Private School News

WINDLESHAM’S ATHLETES SHINE IN CROSS-COUNTRY BATTLE

Windlesham House School runners have been celebrating after an excellent haul of medals at the Worthing & District Cross-Country Championships.

38 pupils from the school in Washington took part in the event on Saturday 21st November at The Gallops in Findon Valley.

10 year old John Vignaux took gold in the U11 boys section while 11 year old Florence Margaroli, from Worthing, also celebrated gold in the U12 girls. Her team-mate, India Cumming, took bronze in the U12 girls while Windlesham had five girls finishing in the top 10 for that age group.

Overall, Windlesham won the U12 girls, were runners-up in the U12 boys and came third overall in the U10 boys’ age group.

Archie Haines-Moss and Arabella Beattie both performed exceptionally well running in the year group above with Archie finishing in 11th place in the U9 boys group and Arabella finishing an extremely respectable 8th in the U10 girls section.

Director of PE at Windlesham House School, Mark Duncan, said: “A special mention must be reserved for our U12 girls’ squad. Florence Margaroli took gold, India Cumming came in third, Eloise Kiely was fourth, Abi Gilchrist was fifth and Emerald Maloney was tenth.”

“Equally important, however, was the guts and determination displayed by Violetta Ewing and Claudia Kelley to run through the pain barrier and secure a memorable team triumph.”

Girls Successful in County and Midland Lacrosse Trials

Malvern St James Sports Department is celebrating after 24 girls were successful in being selected for the Worcestershire County Lacrosse Squads. The Malvern St James girls dominated the trials for the County teams with 12 girls selected for the U15 team and 12 girls for the U19 County team. 10 girls have also been successful in gaining places on the Midlands Lacrosse teams.

Sports Prefect, Laurel Buchanan said, ‘This is a great achievement for the School and it is fabulous to see so many of us getting a place. The team work was an essential part in getting us all through’. The School is very keen to promote the Sport and is host to the 3-Counties-Lacrosse Club which is the first independent Lacrosse Club open to boys and girls across the three counties with senior international lacrosse coaches. For further information, please contact: info@3-counties-lacrosse.co.uk

Arty students star in West End comedy

A hit West End comedy has been brought to the stage in Derbyshire by arty students at Mount St Mary’s College.

Three members of the Spinkhill school’s Senior Drama Society starred in the performance of ‘Art’, by Yasmina Reza (translated by Christopher Hampton).

The play explored art and the friendship of characters, Serge, Marc and Yvan played by sixth form students Richard Duggan, Edward Massarella and Alex Allt

Art has enjoyed a long and successful run in the West End with the roles played by many noted actors and comedians such as Albert Finney, Tome Courtney, Frank Skinner and Roger Lloyd-Pack.

Jack Murphy, head of English and Drama at Mount St Mary’s, said: “The students performed with a real energy and commitment which kept the pace of the play at a high level.

“It is a real challenge when three actors have to maintain an audience’s interest for 75 minutes without an interval. But the students brought out the comic interplay really well, with good comic timing and characterisation.

“I was also pleased that the students captured the more serious side of the play showing that the characters are motivated by their fondness for each other and not simply by irritability. The audience response was wholehearted – it was an evening of laughter and good cheer and the students earned their thunderous reception at the curtain call.”

Photo:(L-R) Alex Allt of Rotherham, Richard Duggan of Barlborough and Edward Massarella of Brookhouse, Sheffield.

Summer Term 2009 – news from Emscote House School and Nursery

The Yellow Woods Challenge
The School achieved 1st place in “The Yellow Woods Challenge”. In liaison with Warwick District Council a presentation of £300 and a Gold Oak Award Certificate was received for outstanding achievement in recycling 235 “Yellow Pages”. Emscote House is now one of the top 6 Schools in Warwick District Council to recycle the highest number of “Yellow Pages” per pupil.

