News and Events
Events Archive
Harry Potter Star presents the Jamie Payne-Ross Award
Matthew Lewis, one of the stars of the Harry Potter films (he plays Neville Longbottom) presented the Jamie Payne Ross Award at St. Mary’s on Thursday 1 July. Matthew is a past student of St. Mary’s.
The Award is presented annually at the school in memory of Jamie Payne Ross who died in a tragic accident in December 1993. The Award is for outstanding achievement in sport for a Year 8 boy (12-13 year old) and was presented to the school by Jamie’s mother Colleen and elder brother Adam.
The recipient this year was Edward Hollingsworth, aged 12, from Farsley who has impressed the Faculty Leader for PE and Sport, Mrn Green, with the wide range of his sporting achievements. Mr Green said, “Not only is Edward an outstanding cricketer but we also learned that he had gained a black belt in Karate at 11 years of age whilst rising in the U14 Table Tennis rankings to number two in Yorkshire and to the top 60 nationally. He is such a pleasant and helpful young man and I am delighted he is the recipient of this major award.”
Previous presenters of the Award include Sir Trevor Brooking, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and the Kaiser Chiefs. Mr David Geldart, Assistant Headteacher said, “Matthew has been filming the final Harry Potter recently and has been particularly busy. However he responded by saying it would be an honour and we just had to sort out a date in his busy schedule. Despite his fame Matthew is still a great lad and his feet are firmly on the ground. He always keeps in touch with the school and has been a great supporter of our work in South Africa, The Bambisanani Partnership.”
Matthew Lewis said, “It is a great honour to be asked to present the Jamie Payne Ross Award. Everyone at St. Mary’s knows about this award and indeed Jamie. It is a very special occasion which demonstrates the wonderful sense of community at St. Mary’s.”
During the special ceremony Matthew was presented with the Bambisanani Award for his outstanding support of the school’s work in South Africa with Mnyakanya School.
At the ceremony Year 8 student Mary Morris sang a heartrending version of ‘I’ll Stand by You’
Holy Island Pilgrimage
54 students recently took part in St. Mary’s annual pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to experience the peace and tranquillity found there. The students spent two nights staying at the SVP Camp located next to St Aidan’s Catholic Church. They, and the accompanying staff, were well cared for by the group of kind volunteers who give up much of their own time to staff the camp. Hilda, a volunteer for almost twenty years, celebrated her 70th birthday during the week, and the students were delighted to wish her well on such a special occasion.
The students participated in a wide range of activities including individual reflection, group discussion work, walks around the island, the preparation and celebration of Mass, and a shared barbeque of kippers and pitta bread on the beach as a final community act. Despite this busy schedule, most also found time for a cup of tea and piece of cake in one of the numerous tea rooms on the island! The two days of retreat are designed to provide students with an opportunity to relax following the stressful AS exam period, and also with some space to think and reflect, crucial given the important decisions that will await them in the autumn.
This year the retreat was led for the first time by Dr Hodrien who was joined by Fr John Clark, a Verona Father currently based in Horsforth, and supported by Mr Smickersgill, Miss Webster, Mr Carlisle and Miss Davies. Year 12 student Alice O’Brien said, “While at Holy Island I was able to reconnect my relationship with God through the spiritual tasks we did as a group, and individual tasks too."
Biology Challenge A Success for St. Mary's
Congratulations to a group of Year 10 students at St. Mary’s who achieved great success in The Biology Challenge, a national competition supported by the Society of Biology.
The competition involved students sitting two question papers which, not only covered the GCSE Biology curriculum, but also general biological knowledge which the students had developed through reading books and magazines, watching natural history programmes and taking notice of the news media for items of biological interest. Mrs Rachel Brown, Head of Science explained, ‘The competition was entirely voluntary; the students gave up their lunchtimes to take part and I am extremely pleased and proud of them and their achievements.’ The twelve award winners were: Gold Award; Stephanie McKay, Isabelle Pickles, Ruth Peacock, Charlotte O’Byrne and Dominique Jocelyn. Silver Award; Stephanie Hunter, Aine Donnelly, Rachel O’Shea and Hannah Armitage. Bronze Award; Cait Hanstock, Benedict Hutchinson and Harrison Sweeney.
Year 8 Awards Evening
The Year 8 Awards Evening at St. Mary’s was a wonderful celebration of student achievement. The Awards were presented by Governor, Ms Mavis Regan, and more than 60 students received recognition of their achievements in a range of categories.
Acting Headteacher, Mrs Catherine McMahon said, “It was a delight to see so many eager and smiling faces as our Year 8 students received their awards for academic and sporting achievements and progress, along with leadership and tutor awards. I am sure that all the parents present were really proud of their children’s achievements and the mature way in which they conducted themselves.”
