Barnardian magazine 2013/14

barnardian Barnard Castle School magazine 2013/14

Number 289

Laura Spedding (UVIth)

Emily Newton (UVIth)

Chris Harrison (UVIth)

Philippa Maw (Year 11)

Erica Lee (UVIth)

Sarah Perkins (UVIth)

Amy Morrill (Year 8)

StellaJones (Year 8)

Sarah Perkins (UVIth)

Joshua Bloomfield (Year 11)

Maddy Forsyth (Year 8)

Gordon Poon (LVIth)

Lucas Xiao (LVIth)

Sarah Bartlett (Year 8)

Emily Watson (Year 11)

Helen Walgate (Year 10)

Tom Hunter (Year 11)

Harry Shepherd (Year 9)

Beth Salkeld (Year 10)

Caitrin Robertson (Year 11)

Elle Baister (UVIth)

Lauren Laverick (UVIth)

Shannon Currah (LVIth)

Tom Matthews (Year 10)

Lewis Wells (Year 7)

James Turnbull (LVIth)

Rebecca Fraser (UVIth)

Rachel Elphick (Year 9)

Philippa Naseby (Year 11)

barnardian Barnard Castle School magazine 2013/14

Contents Headmaster’s Address

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PREP SCHOOL Prep School Headmaster’s Address Old Courts Reception Year Reports Music Drama Sport Art and Design Activities Chapel and Charity Report Reports from Prep School Groups Special Events and Trips Year 6 Memories

4 6 7 8 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 26

SENIOR SCHOOL Senior Common Room Activities Chapel and Charity Report Music House Reports Morocco, Namibia and Borneo

28 30 32 34 36 44

MICHAELMAS 12 Angry Jurors House Singing Trips CCF Classics and Chemistry Theatre Studies and Lectern Club 1 Michaelmas Sport

46 48 50 52 55 56 57

LENT Musical – Grease CCF Library Religious Studies and Art House Drama Theatre Studies Skiing Trip Lent Sport Barnard Run and Barney Bash House Speaking and Lectern Club 2

64 66 67 68 70 71 72 74 82 84

TRINITY An Inspector Calls Junior Arts Festival Industry Day and Big Book Bash CCF Battlefields Trip Summer Activities Trinity Sport Sri Lanka Cricket Tour Sports Day

85 86 87 88 90 92 94 98 100

Sixth Form Annual Report Upper Sixth Leavers’ Ball 2013

102 104

Editor >>> Mr T. Scott Edwards >>> Special Thanks to >>> Mr Mark Fuller, Tom Evans, Libby Spark, Stanley Wong and Sarah Child (Photographic Contributions) >>> Collation >>> Mr T. Scott Edwards >>> Prep School Editor >>> Mr Nick Seddon (with thanks to Laura Turner and additional contributions and photographers) Design and Production: Infinite Design, www.infinitedesign.com

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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Headmaster’s Address Chairman and Mrs McCallum, Mr Thirlwell, Mr Mayor, governors, ladies and gentlemen of all ages, it gives me great pleasure to address you on what is always a celebration and a valediction; a genuine red letter day for those who will leave us and shortly, for the very first time in their 18 young years, properly carry the adjective “old”, becoming Old Barnardians.

Firstly, it gives me great pleasure to add to the Chairman’s welcome, my own sincere thanks to Angus Thirlwell for joining us today. In order of notability, he is of course, an Old Barnardian of Northumberland house and a hugely successful international businessman. I did comment a couple of years ago to my wife that I really would like Angus to come to a Speech Day. Heather’s eminently sensible advice was “why don’t you ask him?” My less than sensible response was “I will and what’s more I’ll eat my hat if he says yes.” So Angus, thank you for joining us today and, if you feel peckish this evening, you are welcome to join us at School House later for some millinery surprise. By the time our guest reached the UVIth, Angus was a School Monitor and a very successful shooting Captain, receiving full colours and leading his team to some impressive national victories.

Things are not always as they seem. As well as worrying about great crested newts on building sites, we have been told to mind the

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Trojan Horses. And, as if they didn’t exist in a school worth its salt, according to No.10, the solution lies in values and apparently they are to be found in the Magna Carta, the Latin name of which document David Cameron pretended not to understand when he was interviewed in America a couple of years ago, just in case he appeared to be well-educated – that would never do.

He may really be a closet duffer, though, because the invitations to a Magna Carta 800th anniversary planning committee a couple of weeks ago spelt Carta “carter;” the PM is clearly in touch with the youf of today, because Magna Carter – the Great Carter – must of course be either a reference to Hamish Carter in UVIth, who is indeed quite tall, as opposed to his younger brothers, or else it’s a reference to the world tour of Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Jay-Z, the American rapper – I can assure the young sceptics before me that we talk of little else in staff meetings. No 10 also pondered on whether to send a copy of Magna Carta to every school in the country.

So, either Hamish or a cunning doppleganger has been recruited by the PM to do a tour of Britain, winkling out the Trojan Horses of disaffection, or we’ll all be dissing King John in da hood by next year.

I will go out on a limb now and assume that you share my enthusiasm for the early medieval artefact, and my humble opinion that Magna Carta is not the key to Britain’s future. Don’t get me wrong: I admire the grand sentiment of documents like the

American Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and where would we be without the Terms of Reference for the Barney Friends group? But, unlike those, Magna Carta isn’t even really very innovative; in fact, it is completely conservative, simply reasserting the customs and laws of a society which had endured for generations without the need for codification.

I am not so naïve as to think that we should not be held responsible for what we do – indeed, as a school that provides a service to parents, of course we must. However, some things are so much stronger for not being codified in today’s world of policies, risk assessments and mission statements.

While all of those things have their place, in my experience, in a very simple and everyday way, knowing that someone’s word is their bond and that a handshake is more than just a convention says a great deal about a person, and I believe that it will always speak volumes about the young men and women who leave us today.

This is because we are clear. Quite simply our Barney way of life is based on six values: integrity, community, endeavour, enjoyment, success, duty. These are the values which are heard repeatedly in our chapel, and are lived out by our boys and girls and by their teachers, and which were most eloquently spoken of by Baroness GreyThompson in our first Bentley Beetham Endeavour Lecture earlier this term.

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These values are expressed and exemplified in the academic, sporting, musical, artistic achievements of not just a select few, but hundreds of our children who represent their School proudly, whether at a York Minster Evensong or the national Netball Finals. Were I to do justice to their many achievements, I am afraid that the Tour de France would have crossed the Channel before I finished, but I hope that my weekly email to all parents provides some flavour of the range, quality and frequency of their achievements both individual and collective. My colleagues and I are proud of them all.

“Our values are expressed and exemplified in the academic, sporting, musical, artistic achievements of not just a select few, but hundreds of our children who represent their School proudly” I am also privileged to say that I am proud of my staff. I have never had the pleasure of working with a more committed, caring, selfless and talented group of people. What your children do, does not simply happen – the value that my staff add to the experience of every single child and the measurable value that is added academically is a result of their commitment to those same standards: integrity, community, endeavour, enjoyment, success, duty.

Among my staff, today is, of course, a bittersweet day. Tom Thorogood and Nicola Merson come to the end of their year here as Graduate Sports Coaches in preparation for further training to enter the teaching profession and we wish them both well in their studies. Victoria Lawrence, after a year in the Maths Department, leaves us to join her partner in the south and she also takes with her our best wishes for her new life there. This year we also say a fond farewell to the most eloquent of toastmasters and the most gentle of men, but someone who has the reactions of a scrambled Spitfire pilot when people try to say nice things about him. Now, with a large and captive audience, after his 26 years of loyal and valued service to the School, I can finally wish Andy Waddington, our retiring Head of English, slainte bar, and full steam ahead for a happy, active and fulfilled retirement.

Today is, of course, also a bitter-sweet day for our UVIth Form, but they are ready to leave. Nonetheless, there will be lots of reminiscing among the celebrations, and it should be so. Even within the last year they have achieved so much. It was clearly a sign

of things to come when I was sitting in my study with a grumpy Labrador one night last October, and the pictures began to vibrate to the sound of amplified banjos and harmonicas. I investigated and found that School appeared to have been taken over by a lumberjack convention as 127 booted and checked-shirted members of the Sixth Form beamed as they do-si-doed and made utter fools of themselves near the end of their first half-term of hard work.

And they did work hard; by doing so last year they achieved the best results at AS that we have ever had. They have been working hard, but they have played hard too – the barn dance was the first in a series of events planned by their Social Committee which included a series of black tie balls, a Hogwarts Feast complete with a Ford Anglia and a troll in the dungeon and quizzes, and much more. Those who were not in the Social Committee had the chance to join the Academic Committee or the Finance Committee or the Executive or any one of the numerous forums which got them involved in helping me and my colleagues to shape and improve the day-to-day life of their School, and which gives them the experience of managing projects, chairing meetings, costing proposals and working towards collective decision-making for the greater good. The Sixth Form works, and those who get it are gaining more than an academic education – they are gaining the skills and attributes that will serve them so well in the future. It is no surprise then that there is much interest in joining it.

“I am also privileged to say that I am proud of my staff.

I have never had the pleasure of working with a more committed, caring, selfless and talented group of people” Thanks to our Sixth Form this year, we have introduced a new word to our lexicon: it has four syllables and really it sums up the Barney way of life rather neatly – the word is “samandrachel.” As our first ever Head Boy and Head Girl combination, this had to work, but the fact that they are fairly inseparable and that people speak of them not only in the most positive terms, but as a single entity, is testament to the effectiveness with which they have worked.

So I am delighted to acknowledge the roles this year of our Head Boy, Sam Everall and Head Girl, Rachel Pratt. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it has been to work with two such agreeable, talented and enthusiastic young people. They are worth watching because they have big futures in front of

them and they have provided a first rate example of how to get the job done to our new Head Girl and Head Boy, Holly Appleby and Tom Adamson. To complete the Sixth Form project, we still plan to open our new Sixth Form Centre to reinforce the distinct sense of identity that our Sixth Form has, and to improve its resources further.

The role of a talented Governing Body is essential in a successful school and ours has been ably chaired by Malcolm McCallum, who will shortly step down from his post after six years of dedicated service. Malcolm amazes me by appearing to know not just most of the families in School, but also their remote genealogy. He and Kate have been tremendous supporters of the School and good friends to Heather and me. They have been selfless with their time and that selflessness and dedication are perfectly illustrated by Malcolm’s completion of his latest book, a history of our Chapel – which I commend to you for the extremely reasonable sum of £10. Malcolm has also researched the origins of our Prep School, which was founded 100 years ago – an excuse for a party that, I am assured by Mr Rycroft, will not be missed next year.

Malcolm, on behalf of the entire School, please accept my grateful thanks for your leadership, guidance and good sense and, by unanimous vote at the Old Barnardian Club’s AGM last Sunday, I am delighted to say that you have been elected as an honorary Old Barnardian.

Finally, returning to our leavers, our new Old Barnardians, I hope that you will think fondly of your school days, return to us often and thrive with peace in your heart.

I’ll finish with a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs: “My sons and daughters, do not forget our teachings, but let your hearts keep our ways, and they will bring peace to you.

Write them on the tablet of your heart, So you will find favour and success in the sight of God and man.”

A D Stevens, Headmaster

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Prep School Headmaster’s Address These are worthy ambitions. We talk a lot about a rounded education, and I am both a beneficiary and a fanatical believer. The broad nature of the education at Barnard Castle Prep School enables us to embed our values in everyday school life. The programme of activities on offer at the School continues to grow, for example we have seen the introduction of a coding club, a Pre-Prep chess club and even a country dancing club. This co-curricular commitment is integral to the distinctive style of education that we deliver and contributes to our values led education.

Mr McCallum has been Chairman of Governors at Barnard Castle School since 2008 and in that time he has been a great supporter of the School and of great support to both my predecessor and I. The considerable time, commitment and enthusiasm that Mr McCallum has given to the role has been significant and much appreciated and I would like to thank him for all he has done for the School as he steps down from the chairmanship this year.

There have been many opportunities for endeavour this year. Academically the children continue to apply themselves in the classroom with a positive attitude ensuring encouraging progress is made.

Our Year 6 children were rewarded for their endeavour when they undertook the Entrance Tests to the Senior School and all performed admirably, for which they are to be congratulated; in addition Evie Brenkley and Mark Nicholson achieved Academic Scholarships.

This academic year has flown past and I am pleased that Speech Day affords us the opportunity to reflect on another very enjoyable and productive 12 months.

On the sports field we have enjoyed another successful year, with mass participation in fixtures from Years 3 to 6. We have also seen the addition of Pre-Prep Hockey and Football clubs to our extra-curricular sporting programme. I would like to give particular recognition to our girls U11 Hockey team, who won the County Durham Schools Hockey tournament and this ably demonstrates the development of girls’ sport over recent years. As has been reported in our weekly newsletters and on the website, there have been many wonderful team and individual performances and successes this year in all sports, so many that time does not

Last year at this time I made brief reference to our school values. As we begin our celebrations of the centenary of educating Prep School age children I would like to focus in more detail on the values that we hold dear and that are at the heart of all that we do at Barnard Castle School. Endeavour, Community, Integrity, Enjoyment, Compassion, Duty.

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allow us to list them all here. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Carla McKnight, Kitty Barker, Archie Thompson, Edward Lockwood and Guy Pepper on achieving Sports Exhibitions to the Senior School.

A particular highlight for me this year was the Sport Relief Mile, which saw all the children from Reception to Year 6 running together for a good cause. Raising money for good causes is one of the ways that we all demonstrate the values of community and compassion. We aim to foster an understanding and tolerance of others and we are also keen that there is a place for all individuals in our School. The kind, friendly and caring approach that is displayed by the children is something which we encourage and the sense of the Prep School being a family community is something which we all recognise.

As parents you are vital contributors to our community and we are grateful for your support of the School. Barney Friends have made further valuable contributions this year and I would like to thank the committee for all their hard work co-ordinating the directory and organising the variety of events.

I would also like to thank everyone who has supported those events and baked cakes on several occasions. This term’s Bat, Bike and Ball Activities and Games were a great addition to the Barney Friends programme.

The teaching and learning environment is perpetually active at the Prep School and we have enjoyed many educational trips and workshops this year – everything from TV weather forecast presenting with Paul Mooney from BBC Look North to outdoor pursuits, from eating frogs legs in France to acting out a scene from Macbeth at the Globe

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Theatre and much more in between. These curricular opportunities are essential and it is heartening to see the children’s enthusiasm before, during and after these occasions.

Enjoyment is an essential value at the Prep School, the children’s cheerful approach to school life clearly demonstrates this and the pupils have derived much enjoyment from art, music and drama this year.

The annual Art Competition was hotly contested again and the art that has been on display over the course of the year from Reception to Year 6 has shown off the creative abilities of the children and staff to very good effect. The Art clubs have also given the children the opportunity to further develop their artistic skills and the bright colourful displays around the School continue to highlight the creative side of school life.

In our weekly Chapel services we have enjoyed excellent singing all-round this year and in addition our choristers have had many opportunities to perform in public, at Durham Cathedral and York Minster, in our Gala Concert and here on Speech Day. The children also enjoy instrumental music, in class lessons, individual lessons and in concerts. The Pre-Prep concert was an absolute triumph and the Gala Concert marked a new departure for us with an evening performance which was a great success. Our instrumentalists have also done well in their ABRSM, LCM and Rock School exams this year; well done to them all. I would also like to congratulate James Goldberg and Evie Brenkley on being awarded Music Scholarships to the Senior School.

This year’s three plays, Bethlehem Palace, Time Lord and Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies have showcased Performing Arts at the Prep School. The acting, singing and production skills that have been on display have been outstanding. Taking part in a

drama production requires the children to embody all of our school values; the learning worth of such productions should not be underestimated and the children’s enjoyment was there for all to see.

This year’s plays provided an excellent shop window for a Barney education, but much of what has been achieved is not so easily seen.

When it comes to integrity, another of our school values, we must think also of honesty, honour and reliability. These qualities are displayed by the children on a day to day basis, whether in lessons or on the playground.

Integrity is also important when it comes to the sense of duty that we encourage in the children. This can be clearly seen at 3:50 each afternoon when the Year 6 children distribute the very popular milk and biscuits and also by the unstinting willingness of both children and staff to give freely of their time for others and to go the extra mile.

The children and I have the privilege of spending every day in a wonderfully warm and supportive school community. The positive atmosphere is notable and we are very grateful to the staff for the essential role they play in fostering such an affirmative experience for us all.

According to the late Ted Wragg, one of the best known names in education, “Teachers may engage in one thousand or more exchanges with pupils in a single day. Many teachers will have been asked a million questions or more in their first 15 years of teaching. They will know the answers to most of them. They will make most of their routine decisions in one second or less, an astonishing human feat, given the complexity of human interaction.”

The teachers and teaching assistants continue to dispense their duties with enthusiasm, good humour and expertise. They and the

children are ably supported by a network of staff that provides essential services to ensure that each day is a wonderful, happy learning experience for us all. As a team, the Prep School staff is highly valued and I would like thank them all for another excellent year.

Today provides us with the opportunity to look back, to celebrate, to give recognition and to wish our Year 6 children all good fortune as they move on to the next exciting phase of their education. We also have the chance to look forward as a school and our centenary events next year will similarly offer us the opportunity to enjoy our history and to wonder about the future.

Indeed, as we embark on celebrating the first one hundred years of Prep School education at Barnard Castle School it is important to reflect on the longevity and success thus far.

Therefore it is absolutely appropriate that the values of our School are upper most in our minds today and I would like to thank all of the children for living and working at school in the Barney Way and for another great year.

It is precisely because of our established values and ethos and the positive approach of the children, staff and parents that Barnard Castle School is flourishing, moving forward and still providing excellent education for Prep School aged children 100 years after the wise decision was made to lease Westwick Lodge. That we enjoy a successful, vibrant and thriving school community is something we should be proud of and treasure. If we all, children, staff and parents, continue to focus positively on what we can achieve as a school community, revelling in the educational journey and staying true to our values, we can be assured that Barnard Castle Prep School will be at the forefront of independent education in the North-East for another one 100 years and: “To infinity and beyond!”

CF Rycroft, Prep School Headmaster

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Down on the Farm

Birthdays

Animal Park

Bowling

Making Models

Ice Skating

Curry at Spice Island

Playing at the Park

Pancakes

Mini Golf

Sparklers

Old Courts The boarders settled in very well at the start of the year.

They adapted quickly to their new routines and forged close friendships with their peers. Getting to learn new games and experience new challenges were at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

It has been an exciting year in Old Courts with many trips including: Richmond Castle, The Station, Teesside Showcase Cinema, South Lake Animal Park, Bowling, Laser Quest and many more. These trips have proved to be very popular and the boarders have all thoroughly enjoyed them.

But it is not just trips away that are popular; the children have had great fun around Old Courts and the School fields. Through rain, snow and sun the boarders have loved being outside playing Football, Rugby, Cricket, Rounders and 40-40 in. In wet weather, they have also exhausted the many board games and in particular, the Nintendo Wii. Games and electrical consoles are not the only past time in the house, the children have had great pleasure using the arts and crafts to show us all their creative side. Masterpieces have been created; even to rival some of the all-time greats, such as Monet and Michelangelo! One piece of work has especially stood out and that was the huge dragon that was drawn and painted for Chinese New Year.

Many of the boarders have social lives outside of School and this has kept us very busy with all the parties and sleepovers, as well as some of the weekly activities. These have included: horse riding at East Layton, rugby with Barnard Castle RUFC and cricket at Barney Cricket Club.

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End of Year Outing

It has been a pleasure watching all the boarders grow and mature over the past few years. The duty staff have put in a lot of time and effort into making the actual boarding experience in Prep School a positive and memorable one. A big thank you goes out to you all.

We have had another busy year and can’t believe how fast it has flown by. As September fast approaches again, we look forward to getting to know our new cohort of boarders as well as welcoming back some of our current children, who will be entering their final year in Prep School. We wish all the Year 6’s good luck as they move up to Senior School and we will continue to follow their success as they progress through school.

MK and FK

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Hunting for Leaves

The New Starters

Peekaboo!

Reception

Green Fingers

sewing skills as they made card and felt poppies. The Reception children sang their hearts out in the Nativity production before enjoying a magical trip to see Santa at Raby Castle.

The first stop for the 15 new children was familiarising themselves with the ‘Barney Way’ and there was much talk of these principles as the children prepared their manifestoes to stand in the School Council elections.

Voting day came and our councillor was duly elected to represent the class. In the strong belief that reading is the skill that leads to all others, we threw ourselves enthusiastically into our Phonics work, practising each day, working at home, and bringing sounds, words and letters into every aspect of school life.

A busy Michaelmas term included the ‘Ourselves’ topic. A visit from the School Nurse ensured that the children would be confident in the event of a visit to the Medical Centre, and the children loved experimenting with the real stethoscopes and thermometers.

The Outdoor Classroom has been a much loved aspect of our Reception year, with many children choosing to explore and learn outdoors in all weathers. Before winter set in, we planted seedlings and this summer the children were thrilled to be able to cut flowers for the classroom that they had grown themselves. Our latest additions to the area have been our Story Bench and also our Mud Kitchen.

The children observed Remembrance Day, learning about why we celebrate the occasion and creating artwork including some glorious ‘Monet’ poppyfields using pastels and practising their

The new year marked the start of our ‘Winter’ topic. The children learned about Antarctica and in particular the life cycle of the Emperor Penguin. Caring for our birds closer to home became a priority for the children; we made bird feeders to hang in our gardens at home and at school.

‘People Who Help Us’ followed on, leading to opportunities to thoroughly interrogate our visiting police officer about his work and experiences before a wonderful visit to the local fire station. To finish the Lent term, the children took part in the Pre-Prep Concert, singing a range of songs and also performing their ‘worm’ poems brilliantly. The children’s love of performing was evident again at the start of the Trinity term. Our topic was ‘Journeys’ and the Reception class prepared a Noah’s Ark themed Assembly to perform to the rest of the School.

Before going home each day, the Reception children take turns to lead our prayer: ‘Now the day is over, we’ve worked we’ve played, had fun. We thank God for our chances and pray for everyone.’ This year, every child really has done just that – so much hard work and effort, caring for each other and building true friendships along the way, and approaching each day with a great sense of fun and energy.

This has been a super year with a wonderful group of children. I wish them all the very best.

AKM

Wet Weather Painting

Enjoying our Visit to the Fire Station

Police Visit

The Reception Lambs

Mud Kitchen

Experimenting

Fascinated by Worms

Choosing our Colours Carefully

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Washington Wetlands Centre

Year 1 What an exciting, busy and fun action packed year we have had in Year 1!

This year saw the children working hard, determined to succeed and helping to create a naturally exciting environment in which to enhance their learning. All the children made fantastic progress and achieved personal goals and targets set throughout the year and I am very proud of them.

During the Michaelmas term, we embarked on our topic of ‘Toys’, exploring and investigating how toys have changed over the years, allowing us to make traditional hobby horses and simple peg dolls. In our Science topic we explored how forces affected how certain toys moved. Our loveable friend, Barnaby Bear, was introduced to Year 1 within the first week of school, and he began his series of adventures around all the children’s houses, with them sharing their precious moments with him and the class.

The children embraced the more tackling

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Camping with Barnaby Bear

aspects of the English and Mathematics curriculum and quickly understood the new curriculum structure. We enjoyed a trip to the School Chapel as part of our topic on ‘Christianity’.

As the end of the Michaelmas term approached, our performance in Bethlehem Palace as town’s people and camels really demonstrated how far we have come in such a short term. We enjoyed working with the rest of Pre-Prep, dancing, singing, and moving around the Chapel.

As Lent term crept in, so did our exciting topic of ‘Castles’. Becoming knights and princesses certainly was a real highlight for Year 1. We learnt how to joust, dance and eat a traditional medieval feast. We used our construction skills in Design Technology to design our own castles and enjoyed exploring Edinburgh with Barnaby Bear, finding out that Edinburgh Castle was built on a volcano!

Explosions with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda began as did Mrs Thirling’s dancing and re-enactment of volcanic movements. The children had a fantastic time and certainly will never forget how a volcano erupts!

Our Fabulous Townspeople

Field Sketching of our School

The children enjoyed an exciting term at Teesdale Leisure Centre progressing their skills in swimming further and achieving swimming certificates all around. The children also all put on their chefs’ hats and worked hard to achieve several Sainsbury’s Cooking Awards as part of their healthy eating topic in Science and Design Technology.

As the extremely busy Trinity term approached us, as did our topic of ‘The Seaside’. Making puppets for Punch and Judy Shows, exploring seaside holidays including travelling, clothes and souvenirs from the past, how modern day tourism affects the seaside, we really did begin to show how much we had progressed in terms of learning.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunny Pre-Prep Sports Day, a fabulous Teddy Bears’ Picnic and of course the wonderful Pre-Prep trip to Washington Wetlands Centre.

An excellent year’s work Year 1, well done!

LET

Problem Solving with Bee-Bots

Creative Chefs

Creative Clay

Fun with Forces

Our Camp Fire

Our Visit to Chapel

Harvest Festival

Three Wise Camels

Pre-Prep Baking for our Cake Sale

We Couldn’t Blow the House Down

Will it Sink or Float?

I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff

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Weighing the Heart Ceremony

Pudding Lane Recreation

Taking Puja

Heiroglyphs

Healthy Sandwiches

Food Pyramid

Nativity

Minibeast Hunt

Creating Slime

Washington Wetlands Centre

Celebrating Red,White and Blue Day

2P’s Class Assembly

Year 2 Year 2 had a great start to their final year in the Pre-Prep with a determination to throw themselves into everything possible. The term began with the regular Tuesday swimming lessons where all of the class made it to the deep end where some even jumped in!

The Michaelmas term heralded the arrival of Pharaohs and Mummies. Our History topic introduced the children to the world of Ancient Egypt. This led us to the Oriental Museum in Durham where we examined ancient artefacts, created headdresses and allowed the Pharaoh to pass into the afterlife. Hot on the tail of this loomed the dramatic arrival of the Pre-Prep Nativity production. The Year 2 children took the lead in narrating the play, Bethlehem Palace and did a marvellous job. It was most impressive that they all learnt their lines off by heart.

Hinduism was their first in-depth look into a religion at school. The children were very keen to embrace this topic. We carried out a puja around the classroom shrine, resplendent with the huge Ganesh, surrounded by offerings of food, flowers and lights. The culmination to this interesting

topic was a Diwali afternoon, where the children dressed up, created diva lamps, sampled different foods and made Lotus flowers.

‘The Great Fire of London’ was a very successful topic; inspiring research into the buildings of Tudor London and the firefighting equipment available. The roaring of flames became a regular sound in the classroom as the children tried to imagine how terrifying it must have been. We continued with the cooking theme during our DT project on healthy eating. We created sandwiches, baked bread and flapjacks.

The Trinity term saw the beginning of our preparation for Year 3 with the introduction of the ‘Moving On Challenge’. This was a series of tasks designed to aid the children’s transition from Pre-Prep to Prep. These included tying shoelaces and ties, getting changed for PE in a prompt manner and independently making healthy choices at lunchtime. This remains a hugely worthwhile project and the children described it as, “lots of fun to practise for Year 3!” They rose to the challenge and proudly received their certificates at the End of Term Gathering. Our topic for the term had a nautical theme. In Geography we explored the Isle of Struay through the Katie Morag stories and in History we learnt

about the exploits of Grace Darling and studied Victorian lighthouses.

Sports Day remains a highlight for many of the children, and this year they surpassed themselves in jumping, running, throwing, tackling obstacles and relay racing. The sportsmanship showed by all was lovely to see. The final excursion of the year saw all the Pre-Prep taking a trip to Washington Wetlands Centre. It was certainly an enjoyable day and the children had fun pond dipping, watching the resident otters and feeding a multitude of wetland birds.

We have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this year and the children have been superstars! Our thanks go to all the adults who have assisted us; Mrs Thirling, Mr Killeen and Miss Sanderson.

CNP and AAW

Making Christingles

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Strength Experiment

3B in Time Lord

3K in Time Lord

Looking After Our Teeth

Magic Tricks

Making Greek Vases

Making Shadows

Mythical Monsters

Paul Mooney Visit

Orienteering

Year 3 We started off the year with a group of very enthusiastic children wanting to know what lay ahead of them and how they could be involved in the wider life of the School. With some fantastic weather at the start of the term, we ventured out into the playground to create shadows using our bodies as the opaque object. We carried out several experiments involving light and they produced their own shadow puppet performances. Our new History topic was a huge success and there were lots of fascinating thoughts on how Stonehenge was created. Using Modroc, the children worked in pairs to construct the individual rocks, which we then put together to produce our very own Stonehenge model. To supplement our Weather topic in Geography, Paul Mooney from BBC Look North came to visit us. The children had the chance to find out what it was like to be a weather reporter and, using specialist equipment, they made their very own weather report.

The children were excited to start the Lent term and make the most of the opportunities to represent the school in different sporting activities. The Kenyan

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Myths and Legends

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

scrapbook was very popular as they were given the opportunity to show their creative flare as well as document what they had learnt in class. Their Design Technology project was closely linked to Kenya and the children made some outstanding shields which were displayed in the Atkinson Hall for all to see. Our trip was based on the ‘Myths and Legends’ topic we studied in English and it tied in very well with History, where they learnt about Ancient Greece.

The Year 3 children were able to show off their acting and singing skills as they rehearsed and performed Time Lord with the Year 4s. We finished the term with a trip to the Bowes Museum and during the workshop 3K and 3B were involved in acting out the story of Perseus and Medusa before making their own Greek vase using clay.

Robert Burns Assembly

The pupils had the chance to represent their houses through individual and group events on Sports Day where the standard was extremely high for such a young age. In ICT, in the Trinity term, we started off learning about emails, predominantly using the Email Detectives programme to guide them through the different stages of sending and receiving emails. Towards the latter half of the term we complimented our History topic by creating an Egyptian Gods Power Point presentation that they performed to the class. We ended off the year by going Orienteering which was a rewarding experience for the children as they made their way round the course and found each of the missing letters. We have had a fantastic year with lots of memorable moments.

FK and EJFB

Tongue Tasting Experiment

Outside Art

BARNARDIAN PREP

Weighing the Heart Ceremony

Pudding Lane Recreation

Year 4 Promoting independence has been a particular target this year and Year 4 have shown that they can work independently when researching, investigating and revising. A particular highlight in this area was the residential trip to Kingsway where the children worked together in teams and encouraged each other to face their fears and fulfil their own personal goals.

term focusing particularly on percentages and averages. They carried out investigations, working together during problem solving activities. Nubble and Trilemma on the interactive whiteboard proved extremely popular and the teams were very competitive against each other.

This also transferred to our regular ‘Crunch’ sessions which tested number skills to the maximum! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Number Day challenge, creating their own maze which had to contain exactly 50 squared. They persevered with the problem until a solution had been found.

Once again we enjoyed our trip back to Medieval England when we visited Bolton Castle. The children became foot soldiers, learning spear drill and marching through the courtyard in unison. There were some very scary looking faces as they shouted back the commands to Master David!

Pupils excitedly watched an archery demonstration and Mr Wicling impressed them all when he had a go on the longbow.

Reading was a popular activity again this year and we enjoyed studying Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Adam Blade’s Beast Quest. A particular highlight were the story books pupils created based on their own beasts, heroes and wizards. They used planning and editing techniques learnt throughout the year to develop their stories. Writing was transferred into their own ‘real book’ and the stories were illustrated.

Maths lessons have been incredibly varied and fun and pupils have been tested on a variety of skills. Lessons were linked to the World Cup in the latter part of the Trinity

Year 4 have had another successful sporting year with many more fixtures added to the busy calendar. The U9’s have competed in Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Rounders, Cricket,

U9 Cundall Team

Hanging Around!

Inventing Games

Football, Cross Country and Athletics. The girls were awarded third place at HMC Athletics which is a great achievement. The boys Rugby team were losing finalists in both tournaments they entered, a great achievement.

We have thoroughly enjoyed teaching this year group. They have been cheerful throughout and one of the most helpful groups of children we have encountered.

A favourite moment was the fantastic performances on stage during Time Lord.

We look forward to watching them develop in the years to come both in and out of the classroom. We would like to thank them for making this year as enjoyable as it has been.

EJS and BEW

U9 Rugby

Centre for Life

Cross Country Champions

Problem Solving

Charge!

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BARNARDIAN PREP

Woodland Wanderers

A Pair of Crackers

Livin’ on a Prayer

Over the year pupils enjoyed trips to Hartlepool Historic Quay and Hamsterley Forest, the latter proving a real examination of both their map reading skills but also how far they had come in terms of taking responsibility and being organised and independent.

Life in Year 5 also brings with it fantastic residential opportunities and this year group helped make both Robinwood and France brilliant experiences. The theme of responsibility manifested itself again as the children represented the School on numerous occasions, with many of them playing for the A team or even the U11s. They certainly played hard on the sports field but they always balanced this with working hard in the classroom putting everything into a vast array of lessons.

Class Talk

Slime in Science

Year 5 September saw Year 5 go from two classes to three. We welcomed 12 new starters to our swelling ranks. No sooner had they walked through the door than friendships were forged, bonds were made and it became impossible to distinguish the old from the new.

The quantum leap from Year 4 to 5 thrusts extra responsibility on pupils’ shoulders and emboldens them to take charge of their commitments, both in and out of the classroom. This was put to the test with the first field trip of any year group when we visited White Scar Caves in week three. A fantastic time was had by all as their Geography topic was brought to life.

The Skunks

Investigating Liquids and Gases

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

The investigation schedule, Lunar theme park in Maths and the Myths and Legends topic and class talk programme in English were all huge successes. Such things are the building blocks of the year.

Pupils have a much wider range of teachers and a much wider range of commitments in Year 5 from choirs to clubs, instrument lessons to being instrumental in the success of the School play and Evensong events.

They may have grown physically this year but they have also grown as a year group, and a delightful one at that. Their tenacity and enthusiasm have been joy to share in and we await, with interest, tales from the next stage of their development, hoping that when they reach life’s great summits they look back and think, “Year 5 was where it all started to go right”.

STA, HMB and SS

White Scar Caves

Fun in France

I See No Ships

Hartlepool Historic Quay

Making Circuits

BARNARDIAN PREP

Work Ceremony

Gala Concert

Trial Exams

Leavers Disco

Robin and His Hoodies

Prize Winners, Speech Day

Lightwater Valley

Happy Puzzle Day

Chess Team

French Trip

Forces in Science

Pockerley Manor at Beamish

Reading in Chapel

Year 6 A very close year group, as many of them had been in Pre-Prep together, they quickly threw themselves into the busy life of Year 6. Academic work takes priority and much of the first term was spent looking at topics that the children would encounter on the London trip, again a highlight of the year for many. Macbeth was read in preparation for the visit to the Globe Theatre, National Gallery paintings were studied and copied in detail and the two World Wars were looked at before we went on HMS Belfast, into the Imperial War Museum and Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms. In Science they investigated forces and electricity and other topics prior to our exploration of Launch Pad. Add a visit to the theatre, meals in Pizza Hut, a ride on the London Eye and the experience of being in the capital, meant a great time was had by all.

Back to the classroom and the children embarked on the first of the 14 subjectbased topics that went towards their Achievement Award, their London Scrapbooks. The final results were excellent and they all threw themselves into the award with gusto. On Speech Day it was announced that everyone had passed the

Award, with many Merits and Distinctions earned as well. Throughout the course of the year all the children received Merit Certificates for their efforts and also Special Mentions for a wide range of subjects and reasons. After Christmas saw us practising hard for the Entrance Test and all 39 children were offered places into the Senior School with two Academic Scholarships, five Sporting Exhibitions and two Music Scholarships being awarded to Prep School pupils. Well done to everyone!

other important Chapel occasions in the year.

Sport plays a large part in the life of Year 6 with everyone representing the School at Hockey and Rugby. This was also the case for Football, Netball, Cricket and Rounders, something not many schools can boast.

Success came with one of the best ever Rugby seasons and the girls becoming County Hockey champions. We were delighted to hear of individual success with pupils representing the North of England Rugby Lambs and a winner at Crufts Dog Show! Music lessons were taken by the score and most of the children took the opportunity to perform at one of the many concerts throughout the year. Year 6 took the lead in the Harmony Choir, sang in the Chapel Choir at York, Ripon and Durham and also took the lead roles in this year’s successful School production. They also read every week in Chapel and many read or took part in the Carol Services or

Speech Day is always their day, as the children prepare for their next stage of their education and move on from Prep School. It is always a sad occasion but also one of celebration and memories as they look back with fondness on their time with us and reflect (one hopes) that they have been well prepared for the next stage.

Year 6 children remained busy throughout the year by embarking on a wide range of activities and other trips in the Lent and Trinity terms helped enhance their learning experiences. A PSHE Safety Carousel, a History trip to Beamish, a fun day out at Lightwater Valley and the disco all added to their education, some more educational than others!

NIS and RAR

Beamish

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Have A Go Concert

Gala Concert Advanced Violinists

Trinity Evensong

Pre-Prep Concert Year 2 Recorders

Music The Prep and Pre-Prep pupils are continuing to rise to new musical heights. As always, our Carol Services are core musical events in the year and this year all Prep year groups sang in two part harmony (and even the Pre-Prep in their Nativity) and Harmony Choir performed wonderfully with a two part a capella opening to the service.

The Have-a-Go Concerts gave individual pupils to showcase their talents including a Year 2 pupil. We were also treated to a number of duets and small ensembles that pupils organised themselves. Many children volunteered to perform in both the Year 3-4 and Year 5-6 concerts such that the audiences experienced a wide variety of instruments from trombone, euphonium and trumpet, to flute, clarinet and saxophone, to cello and violin, to vocal solos of classical and popular songs.

Harmony Choir always enjoy singing Evensong and this year supported Chapel Choir at Durham Cathedral. They have also added a new dimension to our regular Chapel services by singing a descant alongside our weekly hymn. Our own

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Gala Concert Brass

Have a Go Concert Years 3-4

Have a Go Concert Year 2 Pupil

Gala Concert Singing

Gala Concert BBC Big Band Style

Pre-Prep Concert Year 1 Chime Bars

Pre-Prep Concert Reception

Trinity Evensong included three part harmony and an anthem from the newlyformed Junior Choir. School musicals, the Pre-Prep Nativity and House Singing all provided further opportunities to showcase high quality group singing and much more of our harmony skills. Furthermore, it was wonderful to have a performance from our guest adjudicator, Ms Penny Randall-Davis, who stunned the audience with her internationally renowned operatic talents.

Woodwind Ensemble have been formed, further expanding the range of opportunities that the pupils have on offer. The Jazz Band has required instrumentalists to entirely improvise and thus they have extended their musicianship levels to another level altogether. As always, the year has been packed full of events that not only reveal the wonderful standards that the children can achieve, but also the significant number of pupils involved in musical activities.

The Gala Concert included a new dimension: soloists and an orchestra of over 70 pupils to form a BBC Big Band style presentation with the orchestra also incorporating children from the Year 3 class violin lessons, Year 4 brass class pupils and Year 5 flute and fife.

The Pre-Prep concert similarly included a diverse range of styles and instruments. All year groups presented instrumental performances with Reception performing on percussion instruments with superimposed rhythmical layers, Year 1 performing rounds on Chime Bars and Year 2 performing rounds on recorder and also hand bells.

Even the Pre-Prep singing extended to three part harmony.

RGH

Pupils have continued to achieve highly in examinations, with many being invited to perform at the ABRSM High Achievers concerts. This year a Jazz Band and

House Singing

Harmony and Chapel Choirs at Durham Cathedral

BARNARDIAN PREP

Grabbit and Bolt

The Guards Listen In

Dinopods

King John’s Dilemma

The Sheriff of Nottingham

Drama Drama has continued to play an important role in the life of Prep School, with every child performing in public throughout the year. At the end of the Michaelmas term it is the turn of Pre-Prep, with their Nativity Bethlehem Palace in Chapel, followed by the children from Years 3 and 4 in the Lent term, this year performing Time Lord in the Atkinson Hall. In Trinity term it is the turn of the Year 5 and 6 children and their performance in Big School, played to audiences of nearly 200 each time. This year, parents and friends were entertained by Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies.

Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies… a tale of ‘Tights, Fights and Footlights.’

When the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and his gormless guards threaten the villagers of Sherwood, feisty Maid Marion hires a band of freedom fighters for protection. But when Robin and his Merry Men arrive, she soon discovers they’re not exactly what she’d ordered! With no time to lose, she persuades these hapless heroes to take centre stage for the performance of their lives – a mission to defeat the dastardly Sheriff, storm Nottingham Castle, rescue Maid Marion and overthrow King John – all without laddering their tights!

The children brought this script to life with a show packed with exuberance and enthusiasm. Songs, some in two or even three-part harmony, were sung with confidence, choreography was well practised and vibrant and the children, as ever, brought off moments of comic timing with professional skill and good humour.

The musical accompaniment, lighting and sound enhanced the performance superbly, giving each child an experience to remember.

Time Lord Harriet and Sam explore a rambling old house they discover a hidden cupboard that has been sealed up for over 70 years. Inside the cupboard they discover an old board game called Time Lord which leads them to meet a real Time Lord and go on an incredible journey into the past. On their journey the time travellers meet some fantastic historical characters like Florence Nightingale,

Skunk Scouts

Year 3 Cast

Beethoven, and Boudicca along with a group of evacuees from the 2nd World War. However, as in all adventure stories, danger lies ahead. The evacuees had unwittingly unleashed a group of fierce dinosaurs from prehistoric times that are now determined to win back the planet. Each of the historical figures gives the travellers a magical object that they can use in times of need. Can the ‘Time Lord’ be rescued or will, once again, the creatures rule the Earth?

The Atkinson Hall was brought alive by the sound of Beethoven’s little known version of his 5th symphony, I Like This Song, whist Boudicca regaled the audience with a rousing chorus of My name is Boudicca. All children performed with enthusiasm and confidence, whether acting or singing. The final battle between the Dinopods and humans from various periods of British history brought the play to a thrilling close. Well done to all those involved!

RAR

Jazz Hands!

Florence Nightingale’s Wounded Soldiers

Nursie, Maid Marion and Will Scarlet

Robin Hood’s No Chicken!

Playing the Time Lord’s Game

Emit the Time Lord

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BARNARDIAN PREP

Sport The past year has been very successful on the sports fields, courts, swimming pool and even the Gymnastics arena. It has certainly been sport for all with plenty of success on the way.

In the first term our Hockey and Rugby teams performed extremely well. All of our girls and boys represented the School which was quite a task in itself.

The girls managed to win the Barnard Castle Hockey Tournament and the County Cup in the space of two days which was an outstanding feat. They went on to play in the Regional Tournament where it went down to the final game to qualify again. This development has come from our work with the younger age and a lot of effort from our dedicated staff.

On the Rugby field, three of our U11 team made it into the starting line-up for the Northern Lambs select team. This led to our strong year group winning nearly all of their matches during a very competitive season. Congratulations must go to the U10 team who did manage to go unbeaten although they were losing finalists in our

HMC Football

Clegg Cup. The U9 team, showed plenty of potential by reaching the final of both the Yarm and Cundall Manor Tournaments which is very promising.

In the second term, the Netball and Football players progressed through their season successfully. It was wonderful to see so many boys and girls participate in these sports and the improvements were clear to see. The U11 Football team won the Plate Cup at the HMC Tournament. The Netball teams have made great strides over the past years and this is starting to be realised in silverware. The U11B team won the regional tournament which illustrates the depth within the School.

Cross Country has continued to be strength for the School and this was illustrated by a clean sweep of trophies at the Cluster Schools meeting. We took our first Gymnastics team to a HMC Event at RGS Newcastle. From a limited amount of preparation the Girls team came up short by just 0.4 points from the Bronze Medal places. A fantastic achievement, which we hope to continue over the coming years. On another first we took a side to the inaugural HMC Tennis Tournament where the girls’ pair managed third place.

Taekwondo Training

U11 Squash Champions

U11 Girls’ County Hockey Champions

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Tennis U8

BARNARDIAN PREP

In the final term, we were, once again, very successful on the Athletics track. In the Cluster Athletics meeting we won both Girls’ and Boys’ trophies, winning all relay races. This was followed up by a successful team performance at the HMC competition. Two individual winners and many outstanding performances, led to the U9 Girls and U10 Boys coming third overall.

The Cricket teams had a successful season with another appearance in the HMC Plate Final. We were able to get three U11 teams out for matches along with all the U9 children playing as well. The Rounders’ sides improved very quickly in the second half of term which saw some excellent performances against Bow School and Chorister School.

Pre-Prep Sports Day was a great success. The sun shone and the children took part with enthusiasm and enjoyment. It was pleasing to see such a positive attitude from all participants which reminds us of the true reason we develop our sporting skills.

U9 Rugby Training Match

BEW

U11 Cluster Athletics Winners

Gymnastics Squad at HMC

Developments in Dance

U11 Northern Lambs

Pre-Prep Sports Day

Cross Country Success

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Year 3 ModRoc

Art Competition

Year 5 Art Lesson

discovered how to draw figures and faces in proportion, used grids to scale images, blended and mixed colours, used tonal values to create depth and form and differentiated between tones and tints.

The children have used various mediums, such as poster paint, watercolour paint, soft and oil pastels, collage materials, printing, clay, ModRoc, glass paints, relief paste and fabric markers.

Our Design Technology lessons have been as varied and busy as ever. We have made puppets, ModRoc Maasai shields, Christmas tree decorations, stained glass panels, free standing structures, lever mechanisms, woodwork frames, model cars, electronic circuits and pneumatic systems. The children learnt various new skills ranging from using a soldering iron and a pillar drill to using a junior hack saw and bench hook and sewing Christmas tree decorations. We thought about product design and created new packaging for various produce and learnt about polarity when building an LED circuit.

Pre-Prep Painting

Art and Design Some of this year’s topics have had more than a flavour of Brazil. Years 4 and 6 have studied the work of artists from that part of the world, namely, Marcos Chavez and Beatriz Milhazes, respectively. The work of Liz Million, the local children’s book illustrator, has also come under close scrutiny as Year 4 discovered how to show emotion and character in their drawings.

The artists Wassily Kandinsky, Jane Boulton, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso have also featured in Pre-Prep and Prep topics. In theory lessons we have looked at single and two point perspective,

The art of the people of Egypt, Kenya and Brazil have been investigated in our ‘Other Cultures’ topics and the children learnt about breakfast in French as Year 5 classes drew pictures of cereal, croissants, pain au chocolat and dippy eggs! Year 6 produced their own lovely interpretations of masterpieces they had seen during their visit to The National Gallery in London for their Achievement Award piece. We also held our annual Pre-Prep and House Art Competition. The theme this year was World War 1 and the children were as keen as ever to show off their artistic talent.

So, to sum up, another very busy and exciting year in Art both in Pre-Prep and Prep School, with many opportunities for the children to express themselves and learn new techniques and skills.

HMB

Art Competition Day

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Chinese New Year

Christmas Tree Decoration

Year 3 ModRoc Session

Painting Maasai Shield

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

Pre-Prep Art Competition

Year 6 Using the Pillar Drill

BARNARDIAN PREP

Rugby

Junior Art

Football

Hockey

Junior Netball

Junior Science

Rounders

Science

Activities This year, saw a great increase in the number of activities available to the children both after school and at lunchtimes. This was especially true for the Pre-Prep children who, for the first time, had their own programme of clubs in addition to those when they join in with Years 3 and 4.

There is something for everyone from the youngest Reception children singing and dancing to the Year 6s practising for sports fixtures and their play. All the children exude enthusiasm as they select their activities with many keen to join in as many as possible, some turning the choices into a competition. Whether it is developing new skills or practising old ones, the classrooms and fields are full of ready and willing children.

The activities vary from term to term thanks to the enthusiasm of the Prep School staff and we are also lucky to use ‘experts’ for Ballet, Judo, Taekwondo and also our Senior School colleagues.

Each term our major sports are represented and extra sessions have been put on to allow everyone to join in at an appropriate level. In preparation for the HMC event, our Year 5 girls went to the Sports Hall for Gymnastics. There are indoor activities, such as chess, art, dance and languages and musical ones including different choirs, strings, brass and orchestra. Drama rehearsals dominate the Lent and Trinity terms for Years 5 and 6 with other sports like Squash, Five-a-Side, Tennis, Kwik Cricket anf Girls’ Football have all proved very popular as the children enjoy participating in their favourite pastimes as well as experiencing new ones. One development has been the introduction of many popular clubs, especially the

sporting ones, for the younger pupils and new clubs like Code Club and Philosophy have grabbed the children’s interest.

Our thanks go again to all the staff who continue to willingly give up their time to provide these fantastic opportunities for the children.

Preppies love to be busy at lunchtimes and are not content to finish their school day when lessons are over!

NIS

Orchestra

Choir

Drama

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Class Prizes

Chapel I’m never sure if I enjoy most the regular Wednesday mornings or the big set pieces like Harvest, Carols, Founders’ Day and Trinity Evensong.

On balance I guess the Wednesday mornings. It’s good to see the crocodile of spaced out Pre-Preps scrambling up the Chapel steps trying to hold hands at the same time, whilst the professional Year 6s thrust aging hymn books (that’s a reminder to do something about them!) into passing paws. I like the chorus of Good Morning, Rev Ridley and the reader flipping the microphone with the bible as she almost forgets to say “This is the Word of the Lord” at the end.

