Private School News

College Speech Day Farewell to Dr Giles Mercer

Longest serving senior school Catholic Headmaster retires after 24 years

Trustees, governors, parents, pupil, staff – old and new, gathered together at the College’s traditional Speech Day to bid farewell to Dr Giles Mercer, after 13 years as Headmaster at Prior Park.

The principal celebrant at Mass was the Rt Revd Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey.

Following refreshments in the magnificent grounds, guests, staff and pupils gathered in the giant marquee for the presentation of prizes by Sister Frances Orchard, Vicar General of the Congregation of Jesus. The Headmaster spoke warmly of his time at the College. The mood was emotional at times, euphoric at others, and a true reflection of the huge respect that staff, pupils and parents felt for Giles Mercer. The Head Boy and Head Girl paid tribute to an exceptional Headmaster who knows everyone in the school, not just by name. Standing ovations were the order of the day.

Sister Jane Livesey, Chair of Governors commented “It has been a fantastic and memorable Speech Day and a very fitting one to mark the departure of such a distinguished Head. Giles has been a hugely respected as well as a popular Headmaster and this has been endorsed not only by the enormous attendance today, including many former pupils, but also by his bulging social diary this summer term, when he has been guest of honour at numerous receptions and dinners in his honour. Everyone, from past and present parents and pupils to educational bodies and individuals wanted to express their sincere thanks and best wishes for his retirement in Bath.”

Mr Richard Wells, Head of Science, one of the longest serving members of staff at the College, commented “Prior Park College is fantastic place to learn, with its magnificent grounds and history. Giles has contributed much to the school, with his remarkable thoroughness, his true integrity and genuine support to ALL staff. ”

Giles Mercer will hand over the custodianship of the College to Mr James Murphy O’Connor, who explained “I have been working closely with Giles and meeting with the staff at the College in the last few months to ensure a smooth transition. Pupil numbers are at their highest ever, with outstanding results achieved year on year, and this is due to the dedication of Giles and his team. I know that he will be greatly missed and I look forward to carrying on his work.”

Giles Mercer said “I became a teacher nearly 40 years ago because of my fundamental interest in teaching young people and in learning from them. This has remained my central focus and the rewards of seeing young people mature, find direction and a sense of community are deep, lasting and immeasurable. I have always believed that a school is judged, above all, by the quality of its community life, by the values which are practised by its members, and by the attitudes and principles of its leavers. In this essential respect we can at Prior Park take great pride, without ever slipping into easy self-congratulation. We believe that each member of the College has an equal right to happiness, to the range of our opportunities (ever widening) and to a steady encouragement to meet the highest goals which he or she sets.”

He added “After all my years at Prior, I have countless teaching and support staff to thank for their unstinting hard work and dedication to encouraging our pupils to develop and blossom. And of course, I owe an immeasurable debt to my wife, Caroline, without her support I doubt I would have lasted 24 hours as a head, let alone 24 years! I am delighted that the Governors have appointed James Murphy-O’Connor as my successor. I wish him, his family and the College every possible success in the next phase of development. Everyone has been so kind and supportive to Caroline and myself, through what has been, for us, a most happy period in this thriving community and beautiful place. “

Marist Students Celebrate End of School in Style

Marist Sixth Form Leavers’ Ball is a sparkling occasion

A glamorous Leavers’ Ball was held for the Sixth Form girls of the Marist Senior School who have now completed their final exams and will shortly head off to their chosen university.

On Tuesday 30 June, Year 13 students attended the ‘red carpet’ themed event at the beautiful Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, with their partners, parents and Marist staff. The girls all looked beautiful in their gowns and the late evening sunshine added an extra sparkle to the occasion. The evening began with a champagne reception followed by dinner and dancing. The Royal Borough Mayor and Mayoress also attended – Mr Jesse Grey and his wife Christine.

Mr Karl McCloskey, Headteacher at the Marist Senior School said “It is always sad saying goodbye to our girls but it is wonderful to be able to give them a happy and memorable event to end on. We wish every blessing and much happiness to the girls as they leave school to embark on their university education and future professional careers. It has been a pleasure knowing each and every one of them.”

Photo:The Marist Year 13 Leavers with Mayor and Mayoress, Mr Jesse Grey and Mrs Christine Grey.

STONYHURST TEAM STRIKES GOLD IN FENCING COMPETITION

STONYHURST pupils displayed remarkable speed and skill when they won gold and silver medals at a fencing tournament.

Twin brothers Simon and Magnus Whittle (14) and Yoann Belon (15) took on more than 150 competitors to defend Stonyhurst’s honour at the Bromsgrove School Fencing Challenge earlier this month.