Sam triumphs in English Championships
Congratulations to Sam Hollingdrake-Hughes who won a gold and silver medal in the Tang Soo Do Central England Championships last week. The gold medal was for free fighting and the silver for formation. Sam will take part in the National Championships in October where we wish him the best of luck.
Team Magic!
This week saw Cheerleading teams from all round Leeds take part in the Leeds Cheerleading Finals. This is the first year that a St. Mary's team has taken part in the competition and Team Magic came a fantastic 3rd overall. Congratulations to all the girls involved for such an energetic and creative routine!
1st XV Take the League Title!
St. Mary’s 1st XV rugby team defeated Horsforth school 26-0 to win the Aire Wharfe School's U18 league title.
Team coach Mr Thornton said, “This has been my most enjoyable season as coach of the St. Mary's 1st XV Rugby team for many reasons. They deserve all their success as they have worked hard in training all season and this has been reflected in the number of wins. Every Tuesday night we have had over 20 players training and competing to wear the match shirt. The most pleasing part about the season is the ethos we have created; players who don't make the starting line up never complain they just work hard and support those who are starting the matches. This approach is the biggest part of our success this season as when players have been missing for various reasons we have had enough cover by the dedicated squad members to fill the gaps to a high standard.”
“The team won the league title at the Finals night held at Ilkley RUFC. On a wet evening the whole squad brought their best game to the pitch and treated the crowd to some excellent rugby scoring the try of the season just before half time. 12 separate players were involved in a flowing move ended in fine style by captain Toby Tremlett. St. Mary's scored a total of 4 tries, 2 to Adam Roebuck (wing), 1 Toby Tremlett (2nd row) and 1 for the very influential standoff, Harry Garforth. Three conversions by Ben Lambert ensured the St. Mary's team an impressive 26-0 victory.
The team vote for the player of the season was won by Kieran Lines, for his outstanding pace and brave tackling.
The team completed 15 fixtures during the season winning 10, losing 4 and drawing 1.
A tremendous season which bodes well for 2010-2011. Well done to everyone involved.
Sporting Success
Congratulations to Sixth Form student Bradley Taylor who has recently been promoted by the Football Association from a Level 7 to a Level 6 referee. Bradley has been commended for his refereeing by the West Riding FA who hope to see him gain further promotion next season.
Classical Music Concert Raises Bambisanani Funds
On Monday 29 March St. Mary’s staged its very first all classical music concert in aid of the Bambisanani Partnership which was set up in 2006 between St. Mary’s and Mnyakanya High School in Kwa-Zulu Natal, a very remote and deprived area of South Africa. The event was organised by former student Sally Bridgewater who visited the area in 2009.
Almost all of the performers were talented teenagers from the local area, several of whom attend St. Mary’s, together with pupils from Prince Henry’s Grammar School and Bradford Grammar School. Credit also goes to the army of volunteers who ensured everything ran smoothly, from page turning and ticket sales to refreshments, including hundreds of donated homemade buns.
Despite the grim weather, there was an excellent turn-out at the concert (more chairs had to be added to accommodate the audience) and a brilliant atmosphere. Altogether almost £900 was raised for the Partnership.
Mr Geldart, Assistant Headteacher at St. Mary’s, who began the Partnership was full of praise for Sally and the other students who were responsible for organising the concert.
“A major aim of the Bambisanani Partnership is to develop young leaders both at St. Mary’s and in our partner school in South Africa. This concert was completely organised by students. Sally Bridgewater has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in creating this wonderful concert. More than thirty other students assisted Sally in the organisation and also demonstrated excellent leadership skills. All too often young people get a bad press and this does not reflect what I think is the more accurate picture of young people who are concerned about others and are prepared to make a difference."
Football Champions!
Congratulations to the Year 7 Football team who this week won the SSP Football Final against Benton Park. In a hard-fought game, goals by Olly Shepherd and Iestyn Hayes secured a thoroughly deserved 2-1 victory.
Many congratulations to all the boys and to team coach Mr Harvey!
Cheerleading Success!
In their first ever competition the St. Mary’s Year 7 Cheerleading squad came 3rd in the Leeds East and Leeds North West Cheerleading Competition with a total of 85 points.
The squad has qualified for the Leeds finals taking place in May. The team were one point behind the competitors in 2nd place. This is an excellent achievement considering the team had only 5 weeks to put together a routine and perform it against experienced cheer squads. St. Mary’s scored full marks in the following skills; cheer/chant and jumps. A judge from the Leeds Rhinos dance squad commented on the effective, clear chant and the excellent height of the jumps.
Well done to all the girls!
