Educational Establishments
Ampleforth College
Colin is having a Ball!
It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Arriving every day to absorb the sheer scale and spectacle of Ampleforth Abbey and College spurs a highly committed mixed-skills team to excel. Greg Rhodes meets Colin Ball, the college’s new Head Groundsman
D
id Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, once dream of an international blockbuster charting the lives of the gentry whilst
enjoying the splendour of his school surroundings at Ampleforth Abbey and College?
We may never know, but the acclaimed actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter surely marvelled at the scale and grandeur of this entrancing corner of North Yorkshire. The co‐educational school, one of the world’s foremost Catholic boarding establishments, is home to 550 students, aged 13 to 18 ‐ the girls in St Aidan’s, St Bede’s and St Margaret’s houses, the boys in St Cuthbert’s, St Dunstan’s, St Edward’s and St Wilfrid’s, St Hugh’s, St John’s, St Oswald’s and St Thomas’. “Ampleforth is more than just a school,” states headmaster Fr Wulstan Peterburs OSB. “Our students do well academically [seven in ten pupils go on to Russell Group universities] excel on the games field, make inspiring music and stretch themselves in many different ways through the enormous variety of activities we offer.” Everything here is scaled up from
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the ordinary. The outdoor sports provision and ornamental areas sprawl across 120 terraced acres, keeping head groundsman Colin Ball and the team of turfcare and gardening professionals busy year‐ round.
“The College is built into a bank side and the grounds are steeply sloping in places, more gentle in others, but we manage pretty well,” says Colin. “We have mixed soils here,” he continues. “The bottom of the valley, where the beck flows, is made up of heavy clay which, in wet times, can cause big problems for the grounds team, although throughout the summer months it provides perfect growing conditions, producing strong healthy grass due to moisture retention and the soils ability to naturally retain nutrients and prevent loss of added fertiliser through leaching.”
As if the sporting and academic opportunities did not offer students inspiration enough to excel, the College setting, in the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty north of York, was a wise choice indeed for the Benedictine monks who established the school here.
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