StMary’sUniversityCollege 2008 Simmarian theEducation continues to shine through. St Mary's ... Dr...

Welcome to this issue of The Simmarian and aspecial welcome to our new readers who graduatedthis year.

As you will see, we have changed the format ofthe magazine to a new compact edition to reflect thechanges to national postage charges. We’ve stillmanaged to pack in all of the regular features alongwith news about our current staff and students.

In this issue you can read about the latest newson the refurbishment of Walpole House and aboutour involvement in the 2012 Olympic Games.

We have an interview with Geraldine Davies, thenew Head of the School of Education who took uppost following the retirement of Professor Pat Wade.

We are in the process of creating a network of

alumni from the Schoolof Education so pleasecomplete the form onpage 26 if you trained tobe a teacher here.

Our range of exclusivealumni merchandise hasbeen expanded and anorder form is enclosedwith this issue.

I hope that you enjoy reading this issue of TheSimmarian. With very best wishes from St Mary’s.

Dr Karen Kendel-SmithHead of Alumni Services

Simmarian2008

St Mary’sUniversity CollegeTwickenham LondonThe Alumni Magazine of St Mary’s University CollegeIssue 20

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A Medal for PatAt last year’s AcademicMass, Bishop GeorgeStack, Auxiliary Bishop inthe Archdiocese ofWestminster and Chair ofSt Mary's UniversityCollege Governing Body,presented the ProEcclesia Medal toProfessor Pat Wade whoretired as Head of the

School of Education last year. Pat was an invaluable member of the St Mary's

staff who contributed not only to the School ofEducation but also to the building of the universitycollege community. Professor Wade said, “It has

always been an honour to work at St Mary's and mywhole history is wrapped up here. I came to StMary's as a student in 1969 and, through a series ofhappy accidents, retired as Head of the School ofEducation. I hope that I will be able to continue tocontribute to St Mary's University College in someway in the years to come.”

Oona Stannard, of the Catholic Education Serviceand one of the university college's Governors, said,“Pat exemplifies the best of living her faith anddedicating her life to others through education. Shehas been a superb example of selfless service tothousands of people and her passion for CatholicEducation continues to shine through. St Mary'sUniversity College and the wider Catholic communityhave benefited enormously from Pat's lifelongcontribution to Catholic Education. She has anindomitable spirit that lights up all around her.”

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Letter fromthe PrincipalThe most significant development since I last wrotein the Simmarian is the lease of Walpole House tothe Strawberry Hill Trust to enable a £8.9 millionrestoration project to be undertaken. Work began inlate 2007 and the project is due for completion andthe House reopened in 2010. It removes from theuniversity college the burden of maintaining a listedbuilding that we could not use for teaching purposesand enables us to invest our resources in muchbetter facilities.

In April 2008 the refurbished and greatlyexpended refectory opened and planning permissionis currently being sought for a project of up to £9million to build new facilities for the wide range ofprogrammes now offered in the Human Sciences.

I hope that you will find in our alumni magazine asense of the spirit and optimism that there is oncampus as we invest in creating a high-qualityenvironment for our students and staff.

Dr Arthur NaylorPrincipal

UniversityCollege News2008 Awards DinnerSt Mary's held its annual Awards Dinner on February5. The evening was introduced by Dr Michael Hayes,Vice-Principal and following a welcome by the Chairof the Board of Governors, Rt Rev George Stack, theuniversity college Annual Report for 2007 waspresented by Dr Arthur Naylor, Principal.

Rt Rev Edwin Regan, Ms Anji Phillips and theReligious of the Assumption were this year'srecipients of Honorary Fellowships from theuniversity college.

Honorary Fellowships are conferred on peopleeminent in their chosen field who have made anoutstanding contribution to society.

Rt Rev Edwin Regan, Bishop of Wrexham andPresident of the National Board of ReligiousInspectors and Advisors for a number of years, hasbeen centrally involved in the development of policyon Catholic education as a trustee of the CatholicEducation Service.

From 1946-1977 Maria Assumpta College was aco-worker with St Mary's in the education ofCatholic teachers and education for the fulfilment ofthe individual in the service of society is the heart ofthe work of the Religious of the Assumption.

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St Mary’s University CollegeTwickenham London

Ms Anji Phillips is the Director of Education andChildren's Services, London Borough of Richmondupon Thames, which in 2007 achieved anoutstanding judgment from OFSTED in the JointArea Review.

Under her directorship a strong partnership modelhas been developed which has brought theuniversity college into closer working with Richmondupon Thames.

During the evening, student achievements werecelebrated and a number of scholarship studentsspoke about their experiences at St Mary’s.

Pennsylvania LinkA high level delegation from De Sales University,Pennsylvania, visited St Mary’s earlier this year tofurther cement the developing relationship betweenthe two academic communities. The Very ReverendFr. Bernard O'Connor OSFS, President, Dr KarenDoyle Walton, Provost, and other senior officers fromDe Sales visited the university college to meet staffand students.

Dr Michael Hayes, Vice Principal, said: “This visitis a further step towards strengthening thecollaborative arrangements between St Mary'sUniversity College and the Catholic universities andColleges in the United States”.

The De Sales visit included a tour of the campus,sampling the lunch menu in the refectory andacademic presentations by the Schools. The dayformally ended with the official signing of theMemorandum of Agreement between theuniversities, which will enable students to study inthe United States for a period of time during theirstudies. This agreement will also createopportunities for staff exchanges.

theSimmarianEditor: Dr Karen Kendel-Smith

Design: Fredd, Twickenhamwww.fredd.co.uk

Print: Stag PrintPhotography: Christine Jarvis

St Mary’s University College Waldegrave Road,Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. TW1 4SX, UK.

Switchboard: 020 8240 4000Alumni Office: 020 8240 4039

Fax: 020 8240 4256E-mail: [email protected]

The Simmarian is published once a year. Allcorrespondence should be addressed to Dr KarenKendel-Smith, Head of Alumni Services. No part ofthis magazine may be reproduced without thepermission of the editor. The opinions expressedare those of the contributors and not necessarilythose of St Mary’s University College.

© Copyright reserved 2008St Mary’s University College

Dr Michael Hayes, former Head of the School ofTheology, Philosophy & History, is a new Vice-Principal of St Mary’s. Dr Hayes succeededProfessor Dick Fisher, who is concentrating ondeveloping sport in the university college.

Dr Hayes has responsibility for Academic Qualityand Registry; International Development; HumanResources Strategy; Marketing; MIS Strategy;Student Services and Widening Participation.

Dr Anthony Towey has been appointed Head ofthe School of Theology, Philosophy and History.

The website has been an essential part in ensuringanother successful recruitment cycle for St Mary's.We have appointed a Web Content Editor to updatethe site on a daily basis with news, events andcourse information using supporting photos takenfrom our extensive photographic archive.

We have recently commissioned a company tosupply a new virtual tour which will go online veryshortly.

We havedistributed thespring edition ofThe Gazette, ourcommunitynewspaper, toover 21,000homes in andaround thelocal area. APDF of thiscan be foundin the newssection onour website –www.smuc.ac.uk.

We have continued to raise the profile of St Mary'slocally, nationally and internationally with the use oftargeted advertising and marketing campaigns.

St Mary’s Lecturer AdvisesHampton Court

Dr Glenn Richardson, Director of History, has joinedthe Research Advisory Panel at Hampton CourtPalace to assist in its preparations to mark the 500thanniversary of the accession of King Henry VIII inApril 1509.

Dr Richardson is one of a number of Tudor historyexperts assisting the curators at Historical RoyalPalaces in planning a series of exhibitions andevents to be held at Hampton Court throughout2009.

"This is an exciting and interesting project" saidDr Richardson. "The events planned for 2009 willgive people a great opportunity to take a new look atHenry VIII and to really see why he's important formore reasons than just having six wives".


