Private School News

National Handwriting Competition winners

Pupils at the Marist Preparatory School have won the top prize of £500 in the annual National Handwriting Competition organised by SATIPS (Society of Assistants Teaching in Preparatory Schools).

The national competition is open to all pupils aged 4-14 to showcase their handwriting skills. Even though computers are now commonly used in schools, homes and businesses, it is just as important to learn good handwriting skills as it ever was as pupils must adapt their skills to suit different situations. Mrs Tina Francis, Class 2 teacher and an English Co-ordinator at the Marist Preparatory School said “the girls are taught the essentials of handwriting during their infant years. Once they start their junior education they have already developed a good style of handwriting that will stay with them throughout their school life.”

Mrs Jenny Peachey, Headteacher at the Marist Preparatory School said “Good handwriting skills learned early on will effectively take them through their senior school years and serve them well into their undergraduate degrees and beyond.”

Individual and Team Success for Royal School Girls at Athletics Tournament

On Wednesday, 17th June the U9, U10 and U11 Royal School athletics team played against Highfield School. They started off with the field events which were long jump, high jump and rounders ball throw which all went very well. Ellie Thorman won the long jump with a great jump of 3.98m which only just missed Highfield’s school record of 3.99m. The girls had the same success in high jump with Pip Soar and Karinna Hollins sharing 1st place. In the U11 rounders ball throw Amy Yadegar came 2nd, Grace Phelps came 3rd and in the U10s Emily Soper came 2nd.

In the track events Pip Soar ran the 100m for the U11s and came 1st. Emily Soper came 1st in the U10 200m, Ellie Thorman came 1st in the U11 200m, Victoria Chantler came 1st in the U9 300m and finally the U11s won their relay!

The final Individual Year Group scores were U9 and U11s in 1st place with the U10s coming 2nd. This is the first time The Royal School girls have beaten Highfield in two age groups. An excellent team effort by everyone!

Photo: The athletics team

Inaugural Law Workshop

The Cheltenham Ladies’ College recently welcomed a group of trainees from the Worcestershire law firm Harrison Clark to host the first law workshop to be held in College. Twenty girls, from Year 12, who are looking to study law at university, were enthusiastic about taking part in the workshop.

During the morning, girls were introduced to the realities of being a lawyer. The team from Harrison Clark were on hand to guide and tutor the girls who either represented the Claimant or the Defendant. The workshop culminated in a mock trial in the afternoon and tasks involved either an opening or closing speech to the judge or questioning of the witnesses to take the stand. Harrison Clark provided a trial judge.

Allan Hodge, Head of Economics, who oversees Oxbridge law applications, said, ‘Sometimes students apply for law without a clear understanding of what it means to be a lawyer. The mock trial will give them a practical insight into the processes of collecting and weighing up evidence and presenting conclusions in a clear and logical fashion. They will really get a feel for the place of law in society and the impact its application has on people’s lives.’

New Environmental Area Now Open at Staines Prep School

A miniature wildlife sanctuary, providing a haven for all kinds of creatures from insects to frogs and foxes, was officially opened on Saturday (20th June) by Mike Bannister, Chairman of Governors of Staines Prep School.

The school’s new Environmental Area is the brainchild of science teacher Derek Heath. Where once there was a pile of builder’s rubble, wood and nettles in a corner of the Staines Prep School grounds in Gresham Road, there is now a shady copse with two ponds bursting with life. Damsel flies in shades of blue dart through the air and scores of young frogs take their first steps on dry land.

Science teacher at the Gresham Road school, Derek Heath said, “The pupils, teachers and parents have all helped to make this super transformation take place with financial and technical support from the ‘Friends of Staines Prep’.

The children in all year groups will be visiting the area to broaden their science curriculum as well as pursuing extra-curricular activities such as bird watching and nature study. ‘Friends of Staines Prep’ is the fund raising charity which helps to raise money to support extra activities alongside the School’s varied curriculum.

Photo: Dipping the pond for wildlife at the new Staines Prep School Environmental Area: (left to right) Frederick Thompson (10), Derek Heath (Science Teacher), Bilal Khaleel (10), Gaurav Vashisht (11), Oscar Theophilis (7) and Lexi Whitehead (7).

The Royal School’s Pre Prep Department join together with The Heights for an Outward Bound Experience

On Wednesday, 4th June The Royal School’s Pre Prep girls joined the Pre Prep department from The Heights on an Outward Bound day held in Tennyson’s Field. The weather was extremely kind to them and the children’s first activity was painting using the natural elements around them. Having collected the grass, flowers and leaves children were then invited to make and choose a name for a “perfume”; they had a variety of names such as “fresh grass” and “summer.” The children split into teams and were given the task of building a den which would house all team members! Great team work was in evidence. After a leisurely lunch they all headed off to The Heights where Prep 2 made their own dream catchers and Reception and Prep 1 made ‘god’s eyes’. This was followed by a closely supervised activity where each child attempted to light a small campfire. Popcorn was then cooked by Gyles Morris, the team guide, and he led a sing song around the camp fire. All children involved had a wonderful day and they acquired lots of new skills. They headed back to school exhausted but very happy.

