The largest ever cohort of 139 students in the Upper Sixth Form at Caterham School achieved an outstanding performance in this year’s A-Level examinations breaking all the School’s previous records.

~ 9 students achieved three or more A*
~ 28 students achieved four or more passes at A*/A grade
- of which 8 achieved 5 and 1 achieved 6
~ 25% of the grades were A*
~ 66% of the grades were A/A* up from 60% ‘A’ grades last year
~ 92% of the grades were A*/A/B up from 85% ‘A/B’ grades last year
~ 100% pass rate at grades ‘A – E’

Headmaster Julian Thomas said ’’I am thrilled that all the hard work by this year’s Upper Sixth students has enabled them to achieve the best A Level results ever recorded by Caterham School. With university places at a premium this year, it was more important than ever to achieve strong results, and I am delighted that the students and teachers rose magnificently to the challenge.’’

Mr Thomas added ‘’Whilst we can celebrate the successes of the exam results today I would not want to lose sight of the fact that these pupils have also made an outstanding contribution outside the classroom. This is a very important aspect of their education. We believe that a truly excellent education is about more than academic achievement alone and we seek to ensure that our students leave with a breadth and depth of experiences that will have helped to prepare them for life at university and beyond.’

Photo: (L-R)Alex Clark, Matthew Fenton, Headmaster Julian Thomas, Hannah Wright, Emma O’Brien
The four students all achieved 4A* grades

Maths and fun were combined when ‘Murderous Mathematician’ Kjartan Poskitt visited the Royal Alexandra and Albert School on the 1st and 2nd of July. Pupils aged 9 to 13 took a break from lessons so see how maths could be viewed in a totally different, and very entertaining, way.

Over 370 Royal Alexandra and Albert School students attended the event which was held in the School’s chapel. Pupils from other local schools (Warwick, Reigate, and Oakwood) were also invited to the event, and around 100 attended.

Kjartan entertained his audience by using a number of maths tricks and activities, some of them were, ‘How to get rich using a chess board’, ‘making a ball from two hexagons’, ‘the mystery of the number 1089’ and ‘how the number 3 was invented’. The talk lasted an hour but his young audience were completely captivated by his numerical dexterity and lively presenting style. Kjartan Poskitt mixed maths and fun and he really did make it work.

After attending the performance, one 10 year old pupil commented “It was the funniest show I have ever seen, it was amazing”

Emma Moran (Head of Maths) comments “Kjartan is so enthusiastic, you can’t help but be amazed by the maths tricks he performs! It was great to see the students enjoying themselves and I hope that we can repeat the experience next year with even more students from our area being able to participate. Kjartan’s presentation was a big success as it educated pupils and they had fun at the same time.”

Headmaster Paul D Spencer Ellis commented “As the Lead School for Gifted and Talented in the area, we are always seeking innovative ways to encourage learning. Kjartan’s visit has inspired pupils, and his enthusiasm and energy are infectious. I am pleased that so many children from local schools were able to join us to benefit from his unusual approach to delivering mathematics.”

Photo: ‘Murderous Mathematician’ Kjartan Poskitt

Four students at Caterham School have been awarded Gliding Scholarships by the RAF. The four students are part of the School’s Combined Cadet Force RAF contingent. The scholarships are awarded to cadets who have shown appropriate interest and talent. Each cadet will have about 40 launches in a glider until they are judged capable of flying solo.

The four students are:
~ Sam Thompson, (Lower Sixth), who has already completed the course with 615VGS (Volunteer Gliding Squadron) at RAF Kenley.
~ Ashley Goulding, (Lower Sixth), with train in summer with 624 VGS Chivenor, Barnstaple.
~ Andrew Ramsdale, (Fifth Year), with train in summer with 642 VGS RAF Linton on Ouse, York.
~ Joanna Odling, (Lower Sixth), will train in summer with 643 VGS RAF Syerston, Newark.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’I am delighted for these four pupils. This is quite an achievement for each of them. The Combined Cadet Force is one of many co-curricular activities that we offer to pupils as a way of developing their talents and interests outside the classroom. This is an integral part of fulfilling our intention of developing the potential of each and every pupil thereby helping to prepare them for their life at university and beyond.’’

Photo: Cpl Odling, Cpl Goulding, Sgt Thompson

Parkside School, based in Stoke D’Abernon, has regained the Epsom College Super Teams trophy for the 10th year in a row. The school entered teams in the U9, U11 and U13 age categories with all boys performing extremely well, notching up points in the swimming, football, hockey, distance running, sprints, basketball and gym tests. Parkside took 1st place in the U9 and U11 age groups, 2nd place in a competitive U13 age group and finished in 1st place in the overall competition.

Further success came as Parkside won the Seven Schools trophy this year with a strong performance by the entire athletics team. The school took the title after five years of dominance from Frensham based school Edgeborough.

Eight individual winners and wins in the U10 and U12 relays ensured Parkside finished top of all competing schools at the event, held at The Spectrum Centre in Guildford. Aldro School was 2nd and Edgeborough took 3rd place.

Congratulations goes to Parkside’s winners: Harry Thursfield, U10 600m, Alfie Bloomfield, U10 Cricket Ball Throw, Sergui Celebidachi, U10 High Jump, Charlie Kerslake, U12 Shot Put, James Odunsi, U12 70m Hurdles, Oscar Newson-Smith, U14 Triple Jump and 800m.

Nick Embling also took 1st place in the 1500m, breaking the Spectrum record which was set in 1984!

The boys put in another exceptional performance at this year’s IAPS National Swimming Championships held at the K2 Centre in Crawley last month. Ian Stamp, director of sports at Parkside said, “We had more Parkside boys taking part in individual races at this national event than ever before, which demonstrates the depth of swimmers the school now has.” All Parkside boys swim every week in the school’s indoor swimming pool under the instruction of top class coaches.

Congratulations to the U12 team who came third overall to clinch the bronze medal in the Freestyle relay and Max Herne who took the bronze medal in the 25m Freestyle.
Parkside’s Tennis teams have also been outclassing their rivals with the U9 team through to the Surrey Schools League semi finals and the U10’s beating all opponents in their path to reach the finals at the end of June. The school’s U11 team will play Kings School later on this month to see who makes it to the final.

Parkside, renowned for its excellent sporting reputation, has also been hosting its own tennis tournament – ‘Road to Wimbledon’ which has seen boys taking part in matches during their break and lunchtimes. The final will see brothers, Ben and Jack Draper, go head to head. The winner will represent Parkside at county level.

Photo: Parkside School’s swimming team took part in the IAPS National Swimming Championships held at the K2 Centre Crawley last month.

On Sunday 16th of May, a team of students and teachers from Caterham School dressed as their favourite superheroes and went to Brighton to join over 1500 runners in the annual charitable event, the Heroes Run.

The students and teachers will be going to Tanzania in Summer to visit Lerang’wa Primary School, as part of an ongoing charitable project. The purpose of the run was to raise money for Lerang’wa School and to test their fitness for the challenging climb of Mount Meru, which is also part of their itinerary.

Every member of the team completed the run with Tom Ganley and Lisa Mill winning the men’s and women’s 5km events.

The funds raised for Lerang’wa Primary in previous years has provided money for books, desks, accommodation for teachers, solar panel electricity and food. The current building project is the new kitchen to be followed by a dining area. The Caterham School teachers and students will undertake practical tasks around the school, teach some English, play sport with the pupils and learn about the Maasai culture. The teaching staff will also assist with training the teachers and examine future possibilities for the project. So far the team have raised over £6,500 this year.

Headmaster Julian Thomas, who is one of the team going to Lerang’wa School this year and who took part in the 10K run, said ‘’I was so proud to see the Caterham Superheroes in action. I am always impressed by the time, effort and energy that our students will freely commit to charitable causes.’’

On Monday 10 May, Simon Singh MBE visited Caterham School to deliver a lecture on Science in the Media. His presentation explored the difficulty the media can experience in seeking to report scientific studies and gave an insight into how the media can, through omission or exaggeration, misrepresent these scientific achievements.

Simon Singh is a scientist and mathematician who is a leading author, documentary filmmaker and journalist. He attended Imperial College London, where he studied Physics and then he completed a PhD in Particle Physics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and at CERN, Geneva. He has worked for the BBC on programmes such as Tomorrow’s World and Horizon. In 1996, he directed Fermat’s Last Theorem, a BAFTA award-winning documentary about the world’s most notorious mathematical problem. He has also presented The Science of Secrecy, a five part series for Channel 4. He has also written several books including Fermat’s Last Theorem, The Code Book, Big Bang and Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Simon has established a well-deserved reputation for presenting scientific and mathematical topics in an accessible and entertaining way. He also explained that scientists can sometimes be hesitant about publishing scientific facts for fear of litigation by large organisations and corporations. His lecture was witty and thought provoking. I think the audience will have taken the message that we should be sceptics about claims for scientific achievement until all the facts have been established.’’

A new generation of residents has arrived at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School. The school’s flock of Dorking hens has produced three lively chicks and pupils have been helping to care for them. The chicks, two girls and a boy are three days old, are fit and healthy and the females are destined to be the egg-layers of the future. The male is likely to be used for showing.

Chickens arrived at the school a year ago and have been providing a steady supply of eggs as part of the Countryside and Environment BTEC course. Younger pupils have also helped look after the chickens and there are many enthusiastic members of Chicken Club which takes place after school.

Dorking hens are a local breed with royal connections as their eggs were favoured by Queen Victoria. On a recent visit to the School, the Duchess of Gloucester was presented with eggs from the flock. The breed has distinctive plumage and is unusual in having an extra toe (most chickens have 4)

The chicks were hatched in an incubator but will join the rest of the flock in a few weeks time. Teacher, Mr Greenhalgh comments “The animals that are raised at this school are important element in the curriculum for the BTEC. Pupils learn how to look after them and also how to ensure that they are commercially viable. Our chickens have been very successful and the new chicks will be a welcome addition to the flock.”

Photo: A junior pupil with one of the Dorking chicks

Drama students from Caterham School performed at the 2010 Leatherhead Drama Festival in May and were delighted to collect the Richard Houghton Award for Outstanding Contribution. The award, which was for the opening sequence; the visual effect, movement and make-up, was presented to the Sixth Form students by Sir Michael Caine CBE at the Awards night on Saturday 15th May.

The play that they performed was “Silent Scream” which was written and devised by the students for their A-Level Drama and Theatre Studies coursework. They were naturally delighted that their work was also nominated for the “New Writing” Award.

The students who performed were Rebecca Ward, Hannah Spence, Anjali Bhat, Emma O’Brien and Imogen Ware.

The Leatherhead Drama Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK and takes place at Leatherhead Theatre over two weeks with three different groups performing each night.

Head of Drama at Caterham, Lisa McMullin said, “I am absolutely delighted with the students’ achievement. This is the second year running that this group of students has returned from the festival with an award and all credit goes to them for their commitment and creativity in producing a piece of innovative theatre.”

Barrow Hills’ pupil, Molly Howard has recently achieved exceptional success with her ballet. Molly, who has been dancing since the age of four at Barrow Hills has just competed at the Ealing Festival where she won not only the ballet solo but also the duet and the duet trophy. At the end of the festival Molly was invited to take part in the prestigious Stella Mason Memorial Award. This is presented to the best dancer across all the categories, including, ballet, tap, modern and jazz and it is a tribute to her tremendous talent that Molly was the proud recipient of this award.
From this, all in the same week, she went on to the Aldershot Festival where she came second in the duet and again won the solo. Not only did she win, but she was awarded the highest mark for all the ballet solos. This achievement means that Molly now goes forward to the regional finals of the All England which will take place next year. At only 10 years old she really is a star in the making!
Ballet teacher, Anna Holford said, “Barrow Hills places a strong emphasis on the performing arts and we are delighted to see Molly doing so well. She really is an inspiration to all the pupils and we are all very proud of her.”

On Thursday 29 April Caterham School Kit Car Club released the Caterham Seven that they had built over the past 18 months and took delivery of another collection of parts that will become the next car.

The Kit Car Club is one of over thirty five clubs and societies that Caterham School offer as part of their co-curricular activities.

