The Independent Schools Inspectorate has given one of the area’s leading independent schools the thumbs up in its latest inspection and cited its unique community culture for the excellent development of its pupils.

The Inspectorate, the independent schools’ equivalent of Ofsted, has praised Rossall School in Fleetwood for its delivery of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, an enquiry based alternative learning programme for junior pupils, and described teaching at the school as “exceptional.” Also singled out for praise was the School’s boarding tradition, which it said: “helped to provide a good quality of educational experience and contributed to the pupils’ ability to develop good relationships.” The report also cited the genuine establishment of a family feeling on campus, as a result of the permanent boarding community, as one of the key reasons why day pupils also thrived. The pastoral care, out of hours’ activities, and the boarding house system, it reported, “provided the key to the family unit.” Children at the School were also singled out for praise for their “outstanding behaviour both in and out of class.” Incidents of bullying, the report added, “were rare.”

Rossall’s GCSE achievements were also highlighted as being high in relation to national norms. The School actually topped the Lancashire league tables last year, yet, despite its academic achievements at the higher end, it also won praise from inspectors for its support of children with learning difficulties.

According to the report, inspectors noted that “a striking aspect of the school was the understanding for different cultures, fostered by the cosmopolitan campus, and also the quality of personal development of pupils of all ages, who exhibited confidence in relationships with children and adults alike and relished responsibility.”

Also coming in for praise was the School’s leadership team, led by headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley. The inspectors noted that Rossall’s leadership has been strong and well-directed since the appointment of the new head in 2008, which drew comment from Dr Winkley: “Although I’m not a great believer in league tables as a measure of a school’s qualities I do feel that the findings of a thorough inspection are more meaningful in judging what a school has to offer.

“I’m obviously delighted that we’ve had such a positive report by the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate, but not surprised, given the quality of our teaching staff and house parents, and their dedication to the children, who must also be singled out for praise.

“As a school, we are only as good as the children we turn out, so in that sense we are a resounding success, with or without the findings of an inspection. The School is such a special place to be, not because of one aspect, but because of its component parts, which is why it’s been so rewarding to see the quality of teaching and pupils here since my arrival in 2008.

“The inspectors alluded to a special feeling on campus…a strong sense of community and responsibility and exceptional children, which is why Rossall is different to many other schools, even those with boarding communities. It really is a place with a unique sense of identity.”

More good news for the School comes in the form of increased numbers of boarders for 2010/2011 school year. The recruitment figures have bucked the UK national trend, and the School’s successful recruitment campaign has resulted in a flurry of summer activity on campus as additional boarding facilities are built to cope with the influx of new pupils.

Photo: Headmaster Dr Stephen Winkley

At the ceremony, on the campus of Rossall School, Fleetwood, the cadet contingent will receive the honour to mark the 150th anniversary of the School’s CCF, which makes it the oldest in Britain, even pre-dating that of Prime Minister, David Cameron’s old school, Eton.

A chapel service, conducted by school chaplain, Revd Steve McMahon, during which the Queen’s Colour will be consecrated, will be followed by the presentation, and parading of the Colour by the full brigade and band, during which the Lord-Lieutenant, representing Her Majesty The Queen, will take the official salute in the imposing main square at the heart of Rossall’s 160-acre campus.

The honour recognizes the role of the CCF in preparing young people for life in Britain’s Armed Forces and is testament to the part its former members have played in every major military conflict since The Boer War and of the sacrifices of hundreds of former pupils who have given their lives in defence of the nation since the reign of Queen Victoria.

Among those in attendance will be senior figures from The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, with which Rossall School Combined Cadet Force is affiliated, together with several mayors from local borough councils, leading business figures, Old Rossallians, former cadet members and parents of children currently attending the School. It is anticipated that around 1,000 people will witness the march-past and parade of the Colour in the school square; marking what will be a memorable day in the distinguished history of the 166-year old co-educational independent school.

Commenting on the honour, Rossall School headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley said: “It is particularly pleasing that the School should receive this honour as we celebrate 150 years of cadet service, and doubly so because we have always enjoyed close links with the Armed Forces, and have, since our creation in 1844, been a school with a good proportion of pupils drawn from the families of serving military personnel.

“To be the Country’s first, ahead of the likes of Eton, is a source of immense pride for the School, as it should be also for the North West region, because thousands of our former pupils have gone on to enjoy distinguished military careers and made a valuable contribution to the country’s military history.”

Despite its original military origins, not all members of the Tri-Service Combined Cadet Force go on to serve in Britain’s Armed Forces and many pupils join simply to enjoy the range of activities, outdoor pursuits and sports on offer through the Service, which also administers the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

Following the award of the Queen’s Colour, Rossall School’s CCF will now be one of the select few brigades or regiments allowed to incorporate the royal colours alongside brigade insignia. This will be a major coup for the School, which attracts pupils from over 35 countries to its coastal campus in Lancashire.

Kundai fun run

Pupils of all ages at Stonyhurst College have been raising money to help a physically disabled boy in Zimbabwe receive the medical care he needs. A fun-run this week has finally achieved their target of £5,000.

14 year old Kundai Mangoma suffers from a rare disease which has caused a huge tumour on the right hand side of his face; this has left him with breathing difficulties and blindness in one eye. He is in much pain from the disfiguration of his jaw and facial bones and finds it difficult to eat and speak. Kundai’s parents lost all their life savings in Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil and are therefore unable to pay any of the medical bills which could improve their son’s condition.

Sixth formers, Sophie Le Breton and Natalie Crouch met Kundai when they visited Zimbabwe this year, visiting a Jesuit school with which Stonyhurst has a long-standing partnership. They were so moved by his bravery that they were determined to raise £5,000 for surgery which could change his life: they met a surgeon who told them about the major operation which should fully restore his sight, ease his breathing and discomfort and significantly change his appearance. The operation is scheduled to take place in Harare in late August so they had no time to lose!

“Kundai was lovely, very shy and uncomplaining,” said Sophie. “We were really moved to hear that his sister had died quite recently from the same condition and realised that the medical care we take for granted just isn’t available in Zimbabwe. We were determined to help and as soon as we got back to school, started a campaign to raise the money.”

A ‘Kundai Committee’ was formed immediately, with representatives from all year groups putting up posters throughout the school and organising fund-raising activities. Kundai T shirts, a ‘Home Clothes Day’, weekly cake stalls, an art competition, charity dinners and finally, a fun-run, have together achieved the target!

Photographs shows Natalie Crouch, Sophie Le Breton, Mrs Crossley and Mr Warrilow, teachers at Stonyhurst College meeting Kundai and his family.

Students in fancy dress, taking part in the fun-run. ]]> http://www.privateschoolnews.co.uk/2010/06/students-take-action-for-zimbabwean-boy/feed/ 0 http://www.privateschoolnews.co.uk/2010/06/world-cup-anthem-to-score-for-heroes/ http://www.privateschoolnews.co.uk/2010/06/world-cup-anthem-to-score-for-heroes/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:34:10 +0000 school http://www.privateschoolnews.co.uk/?p=3719

To coincide with England’s bid for World Cup glory, a Lancashire junior school teacher has penned a personal musical tribute to England’s football heroes, which he hopes will score big for Britain’s injured armed forces’ heroes returning from Afghanistan.

With the help of pupils at Rossall School in Fleetwood, Lancashire, sports teacher and aspiring musician, Lawrence Condon has released a World Cup song, with the title: ‘England, My England’, in a bid to highlight the sacrifices being made by the nation’s soldiers abroad and to raise valuable funds for the ‘Help for Heroes’ charity.

Lawrence’s pupils were the inspiration for the song and urged him to write one for the last World Cup. Four years on and just in time for South Africa 2010, ‘England my England’ has been created in a collaboration with British folk, rock band ‘Steeleye Span’ guitarist, Ken Nicol, who produced the song from its raw acoustic version, adding orchestra, drums and chorus. He hopes the song will become an anthem and find its way onto the football terraces of South Africa, but if not, he’ll be more than happy if the public buys the song and it generates cash for Britain’s injured heroes, returning from conflict in Afghanistan.

To help promote the single, a DVD featuring Lawrence and his pupils has been produced by children at Rossall, one of the North West’s oldest independent schools, with some help from the School’s IT department. The backing track features melodies from the early 1960’s hit ‘Telstar’, giving it its infectious chorus that would make an excellent football chant during the current World Cup. And, the children at the school provide a seventy-strong choral backing when the song is played live for visitors to the 166-year-old campus.

Commenting on the launch, Lawrence Condon said: “The children cajoled me into doing something for the World Cup, even though I’m not a professional musician. The result might not be likely to hit the heights of Frank Skinner’s ‘Three Lions’, but if there’s a chance that the public like it and want to support our lads in South Africa then they’ll also be making a valuable contribution to the lives of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, so hopefully we score either way.”

DVD’s will be on sale at Rossall School from this week with all proceeds from the strictly not for profit song going straight to Help for Heroes.

Photo: Lawrence Condon with some of Rossall School Juniors

Photo: children finding inspiration in Stonyhurst’s woodland., following Gerard Manly Hopkins’ footsteps.

A jolly good audience had a ripping time watching a workshop production of the play ‘Daisy pulls it off!’ by Denise Deegan, at Stonyhurst College. Daisy Meredith, the plucky scholarship gal at Grangewood School for Young Ladies, was played by Madeleine O’Dwyer and Trixie Martin, her good-egg friend, was played by Mary Flanagan, both in Year 9 at Stonyhurst. Between them they overcame the wealthier pupils’ rotten pranks, found missing treasure and Daisy’s long-lost father. Spiffing!

Photo: the cast of ‘Daisy pulls it off!’ In the front row are, second from left, Madeleine O’Dwyer (Daisy), and Mary Flanagan (Trixie) centre.

A theatrical performance devised and performed entirely by sixth form students has just been presented at Stonyhurst College. A level Theatre Studies students performed an adaptation of ‘The Little Matchstick Girl’ for their practical exam, for which the group also wrote and composed songs which were performed live throughout the piece.It was a highly engaging and moving performance, showcasing the students’ many and diverse talents to an appreciative audience.

Photo: Conal Mackenzie, 18, from Blackburn and Helena Bold-Davies, 17, from St Albans who has just gained a place at the National Youth Theatre.

Three Stonyhurst students have been awarded places at the National Youth Theatre. Catriona Graffius, Jordan Riley and Helena Bold-Davies are all sixth formers at Stonyhurst College, taking Theatre Studies A Level. “Competition for places with the NYT is very high,” said Stonyhurst Head of Drama, Miss Johanna Egar, “so they have done really well to get in.”
Stonyhurst has an excellent track record for getting students into the National Youth Theatre, with 12 places being awarded over the past 6 consecutive years.

Photo: left to right: Catriona Graffius, Jordan Riley and Helena Bold-Davies.

Four Stonyhurst College hockey players have been selected to play for Lancashire. Jessica Pye was selected for the U17s, Clare Lupton for the U16s, and Emily Smith and Helen Finn for the U15s.
Emily and Helen played in the Lancashire U15 1st team on Sunday 2nd May, and won the North of England County Tournament. The team scored a total of 36 goals, conceding only 3; they beat Yorkshire 7-0 in the final game and may now go forward to play the winners of the Southern County Tournament, watched by National coaches.

Photo: Jessica Pye

A year 13 pupils is quoted in the report saying, ‘…staff and pupils form a family. We can turn to almost anyone for support….this openness to people’s differences allows people to flourish in what they want to do in a comfortable and loving environment.’

All UK independent schools have a full inspection conducted by the Independent Schools Inspectorate every six years. Inspections cover the full range of a school’s educational provision, and the inspectors form judgements on nine different aspects according to an objective set of criteria.

Below are some quotations from the reports.

“The College’s most distinctive feature is an outstanding, all-pervasive spirituality, which promotes reflective self-awareness and increased moral fibre, leading many pupils to relish opportunities to turn their faith into action.”

“A broad curriculum, flexibly adapted to enable pupils to achieve their full potential, makes an excellent contribution to pupils’ achievements and learning…”

“Extra-curricular success is exceptional.”

“The quality of pupils’ personal development is excellent…”

“The pastoral care of the pupils and arrangements for their welfare, health and safety are excellent.”

To read the report, please follow the link: http://www.stonyhurst.ac.uk/uploads/std2904_report_stonyhurst_final_04_2010.pdf

One of the world’s most highly acclaimed choirs gave a concert at Stonyhurst College. London’s Westminster Cathedral Choir made its second visit to the Ribble Valley College and sang to a capacity audience drawn from all over the North West in Stonyhurst’s St Peter’s Church.
The programme began with choral music for Lent, then Easter, and finished with music for St George, including music by Palestrina, Taverner, the contemporary composer James MacMillan and Elgar’s Give unto the Lord. The conductor was Martin Baker and the organist was Edward Tambling.
Before the concert, the choristers, aged between 7 and 12, had a wonderful time exploring the banks of the River Hodder, playing tennis and filling their lungs with fresh Lancashire air!

Photo: The Westminster Cathedral Choir in full voice at Stonyhurst.

Choral music and croissants made a fine start to the May bank holiday at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire and a large audience gathered for an 8am start in the ‘Top Ref.’ Schola Cantorum sang a varied programme, which included Benedictus from Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man Mass, Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine, concluding with a very lively version of Hail Holy Queen from the film Sister Act!

Photo: Yoann Belon (16, from Isle of Wight) conducts Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine.

The U14 Rugby team enjoyed a very successful Easter tour to Italy, staying at Lido di Jesolo, near Venice. Training sessions on the beach paid off as they won 3 of their 4 games.
The tour also included cultural visits to Venice, the chance to watch some professional rugby at a match between Treviso and Viadana and a trip to the Gardaland theme park. Everyone enjoyed the excellent hospitality of the Italian rugby clubs and huge thanks go to Mr Thomas and Mr McGinnis for organising the tour, and to Mr Ansell for acting as translator!

Results:
Stonyhurst vs Montebelluna RFC- won 17-14
Stonyhurst vs Valdobbiadane RFC- won 26-10
Stonyhurst vs Piave RFC- lost 12-21
Stonyhurst vs Paese RFC- won 38-14

Photo: The Stonyhurst and Valdobbiadane teams

Election fever has gripped Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall and parliamentary campaigns are being mounted by pupil-candidates to capture the votes of their peers. Posters, rosettes, competitions and campaigning feature throughout the school, and when the country goes to the polls, Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall will too, with the Tolkien Library becoming the polling station for the day. This is not being taken as just a bit of fun either. All the candidates take their roles very seriously and are fully aware of all parts of their manifestos, a fact which was amply demonstrated recently in front of the school and the actual candidates for the Ribble Valley constituency. Nigel Evans MP was so impressed with the speeches that he stood to congratulate the junior candidates on their performances!

