Welcome from the Housemaster

Welcome to St Thomas’ House,

I look forward to seeing you all in September for what promises to be an exciting year. The house team and wider school management have been working tirelessly over the summer break to ensure that when we return there will be a safe environment for your start in September. I have enjoyed speaking to you all over the past few months and I hope you are as excited as I am to start into the new school year.

This booklet has been designed to give you an idea about what life is like in the house and hopefully answer some of the questions you have. You should read this with your parents and use it to supplement the information you have been sent by the admissions office.

St Thomas’ aims to be a home more than just a House – providing a secure, happy and caring environment for each boy to develop and maximise their potential, whatever their talents and interests. In essence we want St. Thomas’ to be a home away from home.

The qualities that you will develop living in this House will be every bit as important as the information that you learn every day in the classroom. With tolerance and respect for those around you, you will develop strong friendships that will endure long after you have left Ampleforth. St Thomas’ has a reputation for being a House where boys form close bonds with one another, look out for each other and always give of their best in all that they do.

My main goal for this year as your housemaster is to focus on resilience and challenge. I want to work with everyone in the house to maintain a stable environment which encourages your growth both academically and socially. The Rule of St. Benedict states that “idleness is the enemy of the soul (RSB pro48)” and in this spirit I wish to challenge you to go beyond the classroom with your learning, to push you to be more curious about the world and to ask you to try and answer to the challenges that we face as a society.

Best Wishes

Gavin Lynch-Frahill