Charity The children once again worked tirelessly to raise money, displaying initiative when coming up with new ideas to include the whole school community. We at Barney are so proud of our pupils; they, along with the fantastic support of their family and friends, have raised a total amount of £1,849. This total does not take into consideration money raised across the whole School during several nonuniform days. We count ourselves incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated team and there’s a wonderful feeling that everyone is pulling together to make a difference.

Raising money for charity can seem extremely daunting at the outset but, with a continued positive attitude and some imagination, it is amazing how quickly the money mounts up.

The charities are chosen so that we can help people in our local community and those less fortunate in other countries. Through their

On Your Marks

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

At Christmas Time

Actually routines, rather than one-offs, are probably virtuous. Rain or shine, in track suits or macs, summer dresses or coats, the Chapel is on their fixture list thanks to the constant support of the Headmaster and his team. All I have to do is turn up with a story or a flower or a cuddly toy snatched from a teenage wardrobe, and the narrative of another Christian year unfolds. We are lucky.

And that’s not to ignore the set pieces. We had some fabulous music at the Trinity Evensong complementing the weekly descants of maestro Dr Harrison, and the nativity and harvest cards are engraved in our hearts. In the end however it’s the regular worship that counts and the feeling that children might be at home midst the grave but beautiful surroundings of Chapel.

charity work pupils consider the needs of others and are conscientious in their help and support in the knowledge it will make a difference. It is the School’s belief that raising money for a diverse range of good causes fulfils an educational, spiritual and social role in the development of the children, both as individuals and as a community. It is wonderful to see the young people of this School bring their enthusiasm, optimism and endless energy to the business of being charitable.

We would like to extend our thanks to all the children and their parents for the generous contributions to our charity fundraisers this year. Donations, both monetary and otherwise have been made to the following charities: Epilepsy in Action, the local community through Harvest Festival, the worldwide Shoebox Appeal, Children in Need and many more.

Pupils donned their tracksuits this year to participate in the Sport Relief Mile and even the teachers joined in with enthusiasm. The children enthusiastically embarked on their run round the School grounds, beginning on

Red White and Blue Non Uniform Day

Sport Relief

Sunday Chapel

Cheers

Shoe Boxes

End of Term Gathering

Hopefully this thought will soon be immortalised in stained glass for the Prep School centenary – a children’s corner reserved at the entrance to Chapel, where fonts used to be placed of old, reminding us that Christ welcomed and blessed children first of all, as the greatest in the kingdom of God. SJR

Year 1 Learn About Chapel

Prep pitch and finishing by Old Courts. It was wonderful to see the older pupils helping and supporting others, ensuring that they too got the most out of the experience.

As part of the much anticipated Number Day, our Einstein’s enjoyed a range of sponsored challenges. They tackled activities including Pascal’s triangle, design a 50 square long maze and Place Value Pandemonium. It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm for Mathematics whilst raising money for those in need.

As tradition dictates, we held another successful tea party in aid of Epilepsy in Action and pupils enjoyed a ‘cuppa’ and a chat, not to mention cake and biscuits! Some very kind parents volunteered their time and effort and poured endless cups of tea throughout the day.

Barnard Castle Prep School takes giving to those less fortunate and in need very seriously.

EJS and DT

Number Day

Pots of Care

Trinity Evensong

BARNARDIAN PREP

Ball,Bat and Bike Picnic

Epilepsy Tea Party

Supporting the Houses

Founders Day

Prep School Barney Friends This has been another successful year. We were heartened by attendance at events and support for other activities: • Thanks to the Michaelmas Ball sub-committee who did a great job in creating an event that ran smoothly and gave all guests a great night; • The Ceilidh was well supported and arrangements have been agreed for next year; • The first standalone Prep Christmas lunch was well supported and Clarendon’s was an excellent venue; • Christmas gift wrap proved popular once again; • Quiz night was another entertaining evening; • Over 70 people joined us for the Family Walk;

Family Rounders

• Both Sports Days cake stalls were a huge success, both in the amount of baking donated by parents and in the number of helpers who gave up their time. The addition of pink and traditional lemonade was very popular.

• Bat, Ball & Bike Activities and Games was a new event and all aspects generated positive feedback – cycle instruction for all children, BYO picnic and family rounders. Some children on stabilisers mastered cycling independently and others learned a new game.

Thank you to the committee for all their hard work throughout the year and to all parents, children and staff who have supported the events. We are looking forward to a busy, fun-packed Centenary year.

Prep School Barney Friends

School Council

which were photographed and proudly displayed on the School Council board.

Now that the School Council Election is a well-established annual event, the children began their campaigns to win votes and also read their proposals to their classes and year groups during the Hustings, the day before the big event. Pupils eagerly awaited the results of the vote and got straight to business once the new councillors had been announced. As usual, councillors have been very involved in fundraising for a variety of charities this year.

The annual collecting and counting of the Sainsbury’s School Sports vouchers was again very successful, but not as exciting as searching through the catalogue to see what was available to order.

The councillors got off to a flying start repositioning the hedgehog house and bee log to encourage activity. They added an extension to the bug hotel, foraging for rocks, sticks and foliage. Councillors were lucky enough to find some inhabitants

There are green fingered plans in place to plant poppy seeds in the next academic year in line with both the School centenary and that of the First World War. The benches bought with last year’s budget have proven to be very popular on the pitch, particularly this term with many pupils soaking up the sun during morning and lunch breaks. It has been decided by this year’s councillors to try and purchase an outdoor clock for the bottom playground.

Meet the Council

That’s Creepy

Suggestions Please

School Council Elections

Bird Boxes

School Vouchers

EJT and DT

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BARNARDIAN PREP

Happy Puzzle Day

Sport Relief Mile

Marie Curie Cake Sale

Crufts Winner

NSPCC Maths Challenge

Teddy Bears Picnic

Little Green Riding Hood

Christmas Lunch

Pre-Prep Nativity

Special Events What makes Prep School special is that in addition to all the normal ‘run of the mill’ activities that the children undertake every day and week, are all the extras that are undertaken to ensure a well-rounded education. Be it coming off timetable, leaving the School premises or just enjoying something a bit different, the children experience a myriad of different activities. The Michaelmas term saw the School transform from brown and blue to red, white and blue as we supported the Armed Forces Day, especially relevant in this day and age. Children come to expect the lessons, the sport, music and drama but for most, the special events prove most popular and memorable.

Chapel and our Christian ethos lead many of these special days.

Everyone enjoys our weekly services but also those special times when we come together to celebrate significant occasions. Harvest, Christmas Nativity and Carol Services, Founders Day and Evensong are highlights of our Church Year. The children enjoy fundraising, whether it is a simple non-uniform day, or when something larger is experienced. This year saw our 10th Epilepsy in Action Tea Party, an ever popular event in the Michaelmas term, Pre-Prep again produced their Marie Curie Pots of Care as well as the whole School joining in to run the Sports Relief Mile round the grounds and pitches in March. It is these whole School occasions that show that fundraising for charity can be great fun.

The Pre-Prep entertained us again with their concert while our musicians showcased their talents at two ‘Have a Go Concerts’ and an evening Gala Concert in the Lent term. This year also saw two visiting drama companies giving the children the opportunity of mass participation with their productions of Little Green Riding Hood and Stig of the Dump.

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Stig of the Dump

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

World Book Day

Happy Puzzle Day was a popular Maths inspired activity and Year 6 enjoyed creating their own games for the Probability Fair. The sponsored NSPCC Numbers Day had all the children thinking about Maths without them even realizing it!

Every child took part in their class assemblies and many took the opportunity to perform in front of their peers. The termly excursions are popular enhancements to the curriculum and incursions like the police and internet safety presentations are both informative and valuable. The pantomime visit after Christmas lunch and other regulars just seem to be treated as the norm by many.

There is never a dull moment at Prep School, especially as we look forward to the start of our Centenary year with all the planned activities that will take place, some in the classroom and some as whole School events. Special? Watch this space!

NIS

Red White and Blue Day

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Macbeth Workshop

Lunch Stop

Captains on Board

London Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic four days in London with a plethora of activities to keep them busy. After the long journey, we settled into The Royal National Hotel before setting off to the first of our visits to Pizza Hut. Twenty three pizzas later we had a short walk round the corner to the Cambridge Theatre to watch Matilda. Everyone really enjoyed the Roald Dahl classic and the way it has been transformed into a musical. The maturity and ability of the young actors and actresses was not lost on the Year 6s.

We were up bright and early on Wednesday for breakfast before boarding the coach for a tour round some of the sights on the way to The Tower of London. The Crown Jewels amazed us, as always, and we were drawn into the history of the place. A quick walk over Tower Bridge, (which then opened for us) and we were at HMS Belfast. An informative talk about the ship and the chance to explore meant we really understood what life was like on board and the role cruisers had in the war. We finished the day in Launch Pad at the Science Museum. A show about forces wetted our appetite for all the experiments we were about to sample in the interactive stations.

Day three saw us in and around Whitehall. A quick search for our names on the Battle of Britain Memorial and then we were off to the Cabinet War Rooms. This fascinating insight into how Churchill ran the war was a real favourite, with the interactive time line and head sets. A photo opportunity at Horse Guards and then we were off to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery. Three paintings were brought to life as we asked and answered questions about each one, really furthering our artistic knowledge. The Imperial War Museum was next and, although much of it is still being renovated, we gained an insight into life for families at home during the war. We then

Trafalgar Square

enjoyed the more light-hearted, Horrible Histories exhibition about spies. A flight on the London Eye was many people’s favourite part of the trip as we enjoyed the fabulous views over our capital city.

The last morning saw us off to St Paul’s for a quick photo before crossing the Millennium Bridge and making our way to The Globe Theatre. A tour round explaining the history of the building was followed by a workshop with two actors who helped us expand our understanding of the play Macbeth.

This very successful trip was made easier because of the excellent behaviour of the children. We received many positive comments about their manners and conduct at the places we visited, including The Tower of London who even tweeted about us after our visit to the Jewel House!

NIS

Science is Fun

Tea at Pizza Hut

On Guard at War Rooms

HMS Belfast

Outside the Tower

Anderson Shelter at Imperial War Museum

London Eye

Cabinet War Rooms

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Aquarium Visit

France Forty three children from Years 5 and 6 set off on the annual Prep School trip to France. Our itinerary did not disappoint. On the evening we arrived, the children experienced an evening walk from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde via the Tuileries gardens and a spectacular show of the Eiffel Tower’s twinkling lights.

A stunning spring day in Paris followed. The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe was even more spectacular than expected owing to the paired Chinese and French flags along the Champs Elysees in honour of the Chinese president’s visit. Without further ado we walked down the Champs Elysees and took a ‘Batobus’ to Notre Dame. All too soon we were on the coach and heading back up to the northern coast to our next stop.

Our first day in northern France began with a French tutorial in preparation for the day’s activities. This resulted in a successful trip to Dieppe’s Saturday market. A most encouraging use of French was overheard; the children were polite and were able to make vital purchases. Their confidence in their ability to understand and to be understood was a pleasure to see.

As we walked around Dieppe, it soon became clear that our baseball caps were the ‘talk of the town’. “Les caskettes” were chosen for practical reasons and even the staff wore their pink version with very good grace.

At The Arc de Triomphe

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Channel Tunnel

The children were bowled over by the beauty of medieval Rouen.

They learnt about the cathedral and how monies were raised to build its Butter Tower. We heard about the historical building techniques and how they contributed to the spread of the Plague.

We followed the dramatic and poignant story of Jean d’Arc and her sainthood around the city. The story is not only told in the cathedral’s stained glass windows, but also in the modern church built in her memory, next to the spot where she was burned at the stake.

As the trip developed, so did several cases of illnesses. This reduced our number on a couple of days. We even created a sick bay in the Chateau! However the flexibility of staff, children and coach drivers ensured that the quality and success of the trip were not diminished.

The penultimate day of the trip is a sombre but important one. The power of the visit to Arras and Vimy Ridge never ceases to overwhelm, bringing into harsh reality the History that Year 6 have studied.

Throughout the trip the children’s capacity for independence, good humour and determination knew no bounds. A fantastic ‘Barney’ team effort.

CLB

Canadian War Memorial

Outside the Louvre

Dieppe Market

Vimy Ridge

Wellington Quarry 2C Arras

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Fun and Games at the Chateau

Ascending the Arc de Triomphe

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Rapids Solving Problems

Team Challenge

Guess Who

Mud Monsters

Hiking

Climbing Wall

Nervous Anticipation

4G Swing

Piranha Pool

Archery

Trapeze

still supporting each other and working as one. This spirit of team work was summed up perfectly by one who said, “Every dumb needs a dumber”.

Robinwood On a hazy morning in early May, 54 children embarked on an adventure like no other, a weekend filled to the brim with challenges and character building experiences.

Group leader, Andre, commented within the first hour of meeting the children, “I don’t think this is going to be work”.

Rapids Rapids set out with smiles on their faces that simply got broader and broader with every passing minute. Every activity was accompanied by its own soundtrack from Limestone Cowboy in the caves to a very special version of Wrecking Ball to supplement the crashing and colliding in the crate stacking. Bursting into song at every turn they were an absolute joy to spend the weekend with. Every time one of them fell, they got straight back up with renewed vigour. I’ve never met a group of children so willing to laugh and have fun whilst

Yeeeehaaaa

Lake Ten adventurous Year 5 children joined Mrs Thirling for a fun filled action packed weekend. Each member of the group faced their fears, problem solved and perfected their aim as a single team. The highlight of the trip was when they all face-planted into the “Bog of Eternal Stench” covering themselves in mud. In the nine times I’ve been on the trip this is one of the best examples of team work and unity I’ve seen, not one of them shied away from anything.

Waterfall Waterfall group approached the weekend with bucket fulls of energy and proved themselves a very daring group of girls. They overcame their fears and all ten managed to climb, zip, crate stack and trapeze their way through every task. Their beauty regime was certainly unique as they covered themselves from head to toe in dirt, creating mud angels and one of them even getting stuck!! They learnt from their mistakes during team challenges and by the end of the trip they worked together as a superb group. A fantastic effort girls, thank you for such a memorable weekend.

River The River boys, many of whom were reunited with Mr Killeen for a second year, had a fantastic trip and responded brilliantly to every one of the tasks. Brash and brave, they certainly made their presence felt and brought bundles of energy to the group. Great at map reading and anything practical. the boys certainly got stuck in wherever possible!

STA, DT, EJS, RT and MK

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Year 6 Memories

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Ryan Liu

Flo Drabble

Thomas Dalton

Florence Harrison

At the end of each term we have a tradition where we put the massive floats into the swimming pool. The boys and the girls divide into teams and each team has three floats. Each team tries to flip the other team’s floats and take them over.

In France I loved having the opportunity to eat the frogs’ legs and snails. I liked the frogs’ legs because they just tasted of chicken and I love chicken. I hated the snails and did not want to try them again!

In Reception we had a wedding. I was the groom and Florence Harrison was the bride. When I was young I took it all seriously but now it’s a bit embarrassing! It was like a proper wedding because we went through the ceremony and had a three tier wedding cake.

In the Reception wedding I was the bride. Emelia-Rose and Amelia were wearing the same dress and arguing over who looked prettier!

Alexander Davison

Joseph Johnston

James Turner

Harrison Jones

I learnt to play Rugby from scratch and then I was chosen to play in the ‘B’ team. I was really excited because it was my first ever Rugby match.

In Year 6 I got the role of Robin Hood in Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies.

I was so pleased to get the part and really enjoyed it.

I am most proud of the fact that my Maths has improved because I have worked hard and I’ve made it into Set 2!

In Pre-Prep we went swimming at the sports centre every week. I never wanted to leave the swimming pool, or the jungle gym!

Jake Vernon

Carla McKnight

Joseph Clamp

Archie Thompson

When Raleigh won Sports Day I won the 200m in front of my Grandma. I was so proud to be the one to take the form up to Mrs Robertson at the results table.

I’m lucky to have had a lot of successful times at Prep School.

However, I remember that, when I was cast as the Owl in the Year 1 Nativity, I couldn’t remember all of my lines so I was swapped to the Dog at the last minute!

On Bridging the Gap Day we were doing Chemistry and the teacher put some methane bubbles on my hand and set them alight. It was like casting a spell and it amazed us all, especially me.

In Year 3 I ran for the U9s and got to the final at HMC, where I came second. It was such a great achievement to compete with the best.

Ellie Tweddle

Emelia-Rose Rowlandson

James Goldberg

Imogen Parish

When I made it into the ‘A’ team at Netball I was really proud of myself.

I’d really wanted to make it into the team so I was delighted to be chosen.

In Reception I used to look forward to break time, to run around and go crazy on the climbing frame. The thing I used to look forward to most was getting Barnaby Bear at the weekends; it was great!

In Year 4 I took my first grade: Piano Step 1. At first I was afraid but I was delighted to get a distinction.

I remember in Year 4 we had Jubilee Day. It was great fun as we had lots of special activities and learnt all about the queen.

Joseph Gibbons

Kitty Barker

Amelia Oates

Edward Lockwood

In Year 4 I played the part of the wolf in Aesop’s Fables. I had to sing a solo about being a wolf, but, the funny thing is, I can’t sing!

We were practising map reading around School, getting ready for orienteering in Hamsterley Forest.

Heidi and I were last to arrive back at the classroom after Mr Ayres had come to look for us!

One of my highlights of Year 6 has been the School production Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies. It was fantastic to have been given the opportunity to sing, dance and act and also to have had a lead role.

When I was selected for the Lambs we had England Rugby trials. It was at the birthplace of the game: at Rugby School. It was a great event and a brilliant standard of rugby.

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Mark Nicholson

Gabrielle Hawcroft

Oscar Jacques

Heidi Warren

I remember in Reception when we went to Archers Ice-Cream, not far from School. We played for a while and then sat down for an ice cream.

Most of us chose Chocolate Surprise and we all ended up with it all over our faces.

In Science we did an experiment: we mixed bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in a plastic bag. It got really big and then popped it was so much fun!

One of my favourite memories is when it was my first ever Cricket match in Year 4 and I got three wickets.

When I competed in the Long Jump at HMC I was really nervous. I thought that I would do really badly but in the end I came 4th.

Maisie Lickrish

Joe Baker

Jacob Bray

Guy Pepper

I especially enjoyed the Red, White and Blue Day for the Jubilee. Mrs Small came as a post box and Mr Ayres was a soldier.

I joined in Year 4 and went into 4W. We won the House Rugby as well as the House Singing that year, so it was a great way to start Barnard Castle Prep School.

My favourite memories are of Sports Days; they are so much fun even when we come last! Everyone tries their hardest.

I’ll always remember representing my school in the North of England trial, together with Archie and Ed. When I went to warm up I was nervous, but when I saw Ed and Archie I didn’t feel so bad.

Hamish McAllister

Matthew Osborne

Robert Harris

Niamh Robinson

As a border, I remember going on a trip to Flamingo Land. On one of the rides, my shoe came off and flew back to earth!

In Year 1 Ryan’s mum and dad brought in a Chinese takeaway. It was really tasty and Ryan and I had thirds!

I loved it when the boarders went rock climbing. I was really nervous when we got there, but Ed was my climbing partner and really encouraged me. We got our harnesses and helmets on and we went up. We both really enjoyed it.

My first ever service with Harmony Choir was at Ripon Cathedral. It was amazing! There were so many people singing so many different parts, that sounded so amazing in such a beautiful building.

Jonathan McNickle

Evie Brenkley

Matthew Forster

India Oates

I was really pleased to win the Soccer cup. I was very proud and grateful.

My favourite part of Prep School was this year’s production. The part I played was enjoyable and it was great fun getting into character. With all my friends there too, there was a great atmosphere backstage with everyone supporting each other.

It was fun going to Hamsterley Forest in Year 5. We got to go around in separate groups and, as my group walked towards a tree, Mr Ayres jumped out from behind it and scared us all.

One of the great days in Prep School was when the Olympic torch came through Barnard Castle. At the end of the day, Amelia and I were lucky enough to hold it.

Melissa Saunders

Emily Kelly

Jacob Newnam

When we went on the London trip we all kept singing most of the way and must have made a lot of noise!

In House Cross Country I kept saying to myself ‘I’m going to run faster this year!’ Unfortunately that didn’t quite happen, but there’s always next year…!

When we won the plate at HMC Football was probably my favourite moment. The look of joy on our faces was obvious.

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Senior Common Room

Victoria Lawrence

Nicola Merson

VICTORIA LAWRENCE Victoria Lawrence joined the School teaching staff last September with a 1st class Honours in Mathematics from Durham University, and having just completed her teaching training at Oxford.

She brought (much needed?) youth and vitality into the Maths Department, and there are many students, parents and teachers who will be very sad to see her leaving our maths classrooms after such a short stay at Barney. She completed her NQT year whilst with us and left as a very able and competent teacher of Mathematics to pupils of all ages and abilities. She also made a huge impact in her role as a Year 11 tutor in Longfield, the girls’ boarding house. She moves south to be with her partner and has secured employment as an actuary with KPMG, which is no mean achievement amongst a high level of competent graduate competition and we wish her well and success with her new career.

MHN

NICOLA MERSON Nicola joined our PE and Games staff primarily to coach Lacrosse. Although she had completed a degree in Law, she was keen to pursue a career in teaching.

Lacrosse had played a significant role for her whilst she was at university, although she is an able Hockey and Netball player too.

Timetabled for all Games lessons both in Senior and Prep School she was quickly thrust in to the thick of things. With additional Year 7 and Prep PE lessons too, she showed that she was very capable at adapting her teaching style and using her knowledge of sport across all areas. She was warmly welcomed in Longfield, tutoring Year 9 and assisting with evening duties. Nicola often assisted staff on trips beyond the classroom which would not have occurred without her support. She coached the thriving 3rd XI Hockey team as well as helping with the U15/14B and C teams, aiding the development of Hockey within the School. The Lent term was extremely busy for her; she not only ran every Lacrosse team but organised fixtures for them, took activity sessions and coached girls in Games lessons singlehandedly. The U15 girls were very fortunate to be given the opportunity to compete in the National Schools Tournament down

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Tom Thorogood

at Guildford due to Miss Merson’s ambition to take them. In the Trinity term Nicola was involved with several Rounders teams and Athletics.

Having flirted with the idea of combing teaching Chemistry and PE/Games Nicola has decided to use her Law degree for the time being to seek employment. We wish her well and hope she takes some fond memories from Barney and hopefully one day will return to the classroom or sports field.

MTP

TOM THOROGOOD Tom joined Barney as our first male Sports Graduate. He knew the School well, having worked during the summer holidays at the Languages School held at Barney, and having being educated at Richmond School.

He was quickly very busy, timetabled to be teaching on every Senior School Games lessons, Prep School Games lessons, Year 7 PE and Prep School PE lessons also. One of his main roles on the games field was to assist Mr Lewis coach the U14A Rugby team. Tom proved to be more than useful; his confidence to referee matches grew significantly and his ability to lead the players was extremely positive. He has played a significant role assisting with evening duties in York House, as well as helping as a tutor which Mr Allman and his team are very grateful for. In the Lent term Tom was able to focus on his main sport, Hockey. He was in charge of the U15 team which developed well under his guidance. He was also on hand to assist Mr Gregory with the U12s. The Trinity term brought about Tom’s second love, Cricket. When the boys could get a bat or ball off him – as he was so intent on improving his own averages – the U14s had a successful season. He was able to bring that group of boys together well and allow them to show potential as a team.

Tom will be missed by pupils and staff alike. He was always approachable and bonded well with pupils of all ages. He will develop into a very good PE teacher, and we would like to wish him all the best when he embarks on his SCITT at Northumbria University next term.

MTP

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ANDY WADDINGTON His email used to be wadders@ barneyschool.co.uk until the protocols kicked in and he became plain AMW. But legend is no respecter of the internet and Wadders he remains to a fanatical fan club accumulated over 26 years at the School.

Wadders arrived in 1988 from Batley Grammar. A graduate of Liverpool University, at a time when punk rock was eclipsing the Beatles and getting a taste for teaching from tutoring Swedish and Italian girls on vacation in Penzance, he was the new style of teacher here – a product of the prescient fashion for Lang and Lit, with the polish of fine writing and the destructiveness of a demolition ball. Standing in front of a work room notice he could spot at a glance the meta-messages of power, language and gender and turn them rapidly into ribald commentary, whilst affecting total gravity – a 21st century version of his beloved Chaucer but twice as funny.

This young Head of Department, and still Head of Department after 26 years, has never pulled any punches. Yes he produced musicals like My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof, but the productions he remembers best were the gritty and tortured View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, and the play within a play of Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenberger, set amongst issues of criminality, love and exile – the very stuff, perhaps, of Wadders’ later experience as a JP, observing the trail of humanity through the Adult and Youth courts.

Therein lies the complexity of the man who has been a fixture of the School for so long.

He is the one in whose debt I am for opening my daughter’s eyes to the human issues underpinning both Literature and Theology which drove her to seek both in Oxford. He is the one who also quietly launched the less able onto deeper seas than they would ever have imagined, from the days when EFL was an after-hours activity at his own expense, to the times when stricken pupils queued up at his door for last minute advice on their A level or a re-mark from recalcitrant exam boards.

What we saw more often, as colleagues, was the windswept stride to the sports-hall to deliver a Pandora’s box of exam papers, note half a dozen finish times on the exams’ board in impenetrable scrawl and stalk away again, until the last candidate, in echoing space, wrote their final sentence and their paper was snatched away for the post.

How could the man of letters and the reflective, jovial, train-spotter supping a pint in the Old Well also be this whirlwind who rose through the ranks of AQA to one

of their chief advisers for A level, could mark a script with unerring accuracy amidst the debris of the work room, and dash off ISI inspection reports or Departmental minutes within seconds of their finishing.

I guess it’s the same man whose favourite authors, if pushed, are Wordsworth and Hardy – the dancing daffodils of his beloved Lakeland, the freedom of the legendary walking trips and Duke of Edinburgh commitments, against the brooding fate which harries our every move and threatens to overtake us. Better perhaps to side with Wordsworth and, dancing, head for the hills or the nearest train station, than wait for the speeches to catch up with you. Or rather, walk close to your beloved Maria and watch the sons become men, who remain your safe haven against every darkness.

“The school is a microcosm of the way the world ought to be. I wish it were a microcosm of a bigger macrocosm, but of course it isn’t. It’s a kind of Utopia – a nowhere land which doesn’t exist – except that it does.”

To his colleagues: “Enjoy where you are and realise how lucky you are. Count your blessings” And then typically: “The school owes me half a year – that’s 26 walking trips!”

We all owe you Wadders. Good luck and safe travelling with those you love.

SJR

Complex, mercurial, witty, sharp, loyal, self-effacing, deep and light at the same time – Wadders, we will miss you.

I think you will miss us, judging by some of your own comments to end with:

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award GOLD This year 24 members of the LVIth completed training expeditions and of these 12 successfully completed their assessed expedition and are on track to complete the award while at School. Two former pupils have been awarded their full gold award, Kate Swinbank and Josie Amery. I would like to congratulate Hayley Anderson, who completed the award before coming to Barney, but was presented with it by the Duke of Edinburgh earlier this year.

Training expeditions are relatively short ventures, but always tough. Participants experience a short hike into a wild camp on the Friday, followed by a full 20km hike and typically 1,000m of ascent and a second wild camp on the Saturday and a relatively short walk out on the Sunday. I like to think this gives them the chance to experience what the venture is like while developing camp craft, navigation and journeying. The first two training expeditions went to the Dufton and High Pennine areas. The first of these took place in quite pleasant September sunshine while the second was

SILVER Not only were there yellow bikes everywhere, but yellow sheep! Yes, Swaledale had gone yellow mad and all for a few cyclists. But, what an event Tour de Yorkshire was. The aerial views of the Dales were stunning, and confirmed to me that it ranks as one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The Tour de France organisers had chosen well. Our DofE teams had the privilege of doing their assessment expedition in this valley, four days before le Tour.

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at the end of March, where conditions were much cooler and there was a lot of snow lying on the top of Great Dun Fell and Knock Fell. To make matters worse visibility was poor and the snow gave way to saturated peat bog as we approached the shooting box next to Great Rundale Tarn. There was a huge relief when the shooting box was finally reached, but the plans had to be adapted to get Millie Cartwright home safely after she twisted her ankle. The final training expedition in June was a much more straightforward affair, in the Lake District. Weather was great and the group enjoyed a fantastic ridge walk along High Street and fantastic wild camps at Measand Beck and Riggindale.

The assessed expeditions took place at the end of term and two groups of six completed a journey through the Yorkshire Dales. Both groups started at Kirkby Lonsdale, walking different routes to Dent and Yore House, for their first two camps, before camping and finishing separately. Group 1 was made up of Holly Appleby, Charlotte Elliot, Fiona Matthews, Jane Metcalf, Sarah Stephenson and Ben Pullan. Group 2 comprised Katie Body, Chloe Atkinson, Joe Ferguson, Seb Hampson, Dan Milne and Nick Moore.

Carrying all their equipment for three days and two nights, the five teams completed their expedition successfully. Our assessor, Mr Ewart, was once again very complimentary and impressed with the high standard of camping and cooking skills. Warm dry weather blessed the teams throughout. On the first day, one group went missing between Bowes and Tan Hill Inn. Two hours behind schedule, they finally passed through the checkpoint at 6pm. Their campsite in Keld was still two hours away. The group quickly learnt a valuable lesson of navigation – use the map and compass more than once in the day!

After this they were determined not to be lost again and proved to the assessor they could navigate. Day two and three went very smoothly and all teams had arrived at Aysgarth Fall by 4pm on the last day. To compete the expedition section all groups need to produce a report/presentation of the aim of their expedition. I’m looking forward to seeing these projects, particularly the ‘Selfies with Sheep’ project. Will this feature yellow sheep?

This year we had 47 signing on for the Silver award with 29 completing the expedition assessment this summer. Of the four sections of the Award, the Expedition section is the one participants need support and help in achieving: Skills, Volunteering and Physical being the other three sections which are left

Group 1’s final camp was at Kirkby Stephen and their finish at the Cross Keys temperance inn (where they enjoyed a post expedition treat). Group 2 had their final camp at Keld and their finish at Kirkby Stephen. Both groups did tremendously well and were blessed with perfect weather.

They even managed to see the last hour of the Dent music festival featuring Midge Ure, one time lead singer of Ultravox. Not quite ‘wild camping’, but had they been there since Friday it might well have been!

CHA

very much for the individual to organise and complete, which in essence, is what the DofE is all about – commitment, self-discovery, development. Achieving a DofE Award indicates to employers and universities that the young person has certain personal qualities to offer beyond normal academic qualifications. Advice and guidance is given along the way but it is very much driven by the participant. At BCS, we start expedition training in Year 11. During the Autumn term, navigation training, including a day walk in Teesdale is delivered. During the Spring term cooking, food, camp skills, first aid and emergency procedure training was also delivered. This training was put into the practice expedition at the end of the Easter holidays when the teams are dropped off at Cow Green Reservoir and walked back to School over three days.

Congratulations go to the following for achieving their Silver Award during the last year: Sam Leeming, Rebecca Cliffe, Alexandra Stirk, Ben Wynn-Jones and Nathan Miller.

I would like to thank the following who have helped deliver the training during the year: Mr Wade, Mr Waddington, Dr Walton, Mrs Stevens and Mr Graystone.

PCO

BARNARDIAN

During the year various news items regarding OBs are posted on the OB noticeboard situated in Chapel corridor.

Early in the academic year two OBs published books, Tom Moorehouse wrote The River Singers and Nigel Farndale wrote The Road Between Us. Both received excellent reviews, so if you’re stuck for a present… In the last few weeks another book has been released. It has been quite a long time in the making and has been finished by the family of Michael Lowes as he sadly passed away a few years ago. The book, called The Lure of the Mountain is the first published biography of Bentley Beetham. Of course it was quite a timely launch, as 100 years ago Beetham came back to the School as a Master and this was marked by the instigation of an annual lecture series to be known as the Bentley Beetham Endeavour Lectures.

Old Barnardians It has been an exciting year for Old Barnardians on the communications front with the introduction of two new initiatives.

In March we launched a new ‘Barnardians Reconnected’ website.

This is a lot more user friendly and allows the formation of groups, has a search facility and members are able to post their own news items. This new website also allows the Development Office and OB Secretary the opportunity to keep in touch by sending out BarneyEConnect a bi-monthly newsletter. Everyone is welcome to have a look at the site www.barnardiansreconnected.org.uk. The second initiative was the publication of the first Barney Connect, an annual magazine rather than the newsletter produced by the Old Barnrdians Club. This was very well received and we look forward to next years’ magazine.

One piece of sad news was the passing of Mr F McNamara, who was Headmaster 1980-97. When he arrived there were no girls. Soon after his arrival he introduced girls to the School; firstly in to the 6th Form, and later throughout. He increased the number of overseas boarders and oversaw many physical changes to our buildings. He was obviously held in high regard if the number of OBs present at his Memorial Service is anything to go by.

As usual we have held the Golf Competition, London Dinner and Barnardian Weekend and I would like to thank all those OBs who attended and encourage new, young OBs to join in.

DJ

Bentley Beetham Endeavour Lecture Bentley Beetham came to the North Eastern County School in 1897 as a boarder in Northumberland until 1903 and then came back in 1914 to teach Natural History. He was an accomplished climber and was chosen as a member of the Everest Expedition in 1924 with Mallory and Irving.

Unfortunately due to illness he was not able accompany them to the top.

This year, the 100th year since Bentley Beetham came back to Barney as a teacher, saw the inaugural Bentley Beetham Endeavour Lecture celebrating the spirit of endeavour and courage as shown by Beetham in his climbing and teaching.

Our guest speaker was Baroness Tanni GreyThompson. She spoke to a packed Big School

about achievement and what it takes to succeed, sharing her own life experiences.

During her athletic career she won 16 Paralympic medals and 13 World Championships. In 2010 Tanni was made a life peer, the Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe.

Tanni began the Lecture, titled Seize the Day, discussing the importance of education and her father’s advice that education gives you choices. She then spoke of the highs and lows of her career in sport and the importance of aiming high and surrounding yourself with positive, encouraging and supportive people. At the end of the lecture Dame Tanni stayed to chat with members of the audience over drinks and canapés.

Also during the evening our guests were able to view a number of items belonging to Beetham, not least his wooden skis, boots and climbing belt. These had been restored by a group of students under the direction of the Regional Conservator for the Conservation Advisory Network, who is based at the Bowes Musuem.

DJ

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RAF Another year has flown by – where do they go? Flight Sergeant Hans Kukreja and his deputy, Sergeant Findley Hardie-Hammond have led the RAF Section superbly this year. They both successfully completed their Silver Wings in the Vigilant Glider last August, not long after completing a gruelling week at RAF Cranwell, both successfully completing the Air Cadet Leadership Course. They both told me the 5am runs were “character building”.

I was particularly grateful for their leadership and input in organising a hugely successful Biennial Inspection back in October. The inspecting officer, Colonel McAllister, was particularly impressed by the RAF Section and enjoyed a lecture

by Corporal Naseby on propulsion before seeing Year 11s being put through their paces completing their leadership training.

After an 18 month hiatus it was fantastic news when the RAF announced that Air Experience Flying could recommence at RAF Leeming. Cadets, since the turn of the year, have flown twice and have had the thrill of aerobatics in the Grob tutor. It is always thrilling to see the cadets’ faces when they exit the cockpit for the first time, although some do insist on telling me they very much enjoyed the “aerobics”.

Gliding at RAF Topcliffe has always been a favourite in the programme and it was great to see cadets Edward Young and Gordon Poon complete their Gliding Induction Course and fly the motorised Vigilants back in September. Duncan Hewitson was subsequently successful in winning a Gliding Scholarship, where he had hoped to earn his Silver Wings. Unfortunately, the week before the Easter holidays, the whole gliding fleet was grounded and still remains so. We look forward to its return in the new academic year.

Monday Parades are, of course, the backbone of our programme. All of the Year 10s have completed their weapon handling, and completed their part one badge after studying components that include the history of the RAF, airmanship, navigation and field craft. Year 11s have gone on to study propulsion, air craft recognition and further navigation.

I must thank Flight Lieutenant Child and Flight Lieutenant Beaty for their continued support and teaching, for which I am very grateful.

It was a fitting end to the academic year and a proud moment to see RAF cadets and officers taking part in Teesdale’s Aviation Day, remembering more than 80 servicemen who gave their lives for their country.

MLW

Charity Report Tragedy pulls at people’s hearts, and students know this, giving generously to The Great North Air Ambulance. The parents who attended the carol services gave £2,500 to Save the Children as they continue to rescue children from the clutches of war in Syria. The plight of veterans led to honouring redwhiteandblue day in October. The daily tragedy of cancer and incurable conditions touched people in their deepest being. The annual street collection for Christian Aid and our larger non-uniform donation make us a proud and substantial contributor to the efforts of Barnard Castle as a whole.

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There’s been some fun in the process. Whilst Valentine’s messages were a casualty of those who abused the privilege last year, there was plenty of love in the hearts of the charity committee who produced the usual tangled web of Halloween fashion parades of goblins and fairies and the annual fixture of R J Thompson giving time and energy to good causes. An excellent year, and my usual gratitude to everyone, especially Becca Cliffe to name just one of a great host of saints.

SJR

Donations made and promised Great North Air Ambulance Save the Children Epilepsy Action Philippines Tsunami Action Christian Aid Farm Africa (the Barney Run Charity) The Bobby Robson Foundation Marie Curie Cystic Fibrosis Trust Specific Requests for charity help Multiple Sclerosis Charity Natalie Kate Moss Trust British Legion Total

£1,500 £2,500 £366 £1,000 £1,000 £3,000 £250 £250 £500 £500 £300 £250 £200 £11,616

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Chapel Report I confess to a sneaking regard for the alleged extremists who wanted to impose their beliefs on maintained schools in Birmingham. All the surveys of schools like these suggest that secular assemblies are bland beyond belief and are a peculiar blend of citizenship, PSHE, motivational talks for literacy or numeracy or reminders of non-memorable, though worthy, mission statements like Endeavour, Integrity and so on, where nothing can possibly give offence to anybody but may well lead to early death through boredom. At least a Trojan horse has fire in its belly and, forgive me, but weren’t the Greeks the democratic forerunners of our civilisation and didn’t the Trojans, confident of peace and their moral superiority, drag the horse into their own city?

I wonder if the Chapel is sometimes a Trojan horse which has been dragged within the walls of the School. True, when first it arrived, it appeared to be innocuous. To be honest, the School thought it didn’t really need it. In Malcolm McCallum’s excellent new book it becomes obvious that donations were slow in coming and, once built, in the golden days of empire, Headmasters could simply recite the certainties of the Ten Commandments from the imposing central lectern, to confirm the eternal order of things. The Chapel threatened no one and was simply part of a self-confident society believing that the upward rise of civilisation was inevitable and the age of rational moral human beings had triumphed. But all these certainties were swept away by one World War and then another. The Chapel had tried to speak of death and the fragility of life, but now the war memorials breathed the actual cost at which comfortable civilisation is bought. The building became a repository of the conflicts in the depths of the human soul.

Whilst the king in glory still stood at the top of the altar window, the crucified man held more attention, and the painted Consoler stood betwixt the confident scoffers and the vulnerable converts, with a woman weeping inconsolably at his feet.

performance in maths to their behaviour in the classroom. A high spec Sixth Form centre about to emerge from the drill yard of the past. A perfect brave new world – except that this is 2014 , bringing with it an uncomfortable echo of that drill ground 100 years ago and a question of how we should mark its centenary.

So what is the Trojan Chapel to do? I suppose it reminds people of the flaws in the systems, the vulnerability of our best laid defences to the vagaries of birth and growth and death which oddly are the core business of any human being. There has been birth, certainly, and young people are gloriously impervious to systems. The Pre-Prep Nativity as always teetered on the edge of chaos as children made sense of the foolishness of God at Christmas. We have also held baptisms. Six out of the 14 confirmation candidates had their hair styles and protective formality washed away by the new Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, who was similarly human. Little Jack Connor reminded his parents that teachers are mortal too on an Advent Sunday baptism, amidst incense and bread and wine, and my own grandchild, Isaac, “child of laughter”, was baptised in the deep chill of New Year’s day. There has been death too – the heart rending funeral, with full military honours of Colonel Andrew Pullan and the gathering later in the year to remember Frank McNamara, ex Headmaster of the School, in the Chapel where David, a vulnerable shepherd boy, gazes across at his friend Jonathan, later slain on the hills of Gilboa.

How are the mighty fallen!

The Chapel remembers our loves and losses.

Despite the beauty of Durham Cathedral and York Minster, which hosted us as guest choir again this year, the very same anthems seem more at home in the Chapel. Perhaps it’s because you cannot disappear into anonymity in the Chapel; whilst the collegiate style is remarked upon as a truism of community, it is true nonetheless that you cannot easily be enemies if your eyes lock across the aisle singing a hymn or if you push

between knees on benches to receive a monitor’s tie at Nailing-Up. There is also that mystery of transposition when the data of the classroom arrives in Chapel. So the theme of Community and Discrimination, which is a staple of the RS and PSHE lesson, comes into Chapel as the York House service begins and suddenly becomes relevant when an international student reads about racism in front of the cross. Likewise when the tiniest Year 7s at the Marwood service talk about growth and flourishing, it strikes chords in the UVIth who have seen this, done that, but remember how it feels. In a way, this is as true of the first fruits of the harvest, as the gifts laid before the altar by Prep School children in the autumn, or the weekly offerings of music by the choir, in the same way the Trojans celebrated the horse until it became the stumbling block in their midst.

But of course the Trojan horse was a Greek myth and not a Christian one, though we can salvage some similarities. The horse was made out of broken ships and broken hearts but conquered a citadel, and in the Christian faith this theme of brokenness is a better strategy than militant men in its belly. There is no question of a Christian jihad any more than if Jesus ever intended to call legions of vengeful angels to his aid, but there is mileage in reminding decent godless people of the fragility and beauty of man’s short stay on earth, which takes its strength from the broken dying and rising of God himself, and not from the iron unbreakable systems of earth.

The Garden of Reflection, if it ever emerges in the sunlit ground between Chapel and the library, between knowledge and wisdom, might be witness to this. Hopefully it will be planted with bright blooms which flower and fade and flower again, and peopled by children in transit between earth and heaven.

And inscribed perhaps beneath the confident proclamation of ‘Community, Endeavour, Integrity, Enjoyment, Compassion and Duty’ should be a simple cross, “the rock” on which we stand.

SJR

But now, as at the beginning of last century, so at the beginning of this, the wheel has gone full circle. The pictures and memorials are still there but this is a self-confident age again, “dreaming of systems so perfect that no-one will need to be good” …And there are a lot of systems. Wireless internet. Every child it seems with a smart phone.

Connectivity at the touch of a button. A new MIS coming on stream which will track every pupil through every twist and turn from their

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The Musical Year in a (typical?) Week

Monday First to arrive in the Music School on a Monday morning are Mrs Bainbridge and Mr Durrant, all set to begin the first of around two hundred individual lessons that will be taught in the Music Department each week throughout the School year. We are well served at Barney by a fine team of visiting instrumental teachers, and it is with particular sadness that this year we say goodbye to Mr Peter Bradshaw who has taught guitar at the School for over 15 years.

We wish him a happy retirement from this work, but hope that we shall often see him back at BCS to play for School productions.

Our first ensemble rehearsal gets underway at 8.45am with Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir preparing for upcoming concerts and services. The lunchtime break sees the arrival of our 30-strong Junior Orchestra. There has been much talent evident in this group this year and the culmination of all the weekly rehearsals was the Junior Arts Event at the end of June when actors, musicians and artists joined forces for a cultural evening courtesy of Years 7, 8 and 9. Thanks are due especially to Mr Durrant for covering Junior Orchestra rehearsals in Mr Donnelly’s absence while he was playing for Lisa Stansfield’s worldwide tour in venues as diverse as the O2 in London to the Jakarta Jazz Festival. We are also grateful to Dr Butterfield for his musical work with 9K and his sterling efforts to get them to record their group compositions.

Tuesday Our visiting teaching staff expands on Tuesday with singing lessons with Mr Coulson and guitar and bass lessons from Mr Shoulder. We are grateful for all their support with School ensembles and are very appreciative of Mr Shoulder’s help with Junior Orchestra, Wind Band and many School shows, and Mr Coulson’s huge contribution to both School choirs. The weekly staff meeting with Mrs Abela and Mr

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Owens puts the week in order and then the first of the week’s Wind Band rehearsals takes place at lunchtime. A highlight for the Wind Band this year was its performance at the Durham Christmas markets; not quite such a freezing occasion as it had been in previous years. Amongst the pupils leaving Wind Band this year, we say a fond farewell to James Robertson, Erika Lee, Sarah Child, Ben Wynn-Jones, Caitrin Robertson and Michael Wilkinson. Twice each week, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, two groups of pupils taking GCSE off timetable have their weekly lessons. This year the performance and composition work from Tom Joashi and Ceara Sutton-Jones in particular merit good marks from the examiners. At 4pm one of a number of theory classes take place; amongst those successful in examinations this year were Maddy Forsyth, Sarah Robertson, Philip Piticas, Zak Day, James Terrill, Tom Matthews and Tom Harris.

Wednesday The busiest day in the Music School. Mr Milgate, Mrs Snowdon and Mrs Webb teach on these days and lunchtime is busy with the Prep School Orchestra directed by Dr Harrison, and then the String Orchestra and Brass Ensemble rehearsing simultaneously over the lunchbreak. The annual highlight for these groups is undoubtedly the Gala Concert, held this year on Tuesday 1 April.

The great variety of music at this event is what appeals to our increasingly large audiences year by year, and is the reason why we hope to take this annual performance to the Gala Theatre in Durham in 2015. This year’s Gala Concert highlights included ‘New York, New York’ (Junior Orchestra), Bach’s Sinfonia in F (String Orchestra), Insane et vanae curae by Haydn accompanied by orchestra (Chamber Choir & Chapel Choir), Great Escape (Brass Ensemble) and Gershwin Classics (Wind Band). The audience was also treated to solos from Ian Chan (piano), Juliet O’Brien (piano), Beth Clark (soprano) and Zak Day (saxophone). In the first half of the Michaelmas term, the School was taken over by singing rehearsals during House time, and it was excellent to welcome Graham Griggs back to adjudicate the annual House Singing competition.

Thursday Ms Ferris, Mr Jakob and Dr Lax are in the department on Thursdays and Fridays and they complete our team of staff who prepare pupils for concerts and examinations throughout the year. Each term we have two days devoted to external music examinations with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and the London College of Music. Our pupils are successful at these

across all abilities and age groups and many have performed this year at High Scorers’ concerts beyond School. We are grateful to Mrs Abela and Dr Harrison who have given up their free time to prepare our pupils for these examinations. Many pupils have also been involved in our annual Music Competition, this year adjudicated most expertly by Mrs Jessica Holmes from Durham Johnston School. Chapel Choir has its weekly rehearsal on a Thursday evening and we are most grateful to Dr Harrison for accompanying these rehearsals and to our senior choristers for their commitment over many years. This year’s Chapel Choir leavers are Tom Evans, Becca Cliffe, Abi Davies, Stanley Wong and this year’s excellent Head of Choir, Hetti Harper. We hope that they will stay in touch and join us as OBs for future performances.

Friday Chamber Choir and the Jazz Ensemble regularly rehearse on Fridays and this is also a chance for pupils to attend other performances locally and further afield. Our GCSE pupils have enjoyed a performance this year of West Side Story at the Sunderland Empire, while later in May some of our musicians (not only pianists) attended a recital in the Witham Hall given by internationally-renowned pianist Viv McClean. Some of our pupils have attended the Cream Tees folk group at The Hub in Barnard Castle and just before Christmas we had our major Carol Concert in the Bowes Museum with the School Choir and readers and instrumentalists from the School.

Saturday Early on Saturday morning Years 7, 8 and 9 classes arrive for singing, keyboard and composition lessons. Pupils in Year 9 in particular have worked hard to complete their horror-based composition projects. On other Saturday mornings our musicians have entertained on Open Morning and for the Bridging-the Gap events. There have also been some Choral Society workshop mornings and two excellent concerts. The first in Chapel celebrating Benjamin Britten’s

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centenary with a performance of his cantata Rejoice in the Lamb, accompanied by Francesca Massey, Sub-organist at Durham Cathedral. The second concert was in the Bowes Museum in May and featured Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mozart’s Requiem. As well as the excellent efforts of the chorus and orchestra, it was superb that Ceara SuttonJones and Nathan Barker were able to play in the orchestra, while Sam Farquhar and Nicholas Mackay sang with the Choral Society for this concert.

Sunday Not every School is active at either 9.30am or 6.00pm on a Sunday, but these are the regular rehearsal times for the Chapel Choir.

In addition, in the Lent term, most Sundays were given over to rehearsals for the excellent production of Grease, directed by Mr Edwards with Mr Owens being Musical

Director this year. The production played to sell-out audiences and showcased the excellent musical and dramatic talent in the School. The Chapel Choir’s year concluded with Evensong in York Minster (at the insistence of the Head of Choir) and we also joined with the Prep School Harmony Choir at Ripon Cathedral in February and were delighted to return to Durham Cathedral to sing Evensong last November.

So, each week is busy and each week contributes to a busy programme throughout the year. As we come to the end of another hectic time, it is good to report that the second stage of the Music School redecoration is well underway and a thorough spring (or should that be autumn?) clean is certainly due to set us up for the year ahead.

