History of the School

Nicholas Breakspear School was built in 1963, and founded by Father John Farnborough, whose mission was to provide a Catholic education for young people in the local area. The school was opened by Cardinal Heenan in September 1963. 

The land was purchased for educational purposes, set among the rolling fields of the Hertfordshire countryside, which provided a proud heritage of teaching and learning through this beautiful setting. 

The school buildings are typical examples of 1960’s architecture and have had thousands of students over the years who are proud to call NBS their school. 

The views from the upper floors are uninterrupted and beautiful. The school enjoys all the advantages of large playing fields, AstroTurf and spacious playgrounds, as well as basketball and tennis courts. 

When the school was built in 1963, the buildings provided education for 600 boys and girls of the Roman Catholic community living in and round St Albans. Today, we are a six-form entry school and have over 1100 pupils enrolled. 

Nicholas Breakspear is a member of the Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust (DOWAT). We work together with 11 other schools in the trust to share best practice and to promote the development of students and staff. 

It was recently categorised by OFSTED in 2023 as an ‘Outstanding’ school.

The school takes its name from the 12th Century priest Nicholas Breakspear, who went on to become Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman ever to have occupied the papal chair. 

He was born around 1100 in Bedmond, in the parish of Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire. He came from humble beginnings; his father Robert worked as a clerk in the low orders of the Abbot of St Albans. Robert was an educated man but poor, making the decision to enter the monastery, probably after the death of his wife. 

This left Nicholas in a perilous position; having to fend for himself and lacking in education, he was subsequently rejected from joining the monastery. His destiny would take him elsewhere, travelling to France where he would successfully pursue his vocation. He never forgot his Hertfordshire origins. He was elected Pope in 1154 and battled his way across Europe to defend and develop Christianity. Although his reign as Pope was short, he had a lasting and decisive impact on those who met him, and on the Papacy itself. 

Nicholas’s life is testament to what can be achieved by an individual against the odds. From obscurity, he rose to become a trusted mediator between nations at war, thus laying the foundation to build a better world.