Private School News

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).

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

Young stars of the stage perform production of Bad Girls – Mount St Mary’s College, Derbyshire – Friday, June 26th

Venue: Mount St Mary’s College, Spinkhill, Sheffield, S21 3YL

Bullying tackled by budding stars of the stage

Budding stars of the stage will tackle the issue of bullying in schools with a contemporary drama production.

Students at Mount St Mary’s College, in Spinkhill, are staging an adaption of Jacqueline Wilson’s novel ‘Bad Girls’.

The emotive play will be performed at the school’s theatre on Friday, June 26 by a cast of more than 30 Year Seven and Eight pupils.

Jack Murphy, Head of English and Drama at Mount St Mary’s College, said: “The plays takes a sensitive look at the emotions suffered by a 10-year-old girl when she becomes the victim of bullying at school.

“It is our third extra-curricular production this school year and follows the hugely successful production of ‘Oliver!’ at Christmas and ‘The Kiteman’ in April reflecting Mount St Mary’s commitment to providing pupils with a wide range of performance opportunities.”

Four Howell’s Students in top ten in UK Anne Frank letter writing Competition

The letter writing competition was run by the Anne Frank Foundation and Puffin books. The competitors were given the task of writing a letter.
The theme was: If you were to write to Anne Frank, what would you tell her about your world compared to the world in the 1930s/40s?

There was one national winner and prizes for the top ten national runners up who each received sets of ten books relating to WW11 and a DVD of the recently televised Diary of Anne Frank. The four girls from years 7, 8 and 9 were delighted to be in the top ten in the UK. Here are some of their comments about the competition.

Kristy-Ann Wilson (12) from Pentyrch entered the competition because “Anne Frank has an inspirational story. She managed to find something useful to do with her time when she was in the annexe, so I decided that I would like to her and tell her about life today. I was really happy that I won! I received ten books and a DVD of the televised Diary of Anne Frank”

Chloe Brind (13) from Radyr
“I entered the competition because I had received a copy of Anne Frank’s Diary last Christmas and after reading it, I was very interested in her. I was very excited when I heard I was in the top ten winners.”

Libby Raybould (13) Pencoedre, Barry
“We entered the competition in our class. When I was told I had made the top ten I was shocked and delighted. I am so glad to have been considered in the top ten for the whole of the UK.”

Maha Naeem (14) Cyncoed
“I particularly wanted to enter the competition because I have always been interested in Anne Frank. I was very pleased to be a top ten winner and I have enjoyed working on Anne Frank in school as she changed the world immensely.”

Maha’s letter to Anne Frank

Dear Anne,
I am writing to you from the 21st century. A lot has changed since you were here. In case you didn’t know, you’re extremely famous for the diary you wrote from the age of thirteen to fifteen. It’s been published and is one of the world’s most widely read books and you have been acknowledged for the quality of your writing.

First I will tell you a little bit about what’s going on in the world these days. Almost six months after you died world war two ended. After the war ended in 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the world’s superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict.

Although certain things have improved, for example America, the world’s biggest power, has the first black president, Barack Obama. But on the other hand there are countries making nuclear weapons, a lot of terrorism and even more violence in the name of anti-terrorism.

Science and technology has come a long way, we have mobile phones, which we use to call and send messages to others, without any wires, wherever you may be. We have computers and laptops which we use for all sorts of things like work and communication.

The world economy once bloomed and has very recently come plummeting down. Prices have dropped and many people have lost their jobs. The first world countries are still going steady, but even in this day and age there are many countries where people are still struggling through hunger and poverty.

I will tell you now a little about myself and the country I live in. I am fourteen so I have to go to school. I am in high school right now. We learn a range of subjects from maths, science, English and other foreign languages to art, drama and music.

I live in the U.K. Gordon Brown is the prime minister. There is a big worry that we are going to run out of fossil fuels and going to have to rely on renewable energy, which is a bit of problem because we haven’t perfected it yet. There is also the problem of global warming and the ice caps melting.

There is a world pandemic going on of swine flu. Everyone is very concerned because the virus is spreading extremely fast and it is deadly. Swine flu originated from pigs but has mutated itself to affect humans as well.

