Focus Summer 2019

C OL L E G E CHURC HER ’S alsO inside: Churcherians' European Adventures and CCJS Welcomes Some Special Visitors

SUMMER 2019

LEAPS AHEAD

inspirational speakers The 2019 Grill Lecture welcomed Falklands War veteran Simon Weston CBE. In an incredibly moving, inspirational and undeniably witty talk, Simon shared with the packed Sports Hall his story of triumph in the face of adversity.

Additionally he spent some time before his lecture discussing his unique life with the Sixth Form students.

Simon was on board the Sir Gallahad, along with large amounts of fuel, bombs and ammunition, when it was sunk in 1982 leading to the deaths of many of his friends and colleagues and leaving Simon himself with 46% burns. Bearing no malice towards those responsible, even recounting his meeting with the pilot of the plane that attacked the Sir Gallahad, he spoke with wonderful positivity about the life he feels so fortunate to have lived.

Previously unknown to many of the younger students in the audience, Simon’s message to them was one of seizing the moment and making the most of every day, whatever life may throw at them.

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FOCUS Senior

ultra trail running very Training, Nutrition, Performance and Reco

BY JAKOB BLOCH

TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2019 4.15 - 5.30PM

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BY DR GEORGE BERNAR MPTON. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHA

Throughout the term we welcome a wide variety of interesting guests to share knowledge and experiences with our students and parents.

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MODERN languages It has been an extremely busy term for the Foreign Language Department as we waved off four European trips over the Easter holidays!

Barcelona

Aka…“Chicas de Gira” – once we had a tour name, we knew things were going to go splendidly! After a cold, damp, sleepy 4am start to the day, we hit the ground running at Barcelona airport and didn’t stop until we sat on the plane to return home. The Fitbits were going crazy as we squeezed in La Sagrada Familia, followed by a Flamenco show then a traditional tapas supper, just off La Rambla, into the remainder of day one.

The pace was maintained throughout the three days, taking in not only traditional tourist sites showcasing the genius that was Gaudí, but also hidden cultural gems.

We even ‘mastered’ the art of the paella in a hands-on session, managing to convince an English couple that we were an all-Spanish group!

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Malaga

This Easter, a super group of Third and Fourth Years headed out to Malaga to enjoy a week-long homestay trip. The students had the opportunity to practise their spoken Spanish with their host families and were spoilt with home-made paella and tapas.

Among some of the highlights was the day trip to Granada to visit the iconic, historical monument of the Alhambra. From flamenco dancing to the depths of the Nerja Caves, the group made the most of every moment soaking up the Spanish culture as well as the Mediterranean sun.

FOCUS Senior

Le Château de la Baudonnière

During the Easter holidays, 35 pupils set off to the beautiful Château de la Baudonnière in Normandy. With language immersion at the heart of the trip, pupils were guided through activities in French by animateurs who were friendly and skilled at making everyone feel at ease.

On site, they enjoyed aeroball, bread making, circus skills and the popular (and incredibly muddy and cold) assault course.

They ventured out to St Hilaire to visit the market, to an organic goat farm and finally to the thought-provoking D Day Landing museum in Arromanches.

A French film crew interviewed the students and they have since been featured on television during the 75th D Day landings anniversary week! Our trip to a crêperie was a highlight and the evening entertainment was fun!

german exchange

This year’s German exchange to Warendorf in April involved 21 pupils and two teachers and, as in previous years, everybody had a great time. We experienced life in a German family and took part in lessons in Mariengymnasium, our partner school. We went on trips to Dr Oetker World, Sparrenburg, Phantasialand and Borussia Dortmund football stadium and the football museum in the city. At Dr Oetker World we got to try their delicious products such as pizza and warm vanilla puddings. Mr Crossman was able to enjoy his favourite Götterspeise as well! Phantasialand, a theme park near Cologne, was definitely the highlight of the trip where we all loved the thrilling rides and bonded more with our exchange partners.

The exchange students came to our school for a week in May and everybody was glad to see each other again. The German students came to school one day with their partners and also went to Windsor, Portsmouth and Bournemouth, where they got sunburnt in the lovely English sun shine! Everybody was sad when the time came to say farewell after both legs of the exchange had been completed. We are now looking forward to hearing that both English and German students are staying in touch and will visit each other in the future. We are eagerly planning next year’s exchange already!

Anna Hughes

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sixth form life Epsom Downs Oxbridge Conference

It was a glorious Spring day at Epsom Downs for a group of our Lower Sixth students to attend the annual Oxbridge Conference. Both universities were represented, with talks on the admissions process, structure of the universities, student finance and careers, in addition to a full programme of subjectspecific talks, enabling students to start to form a clear idea of what it is like to study at these prestigious universities. The conference forms a key part of the Oxbridge Programme in the Sixth Form, which commences at the beginning of the Spring Term in the Lower Sixth and provides full support for the UCAS application, admissions tests and interviews.

Prefect Training

At the end of the Easter Holidays the recently elected Prefects attended the Former Military Camp of Browndown in Lee on Solent. The 30 derelict buildings, including the Officer’s Mess, are just perfect for Battlefront Games, a teambuilding activity in which the students and staff engage in fun challenges in a military combat situation. The Prefects were assigned their laser guns and were split into two groups. Led by the College Captains, the students were given scenarios where it was necessary to use teamwork and leadership in order to succeed. Games such as ‘Capture the Flag’, ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and ‘Collecting the Countdown Boxes’ were all embraced by the Sixth Formers and the teams were very evenly matched. Staff couldn’t resist joining in and it was great to see a competitive element evolve as the morning wore on. In all, the morning was a great success, many students who were initially a little shy, started to bark orders to their friends in order to get their message across. Others used subtlety and subterfuge in order to win the day. Well done to everyone, it promises to be an excellent year with you all at the helm!