Photo: Edward Johnson(12), the Liberal Democrat candidate.

Stonyhurst girls have done well too. On Wednesday 3rd March, the U19 Girls Badminton Team competed in the Red Rose County Championships and finished in second place.

Photo: with their badges and certificates are (from left to right): Hannah Phoenix (16), Wendy Leung (17), Rebecca Powell (captain: 17) and Vanessa Vaghetti (18).

AS Level Theatre Studies classes took their practical exams this week at Stonyhurst College, performing Diane Samuel’s Kindertransport and Jean Anouilh’s Antigone. The first play was about the displacement of Jewish children in WW2, and their new lives in England, cleverly weaving together the past with the present. The second is a French, 20th century version of the Greek tale of Antigone, who fights to the death for her brother’s honour.
Both performances were excellent and attended by a large, appreciative audience of supporters.

Photo: Catriona Graffius, from Hurst Green, and Charlie McDermott, from Windsor, in Antigone.

Stonyhurst College, the Catholic boarding school in Lancashire, led an ecumenical service for Lent at Blackburn’s Anglican Cathedral on Monday 22nd March. Prayers were read jointly by the College Chaplain, Fr John Twist, SJ, and the Dean of Blackburn, The Very Reverend Christopher Armstrong, with the Headmaster, Mr Andrew Johnson, reading an extract from the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. Stonyhurst’s Schola Cantorum sang music by Stanford and a setting of Be thou my vision with a piano duet accompaniment, played by Joann Belon (Year 11) and Pawel Rzemieniecki (Year 13), conducted by Dr Kevin Morgan. They also sang Allegri’s Miserere with the verse sections exquisitely sung by Megan Hindle and Catriona Graffius (both in Year 12). The service finished with a new choral setting of the Pater Noster by Stonyhurst teacher, Mr Jonathan Sharples.

Headmaster, Mr Andrew Johnson, said: “I was delighted Stonyhurst was invited by the Dean of Blackburn to lead this act of worship at the Cathedral. It is a clear manifestation of our growing ecumenical collaboration.”

Photo: Stonyhurst College Schola Cantorum in Blackburn Cathedral, with Fr John Twist, SJ on the left.

Part of Charles Waterton’s remarkable and famous personal collection of animals, birds, crustaceans and insects has returned to Stonyhurst College this month, having been on loan to a Yorkshire museum for 40 years. It includes a tarantula spider, vampire bat and a platypus.

Charles Waterton, an old boy of the College who attended Stonyhurst in the late 1700’s, was one of Britain’s first natural historians; he is described by David Attenborough as “one of the first people anywhere to recognise that the natural world needed protection as humanity made more and more demands on it.” A devout man, he slept on bare boards and rose at 3am every day to pray and read the Life of St Francis Xavier for an hour. He had a lasting affection for Stonyhurst, which he visited every year until his death in 1865.

To mark the return of the Collection to Stonyhurst, a new portrait of Waterton has been unveiled, painted by Helena Callinicos, a former Stonyhurst pupil. Over the next five years Waterton’s entire collection of some 1000 specimens from Europe, Africa, India, Australia and South America will be returned to the Lancashire College. The College curator, Mrs Jan Graffius, has created a new display, which can be seen in the summer when the College opens for public tours.

Photo: the new portrait unveiled.

Stonyhurst College has recently won two consecutive U18’s 7’s Hockey tournaments in 4 days! The first was at Austin Friars School, Carlisle, where the team beat Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith in the final, winning 2-1. 15 goals were scored throughout the tournament with 1 conceded.

The second was at Mount St Mary’s, Sheffield, where they beat their hosts 2-1 in the final. Livvy Carefoot (18, from Knowle Green) played particularly well, often scoring goals within seconds of matches beginning. In this tournament, 20 goals were scored with 1 conceded.

Photo 1: Stonyhurst squad at Austin Friars – Melissa Gulcimen, Jessica Pye, Adaobi Anah, Casey Davis, Clare Lupton, Camilla,Copping, LivvyCarefoot, Hilary Harrison, Francie Page

The Stonyhurst College U14s won the Lancashire Schools Plate Final at Rochdale RUFC on Sunday 21st March, beating Kirkham Grammar 38 -12. Kirkham provided strong opposition, and at half-time the score was 12-7 in their favour. Stonyhurst played extremely well and managed to take the lead in the second half.

The U14s are now preparing for a tour to Italy in April. Staying in Lido di Jesolo, they will have training sessions on the beach and play matches against Montebelluna, Piave and Paese. They will then visit Venice, the Gardaland theme park, and move into the cricket season with some beach cricket, no doubt consuming a good deal of ice-cream along the way!

Photo: Stonyhurst team with the Lancashire Plate, held by captain, Danny Fitzgerald (13) from Blackburn.

Hodder House (Stonyhurst’s pre-prep department) celebrated World Book Week by coming to school dresses as their favourite storybook characters. Darth Vader rubbed shoulders with Mog the Cat, Sleeping Beauty and the Little Mermaid, and a variety of Knights in shining armour encountered King Henry V! Everyone looked wonderful as stories leapt out of their pages for a day, which inspired the creation of many new tales.

Photo: Year 2 in their costumes

There wasn’t a hint of a yawn or snoozing in class when pupils at a top Fylde Coast independent school decided to dress in pyjamas for a day to raise valuable funds for world children’s charity, UNICEF.

The event, at Fleetwood’s Rossall School proved to be a dream of an idea for the charity, with pupils and teachers generating a remarkable, £400 through their efforts – money that will help children recover from the disastrous earthquake in Haiti and also go towards improving the lives of young children in the African country of Mozambique.

The school’s nursery, infant and junior pupils dreamt up their charity challenge as part of the UNICEF, ‘Day for Change’ campaign. They were asked by teachers to create an event to focus attention on the need for change and they decided on a switch from the norm, so for one day all on campus were obliged to participate in a “wear your pyjamas to school day.” As part of the fund raising activity, children and teachers donated money and brought into school any unused foreign coins to add to the coffers. And, in keeping with the ‘change’ theme, the school sold hot chocolate and marshmallows and cookies on campus at break times.

Said Rossall head of juniors, Simon James: “It was a great idea from the children to vote for the pyjama day. At first we thought there would be a few pupils that might try to claim a quick snooze in class, but despite the relaxed atmosphere the campus was as lively as ever. If anything, they were even more alert than usual because of the excitement of fund raising, so it proved immensely successful, to the point where we may repeat the event at a later date.”

Half of the monies raised by Rossall and other schools in the UK will be used to support children’s welfare and education projects in Mozambique, where 400 children under the age of five die every day, mostly from preventable illnesses, and where the basics that most children take for granted, namely drinking water and access to education, are severely restricted. The remainder will go to assist the humanitarian work undertaken by UNICEF in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti.

Photo: Pyjama game…Rossall School deputy head of juniors, Lawrence Condon helps the collection along with support from pupils – (back row l to r) Naomi Hall, Imogen Hockings and Louise Rogerson, (centre) Harrison Monteiro and (front) Daniel Andrews.

Two boys from Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall have been selected to play for the Independent Association of Prep Schools Barbarians. Favour Maduka will play for the Under 13 side and Chidiebere Nechi for the Under 11′s. The IAPS have been holding trials all over the country to select a squad of players to play in Ireland soon. Hundreds of boys have gone through the selection process and have anxiously awaited the decision of the selectors, who attended a final session at Rugby School a few days ago. Both boys received “Man of the Match” awards in their final trial games. Bravo!

Photo: Favour (aged 13, left) and Chidiebere (11, right).

Stonyhurst College in Lancashire launched the Stonyhurst Scholarship Fund in February, with a charity fashion show. The new fund will enable children in Zimbabwe to receive an education. “It only costs 40 pounds per year to go to school in Zimbabwe, yet this is far beyond the reach of many people there,” said Celia Lupton, a sixth former at the Lancashire school, and one of the fashion show’s organisers. “We wanted to raise as much money as possible to help children get an education and find a way out of poverty.” The fashion show raised over 3,000 pounds, which will educate 5 children for 4 years each.

A group of students and staff from Stonyhurst have just returned from visiting their Jesuit sister school, St Peter’s, Kubatana. Mr Paul Warrilow, Head of Religious Studies, and Sophie le Breton, aged 18, told the audience of over 300 people why the scholarship fund is so worthwhile. “I was struck by how eager the children are to learn,” said Sophie. “Pupils use every available minute to read and work, even when waiting for a teacher to arrive. They live in absolute poverty, with no electricity or running water, yet their uniforms are pristine because they are proud to be going to school.” Natalie Crouch, aged 18, and the fashion show’s compere, said, “It’s a huge culture shock coming home. We’ve made friends with people our own age there and it’s hard to think of the poverty and difficulties they live with. Many have lost parents to AIDS or cholera and are caring for their families, often getting up at 4am to do school work.” While they were in Zimbabwe, they saw President Mugabwe’s motorcade, and had guns trained on them by his guards. “That was the only time we ever felt ourselves to be in any danger,” said Sophie.

The show began with a stunning creation, made out of sculptured black silk, on loan from the London Fashion Week, followed by childrenswear, evening dresses, casual clothing for men and bridal gowns, all ably modelled by Stonyhurst pupils themselves. “There are many people to thank” said Anna Thomas (18), another of the show’s organisers, “but above all, the pupils themselves were brilliant – they really worked hard as a team and supported everyone’s efforts.”

If you would like to make a donation to the Stonyhurst Zimbabwe scholarship fund, please contact the College on 01254 826345

A group of pupils and staff from Stonyhurst College, Lancashire leave for Zimbabwe this week, to visit their Jesuit sister school, St Peter’s, Kubatana. Packed in their suitcases will be gifts of various things which are in short supply in Zimbabwe, such as first-aid materials, art equipment, and footballs. “We are really looking forward to seeing everyone at St Peter’s, especially as we couldn’t go last year because of the risk of cholera and other factors,” said Paul Warrilow, Head of Religious Education at the College, who has been visiting Zimbabwe for a number of years. Two sixth-formers, Sophie Le Breton and Natalie Crouch, both from Hurst Green, will be working with some of St Peter’s 1,200 pupils, who are aged between 3 and 18.

Stonyhurst College has a long-standing partnership with St Peter’s, called ‘Chirwirangwe’ or ‘Let us unite.’ Each year-group has linked up with a child in Zimbabwe, and is raising money to pay for that child’s education, as well as exchanging letters and photographs to show solidarity and friendship.

Photograph shows, from left to right: Sophie Le Breton, Mrs Ruth Crossley, Natalie Crouch and Mr Paul Warrilow, with some of the gifts they will be taking to Zimbabwe.

The Baroness Cox of Queensbury visited Stonyhurst College this week, and talked about her work with the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, of which she is the Chief Executive. Over the years, Baroness Cox has travelled, often illegally and in danger, to Armenia, Burma, northern Nigeria, Sudan and North Korea, to offer practical help (she is a trained nurse), moral support and prayer to some of the estimated 250 million people who are persecuted for their faith. HART seeks to help persecuted, suffering people in parts of the world unreached by other agencies such as the UN or the Red Cross.

Many are taken into slavery. “In the 21st century, we should not have an estimated 27 million victims of various forms of slavery,” she said, her aim being to raise awareness of their plight and to lobby government to do all it can to effect change.

Baroness Cox used the words of St Francis of Assisi to illustrate her belief in the importance of showing solidarity with the persecuted by actually being among them: “Pity weeps and turns away. Compassion weeps and holds out a hand.” A key aim of HART is to ask people directly what they need most, so that the aid they supply is as effective as it can be. It may be food, medicines, livestock, bibles; but whatever the practical need, the knowledge to the persecuted that someone in the world beyond knows and cares about them is of inestimable value, she said.

It was both humbling and inspiring to learn of some of the many individuals Baroness Cox has met, in hidden corners of the world rarely reported on: people whose faith withstands huge pain and loss, who travel vast distances with little or nothing just to stay alive, and who continue to praise God with conviction and joy. “We are very grateful to Baroness Cox for her illuminating and moving talk, and her generous engagement with our pupils,” said Andrew Johnson, Headmaster of Stonyhurst. “She even invited them to visit the House of Lords, so that they can continue discussing how they can help.”

Photo: Baroness Cox with Simon, Damien and John, pupils at Stonyhurst College.

Year 5 pupils from Stonyhurst’s prep school St Mary’s Hall went on a school trip with a difference this week. Dressed as evacuees from the Second World War, complete with gas mask boxes, they visited Stockport Air Raid Shelter. The staff at the shelter were also ‘in role’ and the air raid warden told the children that there had been a near-miss the previous night, and that the bomb had left a crater outside. “The children’s eyes were like saucers,” said Mrs Joy Twigg, their teacher. “The ‘crater’ had actually been made by the gas board digging up the road but it made the experience very vivid!” To add to the excitement, one of their teachers, Mr Ogarrio, was immediately recognised as a ‘spy’ and arrested!

The children were given a full tour and sang war-time choruses such as “Run rabbit, run ” as they made their way around the labyrinth of tunnels. At the height of the air raids, there was room for 7000 people, often bussed in from Manchester.

“The children learnt a lot of new facts about the second World War and had a great time ‘living’ their history” said Mrs Twigg, who was also in costume.

Photo:the ‘evacuees’ in the air raid shelter.

Four ballet pupils from Stonyhurst College will dance in a production of ‘Giselle’ with the English Youth Ballet in March. Paul and Olivia (who attend St Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst’s prep school, St Mary’s Hall) and Alice and Joey from the College auditioned for 2 hours, along with 290 other children, in an intensive rehearsal run by professional dancers. They demonstrated excellent technique and the ability to learn effectively, which is essential for the rehearsals now underway for the public performance. “They’ve done exceptionally well and I’m really proud of them,” said their teacher Mrs Natasha Jones.

‘Giselle’ will be performed at The Charter Theatre, Preston.

Photograph shows
Joey, in the centre, and Alice and Paul on the right. Also pictured on the left are Helen and Celina (front).

Our photograph shows 3 of Stonyhurst’s fund-raisers: Michael McCullough, (from Garstang), John Golden (centre, from Glasgow) and Henry Taylor (from Hampshire).

