DfE Feedback December 2020

Feedback on the DfE Announcement published on Friday 27 November Strictly Private & Confidential

FEEDBACK FROM CURRENT PARENTS IN THE SCHOOL Until your message of earlier this evening, we had instead planned to send you a short e mail to say how much we’d enjoyed the St Laurence Ethics Forum yesterday on the Rule of St Benedict & the armed forces. This was a quite outstanding event, with first-rate speakers and presentations, and which reinforced the focus, via school and abbey, of the moral dimension that Ampleforth seeks to imbue in its pupils. This event in turn comes in a week when the Keystone Tutors report poses the question of why Ampleforth pupils have done as well as they have: “…does this reflect the fact that the impact of a school is not necessarily solely correlated to the academic pressure it imposes or subsequent academic success?” I think we have already answered this one.

This makes today’s news from the DoE all the more baffling and galling in equal measure. As we’ve discussed before, we – like you – were new to the valley last year and, after a year’s hindsight, are unequivocal in our appraisal that we did absolutely the right thing in bringing our son here for the sixth form. We have been delighted with every aspect of the school, and our appreciation was only enhanced with the response of the school to Covid in the form of e-Ampleforth.

We are enormously grateful to you, your leadership team and all others at the school for making our son’s first year the very best of his school career and for all you’ve done to reestablish Ampleforth as a school in the top rank. We can genuinely say that if all the schools in the land were

somehow to throw their doors open and offer us a place right now, there isn’t a single one we’d choose over Ampleforth.

Please take this as a reiteration of complete and unwavering support for you and what you’re doing and please count on us as just two of the legion that will undoubtedly be sending you the same sentiments. Please let all of us know of anything we can do in the days ahead.

I am happy my children are being educated there and the proof of that pudding is that I continue to pay the fees for what I believe is an outstanding and safe education for our children. 900 parents and countless grandparents and family members are not irresponsible enough to support any establishment that we feel is in any way putting our children’s well-being at risk.

We pray for a speedy and positive resolution.

Just a quick note to offer my support to you all at Ampleforth for the difficult situation you find yourself in. I know how hard you personally have worked to turn the school around and know, more importantly, how successfully you have done that. I can only think that bias from the past must be clouding the minds and decisions of those who, regardless of any merit they may believe they have in their case, appear to have handled the whole matter poorly.

I sincerely hope that common sense will prevail because I have no doubt that my children are safe, well and happy at Ampleforth.

We will be more than happy to collaborate in any way it might be useful for our Ampleforth family.

I feel very strongly that the school deserves a fair and objective hearing. I can testify, as a parent of Ampleforth since 4 years, that there is a real will to learn from past mistakes and a lot of focus and real change has gone into the school. It was especially evident since the new management, and despite having also to deal with the challenges of COVID. My children are happy, safe and extremely proud to be Amplefordians. I would like to highlight in particular that the pastoral care is exemplary, I have had only positive experiences to tell. And we all know what mischief teenage boys can get up to... it’s always been handled by the school firmly, fairly and with great kindness and respect.

I am very disappointed that instead of getting the full support of the department of education, they seem intent to make the school fail.

My heart goes out to you all at Ampleforth tonight.

I just need you to know that you and all of the community at Ampleforth have my full support.

I feel totally blessed that my boys have had the privilege of an education in the valley. It is not about handfuls of A*’s, it is so much deeper. It is about shaping individuals into young adults who go out into the world with a respect and compassion for their fellow man. I want others to have the same opportunity for years to come. I say this as a nonCatholic, I feel passionately that Ampleforth has been the best decision I have ever made for my boys. I will fight with every fibre of my being to ensure that the school comes out of this stronger than ever before.

What can I do to help? Say the word and I will do everything humanly possible.

Please stay strong. We need to pull together on this.

I send huge thanks for all that you do for the school.

What an awful shock this must have been for all of you there.

We feel so sorry for you, after ALL the excellent work that you and the team have done. IF there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.

Keep up the good fight.

We need to tell you how grateful we are to you and your staff for your hard work and your deep commitment over the past 18 months!

Our children are part of the Amplefordian family since 2013 and it has really changed our lives!

But is especially this last year when we can see the end of this College stage, when we realise how deep is the sense of belonging to Ampleforth College and how proud we all are!

Our children are happy in the College, every day.

They have both learned to respect their elders but also to be respected by them.

They have learned to collaborate in studies and sports.

They have enjoyed with subjects who previously hated.

Here, the children shine.

Teachers and staff of Ampleforth College are responsible for those feelings that changed our hearts! #proudtobeamplefothdian Always in our prayers.

I’m reaching out following yesterday’s baffling news, mainly to show our support to the school and management.

Our children are happy and safe at Ampleforth and we’ve been impressed by the staff’s energy and dedication not only to deal with addressing the difficult circumstances of COVID, making e-Ampleforth a success, but also by continuously addressing points highlighted by various inspections. Please let Ampleforth’s management know that they have all our trust.

Please do let us know if we can help in any way, in what certainly is a very disheartening situation for management but also quite unsettling for the pupils.

My children have been educated at Ampleforth since the age of 3.

The school now is almost unrecognisable from the school we joined. What remains is a sense of family. The children at Ampleforth are kind and respectful to each other and to staff.

What a fresh Team has introduced is a clear set of boundaries. The Team has built upon the moral compass, supporting children to make the right decision and to support them when they do not.

My son struggled this year to settle into his new boarding house. I had weekly phone calls from his Tutor and have had three meetings with his Housemaster and Tutor. His drama teacher met with him for two hours of her own time to help boost his confidence and to support him in excelling in an area he loves. Where else would you get that individualised and holistic care?

I am a Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years of experience, presenting over 250 cases to Court every year. My children would not be at a school I did not believe to be safe.

This is a school that lives by its values. A new culture of openness, excellent communication and Trust is beginning to flourish.

As a psychologist, I know better than many that the best friend of abuse and trauma is secrecy and shame. The children in this school have been openly supported in addressing the mistakes of the past. They have an awareness many children have not been given a chance to learn. Ask any child in our school who they would go to in their hour of need and they would each give you at least three names. Not the Head of Safeguarding (although they certainly know who this is and how to contact them) but their favourite teacher, their Head of House, their Tutor. They crucially know they would be listened to and supported. This is the true definition of Child Protection.

The Team have been working in the last six months to battle COVID19, keeping our staff and children safe, putting the education of our children ahead of their own demands.

Where else in the Country did Tutors and House Staff, Head Boys and Girls post messages highlighting the need for emotional health and support to be prioritised, both in and between term dates? Where else were lessons, both sporting, academic and musical provided every single day?

This school is an example to the World of what a truly holistic education is and can be.

Give our Team time. True cultural change takes more than a year (and a pandemic) to achieve. We are on track. Give our children and staff the chance to consolidate and build on its recent achievements.

If there is anything at all that we can do to help or support, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our son has had nothing less than an excellent experience at Ampleforth and we cannot praise the college enough. The support and mentorship that he has received from his housemaster and the rest of the team at Ampleforth have helped him grow and develop immensely over the past year and a half.

While I am sure that together with the rest of the team you will successfully fight this recent upset, please rest assured of our unequivocal support should it be needed at any point in time.

I do just want to say that I really feel for the Senior Management Team, but most especially for you, given your dedication in staying on beyond your original commitment.

You must be having an extremely fraught and stressful time.

Very happy for you to use our messages of support.

With three sons who have spent five enormously happy and successful years at Ampleforth and one son still there, as parents, we could not be more pleased with the choice we made 10 years ago. We would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending the school to future prospective parents.

Good luck - we are 110% behind you. Let us know is there is anything else we can do to help.

Thank you for sharing the news so promptly yesterday. It of course came as quite a shock to us as indeed it will have done to all other parents and those in the wider Ampleforth community.

We just wanted you to know that we are 100% behind you and your team and will do anything we can to help you if required as indeed will our other three sons who are all OAs.

You are very much in our thoughts and, as already said, you have our full support.

It is truly shocking and upsetting that this agenda against Ampleforth is still being played out. I hope and I pray that your legal challenge and appeal are successful.

It was encouraging to hear you have been receiving messages of support. There are many of us to whom Ampleforth is so much more than just an outstanding school.

There is something I’d like to share with you both. Our daughter has been asked to provide Liverpool University with a new piece of artwork, as part of her application to study Architecture there.

The brief was to draw an interior space that had special meaning to her. She chose to draw the inside of the Abbey Church, a place she loves and a place that has been so formative for her these last years, moulding her into the wonderful girl she is.

That she should have chosen the Abbey Church at this time, as a place that has special meaning to her, says more to me about what Ampleforth has done for her than anything else.

