NOTES FROM Stonyhurst
From the Senior Deputy Head
Dear Stonyhurst Families
We have had another wonderful week at Stonyhurst. Lots of fixtures have been played and everyone has been making the most of time outdoors before some of the wetter weather has set in. In addition to the traditional team sports, it is great to see croquet lessons taking place, informal rounds of golf, mountain biking as well as fell running and exploration of our wonderful campus
This weekend has seen our open day with a record number of families visiting and being toured around by our Rhetorician pupil ambassadors It is the first time we have had a cross campus open day which is fantastic as it allows siblings to see all the different phases of a Stonyhurst education.
We have enjoyed celebrating National Poetry Day this week and hearing poetry by Gerard Manley Hopkins who worked at Stonyhurst
We hope to welcome families to the Winter Ball at the end of term after the carol service so pleased do book your table or place as places are very limited due to the size of the Top Ref
Have a wonderful weekend.
Best wishes
Rhetoric Parents’ Weekend
fWe were delighted to host our first Parents’ Weekend of the academic year last weekend. The event began on Friday evening with the Rhetoric Recital, where some of our exceptionally talented Rhetoric musicians took to the stage and impressed all in attendance with their performances.
Saturday was the heart of the weekend, as parents from around the world joined us on campus to meet with their child’s teachers and discuss academic progress. It was a valuable opportunity to strengthen the homeschool partnership and celebrate the achievements of our students. The weekend concluded on Sunday with a beautiful Mass, where it was heartening to see so many families come together in reflection and prayer.
We’re already looking forward to welcoming more families at our upcoming Parents’ Weekends throughout the year
Puddings and Performance
Our Performing Arts programme for this year gets into full swing with our second annual Puddings and Performance event on Friday 10 October at 7pm in the Academy Room. The evening features a range of musical theatre performances from students across the college, from Aloysius House to Rhetoric. In addition, some OS who were familiar faces in Performing Arts during their time at Stonyhurst will be joining us to perform and provide technical support alongside our current students. It promises to be an evening to remember.
If you would like to attend, tickets are available on the link below: Puddings & Performance at Academy Room, Stonyhurst College event tickets from TicketSource
On Saturday morning our Rhetoricians led a morning assembly. Bosco, Dennis, Marie and Fanny, reminded our students that academic excellence is about balance - taking breaks, asking for help, and pushing yourself. At its heart is our motto ‘Quant je puis’ - be the best you can be.
Sale Sharks Rugby
We are proud to celebrate our Sale Sharks Academy players for season 2025/26.
Many congratulations to Joseph, Tom, George and Loughlinn who are representing the Academy this season and flying the flag for Stonyhurst rugby excellence.
OS 1985
Last weekend, we were delighted to welcome back 49 Old Stonyhurst from the Class of 1985 as they celebrated 40 years since leaving the College.
Their reunion included lunch in the Bayley Room, a tour of our historic buildings and collections, and cheering on the 1 XV against Bradford Grammar. The celebrations continued with a black-tie dinner in the Top Ref, before concluding on Sunday with Mass, con-celebrated by one of their contemporaries, Fr Simon Bishop SJ, alongside Fr Tim Curtis. st
A wonderful occasion of friendship, faith, and memories rekindled.
Cheltenham Half Marathon
Congratulations to OS Nnamdi Aguh and Will Bailey, who completed the Cheltenham Half Marathon, raising nearly £1,500 for WellChild.