Six sixth-form students have won places at Oxford and Cambridge this year. Oxford offers have been awarded to Allamin Daggash (to study Engineering at St Edmund’s College), Haruki Kawano (for Mathematics at Lincoln College), Eleanor McClelland (to read Arabic and Islamic Studies at Pembroke College) and Rebecca Powell (Chinese at Hertford College). Destined for Cambridge are John Messent, the Head Boy, who has a place at Gonville and Caius to read History, and Pawel Rzemieniecki, who has an organ scholarship at Fitzwilliam College and will read Mathematics.

“The competition for a place at Oxford or Cambridge is tougher every year”, said Mr Andrew Johnson, Headmaster. “I am immensely proud of our successful candidates, and of Stonyhurst’s record at Oxbridge entry. This is now the third year in a row in which we have had at least five conditional offers.”

“The interviews were really very challenging” said Rebecca. “As well as closely examining some of the things I’d written on my personal statement, they asked complex, thought-provoking questions; for example, ‘what are the problems involved in making ancient Chinese philosophy accessible to the man in the street?’”. John had three interviews: “They really tested my ability to engage with historical questions. The interview process is largely concerned with how you think things through.”

Our photograph shows, from left to right: John Messent, Rebecca Powell, Mr Andrew Johnson the Headmaster, Pawel Rzemieniecki. Haruki Kawano and Allamin Daggash.

Kevin Barrett OS is England’s captain for the Emirates Airline IRB Sevens. Kevin Barrett, who left Stonyhurst in 1998 and is currently with Saracens, was part of the Stonyhurst Sevens squad which won The National Rosslyn Park Schoolboy Sevens in 1997. Last season, he helped England to win the cup trophies at the Wellington and London legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.
There are 8 tournaments in the Emirates Airline IRB Sevens series and 2 were played last month, in Dubai and South Africa.
“I am really excited to be captain. Ben Ryan gave me the news and I feel very privileged but we have lots of leaders in the team, like Ben Gollings, Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu and James Rodwell so I’m hoping I can call on all of them.” said Barrett. “We benefitted from going out a bit earlier this year and had some great training sessions. I’ve been playing sevens for a while now but to go out as captain is always a proud moment and I’m really enjoying it.”
In South Africa, England won their pool, beating Argentina, Scotland and Tunisia. They then lost 19-22 to New Zealand which put them in the Plate semi-final where they beat Australia 24-5 before winning the Plate beating South Africa 21-7.
In Dubai, England again won their pool, beating Kenya, Russia and the USA. They then beat Argentina 17-12 in the Cup quarter final, before losing the semi-final 19-28 to Samoa. The remaining 6 tournaments will take place in New Zealand, USA, Australia, Kong Kong, England and Scotland. Each tournament carries a points system and overall, England currently lie third on 28 points behind Fiji (36) and New Zealand (48).

For more information, go to http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/schedule.html

A nanny state may well be a source of anger for many parents, but there’s only one thing that gets the goat of the kids from a leading Fylde Coast independent school, and that’s the plight of less fortunate children in Africa…

The infants of Rossall School, Fleetwood proved that the solution is child’s play, so for two weeks they staged their own tuck shop during morning break and raised enough money to ensure that a number of villagers and children in a remote African region can get their own goat!

As part of the ‘Oxfam Unwrapped’ scheme the children have generated enough funds for Oxfam to buy a goat couple, together with two animal homes and veterinary care, which will be donated to an African village to be chosen by the charity. The goats will provide the community with a source of milk and the potential to begin a breeding programme.

To help the children appreciate what their efforts will mean, a number of Rossall pupils were given a first hand experience of feeding goats on an excursion to nearby Farmer Parr’s Animal World, which has a number of breeds, including the African Pygmy variety similar to those to be donated through Oxfam. The children were delighted with their chance to hand-feed the goats and wasted no time in getting in amongst the straw bales to make some new friends.

Head of Rossall Infants, Caroline Jordin believes the experience will help the children to appreciate the tangible benefits of their fund raising. She said: “Having a place like Farmer Parr’s so close to the school is a great way of educating our pupils. And, by allowing them to have close contact with the animals they’re gaining a real sense of what they’ve achieved, so much so that they’re all asking to do more fund raising to buy more goats for Oxfam, so it’s been a great success in a number of ways.”

Five-year-old pupil, Fred Boardman of Thornton was delighted with the chance to feed the goats. He said “They licked my hands and tried to chew my ear, but I wasn’t frightened, it just tickled.”

The school plans more fund raising efforts in 2010 for local and international causes. Added Caroline Jordin: “Despite their tender ages, our infants have gained great social awareness from their fund raising efforts and it will help to give them an understanding of the world as they get older, so in a way they’re also benefiting greatly, whilst helping people who really need it.”

Photo: The Kids at play are … from left – Charley Clarke, Georgia Oldham, Isaac Wiggans (all aged 6) and five-year-old Fred Boardman. All live in Thornton Cleveleys.

For the second year running, the Stonyhurst College Senior Mathematics Team has won the regional final of the UK Maths Challenge, held in Lancaster recently. They are now through to the final in London in February.

Beating Rossall School into second place, the team comprised of Pawel Rzemieniecki (from Poland), Haruki Kawano (from Japan), Naomi Jackson (from Burnley), all sixth-formers, and Julian Au Yeung, (from Hong Kong) who is only 15. Pawel scored the highest ever mark achieved by a Stonyhurst pupil in the UK Maths Challenge, and took the first paper in the British Maths Olympiad last month; he recently gained a place at Cambridge to read Mathematics, having already achieved A* grades in Maths and Further Maths at A2. Haruki has an A* in A2 Maths, and an A in A/S Further Maths and has just gained a place to read Mathematics at Oxford.

“I’m delighted with our team’s result” said Mr David Rawkins, Head of Mathematics. They got 170 points out of a possible 192 and deserved this success after training religiously every week!”

Adaobi Anah from Stonyhurst College won ‘Best Chairperson’ in the Business and Professional Women’s Association Public Speaking Competition last week, in Billington, Lancashire. Adaobi (aged 17, from Nigeria) was in a team who addressed the subject of the English Language and how we use or misuse it, and was awarded a gavel and a gift token. ‘As Chairperson I had to open the event, introduce myself and the speakers, take questions and round everything up,’ said Adaobi. ‘It was great fun and a valuable experience.’

Our photograph shows Adaobi with her gavel prize!

Stonyhurst College’s major production this year was Sweeney Todd, the award-winning musical thriller by Stephen Sondheim. David Mann (17, from Hurst Green) was a darkly menacing ‘Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, who returns to London after 15 years’ transportation on false charges and vows revenge. His grisly throat-cutting activities were lightened by a hilarious Mrs Lovett, brilliantly played by Natalie Crouch (17, from Hurst Green) and the entire cast acted and sang with skill and energy. An excellent set, lighting and costumes all created a macabre corner of Victorian England. The show’s Director, Miss Johanna Egar, Head of Theatre Studies at Stonyhurst said, “They’ve all worked very hard and I’m very proud of them all.”

Newly crowned world heavyweight boxing champion, David Haye may have made a decent fist of his assault on the world title by beating Russian giant, Nikolai Valuev, but nearer to home several pupils at one of the region’s leading independent schools have also had a hand in a major sporting triumph that sees a national title coming to the North West for the first time.

Thankfully there wasn’t a broken hand in sight as pupils from Rossall School, Fleetwood rose to the top of the pile in the National Fives Championships, taking the Open Competition title and also winning the U-15 trophy, with impressive victories over some of the most competitive schools in the one of the country’s oldest sports.

Over 100 schools entered this year’s event and in the Open competition, the Rossall pairing of Christopher Metcalfe, 17, and Luke Williams, 14, went through all stages unbeaten, winning their group and dropping only five points before a quarter final victory against Oundle School 1, followed by a comfortable win against St Olave’s 3 of London in the semis. In the final, Metcalfe and Williams met last year’s champions, St Olave’s 1, running out 15-7 winners, following some excellent points-winning shots from both boys. Their victory sees the trophy coming to Rossall for the first time in the school’s history.

/…
In the U-15 national competition, Luke Williams featured again, this time paired with partner, Jack Morrison, 15. Their final opponents were St Olave’s U-15 first team who made a tight match of it before some neat, cross-court shots from Williams enabled Rossall to claim a 15-11 victory and a second piece of silverware.

In a busy competition for Williams, he also reached the final of the national U-15 singles, losing narrowly to first seed, Weston, of Wolverhampton Grammar School, 15-13. Metcalfe also came close in the Open singles, falling 15-12 at the semi final stage to eventual winner, Hewlett of St Olave’s.

In the U-13 age category, Rossall’s Tom Morrison and Harry Andrews, both 12, reached the final of the plate competition, showing a promising future for the ancient sport of Fives on the Fylde Coast.

School Fives coach; Tom Root believes that Rossall’s emergence as a national force is down to the enhanced facilities at the School, where eight fully covered courts have been refurbished, giving the school the largest facility of its kind in Britain.

Says Root: “Fives is a fantastic sport, which for the uninitiated is similar to squash, with shots being played with the hand rather than with racquets. Along with its close companion, Handball, it’s becoming increasingly popular amongst school children in both independent and state schools, so much so that we plan to run coaching courses here at school.”

Rossall Fives, which is an amalgam of Eton and Winchester Fives, has been played at the school since Victorian times and is a great spectator sport as well as fiercely competitive and demanding. Now, with more doubles and singles players donning the special padded gloves and taking to the school’s refurbished courts it is conceivable that the Rossall will be a regular challenger for the national title.
/…

Added Root: “To win in one national age group is good, but to win in two and have finalists in the singles and junior pairs this year is testament to the potential here at Rossall for years to come. Our next goal will be the world championships, which will be an even bigger test for our boys, but one they’ll relish, as nothing seems to faze them, which is why we’ve won our first titles so convincingly. Our progression is great for the school and I hope it will help to inspire more children from across Wyre and Fylde to consider playing Fives.”

Photo: Rossall School teacher and Fives coach Tom Root, proudly displays the national trophies watched by the school’s ‘fantastic fives’ champions, left to right: Luke Williams, Christopher Metcalfe and Jack Morrison.

Co-educational Rossall School has upgraded another of its Grade 2 listed buildings to provide improved study areas and accommodation for boarders and day pupils in the School’s ‘Spread Eagle’ house. The refurbishment follows recent investments in other areas of the school, totalling £1.5 million in the last two years, all with an aim to restore many of Rossall’s listed buildings to their former glory. Three houses have been modernised in the period, bringing the accommodation and student study facilities up to hotel standards of comfort, whilst retaining the character of the buildings and the unique atmosphere of the campus.

In the latest phase, six single and occupancy bedsits have been created, together with a number of dormitories of two to three occupancy and improved day/ prep rooms for around 20 pupils. As part of the project, upgraded fire systems, and wiring systems for the school’s new computer network have been installed. Custom-made furniture and co-ordinated furnishings have completed the interior works, whilst external refurbishment has involved work on stone transoms and mullions in compliance with Grade 2 specifications. The buildings, dating back to the mid-19th Century, are also undergoing re-pointing: a major component of any work at Rossall where the school’s coastal plot bears the brunt of weather fronts from the Irish Sea.

The latest project has been completed in two months and on budget. Commenting, Rossall’s Facilities Manager, Paul King said: “With 160 acres and so many listed buildings on campus our refurbishment programme is a little like that of the Forth Bridge and our proximity to the sea means that the elements play their part in ensuring that it’s a constant programme. But this current development plan is not simply about maintaining our building stock, because we’re refurbishing our accommodation, house prep and study areas to a very high standard and the changes have been warmly welcomed by our students, both overseas and local. The work is part of a much wider programme of improvements covering, academic, leisure and boarding facilities on campus to ensure that we provide an educational experience of the highest standard possible.”

A top Fylde Coast school has become the first independent school in the North of England to gain authorization to teach the prestigious International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme to infant and junior school pupils, following an inspection and evaluation carried out by the International Baccalaureate Organization.

The authorization of co-educational, Rossall Junior, Infant and Nursery School in Fleetwood follows a two-year introductory period for the Primary Years’ Programme, during which the progress of both the school and its pupils have been carefully monitored by the IBO. A visit by inspectors and a rigorous inspection procedure have determined that Rossall should join the elite group of UK schools with official IB PYP status.

Rossall received several commendations from the IBO inspectors for its provision of the International Baccalaureate curriculum, for the quality and continuous development of its staff and for its work in promoting awareness of the Primary Years’ Programme in the wider community. The pupils also came in for praise from inspectors for their understanding of the programme and its aims, and for the marked progress they had made in two years.

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme provides an international curriculum to meet the needs of young learners between the ages of three and eleven. Its aim is to encourage children to be inquirers and communicators and also to be reflective and open-minded. In return, the programme helps even the youngest children to develop skills of research and self-management and also helps them to gain in confidence.

Following the first two year period of teaching the PYP, Rossall parents have come out solidly in favour of the curriculum. Many have commented about their children’s improved abilities and learning skills and have praised the school for its introduction.

Commenting on the findings of the inspection report, Rossall’s Head of Junior School, Simon James said: “The IBO was delighted with our progress and I’m proud that we are the only independent school in the Region and one of only a handful across the UK authorized to teach the Programme. It is truly a curriculum for tomorrow’s child and our children here are developing remarkably well within its framework. The school inspectors recognized that and have praised Rossall for the way in which the PYP has been introduced and for the levels of pastoral care received by pupils during their formative years, which has provided the vital support to enable the children to get the most from their learning experience.

“Our children here are thriving on many levels as a result of the programme and they’re acquiring life-long learning skills, whilst also displaying confidence and maturity beyond their years, and these qualities are directly attributable to the PYP.”

One of the region’s oldest independent schools has bolstered its senior management team with two key appointments.

Rossall School, Fleetwood has appointed Anton Maree, 44, as Deputy Headmaster, the post vacated by Fergus Livingstone, who has moved to Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire to become Headmaster.

Anton joins Rossall following seventeen years at King William’s College, Isle of Man, a senior boarding school, where for the last eight years he held the post of Head of Boarding. He joined the school in 1992 from Sandringham High School, Johannesburg and was a boarding house master, prior to his promotion to Head of Boarding.

Whilst in South Africa, Anton completed his two years national service with the South African Defence Force, where he rose to the rank of full lieutenant. He served with the SADF in South West Africa and was one of the last of his country’s forces to work with troops of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group prior to the independence of Namibia in 1989.

Born in Grahamstown in South Africa’s Eastern Cape region, Anton was educated at Queen’s College Boy’s High School, Queenstown, before attending Rhodes University in Grahamstown, where he gained a BA in English and History and was the University’s resident disc jockey. He is married to Alison and the couple have two children, Amberly, 14, and Angus, 12. The family will live on campus at the 165 -year-old Fleetwood boarding and day school.

