Since the last visit two years ago to their 'twin' school, St Peter's Kubatana, there has been a dramatic change for the worse, with many teachers absent, either because they cannot afford the 3,500,000 zim dollars needed to travel by bus to school, or because they have left Zimbabwe to look for work elsewhere in South Africa or Botswana.
St Peter's is a co-educational school, run by the Society of Jesus, with about 1200 pupils from years eight to 13.
A typical class in the lower school has 50 pupils, with three pupils to one desk and there are very few textbooks. Computers lie unused in the computer lab, in part due to the never-ending round of power cuts, or due to faulty equipment.
Paul Warrilow, Head of Religious Studies, who accompanied Sixth Form pupils Lucy Williams, 17, from Grimsargh, and Matthias Beestermoller, 17, compared the situation with that of his first visit in 2006, when he took a different group of pupils.
He said: "We spent much of our time visiting classes, sitting in on lessons, or teaching the pupils. I noticed that there were significant numbers of classes without teachers this year.
"The roads in Zimbabwe are in serious need of repair; maize crops have failed due to excessive rain and grain has virtually run out.
"Most pupils went the entire day without eating. Inflation is currently measured at 100,000% - a meaningless figure in a society where the price of a loaf of bread can double in a day. Fuel is scarce and most people walk the roads to and from what little work is available.
"Elections are due to be held at the end of March, but we could find very few people who held any serious optimism about a change in government.
"Most in the rural areas will vote as they are told and Mugabe will undoubtedly continue to rule with an iron fist for some years to come.
"In spite of these difficulties, the staff and pupils are unfailingly polite, friendly and hard-working.
"The pupils are keen to learn and are desperate to gain qualifications for further education at university, preferably outside Zimbabwe.
"Over the last year we have managed to raise several thousands of pounds for the pupils of St Peter's. The money is used to buy new textbooks and other educational items, and more recently a new generator was purchased.''
Lucy and Matthias are members of Chirwirangwe (meaning we will struggle together) a project which twins Stonyhurst College with St Peter's and aims to improve the education of the whole person in both schools, in accordance with the ethos of the Jesuit Missions.
There are about 15 pupils in the St Peter's Chirwirangwe group, who meet every week and write letters and send projects to pupils at Stonyhurst, describing typical Zimbabwean customs and traditions.
The pupils at Stonyhurst reciprocate, writing letters and projects, sending photographs of life at college, along with DVDs and other Stonyhurst items.