Dear parents and carers,
we are now approaching the final week of the half-term and Lent begins on Ash Wednesday next week, when ashes will be distributed to students at Form Time. We had some notable events in the wider curriculum this week with an excellent series of talks to Year 9 regarding the Middle East conflict from “Solutions Not Sides” who gave a balanced perspective that engaged and stimulated our students on Monday. Year 7 greatly enjoyed their “Meet the Employers” careers event on Tuesday and we are grateful to all our visitors.
On Saturday our Year 7 A Team continued their outstanding season with a 6-0 victory against Kirkham GS. The Under-12Bs also won 3-0 so Mr Preston is campaigning hard for the Manager of the Season title! Our hockey teams also performed well this week with the 1st XI defeating Merchant Taylor’s 1-0 and the Under-16s reaching the semi-finals of the North West Hockey Finals.
Our home fixtures tomorrow against Bolton School have been postponed, as the Ridings are a sea of mud, but the away fixtures are still on!
From Monday we have Year 11 Mock MFL Speaking Tests, so please ensure that your sons do their preparation! The Student Council meets on Monday and at lunchtime we have a Junior SVP Sponsored Run, our first fundraiser of Lent this year!
On a strategic note the Governors meet next week to shortlist for the Headteacher vacancy and you will receive an unrelated letter regarding the trusteeship of the College. The Christian Brothers have been planning to withdraw from front line trusteeship for many years, as they have done in Ireland, and will soon transfer our trusteeship to the newly-formed Gaudete Trust. The Congregation were instrumental in setting up this Catholic educational trust, along with other Catholic religious orders. This will have no impact on the education provided for your sons and is simply a technical, legal ,change, as our letter explains.
Our Sierra Leone Immersion Retreat group departs on Monday morning, led by Mr Murray and me. Thank you for your generosity in providing gifts, especially so many football shirts, for our partner schools. We are also very grateful to Tranmere Rovers FC who have provided us with many full kits which will be worn with pride by our host schools. I have delegated my authority next week to Mrs Cubbin and Mr Rumsby, as I have only limited email access during the trip, so please contact my colleagues rather than me from Monday (if you want an answer!).
The traffic in Egerton Road at the end of the school day runs much more smoothly than in the past. When we have the occasional gridlock it is the result of foolish parking by a handful of parents. No-one needs to park so close to the College and buses. Your sons are perfectly capable of walking around the corner! Please ensure that you do not park across neighbours’ drives or on yellow lines and zig zags. There is a safety reason why they are there!
This has been a good half-term and I wish you and your families an enjoyable weekend. I will not be sending a Friday message next week, owing to limited capacity in Freetown!
Yours in Christ,
Simon Duggan
Headmaster