Photo: pupils with their certificate

Recycling
The pupils use recycled compost compiled from the remains of their break time fruit skins for their raised garden beds. The pupils have learnt to weed and prepare the beds before planting could take place; they have gained knowledge and understanding of how to plant, care for the plants, measure and record their growth. This term the Nursery have grown peas and the following herbs – Sage, Thyme, Rosemary and Tarragon. Reception – Onions, Lettuce, Beetroot and Chard Year 1 – Potatoes, Tomatoes and Cotton Year 2 – Carrots and Lettuce.

LAMDA
Y1 and Y2 participated in the LAMDA examinations for Speech and Communication and achieved outstanding results of Merit and Distinction. The pupils have certainly developed more self confidence by participating in the School Drama Club where Y1 pupils performed the play “Lion and the Mouse” and Y2 “On the Train” to pupils and parents. The exams involved learning a poem and a prepared speech about a toy (Y1) and a photograph (Y2).

Fund raising
Congratulations to the Reception, Y1 and Y2 pupils who raised £231.52 for “The British Heart Foundation” The pupils worked hard with great determination to skip non-stop between 5 and 10 minutes.

Productions
The production of “Eddie the Penguin Saves the World” was performed by the Nursery and School pupils at “The Bridge House Theatre” in Warwick for the summer concert. Thank you to staff, parents and Mrs Stonehewer for providing the delightful array of costumes, props and scenery and also to Mrs Sudbury for co-ordinating the arrangements for the day. Thank you to the Friends of Emscote House who kindly organised the delicious cream teas to enjoy after the concert!

Summer Fayre
Thank you to everyone who supported the Summer Fayre and kindly gave their time helping on the stalls, providing goods to sell and assisting with the “clearing up”. The amount raised was £403.50. Thank you also to “The Friends of the School” for organising and preparing the delicious multi cultural lunch. The Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils performed the annual Maypole and Morris dancing which was much appreciated by parents and visitors. The weather was glorious and a special thank you must go to Mrs Sudbury for her meticulous
planning and organisation of the day.

Sports Day
Sports Day was well attended by parents who equally enjoyed participating in the parent’s very competitive race. A happy afternoon was spent with the pupils involved in individual and team events. Thank you to “The Friends of the School” for providing the tea and Krishan’s Mum for making a delicious “Sports Day” cake.

Certificates
Congratulations to pupils who have achieved certificates this term and especially those who achieved the highest ASA Water Skills Award Grade 6 and to all Reception, Year1 and Year 2 pupils who achieved the British Gymnastics Proficiency Awards.

Year 2 outing
The Y2 pupils spent their final outing at the “Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum” with the additional viewing of the BBC Walking with Dinosaurs exhibition which explores the science and technology behind the programme, featuring some spectacular life-sized dinosaur replicas and real fossils. The pupils experienced an enlightening day of science making it a truly memorable final leavers outing.

Inspection
The Early Years Foundation Stage Moderator from WCC (Inspection takes place in all schools every 3 years) confirmed that the school met all the requirements for recording and assessment for the Foundation Stage Profile which is completed at the end of the Reception Year.

England Netball Co-Captain Runs a Coaching Session at Caterham School

Karen Atkinson, the current England netball co-captain, came to Caterham School on Thursday 19 November to run coaching sessions for the U14, U15 and Senior netball players.

Karen has over 100 England caps and has played in three Commonwealth Games and three World Championships. Earlier this month was inducted into the England Netball Hall of Fame. She is currently a player/coach of the Mavericks Super League team who were runners-up in the league last year and, with several international stars, are hoping to go one better this year.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’ Karen is an excellent role model for any student interested in sport. Not only is she a talented player, she also has an excellent work ethic, which means that she remains at the very top of the game. The discipline of training hard is something that we aim to instil into all our pupils. The girls really enjoyed the sessions and benefited from Karen’s considerable knowledge and experience. Karen will return to Caterham School in January to run a netball coaching Inset for teachers.’’

