Extraordinary People doing extraordinary things

Last summer the Olympic and Paralympic Games were held in Paris and for many of us we will have watched, cheered and clapped on our heroes. I enjoyed watching a variety of sports giving me cause to think and reflect about the connections between the Olympics and our college community.

Just as all the genres of the Olympics have rules and scoring systems that structure the events of the modern Olympics, so our community has a strong Christian ethos that is at the core of all we strive to do. The five Olympic rings reflect a world bonded together by the goals of Olympism as set out in the Olympic Charter. Our charter is rooted in the Gospel values of Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest British Athletes of all time was Eric Liddell who 100 years ago won Olympic gold in Paris. His story was made famous in the film Chariots of Fire. His legacy continues to inspire people today.

A deeply committed Christian on and off the track who said, “with faith and hard work anything is possible. Believe in yourself, in your abilities and in your dreams”.

The Olympic Games are made up of many disciplines of sport. Likewise, our curriculum comprises many aspects, within and outside the academic life of our community. Likewise in our college community our recent public examinations saw gold standard achievements from many students. GCSE results were strong once again being above the 2019 grades achieved, our students can be very proud of their achievements with many continuing onto our outstanding Sixth Form. We are particularly proud of our Post 16 results with 86% of students achieving grades A-C, the second highest in the City with Madison Stanton-Kami becoming the first student from Archbishop Beck Catholic College to gain an Oxbridge place. Madison will be going on to study French at Lincoln College, we wish her well.

The foundation of the nations continued sporting success is based on high performance levels which enables those talented people to fulfil their ambitions supported by amazing coaches and coaching staff. Here at the college our approach is the same. We provide a strong, supportive and encouraging educational experience that strives to bring out the very best in all our community.

As the curtain comes down on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, for us here at the college our curtain rises on the 2024/25 Acedemic year.

Wishing you all a successful, rewarding and happy year of achievements in all that you undertake.

We offer the following prayers for continued success. Our first prayer was inspired by the words of Eric Liddell and further prayers are offered by members of our student body.

Prayer
Heavenly Father who has a plan for the world and for our lives.
We thank you for blessing us all with different gifts and talents.
May we each have the strength and courage to use them for your glory and honour.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen

Paul Stirling
Headteacher