Stonyhurst Sport
Match Report Hockey
Our U sh Schools Championships, facing a very strong Kirkham side. D were unfortunately defeated. Goalkeeper and Head Girl Hattie made a string of outstanding saves and was deservedly named Player of the Match. Meanwhile, our U16 Syntax girls played a friendly against Kirkham U16s, a valuable warm up ahead of their cup campaign starting next Wednesday against Bradford. The girls showed some superb defensive work throughout but Kirkham proved clinical in the circle and secured the win. Goalkeeper Emilia had a superb game and earned Player of the Match. A great effort all round from both teams, plenty of positives to build on as the season continues
On Saturday, U13A/B/C/D welcomed King’s Macclesfield to play a series of fixtures. The A and B team came out on top, both winning their games 4-2. While the C and D team both had great games, however resulting a loss
Match Report Rugby
On Saturday we fielded 10 teams against Lancaster Royal Grammar School The 1 and 2 XV travelled to LRGS with the U14As & Bs. All four teams showed determination against their counterparts however all fell short to very physical sides. The 1 XV and 2 XV lost 20-32 and 5-29 respectively. Back at Stonyhurst our U16As, U15As, U13Bs and U12A & Bs also struggled losing, again to very physical sides. However, despite these losses all the players showed a great level of grit and resilience refusing to give up until the final whistle was blown. Our U13As put in a terrific performance in a 30-30 draw against a very strong LRGS side. st nd st nd
This week gives the boys a well earned break with no rugby fixtures scheduled allowing the players a good opportunity to rest and recover after a hard weekend against LRGS.
Match Report Netball
Our U15s netball team played a friendly fixture last week versus Lytham A tough game, with both teams performing well. Our U15s and two U14 teams are heading back to Lytham this week to play another round of friendly matches, this is great practice for all the girls before playing further fixtures.
Match Report Basketball
On Wednesday 24th September our U18 Basketball and Badminton squads had their first competitive fixtures of the season versus the always competitive Lancaster Royal Grammar School. The Basketball team had a great learning experience in a physical defeat to Lancaster with many of our students playing their first ever competitive Basketball match. Great learning for the season ahead where they will compete for the first time in the North west colleges Basketball league.
Match Report Badminton
Our Badminton players were pushed all the way by a strong Lancaster side in both doubles and singles matches. The end result was a 11-9 win for Stonyhurst with Kayden Ko getting his first win as the new Stonyhurst Badminton captain. This match sets us up well for the rest of the season and a trip to our old rivals Sedbergh on the 1st of October.
Match Report Cross Country
This week saw two main Cross Country events taking place for our students. On Thursday our Aloysius house runners took to the hills and fields of Casterton Sedbergh Prep school for their first prep school Cross Country race of the season There were some fantastic individual results including a top 10 finish for Harry Griffin in a race of 127 competitors A big well done to all Runners who took part and in particular to our new Aloysius house Cross Country captains, Erin Littlechild and Leo Morris, who led the teams superbly on the day.
This Prep school event was followed up by several of our higher line runners taking on the Run Northwest Knutsford 10k event on Sunday. Six of our Runners took to this event all having never competed in a 10k adult race before. It was an extremely fast-paced race with our best time coming from Adam Wilmore, crossing the line with a time of 42 minutes and 49 seconds. Our fastest female run came from Teressa Michals who crossed in an impressive 50 minutes and 25 seconds. Again, this event was well captained by the new Stonyhurst Cross Country captain Lukasz Dziki. Well done all.
Our next event is this coming Sunday: English Schools Fell Running Championships at Sedbergh College
The first and second hockey team captains and vice captains have been announced this week
1 XI Captain: Maggie.
1 Vice Captain: Molly
2 XI Captain: Harriet
2 Vice Captain: Clare
Date | Wednesday 10 December th Time | 7pm
Venue | Stonyhurst College
Click here to book your tickets
Monday 15 December - Wednesday 17 Dcember th th
Week Ahead Calendar
The below does not include the sporting fixtures for this week. Please see the Upcoming Fixtures pages for this information
Pupil Only Events:
Key Dates this term
Half Term - Saturday 18 October to Monday 3 November th rd
Slow Down Saturday - Saturday 15 November th
Red Wednesday - Wednesday 19 November th
Campion Day - Monday 1 December st
Fireworks Evening - Wednesday 5 November th
Stonyhurst Family Events:
Higher Line Open Evening - Thursday 9 October th
Puddings and Performances - Friday 10 October th
Choral Vespers - Friday 17 October th
Lower Grammar Parents’ Weekend - Friday 21 November to Saturday 22 November st nd
Figures Parents’ Weekend - Friday 5 December to Saturday 6 December th th
Farm St Carol Concert - Monday 8 December th
Carol Service - Wednesday 10 December th
Winter Ball (Parents Only) - Wednesday 10 December th