LORD WANDSWORTH STUDENTS TRIUMPH IN MATHS CHALLENGE

Earlier this month, 21 schools from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight competed in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust regional team challenge. The event took place at the “Intech” science centre near Winchester. This was an event for 6th form mathematicians. Students took part in three different rounds of questions, including a “cross number” round where two of the team had the across clues, and two had the down clues, and they had to piece the answers together.

The event was won by the team from Lord Wandsworth College, whose members were Leonie Field, Kenneth Yang, Max Thomas and Joshua Pashley. The team will go on to compete in the National Final in London on 3rd February 2010, with prizes presented by Marcus du Sautoy.

Prior Park pupils prepare to be Barbarians

Three talented boys from Prior Park Prep School in Cricklade have fought off fierce competition to be chosen to represent the South West in the Independent Prep Schools Barbarians Rugby championships.

Joe Beckett, Alex Hall and Kieran Kelly were selected from 40 boys from schools across the region. Prior Park Prep was one of only two schools represented to have three players chosen for the team. They will now meet a team from the South East in December at Millfield School in the first stage of the Barbarians competition.

Following the selection day, Kieran Kelly was named by selectors as ‘the player who stood out the most’ and was awarded with the match ball.

The three boys are all part of the Prior Park Prep School 1st XV who remain unbeaten this season. More details are available at www.priorparkschools.co.uk

SUNDAY TIMES RANKS NOTTINGHAM HIGH JUNIOR SCHOOL AMONGST THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY

Nottingham High Junior School is the highest ranking independent boys’ junior school in the East Midlands according to the recently published Sunday Times top 250 Preparatory Schools league table.
Not only has the school been ranked 20th in the UK, up ten places on last year, but it is the 3rd highest ranking independent boys’ junior school in the country.
The table has been calculated using the aggregated scores of pupils achieving Level 5 in English, Maths and Science at Key Stage 2 in their Standard Assessment Tests (SATs)
“This is a fantastic achievement for the school,” said Andrew Earnshaw, headmaster at Nottingham High Junior School. “The result is testament to the hard work of both our staff and pupils. We now look to continuing our success this year and hopefully climbing even higher in the next league table.”
In addition, Nottingham High School was ranked 102nd in the top 425 independent secondary schools.

A Grand Afternoon

More than 100 grandparents joined pupils at Duncombe School in Bengeo for a special afternoon recently. The celebration gave grandparents an opportunity to look around the school, guided by their grandchildren and to see the children’s work. The visitors were then treated to a traditional cream tea and home-made cakes prepared by the catering department.

Mrs Verity White, Headmistress of Duncombe, said: “The event was a huge success and we have had some lovely thank you notes. The atmosphere was very special and it was a joy to see grandparents and grandchildren together. We’d like to say a big thank you to all the grandparents for coming, especially those who travelled a long way to enjoy this wonderful afternoon.”

TWO DIVERSE AUTHORS IN TWO DAYS

Two celebrated authors, Mark Wagh and Beverley Naidoo, have recently visited Nottingham High School as part of its ‘Year of Reading’. This initiative is designed to engage with boys of all ages at the school, exploring reading habits, preferences, philosophies about reading and its importance.
Nottinghamshire County Cricketer, Mark Wagh was well received by boys from across the year groups when he joined them at lunch to discuss and share his thoughts on his book ‘Pavilion to Crease…and Back’.
Pupil, Luke Robinson said, “I enjoyed listening to Wagh’s account of the process of writing such an honest and frank book. Wagh spoke of his satisfaction in producing a piece of work that represents all of his cricketing knowledge and recommended the enjoyment of writing as well as reading.”
Beverley Naidoo’s novels draw on issues connected with Racism, Apartheid and Asylum-seeking in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and the United Kingdom; ultimately, she is eager to reveal the contexts of her work through a child’s perspective and their friendships.
In preparation for Dr Naidoo’s visit, all year nine boys read her Carnegie Medal Winning novel, ‘The Other Side of Truth’. The day consisted of a presentation in the morning and a writing workshop in the afternoon for year 9 and aimed to develop creative and personal writing skills which the boys will be able to utilise, not only this year, but also as they approach their GCSEs. Year 13 students also engaged in an informal talk and reading by Dr Naidoo, who then went on to chat with many boys, from across the school, during a busy book signing.
Beverely Naidoo proved herself to be as dynamic and interesting a speaker as her books are thrilling and varied; a huge number of boys were inspired to speak to her in person about her incredible life and books. Dr Naidoo warmly commended the boys on their creative output at the close of the workshop.
“We always try and build in author visits into the school year as part of the drive to promote reading, said Kevin Fear Headmaster at Nottingham High School. These two particular visits, part of our Year of Reading which was launched in September 2009, have been very well received. Similar exercises, planned for the coming months, are all aimed at challenging stereotypes linked to reading and about who might read what. We hope the year’s events will help equip the boys with the skills to proceed successfully in their academic careers and beyond.”