The Caterham Seven is supplied by Caterham Cars. The Seven is the original British lightweight sports car which was created by Colin Chapman as the Lotus 7 in 1957. Caterham Cars has been selling the Seven since the late 1950’s and in 1973 purchased the rights to manufacture the car. One of the ways in which the car is sold to enthusiasts is in kit form so that they can assemble it themselves. The car built by Caterham School pupils will be checked for road worthiness and then sold by Caterham Cars.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘‘Whilst Caterham School has a reputation for high academic standards, we take the concept of all round education very seriously. The funding for the first car was provided by the Parents’ Association, which enabled us to add the Kit Car Club to our wide range of clubs and societies. Co-curricular activity is an integral part of our programme of enrichment which develops the potential of each and every pupil thereby helping to prepare them for their life at university and beyond.’’

PHOTO: New kit car being unloaded with the Caterham 7 that has been built.

On Friday 30 April, Caterham School held a celebration dinner which was attended by 120 students, teachers and parents.

The ‘black tie’ dinner was held to celebrate an excellent year of sport and the guest speaker was Holly McGarvie who is one of the world’s leading lacrosse players and winner of a World Cup Gold Medal with the USA team in 2009. Holly is coaching in the in the UK at the moment.

The two other speakers were students Ben Lewis and Loulou Rowlands.

Awards were given to Chris Kendell (rugby player of the season), James Hutchings (hockey player of the season), Joe McLaren (clubman of the year), Michela Scarpa (netball player of the season), Hannah Wright (Anne Collins Lacrosse Trophy), Loulou Rowlands (club woman of the year)

Director of Sport Rob Clarke said: ‘It was thrilling for all of us to hear a speech by one of the world’s top sportswomen. She is a fantastic role model for all our sports players having been to Princeton University and being voted the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2006 and then the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2009. No one could fail to be impressed by her consistency and commitment. I am sure that she will have inspired all of those attending.’

PHOTO: Sophie Colman, Hannah Wright, Loulou Rowlands and Holly McGarvie

Jacob Kelly, a pupil at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School has passed an audition to join the National Youth Choir, and is now the youngest member of the Choir. The audition included singing two pieces of music with an accompanist and a music sight-reading test. The talented 9 year old was delighted when he heard that he had been accepted into the choir.

As a member of the National Youth Choir (NYC) Jacob will attend two courses each year (in the Easter and Summer holidays). These courses will provide choral training and an opportunity to perform alongside youngsters from around the country. Jacob has already attended his first course which was a 4 day residential course at Tudor Hall School over Easter. He coped well with the long days of choral workshops and training and enjoyed being part of the Junior Boys’ Choir.

Jacob was not the only new boy in the choir and he shared a dorm with some of the other new members. There was no time to feel homesick as the music lessons were interspersed with other activities to keep the boys entertained.

“A lot of the songs we had to learn were in another language which made it quite difficult but we had a break every 90 minutes” says Jacob “And as well as singing we did activities in groups like football and other games.

“The best thing was when all four choirs came together and sang Akakomborerwa. The final performance in Coventry Cathedral was really good as it sounded much better than in the rehearsal – it was much better with the echo.”

Director of Music, Josephine Bryant comments “I suggested to Jacob’s parents that he be put forward for the audition for the National Youth Choir because of his obvious talent for singing and he has done really well to achieve a place in the Choir. The courses he will attend as part of the NYC will really help to develop his voice and enable him to achieve his full potential in singing. Jacob is the third pupil from this school to be accepted into the NYC and it is encouraging that there is so much talent and enthusiasm for music amongst our pupils.”

As a boarding school the Royal Alexandra and Albert School has been hit harder than most by the ‘no fly’ crisis that has resulted from the volcanic ash which is filling the skies over England. Over 50 pupils are stranded at locations around the globe and are unable to return to school until flights start again.

Almost all teachers and boarding staff have managed to return to school despite some being aboard at the time flights were stopped. Arrangements have been made to cover for absent colleagues and those that are still away are making every effort to get back to school as soon as possible.

This is a vital time of year for Year 11 pupils who will be taking their GCSEs later this term. All pupils were given a CD rom to assist them with revision and the information is also available on the internet so pupils can continue their studies wherever they are in the world. Other pupils will be given support when they return so that they can catch up on any lessons they miss.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis comments “Over 50 of our 800 pupils are stranded in locations all over the world including Australia, Brunei, Dubai, Spain and Hong Kong. Whilst many pupils might enjoy the extra holiday, it is not helpful for them to lose time at school.

“Many of the teaching and boarding staff made heroic efforts to get back to the UK when their flights were cancelled which means we have almost all our staff present. They have already made it possible for Year 11 pupils to prepare for their GCSEs by giving them a revision CD rom and this has been key to ensuring they are able to continue to prepare for their exams even if they unable to return to school.”

Give your child the best start in life.

OPEN DAYS IN MAY
Thurs 20th 2– 4.30pm & Sat 22nd 10-12pm

For an appointment to visit
ring 020 8660 3351

LALEHAM LEA
Catholic Independent Primary School

Boys and girls aged 3 to 11.

Small classes with inspiring and dedicated teachers.

Excellent academic results.

Outstanding sports facilities.

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Laleham Lea School
29 Peaks Hill
Purley, Surrey, CR8 3JJ
www.lalehamlea.co.uk

Homefield School in Sutton has ended the year on a high:

Year 6 pupil, Robin Hartland, has just won a national poetry French competition opened to students from Year 6 to 13! This competition is run by the West of England University (Bristol) and the French institute in London. Homefield School has already won it twice, 3 years ago and last year, won by Year 7 pupils!

Robin wrote a beautifully descriptive poem of a helicopter sea rescue and attended an official prize-giving ceremony in London at the Goethe Institute where he was awarded a £50 cheque.

The under-9 chess team from Homefield School in Surrey have become the EPSCA U9 National Champions 2009 in the final round of the tournament, winning with a record score of 31.5 out of 35 points.

(EPSCA stands for English Primary Schools Chess Association).

The Homefield chess coach is Miss Bradley.

The Under-13 1st XV rugby team from Homefield School has won the National Prep Schools Rugby Tournament.

To win the tournament was a fantastic achievement, going one better than the U13 1st XV team of 2005 who reached the final.

Well done to all the boys involved and thank you for the parents for all their support.

Six talented young comedians took to the stage at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School this week at the first ever ‘RAAS the Roof’ stand-up comedy show. The lively teenagers started the evening with improvised performances in response to suggestions from the audience like ‘Things not to say when your phone goes off in chapel’ and ‘The world’s worst chat up line’.

Seated at tables laid out in the drama studio, in a setting reminiscent of classic London comedy clubs, the audience was not allowed to get too comfortable as the compère, professional stand-up comedian, John Soffe challenged them to a joke and limerick writing competition. The audience duly contributed with their own brand of improvised jokes and poems and the winners were awarded a certificate at the end.

After the brief interlude provided by the audience participation, the young comedians confidently delivered polished stand-up routines. There were tense moments for some parents and friends as the performers drew on real life experiences for their material. Needless to say, it was all in the best possible taste and the evening was rounded off by fulsome applause from the delighted audience.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis, who had himself drafted a limerick during the evening when the audience were challenged to produce a poem containing both ‘libraries and Mrs Thatcher’, praised the pupils for their assured performances saying, “Performing stand-up comedy is not an easy feat. I was impressed that these pupils managed to captivate the audience and generate so much laughter in their first live show.”

The whole evening was organised by teacher, Emma Bennett who has inspired pupils to try new types of drama since taking on the role of Head of Drama in January.

Surrey children have met decathlon great Daley Thompson as the Olympic gold medallist opened a new athletics academy at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School.

The Academy, which starts in April, will give youngsters who have sporting potential the opportunity to follow in the footsteps in one of Great Britain’s greatest Olympians and develop skills in a number of athletics disciplines, many of which form part of the decathlon. The Academy is part of a programme devised by Daley Thompson to get children outside while developing them in all events of athletics.

Daley, who won Olympic gold in 1980 and 1984, visited the school and carried out a hurdles coaching session for junior pupils on the athletics track before taking questions from older pupils who were keen to learn how he achieved his Olympic success. He then presented the School with a trophy; the ‘Daley Thompson Athletics Cup’ to be awarded annually to a pupil who has demonstrated outstanding athletic achievement.

Daley has chosen the Royal Alexandra and Albert School for the Athletics Academy as it has an all-weather athletics track and other excellent sporting facilities suitable for training young athletes. “The Athletics Academy will provide youngsters of all abilities with the opportunity to develop their skills at a number of athletics disciplines many of which are part of the decathlon programme. Many children dream of participating in the Olympics and I am pleased to be able to provide this Academy to help them on their way, under the guidance of world class athlete, Nick Buckfield” says Daley.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis comments “Our new sports facilities, including the all-weather athletics track have made a big impact on the amount of sport our pupils enjoy. We are pleased that we can make these excellent facilities available to local children through the Daley Thompson Athletics Academy. This provides another opportunity for children to keep fit, develop their athletics skills and possibly become the champions of the future”.

Daley Thompson Athletics Academy
•For children of all abilities aged 7-11
•The course is based on the decathlon events where they are suitable for junior children
•Open to pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School as well as local children
•Starts Wednesday 28th April 4pm-5pm
•Every week during term time (i.e. April 28, May 5, 12, 19, 26, Jun 9, 16, 23, 30, Jul 7 )
•Course costs £10 per session and runs for the whole term
•Course leader is Nick Buckfield
•To sign up please call 01932 863240

As part of National Science and Engineering week, the Science laboratories at Greenacre School for Girls in Banstead were transported into the magical world of Hogwarts when the school hosted its annual ‘Science is Fun’ evenings.
Organised by the Greenacre Science Department with the support of the Royal Society of Chemistry (Downland Section), about 80 enthusiastic ten and eleven year-old girls and boys were entranced by the spellbinding scientific demonstrations and enjoyed participating in the many exciting hands-on activities.
Children from all the local primary schools were invited to take part, free of charge, and were accompanied by their parents, who seemed to enjoy the sessions just as much as the children!
This year, there was much magic afoot as Greenacre transformed into ‘Greenwarts Academy for Magicians and Muggles’. The children spent an hour each in Potions (Chemistry), Transfiguration (Physics) and Organisms (Biology).
There were flashes and bangs in the potions laboratory, where the children created magic mist and gooey slime. They also investigated mysterious materials and magnets, helped the wizard police improve on their fingerprint techniques and extracted DNA from a piece of fruit.

The children were delighted by all the weird and wonderful experiments. When asked what they had enjoyed most about the evenings, they said…
“I could see lots of tiny things with the microscopes – it was very exciting.”
“It was really cool, especially when we made the slime.”
“The coloured flames were great – like fireworks.”
“I made a star fridge magnet to take home.”

On Wednesday 24th March a group of Caterham School students who are interested in politics launched the latest edition of Preview magazine at the Palace of Westminster in the company of over 100 invited guests.

Preview is a political magazine that is published annually. It contains a number of thought provoking articles by students, former students, teachers and politicians. The three politicians contributing articles this year were: – David Laws Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil; Michael Fallon the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks who sits on the Treasury Select Committee; and Nigel Farage MEP, the former leader of UKIP, who is contesting the Buckingham constituency in the forthcoming General Election.

The students were delighted that the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP agreed to give a speech to launch the publication. He praised the magazine and spoke approvingly of the students’ evident interest in politics adding that he was seeking to encourage all young people to engage in politics. As a demonstration of his commitment, he happily answered questions from the audience.

This year’s editorial team consisted of Imogen Ware (editor), Samantha Moore, Sophie Colman, James Hutchings, Joe McLaren, Alexander Gordon and Matthew Grant. Mr Peter Ainsworth, Conservative MP for East Surrey who, for many years, has generously given his time to support the publication, issued the invitation to the Palace of Westminster.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said; ‘’Every year a group of Caterham School students take on the challenge of producing a thought provoking political magazine. They commit a significant proportion of their free time to ensuring the success of Preview, seeking articles on a wide range of subjects from a variety of organisations and individuals. I think it does them all enormous credit that they give their time so willingly. This year was no exception and I believe that the team should be proud of producing an excellent magazine.’’