As her father and as an old boy of this great school, her drawing brought a tear to my eye... just as entering the Abbey again did for my late father and OA, Tom, the last time I took him in there two years ago.

There are those who seek to bring this school to its knees and more, but they simply do not know Ampleforth... they do not “get it”. There is no denying the sins of the past, and they have brought great sadness and shame to all of us. But this is not the past, this is the present, and our Izzy would not want to be anywhere else, and as her parents we would not want her anywhere else.

Ampleforth College must survive this. It must have a future.

Just as I shared my father’s experiences and Izzy has shared mine, I hope one day to see her children follow in her footsteps too.

Thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes.

We would like to express how shocked and saddened we are over the DofE’s publication and actions.

As new parents to the school, we can only strongly commend and recommend every aspect of what the school has to offer!

Our daughter settled in, within what seemed like minutes of her arrival in September, and hasn’t stopped raving about how happy, how homely and how motivated and supported she feels there.

She is many miles away from home and we have not once felt concerned in anyway about the standard of care, safeguarding or ability of the staff.

You have our upmost support and please let us know if there’s anything at all we can do to help.

I will keep you all very much in my prayers. God bless and God willing.

Our paths have not crossed a great deal, but we wanted to write to express our shock – and astonishment – at the recent D of E notice, and our support for you and your team.

Our twin daughters have been day girls at the College for three years. They are so very happy, and we regard the pastoral support (as well as the academic support) they are receiving, as second to none, particularly since your leadership began. The references in the D of E letter bear no resemblance to the school they love.

We are so grateful for all that Ampleforth has done, and continues to do, for Harriet and Ruby. Thank you.

We have now read about the DfE decision, so no need to reply to our request. Please feel assured that we regard the DfE deliberations as seriously flawed; our impression of your

staff, concepts and procedures is absolutely marvellous and we are happy to know our daughter in your college and care.

We are confident that everything will turn out well in the end.

Best regards, keep on your good work!

I hope you well and your family. I am strongly supporting to our school.

I firmly believed that Ampleforth provides students with high-quality education and a good quality of boarding life, beautiful valley and excellent teachers all I can feel in my heart. We fully support school was doing as well. I am definitely to believe that Ampleforth is extremely excellent school in UK.

As new parents we have been bowled over by the positive influence Ampleforth has had on our son (lower sixth) less than a term in. We just wish we had found Ampleforth sooner! We are therefore devastated by the disruption, demoralisation and destabilising influence an enforcement notice like this will have on all involved with the school.

When we came to see you with our son, a little over a year ago , we were worried about the past and the stability of the

school but after reading the ISI report early this year we were satisfied that you had managed to put all this behind you.

So we were shocked at yesterday’s announcement and have absolutely no doubt that this would appear to be some kind of a vendetta against the school whereby it is not allowed to be forgiven for its past errors.

We just wanted to let you know, that you have our full support and we are confident you are the right person to be taking this fight all the way, on behalf of all those whose lives are affected by this.

Our daughter has made a great start, we are very happy with the school we completely support the school Keep up the good work.

We too are very shocked and saddened to hear this news.

We thought the school was now past this obstacle and thought the school had passed the last hurdle.

We are very keen to do whatever we can to support you, the staff and the school, as are both my children. Both are very happy at the school, as are all their friends and we can all see how much of a positive influence you have had.

Thank you for your email of yesterday evening and I am very sorry and shocked to hear of the DfE’s action against Ampleforth College, most especially because the school passed the ISI compliance inspection in February.

Hopefully, as you say, this unexpected action has been prompted by a misunderstanding by the DfE and can be put right soon. But I do hope that if need be, the ISI will join with Ampleforth in challenging the DfE’s contradiction of the ISI standard in relation to the school.

I know I speak with fellow-parents when I say that you have my full support as Head. I am sure, of anyone, you have the professional experience and educational managerial ability to steer the school through this new difficulty and on to pastures new. I hope you will not lose heart in that endeavour, challenging and frustrating as it has been and continues to be for you, I’m sure. Ampleforth is today a good school, in a sublime setting and has great kids. It is worth defending.

Our daughter is overjoyed to be back at school this term and thank you to all the school staff for what they have done for the pupils in these difficult times. Activities organised in House, by the boarding staff, have been particularly appreciated.

I just wanted to send a quick line to say how much we are thinking of you and Dr Pomroy and all your team. This is shocking and horrible news and it feels horrendously unfair after all the wonderful work and constructive changes you have made at Ampleforth. From the parents’ perspective the children and the whole school are thriving in spite of the Covid restrictions. If there is anything that parents can do to assist the appeal process in terms of letters etc. please let us know.

We can only imagine how disappointed you all are at the college, particularly after all the hard work you have put in to make improvements, which are clearly visible for all to see and must have been evident to the inspectors when they visited the school earlier this year. I have this morning read the 2020 inspectors report and cannot fathom why the DofE letter was published yesterday.

As parents of 2 children at the school in Years 12 and 10, with hopefully a third one joining Year 9 in September 2021, we can only praise you and your team for your efforts. As overseas parents, we have absolutely no concerns over the wellbeing of our children whilst they have been at the college. Naturally, this year we have only managed to visit the valley once due to travel restrictions but knowing that our children are at Ampleforth has been reassuring for us, knowing the care the school gives to its students.

Unlike many parents, we don’t have a long standing history with the school, so we chose to send our children to Ampleforth without any bias in mind. On our first visit, it was clear that the school was different to others we had visited.

Firstly, it met our main requirement that the majority of students were full time boarders and the school didn’t empty at the weekends. The main attractions though was the friendliness and rounded personalities of the students that stood out by a mile. The house system was also a key attraction.

The vision and leadership you have shown since your arrival has only confirmed our decision to choose Ampleforth was the right thing to do. We do believe the college needed this change and we can only thank you and your staff for what you have done and continue to do whilst keeping the key values of the college at the forefront.

You have our full support in tackling this difficult period and if there anything we can do to help in any way at all, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We just wanted to extend (I’m sure along with many others) our support for all that you are dealing with. It seems very unjust and some might say calculated to torpedo any recovery plan that was underway following the successful inspection and the very impressive response to the challenges of Covid.

We would like to write to our local MP, Gavin Williamson and anyone else who might be needed in order to bring some pressure to bear so that the school might be treated fairly and the apparent injustice of publishing this letter before the appeals process is complete.

We have every confidence that Ampleforth will overcome this challenge as it has so many in the past.

I just wanted to thank you and the staff for all you have done in these unprecedented times. As a teacher myself, I understand the difficulties Covid has brought, in addition to the everyday pressures already faced by schools, and the DfE has a total lack of understanding. I know that you and the staff put the children first in everything you do and my children have had wonderful experiences that will last a lifetime. I just wanted to offer my support and thanks at this very difficult time for you and all of the staff and I am sure many parents feel as I do.

Thank you for your email. As parents, is there anything we can do to help with this nonsense?

Our daughter has thrived in sixth form at Ampleforth, she is a happy and confident girl with lovely friends and a clear view of her future, entirely different to the girl who left Shrewsbury, and we are both so pleased she moved to Ampleforth. Please be assured you have our full support.

My connection with Shac is strong and close ‌ which makes us regular visitors to the Abbey & College. Therefore, I'm extraordinarily familiar with both the troubles and enormous changes that have flowed therefrom, during the past twentyodd years.

You have made a gigantic difference to Ampleforth and I thank you for that.

I'd like to close by thanking you enormously for all your efforts and the many beneficial changes since your appointment. Good luck with all your future efforts. I hope to meet you one day.

This is obviously shocking and awful news. Our son is so very happy at Ampleforth and we know he is receiving care of the highest standard.

Please know that you, the leadership team and the staff have our absolute support and do let us know if there is anything, however small, we can do to help.

I’m reaching out following yesterday’s baffling news, mainly to show our support to the school and management.

Our children are happy and safe at Ampleforth and we’ve been impressed by the staff’s energy and dedication not only to deal with addressing the difficult circumstances of COVID, making e-Ampleforth a success, but also by continuously addressing points highlighted by various inspections. Please let Ampleforth’s management know that they have all our trust.

Please do let us know if we can help in any way, in what certainly is a very disheartening situation for management but also quite unsettling for the pupils.

What an awful shock this must have been for all of you there.

We feel so sorry for you, after ALL the excellent work that you and the team have done. IF there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.

We are completely shocked and saddened by this news.

All the hard work you and your team have put in seems to have been completely ignored.

Have these people actually spoken to our children or to any parents?

Have you contacted the local MP? The college must inject an enormous amount of revenue into the local economy.

