Senior School
At St Columba’s we believe in a holistic approach to education. Every young person learns from their total school experience whether through sport, music, drama and especially through service. Our mission states that we are “committed to promoting and realising gospel values in an environment of academic endeavour and personal discipline”. Academic standards are consistently high throughout the College, but it is the ‘value added’ rather than the league table position from which we derive the greater pride. We aim for every student to achieve his own best standard. However, as a concession to the curious, our public examination results do appear on our website.
In addition to these experiences being available within the curriculum, we offer an extensive Extra and Extended Curriculum with a range of opportunities from the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Combined Cadet Force to debate and Young Enterprise. Each of these activities develops self-knowledge, teamwork, leadership and resilience – qualities demanded by Higher Education and the work place environment.
With a Sixth Form of over 160 boys we offer no fewer than 20 subjects at A Level. Students receive dedicated careers advice as they move through the senior school and the vast majority of our students graduate on to the top universities at home and abroad.
Students are drawn from a wide area across north London, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Our ethos and values are rooted within the Catholic educational tradition but our community encompasses students of other traditions and backgrounds.
The leadership of the College has in recent years passed over to lay management but the influence and spirit of the Brothers remain. The College has retained a strong international dimension, in particular, through links with the wider family of Brothers’ schools across North America and with our two sister schools in Zambia. These links are nurtured within both our curriculum and community.
This principle of partnership or collaboration is central to our work; not least the partnership with you as parents. We see you also as part of the school community. This relationship is nurtured from the start and is supported by the school’s House system.