HIGHER EDUCATION DAY – July 2016 Former students were welcomed back to the Sixth Form, to share their experiences and tips with our current Year 12.
Many of our Sixth Form’s first cohort graduated from University in 2016 so our current students were able to benefit from a wealth of knowledge ranging from how to ‘survive’ the IB and applying to university to life after university. An invaluable day for our students.
Year 13 AWARDS EVENING – September 2015
Following on from some of those excellent results during the summer, the Sixth Form paid tribute to our former Year 13 students at a special ceremony in September.
Mr Sara returned to present the IB and BTEC certificates and delivered a touching remark about each individual; the character they brought to the school and what they have achieved personally.
MR TIM SARA – Former Headteacher Retires
Tim Sara retired from St Benedict’s Catholic High School at Easter after 25 years of dedicated service. As a lover of literature, the modest headteacher prefers to see his departure as the end of a chapter more than the end of an era. Whichever way, Tim has been a pivotal character in the school’s gripping story and takes with him a glowing school report.
Photo: Tim & Moira Sara, with children Emily, Madeleine and Peter who all attended St Benedict’s.
When Mr Sara arrived, St Benedict’s had 250 pupils and 22 staff. He leaves the school in the capable hands of over 100 staff, with 683 pupils at the heart of its mission. During his tenure, he steered the school to consecutive ‘Outstanding’ verdicts for both Section 48 and Ofsted inspections. Pupils achieve GCSE results that are consistently above the national average and since the opening of its Sixth Form in 2011, offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma and BTECs, the school now has a reputation that is “world class”.
With Mass at the heart of our thanksgiving to God, it was the most appropriate context for ‘the family’ of St Benedict’s to offer its gratitude and congratulations to Mr Sara for all that he has bought to the Alcester school in South Warwickshire. Staff, pupils, governors, colleagues and school chaplains, both past and present, gathered on the 18th March to celebrate Mass in the company of the Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Scott, Abbot of Douai.
YEAR 11 MASS – March 2015
Although our senior students were absorbed in the serious matter of revising for their GCSE exams, time is always made to reflect on their time, so far, at St Benedict’s.
The gifts of education and faith, the adventures, the achievements, the support network and great friendships; these are all to be celebrated. In March, the Year 11 cohort gathered with their parents and staff for a very special Thanksgiving Mass led by Fr Alex and Deacon Steve.
The ceremony had the student’s stamp all over it, with music, prayers, speeches and a heart touching slideshow presentation, spanning five years, to complement the service.
This landmark represents different things to each individual, be it transition to sixth form, college or work but one what they do have in common; they have been on this incredible journey together.
PHOTO: Outgoing Head Boy Alex Turner and Head Girl Mary Heneghan cut the Class of 2015 Cake
YEAR 13 AWARDS EVENING – September 4th 2014
Our school had the great privilege of welcoming back and recognising the achievements of our pioneering Sixth Formers who received their much deserved International Baccalaureate, IT or BTEC Diploma certificates.
The honour of presenting them went to former Deputy Head, Jim Nallen, whose vision, research and vocation made our Sixth Form a reality. Members of our first two cohorts were joined by parents, staff, governors and guests to reflect on how far the Sixth Form has come in its short life. Notes were compared about their new university and college lives with a recurring theme that St Benedict’s had prepared them well.
Photo: Hannah Hendry (Class of 2014) and Ellie Crossley (Class of 2013) with their IB Diplomas and passports to Oxford University.
50th ANNIVERSARY SCHOOL REUNION – May 5th 2013 The history of St Benedict’s came to life in May 2013, when scores of past pupils and teachers, gathered for a reunion to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary.
Ex-pupils travelled from all corners of our catchment area and as far afield as Brighton, the Isle of Wight and Newcastle; one even flew in from China. Some revellers were at the school when it opened in 1963.
The initiative to call this gathering of the clan came from ex-pupil Martin Ashton who, following a successful reunion in 2012 for the leavers of 1980, thought it would be an excellent idea to extend the invitation across all the year groups. For months, Facebook was on overtime with over a thousand former pupils busily spreading the word.
Some ex-pupils arrived with the same expression they had on their first day at school, nervous of what might await them, but startled faces soon broke into smiles and hugs were exchanged as everyone got reacquainted. The school hall resonated with old stories and sudden outbursts of laughter prompted by the hundreds of photographs that decorated the walls. It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to see just how much the school has changed and expanded over the years. On viewing the modern facilities in the Sixth Form Centre, most of them wished they could come back to their old school.
The success of the evening is down to reunion organiser Martin Ashton, the hard work of Hughie Green, Bernadette Rennie and the PTA committee, plus the mouth-watering skills of our school caterers, Anita Hellyer, Donna Bennett, Sarah Woodward and Michelle Smith, to whom we are extremely grateful.