I will help in any way I can, I am completely at your service until we are through this storm, please just ask. Is there a parents’ action committee?

Your team, the children, the Monks and the parents all need to pull together in one direction, the long term future of the College.

You have our full support during these trying times.

I am horrified at this decision and the difficulties it presents for the College and would like to understand it more.

It does seem discriminatory and I am struggling to work out where in a broader sense this might stem from.

Thank you for your email, needless to say you and the school have my full support and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Thank you for sharing the news so promptly yesterday. It of course came as quite a shock to us as indeed it will have done to all other parents and those in the wider Ampleforth community.

We just wanted you to know that we are 100% behind you and your team and will do anything we can to help you if required as indeed will our other three sons who are all OAs. You will have your hands full with nervous current parents, concerned future parents and of course worried staff. You are very much in our thoughts and, as already said, you have our full support.

We are writing to you to offer our wholehearted support for all you have done to put the school back on course.

I read the enforcement letter from the Department of Education and was struck by the contradictions and inconsistencies in the argument against the school. Whilst acknowledging the progress that has been made the sudden reversion to the past failures made no sense.

We wish you and all those who work so hard at the school, success in appealing this unjust ruling.

This is very disappointing especially after all the efforts made to reposition the College under new management.

Let us know if we can be of any support.

We learned late last night about the unbelievable actions of the state secretary. Hard to understand from a factual point of view.

We are speechless and sad. I wanted to send a note of warm and strong encouragement and support to the leadership team. The way Ampleforth looked after [name] (and Father Ambrose supported him to overcome the death of his mother) and provided growth opportunities & educated our twins was far beyond what we expected and could hope for.

We feel a very deep connection to the school and its leadership team. The changes that you, Mr. Dyer initiated, were exemplary. Not to be understood at all that these steps seem not to have been honoured at all. It is a very special place providing children with something more and more precious: values, a compass for life and a vision how we should deal with each other.

Ampleforth is non-selective. That is why I would like to mention the highest level of support to achieve academic excellence. I would like to particularly mention Francis Goodburn and the way he supported our twins in math. It is a particular strength that those academically a bit more skilled

receive highest quality education to excel and fully live up to their potential – while learning to support their fellows.

I am also deeply shocked and dismayed, it is rubbish and you and all your incredibly hard working teams have our support 100%.

Our 4 children have thrived and blossomed, and the two there continue to do so, in the nurturing and caring environment of Ampleforth.

It is disgraceful to have this unjustified slur on the supreme efforts made by Ampleforth. It feels like a witch hunt and we have complete confidence in the whole of the Ampleforth Community Anything we can do please let us know, I reiterate that you have our total support.

My heart goes out to you all at Ampleforth tonight.

I just need you to know that you and all of the community at Ampleforth have my full support.

I feel totally blessed that my boys have had the privilege of an education in the valley. It is not about handfuls of A*’s, it is so much deeper. It is about shaping individuals into young adults who go out into the world with a respect and

compassion for their fellow man. I want others to have the same opportunity for years to come. I say this as a non Catholic, I feel passionately that Ampleforth has been the best decision I have ever made for my boys. I will fight with every fibre of my being to ensure that the school comes out of this stronger than ever before.

What can I do to help? Say the word and I will do everything humanly possible.

Please stay strong. We need to pull together on this.

I send huge thanks for all that you do for the school.

It seems absolutely extraordinary for D of E to take this route it seems a badly thought through and careless decision. We are dismayed and stand four square with the college, you and the staff. If we can help in any way then we will.

In the meantime courage and fortitude and from us a very personal thanks for looking after our son so well, giving him the confidence and happiness to be who he really is. We could ask for no more.

This seems such hard news take & comprehend. It is clear to see all efforts the school has put in place to meet safeguarding requirements. This is also evidenced in our son’s regard for the school.

Please be understood that our full support is with you & the school.

We wanted to let you know how shocked and amazed we were today to hear the news from the DfE. We would like to take this opportunity to let you know that Ampleforth college has our full confidence and support as far as safeguarding is concerned. We feel that the way the school has worked towards improving this, both before and even more so after your arrival, has been outstanding and we feel that we couldn’t find a happier, safer, healthier place to educate our children.

If we can help in any way whatsoever, please count on our support.

Thank you for letting us know about the announcement today; we were unaware of this and to be very honest, we are absolutely shocked and dismayed by this announcement.

Since our son arrived in September 2019, we have been overwhelmed by the change in the college and now we see our son thriving as an independent young man and living and loving life at Ampleforth.

We have seen the college go from strength to strength and we are very happy with how our son feels whilst living within St. Hugh's. His thirst for academical knowledge has us speechless at times and the conversation we have with him is unbelievable; this we put down to his great teachers and the holistic environment that he thrives in (and as you may know, our son lives to talk!).

If there is anything that we can do as parents to support the appeal, please do let us know.

Let me know if there is anything at all I might be able to do to help.

We are staunch supporters of the school and admire everything about it.

Happy to say so on the evening news!

You have often talked about integrity and resilience.

We know that Ampleforth has that in bucketfuls - and you have been a huge part in bringing those qualities to the fore.

We will play whatever part we can in ensuring that the Ampleforth we know, love and trust is represented fairly.

We too are utterly shocked and saddened by this news.

The hard work, dynamism and energy that you and all your staff have put into Ampleforth over the last year is exceptional. Our children are both incredibly happy and proud to be at Ampleforth and there is no other school they would rather be at. Gavin Lynch-Frahill is doing a fantastic job at Thomas’ as far as we are concerned. There is no hierarchy in the house and I love the fact that he has friends in every year in his house. Not many schools can claim that. Our daughter too is incredibly happy in St Margaret’s under Gabrielle’s thoughtful guidance and we appreciate her continual support and warmth. Iona is much looking forward to joining them both.

Tim and I offer our full support to you and your staff and if there is anything we can do, please let us know.

This is really terrible news. We are sorry to receive it, as I am sure is everyone at Ampleforth.

From our perspective, we think the school has done a superb job over this year in exceptionally challenging circumstances.

Your success at shielding everyone from Covid is just one example your competence at safe-guarding and how far the school has come in the last year.

If there is anything that we do to help, please let us know.

It sounds terrible and frightening, could you please kindly better explain what it is going on?

Personally, Ampleforth is my best investment ever and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful.

Our son is super happy, feels totally at home there, always speaks very highly about the teachers, the staff and about his life at Ampleforth.

He is making huge improvements both academically and socially. What else could we ask for?

We also have always got great support from you throughout these extremely difficult times and are very thankful.

Please kindly let me know if there is anything that I can do and keep me posted.

We wished to reply to your email to assure you that you and the College retain our complete confidence. We are incensed that this has happened after all the hard work which you and so many others have put in.

Our daughter has been happy and secure over the last three years and we cannot imagine a safer environment for her anywhere.

We intend to make our feelings known to our MP and to the Secretary of State and hope that every other person who shares our love of Ampleforth will do likewise.

I just wanted to send you and Ampleforth the full support of our family at this time. You are amazing and have provided the leadership and confidence that the school is needing.

We were shocked to hear the news about the report.

If we, as a parent body, can do anything to help please do let us know as we would be very keen to actively show our complete support of your SLT and teaching staff.

This is so very sad and incredibly wrong, our children could not be in a better school.

If there is any support I can give or anyway in which I can be of help please let me know.

I hope that it is some comfort to know that you have our full and unwavering support. Quite simply, you are doing a fabulous job.

It was with some shock and surprise that we received your email this evening.

Rest assured that we are strongly of the opinion that Ampleforth is in most capable hands and that we are 100% behind the work that you and your team are doing.

I'm a newbie at Ampleforth, with my daughter having only joined the school this term, but I have been tremendously impressed by all aspects of the school, and haven't known my daughter as happy, integrated and well-cared for as she is at present at Ampleforth.

If there is anything we humble parents can do to help, please let me know. In the meantime, I repeat that you and all your leadership team together with the Trustees have my absolute and unreserved support.

I have just read your email. If I am shocked and distressed by it, it can only be a fraction of what you and your team are experiencing at the moment.

Our daughter joined in the school in September (St Aidan’s, Lower Six), after a slightly bumpy few years. She has already flourished more than I could ever have hoped she would, even after less than a term at the school. She has made good friends and has been looked after just as well as she would have been by me at home. I now have some degree of experience to draw on (having had my son board at Eton for five years), and I can quite honestly say that I have no concerns at all about having a full boarder daughter at Ampleforth. Quite the reverse: Her self-esteem has already come on in leaps and bounds, and her academic confidence has grown along with her social confidence. I consulted several other parents before choosing the school, and their very positive views (particularly of the pastoral side of the school) have been borne out by her experiences (and mine by proxy).