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STAFF NEWS

MARKETINGNEWS

ACADEMICNEWS

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Staff and students from the Geography and Tourismdepartments at St Mary's University College metFormula One racing driver, Lewis Hamilton, whenthey were guests of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs atthe Independence Day celebrations to markGrenada's 34th birthday in February.

The students have completed a wide range ofproject work that includes research in agriculture,community development, heritage, culturalgeography, sports geography and the impact of thecruise industry on the island.

Dr Kevin Cook, Director of Geography, said, “Thisis the third field visit to Grenada as a part of theLevel 3 module ‘Field Work in Developing Areas'. Ithas, once again, been a tremendous successintroducing students to a new culture and engagingthem in challenging research.”

Staff and Students Celebratewith Grenada

The Irish Studies degree has been awarded a grantfrom the Irish government to promote the teachingof Irish. Early this year, a beginner's class waslaunched alongside a more advanced option.

Dr Conor Carville, the Director of Irish Studiessaid that the funding is part of the Irishgovernment's aim to encourage the study of Irishoutside Ireland. “St Mary's students will once againhave the opportunity to study this fascinatinglanguage”, he said.

Irish LanguageGrant

The Professional Short Course unit at the School ofHuman Sciences has now been approved as acentre offering courses leading to the qualificationsof The Royal Society of the Promotion of Health.

Course will include a Level 3 Advanced Diplomain Nutrition. This is a qualification suitable for peoplewith supervisory responsibilities working in thecatering and hospitality industries and others whoare in a position to promote healthy nutrition.

The Diploma is also relevant for individualsworking in the health, caring or teaching professionswho might have a role in the promotion of healthyeating or the preparation of meals, menus and diets.The learning outcomes cover a study of thenutritional requirements for a healthy diet, the effectof food processing and cooking on nutritionalcontent and the effect of diet on health.

NutritionDiploma


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In this special feature,Geraldine Davies, Head of the School ofEducation, shares someof the new directionsbeing taken within the School

Since I took up my post following Professor PatWade’s retirement, I have found out a great dealabout what works well within the School –particularly that the reputation for initial teachertraining is outstanding, with a wonderful staff, highlyprofessional, motivated and dedicated.

We are a significant part of St Mary’s, as fortypercent of the student numbers are withinEducation, so part of our aim is to raise the profile ofEducation. To do that we have to enable our staff tobecome more research focused.

This is not to detract from their primaryresponsibility, teacher training, but to help developtheir own areas of interest.

For the very first time, Education is contributing tothe Research Assessment Exercise. I have Dr LornaGoodwin to thank for drawing together hugeamounts of paperwork and driving the processwithin the school. Lorna and Dr Maureen Glackin areour two most recent PhD successes and they areboth very much in the forefront of the process ofdrawing on research to inform our teaching.

We have already demonstrated expertise intraining teachers, so this new shift allows us to offermore to teachers who are already in post. We havebid to the TDA for an additional Masters levelqualification. We want to expand the range ofMasters courses that we offer for teachers inschools, looking at the development of pedagogyand professional values and practice, and buildingan MA portfolio, which takes pedagogy as a strongtheme, both in the Primary sector and in specificsubject areas in the Secondary sector. For examplewe are developing a PE Masters programme,

An Interviewwith Geraldine Davies

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building on the strong tradition that St Mary’s haswith physical education.

We have appointed two new visiting professors.Sir John Rowlings’s expertise is in SchoolLeadership and in leading change. He is tasked withraising the standard of GCSE results in a broadspectrum of London schools in this current year. Hisrole within the London Challenge Group of schoolsis focused on GCSE performance, but thetechniques he uses to effect change are applicableto any sector. John has led three days of InServicetraining for our programme and academic directors,and has used some theoretical frameworks forchange. He is also working closely with them on aone to one basis, mentoring and supporting themthrough effecting that change. This providestheoretical expertise running concurrently with theirpractice, thus making theory of managementleadership actually impact on practice.

Our second visiting professor is Professor PaulClarke whose expertise is mainly in the area ofsustainable school improvement, modelling how aninstitution, and the members of staff within thatinstitution, can implement and develop animprovement agenda, and find the resources andexpertise within themselves to make that change.Paul will be working with our own staff, to supportthem in effecting the changes. We will be modelling,internally, some of the practices that he has beendeveloping out in schools.

We have developed the Retreat, Refresh andRenew programme for serving head teachers. I havecome from a secondary headship fairly recently andI know that there has been a great deal of workcarried out from the National College for SchoolLeadership, and from the dioceses and localauthorities, about preparation for people to take on aheadship – and some good support too, offered forpeople who are new in post.

However, I couldn’t find anything that could beappropriate for those who were experienced andsuccessful head teachers, and so we developed the‘3Rs’ programme, which, at the moment, is aimedspecifically at head teachers in Catholic schools.This allows them to spend five flexible days at StMary’s which can be taken in groups, or singly, andbooked at very short notice.

We have had six head teachers so far come ontoour programme since its inception last September.Participants start by spending a day with either me,or one of the academic directors, and we explorewhat they want to achieve. We have a pool of staffto draw on to cover most areas of expertise and, insome instances, they may just want an opportunityfor time to read and reflect. Many of the participantswant time to spend on a spiritual retreat, and FrGerry Devlin has provided help and support for this.

There is now also a renewed interest in attractingstudents from Gibraltar. Gibraltarian students have,over the years, formed a very important part of StMary’s. Along with Paula Askew, the DirectorOutreach and Partnerships, I visited Gibraltar beforeChristmas where we were wonderfully hosted. Wevisited two secondary schools, met the Director ofEducation and one of the advisors, as well as someof the members of the Gibraltarian SimmarianAssociation. Paula has gone back to their CareersFair, where a St Mary’s stand will be exhibited. Wehope to strengthen still further the link that hasexisted for a very long time between Gibraltar and St Mary’s.

There is absolutely nothing in the School ofEducation that needs fixing. I have a great staff andthere is a wonderful working atmosphere. That’s awonderful position to be in and I have Pat Wade tothank for that. She did an outstanding job and thegreat professional and personal regard in which sheis held within the School is really a great credit toher – and I do thank her for all that she has done. Ihope I’m able to create the conditions here for aneven more exciting future.


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If you have lost touch witha fellow Simmarian, theAlumni Office may be able to help!

If you have lost contact with someone werecommend that you look on the Friends Reunitedwebsite. Thousands of our former students haveregistered with the website and this is an excellentway to contact old friends. If you would like adviceabout how to use Friends Reunited, please contactus and we’ll send you a fact sheet.

If you cannot locate the person you wish tocontact, we can check our database to see if theyhave registered with us. As all information is heldunder the Data Protection Act, we cannot give outthe details of former students without their priorconsent. However, we can forward stamped mail orcontact an individual on your behalf asking them tocontact you.

If you wish to contact more than five people, wesuggest that you ask to be included in ‘Where AreThey Now’. Mention that you would welcomecontact from former friends and we will forward anymessages to you.

Don’t forget to tell us if you change your contactdetails and if you have details of a Simmarian whomay not be on our records, please let us know.

St Mary’s Careers Serviceand Simmarians –working together toinspire future generationsWould you like to help us by inspiring futuregenerations of Simmarians about possible careerpaths? St Mary’s Careers Service is looking forSimmarians from all professions and industries toget involved with the Careers Information ExchangeProject. We encourage alumni to provide informalcareers information and advice about areas of workin which they have experience.

There are many mediums of information exchangefrom email or phone contact right through to workshadowing and job opportunities. There will also bethe chance to take part in alumni careers eveningsor to give mini talks or presentations at Careers Fairssuch as the Teaching Appointments Fair, theExperience Works Fair, the Sports Careers Forumand the Media Careers Forum.