The Stonyhurst fencers fought exceptionally well, with Simon and Magnus taking both gold and silver medals in the under 14s Foil final.

This was repeated in the under 14s Epee, where the boys fought the other fencers in a ‘Poule Unique’, again winning gold and silver medals.

The final results were:
Under 14 Foil: gold medal, Simon Whittle, silver medal, Magnus Whittle.
Under 14 Epee: gold medal, Magnus Whittle, silver medal, Simon Whittle.

Under 16 Foil: 10th place Yoann Belon.
Senior Epee: 13th place Yoann Belon.

The competition was strong as some of the other competitors are Great Britain fencing cadets.

Other schools also in the tournament included Bromsgrove, Warwick, Abingdon and the Royal Grammar School.

The Whittle brothers are no strangers to fencing success. Last year Simon won gold in the North West 2008 Regional Epee Championships at Arnold School, Blackpool, and a silver medal in the Bath Leon Paul Under 13 Boys Epee, held at Millfield School, Somerset. Magnus also won a bronze medal for third place in the Under 14 Sabre, at the Arnold school competition.

Simon and Magnus also took part in the Manchester Cadet Tournament at Bolton Arena last September where they competed against fencers from around the world, some more than three years older.

“We are very proud of the boys’ success. Bringing home gold and silver medals is a huge achievement in the face of such tough opposition. All three boys should be commended for their endeavours,” said Mr. Andrew Johnson, Headmaster at Stonyhurst College.

‘Grow your own expertise’ helps Highclare school allotment scheme to blossom

Green fingered youngsters at Highclare School Woodfield saw their hard work blossom this term thanks to some expert advice.

They opened a mini allotment thanks to new ‘grow your own’ e-business Urban Allotments Ltd, who have worked with the school to create this scheme for the Highclare children.

A concrete area which previously had little use has been transformed into planting beds for a range of vegetables, fruit, herbs and salads. The children from throughout the school regularly get their hands dirty in their outside classroom growing more than 30 varieties including lettuces, runner beans, green beans, chives, parsley and strawberries.

The allotment was officially opened at the school in June by gardening writer Bob Purnell, author of the bestselling Crops in Pots, who was horticultural adviser for the project..

Sarah Kent, who designed the site for Urban Allotments, said: “Our message is that anyone can grow their own fruit, veg and herbs no matter how small a space they have at home, how little time they have or how little gardening knowledge they have.

“This is our first school project and shows just what can be done on what was a patch of concrete with a bit of expert help, it’s very exciting.

“Hopefully the children will have a lot of fun and get a real sense of achievement out of seeing their plants grow into food they can eat. They’ll learn valuable skills for life and hopefully get the grow your own bug.”

Head teacher Lin Jude said: “This is fantastic for the children and something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. As well as giving the pupils very useful life skills it will help us bring home the message from the classroom about sustainability, reducing food waste and eliminating the environmental impact of transporting food we can grow ourselves.”

CTC students win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in Physics & Mathematics Olympiads

In the British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 (2008-2009), the following CTC students were awarded medals:-

Miss DUONG Minh Trang from Vietnam Silver Medal and Distinction

Mr XIANG Lingrui from China Bronze Medal and Distinction

Mr Nguyen Huu Duc from Vietnam Bronze Medal and Distinction

The picture above shows from left to right Principal Mario Di Clemente, Xiang Lingrui, Mrs Mary Pillai Head of Mathematics at CTC, Nguyen Huu Duc and Silver medalist Duong Minh Trang. In addition to his Bronze Medal for Mathematics, our star student Xiang Lingrui (pictured above right) also won a Gold Medal in Physics.

In the prelude to the Mathematical Olympiad, the Senior Mathematical Challenge held in November 2008, CTC Year 13 students gained 10 Gold, 6 Silver and 2 Bronze medals, whilst Year 12 students won 15 Gold, 9 Silver and 9 Bronze medals

Financial Times Top 1,000 Schools 2009

In the latest Financial Times league tables published on 21st March 2009, CTC was ranked No. 77 out of the top 1,000 schools and colleges nationwide.

CTC has now appeared in the top 100 (10%) of the FT league table for the sixth successive year, with its best placement being at No. 40 in March 2008

Lads v Dads & Mums v Sons Cricket

Once again the Boys beat their parents in the annual cricket matches. The Colts took on a confident Dads X1 captained by Mr Williams, the Colts Captain’s father. Runs soon began to flow as the boys batted and the fathers struggled to roll back the years! When the fathers batted they found it difficult to fend off the accurate bowling and fielding from the boys. Despite some imaginative scoring the boys ended up winning comfortably.