I very much hope that you will all be able to put this behind you as speedily as possible, and wholeheartedly support you in all you are doing.

We are thinking of you all.

Thanks for all your hard work

We feel for you and all the Ampleforth community and would like to acknowledge our support for all you have done and are doing. Our two boys have been safe, happy and have thrived while at the College, as has their life in faith thanks to the Benedictines.

Our prayers are with you all.

Shocked and saddened to read the DfE letter.

Now seems an appropriate time to say that as new parents, we have been very happy indeed with our child’s experience at Ampleforth this first term - academically and pastorally.

And to thank you for ensuring the provision of as close to 'normal' an education as is possible in these abnormal times.

I have faith that the appeal will be successful.

We know the efforts being put by yourself and your team in turning around the situation. We know how great the school is. We are very saddened by this news.

If we can do anything, let us know.

We share your feelings and surprise regarding the Department of Education's action today. As parents of one current and several former Ampleforth students, we attest to the very sound and impressive standing of the College nowadays.

We fully support the SLET's expected appeal and other decisions and stand ready to display are strongest backing to your leadership in this very serious matter.

This is obviously shocking and awful news. Our son is so very happy at Ampleforth and we know he is receiving care of the highest standard.

Please know that you, the leadership team and the staff have our absolute support and do let us know if there is anything, however small, we can do to help.

I wanted to immediately say what a terrible injustice this is.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if there is ANYTHING we can do to support.

I cannot think of a safer, happier environment than Ampleforth for our son.

No need to reply to this and I am sorry your energies are having to go into this rather than continuing to make the school such a great place.

With all possible best wishes and thanks

It has been so very apparent that you and your senior team have been doing amazing and sterling work to improve all aspects of the College and its operations. And the fruits of that work are so clearly in evidence to both of us, as Ampleforth parents.

Just to say – our prayers and well wishes are with you and your excellent senior team

We are stunned! You have done so much for the College we find this hard to believe. We just wanted you to know that you and your team of course have our support and prayers too!

No need to reply – you have much on your plate right now.

We are totally shocked and surprised by this erroneous and unwelcome intervention.

This runs totally contrary to our experience since your appointment.

Is there anything as parents we can do to support the College?

Please be assured that we stand strongly with you and do not hesitate to reach out if you need our support in any way.

Ampleforth must fought for.

Please be aware of our continued support and confidence in both you and your team.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do as parents.

You are all in our prayers and please receive our most heartfelt support and enormous gratitude towards the school and all the Ampleforth community. The school will go through this and be the beacon of light that it is destined to.

I send you all my support, and I know that always you and Ampleforth team will make your best with the education of my daughter!

Very shocked to see this. If we can help in any way, please let us know.

Shocking indeed. Praying that the College is released from this and soon!

I stand for justice and equal rights and I am happy to support you in any possible way.

I heard the news from the DfE last night so I just wanted to say that if I can be of any help or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I know that you have challenged the inspection outcomes but this seems particularly bruising after all the process changes you’ve implemented.

Take care and please be assured of my support for you and your team

I have just talked to my son about this in and he is also amazed by the negative media coverage about his School, and feels it is unjustified and absurd.

I am the parent of a child who receives a bursary to enable him to go to school at Ampleforth, and whom received this from the College because they saw potential in him, in full knowledge that he had learning needs. I know Ampleforth as a deeply humane and charitable school who has given my son, who was continually placed in detention in the state system for his ’slowness’, a new experience of support, dignity, and respect. He is now proving that he was a passionate and bright boy all along, and I hope will make the College proud of its decision to support him.

The DoE decision to restrict Ampleforth on grounds of ‘safeguarding’ is an extraordinary misrepresentation of the actual ethics of care and respect which we see throughout the school.

I have read the small amount of information published by the D of E and it does seem to be unreasonable at best and at worst unjust. I am only writing to let you know that you have my full support, and in my opinion you have achieved much in a very short space of time and that you seem to have a highly motivated and dedicated staff supporting you.

With prayers for you and the school community

What is more, I think the pastoral care they both receive is excellent.

We are fully supportive of you so best of luck with the appeal process.

We too are utterly shocked and saddened by this news.

Your calm and pragmatic handling of the DofE's recent and shocking decision exemplifies all that 2020 Ampleforth College is about. It's why we love it and why we are all very safe in your collective hands.

I just want to say thank you to you and your Team for all you are doing on behalf of Ampleforth. I have confidence and faith that we will get through this.

Thank you for all you are doing; must have been quite a few days and I am sure the next few weeks will be stressful and exhausting for you but we are right behind you.

Well done all. As ever do let us know if/when we can help.

Onwards and upwards.

Great meeting this evening. I appreciated the school’s frankness and honesty. The strategy sounds very sensible and

I wish you absolutely all the best and hope that DFE engage as hoped.

Keeping Ampleforth and the team in thoughts and prayers.

Thank you for communicating with parents and the wider Ampleforth community tonight on Teams. We share your shock and dismay at the decision of the Department for Education. Our children could not be happier at Ampleforth, and we have every confidence in your leadership on this issue.

My three nieces have attended the College (and prep) and I wanted to write and offer my support to you and everyone at Ampleforth College. I can only express sympathy and confusion at what has recently happened (and been allowed to play out in such a public arena).

I have watched each of my nieces thrive and excel as they have moved through the excellent educational, pastoral and spiritual experience that Ampleforth College provides. I have been heartened this weekend and today to see the support for Ampleforth College on social media and in the press after Friday’s shock announcement.

I know that that Ampleforth College has had problems in the past which were truly dreadful and no one is an apologist for

the any of the individuals concerned or their behaviour. The changes I have seen since you became Head have been wonderful and I look forward to seeing the school overcome the current difficulties so it can continue on its upwards trajectory.

Know that you have been working tirelessly to turn things around and you have been doing a great job. I am full of admiration for your commitment to your school and wish you all the best with your appeal. We have all had to dig deep since March and I hope that you can find the inner reserves to keep going. Is it any wonder that there is a leadership recruitment crisis?

If I can support you in any way.

I would hereby like to state once again that we have nothing but praise for the way that the College has supported our son on this academic and personal journey.

I wanted to add that you and the school have our support in these challenging circumstances and thank you for the great work that you have done at the school since you arrived.

It was with great horror & outrage that we received your email.

From a school that has been the best school any of our children have attended (we have 4), we were completely appalled for you all, knowing how much time & effort you have all been putting into addressing the historical situation.

We, if we had more children to school educate, would not hesitate to signing them up now. We only wish our daughter had been at Ampleforth on reflection from the age of 13 & all our other children would have also benefitted in hindsight from the wonderful caring & enriching environment that Ampleforth is.

We will do absolutely anything we can to help but in the meantime are cheering you all on from the sidelines.

We have great faith that this will all blow over.

In regards to the terrible news and the appeal please could you inform me of anything we can do to help.

I hope this email is reaching the right people.

I am so worried, my son is autistic and it will destroy him to lose this school, he is so happy and we are so blessed to have him under the care of such amazing staff.

As new parents we have been incredibly impressed with the school. Our son seems to have really settled into life in the valley and is very happy. Following the recent parent teacher meeting it also sounds like he is making reasonable progress in class and is getting used to independent learning.

Good luck in the coming days in your ongoing battle with the authorities and for the rest of term.

When we moved our son in sixth form it was not just for academic reasons but also pastoral. We considered moving him in Lower 5 but decided not to do so to minimise disruption, a decision we have regretted ever since.

Ampleforth has provided the environment that has enabled him to thrive both academically and spiritually. It is the one school where he has, at last, made peace with the fact he has a severely disabled sister. I am not a catholic myself but have felt so welcomed into the school (Covid allowing) at all times I have visited. It is not easy having a disabled member of the family not because of her but because of the reaction of others and being a teenager dealing with it must be almost impossible. As a mother I am probably quite harsh in my expectations of my other children which the girls have coped with but a boy is more sensitive to comments and having a supportive environment becomes essential. I think it is this sense of acceptance and focus on the development of the whole being which Ampleforth embodies and which we have

not found in any other school to the same extent that has allowed us to arrive at this place.

I feel so strongly that what you provide must be allowed to continue.

Let me know if there is anything at all I might be able to do to help.

We are staunch supporters of the school and admire everything about it.

Happy to say so on the evening news!

