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Loughborough Amherst School, formerly known as Our Lady's Convent School (OLCS), is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 4 to 18. It is situated in
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
, UK. It is founded on traditional Catholic principles and embraces all faiths. Until August/September 2015, it was run by the
Rosminian The Rosminians, officially named the Institute of Charity (), abbreviated I.C., are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded by Antonio Rosmini and first organised in 1828. The order was formally approve ...
order. In September 2015, it became subsumed into the Loughborough Endowed Schools, a body which changed its registered name with effect from 19 April 2018 to "Loughborough Schools Foundation". The Rosminian Sisters continue to occupy part of the site. The school buildings are leased by the Rosminians to the Loughborough Schools Foundation. The main convent building and chapel were designed by renowned Gothic Revival architect, Charles Hansom, and are
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. A wide variety of GCSE and A Level subjects are offered in the Senior department. As a Catholic school, RS GCSE is compulsory. There is a wide variety of cultural, musical and sporting activities offered as part of the school's co-curricular programme, including Duke of Edinburgh's Award and Combined Cadet Force. As a member of the Loughborough Schools Foundation, Amherst pupils benefit from the Midlands' only 'All
Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...
' Music Department and extensive sports facilities at the £3.5 million Parkin Sports Centre completed in 2019. In April 2018, the school announced a new policy of accepting boys into the secondary school from September 2019. This was announced alongside a new name – Loughborough Amherst School. In the same year, Amherst welcomed its first boarders as part of its elite tennis programme, in partnership with Loughborough University National Tennis Academy (LUNTA). In January 2025, the board of governors of the Loughborough Schools Foundation announced the potential closure, subject to consultation, of Loughborough Amherst School at the end of the 2024/25 academic year, citing "rising operating costs and the introduction of VAT on school fees." In March 2025, it was confirmed that the school would close permanently at the end of the school year.


Origins and history

Source:The information in this section is drawn mainly from a Paper "The Rosminian Sisters of Providence" by Sister Maria Bruna Ferretti which may be viewed on website www.rosmini.org/docs/Sisters.doc In 1841, Lady Mary Arundell (c. 1785-1845) (widow of Lord Arundell of Wardour) opened a small school for girls in her home Paget House in Woodgate, Loughborough. Lady Mary asked the Rosminian Sisters of Providence to assist her in this endeavour and two nuns from Italy were sent to Loughborough. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation ("Lady Day") 25 March 1844, the Rosminian sisters took charge of the work, which thus became the first Roman Catholic school in England run by religious sisters. Mary Amherst (Sister Mary Agnes) (1824-1860) joined the Order in 1846 and came to Loughborough. In 1854, she became the first Superior in England of the Order. Loughborough became the central house of the Rosminian Sisters in England. Mary was a young lady engaged to the renowned architect
Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...
. Pugin had proposed to Mary in November 1844, shortly after the death of his second wife. Mary had accepted. However, the engagement did not last, for in May 1846 Mary entered the Order of the Rosminian Sisters of Providence. Mary's brother William became a Jesuit. Her brother
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
became Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham (1858 to 1879). A convent was established at Gray Street, Loughborough and the school moved to Gray Street. The convent and chapel were designed by architect
Charles Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born to a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jo ...
, brother of the inventor of the
Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...
. Charles was an
acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...
of Augustus Pugin.


Alumnae

Alumnae include: *
Lydia Rose Bewley Lydia Rose Bewley (born 9 October 1985) is an English actress known for her roles as Jane in ''The Inbetweeners Movie'' and ''The Inbetweeners 2'', Metella in ''Plebs (TV series), Plebs'' and Bunny in ''Drifters (TV series), Drifters''. She trai ...
(born 1985), actress *
Molly Smitten-Downes Molly Alice Smitten-Downes (born 2 April 1985), known by her Mononymous person, mononym Molly, is an English singer and songwriter. Early life Born in Anstey, Leicestershire, Molly grew up in Rothley and attended Our Lady's Convent School in L ...
(born 1987), singer *
Sophie Hahn Sophie Megan Hahn (born 23 January 1997) is a parasport athlete from England competing mainly in T38 sprint events. In 2013, she qualified for the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, selected for the T38 100m and 200m. She took the gold in t ...
(born 1997), para athlete and former World Champion


References


External links

* https://lsf.org/amherst/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Loughborough Amherst School Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of Nottingham Grade II listed buildings in Leicestershire Private schools in Leicestershire Girls' schools in Leicestershire Grade II listed educational buildings Educational institutions established in 1850 1850 establishments in England Member schools of the Independent Schools Association (UK) Loughborough 2025 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2025