Matthew Sexton, a pupil at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School has beaten opponents up to two years older, to achieve a silver medal at the British Schools Judo Championships. The contest, which took place in Sheffield saw 12 year old Matthew compete against 16 pupils in his category and he was only beaten by one opponent who was two years his senior.

Matthew, who has been doing judo since he was four years old, takes weekly lessons at school as well as two other weekly sessions with his local club, Westcroft Judo Club. He puts his success down to regular training and doing the sport since he was young. “I was uncertain about whether I would win a medal as so many of the other competitors were older than me, but I focused on one fight at a time. I tried not to think about their advantages or disadvantages – I just thought of them as an equal” says Matthew.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis comments “As a Sports College, we encourage all types of sport and judo is very popular amongst both boys and girls. Matthew has worked hard to achieve this medal and he can be justifiably proud of his success.”

Caterham School student, Eleanor Budge (Lower Sixth), was presented with her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award certificate at the Tandridge Award ceremony on Monday 22 March.

Eleanor may have set a record in completing the Gold Award so quickly. She was a Direct Entrant to the Award Scheme at Gold level and the longest section of the Award was Volunteering was completed just 18 months to the day and just in time to make it to the ceremony. Eleanor is planning to pursue a career in medicine and so she was pleased to be able to volunteer at Tillgate Ward, East Surrey Hospital.

Her Skill has been to continue to develop her singing, and she is presently awaiting the results of her Grade 8 singing examination, while she has enjoyed learning Latin American and Ballroom dancing for her Physical section and reached Bronze level in all ten dances.

With university not too far ahead, a week-long course in the preparation of healthy three course meals using inexpensive ingredients seemed a fitting way of completing the Residential section of the Award.

Eleanor said: ‘’The expeditions in the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains of Wales were the toughest part of the Award but the sense of achievement made the experience worth while.’’

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ’Eleanor is a credit to the School in so many different ways; her all-round efforts are much appreciated. I am delighted, but not surprised, that she managed to complete the Gold Award in record time. The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme is thriving at Caterham School. It is just one of the many co-curricular activities that we offer pupils. It is popular because it is enjoyable and challenging, whilst remaining one of the best programmes for the personal development of young people.’

Photo: Eleanor Budge receives her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award from Mr Geoffrey Marlow, Chairman of Surrey County Council.

On the 5th and 6th of March, Caterham School 1st XII and 2nd XII lacrosse teams competed in the annual National Schools U19A and U19B Lacrosse Tournament which was held at Imperial College Sports Ground.

It was the first time that we had entered a 2nd XII. Only the schools with the strongest squads enter the U19B competition and so Caterham 2nd XII were competing against 27 other top schools. The team performed superbly and remained unbeaten on the first day, defeating teams that included Berkhamsted and St Paul’s whilst drawing with Lady Eleanor Hollis. The results meant that they qualified for the final day as leaders of their group. Consequently, on the Saturday, they faced opposition from some of the strongest second teams in the country. Despite the strength of opposition they managed to perform well to achieve some great wins, including a deserved 2-1 victory over Downe House. They finished the tournament with a top ten placing in the country.

Although Caterham School 1st XII have competed in this National Tournament for many years, for many of the team it was their first experience of a tournament at this level. There were 49 top schools competing and so the first day was always going to involve some very competitive matches, particularly since their section included teams from Godolphin and Bedford. Therefore, they knew that they would have to play to their full potential to progress in the competition. Unfortunately, nerves proved a problem in the first game, which they narrowly lost 2-1 to Bedford. However, showing great character they settled themselves and played some excellent lacrosse in their remaining five matches. The team improved throughout achieving their best score with an 8-1 victory over Uppingham. However, the early loss meant that they had to beat Godolphin, the top seeds, in order to progress. They rose to the challenge superbly and produced an outstanding 3-2 win that enabled them to qualify for the championship on Saturday.

After six tough matches on the Friday, the Saturday matches were always going to be difficult. However the weeks of early morning fitness training combined with ice baths on the Friday night enabled the team to produce further outstanding performances on the Saturday. They beat Wycombe Abbey, Haberdashers, and, most memorably, arch rivals and reigning national champions Guildford High, in a match which will be remembered by many for years to come. Unfortunately, very narrow defeats to Benenden and St. Catherine’s just denied Caterham a place in the semi finals. However, these performances enabled them to finish seventh in the country, and the top co-educational school. Perhaps the most notable achievement was that they were one of only two teams to beat the eventual winners, Godolphin.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘I am delighted to see such successful performances by both teams. It is a great achievement to finish as the top co-educational school in the country. I was particularly pleased about the manner of their success as both teams had to overcome the setback of defeat, which they did admirably, to go on to win more matches. Although we have a reputation for high academic standards, we take also offer a wide range of co-curricular activity of which sport is an important part. Whilst we believe in sport for all it is always very rewarding when teams do so well in a national competition.’

Lacrosse 1st Team Squad:
Emma Warner, Emma Sheldon, Georgia Flanagan, Lottie Williams, Rosie Crammond,
Hannah Wright (V Capt), Clarissa Hearn, Jess Puntan, Hattie Shaw, Sophie Colman, Megan Armitage, Tash Reynoldson, Katie Barrett, Lisa Mill, Rosie Clarke, Loulou Rowlands (Capt).

Lacrosse 2nd Team Squad:
Tash Hunt, Georgia Feldmanis, Sarah Edwards, Bex Goddard, Hollie Coleman, Alia Ardon (Captain), Ellie Scott—Smith, Daisy Hopkins, Rachel Bartholomews, Zoe Webb, Katie Marsh, Emma Houlden, Lizzie Armitage, Amy Miles, Rebecca Ward.

Photo: 1st team Squad

On the 28th February 2010 Woldingham polo team participated in the National Arena Girls Tournament, held in Rugby.

The team consisted of Katy Bernard, Laura Endicott and Heather Norris.
They played against Rugby, Wellington and St George’s Ascot. They were all very nervous due to the fact that it was the first chukka of the day and there was not enough time to warm up.

The first chukka was against Rugby school and it lasted for seven minutes. Unfortunately we lost 3-1.
The second chukka was against Wellington and the girls were more confident and prepared. They won 5-1.
After lunch two more chukkas were played which lasted for three minutes. The first chukka was against St George’s Ascot and was drawn 0-0.
The last chukka was against Wellington and was again a win 1-0.

Overall the girls came 6th. We are very proud of the girls as it was their first polo tournament. We look forward to them competing more in the future.

Heather Norris and Katy Bernard

Just seven years after leaving Woldingham School, Carey Mulligan won a Best Actress BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for her debut-lead film role in Nick Hornby’s An Education. Carey had already scooped Best Actress prize at the British Independent Film Awards in December 2009 for the same role.

She won the Best Actress BAFTA in February, and was hotly tipped to do the double by winning the Best Actress Oscar in Hollywood but it was not to be. Carey faced some stiff competition for the Best Actress award and she was piped at the post for the Oscar by Hollywood mega-star Sandra Bullock.

Carey is taking everything in her stride and is remaining grounded despite her meteoric rise to fame. She believes that her love of acting was first kindled at Woldingham School. She is grateful for the strong, professional guidance and encouragement she received whilst at school which has underpinned her unstinting focus on an acting career. When asked about her days at Woldingham she said “I had wanted to act for a really long time, but other schools I had been to did not have such good drama departments. Everyone was so encouraging. You could do anything you wanted to, although you had to take it seriously. If you missed rehearsals, you were out.”

Congratulations to Carey for this well deserved success, being nominated for these prestigious awards for her first starring role is a huge achievement in itself and to win a BAFTA is very special. Needless to say all at Woldingham are very proud of her.

Her rise to stardom means she follows in the footsteps of previous Sacred Heart alumnae which have included Maureen O’Hara and Vivien Leigh

On Friday 5th March, instead of pupils, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School had troops of soldiers, kings, Bo-Peeps, piggies and blackbirds in attendance. It was Book Day and the theme this year was nursery rhymes so all the children and staff came to school dressed as a character from a nursery rhyme.

Fancy Dress Friday in the Junior Department was the culmination of a series of events designed to encourage children to get the most out of reading and enjoyment of books. As part of Book Week, children have written their own nursery rhymes, mixed up traditional nursery rhymes into new nursery rhymes, produced diaries as if they were a character from a nursery rhyme and even drafted newspaper articles reporting on an event in a nursery rhyme.

Literacy co-ordinator, and Year 6 Teacher, Alexandra Smith commented, “The children have really enjoyed remembering nursery rhymes and investigating their actual meaning. They have produced excellent examples of creative writing, artwork and have proved very perceptive when imagining what it is like to be one of the fictional characters.

“One of the highlights of this week was the workshop by author David Mason who really captured the imagination of the children with a humorous and animated performance of his own poems.”

“There were various events on Fancy Dress Friday and these included a parade (in which the Queen of Hearts delivered some real tarts) and sporting activities. Sport ‘nursery rhyme style’ involved pairs of Jacks and Jills racing up a very steep hill with a pail of water. The pail was full of holes and the children had to reach the finish line with as much water as possible. It was wet and muddy but luckily no one broke their crown!”

Wednesday 3rd March marked a very special day for the Royal Alexandra and Albert School as it was the 250th anniversary of the admission of the first pupil to the Orphan Working School (which later became the Royal Alexandra and Albert School).

To mark the occasion, pupils and staff were joined by the School’s President, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO. The Duchess has shown great commitment to the School and has visited on a number of occasions over the years, most recently in 2007 when she enjoyed a game of table tennis with pupils after opening extensions to two boarding houses.

The Duchess was presented with a posy by 10 year old pupil, Hannah Farnsworth. During the visit the Duchess attended a short service of commemoration in the School’s chapel and watched a dance display by pupils. The Duchess then met a group of current and former Foundationers in the Headmaster’s office before having to leave in order to get back to London for a state banquet.

Also invited to share the celebrations were Old Scholars, including many who attended the School when it was still an orphanage. Their recollections of life at the orphanage, as it then was, were in many cases very positive, and a far cry from the Dickensian tales more commonly associated with orphanages.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis comments “The School is proud of its heritage and the visit from the Duchess of Gloucester is a fitting way to acknowledge the opportunities given to over 20,000 orphans in the last 250 years. Whilst no longer an orphanage, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School which has 800 pupils with 400 boarders, still offers some free boarding places to children with difficult family circumstances.”

Last Friday, Barrow Hills School, in Witley hosted a series of concerts by the world famous pianist, Derek Paravicini. What is particularly amazing is that Derek is blind and so plays everything from memory. Even more impressive is that he does not just stick to a pre-arranged programme, but invites requests from the audience. Throughout the three performances that he gave at Barrow Hills, to a total audience of nearly 500 people aged from 6 years old upwards, there was not a single request that he could not perform!
The concerts were held to raise funds for St Benedict’s, a school in Burkina Faso in Africa with which Barrow Hills is linked in friendship. The link between the two schools began in 2003 when Barrow Hills Pre-prep Department raised £200 to buy two bicycles enabling two children to be able to get to school in Burkina Faso. Seeing how this simple gift made such a huge difference to peoples’ lives inspired the whole of the Barrow Hills community and since then they have supported St Benedict’s School in a variety of ways. To date, thousands of pounds have been raised for various projects. This includes enabling the school to build a kitchen, so that every child in the school eats a meal each day when previously they were going hungry; building a perimeter wall; toilets; repairs to existing buildings and providing much needed teaching resources and play equipment. Perhaps the most ambitious project of all was last year when Barrow Hills raised over £16,000 to build a new classroom block, including a library and IT room. This year, the aim is to raise money to furnish and equip this new block and also to buy mosquito nets for the children.
To this end, the fund raising day on Friday started with all the children being allowed to come to school in red, yellow and green mufti – the colours of the Burkina Faso national flag. The children in Year 8 led the morning assembly with a PowerPoint presentation in French (the language spoken in Burkina Faso) describing a typical school day at Barrow Hills. This presentation has now been taken to St Benedict’s, to be shown to the children there, by two members of staff who have travelled to Burkina Faso on the annual visit to the school. The fund raising pot also got off to an unexpected good start in assembly as, following a violin solo by Josh Garman in Year 6, Director of Music, Mark Wardell, challenged the staff and pupils to name the third way to play a violin, after bowing and plucking. Although the children’s hands remained down, the raised hand of the Headmaster could not be ignored, and as he answered correctly (col legno) the promised £20 made its way to St Benedict’s!
In the afternoon, Derek started with the first of his three performances to the children in the Junior-prep department – you cannot believe the volume as the children clapped and cheered as Derek played everything they asked, including Bob the Builder! Thinking that this could not be topped, Derek followed straight on with a performance to the older children. Wow! What a rapturous response he received as he played the children’s requests. He might not have been able to see his audience but he could certainly hear them, as again there was a standing ovation as they cheered, clapped and made plain their admiration for Derek’s fantastic talent.
The third and final performance was in the evening to parents and guests from the local community. Again the performance was unbelievable and it was not hard to understand how Derek earned his reputation as ‘the human i-pod’. Not only could he play any request but his musical ability was phenomenal.
The final figure raised from the day is still mounting as donations continue to come in but it is at over £4000 at present, meaning that a mosquito net will be able to be purchased for every child at St Benedict’s and that the dream of Barrow Hills to fully furnish the new building constructed last year will become a reality for the pupils of St Benedict’s School.

