AMPLEFORTH COLLEGE
Our Vision Serve the common good
Open minded
Thoughtful
Whole-hearted ATTENTIVENESS
Proactive
Fulfilled
SP
EC
T
Selfless Responsible Resilient
IN TE G RIT Y
Compassionate
Curious
RE
R WA
Ready to lead
CHILD
D FUING TU YO RE UR
STE
Loving
R FO RE ED U A LU O VA O Y H P HI W DS
Grounded
THE WHOLE PERSON
FIN
Discerning
Balanced Y LIT ITA SP HO
EQU ILIB RIU M
Independent
Well-rounded
Committed
Courageous
A Compass for Life
“ AMPLEFORTH PROVIDES A COMPASS FOR LIFE”
A
mpleforth is moving forward once again. Under reinvigorated and highly experienced leadership the future is bright. We are reclaiming our place as the leading independent Catholic school in the United Kingdom and developing an educational outreach and excellence that will be felt here in North Yorkshire, throughout this country and the world. Our ethos, rooted in Benedictine values and the philosophy of Catholic education, has nourished the College since 1802. Our ethos puts the individual at the centre of everything we do, irrespective of personal faith. Our welcoming community seeks to draw out and nurture each person’s unique talents so that every student flourishes and becomes the best version of themselves. Through this the whole community thrives and we are each made better by interaction with others. We educate the whole person. A full boarding school set in a beautiful Yorkshire valley, Ampleforth has the time and space to offer the breadth of opportunity for each student to discover and develop their interests and strengths and to fulfil their academic potential. They learn how to think independently, developing the confidence to lead, the ability to work well with others, and the humility to serve. Our vision is of a vibrant and challenging school which addresses the future needs of students, provides life-changing experiences and maximises students’ chances of fulfilling their potential at Ampleforth and beyond. We will transform the way in which our teachers teach and our students learn. A programme of independent learning will prepare our students for life beyond the Valley, instilling in them a love of learning which will be lifelong and equipping them with the strength and confidence to cope with life’s ups and downs. This vision recognises the need to prepare students for global challenges and opportunities that will demand high level digital, scientific and linguistic skills, and sophisticated cultural understanding. It emphasises the need for students to acquire the skills of resilience, flexibility and good communication in this fast-changing and increasingly complex world. We will become a more inclusive and diverse school with global social impact. We will appeal to a wider constituency through increased access and a broader international presence. Our bursary programme will increase the number of places for students for whom an Ampleforth education is currently unimaginable. We will foster stronger links and partnerships with maintained schools and community groups within our region by sharing our facilities and expertise in all areas of education and in turn by learning from others. By creating an international family of Ampleforth schools, our staff and students will benefit from the sharing of knowledge, culture and opportunity across the globe. Outreach has long been fundamental to Ampleforth; this will now be extended and deepened in Yorkshire, the UK and beyond. When all its rich ingredients are brought together and experienced by our students today and in years to come, it will provide them with a ‘Compass for Life’. In an atmosphere of trust and friendship, and in a landscape that inspires freedom and joy, we commend this vision to you and invite you to share in this unique educational journey.
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1. Structure of the College Years 7 and 8 With the opening of St Edward’s and St Wilfrid’s in September 2020, Ampleforth now welcomes children from the age of eleven, an exciting new development. Years 7 and 8 have full access to the College’s world-class teaching and facilities whilst living in their own dedicated House with specialist pastoral staff. They are an integral part of the College. St Edward’s and St Wilfrid’s is a home from home where students benefit from a rich and tailored curriculum known as St Laurence’s Certificate. We create a stimulating, caring, and academically challenging learning environment which enables students to discover and enjoy their unique talents and gain essential skills for the next stage of their education. We also provide a rich programme of co-curricular activities designed specifically for these younger students to complement the spiritual and academic ethos of the wider College. Co-education Ampleforth has been successfully co-educational for nearly twenty years. The balance between girls and boys has been 40% to 60% in recent years and over the next five years we aim to increase the number of places we offer girls to reflect society, to approximately 50%. We constantly review our pastoral care, curriculum, co-curriculum and facilities and will, in that process, assess whether we can serve better the interests of girls.
