The school was founded in Stamford Hill, South Tottenham, London, on 10 September 1894. The college and the Jesuit community were initially accommodated in two houses called Morecombe Lodge and Burleigh House, located on Tottenham High Road, next to St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill. The school originally had only 46 boys, four Jesuits, and a dog in 1894. In 1907 the college was recognised by the Board of Education and began to receive public money towards its support.[2][3]
In 1944, the college's preparatory department became its own private school run by the Jesuits, Loyola Preparatory School. In 1950, Loyola Preparatory School moved to a site in Buckhurst HillinEssex that was formerly occupied by Braeside School.[4] In 1962, The Campion School, a Jesuit secondary school, was opened in Hornchurch, making Loyola Preparatory School a feeder school for both the college and The Campion School. In 2001, trusteeship of Loyola Preparatory School was given to the Diocese of Brentwood.[5]
From the early 1950s the school complement averaged about 700 boys. Its longest-serving Headmaster, Fr Guy Brinkworth SJ, retired in 1963. The school remained at Stamford Hill as a grammar school until 1968. The school then became a two-tier, seven-form entry comprehensive school, the lower school being located at the old Cardinal Allen School, which had been there for eight years prior to the school moving there, and the upper school located in Turkey Street, Enfield.[6]
Turkey Street Building in 2006
In 1987, the lower and upper schools amalgamated at Turkey Street, a development made possible by a major building programme, including an extension to the main building.[3] The school became grant-maintained in 1993,[3] but returned to Voluntary Aided status in September 1999. In 1998 the school started to build the Octagon which houses a computer suite, chapel and a library. The building work was completed in 2000 and was handed over to the school later that year. Also in 2000, Roselands, previously the residence for the Jesuits, was refurbished. It became the Roselands Centre, housing the Sixth Form. In 2023, school enrolment was 1,107.[7]
Michael Blundell became the college's first lay Headmaster when he succeeded Fr Antony Forrester SJ, in 1986. Mr Blundell was, in turn, succeeded as Headmaster by Paul Adams, who retired in the summer of 2007, and was replaced by John-Paul Morrison, who left the post of headmaster in December 2013. Andrew Dickson took over the post on an interim basis until a replacement for John-Paul Morrison could be found. Kelly took over from Dickson in 2014 and retired from his role in 2016 and was succeeded by Mrs O'Keeffe, the first female headteacher of a Jesuit secondary school in the United Kingdom.[8]
In 2019, the college was rated as "Good" by Ofsted.[9] In 2023, the school was one of those identified as having buildings that could be structurally unsound because reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete had been used in their construction.[10]
The college aims to assist each individual pupil in his spiritual development.[11] This spiritual development includes retreats as pupils progress through the school.[12] The school motto Ad maiorem Dei gloriam – meaning "For the greater glory of God" – was abbreviated to AMDG and is still customarily appended to students' essays or homework.[13]
There are opportunities for pupils regularly to take part in retreats, devised and directed according to their stage at the school, is an essential part of the Jesuit educational ideal. A retreat is a time when, away from their usual environments of home and school, the pupils can reflect on their lives and on their relationships with others and with God. Retreat days take place each year in the Pastoral Centre or outside of the college,[14] for example in the St Cassian's CentreatKintbury.
The school has forms that are named after seven Jesuit martyrs. The St Francis Xavier form was added as commemoration for the college's 125th Anniversary.
Every Half Term a newsletter, summarising the college's achievements for that half term, is published. It includes a list of merits attained for that half term.
The college has a contingent of the Combined Cadet Force centred at the CCF hut. The contingent has both an Army Section and a Royal Air Force (RAF) Section.[15] Weekly Section training takes place on Mondays at the college. Cadets also get the chance to attend camps, Field Training Exercises (FTX), Adventurous Training (AT), and courses throughout the UK and occasionally abroad. Courses include flying, parachuting, signalling, catering, physical training instructor (PTI), schoolboy commando course, mountain leader training, and rock climbing.
Former pupils of the school are commonly referred to as Old Ignatians. The main objective of the Old Ignatian Association is to serve the interests of the former pupils of the college. They provide spiritual, social, recreational, and sporting facilities so that they may serve the interests of not only the Old Ignatians but also of current pupils.[17]
In the early 1960s, they bought a sports ground and built a pavilion built on a site in Woodford. However, in the 1970s the site was compulsorily purchased for the construction of the M11.
In 1999, the Old Ignatians purchased a former sports ground in Turkey Street, Enfield, to build a social centre and to provide some new sporting facilities that were not available in the Woodford centre. In 2008, "The Loyola Ground" was opened and is used by the association as well as the school for sporting, social, and many other events.[citation needed]