The mums played two matches against their sons, one at Under 8, the other at Under 9. The boys won both matches but a great deal of fun was had by one and all. The biggest hit of the day was not with a cricket bat but was the match tea! Many thanks to all the mums for being ‘good sports’ but also for providing such a delicious tea.

MP OLIVER LETWIN VISITS NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL

Conservative MP Dr Oliver Letwin has visited Nottingham High School to give sixth form pupils an insight into the world of politics.

Now chairman of the Policy Review and of the Conservative Research Department, Dr Letwin held a question and answer session with the pupils and staff and discussed the parliamentary system.

Arguing that the UK system of Government is not sufficiently accountable, Dr Letwin also highlighted his party’s belief that there is a current decline in local Government power and put forward suggestions as to how his party would tackle this issue. In his words, shifting power ‘downwards and outwards’ would benefit local communities.

When asked by Nottingham High School headmaster, Kevin Fear, what the Conservatives would do to tackle the current debt situation, Dr Letwin said that they would aim to change the whole framework of public services, giving parents, pupils, patients and other service users more power and choice, in order to make public services accountable, more contestable and more efficient – in essence ‘more for less’.

“This was a great opportunity for the boys to get a real insight into politics and they asked Oliver some really insightful questions,” said Peter Cramp, head of politics at Nottingham High School. “We have organised similar visits in the past and they have always been met with great enthusiasm by both pupils and staff. We definitely plan to host more of these talks in the future. Oliver gave a valuable and interesting speech regarding the aims and workings of the Government and we were delighted to have him as our guest.”  

Year 8 Examination Success!

Congratulations to all the Year 8 boys who successfully secured a place at their Senior School with some very impressive marks at Common Entrance. This year schools include: Epsom College, St. John’s Leatherhead, City of London Freeman’s, Ewell Castle and Reigate Grammar. The boys are now off to Aderdovey in North Wales for a week of Outdoor Pursuits enjoying activities such as rock climbing, canoeing and hiking in Snowdonia. When they return they will continue the Leavers’ Programme with a visit from a Bank Manager, a First Aid Course and a talk from a Senior Housemaster about life at Senior School plus conservation and much more.

Year 4 boys from Priory School, Surrey, visit Sayers Croft

Year 4 boys have just returned from their first residential trip with the school having visited Sayers Croft in Ewhurst. Sayers Croft is a beautiful, safe and secure site with 56 acres of woodlands, meadows, ponds and fields and has been providing quality outdoor experiences for young people for over 70 years. The boys took part in a night walk, raft building, orienteering, den building and listened to bats communicating through bat boxes. Mrs Landaueur, the Year 4 teacher said, ‘The boys had a great time, learnt a great deal and have started to appreciate their environment’. One boy commented that it was the best trip that he had ever been on and could not wait to go away next year!

Priory Prep, Surrey, named as ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted School

Priory Preparatory School has been awarded an ‘Outstanding School’ award by Ofsted for its recent Inspections held at the school. Headmaster, Graham Malcolm said ‘We are delighted to receive this award and the recognition of the excellent work going on every day in the classroom.’ Only a handful of schools in the country have received this award and it comes shortly after the excellent Independent Schools Inspectorate report when the school was also desrcribed as ‘Outstanding.’

Family man joins RGS The Grange, Worcester

RGS The Grange Worcester underlined its aims and ambitions today – announcing the appointment of rising-star Simon Howkins from Dulwich Preparatory School.

The dynamic Worcester School has appointed family-man Simon Howkins as the new Deputy Head and he will take over from the departing Deputy Mark Turner from September.

Simon was previously employed as Director of Sport and Head of Physical Education at the Cranbrook School and brings with him a wealth of teaching and sporting experience.

A graduate of Exeter University and Campus First XV Rugby player, Simon has taught in three independent schools, with a succession of promotions at each. During his time at each school Simon spearheaded and drove sport and physical education as well as run boarding houses.

The 39-year-old and father of two, also successfully led outdoor pursuits at each of his previous schools, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Ten-Tors Challenges and was a figurehead behind house and extra curricular activities.

“We’re very pleased that Simon has accepted the role to take over from Mark who has done such a fantastic job for the school over the last few years,” said RGS The Grange Headmaster Tim Lowe.

“Simon joins us with a large amount of experience from his time within independent education. His work at Dulwich Preparatory School signaled to us his flair for teaching and leadership abilities.”

“His fresh and passionate approach will be very exciting to see at the school.”

