The school year has finished

Term has now finished for pupils at Mount St Mary's College and Barlborough Hall School.  However, the school offices will be open throughout the summer to help you.  Telephone the school office for enquiries concerning current pupils (01246 433388) and the Admissions Office (01246 432872) for enquiries about applying to Mount St Mary's.  The uniform shop will also be open during the holidays on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and you can also now buy uniform by visiting our online uniform shop - click here.

Photos from Academy

Photographs taken by the official photographer at Academy are now available to purchase. Just follow this link, which will take you to the photographer's website, where you can view and purchase the photos you want to have as mementos of this special occasion.  Photos of Academy Sports Day, Prize-Giving and the Ball are all available.

Junior Choir going to the National Festival

Our junior choir members are celebrating their success in being invited to the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham next week.  The choir sang at the Regional Festival in the spring, and were delighted to be invited to participate in this special annual event.  Thousands of choirs enter the regional festivals, emphasising what an honour it is to to be invited to sing at the National Festival.  Proud parents had a foretaste of what to expect when the children sang at our Junior Concert on Monday.  To add to the special occasion, some pupils from our prep school, Barlborough Hall, have been singing with the choir and will be travelling to Birmingham as part of the group.  Good luck to them all!  Click here if you are a parent wanting to see the schedule.

Leavers' Dinner

Our Rhetoric leavers enjoyed the Leavers' Dinner in the Refectory.  Rahul Ravi, Deputy Head Boy, and Sarah Philips, Deputy Head Girl, made speeches reminiscing on their time at the Mount and amused their audience of fellow pupils and staff with their recollections.  Also there was Mr Daniel Westmoreland, President of the Mount Association which the leavers can now join. The leavers were also thrilled to receive their Year Books.  Congratulations to Head Girl Lucy Potts, who edited and published the year book, which impressed everyone who could lay their hands on a copy.  We wish our Sixth Formers good luck in their futures, and look forward to seeing many of them on 20 August: results day.

"Bad Girls" at the Mount

Some of our nicest pupils showed off their acting skills when they were transformed into "Bad Girls" for the Junior Drama production.  Based on the Jacqueline Wilson novel of the same name, the play explores bullying and self-esteem.  More than 30 Year 7 and 8 pupils were in the cast, with some excellent talent obvious amongst our youngest pupils. Mr Murphy, the Head of English and Drama, said:  "The pupils were energetic and engaging, and the characterisation was sharp and well observed. It was also delightful to see the junior students supported so well by senior students who worked as Assistant Director, stage manager, sound and light operators."  Director of the play was our drama teacher, Mrs Guiliana Hackett.  Well done!

The Golden Nellies

Hollywood has the Oscars, Cannes has the Palme D'Or, and now we have the Golden Nellies.  At the special award ceremony, 12 lucky recipients learned that they were the lucky winners of the inaugural prizes.  Golden elephants were awarded to pupils who had excelled in our three main productions this year.  Comperes for the event were Richard Duggan and Naseem Sharif, and the best acceptance speech was given by Alex Treece, who won the "Only Man in London" award for his performance in "Oliver!"

It's Ball Season at the Mount

Pupils from Year Seven upwards have been enjoying their end of year balls.  Exams are over, and it's a wonderful chance to celebrate another successful year at school.  During both balls, for the Lower and the Middle School, pupils enjoyed a formal meal in the refectory.  After speeches from the Heads of Year and pupils, everyone enjoyed the disco.

Prints and postcards now available

Thanks to Father Peter Knott SJ, the chaplain at our prep school Barlborough Hall and a well-known watercolourist, you can now buy prints, postcards and notelets of a well-loved Mount view.  A mounted print (approx 50 x 42 cm) is £35, and an unmounted copy £15.  Postcards (with envelopes) are also available for 30p each or £1 for 4, and notelets are 60p each or £2.50 for 6.

All the profits will be going to Jesuit Missions. To order one of these beautiful prints or stationery, please contact Helen McKell (hmckell@msmcollege.com).

Flying High

Squadron Leader Martin Fry, in charge of the RAF section and also our Head of Physics, had a role reversal when he took pupils for an Air Experience Day at RAF Church Fenton.  As he climbed into the glider for his own flight, he realised his pilot was none other than one of his own pupils, Luke Longthorne in Year 13.  Luke has been one of the most enthusiastic members of the RAF section during his time at Mount St Mary's, and last year successfully qualified to fly passengers.  Mr Fry assures us that he felt extremely safe with Luke at the controls.

CCF Inspection

The CCF Bi-Annual Inspection was held last week, led by Group Captain Evans, Chief of Staff, Air Cadets at RAF Cranwell.  During the day, the members of Mount St Mary's CCF enjoyed abseiling off Pineapple Tower, section attacks, command tasks, paintballing and .22 rifle shooting.  All the cadets enjoyed the day's activities and impressed the group captain with their enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment.  CCF is compulsory in Years 10 and 11, with many pupils opting to continue in the Sixth Form.

Boarders enjoy a Sunday walk

Everyone put their best foot forward for the walk to Mass on Sunday.  Father Knott SJ was celebrating a family mass at our prep school, Barlborough Hall, and the entire boarding community enjoyed a two mile stroll through our surrounding countryside to join the congregation. 

