New Starters' Day
Monday saw us welcome many of our new starters who will be joining us in September as well as their parents. It was buzzing in Main Hall and we are delighted to be bucking the trend in the independent sector as our pupil numbers are growing.
Although not all our new starters could be with us on Monday, it was wonderful to see them in the valley getting to know their future Houses and making new friends. The same was true of their parents, who also enjoyed forming new friendships while they spent the day learning more about Ampleforth, our history and ethos, and how we can work in partnership together. Thank you to all our new Monitors who helped to make the day run smoothly, and to Ollie and Agnes for their fantastic music.
The weekend saw success for the boys 1st XI cricketers against Bradford Grammar and the girls U15B XI against Sedbergh. The boys U18A tennis players also had an impressive win over Woodhouse Grove School. It is always such a pleasure to watch sport in the valley during the summer term, despite the unseasonably cold weather this year.
At Assembly this week I spoke about how we have all both been and done good this term as we have worked together as a community, especially during the public exam period. Many of our students have started leaving now their exams are over, but I wanted to impress on everyone this unique point about an Ampleforth education - whilst you may no longer be a student at Ampleforth, you will never really leave this Valley. This special place will hold so many fond memories for the rest of your lives, and you will continue to return here for years to come. That really is what our community builds - a true compass for life.
On Thursday our Governors were here to thank Meg Baines for her outstanding service as Chair of the Education Committee, but also to hold their termly meeting. They were very impressed by the good progress of the students across the academic focus Summer Term and thanked staff for their dedicated teaching and the same for the support staff.
Head of Year 9, Mike Slingsby, is currently in Kenya visiting prep schools and hosting drinks for prospective and current parents and Old Amplefordians. This afternoon he is visiting the wonderful Kivuli Trust, which runs 2 boarding houses for children with mental and physical disabilities at Gilgil Special School and was co-founded by current parent Georgie Harding-Newman. We hope FACE-FAW may be able to support her fantastic work in the future. Tomorrow, Mike will be manning our stand at Pembroke House School for their Senior School Fair and enjoying their popular N’dume 7s Rugby Festival. I look forward to hearing all on his return.
This weekend we will celebrate the Church of England Confirmation at St Hilda’s Church in the village on Sunday with Rev James Trowsdale. The service will be led by the Bishop of Whitby, Paul Ferguson, who is retiring this summer so this will be his last Anglican Confirmation for us. Afterwards, we will enjoy tea in the vicarage – it promises to be a special occasion for all involved.
All best wishes,
Peter