In the coming year we would like to expand thenumbers of alumni taking part in the project. If youwould like to find out more about getting involvedplease contact [email protected] or call us on020 8240 4055. You can also complete the AlumniReply Form stating that you would like toparticipate.

Recent alumni feature on our careers websitewww.smuc.ac.uk/careers, which features realinsights from alumni inspire current students. Ifyou’d like to appear, please [email protected].

If you would like help and advice regarding yourown career options and completed your SMUCcourse in the last two years, you can join GradClub.Sign up at www.smuc.ac.uk/careers or directly atwww.gradclub.co.uk.

Alumni Postbox

Maggie Gold (MA Heritage Interpretation, 2000) hasco-edited Olympic Cities, a book which provides anoverview of the changing relationship between hostcities and Olympic events from 1896 to 2012.Olympic Cities is published by Routledge. Maggie isa course leader in Arts and Heritage Management ata London university.

The 1964-67 ReunionSeptember 7-9, 2007Over 60 members of our cohort group attended the‘40th year of leaving’ reunion, along with threeformer members of staff including; Andrew Sinclair(Education) who was our guest of honour, along withRoy Groves and Bill McLoughlin (both PhysicalEducation), and we were joined by several membersof the 1952-54 cohort who were celebrating theirannual pilgrimage to St Mary’s.

The event began on Friday afternoon with a fewearlybirds playing golf at Strawberry Hill Golf Club,supported by a few non-playing friends from theterrace bar of the clubhouse. This was followed by avery sociable drinks reunion session in the SU baron Friday evening.

A full Saturday programme began in the Pope’sGrotto at noon with an afternoon consisting of a tourof traditional Twickenham taverns – a pub crawl withan educational cryptic quiz.

As expected, Saturday evening was the mostpopular social event, when we were joined byseveral members of the 1966 first women’s intake atSt Mary’s, who provided dance partner opportunitiesfor the highlight of the evening; the guestappearance of former members of the originalcollege rock band PM Squared. These mature buttalented rockers entertained us with all the popularsounds of the sixties numbers well into the night,before a few tired but exhilarated boppers bravedthe experience of ‘Rawalpindi’s revenge’ inTwickenham.

The Sunday reunion mass was celebrated by ourformer colleague Canon Robert Plourde, whoinspired us with a poignant sermon, and dedicationswere delivered by Peter Murphy in memory of thethirteen of our known deceased colleagues, alongwith former Head of PE staff, John Kane, togetherwith a special eulogy by Peter Booth to our formermentor, Joe Jagger, who died last year. After thisvery moving ceremony we adjourned again to thePope’s Grotto for a final lunch and farewell drinksparty, before friends headed off home or back tocollege for a tour of Walpole House before therenovations began.

In summary, the overall response and turnout tothis latest reunion was the best so far in the fiveevents to date with over 120 contacts made out ofour total cohort group of nearly 250 individuals, butwe are hopeful that we might even surpass thissuccess in the future.

We are currently updating our contact list, andthanks to the efforts of Tony Aitken, we now havethe dedicated website at www.simms64.co.uk,which will make it even easier to keep in touch, passon news and information, as well as develop plansfor the possible future reunion event for 45 years ofour leaving college, which will coincide with theLondon 2012 Olympics. Lets all get in training!Cheers and Best Wishes, John White and Peter MurphyReunion 2007 Coordinators

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ALUMNINEWS

ForthcomingReunionsYear group members are automatically sent letters ofinvitation to their reunion, approximately threemonths in advance. If you would like a fact sheetabout arranging your own reunion, please contactthe Alumni Office.

1968-71 Reunion Strawberry Hill September 5th, 6th, 7th 2008 Black tie and posh frocks!


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St Mary's University College has been chosen asone of the official venues for Pre-Games TrainingCamps for the London Olympic and ParalympicGames in 2012 and will now seek to attract Olympicteams to train in London in the period leading up tothe Games. The university college will be able tohelp teams prepare in seven sports: Athletics,Badminton, Basketball, Fencing, Handball, IndoorVolleyball, and Weightlifting.

St Mary's will also be leading the SW Londoncluster of organisations for these camps under theumbrella of Go South Go, which represents all thelocal authorities, universities, colleges and many ofthe sports organizations and bodies in SouthLondon.

Professor Dick Fisher, who oversees thedevelopment of sport across the university college,said, “We are already a designated high performancecentre for sport and the only university in London tohost an English Institute of Sport hub-site, so we

were hoping to be in theofficial prospectus and aredelighted to have thisconfirmed by LOCOG. We are already in contactwith several countries and will work with our GoSouth Go colleagues to make a real success of thiswonderful initiative. We now have to go into phasetwo of the process and prepare the detail for ourpage in the official prospectus, which will bepublished in time for the Beijing Games”.

Gold Medals for SimmarianRebecca Romero, a St Mary's Honorary Fellow andformer student (1998-02), won two gold medals atthe World Track Cycling Championships inManchester on March 27: one for the women’sindividual pursuit and one in the women’s teampursuit. The wins follow her World Championshipwomen’s quad sculls rowing win in 2005, and silvermedal in the women’s quad event at the 2004Athens Olympics. This means that in three years Rebecca has been aWorld Champion in two different sports, and hasbecome a World Champion in cycling only two yearsafter starting the sport.

“Rebecca is a classy athlete who has workedincredibly hard to become a World Champion in bothrowing and cycling," said Andrew Reid-Smith,Director of Sport St Mary's. "With Rebecca’smotivation and sheer determination she has a veryreal chance of following her Olympic silver in rowingwith a cycling medal at Beijing."

St Mary’s Students at theWorld University CrossCountry ChampionshipsThe 16th World University Cross CountryChampionships took place in Mauquenchy, NorthernFrance on April 6. St Mary’s position as the UKAthletics Endurance Performance Centre wasreflected in three students being selected to run; abetter representation than any other university.

Sports Report

St Mary’s and London 2012

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In muddy and difficult conditions, Faye Fullertontook the lead with just 200 metres to go, winning theindividual gold and securing victory for the Team GBwomen’s team. With her individual and team medal,Faye now has three World University Cross Countrygold medals, having already secured a 1st placewith the victorious women’s team in the 2004Championship. Andy Vernon (6th place) and KeithGerrard (14th place) were the first two finishers forthe men’s team having completed a 10.8km coursein driving snow.

St Mary’s wins BUSA CrossCountry ChampionshipsSt Mary's university college won the overall title atFebruary's BUSA Cross Country Championships inSwansea. Over 1150 students from all over thecountry competed in this national competition.

This year the Championships took on even moresignificance with competitors aiming to gainselection for the World University Cross CountryChampionships. St Mary's role as the UK AthleticsEndurance Performance Centre (UK A EPC) wasreflected in the strength of the team and leading intothe competition expectation was high.

The men's team set the standard for the day withAndy Vernon (European U23 cross country bronzemedallist) and Keith Gerrard setting a tough pace forthe opposition, gaining 1st and 2nd in the men's 'A'race. Mitch Goose, Tom Boardman and Ben Lindsayfinished in 15th, 16th and 18th respectively andSteven Connor in 50th place meaning that with thefirst 4 runners scoring St Mary's comprehensivelywon the men's title with 34 points beatingLoughborough (89 points), Birmingham (109 points)and Oxford (124 points).

The women's 'A' race saw St Mary's gain anotherindividual title with a classy display from StephanieTwell (European Junior Cross Country Champion)beating Emily Pidgeon (Loughborough) and StaceyJohnson (Birmingham). Jessica Sparke finishedstrongly taking 5th place and Rose-Anne Galliganand Linzi Snow finished in 15th and 16threspectively.