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Environment Assembly

At the start of the Summer Term, Sixth Formers Hannah Edmondson, Jude Franklin, Sophie Garwood, Grace McCulloch and Saoirse White spoke at a First Year assembly. The topic was the environment and the messages included reducing plastic use, food waste, energy consumption, the school’s terracycling scheme and the new Goodfield Building, as well as caring for wildlife. The students are sponsoring two chimpanzees, Anzac and Falero, through the Jane Goodall Institute.

FOCUS Senior Leavers Day

Careers News

Our inaugural ‘Coffee, Croissants and Careers’ event took place early one beautiful Spring morning this term. Sixth Form pupils converged on the Pavilion where a continental breakfast was waiting to ensure that all were suitably fuelled to meet an incredible range of inspiring ‘networkers’ working in the PR, Advertising, Marketing and Brand sectors.

Students have also enjoyed two further events in the Career Bites series. Embryologist and Director of the Complete Fertility Centre (Southampton), Julia Paget, treated an audience of Fourth Year pupils upwards to a fascinating talk about her role. Julia talked through the Science and practicalities of her work and also provided an insight in to the emotional element and huge privilege she feels in helping couples start a family. It was certainly food for thought for many of our aspiring scientists and medics as to how to have a scientific career in a clinical setting.

This year’s Leavers Day was full of Firsts, as the 2019 cohort departed school. Starting with a full English breakfast, they were entertained by their peers in a somewhat less formal concert, the sounds of which reverberated throughout the school!

Highlights included Ollie Fitter the Card Trickster, who wowed the audience with his undoubted talent and intelligence, reading minds and guessing cards. Later in the morning, the audience threw themselves into the Mosh Pit complete with student DJ Matt Price. Finally, ‘The Womanisers’, a 16-strong synchronised dance group, showed just what can be achieved when you spend every spare moment rehearsing!

The entire day was light-hearted and inclusive, with incredible fun on Ramshill lawn at lunchtime with the traditional water slide and BBQ. We will be sad to see these students leave!

OC Katie Hickey also visited to deliver a talk about her career as a freelance Illustrator.

It was fascinating to hear about Katie’s journey through her Art A Level and Illustration degree, and her route to establishing herself as a very successful and widely published illustrator. We were treated to a wonderful collection of her work in addition to a brilliant insight in to the world of illustration, publishing and children’s books.

Safe drive stay alive

In March, Chris Collins from the Hampshire Road Safety Team came to Ramshill as a followup to the Safe Drive Stay Alive session attended earlier in the year in Southampton. Students used the car braking reaction tester, taking a seat behind the wheel of a virtual car and were instructed to hit the brakes as fast as they could to test their reaction time. The second time round however, the element of distraction of a mobile phone was added in. Times were significantly increased, and with some students failed to brake altogether! This demonstrated in a very visual way to students the need to concentrate when driving and avoid distractions from passengers or mobile phones, otherwise the consequences can be serious and possibly fatal. This was a very hard hitting and ‘real’ experience that is sure to make students think carefully about their driving futures and being safe as a passenger.

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FULL steam AHEAD People Like Me

Unfortunately, gender stereotypes for jobs are inculcated at a very young age. It is no wonder there remains a problem with getting girls into STEAM careers and is not helped by the image of what STEAM jobs are all about. In March, Professor Averil MacDonald OBE, Hon DSc, Hon D.Univ, CPhys delivered a well-attended session to open up girls’ minds into the many opportunities within STEAM and how the right choices in life can lead to an exciting and lucrative career. It allowed the girls (and their significant female!) to profile themselves and see what character traits lead towards what type of role. Everyone learned a little bit more about themselves!

SATRO CHALLENGE

Fresh from their success in the regional heats, our Second Year team of William Cowling, Ollie Hewett, Gabby Hibberd, Laurie Horwood, Joel Ireland and Caitlin Stevens regrouped to tackle the Grand Final of the SATRO Problem Solving Challenge. The team, competing against others from the same age group, had two hours to design and build a miniature theme park ride, similar to the London Eye, able to rotate for as long as possible with a cargo of Polo mints, powered only by the weight of additional Polos.

They came up with a rather ingenious solution, but the sound of the klaxon came just too soon for them to make it fully operational.

Although denied a podium finish on this occasion, it was with a mixture of satisfaction and frustration that they demonstrated how smoothly their machine worked only a few minutes later! If the creativity, skills and application of our team are anything to go by, we can look forward to Churcher’s pupils going on to make a fine contribution to solving the technological challenges of the future.

THORPE PARK

A group of 30 students from the First, Second and Third Years enjoyed a memorable day of STEAM enrichment at Thorpe Park’s annual STEM fair in March. The students, selected on their contribution to various STEAM-related clubs and activities, seized the opportunity to learn how science and technology are being applied today and will be applied further in the future. Virtual Reality featured heavily, including a full motion simulation of a roller coaster regarded as “scarily like the real thing, just without any wind”. The complex mathematics of a double pendulum were beautifully illustrated by the ‘chaotic selfie generator’ and students harnessed the power of their minds alone to control the motion of model cars round a track. The group also explored the science behind Thorpe Park’s rides, even using mobile phone apps to measure the accelerations experienced and learning more about the engineering techniques used to create and safely manage the forces involved.