Moon Rocks Land at St Edmund’s College!

Rare samples of Moon rock and lunar dust landed at St Edmund’s College, in Old Hall Green this week, on loan from the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. Meteorites of different kinds also formed part of the display and students were able to handle and study them, seeing the obvious differences in the materials they are made from.

The lunar samples were collected during NASA’s manned space missions to the Moon in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. During these missions the Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth 382 kilograms of lunar material. Most of this material is used by scientists to study the Moon, but NASA decided to use a small proportion of the rock and soil to develop lunar and planetary sciences educational packages.

Miss Sophie Kobylec, a physics teacher at St Edmund’s College who organised the Moon Display, said: “It’s incredible to think, that when you hold a meteorite, you are handling something that may have travelled millions of miles to fall on the Earth. Students at both the College and St Hugh’s, our Prep School, have really enjoyed examining the meteorites and learning about the work of the original space missions.“

Photo: Students from St Edmund’s College and St Hugh’s School examine the lunar samples.

Prestigious White House award for Old Mountaineer

A former student at Mount St Mary’s College is to receive a prestigious White House award for his outstanding contribution to the American world of science.

Dr Craig Brown, who was educated at the Derbyshire school in the 1980s, will be given a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

He is an instrument scientist for the Disk Chopper Spectrometer at the NIST Centre for Neutron Research (NCNR) in Maryland, where he researches science underlying future energy technologies.

Dr Brown, originally from Sheffield, first learnt of the good news when President Obama announced his name amongst a list of more than 100 other early researchers and recipients who also will be presented with the award at a special White House ceremony.

The prize is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Dr Brown said: “The award is quite an amazing recognition of the environment and support I have benefited from whilst working at the NCNR and reflects upon the creativity and abilities of all of my collaborators.

“I am a product of the education of Mount St Mary’s and I have really fond memories of the students and teachers from my time there.”

Dr Brown excelled in sciences during his time at Mount St Mary’s and went on to read Natural Science at the University of Cambridge. He will return next year to meet staff and students and to give a talk on his career successes.

Mr Laurence McKell, headmaster at Mount St Mary’s, based at Spinkhill, said: “Craig’s success is an inspiration to our budding scientists and we look forward to him visiting the school in the coming year.

“We aim to help each student develop their talents both in and outside the classroom and it will be wonderful for our students to hear from Craig about the significant part that science plays in all our lives.”

Cadets lead memorial service to mark Remembrance Day

Young cadets at Mount St Mary’s College have marched to remember fallen war heroes at a special memorial service to mark Remembrance Day.

On Wednesday, November 11, at exactly 11am, students and staff gathered in the school’s Memorial Chapel for a service of remembrance.

The last post was sounded to mark the start of a two minute silence, followed by the reveille and prayers were led by Fr Michael Beattie SJ.

Uninformed members of Mount St Mary’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF) read poems and an extract from a letter written by an Old Mountaineer who died in World War One, before taking part in a parade march to the churchyard war memorial to lay wreaths at war graves.

The names of former students who gave their lives in the war are displayed on the walls of the ante-chapel, which is a registered war memorial site.

Head teacher of the Derbyshire school Mr Laurence McKell said: “At Mount St Mary’s we place great store on Remembrance Day and show respect for those who have died in combat for this country and their families.

