Welcome to our first-ever school blog!

29 Sep 2022

Hi there!

Welcome to our school blog.

Here at St. Mary’s College, our community stands at the heart of all that we do. From the pupils to our colleagues, we are a school built on supporting the bonds that matter.

We are launching our new blog to celebrate life at St. Mary’s and enable members of our community to shine a spotlight on the things that they are passionate about.

To kick off this project, we’ve caught up with
Mr Michael Kennedy, our Principal, for an exclusive Q&A.

Read on to learn more…

01. What do you believe makes St. Mary’s college so special?

St. Mary’s is so special because it has that extended family feel. Pupils, staff, and parents know each other and engage in a personable and genuinely interested way. We encourage each other to lead by example in how we treat others.

Engagement in so many activities beyond lessons enriches the personalities of all and engenders a ‘can do’ culture so that every challenge is not a problem but has a potential solution to be formulated. Everyone is so positive.

02. Your favourite school lunch from the canteen?

Our canteen has a superb selection of hot and cold lunches. If I had to choose, I would say my favourite is the lasagne with salad although too much of it has the side-effect of making me slightly sleepy in the afternoon (‘post-prandial somnolence or torpor’).

As a result, I often choose a ham sandwich and a banana instead!

03. What is something people would be surprised to find out about you?

I do like to get out on my bike: the local area is ideal as it is largely flat and has many quiet country lanes and tracks away from busy traffic.

I also like the challenge of DIY projects. This summer I was whitewashing the walls of my house and constructing some garden gates.

When I can, a good walk over a high fell in the Lake District is exhilarating. All these help me keep relatively fit.

04. What is the best piece of advice you would like to share with the pupils of St. Mary’s?

My advice is to take your opportunities when they present themselves. We encourage pupils to work hard and achieve the best they can in all they do but there are also those infrequent occasions when a rare (or even ‘once in a lifetime’) opportunity can be life-changing.

When these opportunties come along, the skill is in recognising them and then taking them with both hands and making the best. So often, those former pupils who have achieved national success or recognition will cite a lucky break or chance that changed everything and they then ‘went with it’ whole-heartedly.

05. And finally, your most used emoji?

My most used emoji is 👍️ because that is about the only one I know!