Ratcliffe's New Father President
Father David Tobin has been appointed by the Trustees of Ratcliffe College to become the new Father President. This appointment has been made by the Institute of Charity which owns the College,and specifically by Fr. Provincial, Father David Myers, at the request of the Trustees, and also has the full approval of the Board of Governors and of the newly appointed Headmaster.
In the long history of Ratcliffe College, there was a time when the role of Fr. President was, in effect, the role of the Headmaster of the College. This is not the case with the new appointment. The new role of Fr. President is entirely spiritual, intended to foster the Catholic Rosminian ethos of Ratcliffe in line with the principles that have contributed in the past to create the spirit of family and friendship, which is such a prominent and admired feature of life at Ratcliffe College. It is not, therefore, an executive role, but an advisory one, and one that is concerned with spiritual matters, not academic ones. His spiritual guidance will extend to the staff, parents, Old Ratcliffians, and Friends of Ratcliffe, so it will be all embracing.
The day to day running of the school as an educational establishment will remain in the capable hands of the Board of Governors, Headmaster and Management Team. They will enjoy the same authority and freedom as they have today.
On a wider note, Fr. President will also be fostering links with other Rosminian Colleges, world-wide, to find ways of promoting and enriching the educational and spiritual experience of students and staff.
Father David has written this letter to Old Ratcliffians:
"My return to Ratcliffe in September 2009 is a full circle fifty years on from my leaving Ratcliffe to joining the Rosminian Novitiate in September 1959. The intervening years have seen me back at Ratcliffe to teach chemistry and later to be Headmaster of Grace Dieu. This latter was also a return to my alma mater having started there as a pupil in 1950. Having guided the school through the changes of the seventies and early eighties, during the political tumult of the Heath, Callaghan and early Thatcher governments, I moved into the tranquil work of spirituality and retreats from 1984 to 1997. This was partly in New Zealand and then South Wales. Since then I have been at the Rosminian headquarters at Porta Latina in Rome as a member of the Council of Fr. General, Fr. Jim Flynn.
Returning to Ratcliffe as Fr. President opens a whole new world as the role is completely different to that of my Rosminian predecessors. The role in practice will evolve. The College has just appointed a new Headmaster in Mr. Gareth Lloyd in addition to my appointment as Fr. President.
My areas of care and interest are directed to the various members of the ‘Ratcliffian Family’, present, past and future. I am around the College getting to know the students and their families, the teachers and all the staff who help to make Ratcliffe such a bustling and beautiful place.
I look forward also to meeting previous students of my generations and those whom I do not yet know. This will initially be through the Ratcliffian Association Dinners and functions. I also look forward to meeting Old Ratcliffians who may drop in while passing by the College."