“Our ethos is about developing men and women for others which is why we feel it is so important to remember the sacrifices that others have made for others, and continue to make.”

The CCF has two sections, Army and RAF, for Year 10 and 11 students, although many opt to continue in to Sixth Form, where they can be promoted up the ranks.

Photo: Mount St Mary’s cadets march to remember fallen war heroes.

BMS through to last 16 of ISFA Boodles Cup 2009

Bedford Modern School 1st XI Football Team are through to the last 16 of the National Independent Schools Football Association Boodles Cup, after their thrilling 3-2 victory over the much fancied Ardingly College, Sussex in the last round.

As rugby is played at the School in the Autumn Term, Bedford Modern School is the only school left in the competition playing football during the School’s rugby term and therefore the achievement of reaching the last 16 is even greater. Bedford Modern School now face Bradfield College, who defeated them in the final of the ISFA national 6-a-side competition earlier this season, and the match will take place at 2.00pm on Thursday 12th November at Bedford University.

This year’s Final of the ISFA Boodles Cup will be held at the Stadium MK, the home of the MK Dons and Bedford Modern School are certainly looking forward to seeing how near they can get to this prize in March next year. However, Bradfield College will be a very stern test and they have an impressive nine wins, two losses and a draw this season already, not to mention schools such as Millfield, Charterhouse, Hampton, Repton and Brentwood – real footballing hotbeds who are still left in the competition.

Peter Bignell, Head of Physical Education at Bedford Modern School said, “At present I am extremely happy with all the senior players who are training and playing. Their commitment and determination cannot be faulted. I am sure whatever the outcome of the match on Thursday against Bradfield College that our run in the ISFA Boodles Cup this year will be a good springboard to another successful season come January 2010.”

Change is the Theme of the Day for Staines Competition Winners

Create & Wait, the free educational children’s web gallery, created by Staines Preparatory School teacher Claire Eastaugh, has announced the proud winners of its poetry competition, which was centred on the theme ‘Changes’.

The site’s sixth successful competition since its launch in 2007, drew entries from throughout the local area from budding young poets bursting with rhyme. It was judged by children’s author Timothy Knapman. Timothy is the author of the successful ‘Mungo’ books and lives in Weybridge.

Timothy, who set the creatively challenging theme, was impressed with all the children’s writing. “Narrowing the entries down was no easy task,” he said. “There were many wonderful flashes of brilliance and insight and I hope it will encourage them to keep writing poetry.”

Six talented winners were selected from Years 3-6. Each received a hand-written certificate signed by Timothy as their prize and their pieces of work are on display on the English Gallery at www.createandwait.com.

The winners from Staines were Daniel Fellows (age 10) and Madeleine Henson (age 10) from Year 6, Anushka Naidu (age 10) and Sophia Ali-Burdon (age 9) from Year 5. Year 4’s winner was Anthony Davies (age and the winner from Year 3 was Avi Tripathi (age 7).

The next Create & Wait competition is a unique challenge, calling for young inventors to get involved in an exciting design competition. Entrants are being asked to invent and design something around the theme ‘Fast and Furious’ – from fast cars to funky fashion. The competition will be judged by accomplished inventor, Trevor Baylis OBE. Entry is free to children in Years 3-6 from all schools. The closing date is February 12th 2010.

Entries from local primary schoolchildren are particularly welcome and instructions on how to enter may be found on the website.

Photo: Pictured with her signed certificate is Year 5 winner of the Create & Wait online children’s poetry competition, Sophia Ali-Burdon (age 9).

Chinese Ambassador offers scholarship to Kingham Hill

The applause could be heard all over the school as the Chinese Ambassador announced that she was offering a special scholarship for one Kingham Hill pupil to study for a year in China.

Ambassador Fu Ying’s announcement came as a surprise at the end of a question and answer session with sixth formers that she shared with David Cameron. There already appears to be a great deal of excitement among pupils, many of whom would seriously consider such an opportunity.

