WHEN Maria Crosby travelled half-way around the world to spend a gap year at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, she was amazed to discover a family connection with the ancient Jesuit school.

Her great-great-great grandfather. Charles Crosby. was a pupil between 1812 and 1814 and there are several entries in the college record books to prove it.

Maria, 19, left New South Wales, Australia, last January, along with fellow student James Brotherson, to spend a year assisting pupils at St Mary's Hall, the preparatory school for Stonyhurst College.

In the summer, her parents flew to England to visit her.

But before they left, they contacted a relative who had compiled a family tree to see if there were any places that had a connection with their English ancestors.

"To their amazement, my aunt told them to visit Stonyhurst College where I was already staying.

"She said that my great-great grandfather Walter Crosby had started his training as a Jesuit priest at the College in the 1850s then moved to Australia to complete it," Maria explained.

"But he fell in love and got married instead, in 1861, and our family has remained in Australia ever since.

"When I looked in the Stonyhurst yearbook I discovered that Walter's father, Charles, had been a pupil. The entry against his name reads: 'Wild, good natured and troublesome'"

In spite of his lively personality, Charles obviously applied himself to his studies because he won an award for the best Latin and French translation and achieved distinctions in three major exams.

Maria was head girl at Catherine McAuley College, a Roman Catholic school in Grafton.

She has been helping to coach pupils at St Mary's Hall in sports.

She has also been assisting with art and computer classes in the reception class.

She said: "It has been an experience of a lifetime coming to Stonyhurst

" It is such a beautiful place and it's just amazing walking into buildings that were built so long ago.

"They are much older than anything we have back home.

"The pupils and staff are wonderful and made me so welcome during my stay."