News

Today, 9th May 2025, at morning break the whole school joined together in the Abbey Church to celebrate the election of The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV and to sing the ancient and formal celebration hymn Te Deum Laudamus.

Confirmation weekend is very special at Ampleforth with hundreds of families, godparents, and friends descending on the valley to support those being confirmed. Last weekend was no exception with the Bishop of Middlesbrough, Terence Patrick Drainey, confirming 37 candidates in a packed church and accompanied by heavenly music. The sun shone too!

The Sacrament of Confirmation completes initiation into the Christian life, by a particular gift of the Holy Spirit of God, like the apostles of Jesus received on the day of Pentecost. That is why the bishops, who together are the successors of the apostles in an unbroken line, confer this sacrament. 

Candidates, known by their Latin name as confirmandi, are prepared over many weeks both by chaplains and House catechists (who are fellow students). On the day itself, confirmandi are sponsored by a member of their family, or friend, someone who lives the Christian life in such a way they can accompany them into a deeper sharing of the life of the Church.

On Friday night, the confirmandi came together to pray in the Abbey Church in preparation for Sunday, to make their confession as a preparation of the heart, and to ask the prayers of their chosen saint.  Each candidate chooses a patron saint, whose name they would like to be added to their baptismal names. They write to the bishop asking for confirmation and explaining the choice of their patron saint. On the day itself, the bishop talks to each candidate about their saint and calls each by their chosen name, to mark this moment in the Christian life.

Families and godparents come to Ampleforth to support and witness the moment when the bishop asks the Holy Spirit to be close to the confirmandi, using a special holy oil to do this which he brings with him. Called the oil of Chrism, it is blessed by the bishop just before Easter. Consisting of olive oil mixed with balsam, it has a powerful fragrance which diffuses in the air around you, like the Holy Spirit, making you a fragrant offering to God, as it says in scripture. It sets you apart, reserves you, for the work of making God known in the world.  It’s the same oil used to set apart the hands of a priest at ordination, for the work of celebrating the sacraments.

With A level results across the country back to pre-Covid levels (teacher assessed grades saw grade inflation between 2020-22), at Ampleforth College we have exceeded our pre-pandemic levels with a particularly excellent set of results this year.   

77% of A level grades are A*-B and 43% are A*-A. BTECs are 100% Distinction*-Merit (UCAS equivalent to A*-C) and 61% Distinction*-Distinction (UCAS equivalent to A*-A). This puts us in the top 25% of independent schools both in terms of our results and the value that we add.  

These excellent results reflect the hard work and commitment of our students, their dedicated teachers, and the support of the entire school community. We have focused this year on strengthening our unique educational approach which collectively builds good study habits, intellectual curiosity, moral courage, and an authentic love of learning. This provides a strong foundation for all students to do their very best academically at school, in their future studies, and in life. Almost all our students will be going on to their first choice of university, including Oxford and Cambridge, and we equally celebrate those who chose other paths after school.    

Peter Roberts, Headmaster, says “We are really pleased with this year’s grades and I wish to pass on my congratulations to our fantastic students on their great success. These results are the summing up of individual stories and we are delighted that so many of our students’ hard work, in different disciplines and with different goals, has allowed them to achieve their very best. They leave Ampleforth having experienced an enriching, holistic and transformative education which sets them up to flourish in life. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing how they continue to progress over the years to come.”   
 

Sadly, the terrible weekend weather meant that even Ampleforth and Barnie Castle who will play in wellie boots, if possible, had to cancel sports fixtures! 

We are extremely pleased to announce that Yorkshire County Cricket Club Performance Pathway Coach, Haydon Jackson, will be joining the Ampleforth College coaching team on a full-time basis as our on-site Cricket Professional and Games Coach.