Term in View SP R I N G 2 0 1 7
NEWS & VIEWS FROM ST EDWARD’S SCHOOL COMMUNITY
THE
CRUCIBLE
This year’s production took the form of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, a powerful but chilling account of the Salem witch trials in the Massachusetts Colony. In his thirteenth year at the School, we have got used to the excellent direction of many students and plays by Mr Strachan, and the excellent quality always produced. The Crucible was no exception. Thank you to the cast, crew and all involved with this magnificent production. Presented in the Main Hall from the 26th to 28th of January, the show provided an excellent opening to the new term.
Forthcoming Events and Dates: Summer Term 2017
Friday 28th April: Wednesday 3rd May: Thursday 8th June: Tuesday 13th June: Thursday 15th June: Wednesday 21st June: Friday 23rd June:
Open Day 9:30am - 3pm Dark Matter: are we still in the dark? Physics Lecture, 7pm Year 5 Art Day Year 5 Experience Day Year 5 Drama Day Year 4 Classics Day Open Day 9:30am - 3pm and the Year 4 Olympiad
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St Ed’s Daily News World - Business - Finance - Lifestyle - Travel - Sport - Weather - Education
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Est - 1987
St Edward’s Best Selling Newspaper
Mythological beasts invade school World Book Day Shocker
It was a World Book Day like no other. St Edward’s was all set for the literary celebration, when the heavens opened and a great multitude of mythological beasts poured forth. Norse and Greek gods, alongside a selection of characters from English folklore filled the Main Hall in time for the morning’s assembly. Guest speaker, Mr Charon, Ferryman from the River Styx, addressed the pupils and deities before passing judgement on the costumes and characters. Above: The three-headed dog, Cerberus, made an appearance.
Pupil eats 18 books in library Keen reader, Mickey Stranack, was presented with his Gold Reading Award after consuming eighteen books. He is a big fan of Robert Muchamore’s Cherub series, but has had to move out of his comfort zone in order to digest a variety of authors and genres to get the award. Mrs Hirst, School Librarian, is delighted with Mickey’s healthy appetite for books.
The lunchtime LitQuiz produced yet another close battle between the three houses: well-informed readers on all sides had the measure of some fiendishly taxing questions, but Newman did just manage to breast the tape ahead of Fisher’s finest. The day’s celebrations closed with an awards ceremony. Adam Genko, Charlie Steward and Mickey Stranack won the Yr 7 individual award for their appearance as the three-headed dog Cerberus; Grace Vincent swept the board in Yr 8 when
she made her astonishing red-carpet appearance as the Round Table; a similar approach by Daisy Allwood in Yr 9 brought her the statuette for her representation of Pandora’s Box; Theo Aspey is regularly on the judges’ shortlist and broke through this year to take the honours in Yr 10; in Yr 11, Eve Quiney’s brave boggart bounced all others into touch; and nobody would question the award of the Sixthform gong to James Kergel for his magnificently hirsute embodiment of Norsemanhood. In a repeat of the quiz result, Newman were declared the overall winners of the day with Fisher a close second. More is still sustained by the memory of its victory in the House Singing Competition, but today was Newman’s, a victory all the more refreshing as it comes at the end of a long drought for George Watson and Sophie Rogers’ doughty team.
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CCF Gloucestershire Skills Shield
The St Edward’s School Combined Cadet Force spent a day at Imjin Barracks competing against seventeen local ACF and CCF units in the Gloucestershire Joint Services Cadet Committee Spring Skills Competition. The competition required cadets to break into small teams and complete a variety of field and technical challenges, putting their training and abilities to the test. These challenges included: signals communications, military recognition,
field craft, shooting, climbing and a first aid scenario. After a taxing day working their way through all of the activities, the cadets awaited the final result. For successfully completing all of the tasks, and to the highest standard, St
LET THEM EAT CAKE
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3... 2... 1... BAKE
Bake Off fever has gripped St Edward’s. As the weeks have progressed, our young bakers have been trying their hand at a number of cakey delights. We’ve seen sweet and savoury scones, shortbread and cupcakes rising in the ovens. Congratulations must go to our overall Star Baker: Aine Loughnane. Notable bakers include Sophia Vivian, Charlie Fielding, Dulcie Donaldson and Lucy Carey. Thank you to the Food Department for accommodating the increasing volume of washing up!
Edward’s School was placed 1st overall in the county, a real tribute to the knowledge and expertise of the cadets. Colonel Ransom TD presented the Spring Skills Shield to the cadets at the competition’s final presentation.
Year 7 and 8 pupils enjoyed a visit from the author of The Bubble Boy, Stewart Foster, shortly before halfterm. Stewart talked about how much he had always liked writing and telling stories; sharing memories of telling ghost stories on a school trip and a magic carpet experience that ended in tears! Students commented on how much they enjoyed his tales of where he found inspiration for his characters and storylines. He mentioned that “Skellig” by David Almond was one of his favourite books – a familiar story for our Yr 8s. He introduced the groups to The Bubble Boy, the story of Joe, a boy who has spent the majority of his life in a hospital room. Students took to the floor and read extracts from the book. Questions were invited from the audience, before Stewart carried out a book signing. Students described the event as “funny, informative and enjoyable; with a good introduction to the book”.