The Chinese Ambassador was spending the day observing David Cameron carrying out his usual Friday round of constituency work. As MP for Witney, David Cameron had responded to an invitation by the school to officially open two new day houses.

David Cameron and the Ambassador were shown around the new day houses by representatives of the growing number of day pupils now attending the school. The increase in numbers follows the appointment of Headmaster, Nick Seward, who joined Kingham Hill from league table-topping Magdalen College School, Oxford, in September 2008. The day houses, along with the introduction of school transport and a move away from Saturday school, has provoked a real spike in interest. A new academic society, to challenge and nurture the very brightest pupils, has also played its part.

Headmaster, Nick Seward, was very pleased with the occasion: “It was a tremendous honour to play host to David Cameron and the Chinese Ambassador. It has further opened the eyes of our pupils to the world of domestic politics and the shift of economic and political power towards the East. Kingham Hill is changing and growing and occasions like this are very inspirational.”

Stunning New Facilities

Girls at Farnborough Hill are looking forward to pushing creative boundaries even further following the completion of the St Anne’s Art and Design Technology Centre. The building was blessed and officially opened by the Bishop of Portsmouth, The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, in a ceremony attended by students, staff and guests.

The Grade 1 listed building has been extended and enhanced to provide a Design and Technology workshop, three art studios, a graphic design suite and dedicated 6th Form studios. The wide range of resources in both departments allow pupils to become involved in painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, glass, graphic design, photography, fashion, animation, computer generated imagery, woodwork, plastics and metalwork. The beautiful building, built in 1860, was formerly the laundry, stable block and coach house of the Empress Eugenie and has been sympathetically restored, with many of the features retained and highlighted.

Design and Technology began in its infancy at Farnborough Hill in the early 90s – back then a bold and forward-thinking move for a girls’ independent school to introduce a subject traditionally associated with boys’ education. The girls instantly took to the subject, and immediately disproved the myth that it was not a subject for girls!

Results at the school have often been outstanding in both art and design & technology, for instance: in 2005 Charlotte Hull, was one of the top 10 students nationally for A level Design and Technology: resistant materials. At the same time she also became the regional finalist for the Audi Young Designer of the year award, being 1 of 17 students to attend the national final in Newcastle. Part of her prize included an all expenses paid trip to the Audi headquarters, in Germany, where we understand the highlight of the trip was getting to drive an Audi TT around the track! Last year Naomi-Rose Alexander was one of the students achieving the top ten marks in the country for GCSE art and design.
This year, Corinne Stuart, a GCSE D & T student, applied for the Arkwright Scholarship, which supports A-Level students wishing to follow a career in Engineering. The D & T department became affiliated to the Arkwright Scholarship program, proving Farnborough Hill’s commitment as a school to Engineering as a future career. Corrine attended a rigorous day long interview programme and sat an exam. Her strength as a future engineer shone through and she was fortunate to be chosen from over 400 applicants to be one of their scholars.

Mrs Emma Matthews, Head of Design and Technology, says ‘Staff and students value the changes made to St Anne’s greatly. Each and every one of our girls from Year 7 upwards, achieves great things when she is able to create, develop and realise a product of her own design in such well-equipped and inspiring surroundings.’

Photo:(l to r): Headmistress, Mrs Sarah Buckle, Bishop Crispian and Chair of Governors, Mr Michael Maher

RGS Worcester Number 1 in the Midlands

At a ceremony held at the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Savoy Place London, on 30th October 2009, Robin Hearn, Jonathan Horne, Joseph Perry and Douglas Wilkie from RGS Worcester were awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships for their outstanding work in design & technology.

Robin Hearn’s Scholarship is sponsored by The Happold Trust, Jonathan Horne’s is sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Salters, with The Industrial Careers Foundation sponsoring Joseph Perry’s Scholarship and The Royal Aeronautical Society sponsoring Douglas Wilkie’s Scholarship.

