Celebrations at The John Fisher School


Archbishop Smith reminded boys at my old school of Pope Benedict's call for them to be saints, and of the importance of St John Fisher, the patron of the school.

Each year, the school celebrates Founder's Day with an invited guest speaker and sung Mass with the school's fine choir. This year, the celebrations included the formal induction of Fr James Clark and Deacon Tony Flavin as chaplains for the school. Fr James Clark is an old boy himself and discerned his vocation especially through the Faith Movement which was founded at the school. I remember visiting there some years ago when he was in the upper sixth form and he was able to boast that he had taught every boy in the school how to serve Mass.

Another highlight of the day was the blessing of the Music Centre which was renamed 'The Fawssett Centre' in memory of the late Fr Richard Fawssett who played a significant role in the development of music at the school. He taught me at the school (and I had occasion to visit his office from time to time in his role as Senior Discipline Master.) On retiring from teaching, he devoted the remaining years of his life to the pastoral and spiritual care of the boys, giving over fifty years of service to the school in total.

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