AMM

Practical Music Examination Highlights 2013–14 Dip LCM Grade 8 Grade 8 Grade 6 Grade 6 Grade 6 Iona Borer Grade 6 Maddy Forsyth Grade 5 Martha Clarkson-Cox Grade 5 Enoch Leung Grade 8 Ceara Sutton-Jones Grade 7 Sam Farquhar Grade 7 Whizzy Gorman Zak Day Matthew Priestley Jamie Spratt Tom Joashi Michael Liu

Singing Jazz Saxophone Jazz Saxophone Clarinet Jazz Clarinet Violin Violin Clarinet Cello Piano Violin Trumpet

79 Approved 85 Distinction 68 Pass 85 Distinction 83 Merit 79 Merit 72 Pass 85 Distinction 76 Merit 106 Pass 130 Distinction 127 Merit

Music Festival This year’s Music Festival was held on Wednesday 19th February and it was a great pleasure to welcome Mrs Jessica Holmes from Durham Johnston School to adjudicate the competition. Jessica’s musical life began in the Lancastrian town of Oldham where, as a child, she was a member of their renowned Girls’ Choir.

After this excellent grounding, singing took a back-seat to study of the piano and the flute. She came to the North-East in 1997 to read music at Durham University and soon discovered that, of the many musical opportunities on offer, it was the choirs that looked most appealing.

She became a member of Durham Polyphony and Durham University Chamber Choir, and was also a choral scholar at University College.

After graduation in 2000 she remained in Durham, and now teaches music at Durham Johnston School, as well as singing the Durham Cathedral Consort of Singers, with whom she has performed Mozart’s Laudate Dominum in Hall One of the Sage, Gateshead in 2009, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mozart’s Requiem with Northern Sinfonia, and Stanford’s Magnificat in G with the BBC Philharmonic, which was broadcast live on Radio 3. She is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer on the recent CD made by the Consort. Jessica is much in demand as a solo performer all over the North-East of England, and recent performances have included; Dido & Aeneas and Brahms’ Requiem in Gateshead, John Blow’s Venus & Adonis in Cullercoats, Haydn’s Nelson Mass in Yarm, Vivaldi’s Gloria at the

Sam Farquhar Alex Thompson David Goldberg Martha Clarkson-Cox Kerin Borer Jessica Mitchell Nathan Barker Kerin Borer Beth Clark Sam Farquhar Kate Martin Ceara Sutton-Jones

Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 7 Grade 6 Grade 8

Singing Singing Violin Singing Bassoon Cello French Horn Singing Singing Piano Piano Piano

135 Distinction 127 Merit 126 Merit 121 Merit 120 Merit 120 Merit 126 Merit 126 Merit 127 Merit 130 Distinction 117 Pass 126 Merit

Keswick Festival, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Haydn’s Creation at the Hexham Festival, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Alnwick, Vaughan Williams’ Benedicite with Durham Choral Society, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Durham University Choral Society.

Results Elementary Class Intermediate Piano Advanced Piano Intermediate Woodwind Advanced Woodwind/Jazz Intermediate Violin Advanced Strings Advanced Brass Intermediate Brass Open Percussion Open Organ Junior Singing Senior Singing Most Promising Musician Musician of the Year

Owen Greaves (tuba) David Goldberg Juliet O’Brien Tom Joashi (saxophone) Zak Day (saxophone) Alex Swainston Ceara Sutton-Jones (violin) Sam Farquhar (trumpet) Nathan Barker (French horn) Tom Harris (trumpet)Highly Commended Maddy Forsyth Juliet O’Brien Amy Morrill Beth Clark Ceara Sutton-Jones Juliet O’Brien

AMM

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BARNARDIAN

BOWES HOUSE IN BOWES HOUSE, THE YEAR BEGAN WITH SOME NEW FACES, SOME OLD FACES AND ALSO WITH A RETURNING FACE (WHICH MAY HAVE LOOKED A LITTLE OLDER THAN THE LAST TIME IT WAS SEEN AROUND BOWES HOUSE).

We welcomed a large group of eager and animated Year 7s into the fold, as well as four new Sixth Formers. They joined a bustling and busy Bowes House from the word go, led wonderfully by Niamh Tait as Head of House and Kate Lovegreen as Deputy Head of House. We were also joined

by Sidley and Petunia, the Bowes House goldfish who, despite a short stint living on top of the heater in the Sixth Form common room, made it through the year and will be returning in September with the new UVIth. I also returned to Bowes House; however, this time it was not as an enthusiastic UVIth former, looking forward to the excitement of a new girls’ House being created, but as an enthusiastic Housemistress, looking forward to the excitement of taking over the reins from Amy Jackson.

What struck me from the outset was that, whilst many things had changed in the House since its inception, some things were as reliable and constant in Bowes as they always had been. The sense of dedication and commitment to the House amongst the girls seems never to have faltered and I must pay tribute in particular to the UVIth, who gave constant encouragement to each other, to the younger girls, and a huge amount of support to the House staff. I could not have wished for a more dedicated and positive group of young ladies to work with in my first year as HSM. The first big event of the year was the House Singing Competition. Bowes House’s team was led wonderfully by Sarah Perkins and Hetti Harper, who coached the Junior girls through a rendition of Consider Yourself and devised the parts to perform Girl, Put Your Record On in four-part harmony. The highlight of the evening for me was watching the energetic unison performance of Does Your Mother Know?, which gained the highest mark on the night. The Sixth Form’s dance moves provided both a great deal of entertainment and an insight into why Laura Spedding is not toddling off to the Royal Academy of Dance in September.

After the October half-term break, Bowes were on a roll and we saw successes in everything from cake decorating to Scrabble. The Intermediate girls’ ‘Movember’ cake looked wonderful; however, having

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watched it being created and having seen a piece of black icing sugar rolled around in Sophie Hopkins’ hands for half an hour, I opted out of trying the masterpiece.

Charlotte Elliott, who consumed a good third of it, assured me that it tasted just as great as it looked. The term ended as well as it had begun, with a win in the House hockey competition, leaving Niamh to ‘nail up’ for Bowes House in December.

The Barnard Run and the Barney Bash were the big events of the Lent term and preparations started in earnest. The first practice was a rather wet, slightly cold and particularly muddy splodge along the Westwick route.

All of the girls were their usual positive selves and, as they pushed Mrs Rothwell and me up the hill whilst overtaking, I was once again struck by their dedication and spirit. On the day of the Bash, all of those who could run did and most of those who could not, due to injury, made their way around the course as best they could. The Junior Bowes girls deserve a special mention for their excellent teamwork which secured them a win. The Lent term also saw us welcome Miss Snaith into the Bowes House family – she joined the wonderful staff team as the Year 10 tutor.

Jessie Burgess paid her first visit to the House at this time as well, aged only two months. As the newest member of Bowes House, Mrs Burgess tried to tempt her over to the purple side by showing her around Marwood first – she was having none of it and the usually very placid little lady let out a cry. Once she was taken a few metres further along to the comfort of Bowes House, she calmed down instantly and let us know exactly where her House loyalties lie!

After the Easter break, Sports Day brought a little sunshine and a lot of smiles, with the Bowes House girls doing exceptionally well. All who competed did so with a great deal of focus and team spirit. Special mention must go to Daisy Oliver, Rebecca Collinson, Rachel Bennett, Ella Bowen and Alex Fox in the Junior team for their outstanding performances which led to them being awarded winners certificates and trophies. Indeed Rachel took away the junior victrix ludorum, as did Alice Ridley for the Intermediates. In the Senior competition Bowes girls won every event bar one and Caitlin Bainbridge took away the Senior victrix ludorum. Charlotte Elliott stood in at the last moment to run the 400m and shocked all those around her as she sprinted to victory, whilst Elle Everall covered the longer distances. In the field events, Niamh Tait and Iona Borer threw and jumped further and higher to secure even more Bowes victories.

As the year began to reach its pinnacle, our minds turned to academics and a calm, studious atmosphere took over the House. It is with mixed feelings that I say cheerio to the Bowes House UVIth. Mrs Shovlin and I will

miss them all greatly; Caitlin’s dry sense of humour, Iona’s no-nonsense attitude, Amanda’s get-up-and-go, Kate’s supportive approach, Becky’s calm outlook, Catherine’s friendly ear, Laura’s latest entertaining story, Hetti’s voice, Sarah’s performances, Lauren’s sweet nature…the list is never-ending. Niamh will be a very hard act to follow and I could not have wished for a better Head of House this year.

We wish our adventurer Niamh a wonderful time overseas in Otjikondo, Namibia. The future is undoubtedly bright for this wonderful bunch of young ladies and it has been a pleasure to work so closely with them in my first year as Bowes Housemistress. The Sixth Form common room will be a much quieter (and much tidier) place without them.

CJB

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DALE HOUSE

FORCE OF HABIT, REINFORCED BY TOO MANY YEARS THAN I WOULD LIKE MADE KNOWN, MEANS I GENERALLY START MY BARNARDIAN REPORT LISTING THE NEWCOMERS TO DALE HOUSE. THEN THERE GENERALLY FOLLOWS A CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS BEFORE FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE WHO ARE LEAVING US. This year, breaking from tradition, I will start with our UVIth leavers. They deserve top billing. They have been an outstanding cohort of fine young men throughout their time in the House. It has been a genuine pleasure working with them. All of them started in Year 7 and have followed that familiar journey through the School. So, sadly, we say goodbye to Benjamin Earl, Ivan Gaskin, Andrew Hall, Christopher Harrison, Hans Kukreja, Matthew Lines, Nathan Miller, James McNeill, James Raper, William Richardson, Lewis Sowerby, Matthew Stirk and James Watson. They have all individually contributed significantly to Dale House over the years and collectively they have offered a great deal.

So, Joe Alderdice, Jack Johnson, Reggie Langton, James Newell, Louis Peacock, Ben Powell, Finn Usher, Marcus Chapman and Max Living had very big shoes to fill. The first chance to show their metal was the House Singing Competition in the Michaelmas term. The Juniors performed Eye of the Tiger as their Unison Song; the adjudicator enjoyed it. The Seniors sang Pompeii, again impressing Mr Griggs. Finally, the bravest members of the House performed Umbrella by Rihanna. The choreography was ambitious and slick. The singing was polished and entertaining. Unfortunately, another year passes without our artistic talent being recognised and rewarded. More importantly though, we had fun preparing and competing.

We were in more comfortable territory after half term. The Juniors won their Rugby Competition. The Intermediates and Seniors were both second. The weather for the Seniors was terrible, the worst conditions I have seen rugby played in at Barnard Castle School. Head of House, James Raper, was undeterred, kicking a drop goal to win one match with that single score. The final game in the Junior House Hockey Competition was bizarre. If Dale B beat Dale A then Tees would win the overall competition at the expense of Dale A; that was not going to happen.

So Dale A won and Dale B was placed third. It was starting to look as if our freshmen did have the potential to fill those large shoes about to be vacated by the UVIth. A string of second places followed: Intermediate Squash, Junior Quiz and Intermediate Swimming. A raft of other competitions took place including chess, poetry reading, a Halloween fashion parade, cake decorating, Charades and Scrabble. Hans Kukreja, Daniel Milne and Jake Sargent represented the House in the Senior Public Speaking Competition.

Thanks to the culinary skills of Mr Ince and Mrs Gorman every member of the House got a pancake on Shrove Tuesday. This didn’t slow Caleb Ellis, Zac Day and James Watson who all won their races in the Barnard Run. Reggie Langton and Josh Raw were both second. The Juniors and Intermediates both won their competitions.

Oliver Dunn, Tom Wilkinson, Nathan Miller and Hans Kukreja won the Senior General Knowledge Competition.

Hans also wrote, produced, directed and took the lead role in our entry to the House Drama Competition; eventually coming third. We also won the Activities Cup in the Lent and Trinity terms.

In the Summer term the Intermediates won the House Football and Cricket Competition. Matthew Moss captained both teams. With no Senior Competition, Matthew and James Raper Nailed-Up at the end of term.

The Juniors won their cricket competition. At Sports Day the Juniors won their team competition. Caleb Ellis won the 100m with Cameron Lewis second. Fergus Hewitson was second in the 200m. Caleb Ellis and Reggie Langton won the 400m and 1,500m respectively; Caleb also won the discus event. Cameron Lewis won the high jump and triple jump. The Juniors won the 4 x 100m relay, the House Relay and the Tug of War. In the Intermediate Competition Zak Day was second in the 200m, Joshua Raw second in the 800m and 1,500m and Joseph Pickering second in the long jump. James Watson won both the 3,000m and 1,500m in the Senior Competition with Duncan Hewitson second in the 400m and James Davidson second in the triple jump. Overall Dale House came second.

We award three cups each term. This year the Tutors’ Shield was presented to Sebastian Hampson, Joshua Raw and James Newell. The Howard Charlesworth Cup went to Joseph Pickering, Reggie Langton and Tom Wilkinson.The Baton Cup, which is handed from pupil to pupil, went to Michael Liu, Zac Day and Matthew Moss.

James Raper has been a very popular and effective Head of House. His approach has been commendable; leading by example with a top ten finish in the Barnard Run, the afore mentioned drop goal in the dying moments

of the House Rugby Competition and a leading role in the Part Song. The support from his monitorial team has been faultless. They all have exciting times ahead of them. They leave us with our best wishes.

As ever, the tutor team has supported and guided the boys through the year. I would like to thank Mr Ince, Mr Goldberg, Mr Nicholson, Mrs Gorman and for the help they have given me and the boys. Miss Broadbent deserves special thanks for the hours of her time she willingly gives each week and each term. Her guidance, advice and patience are appreciated.

Next year’s Head of House will be Sebastian Hampson.

DWD

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DURHAM HOUSE I AM DELIGHTED TO REPORT THAT 2013-14 HAS BEEN ANOTHER EXCELLENT YEAR FOR DURHAM HOUSE, WITH MANY SUPERB EFFORTS FROM OUR BOYS IN THE CLASSROOM, ON THE SPORTS FIELDS, ON STAGE AND IN THE EXTENSIVE ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME THE SCHOOL OFFERS. SEPTEMBER SAW US WELCOME SEVEN FRESH FACED YEAR 7S, AS WELL AS TWO SLIGHTLY LESS FRESH FACED YEAR 9S. The baptism by fire in the Michaelmas term is always the House Singing Competition; an event we are yet to really conquer; conquer? Well, embrace if we are honest. This year the audience was subjected to a version of Don’t Stop Me Now by our Juniors. Freddie Mercury would have been turning in his grave. The Seniors had a crack at Rockstar and our elite singers totally assassinated one of R. Kelly’s songs.

The House’s next venture on stage was as vampires and Louis Jerrom, George Spink, Kieran Lewis, Dan Roberts, Matt Stirke and Angus Ferguson were very scary in the Hallows fashion parade. House Rugby, arguably the most coveted inter House competition, again produced some fierce, but fair, battles. Isaac Brace decided to give up his international tickets to play and was instrumental in winning the closest of contests. The seniors were more dominant and although Dale House inflicted a shock result, we were far too strong on the day and Nailing-Up was a forgone conclusion. Our strengths were not just on the rugby fields, however, and I do like to encourage the boys to broaden their horizons. I was still slightly shocked, but pleasantly so, when Jamie Adamson decide to join Lewis Maddison and Nick Stainthorp in a poetry reading competition. They were all brilliant; reading confidently, clearly and with real feeling. So much so, they were judged the best boys’ house. The Juniors retained the swimming cup and I was proud that so many of the Year 7s and 8s were keen to represent the team.

I like challenging my Heads of House to introduce initiatives and incentives and Max came up with great ideas this year. One was a Christmas Advent draw. Very simple rules; all House members names in a hat and for every day of Advent a winner is drawn out, to claim a prize from the tuck shop. His inspiring ‘Quotes of the week’ also went down well with everyone in the House. My initiative was a ‘Courtesy Campaign’. Again very simple rules; members of staff were asked to let me know about any instances of excellent manners and the like, with results recorded and a winner announced at the end of term. Ollie Theakston used his cheeky smile to good effect and was a popular winner. The term finished with a delicious Christmas meal, but a rather scary Father Christmas!

Ben Spratt had a great idea about how to rid the House of those extra pounds after Christmas and also get in shape for the Barney Run; everyone running shuttles up to Top Tree certainly got other Houses’ attention. His methods also proved very productive and with the Seniors leading from the front, we secured victory on the day with really gutsy performances from very dedicated and determined cross country teams. Our Inters let the side down slightly in the pool; they finishing last. Our

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outstanding Seniors, however, romped home by a huge margin, but the results are combined and we had to settle for second. Another podium finish was in the increasingly popular cake decorating activity; a nightmare of a competition to score, but we were pretty happy with second place. Our improving Intermediate public speakers in Kieran Lewis, Nathan Barker and Dan Roberts, along with our accomplished Seniors in George Jones, Sam Everall and Charlie Naseby, produced interesting and thoughtful speeches. It is one of my favourite evenings in the calendar and this year was no exception. Probably my favourite evening over the years is when House drama productions are on show. Sam Everall, Sam Theakston, Tom Hunter (all three fresh from the production of Grease), Kieran Lewis, Andrew Gedye, George Spink and Leon Blackburn put together, at very short notice, a hilariously funny, witty and intelligent piece of drama that again proved easy to judge. For the third year running we have been voted the best, a confession Mr. Edwards still finds difficult to swallow!

I nearly forgot, the premiere sporting event in the Lent term is Hockey and Nico Gilbertson marshalled his troops and yet again ensured it was Max Jones who scaled the ladder at end of term to tap the House shield yet again.

The summer term is relatively quiet for the Houses; examination year groups are busy revising and House activities and competitions are, therefore, fragmented.

However, before various study leaves and exams kicked in we had a very early Sports Day to consider. Again the boys were great in choosing their events, with everyone finding some way of contributing. Overall winners for the second year running, and by a considerable margin, will be tough acts to follow. We were denied the chance of Nailing-Up for the third time in a year, however, because Senior

House cricket slipped off the radar and was awarded to the intermediate winners. I am sure our juniors, led by George Spink, would have won an evenly balanced final, had our star players, George and Ralph, not been absent for the second half of the final! A highlight of the term was definitely our junior footballers, who won a very closely contested final with Callum Robinson’s men eventually doing the business, unlike England do, in a tense penalty shootout against Tees.

A very busy end of term saw Mr. Donnelly take his tutees paintballing, Years 7, 9 and 10 raid Shirl’s Shakes and run the poor shop attendant off her feet one lazy Thursday afternoon. The UVIth leavers’ meal at the Fat Buddha was well attended by staff and pupils alike, with Charlie Naseby being the only missing member because of a double booking. Mrs. Campbell was up to her old tricks with a variety of pub quiz questions. Mr Gedye, however, showed a new side to his character with some very funny impressions of Will Grundy! It was a great evening with a special group of boys; they were respectful and showed genuine gratitude.

One of my last duties of the term was to appoint Sam Leeming as Durham House’s new Head of House. He has a tough act to follow, but I have every faith in him; he is a fine example for the rest of the House to follow.

I will sign off by wishing our UVIth leavers, Charlie Archer, Sam Everall, Nico Gilbertson, James Hall, George Jones, Max Jones, Charlie Naseby, Ben Spratt, Nick Stainthorp and James Turbull the best of luck with their next ventures in life. Ben Roddam has decided to take up a place at Bishop Burton College and Matthew Stirke joins his brother in North House; their positive and happy dispositions will be missed.

BCU

Services Prizes Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year13 Junior Arts Sheild The Tutor’s Trophy The Layzell Cup

Michaelmas Ralph Makepeace Callum Robinson Ollie Theakston Dan Roberts Lewis Maddison Tristan Hobson Nick Stainthorp Cameron McKnight Isaac Brace Ben Spratt

Annual Awards The Arts Shield: Sam Everall

Lent Leon Blackburn Cameron McKnight Ollie Theakston Kieran Lewis Tom Hunter Sam Theakston Max Jones George Spink Jamie Adamson Sam Everall

The Egg Cup: George Spink

Trinity George Callaghan Cameron McKnight Matthew Hanmer Daniel Burnett Tom Metcalfe Sam Leeming Max Jones Non award Jamie Adamson Sam Theakston

The Durham Cup: Max Jones

BARNARDIAN

LONGFIELD HOUSE

THE GIRLS RETURNED TO LONGFIELD HOUSE IN SEPTEMBER FULL OF THE USUAL EXCITEMENT OF WHO IS IN WHICH ROOM, WITH WHOM, AND WHO THE NEW BOARDERS ARE. This year we welcomed Georgie Rhodes, Hannah Booth and Kiah Baxter (Year 7), Louella Gill (Year 9) Ana Domenech Oliva and Stella Nicholls (Year 10), Cosima Hach (Year 11), and into the LVIth Priscilla Tsang, Nina Pohlman, Joana Dartsch, Celina Palmer, Clara Specht, Anne Zesch and Swee Ong. The House also welcomed two resident tutors Miss Lawrence and Miss Merson with Mr Still taking on the role of the Year 7 and 8 tutor.

Erika Lee as Head of House soon had her first task of organising the House Singing. Songs had to be chosen – although she’d been planning it for some time. In true Longfield fashion there were a few tears and tantrums along the way until the final version of the part-song Mama Who Bore Me, and the changes to the Unison that saw the Senior girls singing Amy Winehouse’s Rehab.

Always a big competition between the girl’s houses but it was a refreshing change to be beaten by boys. The Juniors on the other hand joined forces with North and York to form a boarders group of Revolting Children whose performance of this song was outstanding, led by the solo of Amy Morrill, and was placed first; a great start to the year and competitions.

October saw the annual Halloween celebrations in which the Sixth Form try to scare the life out of the younger members of the House – this year they did a tour of the School cellars, where there were mummies covered in toilet roll along with chains and torches – the most frightening bit was the spiders on the way down! A fun night was had by all.

November saw a new competition with a poem for Remembrance; Jessica McNickle read wonderfully, Maddy showed emotion in reading her poem and Kimberley Hagues demonstrated that she was a great reader. It was therefore pleasing to see them being awarded first place and a prize.

December is one of the busiest times with plenty happening in and around School but it is also a favourite time for the girls who love decorating the tree and sprucing up Longfield to get into the Christmas spirit. The annual Christmas shopping trip to the MetroCentre is always popular for getting that last minute Secret Santa

present prior to the boarders Christmas Dinner. This year the dinner was great fun and, as tradition holds, Longfield led Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with fine voice, followed by the greatly anticipated present giving back in the House – no surprises this year!

Although we did not win any major House Sporting Competition during the first term it was with great pride that we won the Activities Cup and the juniors won the Assessment Prize both of which require the community of Longfield to pull together for such an achievement.

After Christmas we always return to the cold along with the prospect of the Barney Run. Again, every single girl in the House who was fit managed to run – or should I say, get round the course. Unfortunately we didn’t win any cups – but it was more about team effort. Against tradition we managed to win not one but two sporting competitions of Lacrosse at Junior and Inter level. This was testament to the grit, determination and the nevergive-in approach by all the girls. Again in the Nailing up in Chapel we saw the Juniors win the assessment prize.

We returned after the Easter break to be immediately faced with House rounders followed by Sports Day a few days later; there was not even enough time to get full practices in. The six juniors of Georgie, Hannah, Kiah, Jasmine, Amy and Katie showed true Longfield spirit by covering every event between them with enthusiasm and commitment to gain points for the House.

It was a different story for the Inters, with more than double the Junior numbers but who struggled to

commit to the longer distance events! The Seniors were also more reluctant however; many girls were prepared to take one for the team and for that I was very appreciative.

Once all the exams were over, it was certainly a relief to see the stress levels within the House disappear and everyone having a more relaxed time. The Boarders’ Barbeque was just the chilled out place to have fun, socialise and play games; it was a terrific evening and enjoyed by all.

The end of term didn’t see us winning any of the major prizes which was highly unusual; however, it was an honour to see Emma Robson becoming Head of Boarding, and Tilly McAllister as Deputy Head of School.

Lizzie Clouston also becomes one of the senior positions in School as Head of Longfield for next academic year with Lucy Knightley as her deputy. Congratulations to all girls, but farewell and thank you to Erika for doing such an amazing job this year backed by her deputies Becca and Libby. I know all the girls who are leaving us this year will take away fond memories and I have no doubt will remain in touch. I’d also like to thank all the Longfield tutors, Miss Jones, Mrs Flack and Miss Sanderson for their help and support this year with the smooth running of the House. It is with sadness we say goodbye to both Miss Lawrence and Miss Merson but we wish you all the very best for the future.

AA

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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BARNARDIAN

MARWOOD HOUSE

IT HAS BEEN A REAL JOY TO TAKE THE HELM THIS YEAR – MY ROLE HAS BEEN MADE THAT MUCH EASIER THANKS TO THE COOPERATION AND DEDICATION OF ALL THE MARWOOD GIRLS, THEIR PARENTS, AND OF COURSE, A DEDICATED TEAM OF TUTORS. I am sad to be saying goodbye to the UVIth leavers, but I know they are ready to move on. I wish each of them the very best of luck and hope they will have lasting, happy memories of their time in the House. Similar sentiments to those girls in Year 11 who are also leaving.

Bekki Westgarth has been an outstanding Head of House – she has made a huge contribution and risen to all of the challenges the role has brought – always on hand to make sure things get done, always positive and enthusiastic, ably supported by her two assistants Emily Newton and Sarah Child and the team of House monitors.

Rachel Pratt, as Head Girl, has brought the values of the House to the wider school community – she has never put a foot wrong and been a great role model for all the girls.

Juliet O’Brien has been an unofficial assistant head of house; she has done everything that the job could possibly have demanded of her, and more besides. It was her wonderful attitude and approach that encouraged me to ask Helen McGill, our founding housemistress, if she would like to donate an enduring prize to reflect the virtues that Juliet has embodied this year. The McGill Prize will be awarded annually to a member of the UVIth who epitomises all that each girl should aspire to be, and so recognises ‘Leadership, Service and Endeavour’. I hope future generations of Marwood girls will live up to the high standards of its first winner.

September 2013 saw the arrival of 13 Year 7 girls – all as keen as mustard and determined to make a good start. A warm welcome was also extended to Beth Clark who joined Year 9 and to Hayley Anderson and Poppy Fox who joined the LVIth. House Singing was the first major test for the girls.

After a hesitant start during House practices, the Juniors soon found their voice, helped along by the efforts of Juliet O’Brien, Bekki Westgarth and the rest of the UVIth team.

According to the judge, their final performance had, ‘a lovely lively feel to it’. The seniors and intermediates had of course been there before, but that didn’t necessarily make it any easier for them. With greater numbers their unison, Gerrard and Neville’s We’re All in This Together, had a

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great sound, scoring 25 out 30, taking second place, just two points behind Bowes. In the part-song, the adjudicator said that the girls sang Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide with ‘discreet harmonies’ to give a ‘well blended sound’ and an ‘effective ending’. It was a real shame he did not go on to award them enough points for a victory, but each girl who took part scored their own personal victory and strengthened the ties within the House.

The second half of Lent term saw the girls preparing for the Barney Run. I am a firm believer in the value of cross country running – it is character building because it can force us to face up to our fears, both physical and psychological. In many ways the practices are the best bit, since they bring out a real House spirit of camaraderie (and a nice cup of hot chocolate too!). Seeing the girls smiling and exchanging friendly banter at the finish, as the light begins to fade, is a real highlight of the calendar. The added incentive of a tuck-shop voucher to all who took part may have been an added bonus for the girls too! When it came to the Bashes the girls pulled together to win the ‘Butterwick Charity Cup’ by a very satisfying margin. All who were able to run did. Marwood girls went on to make a huge success of the Barney Run; we won the team events in each age group. Congratulations to all who took part – that is, to all of you.

The Public Speaking competition gave an opportunity for the girls to put their talents to the test once again. The intermediate girls’ team comprised Antonia Allison, Alex Thompson, Kim Hodgson and Salma Ali. The theme was ‘the need for tolerance in society and the value of migration into the UK’. Salma gave an impassioned and, as it turned out, winning speech which was very well supported by the rest of the team. In the senior competition, there was some serious competition and we were pushed into second place overall, with a team comprising Caitrin Robertson as Chair, Fiona Matthews as Vote of Thanks, and Rachel Pratt as Speaker. They gave a highly polished performance on the slightly unpolished theme, the rights and wrongs of the issues raised by the reality documentary, Benefits Street. The thrust of the speech was written by Juliet O’Brien.

The Music Festival in February gave some of the house’s musical talent the chance to shine and show off their talents with 11 contributions to the contest. Maddy Forsyth played clarinet in the junior woodwind, piano in the intermediate class and drums in the open percussion section. Lucy Anderson played viola in advanced strings.

Salma Ali played in the intermediate violin competition, Martha McAllister sang in the junior class while Beth Clark, Alex Thompson, Lexy Dalton and Fiona Matthews all sang in the senior competition. Juliet O’Brien gave an organ recital in the open organ class and in advanced piano.

Maddy won percussion, Beth Clark senior singing and Juliet open organ and advanced piano. Juliet gained further recognition by winning the cup for Musician of the Year.

In all honesty, preparing the team for Sports Day was a bit of a rush and it was no easy task picking the right competitors for each event. My plea would be: if you are good enough, and want to do a particular event in the future, don’t be shy… push yourself forward in good time so that you can at least be considered in a trial. I really enjoyed the House relays and the performances of the ‘non athletes’ perhaps made the difference between winning and losing.

Totting up the scores gave Marwood the win by just four points over Bowes, with a total of 288. It could hardly have been closer. Stella Jones, Isla Hewitson and Ellie Shannon each won the Victrix Ludorum. Stella won each of her events: the 300m, 1,500m and discus, while Isla won the 300m, 800m and finished second in the discus and Ellie won the 100m, 1,500m and came second in the long jump.

The Marwood 20th Anniversary service on the 4th May was a really nice opportunity, welcoming back the inaugural housemistress, Helen McGill, to join each succeeding housemistress: Mrs Gorman, Mrs Armstrong and Mrs Burgess in a celebration of Marwood’s 20th Anniversary and also having the opportunity to introduce Helen McGill, Marwood’s founding Housemistress, to the current generation of Marwood girls. The theme of the service was ‘growth and renewal’. I was delighted that Helen accepted an invitation to speak; she chose to explain the heraldic symbolism which lurks behind the House shield which she designed. There were some wonderful moments throughout the service. The juniors were represented by Martha McAllister and Ellie Dalton who both read beautifully, as did Salma Ali for the intermediates. Alex Thompson and Lexy Dalton gave two beautiful performances. Holly Appleby, Kiera Davidson, Bekki Westgarth and Rachel Pratt read for the Seniors while Juliet O’Brien and Hayley Anderson gave performances. All were wonderful, but everyone was blown away by Hayley’s brave and beautifully sung Someone Like You by Adele and perhaps my personal highlight, without taking anything away from anyone else, was Kiera Davidson’s masterly reading of When I Wear Purple by Jenny Joseph. The poem was so apt at summing up something of the spirit that all Marwood girls should have throughout their lives – and yes, they should definitely wear purple.

CHA

BARNARDIAN

NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE ONE OF THE FIRST HOUSES OF THE ORIGINAL COUNTIES SCHOOL, NORTHUMBERLAND HOLDS FAST IN THE WEST WING OF THE MAIN SCHOOL BUILDING. A HOUSE OF TRADITION, STRONG MORALS, COMPETITIVENESS AND FRIENDSHIP, IT HAS CHANGED GREATLY OVER THE YEARS, ADAPTING AND EVOLVING TO THE NEEDS OF ITS RESIDENTS. SEPTEMBER BROUGHT NEW CHANGES, AS ITS NEW HOUSEMASTER WELCOMED BOYS NEW AND OLD, AND LIFE WAS ONCE AGAIN OOZING AROUND THE CORRIDORS OF NORTH. The House leaped into action immediately with preparations for the House Singing event, with all boys showing real enthusiasm to win the Coombs Cup. As ever song choice was critical and the senior boys deciding upon There Ain’t Nothing Like A Dame from the musical South Pacific as our unison song, and Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On as our part-song. Practices as ever were organised by the monitor team who did a fantastic job in preparing the House, with special mention going to Alex Allison who was instrumental in the composition of the part-song.

Alas, hard work and practice saw us pipped to the post in the final results; however, it was great to see all of the boys pulling together and trying their hardest for their colleagues at this early stage.

The Junior boys joined forces with York and Longfield, which saw us successfully winning the competition with a spectacular performance of Horrible Children from Matilda.

House Rugby took centre stage after returning from the half term break. The boys had once again been in regular training, led by the monitors, and there were strong hopes of winning the title and Nailing-Up for the term. The Junior boys, in combination with York House, put together some brave performances with all boys representing the House. James Dods made some

tremendous carries and Edward Rhodes looked lively with the ball in hand but our opposition was too strong.

The Intermediate boys played well in a competition dominated by an athletic Durham House; the boys showed tremendous commitment to the cause, with Aidan Rusk in particular putting his body on the line. The Senior competition was without few key members due to injury and ineligibility, which did nothing to dampen the spirits of those on the field, led by Matthew White. The boys played with great spirit, comradeship and sportsmanship and whilst missing out on the overall title were very pleased to beat our brothers in boarding.

Rugby representative honours went to Jonathan Coser (England U18, North U18), Nathan White (County U16), and Aydan Reynard (County U15). It was a pleasure to see the efforts of both Jonathan Coser and Chris Parnell recognised by receiving School Full Colours.

The House commitment to the CCF remained high with many of our members choosing to take part in the various activities and challenges that it offers. The leadership opportunity that comes with instructing Junior pupils is invaluable and as ever has shown to be a great tool in bringing out these qualities in our Senior boys. The Colts Canter competition was again won by the School, and our House Captain Jonathan Coser was an integral part of this impressive achievement.

The School is well known for its drama and this year its productions of Twelve Angry Jurors and the musical Grease have further cemented this reputation. The House has always supported these impressive events, and it was a great pleasure to watch impressive performances from Alex Alison, Oliver Larcombe and Aydan Reynard; talented young men indeed.

The Lent term saw the beginning of preparations for the historic Barney Run. An important event in which North have had fantastic results in recent years. I was delighted by the boys’ attitude to training and their efforts during the event, in which we finished 2nd place in the senior event. Overall we were pushed into 3rd position – however this result required tremendous effort and spirit.

Squash remains a core activity of the boarder at BCS. The boys are actively encouraged to play in the courts, which are available to them throughout their free time. This has led to a high proportion of North’ boys representing the School including Aidan Rusk and Ivan Ng, who helped guide the House to Inter success in the House competition. Aidan received the John Robinson medal for sportsmanship in the Lent term due to the way he conducted himself at Squash fixtures; a highly coveted award given for behaviour above and beyond that which is expected.

Public Speaking is a hugely important part of the education within the House and the wider School. There are many opportunities for boys of all ages to get involved in voicing themselves in a public forum, including the School council; a post to which Edward Rhodes was duly elected. House Public Speaking is always a highly contested title, and I am constantly surprised by the talent that Barney pupils have in this area; the Senior team of Alex Carnell, Tim Stirk and Oliver Larcombe performed excellently and it was with some dismay that they missed out on a podium finish. The Intermediate boys Joe Andrew, Toby Jennings, Jamie Stevens and Alex Booth overcame nerves to perform a well-polished and eloquent piece, earning them a well-deserved title.

Every boy in the House competed at Sports Day this year; on a gloriously sunny day, the conditions were perfect for all to compete to their best, and as so often this year North’ House did not let me down. The boys showed a dogged determination and brotherly solidarity when competing and supporting and whilst we struggled in the final placing at Junior and Inter levels, the Senior boys finished a very close second; perhaps proving that persistence is key.

Throughout the year the boys are assessed by the House Tutors with regard to making House awards. This year has seen a number of particularly difficult decisions due to the high standards displayed by all in the House.

The following awards were made: Whateley Tankard (Contribution to the Arts) Alex Allison Parkin Plate (Contribution to Boarding Life) Chris Parnell Challis Cup (Sportsmanship) Oliver Larcombe Tutor Tassie (Contribution to Sport) Matthew White Visser Vase (Gentleman of the Year) Alex Carnell Speech Day and Prize Giving are incredibly important events, and a fantastic opportunity to hear the perspective of our guest speaker; this year Old Barnardian and North’ House boy Angus Thirlwell. It was a pleasure to hear from a man who holds this School and this House in such high regard. His speech along with those from the Head Boy and Girl were fantastic and I am positive that our boys will look at all as incredibly strong role models.

All of the boys have competed in House competitions, ranging from cake decorating to Danish long ball. These competitions, whilst providing an opportunity of House representation, have further embedded core values of teamwork, organisation and House pride. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the boys and Seniors who have organised and competed in these events; your loyalty and dedication drives that of the House. The Senior monitor team have performed excellently this term, creating a wonderfully welcoming, competitive and industrious environment.

Their hard work both academically and within the House is greatly appreciated. I hope that those leaving us can look back with very fond memories; having achieved everything that they wanted and indeed needed to, you are all welcome back to visit, however return with stories of success, stories of life well lived, tales of places travelled and of the education that you are now ready to receive.

LDM

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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BARNARDIAN

TEES HOUSE RETURNING IN THE AUTUMN WE FACE A BUSY TERM AND SO WE WERE GRATEFUL FOR THE CHANCE FOR SOME NEW BLOOD IN THE HOUSE. WE DISCOVERED OUR NEW YEAR 7 PUPILS WERE A GROUP WHOSE ENTHUSIASM AND NOISE LEVEL WERE BOTH EQUALLY HIGH. WE WERE ALSO PLEASED TO WELCOME MRS BEATY TO TEES HOUSE. IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE GLAMOUR INDEX HAD BEEN RAISED A NOTCH AND THAT THE LVITH COMMON ROOM WOULD PROBABLY LOOK AND SMELL A LOT BETTER. Any review of the House and its common experiences through the year are often articulated by the Housemaster. This, of course, may not always be the way it is viewed by others and, whilst we began the year having employed the considerable services of Ben Wynn-Jones as House Captain (and very good he was too), I thought it might be nice to look back on it through the eyes of our next House Captain, Tom Marston.

This is how he and Sam Graham saw the year.

Michaelmas Term The shock of coming back to School after nine weeks of holiday was soon put to one side when thoughts almost immediately turned to the much anticipated House Singing competition, for which Tees is more harshly judged than it always seems is reasonable. The first half of the term was spent tirelessly practising on cold dark Wednesday nights. However, all the practising eventually paid off, with Tees House giving an excellent rendition of Don’t Stop Believing by Journey. Additionally, the night was made truly memorable by the part-song version of Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy. Ben Wynn Jones, Tom Knox, Kit Wilson, and Alex Farr took the lead through the song, ably supported by members from both the VIth Form and Year 11. All helped to bring the trophy home to Tees for the first time in Mr Bishop’s Housemastership.

The rest of the Michaelmas term focused more on academia and looking forward to the end of term and the Tees House Christmas dinner, where plates are piled high

with turkey and vegetables alike. The LVIth decided to undertake a ‘Secret Santa’, and gifts of dubious taste were exchanged, hidden and treasured, depending on what you got and what your sense of humour was like.

Lent Term After the Christmas break, thoughts turned more towards exams and a changed attitude took over in the common room. However, to take our minds off exams – and much to the greater relief of some than others – we also turned our thoughts towards running, and the ‘Barney Bash’. In the weeks leading up to the race it was great to see so many of us digging deep to get round the course, and when the day finally came everyone seemed to do as well as they could for the House. Standout results from our view were from Ben Pullan, Ben Tremewan and Tom Marston, and the end result was that Tees House won the Butterwick Hospice Trophy for the whole House competition (The Bash) and it sits proudly in the Tees office.

Another major event in the second half of term was the senior Public Speaking competition and, speaking on the last minute topic of not being over prepared and living life off the cuff, we learned a lot about the value of peaking too early. Hamish Carter, James Robertson and William Grundy were excellent and James, genuinely speaking from the heart, persuaded the adjudicator. Tees finally won the gavel and another trophy for the Tees office made its way to Mr Bishop for the first time.

Trinity Term This is felt by us to have seemed very short as, after only a few weeks of lessons, the exams started, though not without the chance to have almost every single member

of the House involved in Sports Day in some way or other.

Once exams were over, despite some reluctance, it was back to lessons and winding down for the end of term.

Whilst this is how the year may have seemed for some there is much else that has gone on and so we must remember the wonderful Matchstick Men of Mr Johnson’s Junior House Singing competition entry. They were judged by all to have won, though placed second by the adjudicator. Tees finished mid table in the Gillett swimming competitions and would have done less well had it not been for great House spirit by David Maidwell filling in so determinedly at the last minute. I will also try not to be mentally scarred by the sight of some scary clown fashion (thank you Harvey and Tom) at the Halloween charity event. Tees proved successful at activity table tennis in a couple of age groups, thanks to huge amounts of ‘round the table’ practice and the use of random bats such as calculators, shoes and books making it easier to win against other Houses when actually using a proper bat!

We were less good at pool, though you would think we might be better having two tables; apparently we are at a disadvantage if the table doesn’t lean. It must be said that we are terrible at Charades and this might explain why the Juniors and Inters shout all the time in the common rooms. It seems no one has a clue what you are talking about unless you wave and make a big racket; sadly, neither is allowed. Inter House Rugby proved to be a tackle and pass too far for all our teams and ended being runners up. The Inter and Senior hockey had to settle for runners up again. Looking at less traditional activities, we won the speed squash, though I thought all Squash was speedy, and Tom Evans managed a quickly improvised drama entry about a plane load of inspectors accidentally getting on the wrong plane to Ibiza. It all seems like great fun and with a delicious blend of talent, irony and improvisation Tees has forged its way across the year.

From silverware to ‘slope-style’ cake decorating; from muddy running to many merits (over 1,000); from quiz runners up (Juniors and Seniors) and 28 prizes on Speech Day, to 12 entries in the music competition and three Tees winners (Owen Greaves, Tom Matthews, David Goldberg); from losing the Junior cricket by one run to finally beating a girls House at Rounders; it has been a hugely enjoyable year for all in the ‘green team’.

Tees is indebted to Ben Wynn Jones and his team of monitors, Tom Knox, James Robertson, William Grundy, Kit Wilson, Findley Hardie-Hammond, Alex Farr and Hamish Carter, for their help and guidance over this last year. They all move on to greater things and we wish them and all who leave Tees, Bon Voyage.

GB

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

BARNARDIAN

YORK HOUSE I HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG MONITOR TEAM IN AGNI GHOSH, DANIEL GILLIGAN, GUY COSER, ALEX FINKILL AND STANLEY WONG, WHO HAVE HELPED TO ENSURE THAT YORK HOUSE REMAINS A STRONG FORCE IN ALL SCHOOL COMPETITIONS AND ACTIVITIES. John Brogden has lead his team in an outstanding way and been such a committed member of the House over the years and this year an outstanding Head of House and the exact role model that the Juniors aspire to be.

I am delighted that we have a new annual House Cup named after him, to be awarded for the member of the House who has shown the most commitment to the House, voted for by all of the pupils.

This year we welcomed the following pupils to York; Thomas Hughes, Jack Lockhart, Byron Ramm-Salisbury, Liam Rusk, Lewis Wells (Year 7); Noé Hollande (Year 8); Connor Hagues, Simon Marshall, Jamie Spratt, Ronald Yau (Year 9); Benjamin Edwards, Michelangelo Gasparotti, Lee Taylor (Year 10); and Ian Chan, Leon Conrady, Louis Stange, Callum Fawcett, Thiemo Haisch, Jack Hedley (LVIth).

In the House Singing Competition, the Juniors teamed up with North and Longfield and sang Revolting Children from Matilda. The costumes were amazing and they were a force to be reckoned with, ultimately winning the competition. I am grateful to the Juniors for their effort and to Daniel Gilligan and Stanley Wong for the endless time that they spent in rehearsals helping them to achieve their full potential. The Senior Unison was also good, with Stanley Wong, Lexter Li and David Cheng producing the musical accompaniment and the House trying very hard to sing at their full potential. As always, the part-song was excellent, as Agni Ghosh, Jamie Preston, Alex Finkill and Harry McGuire took leads in that part of the competition with Year 3000 by Busted.

The House Drama Competition was fiercely contested by York House and Agni Ghosh did an amazing job writing a script and then organising his cast; Daniel Brown, Callum Fawcett, Benjamin Edwards, John Clouston, Arran Keogh and all of the Juniors. They were entertaining and did the House proud.

The Cake Decorating Competition was taken very seriously, as it always is, with Matron sharing her pearls of wisdom with the members of the House in each of the categories. The Seniors did well with their depiction of the Titanic , Guy Coser clearly has a talent that he has been keeping from us all these years, as he did a fine job with his assistant John Brogden. The Juniors were successful in winning their completion, with a depiction of SpongeBob Square Pants; Lewis Wells, Liam Rusk and Byron RammSalisbury were particularly inspiring.

The Public Speaking was well organised and rehearsed by both the Inters and Seniors. Oliver Morrill, Sam Farquhar, Jamie Spratt and Benjamin Edwards did very well for the Inters and Agni Ghosh, Arran Keogh and Harry McGuire were excellent for the Seniors. Agni worked very hard in not only writing and delivering his own speech, but also helping the Inters in their writing of a speech.

We have been fortunate to have talented members of the House who have also represented the School in Musicals, Plays and the Chapel Choir. Daniel Gilligan has shown himself to be a fine actor and has taken part in numerous productions over the years. I am delighted that he will be studying Theatre next year. Jamie Preston, Arran Keogh, Nathaniel Davies and Stanley Wong have all done well in School Productions this year and should feel very proud of their achievements. We also have two members of the Tech Crew; Oliver Morrill and Sam Farqhuar, who have both done some excellent work for both School and House Performances. Oliver has been promoted to the Head of Tech Crew, which is a huge achievement, given the fact that he is only in Year 10.

The Juniors have performed to their best ability in all of the sporting competitions this year, teaming up with North House. Particular mention for his effort in Rugby,

Hockey and Cricket goes to Freddie Lockwood; he has been an inspiring player and one to watch in the future. In the Football Competition, Christopher Richards and Noé Hollande were the stars of the team.

In the Inters, Lee Taylor, John Clouston, Connor Lewis, Tom Harris and Jamie Spratt were the key players in the Rugby and Hockey Competitions, showing what a force they will be in the future. In the Cricket Competition, Simon Marshall, Connor Lewis and John Clouston were the stars, but the team did very well and should feel proud of themselves. In the Football Competition, it was a huge achievement to be Finalists, where Lee Taylor, John Clouston Artem Gabilondo, Connor Lewis and Sam Farquhar were the leading players.

Special mention also has to go to the following boys for their achievements in Rugby: • Guy Coser – Captain of the School 1st XV and player in the North of England, Durham County and Falcons team.

• John Brogden, Agni Ghosh, Alex Finkill – members of the School 1st XV and players in the Durham County.

Alex Finkill was also rewarded with the Players Player Award for the School.

• Callum Fawcett and Jack Hedley – members of the School 1st XV and players in the Scottish Exiles.

• Jamie Preston – a player for the Falcons and Durham County.

• John Clouston – key player in the U16 Team and Durham County • Freddie Lockwood – A Team and Lambs I was extremely proud of the House on both Barnard Run Day and Sports Day; particular mention needs to go to Connor Lewis, John Brogden, Lee Taylor, John Clouston, Alex Finkill, Agni Ghosh and Arran Keogh.

My thanks as always to the superb team of Tutors; Mr West, Mr Wade, Mr Tomlinson, Miss Cover, Mr Jacobs and Mr Dunn. Mr Thorogood also joined us this year and we are very grateful to him for all of his hard work and wish him well. Matron Broadwell has continued to work endlessly and her efforts are appreciated by all of the pupils and we know that we are lucky to have her.

Matron Brown has also helped many pupils, particularly during the weekend and we are grateful for that. Mr Butler has given his usual energy and commitment to the House and has done a first class job.

Finally I would like to thank all of the boys for their efforts towards York House. For next year, I am sure that Gordon Poon will be an outstanding Head of House and Arran Keogh will be an excellent Deputy to him.

AJA

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BARNARDIAN

Namibia On the 21st July, I arrived at Heathrow airport accompanied by my two massive rucksacks, a ham sandwich, and a beating heart. My plane from Leeds got in at 11am, and I was due to meet everyone at 5pm, so I set up camp in departures and enjoyed my last moments of freedom before my five week adventure exploded into action.

I remember the first few days of travelling being a rush of new (soon to become incredibly familiar) faces, sounds, food and sights as we navigated the two planes, three coaches, one jeep, and finally the unfamiliar terrain on foot, to our Base Camp at the foot of the Brandberg Massif, in the north west of Namibia. The landscape had a raw, wild harshness, that wasn’t exactly beautiful. It was unapologetically unwelcoming, and if you were inexperienced and naïve, it would have swallowed you up. But as the time went by, I grew to love the characteristic, striking backbone of the Brandberg, and the discordant plateaus. We lived in our Base Camp for two weeks to acclimatise, both to the soaring midday heat (it reached 50°C at some points), and the endless meals of corned meat and pilau rice. Spending most days trekking, we covered the previously untouched area in our disappearing footprints, and became familiar with the layout of the valleys and dunes, dried up river beds and craters. Midday, every day, was spent under the shade of a basha, reading, sleeping, or chatting – usually about food, and the copious amounts we would be consuming on our return.

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The 13 people I spent most of the trip living with became a tight-knit team; quite often a battle ground, but most of all like a family.

It’s odd now not waking up next to two faces poking out of sleeping bags. After the acclimatisation weeks, we left the relative safety of Base Camp behind us as we started out, fed on homemade bread and a surprise pot of chocolate spread, as our expedition unfolded further. We spend the next week carrying out surveys on the “Fairy Circles”, the – until recently – unexplained perfect circles in the African desert. They’re now believed to be caused by termites building an oasis beneath the surface – our research went straight to the chief investigator, and it felt great to know that our work was helping this study directly.

