Infocus june 2016 lr

IN BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL MAGAZINE JUNE 2016

Roundup Music Exam Results Sports Fixtures Departmental Highlights

News Sixth Form Prefects Old Birkonian’s Bulletin

Achievements Epilepsy Education Award

BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL

HOLIDAY ACTIVITY COURSES Summer

October

4th - 8th July

17th - 21st October

11th - 15th July

24th - 28th October

18th - 22nd July

25th - 29th July 1st - 5th August 8th - 12th August 15th - 19th August

Book online www.birkenheadschool.co.uk/holiday-courses

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CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 3

Contents

4

Calendar

5

Welcome

7

News

8

Chaplaincy

9

Art

10 Classics 11 English 12 Drama 14 Geography 15 History 16 RS and Maths 17 Design and Technology 18 Science 20 Music 24 Sport 29 Charity

30 Co-curricular 32 Sixth Form Leavers 34 Parents’ Association 35 Ladies’ Committee 36 Old Birkonian Society

3

4

CALENDAR

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Dates for your diary: Friday 1 July 2016 End of term Tuesday 5 July 2016 Dido and Aeneas Performance, Chapel, 2.30pm and 7pm

Sunday 6 November 2016 Birkenhead School Festival of Music: Choral Society Workshop 'Come sing the Musicals', all welcome to attend.

Performance, Bushell Hall, 7pm

Sunday 10 July 2016 Rugby Tour to Namibia and South Africa (returns 25th July)

Thursday 10 November 2016 Birkenhead School Festival of Music: Guitar Workshops, 9am Birkenhead School Festival of Music with guest appearance from Pete Oxley, Bushell Hall, 7pm

Thursday 1 September 2016 Term begins

Saturday 19 November 2016 Parents' Association Christmas Bazaar, 12pm

Friday 2 September 2016 Leavers' Chapel Service, 6.30pm

Friday 16 December 2016 End of term

Saturday 3 September 2016 Old Birkonian Society Weekend

Monday 9 January 2017 Return to School

Monday 12 September 2016 Parents' Association AGM and Committee Meeting, Meeting Room, 7.30pm

Friday 17 February 2017 Half-term begins

Friday 16 September 2016 Prep Open Morning, 9.30am to 11.30am Saturday 17 September 2016 Seniors Open Day, 11am to 2pm Friday 14 October 2016 Half-term begins Little School Disco, Bushell Hall, 4pm Prep Disco Years 3-6, Bushell Hall, 6pm Monday 31 October 2016 Return to School Thursday 3 November 2016 Parents' Association Bonfire Night, Noctorum Field, 6pm

Monday 27 February 2017 Return to School Friday 31 March 2017 End of term Wednesday 19 April 2017 Summer term begins Monday 1 May 2017 Early May Bank Holiday Friday 26 May 2017 Half-term begins Monday 5 June 2017 Return to School Wednesday 5 July 2017 End of term

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WELCOME

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FROM THE HEADMASTER Welcome to summer 2016 edition of In Focus and OBS Bulletin. When you start to look at and read about what has been happening in and around School over the past year it is not surprising that this publication is considerable in length. The articles reflect activities for our youngest pupils in Nursery and Pre-Prep, through to Prep, and Seniors and include features and news from Old Birkonians from all corners of the world. There is something of interest in here for anyone associated with our School.

Earlier this term I hosted a re-union dinner for Old Birkonians who left School between 1960 and 1964. It is not difficult to calculate that many of them were over 70 years of age and quite a number of them had not set foot on the School campus for over 50 years. It was quite remarkable to listen to their memories. As part of the evening many of them took a tour of the campus and the overwhelming opinion from them was how much it had improved and how special and indeed unique it still is. Often in modern purpose built schools when you enter the building some teachers and students do not feel the fresh air again until they leave at the end of the day. Not at Birkenhead, here our eclectic range of buildings, widely spread out ensures we get out and about. It is our campus that provides the real community feel to our School. In a short period of time and over a few hundred metres, I can have moved from a service in Chapel, to a visit to our Nursery and five minutes later be

with a group of Sixth Form students debating the merits of the European Union. It all makes for a very interesting day.

As you will read our sports teams continue to excel and punch very much above their weight, our choristers and musicians sing and play to the highest of standards and, this year, our thespians took to the stage in a wonderful production of Little Shop of Horrors. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has been expanded to include the Bronze Award as a mandatory part of our Year 10 curriculum and we have seen record numbers completing the Silver and Gold Awards this year. Academically our students continue to achieve the best results on Wirral and, if value-added is also used as a measure of success, then there is no doubt we are the best performing School for both boys and girls on our peninsular. This is something of which our students and their teachers should feel extremely proud.

I look forward in September to Paul Vicars taking over as Headmaster. I know he will find Birkenhead School in good shape, and extremely welcoming to him, his wife Vicky, and their children Jack, Polly and Samuel.

David Edmunds

FROM THE HEAD OF PREP The Summer Holiday is almost upon us and it will be great to have time to reflect on this academic year and prepare ourselves for the next one. Each year brings new challenges and opportunities and it never ceases to amaze me how the staff and pupils of the Prep embrace these with such gusto.

This issue of In Focus provides an insight into some of the many things that have been going on over the last term and a half and it will make great reading for us all over the summer.

As I write, the songs of our Year 6 Musical Production, The Jungle Book, are going round in my head and the children are busy rehearsing for what will be a wonderful culmination of their time in the Prep. The children in Little School are busy preparing for their Summer Concert and so are the children in Pre-Prep. With our Sports Days and Prize-giving fast approaching, I know it’s going to be a very busy run-up to the end-of-term and the trouble with busy times is that they fly by so fast, you can forget to reflect. So, I’m delighted that this issue of In Focus is packed with memories from the last few months that will help us to reflect on the breadth of experience our pupils enjoy: our Pre-Prep pupils meeting the mounted police; World Book Day when everyone came

to school in their ‘onesies’; Bryce Edwards winning a national comic design competition and the visit of a children’s book illustrator for the whole of Year 5; Leo Sampson’s amazing year with trampoline gymnastics; memories of Year 1’s Australia topic, Year 2’s World War II workshop, Year 3’s Caribbean theme and Year 4’s Tudor studies; memories of Year 5 visiting Trinity with Palm Grove Church for an afternoon on the Easter Story and memories of our pupils’ fantastic achievements in AJIS Music and Sport.

You also have the opportunity to find out a little more about some of the extra-curricular experiences our pupils have been enjoying, through the Rocket Seeds project and through clubs in climbing, coding, needlecraft and cookery.

So, I encourage you to sit out in the sunshine this summer and have a good read of In Focus, a focused look at what’s been going on across the full age range here at School.

I wish you all a very happy Summer Holiday.

Best wishes,

Harry FitzHerbert

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NEWS

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Prefects Announced

News

Festival of Chemistry

In June Birkenhead School won the Salters’ Chemistry Festival North West University Challenge.

The event was a practical

competition for our Year 8 team, Elizabeth Hyatt, Rohan Singhal, Samarth Kumar and Luke Crocker.

The prize was presented by Professor Mathias Brust.

The Upper Sixth Prefects have been announced with Oliver Jones named as Head of School and Paul Gogerty and Connie Sturgess as Deputy Heads of School.

Dave O’Brien Anniversary Birkenhead School has had the privilege of being expertly maintained and looked after

by Dave O’Brien for an astonishing 40 years.

His care and dedication to the School has meant that the campus buildings have always been painted to the most pristine of conditions, enabling an environment where staff and pupils alike can be proud to attend.

Dave started his career at School when he was just 16 years old, coming straight from Birkenhead Institute Grammar School, to working under former Head of Maintenance, Dave Malado, helping with all kinds of work from painting to maintenance.

In 2001 the School’s main support teams – Grounds and Maintenance, became one team – the Estates Department.

Dave then became Senior Estates Worker to the Estates Manager, now Carl Williams. Carl said, “Dave is a huge asset to the team and my work would be ten times harder without him around.”

Dave met his wife Barbara and they married on 25th July 1987. Barbara, herself, has also been working at School for 23 years, as does their son Craig who started working for a summer job seven years ago and never left. The family say that they enjoy working

together as it gives them a good support network and they can share their experiences.

When he is not ensuring the smooth day to day running of the School, Dave enjoys gardening and watching football and athletics with Craig. He also enjoys walking and visiting new places, and has been to watch Formula 1 in Barcelona and Budapest several times.

Dave is known for his knowledge and history of the School and has seen a great deal of developments over the years. He is often found telling stories about days gone by and knows every inch of the School, including many walls which he has seen knocked down and then re-built again.

We give Dave our thanks for his dedication, hard work and devotion to the School, for which we are all extremely grateful.

Other prefects are Callum Andrews, Ben Appleby, James Budworth, India Collister, Rosie Durband, Finlay Gordon, Aradhana Gupta, Tom Corran, Seb Mactaggart, Bronwen Morris, Safiya Rafiq, Alexandra Williams, Elliot Bainbridge, Will Grabe, Ciara Williams and John MacGregor.

Epilepsy Education Award Birkenhead School has been crowned winner of an Epilepsy Action Education Award for its work in supporting pupils with epilepsy. School was presented with its ‘Edward’ award by Jayne Burton, a member of Epilepsy Action Council of Management.

The annual Edwards awards celebrate the nation’s epilepsy education superstars. They are presented by UK-wide charity Epilepsy Action to nurseries, schools, colleges and universities who have gone above and beyond in supporting students or pupils

with epilepsy. Birkenhead School was chosen as a winner because of its work with pupil Rosie Anderson, 17, who has epilepsy.

Jayne Burton and Rosie Anderson

Fundraising for Jack Hussey The Birkenhead School Community has rallied together to help former pupil Jack Hussey, reach his fundraising targets for Sarcoma Cancer research.

Jack is suffering with the disease and is an incredibly brave young man who is facing a huge struggle to keep going.

Along with online donations, the Ladies’ Committee has run a raffle and a night of entertainment was planned for the last day of term with all proceeds going towards the cause.

Jack’s parents, Julie and Ged, said,

“We'd like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts, prayers and offers of support to us as Jack bravely fights his cancer. Jack is determined to raise money for much needed research into his type of rare cancer, to help others in the future. He is a very private person and it has taken immense courage for him to put his story 'out there'. Please, take a look at the fundraising page that he has set up and support him by donating whatever you can, no matter how small. Let's do this for one brave lad, our son Jack.”

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Staff News At the end of this academic year we say goodbye to David Jones who joined the Mathematics Department covering maternity leave in 2013. I am not sure we have seen any teacher become a legend in such a short space of time. Two of Dave’s many passions are teaching mathematics and playing the guitar. If you think his maths lessons are good you really need to hear him play the guitar and you can do that at any one of the many national concerts planned for MAMA a very successful Genesis Tribute Band for whom Dave plays bass guitar.

On numerous occasions Dave has skillfully merged his two passions and you may be taken by surprise as you passed his classroom to hear his Year 11 class singing the 12 Mymaths days of Christmas or his Year 7 class making a recording of a

song on fractions. Dave has contributed significantly to our music provision with his guitar ensembles and played in our recent School musicals .

We also say goodbye to Sara Christie, who has been here for a year covering maternity leave in our Mathematics Department.

This was her first teaching post and her commitment and dedication to her students is evident for all to see. We wish her well in her new position starting at Wirral Grammar School for Girls in September.

Our best wishes also go to our School Nurse, Debbie Rennie, who will be leaving us for a short period of time to have her first baby. We hope this all goes well and we look forward to seeing her return soon.

by Mr Edmunds

Farewell to Mr Rimmer For some, the end of an academic year can be a time for reflection and contemplation, for others, unbridled celebration.

Whilst I would ordinarily fall into the latter category, this year my celebrations have been tempered by a certain sadness, as I bid a fond farewell to my colleague and good friend, Chris Rimmer.

Chris joined Birkenhead School in September 2008, a fresh faced NQT. His gift for teaching, exceptional organisational skills and meticulous attention to detail meant that it wasn't long before he was promoted, first, to Head of Spanish in 2010, and then to Assistant Head of Overdale and Second in Modern Foreign Languages in 2011.

Shortly after this, Chris was made Head of Overdale.

Three years on from his Overdale appointment, Chris now leaves us to take up the posts of Assistant Principal and Head of Modern Languages at Ormston Chadwick Academy.

We wish you well, Chris, as you

move on to exciting new opportunities. We will miss your inspirational teaching, the professionalism you have brought to every aspect of the job and the sense of fun which has made it such a pleasure to work alongside you. What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches, and we all know that your departure leaves a void that will be extremely difficult to fill.

Thank you for the enormous contribution you have made to the life of Birkenhead School during your time with us and, for my part, a special thank you for your unswerving support and friendship along the way.

by Ms Smeaton

NEWS

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Mrs Belchier Retirement Can you believe it! The much loved and respected, Mrs Belchier is retiring after 43 years teaching.

Her first teaching post was in Coombe Road Primary School, Irby, where she worked with two other Birkenhead School “Golden Oldies”, namely Di Hodgkinson and Pam MacDonald.

She moved to Arrowe Hill Primary School and has spent the last 19 years teaching at Birkenhead School.

She will be remembered for her kindness, endless patience, incredible organisation and for the beauty of her classroom displays. She is currently teaching second generation pupils!

She has much to fill the days ahead, including looking after Austin, her grandson in London.

She has promised to bake more and to supply the Prep Staff room with her creations. We look forward to eating her cakes.

She will now have time to sing, read a backlog of books, swim and to travel more. We wish her well in her retirement.

by Dr Jarvis

Goodbye to Mrs Hurst In the short time that Sharon Hurst has been in Prep, she has made a big impact on the pupils in Year 4. Having a lovely rapport with the children, she has both inspired and encouraged them but perhaps most importantly made their learning fun. Not only has she introduced them to French, she has nurtured their interest in a wide range of topics during her weekly after school Quiz Club.

Much to the delight of the children, Sharon also ran a Chess Club during her lunch break, which was enthusiastically attended by an increasingly large number of pupils, wanting to either learn or master this popular game. Sharon will not only be missed as a teacher but

also as a colleague and friend to those of us in the staff room. We all wish her ‘Bon Voyage’ as she relocates to Newcastle with her husband Alex and her two boys Benjamin and Thomas, and embarks on a new and exciting chapter of her life.

by Mrs Coyne

Mrs Goldstone moves to Australia A two year-old, a three month-old baby AND a move half way around the world, she's one brave lady!

In April, Mrs Goldstone took the plunge and moved to start a new life down under, following her husband’s job relocation.

Mrs Goldstone has spent five happy years in Prep and will be greatly missed by the children and staff. One aspect of Mrs Goldstone’s fantastic teaching was bringing Italian to the curriculum where it was particularly well received with the children who loved learning the language.

However, it has to be said that the

Year 4 teacher's ears will be saved from hearing endless renditions of the ‘Italian welcome song’, which has clearly been one of their favourites!

She also enjoyed running the House quiz competition during the summer term and taking quiz teams to represent School, often with great success.

We are sad to see a good friend, colleague and teacher depart, but I am sure all children and staff will join me in wishing Mrs Goldstone and her family, Eliot, Jacob and Amelie, well as they embark on a new life down under.

by Mrs Brand

8

CHAPLAINCY

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Chaplaincy Chapel Time for All A short survey sent to students this term, enquiring what Chapel means to them, has raised some exciting requests.

This term has therefore been encouraging in the life of Chaplaincy. Our music tradition at Birkenhead School is excellent and we remain committed to teaching our young people the wonderful hymns of our history. In addition, this term we have embraced some new sounds in our Senior Chapel services including our School Folk Band who have led our singing, and a new larger ensemble which has led us as we have learnt a new contemporary song. More of these ‘modern’ songs will enrich our time together next year.