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2. ccess and A bursaries We strive to ensure that our fees are competitive and represent value for money. Nevertheless, we are very conscious of the financial pressures facing many prospective parents; we plan to provide more bursary support and broaden access to the excellent education that we provide. Ampleforth has long prided itself on being able to offer means-tested bursaries to those who need some assistance with the fees and to those for whom such an education would be otherwise unaffordable. The benefit to the wider world these Old Amplefordians have contributed across all walks of life is immeasurable. We will increase bursary support over time using funds from the College’s own finances, through fundraising and from income generated by an international network of schools (see section 4). This will broaden access to the College, helping to fulfil the hopes of those seeking the life-changing experience of an Ampleforth education. We will report on the impact of our bursary programme and invite beneficiaries to tell others about how Ampleforth changed their lives. Our long-term aim is to deliver bursary support that will enable a quarter of all students at Ampleforth to enter the College on a needs-blind basis. Once we have reached our goal we will set a further aim for even greater access.
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3. Key focus areas Making the most of the Valley Ampleforth’s location is a tremendous asset; our exceptional geographical location is a central feature of this strategic plan. One of our key Benedictine values is stewardship; students learn to respect and preserve this precious and inspiring environment while immersing themselves in its beauty. Every student, perhaps unconsciously, absorbs this beautiful landscape, with its space and tranquillity In nearly two and half thousand acres of inspirational North Yorkshire landscape, there is no better place to deliver the rich ingredients of an Ampleforth education. It provides huge scope for personal growth, challenge, excitement, study and reflection. With first-class facilities, including pitches and courts stretching out right across the valley, our students certainly get outside and enjoy their surroundings. We plan to enhance and improve on these opportunities to make the most of the experience of living and working in the Valley and to cultivate even greater environmental awareness and understanding of conservation.
Our Teaching and Learning philosophy Independent Thinking, Learning and Coping (ITLC) In an educational landscape that has become overly focused on examination results and league tables, students are not sufficiently encouraged to think and reason for themselves – a critical skill for life and for success in the workplace. Ampleforth has always been known for teaching independence of mind and we strongly believe that, in a world where everyone carries a limitless online library and encyclopaedia in their smartphones, rote learning is not only dull, but pointless. Education needs to be about learning how to research, evaluate information, and think critically. Ampleforth’s educational approach is now centred on Independent Thinking, Learning and Coping (ITLC). This enhances the skills of students to listen attentively, to talk under pressure, to think on their feet, and to be able to deploy arguments and facts fluently and relevantly. Employers tell us they value these skills and that they seek to employ self-motivated, resilient problem-solvers with flexible, entrepreneurial skills who can communicate well, work effectively in teams, and have a values-driven approach. It is our duty as educators to help students to acquire these skills, to prepare them for the life they will lead at Ampleforth and beyond. With ITLC, all our classrooms will become microcosms of the whole, each a vibrant learning community that is supportive and builds confidence. Rigorous learning of concepts and key facts will remain a fundamental requirement. Having established this base, the role of the teacher is to challenge, to promote and moderate debate, thereby increasing the intellectual confidence and resilience of students. This approach to education is stimulating and enjoyable; it raises attainment levels and encourages life-long learning, not something to be dispensed with at graduation. The Covid lockdown that started in March 2020 provided a challenge to maintain meaningful engagement between teacher and student, and student and student, despite their physical separation. In response, we decided to bring forward a key plank of this vision and developed and deployed our innovative digital learning platform, e-Ampleforth, designed and built on the principles of ITLC. e-Ampleforth has proved so successful that we are exploring how to use it to further help our own students as well as provide outreach to other schools who would benefit. It could also be used as a tool for exporting an Ampleforth education to new parts of the world. The Learning Hub To better enable this new educational approach, we are creating a Learning Hub to be completed by October 2020. This is a new facility under new leadership to support the learning of all students, especially those with learning challenges and overseas students who need help with the English language. The Learning Hub will ensure that all students feel confident, secure and comfortable in the ITLC academic environment.
