Westminster Record | July 2016
Douay Martyrs Students at St James’ Palace Students from The Douay Martyrs Catholic Secondary School were recently guests at St James’ Palace courtesy of British Airways and the Air League. The reception was to celebrate a training programme developed with the specific purpose of encouraging more people into aviation, especially those who would not otherwise have had the opportunity. The Air League educates young people about the world of aviation and its importance, and involves them as much as possible in this exciting environment. Originally 16 students from Douay Martyrs were taken up in gliders on a taster day. They were also taught interview skills and, following a rigorous interview day at the British Airways Waterside headquarters, successful applicants were chosen to take
part in the Gliding to Solo Scholarship scheme. The confidence of the students grew as they covered a range of manoeuvres from spins to stalls with one student, Rupinder Loyal, even flying solo. The celebration began with
all students receiving certificates followed by a speech from the Duke of Edinburgh as patron of the Air League. Adding to the excitement was the unexpected call from space from Captain Tim Peake who had himself received an award for his work encouraging young people to get involved in aviation. Headteacher Tony Corish said, ‘I am delighted to see so many of our young people engaging with such exciting and challenging pursuits. They are a credit to the school and I wish them well in the world of aviation should they decide to embark upon a career in this field.’
Mini Vinnies of St Benedict’s Junior School
St Benedict’s Junior School in Ealing has a thriving Mini Vinnies group, led by Lynn Smith, Head of Religious Education. The Society of St Vincent de Paul has been engaging with young people and education since its earliest days and the Mini Vinnies programme is its primary schools initiative.
The Mini Vinnies were visited by Dee Mansi, the Mini Vinnies’ coordinator for the diocese, to induct them formally into the Mini St Vincent De Paul Society. Dee spoke with energy and passion about the important work that the Mini Vinnies do and how important it is to get involved in helping others at a
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young age. Mini Vinnies follow the principle of ‘see, think, do’, and Dee was delighted to see this at St Benedict's. She presented the Mini Vinnies with their certificates and congratulated them on their thoughtful and successful fundraising so far. Soon after Dee’s visit, the Mini Vinnies visited St David’s Care Home to perform a musical concert for the elderly residents. Phoebe Bettis and Freya Horridge (Year 6) said: ‘The people there made us smile and laugh but it also made us sad to see some people in pain, yet still smiling as we performed. They really enjoyed it and that made us happy to see that we had made someone’s day!’
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St Benedict’s Student Qualifies for Rio Olympics 18-year-old Dimitri Coutya has qualified for the Rio Paralympics in both Foil and Epée Wheelchair Fencing Category B. Coutya, who is in his final year of A Level studies at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, cemented his qualification at the European Championships held in Turin, Italy on 17-22 May, winning a silver medal in the Foil and a bronze in the Epée. The Foil event was first and Coutya had work to do after coming through the poules ranked seventh out of 17. The semi-final Marco Cima from Italy provided stiff opposition before Coutya won 15-14 but the final against Maxim Valet proved a step too far and the Frenchman triumphed by 15-11 leaving Coutya with the silver. In the Epée Coutya was ranked third after the poules in a slightly bigger field of 22. He recorded victories over Grzegorz Lewonowski of Poland by 15-10 and Alexander Kuzyukov of Russia by 15-11 before going down in the semi-
final 10-15 to Yannick Ifebe of France who went on to win the gold medal. Dimitri Coutya felt quite overwhelmed after his qualification: ‘It’s something I have been training for and dreaming of for years. I am very happy and really looking forward to the rest of the journey.’ Denis Cranwell, Head of Fencing at St Benedict’s School, commented: ‘Dimitri has worked so hard in the events leading up to his qualification and his hard work has paid off. All of St Benedict’s will be rooting for him at the games. He has a real chance of a medal.’ St Benedict’s School has supported Dimitri Coutya throughout his Olympic qualification period through a number of fundraising events. Thanks to the generosity of pupils, parents, staff and other well-wishers Coutya now has all the funds he needs to make it across the start line to Rio. Page 7