It is ironic that our son, for whom pastoral care was entirely absent at his last school, has found a genuine sense of self worth and through that a work ethic. Entirely owing to Ampleforth and to St Thomas’s. Whatever happens in exams, and indications there are more favourable than we had thought possible, he looks likely to go on to become the best and happiest possible version of himself. That, surely, is the very best that one might hope for from a school.

Deeply unfair, therefore, that an absence of care appears to be the basis of these odious charges.

My husband and I would like to offer our full support to the school.

Our son finished this year with excellent exam results and is experiencing a good start to university. This is after experiencing, the wonderful nurturing environment, that Ampleforth provided him with.

We have every intention of sending our daughter to Ampleforth in September 2021, to enable her to have the same outstanding experience her brother had.

During the time he was at the collage, we regularly attended mass and sporting events at the weekends and experienced first hand, what an incredible place Ampleforth is.

The holistic approach to educating the students in its care is remarkable.

We were very sad to receive the email on Friday from Robin Dyer regarding the action taken by the DfE. It appears bitterly unfair given the enormous changes that the school has made in the last 18 months and the efforts made by all staff since the first failed inspection. We have been very happy with the changes made in the last year by the new leadership team at the school and we were speaking to Robin last week about the prospect of our daughter joining year 9 in September 2022.

The care and actions of you and a small number of other long standing members of staff have had a profound impact on our children. I will always be very grateful for all you have done for them.

Thank you for your wholehearted commitment to the school and its students during these very difficult years.

The atmosphere at Ampleforth shows that it is extremely well run. The pupils are enjoying it and the academic results are on the up. What else could we possibly want?

When you were forced to close just before the last Easter break, the leadership team organised a fantastic e-learning programme which turned out to be both interesting and efficient. Our son Alex who was getting ready for his GCSEs improved tremendously. As a result of this he started his middle sixth form far better prepared than his peers from other boarding and day schools.

And now to be told that the college is not up to the right level of whatever is completely bonkers in our humble opinion!

We would like to offer you our unwaivering support.

We would like to wish you all of our support in this difficult matter.

We trust that You and Your team will be successful in resolving these issues.

We can only imagine how disappointed you all are at the college, particularly after all the hard work you have put in to make improvements, which are clearly visible for all to see and must have been evident to the inspectors when they visited the school earlier this year. I have this morning read the 2020 inspectors report and cannot fathom why the DofE letter was published yesterday.

As parents of 2 children at the school with hopefully a third one joining Year 9 in September 2021, we can only praise you and your team for your efforts. As overseas parents, we have absolutely no concerns over the wellbeing of our children whilst they have been at the college. Naturally, this year we have only managed to visit the valley once due to travel restrictions but knowing that our children are at Ampleforth has been reassuring for us, knowing the care the school gives to its students.

Unlike many parents, we don’t have a long standing history with the school, so we chose to send our children to Ampleforth without any bias in mind. On our first visit, it was clear that the school was different to others we had visited.

Firstly, it met our main requirement that the majority of students were full time boarders and the school didn’t empty at the weekends. The main attractions though was the

friendliness and rounded personalities of the students that stood out by a mile. The house system was also a key attraction.

The vision and leadership you have shown since your arrival has only confirmed our decision to choose Ampleforth was the right thing to do. We do believe the college needed this change and we can only thank you and your staff for what you have done and continue to do whilst keeping the key values of the college at the forefront.

You have our full support in tackling this difficult period and if there anything we can do to help in any way at all, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our son is very happy and safe in the school and very proud to be an Amplefordian.

I was extremely surprised and shocked by the decision made by the Department of Education which in my opinion, is totally unfair to Ampleforth.

I would like to share with you my experience and feeling about Ampleforth College. Before my son, joined your school in Sept 2020, I with my whole family (my wife, son and daughter) paid a visit to your school in Oct 2018 and had a tour around almost every building to understand the overall management of the campus. It is the hardware part. During

the visit, we had the chance to talk with the house master, different department heads, the deputy head of the College and also students to know about the software part such as school missions, curriculum, student school lives and activities. I can say that my whole family was very impressed by the very good management and implementation both on the hardware and software part. We had the conclusion that we must choose Ampleforth for our son and daughter.

My son joined the school in Sept 2020. During the past several months, he called his mother every day to let her know daily life and activities. He has been very happy with great fulfilment about the housemaster, teachers and schoolmates. They are all nice and care about him. All the school staff are very helpful and sincere. He reflected to his mother and me over the past few days that he did not feel any safeguard and leadership issues about the school. All his schoolmates and classmates also shared his same feeling.

As a conclusion, my whole family loves Ampleforth College and fully support the College to resolve the situation with the Department of Education.

As an international student, we have gone through very careful consideration. From the 7 schools that received the admission notice, we finally chose Ampleforth College to study here. In the past few months, through our children, we have fully felt the school atmosphere, the school’s picturesque scenery, the kindness of the teachers (especially the tutors can provide individual tutoring to the children), the

friendliness among the students, the care and help of her roommates and classmates, She deeply felt how worth learning British humanities are, and she is confident that she can achieve something in our school. All these make us as parents more confident in Ampleforth College. We also believe that the leaders of the school will be able to find out the reasons, overcome the difficulties, and bring the school's development to a higher level. In any case, we do not want to jeopardise her studies at the school. We have full confidence in the school. Thank you.

We just wanted to write to you to show our support and solidarity to Ampleforth.

Unlike a good proportion of families that send their children to Ampleforth we are not wealthy and sending two of our 4 children to Ampleforth has been a massive financial sacrifice for us. We would not have done this if we would have felt our local Catholic state school provided the pastoral care our daughters needed, or if we felt they were at any point in danger.

My husband attended a boarding school where abuse did happen back in the 80's (somehow this school never gets a mention) and we have been very alert of anything that might be untoward, constantly having conversations with our girls.

We strongly feel that Ampleforth has provided a safe environment for them and the safeguarding in the last few years has been second to none.

We, like you cannot understand this ridiculous decision and we are very very upset by it.

Ampleforth has been a breath of fresh air for both of our daughters and it was certainly the best school we could have sent them to by a country mile.

In the news, Ampleforth is portrayed as a school for the elite and wealthy only. As mentioned above, we do not fall into either of these two categories. We are very strong Catholics and feel we have been truly blessed to send our girls to such a great school, albeit with the help of the school bursary programme.

Thanks for keeping us updated on this shocking decision by the Department of Education.

I have seen the changes made (for the better) by all members of staff at Ampleforth over the last 5 years with safeguarding at the forefront of all changes and simply can't understand this bolt from the blue.

We were really sorry and shocked to hear the recent announcement from the Department of Education concerning the Ampleforth College.

We have full confidence in your and your team's ability to continue giving our son with the best education possible as it has been the case consistently over the past years.

Please count on our support to keep advocating for the great qualities of the Ampleforth education across social media and we would be happy to further help you if you need, just let us know.

Feedback from Current Students in the School Since I joined, the school has consistently had a warm and welcoming atmosphere and they are exceptionally good at welcoming new students and getting them to settle in quickly and happily. There is a big emphasis on independent learning which is great as it prepares the students for life beyond Ampleforth and teaches them how important a good work ethic is. In house the house parents are very kind and do everything in their power to make you feel at home and cared for. Everyone is so nice especially to new students and I haven’t met anyone who i dislike in my year yet which i think is very rare. Ampleforth has made the most out of online learning and has all the facilities available so if another lockdown happened, all the students would be able to carry on with their school work straight away. I am extremely happy I decided to come to school and have enjoyed every day since I started.

The thing about Ampleforth that sets it apart from other schools in the country is the fact that Ampleforth is more then just an exam machine. It doesn’t simply spit out pupils in upper sixth with a set of A*s but not much more. However cliche it may sound Ampleforth really does supply a compass for life, it gives its pupils a sense of values that are instilled in them for the rest of their lives. It makes you a part of a community that through thick and thin is behind you and one that you can return to forever. This is the reason that my father and his father before him made huge sacrifices and commitments to send their children to this school and why I hope one day to do the same. The fact that this community’s existence is being threatened after I have seen the school’s leadership and infrastructure change beyond belief for the better with my own eyes simply does not make sense to me.

I came to Ampleforth a little over two years ago, since then I have bonded well with my year in St.Hugh’s House. I have also had two other siblings, a sister in St. Margaret’s and a brother in St.Hughs who have both moved on to university and finished a long time before me, yet despite a difference in time, teachers, house, housemates, classmates and curricula, they describe Ampleforth and their year similarly; a diverse and different group which may have difficulty, but that gels like no other group in the end, a year with many different personalities which shares so much, giving the opportunity to meet and befriend dozens of people and go on to university with a complete, open-minded, informed and detailed education with an understanding of relationships, ethics and with much social capability. My

brother, now in his final year of university, still regularly goes to have a drink with his Old Amplefordian friends, and has been on an annual shoot in Scotland with them for the past few years despite being in different universities, cities and even countries. This goes to show just how special the Amplefordian community is, and how everyday experiences, good or bad, build this, facilitated by the monks, Christian values and teachings, and the non-stop interaction in the boarding house, nurturing a love for the Valley.

