News

The Valley has been full of energy as pupils have thrown themselves into pre-season preparations across our sports programme. Our senior and junior rugby players have been putting in the work during a pre-season camp, with the senior side also enjoying a valuable warm-up fixture against Malton & Norton RUFC. On the hockey pitch, our 1st XI, intermediate and junior teams have welcomed City of York HC and Harrogate Hockey Club for some excellent early-season fixtures. With the first full round of matches just around the corner, the teams are ready for the season ahead!

Many congratulations to our Year 11 students on their excellent GCSE results today! We are delighted with this year's results, with 31% achieving the very top grades of 9-8, 53% achieving between 9-7 and 71% between 9-6. These are a very strong set of GCSE results, particularly given that Ampleforth does not select students simply on academic ability but provides an all-round education which equips students for every aspect of life. We are proud of the range of academic ability here and stretch all our students to achieve their very best. These GCSE results are also evidence that our students have achieved considerably higher grades than predicted in their baseline data when they first arrived at Ampleforth. This achievement speaks to the hard work and dedication of our students - and their teachers. The results are promising for continued academic progress and achievement in the Sixth Form where we be joined by a large intake of new students from across the country.

it is this sense of community, unlike any other, that most resonates with the description of Lourdes as a place where the distance between heaven and earth is extraordinarily small

Below can be found the full transcripts of each of the three headline speeches from this year's Exhibition Prize Giving. 

In his final letter from Kolkata below, Emil (DO25), reflects on his six months volunteering with Future Hope, a charity that helps street children escape poverty through education, medical care, and providing homes. We hope some of our 2026 leavers might be inspired to follow his path if taking a gap year. Emil has contributed so much and learnt even more.

In his January - February update, Emil reflects on the final chapter of his six months at Future Hope, describing it as a deeply formative experience. He highlights the children’s challenging backgrounds and the school’s vital role in providing stability, care, and opportunity, while much of his own time was spent in the Resource Room, where he learnt the value of patience, adaptability, and persistence through daily work with the students. In his concluding reflections, Emil acknowledges the challenges of an unpredictable environment but emphasises how much he has learnt in return, with the experience becoming a deeply personal journey shaped by the children, the community, and the unexpected.