On Monday, Leweston welcomed its newest members of the community as we celebrated New Pupils Day for our new UK and International Boarders, Day Students and Year 12 pupils.
For our new Boarders, the day began with a warm welcome from the Boarding Team, before they unpacked their belongings, explored their new surroundings and began to settle into their boarding houses. Lunch in the Drawing Room provided an opportunity for families and pupils to come together, meet new faces and begin to feel part of the Leweston community.
Our new pupils and their families were then formally welcomed by Headmaster John Paget-Tomlinson and members of the Senior Leadership Team. Time with Tutors and fellow pupils followed, helping our new joiners to become familiar with the people, places and rhythms that will soon become such an important part of everyday life at Leweston.
For our Year 12 pupils, the day included a particularly meaningful Leweston tradition. Gathered in Trinity Chapel, they took part in a special joining ceremony and the symbolic lighting of candles.
The ceremony marks a fresh beginning and a significant step in our students’ journeys as they begin their A-level studies and take their place among the most senior pupils in the school. Light is the first thing God creates, and has long been a symbol of purity, guidance and new beginnings. In the setting of our Catholic school, the candle lighting provides a beautiful and fitting symbol of the journey our students are beginning — one of growth, discovery and purpose.
The Chapel was also a place of welcome for our wider community, as pupils and their families met Father Alessandro Reno, who has joined Leweston as our resident School Priest. We look forward to the many ways in which he will become part of the spiritual and pastoral life of the school.
As the afternoon arrived, the sun shone across the school and we gathered for a beautiful afternoon tea. With conversation, laughter and the first memories of the new school year being made, it was the perfect way to bring our day of welcome to a close.
At Leweston, we believe that education is about more than what happens in the classroom. It is about belonging, discovering who you are, developing the confidence to take your place in the world and becoming part of something larger than yourself.