The French Exchange 2009

Grammar (Year 10) pupils enjoyed a week immersed in the French language when they spent half-term with pupils from the Lycee St Michel, a Jesuit school in St Etienne, 60km south of Lyon.  As well as spending time in school, our pupils enjoyed a tour around St Etienne, a visit to a unique medieval village and Lyon, and outings with their host families to places as far afield as Brittany and the Alps.  At the end of the week it was time to say "au revoir" until October, when the St Etienne pupils will visit us here at Mount St Mary's.

Our Charity Ball raises over £3000

Next summer we will be hosting our first holiday week for local disabled children, and our first major fundraising event was a wonderful success.  Organised and run by sixth formers with help from Mr Pike and Mrs McKell, the "World of Love" ball transformed our refectory into a romantic venue.  The meal, served by our pupils to their parents and staff, took guests to four of the world's most romantic cities with themed courses based on Paris, Rome, New York and London.  Even the entertainment was provided by the pupils, showing off their musical talents with help from Mr Pike.  Thanks to the generosity of parents, we raised over £3000, a great boost to our fundraising efforts to help give the children a memorable week's holiday.

Ed's run raises £1500 for Jesuit Missions

Ed Pike, our lay chaplain, successfully completed the London Marathon in April, and thanks everyone who supported him.  Through contributions from school events plus sponsorship, he managed to raise £1500 for Jesuit Missions.  The money will be going to help our companion school, St Canisius High in Zambia. Ed is pictured with the other runners in the Jesuit Missions team - well done!

Masterclasses from one of the world's top teachers

Pupils from Mount St Mary's were given an incredible opportunity when Professor Yekaterina Murina, Chair of Piano at the St Petersburg Conservatoire, visited us.  During her three day stay she gave masterclasses, attended by our music students, to top pianists from the Mount as well as other local schools.  We even welcomed boys all the way from our sister Jesuit school St Ignatius  in London, eager to take advantage of this unique experience.  Professor Murina also delighted a packed theatre with a concert of European music on Wednesday evening, demonstrating the vigour and sensitivity which have won her such acclaim over her long career.  She also visited Barlborough Hall School, where her grandson Vladimir is a pupil, to give a concert to our prep school pupils.

All that jazz raises £1250 for charity

Members of our jazz band delighted the audience at their second annual charity jazz night with their rendition of popular classics.  It was a welcome return to school for the pupils, whose most recent gig was at the prestigious Cue Ball held on the eve of the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield.  The band, comprising our most talented wind and brass players, chose to raise money for a cause dear to the school's heart, the Meningitis Trust.  Several years ago a sixth former boarder, Gareth Rowlands, died suddenly from the illness, and we were pleased to welcome his parents back to school in their aim to raise both awareness of the illness and money towards supporting other families affected. 

Ski Trip 2009

The annual Mount ski trip was as successul as ever.  This year thirty pupils, accompanied by three teachers, went to Winter Park, Colarado, to enjoy 6 days of skiing and expert tuition.  The trip is open to any pupil, attracing top skiers including members of our successful CCF ski team as well as novice skiers keen to learn a new skill with their friends.

Boarding re-opening

"It's better than I'll get at university," was just one of the many positive comments from our boarders, who returned to school after Easter eager to see their new rooms.  The boys are back in Loyola after months of refurbishment work that gives every room an en-suite bathroom and upgraded facilities.  The girls' rooms in New Hopkins have been converted to en-suite facilities too.  The accommodation was officially re-opened by Chairman of Governors Mr Jim Kelly KSG, and blessed by our resident priest Father Michael Beattie SJ.  After a tour of the rooms, everyone enjoyed drinks on the Loyola Lawn.

Winners at the Worksop Festival

Mount St Mary's entered the Worksop Festival of Music and Drama for the first time in many years and came away with some wonderful successes.  Out of the 22 categories that we entered, we were 1st in 15 of them and 2nd or 3rd in the other seven. We are particularly pleased that Harry Castle, Kris Garfitt, the Chamber Choir and the Jazz Band have been chosen to represent the school at the Worksop Festival Prize Winners' Concert.  This takes place at "The Crossing", Newcastle Street, Worksop on Thursday 30 April.  Tickets are available on the door, priced £4. The Senior Choir was also recently commended on "Songs of Praise" for its success in the annual choir competition.  It was the first time we had entered this prestigious competition - well done to all involved!

Scholars come for tea

Our six scholars at age 11 came into school for a celebration tea with the Headmaster and some of the staff who had been involved in selecting this year's successful applicants out of the wide pool of candidates.  Congratulations to Grace and Ian from Camms Primary School, Daniel and James from Mylnhurst Convent School, and Harry and Lucy from our Preparatory school, Barlborough Hall, who received their scholarships for academic, musical and artistic success.  We will shortly be announcing the winners of scholarships at age 13 and for entry to the Sixth Form.

Chess tuition from a champion

The pupils of Immaculate Conception Primary School, our neighbouring local school, came in to school on Friday for a chess tournament with members of our own Junior Chess team.  The primary pupils have been receiving tuition from some of our Sixth Formers, who have been visiting the school as part of our Arrupe Programme of voluntary service.  There was some extra tuition on hand for the children, from last year's world U11 chess champion, one of our very own pupils, Emma Bentley.