My five years at Ampleforth have been some of the happiest of my life. At the college I have made fantastic memories and great friends, both of which I am sure will stick with me for life. Ampleforth has granted me much more than an academic education. It has helped developed me into the person I am today and instilled in me good Catholic values.

Many past generations of my family have been to Ampleforth, all of them have nothing but fond memories of the place and all of them echo my words about values. I have never met someone who has disliked the college and the overall experience they had; not once have I heard an OA say they were worried about their safety. I believe that Ampleforth College is more than just an academic place of learning but a place where a young man or women can receive a complete Catholic education and a true ‘Compass for Life’ and many more generations deserve to share in the wonderful experience that so many others before have had in the valley.

I feel very safe and loved here. It's my second home and everyone is so kind and lovely.

I feel very safe as there are many people to talk to and every teacher has the intention to make you have, and feel in, a safe and comfortable environment.

Ampleforth is extremely safe and a lovely community and home. It makes me feel safe because I can talk to anyone about anything that I'm worried about or happy about. It's my second home.

I like Ampleforth because it makes me feel safe. There's security patrolling the area all the time and keypads on every door.

I feel safe at Ampleforth because of my friends, my house and knowing that all the students and faculty will support me.

I feel safe because I have my housemistress, my deputy, my teachers and my friends around me all the time. I feel safe in this beautiful place and security are always around. I feel safer at school than at home where there many strangers around me.

I feel safe at Ampleforth because everyone is so kind and supportive.

I feel 100% safe at Ampleforth because you have so many teachers and friends surrounding you that are always by your side. Also we know that security is going around all the time.

FEEDBACK FROM PROSPECTIVE PARENTS IN THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS You and your team have my full support Robin. I feel very fortunate to have my son educated at Ampleforth. Thank you and good luck. Very best wishes.

As parents of two current students who are not only being well educated but also well cared for, we are also dismayed and hope and pray this can be resolved. We would be happy to help in any way. I am sure that transparency regarding any issues perceived or real is always the correct approach. I am sure you and the Trustees will find a way through this.

Many thanks for your mail. It saddens us that there seems to be a form of purge on Catholic Schools taking place

throughout the UK for mistakes in the past which are being rectified with hard and conscientious work from all including Trustees.

We have been following avidly all the progress reports of the past inspections that have been sent to us. It is saddening to read that this has gone out to press before been tackled through due process.

We have had three of our 5 at Ampleforth and hope to send our youngest for her A Levels. Please God. The experience we have all had and now our nephews and nieces (more to come from there!) has been excellent.

God Bless you and the Appeal. The truth will always prevail even though it takes time to work through the Mill!!

I am very sorry to hear about this, but it remains the fact that all of the current and former parents that I know or meet can’t speak too highly of Ampleforth, your leadership and the staff and am sure you will get through it.

I cannot even begin to imagine what the powers that be are playing at. It is impossible that your school is not compliant with every single possible rule, quality standard and child

protection regulation. This is such difficult news to hear as I can imagine how much work your and your staff have done over the last few years to raise the standards and improve the systems in place at Ampleforth.

The cynic in me wonders if they are gunning for Ampleforth because Catholic schools have good press value - people are all too willing to believe a popular fiction. But officials should base their decisions on evidence, not prejudice. I am more sorry than I can say that you find yourselves, once again, fighting to protect your reputation.

If there are any questionnaires, zoom calls, opportunities for testimonies from parents or past pupils, please call on us! We have only good things to say about the school - our entire family was enriched by the 7 years that we were lucky enough to spend in the valley and our daughters are, in no small part, the wonderful young women that they are because of the education and care they received at Ampleforth.

Please, if there is a way, let the whole team know, from the kitchen staff to the management team, that we are behind

you and hoping this turns out to be a small bump in the road.

I am sorry you are having to go through all this, in any case, and hope you will be successful in your appeal.

This is staggering.

How can we help?

Thoughts and prayers with you

This is awful!! I would like to know if there is anything that parents can do to support the school through this?

So far, I have encountered tremendous shock and outrage from parents of students at the school. We are all with you.

I send huge thanks to everyone at Ampleforth for the brilliant education you have been giving my sons and look forward to when my daughter is able to benefit from an Ampleforth education when her time comes.

You have our entire support I can assure you. I’m just sorry and a bit angry that Ampleforth has had to receive such a

public injustice although I’m sure sense will prevail in the end.

If there is anything I can do, please ask.

Our opinion remains unchanged about the College, you and your Team.

Please do let us know if we can offer support in anyway.

What a stressful time for you. Thank you for getting in touch with us so promptly. Our son has devoured the prospectus sent to us and we will watch with interest what unfolds with your issues with the Department for Education. Ampleforth is still in our sights. Thank you so much for keeping us informed.

Please be assured of our unstinting support and prayers for you all at Ampleforth.

With every good wish

Best wishes. Fight hard and fast, as parents we are all behind you.

I Just wanted to let you know we are fully committed to sending our son to Ampleforth in September. I spoke with our Head this morning and she feels confident that all will be well for him joining in September. It's such a shame that the school is in this unsettling situation and I wish you all the best in the tribunal.

I am truly shocked to hear what has happened.

I met some of the staff several years ago.

I was so impressed by their commitment.

My family and I wish the very best and if we can be of any help in any way, please let me know.

Just a very brief note to say how sorry we were to get your email and read the news and mostly that you and all the staff have our full support. I cannot believe that after all the hard work that you have so clearly put into the school and safeguarding in particular that this has happened and in what seems to be in such an unfair way.

All three of our children are happy and frankly thriving at Ampleforth. They definitely feel safe and secure. Their main concern is now only that this may somehow be taken away from them due to these events.

Please let us know if we can of any help at all

Having read this missive and obviously the media reports, all I can say is that from our experience of the college for our son (and we also have our daughter enrolled in 2021) is that the leadership, culture and learning experience have been very positive.

We certainly recognise the major strides you yourself have made at Ampleforth in the last 18 months or so which is evident in many ways and of which many give good testimony.

Obviously, we don’t yet have details of the issues but if we can support in any way based on our positive experience of Ampleforth then we will certainly do so.

Finally, we wish yourself and colleagues well in the appeal process and hope this can be resolved as expediently as can be so Ampleforth can continue to thrive under your stewardship.

It is extremely sad to learn that the Department of Education made such a decision against Ampleforth College.

I am really glad for the education offered by Ampleforth College to our daughter over these 3 months. Please assure that our family will definitely stand beside Ampleforth College.

Good morning, though the papers and media coverage do make for slightly grim reading about the school. We definitely feel that it is all so desperately unfair on the school as it seems to be totally unwarranted. I think most of us would endorse the school as one of the safest in the country at the moment as such wholescale change has occurred in the last 18 months. Let’s hope that the ruling can be overturned swiftly and decisively though I fear that our judicial system may not help.

I am sure I am not alone is being very sad to see the Times article this morning. I just wanted to get in touch to say that we absolutely loved our recent visit and have great faith in Ampleforth as an outstanding educational institution which provides such important preparation for life.

It is unclear what the department of education seems to be trying to achieve. But I hope that you are going to vigorously appeal this awful decision immediately.

We send our thoughts and prayers at this challenging time, to you all.

I am sorry to hear of the difficulties which your institution faces. I do hope and pray that the situation is resolved in the best interests of the children. May God guide you and all those involved in the process with wisdom.

We remain committed to supporting the School.

We very much support you and the school and believe you are doing a tremendous job.

Thank you for your resilience in this time.

We are certainly still interested for our son’s secondary schooling at Ampleforth and have already registered.

All the Amplefordians I know are very decent human beings!

The eldest is my father-in-law in his 80s, down to some recent school leavers.

I hope that you are able to achieve a Judicial Review of the irrational/ “Wednesbury unreasonable” decision to serve the notice. I wish you well in your fight.

I have every confidence that Ampleforth remains a wonderful school and I wish you well with the appeal.

I appreciated the school’s frankness and honesty. The strategy sounds very sensible and I wish you absolutely all the best and hope that DFE engage as hoped.

Keeping Ampleforth and the team in thoughts and prayers.