On Saturday 6th February, Caterham School students and teachers performed in a talent show to raise money for charity.

A packed auditorium enjoyed a show that displayed a wide range of talent. In addition to singers and dancers, the audience was treated to a skilful magician, a national standard gymnast, a captivating duo that timed a rhythm from a piano with solving a Rubik cube. Some remarkable alternative comedy was also included in the evening. Once again the Textile Department added a fashion show.

The event was organised by the nine students on the Charity Committee and the £3000 raised will be divided between Lerang’wa Primary School in Tanzania and Nagydobrony School in the Ukraine.

After much deliberation it was decide that the eventual winners were Emma O’Brien, Katie Barrett, Will Murch, Taiwo Daniel, Azuoma Obikudu who performed a drama piece that became a techno dance, choreographed by themselves.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’This was a wonderful evening of entertainment. The performers were outstanding and I was pleased to see that the packed house enjoyed every moment. Although we have a reputation for high academic standards, we place great importance on developing the whole person and co-curricular activity is an integral part of that process. It is too easy to overlook the fact that many of our pupils make a contribution to society, either by raising funds for charities or by giving generously of their time.’’

PHOTO: Winners – Emma O’Brien, Katie Barrett, Will Murch, Taiwo Daniel, Azuoma Obikudu

The Marymount International School choir embarked on a whirlwind performance tour to Vienna on Thursday 14th January. During their four days in this historic city, the students will perform four concerts: two at retirement homes, Haus Rudolfsheim and Haus Hetzendorf; two at churches, St Stephen’s Cathedral and St Peter’s Church; as well as giving a short recital at the United Nations building at the Vienna International Centre.

In addition to their performances, the students will have the opportunity to take in the sights of the famous city. They will visit the Haus der Musik, a modern, interactive museum dedicated to sound and music, where visitors are invited to actively participate in the exhibits; as well as the Spanish Riding School, the oldest equestrian school in the world, with origins dating back to 1572. On Sunday the students will also have the opportunity to take Eucharist at The Imperial Palace, where Mass will be sung by members of the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir.

On Tuesday, 19 January, author Patrick Ness visited Caterham School to speak to pupils in the Fourth Year about his career and his writing. His two most recent books are part of his ‘Chaos Walking’ trilogy for young people. The first book, ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’, is highly original and won The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. The second, ‘The Ask and the Answer’, has just won the prestigious Costa Children’s Book Award. The final part of the trilogy, entitled ‘Monsters of Men’ will be published in May. The trilogy has already been described by the Costa judges as ‘a major achievement in the making.’

Born in the USA, Patrick studied English Literature at the University of Southern California. His main job after graduating was as corporate writer at a cable company, writing manuals, form letters and speeches. In addition to being a successful author he also sometimes teaches creative writing or writes reviews.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’We are very fortunate that Patrick agreed to come to talk to our Fourth Year pupils as he is due to depart for Australia to promote his books. We believe that a truly excellent education is about more than academic achievement alone and encouraging the enjoyment of reading is very much a part of that. We believe in the power of the written word and the personal enrichment to be gained through reading. Each year we have a number of best selling authors lecture the pupils on their approach to writing and the source of their inspiration. The pupils really enjoyed questioning Patrick about his approach to the subject matter and the issues tackled.’’

The Christmas Term saw history being made as a team of show jumpers represented Barrow Hills at an inter school show jumping competition at the hallowed ground of the All England Show jumping Course at Hickstead. In all, 14 teams were represented from prep and public schools across the South East. The course was big and bold and some fences were quite spooky catching a few riders out. Our team were in very grand company competing against a GB pony team European medallist, so competition was very tough. Holly, Emily, Matty and Ayesha all rode beautifully and were turned out immaculately, looking very smart in the ‘Barrow Hills’ saddle cloths. Team spirit was strong and they came home with a very respectable 10th place and with the coveted ‘Hickstead’ rosettes for their great efforts. Well done to all the team who did their school proud.
There is obviously lots of riding talent at school as during the summer holidays, sisters Sophie, 12 and Amelia, 10 competed in two big show jumping events in South Africa. The first was the Witkoppen Show where they both finished 2nd in separate classes. The following week was the Phaeton Park show Amelia won first prize in her main class, but also competed at 90cm and had a clear round – which is an extraordinary effort as she was the youngest by far in the class at a level that is only two grades below full international status for girls up to 14.

With the big freeze looking set to continue, parents of boarders at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School are worried that they might not be able to get their children to school on Sunday evening ready for their first day on Monday. Forecasts are showing that the weather might take a turn for the worse so Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis has taken the unusual step of opening the school a day early. Boarders can now return to school from Saturday afternoon.

Mr Spencer Ellis comments “We are happy to help parents, many of whom will be travelling long distances to bring their children to school. They now have the flexibility to drop their children off during the weekend when the weather looks best for their journey. I am hugely grateful to staff who have rallied round and given up a day’s holiday so that boarders can come to school from Saturday.”

Parents and pupils are being advised to come with warm clothes and sensible shoes as there is still a lot of snow on the site.

The Royal Alexandra and Albert School was the setting for an extraordinary assembly project this week. As part of the ‘Gifted and Talented’ programme, Year 8 pupils from local schools, gathered in the School Chapel to work on an engineering task to assemble a structure. The day-long task was devised to develop the pupil’s problem-solving, team working and communication skills.

The teams were made up of representatives of the various participating schools and they quickly set about planning what they were going to build. By the afternoon, the youngsters had assembled an array of curious looking structures made from basic materials like paper, nuts and bolts. 12 year old Natasha Patel, whose group had built a ‘Tower of Food’ said “It’s nice working with children from other schools”.

The Royal Alexandra and Albert School was awarded “Lead School” status for Gifted and Talented in September this year. This means it has been recognised as a hub for excellence for pupils that have been identified as having particular talents in certain curriculum areas. Results in the last year have been impressive with 19.5% of GCSE grades in 2009 being A or A*. This was a marked increase on the previous year’s figure of 11.2%.

Gifted and Talented Coordinator at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School, Ciara Williams said “Exercises like this are an excellent way of challenging the more able pupils at this and other schools. They have settled well into teams despite not knowing the other team members at the start of the day and the structures they created showed imagination and initiative.”

Note: The schools that attended this event were;
- Royal Alexandra and Albert School
- St Bede’s School
- Reigate School
- The Warwick School
- The Beacon School
- The Priory C of E School
- Rosebury School
- Oakwood School
- Howard of Effingham School

Junior pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School turned up for school in army dress on Friday 13th November. The combat-clad youngsters were raising money for Help for Heroes, which is a charity close to their hearts as many have family members on active service in Afghanistan.

Pupils and staff paid £1 to come to school in army dress and there was a special assembly so that they could learn more about the charity. Nigel Jones from Help for Heroes explained to the children how the charity provides help to the wounded by building rehabilitation centres, and giving money to other projects that make life better for wounded service men and women. The children were asked to write letters to soldiers who are admitted to hospital and the letters will be included in ‘grab bags’ which are given to injured service people when they arrive at hospital.

Headmaster, Paul Spencer Ellis said “We have 400 boarders at this school and around a third have parents in the forces, so we are particularly keen to support this charity. The children have embraced the cause and have already started writing letters to the wounded.”

On Thursday, 5th November The Royal School’s Prep 6 girls went to the Globe Theatre in London. On arrival, they were greeted by a professional actress, Jen, who took them into a drama studio attached to the Globe Theatre. After a lively warm up, Jen put the girls into groups to act as characters from Macbeth. Prep 6 were transformed into Macbeth and his demanding wife, Lady Macbeth; his unfortunate companion Banquo and, most fun of all, the three weird sisters. Some of the girls adapted to this role especially well with worryingly realistic cackles! The highlight of the day was performing on the actual Globe Theatre stage to an applauding audience – something that most Hollywood actresses never get to experience – but Royal School girls do! The girls said that they now know a lot more about the Globe Theatre and have a better understanding of Shakespeare’s language and his characters. Great fun was had by all!

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

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

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

Five elite gymnasts from Surbiton High School, were selected to represent Great Britain at the Acrobatic European Championships held in Portugal.
The venue at Vila de Condo was of Olympic proportions and 25 different countries competed for the title of European Champion.
Great Britain sent two competitors for each category, knowing that only one competitor from each country could proceed to the final, regardless of the score. Although this was an extremely disappointing for some gymnasts, it did mean that other countries new to the sport had a chance of competing in a final.
The 11 – 16 competition was dominated by Russia and Great Britain, with Russia winning 3 gold medals and Great Britain winning 2 gold medals. Abigail Ralph and Amy Mackenzie competed as the 11-16 womens’ pair and despite finishing in joint second position with Russia, they were narrowly beaten by the other the other GB pair, and so did not compete in the final.
Similarly, Anne-Marie Seabourne in Year 7 fell foul of the new ruling and she too, although finishing third in the rounds, were beaten by Great Britain team mates. The girls should be so proud of their performances and the fact that they helped the Great Britain team to come second overall.
Kim Hunter and Katie Axten had a very successful competition, with Kim winning a bronze medal for her tempo routine and a silver medal for her combined routine and Katie winning a bronze medal in all three finals.

On Sunday 15th November Surbiton High School sent two ski teams to Pontypool in Wales to compete at the British Schools’ Ski Championships.

The girls were competing against approximately 400 racers but were well prepared following recent successes in previous races in the series.

All girls skied admirably despite the torrential rain and after the first run both teams were within reach of podium positions. The team consisting of Isabel Linacre, Alice MacAulay, Darcie Mead and Caroline Croft gave a terrific performance and won the Championship. Surbiton’s other team of Emily Pocock, Hannah Bilgore, Evie Kock and Mary Denning made fourth position in the Championship.

As well as team success, there were plenty of individual medals. Congratulations to Alice MacAulay who gained 2nd and Emily Pocock who won 3rd in their separate categories. Isabel Linacre did phenomenally well coming 1st in her age group and 2nd overall. Thanks must go to the girl’s parents and to Mrs Wilkey Head of PE, for all her support in the race and throughout the skiing season. Thanks also to Surbiton’s ski coaches Marc and Paul Telling who have helped Surbiton Ski Team win two successive British Championships!

Paul Hodgson, London Irish and England scrum half, came to Caterham School on Monday 12th October to run a training session with the School’s 1st XV.

After an initial assessment, Paul worked the team through decision making drills and conditioned tackling and defensive alignment exercises.

Director of Sport, Rob Clarke said, ‘It was fantastic to have Paul Hodgson work with the team. He is at the top of his profession and it has given our boys a big lift to see him here. Paul was able to give the boys some very valuable hints and tips that will help them develop into even better players. He ran a great session and his energetic and passionate coaching style really inspired the team. I look forward to welcoming him back to the school to run a sevens session after Christmas, and hopefully he will be here on a more regular basis during the next rugby season.’

After the session Paul said, ‘I was really impressed with the basic skills of the Caterham team. This is a beautiful school and the pitch is just fantastic. The boys worked hard and really improved. I am away with the England camp for the whole of November but I am very keen to come back again to run another session.’