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Having reached the Gloucestershire Final of the English Speaking Union Churchill Public Speaking Competition, the St Edward’s team were up against Cheltenham Bournside, Marling Grammar School, Pate’s Grammar School and The Cheltenham Ladies’ College. St Edward’s was represented by Yr 11 students, Alex Jones, Emily Scarborough and James Watson. James as Speaker had the topic of ‘Is America no longer a land of opportunity?’ Alex had to introduce a speaker whose speech was entitled ‘The state should override the wishes of those who deny
medical treatment to their children’, and Emily had to question this Speaker for four minutes. All three were at the top of their game and performed superbly – but so did all the other teams! However, after a considerable time deliberating on the marks, the judges announced that the Best Team was St Edward’s, who then progressed to the Midlands Region Final. Emily was also awarded the Best Questioner Prize. This is the third time in four years St Edward’s has won this competition!
Pittville Pump Room Concert
History Essay Competition 2017
Public Speaking Victory at the ESU County Final
After reading some fascinating and informative entries, the winners of the St Edward’s School History Essay Competition were revealed by Mr Martin, Head of History. Year 7 Winner: Mickey Stranack Specially Commended: Sam Hunt, Libby Rowson Year 8 Winner: Matthew Davis-Haller Specially Commended: Oscar Weston, Fergus Murray, Olivia Fee Year 9 Winner: Ed Gardner Specially Commended: Anastasia Mander, Harriet Robson
Parents, staff and guests filled the Pittville Pump Room for the Music Department’s Annual Spring Concert. Both halves of the concert opened with what is now the traditional Fanfares, composed by Yr 9 pupils for a competition; and there were contributions from the Chamber Orchestra, Brass and Wind Ensembles and Guitar Group, not to mention the School’s Drummers. Several Sixth Form Soloists made their impressions on the audience: Chris Uren on piano, George Watson and Tom Weatherly on Drums and Emma PascoeWatson playing Sonata in D major for ‘cello.
Key Stage 4 Winner: James Watson Key Stage 5 Winner: Max Keene Staff Winner: Mrs Hemming Specially Commended: Mr Hamilton Parents/Grandparents Winner: Mr Murray Specially Commended: Mr Stranack senior, Mrs Stranack, Mr Stranack junior, Mrs Stevens
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Visiting Aquae Sulis
FameLab Year 8 Classics pupils spent the day in Aquae Sulis, also known as Bath, learning about the Roman settlement that once stood there. The Roman Baths provided a fascinating insight in the everyday lives of the Romans living in the far-flung province of Britannia, miles from civilised Rome.
The St Edward’s School Famelab Academy Finals were held in the Performance Hall. The ten finalists were: Elinor Harper-East, Daisy Allwood, Kyle Yeates, James Findlay, Archie Ross, Reuben Fletcher-Louis, Reuben Harris, Mercedes Hobkirk-Capps (absent due to illness) ,Charlotte Rye and Oliver Bray. All students presented very well on a wide variety of scientific topics. The winner was James Findlay and the two runners up were Daisy Allwood and Elinor Harper East. Many thanks to all teachers who gave up their Years 8 or 9 lessons and accompanied the students to the Performance Hall.
A week with Zandra Rhodes Over February Half Term, I spent a week in London working with celebrated fashion designer, Zandra Rhodes. I won the work placement opportunity through Art Couture Painswick’s (ACP) July Festival in 2016. I am extremely grateful to ACP for this highly valuable work placement, it has opened up doors and given me new, supportive contacts in the art world, which will undoubtedly prove useful in my pursuit in the arts. I arrived in London, Bermondsey Street on the Monday morning to meet Zandra, who had only just flown into London from a fashion show in America, and I was instantly surprised by how down to earth she was. As the work experience went on and Zandra built up trust in me, I was presented with fantastic opportunities, for example I learnt how to colour using the screen printer for a private order and then make them into high quality samples. I look back at my week and reflect that it was a lot of hard work with long hours and constant stimulation as everything was so new. I felt hopeful and inspired to return to school and start painting and creating, after a rich and meaningful work experience. Robin Watkins-Davies, Upper Sixth
Double victory: Latin Reading Competition Thirteen pupils from Years 8 and 9 represented the School at the county Latin Reading Competition. St Edward’s achieved great success in the competition, securing the impressive accolade of both first and third prizes. We were delighted to retain our title! Special congratulations go to Annabel Sykes and Lily Jennings who were awarded first prize, and Elinor Harper-East and James Findlay who were placed third, as well as Davina Smith and Lea Borsos who received a special mention for having the best technical pronunciation in the entire competition.
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NEWS GRID
Business Skills A Level Business students travelled to the University of West England to compete in the regional heat of the BASE competition. Students undertook a series of tasks, under the guidance of a mentor, to hone their business, presentation and problem solving skills.
