St Mary’s College
NEWS
Issue 29 May 2017
Exams are in full swing now and we say good bye to our leavers this month and wish them well on their next step. We are now looking forward to greeting our new intake at our New Student Day which takes place in July here at college.
LUCY GAINS PLACE AT EAST 15
Congratulations to Lucy Yates who has been offered a place at East 15 Acting School. Lucy will be treading the boards on the Acting and Contemporary Theatre course at East 15, which notable alumni includes Stephen Daldry, John McArdle and Elizabeth Henstridge. She had a full day interview, which included performing a classical and a contemporary piece, as well as a piece written by herself. The process required her to think on her feet, as often she would have to take direction, such as turn the contemporary monologue into a musical or song! Lucy found the whole day to be very fun and was her favourite university interview as she was pushed to think outside of the box and she got a glimpse into what it would be like in the real world of acting. Lucy says, “All my teachers at St Mary’s have been so supportive. Recently, producing my devised theatre piece helped me realise I don’t just like the acting side but the whole creative process from conception to the actual production. This is something I’m looking forward to exploring at East 15”.
FRENCH EXCHANGE
MORE ABOUT LANGUAGES HERE
A group of our language students took part in a French exchange visit to Riom in March. They stayed for a week living with French families and soaking up the local culture. Trips included visiting Paris, the cathedral in Clermont-Ferrand and travelling up Puy de Dôme via cable car, a large lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in central France. Other activities involved watching a rugby match, going bowling and learning to cook macaroons. Our students thoroughly enjoyed their time practising their skills in a real environment and learning about the culture of the country. A very enriching experience for all who took part.
TRIBUTE
St Mary’s College came together as a community to remember those affected by the terrible attack in Manchester by holding a one minute silence at 12 noon on 24th May. We also played a poignant acoustic version of Ariana Grande’s ‘One Last Time’, suggested to us by some of our students.
ST MARY’S PINNACLE CHALLENGE-SCAFELL PIKE
MORE ABOUT SPORT HERE
Our BTEC Sport group, who have little mountaineering experience, attempted to climb Scafell Pike on Tuesday 16th May. Scafell is the highest mountain in England, at an elevation of 978 metres (3,209 ft) above sea level and located in the Lake District. Unfortunately, despite best efforts of the group, they had to abandon their attempt over safety concerns due to the inclement weather. For nearly 3 hours the group battled through 50mph winds, horizontal rain, and 30m visibility up to a height of 700m. All sodden, wet through and with the prospect of another 4 hours, it was decided by the guide that it was futile to continue and that no one would reach the summit of Scafell that day. Naturally, the group were gutted, but sometimes the bravest decision is to admit defeat. On the positive side, the group have raised over £520 for Every Action Has Consequences and Macmillan. Anyone still wishing to make a donation can still do so via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stmaryspinnacle.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY SCHOOLS’ ANALYST COMPETITION, REGIONAL HEATS
The RSC district competition took place on Wednesday 26th April at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
MORE ABOUT SCIENCE HERE
The day was aimed to give young A Level Chemistry students a chance to prove their metal in Chemical Analysis and make their way to the national finals. The team of students, William Golding, Nabiha Sheikh and Tahla Nagdee travelled to UCLan to take part in the day. The task set was to be applicable to real life science; basing the three separate stages of the experiment on a simulated ‘suspicious death investigation’. It was the team’s job to carry out analysis to find the concentration of medication the victim had been taking prior to his death. The competition was fierce between the 20 competing schools, and the time constraints made the challenge that little bit harder. It was a great opportunity for the students to get out into the labs and use more advanced equipment in a university setting.
LEAVER’S 2017
Friday 26th May was our final day for our Year 13 students. To mark this occasion students gathered at the end of the day for a Leavers’ Service. It was an opportunity for all the year to gather together with staff, for one last time, as St Mary’s students and celebrate their time here with us. There were also opportunities to take those final group shots at our photo booth, wish each other well and sign up to our Alumni network. Kelvin Rice said, “Our students have been a credit to the College, their families and themselves. I am immensely proud of everything they have achieved, their commitment to our community and their generosity for local and international communities. They are excellent ambassadors for St Mary’s. I wish them all well for their futures”.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to St Mary’s Nursery at Wensley Fold who have been awarded Millie’s Mark by National Day Nurseries Association Association in collaboration with Department for Education and Millie’s Trust. Millie’s Mark is named after Millie Thompson, who tragically died as a result of choking in a nursery in 2012. Her parents Dan and Joanne Thompson have campaigned for all staff to have paediatric first aid training and having Millie’s Mark demonstrates that nurseries have met this. In addition it shows they work hard to keep these crucial skills in the forefront of employees’ minds, so they are competent and can apply paediatric first aid in any situation.
MORE ABOUT OUR NURSERIES HERE Calling former students!
Tracy Ellett, Area Nursery Manager commented, “We are absolutely thrilled to have been awarded Millie’s Mark This is a special achievement and shows how serious we are about ensuring children are safe when they are in our care. I would like to thank everyone who has supported us during this process and we are all very much looking forward to celebrating our success”.
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www.stmarysblackburn.ac.uk e: admissions@stmarysblackburn.ac.uk t: 01254 580464 St Mary’s College, Shear Brow, Blackburn, BB1 8DX