PRESS RELEASE - June 2013

Thomas Reynolds was awarded a citizenship award by Bishop Thomas McMahon at Brentwood Cathedral in recognition of his role as an altar-server.  

Thomas is an altar-server in his local parish and at staff/student Masses every Friday at 8.15 during term-time.  Thomas feels strongly about his faith and says it has provided him with a direction in his life.  

As he says, “If you believe in God you find ways to be better.”  

We believe that Thomas is an excellent example of a young man who puts his faith into practice by serving others and, as a result we nominated him for this award.  

The photograph shows Thomas, with his award, accompanied by Miss Heaphy outside Brentwood Cathedral.  He received his award from Bishop Thomas McMahon alongside pupils also receiving awards from 60 other schools in the diocese; including Thomas’ brother Euan, a pupil at St Alban’s. It was both a moving and inspirational occasion hearing of the fantastic work being carried out by our young people in Catholic schools.

23 May 2013 

Basketball is a sport which has steadily grown in the last 7 Years at Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy. We have been fortunate this Year to have had the opportunity to work with a highly qualified American Basketball coach who was brought over by the Academy to work with our gifted and talented pupils in Year 10 and 11. For two weeks in October the boys were put through their paces with intensive coaching sessions for 4 hours a day and this has helped the young men to have another incredible season.

The Year 11 team, for the fourth Year running, are undefeated in local league fixtures and have won the league and county cup for the fourth Year in a row. They have also competed in the English Schools premier competition and have won every single game. They go into the Final Fours at Nottingham Wildcat Arena on Saturday 18th May for the third straight Year with the opportunity to be the best school in the country at this age group. 

The Year 10 team have also had a good Year, narrowly missing out on winning the local league by 1 point.  In the County Cup they made the final but unfortunately  lost out by a small margin.  All of the Year 10 players were a credit to the school and are working hard in training ready for next Year.

We have had a very productive season overall and have an up and coming Year 8 team who are showing signs of developing into a very strong team and these young men qualified for a Derbyshire areas final and finished in third place.

20 May 2013 - Press Release

Students from Austin Friars St Monica’s School have held their annual Summer Recital at Carlisle Cathedral.

Students from the Senior School took part in the school’s annual Summer Recital which gives individuals the opportunity to perform in the grandeur of the Cathedral.  The evening included musical performances from talented pupils across the school and included a mix of classical and contemporary pieces which were performed in front of a large audience.  

Throughout the evening different groups performed. These included; ‘Some Strings Attached’, the Saxophone Ensemble, the Guitar Ensemble, the Junior and Senior Choir, the Brass Ensemble and the Swing Band.

The evening was introduced by ‘Some Strings Attached, a group of talented musicians from the Senior School, who gave a ‘Salute to Abba’ performance, playing ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Money, Money, Money’ as well as an arrangement of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

The Junior and Senior School Choir performed an enthusiastic rendition of ‘Rhythm of Life’ and the Senior Choir alone took to the stage to sing ‘Close to You’ followed by a brilliant rendition of ‘Moon River’. 

During the evening the audience were treated to three solo performances from A Level students Amy Hill, Will Low and James Leitch. With guitar in hand, Amy sang a beautiful version of Radiohead’s ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, Will performed ‘When the Saints Come Marching In’ on the tenor saxophone and James nearly lifted the Cathedral roof off with his performance of ‘Hymne d’Actions de Grâces’ on the organ. All three are coming towards the end of their Upper Sixth year and the Summer Recital marks the last musical performance of their school careers.  It always brings mixed emotions for the performers. 

Mr Charles Hattrell is the Director of Music at the School and helped to bring everything together. He said: “The Summer Recital brings together pupils and staff from the Senior School in a celebration of music. This concert always marks the end of the musical line for the Upper Sixth students and it adds to the special nature of the occasion. It was a splendid evening with some spectacular musical performances.”

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Notes to editor

Austin Friars St Monica’s School is the independent day school for girls and boys aged 3-18 years in the centre of Carlisle.  The School has a strong reputation in Cumbria and South West Scotland for providing an all-round, high quality education that meets the individual needs of each child.

Academic achievement and strong pastoral care are at the heart of what we do.  Focusing on a traditional form of education, every pupil at Austin Friars St Monica’s is also encouraged to take part fully in the all-round life of the School with an extensive range of extra curricular activities available.

Once again, public examination results have been exceptionally good this summer.  At A level, 61% of grades were either an A or B grade with the overall pass rate once more 100%.  At GCSE, a stunning 50.8% of overall grades were either A* or A with more than a third of students recording an outstanding 8 or more top A* or A grades.  A School record-breaking 97% of students achieved 5 or more A* - C grades.

If you want further information on what we provide, please go to our website at www.austinfriars.cumbria.sch.uk