Summer Newsletter 2019
Message from the Principal This has been not just an excellent term, but a truly excellent year at the College. With strong academic achievement, exciting capital projects being completed, an ‘EXCELLENT’ inspection report, and fabulously talented students and staff, we can feel rightly proud and confident about St Joseph’s, its community and its future. The Summer Term has naturally been focused on public examinations and we look forward to August and our students receiving their GCSE, BTEC, EPQ and A-level results. A reminder that Year 13 results’ day is Thursday 15 August and Year 11 results are issued on Thursday 22 August. Aside from public examinations, we have held a huge number of successful events, which have proved enjoyable for students from Nursery across to Sixth Form – many of these events are highlighted in this newsletter. Over the summer, renovation work will continue in the Chapel. Fundraising for Phase 3, the internal fit-out, continues, with all donations and purchases of seat plaques and named pews most welcome. Pledges of support to assist us in restoring our wonderful Chapel – and all enquiries – should be directed to raisingtheroof@stjos.co.uk. Purchases, one-off donations and regular giving through a deed of covenant will all be most gratefully received as we push towards the Advent reopening. Do please contact me by phone or email if you have any questions about the project: 01473 690281/principal@stjos.co.uk.
Pre-season training dates for boys and girls in the Senior School have been shared with parents through the weekly email and are on the College’s calendar in the Parent Portal. Please note that in September all pupils in Years 7-11 will be expected to be in the new uniform that was introduced last September. We look forward to seeing Year 7 and Year 12 students on Wednesday 4 September and all other year groups on Thursday 5 September as we start the 2019-20 academic year at St Joseph’s. Wishing all our St Joseph’s families a lovely summer holiday.
Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal
Focus on a Teacher Mrs Ursula Richards Prep School Teacher
Hello, my name is Ursula and I am deeply out of my comfort zone. I’m trying to write about myself and I am finding the experience excruciatingly hard. But that is good! Why? Because to remind yourself of how it feels to do something you don’t like or find difficult is surely essential for a teacher. If you don’t fall over occasionally, I was once told, you forget just how hard a playground can be. I am late coming to teaching and am a career changer. I followed my daughter Margot to St Jo’s. I had watched my daughter blossom from her initial tentative shy days in Nursery to being a confident and funny Donkey in her Year 2 play and knew I wanted to work at a school that could nurture such a transformation. I bring with me experience of working outside of education: predominantly in the film and television industry and Higher Education, with a brief sortie into Learning Support for the Deaf. The skills are all transferable...planning, organisation, motivation, diplomacy, customer relations - you’d be amazed how much similarity there is between a highly stressed film exec and an upset, tired child!
I also bring with me my own school experience. I wasn’t a natural scholar. I couldn’t understand why my trying my hardest wasn’t good enough. It should have been. So when I became a teacher I wanted to try to be the sort of teacher I would have liked. Primary school sets you up for life. Your experience here affects how you feel about learning your whole life. School is challenging for some children but if they try their best, what more can we ask? Sometimes it’s difficult to remember just how hard school can be. So ‘falling over’ is a good thing to do, just to remind you how the wonderful individuals who sit on your carpet feel every single morning. Phew! I’ve finished. Tomorrow I’m going to be giving out a lot of stickers. My class have to do this sort of thing every day. Wow! They are brilliant!
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Veni, Vidi, Vici The 24th annual Arts Festival – this year themed Veni, Vidi, Vici started with the Summer Concert, showcasing talented soloists and groups from across the College. The young musicians certainly conquered many challenging pieces of music to deliver impressive performances. Students were invited to participate in no fewer than six art workshops, exploring the digital through to the abstract. The campus was once again adorned with artwork; this time pieces of graffiti - artworks completed during one of the workshops. There was something for everyone on offer, including comic drawing, face painting, movie making and plaster casting. Our youngest artists held another successful ‘Milk and Cookies’ exhibition in the Prep School hub; whilst our Juniors from Years 3 to 6 performed three dazzling performances of ‘The Amazing Adventures of Superstan’ at The Avenue Theatre. Members of the Lower School along with Drama Scholars devised and delivered two short pieces of drama, ‘Lockdown’ and ‘An Absolute True Story (As Told by a Bunch of Liars)’ by Ian McWethy. Our dancers and LAMDA students presented at The Avenue Theatre, as did children from St Joseph’s College Prep School, Sidegate Primary, East Bergholt Primary and Springfield Juniors, who performed excerpts from Hairspray, this year’s College musical.