In the fourth week, we trekked to the Doros Crater and, feeling like we’d just wandered into the set of The Lion King, pitched camp in a low valley. No-one really knows much about this crater – we found some evidence of settlements in some parts, but it is largely unexplored, and our closeness to the raw, real Africa was an incredible sensation. The fourth week was topped off perfectly for me, as our expedition had been so far unsuccessful in seeing any big game: we were wandering back to camp on the last day of a long trek, and came face-to-face with a family of giraffes.

In the last week, we spent time in the Ugab, a dried-up river bed, surveying the numerous wildlife (especially the baboons which completely disrespected our need for

sleep) and gorgeous fauna. The week started amazingly, with a herd of 30 elephants strolling straight past us, obligingly posing for photos, and leaving us in utter awe, and ended as the sun went down over the Brandberg, glowing a fiery red.

This expedition has been an experience of a lifetime, with memories that come back to me and make me smile every day. I feel so lucky to have had this chance, and I recommend it to anyone.

Fiona Matthews, LVIth Marwood House

BARNARDIAN

Borneo In July, after 12 months of hard fundraising, Jacob Bradford-Parker, Lizzie Clouston, Tilly McAllister and Dan Milne set off early one morning from Heathrow for a four-week charity work expedition to Borneo.

We linked with two other schools.

During our time in Borneo, we were able to work on a number of on-going building projects based at three different camps: building a kindergarten, a community learning centre, toilet blocks, renovating a playground, a shop and a market place.

We learnt many new skills, including how to mix cement, brick-making and painting and decorating to name a few. On the remote island of Mantanani, we helped build a handicraft shop and community toilets by filling hundreds of empty plastic bottles with sand that were cleared from the beaches and cemented together. Amongst all of these activities we also found time to achieve our 18m open-water PADI scuba diving certificate at Mantanani Island.

We also taught English to local children, laid foundations for a community centre’s drainage ditch, cleared an area of rainforest for re-planting and helped to plant 2,800 trees.

We travelled by plane, boat and bus, used squat toilets, saw crocodiles, Proboscis and Macaque monkeys in the wild, visited an Orang-utan sanctuary and camped out in the rainforest.

The hardest thing we had to deal with was seeing the poverty people lived in.

I hope to go back in two years’ time after my A Levels to give more of my time to the people there and to follow up on the projects I started. The trip was without doubt an influential and life-changing experience for us all and we feel we definitely achieved a lot during our summer holidays.

Jacob Bradford-Parker, LVIth Tees House

Morroco Summiting the Top of North Africa During the October half term, Alex Tankard and Aidan Moran set off to the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains to conquer Jebel Toubkal: At 4,178m (13,671ft) it is the highest mountain in North Africa. They joined two other lads from local schools along with Lloyd Murray from ‘Outdoor Ambition’.

We hired a local Berber mountain guide (Lasha), with three mules and muleteers to carry our rucksacks and provide the food. This helps contribute to the local economy as well as getting to know the Berber people and learning more about the area and life in the mountains. It is also a very popular option when trekking in Morocco. Our trip was to be six days trekking across the mountains before making our ascent of Toubkal. During these six days, we ascended over 6,000m, crossed very rocky terrain, ascended and descended very steep slopes with sheer drops. The going was difficult especially with the thinner air at altitude. The lads were certainly challenged, developing their physical and mental stamina, not to forget their appreciation and respect of different cultures and people. We summited Toubkal on the sixth day in excellent weather and mental fitness. The group proved themselves in many ways and were prepared to push themselves physically and mentally without any complaints.

Day temperatures were a very pleasant mid to high twenties. Some days we started trekking at 5am to beat the day’s heat. One of the unusual highlights of the trip was using mule-dung for the campfire, as wood was in short supply in the mountains. Also, one of the lads learnt a valuable lesson not to pick the fruit from a cactus plant! Not only is it difficult to remove the prickles, it can make you ill. For the last few days, we were able to sample local Berber life; spending the last few days in the village doing community work clearing a road from rock fall, taking part in the village festival, visiting a weekly mountain market and exploring the souks in Marrakech.

PCO

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MICHAELMAS TERM

12 Angry Jurors 12 Angry Men is, and always has been, one of my favourite films.

It also happens to be a favourite of Mr Stevens, the Headmaster.

As such, an adaptation seemed a natural selection, and when I was approached by Erika Lee of UVIth to become a ‘customer’ for her EPQ project on Stage Design, it was one of the many options she was given with which to work. Fortunately, she loved the play as much as I did and so it came to fruition that her set design began and rehearsals started…

The story of a young black boy accused of murdering his father in cold blood, a premeditated crime which carries the death penalty, what makes this play unique is that the trial itself is never seen. Rather, we as an audience are drip-fed facts as the jury, comprising of 12 men from a variety of backgrounds, discuss what at first seems like an open and shut case. Only one juror objects, and it is through his insistence that the case be re-evaluated that the drama unfolds. Playing the role of Juror 8, Daniel Gilligan was magnificent in his usually calm determination, desperately trying to persuade the others that one cannot judge a case based purely upon personal prejudice. As the only member of the cast not on stage at all times, Oliver Larcombe filled the role of the Guard

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in charge of assisting in the proceedings.

First to be convinced was Juror 9, played with heart-wrenching aplomb by Kerin Borer, once more proving her worth as a fantastic character actor. Kieran Lewis, despite only being in Year 10, eagerly stepped into the breach as Juror 5, the next to switch, playing the role ably. As Juror 11, Alex Allison rose to the challenge of playing an Eastern European watchmaker, a man who had run from his own country after seeing persecution on the grandest scale, and as such felt empathy for the accused. Caitrin Robertson conveyed the role of Juror 2, a brow-beaten bank clerk, with skill, and in changing her vote was swiftly followed by Arran Keogh – who admirably stepped into the role only two weeks prior to performance – as the working man who prefers facts to bias.

As Juror 7, Sam Everall was fantastic – dislikeable, prejudiced and lacking in compassion, he could not have been a further cry from the Head Boy we all know and love, and his decision to vote with the majority because he’s tired of the facts, followed by a fight with Juror 11 over his lack of empathy, was a wonderfully dramatic moment. As Juror 12, Hetti Harper conveyed the role of the hot-shot Ad Exec wonderfully, bouncing back and forth with her verdict as each new piece of evidence was re-evaluated. As the Foreman of the Jury, Chloë Thompson held the proceedings together with poise, and the occasionally childish outbursts from her character were riveting.

The most unnerving performance came from Hamish Carter as Juror 10 – again a far cry from his persona as Deputy Head of School, he played a loud, brash bigot

MICHAELMAS TERM

whose disdain for “them” painted an ugly portrayal of 1950s America. His final rant, before being branded “disgusting” and being forced to return to his seat, was an uncomfortable and eye-opening moment.

Emma Robson, as Juror 4, had the pleasure of silencing Hamish’s character, and she excelled as the cold, distant and methodical role.

Last to be persuaded, Sarah Perkins simply shone as Juror 3, a man whose own family life, and a breakdown in communication with his son, has driven him to simply refuse to believe the evidence. Her gravitas in the role had many of us reduced to tears, as she finally broke down and muttered her final verdict of “not guilty”.

approached her project. It was an honour and a privilege to work with such a stellar cast, and to perform (of a fashion) as the voice of the Judge, setting out the simple guidelines by which the Jurors had to come to their verdict; highlighting the significance of the judicial system and the concept of reasonable doubt.

Arts Awards for Dramatic Excellence were awarded to Arran Keogh, Hamish Carter, Chloë Thompson, Alexander Allison, Hetti Harper and Emma Robson.

An Arts Award for Technical Excellence was awarded to Erika Lee. TSE

Erika’s set design was breath-taking, and we, as an audience, felt genuinely transported by the elegance with which she

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MICHAELMAS TERM

House Singing The Michaelmas term got off to a terrific start on Wednesday afternoons as preparations got underway for house singing. There were fewer last minute changes to song choices than in previous years and the standard was very high, with particularly good contributions from the boys’ houses.

Our adjudicator was Mr Graham Griggs currently Head of Sixth Form, having been Director of Music, at the King’s School, Ely. Prior to this he was Director of Music at Barnard Castle and is responsible for starting the competition back in the early eighties.

He even managed to lay hands on the programme for the very first competition. As you would expect he was perceptive, encouraging, and witty, in addition to all of the other adjectives usually associated with adjudicators of these sorts of competitions. However, without straying into Simon Cowell or X Factor territory, he didn’t sugar-coat any of his criticisms. He pointed out that the Houses who relied most on entertainment value were often the ones where finding musicality was a little more challenging.

The Boarders won the day in the Junior Competition with Revolting Children from the musical Matilda, with Tees a close second with Matchstalk Men. The part-song went to an ambitious and excellent performance of Young Volcanoes from Tees House, with Bowes winning the Unison Song with Abba’s Does Your Mother Know?. Overall, Tees had enough points in the can with the part-song to triumph overall and lift the Coombs Cup. AMM

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GCSE and A level Trip to Paris

skills into practice. From there, we walked to

After what felt like a long morning, we were finally on the coach to Newcastle Airport. And before we knew it we were at the luggage carousel in CDG Airport. After gathering our things we got straight on the Metro to our hotel in Bagnolet. Stepping out of the underground into the cold Paris air, we were met by the welcome sight of a luminous ‘M’… McDonalds, brilliant! I’m pleased to say this was the only non-French meal we had on the trip, but we were starving and we couldn’t resist. Also, it gave us a good excuse to start putting our French accents into practice!

After waking up bright and early, we had our breakfast and got on the Metro to one of France’s main tourist attractions. The Arc de Triomphe. As we admired the beautifully carved stone, the teachers were arranging for us to go up to the balcony. From the top, we could just about see the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. Also, from the top you could see all of the streets heading away from the monument, making a star shape. From the Arc de Triomphe we walked down the Champs Elysees, past a lot of expensive shops, to the Place de la Concorde; another photo opportunity grasped with both hands!

We moved on to the Tuileries Gardens for lunch. After we regrouped, we went to the Louvre, in which we received a tour of the main areas in the museum, ranging from its foundations to the statue of Venus de Milo, all of which were very interesting and had a story to tell. Expectations were great as we entered to room where the Mona Lisa is hung. You have to walk around the wall before you can catch a glimpse through the masses of tourists. So after battling through the cameras and backpacks, there she was.

I have to say, she let me down. In real life, the Mona Lisa is only about A3 size, and her smile isn’t really that intriguing, and the background is a khaki blur… maybe the layers of bullet proof glass ruined the effect!

Still, we can all now say we’ve seen her! Onto Notre Dame; as we approached you really got a feel for its sheer size! And on the inside, it seemed even bigger! The beautiful stained glass windows reflected off every surface and gave the whole cathedral a calm atmosphere.

The next day, after breakfast, we got on the Metro to the Musee d’Orsay, where we had another tour, taking us from Romanticism through to early Impressionism. I particularly enjoyed this as seeing Monet’s work gave me some inspiration for my AS work. After this, we had lunch in a nearby café, another opportunity to put our French

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Clothes Show Live Birmingham 2013 The Clothes Show Live has been a destination trip for the Art department for a couple of years now, to the delight of the teachers and students.

It is the UK’s largest fashion festival packed with top fashion and beauty stalls, including vintage gems and unique clothing and jewellery – it’s a fashion addict’s heaven. Not only are there hundreds of stalls to choose from but they are all full of bargains which will leave the buyers smiling. There are also non-stop beauty demonstrations and makeovers with teeming goody bags at the end at amazing deals; these big brands included Rimmel London and Barry M.

Les Invalides, only to find a bunch of protestors on its doorstep. So we bypassed that, and went straight to the Eiffel Tower!

This was exciting for everyone! As we all clambered into the tiny lift, there was a feeling of excitement, and fear for some! We only went half way up, because it was a cloudy day so you wouldn’t have been able to see much more anyway, but we enjoyed the view from half way anyway! After descending the tower we moved on to get the Metro to the Opera. This was interesting as in the Musee d’Orsay we saw the original statue that was on the outside of the Opera earlier, so it didn’t take long to spot the replica in its place.

On the Sunday we made our way straight to the Sacré Coeur. This is a cathedral on a hill in Paris which we saw the previous day from the Eiffel Tower. Inside, we silently made our way around the building, taking in the beautiful windows and paintings. Following this, we walked around the cathedral into Montmatre, where there were hundreds of painters, caricaturists, and sketch artists.

Most of the art students were completely in awe of the skill the caricaturists had.

Inevitably, most of us came home with a cartoon portrait as a souvenir. From Montmatre, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our things, then on the bus back to the airport. Thanks to the teachers – everyone really enjoyed the trip, we all learned a lot about French and Art and I’m sure we all intend to put what we learnt into practice back in the classroom.

Shannon Currah, LVIth Marwood House

Visitors were also treated to appearances from popular celebrities, especially those from the TV show The Only Way Is Essex. If you also have the right look, you will be snapped up by the scouting agents who snoop around looking for the best talent.

However, the best part of our day was the Suzuki Fashion show, which had endless swarms of blessed models flaunting their stuff wearing remarkable clothes. The topless male models got the highest squeals from the swooning female audience members – this included most of the females from our group. The atmosphere was powerful, with popular music pounding around the theatre, and some intense dance routines happening on the stage. This is definitely a place for keen fashion photographers – such as our very own Tom Evans, who got some amazing photos of the event. If you are interested in fashion then I can definitely say this is the place for you to be heading next December!

Sarah Perkins, UVIth Bowes House

MICHAELMAS TERM

Iceland Trip After months of excitement and anticipation we finally reached our stunning destination – Iceland. There had been a few minor disruptions, of course; a passport left at home and an attempt to bring a six-pack of Coke through airport security, but the staff took it in their stride and we arrived on time without losing anyone or their belongings.

We were met outside Keflavik airport by the incredibly pure, refreshing icy breeze, as well as our amazingly patient guide and bus driver David. We then hurried onto the bus with our cameras at the ready, thankful that our parents had made us pack our suitcases full to bursting with warm clothes. We then drove to Reykjavik where David proved his worth by taking us to the Perlan, an attractive building which houses hot water supplies with a rotating restaurant on the top floor where we could take photos, and the Harpa, the city’s concert hall and an incredible example of Iceland’s architecture.

The next morning we were greeted by the magnificent sight of snow coated mountains standing tall behind the suburbs of Reykjavik; although I think many people were too excited about the waffle machine at breakfast to pay much attention to the view!

Our first location was the national park Þingvellir, which is the site of both the Alþing – the World’s first parliament – and the rift between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is also a place of

breath-taking natural beauty and everyone was taking about 100 photos a minute! After learning about the geographical, historical and social importance of Þingvellir we boarded the bus again and headed off into the wilderness to find a cave…

It was there we had the chance to go lava tubing (caving in underground tunnels formed by lava flows). It was an exceedingly fun and unusual experience and when we turned off all our head torches and somehow managed to be quiet for five minutes we experienced complete darkness. Normally when we say it is dark there is always some artificial light somewhere but in the lava tube it was so dark you literally couldn’t see your hand even if you waved it right in front of your face. It was quite an unnerving experience as all you could hear was the faint drip of water sliding down the rocky walls.

The rest of the trip was just as wonderful and we got to see so many remarkable features that you just can’t see anywhere else; flat rocky expanses dominated by majestic snow covered mountains and volcanoes, powerful waterfalls sending up clouds of fine mist, huge white glaciers pockmarked with piles of black ash from volcanic eruptions and riddled with deep crevasses and moulins, smooth glassy lakes filled with uneven blocks of ice slowly floating out to sea, beaches with crashing waves, black sand and tall basalt columns and the mysterious Northern Lights floating in the sky. Everyone had their favourite

parts of the trip but the best part for me was sitting on icebergs at a beach lazily watching the waves lapping at the sand. There was never a dull moment; if we weren’t busy visiting somewhere we had snowball fights, played some wild games of Jenga and Pass The Bomb and even gave the teachers and David loud and frequent renditions of Abba songs on the bus! Visiting Iceland was a mind boggling experience which gave us the chance to visit a country which is like nowhere else and I’m sure that every one of us who went on the trip were very grateful to all the teachers for running the trip again this year and giving us this fantastic opportunity.

Lexy Dalton, Year 10 Marwood House

Date: 23rd October 2013.

Travellers: 19 noisy and enthusiastic Year 10 and 11 students and three equally excited Geography teachers (Miss Jackson, Mr Dalton and Mr Alderson) Destination: A Nordic Island on the mid Atlantic Ridge – home of the Vikings, countless geographical wonders and the elusive Northern Lights. www.barnardcastleschooliceland. blogspot.co.uk/2013

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MICHAELMAS TERM

Michaelmas Term Review With cadets still ‘buzzing’ from annual camp and the Nijmegan Marches which took place in the summer holidays, it was time for them to embark on the ever busy training programme, which this term, included preparations for the Biennial Inspection, as well as a number of Brigade and national competitions.

The Year 10 cadets spent the term learning how to use the cadet GP rifle safely, and the field day at the end of term allowed them to revise their drills before all successfully

passing their weapon handling test. The Year 11 army cadets successfully completed their advanced first aid cadre, and these lessons were delivered by the NCOs in the LVIth, and the UVIth cadets taught the Year 11 cadets advanced map reading. As well as a busy training programme, cadets also put in extra hours on the drill square to ensure they were up to scratch for the Remembrance Parade and the majority of the LVIth also completed their BTEC Award in Public Services.

Major C E Connor

certificates for their Gliding Scholarships (they achieved their Silver Wings). They also received certificates for completing their Air Cadet Leadership courses at RAF Cranwell. The Colts Canter team and Nijmegan March team also received their medals and trophy and a number of cadets received promotions, including Corporals Alex Finkill, Tom Adamson, Tom Marston, Ben Pullan, Sarah Child, Sam Leeming, Ben Wynn-Jones and Jacob Shannon to Sergeants and Will Grundy and Tilly McAllister being promoted to Colour Sergeants.

Biennial Inspection 2013 The CCF held its Biennial Inspection within the School grounds on the 10th October. The inspecting officer was Colonel Peter McAllister, the British Army Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry.

Upon arriving, he was met by WO1 Martyn Lewis and Major Caroline Connor who invited him to view the well rehearsed honour guard, accompanied by the School band. He was very impressed with the competence of the cadet’s drill and also with their immaculate presentation and turnout.

After meeting all the officers, Colonel McAllister met the lead RAF cadet, Sergeant Hans Kukreja, and was shown a wide range of cadet activities, which utilised many of the School’s superb facilities. These activities included drill on the tennis courts, classroom lessons whereby the LVIth were completing their BTEC in public services and Corporal Charlie Naseby, a member of the RAF section gave a powerpoint presentation on propeller propulsion. A number of Year 11 RAF cadets were also trying to solve command tasks in the School grounds. The UVIth were in the swimming pool learning survival skills, whilst dressed

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in full combat clothing and some of the cadets were perfecting their marksmanship principles in the indoor range. Colonel McAllister was invited to try out his shooting skills at 25m using a number 8 rifle and the pressure was increased as he competed against his daughter, Tilly for the top shot.

After lunch, Colonel McAllister, accompanied by cadet RSM Iona Borer, saw the Army section in action. The Year 10 cadets were receiving skill at arms instruction and also enjoyed climbing up the mobile climbing tower. He then saw a number of lessons including cam and concealment taught by Lance Corporals Sarah Stephenson and Ellie Harder and duties of a sentry taught by Corporal Tom Adamson and Lance Corporal Shannon Currah.

The senior cadets then carried out a section attack across the School playing fields which all the cadets, officers and guests enjoyed watching. As the rain began to fall, all cadets quickly packed away their equipment and got ready for the final parade. A number of presentations were made, which included Sergeant Hans Kukreja and Corporal Findlay Hardy-Hammond receiving

A final parade, attended by the Headmaster and staff associated with the CCF, was used as an opportunity for Colonel McAllister to address the Contingent. He said how much he had enjoyed his visit, and particularly remarked that he could see that the cadets obviously enjoy and take pride in what they are doing, and value the opportunity to do something different from the normal school curriculum. He ended by presenting the School with a replica Victoria Cross medal in honour of George Nicholson-Bradford, who attended Barnard Castle School between 1898 and 1900, who was a Lt Commander in the Royal Navy and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the 1st World War. The day ended with an impressive fly past at 300m by Flight Lieutenant Harris in a Hawk trainer.

Major C E Connor

MICHAELMAS TERM

National First Aid Competition After school on Friday our CCF First aid team of four Cadets headed to RAF Cosford for the National First Aid Competition Final. We were billeted nearby and were up at 6am for breakfast on Saturday before heading to the prestigious RAF base.

Cadets Salma Ali, Sophie Barnes, Kerin Borer and Lance Corporal Martha ClarksonCox represented the School and the CCF in the competition. The team were given individual scenarios ranging from a cut wrist to someone being hit in the face with a cricket bat and were scored on their efforts.

The team then moved onto the group task where they were given a scenario involving an accident on a runway; involving a patient with a spinal injury, broken limbs and a head injury.

The cadets were up against CCFs, Army Cadets, Sea Cadets, Air Training Corps Cadets, Royal Marine Cadets and St John Ambulance Cadets who all won their regional heats. The girls managed a respectable 6th

Colts Canter Competition Having won this competition for the first time last year, the pressure was certainly on the team to repeat the performance again. Preparation began early, with the majority of the team members being picked on annual camp during the summer holidays. Throughout the first half of the Michaelmas term, the team spent their free time revising for their chosen military skills which they would be tested on throughout the day.

The first element of the competition was the inspection, which included the turnout of the cadets, cleanliness of their weapons and whether they were carrying the correct equipment. With highly polished boots and all team members carrying notebooks and pens and having full waterbottles, the team were awarded maximum points.

Under the team Captain, cadet RSM Iona Borer, the team members got into their pairs ready to be tested on their specialist subjects. Cadet CSM Niamh Tait and Corporal Tom Marston were the first aid experts. Their scenario was to treat a

place in the CCF competition, holding off local rivals St Bees but unfortunately not placing high enough to go through to the grand final the following day.

On Saturday evening we were joined by our Young Adult team of cadet RSM Iona Borer and cadet CSM NiamhTait. We headed to Lincoln for bowling and burgers before heading back to camp to get some wellearned sleep. Amongst the grumbles of a 6am Sunday morning wake-up was a detectable note of excitement. Barney’s most two most senior cadets competed in individual scenarios which required CPR and the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator).

Their team scenario was set in the moments after a gang fight, they had to deal with gunshot and stab wounds. They performed admirably but couldn’t quite close in on any silverware to add to our CCF’s bulging trophy cabinet. Thanks must go to all cadets involved, Durham ACF and to Lt Fairwood for chaperoning the teams.

Lt Henry Fairwood

cadet with a broken leg and an instructor who had had a heart attack. Their quick thinking and calm approach in treating the casualties correctly resulted in first place for this element of the competition.

Cadet RSM Iona Borer and Sergeant Will Grundy were the weapon handling experts.

Iona only dropped one mark in the practical element of this element and Will worked hard gaining maximum points on the written paper. This duo also bagged another first place for the team.

Sergeant Jonny Coser and Lance Corporal Alex Finkill were chosen for the field skills and observation. Jonny had a number of testing questions on field signals and fire control orders to answer, whilst Alex had to look for ten objects which had been carefully hidden within a wooded area. He managed to successfully find all ten objects.

knew that they certainly could not become complacent, especially with other strong CCF teams that were nipping at our heels.

The march and shoot was the final part of the competition; the six mile forced march across terrain followed by a timed shoot was arduous, but with great team spirit, the cadets dug their heels in and gained a very respectable time.

We were absolutely delighted with the final result which declared us the overall winners with an overall score of 62/70.

Major C E Connor

Sergeant Guy Coser and Corporal Ben Wynn-Jones had the map reading element of the competition to contend with. Both had to complete a written paper with a number of taxing questions. With Ben’s D of E expertise, he found the questions fairly easy, resulting in another first place for the team.

We went into the final element of the competition, fairly confident with our successes earlier in the day, but the team

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MICHAELMAS TERM

Jarvis Cup Competition This competition is held every year at Gilesgate Armoury in Durham. It consists of a variety of different shoots using the number 8 rifle in the indoor 25m range against other local CCF and ACF teams.

Cadet Saam Competition The Cadet Skill At Arms Competition is an annual event in the CCF calendar and consists of a number of matches that the cadets take part in using the cadet GP rifle. The two teams captained by cadet RSM Iona Borer and Colour Sergeant Will Grundy set off from School at 06:30 hours on a Sunday morning and soon we were ready to begin the competition at Strensall Barracks.

The first match was the pool bull, where cadets had the chance to zero their weapons onto the target under the careful coaching by the Headmaster, Mr Stevens and Major Connor. After this, both team A and B completed several matches which included the team assault match, the rifle pairs match, the section match and the favourite, the falling plates. Each match required the cadets to aim accurately at targets, after running 100m to each firing point. Some targets only had a couple of seconds exposure before they were removed, so the cadet’s weapon drills had to be very slick as there was no room for error.

Team A, which included cadet RSM Iona Borer, Colour Sergeant Matthew Jeffrey, Sergeant Seb Hampson and Corporal Jake Glowienko did very well in the rifle pairs match, and Team B, which included Colour Sergeant Will Grundy, Corporals Owen Carter and Elliot Bevan and cadet Alex Booth did particularly well in the falling plates match. With scores combined from all the matches we were delighted with third place overall and Corporal Jake Glowienko came second place in the individual under 16s competition.

Our team this year was made up solely of junior cadets whose shooting certainly shows excellent potential for the next couple of years. Corporal Jake Glowienko lead his team mates Corporals Owen Carter, Elliott Bevan and cadet Alex Booth into the competition, and despite only having had a couple of practice runs prior to the event, they did very well indeed.

The four different shoots included five sighting rounds which enabled the cadets to zero their weapon onto the targets. Next they had 10 minutes to fire 10 rounds in the application shoot.

All cadets did exceptionally well in this phase and gained a huge number of points. During the next shoot, the cadets had 60 seconds to fire 10 rounds at the target. There was certainly no room for error, and as nerves got the better of the team, they were unable to fire off all their rounds in the allocated time, therefore not being able to receive as many points as they could have. The final shoot was a snap shoot. Cadets had to fire five rounds at a very small target, having only five exposures of three seconds with three second intervals in which to fire at the target.

Despite none of team having fired in this competition before, the team came second in the overall competition. A special mention must also go to Corporal Jake Glowienko who also came second in the individual competition too.

Major C E Connor

A special mention must also go to cadets Jamie Stevens, Kieran Lowes, Tom Wilkinson and Lee Tayor who made up the butt party. Without their hard work in patching up and lifting up the targets during the shoot, the competition would not have run as smoothly as it did.

Major C E Connor

Business Study Trip GCSE & A’ Level students were invited to tour Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) car plant in Halewood to discover more about the Company’s Operations Management.

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by a combination of robots and factory workers.

Students who are studying Business Studies had an excellent opportunity to see real-life Technology at work.

The factory tour and subsequent question and answer sessions gave the students reallife experience of their course of study and hopefully has inspired some of the students to seriously consider the automotive sector as a future.

The lucky individuals saw a fully interpreted production line as well as classroom teaching in action at the Jaguar/Land Rover plant. They witnessed the new Range Rover Evoque and Freelander being manufactured

Dennis Voekle, a business student from UVIth, who took part in the tour said: ‘I was one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to visit Jaguar Land Rover. The trip was really very good and I learned a lot

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

about Just in Time and Lean production.’

We would like to thank Mr Connor and Mr Wynn-Jones for helping to organise the trip.

John Brogden and Agni Ghosh, UVIth

MICHAELMAS TERM

got off to a bit of a slow start; however, they quickly gained momentum and closed to within two points off the leaders by the last round. They were able to close the gap to just one point in the final round but had to be content with second place.

Top of the Bench Heats for the annual ‘Top of the Bench’ Chemistry competition organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry took place in November this year and, once again, BCS entered a team hoping to emulate the achievements of teams from the School in recent years.

Sam Adamson (Year 11), Tom Matthews (Year 10), Nicholas Mackay and Alex Swainston (both Year 9) all attended the second of three heats held at Carmel School. The four students will admit that they

The regional final, held at Teesside University, would take place between the top eight schools from the three heats and BCS were invited to take part in the regional final having qualified in second place overall. This time our team got off to a flying start and were ahead after two rounds. The competition then moved up to the laboratories where the practical assessment took place. This involved identification of unknown substances and a written report on their findings. Marks were also available for team-working. At the end of this round BCS were joint second as the teams moved out of the labs for the final couple of rounds. Sadly the buzzer round proved to be our downfall yet again as BCS hands were always just a fraction too slow and we finished 4th overall.

The team enjoyed the two competitions, developed their analytical skills and learned a bit more Chemistry along the way.

IMB

Hadrian’s Wall Year 9 visited Hadrian’s Wall in late September, an annual excursion.

We were blessed by pleasant weather for the Latin set to spend the morning studying at Vindolanda, and the Classics sets to tour Housesteads Fort and museum.

After lunch the whole year group joined together to walk the spectacular section of the wall from Housesteads to Steel Rigg. Many enjoyed the walk far more than they would like to have admitted and they also experienced the Roman frontier in all its glory.

Two weeks later the LVIth Classics set then had an introduction to inscriptions and archaeological sources for their AS course on Roman Britain. At Chesters they studied the Clayton Collection of inscriptions and then at Vindolanda they had a fascinating talk from a professional archaeologist who informed them about the famous Vindolanda Writing Tablets and the most recent archaeological finds.

Both trips were very successful and were enjoyed by all, learning plenty about our Roman heritage on the way. In 2015, the department will be going further afield, running their next trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples.

JDG

Spectroscopy In an attempt to avoid the blizzards encountered the previous year, the visit by the UVIth Chemists to a Spectroscopy Workshop at Newcastle University took place mid-November.

Here, the students had a lecture on Spectroscopic Techniques by Dr Peter Hoare of the University’s Chemistry Department before a tour of the department to see and handle sophisticated spectroscopic equipment that they had studied at School the previous half-term. The students were able to see an infra-red spectrometer in use, X-ray Crystallography at work elucidating the crystal structure of a recently patented pharmaceutical, GC-Mass Spectrometry identifying an unexpected unknown compound from PhD research lab as well as both 1H and 13C nmr in action.

Following the tour of the department, the students’ knowledge was put to the test with a series of unknown spectra to interpret.

Eight unknown compounds posed little problem to the 15 students from BCS who impressed Dr Hoare enough to comment on the speed and accuracy of their performance.

IMB

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Missing On 1st of November the Sixth Form Theatre Studies groups embarked on a gruelling three hour journey to Derby to see the amazing Gecko Productions play Missing. With the assistance of Mr Edwards these lucky students were able to see these professional actors in action.

Gecko Theatre Company was founded by Amit Lahav in 2001 along with former coartistic director, Al Nedjari. Since then, the company has made five critically acclaimed shows – one of these being Missing. Mr Edwards had seen the group three years earlier in their performance of The Overcoat, and had assured us that we were in for an absolute treat – how right he was!

The story was about a woman who didn’t know who she truly was, and had been affected as a child by how her parents fought.

The use of Physical Theatre was remarkable, and the movements were quick and clear; this included dancing in pairs and all the cast members being in perfect sync when dancing together. Flamenco dancing was a major theme of the play with one actress being an incredible dancer. However, it was the props which really caught our eyes. Lighting was used a lot to highlight the actors’ movements, including the use of large frames with inbuilt lights; this enclosed the actors in their own personal space. The stage was a maze of treadmills and tiers, and performers each spoke in different languages – German, Italian, French, Latin and English were all used in this seamless performance.

The whole play was a phenomenal experience and unlike anything I have ever seen before; it was certainly inspirational and it’s a play I will never forget. Several of the methods employed by the group will be incorporated into our own practical work, where we are heavily focusing on the use of physicality and dance. Mr Edwards said of the day: “It may have been a torturous eight-hour round trip, but it was worth every minute.”

Sarah Perkins, UVIth Bowes House

Lectern Club 1 Lectern Club got off to a dynamic start this year under the new committee and guidance of Mrs Beaty. The celebrated theme was ‘Revolution’ and it certainly lived up to the name.

With several first time orators from the LVIth and a lasting foundation of UVIth veterans, the tone was set for the year and each speech gave a fascinating approach to the topic.

The short speeches were harshly contested between a mix of veterans and new talent but the overall winner of the category was Tilly McAllister with her own speech, entitled spk 2 u l8r, detailing the communication revolution and how social media is becoming less and less social. The second prize in the short speech category went to Nathan Miller with the speech Aliens which certainly illustrated his creativity and investigative talents.

However all speakers provided a good mix of creative entertainment, factual knowledge and oratory ability. The long speeches section was championed by James Robertson with his speech Wheels which provided a well-balanced blend of topics along witch was pulled off with a flourish of confident delivery.

Thanks must be given to all speakers for their bravery and skill, however the evening would not have been possible without the efforts of the kitchen staff who worked behind the scenes to make the night a success. Now after the revolution comes the real challenge. We wait with bated breath for the next Lectern Club.

Matthew Jeffrey, UVIth North’ House

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Translunar Paradise On Wednesday 13th November, the Theatre Studies groups of LV1th and UVIth – accompanied by Emma Robson and Chloë Thompson – went to see the show, Translunar Paradise by Theatre ad Infinitum, and we can now see what all the fuss was about. It’s actually quite hard to put into words what we saw and do the show some justice.

To illustrate the point, there were many audience members (including some of our own group) who were reduced to tears by the end of the show. By not speaking a single line of dialogue, this show was able to stir great emotion simply from their expert use of movement and mime. One reviewer has described the piece as “A play without words that will leave you speechless”, and I can think of no better summary.

Accompanied by an accordion and the vocal skills of the accordionist, the two performers moved seamlessly between the past and present, using masks and physical theatre to present the story of a man whose wife dies, yet her spirit is unable to move on, as he refuses to let her go. As he comes across mementoes from their time together, he relives emotionally stirring moments from their shared history, including their first date, a miscarriage and him coming to terms with shell-shock following the Great War. The performance took place in the HUB, Leeds – the Holbeck Underground Ballroom, a converted viaduct where the Artistic Director welcomed us with free tea and coffee, and blankets and hot water bottles. Our thanks go to Mr Edwards for introducing us to such magical, powerful original work, which – in his words – “proves that Physical Theatre and mime can be even more powerful than the written word.”

This truly was a piece of art and because Theatre Ad Infinitum didn’t charge for the ticket, merely asking you to donate how much you thought it was worth, my only regret is that I didn’t bring more money with me.

Dan Gilligan, UVIth York House

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Hockey 1st XI

Captain: R Westgarth Vice Captain: N Tait Team from: L Spedding, L Harland, I Borer, A Usher, N Tait, R Westgarth, C Bainbridge, K Lovegreen, E Newton, A Stirk, K Body, C Atkinson, E Cody, H Appleby, E Everall, S Scanlan, A Whitehead, E Thorman, I Hewitson P 18

W 7

D 7

L 4

Results: Yarm Pocklington Hill House (Tournament) Ampleforth (Tournament) Pocklington (Tournament) Fyling Hall (Tournament) St. Peters Durham (County Cup) Scarborough College Sedbergh Hymers Giggleswick Ampleforth (North Semi Finals) RGS (North Semi Finals) Egglescliffe (North Semi finals) Austin Friars Queen Margaret’s Ampleforth College

GF 34

GA 31

GD +3

Next followed a period in the season of mixed performances as the girls struggled to show any consistency with a run of Loss, Win, Draw, Loss, Draw, Loss, Draw. The girls eventually got their game together in the Northern Semi final tournament with a very convincing 6-0 thumping of Egglescliffe in their final game, narrowly missing out on the final on penalty flicks to Ampleforth.

The girls finished the season with great performances and wins against Austin Friars and Queen Margaret’s and took lots of confidence into their final game away to a strong Ampleforth team. This was end to end as both teams refused to sit back and went for the win. At 1-1 it looked like our girls could push on to win but this wasn’t to be as we conceded a breakaway goal against the run of play. In the final five minutes as we pushed players forward to try to get the equaliser, we were punished again on the break and the game was over.

There were tears at the end as we had our final team huddle and I thanked the girls saying my goodbyes to those who would be leaving at the end of the school year.

As always to the girls who will be here next year, I’ll see you at pre-season! To the girls who will not be here, I wish you a fond farewell and the best of luck in the future; it’s been a rollercoaster season and I’ve enjoyed every second of it and I thank them for that.

CJG

W L W D L W L W D L D L D L W W W L

2-1 2-4 2-1 2-2 1-2 2-0 0-2 2-0 0-0 0-9 0-0 2-3 1-1 1-2 6-0 6-0 4-1 1-3

The season got off to a great start against Yarm, with a convincing performance which ensured the result was never in doubt. Next came Pocklington in what was a tightly fought game; either team could have won, but unfortunately we fell behind late in the game and when we pushed for the equaliser we were punished by conceding a fourth.

Ampleforth 7s Tournament proved to be a great break for the girls to shake off the disappointment of their previous loss. We got off to a great start with a 2-1 win against Hill House and the girls looked great adapting to the 7s game seamlessly. Our next game against Ampleforth we dominated for most of the match taking a 2-1 lead and holding this until the final seconds of the match, only to concede a disappointing goal when all our girls had thought the final whistle had gone.

Unfortunately the whistle our girls heard was from the other pitch and as all our girls stopped and began to celebrate the opposition drove into the circle and smashed the ball past our confused keeper to equalize.

This was a devastating blow for our girls as this was a game they should have won if not for the confusion. The girls’ disappointment was taken into their next game with a poor start against Pocklington, who punished us with two early goals. The girls finally got their head into the game and managed to pull one goal back before missing numerous chances to equalize and eventually running out of time. To their credit they got over the disappointment of missing out on the final with a very good performance against Fyling Hall, winning with ease.

2nd XI

Captains: I Borer/R Pratt Team from: A Gilligan, L Bussey, A Whitehead, K Brolly, P Maw, H Appleby, P Naseby, J Metcalfe, S Currah, E Cody, A Stirk, H Wynn-Jones, E Thorman P 11

W 3

D 5

Results: Yarm Pocklington St Peter’s School St Bees 1st Sedbergh Hymers Durham Giggleswick Richmond Queen Margaret’s Ampleforth

L 3

GF 8

GA 12

D W L D L L W D L W L

GD -4

0-0 2-0 1-2 1-1 0-2 0-3 1-0 1-1 0-1 2-0 0-2

In the first training session, the laws were laid down. Any of the girls playing in the 2nd XI should have the mentality and drive to one day play for the 1st XI. The ethos of my team is one of encouragement, team work and having fun. Throughout the whole season the girls demonstrated these characteristics, which is why it was such a successful season in results and in the girls growing as individuals.

Early on the girls had to be reminded that to win a game of Hockey requires a team to get the ball into the back of the net the most times – not around the goal, not over the goal but in the goal. With numerous shots and attempts, the first game against Yarm played out as a 0-0 draw. Back to training and the focus was goal scoring.

The following week against Pocklington, a new team stepped onto the astro: Two chances, two goals; what a

difference one week could make.

The girl’s first away game was St. Peter’s – always a tough early fixture. The first half was more of a warm up for Barney, with Peter’s playing fast and furious Hockey with Barney on the back foot most of the time. However, when tested the goalie was well beaten by Vice Captain Rachel Pratt and the team headed into the break drawing. However the girls soon learnt that when drawing it only takes one lapse of concentration or fatigue to creep in and the match could be lost. The girls did pay the price in the last few minutes with a soft St. Peter’s goal, awarding them the win.

Next up St. Bees 1st team, who are always physically strong. With the fixture against Barney being a highlight in St. Bees calendar a strong performance was required from all of the girls. The game ended as a draw. This was a tough game for a lot of the girls and it brought out a different side to some of them proving that when aggression is needed they all have it in bucket loads. A pleasing result but as perfection is what I am always looking for, the girls knew they could still improve. Sedbergh and Hymers were the girl’s next weekend fixtures; for the Sedbergh game we had home advantage. The girls started strongly and the first goal Sedbergh managed to score was soft and etched the girls on to push for an equaliser. With the game going from end-to-end, Barney were having to be strong in defence.

Unfortunately Sedbergh were through on goal and punished us as we were caught napping. Hymers was a slightly different game. They had two players in the centre of their formation that controlled, set up and even scored goals. We unfortunately couldn’t contain these two girls. If they were taken out of the equation, the game would have been a different story.

The next two fixtures, Durham and Giggleswick, were confirmation that the girls were putting their training into practice. A superb show of team work against Durham produced a win and sheer determination and persistent unit work from defence to attack created a well deserved draw for the girls. Three games left and what a mixture they were. A mid-week fixture saw the girls travel to Richmond; a game that should have gone our way but similar to the Hymers game they had one player whom we couldn’t control; she had one chance and scored one goal. The girls had chances but couldn’t convert. It was a thrilling game all the way to the end but not the result Barney was looking for. Against Queen Margaret’s the girls produced the best hockey I have seen this season, linking well together from defence to midfield to attack, they were moving the ball from a central position to the two wide midfielders and neither were afraid to run forward with the ball. A great goal was scored by Honor Wynn-Jones from a penalty corner with the whole team performing well throughout.

The last game of the season was a hotly anticipated clash with Ampleforth. A close game that could have gone either way, however they scored a goal just before half-time and just after. We had chances but couldn’t convert, missing by inches. Not a great end to the season but as mentioned at the beginning, the aim for all of the girls was to play for the 1st XI, three players managed to move up to start for the 1st regularly, with many of the LVIth girls playing in the County U18 tournament and the majority of the Year 11’s participated in the U16 National Schools Final.

An enjoyable season and for many it will have been their last. I wish those that move on success and those that are staying much success when we meet again next season.

EKM

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3rd XI

Captain: S Child/S Stephenson Team from: S Child, S Stephenson, L Clouston, C Harris, L. Hardie-Hammond, L Spark, A Hardy, L Knightly, K Hagues, H Harper, A Butterfield, A Jackson, C Gaven, C Elliott, H Anderson, S Perkins, E Watson, C Robertson, C Robertson, M Faulkner, N Poehlmann P 11

W 3

D 7

L 1

Results: Pocklington School Durham High School St Peter’s School Yarm School St Bees School Sedbergh School Hymers College Polam Hall School Giggleswick School Sedbergh School Queen Margaret’s School Ampleforth College

GF 7

GA 21

GD -14

L 0-2 W 1-0 L 0-3 D 1-1 L 0-2 L 0-3 L 0-7 W 2-0 W 2-0 L 1-2 Cancelled L 0-1

Starting the season with 21 players in the 3rd team squad provided the girls with strong competition, to which they all showed great enthusiasm and determination during training sessions in order to win a place on the team. This made the task of forming a brand new team even more challenging; however, the squad worked extremely hard and gelled together effortlessly.

The first game took place on the dreaded grass pitch. A bit of mud and rain was not going to put the girls off, though, and they were quick to take on the challenge.

Pocklington came out strong and although Sarah Stephenson and Lizzie Clouston showed excellent resilience in defence, Pocklington went home with a 2-0 win. With the first defeat behind them the 3rd team were now even more eager for a win. The following Saturday they were able to put down their football boots as they stepped onto the astro for their second game against Durham High School. The girls now started to really look like hockey players and began to use the width of the pitch to good effect. They continuously provided support for each other throughout the game and along with the improvement of the accuracy of their passing the first goal was scored by Catherine Gaven giving the girls a 1-0 win.

With the next game ending in a loss against St Peters and the attacking players struggling to hit the back of the goal a change in their formation was necessary. The girls game out against Yarm like a different team. They dominated the match and ended the first half with a 1-0 lead. Clare Harris in her new position of Centre Half showed what an outstanding defensive hockey player she is and did not let the ball go past her throughout the game. The girls persisted to pressure the opposition but unfortunately a slight miscommunication between the defensive players finalised the game with a 1-1 draw.

The next few matches ended with losses and with the St Bees 2nd team providing a very physical game the morale of the team was low. However, the girls came to training on Monday with determination not to carry on the season in this way. Sarah Stephenson took on the role of Captain for the second half of the season. She was quick

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to follow in Sarah Child’s footsteps and gave the team the motivation they needed. In the next game against Hymers, Allissa Butterfield in midfield and Alice Jackson as high forward really shone. With their quick passing and excellent communication they continued to break through Hymers’ defensive unit. The strength of the midfield and attacking players continued to grow resulting in a win in the next two matches against Giggleswick and Polam Hall. Charlotte Elliott, playing against her previous school Polam Hall, had an outstanding game showing off her excellent stick skills and speed up the wing. The last game against Ampleforth was going to be a tough game; however, the girls really impressed me with their determination not to let this spoil their performance.

They remained strong throughout the game and had more than several shots at goal. Unfortunately their resilience was not strong enough and they could not quite get the ball over the goal line.

Although the season ended with a loss, every single one of the girls has come on leaps and bounds since the beginning of term and for that reason I think the season ended on a high. We celebrated their exceptional hard work and enthusiasm with Christmas biscuits on the bus home from Ampleforth. For my first year at Barnard Castle School, I could not have asked for a better bunch of girls to coach. You should all be proud of your hard work, not only as a team but individually as well.

I wish you all the best in the future.

off match against St Peters got off to a great start as we created chance after chance; unfortunately we failed to find the back of the net and were punished early in the second half. At this point the girls could have easily let disappointment get the better of them and the game would have faded away from them. To the girls’ credit they never let their effort levels drop and with minutes to go in the game they finally got the goal they deserved to bring the scores level. The match finished even so the girls had to endure a tense penalty flick competition in which our girls held their nerve and the result never looked in doubt with Amy Gilligan making two important saves in goal to help send the team through to the next round as we won 5-3 on penalties.

The North Finals were always going to be a big step up and a massive ask of the girls involved. To their credit once again they never looked out of their depth and competed strongly in every game. The Wakefield and Kirkham games were very competitive and the girls had chances to take the lead in both games before being punished by the opposition. In their final game against Arnold they did everything but score and definitely deserved more than the 0-0 draw they got. The North Finals was a great experience for the girls involved and I look forward to working more with these girls next year as seniors.

CJG

U15 A Team

NLM

U16 Captain: H Wynn-Jones Team from: A Gilligan, A Whitehead, C Walden, L Newton, E Gossage, P Naseby, A Ridley, I Hewitson, E Everall, H Wynn-Jones, E Thorman, A Jackson, K Hodgson, S Barnes, S Nicholls P 10

W 4

D 1

L 5

GF 11

Results: Durham High (County Cup) Durham School (County Cup) Yarm School Leeds GS (North Semi Finals) Longridge Towers (North Semi Finals) St Peters (North Semi Finals) Wakefield GHS (North Finals) Altrincham GSG (North Finals) Kirkham GS (North Finals) AKS Arnold (North Finals)

GA 21

W L W L W W L L L D

GD -10

2-0 0-4 6-0 0-9 2-1 (p)1-1 0-2 0-3 0-1 0-0

On face value the results don’t look great for the U16 team this year but this has actually been the most successful year for the U16 team since I have been at Barney. Confused by that statement? Then let me explain – this team is made up from girls from Year 10 and 11, so because they are not on games at the same time all their matches tend to be Cups and Tournaments against the very best in the North of England. The first two fixtures were at the Durham County Championships and unfortunately this clashed with a prior academic commitment for most of our Year 11s so we actually sent the majority of our U15 team to compete in the U16 Cup. The U15 girls did very well winning one and losing one, which meant they finished runners up but more importantly still qualified for the next round (The North Semi Finals).

The North Semi final tournament saw our full strength U16 team at its best and worst. The day started with a horror performance and result against Leeds GS as the girls struggled with every aspect of their game losing 9-0. After some tough talking, the girls regrouped and finally got their campaign on the move with a great 2-1 victory, leading to a final match against the winners of the other group for a place in the North Final. Our play-

Captain: Isla Hewitson Team from: S Barnes, C Burford, L Newton, C Waldin, E Gossage, S Nichols, A Ridley, C McEwan, K Hodgson, E Gossage, K Rhodes, A Coffey, F Waiter-Mackenzie, C West, H Swinbank P 11

W 8

D 0

Results: Yarm Pocklington St Peters Durham School Windermere Sedbergh Yarm Hymers Giggleswick Cundall Manor Queen Margarets Ampleforth

L 3

GF 47

GA 13

GD 34

W 3-1 W 4-0 L 2-3 W 7-0 Cancelled W 6-1 W 4-0 L 2-3 W 9-0 L 2-3 W 4-0 W 4-2

Having coached this group of girls last year, it was an unexpected privilege at the beginning of the season to find out that I would be coaching this team again. Their standard of play was exceptional last year and I was looking forward to seeing them develop physically, mentally and in their levels of skill.

They did not disappoint and again their commitment, determination and will to win shone through in each and every game and this was repaid in the form of some excellent and close results.

The team had some very good wins against some frequently strong oppositions, beating Yarm then Pocklington through great attacking and midfield play.

St Peters proved to be exceptionally strong opponents –

MICHAELMAS TERM

having lost to them 3-0 last year there were scores to be settled. It was end to end play with some outstanding defending from Caroline, Lucy, Ellen and Stella. With two minutes to go it was two-all then St Peters scored again to win. Defeat came hard but it was a game fought well and fairly.

Matches againt Durham, Sedbergh and Yarm followed and the team got into their stride. They were able to dominate play through Isla Hewitson and the midfield players. The strong and determined forward line of Alice, Kim and Katie worked well creating many shots and scoring opportunities on goal. Work on deflections during training sessions paid off along with some very well executed short corners. Defensively there was little that could get passed such an exceptional defence.