Junior Stride-Darnley The JSD Society heard some fantastic presentations this term. Cameron Billquist shared his experience of living in a foreign country - the UK! Mia Pope talked about diseases which could make people act like Zombies and Charlie Fielding discussed the very first computer game made in 1958 – Tennis for Two.
A Level Classics Day
Lepra Fundraising
Classical Civilisation students visited the University of Warwick for a day of talks around ancient theatre and Sophocles, with several lecturers presenting their views. The day included a performance of Antigone by Warwick’s own Classics students.
Year 7 pupils raised money for a charity called Lepra, which supports people who are living in poverty and suffer from leprosy. In total, they rasied £500 through cake sales, washing cars and a spin class. As a reward, pupils enjoyed an intensive Zumba workout.
Off to Oxford Congratulations to Chris Uren (U6th), our current Head Boy, who has been offered a place for September 2017, at St Hugh’s College, Oxford to read Mathematics.
MFL Recitation Carnegie Shadowing begins The Carnegie Medal, which celebrates outstanding writing for children and young people, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. At their first meeting, the St Edward’s Carnegie Shadowing Group read extracts and judged the eight shortlisted titles selected for 2017. They selected their favourite cover (Beck by Mal Peet) and the best opening passage (The Stars of Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard). The winning title will be announced in June.
Around forty pupils participated in the final of the Modern Foreign Languages Recitation Competition, reading a selection of European poetry. The pupils displayed impressive levels of pronunciation, fluency and expression. This was also a House event which was won by Fisher.
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Le Corbier A group of pupils enjoyed a tremendous week of skiing at Le Corbier in the French Alps over the February Half Term.
The snow was plentiful and pupils had more than enough time to hone their skills on the slopes.
Gold in Cross Country George Watson took part in the U20 Mens Regional Schools Invitation Cross Country race at Blackweir Fields, Bute Park, in Cardiff during the term. The race was a distance of 6,990m with a good mix of fields and woods. George put in a great performance, achieved a good position in the early stages of the race, and steadily worked through the field, to build up a very solid lead. He finished first for the Gloucestershire Schools’ team but also first overall in the race, winning two gold medals (one for the individual result, and one for the team result).
Reunited through Hockey On Saturday 21st January, a team from East Glos Club played hockey against a Cheltenham Ladies’ Team. By a great coincidence, there were six players in the teams either currently at St Edward’s, or past pupils. Left to right: Eleanor Findlay (U6th), Mrs C Dunn, former pupil and current member
of staff, Alice Findlay (Yr 11), Amy Heron (U6th 2006) Chloe Sullivan (U6th) and Sara Shopland (U6th 2003) Congratulations to Eleanor (who scored a hat-trick), Alice and Sara playing for East Glos and winning this match 4-1. Hopefully these players will see each other again in an Old Girls match later this term.
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Superb win for U18 Tennis Team The U18 Tennis Team travelled to Marlborough College on the first leg of the National Cup. Due to the youthfulness of the team, we were hopeful but realistic that it would be a very difficult challenge to come away with a win. The team of James Findlay (Yr 9), Max Richardson (Yr 11), Finlay Dagnall (Yr 8) and Jonty Bird (U6th) played their singles matches first, consisting of two sets and a tie-break if level after two.
Junior Squash Open
After the first set, we were ahead winning three of the first four. The next set was more of a challenge with one going to tie-break but we still managed to win three of the four matches. The boys then played doubles against their respective opponents and quickly came out on top against some strong players. This was a brilliant first win for the boys against a very prestigious school and we look forward to taking on St Peter’s in the next round. Congratulations boys! Mr Winterbottom
Jamie Carmichael (Yr 9) took part in the British Junior Open alongside 400 players from 33 different countries. He beat three players 3-0, two of whom were ranked above him, and also lost narrowly 2-3 to a top seeded player, finally achieving 36th position in his age group.
Silver Swimmer William (Yr 7) did incredibly well at the ISA National Swimming Gala this year, representing the Midlands region in the Medley and Freestyle relays. He swam the anchor leg in Medley Relay and the 3rd leg in Freestyle Relay, helping the Midlands team win two silver medals.
U16 County Water Polo Squad Alice Whitehead (Yr 11) and Mary Bradley (Yr 9) were selected for the U16 Gloucestershire County Water Polo Squad this year and had some great results. At the National Age Group competition held in Manchester the team came 6th in the UK. It was a thrilling game to watch and Mary was given Player of the Tournament. They competed at the South-West Championships and won gold! Alice was
outstanding in the Goal Keeper position and only let in four goals during the whole tournament. Alice was also recently told that she has won selection to attend the English Talent Water Polo National Academy. This is for the top 30-40 players in the country for each age group. Well done to both girls and we look forward to hearing of more success in 2017!
County Player O Chemistree
We were delighted to hear that Peter Johnston (Yr11) was selected to play for the Gloucester Rugby Academy in a County game. After the match he was presented with his Gloucestershire RFU County tie. Well done Peter!
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