AMDG
Assessment Week
This week has had a very different feel to it as all of our students have been doing exams – either internal assessments, GCSEs or A levels. We have been extremely impressed with the attitude of our students who have taken the exams seriously and understood the need for focused study.
We hope that those who have finished will be able to enjoy some relaxing time with friends and family this weekend before returning to school refreshed for the final four weeks of term. For anyone who has missed exams due to illness this week, assessments will continue in Theatre next week so that they can get these completed as soon as possible.
Inskip Cadet Training Centre
Following the successful CCF (RAF Section) weekend experience at Inskip Cadet Training Centre in Preston, the school that shared the facilities with us, St George’s Academy, has sent through some images captured during the activities.
Amongst the plethora of activities, Cadets experienced a low ropes course, paintballing, a DCCT Range and archery. We have many more activities on the horizon and will be sharing news throughout future issues of The Mount Weekly.
Hockey and Rugby
Our Hockey and Rugby squads attended their first South Africa Tour training on Wednesday night. It's not long until our squads head over to Cape Town for the start of their tour, and our students were brimming with excitement and working hard at their first session this week.
The Hockey squads worked on goal scoring and maintaining possession in tight areas this week, finishing with some set-piece preparation. Meanwhile, the Rugby squad began focusing on building cohesion as a unit.
Training for both Hockey and Rugby squads continues every Wednesday, 4:30-6 pm until the end of term.
Grand Academy Concert
The Grand Academy Concert takes place on Friday 20th June, 7.30pm in our Memorial Chapel. This exciting event will showcase the talent of a number of Sixth Form music and choral scholars who will perform classical and musical theatre solos with a full orchestral accompaniment - a unique opportunity for them and for our audience to witness. This exceptional event is unparalleled in terms of the opportunity for our students to work alongside professional musicians, and year after year, the audience are left in awe of their talent. Many years of preparation have led to this moment for these musicians, and there is a wide range of repertoire to suit all tastes. Musical Theatre enthusiasts will enjoy highlights from Les Miserables, Jekyll & Hyde and Phantom of the Opera, amongst others, whereas opera fans will relish the opportunity to hear famous operatic highlights such as Casta Diva (from the opera Norma) and Song to the Moon (from the opera Rusalka). Our instrumentalists also feature, with cello, flute, piano and violin all being showcased in a range of repertoire from beautiful Baroque masterpieces such as Vivaldi’s Cello Sonata to contemporary classics such as the world-famous tango Por Una Cabeza.
2025 sees more talent from our soloists than we have ever had before, with 11 musicians playing solos. However, that is not all we will see – the Girls’ Chamber Choir and Senior Choir will also be performing, with extracts from Mozart’s famous Requiem undoubtedly being the choral highlight.
Please encourage any friends and family to come to this special concert to support our dedicated musicians. We feel sure that guests will feel inspired by the beautiful music they will hear.
Fun in Year 7 After Assessment Week
In order to relax and laugh a little in a busy assessment week, Year 7 enjoyed pinning the Blu Tack on Mr Murphy’s nose.
Jubilee Year
The Catholic Church is currently celebrating a Jubilee Year, which runs until January 2026. Jubilees occur every 25 years and are times for re-establishing relationships with God, with one another, and with all of creation. The theme for this Jubilee is "Pilgrims of Hope". It's an opportunity to re-kindle faith and to share it with others. Our Chaplaincy enrichment groups are celebrating the Jubilee in a variety of ways, one of which is by raising awareness of UK food poverty and debt.
In 2024, there was a notable increase in the number of UK households experiencing food insecurity, with 7.2 million adults and 2.7 million children affected in June and July alone. In the 12 months leading up to March 2025, the Trussell Trust distributed 2.9 million emergency food parcels. This included over 1 million food parcels for children.
As “Pilgrims of Hope” our chaplaincy enrichment students are hoping that together we can respond with compassion and love to those in our local area who are struggling to feed their families. We’d like to support New Hope Food Bank which, in 2024 alone, provided more than 50,054 meals to local people. They are based in Halfway, Sheffield.
We have set up a food donation bin in Long Gallery and ask that every Mount family responds with characteristic generosity by donating food that has a long shelf life – anything you donate will be greatly valued. We are also doing a sponsored walk over the next few weeks to raise funds – so please watch this space!
On behalf of our lower school Chaplaincy groups, I’d like to send you a huge and hearty THANK YOU for your food donations over the coming days and weeks.
Mrs Woodhouse
"Parting is, they say, a sweet sorrow and so it is with a mixture of tears and smiles that we say goodbye at the end of this year to Mrs Woodhouse. The Art room, festooned with all manner of strange objects, will not feel the same without her gentle, calming presence. Generations of Mountaineers will remember her not only for her kindness but also for her quirky humour and joy in creativity. As she retires from teaching, I would like to thank Penny for her years of service to the school and its children. We are richer for her presence and poorer for her leaving."
Mr Murphy
Introducing Miss Ashton, Lead Teacher of Art
Hello everyone, I have taught Art at Wickersley School and Sports College for twenty years. As well as enjoying regular walks, I continue to be creative in my workshop, making resin work and abstract paintings using a wide range of mixed media. I am looking forward to getting to know you all and am excited to see the creativity and incredible talents of the students in the Art Department.
Cricket Update
We've been working hard in training and games in preparation for a full block for boys and girls against Nottingham High School, but the rain and poor forecast for Saturday has, unfortunately, meant we've had to cancel all home and away fixtures for boys and girls this week.
Congratulations to Oliver Gray in Year 10, who has been selected to play for Derbyshire U15s. We wish him the best of luck in his game on Tuesday against Lancashire at Denby Cricket Club.
The Mount will be hosting an U15 8-aside tournament on Tuesday the 24th of June. Our 1st team are also taking part in the first round of the HMC T20 at Bradford Grammar on the 11th of June.
Tennis at the Mount
Over the last 4 weeks of term, we've got a jam-packed fixture card for our Y7-10 Tennis squads for boys and girls. Please check SOCS for all the details, we can't wait to get playing some competitive Tennis!
Headmaster's Message
AMDG
Tonight I will have the pleasure of the company of our outgoing Captains and their parents for an evening of reminiscence, gratitude and even frivolity. As I wrote to you when I was appointed Headmaster, I wish to work in partnership with parents and like anything good, it requires intentional action, not accident.
One aspect of partnership is sharing, just as I have asked you and sought to make it easier for you to share your concerns or even complaints, so I hope to make it easier for us to share experiences together. The stories that we share with each other about your children’s schooling, outside of the formal reporting structures, are so valuable to us as a means of sharing and strengthening our school culture.
During our Academy Celebrations there will be many opportunities for us to meet and share stories and experiences of school life. I do hope you will be able to join us for a number of these events, and if you have ideas of other ways in which we can create such opportunities, please do suggest them.
LDS
Credits:
Created with an image by GEMINI - "cricket ball and bails on green grass pitch"