Private School News

Appointment of Head of Junior School at Saint Felix School

Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk is delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Julia Campbell to the role of Head of the Junior School. She will take up this position in September 2009.

Mrs Campbell was Head of the Pre-Preparatory Department at Riddlesworth Hall, Diss, where her husband Colin was Headmaster. She has a great deal of teaching experience at both Key Stages 1 and 2 and she will bring to this new position her professional expertise with children of junior age. Mrs Campbell has been working as the Gifted and Talented and Enhanced Learning Co-ordinator in the Preparatory and Pre-Preparatory Departments at Saint Felix since September 2007.

In her submission to the selection panel she said “The new position of Head of Junior School at Saint Felix offers a unique opportunity to build on the progress made over the last five years. In my view, the children should be the main focus of our thinking about the Junior School. Their experience is paramount.”

This new post has been created as part of the School’s Development Plan. From September, the Preparatory and Pre- Preparatory Departments will form the Junior School of Saint Felix, with The Dragons’ Nursery and Reception being administered as part of the Foundation Stage.

College celebrate CCF inspection

It was a beautiful day for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) of St Joseph’s College to receive their bi-annual inspection from Group Captain M G Evans who is currently Officer commanding of the Royal air Force Reserves and cadets, based at RAF Cramwell, near Lincoln.

The formal parade took place commanded by the senior cadets from within the platoons. The company was lead by Sixth former CSgt Ben Hockley who marched them before inviting Group Captain Evans to inspect the front rank of each platoon.

Presentations were made to Ben Hockley for dedicated service to the CCF and College, Pte David Mathews, LCpl Chloe Stoppard Baker and LCpl Mathew Ward were then promoted to the next rank for attending and passing a cadet leadership course during the Easter holiday.

Other events during the day included

· A Light Gun display from 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery based at Colchester
· Archery, conducted by PO Mathew Meyrick
· Command tasks, conducted by senior cadets
· Weapon training, conducted by senior cadets
· Observation and Kims game.

The final event of the afternoon was the Field Gun Run, which is a tribute to the Royal Navy’s involvement in the relief of Ladysmith during the Boer War in 1900, when guns from HMS Powerful were hauled to Ladysmith by the ship’s Naval Brigade to defend the town against the Boer attack.

The 3 army platoons and RAF flight were represented by a team of eight cadets who crossed an obstacle course with replica cannon, dismantling and reassembling as they came across obstacles.

Netball Tournament at Torquay

On Friday, 20th March, 8 keen budding netballers, Miss Fenwick, Miss Nash and Mr Grunnell, along with all their luggage piled onto the minibus and started the long journey to Barton Hall,Torquay. After many hours, we arrived, tired and full of food. The team consisted of Erina Wanaka, Georgina Minta, Catherine Whyte, Shannon Bodmer, Charlotte Green, Chloe Stewart, Polly Davies and Sophie Whyte. We dumped all our bags into our rooms and then we were taken for a guided tour by our PGL leader, Ross. That evening’s activities consisted of Passport to the World. The team had to travel across the site finding countries, which after a 2 hour trek, St Felix a.k.a ‘the Power Puff Girls’ won! The next morning we rose bright and early and headed off to breakfast in our brand new netball kit, kindly donated by Mrs Fuller and the School Shop. The team captained by Polly and Chloe, played four matches that day. The first two we narrowly lost by one goal, but we didn’t let it get us down. For the next two matches we were fully psyched up and eventually won them both. A special mention must go to Charlotte, Catherine and Shannon for their shooting. We had activities that afternoon, zip wire, aeroball, quadbiking and eating ice cream! The day finished with a rather snazzy disco! The next day, we played our best match of the weekend. We needed to win the match to have a chance of qualifying to the semi finals. We managed to win 7-1. Unfortunately the team that needed to lose for us to get to the semis also won, resulting in us coming 3rd overall in our group. We were all very pleased with our performances, especially as the teams we played were up to 2 years older than some of our players and were a lot taller, but we played well as a team and pulled through. We would like to say a big thank you to Miss Fenwick, Miss Nash and Mr Grunnell for giving up their time and giving us this opportunity. Special mention must go to Polly who played out of position all weekend and was exceptional at Goal Defence, getting every ball! Players of the tournament were Polly and Georgie. Well done to everyone involved.

Saint Felix Day

On the afternoon of 6th March we celebrated St Felix day with the involvement of the whole school. The purpose of the day was to raise funds for our sister school in Papua New Guinea. It was good to see that the sports hall had been transformed by the Houses into a hive of industry with many stalls and activities on offer. As the weather was fine some activities had spilled out into the open air, namely Mr Hutchinson being socked with wet sponges, all in the name of charity of course, and Edmond’s fine effort at running an obstacle course. The final part of the celebrations was a set of inter House relay races including egg and spoon and shuttle runs, with the pre-prep pupils starting off each race. Congratulations to Rowell who were the over all event winners.