The second key appointment is that of Gillian Pryor, 36, the former Sherborne School, Head of Maths who has joined Rossall as Director of Studies. Prior to her four years at Sherborne in Dorset, Gillian spent eight years at King’s Bruton School, Somerset, as a maths teacher and latterly as Head of Maths.

In 1994 Gillian graduated from Durham University with a BSc in Mathematics. She is a native of Rotherham in South Yorkshire and is married to husband, Mark, who has also joined Rossall as a maths teacher. She lists running and sailing as two of her favourite pursuits, and following the successful completion of this year’s ‘Race for Life’ in aid of Cancer Research UK plans to run in regional events supporting charities in the coming year.

Commenting on the appointments, Rossall School’s Headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley said: “In Anton and Gillian we have two people with excellent credentials and a real passion for quality education. They will both play a pivotal role in the development of the School in the coming years as we improve further our academic provision and expand our boarding capabilities to cope with increased numbers of pupils wishing to board.

“Our recruitment figures for boarding are increasing year on year with UK and overseas boarders joining in healthy numbers, which augers well for the school, despite the gloomy global economic picture. The addition of two such experienced figures at this time will help us to achieve our goals as quickly as possible.”

Core subjects of English and Maths scored particularly well for Rossall School, Fleetwood, in this year’s GCSE results and science A-grades were also encouraging, as more students opted for the traditional subject areas for GCSE. In English, the school recorded a 51% pass rate A*-A grades, 40% A*-A in Maths and 43% A*-A across all three science subjects.

The school scored very well overall with a 99% pass rate A*-G grades. Although A*-C grades were down from the 2008 high of 92% to 85%, the reduction is due to changes in the BTEC in Public Services, grades for which were last year included in the GCSE figures. The Diploma is now a post-sixteen study option, only available to year twelve students.

Individual performances were also impressive with 42% of students achieving A*-A grades across all subjects. Within the ‘A’ team are local students Bethany Clarkson and James Harkness of Poulton, Swie Joo Liem of Thornton Cleveleys- all with ten passes, which is the maximum to sit at Rossall, and Aaron Lee of Larkholme, Fleetwood, who gained nine A* grade in nine subjects. Local songstress, Steph Fraser, also hit the right note with 9 GCSEs, five of which were A* and A passes. Understandably for a youngster already with an album on the market, she sailed through her music GCSE with an A* grade and looks destined for a career in popular music once she completes her studies.

Rossall choir member, accomplished pianist and CCF band drummer, Swie Joo Liem who has been at Rossall for 13 years is “delighted” to have got ten out of ten in GCSEs and will now sit A-levels in Rossall’s Sixth Form, where she will follow her goal to study Philosophy in preparation for a university degree in the subject. Older brother Sing, graduated from Rossall Sixth Form last term with A-levels and looks set for a career in medical science. Said Swie Joo: “I don’t know what my career path will be, but I know that philosophy will play a key part, which is why I’ve opted for A-levels next year rather than International Baccalaureate. At the moment though I’m just happy to celebrate the GCSE results with my family, before getting back to study next week.”

Commenting on the results, Rossall School Senior Mistress, Jean Briggs, said: “It’s unfortunate that the change in the age for BTEC Diploma caused an anomaly in our A*-C grade percentage this year, but our overall performance is as strong as ever and I’m particularly proud of the number of A* and A grades achieved in core subjects of English, Maths and the sciences.

“Many of our pupils chose to take three separate science subjects and our pass rates in these areas reflect the hard work put in by the pupils, and the quality of teaching here at Rossall. We are a non-selective school and pupils are not dissuaded from taking GCSEs in their weaker subject areas, so our results reflect well on our policy, which gives every pupil, whatever their ability, a real opportunity to achieve their goals.”

WHERE can you see a real Egyptian mummy, a lock of Mary Queen of Scots’ hair and Arthur Conan Doyle’s school desk, all under one roof this summer?

Well the answer of course is Stonyhurst College, which is once again opening its doors to the general public for guided tours during August.

Originally a 16th century manor house, it is home to the famous Catholic Independent boarding and day school, near Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Visitors to this historic building can see many treasures held in the Stonyhurst Collections, some of which have not been on display for many years.

On show will be an exquisitely beautiful prayer book, thought to have belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, which she is believed to have taken to her execution.

Other items on display this summer include:
a lavishly illustrated ‘Book of Hours’ – an illuminated manuscript made in Paris in 1430, a 15th century Italian Liber Festivalis which is a book of religious feasts, a 16th century illuminated Koran, a 17th century Persian astronomical calendar, vestments from the 15th to the 18th century, a hat belonging to St Thomas More, African, Indian and South American clothing, pottery and ornaments, many natural history specimens including eggs, butterflies and birds.

The Egyptian mummy has recently returned to Stonyhurst from Manchester Museum, where it has undergone forensic tests to discover more about it.

Many of the items were displayed last year at the exhibition ‘Held in Trust’ at Saint Francis Xavier’s Church, Liverpool.

Stonyhurst also provided inspiration for two of the world’s most celebrated writers. J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, wrote part of his epic trilogy during his stay at the College and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Homes detective stories, was a pupil between 1868-1875.

During the tour of Stonyhurst visitors can see the desk on which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle carved his name, the table on which Oliver Cromwell slept before the Battle of Preston and Jacobite pistols found hidden in a priest hole. Visitors will also see how present day pupils live, work and play, and have the opportunity to see the chapels and historic rooms including the Great Hall with portraits of the seven former pupils awarded the Victoria Cross

“Visitors are in for a real treat this year; it will be a rare opportunity to see artefacts that are both sacred and secular,” said Katherine Walker, Marketing Director at Stonyhurst College.

“Stonyhurst is a Grade I Listed building and renowned for its magnificent towers and gardens. It is regarded as the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of Lancashire’s beautiful Ribble Valley, so well worth a visit.”

The college is open every day 1-4.30pm inc. Bank Holiday Monday (closed Fridays) from 27th July 2009 until 31st August 2009. Admission charges apply – House & Garden £6.00, Child (4 -14) £5.00 (Under 4 free), senior citizens £5.50. Gardens only £1.00.

Picture captions:
STN Building – The exterior of Stonyhurst College

Despite growing numbers of students opting for the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Rossall School, Fleetwood, the independent school returned a solid performance in this year’s A-level results with a percentage pass rate of 91% A-E grades and a 6% rise in A-B grades to 63%, a rise which is significant given the school’s non-selective policy, which means that students of all abilities are allowed to sit the examinations of their choice.

Forty nine sixth form students sat a total of 23 subjects in this year’s examinations with the remaining sixth form population opting for International Baccalaureate in which the school excelled with a number of students amongst the highest points achievers worldwide.

Among the straight ‘A’ students this year was outgoing school captain, James Cross of Stanley Park, Blackpool who took three subjects – English Literature, Geography and History, and achieved the top pass rate in each, which means he is now on his way to study English at Oxford University. Also among the ‘A’ grades with four top passes was Garstang student, Toby Ma, who joined Rossall in 1994. His father Ken is owner, manager of Garstang’s prominent town centre Chinese eaterie the Ken Ma Restaurant. He is “delighted” that Toby will now achieve his ambition to study medicine at Sheffield University. Toby gained his straight ‘A’s’ in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.

Rossall teacher’s son, Alex Alonso of Thornton will head for York University and an English degree course following his three A’s in Chemistry, English Literature and Mathematics, and a ‘B’ in Further Mathematics. Mum, Sharon, who teaches Spanish at the School is overjoyed by his results. She said: “Alex has put in a tremendous amount of work, as have all students, so to see him get such high marks is very rewarding.”

Thornton student, Charlotte Armstrong, 18, has double reason to celebrate today, with two A grades in English Literature and Music and a B in religious studies paving the way for her acceptance by Durham University, where she’ll study music in an attempt to emulate her cousin, Jane Wilkinson, also a former Rossall pupil, who is now one of Britain’s up and coming operatic sopranos. However, she won’t take up her place at Durham until next year, because she is also one of only 35 UK students to have gained a scholarship to a top independent school in America through the English Speaking Union, and in September she’ll take a place at the prestigious Tabor Academy in Massachusetts.

Commenting on this year’s performance, Rossall’s senior mistress, Jean Briggs said: “Although our pass rate overall was similar to last year it is particularly encouraging to see that we have more students achieving higher grades, as illustrated by our 6% increase in A-B grades, taking us to 63%.

“As a non-selective school we believe that even those pupils with weaker academic backgrounds should be given every opportunity possible, and our improvement in the A-B grades is proof that our policy is successful for the school and more importantly, for the pupils. Some students have achieved beyond their expectations.

The full results are:
Five Passes: L MAMANI
N TRAN

Four Passes: A ALONSO
Z BAI
L CHU
K LAM
S LEE
S LU
T MA
M NGUYEN
F PARKER
J SHUI
A SUN
J XU

Three Passes: H ANDERSON
C ARMSTRONG
H BENNETT
J CATER
S CHELTON
J CROSS
K DAVIES
R DOCHERTY
F FAN
X FU
L GILLESPIE
S HARDIE
H INGLE
T KENYON
S SALNIKOV
J THOMPSON
T TSUI
P TUNG
M WONG
J YU

Two Passes: M CHEN
T CHEN
J CHEN
S HUANG
W WANG
B WU
A ZOU

One Pass: L LARK
J LIAO
P EISSEN
F MEUER
T NGUYEN

International Baccalaureate Diploma Passes
In addition to A-levels, 32 students studied for the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma in Rossall School Sixth Form. Many candidates passed with scores above the international average, increasing the School’s pass rate by 10% to 84.38%, which takes it above the world average.

Rossall is one of a select number of school’s in the UK with lengthy experience in IB. The school’s dedicated IB department has been working with Diploma students for twelve years and the school’s experience is reflected in the performance of its IB graduates, many of whom will now go on to study at some of the top universities in the UK and overseas.

The School’s top scoring student, Isabell Mencher from Stuttgart, Germany, achieved 44 from a possible maximum points total of 45 for six subjects (the maximum number of subjects permissible), but also added an extra seven points by passing a seventh subject, Spanish, which regrettably won’t be counted in her total. She is joined in the high pass grades by local student, 18-year-old, Sam Ireland of Bispham (42 points) and local golfing sensation, Jenna Birch, also 18, of Larkholme (33 points). Anh Vu, a Vietnamese boarder at the school achieved the school’s second highest total with 43 points. Last year, there was not one recorded pass in the world with a full 45 points and only 0.03% of all students achieved 44 points. There were similar percentage passes for 43 and 42 points totals. .

There have been some outstanding personal success stories. Two students achieved 6 A-grades each and three more achieved 5 A-grades. A further thirteen pupils achieved three or more A-grades each.

The percentage of A-grades was up from 35% last year to 38%. The national average is 26.5% so once again Stonyhurst has far outstripped national results.

More than three quarters of the candidates in Mathematics got an A grade and almost two thirds got A grades in Economics. There were also outstanding performances in English, Chemistry, Latin, German and French with more than 75% of these pupils achieving A or B grades. The UCAS points per student has also risen from 317 last year to 330, a 4% increase.

Headmaster Andrew Johnson commented: “We are very proud of all of the achievements of our Sixth Formers and their teachers who have worked extremely hard to gain these excellent results.’

‘There are some tremendous top results, and many of those who didn’t make straight A’s have performed well beyond expectations too.’

“It is encouraging that our students have once again performed strongly in a whole variety of subjects whilst also taking part in the wide ranging extra curricular activities on offer here at Stonyhurst. We wish all the students well as they go out into the world to be men and women for others.”

A TEAM of pupils from Stonyhurst College took up the Young Enterprise challenge and showed even they can beat the credit crunch and run a profitable company.

Twelve pupils from Poetry launched ‘Entity’ earlier this year and have successfully been selling personalised T-shirts and promotional items for school productions.

Their closing accounts showed a healthy net profit of £205.01, which represents a 100% return on investment – a significant achievement for any firm in today’s economic climate.

Entity are now planning to pass on the entrepreneurial skills by setting up a mini-enterprise programme, so pupils at St Mary’s Hall can experience for themselves what it’s like to run a business.

In the spirit of social enterprise, Entity is going to donate £50 from their profits as start-up capital, to help get the new company going.

Mrs. Kate Wright, Head of Business Studies said: “Right from the start the pupils were very enthusiastic about forming a company and learning how to run it. They did everything from think of a company name, deciding what they were going to sell, production and marketing. They are now passing on those skills to other pupils and I’m sure they will be just as successful.”

The new company at St Mary’s Hall will start trading in September and will donate its profits to the Friends of St. Mary’s Hall.

Picture caption:
Adaobi Anah, Gustavo Ranera, Olamipo Ogunsanya, Oreoluwa Akinkunmi, Adaeze Egwuagu-Chijioke, Jason Kwok, Karl Sullivan, Tejiri Ziregbe, Olisa Nwokedi, John Wade and Allan Wu, with Advisor Rachel Eccleston and Link Teacher Kate Wright all holding their Young Enterprise Achievement certificates.

TO celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, more than 40 local primary school children attended the annual ‘Physics Fair’ at Stonyhurst College, to learn about outer space.

The children from the schools of St Michael and St. John’s RC, Clitheroe, and St. Joseph’s RC, Hurst Green, were split in to four teams for the day.

The teams: ‘Buzz Aldrin’, ‘Apollo 11’, ‘Rockets’ and ‘Astronomers,’ visited various ‘space stations’ around the college grounds.

Each space station had a different activity such as making and firing rockets, powered by Alka-Seltzer, and learning about telescopes.

One of the ‘space stations’ was the famous observatory in the grounds of the College, where the children enjoyed watching a film about the first manned space missions and moon landings by NASA’s Apollo 11.

As a special treat at the end of the morning, a large engine powered rocket was launched from the Jesuit gardens, to the delight of the pupils, who watched it blast-off in to the clear blue sky. The rocket has been made by a group of Lower Grammar pupils at Stonyhurst College and launched by member of staff Mr Hunter. The rocket safely landed back inside the grounds of the college.

After the excitement of the rocket launch, the visiting school children walked back to St. Mary’s Hall via ‘Brothers Walk’, to have lunch in the prep school.

To conclude the action packed day, pupils watched an end of term performance by college pupils of ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, in the Centenaries theatre.

“The visiting pupils really enjoyed their day at Stonyhurst, and learning about outer space. It’s a fascinating subject that caught their interest,” said Katherine Walker, Marketing Director at Stonyhurst College.