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FOCUS Senior

“On the day everyone was involved and had a job to do and the experience of racing on the Goodwood track is one I will always remember” Ollie Hewett

GREEN POWER

After an absence of many years this May saw an eagerly anticipated return to Greenpower for Churcher’s College and the Design & Technology Department. An excited team of pupils from First to Fourth Year helped to prepare this year’s entry, continuing the hard work of our predecessors. The racing season kicked off in style at the illustrious Goodwood Motor Circuit where 57 teams from across the UK competed in the endurance event. Two 90 minute races saw the cars, drivers and pit crew put to the test, and after a steady start Churcher’s entry ‘Limitless’ marked a solid return. As a new team we started at the back of the grid and in Race 2 managed to progress our position to finish 36th overall, an admirable result given this was the first time for our pupils.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

Professor Averil MacDonald also delivered a thought-provoking and informative talk to the Fourth Year entitled ‘Fantastic Plastic – or How to Make Your First £Million’. Prof. MacDonald expanded on their knowledge of polymers by describing how the properties of different plastics enable them to be used in applications as diverse as synthetic limbs and the foldable flat screen TVs of the future. Her case studies brought out the attributes required to successfully start a business, in particular creative thinking and tenacity. She also challenged the students to think more deeply about the environmental issues around plastics; who knew that a third of the microplastics released as small particles into the environment come from the laundering of synthetic clothes, and another third from the abrasion of car tyres?

Cyber Security

Our GCSE and A Level students were treated to a presentation all about Cyber Security from James Arthur, a parent and head of Cyber Consulting at Grant Thornton. It proved so informative that one of our A Level students was inspired to change the topic of his EPQ based solely on the talk!

Code Quest

In April, we sent three teams to Lockheed Martin Code Quest, an international competition simultaneously done on one day across the world, where students have to code as many challenges as they can in the time allowed. In the UK, it’s popularity has seen it separated into Novice and Advanced categories. We sent our winners from last year plus another A Level team in the Advanced Category: Josh Coates, Sam Mearns and Tim Milner achieved second place and Anthony Cheung and Elliot Dewdney achieved third place. We also sent a mixed Fourth and Third Year Novice team of Tyler Ward, Oliver Folgelin and Kit Matthewson who came away with a very impressive win!

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sport

Athletics SUCCESS

A huge amount has already been crammed into this very short term. Our junior girls’ and boys’ teams both qualified for the HSAA Track Knock Out semi-finals, and the junior and intermediate teams competed hard against some excellent opposition in the ESAA Track and Field Cup. More recently, 11 students qualified from the South East Hampshire Athletics Championships to represent the area at the Hampshire Championships, with seven students winning their events outright, and setting area records in the process. With the junior Hampshire events yet to come, alongside Sports Day, it promises to be a very busy and successful term!

NATIONAL Hockey CHAMPIONS

The 2019 Hockey season has certainly been an exciting one! Just as our last issue went to press, the U15 Boys hockey team became national hockey champions after beating hockey powerhouse Whitgift at the Independent Schools Hockey Cup National Finals in Birmingham. The whole match was livestreamed through the College Facebook page, enabling pupil and parent-wide support (and commentary!) throughout. The players’ skill, resilience and hard work impressed throughout the competition and the rapturous celebrations when the final whistle confirmed the 3-2 score were well deserved!

Just two days from the U15s being crowned national champions it was the U14s time for the limelight as they came third in the South region by comprehensively beating Reigate Grammar School 5-1 in the third/fourth place playoff, securing a bronze medal after playing 12 matches to get to this point. Indeed, the U14s only just missed out on qualifying to represent the South of England and playing at Lee Valley, the Olympic Park, by losing to the eventual national champions, St George's College.

Also deserving a mention are the Firsts, who reached the National Plate South quarter final, only to be knocked out 2-1

by Skinners school. Our U16s reached the third round of the National Plate losing on penalty strokes to King Edward’s Southampton after a 2-2 draw. We are also hoping for a promising future for the U13s who reached the last 16 in the Independent Schools Hockey Cup, exiting to the eventual champions Whitgift.

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FOCUS Senior

Marbella Tennis TOUR

The early start time on the first Monday of the Easter break did not dampen the excitement of the 44 tennis playing Churcher’s students for the four night tennis trip to Marbella. The students were greeted by sunshine on arrival at the hotel on the coastline. With temperatures around 20 degrees every day it was certainly hot work for the tennis players who had two hours of coaching each morning and afternoon. The tour included a trip to the Puerto Banus for a meal followed by a look around the port and the shops, admiring the many supercars and superyachts! The coaching took place on clay popular in Spain and useful for its slightly slower bounce and development of technique favoured by top players like Rafael Nadal. These excellent facilities, combined with enthusiastic and knowledgeable coaches, ensured that all Churcherians returned better tennis players than before they left Petersfield a few days earlier.

county cricket for the girls

The First and Second Year girls were outstanding in representing Hampshire in the Lady Taverner’s regional indoor cricket tournament. They managed to make it all the way through to the final and unfortunately lost to Castle School from Somerset, who they had beaten previously in the group stage. These girls are a real credit to the county, the College and above all themselves and were praised repeatedly for their conduct by officials, opposing teams and parents. A bright cricketing future awaits!

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MUSIC

Strings and Piano Evening Back in February, our pianists, violinists and cellists put together a varied programme to showcase their talents. In addition, we enjoyed some ensemble performances from the Junior Strings (who gave an energetic performance of ‘Game of Thrones’ and music from La La Land), together with three string quartets and the Senior guitar group.

The Senior strings performed the first movement from Vivaldi’s concerto in A minor, starring Elizabeth Turner and Frances Flannagan as soloists.

