The Notre Dame community is excited to announce that we have twinned with Notre Dame Academy, Enugu, Nigeria.
The Academy offers secondary education to male and female students, aiming to prepare them for life with a special focus on both the academic and non-academic aspects of their education.
To give our students a fascinating insight into what it’s like at their school, Academy students wrote about a typical day. Our students wrote back, describing life at college in Leeds. You can read excerpts from these letters below.
How the day starts in Enugu
“As a Notre Dame student who lives in the hostel, which is located close to the learning environment, I usually wake up around 4:30 am, prepare, go to prayer, have some minutes for personal study and go to the refectory for breakfast around 6:15 to 7:15. From there, I walk to the Academy which is the learning environment, but some students come to school from their homes either on foot or by bus.”
"Every day at school, our morning assembly is held at the assembly ground from 7:20am to 7:55am. After the assembly, students proceed to their classes.”
How the day starts in Leeds
“I wake up at around 7:00 am every weekday, have breakfast, prepare my school bag for the day and leave the house at around 7:45 to catch the bus. The bus journey usually takes 30 minutes.”
“When I arrive to school, I am sometimes early so I have time to hang out with friends or catch up on some work. Classes begin at 9:00 am.”
Lessons at Notre Dame, Enugu
“In the junior secondary (the first three years of high school), all subjects are compulsory, but in the senior secondary (the last three years of high school), students either do science or art courses with biology, mathematics, civic education and English as general courses for all students. There are usually about 7 to 8 periods in a day. Our lunch break is from 12:20 to 12:50 pm.”
"When we have free periods at school, some of us use this time to read at the school library or complete our notes, while most of us use this time to rest and wait for the next lesson.”
Lessons at Notre Dame, Leeds
“Most students pick 3 subjects for A-level. In a week we have 5 hours for each subject, then one hour each of tutorial and PTE, which is the religious lesson we have. Occasionally we have an assembly together in the main hall.”
“We have a break from 11:00 to 11:15 and lunch is at 1:15 pm. After lunch there is the last two-hour lesson of the day then students take a bus, train or walk back home.”
“If you have a study period where on your timetable you don’t have a lesson, students are allowed to leave college to go home if they are finished for the day, go to town and then come back to attend their later lessons, go to the library or IT suite and get on with some schoolwork, or go to enrichment activities.”
Extra activities at Notre Dame, Enugu
“During the last period on a Thursday, we go to the venue of our various clubs which are: the Jet club, Young Farmers club, Homemakers club, the Press club, Entertainment club. On Fridays after our lessons, students and some teachers - especially the physical and health education teacher - will move to the field for sports.”
“School normally dismisses at 4:00 pm. The day students return to their homes while the boarders return to the hostel, have their lunch, then a siesta. However, on our laundry days hostel students wash their clothes and after that we go in and prepare for our evening prayer. After evening prayer, we have dinner, after which we go for night lesson / prep which lasts for at least for 3 hours.”
Extra activities at Notre Dame, Leeds
“On Thursday, there is a debate club which I attend where students will debate a random but worldwide issue and on Tuesday there is ping-pong club which I attend. These two clubs happen during lunchtime.”
“At lunchtime, during study periods and after college, students can go to extra lessons, talks, workshops, or attend college clubs.”
Going forward, we hope to organise many ways to develop our relationship as Notre Dame schools. Watch this space!
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