Photo: Team work - Annabella Fenech and Sophie Austin

Lancing Excels

Pupils at Lancing College enjoy a wide range of experiences beyond the national curriculum and are encouraged to embrace new interests in the spirit of self discovery. Cultural, sporting, and practical activities all feature in the weekly timetable. Here are a few of the pupils’ impressive recent achievements:

Charity Fashion Show

Saskia Greenhalgh and Lauren Mendes, two Sixth Form students, organised an exciting charity fashion show, raising over £2,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Students were given the opportunity to model the high profile designs, including pieces by Anna Valentine, known for her work on the Duchess of Cornwall’s wedding dress, and the very popular young designer, Jade Holland-Cooper. Menswear was supplied by Andrew McDowall, from Chichester.

Lunchtime Concert at Chichester Cathedral

On Tuesday 16 June, young musicians from Lancing College gave a lunchtime concert at Chichester Cathedral. Performers included the String Orchestra, Choral Scholars and soloists, and the programme covered a repertoire spanning 400 years. Neil Cox, Head of Chapel Music at Lancing College said,

“It was a real privilege for the Lancing College students to perform in such an ancient and beautiful cathedral, and in front of such a large and enthusiastic audience. Our musicians enjoyed themselves tremendously from beginning to end!”

River Relay

Despite starting and finishing in bright sunshine, this year’s Interhouse River Relay was heavily rained upon and the spectators got as wet as the competitors! The competition comprised four parts - sailing, canoeing, wind-surfing and building and manoeuvring a raft across the River Adur and back. This year, Second’s House came first, with Gibbs’ as runners up. Dan Connolly, Housemaster of Second’s said,

“Second’s House is known for its prowess at sports, but this is the first time in many, many years that we have managed to win the River Relay, which is a wonderful institution at Lancing College and one of the highlights of the calendar. It’s a typically Lancing event: competitive, highly individualistic and, above all, great fun!”

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Two students at Lancing College recently received their gold Duke of Edinburgh award at Buckingham Palace. Alice Lyle, from Crawley, and Georgie Nightingall, from Horsham, were presented with their certificates by the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex in the presence of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Lancing College is one of the few independent schools to have its own operating licence for the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Photo: Lancing College Sixth Form Students modelling designs by Jade Holland-Cooper and Andrew McDowall at the Charity Fashion Show

HALF-WIT CELEBRITIES TO BLAME FOR ILL-EDUCATED CHILDREN

The cult of celebrity, shocking parenting and appalling public values are to blame for the thousands of poorly educated children in Britain, according to a former chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association, now head of one of the North of England’s leading independent schools.

Speaking to an audience of British and overseas parents, and dignitaries at the 165th annual prize day presentations at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire, Headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley called for an end to the appalling public values promoted during a decade of Labour rule and slammed the Government for its constant interference in education. He also called for the media to end its incessant promotion of half-wit celebrities, which, he said, “were creating terrible role models for children.”

Commented Dr Winkley: “What’s wrong with education at present is not schools; the problem is shocking parenting and appallingly low public values. Indeed, all our public values are against getting a good education. At a time when half-wits win talent contests, half-wits appear as celebrities, and the role models offered to our children are shopaholic bimbos, footballers and drug fuelled pop stars, the antique role models of the church, the law, doctors and even MPs are not admired, but are expected to behave well.

“The anti-intellectualism in Britain is now so strong that the new role models are admired and expected to behave badly, and the people lauded most are those successful entrepreneurs who left school at the age of 14. So, what message is that sending to our young people?”

In the address Dr Winkley quoted American First Lady, Michelle Obama’s speech delivered in London on her recent visit in which she said she had never cut school, loved getting A’s and thought that being smart was the coolest thing there was. “Wow, wouldn’t it be wonderful if some one in English life said something as positive and inspirational as that, because without it how would a gifted and ambitious child from an unsupportive background learn that it was cool to be smart,” he added. He went on to say: “The media, both the mainstream, and the plethora of gossip based magazines, must shoulder much of the blame for the promotion of the cult of celebrity to the detriment of real achievement. An example of this came at another school where I taught a girl who was the Edexcel Student of the Year, with 12 ‘A’ stars at GCSE. She was a mountaineer, a trainee pilot, a grade eight horn player and a fine singer, yet the single fact that the media identified to link her to the lives of their readers was that she supported Fulham FC! It’s incredible.”