A Level Musicians’ Lunchtime Recital The annual lunchtime recital given by Upper Sixth A Level musicians took place in the Assembly Hall on February 27th. This occasion serves as an opportunity for the students to air publicly some of the items on their recital programmes. As usual, the breadth of talent on display was stunning, and a wide range of musical styles was represented including fast, virtuosic pieces such as Handel’s ‘Jubal’s Lyre’ and Carl Bohms ‘Moto Perpetuo’, and contemplative works such as Philip Glass’s

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‘Metamorphosis One’ and ‘Ophelia’s Song’ composed by Elizabeth Maconchy.

Lunchtime concert at St. Peter’s The lunchtime concert at St. Peter’s Church in early March featured a whole host of amazing solos from pupils in the Third Year, to Sixth Form performers. The concert ended with a flourish of millions of notes as the talented George Whittle played Rachmaninoff’s ‘Moment Musicaux’!

Spring Concert The Spring Concert in St. Peter’s Church was chance for all the main choirs to showcase their talents, performing everything from ‘Skyfall’ to Rutter’s ‘Gloria’, complete with an accompanying brass section. The orchestra produced a mixture of styles with highlights from The Greatest Showman, Gabriel’s ‘Oboe’ from The Mission and a real crowd pleaser ‘The Lord of the Dance’ which almost had the audience dancing in the aisles!

FOCUS Senior

was the choir’s third visit to Buriton, and the large turnout of parents and parishioners was testament to the popularity of this event. The service included preces and responses

by Radcliffe, canticles by Moeran, and, appropriately for this day, a setting of the ‘Ave Maria’ by Javier Busto. Mr Webb-Taylor played the organ and piano with characteristic flair. The sermon, given by the Rev’d Canon Peter Leonard, provided much food for thought, not to mention merriment, as we were asked to contemplate whether we were plums or bananas!

Music 4 Lunch Twice a term, the informal Music 4 Lunch concerts occur in the Assembly Hall. These are short informal concerts where pupils perform to a small supportive audience, without the pressure of a more formal occasion. It’s always a lovely chance to hear pupils play and sing who you may not always get a chance to hear performing by themselves.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Concert trip The GCSE and A Level Music groups enjoyed an evening out to Portsmouth as they went to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra play a mixture of well-known film music classics such as Star Wars, Gladiator, The Da Vinci Code, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, ET, Batman Begins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman and many, many more.

Petersfield Music Festival Each year, some of our musicians join forces with other local schools to perform in the Petersfield Music Festival, a series of concerts throughout the week. The youth concerts are on the Monday and Wednesday evenings and this year, our Junior Wind Band and Jazz Band took to the stage with the other schools for the performances.

Evensong at St. Mary’s Church, Buriton The Chamber Choir returned to St. Mary’s Church, on Mothering Sunday for its annual choral evensong. This

House Music Competition This year’s House Music Competition showcased the musical talent from each house in a variety of classes: Junior Vocal, Junior Instrumental, Junior Ensemble, Senior Vocal and Senior Instrumental. The adjudicator, Russell Keable, had the unenviable task of choosing a winner from each category and then an overall winning House. The quality of each performance was very high throughout the evening.

The ensemble classes have to be particularly mentioned as the standard here was higher than anyone can remember and the fact that the pupils prepare these items themselves makes it even more impressive. The winners in each category were: Junior Vocal Class - Ross Calvert (Collingwood) Junior Instrumental Class - Laurie Horwood (Collingwood) Junior Ensemble Class - Drake Senior Vocal Class - Kirsty Foreman (Collingwood) Senior Instrumental Class - Ben Steggall (Collingwood) Congratulations to the overall winning house which was…… Collingwood!

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bringing history to life Krakow and Auschwitz

A fabulous set of pupils headed to Krakow and Auschwitz this Easter; they all behaved with sensitivity and compassion.

They went first to the Schindler Factory and then to the Galicia museum, where they were fortunate enough to witness an incredible, but harrowing, talk from a Holocaust survivor. The students were exemplary; torn between speechlessness due to emotion and wanting her to understand their gratitude for her sharing her story, they hit the exact balance between respectfulness and inquisitiveness. They seemed to entirely grasp the privileged and timelimited nature of their experience. Visiting Auschwitz was transformational: the guides led students through a deeply personal journey in which everyone struggled to understand the scale of atrocities perpetrated there. Pupils then enjoyed the beauty of Krakow, a much needed release in the form of traditional folk dancing and a trip to the Salt Mine.

This was a soul-lifting experience for all, seeing chapels and statues hewn directly from the rock salt, which were indescribably beautiful. Overall, it was a profoundly thought-provoking trip.

Paris & Versailles

40 students and four teachers headed off on sunfilled trip to Paris and Versailles, which began with a highly informative French Revolution tour from the Pantheon to see the tombs of Diderot and Rousseau, ending up at Notre Dame to see where Robespierre held his Festival of Reason. The next day we visited Les Invalides where we saw Napoleon’s imposing tomb and all the magnificent military barracks where the Sans Culottes got their muskets from on July 14th 1789. At Versailles we saw the opulent splendour of the Hall of Mirrors and the private apartments of Louis XVI, ‘the Sun King’, as well as some gigantic paintings by David of Napoleon’s coronation and his battles. The Seine river cruise was a little chilly but we took in the sights, and on the final day visited the Louvre, where the students had free time to picnic in the gardens of the Palais Royale. What a great way to revise the course!

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FOCUS Senior Tudor trip

Our Lower Sixth historians enjoyed our English Reformation expedition.

