Merheim-Kealy (5th, Q); the runners up were Isabelle Winstanley (U6, Q), Harry Byrne (L6, XT), Mimi Haycraft-Mee (U6, Q), Verity Peterken (4th, W), Henry Dowding (5th, S) and Phoebe Janes (5th, W). Staff and students alike also looked forward with excitement to the second A C Bradley Memorial Shakespeare Lecture, all the more so because Professor Peter Holland, McMeel Family Professor in Shakespeare Studies at the University of Notre Dame and former Director of the Shakespeare Institute, agreed to be the speaker. Professor Holland spoke vividly and humorously on the subject of the First Folio, to a Big Classical packed with students and staff from not only College, but also Cheltenham Ladies’ College, All Saints’ Academy, Pate’s Grammar, Dean Close and St Edward’s. It was another brilliant lecture that succeeded in being extremely entertaining and accessible whilst still pushing members of the audience out of their intellectual comfort zones; next year’s speaker has big shoes to fill. Finally, the department’s Literary Society (‘Lit. Soc.’) has enjoyed another successful year with a range of stimulating meetings, supported by a loyal group of students willing to give up part of a Friday evening to learn more about the world of literature outside the curriculum. As always, the Society is immensely grateful to the members of staff who share with students their enthusiasm for literature. This year, these included Mr Byrne, on satire, Mr Straiton, on ‘Second-Person Narrative’, Mr Delbrooke-Jones on ‘Moby Dick’, Mrs Cutts on Seamus Heaney and Mr Faulkner on adventure narratives, while Dr Davidson’s sessions included an exploration of the passionate poetry of EE Cummings.
field trip’, the 46 AS geographers spent a moving and engaging two hours with survivors of the landslide: Jeff Edwards, who was the last pupil to be pulled out alive and was only spotted due to his bright white hair, and Belinda Madgwick, who lost two siblings. Each gave a heart-rending eye‑witness account of the moments before and after the landslide struck. Education is so much more than rote learning of content and concepts, and I hope that we will continue to produce emotionally intelligent and empathetic students. Earlier in the year, Mr Dobney organised a fantastic field trip to Iceland, along with Miss Hartley and Mr Gasson. As the group scrambled across lava fields, through lava tubes, summited volcanoes and donned the crampons for a day of glacial-
trekking, witnessing incredible geological power at first hand was a humbling experience. The pupils were all fantastic company and such good ambassadors for College that the tour guide ended up buying them a leaving present! Back in College it was very much business as usual with the annual field trips to the iconic locations of Sand Bay, the Honeybourne Line walk into Cheltenham, Cadbury World, Oxwich Burrows and, of course, to Lydney. We were blessed with good weather and good company and the value of the trips are evident in the excellent results! Always keen to engage with external speakers, the Geography Department was delighted to welcome Mr Robert Naylor to speak on the issues of globalisation and how Starbucks addresses these through fair trade and partnerships, and also Dr Jo Chambers who addressed us on ecology and hydrology as well as judging the best debates at the Upper Sixth Geography Leavers’ Dinner. By the time this goes to print I will have been succeeded
In summary, English at College continues to thrive, both in the classroom and beyond. The coming academic year promises to be something of a reckoning given that our first cohorts of students will sit the aforementioned new GCSE and A Level qualifications, but we are confident that each girl and boy will do so having enjoyed an extremely high standard of learning and teaching during his or her time in this excellent school.
Mr Tim Brewis
Geography
In the year of the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan landslide, it was fitting to see out our old specification and my five-year tenure as Head of Geography with an incredibly memorable visit to the former Pantglas Junior school site and cemetery. Described very accurately by a colleague as ‘our best and worst
20
The Cheltonian 2015-2016
BACK TO CONTENTS