Our St Mary’s campus has entered the last week of its Summer 2019 Programme, with Sunday seeing our final group of new students arrive. They settled in, and were brilliantly welcomed with games and some delicious food.

A week of interesting study and lots of laughs is ahead of them, but Sunday was largely about getting everyone together and making friends. To that end, the students took part in lots of different activities, including a fast-paced basketball game and slightly slower-paced games of chess!

Some fun face painting also helped the students to enjoy the day, as they adopted the colours of superheroes, monsters, rainbows and much more. It certainly brightened up a cloudy day in Ascot!

Taking part in such an active afternoon meant that the students had worked up their appetites ahead of dinner. They ate happily, taking great satisfaction not only in the tasty meal, but also in the camaraderie which has already taken hold of the cohort.

In the evening, a talk in the Rose Theatre outlined the pattern which the week would follow, and cemented the warm welcome of the new students. Everyone then took part in Musical Chairs and other party games to break the ice, before bed and a well-earned rest. Lessons begin on Monday, and the whole campus is raring to go – meaning that it promises to be a final flourish to finish at St Mary’s!