We began at the beautiful 12th Century Hospital of St Cross where we sampled the ‘wayfarers dole’ and saw the alms houses where lay brothers still live. We then walked the pilgrims’ route into Winchester via the tiny church of St Swithunupon- Kingsgate. We had a tour of the Cathedral and saw chantry chapels, the shrine of St Swithun, and a stunning medieval wall painting. We then headed to Netley Abbey; a 13th Century Cistercian monastery which was dissolved in 1536, handed to Sir William Paulet and remodelled as a stately home. Finally, we ended up at Titchfield Abbey which suffered the same fate as Netley, but was remodelled to a far greater extent by Thomas Wriothesley, who made vast amounts of money out of the iconoclasm under Henry VIII.

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performing arts Lower School Cabaret

The Music and Drama departments joined forces at the end of the Spring Term to showcase the performing arts talent from pupils in First to Fourth Years. There was a whole mixture of performances from dancers to actors to solos singers and group ensembles. This occasion is made all the more special by the fact that the pupils come up with the ideas, audition and rehearse themselves, culminating in their appearance on a massive stage with hundreds of lights and microphones to deliver performances that live long in the memory. Certainly, Second Year Ross Calvert’s performance of Santa Lucia is one fine example of a performance that will be long remembered!

Godalming Festival

It was another very successful year for Churcher’s College at the Godalming Festival with students winning prizes in almost every category, including 17 pupils achieving 1st place and three trophies! More than 60 pupils entered this year, including 20 who were performing for the first time. The Festival had around 600 participants this year and offered a wide variety of classes in all disciplines of the performing arts.

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FOCUS Senior

shadowlands

Lower Sixth students Alec Murray and Kirsty Foreman were delighted to be invited along to the pre-performance week of Shadowlands at Chichester Festival Theatre. Students had the opportunity to see the technical rehearsal as well as the dress rehearsal and preview. Alec said, “This was a really exciting opportunity for me as I am usually involved as an actor, so it was great to see everything from the point of view of the production team”. Kirsty added, “Everyone was so professional and it has made me want to pursue theatre as a career even more now”.

Shadowlands was a huge success and Stacey Carty, Head of Drama, was equally impressed, “It was just a wonderful experience for our Drama students and an absolutely stunning production. I would like to thank the producer Jeremy Woodhouse, along with Hugh Bonneville, for making us feel so welcome throughout the week”.

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in other news CAPTAINS OF COLLEGE

The new Captains of College for 2019/20 have been elected at Churcher’s College. Chosen in a democratic vote amongst their peers and staff, the new Captains are Holly Milner and Ben Williams replacing the outgoing ‘Head Girl’ and ’Head Boy’, Tildy BilsberryGrass and Jake Haldenby.

In addition, the new Deputy Captains and Prefects have been selected. The Deputy Captains are Kirsty Foreman and Alec Murray, replacing the outgoing Flo Anderson and Archie Philips.

Equestrian Club

The Equestrian Club were out in force at the NSEA National Eventers Championships at Hickstead over the May Bank Holiday, with three teams qualifying in December at the regional competitions.

Megan Dyer, Phoebe Dallyn, Clemmie Foster and Bels Foster competed in the 85 Championship, while Clemmie Foster, Lucy Butcher, Emily Martin, Megan Dyer competed in the 95 Championship.

Bels Foster, Alice Robinson, Sophie Davidson, Amy Robinson represented Churcher's in the 105 Championship. The girls all jumped brilliantly and held their own against schools from all over the country. They should be very proud and all looked immaculate in their new Churcher’s College eventing silks.

Atlantic Rowing Challenge to Everest Base Camp

School Counsellor Jenny Yeates recently packed her bags and set off on two demanding expeditions.

“In the last 6 months I’ve had the opportunity to take on two big challenges in memory of my daughter, Lucy-Anne – sailing across the Atlantic, then trekking to Everest Base Camp. After having a double lung/liver transplant she spent five months in hospital. During this time, she pushed incredibly hard to get her new lungs working - sadly, this didn’t happen, she died last February. Both of my subsequent expeditions were incredibly cathartic. Being able to look at the expansive starry night sky with no light pollution and walking peacefully amongst the awesome mountains. I can recommend these experiences to anyone who seeks solace and headspace.” A huge well done to Jenny for her incredible achievement and inspirational story.

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FOCUS Senior GRENVILLE record breakers

A special mention must go to Grenville’s First Years who have worked incredibly hard both individually and collectively and succeeded in breaking the Grenville charity money raising record! SUDEP (Sudden Death Through Epilepsy) is a small charity, relying solely on donations like this. Through a range of activities from running 2km every day for a week and competing in a triathlon, to a sweet sale and car washing, the record breaking figure stands at £1218.50 and counting! What an outstanding team effort and a very well done to everyone!

Grandparents’ Afternoon

Six musicians from the Second Year were selected to perform to the Grandparents that came to look around the school early in May. Whilst the Grandparents were drinking tea and eating cake, they were entertained with a lovely mixture of voice and instruments playing solos including a horn, cello, guitar and piano, alongside some fabulous LAMDA performances.

splish splash

The First Years had a fantastic time letting off some post exam steam at the New Forest Water Park!

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adventure devizes to Westminster

Celebration was tinged with tragedy over the Easter weekend as Lower Sixth students successfully completed the Devizes to Westminster (DW) International Canoe Race beating off stiff competition from schools across the UK to win the top school prize. However, this year the tragic death of one of the adult competitors at Westminster underlined just how challenging this famously gruelling canoe event is, renowned worldwide for being a severe test of skill, physical and mental stamina and planning. This is the second time Churcher’s has won the Junior Team School trophy (as well as twice for the Junior Ladies Team trophy) for this extraordinary challenge and follows months of arduous training and preparation.