Hymers was our next game and very much a grudge match – always competitive and physical, fortunately this time – unlike previous seasons, it was on the astro and with a home advantage. This is game is like the Holy Grail of games with the team wanting the win more than any other fixture and with them yet to achieve it. The game began well with Barney scoring first goal, Hymers then came back with another goal. Barney then went 2 – 1 up and they were holding their own. Hymers then came back fiercely to score again. Within the last two minutes of the game Barney saw Stella Nichols injured – the adjustment to the team caused upset and Hymers took advantage of the disorganisation. They scored and before they were able to make a comeback the game had finished. The girls could only be described as devastated as it mattered so much to them. It was disappointing.

The following game was at Giggleswick and the girls were a little more cautious than usual as they were lacking Isla due to her well-deserved selection for the U16 Scotland team. Instead, they were going to have to step their game up and play harder. They rose to the occasion and played some of their best team hockey of the season to date and won convincingly.

Cundall Manor proved good tough opposition and a very close game resulted in the home team wining, slightly disappointing as the girls did not step up to their usual level. The season ended on a high with excellent wins ageist Queen Margarets and Ampleforth – both well fought games and demonstrated the ability of the girls to their full. The final game saw tears at the end as next season these girls will move forward into the senior teams and I’m sure they will continue to evolve into one of the best teams the School has had for a few years.

AA

U15/14 B Team

Team from: A Hunter, M Richardson, M Nixon, A Alderdice, S Ali, H Swinbank, F Waiter-McKenzie, C Waldin, E Gossage, H Belam, L Sharafutdinova, B Wilson, R Elphick, K Rhodes, A Coffey, L Newnam, C Burford, A Allison, M Sowerby, O Blackett, T Walker, C West, E Porter P 10

W 2

D 0

L 8

Results: Pocklington Hummersknott (A Team) St Peter’s Scarborough (A Team)

GF 10

GA 29

L W L L

GD -19

0-1 5-0 0-6 2-4

The girls have made great progress this season, although the results don’t show this due to the fact that five of their fixtures were against A teams.

In their long term development this season, although hard, will make them stronger hockey players when they play senior hockey next year. For the Year 9s hopefully it will give them a better opportunity to play A team Hockey next year.

I have very much enjoyed working with this group of girls and have always found them a pleasure to coach.

They have always turned up with a smile on their faces and a willingness to learn. I genuinely believe next year they will surprise some people by pushing their way into the senior teams and I look forward to seeing them do this.

There was a goal drought after half term, so hitting technique and goal scoring became the focus at training.

Progress was made, and thanks to hard work and determination the season ended on a high with a 3-0 victory over Austin Friars with goals created by Ellie Shannon and Lucy Atkinson. The final match saw a competitive end to end display against Ampleforth and with the visitors leading 1-0 at half time the girls, and their coach, were positive they did not want to finish the season with a loss. Emily Warren delighted her team when she scored just moments before the final whistle and a draw seemed like a fair result as both teams played well.

The highlight of the term for many was the Tour to Holland. Whilst they did encounter some difficult games, the standard of hockey played overseas inspired everyone and they returned to School with a fresh outlook, keen to progress and improve their stick skills. The girls have trained enthusiastically and responded well in all the practice sessions. The ‘Best Player’ award went to Jessica Pearse and ‘Most Improved’ player to Megan Bowen. I look forward to watching their progress next year.

CJG

TCB

U14 A Team

U13 A Team

Captain: J Pearse Team from: A Allison, L Atkinson, M Bowen, L Gill, S Hopkins, A Hunter, G Penman, S Ryan, E Shannon, M Sowerby, C Sutton-Jones, A Thompson, E Warren

Captain: S McEwan Team from: S Greystone, R Harrison, L Dickinson, C Martin, S Jones, A Morrill, M Forsyth, D Oliver, A Everall

Sedbergh Carmel (A Team) Richmond (A Team) Queen Margarets Austin Friar’s (A Team) Ampleforth

P 11

W 3

D 3

Results: Pocklington Yarm St Peters Durham School Durham High County Cup Sedbergh Hymers North Semi-Final Giggleswick Queen Margarets Austin Friars Ampleforth

L L L W L L

L 5

GF 12

GA 15

1-7 1-2 0-3 1-0 0-5 0-1

GD -3

L 4-2 W 4-0 L 1-3 D 0-0 W 1-0 Runners Up D 0-0 L 0-2 N/A 6th L 0-2 L 0-3 W 3-0 D 1-1

The season started with a match away against a strong Pocklington side. Having lost heavily to them in Year 8, as a 7-a-side squad, the girls were anxious to put in a good performance. The opposition dominated the midfield however and led 2-0 at half time but Barney put in a better second half and encouragingly there were goals from both Alice Hunter and Ellie Shannon, although it was not enough and Pocklington won 4-2. Yarm were our next opponents and Barney started well with Hunter scoring in the opening five minutes. They began to show greater intensity and width in attack with Sophie Hopkins hitting the backboard twice to bring about more goal celebrations. It was not long before Shannon added to the goal tally and the game ended with a 4-0 victory.

The County Cup, hosted at Durham School, saw only two of the three entries proceed to the North Semi Final. Fortunately for us, we beat Durham High School to scrape through as Runners Up.

P 10

W 3

D 1

Results: Pocklington St Martin’s Durham Choristers Durham Yarm Hymer’s Giggleswick Mowden Hall Sedbergh QMS

L 6

GF –

GA –

GD –

L L L W L D L W L W

– 1-4 0-1 1-0 1-2 1-1 1-3 5-0 0-7 7-0

This year has been a decent year for the team. They have been a hardworking and enthusiastic team who have enjoyed their hockey. Many of the matches they played, with the exceptions of excellent Sedbergh and Pocklington teams, were close and could have gone either way.

When the girls played at their best they used the full width of the pitch and really stretched their opposition before getting the ball into the D. If they are to improve in the future they must concentrate on doing this more often, rather than just sending the ball straight up the middle of the pitch.

I have enjoyed taking this team. They were always well behaved on long coach journeys and played the game in the right spirit. I would like to thank Sophie McEwan for her hard work as Captain and I would also like to wish the team all the best as they progress through the School.

MPI

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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MICHAELMAS TERM

U13 B Team

Team from: R Collinson, D Oliver, A Everall, L Dickinson, C Martin, E Dalton, K Shepherd, K Walker, C Laverick, S Robertson, E Johnson, J Hooper, E Gedye P 5

W 3

D 0

L 2

GF –

GA –

Results: Pocklington Richmond Yarm Giggleswick Sedbergh

GD –

L W W L W

0-6 1-0 3-1 7-1 1-0

This has been a good season for the team. They have played some very good hockey and to come out winning more games than they lost was a very pleasing achievement.

They have been very enthusiastic all season, always wanting to improve their skills and relishing every opportunity to represent the School.

A lot of the players listed above also represented the ‘A’ team during the season, which shows that this year has strength in depth. It is worthwhile for the players to remember that they will change from playing 7-a-side to 11-a-side next year and so they should be pushing the ‘A’ team players for selection. I would like to wish them all the best as they progress through the School’s Hockey teams.

MPI

U12 A Team

learning curve, but it was a challenge the girls met in the second half. In the matches against St Martins and Durham Choristers we played with greater organisation, and their efforts were rewarded with two good wins.

Hymers proved to be tough opposition, but although Hymers won, we did play some great hockey and we were unlucky not to score on a number of occasions.

The U12 team were also involved in the County Championship at Maiden Castle. The team were very unlucky after convincingly winning their first match against Durham School 2-1, narrowly losing their final game 1-0 when it looked for most of the game as if there would be only one winner. Unfortunately the girls, despite creating lots of chances, failed to get the goal they deserved, then against the run of play conceded a late goal which they could not recover from. Overall it was a great experience for the U12s and everyone enjoyed the day.

Our match against Mowden Hall was played in appalling conditions, and the girls showed great strength in character to keep going as the wind howled and the sleet came down. The match against St Olaves was a very even match with some end to end hockey and the score did not reflect how close the game was. The match against Sedbergh was probably our best match of the season; both sides were very evenly matched. It was a fast paced game in which Hannah Booth was like a wall in defence and India Pentland showed what great pace and determination she had up front. It was an outstanding team effort and a draw was the right result as far as both teams were concerned. Our final match was at Queen Marys – the pitch markings (tennis court lines) proved a little confusing in the first half but once we got used to the pitch we hit full speed.

Ella Bowen has worked very hard in midfield all season and has been well supported by Emma Gedye, Jemimah Osborne, Abi Pearse, Josephine Powell and Georgie Rhodes. Amy Richardson and Ruby Hargrove have both played well in goal and have really improved and impressed. They have been helped in defence by Darcy Currah and Carys Grey-Thompson, who have both made great progress.

Many thanks to all the girls for their efforts this term.

I hope they are able to build on their success and continue to enjoy their hockey as they move through the School.

opposition of the season was a strong and well organised Pocklington team which meant we faced a steep learning curve; it was a challenge for the girls, but we were unlucky not to win. In the matches against Richmond, Yarm and Polam Hall we played with greater organisation and their efforts were rewarded with three fantastic back to back wins. Hymers proved to be tough opposition but although Hymers won, we did play some great hockey.

After the Hymers match the girls then went on another winning run with great wins against Carmel A’s, Mowden Hall, St Olave’s and Sedbergh.

Many thanks to all the girls for their efforts this term; I hope they are able to build on their success and continue to enjoy their hockey as they move through the School.

The strength in depth in this year group should put them in a great position when they move to 11-a-side in Year 9.

CJG

Rugby 1st XI

Captain: G Coser Team from: C Archer, H Barkes, J Beckwith, J Brogden, G Coser, J Coser, J Davidson, S Everall, C Fawcett, A Finkill, I Gaskin, A Ghosh, C Harrison, J Hedley, D Hewitson, N Gilbertson, J Jennings, M Jones, E Kelsall, S Leeming, B Lilley, T Marston, T Metcalfe, C Parnell, J Preston, J Raper, B Roddam, B Spratt, W Richardson, B Wynn-Jones P 12

W 8

D 0

L 4

GF 307

GA 160

GD 147

FC

U12 B Team

Team from: E Bowen, E Gedye, H Booth, A Richardson, G Rhodes, I Pentland, C Grey-Thompson, J Osborne, R Hargrove, A Fox, A Pearse, D Currah, J Powell P 9

W 4

D 2

Results: Pocklington St Martins Durham Choristers Durham School Hymers County Cup Mowden Hall St Olaves Sedbergh Queen Mary’s

L 3

GF 23

GA 16

GD 7

L 4-1 W 4-2 W 2-0 D 2-2 L 2-0 Runners Up W 6-0 L 3-0 D 3-3 W 6-0

The girls have made great progress this season. Our first opposition of the season was a strong and wellorganised Pocklington team, meaning we faced a steep

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

Team from: J Powell, K Baxter, C Hanmer, A Fox, Rachel, I Pentland, G Rhodes, C Grey -Thompson, R Hargrove, J Osborne, E Forsyth, F West P 9

W 7

D 1

Results: Pocklington Richmond (A Team) Yarm School Polam Hall (A Team) Hymers Carmel (A Team) Mowden Hall St Olave’s Sedbergh

L 1

GF 37

GA 9

GD 28

D W W W L W W W W

1-1 3-1 2-0 4-0 1-3 4-0 6-3 5-1 11-0

The girls have made great progress this season. Our first

Results: Durham Yarm RGS Pocklington Hymers St. Peter’s QEGS Wakefield Sedbergh Dame Allan’s

L W L W W W W L W

19-23 48-22 15-22 40-0 24-10 11-0 41-0 0-48 43-6

NatWest Cup Results: Yarm (Round 4) Bradford (Round 5) Durham (Round 6)

W W L

34-5 24-7 3-17

Leading Points Scorers: Tries 1 S Leeming 1 2 I Gaskin 9 3 A Finkill 8 4 G Coser 8 5 J Brogden 5

Cons 23 – – – 2

Pens 2 – – – 2

DG Total – 57 – 45 – 40 – 40 – 35

Twenty-one players started for the 1st XV this season, with a further nine more gaining playing opportunities by coming on as a replacement. Thirteen of the squad will return next season, therefore, it is hoped that the experience they have gained this year will aid them next season which will help them fulfil their potential.

Guy Coser was an influential Captain, producing some outstanding performances; his first half hat-trick

MICHAELMAS TERM

against QEGS Wakefield emphasised his quality. The quality of some of the team’s performances was excellent.

The matches against Bradford GS, St. Peter’s and QEGS were as good as any team have produced for several years. Injuries to five front players in the early part of the season affected some results and enforced some players playing out of position. The team showed great character though, none more than Max Jones and Chris Parnell who have played two seasons of 1st XV rugby in a variety of positions with real passion and determination.

The return from long term shoulder injury of Chris Harrison was most welcome with him demonstrating the huge potential he has as a rugby player as the season progressed. The resurrection of Will Richardson to the rugby world was a real bonus too. Jonny Coser has represented the 1xt XV exceptionally well for the last two seasons. His aggressive, determined, but measured approach has been a determining factor of the team’s performances; he will be missed and hard to replace.

Nick Gilbertson added real finesse and guile to an outstanding back row. His progress in the Independent Schools Lambs was a great achievement and well deserved. The development and progress made by John Brogden at scrum half was a pleasure to see. As his confidence grew so did the level of the performance of the players around him. ‘Chopper’ Raper in the midfield was every coach’s dream. Rarely did teams make any headway down his channel whatever their size or speed.

Our back three players, of Ivan Gaskin, Agni Ghosh and Alex Finkill scored 21 tries between them and created many of our others. Their pace and ability to beat defenders was admired across our playing circuit. Alex was voted as the Players’ Player of the Year and received the Foster Award. Ben Wynn-Jones was very unlucky to be amongst talented players in his chosen position, however, when given an opportunity he was impressive.

It was also a real pleasure to see the Head of School, Sam Everall, make a small cameo appearance for the 1st XV. Players in the Lower 6th like Sam Leeming, Jack Beckwith, Jack Hedley, James Davidson, Calum Fawcett, Tom Marston, Ethan Kelsall and Duncan Hewitson have gained valuable experience and provide real optimism for next season. Sam’s selection for the U18 North of England Squad was a tremendous achievement and he will hopefully go from strength to strength. Jack Beckwith will only progress further whilst being involved with the Falcons.

Congratulations should also go to Jonny Coser and Guy Coser for representing the U18 North of England XV. Unfortunately, John Brogden fell just short representing the North, having to accept being a nontravelling reserve. Jonny, Guy and Jack Beckwith have been involved with Newcastle Falcons Academy this season and played several matches for them.

Representative Honours: U18 County Schools: G Coser, J Coser, C Harrison, S Leeming, J Brogden, A Ghosh U18 North of England: G Coser, J Coser, S Leeming, J Brogden (reserve).

Newcastle Falcons Academy: G Coser, J Coser, J Beckwith.

England U18 Independent Schools Lambs: N Gilbertson MTP

2rd XV

Team from: Spratt, Goudie, Sowerby, Adamson, Jones, Hewitson, Martson, Glover, Archer, Grundy, Theakston, W-Mackenzie, Atkinson, Carnel, Kelsall, Keogh, Stirke, Wilson, Wynn-Jones, Fawcett P 11

W 6

D 0

L 5

GF 271

Results: Dame Allan’s Sedbergh QEGS Penrith QEGS Wakefield St Peter’s QE 6th Form Darlington Hymers Pocklington RGS Newcastle Yarm Durham

GA 227

GD 44

W L L W L L W W W W L

50-3 62-17 12-40 19-10 12-5 19-15 16-8 45-5 24-12 43-20 36-25

A difficult season with both high and low points in terms of results. Losing five matches is uncommon for the team but key battles were fought without key players and narrow margins might have been redressed had all gone according to plan. However, stirring full team performances demonstrate that credit is due to the guys who pulled on the jersey and performed in typical ‘Barney fashion’.

High points would be winning against RGS Newcastle and Hymers away from home. At our best we played quickly and with width and offload capability and this was also the undoing of Pocklington and Yarm.

However, our tight game focus occasionally left us and, despite demonstrating how we could be strong at game management and tactical use of ball and space as well as intensity in the tackle area, we lacked a little consistency.

One week being on top of it all to put down a spirited and handy QEGS Wakefield team and the next losing to QE Sixth form and not turning a twenty minute period of pressure into points at home to St Peter’s.

However, on balance the team has come a very long way and the hard work we put in on developing attacking space around defenders began to pay fruit, leading to a very handsome finale at the end of the season and a fifty point try fest against Dame Allans, who came up against us on a great day at the office. We showed much promise and still much to do and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

GB

3rd XV Captain: K Wilson Team from: S Stainthorp, M Raper, M Ryves-Webb, J Picken, J McGrath, S Siu, J Bolton, M White, H McGuire, T Sowerby, N Moore, J Goudie, H Carter, J McNeill, O Larcombe, D Oliver, D Cheng, S Everall, B Earl, B Pullan, T Stirke, M Stirke, T Metcalf, E Leung P 4

W 0

Results: RGS, Newcastle QEGS, Penrith St. Peter’s Sedbergh

D 0

L 4

GF 5

GA 153

GD -148

L L L L

0-28 5-15 0-34 0-76

As the results clearly show, this was a really tough season.

We began brightly against RGS, but a couple of crucial injuries, including a season-ending broken collarbone for Ben Earl, meant that we faded away in the second half.

Not for the last time this year, the final score didn’t truly reflect how close the game had been. A close-fought game against QEGS, in appalling conditions, showed our real character and we were slightly unfortunate to be on the losing side. Sadly, the same could not be said for the matches against St Peter’s and Sedbergh, both of whom

were far too strong for us this year.

What was most pleasing about this year was the good humour and positive approach of all members of the squad, even in the final game of our season when heads could have dropped very quickly. They didn’t and it is to the boys’ credit that they stuck to the task in very difficult circumstances. What is also encouraging for the future was the number of Year 11 boys willing to play 3rd XV rugby this year – we had a very young squad and they will certainly have benefited from the experience.

DSG

U16 A Team

Captain: H Barkes Team from: S Adamson, D Brown, C Douglas, A Ferguson, J Hardy, J Hetherington, R Holden, T Hunter, J Jennings, B Lilley, D Maidwell, J Marston, H McGuire, T Metcalfe, J Preston, B Roddam, G Shepherd, C Simpson, N White P 8

W 6

Results: Durham School Yarm School RGS Newcastle Pocklington Hymers St. Peter’s QEGS Wakefield Sedbergh

D 0

L 2

GF 261

GA 109

L W W W W L W W

GD 152

18-24 43-0 27-17 48-7 48-24 15-18 40-0 22-19

Leading Try-scorer: J Jennings with 10 Leading Points-scorer: J Preston with 96 Having had one day of pre-season, the team were soon into tough, competitive games with Durham being the first opposition. Harvey Barkes was appointed Captain with James Jennings his deputy and these two were great examples throughout the season.

Durham provided stiff opposition but the forwards generally had the edge; as with many games during the term, the side found it difficult to translate pressure and territory into points. A narrow defeat was the result but matters were soon put right with a convincing victory over Yarm. Against RGS the side showed an admirable level of commitment that meant a hard-earned but thoroughly deserved victory ensued, despite being down to 14 men for the last 10 minutes.

More straight-forward victories were earned against Pocklington and Hymers although the support had to wait for the second half for certainty in the second of these two games.

The half term break, at least, gave the chance for Tom Metcalfe to return to action and in all three games he played, he was able to demonstrate what the team had been missing. St Peter’s was another “game of two halves” where in the first half there seemed to be a reluctance to play sensibly but the second was a complete transformation and the deficit was almost overturned.

That left two tough games to finish the season. Firstly the game against QEGS showed the team at their best with both attack and defence being outstanding. As a result an emphatic victory was gained.

At one stage in the Sedbergh match it looked as if we might go down without a fight, as previous U16 teams

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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MICHAELMAS TERM

have done, but from the moment Tom Metcalfe scored an interception try the whole team performed creditably and when Jamie Preston kicked a penalty to finally overcome a 19 point deficit at one stage, there was no way this side were going to let Sedbergh back into the game.

So it is tempting to look back at the season and think what might have been because both defeats were close and on another day might well have been victories. The forwards were always combative with Ben Lilley, Nathan White and George Shepherd making up a solid front row.

Ben Roddam and David Maidwell were mobile second rowers and Sam Adamsom, James Jennings and Tom Hunter had a good balance between attack and defence.

Outside the forwards the three-quarter line got better and better. Harvey Barkes and Jarlath Hetherington invariably made the right decisions and Jamie Preston and Callum Simpson posed threats as centre. On the wings and at full back Jerome Hardy, Dan Brown, Chris Douglas and Tom Metcalfe all showed they could finish as well as defend.

Special mention must also go to Jack Marston, who played four different positions and always gave of his best. The same could be said of Angus Ferguson, Harry McGuire and Rory Holden, whose chances were limited for a variety of reasons.

So this was a successful season and, as ever, is only possible due to the effort and commitment of the players.

They were good company and I thank them as well as the parents for their support and to MGL and LDM for their help throughout the season.

not reflect the game. Owen Carter, Jack Ellis and Tom Metcalfe showed great determination against a well drilled side. During this match, the try of the season was scored by Matthew Raper, crashing through the St Peters forward line to put some valuable points on the board. Thank you to Harry McGuire for all his help this season.

Representative Honours: Durham County: H Barkes, J Jennings, J Preston, N White Tri-Counties: J Jennings, J Preston

Results: Durham Yarm RGS Carmel (cup) Pocklington Hymers Ampleforth (cup) St. Peters Woodhouse Grove (cup) QEGS Wakefield Sedbergh Dame Allan’s

DCSE

U16 B Team Captain: H McGuire Team from: J Picken, M Raper, S Stainthorpe, M Ryves-Webb, J McGrath, M Stirk, T Metcalfe, O Carter, J Ellis, J Bloomfield, R Holden, C Douglas, E Leung, T Joashi, D Hoxholi P 4

W 0

Results: QEG’s Wakefield St Peters Hymers RGS Newcastle Yarm Durham

D 0

L 4

GF 68

GA 156

GD -88

Cancelled L 7-47 L 19-26 L 14-36 Cancelled L 28-47

The season’s fixtures commenced against Durham School.

The boys were up for the game and had been out early in the season preparing for this fixture. The special hooking skills and forward play of Josh Picken, and magnificent determination of Sandy Stainthorpe, helped the team win the first half 17-0. However, Durham School put up a great fight and turned the game in the second half to an away victory for the visitors. It was clear at this point that fitness and a small squad to pick from would be a problem this season. However, new boys were introduced, including Enoch Leung and Tom Joashi, helping to bolster the team.

The next fixture was against RGS Newcastle and the team was suffering from low numbers again; however, Rory Holden and Mully Ryes-Webb ensured there were points scored against a very good RGS team. The best match of the season was away at Hymers, where Josh Picken showed the crowd his kicking skills. However, losing in the last minute to a mistake by our Hymer’s full back did not help.

A special mention must go to Matthew Stirke for his honesty on this day in helping the referee make the correct decisions. Although another loss against St Peters, this did

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

The future is bright for this talented and dedicated team. I know that they will work hard during the 7s season and the off season in order to further improve upon these results as U16s.

Thank you for all of your effort and enthusiasm.

LDM

NJC

U14 A Team

U15 A Team

Captain: J Pickering Team from: I Ng, H Thompson, N Bridger, A Usher, B Edwards, E Hamilton, G Johnstone, I Brace, M Moss, J Pickering, E Butler, J Clouston, Z Day, J Rogers, A Reynard, J Dickinson, A Farr P 12

W 6

D 0

L 6

GF 366

GA 267

W W L W L W W L L L L W

GD 99

43-36 62-27 17-41 50-0 10-40 46-0 44-12 7-21 20-24 12-40 0-21 55-5

A gruelling schedule of fixtures awaited the squad in September, and as we trained for the first time one sunny afternoon I wondered if the boys could imagine just how far they would come in the months ahead. Fifteen fixtures lay ahead in what would prove to be an outstanding period of growth for a team coming of age.

The season began with the traditional Durham fixture; one week into term and with limited practice time under our belt, we received Durham brimming with confidence and determination. The Dunelmians had certainly improved in a year and held us to a close game. In the post-match debrief we decided that we simply had to work harder and improve our physicality in order stop attacks dead in the water and provide our backs with enough ball to play in the right area of the field.

The training field has seen these boys develop into mature young adults. We have spent hours reviewing match situations, working on our patterns and set piece manoeuvres and improving our fitness; it is this hard work, camaraderie and brotherhood that has seen this side develop into a formidable force. The improvement shown by this group of young men in two years has been excellent and our results show a much fairer reflection of our performances this year than in any previous.

Particular highlights of the season for me for me have been the way in which we challenged RGS during our fixture and a never-say-die attitude which almost seamlessly consumed us for the rest of the season. I was particularly impressed by how we were able to change our tactics and score through the rolling maul against a very strong Pocklington team. Our fitness seemed to play a key role in our emphatic comeback during the final period of the NatWest Cup match against Woodhouse Grove, in which we were unfortunately narrowly beaten.

Captain: J Adamson Team from: J Adamson, M Brookes, M Chapman, M Hanmer, T Harris, J Hudson, P Iraculis, B Johnson, R Kelsall, T Leeming, T Lush, S Marshall, A Pearson, M Price, D Russell, J Spratt, A Swainston, W Swinbank, T Terrill Edwards, O Theakston, C Young P 10

W 4

D 0

L 6

GF 217

GA 209

GD 8

The 2013 season proved to be tough for the U14As with the boys winning four out of a possible ten fixtures. The boys showed that they have the ability to play some very nice rugby, even against strong teams such as St Peter’s where we drew the second half 7-7. Unfortunately, consistency was a real issue this season and while we were able to get ourselves on top in matches, we were not able to maintain this level of performance throughout a full 50 minutes which cost us in games against Sedbergh, RGS Newcastle and QUEGS Wakefield.

Despite this issue, the boys did show good determination and willingness to win in order to produce some good displays. This was particularly evident in an extremely brutal match against Pocklington where, with some strong running from Captain Jamie Adamson, and some intelligent play from Rohan Kelsall, we were able to turn around a 14-0 deficit to eventually win the game 2919. Another highlight of the season was against Yarm School where the boys put together another strong performance, particularly in the forwards, to win 38-12.

Jamie Adamson again led by example scoring 5 tries in the process. The performance of the season came against Hymers in a game that we controlled from start to finish.

This was a fixture where the team really showed their potential with Cameron Young, Jamie Spratt, Matthew Hanmer and Miles Brooks stepping up their game in order to help the team to a comfortable 24-0 win.

We were also able to bring in and develop players from the B team over the course of the season. Miles Brookes, Ben Johnson and Matthew Hanmer all started the season in the B team but were able to step up and improve as the season went on and were vital players for the team by the end of the season. A special mention should also go to the most improved player Pau Iraculis, who before the start of the season had never picked up a rugby ball. Pau was not only able to become a key player for the B team but forced himself into the A team and became one of our most outstanding performers. Player of the season was unanimously voted as Jamie Adamson who not only helped the team by setting the example on the pitch with his willingness to do anything to win games, but showed an exemplary attitude towards the game both in training and in fixtures.

I wish the team the best of luck in the seasons to come and I am sure that with a bit more focus and determination to succeed they will be a force to be reckoned with.

TAIT

MICHAELMAS TERM

U14 B Team

produced our best performance, beating Sedbergh 27-7, running in five tries in an excellent team display.

U13 A Team

JL

U12 A Team

Captains: F Jordan/A Swainston Team from: S Walton, D Russell, A Swainston, J Thomas, J Ruddick, F Jordan, M Chapman, O Theakston, J Rowlandson, A Gedye, H Monkhouse, R Gardner, W Body, H Shepherd, J Hargrove, M Liu, T Harris, P Iraculis, A Pearson, S Leung, M Hannar, J Butterfield, J Barker, M Living, J Dickinson, O Pollock, E Leung, O Dunn P 8

W 5

Results: Durham Yarm RGS Pocklington Hymers St. Peters QEGS Wakefield Sedbergh

D 0

L 3

GF 195

GA 109

W W W W W L L L

GD 86

15-12 51-0 36-5 34-7 54-0 50-5 0-20 5-15

Unbeaten into November! This was a very successful season indeed by a very impressive group of players. The training squad consisted of thirty players; all of whom could have represented their School – many did. This is the particular strength of this year group and it served them well.

Early victories against Durham School and Yarm set the tone for the season. In the backs Jack Rowlandson and Tom Harris formed a very effective half back partnership, improving all season. In the centre Harry Monkhouse and Ross Gardner both defended strongly and attacked decisively. Pau Iraculis was new to the game this season and picked it up very quickly; eventually playing for the U14As. Wins against RGS Newcastle, Pocklington and Hymers followed. Joel Hargrove converted to hooker and learnt his new position quickly as did Harry Shepherd at full back. In the back row Joe Ruddick, Finlay Jordan and Marcus Chapman made significant contributions scoring numerous tries between them. Alex Swainston and Finlay Jordan did likewise in the second row. Sam Walton found himself playing at prop for most of the season but ran around the field like a flanker. Dominick Russell played with determination and obvious aggression. The last three games, against St Peter’s, QEGS Wakefield and Sedbergh, were always going to provide the toughest challenges and at that point the unbeaten run ended. Andrew Gedye, William Body and Matthew Hannar provided the attacking options in the backs and improved significantly throughout the season.

I know that Mr Everall and Mr Woodward, who have been involved with this large group of enthusiastic players, have both been impressed. Training has been fun and enjoyable. With such talent and huge competition for places this team should develop and improve over the next few seasons.

DWD

Captain: M Pepper Team from: J Dods, C Ellis, E Hall, R Hardy, F Hewitson, C Lewis, F Lockwood, C Maguire, C Metcalfe, J Metcalfe, T Newton, J Nichols, T Nicholson, C Pearson, O Richardson, C Robinson, C Simpson, S Simpson, G Spink, E Swinbank P 14

W 7

D 1

L 6

GF 369

GA 345

GD 24

The U13 A team continued where they had left off with a tremendous start to the new season. A pre-season win at Sedbergh was followed by four straight wins including the scalps of Aysgarth, Cundall Manor and St. Martin’s. A heavy defeat at the hands of RGS Newcastle seemed to knock their confidence, but a win against Terrington Hall and a morale-boosting draw against Pocklington seemed to set them up nicely for when they returned from half term.

However, it seemed that too many players had not returned with their rugby brains in their pencil case and they had left their determination somewhere on holiday.

A disappointing defeat at the hands of St. Olave’s was followed by heavy defeat to the much vaunted QEGS Wakefield. The boys rallied against Sedbergh and Dame Allen’s but fell just short in both matches. It gave the players plenty to think about and to work on from Christmas to September.

However, it was pleasing to see Freddie Lockwood, Max Pepper and Caleb Ellis progress and reach the North U13 Independent Lambs’ Squad. Santa was very kind to the players, delivering some rugby skills and determination post-Christmas; excellent wins against Pocklington, Austin Friars and especially against a spirited Durham team were a perfect end to the 15-a-side season.

MTP

U13 B Team

Team from: E Roberts-Lilley, S Simpson, H Williams, D Goldberg, E Williams, O Richardson, C Metcalfe, E Swinbank, T Nicholson, O Wynn, R Walgate, M West, J Million, E Callander, G Spence, S Harris, L Jerome, H Falshaw, C Maguire P 9

W 4

D 0

L 5

GF –

GA –

GD –

After an encouraging start to the season with three wins on the trot things were looking good. However, the next few fixtures were against some physical sides and with injuries to ‘A’ team players the odds were stacked against us.

Despite showing plenty of character and courage results did not go in our favour. Our final game of the season

Captains: R Langton/A Coward Team from: B Ali, O Bale, L Blackburn, G Callaghan, O Greaves, R Langton, R Makepeace, J Newall, L Peacock, A Petley, B Ramm-Salisbury, E Rhodes, T Robinson, S Steer-Richards, F Usher, L Wells, D Williamson P 9

W 3

Results: Cundall Manor Yarm St Martin’s Aysgarth RGS Pocklington Tait 10’s St Olave’s QEGS Dame Allen’s

D 0

L 7

GF 110

GA 219

W L W L L L Qualified for Plate Final L L W

GD 109

27-0 5-33 51-0 0-15 0-49 5-28 0-44 0-43 22-7

The season started well with the boys recording a good victory against Cundall Manor in the first game of the season. However the following week we were beaten by Yarm in a game that we let get away from us in the early stages, and we could not recover from being three tries down at halftime.

The following week saw a big win against St Martin’s, but unfortunately this would prove to be the U12A’s last win for some time with us losing the following five games. The final game did see the boys finish the season with a well deserved victory over a determined Dame Allen’s side.

The annual ‘Tait 10’s’ competition proved eventful with ourselves and Hymers finishing joint top of the group on points, Tries scored and Tries conceded. This meant that a penalty goal shootout was required to decide who went through and after both teams’ nominated kickers had kicked there was still no clear qualifier. The shootout then went to sudden death and Hymers came out on top. This meant the U12s qualified for the Plate competition where they met strong opposition and finished 3rd in their group.

Throughout the season the U12s have worked hard on developing their skills and learnt a great deal about the game, themselves and teamwork. To their credit they have remained supportive of each other throughout the season and I am sure they will continue to develop in the 2014/15 season. Reggie Langton and Archie Coward captained the side ably during the season and Reggie was awarded player of the season for his contribution and commitment to the game whilst Finn Usher was awarded most improved player as he continues to develop into a competent backline player.

AW

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Grease Grease has long been a popular choice amongst students for a School Musical, and a factor which I had to consider this year, following the successes of the last two Musical performances which I’ve directed here at Barney. The popularity of the Musical is such that students from every aspect of the School are desperate for a part – from the sportsmen and women and CCF, academic scholars or artists, each and every possible camp within the School is involved. As such, a second Musical in two years set in a High School – likewise covering all of these groups, albeit in a less-than-Barney, all-encompassing, fashion, seemed a perfect selection.

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What speaks volumes about the popularity of the show is that we managed to sell out entirely, for all four nights, within a week of tickets being made available, more than a month and a half prior to the opening night, and with absolutely no advertising.

As Danny, Ben Wynn-Jones was superb, delivering a knock-out vocal performance, and with footwork to match. Opposite him, Chloë Thompson was magical as Sandy, pure and innocent – until the final scene, of course. As the Pink Ladies, Sarah Perkins as the sultry Rizzo, Emily Cody (Marty), Iona Borer (Jan), and Erika Lee (Tina) were all stellar – Sarah Perkins deserves particular praise for her heart-rending rendition of There are Worse Things I Could Do. As the T-Birds, there were fresh faces, as new talents Tom Hunter (Kenickie) and Sam Theakston (Roger) joined old hands Sam Everall (Sonny), Chris Harrison (Frankie) and Jamie Preston (Doody).

In addition to these principles, Kerin Borer as Miss Lynch, Arran Keogh as Eugene,

Hetti Harper as Cha-Cha and Aydan Reynard as Johnny Casino all added to the cast – and I, once again, had the absolute privilege to appear alongside the students as Teen Angel. The chorus was vast, and once again we had a number of fresh faces joining the cast, all of whom I hope will continue to be involved hereon.

The infamous car, Greased Lightning, was built by a Year 7 student, Pablo Rossich, and it added that final touch of professionalism to an already outstanding show. The band was led by Mr AR Owens, and I would like to thank him for his enormous help, along with Mr AM Mawhinney and Dr IM Butterfield for rehearsing endlessly with the cast.

As always, the show was teched entirely by students and under the tutelage of Mr CR Butler, and my enormous thanks must go to both them and the Tech Crew for their enormous help in ensuring that every performance was as polished as it could be.

Nathan Miller, Hamish Carter and Nick Moore, the self-titled ‘Noize Boyz’ were faultless on the Sound Desk, and with several new pieces of lighting equipment hired especially for the show, Oliver Morrill did a sterling job of thinking on his feet and adapting the lighting program as and when I asked. Backstage was managed admirably by Tom Greaves with a crew of no less than six helping to manage the requirements back in the wings.

Half Colours for Dramatic Excellence, a new award only just introduced this term, goes to Kerin Borer.

Arts Awards for Technical Excellence went to the Noize Boyz themselves – Hamish Carter and Nathan Miller.

Arts Awards for Dramatic Excellence were awarded to Ben Wynn-Jones, Caitlin Bainbridge, Erika Lee, Amanda Usher, Iona Borer and Chris Harrison.

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Adventure Training

2Lt Wade, WO1 Lewis, Lt Fairwood and 12 cadets left Barney in in glorious sunshine and were soon greeted by the familiar Lake District drizzle. We spent the evening settling into Derwent Water Youth Hostel; unpacking, playing pool, table football, parlour games and WO1 Lewis’ famous card tricks and jokes.

After a hearty Monday morning breakfast we headed down to Derwent Water for a day of water sports; the team took to the water in their kayaks whilst 2Lt Wade and Lt Fairwood opted for the Canadian canoe. The water was like glass, the team were fantastic in their kayaks; Sergeant Ellie Harder struggled to go in a straight line at first but soon got the hang of it whilst Colour Sergeant Matthew Jeffrey was cutting around helping the younger cadets perfect their technique. An impromptu game of Kayak Rugby (you heard it here first) broke up the journey and saw the six members of Tees House triumph against the rest. After a good lunch back at base we were glad to see the wind had picked up which meant we could take out the sail boats.

The cadets ranged in experience from assistant instructors to complete novices so it was rewarding to watch them working together and showing each other the ropes (no pun intended). Cadet Tom Carter put Colour Sergeant William Grundy through his paces; sailing the boat practically on its side and dipping William in the water as often as possible. Our planned evening swim was cancelled due to the temporary closure of the swimming pool so the evening activity became Secret Santa (Easter Bunny?) – each cadet and staff member drew a name out of a hat, was given their swimming pool entrance fee and had to go into town and buy a gift for the person they chose to be presented in the evening.

After filling the drying room with their clothing the cadets filled their bellies with another delicious three-course-meal and headed to the lounge for the presentations. The gifts were excellent: Cadet Daniel Roberts received a woolly hat, Cadet Aiden Moran received some plastic insects to help with his Biology revision, 2Lt Wade got some Kendal mint cake to keep fully fuelled, WO1 Lewis received a fabulous moustache comb and Cadet William Carter received a copy of Disney’s Frozen.

Lt Fairwood, Cadet Tom Carter and Cadet William Carter left right after breakfast on Tuesday to set up the abseil. As senior members of the School climbing club, the Carter boys were keen to see how the system is set up and were very helpful. Again the experience of the group was varied and when it came to abseiling, some of the first timers pushed themselves to overcome their fears and abseiled down the rock face which would not have been possible without support and encouragement from their peers. Cadet Dan Roberts said “I knew if I didn’t do it I’d regret it.” Others, like seasoned Adventurer Corporal Jake Glowienko, managed to abseil down in five giant jumps and Lance Corporal John Clouston bounded down the rock face with ease.

We headed to the Keswick Climbing Wall for some afternoon adventures. Cadets Tom and William Carter were able to pass on some of their climbing skills to the group as well as help their peers with their knot tying and belaying skills. Our annual challenge if to see if a cadet can traverse around the entire bouldering wall without falling off saw Cadet Tom Carter as the only one to succeed at the challenge.

The cadets spent the afternoon scaling the walls and pushing themselves to take on more and more challenging routes; Cadet Tom Greaves discovered he has a flair for rock climbing, as did Colour Sergeant William Grundy.

CCF House Shooting Competition Throughout the term, cadets from both from the Army and RAF section competed in the Annual House Shooting Competition. The cadets had 10 rounds to fire at 10 small targets.

The highest possible score was 100. There was a very high standard of shooting from the cadets and the results were as follows;

Top cadet in each House; Bowes House: Sarah Stevenson Dale House: Tom Metcalf Durham House: Charlie Naseby Longfield House: Katie Rhodes Marwood House: Lucy Hardie-Hammond North House: Samson Siu Tees House: Tom Adamson York House: Edward Butler

Overall House Positions; 1st Tees 61.2% 2nd North 55.3% 3rd York 55% 4th Durham 53.2% 5th Dale 52.2% 6th Bowes 49.5% 7th Longfield 44.1% 8th Marwood 38.6% CEC

Top overall cadet; With a score of 99 out of 100, the top shooter was Tom Adamson.

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On Wednesday we managed a 15 minute lie in. After breakfast we loaded up the minibus and headed to Langdale for our gorge-walk.

Lt Fairwood led the cadets up the stream, over boulders, up waterfalls, through plunge pools and across stepping stones until the cadets reached the grand finale: a 25m waterfall that each cadet was able to ascent. On the way back to the bus Colour Sergeant William Grundy, Corporal Jake Glowienko, and Cadets William and Tom Carter decided they’d like to take advantage of the plunge pools along the route; knowing full well Lt Fairwood would have to test them first to see if they were safe. After a change of clothes the minibus took us into town where there was time to pick up some souvenirs before heading back to the hostel to put all of our wet kit in the drying room and get ready the contingent meal in Keswick. We headed into town for a delicious Thai meal. Cadet Dan Roberts greeting our waitress in her native tongue got the meal off to an

impressive start. Some of the boys opted for the hottest dish on the menu and conquered it with ease, on returning to the hostel there was just time for some karaoke and some pool before bed.

Thursday was an admin day, packing, stripping beds and loading the bus before heading back to School. On our return, the team packed away all the equipment with ease and assembled for the end of exercise parade. Sergeant Ellie Harder was awarded the Hall Shield for ‘Best Cadet on Adventure Training’ for her helpful attitude towards the staff and her peers; a very difficult decision for the staff, as all the cadets distinguished themselves in different ways and were a credit to the contingent and the School.

HWF

Library World Book Day World Book Day was on the 6th March and there were a wide range of activities taking place for this exciting day. The first competition taking place was to ‘Get Caught Reading’; anyone caught reading received a raffle ticket.

This was won by Tom Hughes in Year 7, York House, winning an enormous Easter egg.

The other competition taking place was to match 60 teachers to a book that changed their lives. All books were available to borrow from the library, and the teachers were from

both Senior and Prep School. This competition was won by Kim Hodgson and Salma Ali in Year 10, Marwood House who were able to match 41 books out of 60. They also won a gigantic, and very scrumptious might I add, chocolate Easter egg. Kim reports, “We had been pestering any teacher that passed us, begging them for answers or clues,” and Salma added “We were going to win that Easter egg no matter what”.

Also to mark the day, those with a creative flair got artistic in the Junior Art Competition, replicating iconic book covers,

with Longfield House winning 1st prize for their The Great Gatsby replica.

In addition, everybody in the School was given a one pound book token, which they could use in any book store, or exchange for a one pound book in the library. All in all it was an amazing day, celebrated with wonderful activities and a lot of yummy chocolate!

Salma Ali and Kim Hodgson, Year 10 Marwood House

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Religious Studies and Art

Year 7 Visit to Hindu Mandir We visited Newcastle “Hindu Mandir,” on Monday 17th March and we all had lots of fun. When we arrived, we were told to take our shoes off and the lady priestess introduced herself as Kirtida. She talked to us about the Hindu religion and asked us questions about what we had learnt at School. Once we were in the temple, Kirtida played a song about all of the gods. She then asked us to dress up like some of the worshippers of Hinduism do, which was great fun. She also painted some of our faces with sacred symbols and explained their meaning. After this we played some music with her and Kirdida sang a lovely song. We were then given an amazing curry dish, which was made with cheese and tomatoes with rice and Indian bread. We then had some ice cream, which went down well with all of the group. During the afternoon we spent time exploring the religion and looking at symbols and important objects associated with the religion. It was a very inspiring day.

Pablo Rossich, Year 7 North’ House Year 9 Visit to Beth Shalom On Monday, 11th November Year 9 were lucky enough to visit Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre. We left School by coach with a two and a half hour journey ahead of us. After arriving at Beth Shalom, we grabbed a quick bite of lunch before we started our visit. We looked at the fascinating memorial monuments and beautiful remembrance statues. After looking around, we all settled inside the centre to listen to a lady called Mala, who had survived the Holocaust and was to talk to us about her experiences. She spoke to us about how she coped and what

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happened to her and her family during this horrendous period. It was extraordinary to listen to her and hear a story first hand.

From my point of view, the Holocaust, and what they did to all the Jews, doesn’t seem real but after hearing from her what she witnessed it suddenly became real to me. On behalf of all Year 9, it was an amazing experience that we won’t forget and have benefited from so much.

Lastly we took a look around the Museum centre and took in all the information about all the Jews in the Holocaust. Sadly, we were coming to the end of our day and had to return to the coaches and head home. It was an enjoyable day and I would like to say a massive thank you to all the teachers who organised this trip.

Jessica McNickle, Year 9 Longfield House Year 10 Visit Islamic Faith Centre We boarded the bus just after registration time and set off for Newcastle. Once there, we had to take our shoes off outside the mosque and put them all on a rack. First we were given a very informative talk by one of the mosque’s members. He explained almost everything we could want and need to know.

We set off on a tour around the mosque. First we went to the washrooms, and then we went upstairs to where the women pray. There was a lot of steamed-glass up there so that men and women cannot be distracted by each other. We then went back downstairs and had a group photo.

We got back on the bus and travelled back into Newcastle city centre. Before we got off, Mr. Allman handed us a sheet about Fairtrade that we would need to fill out when we were walking around town. We had to list ten shops and show if they had a Fairtrade status or not. We had to visit ten clothes shops and find out where any random item of clothing was made and also we had to visit a coffee shop and take a trip to Primark to find out how they can sell their clothes so cheaply.

Finally, we had to ask six workers, or members of the general public, if they knew about Newcastle being a Fairtrade borough.

I’m sure everyone on the trip will agree with me when I say that it was a very good trip;

both enjoyable and educational. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Allman and Mrs. Butler.

Oliver Morrill, Year 10 York House Year 11 Visit Muslim school in Bradford As we embarked on our hour and forty minute long journey and we all got comfortable in the bus, everyone started to get excited about going to such a vast state school with a big Muslim population. As the bus pulled into the car park it struck us how massive the school actually was. Mr Zakhir came out to greet us with open arms, welcoming our School and leading our group inside.

Everything was very different from the setup at Barney; people were amazed to see all the different levels and classrooms alongside where the pupils spent their free time.

We eventually reached their drama room and stage where we were greeted by Mr Connor. Mr Zakhir took this as the perfect opportunity to get us up and moving, selecting a student from both his school and ours to play a game of dodge ball where they had to work together to hit out as many people as possible with a soft ball. As we all ran frantically round the room making feeble attempts to get away, we ended up colliding until eventually there was only a few left standing.

Once worn out, we were partnered up with someone from the opposite school and without even talking to each other first Mr Zakhir told us to answer ten of his questions about the other person and see how many we could get right just from looking at them. We were then allowed a 15 minute break to mingle amongst ourselves and get to know one another. By this time, our schools had integrated well, talking amongst ourselves with ease. Once we had all finished our tea and coffee we were set back to work being taught about the similarities of both Islam and Christianity. This proved to be very enlightening, helping us with our understanding of the two religions and what struck us most was how they were not all that different. We followed this up by lunch where we got to try out some Halal meat alongside our sandwiches and other nibbles; the onion Bhajis were particularly delicious! Our food was eaten quickly and to finish off our time at

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their school we were all asked questions and we would then stand at either part of the room depending on our choice of yes, no or maybe.

Once we had all gone where we wanted Mr Zakhir would ask a few of us why we were standing there. This was particularly interesting to see how alike we all were in our way of thinking. This was followed up by the questions all of us had written down for each other earlier being answered by different members of our schools.

We then all went and sat down in front of the projector to watch part of an episode on Muslim Tommies, coinciding very well with our topic of war and peace which we studied last term. This particular part of our day was definitely very interesting in helping us understand why we are at war with the Taliban and the ethics behind a Muslim fighting in the British army.

When our time at the school ended we were given a tour around and shown into the prayer room and different classrooms.

As we all clambered back on the bus saying thank you to the hosting school for having us. We were on our way into Bradford City for an investigation in to why it was called the “City of Peace”. Many of us were surprised to see how very multicultural this city really is, realising then how it got its reputation as such. Finally, we made our way back onto the bus and home, having thoroughly enjoyed our multicultural trip to Bradford.

A special thank you to Mrs Butler, Mr Allman, Mr Zakhir and Mr Connor as without them, this trip would not have taken place.

Kate Martin, Year 11 Bowes House GCSE/A Level Trip to London On Friday, 21st February a group of 45 very excited pupils hopped on board Gary’s bus and took the scenic route down to London, arriving at the lovely, if slightly hard to pronounce, Meininger Hotel some hours later. We put our bags down and headed off to Pizza Hut on the Strand for an all-youcan-eat buffet. Jake McGrath ate the most – being a boarder maybe helped!

On Saturday, we went to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum and my highlights were the stroll around St Paul’s Cathedral with its ornate décor and its fascinating tombs, followed by a little shopping in Covent Garden with its hustle and bustle. To top the day off, we went to see the amazing Billy Elliott at the Victoria theatre. We all went dressed to impress and with an open mind as we had no idea what to expect from the production; it was truly fantastic and it far exceeded my expectations.

It was really a great finish to a brilliant day.

We went to the British Museum on Sunday, but London Zoo was the biggest hit!

We saw giraffes, bush babies, lions, and my personal favourite: the sloths! We all managed to find Nemo and Dory but we skipped on Bruce! We also took a 7:30 flight

on the London Eye, which gave us a fabulous bird’s eye view of the city. On Monday, we were homeward bound via the London mosque which was beautifully decorated and symbolic. It filled you with awe.