Overall the women's team finished in 2nd placeon 21 points behind Birmingham (15 points) andbeating Loughborough (29 points).

Bertie Powell ran bravely in the men's 'B' racesetting a difficult pace throughout the race andsummoning the will and determination to hold onto2nd place. Overall the men's 'B' team finished in acreditable 3rd place behind Loughborough andBirmingham. Andrew Reid-Smith said, “I wasincredibly impressed by the ability of the athletes,their motivation to achieve, the way they supportedeach other and represented the university college.

The presence of Mick Woods and Craig Winrow,coaches from the UK A EPC, was tremendouslybeneficial and appreciated by the students.”

St Mary’s Student is WorldDeaf Squash Champion

Student, Jamie Mathews, won the World DeafSquash Championships held in Cape Town, SouthAfrica last November. Jamie, who is studying PE inthe Community/Sports Science, defeated Englandteammate and former champion, Philip Thomas, tosecure the title. A combination of ruthless play fromMatthews and unforced errors from Thomas decidedthe match. Jamie, 21, was also a member of theEngland team that won the team event, overcomingAustralia, South Africa, Scotland and Holland.

He started playing squash at the age of four andhad a very active involvement in junior squashtournaments around the country. He now plays inDivision 1 Surrey Cup and in Division 1 for Surrey,Middlesex and Sussex teams and has also playedfor the Surrey County Men's 1st Team.

More sports news overleaf >


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Famous FormerAthletes at St Mary’s Sebastian Coe and Wendy Sly were the surpriseguests at the National Junior EndurancePerformance Camp at St Mary's last year. Around 80of the best young runners in the country attend theweek long camp, which is sponsored by the LondonMarathon, and were treated to a question andanswer session based on how these two famousformer athletes shaped their careers.

Participants also enjoyed video footage of someof Lord Coe’s greatest races whilst he gave acommentary as some of the races unfolded.

Professor Dick Fisher said, “It was an inspirationalsession for coaches and athletes alike and, in Seb'scase, was fitted in with a very tight schedule ofmeetings for his daytime job – organising theOlympic Games".

St Mary’s to HostSkills AcademySt Mary's university college is one of nineUniversities selected by the Youth Sport Trust tohost and organise the new Regional Multi SkillsAcademies. These are part of a pilot scheme whichaims to give gifted and talented children theopportunity to attend a large scale event and gainexpert coaching and guidance.

Local students from Richmond (Whitton) SchoolsSport Partnership and Richmond College will gainleadership experience alongside more experienceduniversity students. Teachers and practitioners willhave a training day on how to develop talentedyoungsters and aid their development.

Dr Glyn Howatson and his MSc student, Jess Hill,collected data from a group of 18 volunteerscompeting at this year’s London Marathon. The aimof the study was to examine how effectiveconsumption of a cherry juice before and after theMarathon could aid in recovery. Cherries have anaturally high concentration of anti-inflammatory andanti-oxidative properties which may be of benefit inrecovery from activities like the Marathon. Thefindings may have implications for the managementdozens of clinical pathologies that have an elementof oxidative and/or inflammatory stress.

Volunteers, many of whom were former students,worked on the study on the day of the marathon.

Dr Howatson said, “Interestingly, there is little orno information of how individuals respond to theMarathon with regard to muscle damage,inflammation, oxidative stress, immune response.We aim to start plugging this gap in knowledge; thedata from this investigation will provide us with aglobal picture of the implications of such an arduousendurance task and of course whether cherry juicemay help to reduce the negative effects of ultra-endurance exercise and perhaps have implicationsfor more life threatening clinical pathologies.”

MARATHON NEWS

Lecturer Rita Moustakim ran the Beirut Marathon inNovember. Rita ran the marathon to raise funds forEducation Action International, a charity working inAfrica, Latin America and the Middle East to improveaccess to quality education for refugees and peopleaffected by conflict. The charity supports teacherdevelopment, literacy and advocacy trainingprogrammes as well as providing refugees andasylum seekers with education advice and training inthe UK.

Tim Holder of the School of Human Sciences, ranthe New York Marathon in November, raising moneyfor The Prostate Cancer Charity. Tim crossed thefinish line in Central Park after 4 hours and 18minutes. The New York marathon attracts two millionspectators and 315 million television viewersworldwide. Tim, whose father battled with this formof cancer, was delighted to have taken part.

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Chris Pavitt, a student studying Law and Psychology,climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the charity CampsInternational last year. Camps International primarilyhelps with bio diversity and rehabilitation projects incertain parts of Africa.

During the climb, Chris suffered from acutemountain sickness which manifested itself in severeheadaches and hallucinations.

Chris said, “How do you ready yourself to climbthe tallest free-standing mountain in the world? All you can do is overcome the challenges that areput in front of you, or the challenges you put in frontof yourself.”

“A trip like this is a life changing experience, andcertainly had an impact on my life and the way Ithink about things. On the way back down I hadtime to reflect on the trials I had faced and what Ilearnt about myself when forced into those momentsof fight or flight”.

The money donated to Camps Internationalhelped fund projects to provide African children witha safer, more stable future. For more informationplease see www.campsinternational.com or [email protected].

StudentClimbsKilimanjaro

The London Marathon

Liverpool Simmarian ClubThe Annual Mass for deceased members of the Clubwas celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Kingon Saturday 24th November 2007. Father AlexFleming (44/46), Club Chaplain and Father GodricTimney OSB (70/71) concelebrated the Massassisted by Deacon Gerald Marsh (44/46).

Father Alex paid tribute to six of the club’srecently deceased members: John Cummins (54/56),Brian Fowler (63/66), Austin Hughes (43/45), JosephHarrington Hunt (45/47), Joe McKeating (59/62) andGerry O’Brien (54/56).

Forty six members and wives dined in theGibberd Room within the Cathedral building. Thiswas a highly successful occasion and relatives ofthe deceased were entertained as special guests ofthe Liverpool Simmarian Club. We were very pleasedto welcome to the lunch Des Cunningham (40/42)returning to his native Liverpool to visit old friends.Des won the accolade for the oldest Simmarianpresent!

On the 3rd December 2007, John Paschal Malone(54/56), our President, died peacefully in hospitalsurrounded by his family. College contemporariesand all those of his many friends will remember hisbubbling enthusiasm, his love for Simmaries and histremendous pride in serving as President of theLiverpool Simmarian Club. His Requiem Mass at St Anne’s Ormskirk was so packed with mournersthat the church was unable to house them. Fifteenpriests concelebrated, a tribute to his lifelong serviceto the Church, to Catholic Education and inparticular his contribution to matters liturgical andmusical.

At our recent AGM, Gerry Wright (52/54) wasinstalled as the new President. Gerry and his Collegecontemporaries will, in September, meet atStrawberry Hill for their 54th Simmarian Reunion.

Our College Feast Day Mass and Christmas lunchcontinues to be one of the highlights of our year.Twenty two members attended, all in good voice, ingood heart and by the meal’s conclusion, in verygood spirits.

The Liverpool Simmarian Club continues to meeton the last Thursday of each month at The WestLancashire Golf Club. Geoff Farrell

North Eastern SimmarianAssociation

The North Eastern Association continues to meeteach month at the Sea Hotel, South Shields and onalternate months at the Hardwicke Hall Manor Hotel,Blackhall. The luncheons are well attended and haveproved very popular over the years.

Mass for deceased Simmarians was offered by FrM Cairns at St Joseph’s Parish Church, Blackhall onThursday November 29, 2007.G Coleman

Manchester and SalfordSimmarian AssociationThe Manchester and Salford Simmarian Associationwas formally disbanded in September 2007. Thisdecision was taken after our annual Mass andreunion which was attended by over thirtySimmarians and wives. Once again, Canon TonyDorran and Father Francis Austin concelebrated andour debt to them has been incalculable.