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Language was explored through the Arts at both Eurovision and An Evening of Language and Poetry. Following the introduction of STEM scholarships this year, children in Years 7, 8 and 9 each participated in a STEM interactive curriculum day. Teachers once again dusted off their costumes and performed for the students’ delight during Teach Factor, before our students took over with gripping musical performances in an afternoon of ‘Rock in the Quad’. An impressive SNAP photography exhibition was mounted in Birkfield House in the competition’s 12th year. The Festival was ended with a jamboree of music, art, poetry, dance and drama on the Sunday afternoon, with cricket being played on the green. Congratulations to all who took part.
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News from the Prep School
Creating Creatures from Found Materials Our Reception children have been engaged and exhilarated when participating in Outdoor Learning opportunities. They explored the wildlife area and were excited to discover a range of creatures including baby frogs and a stag beetle. Being creative outdoors was a special joy – using natural treasures and clay to create creatures and painting pictures to adorn the trees in our woodland area.
History, Friendship and (Probably) the World’s Best Bread On their five-day trip to France, Year 6 packed in visits to historic Second World War sites and a wealth of cultural experiences. The party laid a wreath at the Bayeux War Cemetery. Bayeux was the first French town to be liberated after the D-Day landings. The girls and boys also visited the Omaha Beach section of the Normandy coast and Pointe du Hoc, which has a memorial and museum dedicated to the 1944 battle. On a lighter note, Year 6 tackled baguette making at a boulangerie and toured a traditional Normandy farm. There was also a great opportunity to learn about school in France with an invitation to meet the pupils of École Saint-Joseph in Dozulé.
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Pupils Know Their Vessel from Stem to Stern Our Year 4 girls and boys accrued some valuable sea time aboard the Thames barge, Reminder. They were challenged to a fantastic range of activities, including some of the more glamorous aspects of life afloat – climbing the rigging, exploring the beach, a night sail and taking the helm. There were also plenty of the more mundane tasks to square away, including food preparation and bed making. At the end of their five days the young sailors received certificates to mark the achievement.
Castle Visits Give Children Memories to Keep Years 1 and 2 were blessed with glorious weather for their visits to Orford and Framlingham Castles. They climbed spiral staircases, investigated ominously dark basements, wondered at living like royalty and recreated an attack via Orford's ramparts. Framlingham saw the girls and boys learning more about life throughout the ages and patrolling the battlements like soldiers of old. History in action – marvellous!
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STEM Takes Off Year 6 pupils have been working as editorial teams in computing. Taking responsibility in their roles as researcher, editor or graphics guru, they collaborated on a Moving Across yearbook. Keen STEM Club engineers furthered their understanding of aeronautics by investigating the flight of cones. Using their findings, they designed a ‘re-entry’ capsule that would safely bring an astronaut - Minecraft woman - back to earth without a bump and from at least two metres. All designs worked in the end. NASA here we come! The girls and boys of Year 4 spent an exciting afternoon seeing their egg protection packaging put to the test as eggs were dropped from the roof of the Prep School onto the playground below. The vast majority survived the journey, cocooned in bubble wrap, cotton wool and balloons. The most fiendishly simply method was keeping the egg in a regular cardboard eggbox and attaching an improvised parachute. Year 6 enjoyed Marine Engineering Day and the challenge of transporting a heavy cargo on water.
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Nursery Children Venture Further Afield Whether it was hugging a wooden mushroom, cooperative den building or getting up close and personal with some hungry ducks, there were lots of exciting experiences for the girls and boys taking part in the Nursery visit to Needham Lake. The children were also delighted to travel by train.
A Staggeringly Good Show or Two! Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 have all taken part in a thrilling summer production at The Avenue Theatre of The Amazing Adventures of Superstan. We met the world’s newest, greatest and most unlikely superhero in this comical musical packed with muscle and marvel! Stanley Marvel may have been the clumsiest clot in Megaville, but he lived an ordinary life… That is until it was turned upside-side-down when he discovered that local hero, The Candy King, was actually a super-villain determined to rule the world! Audiences were also delighted by our Infants and Reception children, who gave two confident and laughter-packed performances of Jack and the Beanstalk. The show had everything – from the traditional cow to a ‘blingtastic’ dance sequence.