A big thank you Mr Allman and Mrs Butler for taking us on this amazing trip.

Phoebe’s version of Jingle Bells and Alex Allison’s brilliant commentary throughout the bus journey really made the trip for me.

Erin Porter, Year 10 Marwood House A Level Trip to Westminster Abbey For only the second time ever, Westminster Abbey played host to a Sixth Form Conference attended by over 100 students from six schools, which were mostly from London boroughs, except for Barney, on Thursday 6th March.

We arrived at London Kings Cross and we made our way to the hostel in Rotherhithe for the night. We woke up fresh in the morning to a full English breakfast to set us up for the busy day ahead.

The day began with a keynote address from the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell. This was followed by workshops on: The Beginning of Life, End of Life, The existence of God, Soul & Soil: Environmental Ethics, Art and Soul, Soul & the Senses, The Soul in War and Conflict, IsFeeding the Soul Enough?, Animal Ethics” and My Soul Cries Out. Each student attending was able to choose two of the workshops, one for the morning and an afternoon lecture which followed a lecture on The Soul and Politics given by The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Chaplain to the Speaker and MP Sarah Teather, and at the end of the day we were able to participate in a plenary/question session. As it is relevant to

our A level, most of us attended either the morning or the afternoon session on Animal Ethics, which was given by Clair Linzey, the daughter of Andrew Linzey, a professor at Oxford University. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking session and was very useful; I would’ve gladly gone twice!

Many of us, including myself, attended The Soul in War and Conflict which was given by Royal Marine Lt Col Nick Cavill. It was a very intriguing talk, relating to recent incidents such as the Iraq war, and considering the ethics of things like tortuvre and just causes to go to war.

At the end of the day we were extremely lucky to be given a tour of Westminster Abbey which was absolutely stunning! I would definitely recommend visiting if you are ever in London: the TV doesn’t do its beauty and magnificence justice. Finally before catching the train back to Darlington Station we had a little bit of free time to see the sites of London and to have pizzas in Leicester Square. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip for all involved, and I hope for future A Level students that this is a continued trip as it was definitely worth it and I know I won’t be forgetting it for a long time. With many thanks from all of us to Mrs Butler, Miss Butler and Mr Allman!

Becca Cliffe, Year 13 Longfield House

Baltic Trip It was Wednesday 22nd January when our group of Year 10 pupils visited the Baltic. When we arrived we started by talking and looking at the work of artists who have created huge installations, bringing their imagination to life and creating something that people really experience physically.

We responded by making our own little installations using random bits and bobs that people use in their everyday lives.

After our lunch looking over the Tyne, we worked in groups to make large installations in the room. That was my favourite part of the trip, just letting our artistic ideas flow was so much fun! I would love to go again!

Helen Walgate, Year 10 Bowes House

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House Drama The House Drama event was, as always, a rushed affair, with rehearsals occurring during activity time alongside whole-School try-outs for the Barnard Run, Barney Bash practices and the like.

Once again, marking criteria was out of 10 for originality and final performance, with each of the eight judges – one from each House to ensure no impartiality – marking all bar their own House.

The entries ranged from the frankly dreadful to the most inspired. We visited two hotels, three schools, the trenches of WW1, a court room and an airplane, each to varied effect.

In second place were Longfield House with an inspired reimagining of Gogol’s classic Russian text The Government Inspector.

Winning for the third year in a row, however, were Mr Usher’s Durham boys, with a meta-theatrical stroke of genius – an open audition, the night before the first performance of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons.

Featuring three of the principles from this term’s Grease, it highlighted the shortcomings of the rehearsal process in a

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School as hectic as our own, where due to other commitments, the final push can often be manic. Satirising the participants’ own flaws, including our Head Boy Sam Everall lampooning his own speech impediment, and with reference to learning difficulties and the inability to differentiate between speech and stage directions, it guaranteed an hilarious piece of very original, unoriginal, drama.

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“The ability of our students never fails to amaze me, and I would like to thank them for their tremendous work over the year, creating some breath-taking original theatre.”

Theatre Studies 2.1mm

This term saw both the UVIth and LVIth Theatre Studies perform their practical pieces to delighted crowds in the Drama Studio.

LVIth were first, and performed a stunning piece of Brechtian-inspired theatre for their scripted piece from A Streetcar Named Desire. Using multi-roling, multi-functional props, abstract projections and song, as well as stage directions delivered straight to the audience and dechronologising the scenes, they delivered an exemplary piece. Their devised performance, meanwhile, was a harrowing exploration of domestic abuse, and saw Tilly McAllister, as ‘Mother’, ignoring the abuse of ‘Daughter’ Gemma Angeli at the hands of ‘Daddy’ Arran Keogh in an Artaudian piece of Theatre of Cruelty.

Far less harrowing was the UVIth performances in the last week of term – observed by an external examiner, as a group we this year did away with Artaud as a practitioner, and instead used the physical theatricality of companies such as Gecko, Theatre Ad Infinitum and Frantic Assembly for their devised piece, entitled A Dark Hour. The piece moved the audience to tears as it explored feelings of guilt, and an

inability to communicate, using masks, lighting and music to explore the characters’ feelings.

For the three separate scripted pieces, Erika Lee and Sarah Perkins delivered a wonderfully comedic extract from The Importance of Being Earnest, set within a boxing ring within a garden, using Astroturf and specially created pillars sculpted like trees. Tom Evans was the technical candidate and was assessed for his set design. Following this, Stan Wong and Dan Gilligan delivered a perfect piece of existentialist black comedy in an excerpt from Waiting for Godot, whilst Alex Allison, assisted by Dan Gilligan again, delivered a moving scene from next year’s Senior Play, Journey’s End, in a naturalistic style.

The ability of our students never fails to amaze me, and I would like to thank them for their tremendous work over the year, creating some breath-taking original theatre.

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Skiing Trip

Junior A highly excited group of 50 skiers left Barney, bound for St Anton in the Arlberg. A stable crossing was a relief to some of our more delicate travellers.

Weather on day one got the poor visibility out of the way at the start of a cracking week. We made our way to the midpoint of the mountain and the instructors took the five groups in various directions. For the first-timers it was a steep learning curve but once they grasped the basics they were sliding down the beginner slope and even mastering the button-lift to get them back to the top. Some even ventured to slide down the lift itself and, whilst not part of the main plan did look absolutely hysterical. The “oneweekers” headed off to find their ski legs, having found them and put them to good use as they scorched the piste for a full twenty yards at a time! The two intermediate groups went in search of pastures blue and the “Top Gunners” shot off.

Traditionally awards are given out during the ski trip and this year was no exception. Nominations flooded in each day and the morning ceremony was eagerly anticipated. The “Random Act of Kindness” (RAK) award, is awarded to a group or individual who are seen helping others during the day, a “Don’t Follow Me, I’m a Liability” award takes the form of a neon safety vest and is awarded to an individual who is best avoided on the piste due to some kind of faux pas, the much coveted “King/Queen Of The Piste” Award (KOTP) is

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given to the most improved/impressive skier of the day. Top amongst our memories in all of this was Sam Adamson winning the Liability Award for getting himself lost in the morning and giving himself a bloody nose in the afternoon, Nathan White won the RAK award and George Spink was crowned KOTP after moving from the Higher-Intermediate group to Top- Gun group.

In a great week the weather was truly on our side. The higher groups ventured further afield and covered a lot of terrain. Proving what a truly small world we live in, one of the groups bumped into Old Boy and ski trip veteran Ben Jennings, his brother Toby (currently in Year 10) and his mum and dad.

Jasper Metcalfe was crowned KOTP after impressing and moving up from the beginners group. James Jennings won the RAK award after hiking 20 meters up a piste to collect a dropped ski pole for one of his peers. The evening activity options were to head into town for some traditional Austrian bowling or watch a film. The bowling saw the girls beat the boys three games to two with a victory sealed by a final match-winning ball from Kerin Borer; Jack Ellis was the only one who managed a nine (strike) which is very tricky in this sort of bowling – even more tricky when all of your pals are trying to put you off.

New Year’s Eve brought another epic day for skiing, the beginners skied all the way to the bottom of the mountain after honing their skills and their banter on the beginner slopes. The intermediate groups continued to improve and the Top Gunners increased their efforts to leave no inch of snow unskied. The lower-intermediate group won the RAK award after helping a woman in distress on the piste. Chloe Laverick was awarded the Liability vest after causing an enormous four-man pile up on the mountain. Eve Pepper was crowned Princess of the Piste after skiing all the way to the bottom of the mountain after only three days on-snow.

Back at the hotel the group prepared themselves for Mr Beaty’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year. The team of Kerin Borer and Max Pepper narrowly pipped ‘Team Jenno’ to the win by half a point. As midnight approached,

students gathered on the hotel balconies to watch the town’s fireworks as we saw in the New Year in style.

The group were treated to a lie in on New Year’s Day; breakfast was 30 minutes later than normal at 7:30! Afterwards and not feeling tired at all, we headed out to the bottom of the mountain to find the car park in relative silence, having the mountain to ourselves for the first hour. The RAK award was presented to Jamie Adamson for helping his fallen peers get back on their feet (skis).

Harvey Barkes won the Liability award for spectacularly failing not only a jump but also a landing and recovery alongside wiping out one of his peers in the process. Later, Connor Maguire was crowned KOTP as the youngest member of the Top Gun group.

After skiing on day five there was a chance to go into the lovely town of St Anton and procure some souvenirs and supplies for the journey home. On returning to the hotel we had dinner and retreated to our rooms to pack followed by Mr Beaty’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year part two.

In a ski trip first Anna Coffey received two awards on the same day earning the KOTP award and the Liability award for a number of minor infractions over the course of the week including getting lost, falling over and causing a minor collision but paradoxically for her excellent skiing. The boys decided that understanding girls is likely to remain a tricky business and the girls decided they just had more talent.

Our final day meant an early start in order to make the best of the fantastic weather and fabulous snow conditions. The return journey meant an opportunity to spend all the euro coins that had been collecting in pockets and at the bottom of bags and watch a few more films. It also meant that a coach full of tired and aching bodies slept like a movie out-take from Shaun of the Dead. Before we knew it were back in Barney and Mr Bishop began talking about the next trip… which is not to say he had not been talking the whole time through this one.

HWF

LENT TERM

Senior The Sixth Form seemed very happy to return to its favourite resort of Kitzbuhel for the February ski trip.

The boys celebrated by eating lots of burgers on the way out and the girls celebrated anyone who had brought a ‘girlie movie’. Beyond this it was video games, iPods, iPads, pillow talk, gossip and rumour which passed our time on the outward leg to Austria.

The journey was soon forgotten, however, when we arrived in the beautiful old town of Kitzbuhel and headed out for a spot of orientation and to find McDonalds.

Six days of fun packed action lay ahead for us all and Mr Fairwood bravely helped us to mark it all by filming a cracking video filled with action shots, slow motion falls, thrills, spills and general falling over, interspersed with some top notch skiing, none of which seemed to be by the staff.

To help us gain a feeling for the group dynamic, and to help the mornings get off to a hilarious start, we took to nominating some members for conspicuous awards. King or Queen of the Piste proved to be popular and those lucky enough to wear the crown (ducttaped to their helmet) earned the right due to fabulous skiing, powerful carving, big air magic or just having a really lovely outfit. In the spirit of this, Shannon Currah, Emily Cody, Becky Fraser and ‘Chalky’ White all got crowned.

Of course it wasn’t all plain sailing and some seriously perilous skiing was spotted as

being on display. Most recipients of the “Don’t Follow Me I’m a Liability” Award (Hi visibility yellow vest of the same name) pretended to be unjustly accused, James Hall being amongst them. However, the staff who were nominated had to take it on the chin, so to speak, and so it came to pass that Mr. Thoroughgood accidentally found himself in the bathroom of hotel guests of entirely the wrong party and gender. He wore his vest with good humour but not as much as Mr Gregory, whose sense of direction was even more dire and demonstrated by him putting his entire group on entirely the wrong bus and going in entirely the wrong direction.

Duncan Hewitson and Tom Marston might have laughed more loudly than most at this, being good skiers, but piste pride does, they say, come before a fall and so it was that coming a cropper on camera and in front of a crowd of willing witnesses meant that Tom and Duncan each dutifully collected the most coveted of skiing cock up commemoratives, the “I am Pants” Award (seriously – it actually is a pair of massive pants to be worn outside your ski trousers) It must be said, a real ice breaker in any lift queue.

A truly heroic week on piste also meant we needed to go out on an evening and stretch our legs. This we did at the Aquarena (on its waterslides and in its pools), at the Ice Hockey (watching the home team win and joining in the singing), singing at the Apres Ski (“Sweet Caroline…Oh Oh Oh”) and at the random Austrian bowling (though the music and dancing girls on the bar next door proved

a bit distracting).

We had an amazing week’s perfect skiing weather broken only by whooping, shrieking and the strains of Aber Bitte Mit Zahne. The Tyrol was beautiful and we made the most of every moment, be it skiing or having lunch in lovely mountain restaurants.

Soon it was over and even the prospect of another day seeing Mr Gregory and James Goudie’s matching jackets wasn’t enough to make us sad to leave. The thoughts of Mr Usher’s dodgy landings kept us warm in the night as the fatigue of the week overwhelmed us on the journey home and soon it was time for the ferry and a Full English and the last leg. Speaking of legs, as all legs were in good fettle when we got home and as no Plaster of Paris was required, we hope that everyone is healthy enough to come with us again. Next year’s trip is to St.Anton in the Arlberg of Austria and over New Year, too. We can’t wait.

GB

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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LENT TERM

Rugby 1st VII Rugby

Teams from: K Atkinson, J Beckwith, J Brogden, G Coser, J Coser, J Davidson, C Fawcett, A Finkill, I Gaskin, A Ghosh, J Hedley, D Hewitson, N Gilbertson, M Jones, E Kelsall, S Leeming, C Parnell, B Wynn-Jones The North of England 7s was the first tournament of the season, on the last Sunday of half term. The attitude and approach from the available squad of players was excellent. We won our group convincingly and producing some positive 7s. A tough quarter final against Ellesmere after a three hour wait was less convincing, however. But at least the squad used had experienced some decent competition.

A different mixture of players travelled to Sheffield to play in the Mount St Mary’s 7s. Excellent performances providing comfortable wins against The King’s School Worcester, the hosts Mount St. Mary’s and Llandovery (twice) saw us play against Wellington College in the final. Unfortunately, the oppositions’ better levels of fitness saw them home, but the day had been extremely encouraging.

The Hymers tournament has always been a very positive warm up for Rosslyn Park and a competition we have always performed well at. We played some very good 7s in the first two and a half matches, beating GSAL and Bradford GS comfortably. The first half against Sedbergh was tremendous but their try late in the half seemed to knock our belief and they managed to control the second half and were victorious. The result still meant we had made it to the quarter final to meet Durham School. Unfortunately, we didn’t produce the same quality of 7s that we had earlier in the day and fell short.

At the National Schools’ 7s, Rosslyn Park we seemed to have been drawn in the ‘group of hell’. The quality of all five teams was very good. We won our first match against RGS Guildford but disappointingly couldn’t match Portsmouth GS or Kingswood School.

We were able to restore some pride in the last match against Bloxham.

MTP

Sedbergh 10s Rugby

Squad from: J Beckwith, J Brogden, G Coser, J Davidson, C Fawcett, A Finkill, I Gaskin, A Ghosh, C Harrison, J Hedley, D Hewitson, N Gilbertson, M Jones, E Kelsall, S Leeming, C Parnell The performance from the players at Sedbergh 10s (at Worcester Warriors) over the two days was nothing more than outstanding. We narrowly lost to the eventual runners up, RGS High Wycombe, in our second group game, having already convincingly beaten Brighton College earlier. We recovered well, showing great character to beat Kirkham GS and Sedbergh B. However, we ended up third in our group due to the other results of the other matches and having scored one try less than RGS who finished second. With a depleted squad due to injury, the next morning was tough to motivate the players for our first Plate match, losing by a score to RGS B team. We beat KES Bath comfortably, however, which meant a 3rd/4th Plate playoff against Kings’ Macclesfield, on the match pitch at Sixways. The boys produced a terrific performance on the big stage, coming from behind to win and pleasingly they finished the weekend how we had started.

MTP

DCSE

U16 VII Rugby Squad: S Adamson, H Barkes (Cpt.) A Ferguson, J Hardy, J Hetherington, R Holden, J Jennings, B Lilley, D Maidwell, J Marston, T Metcalfe, J Preston, B Roddam, C Simpson.

Results: County Tournament: Durham High Tunstall Teesdale A Teesdale B Yarm Sedbergh Tournament: Sedbergh RGS Lancaster Ampleforth Bradford Pocklington Tournament: Hymers Bradford Ampleforth Yarm Woodhouse Grove QEGS Tournament: Hymers Woodhouse Grove Ampleforth Durham Harrogate GS Rosslyn Park 7s: RC Nyon, Switzerland Hereford Cathedral Wesley College, Dublin Ysgol Glantaf, Cardiff King’s Macclesfield

W W W W (winners) W

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

U15 VII Rugby

36-14 52-10 60-5 56-0 24-14

L W W (semi-final) L

17-33 45-7 42-17 10-24

W W W W (winners) W

26-0 19-0 29-14 34-14 24-12

W L L L W

24-22 10-22 7-20 10-29 46-12

W W W W (last 32) L

40-0 43-7 33-5 31-17 12-22

The target at the beginning of term was twofold; first to win one tournament, and second to qualify from the group at Rosslyn Park.

The bare facts, then, suggest these two targets were met and exceeded as two tournaments were won, as were all four games in the group stage at Rosslyn Park, but at the end there was just a sense of disappointment as the side lost to King’s Macclesfield at the final 32 stage and so did not make it to the second day in London.

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From the outset it was easy to see that this squad of players had potential; they had pace in several positions; they had determined tacklers; and they had that rugby nous that is vital. The county 7s gave the side its first introduction and they won five games very convincingly.

Next was the Sedbergh tournament and despite losing to Sedbergh in the first game the side showed further potential in beating Ampleforth and RGS Lancaster before succumbing to Bradford.

The Pocklington tournament was a good day, where the whole squad played with purpose and eventually won the final by deservedly beating Woodhouse Grove. The QEGS tournament was probably our worst set of games but spirits were still high as we travelled to London to compete in what was a very “international” group. Victories over the Swiss, the English and the Irish meant we had to beat the Welsh in the last game. A super performance ensued and, as stated previously, just one game remained.

I really enjoyed coaching these pupils, their efforts were always first class and they displayed an appetite to learn. They received excellent support from a band of loyal supporters and I thank both parties for making the season so enjoyable.

With two of our early tournaments cancelled due to bad weather, we returned after half term with a determination to get stuck into the sevens season and make the most of our remaining opportunities. Our campaign began with the county tournament held at Yarm School. Five teams had entered including us so a busy round robin tournament with no breaks lay ahead.

The luck of the draw meant we had our hardest opponents Durham first, which we comfortably held at bay giving us the confidence to play some expansive rugby and become county champions, beating off valiant efforts from Yarm, Durham Johnstone and Whicham.

Setting of to our second tournament at Hymers, the squad was somewhat reduced with Isaac Brace and Ed Butler unable to travel through injury and Zak Day suffering a virus which seemed to have hit the whole squad over the week. Undeterred we set off on our longest journey full of enthusiasm. A difficult draw meaning two back to back games in the early stages was always going to be a challenge, and the early loss of Jack Dickinson with a broken collar bone added to our tale of woes. Thankfully we were able to play some good 7’s and our shape and trust in one another saw us progress to the shield competition. Two games stood before us in our silverware quest, with the first coming against Bradford who like ourselves had lost a few players to injury. A spirited side, Bradford gave us a physical battle but the Barney boys showed their class and held on to win.

Sedbergh were our opponents in the final; always a tough side we knew we had to find an extra gear. An excellent start put us two scores up, however some excellent patient play left us exposed just before half time and we went into the break 10-7. A nasty injury early in the second half meant a pitch change with three and a half minutes to play. The extra gear was found and the boys were able to break the Sedbergh defence, leading us to victory 27-7 and our second trophy in two attempts.

LENT TERM

Heading to Giggleswick the weather turned misty and cold as we crossed the Pennines. With two groups of five teams the afternoon was lengthy and hard work but with true Barney resilience we topped the group and silverware was in sight. Seeing off a tough Hill House team in the semi-final we were to meet Lancaster RGS in the final. Both sides closely matched in physicality and athleticism, and the game was nail-bitingly close with BCS having all of the final pressure needing a score to win but alas it was not to be and the game finished 21-19.

As hosts at our final tournament we were presented with the worst weather of the season with relentless wind meaning a fast flowing handling game was out of the question. Advancing through our group having beaten Sedbergh we were presented with three tough games to end our season and my tenure with this squad of players. We dominated the quarter final and progressed to our toughest challenge yet Pocklington in the semi. Pock having won all the tournaments this season so far are a large and unforgiving side, however BCS controlled the game perfectly and starved them of the ball. Individual brilliance and team grit and determination saw us progress to the finals against Woodhouse Grove; our second final in three days. Alas the game was not to be ours. A very tired and deflated team gathered on the first XV pitch to assess the season; and what a season we have had, despite losing in two finals the season put the results of previous seasons to bed cementing what we as a group already knew; how far we had come and what direction we are going.

Squash It has been a busy season for the Squash club. The sport has developed with more teams in the School than ever before. This year we particularly celebrated our Prep School U11 team winning the County Junior Schools’ Competition at Norton, and our U15 team reaching the national Schools Trophy Finals at Manchester, as well as winning the County League. Several pupils have enjoyed opportunities for county academy coaching. Oliver Larcombe has represented Durham and Cleveland U17s with Cameron McKnight and Fergus Hewitson at U13 level. For the first time ever we fielded a 3rd team at senior level. Overall the School played 39 matches over the course of the season, winning 17.

1st V Squash

and an outstanding role model. Will Grundy won six matches with a notable 3-2 victory in his final match for the School against Glaxo. These three players have given great service to Squash over their years at the School, representing the 1st team over 30 times each. They were awarded their team shirts in recognition of this at the end of term Nailing-Up ceremony. Oliver Larcombe received his full colours at the same time, having had a great second part of the season, where his game improved enormously and he learned to compete and show greater composure. He will return next year.

Hamish Carter received half colours for a fine debut season at number five, winning seven of his 13 matches with his unique style. Dan Milne, Alex Carnell and Enoch Leung all made appearances and will form the main part of next year’s team. They competed strongly and learned a great deal. This squad has been a great pleasure to work with. In training they worked hard, and in matches they gave their all. Off the court they were a credit to the School in the way that they conducted themselves. Above all they enjoyed their Squash and I hope that they will continue to do so when they move on to universities or careers.

2nd /3rd V Squash

LDM

U13 VII Rugby Team from: M Pepper, C Ellis, F Hewitson, F Lockwood, C Metcalfe, J Metcalfe, T Newton, J Nichols, C Pearson, L R-Hodge, O Richardson, C Robinson, G Spink The first tournament was a real test at Terrington Hall with some high quality 7s teams attending. Competitive performances against RGS Newcastle, St. Martins, Easingwold, Mount St. Mary’s and Red House saw Barney qualify for the Shield competition. A win in the semi-final meant a final against Durham School. Having been well in control at half time they weathered a spirited comeback from Durham to ensure bringing the Shield home.

A mixed day at the Woodhouse Grove 7s saw them lose to Dame Allan’s in the final of the Bowl competition.

However, excellent performances at the Durham School 7s against Durham Choristers, Aysgarth, Cundall Manor and Newcastle School for Boys meant they advanced to the semi-final of the main competition. Sadly St. Martin’s proved to be too strong and ran out comfortable winners.

The teams at the Mowden Hall 7s were always going to pose a real test for the players. Great spirit and team work produced some excellent performances beating the hosts, Durham School and Cundall Manor.

However, the surprise package came in the form of Bede Academy who totally dominated and were impressive winners against Barney. We qualified for the Plate final where we met Mowden Hall again, eager for revenge.

The squad stuck together and won comfortably.

The final 7s competition for the U13s was the prestigious National Schools 7s at Rosslyn Park, the biggest 7s tournament in the world. It was disappointing that the players seemed too overawed on the day; they managed one win in the group stages and therefore did not progress any further. The experience will serve them well when they return for the U16s in Year 11.

MTP

Team from: S Everall (Cpt.), N Stainthorp, W Grundy, O Larcombe, H Carter, A Carnell, D Milne, E Leung P 14

W 4

D 0

L 10

GF –

GA –

GD –

Results: MichaelmasTerm GSAL Ilkley Grammar Ampleforth Old Barnardians Hymers

L L W L L

0-5 2-3 5-0 0-5 2-3

Lent Term Old Barnardians GSAL Ampleforth Sedbergh Dame Allans Glaxo Yarm SRC Jesters Glaxo

L L W W L L W L L

2-3 0-5 3-2 5-0 2-3 2-3 4-0 0-5 2-3

This does not look like a good season when analysing the results above, but in many ways it was very successful, and certainly enjoyable. The fixture list is deliberately tough in order to challenge the players. In the National Schools U19 competition the team competed extremely well and the margins of defeat were often tight. The opposition at times was from county, regional or even national standard, as the Captain found out against Hymers who had an England representative in their ranks. The team this year was made up of four UVIth formers with two previous years of experience behind them. The number one position rotated throughout the season and there was good competition between the players. Nick Stainthorp competed very strongly on court and often played at number one. He won four of his twelve games including memorable tough battles against Glaxo and Ampleforth, which he won through sheer determination 3-2. Captain Sam Everall won six of his fourteen matches, always competing hard and playing with good court sense. I have appreciated all his efforts as Captain this season – he has been a great help

Team from: M Stirk (Cpt.), H Carter, E Leung, D Milne, K Yung, M Stirke, A Carnell, A Rusk, S Leung, E Liu The senior squad was used to the full and enjoyed four matches against Ampleforth at 2nd team level over two terms and two at 3rd team level. These were competitive and tight affairs, but our strength in depth was obvious and the 2nd team ended the season having played four and won four matches. The 3rd team won once and lost once. It was good to see so many seniors representing the School in competitive Squash. Matthew Stirk was an excellent Captain and I thank him for all his efforts.

South Wales Borderer’s Cup This year’s school championship was keenly contested and was a fine competition. Four players felt it was their chance this year and Nick Stainthorp battled his way through to the final where he faced Oliver Larcombe.

An epic match followed with Oliver becoming champion 11-8 in the fifth game. Will Grundy beat Sam Everall to claim third place and Hamish Carter beat Matthew Stirk in a fine Plate final.

U15 Squash

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

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LENT TERM

Team from: A Rusk (Cpt.), A Tsoi, I Ng, O Theakston, R Kelsall, M Brookes, C Lewis, C McKnight, K Yung, J Butterfield, H Monkhouse, A Gedye, D Russell, S Walton

whilst Elliot Williams was by far the most improved player. I look forward to seeing this group progress further as they move up the School.

Under 13 School Champion: C McKnight

P 18

W 6

D 0

L 16

GF –

Results: Dame Allans Gosforth B Gosforth A Nelson Thomlinson RGS Newcastle Pocklington Leyburn SRC Yarm SRC GSAL Sedbergh Sedgefield SRC Rushcliffe Gosforth B Pocklington Gosforth B Sir John Gleed Aylesbury

GA –

GD –

L L L L L W L W L W W W L L L W L

0-5 0-5 0-5 0-5 2-3 7-1 0-4 3-1 0-5 5-0 5-0 1-4 2-8 1-4 5-0 0-5

House Match Winners: Gradon Cup (senior): Durham Robinson Cup (under 15): Northumberland Birkbeck Cup (under 13): Durham My thanks as ever go to all the boys and girls for their enthusiasm on the court and their efforts throughout the season. Stuart Gaydon has continued to coach with patience and expertise and Mr Lister has been invaluable with his help with junior practices and fixtures.

JDG

Hockey 1st XI Boys Hockey

Williamson Cup Winner: A Rusk This season was a steep learning curve for this group of players and it started with the toughest of groups in the National Schools’ Tournament. Four heavy defeats showed the gulf in class between regular club players and our ‘home grown’ sport all-rounders. However the boys learned a lot and were willing to give it their all in defeat. The final group game against RGS was a much closer affair. The team went into the draw for the Trophy competition in the Lent term and qualified for finals day in Manchester – a great thrill and a fantastic experience.

They finished 4th out of six on the day and at the end of the season.

Regular fixtures were arranged in the Durham and Cleveland League against local clubs and the team amassed the most points in this different format, winning the league, much to their delight and surprise.

Overall the boys (and girl) trained hard, learned a lot and were much better players at the end of the season than they were at the start. Aiden Rusk was an outstanding Captain both on and off the court, drawing praise from opposition coaches for his play and leading by example. He ground out some magnificent wins and looks a fine prospect for the next few years. Many thanks are due to Mr Lister for his hard work with this age group.

Under 13 Squash Team from: C McKnight, F Hewitson, E Williams, O Wynn, E Swinbank, F Lockwood, R Makepeace, T Nicholson P 6

W 3

Results: Pocklington GSAL Leyburn SRC Yarm SRC Sedgefield SRC Pocklington

D 0

L 3

GF –

GA –

L L L W W W

GD –

0-6 2-5

4-3

This age group improved greatly as the season progressed. Cameron McKnight was a strong number one who played for the U15s in Manchester. Oliver Wynn has a fine technique and is learning fast. The mercurial Fergus Hewitson had his moments of magic

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

we lead 3-1 at half time. An early goal in the second half from St Peter’s brought them right back into it at 3-2. At this point our boys could easily have panicked but they kept playing Hockey and trying to keep the ball. Barney continued to put St Peters under pressure and with a series of strong attacks. The pressure eventually told as the ball broke free to Tom Metcalf in the circle to power the ball into the corner of the goal to secure the win. Alex Allison was superb in the midfield and well supported by Max Jones and Nick Gilbertson who helped secure the win for Barney.

Next followed a bit of a mixed period for the team as they failed to show any consistency with a loss to Yarm, win against Durham, loss to Ashville, win against Pocklington and then a heavy loss to a very good Ampleforth team. This mixed period could have derailed their season but the guys never lost heart and worked extremely hard in training to ensure they finished the season strongly in their final three fixtures. The two 3-0 victories were very comprehensive and probably should have been won by more with the lads playing some great attacking Hockey with the Year 11s now well established in the team and the Lower 6th starting to exert their authority. The final game of the season was against Egglescliffe School and allowed Nick Gilbertson, who had been absent since half term due to his England Lambs Rugby commitments one final game for the School. This final game also allowed James Raper to reach the milestone of thirty 1st team appearances in what has been a great three year contribution to the first team between the posts.

CJG

U15 Boys Hockey

Team from: J Raper (Vice Cpt.), B Wynn-Jones, M Jones, J Goudie, A Allison (Cpt.), N Gilbertson, S Hampson, S Theakston, C Mckenzie, B Pullan, J Ellis, S Stainthorp, D Brown, T Metcalf, J Bloomfield, J Picken, N Davis, J Glowienko P 11

W 5

D 2

Results: Sedbergh Windermere St Annes St. Peters Yarm School Durham Ashville College Pocklington Ampleforth College RGS Newcastle Austin Friars Egglescliffe School

L 4

GF 18

GA 26

L D W L W L W L W W D

GD -8

0-8 3-3 4-2 0-2 1-0 2-0 3-2 6-0 3-0 3-0 1-1

Our Season got off to a difficult start as the guys seemed to forget to turn up for this fixture and never really got into the game. Against a strong Windermere team was a thrilling game of end to end Hockey which ended in a 3-3 draw. There were some great performances by Nick Gilbertson and Max Jones who between them scored the crucial goals. The next match at St Peter’s, the boys were determined to make amends and get their season rolling against one of their main rivals.

St. Peter’s are well known for their ability at Hockey so before the match had started they were the favourites. An early goal from Barney’s midfield enforcer Max Jones gave us hope with our outstanding defence keeping the St Peter’s forward line quiet. More Barney goals came before half time from the hard working James Goudie and Cameron Mackenzie meant

After improving throughout last year and winning their final game of the season, the U15 boys arrived at training full of enthusiasm ready to make the next step as a team in order to compete in more of their matches.

Unfortunately the season started with a game to forget as the boys were well beaten by a very strong Sedbergh side that eventually ran out 8-1 victors, the only consolation coming from a solitary Andrew Usher goal late in the game. The boys reacted well to this loss and worked very hard in training to instil a stronger structure in their gameplay and what followed was a very pleasing run of results. A slightly unfortunate draw against Windermere in which Barney were disallowed a last minute winner was followed by good wins against Cundall Manor, Durham School and Ashville College.

The only defeat in this run of fixtures came at the hands of a very well drilled Yarm School side. However, having lead most of the game 1-0 it was far easier to take positives out of this defeat as the grit and determination shown by the boys throughout the game was extremely impressive.

Andrew Usher lead by example throughout the season with some very good forward play and was a constant threat to any opposition’s defence. Tom Greaves and Tom Carter kept the structure of the team strong in the middle of the park and the foundations for these victories were provided by a much improved

LENT TERM

defensive unit of Dylan Custance, Dan Burnett and Cammy Glover, with Jamie Stevens providing the saves in goal when called upon.

The season ended with an unfortunate run of three defeats in four games starting with a very disappointing 2-1 defeat to Pocklington, a game in which we dominated both possession and chances on goal and we were very unfortunate to concede 2 breakaway goals.

Even a goal for John Clouston in his only appearance of the season wasn’t enough to get a result from the game.

The final win of the season came at RGS Newcastle, where having gone a goal down we battled back to win 21, Angus Farr with the winning goal to finish a promising season for the U15 boys.

Player of the season: A Usher Most Improved: D Custance

quite rewarded with more goals in the second half. Solid defensive performances from Max Living, Harry Shepherd and Toby Lush made sure that Barney saw the game out. This performance was the catalyst for a much improved second half term which saw good wins against Ampleforth College, RGS Newcastle and Cundall Manor. Cundall Manor was a particularly good performance where right from the start Barney were the dominant team. Barney’s first goal came from a good counter attack with Finlay Jordan scoring a well taken goal. Barney then doubled their lead soon after with another well taken goal from Tom Harris but once again a lapse in concentration lead to a Cundall Manor goal.

This was just the wakeup call Barney need who went on to dominate possession and territory for the rest of the game scoring a further four goals. I’ve very much enjoyed the season with this group of lads and a look forward to seeing them develop further next year.

TAIT CJG

U14 Boys Hockey

U13 A/B Boys Hockey

Team from: J Barker, D Belam, W Body, M Chapman, J Dickinson, O Dunn, R Gardiner, J Hargrove, T Harris, F Jordan, M Living, T Lush, A Pearson, J Rowlandson, M Sellers, H Shepherd, J Terrill

individuals and not as a team. Our heaviest defeat of the season highlighted the fact that being able to hit a Hockey ball really hard, although impressive, is ineffective if there is no structure and fluidity to the linking of players on the field; hit and hope will only lead to 5-0 defeats. There was clearly a lot of work to do in building a team that could effectively utilise the potential of their individual skills but as a group, working for one another, with the aim of playing quality team Hockey. Training was vital to the team’s progression and the following eight games had the team victorious in all but one of these matches. The growth and development of the group was impressive with some outstanding triumphs and the big hitters scored some impressive goals, in abundance. Notable mentions go to Robert Hardy; a superb goal keeper that the group are extremely fortunate to have in the team. Fergus Hewitson, who is an exceptional defender, will certainly be a great Hockey player with guidance and further mentoring. Cameron Lewis has been ever-present at each game. He has a lot of potential and as he matures as a player, he will be an asset to the team. Louis RoguljaHodge has moved out of his initial defensive role to be an impressive attacking force with great control and skills and an exciting prospect for the future. Caleb Ellis is an all-round sportsman who has shown he is equally adept with a Hockey stick. Max West has impressed me as he is the player who takes on board what he has been coached and his holding of the ball up front allowed the proficient shooters to gain many of the goals they scored. Toby Newton has potential to be a great player and as he matures he will be amongst a superb group of Hockey players. A final mention goes to the many B team players who stepped up a level and showed just how strong a year group this is in terms of their collective Hockey abilities. I look forward to seeing this group develop and I believe they could be one of the strongest and most exciting groups that we have had in a while; a team for the future.

AMD

P 10

W 4

D 0

Results: Sedbergh Yarm School Ashville College Egglescliffe School Pocklington Richmond Ampleforth College RGS Newcastle Cundall Manor Austin Friars

L 6

GF 17

GA 34

L L L L W L W W W L

GD -17

5-0 0-4 4-0 1-7 3-2 7-0 2-1 0-4 2-6 2-1

A tale of two halves as Barney struggled up to half term, heavily losing their first four matches. Although this did put a dent in their confidence the results never dulled their enthusiasm in training as they were determined to get better. The hard work eventually paid off just before half term with a great 3-1 victory over Pocklington. This was a great way to end the term with the guys playing some great Hockey and they were well worth the 3-1 result. Barney got off to a strong start scoring in the first five minutes but a momentary lapse in concentration lead to a Pocklington counter attack and a goal. After plenty of hard work from Barney they were finally rewarded with a brilliant team-worked goal finished off

by Ross Gardener. Barney’s second goal was scored by Finley Jordan with a powerful strike into the corner of the goal. Once again even though we dominated most of the half another lapse in concentration lead to a second Pocklington goal despite the initial shot being saved by Oliver Dunn. Half time was approaching when Ross got Barney’s third to take a deserved lead from a Finley Jordan miss hit shot. Solid performances from Marcus Chapman, Finlay Jordan and Ross Gardiner weren’t

U12 A Boys Hockey

Team from: R Hardy, C Lewis, L Rogulja-Hodge, F Hewitson, M West, T Newton, C Ellis, G Spink, S Simpson, M Pepper, E Roberts-Lilley, D Goldberg, R Walgate, C Pearson, J Nichols, J Metcalfe P 10

W 7

D 0

L 3

GF –

Results: St Martin’s Ampleforth Malsis School Durham School Ashville College Pocklington School St Olave’s School, York RGS, Newcastle Yarm School Austin Friars St Monica’s School Richmond School

GA –

L L W W W L W W W W

GD –

3-4 0-5 4-2 3-0 2-1 2-5 6-1 3-0 6-1 3-0

The U13A Boys Hockey team had a solid season that saw the team develop and grow as the fixtures progressed with a number of well executed wins. Having started brightly with a close-fought game against St Martin’s that unfortunately finished with a loss, we had gained confidence with a number of players having a high belief in their own abilities. The enthusiasm was misplaced in our second game where we played as a collection of

Team from: J Alderdice, O Bale, L Blackburn, G Callaghan, A Coward, O Greaves, T Hughes, R Langton, J Lockhart, B Maguire, L Peacock, A Petley, B Powell, C Tudor-Smith, F Usher, L Wells P 6

W 4

Results: St Martin’s Richmond Ashville College Yarm School St Olave’s School Austin Friars

D 0

L 2

GF 17

GA 10

L W W W L W

GD 7

4-1 1-2 8-2 2-1 0-2 0-4

After a disappointing 4-1 loss against St Martin’s in their first game, the guys in the B team really got their act together with some great performances. I genuinely

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

77

LENT TERM

believe this team could develop along with the A team into a good Hockey team with some talented players.

Our boys had never played Hockey before this year, so it was always going to be difficult term for them but they worked hard as a team and in training. The results make good reading and the team went from strength to strength over the course of the term.

Players who have particularly impressed me this term have been Owen Greaves, who has been ever present in the midfield, and Reggie Langton with his work rate also in the midfield; Reggie can consider himself very unlucky not to have made it into the A Team.

South Durham & Cleveland County: Champions Regional: Runner’s up National Finals: 18th

Netball 1st VII Netball

Regional Runners Up and onwards to the National Finals. That had been the goal from the very first training session and because the girls believed they could, they did. An exceptional achievement which Netball at Barnard Castle will be looking to reproduce in consecutive years to come.

The work put in behind the scenes from Head of Netball Miss Broadbent and S & C coach Mr Woodward has been unprecedented and these girls would not have got to the level they did without these two people. Next year will be a time to regroup, rethink and reset for another forthcoming year of successful Netball at Barney.

CJG

U12 B Boys Hockey

EKM Team from: I Borer (Cpt.), H Stephenson, C Atkinson, C Elliot, N Tait, R Pratt, E Cody, E Newton, K Body, K Brolly P 9

Team from: J Alderdice, A Ali, O Bale, G Callaghan, A Coward, O Greaves, T Hughes, B Maguire, J Newell, L Peacock, A Petley, B Powell, B Ramm-Salisbury, E Rhodes, S Steer-Richards, C Tudor-Smith, F Usher, L Wells P 9

W 1

Results: St Martin’s Richmond Durham School Ashville College Yarm School Pocklington St Olave’s School RGS Newcastle Austin Friars

D 1

L 7

GF 10

GA 35

L L L L D L L L W

GD -25

8-0 6-0 0-6 0-3 2-2 2-1 0-1 2-5 2-5

On the face of it the results do not make great reading but if you dig a bit deeper I genuinely believe this team could develop along with the B team into a good Hockey team with some talented players. Our guys had never played Hockey before this year so it was always going to be difficult for them as most of the schools we play have played some Hockey prior to Year 7. The first four results and performances were very disappointing but after some hard work in the games lessons the boys started to get a grasp on the concepts of Hockey. Even though the next five fixtures only read Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 3, the boys really started to play some much better Hockey and could quite easily have won 4 of them. The boys did save their best performance until last as they despatched Austin Friars as they turned on the style to win 5-2.

Players who have particularly impressed me this term have been Finn Usher with his movement up front and Byron, who looks like he has the potential to be a very good goalkeeper.

CJG

78

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

W 6

D 1

L 2

Results: Dame Allen’s Girls’ School Bishop Barrington School Giggleswick School Ampleforth College St. Peter’s School, York Yarm School Pocklington School Durham School Sedbergh School

GF 211

GA 156

W L W W D W W W L

2nd Netball

GD 55

25-5 29-31 30-10 29-3 24-24 27-12 18-8 20-12 9-51

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential (W Churchill) Determination, willpower, drive and grit ran through the 1st VII this year, a determination that I don’t think even they’d individually experienced before.

Becoming County Champions back in October gave the girls a new desire to again get to the National Finals, like they’d done back in 2010. However this was going to be no easy feat and they all had to buy in to the training regime that was required in order to get them there.

The weekend fixtures were a good indicator of the fitness of the girls and a chance to see them competitively performing as a whole squad. Early on the girls met their match, in a young Bishop Barrington side.

This match was their first real test, needing cohesion and willpower when it was goal-for-goal in the final quarter. Too many errors and an element of fatigue were confirmed in the final minutes. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with the team performance even though many of the players were themselves disappointed. What particularly impressed me was that the girls were starting to reflect upon their own performance as individuals and as a team; proving that it wasn’t just a few players who wanted to gain a place at the Nationals but the whole squad.

At the weekends the team were winning convincingly but never at any point was there an air of complacency; every game was won through a whole squad effort. The St. Peters’ game had it all; drama, injuries, fire alarms and close match-ups on court: Goalfor-goal, end-to-end, nothing was going to separate these two teams. Disappointingly it ended in a draw with missed opportunities and too many errors which kept the girls from beating St. Peters’ for the first time. The last fixture of the Netball season was against Sedbergh.

This was the year when I felt that all the training would come together at the right time and we would beat our Achilles’ heel opponents and take them right to the final whistle – how wrong could I have been. That loss has been the toughest fixture to put into words, nothing can describe what happened on the court that day.

Captain: H Appleby Team from: E Everall, B Findlay, K Hagues, L. Hardie-Hammond, K. Lovegreen, A Martin, J Metcalfe, P Naseby, S Scanlan, L Spedding P 7

W 3

Results: Giggleswick Ampleforth St Peter’s Yarm Pocklington Durham School Sedbergh

D 0

L 4

GF –

GA –

L W L W W L L

GD –

8-18 22-5 2-25 11-8 10-12 18-19 9-22

It has been a mixed season for the 2nd team. With players selected from Year 11, LVIth and UVIth, it took the team a while to bond and work together as a cohesive unit. New combinations in attack, defence and centre court were formed and it was not long before improvements began to be made.

The first game away against Giggleswick was a tough encounter. Despite both teams matching up fairly well, our defence struggled to break down the opposition’s attacking play. I suspect if we had faced them later in the season, the result may have been a different story. Against Ampleforth we played well.

Some great shooting from Amelia and Bethan gave the team and shooters the confidence they needed and they sealed the game with a convincing win.

A good effort was made against a strong St Peter’s side but unfortunately they proved too challenging for this relatively young line up and we were beaten by a much better team. They soon put this loss aside and went into the next game against Yarm determined to perform well. It was a very slow start with only one goal being scored after ten minutes. The Barney squad did however raise their game in the second half, Sarah and Kate defended well and forced the opposition to shoot from distance. As the wind picked up the team were

LENT TERM

instructed to keep the passing short, Sarah, Holly and Pip cemented a partnership in the centre court and fed the shooters with accuracy.

With the connection on court now evident they faced Pocklington away from home. Barney made another slow start, losing possession of the first centre pass and were 4-1 down after the first quarter. They soon pulled it back to 6-7 at half-time in what was shaping up to be a thriller. With injury to the Captain, positional changes took place with Sarah moving to centre. Barney upped their game after the break. Bethan popped the ball to Amelia under the post to lead at the three-quarter stage. A late Pocklington surge asked questions of the squad before we clinched the victory by a narrow margin.

Sadly, Sarah Stephenson’s season was cut short due to a half-term skiing injury. Lucy Hardie-Hammond stepped into the goal defense position and together with Kate Lovegreen at goal keeper they proved to be an effective pairing, working together as a unit, in the latter half of the season. Against Durham School we displayed some good skills and the score was neck and neck throughout. After half time we knew we were in with a chance if we stuck to our game plan. Losing Holly to the 1st team and Bethan in the last quarter really disrupted their flow and Durham scored in the last few seconds to take victory 18-19.

We travelled to Sedbergh for the last game of the season. We worked the ball around the circle well and scores were level at quarter time. The opposition took the lead in the second half. Lucy made some great interceptions at GD but Sedbergh’s goals began to tally up and it was too late to catch them.

of the ball and deliver safe passes throughout their play, getting free from defenders and playing the ball into space. Alice Ridley was dominant at the back getting tips and interceptions all over the place, putting real pressure on the attacking duo. Windermere was a more physical game that required the girls to play quick tempo netball, however they struggled to realise this, which is something I would like them to work on next year; when a lot of them will be playing 1st team.

Reading the game, reacting and then recovering back in to their set position. However, I cannot take anything away from these girls, to stay undefeated is an exceptional achievement and I really do have high hopes for these youngsters next year.

U15 Netball

EKM

U14 Netball

Captain: A Ridley Team from: F Waiter-Mackenzie, C Waldin, C Burford, S Nichols, H Swinbank, E Gossage, I Hewitson, L Newton

TCB P 9

3rd & 4th Netball Captains: 3rd J Metcalfe/4th H Turner 3rd team from: K Borer, K Hagues, L Bussey, E Everall, S Pratt, ERobson, L Spedding, E Watson 4th team from: M Purvis, K Shaw, C Thompson, M Cartwright, S Currah, H Anderson, E Baister, A Whitehead 3rd team results: P 4

W 3

D 0

Results: Teesdale School Giggleswick School Yarm School St. Peter’s School

L 1

GF 51

W W W L

3rd 10-8 20-2 14-11 7-11

GA 32

GD 19 4th

L

4-17

Netball is going from strength-to-strength at Barney and this year, and, for the first time, we were able to field a 3rd and 4th team. This is an excellent achievement and praise must go to all of the senior girls, who have been so enthusiastic and keen to play in these fixtures.

The 3rd team had a super season winning all but one of their games. The win against Yarm was particularly exciting, with end-to-end court action being demonstrated. With the birth of the 4th team, there was only one scheduled fixture against a strong 3rd/4th combined St. Peter’s side. Nonetheless the girls showed great form and competed strongly throughout.

EKM

W 8

D 1

L 0

GF 222

Results: St. Peter’s School Giggleswick School Austin Friars St Monica’s School Ampleforth College Sedbergh School Yarm School Pocklington School Windermere School Queen Mary’s School

GA 94

W W W D W W W W W

GD 128

21-12 25-5 29-3 21-21 22-11 25-9 23-9 21-14 35-3

The U15 squad have had a fantastic year which has left them undefeated for the whole season.

The girls made a good start to their season, beating a well-drilled St. Peter’s side; however it was evident that the girls liked playing fast netball but didn’t always have the control to maintain it through to goal. Holly Swinbank’s skill and cleverness worked well at C as she was able to control the play through both units. This game prepared the girls for their next against Ampleforth. Real determination and grit enabled the girls to stay in touch with Ampleforth throughout, although Stella Nichols had to put in a particularly good performance against their WA and managed to pull off some clean interceptions. The main focus of this team’s training throughout the term was to drive in to space and re-offer when needed; this was demonstrated perfectly against a tough Sedbergh.

