Gryphon Newsletter Autumn 2015/2016

@ Gryphon

AUTUMN 2015

SIXTH FORM STUDENTS IN RWANDA Rain doesn’t stop play at Carey Camp

ONE MINUTE WITH THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS Sherborne Literary Festival at The Gryphon School

Photograph courtesy of the Western Gazette

2.

Don Mildenhall MBE Governor of The Gryphon School

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE 2015 Our Annual Remembrance Service was held on 11 November in partnership with the Old Fosterians. The Roll of Honour was read by the President of the Old Fosterians’ Association, Mike Goode, and wreaths were laid at the Honours Boards which have been moved to a more prominent position in the School’s Conference Centre. Here they can be seen on a daily basis by our students.

We will remember them.

Headteacher’s

Welcome Welcome to our new style newsletter. I do hope you will enjoy reading about the myriad events here and of the successes of your children. I’m sure you agree we offer a wide range of opportunities both within and beyond the curriculum and we hope this will give you a sense of how much is going on each term. It is the first of our newsletters which will be sent to you electronically; please let us know what you think.

As you know the students’ welfare and their education comes first at The Gryphon School and we are enormously proud of our students. I always particularly enjoy our Abbey Prize Giving Ceremony (see Page 5) which is a celebration of their achievements and of all their hard work and that of their teachers and of you, the parents and carers who support them. Thank you for your ongoing support.

We are now preparing for the School production, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and for the Carol Service.

Reports on those events will be in our next newsletter. We are coming to the end of a very long term and I know the students and staff are all looking forward to the break. I would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and look forward to welcoming the students back in the New Year refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.

Steve Hillier Headteacher

This year we were joined by Major Steve Jones AFC AAC who is currently based at Yeovilton. Major Jones, who has served in Afghanistan, spoke about his personal view on remembrance. For him he said it was a personal, emotional journey. It brings to mind those that have gone before and specifically those that have not returned. He said that throughout conflicts that have been ongoing during his lifetime a total of 1,749 servicemen and women have lost their lives while fighting for this country. He told us in which conflicts those lives were lost and that in total, 1,273,819 lives have been lost in the service of our country since the start of the First World War. ‘To me’, he said. ‘it is important to remember their sacrifice; it is their sacrifice that enables me to stand here talking freely to you......When I remember, I mourn their loss and I remember that for our tomorrow, they gave their today.’

Nicki Edwards - Deputy Headteacher

Don Mildenhall, who was one of our longest serving governors, died in August at the age of 89. He was a great supporter of

services to journalism. He was a governor of both the Lord Digby’s Grammar School and Foster’s Grammar School before they both

Sherborne and The Gryphon. He regularly attended Governor Meetings and over the years made a huge and important contribution to The Gryphon School. Don had a great sense of humour, a sharp mind and a kind considerate persona. He always had a polite and positive welcome for everyone.

closed and he became a governor here at The Gryphon. As has been reported in the local press, he was much loved and respected and deeply involved in the community life of Sherborne right up until his death. All of us at The Gryphon School would like to add our tribute to the many that have already been made. He was a wonderful man and we miss him deeply.

Don was a former editor of the Western Gazette and in 1999 was made an MBE for

Steve Hillier - Headteacher

One minute with… the Chair of Governors, Nigel Rees

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS AND HOBBIES? Primarily walking and sailing. I love driving as well, especially a large vehicle.

WHAT CAN YOU BRING TO THE GOVERNING BODY?

WHAT IS YOUR JOB? I retired from HSBC Bank in August 2014.

Over my 40 year career I have been a Branch and Lending Manager in Sherborne, Yeovil, Blandford, Dorchester and Weymouth as well as a variety of other management roles across Dorset and nationally. My role for 10 years before retirement was the management of High Risk and Problem Lending to Corporate borrowers across Southern England. For many years I have tutored banking students, and after retirement I continue to be a lecturer for ifs University College, London. I am also a professional yacht skipper and powerboat instructor/skipper.

Skills in negotiation, financial assessment, strategic planning and implementation, clear thinking, strategic and personal management of individuals and resources.

A very strong level of integrity, honesty, a desire to always be fair in all dealings with others, and a deep knowledge, experience and wisdom that comes from effective and practical governance in education over the thirty years I have been a governor in an FE College, Primary School, Fosters and Digby’s, and The Gryphon.

