Explore Languages
Workshop

On Thursday 14th November we saw the start of this year’s cohort take part in the Explore Languages workshop.

A group of 35 Year 8 students were involved in the workshop, delivered by Grace, a Student Ambassador from the University of Leeds. She spoke about Languages and University life and students took part in games and challenges.

There was a question and answer session where students could ask whatever questions they wanted about university. This year’s cohort are ready torise to the challenge of beating the opposition when we take part in the taster day and competition in February 2025.

On Monday night we won all the prizes when we went head-to-head against GORSE! No pressure Year 8 – ¡Vamos!

Year 7 and 8 College Trip

On Monday 15th July, Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed a trip to see a local college, Leeds City College Printworks Campus. They learnt about the differences between school and college and what can be studied there. We explored the plane simulator which is used by the air cabin crew students, the kitchens used by hospitality students and the car mechanic area. We also had a tour of the hair and beauty department and learnt that students practise on each other, so they can have a free haircut! Our students came away with inspiration for their future course and college choices.

Numeracy Day

On 15th May, 14 Year 7s were invited to attend a Numeracy Day at Leeds University, in partnership with KPMG. Students learnt about different roles within the company and listened to a panel of people who worked in Maths roles such as data, science and coding.

Students had a guided tour of the University by the student ambassadors and enjoyed an interactive session by Maths City, where they worked in teams to solve puzzles. They left with a better understanding of the different roles in which numeracy is important.

Years 8-11 Jet2 Careers Talk

We were lucky enough to have a representative come to school to talk to our students about career opportunities at Jet2.

Jet2 are a fantastic company to work for and offer apprenticeships from post-16 up to degree level in a wide range of areas.

Here is what our students said:

Social Media workshop – Year 7

Following on from our parent workshop about using social media safely, we invited some internet experts into Mount St Mary’s to meet our Year 7s and give them some further advice. All the volunteers were from a digital background, from cyber security through to the police.

The Year 7s, as always, asked some fantastic, mature questions. The questions ranged from “how do I stay safe on snapchat?” through to “what should I do if someone I don’t know tries to contact me?”

Our guests were really impressed with the enthusiasm and the willingness to learn. I really hope some of the advice that was given around the use of social media can be shared at home. If you would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the Year 7 team for more information.

Speed Networking

On Thursday 12th January, Ahead Partnerships organised for a Speed Networking event for our Year 7 students. It was a fun and fast paced way of getting the students to meet and question lots of different employer volunteers about their chosen careers. The volunteers came from a digital career background, ranging from programming to setting up large mobile phone apps.

The students asked mature questions, and were fantastic ambassadors for the school. The volunteers went away extremely impressed with the maturity and enthusiasm of our Year 7s.

A special well done to the following students, who gained an award for their questioning;

Mahta Ambesagir, Jaiden Bhachu, Papush Camara, Isabelle Goldthorpe, Carla Gunzon, Ellis Obosu,
Chris Kapesa Diabiza, Yohannes Kebede,
Alicja Kordonska, Namrata Padippurackal,
Yllana Mei Posadas, Fynley Taylor, Ava Tomlinson,
Sophie Wainwright, Maddie Westcott, Andrei Bogdan, Isaac George, Tiago Malu, Thomas Rooney &
Jack Hood.