The opening mass of the year at St Dominic's Sixth Form College was celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, concelebrated by Fr Alexander Masters and served by Paul Moynihan, the Cardinals master of ceremonies.
The Cardinal made note in his homily about what it means to be Catholic and what it means to be part of a Catholic institution living out an ethos, that is particular to both a spiritual and academic identity.
A good number of staff and students managed to attend, as well as school governors and the new chair of governors, David Martin.
St Dominic's principal Andrew Parkin was also in attendance as he looked ahead to the new school year, with teachers and students all over the country hoping to recapture a semblance of normalcy after two trying years.
The sixth form which caters for the educational needs of 1,350 pupils aged 16 to 18, rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in its most recent assessment.
Reflecting on the challenges of the past 18 months in his recent contribution to The Parliamentary Review, Parkin said that the school will continue to prepare its students for the rest of their lives in the best way it can.
"We believe in looking optimistically to the future to ensure that while they are with us, our students have the very best academic, pastoral and spiritual experience possible," he said.
"We do all that we can to make a difference to the life of each individual student who chooses to attend St Dominic’s in order to ensure that they have the range of skills suitable for the future. We say that everything they do for the two years they are at St Dominic’s is preparation for the next 40 years or more of their lives."
Parkin added that pairing pastoral and spiritual support with academic excellence was crucial to the success of students moving forward.
"Our mission is to educate all our students to the highest academic standard, which is underpinned by strong pastoral and spiritual support," he said.
"We pride ourselves on the importance of developing a broad range of academic skills that will equip our students for the world of work in the 21st century but also aim to prepare them to be purposeful and well-rounded members of society in an ever-evolving and changing global environment."