Fifth Year students from Caterham School performed an abridged version of Shakespeare’s magical, romantic play ‘The Tempest’ – a story of castaways, assassination attempts and strange sorcery – at The Ashcroft Theatre on Friday 9th October 2009.

Each evening for three nights, four local schools performed their own unique half hour interpretations of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. With tragedy, comedy and romance all on the bill, each audience was guaranteed a night to remember.

The performances were part of the 2009 Shakespeare Schools Festival, which is the largest youth drama festival in the country. This year 10,000 students will have performed at theatres across the country in a celebration of young people’s fresh, modern interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays. The events are organised by the Shakespeare Schools Festival charity, which was established in 2000.

Caterham School Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Drama is one of the many subjects that we offer at A Level and it is one of the most popular and vibrant co-curricular activities in the School. Although we have a reputation for high academic standards I believe it is very important for students to participate in activities outside the classroom so that they not only have an excellent education, they also have a breadth and depth of experiences that helps to prepare them for life at university and beyond.’’

PHOTO :cast at the end of the dress rehearsal

Three little piglets have just arrived at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School. Chuck and Olive the Oxford Sandy and Blacks, and Aunt Vivienne, the Saddleback have moved in to the orchard in the school’s grounds. The 10 week old piglets will be looked after by Countryside Management BTEC pupils as part of the animal husbandry course. There will also be a pig keeping after-school club so other children can learn about looking after these useful animals.

Teacher, Mr Greenhalgh says “Pupils will learn about the use of livestock in conservation. In the case of pigs, they are excellent for turning over the soil and removing weeds without the use of chemicals. They also add manure which enriches the soil. At the moment the pigs and are turning over ground which will become allotments where pupils will grow seasonal vegetables. The pigs will be given the opportunity to root around various parts of the schools’ grounds in Gatton Park, including the orchard, woodlands and fields.

“We hope to add to our livestock collection by bringing in two goats soon. They will be used in different locations to keep the grass down. The pigs will be the bulldozers and the goats will be the lawn mowers!”

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “With the growing pressure on global resources, it is increasingly important for people to understand where their food comes from and to have an appreciation of how it is produced. By introducing animals into a school setting we can teach pupils important practical skills that will be useful in later life.”

In June this year Caterham School had an announced Boarding inspection by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

The results have now been published. Ofsted report that ‘’the school offers an outstanding level of care to the Boarders and that the overall quality rating is outstanding’’.

The inspection covered six key standards;
~ Helping children to be healthy
~ Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe
~ Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do
~ Helping children make a positive contribution
~ Achieving economic wellbeing
~ Organisation

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’We are thrilled to receive such a positive report from Ofsted as Boarding is such an important aspect of Caterham School. Not only do the Boarding students outperform many of the day pupils in exams, they also add so much to the life of the school. I was particularly pleased that Ofsted commended us for our pro active approach towards ensuring the safety and welfare of the pupils, and they acknowledged that this remains one of our top priorities. We provide extensive training to our staff and their professional expertise and dedication ensures that pupils have access to the highest possible standards of pastoral care.’’

The Royal School’s Year 8 recently went to the Sheldon Centre on Dartmoor for a week of physical adventures including climbing, abseiling, swimming, caving, cycling and hiking. They also managed to include a day of geographical fieldwork on Hay Tor and in the villages of Christow and Bovey Tracey. This busy schedule was combined with duties such as preparing all of the meals, washing up after them, cleaning their accommodation and generally learning the value of working together as a team. They even found time in the evenings for the occasional game of rounders, team quizzes and dramatic challenges! This range of activities proved challenging to some and initially took many out of their comfort zones……. The weather was extremely kind to the group and they all came back with happy memories of a very busy but rewarding week.

Picture:Sophie Duckworth, Benedicte Sampson, Harriet Stovold

Year 11 pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School rounded off the academic year with another crop of excellent GCSE results. 80% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-Cs which is a 2% increase on the School’s 2008 figure of 78%.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “I am pleased our results have continued to rise. Many pupils have achieved grades beyond their expectations and this is due to their own hard work and the support they received from teachers and other staff at the School.”

This year, for the first time, some pupils completed BTEC Countryside and Environment or BTEC Horse care. Mr Spencer Ellis comments “The two new BTECs have been a huge success. Everybody passed on both courses with the majority of pupils who took BTEC Horse care getting an A*. On the BTEC Couuntryside and Environment course, the majority got A or A*. These more practical courses suit pupils who don’t necessarily want to pursue the traditional GCSE subjects.”

There are many individual success stories and here are just a few;

Tim Mackworth-Praed who achieved 10 GCSEs (including 5 A*s and 3 As) will be going on to take up a sixth form scholarship at Reed’s School in Cobham. Tim said “I am very pleased with these results which mean I can take up my scholarship at Reed’s”. Tim recently achieved a Diploma in Musical Theatre which is equivalent to passing the first year’s exams at university.

Lauren Lee achieved an outstanding 10As and a B grade and Jaymez Clark achieved 11 GCSEs including 5As.

Charlotte McDermott was relieved that she passed all 11 of her GCSEs and achieved several A and A* grades. This is because she was selected for the Junior Squad to represent England at the European Taekwon-Do championships in Slovenia and some of her exams clashed with the championship. However, after discussions between the exam boards and the School, arrangements were made to ensure she did not lose out. Charlotte went on to win a bronze medal for England in the Taekwon-Do “Team Sparring” event. Charlotte says “Despite the disruption to my studies due to the European championship I am pleased with my results, especially the A for PE. I am going to study A levels at Reigate College and am planning a career as a personal trainer.”

BTEC Horse care pupils Tarryn Poole, Bethany Gage and Jessica Addenbrooke enjoyed the practical nature of the Horse care BTEC course.

Tarryn Poole, who is staying at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School to study A levels including A level Horse care says “Everything on the course is hands-on and you learn how to think for yourself. Most of the time is spent with horses but there is still course work to be completed.” Tarryn, who would like a career working with horses, possibly as a Stable Manager, plans to go on to study a degree in Horse care.

Jessica Addenbrooke adds “BTEC Horse care covered many areas including how to shoe a horse and how to check its general health. I am now much better informed and have decided that horses will be a hobby for me, rather than a career.” Jessica will be studying A levels at Reigate College and hopes to join the RAF.

Bethany Gage has always loved horses and plans a career working with race horses. “The Horse care BTEC has prepared me for my move to the British Racing School in Newmarket where I will be training to work in the racing industry.”

On Tuesday 30 June, Lower Sixth students at Caterham School received training in non-verbal communication. The workshop was run by Tracey Sinclair and Charles Damerell, co-founders of NVI International, a company that teaches people how to maximise their interpersonal skills through the development of Non-Verbal Intelligence.

According to many specialists, up to 93% of what is “said” when communicating with others is never spoken. It is non-verbal. That means that what a person does with body language, voice tones, eye movement, breathing and gesturing affects communication.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘This training session on non verbal intelligence is an example of our forward thinking approach and was introduced to help the Sixth Form students with their presentation and interview technique. Whilst all our students progress to university with 91% going to their first choice and 84% to one in the top tier, we are very conscious that they need to be able to secure a career in their life after university. We believe that this very useful training session will help them improve their communication skills and perform well in interviews.’

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

Miss DUONG Minh Trang from Vietnam Silver Medal and Distinction

Mr XIANG Lingrui from China Bronze Medal and Distinction

Mr Nguyen Huu Duc from Vietnam Bronze Medal and Distinction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On Friday 26 June, 569 Caterham School pupils dressed as robots to perform a ‘’Robot Dance’’ in an attempt to set a new World Record. The previous record for the most people performing a Robot Dance was 276, which was set in September 2007 by the University of Kent.

Achieving the record required pupils to be dancing, dressed as robots, to a choreographed routine in the same place at the same time for five minutes.

Pupils were charged £1 to participate to raise money for Lerang’wa Primary School in Tanzania.

The event was organised by the Charity Committee and this project was led by students Hannah Wright (L6), Rosie Clarke (L6) and Georgia Mills (L6). The routine was choreographed by teacher Miss Lucy Thomas with the assistance of Azuoma Obikudu, Taiwo Daniel and Katie Barrett (all Fifth Year)

Photographs were taken to submit to Guinness World Records as proof of the achievement and so formal recognition will take a few days.

The dance coincided with Mufti Day when pupils and staff wear casual clothes and pay a ‘’fine’’ to raise money for charity.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘I am delighted that the students had the idea of using the focal point of an attempt on a World Record to raise money for charity. When we talk of the importance of co-curricular activity it is easy to overlook the fact that so many of our pupils also make a contribution to society, either by raising funds for charities or by giving generously of their time.’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PHOTO: Third Year pupils with Catherine Hedges from HOPEHIV

Christopher Lloyd, author of the very successful book What on Earth Happened?, visited Caterham School on Thursday 11 June to talk to First Year pupils.

Christopher Lloyd said: ’The book covers the whole history of the Earth—planet, life and people— in one easy-to-read narrative volume. It is not just a history book, it also covers science, biology, geography, religion, art, politics and economics— all tied together in a chronological framework.’

In February the book was serialised in The Independent as ‘The World: A Pocket History’ and Christopher has been interviewed on the BBC Breakfast programme.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘At Caterham we want pupils to develop a passion for learning and genuine interests that extend beyond the confines of the classroom. Encouraging the enjoyment of reading is very much a part of that approach. The breadth of narrative in Christopher’s book meant that the pupils not only enjoyed hearing Christopher speak, they also learnt from his presentation.’’

Note:
Christopher Lloyd has had a career as a journalist, writer and as a manager in education software publishing. He graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1991 with two scholarships and a double first-class degree in History and then worked at The Sunday Times. He then moved into the management at News International before moving to an education software publishing company. He is now a regular columnist for Resurgence Magazine writing on a range of environmental, political and lifestyle topics.

PHOTO:Christopher Lloyd signs a copy of his book for Joe McNeice.

Friday 5th June marked the official opening of a new energy efficient science building at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School. The School has expanded its science facilities with the addition of two new science laboratories and a state-of-the-art science preparation room. The two new labs have multi-media projectors and sound systems that are capable of showing the 21st century presentations that teachers use to support their lessons.

The school’s existing science labs have been refurbished and all labs have been equipped with new mobile fume cupboards. With mobile fume cupboards teachers will be able to demonstrate experiments safely and in full view of the whole class.

Many schools do not offer separate sciences at GCSE but the Royal Alexandra and Albert School has been offering separate sciences (biology, physics and chemistry) to a limited number of pupils since 2006.

Headmaster, Paul Spencer Ellis says “With our expanded science facilities we will be able to triple the number of pupils who can take separate sciences at GCSE. As the school prepares for the introduction of a sixth form we have now put in place the capability to deliver specialist sciences at A level.”

He continues “Our new science block has energy saving features to reduce the impact on the environment. One of these is a ‘mono-draught’, a system for heating, cooling and ventilating the labs but only uses a fraction of the energy of a conventional air conditioning system. Lighting for the new block uses sensors that detect movement and natural light levels to determine whether the room is in use and whether the natural light is sufficient to illuminate the lab.”

The new science labs are in The John White teaching block which was officially opened on Friday 5th June by Crispin Blunt MP. Each new laboratory has been named in recognition of the generous donations made to the school with one being named the ‘Wolfson Laboratory’ and the other being named the ‘Turner Laboratory’. Following the opening of the teaching block Mr John Turner officially opened the Turner Laboratory.

Chickens have arrived at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School. And with the chickens has come Chicken Club. Every weekday afternoon from 4-5pm pupils from the school join teacher Mr Greenhalgh to look after the 9 chickens and also to maintain the vegetable garden.

The chicken project has involved many pupils throughout the school. Year 10 and 11 pupils from the Countryside Management BTEC course have built the chicken run in the school’s orchard and pupils of all ages have signed up for the afternoon Chicken Club sessions. Chicken Club members help to feed the chickens, maintain the chicken run, collect the eggs and ensure the chickens remain healthy. They also manage the vegetable patch along with the Juniors from Year 4.