WHAT IS THE WORST JOB YOU’VE DONE? That’s a difficult one. The most demoralising (and probably therefore the worst) was as a Saturday Shop Assistant at a supermarket in central Reading when I was a teenager. You had to wear a small blue badge which indicated you were Casual Saturday Staff.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?

WHEN ARE YOU HAPPIEST?

We moved to Yetminster in 1987, my three daughters attended St Andrews, Yetminster and all went on to The Gryphon School. The eldest is married and now teaches PE at two primary schools in West Sussex after having two children. Our middle daughter is also married with two children, and is a paediatric staff nurse in Yeovil. Our youngest daughter lives and works in Bristol as a Physiotherapist. My wife retired as a Primary Teacher from Thornford a few years ago.

Being with my wife walking, sailing or at home, and/or with my daughters and grandchildren.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW? On a sailing yacht in the British Virgin Islands.

WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY, AND WHY? May 2005. When my father-in-law died.

Questions were posed by The Gryphon School Council

3.

Lego Club

Carey Camp O

nce again students in their first few weeks in Year 7 headed off for the traditional Gryphon ‘Carey Camp‘ trip. Coaches were loaded with sleeping bags, rucksacks, welly boots and excited children bound for adventure in the wilds of Wareham Forest. The trip allows Year 7 students the chance to make friends in their tutor group and to feel a part of their new school.

Everybody had a go kayaking and great fun was had by all with most of the students enjoying getting very wet trying to do a seal slide entry off an island in the middle of the lake.

Our Teacher’s a Troll Our Key Stage 3 production of ‘Our Teacher’s a Troll’ by Dennis Kelly was a fantastic opening to The Gryphon Arts Festival 2015 last term. The Years 7, 8 and 9 students involved worked brilliantly as a team to put this production together in such a short space of time. They put 100% effort into every rehearsal and showed how talented our younger students really are.

The performance was an exciting ensemble storytelling style which saw the students perform for the entire show, never leaving the stage. This is an extremely hard style to perform yet the students conquered it outstandingly. Particular congratulations go to Tom Forrest, who was in Year 9 at the time, who had to perform as a Troll for over an hour; not an easy task!

Holly Young - Drama

All the groups enjoyed some lovely weather and had some great campfires and singsongs under the stars. As ever the food at the centre is plentiful and I don’t think anybody went hungry! For most of the students (and staff) the greatest adventure is building and sleeping in their own shelter which they construct in the pine woods at the top of the centre. Good team work is crucial. The students are given a couple of pieces of tarpaulin, a few pegs and string and, over an hour or two, need to make a proper watertight shelter which will protect them from the elements. Not easy to do and the weather was not always on our side!

The woods late at night are dark and a bit scary but everybody managed to make it

through until morning; enjoyed themselves and were proud and pleased that they had done it! I have been involved with the Carey Camp trip for more years than I care to remember but this was one of the most enjoyable I have ever been on. The students were a delight; great fun to be with and a credit to the School and the Year Group. My thanks to the staff who volunteer their time and sacrifice their sleep!

Steve Fox – Head of Year 7

Upcycled This is the funky, upcycled festival wear created by some Year 9 Textiles students on B&E Day. They used donated, unwanted clothes and the results were displayed in the window of the Sue Ryder Charity shop.

The Gryphon School Lego Club has been busy since its trip to Brick 2015. Members have participated individually in weekly quick build competitions, where the ‘Master Builders’ have challenged them to ‘build a boat’ or ‘build a car’ with the winner gaining much kudos. They have also developed team and communication skills through building as part of a three man team, based on proven Lego Therapy Techniques. These techniques require one person to have the instructions, the second person to have all the parts and the third member to be the builder. The engineer gives instructions to the supplier, who provides the bricks to the builder! This can result in some interesting models, which bear only a slight resemblance to the picture, the whole process helps to develop communication skills. The Club has built St Mary’s Church, Kingston Deverill, helped in part by funds from Sherborne Rotary Club. This model will be broken up in November so the parts can be re-used for the next big build. With the help of the new Year 7s, the Club will move on to build a scaled model of Sherborne Abbey, which has provided a grant for that purpose – so please watch this space. If you have any old Lego at home that is no longer needed please let us have it; the Lego Club will put it to good use.

