Welcome

A Day in the Life of St Antony's Catholic Primary School

A very warm welcome to St Antony’s Catholic Primary School – a happy school that we are immensely proud of.

At St Antony’s, we place the person of Jesus Christ at the centre of all we do. We value the uniqueness of each individual and recognise that each of us has a special part to play in creating a better world and building up God’s kingdom here on earth.

Our core purpose is teaching and learning and at St Antony's, learning never stops! We believe in lifelong learning and the continuous development of all. Collaboration and networking, continuous teacher talk about practice and a shared focus help us to achieve our principle aim of equipping each pupil with the skills and emotional intelligence they need to lead their lives and succeed in school and beyond.
To support with this, we offer an enriching curriculum that takes our pupils on a journey of discovery and fulfilment through a variety of relevant, first hand experiences. English, Maths and Science are fundamental aspects of a child’s education, however we also value the profound impact that Religious Education, humanities, the arts, technology and physical education have on the development and well-being of each pupil.

St Antony’s has a great sense of tradition; many of our valued members of staff have taught here for numerous years and we are pleased to see past pupils return with their own children.

I very much look forward to meeting with you in the near future and working in close partnership with you over the coming years, to secure the best possible outcomes for our children at St Antony’s Catholic Primary School.

Miss Pampellonne
Headteacher

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History of St. Antony’s

According to archives, St. Antony’s School has its origin in the House of the Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God in Stag Lane, Buckhurst Hill. Henrietta, the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle, foundress and benefactress of St. Antony’s, started a small school for five children there in 1894. In the following year, the first school building was erected on the present school site in Mornington Road, Woodford Green. It was described in the “Catholic Standard and Ransomer” as the “Iron School”.

By 1901 “The Iron School” could no longer house all those who wished to avail themselves of Catholic Elementary Education and the Duchess erected the first brick building. This consisted of one large room divided into two by a glass partition. That year the Duchess invited one of the sisters from the Convent of the Holy Family in Mornington Road to teach these pupils who, by now, numbered about twelve. Accordingly, Sister Celestine became the first Headteacher.

Over the next three decades, the number of pupils increased to over 120. A new building, comprising two additional classrooms was completed in 1936, bringing the total accommodation to four classrooms, a large parish hall, offices and a playground behind the school. Sister Dolores became Headteacher in 1942.

September 1964 heralded the beginning of a further extension. On completion, all the Junior classes were accommodated in four classrooms forming a block, connected by “a fine corridor and imposing entrance hall”, to the original corridor housing the three Infants rooms. All the latter had access to the playground via French doors.

In addition, a long awaited staff room was built and the cloakroom accommodation and toilets were modernised. In 1974, Miss Angela Meyler became Headteacher and retired 21 years later in July 1995 when she was succeeded by Miss Chris Curtis. In December 2017, some 22 years later, Miss Curtis also retired. Miss Chantal Pampellonne is the current Headteacher having taken up her post in January 2018. We are a two form entry school with a 26 part time place nursery.