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Alumni Associations and Clubs

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The decision to disband did not come lightly. OurAssociation was formed in 1907 and it was felt thatif closure had to come then the centenary seemedan appropriate occasion. We from this part ofLancashire are justly proud of our loyalty to our AlmaMater. So many of our Catholic population havebeen influenced by great Simmarian teachers. Thatwill be the legacy of this once thriving association. Kevin Madden

OntarioAnthony (Tony) Hegarty (1951-53) the ‘President-for-Life’ of the Ontario Branch of the Simmarian Unionhas died following a brief battle with cancer. Heserved as an elementary school principal for manyyears in Toronto and taught in Catholic schools inEngland and Toronto for a total of fifty years.

He was instrumental in organizing a number ofSimmarian reunions.

GibraltarAt the 13th Annual General Meeting of the GibraltarSimmarian Society held in June 2007, the followingmembers were elected to the Committee :President: Vincent Latin JP; Vice President: Albert ATraverso; Hon Secretary: Anthony Teuma; HonTreasurer: John R Norton.

The newly-formed committee decided that everyGibraltar student who had gone to St Mary's isentitled to become a member of the GibraltarSimmarian Society and an up to date list was dulycompiled. All members were issued with aMembership Card and a letter outlining theCommittee's aims and programme for the year2008. A very successful reunion in honour of OurLady was held on the 6th December, 2007 at theMediterranean Rowing Club. This was the 13thAnnual Dinner held and it was very well attended.We were honoured with the attendance of formerlecturer Michael Murname and his wife Meg and alsoby our very own Simmarian Minister for Educationand Mayor of Gibraltar Clive Beltran and his wifeSylvia. A record number of prizes, donated by localfirms, were raffled towards the end of the eveningand the money collected (just under £200) wasdonated to the 1/4th Scout Group (£50) and to theGibraltar Community Association (£100).

Thank you ... to all those who contributed tothe 2007 Simmarian Magazine Appeal. Listed beloware the donors who indicated that they were happyfor us to acknowledge their donation. We would alsolike to thank all of the donors who wished to remainanonymous.

Beeby, RichardBradley, MaureenBrennan, HenryBrennan, KathleenButler, RichardCollins, PeterDaley, PeterDolan, PeterFleming, AlexanderForster, KevinHayes, RichardJohnson, ThomasKeeling, Katrina

Kemp, PeterKennedy, JohnKoniarski, KarolKyndt, PhilipLodge, JohnMcPhee, JonathanNorrie, PeterOliver, HarryPaterson, ElieenScales, AlfredSmith, CharlesWesthead, John


16 www.smuc.ac.uk

Chaplaincy atSt Mary’s

The beginning of a new academic year is alwaysextremely busy as the Chaplaincy team establish apresence on the campus. Our aim is to inform newstudents of the Chaplaincy groups and activities, aswell as the outreach programmes which areavailable. We are delighted with the positiveresponse from students who are participating in thevarious Chaplaincy groups and taking part in theMinistry of Reader, Eucharistic Minister, Sacristanand Musicians. It is wonderful to see so manystudents taking the opportunity to give of their timefreely in serving the needs of others.

The students have been busy fundraising forworthwhile causes since the beginning of theacademic year and a group of students raisedmoney for the Mustard Seed community inZimbabwe. The evening included music, informationregarding the work of the community and a fashionevening. It was a truly multicultural event andinvolved a large number of students and staff whoraised over £1200. The Simms Lourdes group werevery busy fundraising to raise money which enabledus to sponsor children with learning difficulties totravel with the HCPT pilgrimage at Easter. TheSimms Lourdes group raised £1300 and Group 181,which is associated with the university college,expressed their heartfelt thanks for all the moneywhich was raised by the students.

The Chaplaincy has been working closely with theShooting Star Hospice in Hampton to raise fundswhich will help with the care of young people whoare terminally ill. Along with a third year student,Jason Arday, we organised a football tournamentwhich involved over 100 students and members ofthe local community. The evening raised £1200 andit also heightened the profile of the Hospice oncampus and the great work which volunteers andstaff undertake each week. We also invitedvolunteers from the Hospice to bring along a carwhich was being raffled locally to raise funds and,on the day, students sold over £500 worth of tickets.

During the Season of Lent we organised a LentenAppeal which raised £1900 and the money wasdonated to Project Life which is co-ordinated by SrDee Smith, a former student in Guatemala. Thecentre aims to provide education in the prevention ofAIDS as well as diagnostic and community servicesfor people living with HIV/AIDS. We also gave moneyto the Lima School Project in Peru, which isdeveloping a school for young disadvantagedchildren whose families are unable to afford full timeeducation. After two years of successful fundraisingthis school is opening after Easter and so far havesigned up 120 children.

The Chaplaincy team organised a Lenten Retreatfor students at Cumberland Lodge, Great WindsorPark from the 28th February until 2nd March 2008.The weekend involved self exploration, prayer andreflection on the Easter gospels. The retreatconcluded with a Service in the Royal Chapel in thepresence of the Queen and Prince Philip.

We organised a Memorial Mass in the UniversityCollege Chapel for Frankie Marzetti, a second yearstudent who sadly died from cystic fibrosis early inthe New Year. We were joined by members ofFrankie’s family and her close friends. During theacademic year there has been Silent Meditation inthe Crypt every Tuesday and the RCIA group hascontinued to meet weekly as students prepare forreception into the life of the Catholic Church. Thestudents took part in the Rite of Election atWestminster Cathedral on the First Sunday of Lent.

Throughout the year Mass is celebrated in theUniversity College Chapel and in the Crypt everyday. There is a multi faith Prayer Room situated

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below the main University College Chapel which hasprivate washing facilities and is used regularly by asmall number of students. During the academic yearwe organise liturgies when staff and students cometogether to celebrate in the University CollegeChapel, these include the Academic Mass, the FeastDay Mass, Penitential Services, the Christmas CarolConcert and the liturgies which are celebrated in theUniversity College Chapel during Holy Week andEaster. This year we were joined by a good numberof students who remained on campus during theEaster holidays.

The Assistant Chaplain, Mrs Rebecca Walker,gave birth to a baby girl Molly on the 28th December2007. In Rebecca’s absence we are delighted towelcome David Wheat as the temporary AssistantChaplain. David was Assistant Director of theWalsingham House Residential Youth Centre basedin Canvey Island, Essex. David had recently workedwith the Diocese of Westminster at the SPEC Centrein London Colney. He has contributed a great dealto the work of the Chaplaincy since the beginning ofthe New Year.

Catherine Hughes, the leader of the music group,became the Ty Ga Karate World Champion at theChampionships which were held in the Excel Centre,London, at the end of October 2007. Catherine wontwo gold medals in the Kata and Cumite disciplinesand she is also part of the British team. Catherinecontributes so much to our community as leader ofthe music group, senior resident and Vice Presidentof the men’s rugby league team.

The Chaplaincy is always looking at ways ofenhancing the student experience at St Mary’s andaiming for greater involvement of staff and studentsin serving the needs of others. Our aim is to maintainand develop the distinctive identity of St Mary’s andits ethos as a Church university college. TheChaplaincy is committed to facilitating personaldevelopment through a vibrant sacramental life,retreats, discussions, prayer groups, spiritualdirection and mutual support. As a team we willcontinue to encourage students to engage with theup-building of our own community and the localcommunity, as the outreach programmes andChaplaincy groups compliment the academic life ofthe students at St Mary’s.

For further information on Chaplaincy groups andactivities please take time to look at the websitewww.smuc.ac.uk/chaplaincy


18 www.smuc.ac.uk

News of the death of the following Simmarians hasbeen received. Please remember in your prayersthese Simmarians, their families and their friends.