Geoff Cooke – Lego Club

Students’ artwork at the Yeatman Hospital The Gryphon School Art & Photography Department has had the privilege to be involved in a community art project, producing artworks for the patient day room at the Yeatman Hospital, Sherborne.

This project has been generously funded by NADFAS sponsorship. The artworks have been created by a team of Year 12 A Level Fine Art students under the guidance of Mike Fenton-Wilkinson, Head of Art & Photography and the students are immensely proud of their involvement in this project. Further artwork will be produced for the hospital in the future.

L to R: Amethyst Fryer, Joey Lee, Anne Hiscock (Matron, with artwork created by Martha Solloway), Mike Fenton-Wilkinson, Eloise Reeves Meredith Holliday, Lily Wadham

www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

Gryphon Pride On two mornings in October Year 8 visited mosques in Bristol. We were able to explore the mosques, noting the key features including the minarets and minbars. We were given an informative talk from a member of the British Muslim Cultural Society about Islam in Britain.

The students were encouraged to ask questions and did so thoughtfully and maturely allowing for a discussion on the effect of the Paris terrorist attacks. As always, the students were well behaved and a credit to the School.

Gryphon Pride is part of the UK Pride Youth Network. Our aim is to promote equality and inclusion, provide support and develop our community. We want LGBT people to feel represented within the school and wider community. We do this by taking part in regional and national events as well as raising awareness of LGBT issues within school. Gryphon Pride meets Wednesday lunchtimes in SC5.

As part of Anti-Bullying Week in November the Gryphon Pride group held an ‘edu-bake and celecake’ competition. Students from all Year Groups were invited to bake equality-themed cakes, which will be entered into a nationwide competition coordinated by “Educate & Celebrate” (a national charity that we are working with this year). Mrs Baxter and Mrs Elsworth kindly judged The Gryphon School’s entries; third place went to Emily Townsend Y7, second to Sophie Read Y8, with

first place going to Finley Niblock Y7. The cakes were all sold one lunchtime making a brilliant £63.

The money raised will be used to

fund Gryphon Pride’s creation of their very own flag, and any funds left over will be given to charity.

Earlier in the term two students attended the Dorset Anti-Bullying Conference in Dorchester. They attended workshops exploring internet safety, why it can sometimes be difficult to talk to adults when you are being bullied, as well as issues experienced by those who identify as LGBT. Catherine Moore - Gryphon Pride

Late last term ‘Hotel Inspector’ and ‘Fixer’ Alex Polizzi came into school to talk to a group of 25 Year 10 Business/Economics students. Alex gave a fascinating insight into her own background and the bakery business she runs with her husband, Marcus. She went on to talk about some of her experiences making ‘The Hotel Inspector’ and ‘The Fixer’ as well as a future TV project yet to be screened. The students asked a wide variety of businessrelated questions and were rewarded with very candid responses, characteristic of Alex.

Nicki Hester - Head of Business

A new initiative to challenge further students has been launched in the South West. It is called Challenge Plus and involves many schools in the area including The Gryphon School. Challenge Plus working towards exceptional achievement – held its first event at the Castle School in Taunton.

The theme of the day was a topic of law – a Moot Point. Following a talk pupils were divided into groups (working with students from other schools) to prepare presentations on a connected topic. Nine Gryphon students took part with notable performances from Oskar Maitland, Alan Flechon, Harry Yeatman and Cameron Mckinnon.

Harry’s team finished second overall and Cameron’s team was first. All the students represented The Gryphon impeccably, and all held their own with around 100 extremely able pupils from all over the region. Further events will be held throughout the year.

Anthony Otto - Challenge Plus Co-ordinator

Harvest 2015 Thank you for your generous harvest donations once again this year. In total, 906 items of food were given to The Lord’s Larder by the School Community. The Larder donates food parcels to people in need in the local area. Ten pupils from Key Stage 3 helped to deliver the donations and spent some time finding out how the Larder operates. All of them were surprised by how small the Larder itself is and the amount of food that is given out.

Last year 65,074 items of food were donated and distributed to 2717 Adults and 1458 children. 898 families were helped and 2931 parcels given out.