“Many of the children had not been in a real observatory before so it was a great place to have a ‘space station’. This year is also the 400th anniversary of Galileo inventing the first telescope, so it was very topical. Also, our observatory is well known internationally. Many famous astronomy events have been recorded here.”

Picture:
“Blast Off!” Rocket launched by Mr. Hunter at Stonyhurst College.

The eagerly awaited International Baccalaureate results are out and the area’s longest-established study centre for the prestigious Diploma, has recorded a 10% overall increase in pass rate, taking it above the world average.

Rossall School, Fleetwood, which is now in its twelfth year of teaching IB, has increased its pass rate to 84.38% and has a number of the world’s top scoring Diploma students, in what is recognized as a more challenging alternative to A-levels. The School’s top scoring student, Isabell Mencher from Stuttgart, Germany achieved 44 from a possible maximum points total of 45 for six subjects (the maximum number of subjects permissible), but also added an extra seven points by passing a seventh subject, Spanish, which regrettably won’t be counted in her total. She is joined in the high pass grades by local student, 18-year-old, Sam Ireland of Bispham (42 points) and local golfing sensation, Jenna Birch, also 18, of Larkholme (33 points). Anh Vu, a Vietnamese boarder at the school achieved the school’s second highest total with 43 points.

Last year, there was not one recorded pass in the world with a full 45 points and only 0.03% of all students achieved 44 points, and there were similar percentage passes for 43 and 42 points totals. Those statistics show that this year’s figures indicate a remarkable performance from a non-selective school, and IB supporters will also suggest that the consistency of annual pass rates indicates that, unlike A-Levels, there is no grade inflation with the International Baccalaureate. This they argue is because the IB is free of political interference.

Developed by the International Baccalaureate Organisation, a non-profit making educational foundation in Switzerland, the Diploma is built around a strong intellectual philosophy of breadth, depth, personal study and community/international awareness. The IB Diploma involves students gaining a number of points from the study of six subjects and the ‘Core’. The ‘Core’ comprises three additional areas where students study the Theory of Knowledge; produce an Extended Essay of around 4,000 words under personal tutelage and involve themselves in a programme of Creative, Action and Service, to encourage community involvement and to develop themselves as people and members of the wider community. They must also study sport or art related activities.

With more than a decade’s involvement with the International Baccalaureate, Rossall’s experience has been the key to its successful year. Commented Rossall IB Co-ordinator, Dr Doris Dohmen: “Although we have a percentage of overseas students coming here specifically to study for the IB, the number of local students taking the Diploma is on the increase. Many take the IB because of its acceptance by the world’s leading universities, but equally they are taking it to stretch themselves and because they know it will improve them in so many ways. It’s an extremely demanding two-year study, but I’m delighted with the application of our students this year who have reaped the rewards for their efforts with outstanding pass scores.”

Local student Sam Ireland, whose points score was equivalent to 6 A grade A-levels, is now off to study medicine at University College London and is pleased with his achievement. He said: “I’ve been studying really hard for the Diploma and keeping up a part-time job during evenings and weekends as a waiter at the Imperial Hotel, to try to get some money behind me before I go to university, so it’s great to get the results and the score of 42 out of 45. It was worth the effort and I hope I can now achieve my goal of becoming a doctor. That would really please my mum who’s a district nurse in Blackpool!”

Following its experience with the IB Diploma for Sixth Form students, Rossall is now one of only a handful of schools in the UK to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, which prepares junior school pupils for IB study.

Photo caption: Sam Ireland, pictured with Rossall headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley at the School’s Prize Day, where the top International Baccalaureate student also scooped five of Rossall’s most coveted awards.

AN Egyptian mummy, discovered by a Jesuit missionary and archaeologist in 1850, has returned to Stonyhurst College.

Since the 1970s the remains of the unidentified young boy, aged five or six, have been cared for at Manchester Museum.

It has been part of the museum’s world famous collection of Egyptian artefacts and, over the last 30 years, a series of forensic science investigations including scans and x-rays have been carried out, to learn more about the boy’s health and living conditions.

Now Stonyhurst College has the necessary facilities in place for conservation of the mummy, so it has recently returned to its former home.

The mummy has created a lot of interest with the pupils.

The relic will now be part of a display in the Long Room, which is dedicated to the study of science, the natural world and human anthropology.

Jan Graffius, Curator at Stonyhurst College said: “Human remains are not like any other museum object and need to be treated with respect and dignity.

“We can learn a great deal about our own past from them, but we should never forget that they were once living human beings like ourselves and treat their remains accordingly. That is why the case containing the mummy has a cloth cover.

“It will be part of a new display that will clarify our need to ‘collect’ and display material, and we understand some people may be sensitive to seeing human remains.”

Very little is known about the boy’s background. No name is recorded, but investigations have indicated he was from a wealthy high status family, as gold leaf was discovered on his head.

Picture caption: Close up of the mummy

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

THE first in the series of free summer concerts has been held by pupils and teachers at the ‘Headmaster’s Concert’ at Stonyhurst College.

The Stonyhurst Music Scholars performed instrumental solos, duets and ensembles to a packed audience. The concert also included two singing performances.

Featured performers were:

Natalie Crouch aged 17 from Stonyhurst, Alex Johnson aged 13 from Stonyhurst, David Mann aged 17 from Stonyhurst, Elizabeth Robinson aged 14 from Preston, Caroline Shorthouse aged 17 from Balderstone and Genevieve Turner aged 11 from Stonyhurst, clarinet ensemble: ‘Divertimento on Three Blind Mice’ arranged by Michael Brand, directed by Mrs. J Barlow

Yoann Belon aged 15 from Isle of Wight and Pawel Rzemieniecki aged 18 from Poland, piano duet: ‘Spanish dance’ by Mozkowski.

Gregory O’Connor aged 17 from Stonyhurst and Teresa Mak aged 15 from Hong Kong, violin duet: ‘Concert in D Minor, First Movement’ by J.S. Bach.

Matthias Turner aged 13 from Stonyhurst, cello solo: ‘Prelude from Suite No. 1’ by J.S. Bach.

Charlotte Leach aged 17, from Longridge, vocal solo: ‘Love’s Philosophy’ by Roger Quilter.

Samantha Leach aged 17, from Longridge, vocal solo: ‘Widmung’ by Schumann.

David Mann aged 17, from Stonyhurst, clarinet solo: ‘First Movement from Sonata’ by Saint-Saens.

Mary Anne Wootton aged 15, from Longridge, piano solo: ‘O Polichinello’ by Villa-Lobos.

Lucia Turner aged 14, Stonyhurst, violin solo: ‘Prelude from Partita No. 3’ by J.S. Bach.

Lydia Fisher aged 16, from Chipping, Lucia Turner aged 14, from Stonyhurst and Grace Mercer aged 14, from Chipping, flute ensemble: ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ arranged by Trevor Wye and directed by Mrs. C. Lorriman.

Before the concert, Stonyhurst’s headmaster Mr Andrew Johnson held a reception for special guests.

Mr. Johnson said: “The performance was truly exceptional. All the musicians displayed amazing skills with their instruments. Many pupils are in the middle of their exams and had taken time out from their studies to rehearse for the concert. Their dedication is a credit to them.”

Other concerts in the series throughout June will include a vocal concert by ‘Serenata’ on the 19th before closing with the ‘Heritage Opera’ on the 26th. All concerts are free and anyone can book tickets by ringing 01254 827086 or email g.mann@stonyhurst.ac.uk. All concerts will also hold a raffle and retiring collection.

The next ‘Headmasters concert’ will be held Friday Nov 13th at 7.30 pm in the Top Refectory. To book seats please telephone 01254 826345.

PICTURE: The Clarinet Ensemble in the Top Refectory at Stonyhurst during the Headmaster’s Concert.

Laboratory skills, knowledge and team work proved to be the catalysts for success for three students from one of the area’s oldest independent schools when they found the formula for success in the Royal Society of Chemistry Schools’ Analyst Competition.

Rossall School Sixth Form students, Nicola Blythe, Thanh Dong and Daniel Stone have triumphed in the North West Finals of the prestigious national science competition, staged in the University of Central Lancashire’s pharmacology laboratories; beating eleven other schools from Lancashire and Cumbria to qualify for the national final in Plymouth on the 29th and 30th June.

The trio of budding scientists had to undergo testing of their chemistry knowledge and also a three hour practical laboratory test during which they had to use forensic skills to identify the purity of three test substances. And, to their delight, they were crowned regional champions, collecting a trophy, WH Smith gift vouchers and booking their place in the final where they’ll compete as one of the top 15 schools in the country.

Rossall School’s head of Science Mark Schofield is delighted for the school’s regional success and believes his students have the ability to do well in the final. He commented: “It’s a great honour for Rossall to have students in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s final, because it’s a very tough competition demanding of entrants a very high degree of knowledge and laboratory skills. There was also a great deal of pressure added by competing with such strong regional schools, but I’m proud of Nicola, Thanh and Daniel who have acquitted themselves admirably and the whole school will be rooting for them when they take on the best in the country next month.

“By winning regionally they have already demonstrated Rossall’s strengths in the sciences, but to add the national award would be really special.”

Photo: Rossall School’s winning students, Thanh Dong (left), Daniel Stone (centre) and Nicola Blythe (right), get their hands on the North West trophy, flanked by Dr Gary Bond, principal lecturer in chemistry at UCLAN (left) and Mark Schofield, head of science at Rossall School.

A-LEVEL pupils at Stonyhurst College completed their learning curve of British politics when they travelled to Wales to meet politicians at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

The pupils were honoured to meet First Minister Rhodri Morgan, who gave a brief account of his experiences and told the pupils that he would be retiring soon after 10 years as leader.

He said he wanted to retire with dignity unlike some other leading politicians who were forced to leave.

The pupils were impressed by the Senedd – the main building – designed by Richard Rogers and opened by the Queen on March 1, St David’s Day, in 2006. It features tall glass windows – to represent openness and transparency in the new era of Welsh politics.

They also met the youngest Assembly Member Bethan Jenkins (Plaid Cymru) who talked to them about different voting systems.

After lunch in the Assembly Members’ private dining room, the pupils observed First Ministers Questions in the main chamber, where Rhodri Morgan confronted the Conservatives over prescription charges.

John Francis Watts, President of the college’s Politics Society, said: “The debate appeared not so very different from Westminster as First Minister’s Questions seemed to be more of an opportunity for political point scoring than for constructive debate!”

After lunch, the pupils enjoyed an interesting talk by Professor Laura McAllister of Liverpool University. She is a staunch advocate of devolution and argued the case for the transfer of more powers to the Welsh Assembly.

Professor McAllister is no stranger to Stonyhurst College as she has talked to the Politics Society on many occasions over recent years.

Before leaving, the pupils had a brief question and answer session with Claire Clancy, Chief Executive of the Welsh Assembly.

The final port of call for the pupil’s trip in the Welsh capitol was a guided tour of the Millennium Stadium where they visited the Royal box and other VIP areas.
Mr David Ridout, Head of Politics at Stonyhurst College, said: “The pupils have visited the centres of political power in Scotland and Northern Ireland over recent months in preparation for their exams. The trip to the Welsh Assembly was the final element of our study of Britain’s devolution.”

CAPTION:Stonyhurst pupil Charlotte Leach presents Bethan Jenkins (Plaid Cymru) with a book on Stonyhurst College, at the Welsh Assembly.

All four boys successfully auditioned for the coveted places and Bradley Goss 15 from Burnley, Rashad Burns 17 from Fayetteville USA, Winston Obi 18 from Lagos Nigeria, and Conor Kennedy 18 from Maidenhead, will be heading for London during August. The boys will train for two weeks at Trinity Laban, the UK’s first conservatoire for music and dance at Greenwich, South East London.

Stonyhurst College have an excellent reputation for producing budding actors with ten pupils being awarded with places at the N.Y.T over the past six years. Places are limited and only a few applicants get through the tough application process.

“We are thrilled that four pupils have been accepted this year,” said Johanna Egar Head of Theatre Studies at Stonyhurst. “One of our pupils who attended the summer school a couple of years ago performed with the N.Y.T. in the handover ceremony at the Bejing Olympics last year. Other notable alumni from the N.Y.T. include Daniel Craig and Dame Helen Mirren, so they are in good company!”

Under the guidance of a professional director and specialist tutors at Trinity Laban, the pupils will learn skills and disciplines in voice work, movement, performance, improvisation and the course will close with a performance that is presented to other course members.

Once the pupils have completed their summer school training they will then be entitled to audition for any N.Y.T. productions until they are 21 years old.

Photo: Four pupils from Stonyhurst College who are going to the National Youth Theatre summer school this year. Clockwise from top left: Winston Obi, Conor Kennedy, Bradley Goss and Rashad Burns.

THE Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe MP, will be the guest of honour at Stonyhurst College this weekend, when she will give prizes and awards to Upper Sixth form pupils who are about to leave.

This is the first official visit to Stonyhurst College by the MP who is known for her forthright views and lively opinions.

After the prize giving at the Great Academies, Miss Widdecombe will take to the podium to speak to an audience of pupils, staff and parents.

“It’s a privilege to have Ann Widdecombe taking an active part in the prize giving,” said Andrew Johnson, Headmaster at Stonyhurst. “The Great Academies is an important part of the school calendar and the last big event the Upper Sixth form pupils attend before leaving Stonyhurst.”

The prizes and awards are presented to pupils who have excelled in academic subjects throughout the year.

Ms Widdecombe has visited the college before, but on a private visit.

THREE teenage pupils have teed-off to a first for Stonyhurst College as they will be representing Lancashire at the 2009 English Schools Championships, at Thetford Golf Club, Norfolk, on July 8.

The three pupils: Callum Jones, 18 (team captain) from Birkdale, near Southport; Jack Milton 17, from Cadiz, Spain; and Sebastian Leigh 16, from Germany, played a series of knock-out rounds to qualify for a place in the Lancashire finals at Haydock Park golf club.

After winning their semi-final in the morning rounds, they were in the nail-biting County Cup finals in the afternoon.

All the teams were level after an exciting 18 holes, leaving the Stonyhurst trio with one match lost, one won and one halved.

They then played a sudden-death play off, finishing as runners up which qualified them for the prestigious national finals.

“This is a first for Stonyhurst golf and is a tremendous achievement,” said Tim Strain, Master in Charge of Golf at Stonyhurst. “The boys have put in a great deal of effort on the golf course and their dedication is paying off. We’ll all be cheering them on when they play in the finals.”