“I’m very privileged to be offered this opportunity to work at RGS The Grange and it is a challenge I am very excited about. I fell in love with the school, city and surrounding area so can’t wait for myself and family to become part of the local community,” commented Simon Howkins, new Deputy Head of RGS The Grange.

“As a child I was always drawn to helping people and passing on experiences, so I suppose I was destined to either be a doctor or a teacher – teaching is what I love and I can’t wait to be part of the team at RGS The Grange.”

“It’s a great time to be joining the school, as it seems to always be growing and the experience offered there to their pupils is in my opinion second to none.”

Salter’s Festival of Chemistry Winners

On Wednesday May 13th a team of lower four girls represented the school at the annual Salter’s Festival of Chemistry: Zayneb Fahroud L4W, Aylie Scanlon L4W, Sophie Wallace L4L, Kathryn Evans L4L.

The event was held at Southbank University in London. In previous years our teams have done well in the practical challenges and this team was no exception. In fact they surpassed all previous efforts by gaining ‘Highly Commended’ in the Salter’s Challenge and a coveted first prize in the University’s Calllenge.

The latter required great precision and attention to detail coupled with the ability to think on their feet and work quickly. In all aspects our team was superb and worthy winners.

Well done everyone!

Form 5 visit- Portsmouth historic dockyard.

We arrived in Portsmouth after a 2.5 hour journey and made our way directly to HMS Victory, accompanied by our guides. We experienced ‘life’ on the Victory through a discovery session of activities, and had a guided tour of the ship- all very enjoyable.
After lunch we boarded the HMS Warrior where again, through various workshops we were able to compare the sailors lives on board, with those on the Victory a century earlier.

We had a throughly enjoyable and informative day- even though it was rather cold!

Sports Dinner at Wycliffe College

The annual Sports Dinner, held on Wednesday 24th June, proved yet again to be an excellent event enjoyed by all. The evening sun shone as members of all the senior teams arrived to be greeted by a chilled glass of cava before taking their seats in Wycliffe Hall. After the introduction by the Director of Sport, Mr Andrew Naish, diners tucked into a delicious meal prepared by the Catering Manager , Mrs Judith Johnson and her team.

After the meal, speeches were made by each captain who took the opportunity to acknowledge the impact of certain players, but also to pay tribute to the skill and devotion of the coaching staff.

Prizes were then awarded to the Outstanding Sportswoman of the Year (Sarah Barnes), the Outstanding Sportsman (Ben Rodgers), the Outstanding Junior Sportswoman (Sammy Blundell ) and the Outstanding Junior Sportsman (Jos Chillingworth). The ‘team of the year’ was the rugby 1st XV which reached the 4th round of the Daily Mail Cup and competed so successfully on their tour to South Africa.

Prizes were presented by our special guest speaker, Alastair Hignell CBE. Alastair captivated the audience with his tales of playing rugby for England and cricket for Gloucestershire whilst holding down a full time job as a school master. He then went on to describe his time as a BBC journalist and, most movingly, his determination to continue to live life to the full despite being struck down with Multiple Sclerosis.

It is here that Wycliffe Sport intends to lend a helping hand: Next year, all sporting charity events will raise money for ‘Higgy’s Heroes’ – a charity set up by Alastair to fund further research into this disease. To kick off, in October, several members of the Wycliffe staff and, hopefully, some students will be running the Stroud half marathon in aid of Higgy’s Heroes.

Caterham School Pupils Perform Alice in Wonderland

On Thursday 25 June and Friday 26 June, pupils at Caterham School performed Alice in Wonderland to large audiences of parents, teachers and friends.

Forty-two pupils were involved either in the cast or in the backstage team. Saskia Jiggens (2D), as Alice, completely stole the show with a polished performance as the eponymous heroine. Joe McNeice (1C), who gallantly donned a dress to play a hilarious Duchess, and Rachel Wright (3A) who was a formidable Queen of Hearts, ably supported her. Sixth Former Ben Horne, in his last ever production at Caterham, went out in style as the twitchy White Rabbit.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said. ‘’ I am always impressed by the amount of enthusiasm and commitment that our pupils bring to their studies and to the co-curricular activities. This was another very enjoyable production and follows a much acclaimed Toad of Toad Hall earlier this year. Drama and Theatre Studies is flourishing at Caterham School both as an academic subject and as a co-curricular activity. I was very pleased to see all year groups represented in the cast and crew.’’

21 County Titles for RGSAO, Worcester

RGS Worcester & the Alice Ottley School continues to experience excellence in Track & Field as shown by their twenty-one Hereford & Worcester County Athletics titles won in recent weeks. This is the most ever achieved by the School in any one season.

