For more than four generations, Maltese families have entrusted the education of their children to the Benedictine fathers of Ampleforth College in York, England.
This tradition is set to continue, with the visit to Malta on Wednesday of the college headmaster, Fr Gabriel Everitt, OSB and members of staff, who wish to meet parents looking for a Catholic education for their children in the UK.
The Benedictine community has been active in Ampleforth for over two centuries, and in the 20th century, when Fr Paul Nevill, OSB was headmaster, the school was transformed into the great public school that today coexists with 79 monks in the community.
According to Fr Gabriel, Ampleforth is more than just a school. “An Ampleforth education provides the girls and boys with a spiritual compass for life,” he observes. The students do well academically, excel on the games field, make inspiring music and stretch themselves in many different ways through the enormous variety of activities on offer.
The academic results speak for themselves, with the percentage of A grades at A level going up by 4.4 per cent this year to 51.6 per cent – the college’s best result ever. Of these, 31 per cent obtained the new A* grade (16 per cent of all entries). No fewer than 79.8 per cent of students obtained an A* to B grade.
At GCSE level, the college this year obtained the highest ever percentage of A* grades at 32 per cent, up seven per cent on 2009, and the highest percentage of A* and A grades at 60 per cent. The overall pass rate was also two per cent higher than in 2009.
The headmaster stresses that the Benedictine community is “interested in more than worldly success” since the students receive “an education that goes beyond academic excellence and all their other achievements”.
“The moral principles that the boys and girls develop here act as spiritual bearings to guide them through adult life in an increasingly secular world filled with moral confusion.”
This is in line with the mission of the Benedictine community to help students grow up mature and honourable, inspired by high ideals and capable of leadership so that they may serve others generously, be strong in friendship, and loving and loyal towards their families.
Among the hundreds of former students at Ampleforth are people from a variety of countries all over the world who have followed their Compass of Life and not only gone on to make a success in business, but also in various other professions, including the arts, media, charities and sport.
Sebastian Wade, one former student who is currently teaching leadership to the Abu Dhabi civil service, spent 16 years in the army after reading chemistry at Exeter University and playing international rugby for the Combined Services.
“Ampleforth gave me a head start,” Wade said. “The Benedictine way is a very generous, giving one. It makes you open minded, ready to look for attributes in others, ready to believe that everyone has something to offer – and that allows people to trust you.”
Joy Boro, who hails from Sudan, is studying medicine in Khartoum. She joined Ampleforth sixth form as an Ogden Trust scholar, studying chemistry and biology. She first heard about the school while singing in a madrigal group, and met Ampleforth boys at a choir competition run by BBC Radio 4.
Although coming to Ampleforth was a huge change from her previous school, she took to it at once. “The people were very loving and friendly, always ready to give advice,” she said. “And living with friends, going to mass together, experiencing the whole monastic side of school life brought me closer to people.”
The local contact for Fr Gabriel’s visit is Ronnie Channer who can be reached on 2146 6649, 9953 8381 or [email protected]. Ampleforth College Development Assistant Louise Riley can be reached on 0044 1439 766884, [email protected]; www.college.ampleforth.org.uk