Held every Easter, the DW race covers 125 miles (201 km) from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London, including 77 portages along the way. This year there were 12 double kayaks from Churcher’s with 24 boys and girls competing in the Junior Doubles race class.

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FOCUS Senior

Duke of Edinburgh’s gold Award

As the sun shone brightly, 11 students, accompanied by Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Administrator Steph Jones, travelled to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Award from Prince Michael of Kent, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Edward, Earl of Wessex. The students were among 1,000 proud young people from across the UK receiving the coveted Gold Awards which every young person worked incredibly hard to accomplish. Congratulations to: Oliver Sanders, Catriona McColl, Robert Chamberlain, Calum Bryant, Flo Anderson, Anya Pigden, Rosie Botham, Charlie Morris, Miles Prosser, Ryan Wilkinson and Hannah Cordall.

ten tors

In May we embarked on the Ten Tors Challenge with the largest combined group of students for many years, with three 35 mile challenge teams and two 45 mile challenge teams.

Unlike previous years, the weather would set a different kind of challenge as it was so hot that dehydration and heat stroke were a serious concern.

OSCA

The Rother Valley Expedition in March proved yet another success!

There was a lot of smoke, a bit of rain, a lot of giggling, a lot of detours and a lot of burnt potatoes, but all in all, every Oscaneer got something out of it and both days ended up with big smiles all round. Water Craft allowed us all to get wet, suntanned and to experience either too much wind or not enough – in true outdoor style. Some of the rafts were solid and safe enough to allow the paddlers to go quite far from the shore, whereas others barely made it one metre away; but each and every one had style! At Camp Craft we all realised that patience is key when trying to light a fire with just the natural ingredients found nearby and a striker.

Despite a lack of rabbits this year, Oscaneers were still able to skin a few, prepare them, roast them on an open fire and enjoy the flavour with a vegetable casserole whilst others had the delight of a steamed trout, followed by home baked apple crumble al fresco.

With the course issued the day before, the groups set about frantically working out their routes, looking at every contour, checkpoint and path along the way. By the end of the day the groups were ready, route decided, kit checked and plans finalised ready for an early start. As Saturday dawned everyone was up early to make their way through Okehampton camp to the start. The start of the Ten Tors is a unique experience; thousands of challengers and staff stand on the hill awaiting the start. With the sight of two Royal Navy Merlin helicopters passing low through the valley as two field guns fired, the Ten Tors Challenge had begun.

Students from across the country poured down into the valley and into the distance, hopefully in the right direction!

Midway through the morning on Sunday, as parents and staff gathered at the finish, the first Churcher’s team came in, shortly followed by the rest. As they passed the finish line, applauded by hundreds of supporters, the sense of relief was evident from the challengers. With blistered feet and sore backs, the students finished by waving the Churcher’s flag high! A tough challenge for the students and staff but one of the most rewarding for all involved. A huge congratulations to all the students on their achievements.

FOCUS • 21

D&T D&T Exhibition

Early in May, the doors of the gym were thrown open to welcome students, parents and staff to the GCSE & A Level Product Design Open Evening. The culmination of months of hard work, both in lesson and extra-curricular time, this evening showcases the hundreds of painstakingly created components brought together into completed projects of which our students should be so rightly proud.

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FOCUS Senior

ART

A LEVEL

One of our Sixth Form Art students has brought a family connection to her A Level coursework in the form of her Grandad! Peter Langrish was in Nelson House at Churcher's during the 1920s and 30s and still talks of his school days with very fond memories. Fast forward nearly a century and he has become the perfect model for Granddaughter Emily, we think you’ll agree the likeness is striking!

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l o o

in or

ju

h c s

What a Busy Term! nt Year 2 lear icity about electr ed at ig st ve in and circuits

MINDFUL MOMENTs

Year 4 have been joining in with Class Dojo’s Mindful Moment live lessons. We learnt that we all have thoughts and feelings. We can hold these thoughts and feelings in a ship and we are the captain. Sometimes the ship sails on a flat ocean, where we feel happy. Sometimes we may come across big waves or strong emotions that may make us feel sad or angry. We need to be mindful and aware of these feelings and sail our ship safely through the waves.

We can do this by breathing deeply or taking a moment to think about calming the waves down. Also we LOVED the message on her T-shirt “BE KIND!”

THE feudal system PYRAMID

Year 4 have been learning all about The Normans. We have enjoyed learning all about the Battle of Hastings, Motte and Bailey Castles, the Doomsday Book and the Feudal System. As much as possible, history lessons have been taught through drama to bring the stories alive. In this lesson we created the feudal system pyramid with each child taking on the role of a person living after 1066. In this way each child is involved and active in their own learning.

augmented reality

Year 4 have been learning from using augmented reality apps such as the Curiscope Virtuali Tee (learning about inside out bodies) or Zookazam (learning about wild animals).

The children have been researching, planning and creating nature documentaries about wild animals and looking at ZooKazam was one of the ways that the children learnt about their animal’s habitat and life cycle. The children finally used iMovie to create their three minute documentaries. The children produced some detailed and expertly written nature documentaries. It is so engaging for children to use tech to learn but also for them to be able to use tech creatively to show their understanding. David Attenborough would have been very proud of their efforts!

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FOCUS Junior

Year 5 Cam Model

s

AZTEC PRINTING

Year 5 have been working on creating Aztec printing blocks using lino tiles and polystyrene blocks, working in pairs to develop more complex designs.

BLUES and shoes Year 3 Anglo- Saxons

have invaded!