Christmas Shoebox Appeal

The Trussell Trust works with some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Bulgaria. Each Christmas they give out thousands of shoeboxes filled with presents to those with whom they work. Because of the generosity of the Gryphon Community, an extra 133 will be added to that number this year! People of all ages receive boxes, ranging from Roma people living in freezing conditions and struggling to survive, to abandoned and orphaned children living in state care. Christmas boxes help the Trussell Trust to build relationships with recipients so they can continue to help with longer term projects in future. Thank you for your generous support of this initiative which will transform Christmas for so many people this year.

Diane Tregale - Chaplain

Little Gryphons

4.

Little Gryphons invited PCSO Simon Wakely, a community police officer with the Sherborne Safer Neighbourhood Team, to talk to them to help the children learn about different occupations and ways of life. He brought a police car and allowed the children to sit in it, and even let them try on his police hat.

THE DORSET GARDENS TRUST, which has funded improvements for the Little Gryphons Forest School, has presented the Nursery with a plaque. The £400 grant enabled the Nursery to buy a large tent to be used as an outdoor classroom. They have also been able to buy wood and compost for raised beds, bug hotels to encourage wildlife, bird boxes, birdfeeders and bulbs and seeds.

Dawn Brown, Forest School Practitioner at Little Gryphons Nursery said, ‘We have an abundant array of wildlife in our Forest School area and are always finding new things to observe. Last year we found a mystery object which we sent into BBC’s Springwatch.

We had a lovely letter from them explaining that it was an empty moth chrysalis and a really good find!’

Sally Prout and Trudy Miller Co-Managers at Little Gryphons Nursery said ‘This grant has been invaluable to us, allowing all our children to thrive and explore the Forest School area. We would like to thank the Dorset Gardens Trust for its support’.

Sally Prout and Trudy Miller Little Gryphons Co-Managers

Sherborne Literary Festival 2015

Rwanda 5.

The Gryphon School was the centre for school events as a part of the very successful Sherborne Literary Festival again this year. We had over 100 Gryphon students attending events as well students from Leweston and Sherborne Girls’ School.

As part of the Literary Festival’s Wildlife Day, Dr Simon Cripps CEO of Dorset Wildlife Trust held a ‘Café Scientifique’ for students entitled ‘Who failed to save our oceans?’ This was an interactive event and debate based on Simon’s career as a marine biologist in many countries. Teen fiction author Virginia Bergin talked to our Year 8 students about her ‘distinctly British dystopian survival thrillers’ and signed books for students afterwards. ‘How to deal with a blank page’ was tackled by renowned novelist, Lulu Taylor, who held workshops on creative writing with Years 10 to 13. For the Sixth Form, Middle East expert Diana Darke held a seminar on the current situation in Syria and a student from Oxford University, Emilli Belli, talked about her passion for studying Literature at university.

We are also proud to announce that Sophie Ward, Year 12, won the Youth Short Story Competition out of entries from all Sherborne Schools in The Literary Festival competition. Many thanks to Lucy Beney, Schools Liaison Co-ordinator, who helped to organise these events, and a big congratulations and thank you to all the students who took part.

Karen Baney - English

ABBEY CELEBRATION Terry Fisher Photography

One of the highlights of the Autumn Term is our formal Prize Giving Ceremony in Sherborne Abbey where The Gryphon School’s Years 11 and 13 students’ achievements are celebrated. This year the awards were presented by Chief Constable Debbie Simpson of Dorset Police. She said she wanted to pass on to students some of the things she has learnt over the course of her career. That, she said, included not judging someone else’s achievement as your failure and knowing an opportunity when you see it.

Headteacher, Mr Steve Hillier said, ‘This is always a wonderful occasion.