Outward Bound
Year 8 pupils from St. Mary's recently spent a week in the beautiful setting of Watermillock on Ullswater for an exciting outward bound adventure. Accompanied by staff the pupils were engaged in many exciting activities including 'jog and dip' (into a freezing cold lake!), Mountain Hiking, 'Fix the Fells' (footpath repair) rock climbing, raft building, canoeing and simulated potholing.
Teacher, Mr Dootson said, “The focus was firmly on being responsible for each other and the environment we live in. Pupils were split into groups named after famous Explorers such as Scott Hillary and Shackleton and had to work together during the many team building activities which were undertaken. The pupils were also encouraged to exceed their personal targets.”
As part of the course the pupils showed an awareness of conservation issues and took part in conservation projects. They were presented with a John Muir award - named after the man who created national parks.
St. Mary's through to Leeds School Semi Finals
Woodkirk 2 St. Mary's 3 (aet)
In cold and blustery conditions at Tingley St. Mary's U19 footballers took a well deserved lead in the Leeds Schools Quarter Finals when Jordan Sinnott beat four Woodkirk defenders to cross to Alex Threapleton to score.
Stout defending from Wiley, Tindall, Copsey and McCarthy denied Woodkirk many scoring opportunities but against the run of play the home team scored to bring the game level.
A highly competitive match
Jordan Sinnott was outstanding for St. Mary's and was responsible for their second goal when his near post cross was deflected into the back of the net by a Woodkirk defender.
With the score 1-2 at half-time St. Mary's were having considerable possession with Gareth Parry, Ed Knox, Joe Kitching all have good goal attempts saved.
Again Woodkirk hit St. Mary's on the break with a well taken goal to bring the scores level again. With the score 2-2 at full-time the game went to extra time.
St. Mary's again had good possession and created several chances. Top scorer Gareth Parry eventually gave St. Mary's the lead when he rounded the keeper to score.
At the final whistle St. Mary's were worthy winners in a highly competitive game against strong opposition.
Year 9 Technology Tournament
Last Tuesday, two teams of Year 9 pupils went to the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds to compete in the Year 9 Technology Tournament organised by the Rotary Club. The Tournament was attended by over ten secondary schools from the surrounding area. This year’s task was to design and make a flashing beacon to advertise a charity of their choice. The pupils had to complete a Design Folio and make the flashing beacon from only the materials that they were given, with no intervention from any staff and within the timescales given.
I am delighted to report that St. Mary’s came first! The winning team consisted of Mollie Hudson, Emily Fieldhouse, Tom Hirst and Michael Jones. Special thanks must go to Miss Pickard whose passion for the subject is clearly an inspiration to her students.
St. Mary's is helping to 'Connect Classrooms'
In recent years St. Mary's has gained an excellent reputation for its commitment to international work and developing Global Citizenship. Last summer Mr Geldart, Assistant Headteacher at St. Mary’s, was invited to Kenya by the British Council to help develop a new initiative called ‘Connecting Classrooms’. In recent years the school has developed an outstanding project in South Africa, the Bambisanani Partnership, and the British Council have been keen that other schools can learn from this experience.
The Connecting Classrooms initiative will link schools from 18 sub-Saharan African countries to another African country and a school in the UK. Schools in the UK will link with two African countries.
In Leeds, St. Mary’s will support two other schools to develop such links, Beechwood Primary School and Corpus Christi High School. Working with Jenny Hill from Education Leeds the three Leeds schools and three schools from South Africa and Ghana have written a joint development plan that will literally connect classrooms in all the schools in a range of different ways to develop interesting learning experiences.
The first part of the development was to invite teachers and advisors from both South Africa and Ghana to spend time in each of the Leeds schools. Last week Tony Moodley, Musa Xulu and Ntombi Zwane from South Africa and Paul Appiah, Frederick Kwadwo Asare and Mary Baaretin from Ghana had a wonderful time visiting St. Mary’s, sharing experiences with both staff and pupils. Geography teacher Mr Hooley said, “It was fascinating to have teachers who had experienced Apartheid speak to students; we were captivated by the stories we heard. It was a wonderful learning experience.”
MrSugden Head of Humanities said, “We already have a wonderful partnership with Mnyakanya School in South Africa which we will extend through this initiative and I am excited at the prospect of developing a new link with Sefwi Wiawso Senior High School in Ghana.”
As well as visiting lessons and talking to teachers the African guests also had the opportunity to watch the school production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Mr Tony Moodley, Education Advisor from South Africa said, “St. Mary’s has pioneered some outstanding work in South Africa and we are all keen to learn from that experience. We have had a wonderful time at St. Mary’s and it is clear that there are tremendous benefits in this project for all schools involved.”