We the children of this era feel that what we know from history makes us a very privileged generation and we have learnt a lot from the past to make a better future

Take care

Maha

Photo:from left back : Chloe Brind, Kristy-Ann Wilson,
left bottom: Libby Raybould and Maha Naeem.

RGSAO Win Midlands’ Title

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School were successful in getting three of its teams through to the Midlands Final of the English Schools’ Athletics Cup at Tipton this week.

Both Junior Boys’ and Girls’ teams made the final eight with the boys improving considerably upon their qualifying round score to finish fourth behind the winners, Northampton School for Boys. The Junior Girls were seventh in a competition won by Loughborough High School.

Star performers, however, were the RGSAO Intermediate Girls’ team who were convincing winners with a fifteen point margin over Loughborough. Third were Kenilworth School and fourth, local rivals, Bromsrgove School. Top points scorer for the team was Holly Wootten with a 2 minutes 27.2 second 800m and 28.62 metre Javelin. However, the strength of the team was the consistent points scoring of all twelve members of the team.

RGSAO now progress to the National Final at Hendon on Saturday 04 July.

MTS CCF Shooting Team wins yet more trophies.

In April sharp shooting Merchants’ marksmen won the prestigious Red Rose Challenge.
The eight-strong team won the blue ribbon County of Lancaster Rifle Association annual event competing against 32 other teams from Combined Cadet Forces and gun clubs across the North-West.

Coached by Regimental Sergeant Major Simon Brett, the Merchants’ team proved to be the golden shots of the region. RSM Brett said: “Above all you need to be calm and focused and always prepared to develop your skills to the next level.” He added: “No one takes shooting a rifle lightly in the Merchants’ CCF. The cadets must learn to treat their weapons with respect and consider every safety precaution before they are allowed to complete target skill practice drills.”

The only girl in the team and a Petty Officer in the Navy section of the CCF, Sarah Irwin said: “I wouldn’t like to think I was one of the lads, just one of the team.” Team captain Colour Sergeant Stephen Williams said: “Sarah doesn’t get any special treatment and is expected to train hard, practice and be cool under pressure on the day.”

Merchants’ celebrates record admissions to top medical schools

Merchant Taylors’ is celebrating a record number of admissions to the nation’s top medical schools with 14 young men and women gaining offers to study Medicine and Dentistry.

Medicine is traditionally one of the most competitive degree courses nationwide. Head of the Girls’ School Sixth Form, Mrs Peppin, said: “I am sure the nation’s health will be in good hands with this contingent of young doctors coming from Merseyside.”

Alex Fleming, 18, who has offers from Imperial and University Colleges London, sees his offer to study medicine as a gateway to the world. “Medicine is a fascinating and varied career, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to enter into such a respected and stimulating profession that I am passionate about.” Alex, 18, has already completed an internship at the prestigious medical research and development organisation, The Mayo Clinic, in the United States and has been a volunteer in local Accident and Emergency wards.

Emma Fay, 18, wants to put a smile on everyone’s face and has won an offer to study Dentistry at Newcastle University. She said: “Your smile is part of parcel of your self image and ensuring people have healthy, attractive teeth does so much for their confidence as well as their physical well being.” Her ambition is to own and manage her own dental practice.

Senior Boys’ School Deputy Headmaster Mr Craig said: “Medicine remains one of the most competitive degree courses and to have 14 students poised to go up to Britain’s top medical schools is a great achievement.”

Wycliffe meets The Apprentice

Sir Alan Sugar met his match when he took on Wycliffe’s 14- and 15-year-old entrepreneurs in a special The Apprentice Enterprise Day at the school.

In the event, pupils had to take up Sir Alan’s challenge to design, develop and market a new brand of breakfast cereal.

The day for Year 9 pupils was organised by seven trainee Business teachers from local universities.

Over the course of the morning pupils were tasked with using and developing enterprise skills such as: team work, creativity, problem solving, using initiative, taking risks and handling money. They were asked to devise a logo, slogan, packaging, TV/Radio advert and poster for their new product and then present their ideas as if to ‘Sir Alan Sugar’.

Organiser, Lianne Brown said, “The ideas and work produced by the pupils at Wycliffe was fantastic and truly enterprising. The trainee teachers had a wonderful morning and had the difficult task of judging an overall winner; all of the work produced was of such a high-standard.”