We are delighted to recognise our students’ fantastic achievements. I am so proud of them all. We are very grateful to Chief Constable Debbie Simpson for joining us and for presenting the awards.’

ate last term eight Sixth Form students and a teacher from The Gryphon School together with a team from Sherborne Girls’ School travelled to Rwanda on a visit organised by the Amakuru Trust, a local charity dedicated to helping vulnerable people in Rwanda. They visited many of the projects and learnt about the genocide that devastated the country 21 years ago by visiting memorial sites and talking to survivors. One of the highlights of the trip was teaching in the Excel Nursery and Primary School; the enthusiasm of Rwandan students was amazing as was that of our students. Some youngsters in Rwanda walk (or run in some cases!) up to 5 km in order to attend school – families see education as the way for them to escape poverty. Another emotional day was spent in two street children’s centres where students led and joined in the activities after hearing some of the horrific stories of life on the streets. The street children put on sketches as well as singing and dancing for their visitors and Gryphon students certainly joined in! The delegation even met the Minister of State for Education in Rwanda and put a number of probing questions to him and his policy advisor about the future of education in Rwanda. The delegation is now in the process of giving presentations to other students in the school and to community groups. It was a life-enhancing experience for all.

L

Mike Hayes Founder and Projects Director, Amakuru Trust

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For me the most moving experience was walking into the nursery school in Kinyinya village. The children come from very poor homes but it was amazing to see how happy they were to see us and to even be at school!

Matt Loxton

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An inter-school debate involving over 50 students of all Year Groups proved extremely popular. The final speeches were particularly impressive with our Year 13 students, who elected themselves as speakers, doing a fantastic job. The speakers were Will Edwards, Henry Straughan, Freya Hoppe and Louisa Carey.

6. MUSIC Autumn Concert A massive well done to all who performed in the Autumn School Concert at the end of November.

The final standing ovation from the audience was very well-deserved.

Highlights included a flute and bassoon duet by Eleanor Carr and Soloman Keedle-Isack, a guitar duet

by Izzy Fielding and Elmo Barratt, and a piano duet by Emma Dawson and Callum Henry.

The audience particularly enjoyed Rory Baird’s ‘whip’ effect solos within ‘Sleighride’!

Thank you to Ed Walters and Miss Dodgson for the very professional Powerpoint and to Miss Elsworth and her catering team for the superb half-time refreshments. Our thanks to Paul and Eli from ESP and Neil Burroughs for the faultless sound and lighting production.

Finally thank you to all our peripatetic teachers for their commitment.

British Legion Remembrance Fundraiser On 12 November, Sherborne Abbey hosted a Remembrance Commemorative concert organised by the British Legion to raise much needed funds for ex-servicemen. Students from 10 local schools took part, offering a wide variety of music performed by a selection of soloists, choirs and instrumental ensembles. Isobel Swann admirably represented The Gryphon School, singing a stunning and moving interpretation of ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ from the musical ‘Les Misérables’ to an appreciative audience.

Alumni Alumni Alumni

REBECCA BEVAN

“I could not be more grateful for the support I received throughout my seven years at The Gryphon School.”

Battle of the Bands

RHYS MUMFORD

This year’s Battle of the Bands was another well-fought competition with five bands competing for the title. The judge, Jo Burt, who has played bass guitar with legendary band ‘Black Sabbath’ among others, very kindly offered the winning band the prized opportunity to support him in concert at the Digby Hall in Sherborne on 11 December. Jo was impressed with the standard achieved by all competing bands, but eventually, after a close competition, trio ‘Nerves’ were the winners. (Band members Jacob Hughes on drum kit, Alistair Chester on lead guitar and vocals, and Niall Holden on bass guitar).

It’s been a varied few years since leaving The Gryphon in 2003. It began with reading Chinese Studies at Oxford University: a brilliant subject which I still think is one of the most interesting things you can study at university. After working in the UK for a year or so my wife and I relocated to Taiwan, where I began by teaching English before getting a job as a newsreader and advert copywriter for ICRT radio - Taiwan’s English-language radio station.

After three and a bit years in Taiwan we returned to the UK where I worked as a pot washer for a year before doing a CELTA qualification.

My first teaching gig in the UK was at Royal Holloway, helping international students to prepare for their undergraduate courses.

After that I got a job as an EAL teacher at an international school in Belgium - the British School of Brussels - which is where you’ll find me now.

Music Transition Project This term The Gryphon School hosted a new venture – a music transition project for 47 Year 6 and Year 5 students from local primary schools and seven Year 7 Gryphon students working in close collaboration with five members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The theme chosen for this project was ‘Pirates of Poole Harbour’, and students were organised into different instrumental groupings to perform and compose suitably atmospheric music for each part of a pre-agreed story. Sincere thanks to Chris Block and to Dorset Music Service for enabling the whole venture to go ahead, and to Jon, Chris, Andy, and Paedar for their superb musical leadership, input and inspiration throughout the day.