Jesus Christ Superstar Shines
The only word to describe this year’s school production of Jesus Christ Superstar which took place in February is sensational! All aspects of the production conspired to create a unique and moving experience. Members of the cast, crew and orchestra worked together as a real company and deserve all the accolades they received. The months of rehearsals certainly paid off as the audiences were thoroughly impressed by the very high standards of acting and singing, not to mention the incredible professionalism of the musicians. The three evening performances will live long in the memories of all involved. Congratulations!
Students impress at St. Mary's Sixth Form Open Evening
St. Mary’s Sixth Form opened its doors to over 500 visitors on Tuesday 26 January. The audience included current Year 11 students, their parents and many other students and parents from local schools. Head Boy Ben Huggon and Head Girl, Olivia Tabel welcomed everyone to the school. Mrs Sayers, Director of Sixth Form, then gave a formal presentation to the packed main hall describing the many opportunities, both academic and extra-curricular, which the school offers its post-16 students. She was keen to emphasise that academic success comes as a result of hard work, some sacrifice and full participation in the many extra-curricular activities offered to the students. Some of the activities mentioned were Skiing in New Hampshire USA, mentoring of the younger pupils at the school, the World Challenge Expedition to Peru in July, and a variety of charity work projects just to name a few.
Students and parents were reminded that the school has great expectations of students and their parents including the need for 100% attendance, the meeting of deadlines and commitment to hard work. The presentation included an invaluable insight into the life of current Sixth Form students given by Kate Dowden and Sam Thomas. All students and parents were then given the opportunity to visit subject departments of their choice to speak with staff and students and to view the work of the departments. As the school welcomes the views of parents and students they were asked to complete an evaluation form for the evening.
Mrs. Sayers was very pleased with the large number of excellent evaluations completed. Comments included, “a very informative and well structured evening – staff and pupils very pleasant and incredibly helpful”. Many visitors made special mention of the ‘happy, welcoming sixth form students’ who were available as guides to the visiting families and on hand for questions in all departments. They were described as “extremely informative and friendly and so approachable and confident – it was easy to ask them questions.” Many evaluations mentioned ‘the stunning A level results of 2009’ which placed St. Mary’s first in the Leeds league table and 7th in the top 200 comprehensive schools in the country.
Any enquiries regarding admission to St. Mary’s Sixth Form should be addressed to Mrs Sayers Director of Sixth Form – please ring 01943 883000
St. Mary's - Premiership in School League Tables!
According to the Performance Tables published last Wednesday, St. Mary’s A Level achievements are once again outstanding, putting the school well ahead of all local schools including the selective, independent schools. The Independent newspaper (14 January 2010) listed the top 200 Comprehensives nationwide, based on A2 average points score per student in which St. Mary's was in the top ten!
Catherine McMahon, Acting Headteacher, stated, “We have been delighted to see St. Mary’s ranked as 7th nationally. This reflects the exceptional performance of our students and staff, not to mention the high levels of support received from parents and Governors. It is also important that the result is seen in context of the exceptional work done on behalf of our Sixth Form students by Mrs Sayers and her Sixth Form team who really go the ‘extra mile’.”
Professor Gerald Pillay impresses St. Mary's students
Students, parents, staff and the special guest Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice-chancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University braved the difficult weather conditions to attend St. Mary’s annual A Level Presentation Evening. The school recorded its best ever A Level results with an average points score of 372 per student (equivalent to 3 A grades) putting the school in the top 25 non-selective schools in the country and students returned to receive not only their A level certificates but also special individual subject and community awards.
Professor Pillay (centre) with Year 13 Prize winners
Professor Pillay presented certificates and the special prizes to individual students but the evening will be remembered for the inspiring and moving speech made by the Professor. Professor Pillay is Britain’s only ethnic minority Vice-chancellor of the only ecumenical university in Europe. He was born in South Africa, grew up in Durban under apartheid and attended a university open only to Indians, where he studied theology. He taught at the University of Durban for nine years, then for nine more years at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. In 1997 he moved to Otago University, New Zealand and then to Liverpool Hope. He captivated the audience telling them, ‘I was blessed by being part of a community that placed a very high regard on education, even the very poor aspired’, and ‘if I hadn’t grown up in South Africa, I wouldn’t be me. There is something about adversity that doesn’t generate only hopelessness’.
Mrs Sayers, Director of Sixth Form said, ‘Over the last 12 months St. Mary’s and Liverpool Hope University have begun a very close partnership and I was delighted when Professor Pillay agreed to attend our annual evening of celebration of our students’ successes. I had heard and read about the Professor and I anticipated that he would inspire our audience. However, his speech was one of the most inspirational I have had the pleasure to listen to. Parents and students expressed their delight at being able to attend such a warm and informative address.’
