1. St Mary’s College
NEWSIssue 19
January 2016
Mathematical Challenge
The United Kingdom Senior Mathematics Challenge is a prestigious, national competition
aimed at all 16-19 year olds, studying mathematics. It involves answering 25 multiple choice
questions in 90 minutes and is sat in college under examination conditions. Forty two of our
keen mathematicians participated in the competition in November 2015 and have just received
their certificates.
The top 60% of students nationally receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze Award. Each institution
also receives three additional awards: Best in College, Best in Yr12 and Best in Yr13 Certificate.
Students who do not qualify for these awards are presented with a Certificate of Participation.
Congratulations to our 3 Silver award winners, Curtis Chesterton, Yahya Hussain and Yoosuf
Patel. Curtis Chesterton, currently studying A2 Mathematics, is now a Silver Award holder having
previously achieved the Bronze Award in November 14. Curtis was also the top performer in his
year group and was awarded the Best in Yr13 Award.
Yahya Hussain, currently studying AS Mathematics, not only scooped a Silver Award but also
picked up the Best in Yr12 Award for being the top scorer in his year and the Best in College
Award for being the top scorer in the College.
Congratulations also to our nineteen students who gained Bronze awards, they are: Mohammad
Abdullah, Muhammed Ali, Iby Bahadur, Thomas Boys, Thomas Brookes, Hania Buttar, Harry
Davies, Zoe Hargreaves, Rachel Hulme, Charlotte Keigher, Samuel Kirk, Ted Mott, Khizra Nasar,
Ella Ragen, Joseph Rebello, Aasiyah Rokad, Sara Sheikh, Sufyaan Suleman, Ubaid Ugradar.
Mr Ibrahim, Head of Mathematics Department, commented, “I am pleased with the number
of students that expressed an interest to participate in this notoriously challenging national
competition this year. Over 50% of our students achieved a Bronze or Silver Award and this is
testament to our students who prepared for this challenge alongside their AS/A2 Mathematics
course. Well done to everyone who participated.”
Another busy month at the College starting with examinations the first week back for all students.
Full term dates are available on the College website: www.stmarysblackburn.ac.uk
www.facebook.com/stmarysblackburn www.twitter.com/smcblackburn www.youtube.com/stmarysblackburnuk
Friday 12 Feburary 2016 - College closes for half term break
Monday 22 Feburary 2016 - Study Day for all students, Staff INSET training
Wednesday 2 March 2016 - Admissions Interviews
Wednesday 23 March 2016 - College closes for all students, Easter break
Monday 11 April 2016 - College re-opens for all students
BE CONNECTED Dates for your diary
Admissions Evening
Our second Admissions Interview evening took place on 20th January. Another really busy
evening and it was lovely once again to meet more of our potential students. We have one final
evening which takes place on Wednesday 2nd March.
Hair Raising
Physics A Level students learn about electric charge and potential
(voltage) every year. We always do a number of dramatic
demonstrations which includes the expected ‘hair-raising experience’.
A Van de Graaff generator charges a large metal dome up to a voltage
of 5000 V and more. A student standing on an insulated base acquires
this voltage and with positive charge hairs on the head repel each
other strongly and stand up on end.
Graduation Days
St Mary’s College has worked in partnership with Liverpool Hope
University for over 15 years offering evening degree courses to adult
learners across East Lancashire. Many of its graduates progress on
to post-graduate study as they look to further their careers in their
chosen field.
On Tuesday, 26 January 2016 Liverpool Hope University’s Winter
Graduation took place. The event saw five St Mary’s adult degree
students officially awarded their Honours Degrees at Liverpool’s
Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in addition to the 33 final
year degree students who attended the same Cathedral for their
graduation in July 2015.
St Mary’s is proud to note that adult students who studied full-time
in the evenings at the College over a three year period, achieved
excellent results with 85% gaining a 2:2 or above with nine students
being awarded a First Class Honours Degree.
The College celebrated again during the summer at Preston’s Guild
Hall, when 23 of its daytime Foundation Degree students graduated
following their Health and Social Care courses which are awarded and
validated by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). A number
of those students have successfully gained places to continue their
studies in Nursing, Occupational Therapy and also to top-up to a full
degree.
The achievements of our degree students are made even more
exceptional as the majority have combined their studies with work
and family commitments. We wish all of our graduates good luck and
a successful future!
Tennis Ace Charlie
Congratulations to St Mary’s College student Charlie Hutchings who has successfully made it
through to the Tennis National Championships.
Charlie, 18, from Blackburn, participated in the British Colleges Tennis Tournament in December
of last year and battled against 15 other competitors to win the whole competition. Next he will
be pitted against players from across the UK in the National Championships, which are to be
held in Newcastle in April.
Charlie started playing tennis when he was 6 years old, mainly due to the fact that his father
was a tennis coach. Due to his determination and tough training regime he quickly made it up
the rankings in the under 16 category and was often placed within the Top 20 in Great Britain. He
was the Lancashire County Champion in both the Singles and Doubles.
Charlie was also awarded the Donald Race & Newton Sports Award at our annual Prize Night
due to his sporting achievements. The prize was a monetary donation to help fund his travel
expenses while competing, coaching fees and new kit.