Val Mizen - Head of Music

Alumni

Alumni Alumni

After leaving The Gryphon School in 2012 I went to study children’s nursing at the University of Greenwich, which meant leaving sleepy Sherborne and moving to London. October 2015 saw me graduate with a BSc (Hons) degree and start my ‘adult’ job as a paediatric nurse at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. I chose to start my career on a rotation spending the first six months on a general paediatric ward and the second six months on a gastro and surgical ward. I am fully enjoying my new job and living the dream in Chelsea! Alongside this I managed to find the time to run my second London Marathon, the first of which I completed whilst studying for my A levels at The Gryphon School.

“I remember my time at The Gryphon School for a lot of laughs and the freedom to be myself, but maybe most importantly for dedicated teachers who knew their subjects and knew how to teach them.”

BETONY CLASBY

Since leaving The Gryphon I have gained a degree in Psychology at the University of Exeter. I have just had my first research article published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation and next year I am hopefully moving to Australia to become a researcher at the Murdoch Institute for Children’s Neuroscience following a recent series of reviews I'm working on in Young Offenders. I'm also conducting a study on the levels of emotional literacy in the deaf population, and have designed a new tool for measuring emotion identification in deaf young people (the results of my pilot will hopefully be published later this year). I plan to apply for a Masters Course at Oxford University the year after that. I wouldn’t have done any of this without The Gryphon, giving me a taste of what Psychology can offer.

“I’d like to say thanks again for all the help you gave me when I was studying at The Gryphon (and beyond!). I have a lot of happy memories of my time there’’.

GWILYM LAWRENCE I left The Gryphon in 2007 with A-levels in Theatre Studies, English Literature and Philosophy and Ethics. I spent half a year teaching and travelling in Ecuador, before heading to the University of Warwick to read Theatre and Performance Studies. The degree was exactly what I wanted: three years to think, write and talk about – not to mention make – theatre and performance of all kinds.

Whilst at Warwick I realised I wanted to direct theatre professionally. After graduating, I moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and spent two years doing as many theatre projects as possible, often for little or no money. In 2013 I was lucky enough to get funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. I have just started a practice-based PhD at the University of Manchester, where I will spend three years making (and writing about) site-specific theatre, funded again by the AHRC.

“I look back on my time at The Gryphon with such fondness; I always felt encouraged to pursue my interests and to find new ways to think about things.”

A Gryphon Welcome The Gryphon Sixth Form welcomes students into its community from both near and far and it’s our priority to ensure they feel welcome and settled. This helps students to flourish both personally and academically. Some of the students who joined us from other schools have shared their experiences of joining The Gryphon:

When starting a new school it is normal to have doubts about embarking on this new adventure. The experience was made more enjoyable and less scary by new friends and teachers as well as the learning environment. There don’t seem to be any ‘groups’, and everyone mixes really well. There were many challenges to face including the huge learning curve from GCSE to A Level, but the amazing support from teachers and students who are welcoming and happy to help made this challenge easier! I am confident that The Gryphon was the perfect choice for me. As it’s a Sixth Form and not a college it is more like a family and the facilities have more than met my expectations.

The Gryphon has captured the balance of a perfect learning environment with an open-armed welcoming community. This is why I am happy I came to The Gryphon and with my first experiences of the School.

Sustainable Power Engineering Headstart Course This summer I attended a Headstart course at Lancaster University. The idea was to learn what it might be like to be an engineer and the course included a team challenge as well as lectures. My team designed a wind turbine blade.

Using our calculations, we designed a blade in SolidWorks (3D CAD software) and were then able to produce it using additive manufacture. We constructed the turbine and tested it in a wind tunnel to work out how much torque it had and how much power it could generate. At the end of the week we presented our findings to the other students as well as experts. If you are thinking about engineering as a future career, I recommend applying to a Headstart course; you learn what it’s like to be an engineer and meet some great people.

