Private School News

Caterham School Students Launch the 11th Edition of Preview Magazine

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.’’

Judo Silver Medal Success

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 Achieves Duke of Edinburgh Gold in Rapid Time

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.

Caterham School Compete in the National Schools U19A & U19B Lacrosse Tournament

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

Polo success for Woldingham girls

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

BEST ACTRESS BAFTA FOR WOLDINGHAM OLD GIRL

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

Rhymes and Races on Book Day

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!”

The Duchess of Gloucester visits The Royal Alexandra and Albert school

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.”

Human i-pod comes to Barrow Hills School

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.

Caterham School Teachers and Students Perform in a Talent Show for Charity.

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

Marymount Music in Vienna!

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.

Successful Author Patrick Ness Visits Caterham School

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.’’

Riding Talent at Barrow Hills School

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.

Snow Time at Barrow Hills

Pupils and staff at Barrow Hills returned to school on Monday following an unexpected few days of additional holiday due to the heavy snowfall last week. An intrepid team of Governors, staff and parents came in at the weekend to clear access to the school so we could open. Not only could everyone come back to school, but also the children were allowed to come in warm home clothes and wellies so they could make the most of the wonderful weather and play on the school sports field at break times. Who would have guessed school could be this much fun?!

Boarding school opens a day early

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.

Assembly – but not as we know it

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

Pupils raise £400 for Help for Heroes

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.”

Prep 6 act up at Globe Theatre

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!

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

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

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

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

SURBITON HIGH SCHOOL ACROBATS REPRESENT GREAT BRITIAN AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, Vila de Condo, PORTUGAL

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.