OS Destinations
Stonyhurst pupils go on to pursue a wide and impressive range of opportunities after leaving us. The vast majority attend universities, both in the UK and abroad, while every year some pupils are supported in applying for apprenticeships or employment opportunities. Some pupils are also guided through applications for specialist institutions, such as music conservatoires.
In 2023 the majority of those applying through UCAS received 3 or more offers, allowing them great scope to make a final choice. Our leavers take up places in an incredible range of courses, including various social sciences, business, STEM subjects, the Arts, and languages.
An equally diverse range of institutions welcome them, and in 2023 an impressive 66% of those entering UK universities did so at Russell Group institutions, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Durham and KCL. Every year, several students go on to study Medicine and Law, following the support they have received during MedSoc, LawSoc and the Careers staff.
The school was extremely helpful throughout my university application process, particularly given I applied after I'd left the school, during my gap year. I received a great deal of support in writing my personal statement and they even organised a mock interview for me to help prepare me for interviewing at Cambridge.
Mary Flanagan, OS 2014, English at Cambridge
A special programme of support is given to those applying to the most competitive UK universities including Oxford/Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, and UCL. Every year we have pupils taking up places at these famous and prestigious universities. The Careers department also supports a wide range of international applications, including US universities, Asian universities, and a vast number of European universities.
Pupils receive excellent personal guidance in choosing their next steps, as well as in completing all the necessary steps to reach their goals. It is wonderful how many of our OS continue to get involved in sharing their skills and experiences to support the next generation of Stonyhurst pupils to follow in their footsteps.
I am very grateful for the invaluable support I got from everyone at Stonyhurst. From empowering and encouraging me to apply, to supporting and educating me throughout the applications, interviews and beyond. Thank you!
Munirah Dasu Patel, OS 16, Chemistry at Oxford
Notable Alumni
Mark Thompson - OS 75 - Former Director General of the BBC & former CEO New York Times. Current Chairman of the Board of Directors for Ancestry.
Kyran Bracken MBE, OS 90 - Former England Rugby Player, won the World Cup in 2003.
Antony and Richard Joseph - OS 93 - Founders of JosephJoseph
Professor Gabriel Leung, GBS, JP - OS 91 - Former Director of the Chief Executive's Office in Hong Kong
Joe Ansbro - OS 04 - Scottish rugby international, Northampton Saints
Alison MacDonald - OS 12 - Alison works in London as an Assistant Editor at Quercus, a small publishing house within a larger publishing group Beatty Smith OS 15 called Hachette
Ravell Ben-Giat - OS 06 - Ravell was awarded the Israel Analytical Chemistry Society Prize for outstanding research in Analytical Chemistry for her research. Since 2016, she has worked as a Forensic Officer in the Latent Fingerprint Laboratory
Christopher Wenner - OS 73 - Journalist and television presenter for the BBC's Blue Peter programme and an overseas correspondent for ITN's Channel 4 News
Barry O'Driscoll - OS 60 - Irish Rugby international (elder brother of John O'Driscoll)
Bruce Kent - OS 46 - British peace campaigner; chairman of the CND; laicised priest
Brendan O'Friel - OS 60 - Governing Governor of HM Prison Service, Governor of HM Prison Strangeways (renamed Manchester) during the Strangeways riots
Hannah Phoenix - OS 11 - Hannah was taken on at a set of Chambers in Manchester after fully qualifying as a barrister in 2016. She specialises in family law, primarily in cases involving children
Chris Morris - OS 80 - Satirist and comedian; creator of "Brass Eye"
Genevieve Thornton - OS 16 - Following her first year at Oxford university, Genevieve was awarded a prestigious Oxford Scholarship for History. Her exams were deemed to be of such a high standard that Genevieve was admitted as a History Scholar
Charles Sturridge - OS 68 - British film/television director (best known for the television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited)
Edmund Page - Founder of the Xavier project, which supports children and adult refugees in Uganda and Kenya
Lara Schitto - OS 12 - Lara was awarded a scholarship to expand her skills in New York through the one-year Conservative Musical Theatre Program of the New York Film Academy
Iain Balshaw (Old SMH) English Rugby International, British and Irish Lion and World Cup Winner
Catriona Graffius - OS 11 - Catriona is currently working at the news desk of The Sun as a journalist. Previously she was Press Officer for Holland & Holland, part of the Chanel Group
John O'Driscoll - OS 71 - Irish Rugby international, British and Irish Lion (younger brother of Barry O'Driscoll), father of Brian O’Driscoll
Jonathan Plowright - OS 78 - Concert pianist, Gold Medalist at the Royal Academy of Music and a Fulbright Scholar; winner of the European Piano Competition
Joe Fattorini - OS 88 - Wine expert, TV presenter and presenter of The Wine Show
Laura Erel - OS 12 - Following her graduation, she took up an organ scholarship at Chichester Cathedral and completed an MPhil in Musicology at Cambridge. She is currently pursuing a fully funded three-year PhD in Music Analysis at Durham
Ikenna Henry Onyebuchi - OS 16 - Ikenna is a solicitor at Dentons who is just 25 years old. At the University of Exeter, he co-founded the Exeter BAME Law Initiative, which promoted inclusivity in law.
Michael D. Hurley - OS 94 - Academic at Cambridge who works on literature, philosophy and theology
Michael de Giorgio - OS 75 - Founded Greenhouse Sports, received an OBE for services to charity, sport and social justice
Patrick Baladi - OS 90 - British actor starred in The Office, Stella, Mistresses and many others
Paul Johnson - OS 46 - Journalist, historian, author, was editor of the New Statesman
Peter Isola - OS 47 - Gibraltarian politician; member of the House of Assembly; leader of the Democratic Party of British Gibraltar; Minister for Education; Leader of the Opposition; Deputy Chief Minister
Sir Colman Treacy - OS 66 - a retired Lord Justice of Appeal. Previously, he was a barrister in Birmingham. He presided over a number of criminal trials, including those of an Afghan warlord, Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, and two of the killers of Stephen Lawrence
Tim Hetherington - OS 89 - Renowned British photojournalist and documentary maker, made the film Restrepo, nominated for an Oscar. He was sadly killed in an explosion in Libya
Tom Morris - OS 82 - Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic; Associate Director of popular stage play War Horse (brother of Chris Morris)
William Cash - OS 59 - British Conservative politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. He was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. He is a prominent Eurosceptic in the House of Commons
Alice Kenyon - OS 15 - After a year in industry at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Goodwood she joined Deloitte at their Leeds office as a Financial Services Audit Associate
Lucy McFarlane - OS 09 - Currently working in the largest paediatric trauma centre in the Southern Hemisphere, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
I was a little apprehensive at first when reapplying to university, especially as an OS, where I anticipated our communication would be limited, which turned out to not be the case at all.
The Careers Department responded to my appeal within the day, and so was the case throughout the whole application process. As an OS with a busy job, their cooperation was greatly appreciated and I am so grateful for all of their support despite the circumstances.
I am confident that if any implications arise even now with my application being finished, the Careers Department would be there to offer guidance and support.
Annika Walter, OS 2020