Team captain Callum Jones is no stranger to large golf tournaments. Earlier this year, he was part of team of eight-member team of boys from other independent British schools who took part in the Independent Schools’ Swifts American Golf Tour. The tour lasted three weeks and he played matches in North Carolina before travelling north along the eastern seaboard, including a visit to New York.

Picture caption: (Left to right)
Jack Milton, Callum Jones (team captain) and Sebastian Leigh.

STONYHURST’S choir cheered up a damp May Day Bank Holiday with an early morning concert, performed for parents, pupils and other members of the public.

In spite of the early hour, the 8am concert drew a good audience who listened to a variety of pieces in the college’s Top Refectory, after the wet weather forced a change of plan from the usual open air venue within the college’s amphitheatre.

The Schola Cantorum choir traditionally sing on the May Day Bank Holiday and this year their repertoire included: ‘Tanzen und Springen’ a German madrigal by Hassler; ‘Pastime with good company’ attributed to King Henry VIII; ‘Now is the month of Maying’ and ‘My bonny lass she smileth’ by Morley; ‘The silver swan’ and ‘Eternal ruler of the ceaseless round’ by Gibbons; ‘Cum decore’ by Susato and ‘Amor Vittorioso’, an Italian madrigal by Gastoldi.

The choir was conducted first by Yoann Belon, 15, from the Isle of Wight, and then by the Choir’s musical director and college organist, Dr Kevin Morgan.

After the concert the singers and audience sat down to a special breakfast in the refectory.

“Everyone enjoyed the early morning concert, it was a great way to start the day!” said Dr Morgan. “All the singers love to perform ‘Music for a May Morning’, it’s a very special part of the choir’s calendar.”

Picture caption: The Schola Cantorum choir performing at Stonyhurst College.

PUPILS from Stonyhurst St. Mary’s Hall have been given the proud task of designing a fitting memorial at a new World War One war cemetery, in Fromelles, Northern France, created for the soldiers killed in a long forgotten battle.

Stonyhurst St. Mary’s Hall has been chosen to represent Great Britain in submitting artwork for the displays, along with schools from Australia and France.

The new cemetery has been in the headlines nationally this week. It is being created for individual graves of up to 400 British and Australian soldiers, who were killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles and buried by the Germans in mass graves.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) contacted Paul Garlington, Head of History at St. Mary’s Hall, the prep department at Stonyhurst, when they needed a memorial designing which will eventually be on permanent display in a new visitors’ centre at the cemetery.

This new war cemetery is being built after several years of painstaking research and investigation. Six mass graves – or burial pits – dating from the First World War have been identified at Pheasant Wood, near Fromelles in northern France. The pits, which have lain undisturbed since July 1916, are believed to contain the remains of between 250 and 400 British and Australian soldiers, buried behind German lines after the battle.

The British and Australian governments have asked the CWGC to oversee the operation to recover the remains and to create a new military cemetery at Fromelles for the soldiers’ reburial. The CWGC are also using DNA investigation techniques hopefully to track down families of the soldiers buried on the site.

“The panels will be fitted around the hoardings of the construction site of the new war cemetery and then moved to the permanent exhibition in the visitors centre when the work is finally completed,” said Paul Garlington. “The pupils are designing one large piece of artwork that will be viewed as a montage over 10 separate panels.”

Jacqueline Hines, Head of Art at St. Mary’s Hall, has been overseeing the design process undertaken by the pupils in Year 7. She said: “The brief from the CWGC focuses on ‘remembrance’ and the pupils have been reflecting on a tragic event and creating images that are dignified and respectful – a fitting memorial to the men whose lives were lost.”

Photo: Pupils at St. Mary’s Stonyhurst with their artwork.

FOUR times Olympic swimmer Suki Brownsdon and Team GB nutritionist Dr. Gill Horgan visited Stonyhurst College to get PE pupils in to the spirit of the 2012 Olympic games.

They are both members of the British Olympic Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the British Olympic Association. The Foundation’s aim is to increase opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential by promoting sports science, and youth education.

Interest in Olympics London 2012 is already keen at Stonyhurst College, which has been selected as one of only three North West venues where hockey teams from across the world can have pre-match practice.

Both Suki and Gill talked to the pupils on a number of topics including the history of the modern Olympics from 1896 and the recent Team GB successes in Beijing and the Para-Olympics.

Mr Henning Kaaber, Head of PE, said: “It was an invaluable opportunity for our pupils to learn from people who have first hand, in-depth experience of the Olympics. The presentation was hugely relevant and pupils have quickly included the information they have learned into their academic work”.

The college’s all-weather floodlit aqua turf pitch – big enough to host two hockey games at a time – is one of 73 North West venues selected to appear in the Olympics 2012 Guide that covers a wide range of sports.

Picture Caption:
Suki Brownsdon (middle right) and Dr. Gill Horgan (middle left) with the PE pupils at Stonyhurst College.

THE Centenaries Theatre at Stonyhurst College came alive to a modern rock classic opera when pupils and staff staged a vibrant production of the ever popular Jesus Christ Super Star.

The fast paced Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber show, premiered in 1971 in New York, kept the packed audience entranced, especially as the cast mingled among them with great effect.

David Mann (17) from Stonyhurst played the demanding lead role of Jesus with great skill, giving a very commanding performance – particularly showing the beauty of his singing voice with the solo ‘I only want to say’ during the Garden of Gethsemane scene.

Other notable performances were given by Charlie McDermott (16) from Berkshire who played the tormented Judas; Megan Hindle (15) from Longridge who brought the role of Mary Magdalene to life; and Natalie Crouch (17) from Stonyhurst who was the powerful but exasperated Pontius Pilate.

The live music was performed by staff members; Director of Music Gregg Mann (keyboards), music teachers Chris Marks (guitar), David Lister (drums) and Margaret Gadsden (flute).

Gregg Mann who directed the production said: “The performance was stunning. We deliberately kept the theatre set simple to let the actors and singers move around amongst the audience who were totally immersed in the magic of the production. I think everyone left the theatre singing the songs!”

PICTURE CAPTION: The cast and chorus line of ‘Jesus Christ Super Star’

STONYHURST College has announced the appointment of new Director of Marketing and Communications, Mrs Katherine Walker, who will take up the post at the end of April.

Katherine (42), who is originally from Woolton, Liverpool, comes to Stonyhurst College from Austin Friars St Monica’s Independent School in Carlisle where she had a similar role.

She has a BSc (Hons) in mathematics and psychology from Liverpool and a MA in theology from St John’s College, Nottingham.

Katherine worked for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral as the business development manager, then moving into bookshop marketing before going into education.

Among her many interests, Katherine, a keen Everton supporter, is a regular contributor to ‘Thought for the Day’ on BBC Radio Cumbria and previously at BBC Radio Merseyside.

She has spoken at conferences on various topics including assertiveness, customer service, bookselling, marketing and business development. She has also run youth groups and is a qualified trainer in customer service skills.

“I am delighted to be joining Stonyhurst which has such a fantastic history and reputation. I look forward to being part of the Stonyhurst family and hope to be able to contribute to the ongoing development and future of the school,” said Katherine, who lives at Appleby in Cumbria.

In her spare time, Katherine enjoys cooking, painting, holidays in France, Italy, Cornwall and Scotland as well as many sports including hill walking.

“We are delighted Katherine is joining us. I’m sure she will fit in very well at Stonyhurst,” said Andrew Johnson, Headmaster.

PHOTO: Katherine Walker, the new Director of Marketing and Communications at Stonyhurst College, pictured with Andrew Johnson, Headmaster.

ALMOST 500 young rugby players from schools countrywide took part in Stonyhurst College’s 21st Rugby Sevens tournament.

Spectators were entertained with a feast of 165 first class rugby matches played in glorious weather on the College’s nine pitches.

Schools from the North West, Shrewsbury, Reading, York and the Midlands took part in this annual highlight of the Stonyhurst sporting calendar, on March 18.

A total of 480 pupils played in 46 teams, over three different age categories, and 18 referees officiated during the six hours of non-stop action.

The tournament’s organisers were delighted with the smooth running of the competition, which saw the final kick-off only four minutes late.

Stonyhurst 1st Sevens team started well and won all their group matches, but narrowly lost their quarter final in the last minutes. The same fate befell the College’s under 16s team who also lost their quarter final match.

The winners for each of the competitions were: Oratory in the senior category, Sedburgh in the under 16s, and Oratory Prep School in the under 11s.

Simon Charles Head of Sports, said: “It was a great day and wonderful to see so many young people playing seven-a-side rugby to such a good standard.”

One of Britain’s leading boarding schools has become the first in the country to lock its doors and throw away the keys!

Rossall School, situated on Lancashire’s coastline to the north of Blackpool, is believed to be the first UK boarding school to switch to technology to keep its pupils safe and secure by installing an electronic keyless entry system on its 160 acre campus: home to around 600 boarding and day pupils and a permanent boarding population of around 300 pupils and teachers.

The new computer-controlled system, which dispenses with the need for conventional locks and keys, works with electronic data cards and sensors placed next to points of exit and entry. Resembling a conventional credit card, the new security access cards have been given to staff and pupils and are programmed to unlock doors when passed within feet of electronic proximity sensors, positioned at main entry points in the School buildings. The wall-mounted sensors employ intelligent technology that enables individual pupils to be recognized through personal data programmed into their access cards, thereby allowing them access to all or only part of the campus facilities, depending upon need and security clearance.

The first phase of the installation involves Rossall School’s ‘Pelican House,’ a recently refurbished accommodation and study block for senior boarding pupils. The Grade II listed building has been fitted with proximity sensors adjacent to outer and inner doorways and each sensor is programmed to allow entry only to pupils from the House, their teachers and essential ancillary staff. Pupils from other school houses would be barred from entering, unless accompanied by a card holder, as would visitors or any unauthorized personnel.

Built around special security and access software, called ‘Fusion’, the Rossall system has been customized to suit the particular needs of a busy boarding school environment. In accommodation areas, students use cards to open outer doors, at which point the card sensor recognizes the individual and allows a pre-programmed amount of time to elapse before automatically activating the door lock on the student’s own bed/study room. The time allowed per student is determined by the distance between the individual’s room and the access point. This facility dispenses with the need for individual card readers on bedroom doors, thus dramatically reducing costs and making keyless systems a viable proposition for schools.

A standard PC in each building, operating on the ‘Windows XP’ platform, controls the system: monitoring and recording all card usage and enabling house parents to identify the exact location of any pupil on campus. The system is designed to operate even in the event of power failure or fire. In the event of fire, all internal and external doors are programmed to open automatically to allow safe escape from buildings.

In addition to major security benefits, the smart technology employed in the system enables security cards to store other data. This allows students to use cards in the school’s campus shop and also in its dining room – recording all transactions as part of a move to make Rossall the country’s first cash-free campus. In time, it is planned that students will also be able to present the cards in the School’s on site international restaurant, Mondo Café, which is another pioneering venture in UK education, bringing a commercial restaurant operation onto the campus, exclusively for pupils, parents, teachers and visitors.
With a programme of building refurbishment planned for Rossall’s 165-year-old campus, the new security system will be rolled out to other areas of the School as an integral part of each phase of building development.

Commenting on the new system, Rossall School’s headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley said: “We’re delighted to be the first boarding school in Britain to adopt such technology and it is already proving popular with staff and students in particular, who are always quick to embrace new technology.

“Having such a large campus and a resident population equivalent to a small village means that security issues are paramount and we are always looking to improve our systems to ensure that our school remains a safe and secure environment for our children. This system gives us peace of mind and is proving more efficient than conventional locks and keys. For a start, it is impossible for a door to be left open inadvertently by a member of staff or a pupil; therefore we know that our perimeter security has been stiffened a great deal. The additional benefits allowing us to monitor movement and location of children are also extremely important, particularly in the event of fires or other threats to safety on campus, because in such cases we will know exactly how many people are in a particular building at any time, thereby enabling more effective evacuation. Of course, such instances are very rare, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be prepared.”

Photo: Keyless access system technology will soon be used to replace all cash transactions, making Rossall a cash-free campus.

A GROUP of pupils from Stonyhurst College claimed an impressive tally of 42 gold, silver and bronze medals from the latest round of the UK Maths Intermediate Challenge 2009.

The competition organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust* saw 180,000 entrants this year, with only 6% winning gold medals.

Stonyhurst College team of 69 pupils was awarded eight gold, 13 silver and 21 bronze medals.

Gold medal winner Hannah Phoenix (15) from Gisburn also received the ‘Best In School’ award and goes through with four other pupils from the college to the next round, when teams from 25 countries take part.

The Trust invites competitors from Years 9, 10 and 11. Two of the Stonyhurst gold medals were won by Year 9 pupils, a highly commendable achievement, and both will go through to the next round.

“We are very impressed with the number of medals won by our pupils. The exam they took lasted an hour with 25 multiple choice questions. The five pupils going through to the next round are looking forward to the challenge,” said Mr David Rawkins, Head of Mathematics.

In addition to the recent Maths Challenge success Philip Alton, Allamin Daggash, Haruki Kawano, Jason Kwok, Tony Lee, Anson Leung, John Leung, Anna Marlborough, Pawel Rzemieniecki and Justin Wong, all achieved grade A in Maths AS level, after just one term.

PICTURE CAPTION:
Gold medal winners
Back row left to right: Michelle D’Souza, Hannah Phoenix, Chen Tan and Wendy Leung.
Front row left to right: Alice Grout-Smith, Magnus Whittle, Julian Au-Yeung and Eric Zhang

A GROUP of talented pupils have performed the inaugural ‘Headmasters Concert’ at Stonyhurst College to an audience of about 120 people.

The concert provided a dedicated platform for the music scholars who are especially talented.

The concert held in the Top Refectory consisted of duets and solo performances skilfully played by the Stonyhurst Music Scholars and Exhibitioners, to staff, parents and other music lovers.

Prior to the concert the headmaster Mr Andrew Johnson held a drinks reception for special guests.