In addition, one class suggested that forms should ‘take’ a service, so 8HCB and 7MTW took responsibility for planning and running a Chapel service each.

local foodbank. We had collected a large amount of food which we delivered to the foodbank one lunch-time. The people at the foodbank were very pleased with our contributions. One person who used the foodbank recounts that he used to have no life, and was close to death. With the help of the foodbank, he managed to get his life back on track, did not have to worry about spending money on food, and could finally get the job he had been dreaming of for the past five years. It felt very satisfying when we delivered our food, and it was nice to know that we could make a difference to the lives of so many people living so close to home. We would certainly do it again, and hope that many other people will be inspired to do the same!’

by Luke Crocker, Year 8

7MTW planned a drama based on the story of Jesus welcoming Matthew the tax collector as a friend and reminded others, who opposed this idea, that they must ‘attend to the log in their own eye before commenting on the speck in another’s eye’. Jimmy Sergi, Year 7, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed playing Jesus in this Chapel Service. I believe that it helped boost my confidence and ability to talk in front of a lot of people. I also enjoyed a different experience to usual chapel as well as working with people I may not have usually had the chance to work with.”

‘On Tuesday 10th May, 8HCB took a Chapel service with the aim of informing all the other pupils about what the food bank does and the kind of people it helps.

Earlier this year, a group of pupils from our class visited our

Prep Exchange Group Exchange Group for Years 3 to 6 meets on a Thursday lunchtime to ‘exchange ideas about what we talk about in Chapel’.

The group recently made their own ‘hands’ to represent their discussions on prayer and being patient in prayers to God.

Year 8 Chapel service

Charity Focus We have raised over £1200 for a girls’ hostel in the Msomba School, Malawi. The funds were raised through a combination of Chapel contributions and a nonuniform event.

This money has been handed directly to the Bishop of the area who will take it to the school in person and we look forward to a photograph from there soon.

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Art

ART

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Illustration Workshop

Sixth Form and Nursery art project Our oldest and youngest pupils came together to work on producing artwork to display in Nursery.

Sixth Form art students visited the Nursery with a prepared canvas featuring the Nursery’s new butterfly logo on a purple background.

The Nursery children then added their own finishing touches in the shape of their handprints to the canvas, with the help of the older students.

Lots of fun was had choosing colours and making prints, and a beautiful bright picture was proudly made to put on display.

Year 5 enjoyed a fantastic creative afternoon when they were visited by illustrator and author Alex T Smith for a master class in drawing.

The event had been organised by the National Schools Partnership as part of a competition prize that Bryce Edwards, Year 5, had won earlier in the year.

Bryce took part in a drawing competition where he designed a comic strip featuring the characters from Snoopy. The ‘Dream Big’ national competition had been run alongside the release of The Peanuts Movie, and Bryce was chosen for his excellent design and storytelling. He won an iPad and the chance to have a professional illustrator come to School and show the children some of the tricks of the trade.

Alex T Smith is the author of the popular Claude books, and the children had great fun learning how to draw Claude the dog and his sidekick Sir Bobblysock. Alex gave them tips such as how to make flat images look ‘shiny’ and how you can use special scribbling to create the effect of hair, just don’t go crazy!

Alex said, “I hear a lot of children say when I visit schools that they think they can’t draw, but illustration doesn’t have to be realistic and gives everyone the chance to be creative.”

Alex told the children how he has always enjoyed drawing and painting and had inspiration from his grand-father, who was also a writer.

The Year 5 classes had a wonderful time meeting Alex and drawing their own pictures of Claude to take home.

Whitworth Gallery Visit Senior Art students from Years 10 to 13 took a trip to the Whitworth Gallery earlier this year.

The Whitworth Gallery has over

55,000 pieces in its collection and was recently awarded the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year title.

Alex T Smith

Crowns for the Queen Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 coloured in their own crowns in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday.

The beautiful creations were displayed in Little School for all to see.

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CLASSICS

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Classics Latin and Greek Reading Competition On Wednesday 24th February, 12 Latin students from Seniors travelled to Bolton School Boys' Division to take part in the Manchester Classical Association Latin and Greek Reading Competition.

In the Beginners’ Latin, Jimmy Sergi, Bobby FitzHerbert, Zaydan Khan and Jack Doran, all from Year 7, performed a comedy extract from Plautus, Mostellaria.

Our Year 8 and Year 9 Latin students, Luke Crocker, Samarth Kumar, Jessica Brodbelt, Toby Brown and Amy Bryers, were required to read a ghostly Roman story taken from Pertronius’ Satyricon.

In the GCSE category, a highly dramatic piece from Virgil’s Aeneid IX was recited by Year 11 students Shikhar Kumar and Matthew Oulton.

James Budworth from Lower Sixth entered the Latin Verse A-level division, also reading an extract from the Aeneid - his passage coming from Book VI. Several leading schools from across the North West took part, including Manchester Grammar School, Merchant Taylors’ School and Withington Girls’ School, among others.

Even though no wins were achieved, our students read their Latin passages most accurately and convincingly. They all enjoyed the experience and hope to return to the competition next year.

Classics Workshop Years 8 and 9 enjoyed an interactive historical workshop focussing on the lives of the Greeks and Romans.

Visiting historian, Tony Cope, brought in an array of artefacts, both replica and original, for the students to see, with the intention of encouraging them to explore and discover new interests.

The activities ranged from displays of pottery to games, with the students able to try on armour and play horns. One of

the items available was a 6th century BC Persian dagger made from copper.

The students practised their handwriting with traditional ink wells and reed pens and followed the Celtic alphabet, they also had the chance to use star charts to plot their own zodiac signs.

Meanwhile, others tried their hands at building forts from bricks and attempting to knock them down using models of weaponry available in Roman times.

Roman life presentations Year 9 Latin students have been working on their knowledge of Roman life and created presentations for their class.

Shivank Sharma produced a trading card game where you could create your own gladiators with a full range of characters.

Andrew McTaggart made a powerpoint presentation showing aspects of Roman life such as clothing and weaponry (below).

Kevin Wu created a website with facts about the Roman army and Dionne Lee designed an A3 poster showing drawings of military uniform and life at the time.

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English Reading is fun

The Birkenhead School English Department handbook explicitly states that our aim is to inculcate ‘an enjoyment of reading’ and that we expect ‘each pupil will be a more fluent and discerning independent reader’ at the end of their time at Birkenhead School. But why is this the ethos of our department? Why is reading at the heart of everything our English department does?

Our School librarian, Mrs Reeve, currently runs several schemes to encourage students to read, including the fun, but highly competitive, ‘The Passport to Fiction’ for Year 7 pupils and ‘The Wirral Paperback of the Year’ for Year 9 pupils. At International GCSE and A level, for those who are inspired to choose it, we aim to sustain a love of reading with literature texts that challenge the students and raise moral and ethical questions, from Carol Ann Duffy’s poem, War Photographer to Christina Rossetti’s Remember.

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) followed the lives of more than 17,000 people born in the United Kingdom in a single week in 1970. The Institute of Education, London University examined 6,000 of these people and analysed the results of tests taken at the age of 16 for every individual. This showed the researchers that reading for pleasure was linked to greater intellectual progress. This not only affected the individual’s spelling and vocabulary, but also their ability in mathematics by 9.9%. Reading for pleasure also made a very substantial difference when they compared the children’s social backgrounds; the difference that reading for pleasure made was four times greater than the difference that having a parent or parents with a university degree, compared to having parents or guardians with no qualifications.

The correlation between reading for pleasure and vocabulary development is expected; reading introduces young people to new words. However, the suggestion that reading for pleasure is linked to progress in mathematics is more surprising.

Investigators have suggested this could be due to a number of reasons. Reading introduces young people to new ideas, helping them to understand and absorb more readily the concepts and new information they are coming in contact with in school. Independent reading may also promote a more selfsufficient overall approach to learning.

Interestingly, we recently unearthed a Reading Questionnaire completed by the current Upper Sixth students - when they were in Year 7. There is a strong correlation between those that were self-declared keen readers at the age of eleven with very strong academic success at A level. Eleven year old Eleanor Hilton, now Head of School, wrote, ‘Reading is important because it makes you a more interesting and creative person.’

Next year we are hosting ‘The Wirral Paperback of the Year’ event for all Year 9 students who will participate in this exciting scheme. On Wednesday 12th October in Bushell Hall, they will meet authors, perform in drama workshops and participate in designing book covers. We are planning to integrate many other departments into the experience, such as Art and Drama, to make it a really creative, memorable day.

Reading is seriously fun! Seriously, reading is fun. Fun is reading, seriously.

Mrs McGoldrick

ENGLISH

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World Book Day The children of Prep have had an exciting time celebrating World Book Day. Their theme was ‘bedtime stories’ and they each came to School dressed in their pyjamas and with their favourite night-time read.

For Years 1 to 4 there was a visit from author and illustrator Tom Percival, who has written Little Legends, a collection of fairy tale characters and their adventures.

Tom talked to the children about

writing their own stories and where to find inspiration thinking about characters, settings and props to include.

Throughout Juniors there was a ‘reading bell’ and whenever it was rung, everyone had to stop what they were doing and read for five minutes, much to their delight. In Year 5 the children designed and made their own mini booklets and in Year 6 there was a cosy reading den built.

Year 7 Library Challenge

Year 9 Dracula performances

All Year 7 pupils took part in the ‘Explore the World of Fiction’ expedition and were challenged to become Champion Travellers.

Their goal was to read 12 fiction books within the time their ‘Passport to Fiction’ remains valid, choosing books from 12 different categories.

They prepared themselves for a journey into different worlds where they would meet a variety of different characters. The students were encouraged to share their experiences and discoveries with their classmates also taking the challenge. English teachers and librarians were also on hand to give advice.

There were prizes at the end of the challenge and the amount of books read was monitored by coloured ball markers in the Senior library, with each house having their own running total.

Students in Year 9 have been performing scenes from one of their English texts, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Their teacher, Ms Smeaton, had given the class the challenge to choose a scene from the book to perform to each other. Ms Smeaton was keen for the students to gain insight into the story by immersing themselves into the characters and discovering more about them.

The groups chose a range of scenes which included the first appearance of Renfield in the asylum, Jonathan Harker arriving at Castle Dracula and Lucy’s telling of her engagement to Mena.

Each groups’ presentations were excellent and showed a real understanding of the characters and their position in the story.

The students had obviously worked hard to learn and deliver their lines effectively.

Ms Smeaton was impressed with all of the effort that had been made, from learning long speeches to making eye contact and injecting character in to the roles. In those scenes that were performed more than once it was interesting to see the different interpretations, and the use of costumes and sound effects were fitting and effective.

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DRAMA

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Earlier this year terror struck the quiet streets of Oxton in the form of a man-eating plant from outer space! And this enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places...... Bushell Hall was the site of the up-beat

comedy rock musical, Little Shop of Horrors. Playing to full houses on four nights, the audience was treated to a professional and slick rendition of this famous classic which left audiences smiling and humming along as they left the theatre.

Esme Brennan, Shannon High, Lucy Andrews, Natasha Keeling, Ellie Simpson, Nicholas Johnson, Will Blessing, Daniel Griffiths, Tom James Archie Parker-Goff, Sam Jones, Reefe Pankhurst, Simon Lawrence, Darcy Jenkins, Paulo Infante

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DRAMA

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Little Shop of Horrors...

Ciara Williams was entirely believable as the heroine Audrey and with her soulful voice she had the audience captivated from start to finish. Audrey II was played

by Sam Gavin-Pitt, although most audience members believed the Voice emanated from a professional backingtrack, so professional was his performance. Ben, Sam’s brother, played the insides of Audrey II. Jordan Hayward grasped the part of Seymour with both hands. With comic timing way beyond his years he kept the play moving at a cracking pace and the audience in gales of laughter. A star is born.

Jordan Hayward, Ciara Williams

Sam Gavin-Pitt, Ben Gavin-Pitt

A high-point for many was the cameo appearance of the Dentist played by experienced actor Finlay Gordon. His Elvis-esque hip swivels ensured he was confronted by a gaggle of giggling groupies at each interval.

The musical was narrated by the Greek Chorus of Verity Walker, Emily Pulford, Lara Abraham and Grace Harvey and presided over by the sage (if highly eccentric) Jewish shop-keeper, Mr Mushnik played by Matthew Caine – we will certainly miss his dramatic talents next year.

The enthusiasm of the chorus and band, controlled by musical director Philip Robinson, was infectious, adding to the high octane feel of the performances.

They could easily be confused with any to be heard in a professional theatre.

Matthew Caine Verity Walker, Lara Abraham, Finlay Gordon, Emily Pulford, Grace Harvey

The backstage crew ensured slick scene transitions and they were admirably led by backstage manager James Budworth.

Even the complexities of the sound and lighting plots were dealt with by students, a remarkable achievement!

All in all this was a rousing success for Birkenhead School and we look forward to the next rip-roaring success in 2017!

Edward Oulton, Mari Eva, Josh Coyne

Louisa Titu, Alexandra Williams, Caroline Hurst, Harvey Forster

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GEOGRAPHY

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Geography Australian discoveries

Children in Year 1 had a special visitor to help them with their geography project on Australia. Fiona Jenner, Charlotte in Year 1’s mother, and her pet budgie Tweet came in to see the classes and talk to them all about Australia, where Fiona is originally from.

The children met Tweet and were very quiet and wellbehaved so that they did not frighten him. They heard all about other animals that are native to Australia, such as koalas and wombats. They also learned how there are four different types of kangaroo – Red, Western Grey, Eastern Grey and Antilopine.

They saw an Australian map and heard about different places such as Sydney, Ayres Rock and The Great Barrier Reef. Along with looking at pictures of different animals and places, the children heard many popular Australian songs and they danced along as they listened to the music.

With much excitement, the children also got to speak live to Fiona’s sister in Australia ‘Auntie Joey’, via Facetime, and they asked her lots of questions all about what it is like to live there.

3J Caribbean Assembly Class 3J gave a fantastic form assembly taking the audience on a journey through the islands of the Caribbean.

The children have been studying the Caribbean in their geography lessons and explained how there is a great variety of islands, some flat, some mountainous, others like deserts and more that are covered in rainforests.

They told of how fish is caught and sold all around the islands, and that many fruits and vegetables are grown there, such as bananas, coconuts, mangoes, sweet potato and tomatoes.

The children recited poems about hurricanes, which can occur in the Caribbean, told a traditional tale about Anansi the spider, sang ‘This is my island in the sun’, and performed a calypso dance.

Chinese project in Reception The children of Reception have been learning about Chinese culture.

The two classes learnt a fantastic Dragon Dance, where they had made special decorative plates to dance with. Each group followed the leader – the dragon’s head – copying their movements around the room.

They have also made Chinese Information Booklets filled with facts about the Chinese New Year festival. Margaret said, “Chinese people wear the colour red for good luck and have fireworks, which I love.” Elena said, “This year is the year of the monkey and I was born in the year of the Tiger.”

Christian was interested in reading books about Chinese culture and Daisy drew a beautiful picture of a dragon onto tracing paper which was then displayed on the window so the sunlight could shine through and reflect her colouring. They also made Chinese lanterns.

The children also had fun playing in their own Chinese restaurants, creating menus, pretending to be customers, taking orders and cooking food.

birkenheadschool.co.uk

History Year 2 WWII history workshop Year 2 increased their knowledge about World War II with a hands on historical workshop.

They have been studying the era in class, and the workshop has helped them to get a practical feel for the period and how it would have been for people living at the time.

The children were able to view and touch original artefacts, and dressing up clothes including soldiers’ uniforms and protective headgear.

There were 1940’s coins available for the children to take rubbings of, plus a mini-sweet shop with scales where they could weigh out their own bag of sweets.

Traditional toys were on show, including metal aeroplanes and cars, marble games, jigsaws and spinning tops, which the children enjoyed playing with.