Our son should be joining the year 10 class at Ampleforth College. We have done our due diligence and have the best

opinion on the College, its values, management and teachers, teams, tradition, etc. We have been in touch with the Registrar during the application process. She has been of great help. We are thrilled with this project and wanted to express our total support. We have no doubt you are doing a great job. We hope this situation can be sorted out soon.

Our son is due to start in Sept 21 and we feel that he is joining the safest school in the world as a result of such a public investigation.

Let's hope that all is settled as soon as possible

Your calm and pragmatic handling of the DofE's recent and shocking decision exemplifies all that 2020 Ampleforth College is about. It's why we love it and why we are all very safe in your collective hands.

Just a very quick note to say thank you for the Teams meeting. It was as reassuring as we could hope for, knowing that you are both working so hard to resolve this difficult matter.

Our daughter has had an extremely positive experience as a new girl in St Aidans year 9, despite the low numbers and we were delighted to know that our other daughter, who will be arriving, (all things being well) in September 21 was going to have a fuller year as a result of all your hard work in improving the school and its reputation.

We truly hope that you are successful in your appeal and wanted to let you know that at this stage we have no intention of choosing another school for our daughters!

I would be happy to help in any way I can. Ampleforth seems in excellent hands to get through this crisis, which I am sure it will.

As you know we are great supporters of Ampleforth

I’m was so sorry to receive your email at the weekend and to read what was printed.

As an outside family, looking to join the Ampleforth community, the words that I read in the press seemed at such odds as to what I had experienced as a parent seeking

to find the right school that would suit our son - and enable him to flourish and be happy. Everything they were saying just seemed to be the opposite of my experience and impression of Ampleforth. I am very much of the view that the history is in the past and the team going forward are obviously all incredibly committed to creating a school with incredible substance.

On a personal note – immediately after reading what was in the media - is that perhaps someone has a vendetta and connections to make it be known? I guess there would be no way of ever knowing, but that would make sense of the contradiction of what was said and my experience of the school thus far.

I wish you well with fighting this case and send you my best wishes.

We will look forward to visiting you again soon – or whenever that may be.

Allow me to start off by saying that we are fully supportive of the School. We have bought into the ethos and values of the

School to which we can easily relate having both attended Catholic Schools in our childhood.

I should also add that I am myself an LSE graduate and a British Chevening Scholar so I have a strong sense of admiration for the British educational system. I am also aware that the system is far from perfect.

I am so sorry for everything that has happened over the last week. It must be enormously stressful for you all.

I just wanted to say that we still absolutely want to keep our son and daughter registered for Ampleforth and really hope that we will be able visit in due course.

We look forward to hearing when we might be able to visit Ampleforth, you have our full support and I sincerely hope that the appeal is successful.

I just wanted to say that we were both very sorry that the school had been dragged back into the news. It must be incredibly frustrating for you after all your hard work and restructuring efforts. We have been in and out of the school

a few times over the last couple of years and I must say that the warmth we have received from both staff and pupils has made a huge impression. We are very much hoping that the school will have both our children in 2021 and 2022.

We are prospective parents of the College and have no current connection with it, other than we have met recent past pupils and current pupils of the college and feel their scope of abilities exemplary and all deeply happy, positive and making a good contribution to society. In addition, we have travelled to the school on two separate occasions and been struck by the professionalism and dedication of its staff.

All the children we have met touring the school have been happy and the school has a grounded atmosphere, with a can-do approach to educating our daughter, who is not naturally academic and Dyslexic.

Our son has trialled a night boarding and enjoyed his warm welcome this experience. Also, we have been fortunate to meet current parents of the school whose children are in the final years and they have nothing but praise and admiration for Ampleforth.

Our home is about five hours drive from Ampleforth and we know of other parents and perspective parents looking to send their children to the school. Our area of the country is

well served by wellknown schools, so there is good reason we want to support Ampleforth for its values and spiritual influence.

My wife and I have read the Department of Education’s notice to the school dated 27th November 2020. As parents who have attended comprehensive, grammar and private schools, we would be incredibly surprised if there are any current major shortcomings in care and wellbeing.

We think it is wrong to issue an enforcement notice based on historical findings and mention a submission by the school (Action Plan) to the Department as initially rejected without stating if any amended action plan was accepted. In our view the current headmaster is reshaping the school at an appropriate pace and he has a proven track record, and we have absolute trust and faith in his integrity and those of his team.

Feedback from Alumni & Past Parents Very sorry to hear this & very much hope you will set it right.  What a beastly unwanted extra trouble. All my prayers for you, your staff & the school. God bless you & them all in these already difficult times.

Please pass on my unstinting support to the Headmaster and teaching staff and Community. Don't let this get them down!!

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

What can we do to help? This is an assault on the Catholic community and a very special school.

I am disheartened to read of this news and to hear that Ampleforth College is seemingly once more aggrieved by what I can only assume to be entirely unfair accusations. It is already sad enough, as far as I’m concerned, that there has been a forced separation of school and monastic community as their previous integration was one of the most appealing factors to me in making my decision to attend the school.

I encourage you and your team to remain positively resilient in the face of yet more adversity and wish you every success in your endeavours to defend Ampleforth’s honour. Please do let me know if I can, alongside my fellow Ampleforth community members, do anything to support you.

As a parent of a former pupil -though sadly for just a year and for no particular reason it did not work out. You have a wonderful school for which I hope a day pray all will be well.

This is outrageous. Like many parents of old boys i would be willing to assist you. Over the last few years I know how seriously the school and it's governance has taken

safeguarding and making sure that the school is at best practice. I was therefore shocked at the dept of education stance. Particularly given the announcement before we appeal.

So many of us share your feeling of bewilderment and dismay at this news. The timing of this announcement, like previous ones, seems to have been calculated in a wholly unfair way to cause reputational damage. I urge you all to continue the very good work that has clearly been happening at the school these recent years, not to get disheartened by this new and to strongly refute and challenge these claims.

I'm really sorry to hear that this is still being dragged out. It is quite clear that past errors have been long rectified. You will of course prevail, but that doesn't change the pressure of going through the mill. I will think of you in my prayers.

Keep your nerve. We have had far worse than this. "When the going gets tough , the tough gets going".

I wish you success with your appeal and you have my full support. It is indeed a great school.

Thank you for letting us know and if there is anything we can do as Old Amplefordians please do get in touch. With my very best wishes. Yours ever.

There will clearly be much concern at this recent further impost. In order to reduce Robin’s in tray, please could I ask that you add our name to the, no doubt, huge list of Ampleforth Society members who will be writing to express their support for Robin and SLET’s trustees. I greatly regret the anxiety that the DofE’s Notice will cause them, Fr Gabriel and the whole Ampleforth Community. I have read the D of E notice, though I am not at all sure that I understand the issues involved. I wish the Ampleforth leadership, diverse as it is, well in identifying and in garnering support for an appropriate reaction. Yours, in fellowship.

I have a huge affection for the entire establishment, so please be assured of my sympathy and very best wishes for a satisfactory outcome.

I was horrified to see the report on Sky News. Thank you for the note from Mr Dyer. You have my full support. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I would like to add, therefore, as President of the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage, I have been able to observe the wonderful behaviour of many young 17-19 year-olds in caring for the assisted pilgrims and for each other every year in Lourdes.

Their work is accepted by the Lourdes authorities as being

truly exemplary. I say this as one who has been to Lourdes more than once each year since 1958. With many prayers.

This news has left our whole family in complete shock and has left us all feeling so much anger and has left us with such heavy hearts and bewilderment at how the department of education could possibly reach this decision, especially after all the hard work and efforts that you and all the Ampleforth community have put in over the last few years in carrying out everything advised to ensure that this truly wonderful and most remarkable school is able to give many, many more of our children the education and mentoring that Ampleforth has given to our son and so many others. I and my family would obviously offer our assistance and support in any capacity needed going forward as we are forever indebted to the Ampleforth community. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist over the coming months.

Horrific. Shocked. So sad for all the hard work you and others have done and continue to do. And so unjust. It feels like persecution.

The very best of luck Mr Dyer. You have my prayers and you will succeed.

I am truly sorry that you all have to go through this yet again and please let us know if there is anything at all that we can do to help as recent ex parents and current guardians of students in a school that has done so much for so many of its students and that is not recognisable to us in these reports. 

I am sure I join many others in condemning the inappropriate actions of the Department for Education. You have my (moral at least) support; and please continue as you are to ensure a safe environment at the school combined with an outstanding and broad education for all pupils. I pray for Ampleforth and all who serve there.

