# Loughborough Amherst School

Loughborough Amherst School, formerly known as Our Lady's Convent School (OLCS), is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 4 to 18. It is situated in Loughborough, UK. It is founded on traditional Catholic principles and embraces all faiths.
Until August/September 2015, it was run by the Rosminian order. In September 2015, it became subsumed into the Loughborough Endowed Schools, a body which changed its registered name with effect from 19 April 2018 to "Loughborough Schools Foundation". The Rosminian Sisters continue to occupy part of the site. The school buildings are leased by the Rosminians to the Loughborough Schools Foundation.
The main convent building and chapel were designed by renowned Gothic Revival architect, Charles Hansom, and are grade II listed.
A wide variety of GCSE and A Level subjects are offered in the Senior department. As a Catholic school, RS GCSE is compulsory. There is a wide variety of cultural, musical and sporting activities offered as part of the school's co-curricular programme, including Duke of Edinburgh's Award and Combined Cadet Force. As a member of the Loughborough Schools Foundation, Amherst pupils benefit from the Midlands' only 'All Steinway' Music Department and extensive sports facilities at the £3.5 million Parkin Sports Centre completed in 2019.
In April 2018, the school announced a new policy of accepting boys into the secondary school from September 2019. This was announced alongside a new name – Loughborough Amherst School. In the same year, Amherst welcomed its first boarders as part of its elite tennis programme, in partnership with Loughborough University National Tennis Academy (LUNTA).
In January 2025, the board of governors of the Loughborough Schools Foundation announced the potential closure, subject to consultation, of Loughborough Amherst School at the end of the 2024/25 academic year, citing "rising operating costs and the introduction of VAT on school fees."

## Origins and history

Source:
In 1841, Lady Mary Arundell (c. 1785-1845) (widow of Lord Arundell of Wardour) opened a small school for girls in her home Paget House in Woodgate, Loughborough.
Lady Mary asked the Rosminian Sisters of Providence to assist her in this endeavour and two nuns from Italy were sent to Loughborough. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation ("Lady Day") 25 March 1844, the Rosminian sisters took charge of the work, which thus became the first Roman Catholic school in England run by religious sisters.
Mary Amherst (Sister Mary Agnes) (1824-1860) joined the Order in 1846 and came to Loughborough. In 1854, she became the first Superior in England of the Order. Loughborough became the central house of the Rosminian Sisters in England.
Mary was a young lady engaged to the renowned architect Augustus Pugin. Pugin had proposed to Mary in November 1844, shortly after the death of his second wife. Mary had accepted. However, the engagement did not last, for in May 1846 Mary entered the Order of the Rosminian Sisters of Providence. Mary's brother William became a Jesuit. Her brother Francis became Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham (1858 to 1879).
A convent was established at Gray Street, Loughborough and the school moved to Gray Street. The convent and chapel were designed by architect Charles Hansom, brother of the inventor of the Hansom cab. Charles was an acolyte of Augustus Pugin.

## Alumnae

Alumnae include:
* Lydia Rose Bewley (born 1985), actress
* Molly Smitten-Downes (born 1987), singer
* Sophie Hahn (born 1997), para athlete and former World Champion