We welcome full obituaries from friends andrelatives of former students and members of staff.These are retained in our archives where they areavailable to anyone who wishes to read them.

John Adamson 1940-42Anna Bowers 2002-06John Brennan 1956-59Peter Cassidy 1957-60Hugh Colton 1943-45Tony De Souza 1964-67Major Sir John Francis Etienne 1938-40Brian Fowler 1961-64Joseph Gallagher 1951-53Anthony Hegarty 1951-53Patrick Hill 1934-36George Howard 1949-51Tom Jose 1945-47John Kirby 1947-49Albert Lomax 1943-45Frankie Marzetti 2006-07

John Malone 1954-56Gerry Mason 1952-54Edward McAllister 1936-38Br. J McDermott 1947-49Gerard McGoldrick 1936-38Joseph McKeating 1959-62Michael McLaughlin 1934-37James McNamee 1956-58Robert MacSweeney 1961-64Rory Moore 1944-46Thomas O’Riley 1937-39John Passman 1944-46Colin Rowan 1949-51Philip Stuart 1966-69Geraldine Turner 1976-79Bernard Williams 1954-56

StaffPaul DonovanJohn FrostJohn KaneSheila KentJohn Raynes

100 years agoChanges made by the authorities have been wellreceived, notably the appearance of cocoa at thesupper table, the extension of optional teas toSundays and the big all round improvement in thefood.‘The Simmarian’ Christmas 1908

75 years agoEarly in the year a most interesting lecture was givenin the Smokeroom on the use of the talkie inelementary education and it was illustrated by soundpictures. We all spent a most entertaining andprofitable evening.‘The Simmarian’ June 1933

50 years ago‘We have this year eight women students…theycome and go and one hardly notices them aroundthe place. I doubt if it would ever happen that wewould open our doors to women students equallywith men.’‘The Simmarian Newsletter’ December 1958

25 years agoStudent life follows the usual pattern, but it ismodified by the severe economic climate. Money isscarce and overdrafts are becoming bigger andbigger.‘The Simmarian Newsletter’ Spring 1983

Rest In Peace

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We’ve done it! After many months of negotiations with the

Charity Commission and with a local bank, thesuccessful birth of Strawberry Hill Overseas andCommunity Concern can be officially announced.We now have a charity number – 1120787 – and ourown bank account. It’s all very exciting and not alittle frightening but it will open up all sorts ofopportunities for us.

Thanks to great work by Elizabeth Byrne Hill, wehave received our first major donation of £3000. Weare immensely grateful to the Sir Harold HoodCharitable Trust for this kind donation to our work.The money has already been sent, in its entirety, tofund the building of Chekereni Secondary School inTanzania and building began in Easter week. Thiswill be the second school SHOCC has helped to getstarted in the Moshi area, under Mount Kilimanjaro.Our first is Orkolili.

The Orkolili story is an interesting one. TheSecondary School was founded in 2002 by a

teacher who sold her family house to establish theschool. She purchased a small piece of land fromthe Maasai tribal elders in the area and was givenpermission to start a school. Her first eight pupilsate and slept in her unfinished house and studiedamongst building materials, waiting for a classroomto be completed.

This is where SHOCC came in. Through theinitiative of Elizabeth Byrne Hill, one of our Trustees,sufficient funds were raised to build four girls’dormitories and a flat for a matron. This enabled thegirls who had been sleeping in the classroom tomove into more appropriate accommodation. It alsofreed up the classroom as teaching space.

A group of St Mary’s Level 3 Community Dramastudents were present at the official opening of thedormitories. Laura Beagle, one of the students,summed the occasion up when she said, “theopening ceremony was a very emotional occasion.

Strawberry Hill Overseas and Community Concern (SHOCC)

Continued overleaf >


20 www.smuc.ac.uk

We all felt moved by the gratitude of the Africanstudents”.

St Mary’s IT department generously gave time toclean up computers to be sent to J.K.Nyrere School(also in Moshi) and Mayfield School, Sussex(working with SHOCC) has donated 240 excellentscience text books.

There are now over 100 children studying atOrkolili – children who would not otherwise haveseen the inside of a secondary school. Of coursethis is not the end. Orkolili’s plans for the future areambitious but SHOCC will, with your support,achieve them. We would like to construct andresource physics and a chemistry laboratories at atotal cost of just over £16,000 and to construct aboys’ dormitory at a cost of around £12,000. Nogovernment funds are available at present but theschool passed its first inspection in January 2007and there is some hope that teachers’ salaries willbe funded at some date in the future. We lookforward to the day when graduate teachers from StMary's will join these schools for the experience of alifetime – and to provide some assistance to thehard-pressed teachers!

In her letter of thanks to us the head teacherwrote, ‘I would like to assure you that your donationwas like a glass of water on a parched tongue. Itwas highly appreciated, dear friends, and may Godbless you abundantly.’

Since I last wrote in the last issue, we havereceived a letter from one of our other projects.Sister Rebecca Janacek is working many miles northof Marigat in the Kenyan Rift Valley. She was able toreturn to Nairobi during the recent disturbances butis now back helping to improve the livelihoods of thelocal semi-nomadic Pokot people. She has managedto drill two boreholes and equip them with solar-powered pumps and heavy-duty water tanks. Lackof water is a major problem in this very dry part ofKenya.

The nearby Barpello High School has just finishedits first year and 42 students have completed theirfirst year of studies.

It was in Barpello that Sister Dee Smith (nowrunning another SHOCC project in Guatemala) wasresponsible for the construction of ten primaryschools. Readers of earlier magazines will rememberSHOC helping fund water tanks for each of theseschools. The Barpello secondary school havedeveloped from these ten schools. I was able to visitthe school in 2007 and it is a most impressivewitness to the work of the Church in that area. I shallalso be visiting Dee with a party of geographyteachers in the summer of 2008 and I will be able toreport back on her latest achievements in the nextedition of the Simmarian.

I cannot end this report on donations receivedduring the year without mentioning Rik Mellor. Rik isa member of staff in the School of Human Sciencesat St Mary’s and in the summer of 2007 he and afriend cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End.They very kindly selected SHOCC as one of thecharities they would support and donated severalhundred pounds to our work.

This summer (2008) they have set themselves anequally daunting challenge – to swim every lake inthe Lake District that is over 1km in length. There are16 such lakes and the total distance is nearly 60miles.

Rik has a web site that provides informationabout the cycle ride and it will be possible tosupport his Lake District swimming challenge online. Details may be found on www.johngoat.comWhy not support SHOCC by following his challengeand contributing to our work at the same time?

I end this note about SHOCC by inviting you tocontribute in another way. Cheques, made payableto SHOCC, can be sent to me here at St Mary’s. Ifyou are a taxpayer, we can obtain a further 28%from the Inland Revenue. Simply attach a letter toyour donation stating that you are a taxpayer and wewill reclaim the 28%. All of your donation will gotowards a SHOCC project.

Although I officially retire in August 2008 havingreached the grand old age of 65, I will continue tolook after SHOCC’s day to day work from theuniversity college. As they say, ‘Once a Simmarian,always a Simmarian’. Dr Kevin CookSHOCC Trustee

SHOCC Continued ...

DevelopingOpportunitiesInternational expansion St Mary’s is strengthening links with a wide range ofoverseas institutions with a view to increasing thenumber of students taking part in exchangeprogrammes and the recruitment of more overseasstudents. The university college has recentlyappointed a Head of International Office who will beworking to put St Mary’s on the world map.Amongst a range of collaborative arrangements arelinks between St Mary’s and Catholic universitiesand colleges in the USA.

