By Community Correspondent, Andrea David-Akanbi.

475 years after the founding of Ursuline religious order, the sense of community that its creator, Angela Merici, instilled upon the school can still be felt. With a mass held on Friday 22nd January 2010 purely to rejoice in the feast of this saint, there is no doubt that the influence of St Angela Merici still resounds powerfully within the school.

The mass which was for all year groups of the school to be present at revolved around the theme of ‘Insieme’, an Italian word meaning togetherness- Incidentally, this togetherness could certainly be felt in the mass; Through an array of hymn singing and prayers, girls and teachers alike showed just how communal the school could be. Unity was something which Angela Merici promoted, as she famously said, “Live in harmony, united together, all of one heart and one will”.

The mass continued with a performance from a pupil who sang a song in conjunction with a guitar played by a different pupil. The impressive performance was most probably the highlight of the mass, as many students left the school hall praising the singing. The girls had learnt various things by the conclusion of the mass, one of the most significant being that they should show support to others.

Ursuline High School was founded in 1892 by the nuns of the Ursuline Order, of which Angela Merici was founder. As the Ursuline Order has been running successfully for almost 500 years, the School in Wimbledon decided to celebrate this by holding a mass to remind pupils of the Catholic values that the school aims to instil in them.