Mr Greenhalgh says “We aim to have an egg salad by July. We already get fresh eggs daily from the chickens and soon we will have all the ingredients including lettuce, tomatoes, beans, radishes and potatoes. The children really enjoy working with the plants and animals and it will be great for them to be able to eat the food they have produced. Bees, pigs and goats are already being planned for next year.”

All pupils (boarders and day boarders) at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School are expected to participate in an after school club each weekday. Chicken Club is one of the many on offer to pupils.

Students studying A Level Drama and Theatre Studies at Caterham School have won the Sir Michael Caine Drama Award for Junior Groups at the Leatherhead Drama Festival. The play they performed was the abridged version of The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman.

Lower Sixth student Emma O’Brien also won Best Junior Actress for her performance as Martha Dobie, whilst Cole Campbell received a special mention for his role as Dr Joseph Cardin.

The awards were presented by Sir Michael Caine on Saturday 16 May at the Leatherhead Theatre. This is the sixth Leatherhead Drama Festival and this year it featured 28 drama groups with thirteen competing in the Junior section.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’This is an excellent achievement by these seven students. It is the first time that the School has entered the Leatherhead Drama Festival so we are naturally delighted to receive the award in the face of some strong competition from other schools and theatre groups. I am particularly pleased for Emma who deserved recognition for an excellent performance. Drama & Theatre Studies plays a key part in our curricular and co-curricular provision whilst contributing to our excellent A Level results. It was an inspired decision by Lisa McMullin, our Head of Drama, to showcase the excellent work of our students at such a popular drama festival.’’

Photo by Andy Newbold Photography:
Sir Michael Caine with the Caterham School Drama and Theatre Studies Students.

The Founder’s Day prize-giving ceremony at The Royal Alexandra and Albert School was particularly special this year. In addition to celebrating the achievement of pupils who received the School’s prizes, three pupils were presented with the nationally recognised ‘Diana Award’. Year 11 pupils, Calum Spink, James Ascough and Nadia Howell each received a Diana Award for their outstanding and selfless contribution to their community and for being positive role models.

Both Calum and James became Young Leaders when they left Scouts and have helped with organising activities and assisted with the meetings of Cubs and Scouts for 8th Reigate Scout Group. Scouter-in-Charge, Steve Robinson explained “Calum and James have provided invaluable support for the Scout Group. Nothing is too much trouble and they have been an excellent role model for the younger children in the Group.”

Nadia Howell has chalked up many achievements during her 9 years at the School. She is a talented singer, musician, and dancer and has also been an active participant in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. She is a ‘Peer Listener’ (having received training about how to listen to fellow pupils who have problems) and has helped many through difficult times. Housemistress, Ruth Turner says “Nadia shows great consistency, reliability and understanding and pupils know they can trust her.”

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “Nadia is an inspiration to all young people at our School and, as Young Leaders in Scouts both Calum and James have earned the respect of those around them. The Diana Award is fitting recognition of their contribution to the community.“

The Diana Awards were presented by Councillor Peter Martin, Executive Member for Schools, Children and Youth Services at Surrey County Council.

Over 120 girls and boys aged 7-16 took part in the dance extravaganza at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School on Saturday. In the school’s dance show “One Night on Broadway” pupils gave a dazzling performance of hits from favourite musicals.

This memorable event was organised by Dance Teacher, Becky Muir who was herself a boarder at the school only 7 years ago. Highlights included a superb performance of the “Cell Block Tango” by the GCSE dancers which had the audience entranced and amused in equal measure. There was an attention grabbing dance from the boys who performed an excellent break-dance routine that they had perfected in one of their after-school activities at the School. Even the younger pupils in their amazing costumes and make up, impressed the audience with their routines from Lion King and ABBA.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “The show was absolutely great. The dancers showed real expression in their performance and they clearly enjoyed it as much as the audience.”

A 10 year old pupil, who performed in the show said “We wanted everyone to see what we do in our dance lessons and for them to enjoy it.”

Dance Teacher Becky Muir concludes “The dancers gave a fantastic performance. I am very pleased and proud of what they achieved on Saturday”.

Things can only get better for dance at the school because a brand new dance studio has just been built and will be in use from September this year.

Sir Bernard Ingham visited Caterham School on Monday 27th April 2009 to give the 2009 Caterham Lecture.

He spoke about The Thatcher Years and told the audience of parents, students and teachers what Margaret Thatcher was really like. One of the messages he was keen to communicate was that political commentators cannot properly take a view of post-war politics in Britain if the years of Tony Blair & Gordon Brown are viewed as a continuation of what went before. Sir Bernard explained that, in his opinion, things changed on 2 May 1997 and in some respects the Thatcher years were the very antithesis of government today.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’ This was a very interesting lecture as Sir Bernard was his usual open and direct self. Our Conference Suite was full and everyone found the evening very stimulating. I think that, in particular, the Sixth Form students enjoyed it as Sir Bernard brought us his unique, behind the scenes, insight into a number of the key events of the 20th century including the Falkland’s War, the miners’ strike, the poll tax riots and the hunger strikes.’’

Photo:
Upper Sixth Students Dominic Damesick, Ben Horne and Florence Nalson with Sir Bernard Ingham.

Pupils at Downsend School, Leatherhead were celebrating success after taking part in the British Schools Biathlon Championships, held on 15th March in Bath. Over 250 schools were represented on the day, with over 700 competitors, all of whom achieved qualification from seven Regional rounds of a 1000m run and 50m swim, held at the end of last year.

Downsend had done very well to gain qualification to the Nationals with 21 individuals and five teams. Competing across four age groups, astoundingly all five teams made it on to the podium on the day, securing among others U10 Boys British Schools Champion, U10 and U11 British Schools Team Champions – Girls, U12 British Schools Team Champions – Boys and British Schools Champion for the Teachers Race!

Possibly the best summary of the day was supplied by some of the many parents who determindley support the efforts of the children and their coaches. One parent commented, ‘I have had the pleasure of attending the Nationals over four years now and to see Downsend head and shoulders above any other school in the country is blissful!’ whilst another added, ‘It was a privilege to be there and what a successful day.’

The Downsend School coaches, Jo Twyman, Jim Castle and Sally Read–Cayton said, ‘We are always inspired by the effort that emanates from each and every one of them, not only for themselves but for the team. It is the support that they give each other that helps to produce these spectacular results.’

Howard Roberts, Head of PE and Sport at Downsend, added. ‘An enormous vote of thanks needs to go to Jim Castle, Jo Twyman and Sally Read Cayton, who swing effortlessly into action on the day with warm ups, encouragement, time-keeping and general all round brilliance in getting the absolute best out of the children. We are indebted to them for their time and skills.’

Based on the successful results of the day, Downsend School are now progressing to the inaugural, Invitational Schools Biathlon at the World Championships to be held at Crystal Palace in August

Results from the British Schools’ Biathlon Championships – Sunday 15th March, Bath University – are

British Schools Champion U10 Boys – George Brophy – Gold Medal – Fastest Run

British Schools Team Champions U10 Girls
Carrie Bonnar, Antonia Peckham, Martha Whitefoord

British Schools Team Champions U11 Girls
Josie Truelove, Lucy Bean, Megan McInnes

British Schools Team Champions U12 Boys
Caleb Whitefoord, Conor McCormack, David Pearson

British Schools Team Runners Up U10 Boys
George Brophy, Tom Orr, Matthew Pearson

Bronze Medals U13 Boys Team
Craig Bonnar, Luke Pillar, James Francis

Bronze Trophy Individual Event U12 Boys – Caleb Whitefoord

Bronze Medals U13 Boys Team
Craig Bonnar, Luke Pillar, James Francis

4th Place Trophy Individual Event -U10 Girls – Carrie Bonnar

6th Place Trophy individual Event – U10 Girls – Antonia Peckham

2nd Place Run – U11 Boys – Alex Hogg

Personal Bests in Run and Swim
Sam Brill Run 3.34 Swim 34.70 Lara Sibley Run 4.02, Swim 39.30, Nicole Vanstone Run 3.59 Swim 41.79, Rosie Onslow Wyld Run 3.49 Swim 36.01

British Schools Champion Teachers Race – Sally Read Cayton – Gold Medal Fastest Run

Caterham School are celebrating a very successful weekend for their Netball Teams. The Surrey Schools Netball Finals were held at Epsom College on Sunday 15th March 2009 and two teams from Caterham School won cups in their age groups.

The Senior team won the U19 Cup. This is the fourth time this squad have won a Surrey Cup having won as U12, U13 and U14 teams.

They played Godalming College in the semi final and won 12-7. In the final they played old rivals Putney High School, winning 8-7 in a very close match.

Caterham School U16 also won the Cup for their age group. They won four of their pool games and also defeated Putney High School 8-7 in the final.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘We are delighted with these results. It was particularly satisfying for the Senior Team as many of them are in their last year with us before they progress to university. This group of girls have been a credit to the School for a number of years and this was the perfect way to finish. Whilst we believe in sport for all it is always very pleasing when a team wins a competition. Both the Seniors and the U16 had to play seven games to win their respective Cups and I was most impressed that both teams had the strength of character to overcome a defeat in the pool rounds.’’

PHOTO: Senior Team Back row (L to R) Michela Scarpa, Georgia Shrimpton, Jayde Cook, Hannah Shaw, Lottie Gregory, Emily Buckett
Front row (L to R): Abbey Martin, Caroline Buckland (capt), Loulou Rowlands.

The 1st XII finished their season in style at the National Schools’ Lacrosse Championship on the 6th and 7th March.

In the pool matches, a tough opener against last year’s national champions St Swithun’s School resulted in an important 1-1 draw. The team then went from strength to strength defeating St Paul’s School, Bradfield College, Princess Helena College, Loretto School and Marlborough College, thus winning the pool and qualifying for the Championship league, competing amongst the country’s top 14 schools

Caterham finished 5th in their group, thus claiming a position in the country’s ‘Top 10’.

It was a very rewarding weekend for all the players, but particularly for those competing for the school for the last time.

On Thursday 12 March the Under 12 Surrey Lacrosse Tournament was held at St Catherine’s School.

The Caterham School U12A XII was in impressive form. They were undefeated in their pool matches and qualified for a semi-final encounter with Guildford High School. They performed superbly to achieve a rare victory over our old rivals, winning 2-1. In the final, they played St Catherine’s in an evenly fought game. At full time the score was 1-1 and the game went to ‘golden goal’ overtime. After three time periods, a ‘stale-mate’ was declared and both teams were declared joint champions.

The Caterham School U12B XII also played well to finish 3rd in their section.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’ This was an excellent performance by the team as they had to play very strong competition. They played with considerable skill and determination. I was particularly pleased that they were able to maintain their focus during extra time.’’

PHOTO:
Caterham School U12A Lacrosse XII Squad

Katy Neilson and Lauren Morton (L6) and Abigail Murphy (Y10) having been selected to represent the school, attended race training sessions prior to the competition at Bowles, Tunbridge Wells.

Unfortunately injury was to hit the team, with Lauren sustaining an injury in the week leading up to the competition. Then Katy fell in race training in resort, and spent the rest of her time on crutches! Abigail remained stalwart throughout, and represented Woldingham with great determination and competence.

The competition consisted of three slalom disciplines: Giant Slalom, Parallel Slalom and Slalom over two days. As Woldingham could no longer compete as a team, as three skiers had to compete, it was left to Abigail to get the results! She had two good descents in the Giant Slalom and was placed 98th out of 121 skiers. In her age group Abigail was actually 35th out of 52.

In the Parallel Slalom, which was a knockout team event, Abigail competed in the St Mary’s , Calne team, as they were a skier down. It was exciting to watch and looked great fun to compete in. In the final day’s competition, the Slalom, the course was complex with many banana gates! Weather conditions did not favour all skiers and Abigail had to make her first descent in fog!

She managed a very good second descent, but as she had not completed the first run down, she could not be given an overall time, or be placed. Both Katy and Abigail gained much from their race experience, and the school looks forward to next year’s competition, more race training and no injuries!

The highlight of Book Week for pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School was on Friday 6th March when they came to school in fancy dress. There were many strange and wonderful outfits as pupils arrived dressed as characters from the Roald Dahl books they have been reading in school.

The children were greeted as they arrived at school by Oompa Loompas. These white suited, green haired, blue handed characters were their teachers who had also come to school in fancy dress.