Popularity continuesMeanwhile UK recruitment continues to be strongand the popularity of the university college is clear.New foundation, undergraduate and postgraduateprogrammes continue to develop in response tochanging trends in application patterns and studentinterests.

The new 2009 undergraduate prospectus outlinesexpansion in the areas of Drama and a newFoundation degree in Healthcare Studies and thereare new postgraduate programmes in the fields ofSport and Education.

Postgraduate Opportunities St Mary’s offers an increasing number ofpostgraduate programmes as well as primary andsecondary PGCEs. All programmes are offered on apart time basis allowing participants to combinework and study while some are attended full time bythose who want a more intensive programme.

Recommending St Mary’sWe know that recommendation is a very importantway for people to find out about St Mary’s – so youare very valuable to us! You may be a teacher whocould tell your students about us – we can provideyou with posters, leaflets and open day information.

You may also wish to discuss the possibility of youand your students visiting us. You may knowsomeone who is interested in coming to St Mary’s tostudy or you may be interested in returning to StMary’s for postgraduate study.

If you can help us spread the word or would likeany more information about our programmes ofstudy, please contact the recruitment team on 020 8240 2314.

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Undergraduate Open DaysPotential students and their families and friendsare very welcome to visit, tour the campus andfind about the courses and facilities at one of theOpen Day this Autumn.

Saturday 13 September Wednesday 29 October Wednesday 5 November (Open Evening)

Visitors should book on 020 8240 2314or through the website www.smuc.ac.uk

Creative Writing MASt Mary’s University College is offering a newpostgraduate programme in Creative WritingStudies – Creative Writing: the Community.

Students will be able to choose whether to enrol fora Postgraduate Certificate (2 taught modules), Diploma(4 taught modules), or an MA (4 taught modules plus aPortfolio of Creative Work with an accompanyingcritical dissertation), and may study full or part-time(normally one year or up to three years, respectively).

The programme will be of interest to those who wish to develop their own creative writing skills whilstincreasing their ability to enable others to writeeffectively in a variety of social and educationalcontexts. It will be valuable for freelance writers,teachers, and those with undergraduate degrees inrelated subjects who wish to make writing, and theteaching of creative writing, part of their career.

For further information visit www.smuc.ac.uk/Courses/Postgraduate/Creative-Writing-Studiesor contact Professor Robyn BolamTel 020 8240 4119 Email [email protected]


22 www.smuc.ac.uk

1930’sTom Byatt (1938-40) lives in Stoke on Trent. Hewould like to hear from friends from his years inCollege.Charles Smith (1936-38) is a retired head teacher.He lives in Liverpool.

1940’sAnthony Duckett (1943-45) lives in Alberta Canada.Thomas Johnson (1946-48) is a retired head teacherliving in Surrey.

1950’sPeter Collins (1950-52) taught in schools in SouthLondon and in Clevedon until his retirement.Gerald McBride (1959-61) retired after thirty eightyears teaching; sixteen of those as a head teacher.He lives in Liverpool and has seven grandchildren.John Lodge (1959-61) retired in 1992. He isrecovering from a stroke and lives in Leeds.Pat Morgan (1950-52) taught in Zimbabwe andSouth Africa. He would like to hear from old friendsfrom college.Harry Oliver (1957-59) taught mainly in Canada. Henow lives in Durham.Evarist Saliba (1957-58) worked for the ForeignService of Malta and also headed the Ministry ofForeign Affairs.Brian Shelley (1959-63) retired after forty yearsteaching Science in London. He now providesprivate tuition and lives in Amersham.

1960’sChris Boyle (1961-64) lives in British Columbia andis happy to hear from old friends.Kathleen Brennan (nee Chapman) (1967-70) taughtin a number of primary schools and now runs threeholiday cottages in East Devon.Vincent Gunn (1965-68) is a retired head of PE livingin Middlesbrough. His interests include playing theguitar and the study of French.John Kennedy (1965-68) lives in Swindon. He enjoysmotorcycling, photography and home brewing.

Frank McMahon (1966-69) retired after twenty fiveyears of headship. He is a freelance consultant andlives in Bedford.Francis Morton (1964-67) lives in Bradford andenjoys travelling, particularly to the USA.Kevin Mullen (1967-70) retired to Dorset in 2006. Heis a retired head teacher and also taught TEFL in avariety of countries.Eileen Rigg (nee Dolan) (1966-69) taught Music inschools for many years and now teaches privately.She lives in Stockport. Roger Skelton (1965-68) spent thirty nine yearsteaching and retired last year. He lives in Blackburn.Chris Whitfield (1964-68) is the Principal of a schoolin Bangkok.

1970’sPaul Batley (1973-76) has been teaching in WesternCanada since 1980. He volunteers of a number oforganisations including Victim Services and the localadult hockey team.Richard Hayes (1978-81) teaches in a referral unit.He lives in Cheadle and would be happy to hearfrom anyone from his era.Vivienne Holland (nee McGee) (1974-78) completedher Masters in 1998. She now lives and works inMerseyside and welcomes contact from old friends.Christopher Holmes (1972-73) taught beforecompleting his PhD and is an engineering researchmanager. He lives in Clitheroe.Michael Lynch (1972-76) taught in Zambia, Kenya,Saudi Arabia and Brunei. He has been teaching inIpswich since 1989 and is married with two children.Veronica McCoy (nee de Bruce) (1974-77) lives inFiji. She moved from teaching to staff developmentand now works as a consultant. She would like tohear from Simmarians in Fiji or Vanuatu.John McSweeny (1977-79) has lived in Australia fortwenty six years and works at a Catholic highschool. He enjoys keeping fish and fishing andwould be happy to hear from anyone whoremembers him.

Where Are They Now?

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Mauria Nash (nee Clarke) (1978-81) moved toAustralia in 1986. She would love to hear fromformer students from her year.Brendan Nolan (1971-72) is a Parish Priest inWexford. He would be pleased to hear from anyonewho remembers him.Peter Norrie (1976-80) taught until 1982 thenstudied for an MBA. He has worked in the City ofLondon for over 20 years and now works for a largeDutch bank. Edmund O’Callaghan (1977-80) is a retired teacherliving ion Henlow Village. He now plans to travel asmuch as possible.Nicky Woodroffe (nee Wagstaffe) (1979-83) lives justoutside Cambridge and has been teaching at hercurrent school for twenty years. She has twodaughters.

1980’sJane Bruder (1984-88) lives in West Oxfordshire andworks as a university Reader Services librarian. Shewould love to hear from anyone who remembers her.Wendy Freeman (1987-90) is Human ResourcesDirector of a marine environmental company in theCaribbean which she set up with her husband DrSteven Freeman (1991-94).Roger Horton (1987-90) has lived in Texas since1999. He is married with two children and isManaging Director of Shipping Brokerage for a PLC.Joseph Keating (1987-88) lives in China where he isa teacher at an international school.Marco Matchiori (1987-90) is a police officer. Helives in Southampton with his wife and step-son andtrains new recruits into the constabulary.Philip Mulcahy (1983-86) is a teacher and lives inBournemouth.Daniel O’Donnell (1985-88) is the OperationsDirector for a corporate security company. He splitshis time between London and the Middle East.Kathryn Smith (nee Roberts) (1982-85) is marriedwith three boys. She lives in Neath and is a lecturerin Business Studies.Tracey Smith (nee Needs) (1982-86) teaches Musicat junior schools in Hounslow and Richmond. Edward Turner (1989-93) owns a security businessand lives in Reading. Anyone who remembers him(and his disco dancing) please get in touch.

Sian Williams (nee Smith) (1980-83) worked inPersonnel for fifteen years then retrained to work inearly years education. She lives in Egham and ismarried with two boys.

