The Sisters of Notre Dame
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur responded to the call of Father Nugent in 1851 to work in the city of Liverpool. Everton Valley was the third Convent of Notre Dame founded in the city, and owes its existence to the great extension of the Catholic Church in the Liverpool of the mid-nineteenth century. The port had risen swiftly to an importance second only to that of London, and work was to be had in plenty.

Much of the labour was provided by Irish immigrants, who came to Liverpool to escape the potato famine, though desperately poor and forced to live in squalid conditions, nevertheless clung proudly to their Catholic faith. Almost 25% of Liverpool’s population were from Ireland at this time. The clergy worked hard to provide some elementary schooling for the children, in order to support their congregations who were obliged to pay for everything – accommodation, heating, lighting and schooling.

The Education Act
The Education Act of 1870, which offered a little financial help towards Catholic schools, developed the Sisters’ work considerably. Consequently the years 1870 to 1888 show them beginning duties at: St. Augustine’s School from 1871 Our Lady Immaculate and St. Alexander’s School from 1872 St. Sylvester’s School from 1873 St. Michael’s school from 1875 All Souls’ school from 1876 St. John’s School from 1878 St. Alphonsus’ School from 1888 St Gerard’s school was not taken over until 1914.

The West Wing
In 1888 the west wing was completed, containing rooms for Sisters and Pupil-Teachers and the Chapel (more recently known as Notre Dame Hall) which was opened with Pontifical High Mass by His Lordship Bishop O’Reilly. In the early years of the twentieth century the three houses, known as St Joseph’s House, were acquired, and later the Chadwick Mount property (listed as 2-8 Chadwick Mount in 1873) was added to the Convent premises. In 1902 the new laundry equipped with the latest machinery “worked by electricity” was completed, the old site of the laundry was used as a temporary Science Room (one of the first schools in the country to offer science lessons to girls) and by 1904 a Needlework Room and classrooms were added, and the building of the new Collegiate School was begun.

War Time
At the outbreak of war in 1939, many Liverpool children were dispersed to safer areas, the Sisters went with their schools and were billeted wherever room could be found, mainly around the county of Shropshire. In May 1941, however, when most of the evacuees had returned, the convent was severely damaged during one of the enemy bombing raids on Liverpool Docks. There was direct hit on the kitchen area and the chaplain’s quarters above it. In the kitchen preparations had been made for the following day, the daily ration of potatoes had been put in the ovens in readiness, all the food was destroyed when the oven doors blew off in the explosion.

Edie Adams (an in-between maid working in the convent) has vivid memories of the Sister in charge of the kitchen being distraught at the loss of their precious rations and the local Warden trying to comfort her by offering her his hip flask. Countless incendiary bombs fell on both the convent and school in these early years of the war, thankfully no Sisters were hurt. The Sisters had to be rehoused in Birkdale, Wigan, St Helens and the Manchester country house and a total of thirty-two Sisters travelled by trolleybus into Liverpool each day to continue teaching wherever possible.

All Girls Comprehensive
In 1978 the Sisters moved from Everton Valley to make way for the extended building refurbishment needed when it opened as an all-girl Comprehensive School in September 1983. In the 1970s it was apparent that a re-organisation of Catholic Secondary Education in the Archdiocese of Liverpool was required.

The Sisters moved out of the convent at Everton Valley to make way for the refurbishment to the site in readiness for the re-organisation. In 1983 three schools, Notre Dame Collegiate School, St John’s Secondary Modern Girls’ School and St Catherine’s Secondary Modern Girls’ School amalgamated and became known as Notre Dame High School. The older pupils were accommodated on the Everton Valley site, while Y1 and 2 (known now as Y7 and 8) were educated in the Lower School (previously St Margaret Clitheroe High School), buildings opposite St John’s Primary School. Pupils were taught on these two sites until 1997 when a building programme was completed to extend the sporting and performance venues – namely a Sports Hall, Drama Studio and bespoke Music rooms.

Boys Applications Accepted
In 2012 boys applications were accepted and the college became co-educational in Year 7. Notre Dame Catholic College was completely co-educational by September 2018. The Archdiocese welcomed this move since the closure of Campion High School for boys in July 2007 had left a void for the education of Catholic boys in the Everton area, and funded the conversion of the Victorian building to accommodate both.

The decision to accept boys coincided with plans for a new building, the site offered by Liverpool City Council was adjacent to Everton Park Lifestyles Centre and was heralded as part of Project Jennifer creating a new district centre around Great Homer Street, the regeneration of areas of north Liverpool by the city council.

The £15 million building was funded by a combination of city council and Government money and was the first school to benefit from Mayor Joe Anderson’s investment programme for schools in the city. In the summer of 2012 Willmott Dixon began work on the new site. The new school was completely built using a structure similar to a modern airport terminal building called EdVenture, which is far cheaper than traditional building methods and offers more flexibility because the internal layout and even the entire use of the site can be adapted in the future. 

The Bishop Tom Williams Chapel
The chapel, physically at the heart of the college and spiritually the heart of the community, was officially dedicated by Bishop Tom Williams on the 19th September 2014. The performance area, which includes the dance studio and drama studio, was officially named The Dorothy Stang Theatre on March 4th 2016, a celebratory mass was concelebrated by Bishop Tom Williams, Fr Graeme Dunne (parish priest at St Anthony’s) and Fr Michael Fitzsimons (parish priest at St John’s) to acknowledge the remarkable life of Sister Dorothy Stang SND who was martyred in 2005 for her work to secure land rights for the peasants in Brazil. The college library has been named after Mr Alf Westwell to acknowledge his unstinting service on the Notre Dame Catholic College Governing Body and as Chair over many years.