It was a good and worthwhile day as the Houses managed to raise over £670 between them. Well done to all who took part.

Fame is twentieth annual musical production for College

Once again staff and students of the renowned St Joseph’s College Ipswich team up to stage what is their 20th annual musical production.

This year the boards will resound to the sound of pulsating music and dance as the cast present the 1980′s show ‘FAME the Musical’. Although based on the television series and film of the same name, the musical version has some marked differences. The story line follows the progress of a group of students through their time at the New York College of Performing Arts with not always predictable results! The book is by Jose Fernandez, the lyrics by Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes score is packed with delightful songs accompanied by a live band. Don’t miss this classic’

Previous performances have included Calamity Jane, Grease and Oklahoma.

St Joseph’s production boasts a cast of over 70 students backed by a professional orchestra and the whole evening promises to send audiences on their feet

St Joseph’s College pupil’s badminton success.

George Isherwood of St Joseph’s College is this week celebrating the news that he is the Suffolk u15 number 1 player.

Sponsored by Carlton, Geroge plays for the u15 and u17 county teams, and has in the last six months got through to the singles final of the Suffolk u19 restricted tournament as well as going on to win the Badminton England u15 silver tournament at Norwich in November. He also came runner up in a Badminton England u15 silver tournament at Leicester in December.

Following these tournaments he was re-graded to become a gold player and is
now ranked 28 at u15 in England and in the top ten at u14.

George, who trains two to three times a week prefers to play singles he also plays both doubles and mixed.
His Boy’s doubles partner is from Lincolnshire and his mixed partner is from Essex,

Fame is twentieth annual musical production for College

Once again staff and students of the renowned St Joseph’s College Ipswich team up to stage what is their 20th annual musical production.

This year the boards will resound to the sound of pulsating music and dance as the cast present the 1980′s show ‘FAME the Musical’. Although based on the television series and film of the same name, the musical version has some marked differences. The story line follows the progress of a group of students through their time at the New York College of Performing Arts with not always predictable results! The book is by Jose Fernandez, the lyrics by Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes score is packed with delightful songs accompanied by a live band. Don’t miss this classic’

Previous performances have included Calamity Jane, Grease and Oklahoma.

St Joseph’s production boasts a cast of over 70 students backed by a professional orchestra and the whole evening promises to send audiences on their feet

Budding Athletes win Medals at Championships

The South of England Athletics Association Championships took place on Saturday 17th January at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, the largest state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor athletics centre serving London and the South of England. This indoor track and field championship is a prestigious event in the athletics calendar and pupils from the Royal Hospital School were competing against other top athletes from the south of England – an area covering from Cornwall to Norfolk.

Charlotte Shelley, 14, competed in the High Jump and managed a remarkable 1.60 metres. Paul Hardman, Director of Sport, said “this was just under Charlotte’s personal best, and being the determined and self-disciplined athlete she is, she was a little disappointed. It was however, a fantastic jump and good enough to take first place. Taking the gold in this championship is impressive and even more impressive is the fact that this is the second year running that she has taken the medal. In 2008 she jumped 1.55 metres to win the title”.

Year 11 pupil, Jonathan Ilori, competed in the triple jump gaining a bronze medal after jumping 13.93 metres and achieving a new personal best.Paul Hardman went on to say, “not only has Jonathan come away with a medal and he should be very proud indeed but I am told that he has also been targeted as a UK 2012 hopeful”.

Oxbridge success at The Royal Hospital School

Congratulations to Alexandra Hayes (Head Girl) and Lawrence Bowles for successfully gaining Oxbridge places this year.

Alexandra will read Classics at Kings College, Cambridge and Lawrence will read Natural Sciences at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Band play at Oak House

The Royal Hospital School Community Action Team has a close relationship with Oak House, a local sheltered housing community in Stutton. Residents regularly come to school events such as concerts, chapel services and musical performances while pupils visit Oak House to talk to residents, arrange social occasions and provide welcome company and entertainment.

Roger Jones, Band Master at the Royal Hospital School, took 10 members of the School band to Oak House on 9th December to provide some “Christmas cheer”, accompanying the residents as they sang their favourite Carols.

The whole band will be playing at a Charity Gala Concert on 7th February which will also feature the Chapel Choir, Orchestra and Instrumental Soloists; all in aid of Ipswich Mencap, Help for Heroes and The Woolverstone Project. Tickets are being sold so that you can choose which charity your money goes to. For more information please call 01473 326222 or email music@royalhospitalschool.org

2008 GCSE Examination Results.

Today it is the GCSE students who are the toast of St Joseph’s College, Ipswich. Following on from the success of their counterparts across the College in the A level, Key Stage 2 and 3 SAT examinations, Year 11 students achieved highly impressive results in their GCSE examinations. There has been an improvement in the number of passes at A*-C and a 16% increase in the number of students achieving five A* to C grades including English and Maths. The core subjects of English, Maths, Science and Religious Studies all achieved A*-C pass rates comfortably in excess of 90%.