Featured performers were:

Yoann Belon aged 15 from Isle of Wight, piano solo: ‘Etude no. 3 in E major’ by Chopin
Piano Duet (with Dr Morgan)‘Ballet’ (Petite Suite) by Debussy

Lucia Turner aged 14 from Stonyhurst and Lydia Fisher aged 15, from Chipping, flute duet: ‘Valse des Fleur’s by Kohler

Stephanie Link aged 14 from Cheshire piano solo: ‘Waldvoglein’ by Hofmann

Andreas Wilfling aged 15 from London, cello solo: ‘Le Cygne’ by Saint-Saens

Simon Whittle aged 15 from Shropshire and Thaddee de Panisse aged 15 from Paris, violin duet: ‘Duo in G major’ by Pleyel

Elizabeth Robinson aged 14 from Preston, clarinet solo: ‘Voi che sapete’ by Mozart

Jordan Chadwick aged 14 from Pleasington, trumpet solo: ‘First Movement from Trumpet Concerto’ by Haydn

Natalie Crouch aged 17 from Stonyhurst, vocal solo: ‘O mio babbino caro’ by Puccini

Lucy McFarlane aged 17 from Aberdeenshire, vocal solo: ‘Like to the damask rose’ by Elgar

In addition to their music studies at Stonyhurst, Jordan Chadwick who plays the trumpet, studies at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester each Saturday. Lucy McFarlane is a member of the Scottish Youth Choir, and Andreas Wilfling was previously a Westminster Cathedral chorister.

Andrew Johnson, Headmaster, said: “The talent displayed by the Stonyhurst Music Scholars and Exhibitioners was exceptional. They all take their music very seriously and clearly enjoyed performing to a large audience. Hopefully this is the first of many concerts as we hope to make this a regular part of the Stonyhurst diary.”

Anyone who would like to attend the next ‘Headmasters concert’ on Friday June 5th at 7.30 pm in the Top Refectory should book their seats by telephoning 01254 826345. The concert is FREE.

Photo: L TO R, Natalie Crouch, Jordan Chadwick, Lucy McFarlane, Andreas Wilfling, Lydia Fisher, Thaddee de Panisse, Elizabeth Robinson, Yoann Belon, Lucia Turner, Simon Whittle and Stephanie Link.

FOR The first time in its 400 year history Stonyhurst College has thrown open its doors to accommodate the youngest of ‘pupils’ by holding a free mother and toddler group on Wednesday afternoons.

The newly founded ‘Hodder Toddlers’ is enjoying all the facilities older children have at the prestigious school including safe play areas, swimming sessions as well as feeding the ducks on the estate, picnics in the woods and themed activities.

The toddler group at Hodder House, the Pre-Prep department of Stonyhurst St. Mary’s Hall, has only been formed for a few weeks and already it has regular attendees, aged 0-4 years old.

Twin sisters Elley and Isla Naisbitt regularly attend with their mother and recently held their 1st birthday by holding a ‘pink party’ to celebrate the event with other youngsters. Their elder brother Finlay already attends Hodder House full-time.

Marie Lea, Head of Pre-Pre at Hodder House, said: “We thought we should take the opportunity to share our superb facilities by welcoming local families in to Hodder House, completely free. Stonyhurst College has a long tradition of supporting the local community, and as the children who attend Hodder House full-time are busy elsewhere learning music and drama on Wednesday afternoons, we decided to open our doors and let other children in.”

Anyone interested in coming along should call Marie Lea on 01254 827073. Hodder Toddlers is open to all accompanied children aged 0-4 years old. The group is open every Wednesday during the school term from 2pm – 3.45pm.

CAPTION:‘Pink party’ at Hodder Toddlers

The discovery of the 160-acre Rossall School campus on the Fylde Coast, with its varied range of sports facilities, has been pure gold for Pentathlon GB, the governing body for Britain’s Modern Pentathlon, and it’s a find that could see the Fleetwood school eventually becoming a national centre of excellence for Pentathlon…and the Fylde Coast, a lure for Britain’s top athletes.

Rossall has celebrated its appointment with a few high fives of its own, but it is Britain’s young Pentathletes that have most to be happy about, as they now have a base that will, for the first time, enable them to train for four of the five disciplines in one location – horse riding being the only element of the five discipline event to be practised away from the school. On campus, athletes will hone their skills in pistol shooting, fencing, swimming and distance running, with the School’s facilities at the squad’s disposal every day of the week.

The slap of small-bore pistol fire, clash of epees and the splashing of arms and legs as they cut through the lanes in the School’s twenty five metre pool are now familiar early morning sounds on the Fleetwood school campus, as Pentathletes arrive before first light each day to make the most of the School’s facilities prior to the school’s full daily sports programmes for its own pupils. Then there’s the return visit in the evening, where fencing, shooting and running are practised by aspiring medal winners with the sort of dedication one expects by driven athletes, who put in the hours because of the total focus on their goals.

Steven Mason, 17, of Blackpool, who was third in the World Championships at U-18 level last year, is among the medal hopefuls training at Rossall. He’s being prepared for the full squad for the 2016 Olympics, but could stake a claim for London in 2012. Then there’s Alex Shaw, 16, of Cleveleys and sister, Katie, 13, who also carry the hopes of the Fylde Coast for 2016.

Pentathlon GB’s World Class Pathway Manager, Stuart Mason is the man responsible for ensuring that the youngsters at Rossall School get the best training facilities and coaching to enable them to bring home the medals for Team GB. Says Stuart: “I’m delighted to have such high quality facilities for our athletes here in the North West in one location. Our arrangement with the school gives us first class facilities, the shooting range for example is of an international size and standard, and so far its proving to be extremely popular with the athletes on our development programme, because it makes their lives easier and we notice the benefits in their development. The school benefits also and as part of the arrangement, its own pupils receive tuition each week from our world class Pentathlon coaches, which is great for them and could result in Rossall unearthing some future Olympians.

“Pentathlon GB’s experiences at the school are all positive, which points the way for the campus developing into a national centre of excellence for the sport. Whilst this is not guaranteed, it is a strong possibility, which would be fantastic news for the school and its pupils and a great fillip for the region.”

Rossall School Director of Sport, Katie Lee sees the potential for Rossall as a national centre. She comments: “For our school to be chosen as the training camp for an Olympic event is a tremendous honour, but now Pentathlon GB have experienced the facilities, the chance that we could become a nationally recognised centre is a step nearer and that’s even more exciting for the school and its pupils. It will also be a tremendous boost for the school’s profile in the UK and also in overseas markets.”

The arrangement with Pentathlon GB will run until the 2012 Olympics, with an option to renew the deal for the 2016 games.

PROFESSOR Ray Donnelly, founder and president of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, visited Stonyhurst College and gave an inspiring talk about the charity’s work to pupils at a Waterton Society* meeting.

Professor Donnelly, a retired thoracic surgeon from Liverpool, explained the difficulties experienced when he set up the original Lung Cancer Foundation in 1990. He pointed out that, in those days, lung cancer was perceived as a self-inflicted illness and received little funding, despite it being the most common cause of cancer deaths, with a 95% mortality rate.

The charity’s work received a boost in 1992 when Roy Castle, the high profile entertainer and lung cancer sufferer, gave his support, and the charity was re-named as The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Enormous progress was made with the courage and unquestioning commitment from Mr Castle, described by Professor Donnelly as ‘a man of faith’. Sufficient funds were raised to build a dedicated research centre in Liverpool.

“Listening to Professor Donnelly talk to the society members was very inspiring. The Foundation’s efforts now mean that lung cancer is taken seriously and dedicated research is now being carried out into its causes,” said Dr. Tim Warner, Head of Biology.

The Foundation now runs anti-smoking campaigns, supports patients and undertakes research into the causes of lung cancer.

One of the campaigns – the ‘Anti Tobacco Youth Campaign’ – is designed to involve young people in telling their peers of the dangers of smoking and related cancers.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only charity in the UK wholly dedicated to defeating lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer in the world.

Photo, Left to right:
Philip Alton Secretary of the Waterton Society, Dr Tim Warner Head of Biology and Chairman of the Waterton Society, Mrs Donnelly and Professor Donnelly.

A TEAM of four pupils from Stonyhurst College summed up their maths skills by competing in the inals of the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge.

The competition organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust* was held in The Camden Centre, London.

The four pupils from years 12 and 13 had previously won the North West area competition and as champions had qualified to represent the area in the final.

Sixty teams battled it out in the final from an original 900 schools that had previously entered.

The competition was very intense and demanded mathematical skills at an advanced level.

The team finished in 26th place, a significant achievement considering the competition featured some of the best mathematicians of the same age in the country.

The team members were; Joe Lea (captain) from Hurst Green, Pawel Rzemeineicki from Poland, Haruki Kawano from Japan and Alamin Daggash from Nigeria.

“To get to the final stages of such a prestigious competition as this is highly commendable, and reflects great credit on the pupils. I am pleased that their talents have been recognised at such a level,” said Mr. Rawkins, Head of Mathematics.

STONYHURST pupils currently taking AS and A2 theatre studies, have received some expert coaching from a top theatre director, Max Stafford-Clark.

Following a very enjoyable visit to the Library Theatre in Manchester to see his touring production of ‘The Convict’s Opera’, Stafford-Clark led an afternoon workshop for the pupils at the College.

Max Stafford-Clark is a major contributor to British theatre. His artistic direction of the Traverse and Royal Court Theatres (he was the longest serving artistic director of the Royal Court), and of the Joint Stock and Out of Joint theatre companies has enabled him to make a major contribution to modern British theatre, particularly in the area of new writing. He has also directed plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre.

He has been called ‘the most distinguished director of new work that the British theatre still has.’

Pupils enjoyed the workshop where they learnt a wide range of performance techniques, held in the college’s own theatre, the Academy Room.

Johanna Egar, Head of Theatre Studies at Stonyhurst, said: ‘We are enormously grateful to Max Stafford-Clark and his assistant, Stella Feehily, for spending time with us. It was a tremendous opportunity for the students to work with such a distinguished theatre director, who gave very generously of both his time and advice.’

Max Stafford-Clark’s Out of Joint theatre company performs The Convict’s Opera at Library Theatre until February 7th before continuing on tour to Oxford, Southampton, Leeds, Coventry, Liverpool and Kingston.

CAPTION: Max Stafford-Clark (with walking stick) teaching Stonyhurst pupils.

THREE Stonyhurst pupils have won gold, silver and bronze medals at the British Physics Olympiad (Round Two AS Level), which makes them the highest achieving physics students in the country.

The gold medal was awarded to Joe Lea (17) from Hurst Green, currently in Year 13. His medal success was described as ‘a significant achievement’ by the British Physics Olympiad committee, as only the top 5% of the 1047 competitors achieve the required marks. Last year Joe was selected to attend the Senior Physics Challenge Summer School at the prestigious Cavendish Laboratories at Cambridge University. Joe also has a conditional offer to study mathematics at Oxford University.

The silver medal went to James Chui (18) Year 13, from Hong Kong. James is no stranger to medals as he has previously won gold medals in the GCSE and AS Level Olympiads. He intends to read engineering at Imperial College London upon completion of his studies at Stonyhurst.

Padraig Alton (18) from the Ribble Valley, currently in Year 13, was awarded the bronze medal. Padraig has a conditional place to read Natural Sciences (Physics) at Cambridge.

In addition to the three medals, Lucy Wang (16) Year 13, from Shanghai, was awarded a commendation. Lucy has also been offered a conditional place at Oxford University, even though she is only 16.

For the competition, all the pupils had to sit an examination paper at the school; 50 successful candidates from this round will be asked to move on to round three, 15 of whom will be offered places at a training camp before selection for the British team in the Physics Olympiad.

“To gain even a silver or bronze 1 is an outstanding achievement (our best performance in recent years at this level was a silver in 2004) so Joe really has excelled in winning a gold; only 48 have been awarded out of 1047 entries. Joe is now invited to compete in the final round for a place on the UK physics team of five,” said Mrs Lucinda Fisher, Head of Science at Stonyhurst College.

Picture caption:
The medal winners with Head of Science, Mrs Lucinda Fisher on the left and Stonyhurst Headmaster Mr Andrew Johnson on the right.

Five players celebrated their call up to the Lancashire County Hockey team with a flurry of goals, as Rossall School, Fleetwood were crowned Lancashire U-14’s Hockey Champions with a comprehensive 12-0 home defeat of Baines School, Poulton le Fylde in the Lancashire Cup Final.

Rossall’s performance in the final followed a sterling 7-0 semi- final win against perennial county champions Merchant Taylors’ School from Crosby, near Liverpool. England international and UK Lion, Louis Weir weighed in with four goals for the school in the semi final and five against local rivals Baines in the final. Will Parker, Charlie Andrews, Jack Morrison and Harry Southern (2) all celebrated their Lancashire call ups with goals in the final. And, Luke Williams, who has also been training with the county squad, scored a brace as Rossall overran a spirited Baines team.

Lifting the county title now gives Rossall a tough test against Altrincham Grammar in the Semi Final of the North West Championship, but hockey coach Guy Emmett believes his young charges are up to the challenge and amongst the best he has ever coached. He commented: “Our performance against Baines was fantastic and very clinical. However, of equal pleasure was our demolition of a very strong Merchant Taylors’ team in the semi final, which ended their decade of supremacy in this competition and proved that the squad we have here at present is something of a golden generation in hockey terms.”

The School now has six U-14 county players, with Stephen Kane and Scott Hume also joining their goal scoring team mates in Lancashire colours.

Whilst there was plenty to cheer about for the U-14’s, Rossall’s U-18 team narrowly lost out in its attempt to unseat Lancashire Champions, Merchant Taylors’, and lost the U-18 County Cup Final 4-2 in a fiercely contested final in which Rossall’s Charles Hough netted twice and the school’s German international, Lenard Lohmeyer was named Man of the Match. The first XI will meet Merchant Taylors’ again in two months time in a match that could well decide the Lancashire County League Championship, but prior to that the school’s most imminent encounters will be closer to home against Blackpool and Lytham men’s teams.

Photo caption: Rossall School U-14 County Hockey Champions, flanked by coaches Anthony Fairhurst (left) and Guy Emmett (right). Back row (l to r) Cameron Ronson, George Briscoe, Luke Williams, William Parker, Frazier Forster, Jack Morrison, Thadeus Dean, Steven Kane. Front row (l to r) Scott Hume, Louis Weir, Charles Andrews, Joshua Eastham, Harry Southern, Jaden Farmer, Harley Taylor.

Former national boarding schools’ chief attacks League tables…

One headmaster, outspoken on the subject of league tables is former Boarding Schools’ Association Chairman, Dr Stephen Winkley, now head of Lancashire’s Rossall School, near Fleetwood. On the eve of publication of the 2008 GCSE and A-level tables he has slammed the whole culture of league tables, which he claims is damaging education provision in Britain.

Dr Winkley said: “There are three enormous problems about League tables and the League table culture. First, they neglect the quality of candidates on entry to the school. So, if a school, for whatever reason, only accepts children with an IQ of say 130, one would expect them to do outstandingly well. Yet, some schools, despite their high entry qualifications, may be performing poorly compared with what they ought to be achieving. However, the real test is surely not the raw outcome but the added value. There are some “non-academic” schools that do add rather a lot, while some ”academic” schools add very little to the lives of their children.”