There was a prize for the best fancy dress in each class and the winners were; Emily Morgan (age 10), Joshua Stafford (age 8), Josh Porter (age 10), Sam Creech (age 9), Amber Lewis (age 10) and Jacob Kelly (age 8).

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “Book week has captured the imagination of pupils and this is demonstrated by the wonderful outfits that bear such close resemblance to the characters in the Roald Dahl books.”

CANBURY SCHOOL

“An individual approach to success”

We are a small friendly independent secondary day school for boys and girls in school years 7 to 11.
Most pupils in year 11 aim to take nine GCSE subjects.
We offer an exceptionally high level of individual care and tuition to all pupils in small classes of no more than 16.

Canbury School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

OPEN DAYS
TUESDAY 5th MAY 2009
2.00 – 3.30pm

WEDNESDAY 6th MAY 2009
10.45am – 12.30pm

Bursaries are available at the discretion of the School and are subject to satisfactory completion of the School’s Bursary Form.

CANBURY SCHOOL
KINGSTON HILL, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES
SURREY, KT2 7LN
www.canburyschool.co.uk
TEL: 020 8549 8622 FAX: 020 8974 6018
head@canburyschool.co.uk

Last week it was time to ‘strike a pose’ as Caterham School held their first Dance and Fashion Week.

Teachers put aside their text books to provide a wide range of lunch time activities throughout the week; however the highlight was a Dance & Fashion Show on Tuesday evening. A packed audience saw a wide variety of dance styles displayed, all choreographed by the students themselves. The Alley Cats performed twice, their ‘Tribal Dance’ inspired by the charity project which links Caterham and Lerang’wa School in Tanzania. Additionally, Fourth Year students Eloise Lawler, Robyn Noble, Charlotte Taylor and Zoe Webb researched and choreographed a traditional Ukraine folk dance to highlight the latest charity link which is between Caterham School and schools in the Ukraine. The fashion show, featuring the work of GCSE and A Level Textiles students, revealed an inspiring array of creations modelled by students who demonstrated their professionalism and lots of attitude! The evening raised £939.30 which will go towards the charity projects in both Tanzania and the Ukraine.

Other activities during the week included a variety of dance and fashion events. Head of English Gerald Killingworth led a Morris Dancing workshop which featured a performance by sixteen members of staff to encourage the pupils to have a go themselves.

Also on Tuesday, a felt making workshop saw both staff and students producing some eye catching 3D felt designs.

On Wednesday Miss Adrienne Green put aside French and Spanish books to teach a Salsa class with over fifty students taking part.

Thursday was the day for the T-Shirt design competition which saw a wide range of talent from across the school testing their creative skills. The added incentive was that the winners would be allowed to wear their T shirt the following day.

On Friday art teacher Neil Evans expertly led the students in an energetic Welsh Folk dance. This was followed by a massive display of group dancing as students and teachers gathered to perform the routines from ‘Soulja Boy’ and ‘Saturday Night’ in the Old Gym. There were so many participants that each song had to be played twice to make sure everyone had the chance to join in.

The week was organised by three teachers Miss Lucy Thomas, Mrs Helena Richards and Miss Anna Church who were enthusiastically supported by a team of 6th Form students. Miss Thomas said: ‘’This was a very busy week of entertaining events which gave the students the opportunity to discover so many more activities. It was wonderful to see so many staff and students getting involved and enjoying themselves whilst raising money for charity.’’

Students of the Royal Alexandra and Albert School had the trip of a lifetime when they went to the South Pole to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its discovery. Sixth formers, Rowan Slaney and Tim Linehan both aged 16, accompanied the Duke of Gloucester on the expedition which was organised by the Australian Society of Victoria in Australia. The highlight of the trip was a 12 hour flight with the Duke which flew them to Antarctica and directly over the South Pole.

The week-long trip started with a flight to Melbourne, Australia where Tim and Rowan met up with 60 other students who had also been chosen to be ‘Young Science Ambassadors’. The students had been selected from schools across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland and the UK and part of the programme is to present their findings to fellow students on their return.

After the South Pole flight, the students attended a series of science-related visits and events followed, on the last day, by a Reception in Government House. Rowan Slaney said “I will never forget this trip, it has changed my life; it’s one of the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’ve made 60 new friends and even more beautiful memories”.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis said “Rowan and Tim had a fantastic time on this trip and had some unforgettable experiences. They have both worked hard during their time at this school and thoroughly deserved this opportunity.”

Junior School pupils in a riot of costume and colour invaded Downsend School, Leatherhead last week as a suitably fitting finale to the school’s Book Week. The Junior School were asked to dress up as their favourite ‘Book Hero’ for their Mufti Day costumes and they did not disappoint.

The day’s activities were entered into with great enthusiasm by all and were a culmination of a fun packed and inspiring Book Week at Downsend School. There were ‘Harry Potters’, ‘Tigers who came to Tea’, Poppy Fairies and witches, all heroes from books the children know and love.

Book Week is an established, annual event at the school and this year it launched with an interactive assembly by Philip Wells, the Fire Poet, followed by a week packed with a combination of special assemblies, trips, book quizzes and themed mufti days. A full programme of visits throughout the week from some of the leading children’s authors included Steve Cole of ‘Astrosaurs’ fame and Andy Stanton, author of the ‘Mr Gum’ books.

Head of Junior School, Kirsty Keep, said: ‘Book Week at Downsend School is all about inspiring children to read. Learning through fun and bringing subjects to life through interactive learning is at the heart of everything we do. The children have had an opportunity to spend a day as their favourite book hero, and their imaginative costumes have been inspirational. This has been a real reminder that reading is still the best way to explore our imaginations.’

Luke Dupenois, age 7, said ‘Book Week has been lots of fun this week. We met the men from the Yuck books who wore their underpants outside their trousers!’, whilst Emily Swepson, age 8, added ‘My favourite author was Andy Stanton. He was very funny.’

Pupils at Downsend School were treated to a very special French lesson last week as part of learning about how French people celebrate the New Year. January 6th marks the Epiphany or Twelfth Night which, in France, is also known as the Festival of the Kings or ‘La fête des Rois’. The Year 3 pupils learnt how the French celebrate throughout the month of January and eat ‘la galette des Rois’, which is usually made of puff pastry or brioche dough in the shape of a crown, filled with almond paste and decorated with crystallised fruits. Traditionally, a broad bean or ‘fêve’ is hidden inside the galette and whoever receives the slice with the fêve inside becomes king or queen for the day and wears a silver or gold- coloured cardboard crown. Nowadays, little porcelain figures are also used.

Having learnt all about the tradition, the children were treated to their very own ‘galette’ with ‘fêves’. In each lesson, the children munched their way through the brioche and a king and queen were crowned. Maya Yien, age 7, said ‘We were lucky enough to have a brioche galette des Rois in class, but I did not get the fêve!’ Jasmine Catto, age 8, added ‘It was really fun. Whoever got the fêves became King or Queen and wore a golden or silver crown.’

Madame Nathalie Pengilly, who is originally from France, and who organised the lessons commented, ‘It is a great way to teach the children the French language by bringing it to life through lifestyle and traditions.’

On Thursday 5th February a team of five Lower Sixth pupils from Caterham School won the Surrey Schools Maths Challenge, repeating the success of 2007.

The event was held at the University of Surrey in Guildford and over 40 teams from schools all around Surrey took part.

The challenge is in two parts. In the first round the students produced full written solutions to 12 mathematical problems. The second round involved answering 16 multiple choice questions at speed. Both sections required the students to apply the techniques they had learnt so far in their studies as well as good intuition in order to answer some quite complicated questions.

The team of Alex Clark, Daniyar Zhexemaliyev, Angeline Lou, Yong Wu, Jacqueline Hu had to work together as a team to answer the two part challenge.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’This is a very competitive event with so many schools entering very strong teams. Only a few marks separated the best teams which included The Royal Grammar School, Guildford and Charterhouse. Naturally we are very pleased to regain the champions position but I am also gratified by the way the team handled the pressure whilst enjoying the experience.’’

The challenge was organised by Surrey Education Business Partnership and is an annual event.

Photo: L to R: Alex Clark, Mrs Jennifer Dodd MA (Second in Department), Jacqueline Hu, Headmaster Julian Thomas, Yong Wu, Angeline Lou, Daniyar Zhexemaliyev

In the last 4 years the number of pupils achieving 5 GCSEs (A*-C) including English and Maths at the School has increased by nearly 60%.

Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis comments “58% of pupils achieve 5 GCSEs (A*-C) including English and Maths, and a remarkable 77% achieved 5 GCSEs at C and above. This is impressive given that the nature of boarding can mean that before coming to us pupils may have been to a number of schools and we are often filling gaps in their education, which can particularly affect English and Maths.”

The overall figures mask some exceptional results last year including 100% pass rate for Physics. And for the fourth year running the school is in the top 5% in England for Contextual Value Added.

The Staff at Glenesk School in East Horsley, Surrey is celebrating after being recognised as an ‘Outstanding Independent School’, following their Ofsted reports in June and July 2008. Glenesk has been added to the outstanding providers list published by Ofsted and will be attending a special event to celebrate their achievement.

All aspects of the quality and standards in Glenesk’s nursery were found to be ‘outstanding’ and Glenesk School was found to ‘provide a curriculum that is well matched to the pupils’ needs’ and staff were found to ‘work hard to give pupils the opportunity to achieve their best. Strong relationships between staff, pupils and their families are a significant feature of the school.’

‘Parents and pupils are overwhelmingly positive about the school and the pupils are very happy. Both Leadership and Management are outstanding and provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as well as their welfare, health and safety are also outstanding.’

Headmistress, Mrs Sue Christie-Hall, commented:
‘I am delighted that our Ofsted report confirms our aim to create a secure, purposeful and caring school, which provides an exciting environment for today’s children.’ The report goes on to state that ‘the children are making excellent progress through the early learning goals and are eager to learn and show high self-esteem and confidence within their classes.’

Glenesk is holding its next Open Morning on Thursday, 12th February 2009 – the Headmistress, Mrs Sue Christie-Hall will give a tour of the school at 10am. Individual appointments with the Headmistress are also available and all visitors are most welcome.

In 1979 Marymount was a pioneer of the IB in the UK, and the first girls’ school in the country to offer the Diploma. A competitor to the ‘A’ levels, the IB is recognised as a benchmark of quality and as the gold standard in education. An IB World School, Marymount offers the Middle
Years Programme for students aged 11-16 and the Diploma Programme for the final two years of secondary school.

With the benefit of thirty years of experience and expertise, Marymount has a history of excellent academic results. In 2007 two Marymount students received the perfect Diploma result of 45 points(gained by less than 0.2% of candidates worldwide and in 2008, another student gained this top result. 100% of our 2008 candidates received a Diploma (the average pass rate is 80%), with an average score of 35 points (compared to the world points average
of 29). 20% of Marymount candidates received a score of 40 points or higher, a result gained by only 5% of students worldwide.

Highly regarded by universities in the UK, USA and worldwide for its academic rigour, depth and breadth of learning, as well as for the international perspective it brings, the IB prepares students for life in a global context.

In addition to an outstanding curriculum, Marymount has a special
spirit and ethos. Part of the network of schools run by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), Marymount is an independent Catholic day and boarding school that welcomes girls of all faiths, aged 11-18. Marymount empowers its young women to become
active members of a world community and inspires them to become the global leaders of tomorrow.

The Royal Alexandra and Albert School has taken the controversial step of lifting a ban on pupils using social networking sites on school computers. This goes against the approach still adopted at many schools in the UK.

Davina Stansfield, Head of ICT says “I believe that simply banning access to websites like Bebo and Facebook doesn’t work, and what’s more it can make matters worse. Pupils can find many other ways of getting on to these websites for example via their mobile phones so the emphasis should be on education. That’s why we now allow access to these sites but at the same time we teach students about how to use them safely.”

In fact the school goes one step further by supporting parents. Many parents have no idea about how their children use the internet so the school will be teaching parents how to try and ensure their children use the internet safely.

Ms Stansfield continues “As a boarding school we recognise the need for students to communicate with friends and family through these sites so we believe our approach is in the best interests of all concerned.”