HISTORY

15

All about Romans and Celts Children in Year 3 compared life in Roman and Celtic times in an interactive historical workshop.

They caught a glimpse of what it would have been like to be in Britain 2000 years ago with hands-on activities, games and artefacts.

The pupils tried their hand at writing with ink and quills in

Latin, and with reed pens in Ogham, the Celtic alphabet.

They played games, many of which had no rules and had to be made up, tried archery, and were creative with weaving techniques and bracelet making.

They also were able to design their own pots, and use blue facepaint to create woad Celtic battle tattoos.

Discovering the Tudor period Great Fire of London Year 1 have spent time this year learning about the Great Fire of London. To support this work they visited the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Heritage Centre.

They saw fire engines old and new and learnt about the rich history of Liverpool’s fire brigade and associated services.

Everyone had a fantastic time learning from retired firefighters who brought the history to life.

Year 4 were immersed into the Tudor period for a special workshop, to complement their history studies on the era.

The children were able to get involved with a wide range of activities, including dressing up in period clothes and armour, playing games and enjoying crafts.

One activity included making pomanders, or nose bags, filled with lavender or cloves, which people living in Tudor times would have used to hold up to their noses when they came across bad smells.

In another area the children practised writing with quills and ink pots and then used real melted wax and imprinted seals on their work.

They also enjoyed a variety of physical games, including archery and a ball catching game using traditional apple pickers.

16

RS / MATHS

infocus magazine

Religious Studies Chester University Trip Religious Studies A-Level students enjoyed a thoughtful and inspiring day when they visited Chester University in March.

The group attended interesting lectures on

World religions philosophy.

They were also able to have a tour of the campus and benefitted from practical talks on student finance and UCAS applications.

Maths

This year, children from Year 5 visited the nearby Holy Trinity with Palm Grove Church.

Here, they took part in a carousel of activities to learn about the Easter story.

Students in Year 10 also visited the Kailash Buddhist Centre on Bidston Road for an interesting and informative day.

The students enjoyed the events and we continue to benefit from establishing locals links within the community.

MEM Award for Shannon High

UKMT Junior Team Challenge Once again, Birkenhead School welcomed 15 schools from the North West for the UK Mathematics Trust Junior Team challenge.

Each school sent a team of four, made up of students from Years 8 and 9.

Students took part in four rounds, including a group challenge, a

and

Local visits

cross-number puzzle, a shuttle quiz and a relay race, which tested their interpretation, problem solving, team work and logic skills thoroughly.

Well done to Lizzy Hyatt, Rebecca Nicolson, David Turner and Kevin Wu, who represented Birkenhead School, and were placed 8th overall.

Mathematical Education on Merseyside (MEM) is an organisation which brings together staff from the three universities in Liverpool and local school teachers, to devise, enable and promote mathematical activities throughout the region.

The MEM challenge and senior challenge are take-home competitions, with approximately 2000 students taking part.

Congratulations to Shannon High, Year 7, who scooped the first prize in the Junior Challenge. Shannon was invited to collect her certificate and prize at an awards ceremony at the University of Liverpool in May, representing our school magnificently.

birkenheadschool.co.uk

DT

17

Design and Technology: 2016 Coursework Showcase It has been another impressive year for Design and Technology, with a wide range of creative products being designed, planned and manufactured by GCSE and A-Level pupils. We have detailed just a few to give a taster of what we get up to in the Design and Technology Department.

In GCSE Product Design, Edward Azurdia and Elliot Casey stood out for their creative products and their fantastic work ethic and enthusiasm. Edward made a modern, flat pack, desk unit, using a range of materials and manufacturing techniques. His quality of finish and attention to detail was admirable. Elliot designed a golf putting practise ramp, which cleverly folds away for ease of storage. It works fantastically well and even includes an integrated infrared counting system.

The Systems and Control GCSE group tackled one of three problems set by the exam board. Ed Brodbelt completed the outstanding project of the year making a bicycle light that would stand up well against those commercially available for size and function – even more impressive given the attention to the internal detail to miniaturise using the limited resources here at School in comparison to industry. Other notable projects include Charlie Brown’s futuristic night light (or retro if you remember Blake’s Seven!), and Jamie Johnstone’s collectible display unit incorporating a revolving turntable and backlighting system. All completed their projects to an extremely high standard, reflecting the care, attention and innovation they brought to the task.

In the AS level Product Design class there were a range of excellent products. Elliot Bainbridge made a really impressive Rolex themed speaker system. He worked closely with Goldsmiths in Liverpool to design and make a professional looking product, incorporating many different workshop fabrication methods and even 3D printing. Rosie Durband designed a speaker system for Boodles. She achieved a high quality finish in a truly imaginative product, and her finished product fitted perfectly in to the Boodles store during her evaluation.

Our A2 Product Design students have produced excellent projects again this year with wide-ranging project briefs. Ben Corlett produced a watch box inspired by Ferrari, Ben Lawrie designed a wall mounted modern desk with an integral computer built in, Sam Johnson built a Steempunk inspired lamp with a plasma ball

and built in LED lights, James Neal designed a table with a chair built in that was height adjustable, Chelsea Woodward designed a modern jewellery display case inspired by the theatre and George McGee designed a vinyl record storage unit with a built in record player. Their work utilised a wide variety of materials and manufacturing processes and our new industrial 3D printer.

This year the department invested in a new 3D printer. The MOJO 3D printer uses FDM technology (Fused deposition Modelling) and is a fantastic rapid prototyping tool. As it uses ABS filament it can also be used to make fully working component parts. James Corlett used it to help him manufacture his A2 Watch Box product which included a clever Iris handle design mechanism.

Our Sixth Form Product Design students travelled to Liverpool for a guided tour of the BAC Mono factory. It is the only single seater supercar in production worldwide. We were shown round by Oliver Webb who is a Le Mans winner and their official test driver.

None of this could of course happen without the dedication of the teachers within the Department, Mr Guinness, Mr Parry, Mr Higginbottom and Mr Robinson, who gave up a lot of their time to run additional lunchtime, after school and even weekend coursework sessions for the pupils to complete their coursework.

18

SCIENCE

infocus magazine

Science Year 4 trip to Ness Gardens

New Life in the Nursery The Toddlers (2 – 3 year olds) have been learning about new life in the Nursery.

To do this, they have been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar story, using a large

jigsaw of the Hungry Caterpillar and they also grew their very own butterflies from caterpillars and watched them transform with great anticipation .

On Friday 20th May, Year 4 were eagerly awaiting their trip to Ness Botanical Gardens after a week of exams. The trip was designed to help with the study of plants, which is the current Year 4 Science topic.

The Year group was split up on arrival with half going pond dipping and the rest discovering gardens and its many species. We were told many interesting facts and answered several questions with enthusiasm. Halfway through the morning we swapped to the other activity.

Pond dipping proved to be a very exciting and surprising activity. We caught a variety of interesting creatures and learned a lot about water habitats.

After lunch we were divided into small groups and each group was given nine things to find around the garden. It was an enjoyable activity, which showed the competitive side of many of the children. Everything was stationed somewhere we had been before but many of our memories seemed to need to be twigged!

We met back at the Visitors Centre and after a quick trip to the gift shop, we were heading back to School. It was a fascinating day enjoyed by all!

by Sophia Campbell, Riya Shukla and Daisy Murphy, Year 4

Rocket Seeds from Space Our School was chosen as one of the lucky participants to take part in a national experiment involving the planting of rocket seeds that had been brought back from the International Space Station.

Students from the Year 3 Science Club and the Year 10 Solar Group were very excited to get their hands on the seeds and start the process.

The Royal Horticultural Society ‘Campaign for School Gardening’ teamed up with the UK Space Agency to organise the project

‘Rocket Science’. The rocket seeds had been up on the ISS with British astronaut Tim Peake for several months, and were then returned and distributed to 8000 schools across the country.

Each school received a packet of blue seeds and a packet of red seeds to plant, grow and compare, without knowing which ones had been to space and which had not. The discoveries will then be used to teach us about whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food.

birkenheadschool.co.uk

Mercury Crossing Sun

SCIENCE

19

Chicks at Science Club

Staff and students took time to watch the beginning of Mercury’s transit across the Sun in May this year.

The process occurs approximately every 14 years, so this was a fantastic opportunity for budding stargazers to have the chance to witness the rare sighting.

There were three telescopes set up outside the science block, which projected the sun’s image onto viewing panels so that everyone could see the progress of Mercury whilst keeping safe by not looking directly into the Sun.

The Year 7 Science Club members were thrilled to meet newly hatched chicks at one of their meetings in April.

The chicks had made a special feature at April’s Open Day and Mr Hayward, who had been looking after them, brought them in again for the students to take a closer look.

RAF Fun With Flight

Chemistry Olympiad Nine of the Upper Sixth took the very challenging Chemistry Olympiad paper designed to stretch the top performing A-level students.

All performed creditably and scored enough marks for their achievement to be recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC): Sam Gavin-Pitt and Max Shah achieved Gold Awards (this means that they were in the top 8% (450) of the 5,800 entrants). In addition, Josh Gibson, Ed George, Owen Morris, Casha Anderson and India Wild all earned Silver Awards, whilst Francesca Way and Eleanor Hilton both gained Bronze Awards.

A team from the Royal Air Force visited a group of Year 9 students to speak to them about the physics of flight.

RAF other than being a pilot, and also heard about apprenticeship opportunities.

They spoke about the four forces of flight: lift, weight, thrust and drag, and how they are all connected.

There was also a drone demonstration and discussions on the future of flying for rescue and surveillance and the abilities of remote control flying technology.

The group heard how there are many jobs available in the

20

MUSIC

infocus magazine

Music Summer Concert A highlight of the School calendar, this year was standing room only at the annual Music Summer Concert in May. Featuring a wide range of ensembles encompassing the diverse variety of musical talent at School, the evening showcased the hard work and commitment of staff and students to their instrumental and choral learning, while also having fun.

The performers included Prep Orchestra, Senior Choir, Concert Band, Year 5 Choir,

String Ensemble, Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, Chapel Choir, the newly formed Clarinet Ensemble with their debut performance, Guitar Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Folk Band and Big Band.

The Chamber Choir recited extracts from the upcoming performance of the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. This will be performed in full on Tuesday 5th July at 2.30pm and 7pm in Chapel.

Mr Edmunds thanked everyone involved and in particular the Upper Sixth students who have dedicated so much of their School life to music and for whom this would be one of their last performances.

All are welcome with refreshments provided following the performance. There will also be a collection in aid of former pupil Jack Hussey’s fundraising for sarcoma cancer research.

Year 6 Choir at the AJIS Music Festival Prep music teacher, Mrs Keating, took the Year 6 Choir to the 2016 AJIS Music Festival at Bury Grammar School in March.

The choir accompanied by Mr Robinson and conducted by Mrs Keating, performed impeccably and secured first place at the morning session.

The adjudicator was very complimentary, particularly noting the directness and professionalism insisted upon by Mrs Keating, which no doubt helped them in securing excellent marks.

The Year 6 Choir

birkenheadschool.co.uk

MUSIC

21

Dionne Lee and the National Children’s Orchestra The summer just gone, I went on a week long course to the National Children’s Orchestra Under 13’s Summer Course.

I have been in the NCO since I was nine years old. On the course, I was the leader of the second violins and practised for seven hours a day in sectionals and full orchestra rehearsals. It was very tiring! From the Under 12’s Summer course onwards, at the end of the course, we would perform in a public hall for anyone to watch. However, this summer, things were slightly different. Nicola Benedetti, a worldfamous violinist, was going to be playing with our orchestra in an extra concert in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, then the following day we would be playing in Leeds Town Hall! Not only that, Nicola had been working with Wynton Marsalis, a sensational trumpet player, and he had asked Roger Clarkson, Principal Director of NCO, if he could play in Glasgow with us too! It was such an amazing experience and exciting to play with two world-famous musicians! During the concert, Roger announced that Nicola had been appointed as the Vice-President of the NCO and she said that she really wanted to be involved with all the orchestras.

Nicola Benedetti had invited eight string players from U13s and Main Orchestra in NCO to play in her concerts in Manchester and Birmingham during her UK Tour. Near to the end of August, I received an email saying that I had been invited to be one of the eight string players in her concert in Manchester! I was so excited and surprised! Soon I was sent the music we were to play: Vivaldi Concerto No.3 in G major.

We only had one practise as a group on the Sunday before the concert, then it was the real thing on Tuesday 22nd

September! I arrived at the Bridgewater Hall at 4pm where we had a short rehearsal before sitting in the auditorium to watch Nicola rehearse with her ensemble. They were amazing! Then it was our turn to practise onstage with Nicola and some of her ensemble. She gave us tips on how to improve (though she said there weren’t many needed!) and afterwards we could ask questions.

We were allowed to go for a quick dinner with our parents, then had to be back by 7.15pm, in time for the concert to start. We were backstage because we were going to be playing as a surprise after The Four Seasons in the first half. I was a bit nervous but mainly excited as we lined up ready to go onstage! Nicola proudly introduced us to the audience and then we were on! As I looked out into the hall all I could see was a sea of faces. I was playing third violin and stood between Nicola and one of her violinists from her ensemble!

We only played the first movement and it was over so quickly. I was smiling so much as I walked off stage whilst the audience were cheering and applauding very loudly! We were given seats to watch the second half and I was amazed at how good Nicola and her ensemble were. Afterwards, Nicola came to our dressing room and she praised us on our performance. We got her autograph and I asked her to sign my violin case too!

To play with Nicola Benedetti is such an amazing opportunity and I would like to thank all the NCO team for organising this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I will never forget this summer and the Manchester concert!

by Dionne Lee, Year 9

Nicola Benedetti with Dionne Lee (next right) and the National Children’s Orchestra

22

MUSIC

infocus magazine

Brass Ensemble Festival Wins

No time for an Easter Egg hunt!

The Birkenhead Inter-Schools Brass Ensemble came first in the Chester Festival held in April at the King's School.

The British Suzuki Gala Concert took place in the Royal Albert Hall in London over the Easter weekend. I have been playing the violin for the past six years and so I was very excited to have been given a place to play at the Gala concert. I have been very fortunate to have been able to play in amazing places with my Suzuki group, such as the two cathedrals in Liverpool, but to be able to play in the Royal Albert Hall was fantastic.

The band played in the open age brass band class and came first out of three bands with a distinction mark of 87.

The band is conducted by Julie Baker, and pupils taking part were Jonathan Mansfield, Matthew Oulton, Ciara Williams, Ellie Simpson, Lawrence Lynch OB, Jack Billington, Ben Appleby, Claire Lawrence, Chris Lansdown, Reeve Taylor, Edward George, J.J. Vallance-Owen, Natasha Keeling and Grace Harvey.

Also taking part was a newly formed group, Birkenhead Junior Brass, who are all under 14, conducted by Finlay Gordon from Lower Sixth. They also did well and achieved a merit award of 83.

The pupils in the Junior Brass were Natasha Keeling, Ethan Brown, Isobel Gott, Libby Grifiths, Harrison Brodbelt, Grace Harvey, Ellie Simpson, J.J.Vallance-Owen, Tom Molloy, Oliver Brennan and Reeve Taylor.

Also, in March the Birkenhead Inter-Schools Brass Ensemble scored their highest mark in 22 years with a huge 98% at the Wirral festival of Music, Speech and Drama. Along with winning their class, they also won the Eva Cann trophy for highest mark in three classes.

The adjudicator, Rosanna Whitfield, described their playing as confident and accomplished, with an excellent choice of repertoire.

She commented that the group was, “A really super ensemble with a great future and some stunning players.�

On Saturday 26th March 2016 I had to be at the Royal School of Music for 8am to be registered. The queue was enormous and wound all the way round the building.