As A Level students studying German, we were lucky enough to be invited to our exchange school in Bad Kötzting, Bavaria, for a week. We were in the secondary school for four lessons a day, which allowed us to see how it was run and be a part of their lessons. Bavarian tradition is still highly valued, and we were very much integrated into German culture. We each stayed with a host family and were made to feel at home. On the day we returned home, the town was celebrating the 150th anniversary of their ‘gentlemen’s club’, which involved a huge procession through the town centre, followed by a party. Family is important to Bavarians, and being able to have conversations with them in German really helped us to feel part of their community.

Sophia Rogerson and Georgina Campbell Year 13 (they were in Year 12 at the time)

It has been a very busy start to the year in the Sixth Form, with students getting involved in everything from extra-curricular sport to work experience, paired reading to Battle of the Bands, peer mentoring and much more not to mention working hard at the same time.

Year 13 have had a ‘next steps’ focus this term, with over 140 students completing their UCAS forms under the guidance of Mrs Tutton, HE Advisor. We have run sessions on writing the ‘perfect’ personal statement as well guiding students on how to choose the right career path.

Jack Martin - Year 13

Katy Rumbelow and Joshua Pepper – Year 12

Exchange to Germany

Sixth Form

Could this be the best work experience ever?

What a week! What a crazy, crazy week! Being able to say I was a runner for Done+Dusted, filming U2 in Paris for a week is surreal. It was quite possibly the best experience of my life, and one that I will remember for years. My week was full of new learning experiences, and it’s made me appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes when filming a massive live event. Watching the director shout and scream at the cameramen was, well, different. The editing suite looked like a spaceship.

At one point I sat with the editor for 5 hours as he was doing a 36 hour shift, creating a film of the concert that Bono and The Edge would be happy with. No Sleep. No Breaks.

I’m proud to say I stood in for The Edge in rehearsal, playing his guitar, walking up and down, playing solos with it in my head, I was a rock star! I was later complimented by Bono and The Edge for my ‘good work’. Unreal! Later that day all the runners were invited to get up on stage and dance with the band, could this day get any better?! The week was one of the best experiences of my life, not only an experience of work but a true experience of life.

Meanwhile, we have welcomed Miss Harry as the new Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Year 12 Lead and Mrs Fear has joined us as Student Support Manager. Both have brought particular skills to the Sixth Form. Miss Harry has brought energy, focus and enthusiasm, as well as her clear passion for sport and team activities. The Year 12 students have settled in very well as a result of her hard work and that of all the Year 12 tutors. Mrs Fear is calm and highly organised and can be counted upon to be there for the students whenever they need help.

The team has also been meeting Year 11 students across Dorset and South Somerset at various events, including a large Careers Fair at Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum, to talk about what our Sixth Form offers. We are now welcoming applications from students hoping to join us in September 2016.

It has been a fantastic term and there is much more planned for the next.

Philippa Huggins - Head of Sixth Form

Noah McIntyre - Year 13

Sport 8.

RUGBY This year has been extremely positive with all teams competing well and performing to a high standard in the competitions that we have entered. We have continued to welcome large numbers of students to the training sessions on Thursdays, highlighting the strength in numbers we have here at The Gryphon.

This season has seen the Year 10 and Sixth

Hockey Gryphon Student gets Silver with Team GB

FOOTBALL his year we entered the boys teams from each Year Group into the English Schools FA Cup along with our Under 13 and 15 girls. Some impressive performances enabled the teams to progress through the rounds. The Under 15 girls sailed through the first two rounds with 6-1 and 8-0 victories over Bridgwater College and Holyrood Academy respectively. Unfortunately an uncharacteristic performance in the third round saw the girls knocked out by Bedminster Down.

T

Editor: Liz Oatts

The Sixth Form 1st XI made it through to the fourth round beating Frome College and Beechen Cliffe 1-0, followed by an impressive 8-1 victory over Taunton School.

This had spirits high, however we were brought back down to earth by a very impressive Millfield who were too strong for the boys.

The Year 10 boys are the only Year Group still in the competition waiting to play their fourth round match. They have had victories over Frome College 8-1 and a tough match against Norton Hill which the boys won 4-2 on penalties after the match finished all square at 4-4. We wish them luck in the fourth round.

