St Vincent's History

St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School is a successful primary school built on Catholic and Christian values and heritage. It was founded on the faith of previous generations who wanted both the best of education for their children and for their Christian faith to be passed on to future generations. Our school is at the heart of the Catholic communities of St Vincent’s and Holy Angels and its foundation was the beginning of the excellent Catholic education provision that we have here in Altrincham.

Our school’s heritage can be traced back to The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852) which forced the poor of Ireland to emigrate in order to find work and money. Here in Altrincham the men came to work on the farms nearby and the girls found work in the large houses of Bowdon. Keen to uphold their spiritual life and practice their faith; these founding fathers and mothers set up a chapel on George Street and the parish priest Fr Alcock started a rudimentary school in a house next to the presbytery in New Street in 1858.

The Catholic community then further developed when the Manchester Ship Canal began construction, and parish numbers increased. A new church was built in New Street in 1860 and St Vincent’s school was formally founded in 1872 in Hamon Road (where Tesco is today). It was the pennies of the penniless, their faith and determination that brought our school into being.

As demand for Catholic education grew, the Junior department on Osborne Road was opened in 1966 with the new Infant department on Orchard Road following in 1973. The outstanding Catholic education provision in Altrincham comes from those small beginnings and has been maintained and nurtured by the faith and love of many generations. Our primary school continues to be at the heart of our catholic community and we hope it will continue to be developed by the living faith and loving care of both present and future generations to come.

With the help of Christopher King a teacher and local historian, we have produced a book about the history of St Vincent's. It details all of the key events and is a fascinating read. Each pupil was given a book as a special keepsake of their primary school. If you would like to learn more about St Vincent's, please visit reception where we have a copy to view.