Leading the way has been Adam Damadzic, who retained both his County U17 Boys’ Discus and Shot titles, as well as being part of the successful RGSAO U17 Relay team. He now progresses to the English Schools’ National Championships where he will be looking to improve upon his bronze medal in last year’s Discus.

The Boys’ Captain, Nat McDonald, also produced victories in both the Senior Discus and Shot and will attend the national championships for the fourth time. They will be joined by a third member of RGSAO, Holly Wootten, making her debut in the U15 Girls’ Javelin. The event takes place on 10 & 11 July at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield.

Hereford & Worcester County Athletics Championships
’21‘ RGSAO County Champions

Senior Boys:

110m Hurdles Nick Houlston 16.7 sec
Triple Jump Steve Ndumbe 13.60m
Discus Nat McDonald 35.88m
Shot Nat McDonald 13.40m

Senior Girls:

100m Hurdles Biddy Briggs
400m Biddy Briggs
3000m Susan Ford 14min 45.0 sec
Triple Jump Emily Connell 10.13m (new School record)
Javelin Susan Ford 18.58m

U17 Boys:

Discus Adam Damadzic 46.03m
Shot Adam Damadzic 13.81m
Javelin Toby Wilkinson 48.57m
4 x 100m Relay (Wilkinson, Neale, Mitchell, Damadzic)

U15 Boys:

800m Alex Wyer
High Jump Edward O’Hara 1.64m

U15 Girls:

Pentathlon Fran Short 2243 points
4 x 100m Relay (Fox, Johnston, Short, Blears)

U14 Boys:

80m Hurdles Jonathan Hughes 13.5 sec
Long Jump Scott Howell 4.62m
Shot Josh Feek 9.78m

U14 Girls:

High Jump Megan Kewn 1.44m (new School record)

Good Schools Awards 2009

Congratulations to all the girls and teaching staff who have worked hard to achieve the Good Schools Award.

Bedford High School for Girls has won the 2009 Good Schools Guide A Level Award for both:

Girls taking Music Technology at A level – for the fourth consecutive year, an outstanding achievement
Girls taking English Language and Literature at Advanced Extension Award.
The awards are made on the basis of the data underlying post-16 performance table results for the three years 2006, 2007 and 2008 combined, and in particular on the basis of the popularity of each subject relative to similar schools, and of the success that pupils achieve relative to the other examinations that they take.

School serves up tennis treat

Pupils, staff and parents at Mount St Mary’s College got into the Wimbledon spirit by taking part in their very own version of the tennis tournament.

They gathered at the Derbyshire school for a Wimbledon Sunday competition, which featured a series of fixtures including mixed American doubles in rounds followed by semi-finals and finals.

Organised by the Mount St Mary’s Parents’ Association, there were prizes for juniors, seniors and the fastest serve.

Junior coaching was also organised by Pete Leadbetter from Beauchief Tennis Club and money raised on the day will be used to support other activities in school.

Diane Burkinshaw, Chair of the Parents’ Association at Mount St Mary’s College, said: “The tournament was great fun and fantastic way to encourage pupils, staff and parents to pick up a racket and get into the summer tennis spirit.

“It was also really competitive and there was lots of friendly rivalry for the fastest serve title! One of the semi-finals even lasted an hour, showing the skill and determination of the pairs.”

An enthralling final saw parent Ian Appleyard and school boarder Virginia Faixat, from Spain, beat Mount St Mary’s head of boarding Mr Wessel Du Randt and Winnie Yeung, from Doncaster.

Virginia also won the fastest serve competition, while fellow boarders Joaquim Llimona took the junior male fastest serve title and Max Hassler won the prize for the fastest senior male serve.

Parent Mrs Tara Thompson, from Spinkhill, won the senior female fastest serve.

U11 Swimmers are National Champions

Bromsgrove Prep School swimmers Jack Weston, Jeremy Turner, Harry Lloyd-Jones and Henry Walker (all Year 6) are walking on water as they celebrate winning the U11 4 x 25m Medley Relay at the National ESSA Championships held in Sheffield in June. The competition is open to all state and independent Primary and prep schools in England.

This is the first time that any Bromsgrove School team has won a swimming title at this level, which makes it a very unique achievement indeed.

The four boys swam superbly to break the school record by two and a half seconds and become National Champions.

In the freestyle relay Bromsgrove came 4th, and were overall 2nd in both relays combined, one point behind the championship winners Merchant Taylors’, Crosby.