Once everyone was registered we were split into groups that had previously been arranged. The group that I was in, V5 (violin5), had 250 players in that group alone. My group practised on the Saturday morning so I had the afternoon off to go to the Science Museum.

After another early morning of 7.45am on the day of the concert on Sunday 27th March 2016 we had to practice until lunchtime. Then the concert began at 3pm. The concert was the first of its kind and involved 1,200 children from around the world representing 27 different countries. Children played 12 different instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, double bass, harps, guitar, a whole range of different flutes, recorders, mandolins, keyboard, piano and an organ. We all played pieces from famous composers like Dr Suzuki, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Webster and Clementi.

At the end of the concert a whole load of balloons came down on top if us. Most of them were burst by violin bows! Playing in the concert was both nerve wracking but exciting at the same time. It was an amazing experience.

Natasha Keeling, Year 7

Members of the Birkenhead Inter-Schools Brass Ensemble

Come Sing The Musicals!

Sunday 6th November 2016

As part of Birkenhead School Festival of Music: Choral Society Workshop 'Come Sing The Musicals' all welcome to attend

7pm 'Come Sing The Musicals' Performance, Bushell Hall

The British Suzuki Gala Concert

birkenheadschool.co.uk

MUSIC

23

Music Examinations Congratulations to all the students who took ABRSM and Trinity external music examinations this year in School.

Summer

Michaelmas Kresten

Calvert

Cornet

Prep Test

James

Huxley

Violin

Prep Test

Charlotte

Dubourg

Piano

Prep Test

Kresten

Calvert

Cornet

1

Distinction

Isobel

Gott

Trombone

Prep Test

Isobel

Gott

Trombone

1

Merit

Rohan

Kapoor

Piano

Prep Test

Katarina

High

Cello

1

Pass

Molly

Anderson

Violin

1

Pass

Riya

Shukla

Piano

Prep Test

Sophia

Campbell

Violin

1

Pass

Jacob

Stevenson Baritone

Prep Test

Tom

Gibson

Violin

1

Pass

Charlotte

Delaney

Singing

1

Merit

Anna

Leuf Nichols Violin

1

Pass

Nathaniel

Ford

Singing

1

Distinction

Rachel

Oulton

Violin

1

Pass

Kazzi

Evans

Singing

1

Pass

Sonya

Liao

Piano

1

Distinction

Tim

Liao

Piano

1

Pass

Buster

Wyness

Singing

1

Pass

Sophia

Campbell

Piano

1

Distinction

Tabitha

Bevan

Trombone

1

Pass

Harrison

Brodbelt

Cornet

2

Pass

Harrison

Brodbelt

Cornet

1

Merit

Tom

Molloy

Cornet

2

Merit

Callum

Byers

Guitar

1

Pass

James

Jacobs

Trombone

2

Merit

James

Jacobs

Trombone

1

Pass

Ethan

Bryers

Guitar

2

Pass

Sam

Janikiewicz Piano

1

Pass

Jack

Taylor

Guitar

2

Pass

Cahan

O'Driscoll

Violin

2

Pass

Tom

Molloy

Cornet

1

Merit

Anoushka

Kapoor

Piano

2

Distinction

Kresten

Calvert

Guitar

2

Pass

Tabitha

Bevan

Trombone

2

Merit

Finn

Collins

Piano

2

Pass

Nathaniel

Ford

Singing

2

Merit

Elizabeth

Griffiths

Baritone

2

Pass

Varanya

Rath

Singing

2

Merit

Jess

Rooney

Clarinet

2

Distinction

Reeve

Taylor

Euphonium 3

Pass

Elizabeth

Griffiths

Baritone

3

Pass

Aoife

Moore

Singing

3

Merit

Charlotte

Cullen

Piano

3

Merit

Tuba

3

Merit

Oliver

Brennan

Trombone

4

Merit

Hyatt

Guitar

4

Pass

Tuba

4

Merit

JJ

Vallance -Owen

Oliver

Brennan

Trombone

3

Pass

Ben

Lizzy

Howse

Flute

3

Pass

JJ

Natasha

Keeling

Cornet

3

Merit

Simon

Lawrence

Flute

3

Merit

Shannon

High

Singing

4

Pass

Esme

Brennan

Singing

4

Sasha

Petrenko

Piano

Vallance -Owen

Elizabeth

Howse

Singing

4

Merit

Verity

Walker

Singing

4

Distinction

Elizabeth

Hyatt

Piano

5

Merit

Nicholas

Morgan

Piano

5

Pass

Merit

Matthew

Oulton

Piano

5

Merit

4

Merit

Esme

Brennan

Singing

5

Merit

Christopher Lansdown Horn

5

Merit

Arib

Islam

Voice

6

Merit

David

Turner

Clarinet

5

Pass

Ciara

Williams

Horn

6

Pass

Christopher Lansdown

Horn

6

Pass

Ciara

Williams

Horn

5

Merit

Ciara

Williams

Voice

7

Merit

Rohan

Shenoy

Violin

5

Pass

Jack

Billington

Tuba

7

Merit

Emily

Pulford

Singing

6

Distinction

Matthew

Oulton

Trumpet

7

Pass

24

SPORT

infocus magazine

Sport With the sun shining and School field looking at its most resplendent, after another successful and enjoyable Junior Prep Sports Day, now is as good a time as any to reflect on the success of our summer sports teams.

In boys’ games, just as the 1st XV rugby led the way during the winter terms, so too has the 1st XI cricket team during the summer months. A more detailed report of their season can be found below; but with only the MCC fixture and cricket festival left to play the 1st XI remain unbeaten in the longer form of the game, their only defeat being in the North West T20 semi-final to Sedbergh School, a team packed with

cricket academy players as well as an opening batsman who has already made his debut for the Yorkshire 1st XI! In girls’ sport we hosted our first ever rounders tournament with eleven teams taking part and six pitches running continuously on a warm and sunny Thursday evening. This gave our younger girls in Years 7 and 8 the opportunity to compete at a higher level, something they seized with both hands, in some cases literally with some outstanding catching in the field.

Mr Lytollis, Head of PE

2016 Cricket Season Described as one of the School's strongest 1st XI squads for a generation the start of the 2016 season was much anticipated.

In our traditional opener we beat Manchester Grammar School by 62 runs. An opening partnership of 165 set the foundations for a target of 210 with James O'Neill scoring 79, and School Captain Dominic Smith with 73.

The fielding, together with some disciplined bowling from David Nevin, and Ash Watkins meant we were able to claim Birkenhead’s first win against MGS for seven years.

It was agreed this year that the School would enter into the National T20 competition, something the boys were very much looking forward to competing in. The initial round of matches were held at Liverpool College, and included Wilmslow HS, St Ambrose and ourselves.

Birkenhead achieved two comfortable wins against Liverpool College and then St Ambrose. Ash Watkins was the pick of the batsman scoring 43 and 25 in quick time! School were only required to bat 12 overs in both games!

From one extreme to another the School met a strong Sedbergh School in the next round on School Field. Sedbergh won the toss and elected to bat. Whilst Birkenhead tried hard to compete the boys were subjected to a T20 masterclass as Sedbergh posted a daunting 168. A loss of early wickets meant that Birkenhead were never in the game and eventually succumbed to 55 all out.

A week before, Birkenhead played NewcastleUnder-Lyme at home. Much to the delight of the team, Dominic Smith won the toss and elected to bat. The School posted a competitive 231 off 40 overs with the captain compiling an unbeaten 100 along with Toby Brown contributing again with 41. Year 11 student Xan Filer bowled an accurate spell taking 5-12 leaving NUL short at 98 all out.

An away trip to Cheadle Hulme School followed, one of Birkenhead’s toughest fixtures. With it being dry and sunny, Dominic Smith won the toss and elected to bat. What could be a record opening partnership for school, Luke Filer and James O’Neill scored 218 off 31 overs before James eventually fell for 113. Luke fell agonisingly short of his first School hundred with 87, and Will Brewster scored a quick 80 not out to enable School to finish with 345 with just the loss of two wickets. We had batted Cheadle out of the game and they succumbed 126 all out off 20 overs.

A cancelled fixture against King’s School, Chester left the 1st without a match, but remarkably Shrewsbury School took up a late offer to play a game. Shrewsbury is one of the top cricketing schools in the country, and the boys were relishing the opportunity to benchmark themselves against first class academy players, and included one that has played for Warwickshire 2nd XI. The weather leading up to the match was poor, and the

forecast for the day not great. Whatever the eventual outcome would be, we decided to make the journey down. The Shrewsbury Captain won the toss and put us in. At 50 for 5 Birkenhead had lost its most experienced players. In between rain showers Dan Shillinglaw (33), and Toby Brown (48) took the School to a more respectable 138 off their allotted 40 overs. With more rain the game was eventually cancelled with the hosts making 30 without loss off 8 overs.

The School has five fixtures left in their season with an aim to have an unbeaten season in the longer form of the game.

May I thank the boys for their commitment to train at school as well as their clubs, and to Mr Rabot who has given up his time to score.

Graeme Rickman, 1st XI Cricket Coach

Junior Cricket

Under 13 champions King’s School, Macclesfield in their quarter final. Batting first we could only manage three runs in the first five overs, but some well timed shots by county player Toby Brown saw us amass a total of 91 off twenty overs, defendable but little more than that. However, some really tight bowling restricted King’s to only 35 runs off the first 13 overs and they eventually fell short of their target by some 16 runs.

The Under 15’s are currently unbeaten in all matches whilst the Under 14’s have only lost once, great seasons for both teams.

The Under 13’s are also unbeaten and are awaiting news of their semi-final opponents in the Cheshire Cup. The strength of the side lies in its bowling attack and it would not be unusual to use ten bowlers during a Saturday fixture, any one of whom could win the game for the team. Their Cheshire Cup quarter final was an extremely tense affair; batting first we could only amass 81 runs in our allotted overs, the result of some excellent bowling and

fielding by our opponents and some poor shot selection by our batsmen. With such a low score to defend, taking wickets was always going to be essential and captain Henry Wild responded well, taking a wicket with the first ball of their innings and two in the first over.

From there King’s School Macclesfield never really recovered and ended up 18 runs short.

The surprise package of the season has been the Under 12’s whose batting spirit has seen them through to a Cheshire Cup semi-final.

This was no better highlighted than in their quarter-final encounter with local rivals King’s School, Chester. Batting first King’s amassed a score of 115 for 7, a good score on a ground with big boundaries. It was ‘nip and tuck’ throughout our innings and with the scores tied after 20 overs we proceeded to the semifinals on ‘less wickets down’.

All in all it has been an outstanding season for all of our cricket teams, they have played with determination and commitment and are to be congratulated on their well-earned successes.

With the weather being somewhat kinder than in previous years, far fewer fixtures have been cancelled and the Cheshire Cup Competition has progressed apace. I am pleased to report that, as the end of term fast approaches, all four junior cricket sides are still in their respective competitions.

The Under 15’s have already reached their final and are currently awaiting news of their opponents. Having won the Under 15 cup in 2014 and 2015 we are now aiming for a hattrick of victories, and indeed, U15 coach Mr Lindberg has already asked whether he gets to keep the trophy permanently if we do! It has not been an easy journey for the team, encountering reigning Under 14 champions Altrincham G. S. in the quarter finals, but some consistent batting performances have seen them through.

The Under 14’s have had an equally difficult route to their semi-final, encountering reigning

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Girls’ Hockey

Birkenhead’s girls’ hockey teams have had an excellent season playing lots of fixtures and tournaments. The Year 7’s had a good start to this season with a three-way tournament against West Kirby and Birkenhead Girl’s Academy. Each team was played twice with some excellent goals scored.

Unfortunately we did not win all the games but this was good practice for the King’s Chester tournament played on Saturday 19th March. The Year 7 girls had an excellent finish to their season with them winning the Vase League. Some amazing goals set up and scored from Hattie Bevan secured the position of first place. All girls played exceptionally well this season and the future looks promising.

Year 8 only played one fixture away against Kings Chester. There was some excellent play displayed from all the girls and unfortunately King’s Chester scored the one and only goal of the afternoon. Well done to all those girls who have played and represented the school!

Year 9 and 10 had a tournament hosted at home on Saturday 27th February. Four schools in total played 18 minute games with Birkenhead narrowly missing out losing 1-0 to both West Kirby and King’s Chester from a deflection. Superb play from all girls who were both excellent at defending the goal as well as trying to score several goals which were saved. An excellent effort all round.

The Seniors played against King’s Chester where they lost 6-1, however they did try to create a few chances at scoring in goal. Well done to all those who played.

Summer round up Summer sport started on a high with the U13, U14 and U15 rounders teams having convincing wins against St Mary’s College. The U12’s were unfortunate to lose by half a rounder in their fixture.

Unfortunately due to weather the U14 and U15 fixtures against West Kirby and Liverpool College were cancelled, however; the U12 and U13 had a chance to get a few wins under their belts against Liverpool College where the U12’s won 22-10 and U13’s won 12-7.

We hosted a fun festival and welcomed Birkenhead High, West Kirby Grammar and Wirral Grammar. The U14’s finished first in their group and the U12’s finished fifth despite playing against girls two years older. The U15’s finished fourth in their group and the U13’s finished an impressive second place in the tournament.

The Year 11’s got a chance to enjoy the sun and play some rounders before the exams started. We travelled to Liverpool College to play St Edwards College, Belvedere and Liverpool College. The girls played really well and won one game, drew one game and lost by half a rounder in the third game.

In the tennis, due to weather conditions, we have had two fixtures cancelled. However, we did play Rydal Penrhos with three pairs in Year’s 7-10.

All couples won their games and Lara Abraham was complimented by the staff at Rydal on her excellent ability and power during the fixture.

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Lacrosse

This year Birkenhead School has witnessed one of the strongest Senior lacrosse squads to date!

The girls set the pace early in the year with an impressive win against national finalist Moreton Hall School in their first game of the season.

They continued their success with convincing wins against Loughborough University and Shrewsbury School before lifting the title of North of England Champions.

The girls felt fully prepared for the nationals’ tournament in London and finished a respectable third place in the group stages, qualified for the quarter finals but were unfortunate not to progress on goal difference.

The girls were extremely disappointed however they picked themselves up to finish the season on a high with a win against Bolton School.

The U14 and U15 team had a mixed year with only playing four fixtures. They won one, drew one and lost two. They played in the U15 North Schools’ tournament and were unfortunate not to finish in the top three with some fantastic wins against Queen’s Chester and Bolton School.

The U12 and U13 squad had a slow start though they managed to play four games where they won two and lost two. They played in the U13 North of England tournament and finished seventh overall with some great wins against Timperley Lacrosse Club and Harrogate College.

Netball Our Seniors started the year off with a convincing 21-12 win against the Old Girls. Unfortunately we did not continue with a winning streak playing a strong King’s Chester and King’s Macclesfield. Out of the seven games played our First Team won three, lost three and drew one. Our second team had a more successful season winning six out of the seven games played.

The U12 girls had a slow start to the year with some fixtures cancelled due to poor weather and a quick exit out of the nationals against a good Wirral Grammar side. The girls built on this performance and clocked up some impressive wins against Rydal Penrhos and St Edwards College. Our Second Team played two games and won both games. The girls were unable to enter the county netball tournament, however they competed in a fun festival playing Wirral Grammar ‘A & B’ teams, Woodchurch and West Kirby, winning two out of the four games.

The U13 girls had a fantastic season!

They won seven out of the eight games played. They continued to excel during

the year and were keen for success.

The girls competed in a fun festival playing Wirral Grammar ‘A & B’ teams, Birkenhead Academy and West Kirby, they won all games apart from a draw with Wirral ‘A’.

The U14 girls had another strong year winning games against St Mary’s College and West Kirby, to name a few.

