St Mary’s Catholic High School / 7 May
***Farewell Year 11***
Today we marked the culmination of our Year 11 pupils’ time with us, with their Leavers Day celebrations. Once the morning lessons had finished, the entire of Year 11 departed St. Mary’s for The Annunciation church. Father Adrian presided over the Leavers Mass, with tremendous participation, reverence and singing from Year 11 pupils. At the end of Mass, pupils were presented with a gift from Mrs Dengate; a miraculous medal blessed by Father Adrian. Upon returning to school, Year 11 had one final lunch together before a special presentation assembly. During this assembly, the following awards were presented:
- Outstanding Conduct Award (for those pupils who had gained no negatives throughout Key Stage 4), presented by Miss Hood
- Lifetime Achievement Award (for those pupils who have gained the highest conduct & achievement at each rewarding window), presented by Mrs Fletcher
- Eventus Award (for those pupils who have gained no negatives throughout their time at St. Mary’s), presented by Mr Breedon
- The Legatum Award (for the two pupils who have gained the highest number of housepoints throughout their time at St. Mary’s), presented by Mrs Dengate
Pupils also watched a special video montage of farewell messages from staff across the school (thank you Jasmine, Zofia, Amelia, Laura, Ruby and Lillie for their work making the video) alongside speeches by Mr Frost and Mr Breedon. Pupils also enjoyed reliving their 5 years with us through a special video (the highlight being the Y7 photos!) before heading outside for the St. Mary’s traditional shirt signing.
On Friday there was also a very special game of football. The pupils in Year 11 had asked if they could have a final game on the field, refereed by Mr Bigg. Two teams were formed, with Mr Slater and Mr Stachan managing the black team, and Mr Flinton taking charge of the red team. The game was very well spirited, and it was wonderful to see the majority of Year 11 watching from the spectator zone. Congratulations to Mr Flinton’s red team for their 4-0 victory.
On behalf of Year 11, we wish to thank all of their teachers and form tutors, alongside our support staff from all departments including Learning Support, Admin, Finance, Catering and Caretaking for all the hard work that has gone into supporting Year 11. Finally, a special thank you must be given to Mr Frost (Head of Year 11) and Miss Drury (Head of Key Stage 4) for all of their hard work over the past two years.
As Year 11 leave us today, we wish our pupils every success in their upcoming GCSE exams. For those pupils not returning for Sixth Form, we do hope that they keep in touch with school over the coming years.
As our school hymn goes:
We ask Mother Mary to be with us, as we Live, Love and Learn in the Light of Christ. And St. Mary’s will always be in our hearts, as we Live, Love and Learn in the Light of Christ.