Ellen Gossage at WA proved that time and time again, she is quick, nimble and strong and will always offer for the ball with real purpose. This enabled her to get circle edge and feed both Isla Hewitson and Lucy Newton, whom put shots away under pressure. The game against Yarm highlighted some weaknesses from the defensive unit to the attack with limited options available. The girls soon realised that the ball carrier is responsible when unloading the ball and that the player on the receiving end must also play a considerable part ensuring the ball arrives to them, safely. Against Pocklington they managed to take care

A Team from: A Allison, M Bowen, L Gill, S Hopkins, A Hunter, J Pearse, G Penman, S Ryan, E Shannon, A Thompson, E Warren B Team from: L Atkinson, O Blackett, M Bowen, R Elphick, L Gill, J McNickle, K Robson, S Ryan, L Sharafutdinova, M Sowerby, C Sutton-Jones Team A P W 10 3

D 0

L 7

GF 127

GA 192

GD –

Team B P W 4 1

D 0

L 3

GF 26

GA 41

GD –

Results: Team A St Peters Giggleswick Austin Friars Ampleforth Sedburgh Yarm Pocklington Durham School Windemere Queen Mary’s

L L W W L L L L L W

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

20-24 12-23 25-6 10-8 9-28 5-29 7-16 14-19 11-26 14-13

79

LENT TERM

Team B Austin Friars Richmond Durham School Queen Mary’s

L L L W

3-7 3-11 5-10 15-13

The U14A and B teams have had a busy and testing season with some B team players developing their game to an extent that they were rightly awarded an opportunity to play A team Netball.

The A Team started with a difficult game against a strong St Peter’s side who proved too strong across the four quarters; this was followed with another tough game against Giggleswick where the opposition ran out convincing winners.

To their credit the whole Year group worked hard both in games lessons and after school and this resulted in a convincing win over Austin Friars and a hard fought victory over a strong Ampleforth side. There then followed a run of defeats, against some strong sides, where the pattern of the game was similar in that the girls let the opposition build a lead in the first two quarters only for BCS to pull back the score in the 3rd and 4th quarters. The only exception to this was the Yarm game which was played in strong winds which made shooting a lottery and with shooters limited to shooting within three seconds the wind played a major factor at both ends for both teams.

The B Team have worked very hard in training but only had limited fixtures playing only four games, losing their first three fixtures in close, hard fought games.

However for both A and B teams the season finished on a high when we travelled to Queen Mary’s School.

Taking as many girls as were available and ensuring everyone got at least ½ a game, both teams worked extremely hard and with both games seeing 1 point differences at ¾ time both the A and B teams won their matches with a solid performance in the last quarter. This was an excellent end to the season with both games played in a great spirit by all teams.

What has stood out for me with the teams this year is the support they give each other both on and off the pitch. Competition for places is very strong in this age group and trying to select a starting seven for the A team will prove a challenging, but pleasing, task for the coaches next season.

AW

U13 Netball

A Team from: R Bennett, L Dickinson, A Everall, M Forsyth, C Martin, S McEwan, A Morrill, D Oliver, S Jones B Team from: S Bartlett, E Dalton, S Graystone, C Harrison, E Johnson, C Laverick, S Robertson, K Walker Team A P W 11 6

D 0

L 5

GF 124

GA 157

GD –

Team B P W 4 2

D 0

L 2

GF 17

GA 36

GD –

A W L L W W W L L W L W

9-6 1-4 9-43 12-10 20-3 8-4 12-18 13-18 14-9w 7-24 19-18

Results: Giggleswick Mowden Hall Yarm Pocklington Rydal Penhros Durham School Windermere Sedbergh St Martin’s Central Newcastle Queen Mary’s

B

B Team from: K Baxter, E Forsyth, C Hamner, A Harris, R Hargrove, J Osbourne, I Pentland, J Powell, A Richardson, F West, L Wilson

L W L W

Awards were presented as follows; Best A Player: S Jones Best B Player: S Robertson Most Improved A Player: L Dickinson Most Improved B Player: K Walker & K Shepherd

U12 Netball

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The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

6-13 3-2 1-19 7-2

Our Year 8 pupils have made great progress with their netball skills this term. Both A and B teams had a balanced season in terms of results and hope to build on this next year. Not only have they developed their fitness together with an array of attacking and defending skills, but they have begun to use tactics to beat their opponents.

The girls have shown great versatility on court as positional changes have been tried and tested and new partnerships formed. Quality performances have been produced through hard work and a ‘never give up’ attitude, this was certainly shown against Sedbergh, Windermere and Queen Mary’s.

Three of the squad were selected to attend England Netball Satellite (L Dickinson and C Martin) and County (S Jones) training and have come on leaps and bounds. I have, however, been consistently impressed by enthusiasm and willingness to learn of the entire Year group. The camaraderie that has grown both on and off court between players has been a pleasure to watch. Next year, we look forward to an overseas Netball Tour to Disneyland Paris; as excitement begins to grow, be warned, girls, that training starts soon.

TCB

A Team from: R Bennett, H Booth, E Bowen, D Currah, A Fox, E Gedye, C Grey-Thompson, A Pearse, G Rhodes

Team A P W 8 4

D 1

L 3

GF 103

GA 61

GD –

Team B P W 3 3

D 0

L 0

GF 26

GA 9

GD –

A W L D

13-0 3-16 11-11

Results: Giggleswick Mowden Hall Yarm Durham School Tournament Pocklington BCS Tournament Windermere Sedbergh St Martin’s Ampleforth Queen Mary’s

B

Runners Up L 10-15 Runners Up W 25-3 L 7-13 W 3-13 W 21-1

W W W

12-7 5-1 9-1

The U12A and B teams have had a very successful first season of Senior School netball.

The A team started strongly with a convincing victory away against Giggleswick. They also performed particularly well in the Windermere, St Martin’s and Queen Mary’s games. They met their match however with a draw against Yarm, in what was to be an exciting end to end contest, but later went on to beat them in a tournament after the half term break.

At the Durham School tournament the squad produced some excellent performances. They faced Durham High School in the first match and it was end to end action eventually ending in a 7-7 draw. BCS went on to beat Durham School, Cundall Manor, The Choristers School and Polam Hall. With equal points, we had to wait for the presentation to hear whether we had scored enough goals but sadly Durham High had tallied a higher number of shots and we took the Runners Up medals.

Excitement was high as we hosted the BCS U12 Tournament. The BCS B team took a while to find their flow losing narrowly to RGS B, Polam Hall and Queen Mary’s and drawing with St Martin’s. The BCS A team made a slow start and some errors proved costly as Terrington Hall clinched the victory. However, positive performances followed against Yarm, Red House and RGS A to see them advance into the semi-final against RGS B. They cruised through this stage with a score of 30 to proceed to the final. BCS took an early lead against Terrington with a confident goal from distance by Rachel Bennett, but Terrington were hot on our heels and despite some outstanding interceptions by Ella Bowen, Hannah Booth and Abbie Pearse they soon stretched ahead to win 4-2. All matches were keenly contested and enjoyed by both players and supporters.

LENT TERM

The U12Bs have excelled and been unbeaten in their school fixtures. They have worked hard in training and made pleasing progress with their skills and game awareness. I admire their will to win and they should be very proud of their achievements this season. There is plenty of strength and depth in this Year group and I look forward to seeing their continued improvement next year.

Awards were presented as follows; Best A Player: Ella Bowen Best B Player: Farrah West Most Improved A Player: Abigail Pearse Most Improved B Player: Josephine Powell TCB

Lacrosse

The Lacrosse season took off quickly with the 1st team meeting Queen Margaret’s on the pitch only a couple of weeks into the season. Having had only a few practices under their belt, the girls knew this would be a tough match. However Hetti Harper and Shannon Currah stepped up to the mark scoring the first goals of the season. Alice Whitehead also had an excellent start as keeper, saving some powerful shots and providing the team with encouraging and constructive advice. Her excellent game play earned her the man of the match award. The girls showed very promising determination and teamwork throughout the match, but unfortunately their rusty stick skills put them at a disadvantage and the game ended with a disappointing 3-10 loss.

The team went away and worked hard to improve their game play and stick work. They came back stronger and put up a good fight during their next game against Sedbergh. The muddy conditions did not make the game easy for the girls but their formation as a team was progressing steadily and they were beginning to work as a team. All their practice paid off in their next game against Ampleforth at home. The defensive unit of Lizzie Clouston, Amanda Usher, Clare Harris and Alice Whitehead was outstanding, making it hard for Ampleforth to score any goals. The first half ended with the opposition only one goal ahead, but unfortunately they stepped up the game in the second half and the game finished with a 3-10 loss.

The following week the squad travelled to Manchester where they faced seven other teams in an U19 Tournament. Amy Gilligan stepping in as keeper had an exceptional day. Her quick thinking and outstanding co-ordination allowed her to save some terrific shots. This was noticed by the opposition making them think twice about the placing of the ball. Amanda Usher proved what an excellent Captain she is, organising the team on and off the pitch as well as putting 100% effort into her own play. The competition was strong and although the girls stepped up their game this was unfortunately not quite enough. That being said, the tournament was an invaluable experience for the girls and they learnt a lot from the opportunity. From the start of term the girls managed to improve their

individual and teamwork skills dramatically. I am extremely pleased with the work the girls produced and I wish them all the best in the future.

The U15 team had a great season. In their first match against Sedbergh the girls showed that they had an excellent competitive streak and the bad weather and boggy pitch was not going to give them a disadvantage.

Isla Hewitson led the team as Captain and had a speedy start scoring a goal from the first draw. Lucy Newton playing goalie made some brilliant saves and Sedbergh found it hard to hit the back of the net. Although the girls’ catching needed some work, their determination was second to none and they were first to every ground ball. Their hard work paid off with a 9-2 win. The squad then prepared themselves for the National Schools Tournament in Surrey where they would face seven different teams from across the country. These were going to be tough matches but the girls came to training with great enthusiasm and eagerness to improve. On the day Ellen Gossage worked exceptionally hard down the wing and showed off her excellent defence skills, while Alice Ridley and Holly Swinbank provided a strong defensive unit at the back. The team’s hard work paid off earning them a respectable 5th place. In the next two matches against Pocklington and Ampleforth Katie Rhodes proved herself to be a skilful and agile attacking player scoring several goals and receiving the man of the match award for both games. The Pocklington game ended with an 11-0 win and a 14-4 win against Ampleforth rounded off a brilliant season! I would also like to give Isla Hewitson a special mention for representing her county this season; a great achievement.

The U14 squad started the season with a tournament at Queen Margaret’s School where they played Bolton School, Harrogate Ladies College, Queen Margaret’s and Moreton Hall. The girls worked exceptionally hard throughout all of their matches and despite coming up against some very talented teams, their enthusiasm never faulted. Antonia Allison was voted player of the tournament for her outstanding performances in goal. Their second match against Ampleforth was an aggressive game however the team did not shy away from the challenge. Megan Bowen played a superb game in defensive where her excellent skills and determination made it difficult for the Ampleforth players to get passed her. Despite their best efforts the Ampleforth side was strong and the game finished with a 1-7 loss. Next season I hope the girls will continue with the hard work and commitment they have shown me as they will only move from strength to strength.

Unfortunately the junior years were unable to play competitively; however, in practices the girls showed very promising talent for the future. Lacrosse at BCS continues to grow and I hope the girls will press on strongly in order to secure a place on the School team.

NLM

Swimming

Team from: L Li, J Shannon, J McGrath, L Leung, S Sui, A Booth, D Roberts, J Raw, A Stirk, A Shepherd, J McNickle, T Jennings, A Ridley, S Ryan, V Walker, R Elphick Results: Sedbergh Ampleforth.

Bradford 3 schools Durham Girls 4 schools Whitgift Dunelm Cup Otter Cup Bath Cup Alderman Cup

U15 Cancelled W 2nd L 2nd

Senior L W 3rd L 3rd 9th DQ DQ 68th 29th

This has been a difficult season for the swimmers. We have often swum as a mixed girls’ and boys’ team. We have found that many of the other schools we swim against are also doing this and girls have really strengthened the team.

Our first match against Sedbergh was a difficult one, missing two key swimmers due to injury so the U15s swam as seniors, a big ask but they accepted the challenge and put in some good performances. Our next gala was against Durham, still missing several key swimmer and the senior boys were greatly helped out

by Amy Shepherd and Jess McNickle. They all put in good performances but Durham were just too strong.

The next gala was a triangular involving Bradford and Ampleforth. There were some excellent races and the U15s came second. We then swam our usual gala against Ampleforth. Once again there were a number of excellent performances and both ages won which was a great end season for the U15 boys’.

We then swam a girls-only match with Durham, Sedbergh, and Queen Mary’s, the first time we had done this gala. There were a number of excellent performances in both age groups as several of the U15s swam as seniors, and the U15 team was made up mainly of U14s and very ably helped by Verity Walker from Year 7. The U15 competition was very close and we lost out to Sedbergh by one point. It was great to see the girls swim and I look forward to seeing them in action next year.

The end of the season for the seniors was our trip to London, which was a real highlight for the boys involved as the Bath and Otter cup was to be held at the Aquatics Centre (the Olympic Pool). We swam as usual on the Thursday evening at Whitgift. The team was a very young one with three boys from Year 10 and two from the Lower 6th. They were always going to find it difficult swimming against much older boys, and a number of them smashed their personal best times – I couldn’t have asked for more. On Friday morning we went over to the Olympic pool. It really is fantastic and it was a great experience for the boys to swim in the same pool as the likes of Mr Phelps. For the Year 10 boys it was the first time they had ever seen or swum in a 50m pool, a very different experience from our bath tub! They all swam well in the Freestyle relay, and the two Lower 6th boys improved on their personal best times from last year. Unfortunately the Medley relay did not go so well and they were disqualified. However everyone had enjoyed their experience; it will be one they never forget.

The boys have worked hard in training all year and all have made significant progress. As they are such a young team they will all be able to swim together next year and have already started training. The Olympic pool has inspired them to work hard, hopefully ready for a return visit next year. Gym sessions and early morning training are all in the plan!

FC

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LENT TERM

The 122nd Barnard Run Unfortunately, there were to be no records broken in 2014. It was, you might recall, a very blustery day with a strong westerly wind blowing across the desmesnes – it was incredibly tough going for the runners and race times were bound to be adversely affected.

However, even had the wind chased the back of the athletes at every twist and turn there would be no record times. You might well wonder why… but, you would be better asking Mr Ince about his decision to cut out Top Tree – perhaps the very last time it could ever be included – and shortening the course by 100m. And the reason? A herd of incredibly aggressive sheep! Yes, the infamous (but little known) ‘Teesdale Trampler’ were loose in the fields around Top Tree; a breed so rare that few have heard of it, and so aggressive that few who have witnessed its savagery have lived to tell the tale. Without regard for his own safety, Mr Ince created a corridor for the athletes to follow which kept them safe from the ‘beasts of Barney’, but completing the full course was now impossible. Mr Ince was very modest about his quick witted intervention. Some thought he looked a little sheepish as he explained to me what had happened, but I admired his bravery and was just happy that all of the athletes had returned home safely, ‘To run another day’ as the headline in the Teesdale Mercury read.

The Junior Boys race was an incredibly close and exciting contest between two talented and contrasting athletes – Caleb Ellis and Reggie Langton were in a head-to-head battle throughout the race, both showing what it takes to be successful cross country runners.

Reggie knew he had to create a gap to avoid Caleb’s strong sprint finish. In the end just one second separated the pair, with Caleb claiming victory to win the Wilford Cup. Durham House took third and fourth places behind the two Dale House boys. Cameron McKnight, finished third some 50 yards behind the winner, while Charles Metcalfe followed a little further back. Dale’s strength in depth ensured that they won the Junior Barnard Cup. Durham House ensured that they were runners up for the second successive year.

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The Intermediate Boys’ race was much less closely competed than the junior race with around a minute and a half separating the first three athletes. Dale House took the top two spots with Zak Day winning the Blackett Cup for the second time – he held a comfortable fifty second lead over Josh Raw. Connor Lewis claimed third place for York House. William Body, last year’s winner of the junior race, could only manage fourth place.

The Senior Boys’ race never fails to deliver. Everything is left on the course in a bid to win. There is often a race favourite, but on the day there is always the chance that an outsider can stake his claim. Alex Finkill, Ollie Larcombe, John Brogden, Sam Theakston, Jacob Shannon, David Evans, Harvey Barkes, Alex Allison, and Sam Leeming – all had hopes of a place, and perhaps the dream of a win.

All finished in the top ten, getting around the four mile course in less than twenty seven minutes. However, the pressure was on prerace favourite, James Watson, winner for the past two years and keen to secure his place in Barney Run history by winning The Lloyd Evans Cup for a third time. In the end, James was just too strong, and too determined, and won by what looked to be a comfortable half minute margin. The battle for second place was incredibly tight and Jacob Shannon took two seconds out of Sam Leeming who finished in third place.

The Barnard Cup combines the individual performances in the intermediate and senior boys’ races. The overall winner was Durham with a score of 358 points some 50 points ahead of Tees, their nearest rival – a reversal of last year’s result. Durham’s win was secured by their senior boys who annihilated the opposition taking 78 points from second placed York. Tees and Dale were both ahead of Durham after the intermediate race – Dale had a massive 62 points advantage over Durham at this stage. Poor performances

by Dale and Tees in the senior race cost them dearly – as each Durham athlete crossed the line in the senior race their ultimate victory seemed more and more likely.

LENT TERM

Stella Jones is one of the finest runners to come through the School and her victory in the Geoffrey Turnbull Cup was emphatic. Her winning margin was not far short of two minutes. India Pentland’s second place could have secured a win in other years and she may well do this when Stella moves up to the intermediate age group next year. Maddy Forsyth finished third. Marwood won the Ross Cup for junior girls with top ten performances by Kat Stewart and Lily Dickinson. Bowes took fourth and fifth places thanks to Daisy Oliver and Anna Everall, while Longfield’s Amy Morrill and Georgie Rhodes finished eighth and ninth.

Marwood stormed to victory in the Intermediate Girls’ race, taking all but two of the top ten places, with Bowes’ Jess Pearse and Sarah Ryan finishing third and fourth respectively. Jess was almost a minute behind the battle for first and second which saw Isla Hewitson and Ellie Shannon going head to head.

Both girls were fighting for victory as they approached the finishing line, but Isla’s strength and age gave her the edge and she was able to hold Ellie off to win by a four second margin.

Isla had raised her game this year, taking two minutes off last year’s time, and this win in the Fred Turnbull Cup was the first time she has placed in the Barney Run. The Senior Girls’ race was quite a difficult one to call this year.

Juliet O’Brien had finished fourth last year and had been pushing herself throughout the year. She would have loved to end her time at Barney with a victory – and there wouldn’t have been a more worthy winner. However, in sport there is no sentiment between athletes and, in the end, she didn’t have quite enough to see off the challenge of Ellie Everall. Ellie managed to hold Juliet off to claim her victory in the Turnbull Shield by around twenty yards or so. Ellie gave a gutsy and courageous performance and deserved the win. I am sure she will want to consolidate this result next year – although I expect Isla Hewitson will have something to say on this when the time comes. Louisa Hughes took third place for Longfield, just pipping Niamh Tait and Allissa Butterfield who finished fourth and fifth.

The Butterwick Charity Cup The affectionately named Barney Bash is one of my favourite competitions. This is because, with limited exceptions, each and every member of each House must take part and try to get the best finishing position possible. Each position records a percentage score to take account of the different race sizes, these are added and averaged. Those who duck out, or miss the race will score last place and 100 points. Those who take part will score less. Beat your nearest rival and you help your House win. The winning House is the one with the lowest average finishing position.

The highest 10% of each house is discarded, so if everything was equal each House would score 45 points. Simple.

Marwood’s strength in depth at both intermediate and senior age group meant that they were unassailable in the team competition. They won the Chatt Cup with 122 points – a hundred points ahead of Bowes who were runners up.

In the girls’ races, Marwood won the intermediate and senior races while Bowes won the junior contest. Marwood won the Butterwick Charity Cup for girls with an average score of 41.7, beating Bowes into second place with a score of 46.8 while Longfield’s average was 51.1. In the boys’ races, Tees won the intermediate and senior races while Durham won the junior race. Tees won the Butterwick Charity Cup for boys with a score of 39.8, with Durham as runners up with 42.2; North House finished third with a score of 46.1.

CHA

This year the pupils raised money for Farm Africa.

CHA

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LENT TERM

House Public Speaking Our Senior competition this year was adjudicated by Mrs Mary Stastny and proved to be its usual erudite and entertaining self. North’ House argued that the logic of the computer’s central processor would never be the equal of the illogical human brain, and that this was no bad thing.

Other forms of technology were given less than flattering treatment at the hands of Bowes House who saw only problems in society’s current obsession with all things online. Dale then tried to reassure the prescriptivists that language change (NB: ‘change’, not decay, by the way) was natural and non-threatening, whilst Marwood plugged into contemporaneous angst with a commentary on Channel 4’s controversial Benefits Street.

Tees discussed the virtues of good preparation, concluding perhaps that an element of spontaneity was no bad thing, following which we had Longfield’s take on the cyber ‘friend’ whom one has never met. York informed us that opportunity costs did not fall from trees and that financial prudence made sense, and this nicely connected to Durham’s concluding contribution which examined the financial differentials in the sporting world.

The result was a very close run thing with only one mark in it.

Awarding the trophy to Tees, Mrs Stastny spoke of her enjoyment of the evening and of the need for all to add the art of public speaking to their skill sets.

AMW

Lectern Club 2 The theme of the second Lectern Club was ‘Forever’ on the 13th of February, the latest of a long pedigree of outstanding lectern gatherings. The food was, as it has always been, delicious; the teachers were, as they eternally are, eager for oratorical prose. The speakers were, as they inevitably are, dynamic in their approaches, charismatic in their delivery and fascinating to all who observed them in full flow.

Overall in the short speeches Emma Robson won with her speech Forever in 3 while she was closely followed in second by both Nathan Miller with his speech Forever…Nearly and Fiona Matthews with Forever a Child. With such contrast in speeches it is a true testament to their delivery that these three excelled. In the long speeches, Sam Everall came 1st with Why Forever Young? – an examination of the flaws of youth culture and the pros of B&Q. Meanwhile Tilly McAllister came second with What Would You Do? a speech which exercised caution in the face of immortality.

Thanks must be afforded to all those involved in the creation of this event, for those who stepped up in the eleventh hour, those who braved the long speeches as an advent for their lectern career, those who spoke on subjects from passion to jellyfish. However, no Lectern Club can operate without the tireless work of the kitchen staff, who excel themselves at every opportunity and the help and guidance of Mrs Beaty. To all and everyone, we thank you.

Matthew Jeffrey, UVIth North’ House

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TRINITY TERM

An Inspector Calls After many months of rehearsals, line learning and ‘diva hissy fits’ (mainly from the director), J.B. Priestley’s Inspector finally arrived at Barnard Castle School for the Intermediate play. The young cast of Year 9 and 10 students bravely tackled the complex but entertaining masterpiece that also just happens to be the set text for their iGCSE English Literature. (What a coincidence!)

Priestley’s drama involves only six large roles, all with abundant lines to learn, plus one small part – the maid, Edna, played with charm by Molly Nixon. All the young actors gave it their best shot, bringing the characters to life with a confidence and élan that belied their years.

An Inspector Calls revolves around the visit of a mysterious and seemingly omniscient police inspector to the home of the rich and rather self-satisfied Birling family as they celebrate their daughter Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft, who hails from an even richer background. Inspector Goole has come to ask them questions about the suicide of a young working class girl, and it is gradually revealed that, despite their original denials of even knowing her, they have all played a part in her death.

In his first time on stage, Michael Liu blustered and bluffed his way convincingly as the narrow-minded Arthur Birling, who feels his responsibility lies only with his family and business. He was wellsupported by Genevieve Myhan as his snobbish wife Sybil, whose every look and word conveyed her disdain for all inferior beings.

Kieran Lewis gave another highly competent performance as the fiancé who sides with his parents to be and yet showed true emotion for his discarded lover. He sparred magnificently with the Birlings’ daughter, Sheila, played with real verve and conviction by Erin Porter as the character who most quickly comes to see the

Inspector’s views on social responsibility, quickly followed by her brother Eric. This part was taken by James Terrill who again showed his natural acting ability and superb vocal delivery. The pivotal character of the Inspector was brought to life by Salma Ali, who proved a confident and commanding presence on stage.

The cast were, as always, supported by a top rate crew. Sam Farquhar supplied the prompting, a nerve-wracking and vital job that is often underappreciated. Mr Edwards led a tiny tech crew of himself and Oliver Morrill seeing to sound and lighting respectively; and there was tremendous support backstage from Ardin Jacques, who also took charge of make-up and hair, and Rachel Elphick.

EAH

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Junior Arts Festival On Tuesday, 22nd June, the Junior Orchestra joined forces with the Junior Drama Club to perform a spectacular night of music and drama, punctuated by laughter and applause. I played saxophone in the Junior Orchestra and we thoroughly enjoyed playing all the songs. I would like to thank Mr Donnelly for rehearsing with us every Monday.

Many people played solos from the balcony in Central Hall while guests viewed the artwork of members of Years 7 and 8.

The Junior Drama Club wrote and performed a series of sketches of great works of fiction ranging from Beowulf to Sherlock Holmes. It was a fantastic evening. Well done to everyone who took part.

Esia Forsyth, Year 7 Marwood House

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TRINITY TERM

Industry Day Pupils in Year 12 were given an insight in to the world of work yesterday at Barnard Castle School’s Industry Day. The event was established to give students a real life business scenario with important deadlines to meet. The pupils were put in to teams of eight nominated by various faculties within School. Big School was turned in an office like environment and each team was then allocated a business mentor from various industries, including representatives from Nissan, Barbour, Deutsche Bank, Cisco Systems, Propipe, Teeny Tiny Films and Virgin Media.

This year’s challenge was based around the new Nissan Note. The pupils were given access to information not yet been given to the general public, from this information they had to create a marketing campaign including billboard poster, VIP event organisation and a radio advertisement for the car. They also had to recommend the industrial location for a factory, taking in to account such factors as economic viability, labour costs and export links.

As the students made their presentation to the seven mentors and the remaining staff and students tensions were high. The mentors were also under a great deal of pressure to decide upon an overall winner.

A special thanks must go to: Steve Dunn from Nissan MNUK, Catherine Morris from Deutsche Bank, Sam Forsyth from Teeny Tiny Films, Dave Forester from Propipe Limited, Clare Newman from Cisco Systems and Chris Mellor from the Virgin Media Group.

All the business mentors were thoroughly impressed with their teams in terms of the energy and enthusiasm they brought to the day. Each team gave a presentation at the end and it was a team representing the School’s Modern Foreign Languages Department with an exceptional pitch from Chloe Thompson and Emma Robson that won overall, mentored by former BBC producer Sam Forsyth.

The 2015 Industry Day will be based around a marketing campaign for the Paralympics.

NJC

Durham Schools’ Big Book Bash A team of four, Esia Forsyth, Kiah Baxter, Hannah Booth and Abbie Salkeld, represented the School at the Big Book Bash this year. In preparation for this event they eagerly read the ten set books on the reading list and arrived on the day ready to compete against other schools from across County Durham completing various activities based on the books they had read.

The event was opened by the Sufiya Ahmed, the author of one of the books they’d read. She talked about the characters in her book and the issues they faced, and many encounter today, regarding forced marriages. Esia got to take part in the Muslim marriage ceremony.

The team battled hard designing alternative book covers, creating 3D images, acting, matching characters to book titles and assigning props to books. An enjoyable day was had by all.

CLS

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Exercise 1st Look The temperature was 16 degrees higher than it was last year, so waterproofs were swapped for suncream and beanie hats for bush hats, as 50 new recruits embarked on their first overnight exercise. The aim of ‘Exercise First Look’ is to give the Year 9 cadets an insight into the type of military training that they will receive during their cadet career in the School’s CCF. After a short journey to Catterick training area, the cadets were given a full brief on the expectations of the weekend’s activities before being put into their sections. The knowledgeable NCOs who were to teach the cadets throughout the weekend were Colour Sergeants Will Grundy and Matthew Jeffrey and Sergeants Ellie Harder and Jake Glowienko. The cadets spent the afternoon sitting through four lessons, which included camouflage and concealment, the 24 hour ration pack, an observation post and how to build a basha. There were some very interesting takes on how much cam cream to use, with the majority of the boys looking more like Shrek than soldiers. Cadet Matthew Price was very observant and won the competitive element of the observation stand.

Once lessons were over, cadets had two hours to build their bashas, where they would sleep for the night, and then cook their tea. Cadets were impressed with the ration pack menus, especially cadet Jamie Adamson who thoroughly enjoyed his vegetable rigatoni.

After the cadets were given a briefing about the night exercise, they prepared themselves for battle and were deployed to the drop off point via minibus. Their mission was to make it back to the woods, meeting ‘secret agents’ along the way and not being seen by the patrolling enemy. 1 Section and 2 Section did exceptionally well, and made it back to base camp without being seen or heard. 3 Section also made it back to base camp, however chose an alternative route which meant crossing some very boggy and smelly ground. 4 Section had a few mishaps along the way, which included cadets Sophie Hopkins and Ishan Aggarwal being ‘attacked’ by nettles meaning that the section lost some time at the start. Then becoming slightly disorientated in the pitch black meant that they didn’t see

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secret agent Beaty, so missed out on vital information. Thankfully they were rescued by Major Connor who got them back en route again.

The night exercise ended with cadets tucking into a mars bar and then off to their ‘pits’ for four hours sleep as reveille was at 6am. Cadets worked hard to pack away camp the next morning and were ready to begin lessons at 7.30am – a time on a Sunday morning which doesn’t usually exist for teenagers. In their sections, they were given scenarios to complete which included ‘herding sheep’, ‘turn the tarp’ and the ‘spider’s web’.

The cadets also thoroughly enjoyed the paintball target lane which was won by cadet David Belam.

During the weekend, staff and NCOs had their beady eyes on the cadet’s every moves.

There were a number of Year 9 cadets that stood out at having the potential to be section commanders in the future. Cadet Rachel Elphick was selected as the best Year 9 cadet, with Cameron Young as the runner up.

Sergeant Jake Glowienko also received the Hays trophy for the best NCO too.

taught them how to ‘locate the enemy’. Colour Sergeant Seb Hampson took his second lesson of the day which was how to ‘win the firefight’, Colour Sergeant Matthew Jeffrey told the cadets how to ‘attack the enemy position’, and finally Sergeant Jake Glowienko taught the cadets what to do after the battle in the ‘reorganisation’ phase.

There was a huge amount of new information for the cadets to take on board, so they were split into their sections after these lessons, and got to practice some of these battle skills with their section commanders.

After a spot of lunch, cadets prepared for battle by applying cam cream, ensuring their weapons were well oiled and they were given two magazines of blank rounds which they were to use during the section attacks. Whilst Colour Sergeant Matthew Jeffrey and Sergeant Jake Glowienko enjoyed playing enemy, the sections, in an extended line, patrolled across the open ground watching out for any enemy movement. Each section came under fire, and section commanders were very quick to communicate to their sections what they had to do. As each Charlie fire team ‘pepper-potted’ up to the enemy position, the delta fire teams gave excellent covering fire which was controlled by the 2ic’s giving orders to use ripple fire. Lance Corporals Tom Vickers, Tom Greaves and John Clouston were excellent 2ic’s, especially as this was their first time in such position of responsibility.

After the enemy had been located and the battles won, cadets were debriefed on their efforts and it was soon time to depart from the training area, all tired, yet very contented.

Major C E Connor

Major C E Connor

Exercise 2nd Look With summer camp looming, it was time for the cadets to get into military mode with a refresher day on weapon handling and military tactics. The day was well attended with 29 cadets taking part, and although the senior NCOs were given positions of responsibility for teaching lessons and being section commanders, some of the Year 10 cadets were given the chance to be their 2ic’s too.

The day began with some weapon revision given by Major Connor and Lt Fairwood. Some of the cadets were a little rusty at first, but soon their weapon drills improved enough for them all to complete ad successfully pass their weapon handling tests.

Following on from this, the cadets were taught the 6 section battle drills, required to carry out a section attack. Colour Sergeant Seb Hampson delivered the first battle drill on ‘preparation for battle’, Colour Sergeant Will Grundy taught the cadets how to ‘react to effective enemy fire’, Sergeant Ellie Harder

TRINITY TERM

Range Day Ten cadets enjoyed a day at the ranges on Bank Holiday Sunday.

Although fairly blustery, we were pleased by the lack of rain, snow and sleet which had accompanied us on subsequent range days this year. After zeroing the weapons, cadets took part in a number of practices which required both skill and stamina. With slick weapon handling drills, the cadets all completed some excellent shooting.

The cadets first had 20 rounds to complete two deliberate practices which were scored, with the most points being awarded for a good grouping and rounds hitting as close to the centre of the target as possible. Colour Sergeants Will Grundy

and Matthew Jeffrey, Corporal Jake Glowienko and cadets Dan Roberts and Tom Greaves scored very highly. The next practice was a rapid shoot, whereby cadets had 70 seconds to shoot 10 rounds at a figure 12 target. The pressure got the better of some of the cadets, but good shooting was displayed from cadet Dylan Custance and Sergeant Ellie Harder. The final shoot of the morning was a snap shoot, whereby cadets had to fire two rounds per nine second exposure of the small hand held targets, and again, some impressive shooting particularly from cadet Kim Hodgson and 2Lt Wade.

As the Tour de France departed from the Reeth/Leyburn area, we could move into Wathgill Camp, Catterick, albeit a day later than usual. Once the 28 cadets had settled into their accommodation, they were straight into uniform and spent the evening on the DCCT range. Cadets had the chance to refresh themselves on their marksmanship principles, before completing a number of different shoots, including the annual combat marksmanship test, which is mandatory for any soldier who is deploying on tour. Colour Sergeants Seb Hampson and Tilly McAllister, Sergeant Owen Carter and Lance Corporal Adam Palmer were the only cadets to pass this rigorous test.

Cadets Anna Coffey and Isla Hewitson were nicknamed the pirate twins as their improvised eye patches made out of paper were certainly a talking point.

The next day was spent on the ranges, where cadets had the opportunity to fire a shotgun at clay pigeons, improve their scores in the DCCT and also the afternoon was spent on the 25m range. Lance Corporal Sophie Barnes won the clay pigeon shooting competition and Colour Sergeant Seb

Cadets can now look forward to a day on the ranges at summer camp, and with their weapons now zeroed, they should shoot very well indeed.

Major C E Connor

After a break for some lunch and a nice warm mug of ‘army tea’, the day ended with a speed shoot, whereby cadets had 20 rounds to fire at the targets from 100m. This shoot was won by cadet Dan Roberts. With scores added up, Colour Sergeant Matthew Jeffrey was the top shooter of the day,

Hampson, Sergeant Owen Carter, Lance Corporal Tom Carter and Sergeant Elliot Bevan scored very highly on the ranges.

An evening of drill, which ended with a knock out competition, was won by Corporal John Clouston, with Corporal Kerin Borer as the close runner up.

CCF Annual Camp

followed by Colour Sergeant Will Grundy and then cadet Dylan Custance. For those cadets who fired for the first time, which included cadets Jess Mitchell and Genevieve Myhan, they made some excellent progress throughout the day.

The leadership day consisted of the orienteering competition, followed by a number of command tasks that the sections had to solve. After a brief lesson on using a map and compass, the cadets set out in pairs to try and beat the record time of 20 minutes in the orienteering competition.

The runners up with a time of 26mins and 29secs were Sergeant Owen Carter and Corporal Tom Metcalf, and the winners with a time of 24mins and 04secs were Lance Corporal Will Carter and Lance Corporal Tom Greaves. Cadets enjoyed the command tasks, with some good ideas from Sergeants Lizzie Clouston and Chris Douglas, Corporal Matthew Stirke and Lance Corporal Sandy Stainthorp.

The cadets spent the Tuesday of camp at Ellerton Lake near Northallerton for adventure training. The morning was spent on the lake where cadets enjoyed raft building and canoeing and after a well deserved burger for lunch, an afternoon of archery, volleyball and trying the get to the top of the climbing tower was enjoyed by all. The volleyball proved to be very popular, especially against the staff team, who still remain defeated from last year. More archery followed that evening, with Lance Corporal Kim Hodgson and Jess Mitchell winning the competition.

during the tactics stand. After a quick break for tea, cadets then deployed on exercise ‘wide awake’. Section commanders Matthew Jeffrey, Ellie Harder and Tilly McAllister took their sections into battle, where they had to set an ambush and wait for enemy forces to patrol through. The use of pyrotechnics, including trip flares, certainly added an element of realism to the exercise.

After a short sleep at Gandale Farm, cadets were up for an early breakfast before carrying out a series of section attacks on the training area. Corporal Isobel Burnett and Aiden Moran enjoyed playing enemy as each section attacked their position.

With weapons cleaned and the final meal eaten in the cookhouse, it was time to say goodbye to another camp. A number of awards are always presented at the end of camp, and with all cadets being an absolute credit to the School and the CCF, some very difficult decisions as to who would get the awards had to be made. The best Year 10 cadet went to Corporal John Clouston, the cadet’s cadet to Colour Sergeant Tilly McAllister and the Contingent Commander’s trophy to Corporal Kerin Borer.

Major C Connor

Cadets were then back into military kit for the remainder of the camp, and they enjoyed carrying out section and platoon attacks

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TRINITY TERM

Year 9 and 10 First World War Battlefields Trip On Tuesday, 27th May, a party of 33 School pupils and four staff set off to Dover, to catch a ferry to Calais – the start of our battlefields trip.

We did a lot in our two full days in Northern Europe, which makes it hard to do justice to every place we visited.

On Wednesday morning, we visited three cemeteries: two English ones (Essex Farm and Tyne Cot) and one German (Langemarck).

All three were extremely moving, and although they varied in size, each one emanated an unmistakable feeling of loss. Tyne Cot, the largest cemetery, had just under 12,000 burials (of which around 8,500 were unnamed) – one of the most poignant things I noticed at the cemeteries we visited was the number of graves with no name (written on their graves was “A Soldier of the Great War”, with “Known unto God” beneath their cross). Following this, and some lunch, we visited the Sanctuary Wood Museum, where an original trench layout could be seen, in a similar way to how it might have really looked during World War I. You were allowed to walk in the trenches (and the tunnels too), and they helped to show the conditions soldiers would have had to fight in, with no comfort whatsoever. Afterwards, we went to Ypres and had some free time (Mr DeGroote, owner of the chocolatier Leonidas, had some great deals especially for our School). We then had some dinner at the hotel before returning to Ypres, for the Last Post at the Menin Gate.

This was a truly moving ceremony, held daily; a minute’s silence followed the Last Post bugle call, and various visiting groups (including Erin Porter and Alex Swainston, from our School) laid wreaths by the steps of the Menin Gate, before the words of the Exhortation (from the poem For the Fallen) were read.

Thursday was an equally eventful day (and we found ourselves in three different countries!) We took a rather long drive down to France (more specifically, Péronne) to the Historiale de la Grande Guerre museum, a very large and interesting place with various uniforms and weapons (along with other things, such as medical kits and badges) from the Great War, along with interactive electronic maps to show details about the countries and their statistics from the war. The most hard-hitting part of this museum, however, was most certainly a seemingly normal display of statistics placed near the end, with the death tolls of every country that had fought. Next we stopped at the Ulster Tower, a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division. Then we had lunch and went to the Thiepval Memorial, an incredibly striking and impressive memorial for more than 75,085 British and South African soldiers who went missing in action between July 1915 and March 1918, with no known graves. Our last stop on the trip was to Vimy Ridge, the official Canadian war memorial, where we took a look at the

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Canadian and German trenches, along with going down to the subterranean tunnels built by the Welsh (for the Canadians) and seeing the bedrooms of runners, who were given better living conditions and better pay, since their life expectancy was only one to two weeks. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time where all four Canadian war regiments had fought together in battle. We also saw the blindingly bright Vimy Ridge Memorial, featuring various sculpted figures, and names of over 11,000 Canadians who had been killed in the Great War. The memorial itself was made from Seget limestone, a rare type of stone found mainly in Croatia, purposefully chosen to give the right impression.

The trip was truly amazing, whilst also helping to really show the severity and futility of war; it was an unforgettable experience, and one which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Kieran Lewis, Year 10 Durham House

TRINITY TERM

Chemistry Year 8 A high calibre Year 8 Chemistry team accompanied by Mr West took on the Salters’ Chemistry Challenge at Teesside University. The Festival is very popular and we were competing against 14 other teams from across the North-East, and it entails two challenges to complete during the day.

The morning challenge was spent undertaking practical tasks in a state-of-the-art Chemistry laboratory in a race to find out who the murderer was in a whodunit? Our team of David Goldberg, Sarah Robertson, Madeleine Forsyth and Amy Morrill worked superbly at the crime scene, but in a communication mix up failed to write up their answers fully.

Wiser for their morning experience, they again worked superbly well in the afternoon challenge. They were duly rewarded for their efforts with a very creditable 3rd place in the University Challenge, an excellent result considering the very strong competition.

After the Laboratory sessions we were treated to a chemistry demonstration by the University’s Geoff Bell who produced all of his best whizzes, bangs and smells before the presentations brought the day to a close. The pupils very much enjoyed the day and were keen to get back in the lab and show off their new practical skills.

UVIth Several UVIth Chemistry students, under the expert guidance of Dr Butterfield, competed in the opening round of the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry. These students were amongst over 5,500 entrants nationwide who were faced with an incredibly challenging written test of their chemical knowledge and understanding.

All of our students scored sufficiently high marks to be awarded a “Bronze” or “Silver” certificate, but a special mention should be given to Hans Kukreja who obtained a “Gold” certificate, placing him amongst the top 7% of all UK candidates.

Later this year, the International finals will be held in Vietnam, with participants from over 70 nations likely to be represented.

IMB

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The Coast-to-Coast Expedition Swansongs are singular events, by definition. This one, however, encompassed all that I have loved about the walking trips over the past 25 years: wonderful scenery (Dales, Moors and the coast); great company of all ages; a dynamic, warm-hearted, harmonious communal endeavour.

Starting in Kirkby Stephen, a stalwart group of four made it into a rainy Robin Hood’s Bay seven days later and could feel very proud of their achievement in completing the whole route. The other 16

London Trip On the 1st July, nine A Level and GCSE pupils and two members of staff embarked on a trip to London. After an early start and a long journey, the Royal Academy of Art was a welcome sight. Inside there were a variety of rooms dedicated to paintings, drawings, prints and architectural drawings and models; work selected by the Royal Academy Committee alongside work by existing Royal Academy members, like David Hockney. For Gordon, the highlight was the architecture room because he

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hiked their way through 64 more varied miles which is also a tremendous achievement, if perhaps (and very deliberately) a bit less gruelling. This gave time for other pursuits, such as closely attentive rock pool analysis, some serious bucket-and-spade work; and a bloodchilling reading from Dracula in the very graveyard that the Count made his ‘home’ when he first set foot (or paw, to be accurate) in Whitby. Bram Stoker surely smiled on that little gathering.

PEK, PCO, MHN, LN and GHC (making a welcome guest appearance): without their support it simply couldn’t have happened.

But my main thanks go to the 20 pupils who made this final outing so special: the spirit of BCS was alive throughout. I have great hopes that the walking trip will go forward from strength to strength under DSW’s leadership and that all who find themselves involved will take from it the same sense of connection, blessing and privilege that I have truly valued.

My thanks go to CHA, MEW, PS, JB, DSW,

AMW

enjoyed the intricate models. We all found it very interesting and inspiring to see such an eclectic mix of many styles, techniques and subject matter.

accuracy of the portraits. We all enjoyed the painting of well-known icons, such as Dame Maggie Smith, Tony Blair and Amy Winehouse. It was interesting to contrast the precise, realistic portraits, with the creativity of the Royal Academy.

Moving on, we ventured to Cork Street to see some smaller galleries and works of art selling for thousands of pounds, like work

by Lucien Freud, Degas and Gwen John; also, some political works by the Russian Revolutionary artists. These colourful pieces were interesting as it was the first time I had seen such political art work.

Finally we made our way to the National Portrait Gallery. This was the highlight of the trip for Anita, who was amazed by the

Finally, we made it to an Italian restaurant for a well-deserved pizza, and a reflection on the day’s events. As a group we would like to thank Mrs Baptist and Mrs Rothwell for taking us – we all had a great time and appreciated the experience.

Shannon Currah, LVIth Marwood House

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Yorkshire Sculpture Park On Friday the 13th June a group of art students from Year 10 travelled to Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield where there were art exhibitions from many artists like Ursula von Rydingsvard and Julian Opie, and the sculptures ranged significantly in size and style.

We particularly enjoyed a peaceful walk through fields of sheep and cows which led us to the hanging trees by Andy Goldsworthy. We also, above all, enjoyed the interactive sculptures in which we could climb and sit on, such as Caro’s, for our group photo. The day was finished with ice creams as we sat out in the sun reflecting on the artist’s work. The trip was greatly appreciated by everyone and we hope to return soon.

By Sophie Barnes, Longfield House, and Amy Alderdice, Bowes House, Year 10

Longfield Dinner On the 22nd of May, we had our annual Longfield Dinner, during which we celebrate what we’ve achieved this year as a House, and it was also a farewell dinner for the UVIth. We filled the dining hall with parents and guests and I would like to say a huge thank you to the LVIth for organizing a fantastic evening for all of us.

The dinner started with a warm welcome from the Head of House, Erika Lee, then we had Jasmine Hooper and

Katie Shepherd to give us a junior review of the year, talking us through their moments in The Lodge, and then the entertainments were led by Amy Morrill who demonstrated her gifted voice by singing Jar of Hearts.

After the main course, we had Jessica McNickle and Brogan Wilson to give us an Intermediate review of the House; the presentation was lively and it was filled with funny photos of each member from Year 9-10. It was also their chance to say farewell to Ana, who joined the Year 10 in September and will be missed greatly when she returns to Spain in the summer. After Jess and Brogan’s presentation, Priscilla Tsang performed a beautiful classical piece for us on the piano and I’m sure everyone

would agree with me that her performance was outstanding.

We then had the farewell speeches by the LVIth; the speeches were touching and emotional, and they were also embarrassing for the UVIths, especially when they dug out photos of us when we were in Year 7 and showed them to everyone.

We all had a fantastic evening and it was a brilliant night to celebrate the end of our era as an Upper Sixth in Longfield.

Erika Lee, UVIth Longfield House

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dropped catches Kings’ won with 7 wickets in hand.

A big thank you once again to Gary Ventress for preparing exceptional cricket wickets and getting the outfield looking tremendous, but also how it is appreciated that he is willing to work the extra hours in an attempt to allow the players to have an enjoyable experience. The support from all the parents especially Mr & Mrs Coser and Mr Finkill over the years, is equally appreciated.

Cricket 1st XI Cricket

Stewart Fielding Prize: John Brogden The Wycherley Cup for Bowling: Kieran Atkinson Stewart Batting Prize: Tom Sowerby Ollie Hill Players’ Player: Tom Adamson JL

2nd XI Cricket Team from: T Sowerby (Cpt.), S Leeming, W Grundy, T Pickering, G Coser, J Coser, N Gilbertson, T Adamson, J Brogden, K Wilson, S Everall, A Finkill, H Carter, K Atkinson, C Fawcett, T Lush, T Stirke, J Jennings, W Edwards-Heathcote, H Glover P 11

W 4

D 1

L 5

F –

A –

D –

Team from: J Raper (Cpt.), S Everall (Wkt.), N Gilbertson, W Edwards-Heathcote, W Grundy, S Stainthorpe, J Jennings, H Glover, J Ellis, T Joashi, A Carnell, H McGuire, J Picken, H Carter, J Hetherington, C Fawcett, H Watson Playing record: Played 2, Lost 2 – RGS, Newcastle 87 all out (H.Carter 5-18), BCS 73 all out Lost by 14 runs. Dame Allan’s 177-2, BCS 113-5 (N. Gilbertson 42) Lost by 64 runs

(Abandoned 1) The season’s opener proved a tense affair, with RGS making 158-8 in 40 overs. Debutant 14 year old Toby Lush taking two wickets for 20 runs and recent addition Kieran Atkinson showing well with excellent pace bowling too with two wickets for 16 runs. In reply, after a steady opening partnership, wickets began to tumble but new Captain Tom Sowerby made 54. Following his dismissal we required 9 off the last over, one off the last ball, but an unfortunate dismissal left the game tied.

After two tricky defeats at the hands of Durham School and a close loss to MCC, the team recorded their first win against Durham Pilgrims. Finally the batters showed more application with 50 from Sam Leeming and another from Tom Sowerby enabled BCS to post a healthy 1st innings total of 196. After they had a flying start the introduction of Hamish Carter (on debut) took the two vital wickets of their openers. Some tight bowling and fielding followed with the visitors being bowled out 29 runs short.

The next few weeks proved frustrating with cancelled fixtures with Giggleswick and Scarborough College and only eight overs possible against Newcastle School for Boys’. Ampleforth College proved too strong for a depleted side, although solid resistance was shown by Callum Fawcett with an entertaining cameo of 40 runs.

The outstanding performance of the season was seen against QEGS Wakefield, where some devastating pace bowling reduced the opposition to 36 all out. Alex Finkill shined with four wickets for five runs. Then the openers knocked the total off to record a 10 wicket win.

With hopes of finishing the season strongly, a poor performance, due to a lack of application from the batters, lead to a disappointing loss to the Old Boys. After heading to Blackpool for the Rossall School Festival the team racked up an impressive 285 for six against Edinburgh Academy with a maiden half century for Tom Adamson and another valuable 50 from Tom Sowerby, as well as a fine contribution from Tom Pickering. Edinburgh were then reduced to 98 with Kieran Atkinson taking an impressive 420 with some blistering pace.