Their netball progressed and they have competed at a very high standard. They played at the Wirral Schools tournament and were unfortunate to finish third overall, just missing out on the Merseyside finals.

Our U15’s had a good year and show promise as they progress into senior netball. The girls played some fantastic netball this year winning games against West Kirby Grammar, St Edwards College and Kingsmead. They had a narrow loss of 11-12 to Wirral Grammar early in the year. As we approached the Wirral Schools’ tournament the girls showed a tremendous fighting spirit and finished in the top two and qualified for the Merseyside finals finishing fourth overall.

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Orienteering Review It has been another successful year for our Orienteering team, who compete in the Cheshire and Merseyside Schools League.

Courses included the sand dunes of Formby, Delamere Forest and Sefton Park, Liverpool.

Our two novice runners, Demetrios Sergi and Jack Anderson, Year 7, have proven their map reading skills and will run competitively next season, whilst Ethan Bryers won gold in the overall Year 7 Boys Championship for the season.

Elliott Casey, Year 11, Aden Husseyn and Matthew Palmer, both Year 8, were regulars on the team and contributed valuable points to our team total. Sam Cross won a bronze medal for his season’s performance in the Year

10 Boys category. Team Captain, Cahan O’Driscoll, Year 9, narrowly missed out on a medal in his age group, but was part of the Mixed Open Relay team who came third in their race at Calderstones Park on the final outing of the season.

If you are a member of the School, interested in cross country running with the added challenge of finding your own way around the course, please contact Mr Turner to join the Orienteering Club where the experienced students will help improve your map reading skills and you could end up representing the School.

Girls Football Finalists In March nine Year 6 girls competed in the finals night of the Tranmere Rovers Football Club 7-aside competition for all Wirral schools.

Eight schools were present split into two groups of four. In the first game, we beat St John’s 10. The second game against Great Meols ended in a 0-0 draw, meaning that we had to win our final group game against Our Lady Star of Sea. Fortunately, we produced our strongest performance of the evening and won 3-0 thanks to goals from Rebecca Hennessy and two from Aaliah Barwick.

We had now won our group and qualified for the final against Somerville. After a goalless game and the deadlock not being broken in extra time, the game was to be decided by the dreaded penalties.

Having scored penalties from Aaliah Barwick, Rebecca Hennessy and Nicole Dowell, Anastasia Grundy, our very nervous goalkeeper, made a super save, and it was left to Holly Hall to

score the winning spot kick.

The trophy and medals were awarded and players from Tranmere Rovers visited Birkenhead the following day to meet the girls and celebrate their victory.

The girls then went on to be crowned girls’ football champions of Merseyside after a day of sporting drama at Halton Stadium in Widnes.

Held as part of the Merseyside School Games Winter Festival, teams faced each other in a round-robin style format with the top two teams in each competition facing each other to determine the regional winners.

Birkenhead School beat fellow Wirral school Somerville Primary 3-1 in a brilliant final after both sides had topped their groups.

Organiser Karen Drake hailed the young footballers saying their “behaviour was exemplary” and the quality of football was “of the very highest order”.

Prep Ski Trip During the Easter holidays, eight staff members accompanied 50 excited children on the second biennial Prep ski trip. The venue for the trip was the 2006 Winter Olympic resort of Bardonecchia, close to the French border, in the Italian Alps.

The group enjoyed six excellent days skiing in weather conditions ranging from glorious sunshine to fog and snow and the abilities of the children ranged from complete beginner to advanced.

It was great to see all children develop resilience and make progress with their skills over the week to enjoy the challenges of skiing.

Each evening, the children were entertained with various activities including, amongst others, a quiz, a film night and hot chocolate on the slopes. They returned home tired, but having enjoyed an excellent week of skiing.

Senior Football A small group of players form the Wednesday afternoon football group. Supplemented by boys from the hockey and rugby groups, they play fixtures against second or third teams in schools' in which football is the major sport for at least one term.

Although some of the stronger performers have only been available for a few of the matches, we managed to win six of our nine games.

Victories against Oswestry and QEGS Blackburn second teams were the highlight, whilst the matches against local rivals Merchant Taylors' were both hard fought and of a good standard.

James Watson has led by

example, Alex English finished leading scorer and Ryan Morris earned the most improved player award.

Paul Keenan, Year 11, was selected to represent the Northern Independent Schools', scoring twice against a Bolton Academy team and going on to play against the very strong Southern Independent Schools' side. In addition, Lower Sixth students Harry Mills, Ross Waring and James Watson all attended the Northern Independent Schools' selection weekend.

The squad would like to pass on their thanks to the Ladies’ Committee who funded the purchase of a new set of shirts for the players.

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Wirral Football Representatives After a rigorous trials process in May and June 2015, Ayman Ahmed and Matthew Corran, both in Year 6, were chosen to represent Wirral Schoolboys Under 11 team for the 2015/16 season. Ayman was selected as a central defender and Matthew as a goalkeeper.

With the season now almost complete, they can look back with some fond memories on what has been a very successful season. Notable triumphs have included a 3 – 0 victory over Huyton at Goodison Park in the Barnet Shieldhouse Cup Final and a victory over Liverpool Schoolboys in the final of the Merseyside regional 9-aside tournament held at Finch Farm, Everton’s training ground.

This final was a very tense affair which, in the end, was decided on penalties and the result means that the boys have now qualified for, and can look forward to, the national finals to be held at St George’s Park, the headquarters of the English FA, in early July.

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Rowing at Eton Dorney Jemima Collister, Year 9, has been testing the waters, rowing at Eton Dorney.

She rowed with an older group than her usual J14 team, and they had a great experience. There were over 100 clubs and schools present from all over the UK, and even some clubs from Italy.

The course was amazing and the competition was fierce, unfortunately they did not win their race and so did not progress within their division.

Jemima’s club is run by volunteers and they train on the docks in Birkenhead, which is in stark contrast to the majority of teams racing at Dorney who have significant resources.

At the end of January, Jemima, as part of her J14 quad, also entered the English Indoor Rowing Championships at the Manchester Velodrome.

This is a speed test on the Ergo’s where all English clubs and schools compete.

Jemima and her quad won

the Junior 14 Gold, a wonderful achievement.

Jemima is pictured receiving her gold medal.

Leo spotted for trampoline talent Towards the end of the summer holidays 2015, Leo Sampson, Year 4, was 'spotted' by a talent scout at a recreational trampoline centre in Liverpool.

She recommended Leo for a trial with the coach for Team GB Trampoline Gymnastics, Jay Scouler. Mr Scouler has coached three World Champions, as well as the current British Men's Champion, who is expected to go to Rio this summer.

This is currently a fertile time for Men's trampoline in particular, with Britons taking gold and silver at the recent European Championships.

Scouler offered Leo a place on his Development Squad, training every day after school, as well as Saturday mornings.

Leo clearly has some ability on the trampoline too, winning Silver at his first major competition. He went on to take Gold in his last two competitions, winning the regional competition for his age-group.

He represented the North West Under-11 team at the national semi-finals at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham at the end of May - quite an achievement for an 8 year-old who only entered into the sport last August.

His progress has led to Leo being invited onto the Team GB pathway for elite gymnasts.

Any budding trampolinists who wish to arrange a trial for the City of Liverpool Trampoline Gymnastics Club can do so via the club's Facebook page.

On the basis of his trial, Mr

Merseyside Athletics Competition George McCann attended the Merseyside Athletics meet in June at the Oval, Bebington.

Athletics Success for Sam Cross

Sam Cross, Year 10, has been training hard at home and, with the help of Mr Hendry, working on his fitness levels at School, following a broken foot.

Sam has since won the bronze medal in the Cheshire and Merseyside schools orienteering league and has been ranked in the UK top ten for his age for 5K road running with a new personal best of 17:45 which he set in the Port Sunlight 5K placing 5th overall.

George came second out of the eight competitors in the Junior Boys Discus Competition.

The winning throw was 28.69, George threw 27.24, and the third place throw was 24.85.

Congratulations to George on a great achievement.

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Prep Sport Round-Up An action packed second half of the year has seen the Prep involved in a wide range of sport with varying amounts of success and still with several finals events to look forward to.

The boys football season drew to a close with all year groups involved in the final rounds of cup competitions and tournaments. The Year 6 A team made it to the semi final of the AJIS Cup before being beaten by a very strong St Bede’s team who went on to be the eventual winners. In the Everton U11 tournament for local schools, we lost in the final 2 – 1 to a last minute goal despite a valiant attempt to equalise by our captain Ayman Ahmed who managed to hit the cross bar in the last seconds. The culmination of the football season for our Year 6 team with a very successful London tour. We won all three games on the Friday afternoon against The Grove from Milton Keynes very comfortably. Three very competitive fixtures against the much larger Berkhamsted Prep School on the Saturday morning saw the A and B teams drawing 2-2 and 3-3 respectively and the C team losing narrowly. A trip to watch Chelsea play in the afternoon and a tour around Wembley the following morning finished the tour on a very memorable note.

London Tour

teams won their groups easily but then unfortunately both lost to eventual winners The Grange. The A team lost controversially in extra time in the quarter final and the B team lost by four tries to one in the semi final.

In the AJIS 7s tournament held at Merchant Taylor’s we took our revenge against The Grange. We beat them and Merchant Taylors’ in the group stages, defeated King’s Macclesfield in the semi final but unfortunately lost narrowly in the final to Kirkham, despite twice leading. An excellent day’s performance from the boys.

Having qualified along with two other local schools to represent the Wirral, the Prep took part in the regional finals of the Indoor Athletics at Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes and competed against 15 other schools from the Merseyside area. Despite losing three of our best athletes on the morning due to illness, we didn’t let ourselves down and finished 8th in the end.

At least the Prep did have the satisfaction of beating the other two Wirral schools, St Bridget’s and Poulton Lancelyn.

The rugby season drew to a close with two 7s tournaments. At Rossall, both A and B

The Year 6 Netball team have had a positive season. In mid March, they competed in the AJIS Netball tournament at Bury Grammar.

Drawn in a very tough group, they just missed out on qualifying for the main competition knock-out stages but went into the plate. They then did extremely well, just losing 5 – 4 in the plate final against Newcastle-under-Lyme. In the final Netball tournament of the year, a mixed team of Year 6 pupils won the Wirral Schools High 5 Netball tournament at Hilbre School (actually beating our B team in the final) to progress to the Merseyside Schools finals day in July.

In late February, we took part for the first time in a Tri Golf tournament organised for local schools to introduce children to the game and were fortunate enough to win!

The team consisted of five boys and five girls using plastic clubs to score points in eight different activities. We are now due to represent the Wirral at the regional finals on July 8th.

The summer term saw the start of our Summer Games programme with attention turning to Cricket, Rounders and Athletics.

In early May, we hosted the annual Tri Athletics meeting on the School Field between King’s Chester, Bolton and ourselves and had a very enjoyable, incident free afternoon. Unfortunately we were narrowly beaten into second place by King’s.

London Tour The Year 5 football team have had a tough season but, strengthened by the arrival of new pupils and with the help of some Year 4 pupils, have progressed to the quarter finals of the local Corgi Cup. At the time of writing, they are looking forward to progressing further in the competition.

The Year 4 football team have had a very successful season culminating in a trip to Finch Farm, Everton’s training complex, to play in the finals of the Everton 6-aside tournament. Despite the absence of Kareem Ahmed who was playing for Liverpool FC, the boys performed admirably and only lost out on a tournament win by a single goal.

In addition to the above football results, a notable success on the football field has come from the Girls 7 a-side competition in which our Year 6 girls became regional champions at Halton Stadium in Widnes.

Wirral Schools. With terrific team spirit, the boys and girls performed extremely well. All four group games were won convincingly and the two ‘finals group’ games were won with equally impressive performances, not a single goal being conceded throughout. This result now means that the Prep have qualified to represent the Wirral at the Merseyside Games in early July.

In early March, the Year 6 Table Tennis team represented Wirral at the regional finals in Widnes. Unfortunately they were drawn in the toughest group losing very narrowly to the eventual, and extremely strong, winners, Our Lady of Compassion from Formby. This then meant we qualified in the runners up group where we won all our remaining matches very comfortably and were given a final positioning of 5th out of 16 teams. This final position did not truly reflect the high standard achieved by our team.

In mid March, the Prep took a team to the Mixed Year 6 Quicksticks Hockey tournament at Bebington High School for all

The Year 6 cricket team have started the season in excellent form, winning their first four fixtures against King’s Macclesfield, The Grange, Liverpool College and Merchant Taylor’s. At time of print, the team are looking forward to the AJIS Cup quarter final against Merchant Taylor’s and the annual 6aside tournament at Stockport Grammar.

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CHARITY

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Raising money for charity Bake Off for Medecins Sans Frontiers Year 7 held a highly competitive bake off competition in June, with the winners being Beresford House announced by judge Mr Rimmer.

He said that he really enjoyed the beach theme which was very inventive and the students had obviously worked very hard.

The proceeds from the bake-off raised £92.35 with the sale of the cakes following the judging.

Natasha Keeling, Year 7, had recommended that the chosen charity be Medecins Sans Frontiers after she had learned about the work that the group does, in particular during the recent Ebola crisis.

£140 raised for Wirral Fund for Children with Special Needs A group of Year 5 girls recently organised a bake sale in Prep in aid of the Wirral Fund for Children with Special Needs and raised £140.

A representative from the charity, Mrs Brand, came in to speak to the children in assembly about what they do. Mrs Brand thanked the children for their previous donation from the Harvest Service collection and explained what the funds will help towards, such as specialised equipment.

The charity is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary making a positive difference to Wirral children with special needs. They provide grants to buy specialist

items that NHS and Social Services budgets will not fund.

They rely solely on donations from individuals and community groups, and by fundraising activities and events which are run by a team of dedicated volunteers.

Manenberg Township A charity golf day took place in April in aid of the Manenberg Township in South Africa. Great weather contributed to a fantastic day which raised £850.

Pictured are all the players and caddies from the day at Caldy Golf Club.

Also in aid of the Manenburg Township and for the South African ‘Jumping Kids Charity’, students and staff participated in a non-uniform day and the sale of special South African sweets at break time. £700 was raised for this charity for young amputees in South Africa.

30 CO-CURRICULAR

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Co-curricular Code Club In Year 5, a group of children have been doing some coding in Code Club, led by Terry Longworth (an I.T. coder) and Year 4 teacher Mrs Coyne. The children have learnt a variety of different types of coding such as Scratch and HTML. The pupils enjoy doing projects on Scratch each having different style of coding.

Jacob Stevenson, 5R, has been coming to the Club since it started in September. He said, “Even if you haven’t done any coding you can still get a project just for you.”

The children have been really enjoying learning how to code. William Ward, 5P, said, “It’s been 10 out of 10,” and Jacob Williams, 5B, said, “It’s amazing.”

Student of 5P, Devang Revat’s, older brother Adi, has been volunteering his help at the club as part of his Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. The children and teachers are all very grateful for his help.

A fellow student Jake Fisher said, “Terry and Adi helped me so much when I was stuck on hard projects, and I love it.”

by Devang Revat 5P

Climbing Club Prep children have been having great fun learning new skills at Climbing Club on Thursdays after school.

The children have the chance to develop their abilities on the School’s own climbing wall in the Sports Hall.

Christopher, from Year 5, said, “It is great to have this club because at our age we don’t usually get the chance to regularly use the climbing walls as part of our lessons.”

The climbing activities help to build up strength and increase confidence. Isabella made it on to the top of the slanted overhang section of the walls and was very excited. She said, “I’ve done it a few times before but it is really hard so I’m glad I made it. The overhang gets harder as you get higher as there are less grips to get hold of.”

The club is led by Mrs Thuraisingham every week, and she is helped by students from the Sixth Form, to whom she is extremely grateful .