Ms Stansfield will be speaking on the subject of internet security at BETT (the world’s largest educational technology event), this Saturday alongside Ruth Hammond, a representative of BECTA (an organisation that influences government education policy).

Cornwall House, a girls boarding house at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School, recently held an Indian Theme Night. Twenty girls, who are aged 13-16 dressed up in costume and took part in a number of activities – hand tattooing, Diwali card making and a competition to put on the most accurate sari, as well as watching an authentic Bollywood movie. The girls then ate an Indian meal, Chicken Jalfrezi, Potato Curry, Vegetable Tikka Masala and Chicken Korma (made by the girls themselves) with rice, samosas, onion bhajis and vegetable pakora, before settling down to watch Bend it Like Beckham.

Head of House, Mrs Irena de Voy said “The girls really got into the spirit of Indian night. Putting on a sari proved to be more challenging than we realised and we ended up with some interesting creations! “

 
Years 5 & 6 pupils at Downsend School, Leatherhead were treated to a gymnastic display of Olympic proportions when Danny Lawrence, a Team GB Beijing Olympic athlete, visited the school this week.

His visit formed part of the ‘Sports for Schools’ initiative, which aims to inspire children to get involved with sport and to raise awareness about fitness. In addition, funds raised though sponsored activities provide money for charitable events and help to fund training of young athletes, as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Following a sponsored activity session, in which the children took part in a series of fitness challenges and group coaching sessions, Danny treated them to an awe-inspiring display. Starting with forward & backward rolls, he progressed through handstands, no handed cart wheels, backward flips, and somersaults with twists. His display culminated in an impressive elevated forward roll over six pupils and one teacher lined up on the mat beneath him! Joe Sperrin in Year 5 said, ‘It was amazing. I want to join a Gym Club now!’

Danny went on to talk about his career to date and what life entails in the run up to London 2012 Olympics. He was joined by Demetrios Bradshaw, Director of Sports for Schools, who thanked Downsend for inviting them and supporting the scheme. ‘We are aiming to encourage children to become more involved with sport, whether it be through joining a local club or simply taking sport a little bit further.’ He said, adding ‘We also try and help young athletes who want to prepare for the 2012, but are short of funding and support charitable events too. We recently visited Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool with a host of Olympic athletes, including James DeGale, Olympic Gold Medallist, David Price, Bronze Medallist and Tony Jeffries, Bronze Medallist.’

Funds raised from sponsorship on the day will go to the School’s nominated charity ‘CHASE’ and to support ‘Sports for Schools.’ Further information about Sports for Schools can be found at www.sportsforschools.org
 

Caterham School 1st XV rugby team have reached the end of the Autumn Term undefeated in the regular season with 12 wins.

Pat Lavery, Director of Sport at Caterham School said: ‘’This is probably the best rugby team that Caterham School has produced. This is essentially the U16 team from 2006, which was also undefeated. They are the first unbeaten 1st XV since 1935. It has been a team effort ably led by Surrey Under 18 Number 8, Matthew Foulds. In terms of scoring points four players stand out: Ben Davidson at Fly Half with 163 points, Ben Carew-Gibbs with 16 tries, Ben Doney with 11 tries and James Weller with 9 tries. The team has been coached by Tom Street, currently captain of Warlingham RFC, who has added new dimensions to their game.’’

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Whilst Caterham School has a reputation for high academic standards, we take also offer a wide range of co-curricular activity of which sport is an important part. Perhaps one of the most rewarding results was the victory over Cranbrook School. They pushed us really hard and we were staring at defeat but the desire to remain undefeated enabled the team to pull together and secure victory.‘’

The results for the season are as follows:

v Emanuel School Won: 39-03
v St. Dunstan’s College Won: 37-12
v Sutton Valence School Won: 26-0
v Worth School Won: 35-12
v Hurstpierpoint College Won: 25-10
v City of London Freeman’s Won: 35-06
v Reigate Grammar School Won: 23-15
v Christ’s Hospital Won: 45-10
v Reed’s School Won: 32-10
v St. George’s College Won: 40-19
v Cranbrook School Won: 17-15
v Wallington County Grammar Won: 50-3

Photo: 1st XV

A number of different learning strategies were covered including De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, ActivExpression, Multiple Intelligence and Brain Gym. Delegates also had the chance to visit classrooms and sit in on lessons to see the theory translated into practice.

Kim Wells said: ‘”This was the first conference of this kind that we have organised and I am delighted that the day was such a success. It was an excellent opportunity to share best practice, both in a training environment and at the coal face i.e. in the classroom. We are rightly proud of the fact that our students are encouraged and guided in how to think and learn independently’”.

Rachel Harris, Deputy Head at Broomwood Hall School said “It was a thoroughly enlightening conference, fantastic to see the learning and teaching discussed in practice in the classroom”.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Caterham School is a forward thinking school that utilises highly effective, innovative approaches to learning and teaching. I am delighted that we were able to share our experience and knowledge with so many other schools. ‘

Otis Grand, acknowledged recently by CNN as one of the greatest living blues guitarists, visited Caterham School on October 6th. He gave a talk to the Sixth Form, as part of the Sixth Form Forum programme which consists of a series of presentations by individuals who are leaders in their field. During the first part of the afternoon Otis spent time shedding light on the origins of Blues music in the deep south of the United States, and how it has evolved into the wide range of popular music we listen to now.

During the second part of the afternoon Otis performed unrehearsed with members of the Sixth Form, providing a master class in Blues guitar, improvisation, and playing straight from the heart.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said ‘’Although we have high academic standards we are very keen that pupils gain a wider perspective beyond their school life. We were very fortunate that Otis Grand, one of the great names in Blues, is so passionate about his subject and feels so strongly that it should be understood by the next generation. He has been voted the UK Blues Guitarist of the Year for seven consecutive years so it was a thrill for the students to hear his perspective on how this genre of music has played a role in history. Those students who were able to play on stage with him will probably talk about it for the rest of their lives.’’

The aim of the awards is to highlight excellent teaching in individual subjects. The awards are based on A level results and in particular on the basis of the popularity of each subject relative to similar schools, and of the success that pupils achieve relative to the other examinations that they take.

This year the A level awards that Caterham School has won are:

~ Girls taking Human Biology at A level at an English School

~ Boys taking Human Biology at A level at an English School

~ Boys taking Physics at AS level at an English Independent School

The awards were begun in 2004 and Caterham has consistently won Good School Guide awards over the years.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Over the years we have won Good School Guide awards for a variety of subjects but this is the fourth consecutive year that the school has received awards for Biology and the third consecutive year that it has received an award for Physics. Naturally the teachers obtain a great deal of satisfaction from enabling the students to achieve their success but it is very rewarding that their efforts have been recognised by an independent organisation. Consistently excellent A level results mean that, whilst all our students go on to university, over 90% of pupils are able to accept a place at their first choice university with nearly 84% going to a top tier university.’’

Note: The Good Schools Guide was founded in 1985 by two parents in search of schools for their children. Over twenty years later there are 50 editors, writers, researchers and contributors – mostly parents but including some former Heads. The principles of the Guide are:
·to be independent in judgements of schools, and to take no money from them directly or indirectly;
·to view schools from a parent’s point of view, and to choose schools for the Guide on the basis of what parents say about them;
·to define good schools as schools that are good for the children and parents that they serve, and not to be too influenced by academic results alone.

Chris Toomey, a Fifth Year pupil at Caterham School, has just discovered that he has reached the final of the English Heritage TV competition to be a presenter on the EHTV channel with Konnie Huq, Dan Snow and Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen.

To reach the final Chris had to write a 400 word script about a favourite moment or person in history. He chose to write about Henry VIII as a prince having been inspired by a Foyles lecture given by David Starkey promoting his book, Virtuous Prince.

As a finalist Chris will attend a Masterclass being given by Dan Snow on 8th December. The finalists will then each record a professional showreel to demonstrate their keen interest in history and flair for explaining ideas. This will be used by English Heritage to choose the winner.

Sarah-Jane Morris from English Heritage said: ‘’We were extremely impressed by the quality of entries received. Chris’ script particularly stood out though, engaging us right from the start and his enthusiasm for the subject was clearly infectious.’’

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘’Chris is a very talented young man who has considerable ability. Eighteen months ago he was one of the 34 winners in a National competition that required each entrant to create a self portrait. We are delighted that he has done so well in this competition too. This achievement is very much in line with our intention that pupils should leave here as well rounded individuals with a range of outside interest and achievements. We have a very successful History department so, naturally, we hope that the Chris will be able to use his enthusiasm to achieve good results in his History GCSE exams next year.’’

On Wednesday 15th October Caterham School Kit Car Club, known as the Kit Cat Club, took delivery of a self assembly Caterham Seven.

The car will be built over the next year by the enthusiastic members of the club as part of their co-curricular activity.

The Seven is the original British lightweight sportscar. Originally created by Colin Chapman and launched as the Lotus 7 in 1957, the car embodies the Chapman design ethos of ‘adding lightness’. Caterham Cars has been selling the Seven since the late 1950’s and in 1973 purchased the rights to manufacture the car.

One of the ways in which the car is sold to enthusiasts is in kit form so that they can assemble it themselves. The car built by Caterham School pupils will be checked for road worthiness and then sold by Caterham Cars. The School will use the proceeds to buy another kit. The original funding for the first car was raised by the Parents’ Association.

Headmaster Julian Thomas said: ‘‘Whilst Caterham School has a reputation for high academic standards, we take the concept of all round ability very seriously. The Kit Car Club is a new addition to the forty different clubs and societies which enable our pupils to develop their skills and interests. This wide range of co-curricular activity is an integral part of our programme of enrichment which develops the potential of each and every pupil thereby helping to prepare them for their life at university and beyond.’’

As the final few weeks of term approach, Tony White’s headship of Downsend School in Leatherhead draws to a close after 40 years at the school. During this time the school has changed, almost beyond recognition and Tony has seen amongst many other things, the school double in size, the introduction of girls to create a thriving, co-educational community, the building of a new Sport and Swimming Complex and most recently the opening of an impressive, multi purpose ‘all weather’ pitch.

His successor, Floyd Steadman is currently headmaster of Salcombe Preparatory School and will be taking over in September. Floyd has an impressive sporting background. On the rugby field he played for the Barbarians, captained Middlesex and was club captain of Saracens RFC. Floyd’s sporting achievements have been recognised in his former appointments as National Squad Adviser for the RFU, Director of the Sports Aid Foundation and Chairman of the West London Performance Development Committee. He has lectured part-time in Rugby at the West London Institute of Higher Education. His teaching career began at Colet Court, the preparatory department of St Paul’s School in London where he became Head of PE and Games and Head of Juniors. Prior to becoming Head of Salcombe Preparatory School he was Deputy Head of Belmont, the Junior School of Mill Hill in London.

Mr Steadman said, ‘I am extremely proud to be taking over the headship of Downsend in September. Tony is handing over the reins of a dynamic and vibrant school and he leaves behind a legacy created by the devotion of all of his teaching life to the school. The school’s outstanding inspection report is a testimony to its success and fully supports its reputation as one of the finest co-educational preparatory schools in the country. He will be a hard act to follow but I am looking forward to the challenge. I wish Tony the happiest of retirements’.

Mr White said ‘It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work in the company of thousands of boys and girls, with their incessant chatter, joys, woes and mostly feeble jokes. I have also delighted in being able to work alongside some of the finest and most creative teachers in the profession and I know I am leaving the school in very capable hands.’

-78% of pupils got five or more GCSEs at A*-C

-58% of pupils got five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths

-100% pass rate (A*-C) for Physics

-For English language, which was taken by 104 pupils, 79% got A*-C

-71% got A*-C in French

-85% got A*-C in German

The successful GCSE results follow hot on the heels of the recent Ofsted report in which the School was assessed as ‘Outstanding’ in every category. Headmaster, Paul Spencer Ellis says;

“Staff in the boarding houses have commented on how hard pupils worked for their GCSEs and it is great to see that their efforts have been rewarded. I would like to congratulate them on their achievements and also to thank the teachers for their dedication and commitment which helped pupils towards this success.

“This continued improvement shows that teachers and pupils are determined to achieve the very best they can and I am confident that this upward trend will continue. “