In the end the prize was taken by a team who dressed one of their number up as a large pink rabbit to get their message across.

All pupils thoroughly enjoyed the event and many are now keen to take up Business Studies GCSE! Sir Alan, watch out!

Collingwood School celebrates its 80th birthday!

Collingwood Boys’ School was opened by its owner Mrs Hollis in January 1929 at ‘Winton’, 13 Stanley Park Road. Five years earlier she had founded Collingwood School for Girls. She soon began to take boys and, as numbers increased, decided to separate the girls from the boys. Soon the boys’ school needed larger premises and they moved to 3 Springfield Road in May 1934. Mr Ingham bought the boys’ school from Mrs Hollis in January 1935, whilst she continued to run the girls’ school until its closure in 1972.

After the war, extra accommodation was again necessary, and the Junior Department at 12 Maldon Road was acquired. The younger boys transferred there in September 1945. Mr Ingham died in 1952 and his wife continued as Principal until her death in May 1960. Mrs Ingham had planned to retire in July 1960 and had already appointed her nephew, Mr John Richardson (an assistant master at the school from September 1948) as Headmaster. Her daughter Miss Jennifer Ingham became the Principal..

In September 1978, Miss Ingham formed the school into an Educational Trust, thereby ensuring as far as possible the continuity of the school. Mr John Richardson retired in July 1988. and shortly afterwards a further phase in the development of the school, a nursery/infant department of three classes at the Maldon Road site was introduced. The school became co-educational in 1991.

The current Headmaster, Mr Geoffrey Barham, has been leading Collingwood since 2000 and since that time there have been many exciting developments. The school’s new extension, The Brian Lay Wing, (comprising two new classrooms and a large Design Technology Suite) was opened in September 2003 as was the lovely new ICT Suite. Collingwood pupils continue to lead a very exciting life and the school has a well-earned reputation scholastically and in sport, drama and music. The school was awarded an Artsmark by Arts Council England in July 2007. Collingwood’s choristers have sung on GMTV at Christmas time for three successive years and the school’s link with Ecole Sainte Jeanne d’Arc in Paris is well-established with residential visits now an annual event.

For further information, please contact Geoff Barham on 0208 647 4607 or email: headmaster@collingwood.sutton.sch.uk

Student success celebrated at special awards ceremony

The talent, achievements and dedication of pupils at Derbyshire’s Mount St Mary’s College have been celebrated at special awards ceremony.

More than 60 awards were presented to students at the school’s Grand Academy annual prize-giving weekend.

They were presented by VIP the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire Mrs Helena Muller in recognition of academic achievements, sporting successes, positive contributions made to school life and voluntary work.

Top prize, the Headmaster’s Award for outstanding contribution, was won by Head Boy, Adam Gaskell, aged 18, from Nether Handley.

Mrs Muller gave an inspirational speech about her own memories of school and talked to students about her role and distinctive High Sheriff’s costume.

Laurence McKell, headmaster at the Spinkhill school, said: “It was an honour to share this year’s successes at Grand Academy with Mrs Muller. It confirmed that our pupils have many reasons to give thanks for their talents.

“The awards ceremony is designed to celebrate a whole range of student achievements from those who have raised lots of money for charity to academic successes.”

The Grand Academy awards presentation followed a number of other school events including Sports Day, where Mount St Mary’s three houses competed in all the traditional track and field events around the athletics track.

Top music students played concerto movements, accompanied by a professional orchestra, at the school’s Academy Concert in the Memorial Chapel and Academy Mass was celebrated by Father Kevin Fox SJ.

Parents and pupils were also able to enjoy a variety of exhibitions and events ranging from a production of ‘Teechers’ performed by senior drama students to abseiling down parts of the school’s building.

Photo caption: (L-R) Headmaster Laurence McKell, pupil Jack Lamb and the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire Mrs Helena Muller.

Caterham School Pupils Raise Money for HIV Charity

Last September, at the beginning of the academic year, a group of Third Year pupils chose to embark on the Social Entrepreneurs Project, a scheme described as ‘Young Enterprise with a conscience’. HOPEHIV, a charity that supports children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa affected by HIV/AIDS, created the project. Pupils are given ‘seed capital’’ and have to find ways to make a profit to generate funds for the charity. Caterham School pupils chose a variety of enterprising activities: social events were organised, cars were washed cars, cakes were baked and roses were sold for Valentines Day.