1990’sIsaac Benrinoj (1992-96) lives in Gibraltar where heis a teacher. Eleanor Bell (nee Mooney) (1994-97) is married toSimmarian Andrew Bell and they live in Brighton.Eleanor works for the Brighton and Hove EconomicPartnership. Elizabeth Carvell (1991-95) is the deputy headteacher of a primary school in Devon. Darren Collinson (1990-93) is an insurance branchmanager in Abu Dhabi. He is married and has adaughter.Tina Foley (1996-00) is Head of Performing Arts at aCatholic school. She lives in Swindon.Laura Hunt (1998-01) lives in Surrey and is a makeup artist specialising in independent fight films. Fiona McCann (1990-94) is a primary schoolprincipal living in Derry. She would love to hear fromanyone who knows her.John Metcalfe (1993-96) lives in Sicily and lecturesin Ancient History after gaining his doctorate.Kerry Morris (nee Gordon) (1993-96) coachesgymnastics. She lives in Newmarket and has threechildren. She would love to hear from anyone whoknows her.James Mudie (1993-98) lives in Switzerland. He isFundraiser and Projects Manager for anenvironmental charity.Rebecca Own (nee Norman) (1994-97) is a pensionsadministrator. She lives in Clevedon and is marriedto Simmarian, Gareth Owen.Dan Piggott (1995-98) is General Manager for ahealthcare company. He is married with one son.Christian Richards (1994-98) has his own companyspecialising in architectural design and propertydevelopment. He welcomes contact from anyonewho remembers him.Donna Shoulder (nee Gregory) (1996-00) lives nearCroydon and is married with four children. Shewould love to hear from anyone who remembers her.David Simmonds (1995-98) is a senior analyst withThames Valley Police. He lives in Oxford.


24 www.smuc.ac.uk

Walpole House has been handed over to theStrawberry Hill Trust on a 125 year lease. The Trust,which is formed of a number of experts in themanagement of restoration projects, will bemasterminding a £8.2 million restoration project.Lottery funding was obtained, along with donationsfrom individuals and other sources. Although theTrust is independent from St Mary’s; it will workclosely with the university college during therestoration programme.

Walpole House was the home of the Vincentianpriests who taught at the university college from the

Sarah-Jane Smith (1990-94) is the head teacher of aprimary school. She lives in Lincolnshire and wouldlove to hear from friends from St Mary’s.Kate Vincent (1998-01) lives in Brighton. She is aproduction manager working in television production.Laura Witham (nee McMenemy) (1998-01) is aScenes of Crime Officer for Sussex Police. She livesin Burgess Hill.

2000’sJudy Buckley (2002-05) lives in Cork and works as acommunity health worker.Elizabeth Crumpton (2002-05) is a jewellery buyerfor a major shopping channel. She lives in Purleyand is travelling this year.David Gardiner (2000-03) married Simmarian, SarahRoberts in 2006. He is training for the priesthood inthe Church of England and the couple live inCambridge.Chris Jowett (2004-05) lives in Horley and is aprimary school teacher.Jenna Luiten (2003-06) is taking a masters in Sportand Exercise Psychology and lives in Cornwall.Naomi Pietersen (2000-04) lives in London and is acommunity projects co-ordinator.Elizabeth Raven (2001-04) is a drama teacher at ahigh school in Essex. She lives in Southend on Sea.

Don’t forget to return yourAlumni Reply Card if youwould like to feature in ‘Where Are They Now’

If you wish to contact anyone who is featured inthe magazine, please write to the Alumni Officeor email [email protected]. As all informationis held under the Data Protection Act we cannotgive out the details of former students withouttheir prior consent. However, we can forwardstamped mail or contact an individual on yourbehalf asking them to contact you.

Where Are They Now?Continued ...

WalpoleHouse – therestorationbegins

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1920’s until the mid 1990’s. “If the house had notbeen lived in for so many years, the original featuresof the building might have been destroyed,” said DrArthur Naylor. “Over the years St Mary's prioritisedmaintaining the exterior of the building from theelements, which has made the restoration projectpossible.”

The house was registered as a building at risk byEnglish Heritage in 1996, and in 2004 was includedon the World Monuments Watch List of 100 MostEndangered Sites. In 2004 it was featured on theBBC2 programme Restoration. “Other buildings onthe programme were in ruins and I feel that viewersdidn’t vote for the House to be restored because itlooked in good order,” said Dr Naylor. “The time isnow right to restore the House and make it moreaccessible to the public.”

The restoration programme includes necessarystructural repairs and renewal of services, theconservation of the remarkable historic fabric,including a unique collection of renaissance glass,and the restoration of exterior features. The gardenwill also be restored to something reminiscent ofWalpole’s original design.

The lease was transferred to the Strawberry HillTrust in September 2007 and Walpole House willfully reopen in 2010. The interior of the house will beopen to the public and to specialist groups.

“Walpole House will be a heritage centre with a

strong educational dimension”, said Dr Naylor.“Space will be leased to create an Education Roomand discussions are taking place as to how we, as auniversity college, can bring a stronger educationaldimension. One third of our students are on teachertraining programmes and the School of Educationwill work with the Trust’s Education Officer and withlocal primary schools to develop teaching andlearning initiatives.”

The university college also plans to developspecialist courses, conferences and degreeprogrammes which are related to the House. A newhistory module which studies the life and work ofHorace Walpole and the creation of the House iscurrently being developed. Due to be taught for thefirst time in 2009, the module begins with a surveyof the life of Horace Walpole, his family, education,circle of friends and the origins of his interest inEnlightenment thought. “The module is one ofseveral ways we are planning to allow the historystudents at St Mary’s to use the resources of thethen renovated house to enhance their learning,”said Dr Glenn Richardson, Deputy Head of theSchool of Theology, Philosophy, and History.

Tours of Walpole House will run until Septemberthis year and then the House will be closed until2010. For more information, or to arrange a privatetour, please call 0870 626 0402, or [email protected]


26 www.smuc.ac.uk

If you completed your teachertraining at St Mary's we want tohear from you.

The School of Education wants to develop adatabase of the career paths of former educationstudents. This database will provide a research basefor the effectiveness of St Mary's training over theyears. How many of our past students have gone on tobecome curriculum post holders, pastoral leaders,assistant heads, deputy heads and head teachers?How many have remained in the profession for longerthan 5,10,15 years? What interesting stories do theyhave to tell and what lessons can we learn in theSchool of Education for our current and future trainingprogrammes?

If you would like to help us with this research please complete this form and return it to Dr Karen Kendel-Smith, Head of Alumni Services, St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, TW1 4SX

If you would like to display a flyer in your staffroom or circulate to friends who trained with you at St Mary's,please contact us.

School of Education Database

Name

Address

Email Tel

Years of Study at St Mary’s Programme of Study

Current job title, employer and date of appointment Previous positions held

(please include school and dates if possible)

Did you train to be a teacher at St Mary's?

�


28 www.smuc.ac.uk

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Academic Practice*Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching Applied Sport Science Bioethics Catechesis Catholic School LeadershipChaplaincy StudiesCharity ManagementCreative Writing Studies:

Creative Writing – The Community Education (Leading Innovation and Change)Nutrition and Physical Activity for Public Health*Pastoral Theology – Pastoral Leadership/ChristianSpirituality/Chaplaincy StudiesPedagogy and Professional Practice*Physical Education*

Religion and ConflictSport and Exercise Rehabilitation Sports Journalism*Sports Nutrition*Theatre Directing

* subject to validation

Other programmesGraduate Diploma in Sport Rehabilitation Research degree programmes are also available

If you would like information about any of thepostgraduate programmes or you need advice onapplying please contact the Registry Admissionsassistant on 020 8240 4027.

Postgraduate ProgrammesThe University College offers a range of MA/MSc/PG Diplomas and PG Certificate programmes

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