Sports teacher Ms Reynolds said on his achievement, “Charlie battled well throughout the stages
of the competition. The final was a thriller with Charlie dominating the match, demonstrating
some fantastic tennis. All of us at SMC congratulate Charlie’s amazing achievement”.photo courtesy of Lancashire Telegraph
Monetary Policy Masters
A team of four A Level Economics students from St Mary’s College have come second in the
regional heats of a prestigious competition organised by the Bank of England. The team
comprising of; Shouab Alli, Thomas Boys, Zakee Mehta and Adam Sheriwala gave a 15 minute
presentation about the current economic situation and the implications for monetary policy,
before answering a series of searching questions from two North West Bank of England Agents.
The team from St Mary’s beat off competition from Cardinal Newman College, Great Sankey
High School, Holy Cross College, Kirkham Grammar School and Rossall School.
Captain of the St Mary’s team Tom Boys said, “It was a great experience to apply economic theory
in a real life application. We learnt about monetary policy outside of the textbook theory and
developed our own presentation and independent study skills”.
The North West Regional Agent for the Bank of England, John Young said, “All the teams showed
a real understanding of economics and monetary policy and were particularly well informed on
what is happening in the UK and world economies”.
WIT
AS Theatre students went to see the Pulitzer Prize winning play “Wit” starring Coronation Street
legend Julie Hesmondhalgh at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
Director Raz Shaw said, “Wit, the Royal Exchange and Julie Hesmondhalgh have one thing in
common, a huge and palpable heart. The unique and thrilling immediacy of the theatre is a
perfect match for Margaret Edson’s beautiful story of grace and transformation. Throw Julie into
the mix and you have a magical theatrical triumvirate. I am thrilled to be at its helm.”
The students will write about this outstanding performance in their examination in June.
Salford Diocese Holy Door
Pope Francis has announced that from December 8th, 2015 until
November, 2016, a special ‘Year of Mercy’ will be celebrated throughout
the Catholic Church. This is a call to all people of good will to come
together and to show mercy to one another. In the Salford Diocese,
Bishop John Arnold has blessed a portable “Door of Mercy” and this door
is visiting each school and college starting in January 2016.
The Holy Door arrived at St Mary’s College on Monday 1 February. Pupils
and staff from St Albans Primary School presented the door to Frank
Dixon, Principal, Christine Macauley, Chaplain, Steve D’Arcy, Head of
Religious Education, and to college students in a ceremony in the College’s chapel.
Frank Dixon commented “We are truly blessed and honoured to host the Holy Door on its journey
throughout the Diocese. Its arrival has given staff and students the opportunity to deepen their
understanding of Mercy and to further highlight the importance of treating all people with the
respect and dignity that each person deserves”.
The door will then be presented to the staff and students of St Joseph’s Primary School in
Darwen on Tuesday 2 February 2016.
Once the “Door of Mercy” has visited each school and college in the Diocese of Salford, the Year
of Mercy will be brought to an end with a large gathering and celebration in the Macron Stadium,
Bolton, on 25th November, 2016.
Alumni Links
Our growing Alumni network is enabling us to invite former members of the College community
to return to deliver inspirational talks to our current students.
Most recently the College welcomed back former student, Tony Boobier who is now the IBM
European Industry Leader for Insurance. Tony delivered an interesting and informative talk
to students about the Big Data Revolution and the role Mathematics plays in probability and
predictive data. Tony explained the impact this will have in terms of career pathways and
everyday life from health informatics to finance.
Mr Altaf Ibrahim, Head of Mathematics commented, “St. Mary’s College was delighted to
welcome Mr Boobier who delivered an inspirational talk on his journey from being a student
at the College to becoming a Worldwide Executive with IBM. Mr Boobier explored career
opportunities in Analytics and Data Science and explained the important role of Mathematics in
this area of work”.
Above; Yahya Hussain, Silver Award and
Best in Yr12 Award Below; Curtis Chesterton,
Silver Award and Best in Yr13 Award.
Religious Studies Conference
Religious Studies students attended a Sixth Form Conference hosted by the Religion, Culture
and Society Department at UCLAN on Wednesday 3rd February. They had a taste of university
life and attended lectures delivered by experts in their respective fields. The first lecture dealt
with the possible ethical dilemmas proposed by the latest developments in technology and how
they challenge our concept of what it means to be human. Dr Carl Morris’s lecture on ‘Religion
and our Post-human future: Cybernetics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence’ made us all think
and really question the impact of technology on our understanding of who we are. Dr Mahmood
Chandia took us through the issues of the end of life and the issues raised by an increasingly
secular society negotiating the moral needs of faith communities. A discussion was led by a
postgraduate student of the university. All the students found the day engaging and it gave
them a real insight into higher education.
FIRST CLASS HIGHER EDUCATION PROVISION
at St Mary’s College, Blackburn
For further information please contact The University Centre on 01254 580464 or text SMCHE to 88020
St Mary’s College, Shear Brow, Blackburn, BB1 8DX www.stmarysblackburn.ac.uk
St Mary’s has designed flexible day time and evening degree programmes which allow you to combine your studies with work and family commitments.
Education and Special Needs
Early Childhood and Education
Business Management
Full-time EVENING DEGREES
in the following subject areas:
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Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (Rehabilitation and Social Care
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Foundation Certificate in Health and Social Care (Rehabilitation) - 1 year
with a guaranteed interview for nursing at
UCLan, on successful completion of the course.Tuition fees
ONLY £5,945
per year
awarded and
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Tuition fees
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awarded and
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University of Central Lancashire
Day time Courses (2 days a week)
