Square. It was consecrated in September 1792 - the first Roman Catholic Church to be established in England since the Reformation, and the first chapel in England ever to be dedicated to St Patrick, patron Saint of Ireland. The Church catered primarily for the spiritual needs of the Irish Catholic community living in St Giles’ parish, the area of London now known as Soho. This was a very poor area at the time, overcrowded and squalid. The original St Patrick’s Chapel was demolished in 1889 because it had become unsafe, and the current St Patrick’s Church building was constructed on the same site. It was renovated at a cost of £4 million in 2011.
ST PATRICK’S SCHOOLS
Once St Patrick’s Church had been successfully established, the Bishop, Clergy and Lay Committee decided to found schools for the poor people of St Giles’ parish. The first schools were opened in March 1803. There were separate schools for boys, girls, infants, and orphans. From 1803 until 1888 there were as many as 15 different schools operating under the auspices of St Patrick’s Church. They changed name and moved premises with bewildering rapidity. Schools were established at various times in sites in Soho in Frith Street, Denmark Street, Dean Street, Little Newport Street, Charing Cross Road, Greek Street, George Street, Charlotte Street, and even as far afield as Hampstead and Norwood. But the most long lasting site was at Tudor Place Tottenham Court Road, where a group of 500 pupils received instruction from 1832 until 1887, when the lease expired.
24 GREAT CHAPEL STREET
The Foundation Stone of the current school building at 24 Great Chapel Street was laid on 6 July 1887. The new premises opened in the following year. For many years the Schools continued to instruct a total of about 500 Boys, Girls, and Infants in Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and the Catholic faith. At its peak in 1903 the Schools had 741 pupils, but by 1962 the number had fallen to 89. The Catholic Primary School transferred to new premises in Kentish Town, North London, in 1967.
OVERVIEW
So from 1803 until 1967, St Patrick’s Schools operated first as a Charity, funded by St Patrick’s Catholic Church and catering mostly for the educational needs of the children of the local Irish Catholic community in the Soho area of London. Later the Schools asked those parents who could afford it to make a small payment towards the cost of their children’s education, and eventually the Schools also began to receive a limited amount of Government funding. During this period there were many social and demographic changes which affected the Schools. In the early years of the nineteenth century after relaxation of the anti Catholic Laws, and again after the disastrous famines in Ireland in the middle of that century, there was a huge influx of Irish Catholics into London, and demand for places at the Schools far outstripped the number which the Church and its Charities were able to fund. Throughout the nineteenth century many of the Irish community died in the epidemics of cholera, influenza, and other deadly diseases which afflicted London. This only increased the number of orphans and other disadvantaged children applying for places at the Schools. The 1870 Education Act made it compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 13 to attend school, which again increased the demand for places. Numbers peaked in 1903.
At the end of the nineteenth century two factors caused the number of pupils to begin to decline. Large numbers of London’s Irish Catholics emigrated to America to seek a new life away from the squalor, poverty, and hopelessness of the Old World, and as London’s suburbs expanded with the coming of the railways, both above ground and underground, many Irish families moved out of the overcrowded lodging houses of central London into better quality accommodation in the more salubrious suburbs. Their children attended schools near to their homes. In the early part of the twentieth century many Italian families arrived in Soho, having fled the political upheavals in Italy. For a while their children boosted numbers at St Patrick’s Schools, but in the course of the twentieth century there was a steady decline in the number of pupils at the Schools, reaching its low point in 1967 when only 89 pupils were registered. Clearly there was no longer a demand for a Catholic education at this level in this part of London and St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Primary School moved to Kentish Town.
1967 TO 1998
After the Catholic Primary School closed the Catholic Church continued to run St Patrick’s as a Language School teaching English. The building was also used by an Italian Community organisation and an Au Pair agency.
ST PATRICK’S INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
The Premises were leased by new owners (a private Ltd Company called ELC, originally based in Leytonstone and Regent St) in 1998 and the School was renamed St Patrick’s International College. At first the College taught English Language, Computing, and Business Management. Accountancy and Law were added to the curriculum later. Many of the students were recruited from outside the UK. Since 1998 the College has grown into the major international educational institution which it is today, teaching Edexcel Diplomas at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Management, Computing, Fashion and Design, Health and Social Care Management, Hospitality Management, and Law. In the latter part of 2009, demand for places to study at St Patrick’s soared, and the College acquired an additional building at nos 15-17 Great Chapel Street. Students are now comfortably housed in the two nearly adjacent buildings, one steeped in history, and the other with state of the art modern facilities. There are currently about 1000 students from over 60 countries studying at the College.
St Patrick’s Schools and College have a long and interesting past, which has seen many changes in its circumstances. But throughout its history the College has sought to provide the best possible education for people who through no fault of their own are slightly outside the mainstream, whether because of religion, nationality, or financial circumstances. It has relied on its dedicated teachers to deliver excellence in education, at an affordable cost. St Patrick’s College is proud of its achievements so far, and is determined to maintain and where possible improve, the quality of its product for the benefit of the students.
Attached are two photos of St Patrick’s Schools, taken in the 1930s. See if you can recognise the locations! If you are interested, a longer version of this History is available from Michael Hilton in Marketing Department.
