OS Destinations

"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

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 2020, 88% 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, law, STEM subjects, and languages. An equally diverse range of institutions welcome them, and in 2020 an impressive 57% of those entering UK universities did so at Russell Group institutions, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Durham and KCL. Every year, a number of students go on to study Medicine or Dentistry, following the support they have received from MedSoc and the Careers staff. In 2020, 8 students took up places on medical courses, including one at Oxford and one at Cambridge. 

A special programme of support is given to those applying to Oxford or Cambridge, and every year some of our pupils take 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. 

UK Destination Highlights

Notable Alumni

Mark Thompson - Director General of the BBC then CEO New York Times

Mark Thompson - OS 75 - Former Director General of the BBC & former CEO New York Times. Current Chairman of the Board of Directors for Ancestry.

Professor Gabriel Leung - Former Director of the Chief Executive's Office in Hong Kong

Professor Gabriel Leung, GBS, JP - OS 91 - Former Director of the Chief Executive's Office in Hong Kong

Joe Ansbro - Northampton Saints and Scottish rugby international

 Joe Ansbro - OS 04 - Scottish rugby international, Northampton Saints

Alison MacDonald - Assistant Editor at Quercus

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

Antony and Richard Joseph - Founders of JosephJoseph

Antony and Richard Joseph - OS 93 - Founders of JosephJoseph

Ravell Ben-Giat - Awarded the Israel Analytical Chemistry Society Prize for outstanding research

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 - Journalist and television presenter for the BBC and Channel 4 News

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 - Irish Rugby international

Barry O'Driscoll - OS 60 - Irish Rugby international (elder brother of John O'Driscoll)

Bruce Kent - British peace campaigner

Bruce Kent - OS 46 - British peace campaigner; chairman of the CND; laicised priest

Brendan O'Friel - Governing Governor of HM Prison Service

Brendan O'Friel - OS 60 - Governing Governor of HM Prison Service, Governor of HM Prison Strangeways (renamed Manchester) during the Strangeways riots

Hannah Phoenix - Barrister specialising in family law

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 -  Satirist and comedian

Chris Morris - OS 80 -  Satirist and comedian; creator of "Brass Eye" 

Genevieve Thornton - Oxford University History Scholar

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 - British film and television director

Charles Sturridge - OS 68 - British film/television director (best known for the television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited) 

Edmund Page - Founder of the Xavier project

Edmund Page - Founder of the Xavier project, which supports children and adult refugees in Uganda and Kenya

Lara Schitto - Scholarship for Conservative Musical Theatre Program of the New York Film Academy

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 - English Rugby International, British and Irish Lion and World Cup Winner

Iain Balshaw  (Old SMH) English Rugby International, British and Irish Lion and World Cup Winner 

Catriona Graffius - Journalist at The Sun

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 - Irish Rugby international and British and Irish Lion

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 - Concert pianist, Gold Medalist at the Royal Academy of Music and a Fulbright Scholar

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 - Wine expert, presenter of The Wine Show

Joe Fattorini - OS 88 - Wine expert, TV presenter and presenter of The Wine Show

Laura Erel - Pursuing a fully funded three-year PhD in Music Analysis at Durham

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

Michael D. Hurley  Cambridge Academic for literature, philosophy and theology

Michael D. Hurley - OS 94 - Academic at Cambridge who works on literature, philosophy and theology

Michael de Giorgio - Founded Greenhouse Sports, OBE for services to charity, sport and social justice

Michael de Giorgio - OS 75 - Founded Greenhouse Sports, received an OBE for services to charity, sport and social justice

Patrick Baladi - British actor

Patrick Baladi - OS 90 - British actor starred in The Office, Stella, Mistresses and many others

Paul Johnson - Journalist, historian, author and ex-editor of New Statesman

Paul Johnson - OS 46 - Journalist, historian, author, was editor of the New Statesman

Peter Isola - Gibraltarian politician

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 - Retired Lord Justice of Appeal

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 - Renowned British photojournalist and documentary maker

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 - Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic

Tom Morris - OS 82 - Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic; Associate Director of popular stage play War Horse (brother of Chris Morris)

William Cash - British Conservative politician, MP since 1984

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 - Financial Services Audit Associate at Deloitte

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 - Working in the largest paediatric trauma centre in the Southern Hemisphere

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 was not the case at all.  

The careers department responded to my appeal within the day, and so was the case throughout the 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

“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

For More Information

To find out more about our careers support or to discuss our resources in further detail, please contact us by clicking on the buttons below:

01254 827103

e.nolan@stonyhurst.ac.uk 

careers@stonyhurst.ac.uk

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