Year 4 have discovered their ‘Blue Period’ and have painted very sad images of themselves busking on the street! Then they became shoe designers and created fantastic prototype shoes, slippers and boots using a range of materials.

FOCUS • 25

ir es

s s e

o t s

c c u

s

Two Second Year boys were part of the victorious Alton RFC U13 team who swept all before them to win the prestigious Hampshire Cup this season. Will Hewett and Fergus Weatherhead, who form a formidable second row partnership, along with their Alton team, beat Winchester RFC U13s 25-15 in a bruising final in March to round off a magnificent campaign.

Churcher’s is extremely proud to celebrate a musical first for the College thanks to two Upper Sixth Musicians. Bella Herraman-Stowers and Elizabeth Turner have both been awarded their ABRSM Level 4 Diploma in Music Performance with Distinction for singing, the first Churcher’s students to achieve this highly acclaimed qualification. Both girls are accomplished Grade 8 musicians, in flute and violin respectively, who began their musical journeys at Churcher’s College Junior School. In addition to performing in a wide range of College choirs and ensembles they were both members of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain.

We are proud to report of further success in the pool for our Synchronised Swimmers! At the recent South East Regional Synchronised Swimming competition Izzy Jupe competed in the 15-18 team for Portsmouth and District, who won gold medals. Lucy Mackay and Millie Morris were competing in the 13-15 team and they also won gold medals. Both teams will be competing at the National Synchro Combo Cup at the London Aquatic Centre in July, and with 114 teams entered the competition will be fierce!

First Years Anabelle Hewett and Lettie Moffat represented the Hampshire Hunt Pony Club at the Pony Club National Quiz Competition in April. The competition was fought by 19 winning teams from 345 clubs around the country. They tested their knowledge across a wide range of equestrian topics, and were in competition for over four hours. Anabelle and Lettie were the junior members of the team of four who finished fourth in the finals, an amazing achievement after a lot of hard work and commitment!

26 • FOCUS

Second Year Natalia Ivanov continues to fly high with her pole vaulting, recently competing at the English Schools’ Track and Field Cup. Looking ahead to a Summer of competing in the English Schools and National Competitions, she is on great form having recently achieved a PB or 3m at the Portsmouth Schools’ Cup.

FOCUS Junior

learning outdoors tics Year 1 Outdoor acroba Rainy days are so much fun!

Year 2 enjoyed learni ng all about camp fires along with some tasty treats

We love exploring the

sensory garden

ail

Year 1 Learning about shadows in science

venture tr ying the ad Year 1 enjo

FOCUS • 27

out and about

british museum

Year 6 enjoyed a day of learning at the British Museum, supplementing their classwork on Ancient Egypt. Armed with iPads for gathering information the children met King Nebamun and his family, analysed hieroglyphs with the help of the Rosetta Stone, identified the clothes Ancient Egyptians wore and studied the mummified remains of important Egyptians and their pets. Statues from the period were also analysed and scoured for symbols and carvings.

The gruesome process of mummification was fascinating, including the tools to remove the brains and organs to put in canopic jars, ready for the natron salt to dry the body and the embalming oils to preserve it.

The children thoroughly enjoyed their experiences at the British Museum and their understanding of the world of Ancient Egypt has progressed because of their exposure to the artefacts.

Sustainability

Year 3 spent sunny May Day at the Sustainability Centre in East Meon learning about the challenges some people face sourcing clean water around the world.

They discovered ecosystems during a pond dipping activity, hunted for mini beasts in their woodland micro habitats and learnt about taking small steps to achieve a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

28 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior french trip

At the end of April, Year 6 pupils enjoyed a trip to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage in Normandy. Students and staff had an amazing time - great memories that will stay with all of us for a long time. We had a great start as we arrived earlier than planned and were blessed with good weather throughout our stay!

As soon as we arrived, we visited the aquarium, where we saw and learnt a lot about wonderful sea creatures.

The next day, we all woke up super excited and couldn’t wait to get started with our action-packed day! In the morning we visited a traditional French bakery where the children enjoyed making their own bread. The best thing was eating them, they were delicious!

For lunch we were treated to mouthwatering crêpes salées! We then headed off to Opalaventure, where we experienced the thrills of tree trails and zip wires.

In the morning of our third day we went to a traditional French market. Afterwards we made the most of the glorious weather with a picnic at the beach. In the afternoon the children quickly mastered the skills required for sand sailing, and it did not take long until they started racing across the beach!

On the final day we visited a Primary school. Here the children spent time getting to know their pen pals.

It was fascinating to see our students reflect on their communication skills and how important it is to learn another language.

Before going back home we visited a World War I cemetery where we remembered the fallen heroes.

Hampton Court

In March, Year 5 set off for an exciting day at Hampton Court Palace. We learnt about King Henry VIII, visited various areas of the Palace and took part in two organised sessions – one to the Royal Kitchens and one called Mathematics Mayhem. The children learned all sorts of facts about the way hundreds of people were catered for every day. Some of us were even led up a private stairway to the Great Hall – taking the same route many of Henry’s servants used to serve the food!

Year 1 Trip to

St Peter's Ch

urch

FOCUS • 29

Junior Sport

rugby and hockey Tournament News

It has been a busy term for the Sports Department with the Oakwood U10 Rugby 7s Tournament and the PGS U8 Hockey and Rugby Festivals.

For the U8s the rain thankfully held off and although it was a blustery afternoon the children got stuck in and had a fantastic time showcasing their talents after all their hard work in games and clubs this term.