Gymnastics Awards Cross Stitch Club Mrs Rushton runs a Cross Stitch and Needlecraft Club for Year 5 students on a Monday after school.

They have had fun learning new skills and producing their own works of art, including pictures and gift cards.

A group of Year 3 children have been participating in Gymnastics Club, led by Mrs Grundy. They have been working extremely hard and

have made great progress with British Gymnastics Certificates being awarded to them earlier this year.

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Duke of Edinburgh Year 10 students were dealt impressive weather on their first Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award trial expedition to Wales. On the first day they started north along Offas Dyke Path to Llandegla to camp and then on the second day headed north to Bwlch Penbarras along Offas Dyke.

The Duke of Edinburgh scheme continues to grow at Birkenhead School providing an opportunity for students to test themselves, learn new skills and responsibilities and have fun.

CO-CURRICULAR 31

Mounted Police Visit The children of Pre-Prep were thrilled when they were visited earlier this year by two horses from the mounted police.

The grand horses took pride of place in the Pre-Prep car park while the children watched them perform manoeuvres, and then had the chance to pet the animals and feed them carrots.

The horses, Major and Murphy, with their handlers Sgt 4603 Kellie Gibbons and Con 3314 Debbie Cashin from the Mather Avenue Mounted Department of Merseyside Police, had been invited to visit the Pre-Prep as part of the children’s work topic

on ‘People Who Help Us’.

The children learnt about how the horses can help the police to control large crowds, and how they had been specially trained to keep calm even when there are loud noises. The children tested Major and Murphy’s abilities by shouting loudly and stamping their feet to try to get a reaction.

The police officers also showed the children their protective clothing, torches, handcuffs and radios, and they had a chance to try on some of the equipment and pretend to be good guys and bad guys.

The Jungle Book The Year 6 end of year production was based on Disney’s Jungle Book.

and costumes that were required for this ambitious project.

The children and staff worked tirelessly for months getting all of the incredible set crafted and made, ready for the show.

Mr Stockdale and Mrs Keating, along with many other staff members, have spent countless rehearsal hours preparing the children for their performances, which were, incredibly, sold out at a very early stage of ticket sales.

Enormous animals were created with the help of art teacher Mrs Williams, along with an array of other props

Cookery Club The Year 6 cookery club, led by Miss Ault and Mrs Osborne, have had lots of fun this year making a variety of different delicacies to eat.

They tested their skills in February making, flipping and eating their own pancakes for Shrove Tuesday.

Vyner are pictured here sampling their lemon souffles which they were very pleased to be able to eat at School.

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SIXTH FORM

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Sixth Form Leavers

Casha Anderson

Rosie Anderson

Phoebe Bakkali

Mallika Bhagwat

Pippa Brown

Will Brewster

Matthew Caine

Bethany Camphor

Holly Carrington

Tejasbir Chalokia

Ethan Clawson

Beck Clegg

Ben Corlett

Ella Devany

Sophie Dolan Jones

Ellie Durband

Luke Filer

Sam Gavin-Pitt

Edward George

Josh Gibson

Rebecca Gerety

William Griffin

Eleanor Hilton

Joel Keeling

Sam Johnson

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SIXTH FORM

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Class of 2016

George Kirkby

Daniel Knight

Benjamin Lawrie

Matthew Leung

Jessica Leyland

Holly Lyas

George McGee

Owen Morris

Nomia Navaratnarajan

James Neal

James O’Neill

Alexander Ralston

Lucy Rogers

Alex Scott

Max Shah

Alice Sherrard

Tom Simpson

Dominic Smith

Harry Unsworth

Francesca Way

India Wild

Nicholas West

Olivia Webster

Victoria Wilkinson

Chelsea Woodward

34 GET INVOLVED

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Parents’ Association The Parents’ Association have enjoyed another successful year, raising funds for those little extras that can enhance School life for our pupils.

We are a group of parents with children across the entire School, from Little School to Sixth Form, who work together to organise events to raise funds and to bring together our School families.

Our regular events include the Prep Discos, Coffee Mornings and Uniform Sales, weekly sessions for Fitness Friday and BLING (our ladies singing group) and of course Bonfire Night and the Christmas Bazaar.

This year we have also held a very successful Ladies 80’s Disco with a fish and chip supper. This was well attended and lots of fun.

We try to include all age groups in our fund raising and for the first time ever we held a Little School Disco and Easter Bonnet parade in Bushell Hall. This was very popular and the feedback so positive that we will arrange another event in Michaelmas Term.

We are keen to ensure that the money we raise is spent in a timely way and that all areas of School benefit. A brief summary of our spending for this School year includes: Gym equipment for Senior School Netball Kits and Hockey Goalkeeper Kit for Year 6 Sheet Music for Chapel Choir Contribution to the development of the Prep outdoor Classroom Photography equipment Donations for Rugby Sports Tour, Leavers’ Ball and Chapel Choir Trip Equipment for Nursery Equipment for Duke of Edinburgh I would like to thank all members of the Parents’ Association for their support and hard work this year and for making each meeting and event fun. My thanks also to all of the families who have supported us and given such positive feedback.

We are always looking for new faces to help and new ideas for events and would welcome any contributions you have. We publish events on the School Diary, via email or you can follow us on Facebook.

Our next meeting and AGM will be held on Monday 12th September. We would love to see you there.

Denise Durband Chair – Parents’ Association

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GET INVOLVED 35

Ladies’ Committee Join the Birkenhead School Ladies’ Committee The Ladies’ Committee supports the School by raising funds and enabling the School to function smoothly, preparing and serving match teas, staffing the tuck shops and providing refreshments at a number of School events.

Their recent fundraising contributions have included netballs for the Netball Shooting Club, football kit for the Senior Football Team, sewing machines and aprons for the Art Department, heaters for the turtle tank, running kit for the Running Club, new upholstered furniture for the Year 9, 10 and 11 common rooms, Lacrosse First Team Tops for the National Schools Tournament and tracksuits for the Rugby Tour.

The Ladies’ Committee is always looking for volunteers for the School Tuck Shops and any help is much appreciated.

There are two Tuck Shops:

One in Overdale for Years 7 to 8 and one in MacAllister for Years 9 to 11.

Volunteers are needed from 10.45am to 11.30am.

If you are available to cover a Tuck Shop session, would like to join the Ladies’ Committee or would like more information, please contact: Sara Hatherly on 0771 sarahatherly@outlook.com.

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36 OLD BIRKONIANS

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OLD BIRKONIAN SOCIETY

BULLETIN President’s Reflections I can hardly believe that almost a year has passed since I had the honour and privilege to be elected as your President. We live in changing times and the forthcoming Referendum could bring many new challenges to the country.

School itself is ever changing and adapting, and the move to becoming fully co-educational has enabled it to flourish in a difficult environment. Not many other Independent Schools have to compete against long established Grammar Schools but we more than hold our own in academic, sporting and cultural circles.

Close ties are as strong as ever

benefits of lifetime gifts and legacies in last year’s Bulletin, enabling the Fund to continue to support such worthy recipients.

Mention must be made of the Archives team who labour every Monday morning to chronicle the School’s history. They have recently completed the unique wall panels of the first 150 years, and are now working on a database from 2011 onwards.

A warm welcome Locally, old boys keep in touch with the long established Wednesday evenings at the Wheatsheaf, Raby from 6.30pm to 8pm, and any visiting Old Birkonian is bound to receive a warm welcome and perhaps a drink or two. The biannual Artist Club lunches have been enjoyed for more than 25 years by Old Birkonians of all ages and new attendees will be more than welcome.

School has always been a big family and the close ties between The Old Birkonian Society and School are as strong as ever. This was brought home to me at two sad occasions recently - the funerals of Graham Hurton and Harold McCready attended by many old boys, staff and the current and two former Headmasters. Both Graham and Harold in their different ways had given decades of dedicated, countless hours of service to School, and both will be sorely missed.

The OB Council elected its first female member this year and continues to do sterling work on your behalf.

On a happier note, Roger Ewing and I represented the Society at a Welcome Back Dinner attended by over 50 (slightly younger than us) guests, who included a professor who had travelled from New Zealand and some returning to School for the first time in 40 or 50 years.

Finally, a word of thanks to Dave Edmunds who, as one would expect of a first class rugby referee, has kept School on an even keel during his watch. I know he is keen to host some more Welcome Back Dinners so perhaps you will be the surprise guest next time. I know you will be impressed.

First female member

The first class food & wine impressed everyone (congealed semolina & jam has been confined to the dust bin of history) as did the greatly improved campus. Hopefully funds raised from these events will will result in the funding of a scholar’s fees through their entire school career.

Support worthy recipients Whilst on this subject, the Endowment Fund provides in excess of £30,000 per annum to assist in paying the fees of several pupils who would otherwise not benefit from an education at Birkenhead School. My predecessor, Martin Brown emphasised the tax

Brian Boumphrey President, OB Society

OLD BIRKONIANS 37

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Chairman’s Report The Annual General Meeting in September 2015 saw the election of three new members to Council.

Pippa McKeown, one of the first five girls to arrive in 2000 (Lower Sixth) became the first female to be elected to Council. Dave Rule (61-68) and Jim McGrath (63-70), both ex staff OB’s, have also been elected which returns the Council to full strength.

Martin Brown completed his two year term of Presidency and Brian Boumphrey was proposed and elected to take the role of the 53rd President of the Society.

The meeting was attended by 35 members and two guests, with 27 apologies.

The School caterers provided a splendid buffet lunch which was enjoyed by all.

During the OBS weekend the School beat the Old Birkonians at Netball 26-11 and won the rugby match 25-20.

Fortunately the OB Hockey XI won 3-1 preventing a whitewash.

The Membership database continues to receive priority treatment and the slow but steady flow of updates are most encouraging. The improved information available will reduce the considerable waste of postage when magazines are distributed.

The overseas members who wish to receive hard copies are paying for their postage, meanwhile an electronic version is now available on request and a copy of each magazine is also recorded on our OBS website shortly after publication.

OB Council Members

Some relevant statistics include : Total database = 7000+ Total membership = 3000+ Those who lack current addresses (‘lost’) = 404

The Old Birkonian Society charitable funds continue to respond to the needs of the School in the areas of Bursaries, Scholarships and Prizes. The Endowment Fund and the War Memorial Fund have been receiving donations from our generous members for over 90 years.

Each year The OBS Council decides on the level of donation it can afford based on the investment income and then selects the appropriate School need(s). Our summarised objective is “the advancement of education at Birkenhead School” so it is a fairly broad brush.

In recent years we have helped with refurbishment of buildings and also bursaries for students, but we now are intending to move some of the emphasis to scholarships for Sixth Form academic achievement.

By Roger Ewing As we approach the Michaelmas Term here are some dates to round off the 2016 calendar.

Saturday 3rd September

OBS Weekend Events including AGM.

Sunday 4th September

Choral Evensong 6.30pm.

Friday 23rd September

50th Liverpool Lunch (Artists’ Club)

Friday 30th September

Golf Day at RLGC Hoylake (Hoblyn Trophy)

Friday 18th November

London Dinner.

Athenaeum Hotel, Piccadilly.

Saturday 19th November

School Bazaar (OBS Stand)

Tuesday 27th December

Rugby match .

Birkenhead Park v Old Birkonians

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OLD BIRKONIAN REACHES THE TOP OF THE SENIOR SERVICE

OBE for Professor Cyril Weir

Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB was promoted to Admiral in April and was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff.

Born in Bebington on Valentine’s Day 1960 he was educated at Birkenhead School from 1971 to 1978 and then joined the Royal Navy. After his training at the Naval College in Dartmouth he read for a degree in Geography at Mansfield College, Oxford. On returning to sea he spent time in most corners of the world and served on HMS Fearless in the Falklands conflict, HM Yacht Britannia, HMS Invincible, HMS Ark Royal, HMS Beaver and HMS Coventry.

On the 8th April 2016 in the great cabin of the world’s oldest commissioned warship, HMS Victory, Admiral Sir Philip Jones was formally handed the command of more than 30,000 men and women, nearly 90 warships, nuclear submarines and support vessels, the helicopters and jets of the Fleet Air Arm and the elite naval infantry of the Royal Marines.

Sir Philip lives in Hampshire with his wife Liz and they have three children. The Navy Command Headquarters is at nearby Whale Island at Portsmouth.

Back at school we hope to see a portrait of Sir Philip in Bushell Hall at the beginning of the Michaelmas term displaying the Senior Service alongside Lt.General Sir Wilfred Lindsell GBE KCB DSO MC (1892-97) and Air Chief Marshal Sir John Aiken KCB (1935-39).

Professor Cyril Weir was awarded an OBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Professor Weir (61-68), Powdrill Chair in English Language Acquisition at the University of Bedfordshire, received the honour for his ‘services to English Language Assessment’.

Professor Weir has worked as chief examiner in English for an array of examination boards, including the Institute of Linguists and the Associated Examining Board. He is the author of a wide range of educational publications, including over 20 books on language testing and language programme evaluation.

He has taught short courses and carried out consultancies in language testing, evaluation and curriculum renewal in over 60 countries worldwide.

He is a member of the Editorial Board of Language Testing, and is co-editor for the Studies in Language Testing series published by Cambridge University Press.

In 2013 he was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, UK and in 2014 he was awarded the Cambridge/ILTA distinguished achievement award for language testing.

OB’s Selected for England Lacrosse Charlotte Lytollis (2008-13) and Olivia Wimpenny (2012 -14) have been selected for the England Lacrosse team to go on tour to Australia for a three Test Series in June (2016) prior to which they will play in the State Championships in Melbourne.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones

Both players are midfielders and may well play alongside the very experienced Laura Merrifield who captained the England team last year in the European

Championships.

This tour will be preparing the England squad for the 10th Women’s World Cup in July 2017 at Guildford, Surrey. Thirty nations are expected including Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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OLD BIRKONIANS 39

In Memoriam We offer our condolences to the families and friends of Old Birkonians whose passing we have been informed of during the past year.

JGE Helm

2014

(1946-1951)

DW Forrest

2015

(1935-1944)

D Goad

2015

(1946-1954)

G Hough

2015

(1945-1950)

T Kite

2015

Prep (1978-1981)

M Sheppick

2015

(1994-1999)

AG Hurton

2015

(1943-1953)

AH Godbert

2015

(1934-1941)

RH Hubbard

2015

(1946-1960)

JF Cowen

2016

(1937-1948)

FJS Walton

2015

(1946-1952)

HW McCready

2016

(1939-1948) Staff (1954-91)

KW Armstrong

2015

(1950-1955)

GK Blair

2016

(1954-1961)

AS Jones

2015

(1940-1947)

EP Smith

2016

(1957-1964)

DM Parry

2015

(1939-1946)

WEL Twidale

2016

(1950-1957)

M Mulholland

2015

(1957-1964)

JCLT Lee

2016

(1944-1950)

Obituary: A G HURTON (OB 1943-1953) Graham Hurton died in a Hoylake nursing home on 29th November 2015. He entered the Prep in 1943 and in Senior School was in Griffin’s House. He was Vice-Captain of Golf and in his last year won the Taylor Senior Golf Cup. On leaving School he trained as a solicitor and worked in Liverpool, living in Wirral for the rest of his life.

In the 1970’s he became involved in the management of the School, firstly as a Governor and as a member of different committees, and, between 1982 and 1991, as Chairman of the Board. He was therefore involved in the decision to close the Boarding House in 1984, to discontinue Saturday School in 1987, to appoint Stuart Haggett as Headmaster in 1988, and to build the Bushell Hall and the Sports Hall, as well as to improve the Campus generally in order to accommodate what was becoming a rather larger school.

Graham continued to show interest in the School after he stood down as Chairman. He was instrumental in securing the use of Prenton Golf Club for School pupils on Wednesday afternoons and was a regular attender at Sunday Chapel services. He was a keen supporter of Choral Society and enjoyed attending its regular concerts in the Philharmonic Hall.