Dr Winkley, a strong advocate of boarding and independent education, also spoke out for independent schools, telling his audience that the independent education sector was responsible for a huge amount of foreign investment in the UK - over £500 million each year - yet this alone, he said, did not protect it from the eyes or the clutches of a Government hell-bent on stifling choice and lowering values. “Independent schools now have to pass a charitable status test to guarantee their existence by showing use of their facilities for the good of the community. However, I welcome opening our facilities for wider use. In fact, I encourage it in the same way that the school encourages and subsidises local children who would benefit from a Rossall education. Sadly, we haven’t enough space to offer as many as we would wish, and entry is still competitive, but we do have a proud record in this field and as a result we have some outstanding pupils who pay nothing for their education, which proves that we don’t need a Government edict to play our part in the community…we already do it.”

In summary Dr Winkley told the gathering that parents investing in such a special form of education should be proud, because British independent Schools are recognized by the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation as the best in the world, which, he stated, was a tremendous achievement in a country with such an anti-education climate.

Artistic Success at RGSAO

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School recently celebrated modern art in a lavish and popular Art Show.

The showcase offered three exhibitions of contemporary art by the schools GCSE, AS and A2 Art and Design Students within their new specialist Art Block.

Around 100 people enjoyed the vivid displays on the night, which included a selection of video and sound by Matt Ward, sculpture by Ed Matthews, photography by Tom Hill, as well other intriguing painting and collage pieces.

The fantastic displays of pupils Emily Connell, Harriet Sheppard and Katie Green were of a particular talking point to visitors with the trio also winning leading art prizes.

“The quality and quantity of work this year has been extremely high,” commented Emma Dukes, Head of Art at RGSAO Worcester.

“The extensive range of multimedia work is particularly powerful and rarely seen in schools. Many visitors commented on how edgy and intellectual our pieces are.”

Further information –
GCSE consists of three projects. The first is an exploration of a colour of their choice, the second is based on a trip to St Ives where the students visited The Eden Project, Tate St Ives and The Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden. The third project is their exam with the title ‘Me, Myself, Mine.’

AS students worded for their first project on the theme of ‘Location’ and the second is their exam with the title ‘Sanctuary.’

A2 students also worked on the theme of ‘Location’ for their first project and their exam title was ‘Discord.’

Both AS and A2 students visited the Tate Galleries in London and The Saatchi Contemporary Art Gallery as an integral part of their work.

OXBRIDGE BECKONS FOR SEVEN AT STONYHURST

SEVEN Stonyhurst pupils have been offered places this year at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Sixth formers Joe Lea from Stonyhurst, Gabriel Cohen for Hebden Bridge, Lucy Wang from Shanghai and Sarah Whitehouse Chichester, have conditional offers at Oxford.

Joe will read Mathematics, Gabriel will study History, Lucy Engineering, and Sarah will read Theology.

Cambridge University has offered places to Elizabeth Graffius and John Watts. Elizabeth from Stonyhurst is looking forward to studying the History of Art and John from Clitheroe will read Social and Political Sciences.

One other pupil has also gained a place at Cambridge, studying Natural Science.

Andrew Johnson, the Headmaster, said: “We are delighted to have seven places offered, it’s the highest number for some years. They have all worked extremely hard and Stonyhurst pupils have been successful in this most competitive of intellectual ordeals. It is a great credit to them and we wish them every success with their studies.”

Picture Caption: Left to right, some of the Oxbridge successes - Gabriel Cohen, Elizabeth Graffius, Joe Lea, Lucy Wang, Mr Andrew Johnson Headmaster and John Watts.

Derbyshire students score top marks with scholarship success

Four gifted children from Derbyshire have won scholarships for one of the region’s top schools for their academic, musical and artistic talents.

The scholars, all aged 11, have won places at Mount St Mary’s College in Spinkhill, Derbyshire after sitting the scholarship paper as part of the school’s entrance test.

Grace Williams, a student at Camms Primary School, was the top academic scholar and won a place along with her peer Ian Hitchen. Lucy Coughlan and Harry Birch both from preparatory school Barlborough Hall won places at Mount St Mary’s, one of the most highly regarded schools in the region.

To celebrate their success, the new pupils were invited for tea with staff from the school who were involved in their selection, including headmaster, Laurence McKell.

He said: “We are so pleased to welcome these highly talented children to our school. The standard and number of applicants was so high this year; the teaching and development offered by the school helps all of our pupils reach their full potential.

“We welcome scholarship applications from anyone who would like to join us here at Mount St Mary’s.”

Other children selected for scholarships include youngsters from Sheffield; Daniel Connolly and James Thompson both from Mylnhurst Preparatory School.

The school also awards scholarship places for 13-year-olds and sixth formers.

For more information on scholarship opportunities offered by Mount St Mary’s College, please call 01246 433388.

Picture: High fliers(from left to right) Headmaster Laurence McKell, Grace, Daniel, Harry, Ian, Lucy and James enjoy tea in the school’s library