Congratulations to Amy Northam in Year 8 who has continued to impress with her performances for Team GB in the Biathle event. During the Half-Term she travelled to Turkey to compete in the European Biathle.

Amy finished 7th individually, which was a fantastic performance, and was part of the team awarded Silver for Team GB. Well done Amy, we are all behind you and wish you every success for the future.

Boccia The two Gryphon Boccia teams travelled to Poole this term to compete in the Lord’s Taverners Under 19 National Boccia Tournament. In a fiercely competitive tournament the teams did extremely well in their first outings. Excellent precision by Harry Boulton secured an early lead in the first team's initial game. As the day continued the teams fought well against some well-practised opposition with outstanding performances from all those involved. Both teams played well and finished a very respectable 10th and 28th out of 35 teams.

Join the

and use the fitness suite for FREE! Once they have been inducted by the Sports Centre’s professional, qualified instructors Gryphon students can use the Fitness Suite for free after school Monday to Friday from 3.30-5.30pm. An induction for 13-16 year olds is for the cardiovascular equipment only and costs £7. For16 year olds and above a full induction including instruction on the safe use of the fixed weight machines is just £13. To book your induction please ask at the Sports Centre Reception or e-mail us at gryphonleisure@dorset.gov.uk .

The Gryphon School, Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ School and Sixth Form – T: 01935 813122 • F: 01935 816992 • E: office@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk • Conference Centre – T: 01935 810103 E: conference@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk Nursery – T: 01935 810112 • F: 01935 816992 • E: nursery@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk The Gryphon School is a company limited by guarantee • Registered in England with Company Number 08130468

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F: 01935 816992

The hockey season thus far has been very successful. YEAR 8 competed in a round robin tournament playing against all schools in the local area.

The third tournament brought about the crunch match that would decide all the final placings. The Year 8 Team came second overall; special mentions go to Sophie Read, Rosie Atherley, Megan Waller and Ashley Taylor for their outstanding work rate and skill.

YEAR 9 hockey team had a Cinderella season this year! After playing in Year 7 and Year 8 and never scoring a goal the team had come together this year and not only scored, but won their league matches to end up in the Somerset hockey finals. A semi-final against a very good Preston side ended in a 2-0 win. A tough final game ended in a draw and a penalty flick play off. Unfortunately theYear 9s lost out in the end but we are proud of the success so far this year.

YEAR 10 made their way to the final with ease. An early goal from Holyrood in the semi-final was the wake-up call the girls needed. They stormed to a 4-2 victory to advance to the final against Ansford. The final proved to be an end to end competitive game. The girls dug deep to bring home the win and the league winner title. Player of the Day at the Finals was Ellie Chandler.

Congratulations to them all.

Year 11 also made it to the finals for another year running. A solid league performance allowed them to breeze through the semi-final against Sexeys. In the final against Ansford the competition heated up as the skills of both teams were challenged.

Unfortunately the Year 11s were beaten in the end. However, it has been a fantastic final season of which they can be very proud.

Form Teams enter the NatWest Cup. Both of these teams have had tough runs in the competition and have progressed against strong opposition. The Sixth Form beat Gillingham and Yeovil College, eventually being knocked out by a very strong King’s College Taunton. The Year 10 team have had a very successful season. In the NatWest they beat Milton Abbey and Thomas Hardye and as teams were knocked out, it was inevitable they would come up against stronger opposition.

This arrived in the form of Millfield who are one of the strongest teams in the country.

Needless to say our team battled hard and put up a fight to the end but the technical ability of the Millfield players shone through. As a result they were entered into the NatWest Plate Competition and were drawn against Clayesmore, another tough school who proved too strong to beat. Heads can be held high by the group after their performances this term.

Elsewhere the other Year Groups have continued to build on previous years and Year 8 are certainly developing into a well organised unit under the guidance of Mr Peirson. They have played impressively against tough opposition. They secured two wins in the Sevens’ Tournament at Sherborne Prep School where they competed against Independent Schools. The Year 9 team has continued to build on 2014’s successes and was unlucky against Clayesmore in the County Cup, losing 18-0 in a game where most would have predicted a larger deficit. Finally the Year 7s are showing great promise. With a win in their final game against King Arthur’s they are becoming a strong group of players who will continue to develop over the next few years.

Sports Department