Corinthia Drinks
It was lovely to host so many prospective parents and prep school Heads for drinks at the very elegant Corinthia in London on Monday, all eager to learn more about life here in the Valley.
Thanks to those of you who brought along friends to hear what we can offer to their children and who shared their experiences of Ampleforth. It was wonderful to see many recent leavers who came to support us too. I look forward to welcoming lots of new faces to visit us as a result.
Whilst the weather affected many fixtures at the weekend, the boys' U13A and U12A hockey teams drew against Giggleswick and Mowden Hall, and all of the girls' netball teams saw success apart from the U15As who narrowly missed out by one goal against Giggleswick.
Last night we had the pleasure of welcoming Maj Gen Nick Perry DSO, MBE (E91) back to the College for our latest Headmaster's Lecture. Nick is a British Army Officer who served as Assistant Chief of the General Staff between 2021 and 2022. He gave an inspirational talk about his life in the army focusing on decision making, leadership and how his Ampleforth education has contributed. The values he gained here, such as the importance of trust, humility, stability, humour and genuine respect for and desire to learn from others, have been foundational to his life. The students asked excellent and probing questions and were extremely engaged. We are truly grateful to have received this message. The Ampleforth Lourdes Hospitalite Committee joined us at the weekend as we started preparing for this summer's Lourdes Pilgrimage. Marie and I are looking forward to sharing this uplifting experience again this year with the assisted pilgrims, helpers and our students.
It has been delightful to host Georgia and Jett (pictured right) from Rosebank College, Sydney for the past two weeks as part of the International Benedictine Schools Exchange Programme. Anastasia (12B) and Elliot (11DO) have done a fantastic job looking after them and ensuring they enjoyed immersing themselves in all aspects of Ampleforth life from academic to social. As we say farewell this weekend, we wish them all the best for the future.
Many congratulations go to Charlie Mitchell (H23) who has been offered an unconditional place to read History at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and to Josie Blake-James (M) who has been offered a place to read Theology at King's College, Cambridge. We are sure that Charlie will relish his time at Cambridge and we wish Josie the best of luck with her offer.It’s another busy weekend with children coming to take entry assessments to join us in Junior House in September. Once again, I am looking forward to meeting our future Amplefordians.
Best wishes,
Peter