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Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Design, Maths (STEAM) and Languages Schools need to constantly evolve to equip students with the academic and personal skills that they (and the world) need, entrepreneurial, practical, cultural and linguistic. We will constantly challenge our curriculum to ensure its relevance for the present and the future. To this end, senior and middle leaders will ask questions regularly: can we do things differently to better serve our students and ensure they become happy, healthy and fulfilled adults who actively engage? Can we provide a richer educational experience to enhance learning, raise attainment and enjoyment to ensure improvements in outcomes? We will continue to explore and evaluate alternative assessment systems and remain at the cutting edge of forward-thinking educational debate. STEAM Our focus on independent thinking and learning will make all subjects more stimulating and relevant to students. Without in any way neglecting the important and valuable arts and social sciences subjects, we will raise awareness of the entrepreneurial and practical importance in the modern world of the sciences, technology, engineering, art and design, maths and computer science (STEAM). We have long emphasised the importance of, and enjoyed great strength in, these subjects and are fortunate to have excellent homes for them in the Bamford and Sunley Centres. It is time to raise their profile again with innovative projectbased links with businesses and universities and through targeted scholarships and bursaries. We will also use our extensive alumni network to capitalise on our Old Amplefordians’ passion for and expertise in all subjects in our curriculum. To prepare our students with skills for the jobs of the future and help to meet the need for a more high-tech, digital workforce, we are further developing our computer science and coding educational provision. We are currently creating a dedicated Computer Science and Coding hub where students can push their limits of programming and application development. Ampleforth will become one of the top schools in the UK for Computer Science, Coding and Technology and we plan to foster partnerships with schools who do not have access to such facilities. We will invite them to take part in events and opportunities to inspire many more young people across the region to develop skills in these strategically vital subjects and consider future careers in STEAM. Languages We will do the same with development of learning in languages, ancient and modern. The purpose of studying languages is to better understand the world we live in and the people with whom we share it. More than ever, the world demands global citizens who can truly connect with others and understand cultural sensitivities and norms. Even though the technological revolution has anglicised language worldwide, the ability to speak to others in their own language is the best way to understand and attune to cultural differences. Learning languages promotes greater tolerance, empathy and acceptance of others; particularly important at multicultural Ampleforth given our ethos of respect, hospitality and community. This renewed focus on languages runs alongside our plans to develop a network of schools across the globe (see section 4). Our languages programme will help students to be more outwardlooking, confident, independent and adaptable in an increasingly connected world.
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Pastoral Care and Safeguarding Pastoral care is an integral part of Catholic Education and at the heart of our Benedictine values. The Ampleforth boarding house is a home from home, a positive and caring community where students are supported to enable them to become the best version of themselves. Through our ITLC approach, students will be encouraged to develop an intrinsic motivation to be self-disciplined, to take responsibility, to behave in a caring and supportive way, to contribute to student voice and to serve their community by making the most of leadership opportunities. The students’ pride in Ampleforth, and the mutual trust and respect which exists between them, is exceptional; it is a strong characteristic of the College and a wonderful basis for enhancing an even more positive community life. We pledge to constantly do better to make real, in every social interaction, the lived experience of our Benedictine value of respect. We do not believe in an overly long and outdated list of rules. Nevertheless, to protect and preserve our positive community, we now have a zero-tolerance approach to the ‘red lines’ of persistent bullying, racism, theft, illegal drugs, sexual relations, and regular abuse of alcohol and nicotine. We believe that students only truly learn from their mistakes by coming to the realisation that when they have acted in a negative way, they damage the ethos of the community and the welfare of fellow students. Discussion and reasoning are the tools by which these lessons are best learnt. Overseeing pastoral care is a body of experienced Housemistresses and Housemasters, each supported by a team of Tutors, House Chaplain and Matron. Tutors and Houseparents use sensitive and careful questioning, sometimes using ITLC coaching techniques, to help students feel comfortable talking about their feelings. The aim is for students to own their problems and successes, to become more resilient and self-confident and more in control of their emotions. Well-being is boosted. We are committed to providing training to Houseparents and Tutors to help them provide the right pastoral support for students to thrive. High quality tutoring is an essential ingredient for positive student development. To enhance our pastoral care programme, we plan to create more spaces for students to meet and socialise outside their Houses and to make these vibrant and fun. Safeguarding underpins everything we do to ensure our students have a safe environment in which to live, grow and flourish. The development of the Ampleforth Safeguarding Charter, the appointment of safeguarding experts, and our commitment to continuous improvement means that we have become the exemplar of good practice. With the engagement of all staff we are building an intuitive culture of safeguarding.