Kieran continued his fine form against hosts Rossall School the next day with a career best of 5-24 which resulted in a target of 98 being set for victory. After losing two wickets in the first over and being 57-7 it took a composed batting display from Tom Pickering to see us home with 3 wickets to spare. With two wins each it was all to play for against Kings’ Macclesfield and on a lively pitch, wickets began to tumble and only Tom Pickering with 36 showed any resistance; BCS were bowled out for 98. Despite taking two early wickets there was hope, but hampered by several

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This proved to be a rather frustrating season. Our first match was on the first day of the summer term against RGS, Newcastle. Bowling first, we took early wickets, they rallied and Hamish Carter mopped up this resistance with an accurate spell of leg-spin bowling. They were finally bowled out for 87 in only 13.2 overs! Our reply demonstrated a lack of net or match practice and we were bundled out for a mere 73, our cause not being helped by a couple of suicidal run outs.

At nets the following Friday we had a cast of thousands in preparation for the Durham game – we probably had enough players to field a third XI. Unfortunately a damp pitch led to the cancellation of this fixture. The Giggleswick match also fell to the weather and Ampleforth were unable to raise a side after exams.

In our final game of the season we took on a strong Dame Allan’s A side. Opting to field first they put our bowling to the sword taking full advantage of a short boundary on one side of the ground. They put on 121 undefeated runs for the third wicket, their number four being a particularly accomplished batsman, and finished on 177 after 25 overs. Our reply was steady with good innings from Gilbertson, Grundy, Everall and Raper and we finished on a creditable 113-5.

JGB

U15 Cricket Team from: N Bridger, T Carter, W Carter, J Clouston, D Custance, S Farquhar, C Glover, E Hamilton, C Lewis, M Moss (Cpt.), A Reynard, DRoberts, A Rusk Results: Durham Johnston Cundall Manor School RGS Newcastle High Tunstall Ampleforth College

w/o Won by 9 wickets Lost by 9 wickets Lost by 48 runs Lost by 9 wickets

Games against Durham School, Giggleswick School, Yarm School. Scarborough College and Austin Friars School were all cancelled.

Playing record: Played 5, Won 2 and Lost 3 The bare statistics show a frustrating season both in terms of games that were actually played and then the actual performances in those games that managed to beat the

weather. Matthew Moss was the Captain of the side and, whilst he did not make the runs and get the wickets he would have liked, he certainly led in a positive manner.

The side’s batting was undoubtedly their “Achilles heel” and a top score of 77 shows how few runs the team was able to compile and twice the side was bowled out for a total under 50. In practice players tried to improve technique but in matches poor shot selection choice invariably led to a dismissal. Highlights included Aiden Rusk and Connor Lewis’ partnership against Cundall Manor, John Clouston and Cammy Glover’s efforts against RGS and Matthew Moss, Connor Lewis, John Clouston and Aydan Reynard all making double figures against High Tunstall. Aiden Rusk had the overall top score of 31 not out.

With such low totals to defend, the bowlers had little margin for error. Matthew Moss always troubled the openers and Connor Lewis could bowl some useful deliveries. Ewan Hamilton gained the most wickets but John Clouston and Will Carter both had useful spells.

Fielding wise there was plenty of effort and Tom Carter kept wicket with enthusiasm. Connor Lewis and Aydan Reynard caught the most catches.

Ultimately, this squad always tried their best and they practised hard. Some members got chances they possibly thought would not come their way, and it was pleasing to see them contribute. I hope the squad have enjoyed the season and I look forward to further improvements being made next year.

DCSE

U14 Cricket Team from: I Aggarwal, M Chapman, A Gedye (Cpt.), M Goyal, J Huddon (Wkt.), T Leeming, T Lush, S Marshall, H Monkhouse, A Pearson, M Price, W Swinbank, T Tyrell-Edwards The 2014 season got off to a frustrating start for the U14s with the weather cancelling the first two fixtures of the season against Durham School and Giggleswick. When the boys finally got a chance to play, they played some excellent cricket, only losing once in the entire season.

The season eventually started with an away fixture at Yarm School. Andrew Gedye lost his first toss as Captain and was sent in to bat first. The boys clearly lacked match practice and Yarm took their chances when they came.

Andrew Gedye top scored with 16 and the boys eventually put on what seemed to be a subpar 86/7 from their 25 overs.

The boys were sent out back out after teas knowing that they needed to bowl a tight line and field very well if they were going to win the match. Yarm were then bowled out for 38 with every bowler taking at least a wicket. Marcus Chapman had an excellent debut game finishing with figures of 4/11 from his 3 overs.

Wins over Castleview Academy and Parkside Sports College quickly followed with the bowlers causing just as much havoc and the batters improving their form. Matthew Price’s excellent 71 not out from 50 balls was a highlight in the cup fixture against Parkside.

The team’s only loss of the season came against a very good RGS Newcastle side on a skiddy astro-turf wicket up in Newcastle. The boys were sent in to bat first with the advice that they must get forward to the ball in order to stop it from skidding on. We were bowled out for 35 with back foot shots being the cause of the majority of the wickets. The only consolation was some excellent bowling from Toby Lush and Alex Pearson that at least made a game of it. RGS achieved their target within 17 overs.

The team bounced back well, however, and were back into winning ways with a 9 wicket victory over Ampleforth the following week. Matthew Price again showed good form with the bat and Will Swinbank provided the support.

The county cup was now the only avenue for the team and a 58 run victory over High Tunstall set up a semi-final with Durham School in the last week of term. Durham were put into bat first and thanks to some brilliant bowling from the usual suspects, were limited to 104/6 from their 20

TRINITY TERM

overs. After a slow start the boys gradually attacked their target and after 19 overs found themselves 10 runs short with Toby Lush on strike. Three fours later the game was won and the boys were through to the final, which is to be played in the first week of term.

Player of the season: T. Lush and M. Price Most improved: H. Monkhouse TAIT

U13 Cricket Team from: G Spink (Cpt.), C Pearson (Vice Cpt.), C Lewis, C McKnight, F Lockwood, J Nichols, T Newton, M Pepper, J Metcalfe, H Williams, C.Robinson, E Swinbank, T Nicholson, D Goldberg P 7

W 5

D 0

L 2

F –

A –

D –

This is a good team and with a little more luck we could have achieved our target of an unbeaten season. We do, however, have a cup final to look forward to and enough match winners to do the business. The highly talented Cameron Lewis got some important early wickets but his attacking batting style did not come off this year. George Spink captained with maturity, batted very sensibly and looks a real prospect for the future. Cameron McKnight was our most improved player and he too looks a genuine prospect with bat and ball. If ever there is an exciting bowling prospect, however, it is Charlie Pearson. Once he learns to set the correct fields and bowl with just a little more consistency, he should take many wickets in seasons to come. Toby Newton showed great spirit to see us home in the cup semi-final and Jack Nichols also demonstrated that he has a good brain for the game. It was an enjoyable season, and a slight shame we did not have more fixtures, but my thanks goes to everyone who played in the team and always gave their best.

BCU

U12 Cricket

This has been a season which has seen a group of cricketers learning a lot about the sport and competing well in most of their fixtures. The highlight of the season was a tremendous victory over Durham Academy (with a little help from a couple of U13s). There were also two or three very tight and exciting finishes; unfortunately, the team failed to win any of these, but they lost by two runs at Mowden Hall, by seven runs to Egglescliffe in the County Cup and by just two wickets to Yarm. Even when outclassed as we were against Aysgarth , St Martin’s and RGS, there were individual performances to applaud and a great deal was learned.

The bowling was the best aspect of this team. Finn Usher deserved far more than his 12 wickets. Opposition players found it very difficult to score from his bowling and he didn’t have a bad game with the ball. Ralph Makepeace took ten wickets and formed a good opening partnership with Usher. Louis Peacock started superbly with three wickets against St Olaves, but then often bowled too short. He took eight wickets in the season, as did Ollie Bale, whose leg-spin is highly promising, and provided good variety to the attack. Adam Petley took five wickets and at times bowled very accurately. Byron Ramm-Salisbury looks promising and took three wickets, although he needs to work on his accuracy. Liam Rusk bowled well at times, too. In general, wides became fewer and fewer as the season went on and most bowlers were able to improve their accuracy. Unfortunately they weren’t always backed up by good fielding. Bagi Ali was an exception to this who was keen, busy and alert in every game. Edward Rhodes also fielded well throughout but in general both catching and ground fielding need to be improved a great deal next year. Greaves was a good wicket keeper who should continue to progress.

The top run scorers were Makepeace with 105, Peacock with 81 and Usher with 80. All three had similar top scores. Petley had a couple of good innings and Greaves made big improvements. Usher and Makepeace had some good stands, notably at Durham. Peacock looks very promising and all three made regular and consistent contributions. In general the team did not score enough runs, but having been bowled out in 14 overs in our first match the boys concentrated on batting for longer periods of time, sometimes 25, or even 30 overs without being all out. Defensive techniques were learned as well as greater levels of concentration being applied.

All in all this was an enjoyable season with an enthusiastic group of boys. I will watch with interest to see how they develop further as they move up the School.

volleying and not conversation (being very European about baseline tennis) and we have seen the prospect of Ben Lilley being able to join some of our stronger intermediate group next year.

JDG

It was a steep learning curve for the U13A team this year as they struggled to match the performance of more experienced club tennis players from opposing schools.

They persisted to work hard and managed to win some sets in the final few matches, so a positive end to a difficult season.

Tennis Senior Boys Tennis

Team from: FUsher (Cpt.), R Makepeace, L Peacock, A Petley, O Greaves, A Coward, J Alderdice, G Callaghan, O Bale, L Rusk, B Ramm-Salisbury, S Steer-Richards, E Rhodes, B Powell.

P 10

W 2

D 0

L 7

F –

A –

U15 Boys Tennis Team from: M Brookes, Angus Farr (Cpt.), R Gardiner, I Ng, R Kelsall, O Theakston, J Wood, D Russell This year’s team are quite promising and a lot of very good headway has been made by the squad who have the opportunity to go on to be a successful team.

Playing a blend of traditional school fixtures and local LTA league matches has proved to be a great bonus and allowed both an A and B team group to compete.

Overall, mid-table finishes were indicated.

Playing early in the season at the Ampleforth tournament the group lost every one of its fifteen set encounters, but by the end of the season and playing with improved stroke play and doubles awareness they lost by one game when counting back against St Peter’s. Other matches against Sedbergh and Pocklington were cancelled and this was disappointing given the rate of improvement of our group.

In summary the hard hitting of Angus and the relentless retrieving of Ross proved good to see and if they trade skills both will be formidable. Miles, our most improved player, is tireless and free swinging and Rohan is very competitive if not combative. Oliver has made a determined effort to change the shape of some of his shots and by the end of term become very consistent on the two hander and Ivan is building a stronger all-court game around the most promising of ‘leftie’ serves.

Jenson and Dominic are both very effective and working well towards lengthening their strokes. If they keep playing out of the summer term we have a bright future.

GB

U13 A Tennis Team from: O Wynn, E Williams, L Rogulja-Hodge, H Falshaw P 4

W 0

D 0

L 4

F 3

A 21

D -18

AMD Captain and colours: N Stainthorp Team From: A Farr (Alex), A Farr (Angus), M Boissel, D Voelkl, I Ng, J Preston, B Lilley D –

(Abandoned 1) Results: St.Olaves Yarm RGS Newcastle Egglescliffe Durham School St Martins Castle View Aysgarth Durham Academy Mowden Hall

GB

Abandoned Lost by 2 wickets Lost by 65 runs Lost by 7 runs Lost by 59 runs Lost by 9 wickets Won by 101 runs Lost by 101 runs Won by 8 runs Lost by 2 runs

It has been a difficult year for the team in terms of match results. We took three pairs to Bradford Grammar on the first day of term and although Nicky and Alex played well, winning against some our other pairs, they found it difficult to make headway. It was a similar story at the Ampleforth tournament where Nicky and Maxime played strongly, as did Dennis and Ben, but couldn’t tip the balance in favour of a third round. In school matches we lost too many games and sets narrowly to St Peter’s, despite home advantage, and games against the OBs, Sedbergh and Pocklington had to be cancelled.

In review of the season we would have to commend ‘Nicky’ Stainthorp on gaining his colours as he was our stand-out performer and often the best player on court against any opposition. We should also remember that Dennis and Maxime have learned the net is a place for

U13B Tennis Team from: S Steer-Richards, M West, O Richardson, R Langton, F Hewitson P 4

W 1

D 0

L 3

F 7

A 19

D -12

The U13B team have worked hard throughout the season to compete and improve. Having struggled to challenge in their opening fixtures, they took the final matches to tie breaks and eventually gained their first win in their final game.

AMD

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U15 Girls Tennis

Rounders

P 2

Team from: C Waldin, I Hewitson, A Ridley, K Yung, L Atkinson, A Allison, L Sharafutdinova W 8

D 0

L 1

F –

A –

D –

The girls have had an excellent season. They started the season with a solid winning performance against Durham School. Their next match against Biddick saw a comfortable win, with much of their rustiness from the first match being ironed out. They were tested more by Queen Mary’s and Durham High but dug deep on both occasions and held their nerves to secure wins. The wins against Greenfield, Durham Johnston and Whitburn were much more comfortable. They topped the AGEON league and also made it to the final of the Durham and Cleveland Knock Out Competition. The finals were held at the David Lloyd tennis centre. Here they faced Polam; the matches were all very close and at the end of the match we were all square at three matches all. This meant we had to play and extra Championship tie break set with a new doubles pairing. Unfortunately the Polam pair was just too strong, and they won the tie break 10 -6. The girls have played well all season and have made good progress.

Many thanks to Geoff for his help with the coaching.

FC

U13 Girls Tennis

Team from: E Bowen, R Bennett, C Harrison, E Johnson, K Shepherd, A Salkeld P 5

W 2

D 0

L 3

F –

A –

W 1

D 1

L 1

Results: Giggleswick (Away) Yarm (Away) Durham School (Home)

F 41.5

A 53

D –

L 9.5-23 W 18-18 W 14-13

This season was shorter than usual due to the almost immediate impact of study leave. It was without practice that the first match against Giggleswick arrived, three days into term and a whole year since last catching and hitting a rock-solid rounders ball. Giggleswick immediately had an advantage over us, having been back a week sooner, along with one fixture under their belt. It was a tough game with some agricultural hitting by the opposition which forced our fielders further out. They did exceedingly well, with accurate throwing and some big catches; however, it was our lack of power in the batting that eventually let us down – the better team won on this occasion. The following game against Yarm was a game fought in the best of spirits. Friendly rivalry and good humour were all very much part of the fixture along with trying to dodge some fierce-looking rain clouds.

There was some excellent fielding and the batting had improved considerably. It was a battle to the bitter end and a fitting result saw the teams draw even. The final game of the season was against Durham, both teams were somewhat depleted due to the casualties of the examinations. Again rivalry was at its best and saw the seniors field tightly with the determination to win, that coupled with some brilliant batting was enough to win on home territory, It was short but sweet, but the girls were a total pleasure to have as a team albeit very brief indeed.

AA

D –

The girls have had a mixed season. Their first match was against a very strong Durham Johnston team and was something of a learning curve. The girls then went on to find their form with a good win against Biddick. This gave them confidence which they were able to build on and helped them to secure a victory against Durham School.

Their final two matches were against very strong opposition in Durham High and Queen Mary’s; although on the score card it looked like they had suffered heavy defeats, many of the games went to deuce and they were unlucky not to win more games. The girls have made good progress, their match play and shot selection has improved greatly under the coaching of Geoff Thomas, many thanks to him for all his efforts this term.

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Team from: K Brolly (Cpt.),S Pratt, C Elliot, L Bussey, N Tait, E Cody, S Stephenson, I Borer, J Metcalf, R Pratt, E Robson, H Appleby, S Currah P 3

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

D 0

L 1

Results: Giggleswick School Durham School Queen Mary’s School Yarm St. Peter’s School

Senior Rounders

P 9

W 1

U15 Rounders

Team from: S Nicholls (Cpt.), A Ridley, F WaitorMackenzie, L Newton, I Hewitson, E Gossage, K Rhodes, S Barnes, H Swinbank, M Richardson, C West, H Belam, C Burford, C Waldin, A Coffey, K Hodgson

F 23.5

A 19

D 4.5

L 7.5-11 Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled W 16-8

With rain halting play on a number of weekends the girls have only had two fixtures this season. Non-the-less, the whole squad of girls performed well in the games which were played.

Giggleswick away was the very first fixture the girls played this season which has always been very competitive and hard-fought. On a beautiful sunny day the girls were eager to get off the bus and get started, winning the toss meant they were to field first. With some slick fielding from backstop to first and a few catches from Captain Nicholls, the girls were pretty equal going into the second innings. A few miss-fields and some good hitting from Giggleswick allowed them to creep up on our batting score and Barney had it all to do in the last innings. The girls tried hard to ground out some long hits and succeeded but Giggs’ fielding was just too good. The girls were an asset to the School and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Their second and last game of the season was against St. Peter’s. In the week leading up to this fixture the girls spent time practising their fielding and were looking smooth going into their last fixture. Having lost the toss the girls batted first. This is an area that the girls have worked on tirelessly over the term and it proved evident; they ran up a total of 10.5, giving Peter’s a high target to aim for. Peter’s just couldn’t keep up and only managed half that score which put the girls in an excellent position for the second innings. The weather was getting drearier but this didn’t deter the girls and they managed to increase their score to 16, with some excellent batting from Captain Nicholls. With some excellent fielding, catches and post work the girls kept Peter’s at bay and ended their season with a superb display of how well they can play this tactical game.

U14 Rounders Unfortunately the Rounders season for the U14 girls was a short one this year, due to the weather cancelling their matches against Durham School, Queen Mary’s School and Yarm School. However despite the rain the team’s spirt remained high. The season took off quickly with the U14s playing Giggleswick in the first week of term. The opposition were strong giving Georgie Penman and Sarah Ryan as second and third deep a lot of work to do.

Despite the girls’ enthusiasm throughout the match, our batting skills showed to need more practice and the game ended with a 4-26 loss.

The final game against St Peter’s was played towards the end of term so the girls had been working hard in practice to improve their batting and fielding skills. St Peter’s stepped up first to bat and again showed to have excellent power in their batting, finalising the first innings 18 1/2-3 in their favour. However the BCS girls’ determination really shone through in the second innings. Their throwing in fielding was more accurate and their communication was strong. Alexandra Thompson was having an excellent game as bowler, not throwing a single ‘no ball’ and their hard work in practice paid off as they hit some brilliant balls. The improvement was tremendous and this ended the second innings 6-7 1/2 rounders to St Peters, finalising the game in a 9-26 loss. The girls showed great effort all round and I wish them all the best for their next season.

NLM

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many of them played for the U13 B team too. A close game against St Olave’s saw this group compete at a very pleasing standard and demonstrated their ability both in batting and fielding; it was brilliant to see them win, given the hard work and effort they put into improving during games lessons.

U13 Rounders

AA

A Team from: H Booth, E Bowen, A Fox, A Pearse, I Pentland, J Powell, A Harris, R Hargrove, F West, G Rhodes, C Hamner, R Bennett, D Currah, E Gedye, C Grey-Thompson P 3

W 2

D 1

L 0

F 45

Results: Giggleswick (Home) St Olaves (Home) Mowden Hall (Away) A Team from: L Dickinson, A Everall, S Jones, C Laverick, D Oliver, C Martin, S McEwan, A Morill, S Roberton, K Walker

P 1

B

C

L 5-6 W 8-7½ L 8-14

Although we have had some lovely sunny weather, unfortunately the rainy days coincided with many of our scheduled fixtures. The A team had a good match against Giggleswick; despite many of our players being stumped out at first base and losing the game, many lessons were learnt.

Over the season improvements were made, fielding partnerships were formed and it was not long before confidence to take catches developed and they secured a victory against Durham Chorister’s.

It was great to see all girls in Year 8 participate in the St Olave’s fixture. Everyone made a valuable contribution to their teams and it was an enjoyable afternoon of matches.

It was unfortunate that the teams did not have more fixtures, as they would have developed further with more match play but it is clear that this year will only get better as they move up the School and play more.

TCB

U12 A/B Rounders

W 1

D 0

Results: St Olaves (Home)

C Team from: L. Anderson, S Bartlett, K Baxter, E Forsyth, V Gibson, M McAllister, A Salkeld, K Stewart, A Tremewan, A Wilkinson, L Wilson A L 7 – 14½ Cancelled Cancelled W 22½-11½ Cancelled L 4-9 Cancelled L 7-17

D –

D 13.5- 13.5 W 13.5-12.5 W 18-11

B Team from: R Bennett, D Currah, J Osbourne, C Grey Thompson, C Hamner, G Rhodes, A Richardson, E Ryan, V Simpson, V Walker

B Team from: S Bartlett, R Collinson, D Currah, E Dalton, S Graystone, E Gedye, C Hamner, C Harrison, J Hooper, E Johnson, J Osbourne, K Terrill, K Taplin, K Shepherd

Results: Giggleswick Queen Mary’s Durham School Durham Chorister’s Yarm St Olave’s St Martin’s Mowden Hall

A 37

L 0

F 12

A 11

W

D –

12-11

The Year 7 girls have impressed me over the course of the summer term. They are an incredibly talented, keen, enthusiastic and determined group. It is important at such a young age that all girls are kept together regardless of previous experience. It is an opportunity to spend time grasping the basic skills and developing them without pigeonholing anyone. My philosophy is to look at everything afresh and get the best from everyone, developing a new set of skills in a variety of roles. It quickly became apparent that there is strength and depth throughout the group and it would be difficult to make choices when it came down to selecting teams for fixtures. However, we did manage to have everyone play in at least one rounders fixture.

The A team only managed to play three of their seven fixtures, which was a real shame as they were well drilled, full of tactical understanding and talented batters and fielders. Giggleswick are always strong opposition when it comes to rounders and the first game saw both teams fighting hard by batting well but fielding exceptionally well. At this level keeping no-balls to a minimum can often be the difference between winning and losing but fortunately BCS kept their cool as did the opposition, for the first game and for a new team a draw was a positive start.

Inclement weather put pay to the next four games which was disappointing, as it would have provided more opportunity to try out different combinations of girls in the team. However, the next match against St Olave’s was that chance and again, great opponents who had some fantastic batters proved a good match. Tight fielding with some highly accurate throwing by the U12s meant that they kept St Olave’s on their toes. Few mistakes were made in fielding and a couple of fantastic catches by the deep field (ones which Seniors could have shied from) meant that scoring from the opposition was supressed.

The batting by some of the U12 team was outstanding and the tactical left handers proved a secret weapon. The win, albeit close, was well-deserved. The final game as U12s was against an U13B team. Again strength in fielding was apparent with well thought out preventative measures followed by some excellent tactical batting meant they were too strong for the opposition. This time it was a convincing win.

The U12B team only had a single fixture, however,

Athletics Athletics Team Report BCS have enjoyed another successful, and for some athletes a very busy, athletics season. With more and more of our youngsters opting to train outside school at local athletics clubs, the competition for places and standard of performances has improved markedly; none more so than in the English Schools’ Athletics Association Track and Field Cup competition, where three of our four teams qualified for the Regional Final at Gateshead.

Hopes were high that the Junior Girls would match the Inter Boys’ performance of last year and qualify for the national finals. However, we were beaten into 2nd place by a strong Central team. Full results can be found by clicking on the T&F Cup banner at www.esaa.net Undoubtedly the biggest success of this year was the Year 7 girls’ team performance in the Yr 7 – 10 Girls Independent Schools Athletics competition. Taking only a small team of five Year 7 girls they performed admirably and, for the first time ever, won the trophy, with India Pentland breaking the Long Jump record with a leap of 4m 21cms. The other year group teams performed extremely well throughout the day, and a special mention should go to Ellie Shannon who won her 100m final and also broke the meeting record.

On the same day we had three of our athletes competing in the North East Athletics Championships; Rachel Bennett in the U13 100m and 200m, Stella Jones in the U15 1,500m and Alice Ridley in the U17 Javelin. All girls performed extremely well and returned home with medals in their events, Rachel with a Gold and Silver, Stella with a Silver and Alice with a Gold. Full results can be found at www.necaa.info The English Schools’ Athletics Championships is the biggest schools athletics event in the world and the pinnacle for school aged athletes. To stand a chance of getting selected for the competition athletes must first compete and finish in the top two of the South West Durham Schools Athletics Championships and to be selected to represent South West Durham Schools at the Durham Schools Athletics Championships. We had a large turnout of athletes at the first round, and 31 of our pupils were selected to represent South West Durham. Of these Alice Ridley (Inter girls Javelin), Stella Jones (Junior Girls 1,500m), Alice Hunter (Junior Girls Long Jump) and Jamie Adamson (Junior Boys High Jump) went on to represent Durham in the Northern Counties Schools Athletics Championships with Alice and Stella claiming the Northern Counties titles in their events.

Unfortunately none of our athletes achieved the qualifying standards for the English Schools Athletics Championships, but with Alice and Stella being at the bottom end of their age groups it is hoped that with hard work and quality coaching they can achieve the standards next year. For full results of the Durham Schools competitions go to www.durhamschoolsaa.co.uk where you can also find photos taken at the various rounds.

Well done to all our athletes this year and I look forward to another successful year in 2015.

AW

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Sri Lanka Cricket Tour After managing to get through the airports with only William Heathcote leaving his passport in customs and William Grundy being temporarily stopped from entering the country because of a visa error, we had finally landed in Sri Lanka and were greeted with a necklace of flowers from the locals. We drove to a nearby hotel to get some lunch where you could order a full lobster meal for 1,500 rupees – which is approximately £6.50! Finally, after a long two days of travelling, we had arrived in Kandy, at our hotel, the Thilanka Hotel, a very nice hotel with excellent food and a pool overlooking the town. An early night was definitely on the cards for the boys!

Day 2 saw our first game of the tour, a 50 over contest against a local school.

Bowling first, Kit Wilson and Tom Adamson bowled very good opening spells with Wilson managing to take two early wickets. The decision was taken to bring on the spinners and Hamish Carter got the breakthrough with a ball that turned the other way, so he says. The number four batsman looked set and the opposition were putting on a steady partnership. Barney experimented with bowling but it was the fielding that let the team down as the home side finished 310 all out with the number four batsman finishing on 136. With a quick and bobbly outfield and a firm wicket, it was definitely a score which wasn’t out of reach. Dan Swires and Sam Leeming opened the batting for the tourists and got off to a good start before Swires (26) was trapped lbw which brought Captain Tom Sowerby to the crease who looked in fine form as he smashed his way to 39. The spin of the Sri Lankans was troubling the Barney batsmen as wickets started to fall. Leeming batted well for his 34 but also had to head back to the pavilion which allowed number 8,

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Grundy, to come to the crease. He played some lovely shots and finished 18 not out but it was to no avail as BCS were bowled all out for 151, which included a hat trick.

BCS had worked very hard in the conditions the day before and were treated with tickets to the Sri Lanka v South Africa One Day International at the Paleleke Stadium. Sitting in the top of the grandstand were the perfect seats to watch a brilliant game of cricket which I don’t think any of the lads will forget because of the amazing atmosphere.

The weather didn’t look great ahead of the game we were set to have at the Asgiriya International Stadium. Frequent changes from heavy rain to bright sunshine made it almost impossible for the game to start and so the decision was made to call the game off and head to the elephant orphanage today instead. After arriving at the orphanage, James Jennings decided he wanted to hold a snake which a local was trying to rent out, and ended up paying a little more than he had expected! Nevertheless, the orphanage was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which the lads absolutely loved. The highlight of the day was probably when one of the elephants squirted a large quantity of water from its trunk all over the unfortunate Tom Joashi, who was less than impressed! We arrived back at the

Thilanka hotel for the last meal. Everyone had said how impressed they were with the hotel and couldn’t wait to move onto Hikkadua tomorrow.

After an early start and three hours travelling, we arrived at the ground ahead of our 2nd game. A 20 over game played on a mat, in front of a big crowd of cheering school children. After losing the toss, we were sent into bat. After Pickering fell early after some big blows, Captain Sowerby joined Swires at the crease and both batsmen batted well, hitting boundaries and working singles. After an 82 partnership, Swires fell in the 14th over, after battling to 28 in very hot conditions. The wicket of Swires brought about another hat-trick, as the middle order started to fold. Wilson joined Sowerby at the crease however and the pair set to restoring the innings at an impressive rate before Wilson hauled out for a brisk 21. The innings finally came to a close at 144-5 with Sowerby being caught on the rope last ball for 72.

Wilson and Adamson again threatened the opening batsman and it was Adamson this time who removed two early wickets. Carter came into the action and got a wicket early on as Barney looked firmly on top. The next two batsmen brought about a bit of a stand for Taxila CC. The batsman batted sensibly and picked off bad balls as they started to get

TRINITY TERM

closer to the final total. With Sowerby off the field with a bruised thumb, it was left to Pickering and Adamson to organise the field, and bowl the final two overs with the opposition requiring 20 runs. An excellent over from Pickering, including a wicket, left Adamson 18 runs to work with as he bowled well to finish the game with 2-27 with Barney winning a thriller by four runs. What a win!

The next morning we were up early to take a short trip to the Foundation of Excellence, a cricket centre which had been built after the tsunami, which had helped a number of international superstars. We helped run a training session for the local kids, many of whom look like very promising players. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the session and would return the next day for a match against the District side. With Sowerby out with a thumb injury, Swires captained the side and, losing the toss, we bowled first on a small pitch. On the hottest day of the tour so far, Wilson looked sharpest and had the opener caught behind by a brilliant catch by Sam Everall. The batsmen continued to find the boundaries with little trouble and the runs quickly accumulated. Harry Watson, Heathcote, Wilson and Pickering were the pick of the bowlers as the District XI finished on 384 from their 40 overs as their number three hit 96 before being stumped off the bowling of Josh Picken and number seven crashed a 35-ball 100 not out; a spectacular innings. The Barney openers looked comfortable once again and made 47 before the first wicket fell, soon followed by a few more, until Jack Ellis joined opener Leeming at the crease. The pair quickly got flowing with Ellis playing some spectacular strokes against the spinners and some nice flicks against the pace bowlers. Ellis was unfortunately stumped nine runs short of his 50 while Leeming joined him back in the pavilion for a well grafted 40. Grundy came to the crease and played some good attacking shots for a well-made 37 before being caught and bowled to end the innings.

It was a big loss to a very impressive outfit but a lot of positives to take from the game.

The fighting spirit that the Barney lads showed in the heat was admirable. A much needed dip in the pool was granted back at the hotel.

It was an early start with a busy day ahead of us as we got on the bus to head to our

final destination of the tour, Colombo. On the way to Colombo, the boys were given the opportunity to go on a boat ride where they got to see baby crocodiles and other animals from the boat. After reaching our destination, we headed straight for one of the test match venues in the capital to meet former Sri Lankan cricketer Roy Dias and get some tips during a net session. The former opening batsman gave many tips and pointers he picked up over the years to the boys and it was good to hear about some of the experiences that Roy had encountered. After a long session, we moved into our final hotel, an extremely nice hotel which was above and beyond any expectations we had had. With two days left and two games to go, the Barney boys were feeling confident of ending the tour on a high.

An early start for our penultimate game of tour as we arrived at the ground.

After losing the toss, we bowled first.

Adamson once again got the breakthrough and was well supported by Jennings, who had a wicket caught-behind. Ananda CC were scoring well but Carter kept it tight with his leg spin and got the big breakthrough, a stumping from a flighted delivery by Swires.

Everall was brought on as wicket keeper and immediately took a smart catch, stood up to the stumps, off the bowling of Picken to reduce the opposition even further. Wickets continued to fall as the opposition finished on 245-7 off 40 overs. The openers went back out to bat once again, and finding it hard to score freely with some good bowling and a good field placement. A run out followed by an lbw left Barney on 43-2. Grundy joined Leeming at the crease and tried to pick it back up for Barney but the spin of the Sri Lankan bowlers proved to be too much for Barney as Leeming was bowled, and this brought about several Barney batsmen following him back to the pavilion. Grundy continued to bat with the lower order batsmen and struck the ball around, picking up singles and twos but was out-stumped trying to attack the spin. Barney were eventual dismissed for 73.

A low score, but against another extremely good bowling outfit.

The final day of tour had finally come, and we were to play our last game at the RAF ground. Looking to end on a win, we won the toss and batted first in a 20 over match. After an early dismissal, Barney rebuilt through

Swires and Sowerby and played the ball freely around the ground. Barney were looked good on 64-1 after nine overs before the Captain was bowled on 41, looking to drive. Grundy came in at a difficult point with spin holding up both ends. Swires swept the left arm spinner for six before being stumped the very next ball to end his School cricket career for the second time on 23. Wilson came in and played solidly but it was once again the spin bowlers who caused Barney problems as school leavers Wilson, Grundy, Everall and Carter were all removed having got Barney up past 100. Leeming and Jennings were the new men at the crease and both batted well in the final overs to finish on 134-8, a very respectable score. Wilson opened the bowling for the final time for School and looked troubling early on but unfortunately couldn’t find a breakthrough. It was left to tour wicketleader Carter to find the first wicket with his very first ball after the batsman drove one straight to Leeming. The batsmen were scoring freely, but Barney managed to take two more wickets through Watson, who was turning out to be a bit of a T20 bowling specialist. The home side eventually got home with a few overs to spare but once again Barney put up a good fight. After the game, the boys exchanged shirts and gave away some of their unwanted kit before heading back to the hotel to scrub up for an afternoon shopping, visiting a souvenir shop, a cricket shop and a shopping mall. The evening meal was at ‘The Cricket Cafe’ where, after enjoying a lovely meal, the players received some awards and enjoyed their last night in Sri Lanka.

Finally it was time to go home. There were some very tired faces on the bus to the airport after an extremely busy 11 days but certainly 11 days that no one will ever forget.

Dan Swires, Old Barnardian

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Sports Day

Boys House Competitons Junior Boys Intermediate Boys Senior Boys Cowling Cup Overall Boys

U13 Athletics Shield Cutler Cup Child Cup 4 X 100m relays Ellis Cup

Dale Durham Durham Durham & York Durham

Rachel Bennett Rachel Bennett Stella Jones Madeleine Forsyth Stella Jones Stella Jones Amy Morrill Rachel Bennett Rebecca Collinson Ella Bowen

Bowes Bowes Marwood Marwood Marwood Marwood Longfield Bowes Bowes Bowes Longfield Bowes

13.53 secs 27.15Secs NR 49.31 secs 2.54.76 mins 5.23.47 mins NR 16.41m 3.95m 1.37m NR 6.66 m 14.28m 2.17.07mins 58.28secs

Marwood Marwood Marwood Marwood Marwood Bowes Marwood Longfield Marwood Bowes Marwood Marwood

13.79secs 31.1secs 47.38secs 3.12.35mins 6.22.63mins 19.11m 4.22m 1.35m 6.83m 25.55m 2.18.07mins 58.41secs

Junior Girls

Junior Boys 100m 200m 400m 800m 1,500m Long Jump High Jump Triple Jump Discus Shot Javelin Tug Of War House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victor Ludorum

Caleb Ellis Cameron McKnight Caleb Ellis Cameron McKnight Reggie Langton Cameron McKnight Cameron Lewis Cameron Lewis Caleb Ellis James Dodds Jasper Metcalfe

Dale Durham Dale Durham Dale Durham Dale Dale Dale North/York Tees Durham Durham York

13.47 secs 27.77 secs 1.04.44 mins 2.38.21 mins 5.39.66 mins 4.57m 1.43m 9.42m 22.65m 8.76m 23.20m 2.48.78 mins 56.72 Secs

Caleb Ellis & Cameron McKnight

100m 200m 300m 800m 1,500m Discus Long Jump High Jump Shot Javelin House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victrix Ludorum

Intermediate Girls 100m 200m 300m 800m 1,500m Discus Long Jump High Jump Shot Javelin House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victrix Ludorum

Intermediate Boys 100m 200m 400m 800m 1,500m Long Jump High Jump Triple Jump Discus Shot Javelin Tug Of War House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victor Ludorum

John Clouston John Clouston Matthew Hanmer Aydan Reynard Jamie Adamson Aydan Reynard Jamie Adamson John Clouston Cameron Young Benjamin Edwards Angus Farr

York York Durham Northumberland Durham Northumberland Durham York Durham York Tees Durham Durham York

12.47 secs 25.26 secs 1.04.56 mins 2.29.34 mins 4.58.78 mins 4.91m 1.53m 11.15m NR 23.77m 9.25m 21.16m 2.32.68 mins 52.93 secs

John Clouston

Alexander Finkill Tom Metcalfe Alexander Finkill Sam Leeming James Watson James Watson Tom Metcalfe Rory Holden Alexander Finkill Jack Beckwith Benjamin Spratt Thomas Adamson

York Durham York Durham Dale Dale Durham Northumberland York Durham Durham Tees Tees Durham York

Alexander Finkill

NR = New Record

100

Eleanor Shannon Charlotte McEwan Isla Hewitson Isla Hewitson Eleanor Shannon Alice Ridley Alice Hunter Stella Nichols Lucy Newton Alice Ridley

Isla Hewitson, Alice Ridley, Eleanor Shannon

Senior Girls 100m 200m 400m 800m 1,500m Discus Long Jump High Jump Shot Javelin House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victrix Ludorum

Caitlin Bainbridge Caitlin Bainbridge Elliott Charlotte Eleanor Everall Eleanor Everall Niamh Tait Caitlin Bainbridge Iona Borer Niamh Tait Katie Body

Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Bowes Marwood Bowes Bowes

13.75 secs 28.79 secs 1.14.99 mins 2.54.39 mins 6.12.79 mins 19.58m 4.53m 1.43m 8.11m 23.38m 2.13.97 mins 58.38 secs

Caitlin Bainbridge

NR = New record

Senior Boys 100m 200m 400m 800m 1,500m 3,000m Long Jump High Jump Triple Jump Discus Shot Javelin Tug Of War House Relay 4 X 100m Relay Victor Ludorum

Stella Jones & Rachel Bennett

The Barnardian 2013/14 Review

11.8 secs 23.7 secs 55.32 secs 2.22.29 mins 4.34.18 mins 10.47.51 mins 6.03m 1.73m 11.34m 27.26m 11.11m 39.24m 2.21.12 mins 47.02 secs

Girls House Competitons Junior Girls Intermediate Girls Senior Girls Overall Girls

Seddon Shield Mc Gill Cup Ellison Cup Parkin Cup

Bowes Marwood Bowes Marwood

Sports Day was once again held on Bank Holiday Monday, in cool but dry conditions. As a result of the conditions only four records were broken. As always, the House competitions were taken very seriously. Dale were easy winners in the Junior Boys’ competition, as were Durham in the Intermediate section. Durham won the Senior competition by over forty points. However, the Cowling Cup for the 4 X 100m relays was a tie between Durham and York.

The Junior Girls’ competition was also very close, with only five points separating Bowes and Marwood. The Girls’ overall competition was also very close, with just four points separating Bowes and Marwood.

FC

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Sixth Form Annual Report With so much going on in the Sixth Form at Barney, it is sometimes hard to know where to begin my summary or what to include. It has been yet another year of busy development with some recent innovations now bedding in and others that have just begun. As has been the custom in recent years, new Sixth Formers began their induction in July. From the Rev’s Myers-Briggs-based session on Perceptions and Decision making, to the bridge-building command task out on the fields, they were encouraged to approach tasks in new ways and to leave their comfort zone as often as possible.

The Sixth Form Common Room (SFCR) was formally constituted by referendum at the start of the year and the first officer hustings and elections were held shortly afterwards.

Each candidate wrote and published a manifesto and addressed a speech to the entire Sixth Form in support of it. Students in the Sixth Form voted using the online voting system and a strong set of elected representatives emerged. Each of the elected SFCR officers was tasked with running a committee of students focussing on a particular area of School or Sixth Form life; the Academic Committee, Food Committee, Anti-Bullying Committee, Finance Committee, Social Committee, Sports Committee, Charity Committee, School Council, and SFCR Executive Committee are all organised and chaired by elected Sixth Formers.

Perhaps the most visible of the SFCR Committees this year has been the Social Committee which, under the committed leadership of Tilly McAllister and Emma Robson, this year’s elected Social Secretaries, has organised events that were both more plentiful and better attended than ever before. They started the year with a ‘yee-hah’ at the American Barn Dance. Although the format was familiar with the usual three course dinner and a glass or two of wine, the dress code invited lumberjack shirts, cowboy boots, and Stetsons, and we were joined at dinner for the first time by Bessie, a cardboard cut-out cow who became a stalwart feature of each Robson-McAllister event. After dinner we all moved into Big School for the main event, a barn dance with live music from Dusk ‘til Dawn, a well-known local Ceilidh band. The room had been transformed for the evening thanks to Jane Metcalfe and Tom Sowerby, who edged the room with hay bales for seating and tables.

Most impressive, however, was the amount

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of energy expended during the dancing by the 127 attendees who filled the dance floor all evening. I couldn’t imagine a better way for new and continuing Sixth Formers to relax and socialise together at the start of a new year.

The events that followed were equally unique and enjoyable. The pre-Christmas Masquerade Ball featured a black-tie and masks dress code, 12 anonymous Santas that each competed in post-dinner competitions to entertain us, and a ‘bop’. At the Back-toFront formal the food was the main event; we entered the world of molecular gastronomy with Mr Stimpson and his skilful catering team, concocting some wonderful creations to thrill the tongue and confuse the mind.

However the most eagerly anticipated event this year was the Harry Potter Formal. Once again, the students (and their parents, no doubt) produced a swathe of imaginative and convincing wizarding costumes with hardly a muggle in sight! The Social Committee had been busy too, producing haunted bathrooms, sourcing beans of every flavour, and painting a blue flying Ford Anglia (which bore a subtle resemblance to ‘Greased Lightning’ from this year’s musical). Even the house elves had pulled out all the stops, brewing butterbeer for all, setting out four appropriately decorated House tables, and producing an enormous and satisfying feast.

Another significant development this year has been the expansion of the Sixth Form Lecture Programme. An additional LVIth lecture period each week has bolstered the already extensive programme of higher education lectures and research skills sessions. This year it has been possible to invite a record number of fifteen high-profile external speakers. Research from the Academic Committee provided the direction, and Mrs Pepper in the Development Office secured lectures from eminent local professionals including: Dr Joanna Berry, Director of Engagement at Newcastle University Business School who spoke to the Sixth Formers about employability; Josef Faulkner, Old Barnardian and now Senior Mental Health Nurse who spoke about stress management; former Olympian Craig Heap,

who delivered an inspirational and motivational talk titled ‘steps to success’; and Geoff Ford, CEO of Ford Aerospace who talked about the future of manufacturing in the North East and careers in engineering.

Geoff also described Barnard Castle School as “the pre-eminent school in the north east, bar none” despite being an old Dunelmian.

My particular thanks this year go to Amanda Usher who, as Academic Officer, greeted and hosted each and every visiting lecturer.

Without exception they commented on what a great impression she and each of the Sixth Formers had given of the School.

The appointment of the School’s first Head Boy and Head Girl team this year was another historic moment, and it has been a real pleasure to work with such a genuine and inspirational pair of young leaders.

Although it has been rumoured that Sam Everall and Rachel Pratt have been spotted in separate places around School this year, I don’t believe it. Sam, Rachel and the entire Senior Monitoring team have excelled in their management roles and once again, the good tone of the School has been set by the leadership and good example of the School Monitors; their conduct has attracted regular compliments from staff and visitors alike.

However, probably the most emotional day of the year for the Sixth Formers and for me personally was the Valedictory Service and the Summer Ball, at which we said farewell to the outgoing UVIth. I could not have hoped for a more talented, witty, and wellmannered first cohort and look forward to following their inevitable success in the years to come.

CRB

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School Monitors 2013 – 2014 Head Boy: Head Girl:

Sam Everall Rachel Pratt

Head of Day School: Head of Boarding:

Laura Spedding Kimberly Brolly

Deputy Heads of School: Iona Borer Hamish Carter George Jones Kate Lovegreen Nathan Miller Heads of House Bowes: Dale: Durham: Longfield: Marwood: Northumberland: Tees: York:

Niamh Tait James Raper Max Jones Erika Lee Rebekah Westgarth Jonathan Coser Ben Wynn-Jones John Brogden

School Monitors:

Juliet O’Brien Sarah Child Rebecca Cliffe Ben Earl Alex Farr Alex Finkill Ivan Gaskin Catherine Gaven Jonty Gill Daniel Gilligan Agni Ghosh William Grundy Findley HardieHammond Hans Kukreja James McNeill Emily Newton James Robertson Libby Spark Nicky Stainthorp Matthew Stirk James Watson Stanley Wong Amanda Usher

Heads of School

welcomed into the Barney community, and we’re sure that this family will be everlasting.

Becoming not only the student representatives of one of the most famous schools in the north of England, but being the first pupils to be joint Head Girl and Head Boy, was undoubtedly a slightly frightening, but most definitely exciting, prospect. Both of us feel truly attached to Barney and we feel honoured to have had such a key role in the School for our final year.

Reminiscing about our truly enjoyable times at Barney made us realise how much we owe to this wonderful institution. Games lessons in temperatures more suitable for eskimos, dragging ourselves up to Top Tree in the final stages of the Barnard Run and the mosh around the rare sight of a hot chocolate dispenser at morning break; all were tough at the time, but looking back, these are cherished memories.

It seems a long time ago since we were stood at the doors of Chapel welcoming everyone back for a new academic year. What was at first apprehension and nerves in trying to do the role justice soon became excitement and enjoyment as we both adapted to the job.

Neither of us can be more grateful to the staff for the help they have given us, not just academically with after-school tutorials, but helping us mature and progress with the astounding amount of activities on offer once lessons are over for the day. There aren’t many schools where you can step straight in from passing a rugby ball to be dancing to Greased Lightning five minutes later in Big School, and it is for this reason that Barney is such a special place; the number of opportunities it offers. Not to mention the ever increasing number of House Activities – both of us have competed in important sports fixtures but are yet to experience as competitive an atmosphere as ‘Senior House

One of our first objectives that we wanted to implement was to make the new Year 7s instantly feel at home; it was vital for us not to be portrayed as two scary, unapproachable Sixth Formers. Having spoken to each individual tutor group, an afternoon of teambuilding games was put in place in which it was clear fun was had by all. Viewing all their eager faces took us back to when we were

SFCR Executive Officers 2012 – 2013 SFCR President: SFCR Vice President: SFCR Academic Officer: SFCR Social Secretaries: SFCR Treasurer: SFCR Vice Treasurer SFCR Chair: Anti-Bullying Officer: Chair of School Council: Charities Officer: Food Officer: Head of Peer Support: Sports Officer:

Ivan Gaskin Jacob Bradford-Parker Amanda Usher Emma Robson & Tilly McAllister Hans Kukreja Oliver Larcombe Findley HardieHammond Joseph Ferguson Sam Everall & Rachel Pratt Sarah Child & Rebecca Cliffe Helen Stephenson James Goudie Agni Ghosh

Cake Decorating’ presents. We will leave the School not only with academic qualifications which we hope will reflect us at our best, but as rounded individuals who have been in the fortunate position to try our skills in such a diverse range of activities.

Whilst there is no doubt that being Head Girl and Boy posed us a number of different, and often difficult, challenges every day, we both feel privileged to have been given this wonderful opportunity. We will take the skills we have learnt – not just this year, but throughout our School career – with us, whatever the next steps we choose to take.

We leave BCS not only with a first rate education but, and maybe more importantly, years of happiness and fulfilment.

Sam Everall (Durham House) and Rachel Pratt (Marwood House)

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Upper Sixth Leavers’ Ball 2013 Sixth formers celebrated the end of their school days in style with a glittering ball to remember.

John and Jane Westgarth, Naomi Day, Alex Farr and Bekki Westgarth

Sue, Charlie and John Archer

Alan and Heather Stevens

Niall, Caroline and Findley HardieHammond

Rob and Claire Wilkinson, Erika Lee, Adam Carnell and Angela Wilkinson

Kimberly Brolly and Iona Borer

Rupert Barnard, Amanda Usher, Bekki Westgarth

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Chris and Kate Baptist

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Upper Sixth students were joined by friends and family for a three course meal and evening of dance and celebration.

Headmaster Alan Stevens said: “The time for study and speeches is over; this is a time to celebrate your success as you embark on the next exciting stage of your lives.”

Julie and Charles Alderson

Andrew Gold, Alex, Matthew, Helen and Stephen Stirk

Julia, Lucy and Martin Harland

Dan and Amanda Gorman

Vaishal, Agni and Sujoy Ghosh

Susan, Abigail and Andy Davis

Hetti Harper, Sarah Child, Lucy Harland, Bekki Westgarth

Charlie, Liz and Richard Naseby

Stuart, Sam and Diana Everall

Dionne, Matthew and Richard Jeffrey

Adam Howarth, Ellen Ranson, Stuart and Joanne Howarth

Ben Earl, Kit Wilson, Ben Spratt, Tom Knox, Max Jones

Scott Edwards, Tom Evans, Ella McGuire, Lauren Laverick, Sarah Perkins, Rebecca Fraser, Catherine Gaven

John, Rachel and Karen Pratt

Wendy, Lauren and Stephen Laverick

Niamh and Alex Tait

The halls at Barnard Castle School were transformed into elegant ballrooms complete with mood lighting and ice sculptures to mark the auspicious occasion.

Anne-Marie, Max and Robbie Jones

Helen Stephenson, Laura Spedding, Elle Baister, Sarah Perkins

Christine, William and John Richardson

Sam Turner, Ruth Thompson, Laura Turner, Sue and Nick Seddon, Rebecca and David Robertson

Upper Sixth Leavers

106

Barnard Castle School, Newgate, Barnard Castle, Country Durham DL12 8UN www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk @barney_school

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