Graham was a member of the School Archive Team, which was founded in 1989, until just before he died. He was also a member of the Council of the Old Birkonian Society, in whose affairs he always took a keen interest.

A large number of members of his family, former colleagues and friends attended his funeral, held in Saviour’s Church, on Wednesday 9th December, at which former Headmasters Stuart Haggett and John Clark spoke.

Obituary: H W McCREADY (OB 1939-1948, Staff 1954-1991) Harold died in Arrowe Park Hospital on Tuesday 5th April 2016.

He was directly associated with Birkenhead School for a total of over 46 years. His boyhood home was in Wallasey, and he lived in the same house all his life. He was a pupil at School from September 1939 until December 1948, a member of Pearse’s House and a School Prefect in his last year under Headmaster K D Robinson. He studied Physics at St Peter’s College Oxford and did National Service in the Army. He returned to School in September 1954, having been appointed to teach Physics.

Harold threw himself into the busy life of a schoolmaster. Besides his teaching in the classroom, he became fully involved in managing the technical side of School drama productions, usually held in those days in what is now the Prep Hall. Despite having served in the Army, he was an Officer in the CCF RAF section, the CCF then being an important part of School life. He took part in a number of skiing trips to Adelboden, Switzerland, travel to which was by train and Channel ferry. He devoted much time to running the School careers service, giving freely of his advice to hundreds of pupils over the years.

He was appointed Head of Physics in 1966, at a time when numbers in the Sixth Form were increasing sharply; many pupils studied Science subjects in those days, going on to take degrees at many of the leading universities, including, of course, Oxford and Cambridge. In 1980, on the retirement of Leslie Hargreaves, he was appointed Joint Deputy Headmaster, with Keith Stevens.

Harold was a major force in the implementation of curriculum change to introduce more choice for pupils and to prepare for the introduction of GCSE courses in 1986. He was quick to see the need for introducing and making use of computers in the running of the School. He supervised the arrangements for all candidates applying to Oxbridge. The system for entry was changing significantly, but Harold was always ahead of the game in giving the necessary advice to pupils concerning what was required of them.

Harold retired in 1991 and enjoyed almost twenty five years of relaxation and travel. He visited Austria and Switzerland many times, and enjoyed going to London, where he could stay at the RAF Club in the West End. He continued to take a keen interest in developments at School, attending Prize Givings, going to Chapel on Sundays and enjoying Choral Society concerts in the Philharmonic Hall, besides accepting invitations to staff reunions.

With the warmth of his personality, his concern for others and his dedication to the School, Harold touched the lives of many for over half a century. He was much respected and admired for what he achieved and for his ability to remain calm under pressure.

He always had time for people and knew the importance of listening and of offering encouragement. His influence was profound and he will be sorely missed.

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NEWS FROM DOWN UNDER Alan Hanson is a name well known to those associated with Birkenhead School during the second half of the twentieth century.

A pupil from 1952-59, he graduated from Liverpool University and then taught at Merchant Taylors’ School, Crosby. He was appointed to teach Physics at his old school in 1970 and became Head of the Department in 1980. His two sons, are both OB’s, Mark having been a pupil from 1976-89 and Tim from 1979-92.

They both live with their families outside Melbourne and Alan and his wife Angie emigrated to Australia last October to be closer to them.

OUR MOVE TO MELBOURNE At the time of writing it is six months since we left West Kirby to live in Melbourne. Angie and I were inevitably apprehensive about our move, having had so many very enjoyable years on the Wirral, but as I will try to indicate in the next few paragraphs, we are both truly convinced that we have made the right decision. This last journey was our twentieth trip to Australia since 1998, each visit averaging two months, so we have had plenty of opportunity to assess the situation!

gym, library, mini-theatre, bar, snooker room and medical consultation room! Everyone who has decided to live here seems to have the same friendly approach to everyone else, which is very satisfying, and there is a full diary of events throughout each week organised by and for the residents, though up to now the family are keeping us well occupied most of the time! Former colleagues of mine at School, particularly those who were responsible for setting up Technology as a subject, Dusty Rhodes (1969-95) and Robert Wiltshire (1978-2009), may be intrigued to know that I have become involved at ‘committee’ level with our extremely well equipped workshop concerned with a wide range of projects for the benefit of individuals and the community generally.

Surprisingly, we have already had a few visitors from the Wirral and we are expecting more in the near future! Three of these have had links with Birkenhead School!

Michael Hudson (Head of Classics until 2007) built Mornington into his exploration of the State of Victoria.

The proximity of our two sons and their families is the main reason for our being here and we are now enjoying the great pleasure of spending time with our five grandchildren, who range from seventeen years down to one. We have

Joan Waddell, who taught at the Prep, came to inspect our new abode while visiting relatives in the Melbourne area.

chosen to live in a retirement village about an hour’s drive down the coast from the city in the beautiful harbour resort of Mornington. The adjacent Mornington Peninsula is famous for its many wineries and spectacular coastal scenery.

The village has a central community centre with many facilities available, including swimming pool,

Chris Talbert (1955-61) left, and Tony Moody (1955-62) sampling Moody’s 2015

Chris Talbert and I were together in 1 Romans in Birkenhead Junior School, but I went on to 2 Greeks and he stayed in 2 Trojans – since then we did not spend any time together. He found me recently on Facebook and the rest is history.

He and Sue live outside Sydney in Kenthurst and are heavily involved in the Rural Fire Service.

Their son Brad has a plumbing business and their daughter Rebel is the Assistant Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service.

But when we met up and recalled our time in Wirral, we discovered that he used to live in a mansion in the Flat Lanes called “Mere Hall”, and my great aunt Dorothy Moody and her sister Irene Davis lived next door in a mansion called “Barholm”. Both mansions had been turned into flats.

Alan with Michael Hudson

Alan Hanson and family

Letter from Tony Moody in Australia

Richard Twemlow, with Joyce, had been in Sydney for the wedding of nephew James Twemlow (OB 1994-2001) with his elder brother Roy (OB 1983-1991) as best man, and we spent several enjoyable hours together during their visit to Melbourne after the wedding.

A further link to School was our being recognised in the local supermarket by John Beckley (OB 1990-97), who now lives in Mornington and teaches music in several local schools!

We also found that we were in the same class in ‘Biddy Ave’ (Bidston Avenue Primary) when we were seven. He went on to Birkenhead Prep and I stayed at Biddy Ave until I got a place at Birkenhead School.

When he left school he drove a Land Rover to Australia and when I graduated I joined seven other Oxford students driving Land Rovers across the Libyan and Chad deserts - we have both lived within 250km of Sydney GPO for the last 30 years without knowing of each other!

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OLD BIRKONIANS 41

NEWS from HOME and AWAY Dramatics in Sheffield Mark Powell (60-67) contacted the Society with an update after 48 years, the last 25 of which has been in Sheffield.

An extract from his update reads: “I started my acting career at school playing Joan of Arc in 1965, I then went on to be thrown around the West End stage by Helen Mirren and even to sit on David Suchet’s knee. Since then I have acted brilliantly in front of the mirror and occasionally in amateur dramatics. I almost forgot to get married but the alarm finally went off in 1992 and my wife and I now have two sons in their teens.”

Maternity improvements Dr Mike Moreton (51-57) As an obstetrician / gynaecologist Mike spent many years in Canada followed by ten years in China where he founded the first two western style maternity units and then more recent years in Thailand and Cambodia where he has recently introduced a fourth maternity unit in Asia.

Fit and healthy Bryan Lee (53-59) had a hip replacement in 2015 and had a holiday of recuperation in Cornwall where he and Helen met John Taylor and Ruth. John was the school’s Physical Education master back in 1980. John and his wife retired to Cornwall. Bryan is fit again and back to playing trains!

All in good time Bryan Ewing (52-65). Another Bryan --another hip replacement. Probably due to attaining hurdles records at school. His operation was in February but in good time to appreciate and enjoy his son’s wedding in June. Son Martyn, also an Old Birkonian (96-03) marries Claire Jessup in Ware.

If Willy Woodhouse was still with us he

would have called his later reminiscences “Two in Herts”. (? Martyn. Your Dad will explain?)

Hong Kong Court Our OBS Roving Reporter tells us that a novel (short listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005) entitled “OLD FILTH” (an acronym for Failed In London Try Hong Kong) was recommended to him recently by Mike Burrell (19531966) as he was considering writing a vaguely autobiographical northern edition (Failed In Liverpool Try Hong Kong.)

Mike joined the Hong Kong Judiciary on a three year contract in 1986 but stayed full time for 23 years. I say “full time” because since 2009 he has continued sitting in the Hong Kong High Court on a part time basis for 2-3 months each year, thus proving, he argues, that the older and more gaga you get, the more in demand you are as a judge.

If further evidence of this is required he has also been sitting, since 2012, in the Brunei Court of Appeal for about another 10 weeks a year (where the hell is Brunei? you ask. Could it be Dubai?) – Perhaps it is somewhere near Bali? – Borneo? – Burma? – Bhutan? – Bermuda? I think it must be Borneo because he noted that in order to be appointed to a Court of Appeal he has had to travel 7000 miles from the Wheatsheaf and into an Equatorial rain forest !

His advice, if your cruise ship is approaching Brunei is – Carry on Cruising. Although it is run by a kindly, wealthy and generous Sultan you can’t even get a bottle of Lite Ale with your curry !

Mike says it is great to be back on the Wirral, albeit for only about eight months a year, and his thought for the day --never abandon your roots and keep-abusy.

Double OB wedding Charlotte (Charlie) Hood (2001-2003) married Matthew O’Neill (1996-2003) last December in the School Chapel with a reception in Bushell Hall.

Charlie was one of the phase two arrivals at the school going straight into the Sixth Form in 2001.

French Paradise Martin Fox (1947-55 and 1958-59) has been in contact.

After a working life principally in Rotterdam, Netherlands, he retired some years ago to St. Jean de Luz in France.

This is mainly a seaside resort of some 12,000 inhabitants, situated on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish border and is within a twenty minute drive of San Sebastian (European Capital of Culture 2016) and Biarritz.

Martin says that the town is very lively all year round and is noted for a big, beautiful and safe beach set in an attractive bay, adjoining the town centre.

It is much favoured for French family holidays and for retirement – as evidenced by its excellent infrastructure.

The town’s place in history (think whaling/piracy/marriage Louis XIV and Spanish Infanta / Treaty of Pyrenees.) assures an historic centre with excellent, original shopping and a lively “typical” market.

Martin has kept in touch with OB Brian Wilson (50-58) who has visited the area and Trevor Roberts (52-59).

Martin invites any (near) contemporaries to contact him (martin.fox@orange.fr) if they want his recommendations on visits / restaurants etc. and of course all OB’s can count on him if they need assistance in the area.

NOTE: The OBS Chairman has a lasting recollection of Martin playing as the regular goalkeeper for the Prep soccer team in 1949.

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NEWS from HOME and AWAY McGrath from Minneapolis

In 1996, I left Birkenhead School for the University of Hull to study psychology with the objective of becoming a counsellor specializing in drug and alcohol abuse; 20 years later I'm an IT management consultant specializing in Public Safety IT, living in the USA and working with law enforcement agencies, fire departments and branches of the military across the country.

As I was approaching the end of my degree in 1999 and found that the job prospects weren't too great in my chosen field I decided to send my CV to any company I could find, across a multitude of different industry sectors, looking for anyone who is interested in somebody with a psychology degree.

I came across an American IT company called Unisys whose graduate scheme looked really exciting. They were looking for psychologists to help them create more user-friendly computer systems, specifically web based applications for government agencies which was a booming sector at that time. I had no idea what I was getting into but in the summer of 1999 I packed my bags and headed for London.

I fell in love with the job immediately. I was given a lot of freedom and responsibility quickly and was promoted four times in four years. I think my love for the job and enthusiasm helped to get me ahead but I'm sure I was equally just lucky.

Working on something so completely alien to me at the time was such a great thrill.

In 2003, I worked on a large, high profile project for the Metropolitan Police Service in London, a huge transformation of London's 999 system that touched millions of people in central and greater London and each of London's 32 boroughs, developing into their preparation for the 2012 Olympics. This experience put me in a good position to move on to other opportunities and, in 2009, I ended up leading a project for the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Fire Department (FDNY) after their inspection visit to London.

Since then I have been living and working in America. I get to travel all across the USA and Canada. I've worked with over 50 different public safety agencies and I'm considered to be a subject matter expert in the global Public Safety industry.

Me?! The boy I was at Birkenhead School would never believe me if he was told this was in his future.

I'm very fortunate to be where I am, doing a job that I love and meeting my wife, Ruthie. We met in 2010 shortly after I moved to New York. Ruthie is a musical theatre actress, singer and dancer. Our careers are very different but my knowledge of The Pajama Game (1995, a joint production between Birkenhead Boys’ and Girls’ Schools) was enough to impress her on our first date!

We now live in her hometown of Minneapolis where we have recently bought our first house and live happily with our two dogs, Crumpet and Doughnut.

James McGrath

Recent Events OB WELCOME BACK DINNER for Leavers 1960-64 The Old Birkonian Welcome Back Dinner for leavers from 1960-1964 was held at School on Saturday, 16th April 2016 with over 50 attending.

Starting with afternoon tea in Archives, followed by an hour long tour of the School with each party led by a Prefect and culminating with a splendid four course meal in the Dining Hall.

The Headmaster, Dave Edmunds, in his address, gave a review of the School and spoke about the opportunity for the 1960-64 leavers to donate towards raising enough to fund a full “Access Scholarship” from the age of 11 through to the Sixth Form.

The evening was deemed a success by all, with some “boys” meeting up for the first time in over 50 years!

Ladies included THE OLD BIRKONIAN SOCIETY LONDON DINNER After two years at the House of Commons, the annual Dinner in November 2015 was held at The East India Club, St. James’s Square with over forty attending. Dave Edmunds, the Headmaster, gave a review of the School and this was followed by an address from the guest Frank Field, Member of Parliament for Birkenhead.

This year the Dinner will be held in the Athenaeum Hotel, 116, Piccadilly, Mayfair, on Friday 18th November 2016.

The details are recorded on the OB Society website.

Class of ‘55 THE PRAGMATISTS On the 6th of April, a Wednesday, instead of their usual visit to the “Thatch” in Raby, the Pragmatists enjoyed their Spring Supper at Brook Meadow, a mock Tudor hotel in the rural surround of Childer Thornton. The private dining room with one large table lends itself perfectly to the twenty or so who attend this rather special occasion organised by Len Kirkham, one of the founders of the Pragmatists.

Note: We are still meeting each Wednesday at The Wheatsheaf from 6.30pm until 8pm. You are very welcome to join in.

How much?

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Sport GOLF at HOYLAKE On the 2nd October 2015 the Old Birkonian Golfing Society organised their annual visit to the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake and were delighted to witness another resounding success. Not only was there an excellent entry from the players but also a record turnout at the Dinner in the evening.

The winners were: Hoblyn Trophy: Mike Bickerstaffe (55-62) Hoblyn Prize (14+): Brian Welsh (72-79) Bowyer Shield (Scr): Neil McBurney (74-79) Putting Cup: Robert Hillock (89-96) The next Old Birkonian event at RLGC is on 30th September.

Rugby at Birkenhead Park Once again, many Old Boys and parents enjoyed an entertaining Rugby match at Birkenhead Park, all thanks to the Hearn family and coach Duncan Hendry for assembling and organizing the OB team.

Park selected their “Presidents” XV and a most enjoyable game resulted in a narrow win for the hosts by 26-24pts.

The “Moment of the Match” tankard was presented to Harry Sturgess and tries were scored by J Russell, Harry Sturgess, T Bills and a penalty try with 2 conversions by T Bills.