These activities generated £1,000 profit. The pupils took great pleasure in presenting a cheque for that amount to Catherine Hedges from HOPEHIV when she came to the School on 18 June.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’ When we talk of the importance of a wide variety of co-curricular activities, it is easy to overlook the fact that so many of our pupils also make a contribution to society, either by raising funds for charities or by giving their time. This project is a way of bringing entrepreneurial skills and social awareness into the classroom. All profits are donated to HOPEHIV, so pupils know they can make a real difference. I am sure that the success of this initiative means that pupils will be keen to sign up for next year.’’

PHOTO: Third Year pupils with Catherine Hedges from HOPEHIV

PUPILS GET AN INSIDE VIEW OF PARLIAMENT

PUPILS studying A Level Politics at Stonyhurst College travelled to London recently to experience first hand what life is like inside the Palace of Westminster.

The pupils were greeted by Nigel Evan’s researcher (MP for Ribble Valley) who took them to a private room to observe Prime Minister’s Questions, in the House of Commons.

Afterwards, they were joined for lunch by Nigel Evens MP, in a restaurant near Westminster Hall.

During a guided tour of parliament the pupils were in awe of the magnificent architecture and richly decorated corridors, where great English monarchs from the past such as Richard I and Henry VIII, are depicted in huge portraits. This gave them a real sense of English history, as did standing in the place where Anne Boleyn and Charles I were condemned to death.

Sitting in the public galleries of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, they were again overwhelmed by the stunning opulence of the architecture and the huge amount of gold used on the ceiling and throne where the Queen sits during the state opening of parliament.

They were given a unique experience of observing the Public Accounts Select Committee, chaired by Edward Leigh MP. The pupils were fascinated to watch one civil servant being questioned about statistics. The pupils commented that as they were leaving they could still hear the shouting down the corridor!

Upon leaving the Palace of Westminster, one pupil John Messent aged 17 from Amersham was lucky enough to meet his local constituency MP. Cheryl Gillan, MP for Amersham and Chesham, is also the shadow secretary of state for Wales.

They chatted briefly before she happily agreed to pose with the pupils for photographs. Mrs. Gillan was with Nigel Evans and other MPs looking at the ‘Lightening’, a new electric car with ultra low carbon emissions. One pupil, Joey Barnett aged 17 from Blackpool, was tapped on the shoulder an asked if he wanted his photograph taken with the car. The volunteer photographer turned out to be Lord Peter Mandelson, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills!

John Messent said: “It was an unforgettable day and thanks must be given to Mr Ridout who is Head of Politics at Stonyhurst, for arranging it. Stonyhurst politics students have the opportunity of a Parliamentary ‘placement’ during their sixth form study. So perhaps some of us may be working there one day.”

CAPTION: David Ridout (left) Head of Politics at Stonyhurst and John Messent aged 17 from Amersham, present Nigel Evans MP (right) and Cheryl Gillan MP, with the Stonyhurst book.

Help for Heroes at RGSAO

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School enjoyed a heroic day of charity fundraising on June 19th as the school supported Help for Heroes.

With every pupil and teacher playing their part, the school had already raised £500 by the end of break – an amount that will significantly help the wounded from our Armed Forces in current combat.

Through a range of activities – many led by the pupils – during the break and lunchtime, the amount collected was in excess of £1,500 at 2pm and is continuing to grow with more events and raffles happening into the afternoon and weekend.

RGSAO activities included Gun Running with the CCF Navy Section, Assault Courses, Soak the Teacher, Apple Bobbing, raffles, stalls and much, much more.

Special guests Peter Elcock, Help for Heroes, Volunteer Group Co-ordinator for Worcestershire, and Ian Baldry, Help for Heroes County Co-ordinator for Worcestershire could also be found enjoying the special day on the Worcester site.

“The whole school was unified today in support of a fantastic national charity,” commented Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School.

“The amount raised so far is unbelievable and a real testament to the pupils’ giving and support to worthy causes.”

Madeleine receives a letter from the Prince of Wales!