I was disappointed, confused and, frankly, angry with your news that The D of E has published its intention to serve notice of regulatory action on my wonderful school. I am particularly concerned for you and your team who have worked so hard to restore the school's position at the top of our education system. I so nearly wrote to you last year following your uplifting letter on the progress which the school and its staff had made since your appointment. I wish I had acted at the time, rather than leave it for dust to gather.

This is terrible news.

Wishing all at the school strength to address what needs to be addressed, to move forward and beyond this situation, to come out stronger and more confident about the school’s contribution to developing good people.

Thank you for your letter concerning the press coverage about Ampleforth. As parents of two OA, we would like to assure you of all our support and prayers in this most unfair and unjustified time of trial. If we can do anything to help we would be only too happy to do so. With all our heartfelt wishes.

Thank you for this. One can only conclude that someone in the DofE has it in for Ampleforth. How else to explain this publicised statement in the face of significant changes and two successful Inspections. Our hopes and prayers are with you all.

Thank you To Robin Dyer. Thank you to all who are working with a robust system of management..This is awful.. Strange how RC institutions are under attack... Love of the Lord peculate through all that we do.

I am dismayed and upset by this. The step taken is totally at odds with the immense work undertaken at the college under your leadership. I hope and pray for a satisfactory resolution. In the meantime I am sure I speak for the

overwhelming majority of OAs in our support and gratitude for everything you have done and continue to do.

We are so sorry to hear this news and reiterate our support and love of Ampleforth College. In our prayers for a peaceful outcome.

It seems to me that it is a deep seated prejudice that causes the constant battle that Ampleforth has to fight. I think you should stop apologising and start to claim unfair treatment. I wish that I could help. I will continue to recommend Ampleforth to anyone who will listen. Good luck and God be with you.

Thank you for telling me this, and very good luck with your battle. I look back on my time from a distance of over fifty years. Despite several failings and unkindnesses, I remain enormously grateful for my time there, and in particular for the knowledge and integrity of some very fine teachers and monks. Ampleforth is worth preserving, even if tarnished, and I support what you are doing.

Thank you for your email and, yes, we have read the various articles published yesterday/today. Our son, Freddy, attended Ampleforth for 5 years from 2009-2014 and was incredibly happy there. It helped to make him the happy, confident, kind young man that he is now. My wife and I

rented a cottage for the entire period so we could join him and the Ampleforth Community each weekend. I now sit on the Audit & Risk Committee, so I am well aware of the extraordinary efforts that have been undertaken by every member of staff and the entire monastic community to rectify the issues identified by the various regulatory bodies several years ago. I am therefore unable to comprehend the action taken by the Secretary of State and the Department for Education - it is truly shocking and I am delighted that you will be challenging it robustly. I write this merely to say that you have huge support from everyone that knows and loves Ampleforth. If there is anything that I and my wife can do to help, you have only to ask.

I am so appalled at this news and the unfairness of it. I just wanted to give you my support in these difficult times and reassure you that I and I am sure all Old Boys are right behind you. With warmest wishes.

Many thanks for this. The DfE decision does feel extremely unfair (and rather odd, as well as hugely damaging) - most of the Monastery/school offenders are now dead. Let us know when we should write to our MP etc.

Please allow me to add to the deluge of support you are receiving. An oblate of Ampleforth (but not an Old Amplefordian) I am only too conscious of the travails of community and college. I think your being informative and

above board with those who care about Ampleforth is very wise.

Keep up the good work. Unjust and unfounded. The community stands behind the school, call on us at your will.

I, as were no doubt many others shocked and saddened to hear of the DfE announcement over this weekend. I have had a Daughter and Son through Ampleforth, in Margaret's and Hugh's. They both enjoyed there time in the valley enormously, both boarded, and as we lived reasonably locally, my wife and I visited frequently to watch matches etc, and were always made to feel extremely welcome. I have lots of fond memories of Ampleforth, but one that stands out in particular. My son had left and was in his first term at Newcastle University, I had popped back to the Abbey church for Remembrance Sunday, and met with his house chaplain, he asked how my son was, and I said he was really struggling and quite unhappy at university, his Chaplain paused a minute, and said to me "He may think he has only one family, but in fact he has two, and Ampleforth is the second" there was an Old Amplefordian Dinner in Newcastle that week and there was an offer of trying to get Oliver there to try and cheer him up a bit, a simple act of kindness that meant so much, and one I shall always remember, that was ten years ago. Sending Ampleforth our very best wishes.

Be quite clear of both support and prayers at this difficult time. It does seem quite extraordinary that after all the measures you have clearly introduced that the Education Department is handling this in the way they are. Keeping us up to date where you can is very helpful. With every good wish.

Can I wish you the very best of luck with the appeal. I was at Ampleforth from 1960-64; I received an excellent education and have nothing but happy memories from my time there.

Thank you for the update. I am shocked to hear how hard they have come down on you. My experience of the school could not have been faulted. Please count on me to offer my help and support in any way I can.

I am astonished the DfE has come to this decision, especially as Ampleforth has addressed all the issues highlighted in an earlier report. I speak as an old boy of St Bede's house (196266) and have many happy memories of my time at Ampleforth. With every good wish, and you will be in my prayers.

I wanted to send my best wishes and prayers for the current situation at the college. It’s very sad that this is happening

and I hope that matter is resolved and the appeal, and any other action the College considers, are a success.

If I can assist in any way at all please let me know. I had mental health difficulties as a child at Ampleforth and received better care there than in any other educational institution (three universities subsequent) or workplace (various) and would be happy to testify to that effect.

What a blow for you! We have heard how marvellous you have been with both staff, pupils and parents. Our daughter Isabella, had a very happy 5 years and if there is anything we can do you only have to ask. Once again please feel free to ask us or indeed Isabella who would be quite happy to tell everyone about her safe, happy and nurturing 5 years at Ampleforth. Our sincere wishes for a very Happy Christmas and New Year to you and your family.

Community, Trustees, School and all involved have our deep gratitude and support in the work that they are doing.

For my part – I find it very hard to believe that safeguarding issues of the magnitude that would effectively lead to it being right close Ampleforth College could possibly exist. I am a parent whose child left 10 years ago and in my experience I never got a sniff of anything of that nature, at that stage and how things have come on since then – indeed,

my daughter (one of the first intake of girls at the bottom of the school) was enabled by Ampleforth – she hated all school and had some dyslexia and we looked at 20+ schools before plumping for Ampleforth. In case the denominational issue comes up I was raised a Church of Ireland (Protestant) in Ireland so sending my child to a Roman Catholic school was “required some thought!”. It gives me great pleasure to say that there is no question that Ampleforth enabled and grew her faith, which was very much alive when she arrived and there was no question of any attempt to convert her. It also rebuilt her confidence, allowed her to be herself. I remain very grateful to Ampleforth for her time there – and for the continuing relationship and connection we feel to Ampleforth which is, interestingly, is noticeably missing from the (four, six if you include our other children) other schools we have been parents at.

Robin/Edward, please never give up the good fight. I forwarded an email to the the Minister for Education asking him to reconsider. Good luck and I have a strong feeling you will overcome this situation.

I just wanted to write to say how sorry I was to hear of the recent news with regards to the notice. I can imagine that on top of what has been a very turbulent year for so many, this is a difficult time for many of the staff, pupils and parents and I do hope that there will be swift and positive resolution for Ampleforth.

I was extremely fortunate to attend the college as an Ogden Scholar in 2002, joining from a Catholic state school in Leeds and had a fantastic experience at SHAC. It was a lifechanging and life-enriching experience for me, for which I will always be so grateful to Ampleforth. I have many happy and positive memories of the college; the friendship, sport, art, music, theatre as well as the safe, supportive and caring environment of the school and St Aidan’s boarding house.

Since leaving, over the years as an OA I have enjoyed returning to the college meeting and speaking with many of your students about my experiences working in marketing and advertising across the not-for-profit and corporate worlds as part of the careers programme.

I was so very sorry and dismayed to hear of the news, and I wish you and the senior leadership team all the very best in these coming weeks.

I would like to join in the chorus of shock and outrage at the action of the DfE. This must be fought furiously and with all resources. More power to all your elbows.

Your emails following the surprise announcement from the DfE dismayed and saddened me, my thoughts are with you all

at Ampleforth. The hard work of recent months has been very clear for all to see and it is very disappointing that, apparently, that has not been recognised. One questions whether the inspectors who visited in September came with pre-conceived opinions about Ampleforth which didn’t allow for a more proper open minded approach.

Ampleforth is an excellent school and will continue to be so when this has all been resolved. I wish you every success in the appeal and then in the mammoth task which will follow of restoring Ampleforth’s reputation as a school with high standards within a safe supporting environment.

If there is any way in which I could be of help please don’t hesitate to get in touch.