The squad was as follows: O. Hearn, P. Doyle, C. Davis, G. Sturgess, W. Collins, M. Russell, H. O'Loughlin, N. Hearn T. Dodds, J. Hassle, S. Hearn, T. Jarvis, B. Unsworth, T. Bills, J. Corlett, D. Bennett, J. Russell, E. Brown, H.Sturgess, N. Demetrios, W. Lamb.

David Ewing continues in his role as Cheshire Representative on the RFU Committee at Twickenham. Details of this year’s fixture will appear on the OB website.

OLD BIRKONIANS 43

NETBALL The Netball match between the Old Birkonians and the School on Saturday 5th September was fiercely competitive.

A high standard of netball was in evidence from both teams in a physical encounter.

Spectators were reminded that netball is a fast-paced and physically exhausting game played at a high level in School.

The School team finished strongly and won 26-11.

OB Team

Grafton Morrish 2015 With much thought and deliberation the team for the qualifier at Fixby G.C. was selected by departing captain Stam, who had completed a decade in office, Kris Archer having taken over the reins from 2016.

Kris Archer +1, Carl Adams Scr, Stuart Brown Scr, Anthony Shields 1, Marcus Stam 1, Charlie Berry +2 .

Shields could not make the Fixby qualifying date in May and John Hargreaves, still in fine shape due to various energetic daily rituals, stepped in.

Even in reasonable weather conditions Huddersfield GC was, as usual, setup to defy scoring Stableford points: Stam / Berry 29; Adams / Hargreaves 24; Brown / Archer 27.

Birkenhead scraped through with 80 points.

The finals’ draw had been very unkind to Birkenhead for the second year in succession. Our first round match pitched us against Solihull with a potential second round match versus George Heriot’s (the most successful team in GM history). The top half of the draw also contained Charterhouse (eventual winners), Eton, Epsom, Glasgow and KCS Wimbledon - all wellknown quantities of strength.

Birkenhead were in confident mood having enjoyed a competitive and enjoyable practice day on both courses.

The following morning 9am at Hunstanton, Birkenhead’s tournament began. Pairings: Adams/Archer, Brown/ Berry, Stam/Shields.

Birkenhead’s early nerves were reduced as Archer crushed out first shot of the event over 300 yards. In all truth we outclassed Solihull to win 3-0, Adams and Archer recording a 2&1 victory with

their trademark strong finish down the stretch.

Berry and Brown came through by the same margin and Stam and Shields scraped through 1 up having always been in control before enduring some ‘slam dunk’ putting and an ill-timed three point turn by a Solihull spectator buggy on the front edge of the 17th green.

Unsurprisingly, George Heriots joined us in round 2 and we knew this was going to be a tough assignment. The order was switched to keep the opposition guessing and this resulted in Shields / Stam in match 1 versus two Stirling University players. The match ended up all square .

Berry and Brown went out second and in a tight match went down bravely 2&1.

Match score 1½ / 1½ and a play-off for the halved game by Stam and Shields.

The first extra hole was halved in edgy par 4s. Onto the 20th and tension rising, Heriots’ had a 20 yards advantage.

Shields hit an exceedingly rare one which ended up unplayable in the greenside ditch. Heriots hit another decent one that finished 4 yards short on the apron.

Despite Stam’s valiant attempt to chip in for an unlikely four the ball finished five feet away and Heriots’ had no problems in lagging their long putt to close the door.

The prospect of going home early wasn’t preferable to any of the team and we entered the plate with a late tee off time.

The team eventually accumulated 85 Stableford points and this saw us through to the semi-finals of the plate competition in 3rd place. The prize for Stam and Adams (33 points, 2nd Place Individual Score) 2 dozen RWNGC crested Pro V1’s these were gratefully shared out between the team.

44 OLD BIRKONIANS

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“From the Archives”

Birkenhead Horseshow and Gymkhana

ARCHIVES There is always a buzz of activity throughout the second floor of 44, Bidston Road on a Monday. Even during the school holidays the Archives team arrive each Monday morning, climb four flights of stairs and often partake in deep breathing exercises whilst enjoying a percolated coffee.

This benevolent band of 10 volunteers spend three hours from 10am to 1pm maintaining the School Archives, handling the administrative needs of the OB Society and receiving visitors who have heard about the free coffee.

Now that our ex-leader, Alan Hanson, has emigrated last October to the far reaches of Australia, his role has been taken on by Michael Hudson, who visited Alan in February at his home in Mornington near Melbourne.

May we remind you that the Archives are always interested in photographs and memorabilia of any past school activity and any story that may be attached to them.

Many Old Boys who left School after the Second World War, continued their friendships by joining the Old Birkonian Football Club (Rugby Union).

Five teams turned out regularly at the ground known as “The Ridings” and the merging of several peer groups resulted in a vibrant social scene with the 1st XV in particular, enjoying considerable success during the 50’s and 60’s, being in the top echelon of clubs in the North West. The Club ran the Birkenhead Horseshow and Gymkhana, an idea put forward by Bill Howard (OB and British Lion) for the 1951 Festival of Britain and it was so successful that it continued annually until 1969.

Highlights included the regional round of the Daily Express ‘Foxhunter’ show jumping competition, many gymkhana events and other attractions such as rabbit show, sideshows, model aero displays, wild west shows, hovercraft demonstration, etc and crowds of around 10,000 were attracted in the peak years. Eventually the increasing costs of setting up, policing and staffing together with the high risk of loss due to bad weather caused the cessation of this fine event.

Many OBs from that era will remember the camaraderie enjoyed in manning the bars, gates, car parks etc at this major event in the Wirral calendar.

A full set of the event programmes plus a selection of original posters, press cuttings, photographs, etc are stored in Archives .

TELEGRAM TIME Roger Abbey-Smith (1926-34) is 100 on the 15th August.

He lives in Somerset with his wife Muriel and keeps in contact with Pete Goodall, also an Old Birkonian (1956-61), who lives in Herefordshire.

At school he was a first team cricketer, a Prefect and a member of Griffins House. It was an easy walk to school each morning as the family lived at Kingsmead Road North.

He always enjoyed his involvement in the Dramatic Society and also could put on a show on the parade ground as a corporal in the O.T.C - later the Combined Cadet Force.

After school he studied at the Medical Faculty at Liverpool University and became a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon in the West Midlands..

DURING THE SAME 100 YEARS In 1916 Andrew (Sandy) Irvine left Birkenhead School, aged 14, for Shrewsbury School (sadly Sandy died on Everest with George Mallory in 1924).

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social Media continues to be a daily, and ever increasing, part of people’s lives. With over one and a half billion active Facebook users around the world it has become an increasingly important and easy way for people and organisations to keep in touch. Here at the Old Birkonian Society we are delighted to use social media to help keep Old Birkonians in touch with one another and keep former pupils connected to the School.

With just under 250 O.B.’s signed up to the Old Birkonian Facebook page it is clearly becoming an increasingly popular way to stay in touch with the annual activities in the OBS calendar. Simply by “liking” the Old Birkonian page (details below) you will see a reference to the numerous events that you can attend, from dinner at a prestigious venue in London to golf in Hoylake at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Each event listed has details of how you can register your interest, making it easier than ever to attend one of these exciting occasions.

One hundred years later in 2016, Paul Vicars left Shrewsbury School to become Headmaster of Birkenhead School.

So, stay in touch. Join us on social media by simply searching the pages below.

So is this the latest school exchange programme?

Facebook: Old Birkonian Society Twitter: @oldbirkoniansoc Use our OB Society Website to update your details. www.obs.org.uk

Sandy Irvine

obs.org.uk

OLD BIRKONIANS 45

A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST FROM ARCHIVES 130 years ago

1886 Rev AJ Sloman was appointed as Headmaster aged 34 and brought stability to the school, which had seen three headmasters depart in three years. He had been President of the Oxford Union in 1875 and was a keen sportsman. He played cricket for the 1st XI against club teams (not against other schools) and together with Paul Claus had a partnership of almost 200 runs against Oxton CC.

110 years ago

1905/06 The Old Birkonian Society was founded. The inaugural dinner, which was held at the Exchange Station Hotel in Liverpool had 90 attendees and included a ninecourse meal. The name ‘Birkonian’ was coined - previously old boys were known as ‘Birkenheaders’ or ‘Birkenheadians’.

Noctorum field was made available to the school and later bought by the School Managers and other benefactors. This gave the School field on the campus (which is where all rugby and cricket matches were played) a well deserved rest.

FE Smith (later to become Lord Birkenhead) was the first OB to become an MP - elected for Walton Division of Liverpool.

F E Smith

75 years ago

1940/41 A young member of the Home Guard remembers crossing the quad by the Chapel with a number of people, having attended an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) meeting in one of the School buildings.

Suddenly three German bombers appeared flying at a low height over the School field, heading towards Birkenhead town.

Everybody instantly dived to the ground in panic and although the pilots must have seen the mass of people, they did not open fire (which was then normal practice). Instead they headed towards Birkenhead Park and shot down three barrage balloons in flames - a lucky escape!

On the night of 12/13 March 1941, a land mine (or parachute mine) landed in Bidston Road, totally destroying the Carnarvon Castle pub and damaging St Saviour’s Church including the roof. The School escaped lightly with the cross above the Chapel entrance destroyed and some stained glass Chapel windows broken. these were boarded up and later replaced with plain glass. Some Junior School (now Overdale) windows were also broken.

100 years ago

1915/16 Andrew (Sandy) Irvine left Birkenhead School aged 14 for Shrewsbury School [he died on Everest with George Mallory in 1924].

One hundred years later in 2016 Paul Vicars left Shrewsbury School to become Headmaster of Birkenhead School.

Oak choir stalls were installed in the School Chapel.

Old boy Sir FE Smith was appointed Attorney-General with a seat in the Cabinet.

The Literary and Debating Society debated “Whether the Parliamentary Franchise (vote) should be extended to women”.

Comments were made such as: Our Suffragettes were the backbone of our great army; Women would never work for a living if they could help it; Modern women had flats [shoes] and smoked cigars. The motion was passed by 24 votes to 19.

Another debate “That in the opinion of this house the United States of America ought to intervene in the present European War” was carried 23 votes to 7.

90 years ago

1925/6 The Endowment Fund was inaugurated.

Old boy HM Locke played rugby for England v France.

Lord Birkenhead FE Smith was the guest speaker at Speech Day. The 25 yard Miniature Shooting Range was opened and used by 230 boys a week for practice. It became the Globe Theatre for the 1953 Elizabethan Fayre and was demolished in 1956/57 and the site is now part of the site of the athletics arena in front of the Science block.

80 years ago

1935/36 Mr Bushell (the then Headmaster) purchased six acres of land off Bidston Road. It was later bought off him by Mr Leslie McAllester and presented to the School and became known as ‘Mac’ Field.

The School, which had been under financial pressure for some years, acquired Direct Grant Status. This meant that Government would subsidise one quarter of its entrants from Local Government Schools, which helped the School finances and raised the academic level. The Parents’ Association and Ladies’ Committee were formed.

Carnarvon Castle pub destroyed

70 years ago

1945/46 Harvest Camp 1945, where 90 boys, staff and friends helped the farmer harvest his potato crop, was at Sudlow Farm, Knutsford. An interesting feature was working with German POWs, with boys trying out their German and French.

Numbers grew after the war - there were three streams at 11, rather than two with numbers in Senior School increasing to 412 including 63 in the 6th form.

Mr WF Bushell, Headmaster retired.

65 Years Ago

414959 2nd Lt. W K ROBERTS was educated at Birkenhead School, RMA Sandhurst and was commissioned on 9th February 1951. Kendal Roberts died of wounds sustained in action at the battle of MaryangSan in Korea in November 1951, aged 21. He was awarded posthumous “Mention in Despatches” and is commemorated on the U.N. Wall of Remembrance, Pusan, Korea. There is an engraved brass plaque in the School Chapel and also one in the Regimental Chapel of Leicester Cathedral. There is also a record of his name on the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Kendal attended school from 1941-1948. He was an enthusiastic sportsman, a boxer of considerable ability, President of the Music Society and the most efficient sergeant in the JTC later to become the CCF.

46 OLD BIRKONIANS

infocus magazine

A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST 60 years ago

1955/56 The Ashcroft Steps replaced the slope from the cricket field down to the gymnasium. They were named after the donor, Mrs Ashcroft, who had died aged 100 having lost three sons in the First World War. The Chapel entrance was moved from the side to the centre and named the Macvicar Memorial Door, after the former School Chaplain Rev CA ‘Chuck’ Macvicar who was also an Old Boy.

50 years ago

1965/66 Plans were submitted for a new sixth form block to be built on the site of the stables.

The Royal Naval section was visited by the Fleet Air Arm who made a precision landing by helicopter on the school field.

The flu epidemic was reported to have hit Junior School with 57 boys absent.

Mr GM Willan retired after 15 years teaching Geography, in charge of School House and an RAF officer in the CCF. The death was announced of The Rt Hon H Graham White OB—one of the original 12 Prep boys in 1889, Liberal MP for Birkenhead 1922-24 and 1929-45. He later became President of the Liberal Party 1954-55 and gave the house and grounds of Overdale to the school in 1930, which later became Junior School.

Invitation to

40 years ago

You are cordially invited.

1975/76 The Cub Scouts celebrated their Diamond Jubilee for it was in 1916 that the Wolf Cubs (as they were then known) first received official status in the Scout Movement.

A party of 34, under the guidance of Mr M Hudson, spent a week exploring Rome, Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Thirty-six places were offered to pupils at Oxford and Cambridge, the all-time record for the school.

Mike F Croker OB captained Great Britain at Handball in the World Championships in Portugal (he represented Great Britain 11 times 1974-79).

30 years ago

1985/86 The School Rugby XV had an outstanding season - winning 16 and losing 2. Huw Roberts was selected for the North of England and Cheshire - other Cheshire representatives were: Andrew Lawrence, Chris Wilcox and Tim Hynes.

They played for the undefeated Cheshire Schools XV. Dave Wesencraft represented Cheshire U 16.

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead OB [1943-49] became a Lord Justice of Appeal.

The portrait of Lord Evans of Claughton was unveiled in Bushell Hall.

25 years ago

1990/91 Graham Hurton stepped down as Chairman of Governors, having served since 1982, but remained on the Board.

Harold McCready retired after 37 years teaching Physics (Deputy Headmaster 1980-91). He was an officer in the RAF section of the CCF. David Reynolds left after 21 years teaching Chemistry - he also coached the Cricket team.

There were 12 Old Birkonians on the teaching staff.

20 years ago 1995/96 Mike Jackson retired after teaching Modern Languages for 33 years.

Dean Richards, the England rugby player, spoke at the Sportsmen’s Dinner and the Hockey team toured South Africa.

10 years ago

2005/06 The portrait of Brigadier Sir Philip Toosey OB was unveilled in Bushell Hall by his son Patrick Toosey.

OLD BIRKONIAN SOCIETY Weekend 3rd and 4th September 2016 Dear Member, The OBS Weekend approaches.

Please confirm if you are attending so that we can assess the catering requirements.

The programme is quite familiar:

SATURDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 10am Netball match on School campus 10am Hockey match at McAllester Field 10.30am to 12.15pm Archives Open, 44 Bidston Road.

(Coffee served) 12.30pm Annual General Meeting in Bushell Hall 1.15pm Lunch in Sixth Form Centre 2.30pm Rugby match at Noctorum

SUNDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER 6.30pm Choral Evensong in Chapel Chaplain: Sian Howell-Jones Preacher: Rev Dr Stephen Ridley (69-76)

Birkenhead School presents

Dido and Aeneas an opera by Henry Purcell To be performed in Chapel

at 2.30pm and 7pm on Tuesday 5th July All Welcome Refreshments available following the performance There will be a collection in aid of Sarcoma Cancer Research