Only 249 Arkwright Scholarships were awarded across the UK this year, following applications from 770 students.
Scholars are selected following a rigorous selection process comprising an application, Arkwright Aptitude Paper and interview. During the interview students presented their GCSE project work to a panel of interviewers and discussed their commitment to design, engineering and technology. Interviews are hosted across the country by universities. Interviewees participate in a team activity and tour the engineering/design departments.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology hosted the Presentation of Awards at their prestigious building in Savoy Place, London for the 9th year.
Agnes Segal, Membership Services Manager for the IET said,
“It is a great privilege for the IET to welcome these talented young people to our London home. We hope that they will go on to become the leading scientific and engineering minds who will work with engineers around the globe to solve the pressing problems facing the world today.”

The Arkwright Trust was founded in 1990 and supports young people during their ‘A’ Level/Scottish Higher years by awarding £250 a year to assist with the purchase of materials and books. Each student will also carry the status of ‘Arkwright Scholar’ into university. The school’s design & technology department receives £200 per year for the next two years.
“This is the third year that RGS has managed to get four students through the rigorous assessment procedure. From the statistics it can be seen how difficult it is for a school to obtain more than one scholarship. Four is an exceptional achievement,” commented a delighted David Cotterill, Head of Design & Technology at RGS Worcester.
“As a school we have now received 28 Arkwright Scholarships over the past 11 years, a feat that sees our Design & Technology Department currently stand as number one in the Midlands and third in the UK.”

The four winning pupils are now going on to enter the Green Power Competition to build an electric vehicle.
“It’s a great initiative on the part of the scholars and I hope it will help to create further interest amongst pupils in the school and careers in design or engineering,” added Mr Cotterill.

Photo of scholars. Left to right.
Jonathan Horne, Joseph Perry, Robin Hearn and Douglas Wilkie

WARM WELCOME FOR NIGERIAN TEACHERS

Two teachers from Nigeria have been swapping stories with pupils and staff at Windlesham House School in Washington after an enlightening two-day visit.

Adegoke Ayansola and Olumide Oniyide teach at the Day Waterman College – a co-educational boarding school for 11-18 year olds set in a 25 hectare site in Asu near Abeokuta in Ogun State.

They visited Windlesham on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd November in a bid to gain experience of English boarding schools, on their first visit to the UK.

During their stay, they observed lessons as well as gave a presentation to the pupils about school life in Nigeria and the diversity of social groups in the country.

Headmaster of Windlesham House School, Richard Foster, said: “My wife Rachel and I have plenty of ties with Africa and it was a pleasure to welcome the two teachers who, I hope, gained much from their visit to Windlesham.”

CHEMISTRY WEEK AT TRENT COLLEGE

Students from Trent College in Long Eaton have been taking part in food related activities as part of national Chemistry Week, stimulating their interest in science, and their taste buds!
Themed weeks are organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) every two years to promote a positive image of Chemistry. Talking about how Trent College have been involved this year, Head of Chemistry, Dr Carrie-Ann Wakerley, said: ‘Chemistry week is designed to promote the chemical sciences and show how much impact they have on our everyday lives. This year the theme is “food” so we have tried to relate the chemistry that the students are studying to food topics and have a lot of fun in the process.’
Trent College students from all age groups took part in a range of food related activities throughout the week. Year 8 Chemistry Club made gelatine air fresheners and extracted iron from cornflakes, Sixth Form students made plastic from potatoes, extracted limonene from oranges, and made ice cream with Year 5 pupils from Trent College’s Junior school, The Elms, all of whom thoroughly enjoyed tasting their finished product!
As well as conducting experiments of their own, students from the Year 9 were entertained by Graeme Jones, award winning Chemical Ecologist who is a senior lecturer at Keele University. Dr Jones’ passion for his subject emanated during his interactive and fragrant lecture ‘Sex, Flies and Smelly Sticky Tape’, where he talked to students about chemical attraction in the insect world, let them smell some potent ‘pheromones’ and encouraged them to dance like molecules!
A SENSE-ATIONAL photographic display from the Royal Society of Chemistry completed the information available to students about this fascinating subject.