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Spiritual Growth The focus of an Ampleforth education on the value of the whole and unique person springs from an invitation to every student and their family to share in a community life of faith. A life shaped by time for prayer and reflection, the sacraments, and strong bonds of friendship is nurtured in every House under the care of the Housemistress or Housemaster with the invaluable support of the monastic House Chaplain. We plan to augment this by developing a team of dedicated lay chaplains. They will work to create opportunities for students to nourish their own faith and to put their personal gifts into action through leadership and service to the College community and to wider society.
Performing Arts and Sport Performing Arts We are proud of the tradition of artistic excellence at the College; Ampleforth has produced numerous distinguished artists, musicians and actors. We will build upon the heritage of our first-class Schola, accomplished orchestra, and wide range of dramatic and artistic activities. ITLC will empower students to find their own artistic voice and inspire them to show initiative. We have already seen this through the creation of SHACLive (the students’ own podcast series) during lockdown and there are plans to broaden the scope of student-led Ampleforth TV and other channels. Creativity and student voice are already burgeoning. To create more performance opportunities for our students in a space big enough to house the whole College as an audience, we plan to build a large new Performing Arts Centre. This will not only have a transformative effect on the Arts at Ampleforth but we will also make it available to North Yorkshire communities. Ryedale is already a centre for culture and we wish to provide another home for artistic excellence at the heart of the district. Sport Ampleforth has produced many distinguished sportspeople, from Lawrence Dallaglio to Clemmie Cooper. The ITLC approach to learning will allow us to raise levels of both enjoyment and competitiveness. Increased use of coaching techniques will help students to be more confident about making their own decisions, deal more effectively with pressure, and learn from success and failure. Ampleforth sportswomen and sportsmen will grow in confidence and become resilient competitors in whatever sport and at whatever level they are participating. To supplement our already excellent sporting facilities, we intend to build a state-of-the-art indoor training centre for cricket which allows all year-round training. North Yorkshire lacks sufficient indoor cricket facilities, so we will open our centre to local clubs and make Ampleforth a transformative hub for the development of cricket. We will lead the way in the development of women’s cricket, both within the College and for the local clubs and teams to whom we make our facilities available. The building of a second astro-turf pitch is desirable, given our plans for girls and boys hockey, and providing greater access to local schools and clubs. The upgrading of the netball courts will be an early priority.
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Leadership, Community and Service Ampleforth develops leadership and fosters an attitude of service. Our Benedictine values and ethos uniquely equip our students to understand community and how to play their part in serving it. The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Ampleforth has been a leader amongst schools, spawning generations of service men and women with truly exceptional examples such as Lt Col Sir David Stirling (founder of the SAS). With its outstanding track record of inculcating first class practical and leadership skills, emphasising personal resilience and initiative, the CCF could fairly claim to have been pioneering ITLC long before the writing of this vision. We will continue to invest in the CCF and provide a range of team-building and leadership challenges, ranging from expeditions to Nepal and Borneo to nights out on the Moors. Our training of College and House Monitors is exemplary. Our ITLC approach will encourage students to be more resilient, flexible team players and leaders, who become more confident decision-makers under pressure. ITLC will reinvigorate Ampleforth’s proud tradition of entrepreneurial spirit and inspire even more student leadership in our clubs, societies and activities. Community and service go hand in hand. There are plenty of wonderful examples of outstanding service by our students to the wider community: tireless fundraising efforts, support for our College charity FACE-FAW, numerous different volunteering schemes providing practical assistance for community projects (SHACWorks, the Friendship Holiday, Alban Roe etc) and assisting the sick and disabled when on the annual College pilgrimage at Lourdes.