Ten year-old Madeleine Robinson, from St Hugh’s Prep School, in Hertfordshire, was delighted when she recently received a letter from HRH The Prince of Wales. Madeleine had sent a card to The Prince of Wales last month, to tell him about her love of playing the harp and to ask whether she would be eligible to be a Royal Harpist when she was older. Madeleine’s grandmother, who had told her all about the Prince of Wales’s Official Harpist, has been poorly recently and so Madeleine wrote the letter in an effort to cheer her up and hopefully get a reply back.

Madeleine, who lives in Westmill, near Buntingford, was therefore thrilled when the letter from Clarence House arrived, together with some information about the current Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, Claire Jones.

Madeleine has been playing the harp since she was five and now plays a full-size concert harp. She is about to take her Grade 3 music exam.

Jacqueline Hart, Head of St Hugh’s School said: “Madeleine plays the harp beautifully and is very keen to play professionally in the future, so she was absolutely thrilled to have her letter and achievements acknowledged by The Prince of Wales.”

Photo:Madeleine with her harp and Royal letter outside St Hugh’s School.

Young Staines Prep Artists Captivate with Deadly Dinosaur Entries

Children’s web gallery Create & Wait, the brainchild of Staines Prep teacher Claire Eastaugh, has announced the winners of its latest art competition, ‘Dynamic and Deadly Dinosaurs’ and the launch of a free to enter poetry competition.

The original idea for the science themed competition was dreamt up and finally judged by a group of pupils themselves. Children were invited to create dinosaur pictures from their imagination and with that challenge came many new species, from a Stand-upasaur and a Hedgehogamite to a colourful Mixosauras.

Each year group winner received a certificate and model dinosaur as their prize and their pictures, and those of the runner-up entrants are now displayed in the Science gallery at www.createandwait.com. Three Staines Prep School pupils Aman Bhutani (8), Francesca Mitchell (9) and Caragh Murphy-Collinson (11) were among the winners, taking first prize in Year 3, 4 and 6 categories.

“Creativity abounded with numerous fabulous creatures and clever names invented by the children who entered,” said Claire.

The next competition is now open for entries, with plenty of time for children to get creative over the summer holidays and beyond. A poetry competition with the theme ‘Changes’, has been set by the bestselling children’s author Timothy Knapman. Timothy was very impressed with the site and said “The children’s work is excellent and it really is a terrific idea to have a web gallery with all the work on show.” Entry is free to children in Years 3-6 and Claire wants to actively encourage entries from all schools in the area. The closing date is October 24th 2009.

Photo: Pictured with their model dinosaur prizes and certificates are Year group winners of the Create & Wait online children’s gallery competition are Staines Prep School pupils (from left to right): Caragh Murphy-Collinson (11) (Year 6), Aman Bhutani (8) (Year 3), Francesca Mitchell (9) (Year 4).

Marist Girls Raise £448 for the Thames Valley Hospice

School girls have organised a special ‘Bag2School’ clothing collection to raise money for charity

Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire, March 18, 2009: Two pupils at the Marist Preparatory School have organised an event with school friends to raise £448 for the Thames Valley Hospice.

Rianna Monteagudo and Olivia Waldron, both aged 10, heard about the ‘Bag2School’ initiative as an ideal way of supporting a local charity. They spoke to their Headteacher, Mrs Jenny Peachey about it, and then presented the idea to the rest of the school during an assembly. The girls showed an example ‘blue bag’ and explained to their school friends that if the bags were filled with clothes, soft toys, bedding and shoes, a donation could be made to a local charity. The girls made posters to put up around the school showing that the bags should be returned by Thursday 5 March.

On 5 March, Marist families and friends brought over 200 blue bags into the school which were filled with clothes and toys. Bag2School collected the bags on the same day, weighed them, and confirmed how much money the school had raised for the Thames Valley Hospice.

Headteacher, Mrs Jenny Peachey said “Rianna and Olivia have shown great initiative in organising an event which has raised money for a very worthwhile cause without asking for cash. With a dated and timed collection, it meant the initiative could be readily supported. The girls have done an excellent job. We look forward to welcoming a representative from the Thames Valley Hospice early next term to collect the donation and speak to the girls about the work the Hospice does.”

Photo:L to R, Olivia and Rianna with one of the posters they made and some of the blue bags collected on 5th March.