Dr Winkley also believes that in the pursuit of League table position schools could lose focus of what education is all about. He added: “The second problem is that doing well in the League tables becomes an objective for a school when it should be thinking of doing well for the pupils. Indeed, at some schools, children are often barred from exams or subjects, or even forced out if they are likely to lower the school’s position; which is clearly shameful.

“In my opinion, to value the League table is to dance to somebody else’s tune, something no proper Head would want to do. This brings me to the final problem, which is that the League tables create the sense that what matters is only what can be measured, even by the flawed criteria, yet every human being knows this is patently ridiculous.

“The things that really matter are the things which can’t be measured. A school which aspires to do well at League tables…an “academic hothouse” if you like… will almost certainly be a less nurturing, encouraging, inspiring, kind, sympathetic or responsive environment than a school which values human qualities. And, let’s face it, looking around today it’s evident that the world needs these human qualities far more than it needs blinkered competitiveness.

“I hope no one out there is foolish enough to believe there is any connection between high position in the League tables and the excellence of a school, because my experience of education nationally has shown me that there isn’t.”

A career educationalist of forty years experience, Dr Winkley has called upon the Government to reassess its priorities in education and to stop promoting a competitive culture in which he claims the only losers are the nation’s children.

Dr Stephen Winkley, headmaster of co-educational independent, Rossall School in Lancashire and the former chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association, believes that government adviser Sir Jim Rose hasn’t gone far enough in overhauling infant education following his “root and branch” review of what is taught in primary schools.

Commenting on Sir Jim Rose’s interim report Dr Winkley said: “I’ve never understood why Government gets so involved in the content of education. They ought to ask the big questions: what sort of skills will the country need? How can education improve the life chances of our citizens? What kind of world will today’s children inherit? Are there things wrong in current society which better or different education might address?

“I’ve got no arguments with what Sir Jim is suggesting, though it doesn’t go far enough. The Tories remain obsessed by a content-driven notion of education, as if children were empty bottles who had to be stuffed with subjects to make them marketable. Any information you need is now available at the click of a button, so why waste hours drumming history and geography and biology into kids? Education should be about skills and the acquisition of skills, but not just logical/intellectual skills: skills in relation to a mature and diverse model of a human being as a person equipped with kinetic, aesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, affective (emotional intelligence) needs and aspirations. The model for developing this is not the traditional classroom but some sort of community life such as a boarding school where all these needs and skills can be fostered by the way the institution is devised. It’s good to get away from content and measurement but like all innovations it’s too timid.”

As one of the founding members of the Boarding Schools’ Alliance in the early 1990’s, Dr Winkley is acknowledged as one of the country’s leading authorities on boarding school education and is recognized for his work in changing public perceptions of boarding, which helped to halt the decline in the sector and rekindle interest in British boarding schools.

Not content with a full programme of festive concerts that has seen them perform in such places as York Minster and which rounded off with a public concert this week in their famous school chapel; Rossall School Choir has its most pressing engagement set for early 2009, when it will release its first professionally recorded CD of choral performances.

The choir is recognized outside the North West as a result of performances in the famous cathedrals of Durham and Ely and from regular concerts in York Minster, and its fame has also spread to Europe, which last year resulted in Rossall being invited to perform in the gothic splendour of Notre Dame Cathedral in the French capital, Paris and also in St George’s Chapel in the British Cemetery at Ypres on the old World War One battlefield in Belgium.

Rossall’s choir received rave reviews from Europe and hopes the response from the public at home to its planned album of choral works will be as positive when it goes on sale in February 2009. The school has been planning to record a CD of its performances for a couple of years, following many requests from parents of pupils and also from members of the public unconnected to the Fleetwood campus. However, the pressures of education and an already full programme of performance commitments had made it difficult to undertake a recording session and get a CD pressed and ready for sale, but now the choir will finally get its recording session early next year in St John the Baptist Church on the Rossall campus, so that many more people will be able to experience the quality of its singing.

Said Rossall School director of music, Margaret Young: “We’ve been planning this for a long time, so it’s great that it will finally come to fruition in 2009. The CD will expose more people to our choir, which will be tremendous for the pupils involved, because they are very committed to singing and ensuring that the choir is a good representation of Rossall.

“At present we can’t confirm all the tracks for the album, but can say that there will be most peoples’ favourites amongst them, which means it should appeal to a mass audience.”

Once recorded, all proceeds from the CD will be ploughed back into the choir to fund the growing number of public performances it will be expected to undertake in 2009 and beyond.

Photo caption: Rossall’s head of music Margaret Young (centre) in complete harmony with members of the school choir, as they practise for the New Year recording.

Pupils at Stonyhurst took part in a competition organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust* and scored 154 points out of a possible 180.

The event was hosted by Lancaster University at Stonyhurst on Thursday 20th November and the final will be staged in London, with prizes presented by Professor Marcus du Sautoy.

The Stonyhurst pupils will go on to represent the North West of England at the finals next February.

The pupils, Joe Lea (captain), Pawel Rzemeineicki, Haruki Kawano and Alamin Daggash beat a team from Rossal school by 23 points. Other schools in the strong field included Lancaster Royal Grammar School, QEGS Blackburn, Casterton, Giggleswick and Arnold.

In the individual maths challenge medal winners from Stonyhurst were: James Chiu, Padraig Alton, Przemek Gotfryd, Constantin Landers, Lucy Wang and Marc Lessman who won gold medals. Silver medals went to John Leung, Andrea Yung, Joe Lea, Vivian Tong and Abby Xu. Bronze medals were also awarded to: Winston Obi, Anson Leung, Tony Lee, Mark Millrine and Ayodeji Dabiri.

“This was a fantastic result, and well done to the pupils for all their hard work. We are all looking forward to the finals of the competition in February,” said Mr Rawkins, Head of Mathematics.

A NEW bronze statue depicting St. Ignatius Loyola, has been blessed at its new home outside the entrance to Stonyhurst, St. Marys Hall.

The statue was created by internationally renowned artist Gines Serran and is one of a pair. The other statue is to be given to the Pope.

Gines Serran is the father of ex-pupil Paco, who left Stonyhurst last year. Both father and son attended the ceremony that was conducted by the Jesuit Provincial, The Very Reverend Fr Michael Holman SJ.

Mr Serran, who lives in China, was inspired by the life story of St Ignatius Loyola, and went to Spain to visit his birthplace and learn more about him. He has created two statues of Ignatius holding a book in one hand – a source of knowledge and inspiration – and a globe in the other, reflecting his mission to reach out to the world.

Mr Serran has donated one to Stonyhurst, as a ‘thank-you’ to the school, and the other one will be being going to the Vatican as a gift to the Pope.

“I feel I have accomplished the mission I promised to you. The sculpture does not belong any more to me but to Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall. In spirit, St Ignatius has been there for centuries through your dedication. Now, made in bronze, he will remain as a source of inspiration for centuries to come, witnessing the generous work and love of all of you to children of all ages, helping them through education to open their lives to the world,” said Mr Serran.

Lawrence Crouch, Headmaster of Stonyhurst St. Mary’s Hall, said: “I am delighted to announce the arrival of the new bronze statue, created and donated by Gines Serran. I cannot think of a more powerful image to remind the children of the reason for coming to Stonyhurst St. Mary’s Hall.”

PHOTO: Left to right in front of the new statue: Father Adrian Howell SJ Father Superior of Stonyhurst, Paco Serran, Lawrence Crouch, the Jesuit Provincial The Very Reverend Fr Michael Holman SJ and Gines Serran.

TWIN brothers Simon and Magnus Whittle, both pupils at Stonyhurst College, are looking forward to lunge-ing their way to success in the British Youth Fencing Championships in January.

The 13-year old Year 9 pupils have had top results in recent tournaments and are training hard for the championships at Fenton Manor, Stoke.

The brothers both fence against boys of their own age and older.

Simon won gold in the North West 2008 Regional Epee Championships at Arnold School, Blackpool, recently, and a silver medal in the Bath Leon Paul Under 13 Boys Epee, held at Millfield School, Somerset, on November 2nd. He easily won his poules (matches) 5-0, 5-1, and 5-2 resulting in the top seed position. He then went on to win his early ‘direct elimination’ 15-0. In the final he was narrowly beaten 15-12, eventually settling for silver.

Magnus 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 world-wide, some more than three years older.

In the Men’s Epee, Simon beat opponents from Eton, Kings Canterbury, Kings Worcester, Warwick, Millfield and Arnold schools, finishing in 18th out of a field of 59 of the best Under 17 fencers in the UK. He was the highest ranked in his birth year.

Magnus also did well finishing 48th out of 77 in the Men’s Sabre category.

“Reaching the British Youth Championships is a major achievement for the boys. The whole school will all be cheering for them,” said Jonathan Hewat, Marketing and Admissions Manager at Stonyhurst College.

Picture caption:
Left to right: Simon and Magnus

Rossall’s A* – C grades are up 2.5% on 2007 at 93.5%, whilst the overall A* – G pass rate of 99.7% has been maintained. Also up on last year is the number of pupils gaining A* and A grades: a total of 45%, compared to 44% in 2007. This makes it a very successful year for one of the area’s oldest independent schools and follows equally impressive A-level figures.

Three local 16-year-old pupils achieved A* or A grades in all subjects. Olivia Airey of Stanley Park, Blackpool bagged eight A* and one A, whilst Cleveleys youngsters, Nicola Blythe and Laura Howarth also joined the ‘A Team’ with five A* and four A’s and three A* and seven A’s respectively.

Commenting on the results, Rossall’s first deputy headmaster, Fergus Livingstone said: “Our overall pass rate of 99.7% is very pleasing, but more impressive is the number of pupils achieving A* or A grades in core subjects, which also shows an increase year on year. This is testament to their hard work and is extremely encouraging for a school such as ours, which unlike many schools in the independent sector, operates an open entry policy and allows all pupils, whatever their abilities, to sit the subjects of their choice.
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“The results prove that our faith in the pupils is well placed and many will now go forward to study for A-levels or the International Baccalaureate Diploma in our sixth form.”

GCSE Results Rossall School: A* – G:

FOURTEEN PASSES:
H Butler, J Conway, E Reville, E Saunders

THIRTEEN PASSES:
C Metcalfe, G Smith

TWELVE PASSES:
B Lee, R McCleary, L Nelder, N Quilligan, J Sergent, L Wilbur

ELEVEN PASSES:
W Hogarth

TEN PASSES:
P Green, L Howarth, C Sherwin, D Stone, S Tang

NINE PASSES:
O Airey, N Blythe, J Chui, M Doherty

EIGHT PASSES:
E Cassidy, M Dryden, K Grunewald, S Hoddy, C Ng, S Watt

SEVEN PASSES:
T Fryer, C Hough, A Jones, S Lund, H Robinson, S Wong

SIX PASSES:
R Mellor

The Fylde coast’s oldest independent school has recorded a solid performance in A-Levels this year, despite growing numbers of pupils opting to take the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma in its growing Sixth Form.

Rossall School, Fleetwood has increased A-Level pass rates A-E to 92.5%, an increase of 1.5% on last year’s performance. A-B grades were 57% compared with 58% last year, which the school believes is a good, solid, performance given that a larger number of the school’s British pupils, who would have excelled at A-level, opted for IB study, in what is one of the largest Sixth Forms in the independent sector locally.

Although many pupils achieved A grades, perhaps one of the most impressive results, 4 A grades, came from Czech speaking Vietnamese boarder, Ha Phoung Nguyen, who achieved the grades needed to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. The School believes that this is a remarkable achievement given that English is her third language behind Czech and Vietnamese, the two countries she has lived in for most of her life. However, perhaps the most pleasing result for a local pupil celebrates two C grade passes for Lytham youngster, Lewis Raines, 18, who has overcome severe dyslexia to gain the passes he needed in Media Studies and Music to go on to study for a BA in Musical Theatre at Blackpool and the Fylde College.

Lewis, who was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of nine, received intensive tuition in Rossall’s special teaching unit to help him overcome his problem and even attended special courses in the United States to help with his dyslexia, which affected his reading, writing and speaking abilities. Said Lewis: “The School has been fantastic with me over the years and the specialist help I’ve received here has almost certainly been the reason for my A-level success. For most people only A grades would do, but for me to even get an A-Level pass would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, so I’m really proud of my achievement.

“Hopefully, I’m proof that even severe cases of dyslexia can be overcome, which might give some inspiration to others who have been in my position.”

Lewis’s mother Karen, a doctor at Weeton Army Camp is said to be “overjoyed” at the news, which could now see the plucky youngster fulfilling his ambitions to become an operatic tenor or a performer in musical theatre, once he’s bagged his degree.

Commenting on this year’s performance, First Deputy Headmaster, Fergus Livingstone said: “Lewis Raines and Ha Nguyen epitomise the spirit at Rossall and the quality of our teachers. I’m especially pleased to see pupils overcoming real adversity to gain their grades. It proves that if properly taught, motivated and encouraged any child can achieve their goals.

“As a non-selective school we believe that even pupils with a weaker academic background should be given every opportunity possible and our policy has proved to be successful. In many subjects, including mathematics, business studies, music and languages many of our pupils have achieved beyond their expectations, which is extremely gratifying.”

A-Level Results:
4 Passes
W CAI
C CHAN
G CHEN
H CHEN
D FELIX-JOHNSON
G LAU
H NGUYEN
E TAO
C VU
V ZHOU

3 Passes:
J CANNING
J DAWSON
M DOCHERTY
N FURNISS
G HOLDER-WILLIAMS
F JONES
X LI
A LIAO
A LIU
C PAI
B TENG
B TRAN
R WATT

2 Passes:
J BARKER
S BROWN
A CHAN
A FENG
S FLOOD
A MIN
L RAINES
W WANG
T VE

1 Pass:
K HIRV
S HUANG

International Baccalaureate Diploma Passes
In addition to A-levels, 39 pupils studied for and earned the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma in Rossall School Sixth Form. Many candidates passed with scores above the international average. At this level the IB Diploma is the equivalent of 4.5 ‘A’ grade passes in A-Level.

Rossall is one of a select number of school’s in the UK with lengthy experience in IB. The school’s dedicated IB department has been working with Diploma students for ten years and the school’s experience is reflected in the performance of its IB graduates, many of whom will now go on to study at some of the top universities in the UK and overseas.

Caption: There’ll be singing in the Raines household, with 18-year-old Lewis having overcome severe dyslexia to pass his A-Levels at Rossall School