Centre for Educational Innovation and Spiritual Fulfilment Ampleforth is a place for contemplation and spiritual growth. Spiritual retreats (provided by the monastic community) have been a part of the experience for as long as the College has existed. As well as retreats for our students, we offer regular retreat opportunities to our parents which explore parenting and managing relationships as well as spiritual support. As countless Catholic and non-Catholic parents as well as friends of Ampleforth can attest, these retreats are open and rewarding experiences. We are planning to extend retreats at Ampleforth from September 2021 to encompass all aspects of professional learning in education and complement the spiritual retreats offered by the Monastery. Ampleforth will open its facilities to extend the hospitality and warmth for which it is famous to welcome teachers, parents and leading educational thinkers to explore new approaches to learning, teaching, pastoral care, ethics, safeguarding and co-curricular ideas. We will become a leading centre for sharing expertise and developing educational innovation for the benefit of students and teachers at Ampleforth and beyond - a retreat centre for educational and spiritual fulfilment.
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4. International Network of schools We aim to establish a small network of Ampleforth schools around the globe. Through this, we will be able to share and exchange knowledge and resources as well as profit from experiencing different cultures. Our students will have the opportunity to benefit from digital cross continental collaboration, as well as spend part of their education in a different country. A wider Ampleforth family will enable our staff to enhance their careers by working in different schools, sharing best practice and broadening their experience. The Ampleforth family of international schools will share the values and ethos of the parent College in Yorkshire. Revenues from international schools will support the College’s programme to increase access through increased bursaries.
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5. The Global Ampleforth Community Ampleforth is blessed with the most supportive alumni, parents and grandparents, current and former. Hospitality is one of our most important Benedictine values and our intention is to reach out to our wider family as often as possible in a variety of stimulating ways. We will extend as much as possible our shared experiences, through sports clubs, masterclasses, social gatherings, educational trips abroad, at Lourdes, Lectio Divina, retreats, coffee after Mass etc. We will strengthen alumni involvement in mentoring and offering careers advice to current students. Hearing the experiences of old Amplefordians is invaluable and inspiring. The extensive Ampleforth College family is an invaluable resource. Just as we endeavour to make our friends in the Ampleforth Society as proud as possible of their College, so we wish to make the most of their ideas, love and enthusiasm. As a recent leaver commented: “Ampleforth isn’t for a few years, it’s for life”.
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6. Relationship with the Monastery The College has been constitutionally separate from the Monastery for a few years - by September 2021 the College will have become financially independent, giving it a comparable structure to most similar schools. This will help both the Abbey and College be more flexible and dynamic institutions, to the benefit of both, while keeping strong the familial bond. The College will celebrate its adherence to Benedictine values and Catholic education and the Abbey Church will remain at the centre of the College’s life.
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7. Compass for Life This educational vision provides a blueprint for Ampleforth’s future. It combines continuity of ethos with forward-thinking initiatives that together will ensure a world class educational experience for our students. At Ampleforth we have always enabled our students to have the warmth to engage, the humility to serve and the empathy to be caring and thoughtful citizens. This plan builds on these traits. In this complex and fast-changing world, in which environmental, economic, technological, and social challenges will be ever-present, it is our mission to give students the mindset to be independent, the attitude to be resilient, the confidence to lead, the humility to serve, the skills to be flexible and the equilibrium to flourish. The commitment of the College’s trustees, senior leadership and teaching staff is to implement year by year, the promises contained within this vision for the benefit of Amplefordians, current and future.
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This vision is unique, authentic and organic. Its ingredients update, deepen and broaden Ampleforth College’s long-held commitment to provide for its students a ‘Compass for Life’.
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Co-educational boarding and day school for ages 11-18
Ampleforth College, York, YO62 4ER 01439 766863 admissions@ampleforth.org.uk
www.ampleforth.org.uk/college