Maria Fidelis FCJ School, in Camden near Euston Station, is the descendant of the school originally set up for the education of girls from French families escaping from the increasing hostility towards religion in their country in the years following the Revolution. By 1830, it had become a Charity School and this was given into the hands of Marie Madeleine and Julie Guillemet by Father Nérinckx and his sister. Many thousands of students have passed through its doors since those early years, and there have been many changes in the neighbourhood of Somers Town. In 2015, Maria Fidelis became co-educational, and having operated on two sites for many decades, it is now being re-born as a single-site school. The picture gives a digital impression of the new building, which will come into full use over the next few months. The demolition of the old convent, familiar to so many FCJs and former pupils, will free up land in order to provide impressive outdoor sports facilities – unusual in central London, where space is at a premium. The 6th form block, complete with IT suite, common room, study centre and classrooms, will be able to triple its intake – up to 300 students instead of 80. All Upper School students will move to the new building in September 2018, while the Lower School (currently in North Gower Street) will be settled in its new home by Easter 2019.