Meanwhile, continuing the run of CCJS tournament success in rugby this term, the U10s pulled out all the stops and put in a strong performance against tough opposition. For the B Team, an afternoon of hard work and determination saw consistent improvement in performance and with a draw against Prince’s Mead and a win against PGS, the team can feel justifiably proud. For the A Team, their position in the tournament came down to the final whistle and having battled hard all afternoon, they found themselves in the final against a very strong team from Great Ballard.

Going 0-1 down early on the team fought back and with the score 2-2 going into the final minute, a late try from Adam Hodges secured the win and the tournament victory!

30 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior

Girls’ Cricket Taster

Very well done to all the girls who took part in the cricket taster sessions this term. With so much energy, enthusiasm and some fantastic skills on display, we’re very much looking forward to the start of girls’ cricket next term! A huge thank you to Duncan and Dave from Grayshott Cricket Club for putting on such a fun introduction to a new sport for the girls.

U11 Rugby Tournament

Sailing regatta

For the third year in a row, the Upper School sent sailors to Weymouth for the annual IAPS U11 Regatta in May. Following the successful win by Ollie Williams and Poppy Kilpatrick last year, there was an air of anticipation, nerves and excitement in the build up to the event, especially as this time we had two boats competing.

With glorious weather for the spectators, there was unfortunately not much wind for the competitors and so despite their best efforts the conditions for racing were tough. After three races per team, Charlie Williams and Georgie Stratton-Brown came 11th overall with Alice Chrismas and Eddie Jordan coming in close behind in 18th. As a team, the 2 boats from CCJS finished in a very respectable 2nd place overall. A fantastic result and well done to all the children!

first ever Girls' Cricket Tournament

On Wednesday the U11 girls played in their first prep schools cricket tournament at Farnborough Hill School. At this beautiful setting, Churcher’s were one of four teams competing. First up, they played a very experienced Farleigh side and though they were defeated, much was learned. This was clear to see in their second game against St. Swithun’s, where the girls recorded a resounding victory. Their final game was a defeat to Farleigh’s B team; though with a very respectable score line. We’re really proud of all the efforts by the girls; some awesome catches and cracking 4s and 6s. Bring on the next game!

FOCUS • 31

Welcoming visitors

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32 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior

summer open day

grandparents

afternoon

Farm Visit

We were very fortunate to have the farm come to visit us as part of our Animal Life Cycles topic.

FOCUS • 33

learning through play

34 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior Superhero Day

Our learning in the Summer Term has been based around Superheroes. To mark the end of the unit, we held a Superhero Day. The children dressed up, cracked codes, did some cooking and completed a Superhero training camp!

RECEPTION

Magic Medicine

In Reception, the children learn through their interests. One of the children brought in a copy of ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ and we read it as a class. Afterwards, the children decided to create their own medicines using things they could find around the classroom.

Globe Learning

In Reception Class, children learn through their interests.

After reading a book called ‘Letters from Dorset’, Mrs Pendry explained where in the world we live and looked at other countries we have visited.

Swimming

Reception have been enjoying their swimming lessons at the Senior School.

Cookery

Reception have been enjoying weekly cookery sessions to run alongside their Food and Healthy Eating Topics. Who doesn’t love to lick the spoon?!

FOCUS • 35

MUSIC AND DRAMA

High Hurlands VISITORS

We had a very special afternoon of music when the residents of High Hurlands came to enjoy some musical performances. Year 5 put on an intimate concert and it was fantastic to see the residents singing and clapping along with the children. What a valuable experience for everyone involved.

36 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior

Infant Concert

On a hot Summer’s evening the Infants took the roof off with a dazzling show full of music and dance. With colourful outfits they lit up the stage while singing hits from Annie and Matilda.

We saw such young talent as our instrumentalists bravely took to the stage to perform a variety of solo and group pieces.

Everybody loved seeing our young ballet stars showing off their moves to music from Bambi. It was a wonderful evening. Thank you, Infants!

Shakespeare WORKSHOP

The first week back after the Easter and Year 5 were thrown into the excitement of a Tudor play. As part of their Drama and History curriculum, they all took part in a very animated and interactive Shakespeare workshop. In two hours they had performed the whole of Macbeth and they buzzed with the excitement of it all for the rest of the day. Excellent miming, chanting and acting throughout. Well done, Year 5.

THREE OF A KIND performance

Parents and teachers weren’t seeing double but in triplicate as Year 4 performed their production of Three of a Kind. Led by the Three Bears, groups of threes from storybook land took to the stage to find the missing baby bear. The audience watched at the Three Blind Mice and Three Billy Goats Gruff were joined by more modern ‘threes’ such as Woody, Buzz and Jessie and Harry, Ron and Hermione. Thankfully, Baby Bear was found and the children sang and acted with energy and big smiles, clearly demonstrating their confidence on stage.

FOCUS • 37

we love stories

ng to the amazing Year 2 We enjoyed listeni r 6 children Yea by n stories writte

38 • FOCUS

FOCUS Junior

WORLD book day

book busters

Book Busters Club had a great trip out to One Tree Books. Their mission was to buy some picture books aimed at older Junior School children. They enjoyed browsing the children’s section and succeeded in buying some beautiful picture books like The Night Gardener

by Terry Fan. Afterwards, they enjoyed cake and drinks from the cafe, they also chose a junior novel to read and review for the school library. Thank you to all the team at One Tree Books for making us so welcome.

e stories ildren wrot The 'big' ch to share (N) for us

FOCUS • 39

Henry VII’s Foreign Policy:

an exercise in failure?

BY DR JAMES ROSS, SENIOR LECTURER AT WINCHESTER UNIVERSITY

WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2019 4.30 - 5.30PM

CHURCHER’S COLLEGE | LECTURE THEATRE