The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2022 includes a number of Catholics among those honoured for public service, including a noted classical pianist, a headteacher, and a doctoral student at Newman University.
Pianist Stephen Hough has been awarded a knighthood for “services to music”. Named a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2014’s honours list, Hough is a world-renowned composer, writer and live performer, having previously won eight Gramophone Awards and been commissioned to create music for Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, the National Gallery in London, the Musée du Louvre and others.
Performing regularly with the world’s leading orchestras, Hough, born in Cheshire, has made 19 appearances at the BBC proms and was the first classical musician to hold a live concert after the lockdown of 2020. He is the first British-born classical pianist to be made a knight since 1977.
Lieutenant Colonel Glyn Richard Potts, the headteacher of a Catholic secondary school in Oldham, received Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the honours list. Originally from Barrow-in-Furness, Potts, a longstanding volunteer with the Army Cadets and headteacher of Newman RC College, Chadderton, was awarded the honour “for services to education and to the army cadet force”. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News about the OBE he said: “I stand on the shoulders of the giants who work in my school and schools everywhere and I hope I do it proudly.”
Another Catholic included in the list was Sarah Mullin, an educator and doctoral student at Newman University, who has been awarded a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). Mullin, who received the order “for services to education” is a bestselling author of books such as What They Didn’t Teach Me on My PGCE and Chronicles From The Classroom. An award-winning educator, she has been shortlisted as a Positive Role Model by the ITV National Diversity Awards for her work. She is currently studying for a doctorate in education at Newman University. Newman University was founded in 1968 as a Catholic teacher training college, before gaining full university status in 2013.