Mrs Grant, Principal, stated that;
“We are particularly pleased that, once again, the students of St Joseph’s College have been rewarded for all of their hard work over the last two years. The results are excellent and we are delighted that the pass rate is so high in the core subject areas. Most importantly, all of our students have made significant progress in their time with us and we celebrate each success with equal value. These results are just one part of our contribution to the students’ education, with their spiritual, emotional, physical and personal development being key aspects of the St Joseph’s experience. “

Number of entries: 65
Percentage of entries 5 A*-C: 89 (2007: 83)
Percentage of students with 5 or more A*-C: 85 (2007: 79)
Percentage of students with 5 or more A*-C
Including English and Maths: 72 (2007: 56)

Rob Harris
Vice Principal

TOP AWARD FOR CULFORD SCHOOL NURSERY

Culford School’s new Nursery, which opened in January this year, has been declared outstanding by OFSTED in every single area. This result places Culford within the top 1% of all schools nationally and entitles the Pre-Prep to display an OFSTED logo in recognition of that fact.

OFSTED inspectors sang the praises of Culford School Nursery after subjecting the Nursery and the Reception class to rigorous scrutiny. Their conclusion was that the school was outstanding in every area and that Culford pupils received the best possible start to their education.

The Head of the Pre-Prep, Sarah Preston, was delighted with the results of the inspection which were, she said: “a tribute to the hard work and professionalism of the teachers in the School.”

In their Report the inspectors commented on the outstanding quality of teaching and learning, and they judged children’s language and literacy skills to be “exceptionally well fostered”. They also felt that provision for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was outstanding, with Culford offering a “safe and stimulating environment”. They also noted that parents have “excellent opportunities to share children’s progress”. Finally, in a tribute to Sarah and Liz Grey, the Manager of the Nursery, they noted that leadership and management is outstanding.

Parents of pupils at Culford must be pleased to know that in this respect Culford’s own report reads “Couldn’t do better!”

Culford Celebrates GCSE Success

Culford School pupils were celebrating GCSE success today with an excellent 38% of all grades at A* or A grade.

The overall pass rates are as follows:

38% A* – A grades

71% A* – B grades

93% A* – C grades

In addition, 99% of pupils got at least five GCSEs at A* – C grades.

The Director of Studies, Dr John Guntrip commented, “These are an excellent set of results which are a real tribute to how much hard work pupils and teachers put into preparing for these examinations.

“One of the many highlights is that all pupils who took GCSE Maths a year early achieved 100% A* to A grades, up from 94% last year.”

Seventy five pupils sat GCSEs this year.

Culford celebrates A Level results

Culford School has celebrated its best ever A levels results. A total of 36% of candidates achieved an A grade and 68% A and B grades. The overall pass rates are as follows:

36% A grades
68% A and B grades
82% A to C grades
99% A to E grades

Dr John Guntrip, Director of Studies, commented: “We are absolutely delighted with our A Level results, which are a testament to the hard work and dedication of teachers and pupils alike.

“The percentage of top grades was particularly pleasing, being the best we have had in recent years. And 20% of all pupils achieved at least 3 straight A grades with a whole host of others achieving a mixture of A and B grades. AS results were also extremely promising, this bodes well for next year.”

Excellent A Level Examination Results at St Joseph’s College

Students from St Joseph’s College, Ipswich were today busy gathering to hear how well they have done in their recent A level examinations.

Following on from the outstanding success of students in their Key Stage 2 and 3 SAT examinations, Upper Sixth students at St Joseph’s College achieved excellent A level results after a considerable level of work over the last two years. The percentage pass rate has increased to 97% and the average points score per student has improved once again, resulting in an increase by over 30% in the last four years. Twenty different subjects achieved 100 per cent pass rates and the top 10 per cent of students achieved an impressive UCAS points score of 494, which is equivalent of more than 4 grade As at A level. High flying Sarah Driver achieved 5 grade As at A level and is now off to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, but a large number of students achieved top grades that allow them to study at leading universities all over the country.

Mrs Grant, Principal, stated that;
“Once again we are delighted that the efforts of both our students and staff are reflected in most impressive examination results. Most importantly, St Joseph’s College has built up the students’ skills allowing them to progress to the next stage of their lives very well prepared for the modern world. The achievements of all of our students are a cause for celebration. Examination success is, however, only one part of the St Joseph’s experience where students also receive a wide range of sporting, social and personal development opportunities. The College continues to move from strength to strength with outstanding performance at all levels of study. St Joseph’s remains a school that is really going places.”

Number of students who sat the exam: 47
% of students at A – C = 76%
% of students achieving A – E = 99%

THE ARMED MAN – SATURDAY 18TH APRIL AT 7.30PM AT ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE, IPSWICH