TV documentary about Ampleforth College, a school in Yorkshire run by Benedictine monks, looking at how they deal with discipline, drinking, sex and the arrival of the first female pupils in its 200-year-history.
The school was not that bad, a real and true old amplefordian would not complain or criticise. I had many happy years at ampleforth, I miss all and wish all well. I hope the school stays, fingers crossed! A few bad apples should not spoil it for the majority who were unlike them. God bless Ampleforth.
Hah you remember the later years but imagine you went and you had the worst of hierachy followed by changes in management for your final 3, it leaves you bitter.
From the states, I really enjoyed this production of a boys school, then a boys/girls school. As an active catholic person, I was laughing throughout all parts of documentary........especially the part of serving wine to a gathering of students/teachers then 4 boys got really drunk. Ha ha ! What was really funny was the monk/teacher was almost trying to act annoyed and angry. I don’t think he really was angry. If he was upset with the boys this is the mildest upsetness I’ve ever seen. Then I laughed even harder when the punish was for two week ends they were grounded and could not visit the chicks at pub. Wow. Such torture! True catholic monk discipline ......I don’t think folks get it. True monks are absolutely not severe people. They are total softies. I know from own personal experience. I’m sure the boys think school at ampleforth college is torture. Ha.
It's hardly PC to say this--and that's why it's worth saying--but anyone who says looks don't give off class messages is talking rot. Everyone in this looks upper class, and I'm not sure i've ever seen girls with such high foreheads--and of course beautiful too. What I would love to know is what happened to Charlotte and Giles: those guys seemed like soul mates. I found the scenes of them together deeply touching. Call it me an old sentimentalist, romantic fool, but that's love. I went to a Catholic prep school in Wiltshire and everyone there was like George and Giles. Good lads, mostly.
I've made it through the whole video, just to not put forward a hasty judgement. It is, in fact, true that this individual community does a great service to the educating system in UK - for a decent, catholic boarding school is hard to come by. However, you cant resist expecting something "more" from a school led by a monastic community. Some of the "housemasters", are, indeed, wildly dissillusionate about their own vocation and about what they percieve is a good pedagogy. By this i mean no disrespect tho either the students, nor the monastics, but the school institution needs a serious reform and looking-into.
God this brought back so many memories and so many faces of old friends and mentors. There was a lot of good and bad there, just like anywhere. I remember when this was filmed and thinking how they cast the school in such a bad light, but they did highlight some of the big problems.
I remember we played rugby against this school once when i was 13, I forgot my rugby shorts my games teacher made me play the whole game in my underpants. I then had to put my school trouser on over my muddy underpants afterwards what a fucking joke. I also kicked a drop goal in the game which the Ampleforth referee disallowed because he said we were too young to be doing drop goals in rugby. I'll never forget that! We won the game anyway B team rugby.
"If you spent time in a monastery, you'd be amazed by some of the behaviour you'd find there. But a community has learned lessons about forgiveness and tolerance." So we should forgive these weird bastards for abusing so many young people, ruining so many lives? This is all just too strange for words. Place should be burned down.
In all honesty, I'm sure this is a lovely looking school so it is a great shame it has had some bad history. However, there's just something about his video that gives me an uncomfortable feeling in terms of child protection.
more to the point why are they allowing them to drink underage. there was always a rule that boys could drink half a pint on goremire day. nobody seemed then or seems now to realise that the law of the land is that you need to be 18 to drink alcohol in a pub.
The law is 18 to purchase. Alchol can be consumed at a pub with a meal with consent from parent or gardian. This latter changed to purchased by an adult. This school had to set up its own pub where students had to buy food when purchaseing booze on a pre paid card paid by the parents. There was a limit of 2 pints for lower sixth and 3 for upper sixth.
Whilst I have met good men of the robes in this Abbey, two particular monks are disgraceful in their affairs! and am sure there were more if not 'are more' who prey on boys and novices- I know for a fact for I have been subjected to their abuses... Life for me in my pursuit of holiness and sanctity was ever the same again!
There seems to be a culture here of allowing and even encouraging drinking and smoking, and of punishing students for it at the same time. If smoking is forbidden, the monks should not be smoking on school premises themselves. Discipline doesn't seem to be well handled. The housemasters don't inspire confidence. It would help if they were married but none of them are. The lack of women teachers is a serious deficiency. I doubt if monks are the best people to teach teenage boys. They come across as unprofessional. There is no school uniform: all the boys look a mess. I am sure the film is slanted to give a bad impression of the school, but the school does not come out of this well.
Hey, I'm an ex-amplefordian when I went there my housemaster was married, and so were 6/8 of them i beleive. Things did change quickly however any students going there between the early 2000s until 2016/17ish will have a hard time as the school didn't really know its values outside of the benedictine ones.
You have to be kidding me with this. These are not true Monks. No monks would act or be this free with anyone. This is a disgrace to all monks who devote their lives to only GOD.
+Edwin Rivera What is so disgraceful of monks educating young people whilst devoting their lives to God? They are liberal but yet holy, they educate and work as well as pray 5 times a day, if anything these are more devoted than many other monks! True Christian Monks