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Prep School Sport
The Summer Term started with a bang as the Year 5 children spent a week at Hilltop outdoor and adventurous activity centre in Sheringham. There were challenges galore and the children showed incredible resilience, courage and team work to achieve things they could have only dreamed of before the week. Mrs Gardiner and Mrs Searle led the way, overcoming the abseiling tower and the high ropes. Many of the children took a leap of faith without a second thought for their previous dislike of heights! The zip line and climbing tower were both daunting and popular.
The term tried its best to scupper our plans with storms and heavy rain regularly featuring on the Monday and Wednesday forecasts, but our resilient children have battled through and achieved tremendous amounts. With more than 50 matches, three residential trips, interhouse matches and two sports days planned. We were delighted to achieve so much in a 10-week term, and also to see every child in Year 3-6 represent the College in inter-school fixtures. The U11 boys and girls competed valiantly in the County hard ball cups. Many of the children made fantastic progress and have been inspired to join local clubs to continue their cricket through the summer. The girls showed very strong fielding skills and developed their bowling and batting skills during the games sessions. They worked hard to establish good batting relationships with each other and to use tactics and strategies to win matches. Bonnie Bolton has progressed to play hardball matches during the season. All girls are looking forward to next season, when they will feed into the U13 teams. Alongside cricket and athletics, children were able to play tennis at lunch times, and have lessons with Mr Cowley and Mr Ward. For many children, County cup competitions provided their first taste of competitive tennis. There were some excellent performances. William Dove and Lara Schwer were outstanding in their respective teams. The mixed netball team played in the schools’ competition for the first time. The boys and girls, who had been working together in their club sessions, played fantastically and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to put their skills to the test.
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U11, U9 Swim Team Mrs Wood and Mrs Hughes took a strong team of experienced and developing swimmers to Ipswich High School for galas. The excited spectators were treated to many first and second places for our experienced swimmers and very determined efforts from our developing swimmers. St Joseph’s placed second overall in this series and we look forward to further adding to our team from our Year 3 swimmers next year.
U11 and U9 Athletics Tuesday evenings have seen our amazing grounds alive with U9 and U11 athletics competitions. All the athletes made good use of their games and PE coaching and demonstrated some amazing effort. All the children involved have received their athletics certificates and are eagerly contemplating improving on their personal bests. The Prep School Sports team would like to thank all of the parents, children, teachers, grounds and catering staff who have made this year so enjoyable and successful. We wish the U11 children well in their future sporting endeavours and look forward to the Autumn Term and the excitement of the new seasons.
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News from the Senior School
Are We Downhearted? Not a Bit! Seven intrepid Lower Sixth students faced torrential rain in the Sussex Hills during their Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition practice. Conditions were so bad, the schedule had to be cut down from the three days planned. The adverse weather was met, however, by determination, resilience and unfailing good humour and the requisite night and day were completed by all. The Silver qualifier in Surrey will have been completed by the time the newsletter went to press. Year 9s are continuing to work on their skills for the Bronze award. When school resumes in September, the Duke of Edinburgh Award will be part of enrichment for Year 9. All Year 11 and Lower Sixth students may opt to work towards Silver. Contact Mrs Frost for details.
An Explosion of Colourful Fundraising The annual Colour Run at St Joseph’s College brought exhilaration and broad smiles to the faces of students and staff taking part – and it also raised £1900 to share between Cancer Research UK and East Anglian Air Ambulance. This year’s event was particularly poignant as Arabella Scannell (Y1), who has been battling leukaemia, was well enough to take part.
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Mrs Clarke said it was very appropriate that the Colour Run took place at the time of year the College celebrates its founder, St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, and reflects on his guiding virtues of compassion, community, service and contribution. ‘All those qualities were on display in abundance during the Colour Run, an event which has become a highlight of our College calendar,’ she said.
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Arts Students Rise to the Occasion The Arts boost understanding and sharing of culture, promote social skills that enhance the awareness and respect of others and have an amazing capacity to engage. The Summer Term started with a sweep of public examinations in Fine Art, Photography, Music, Drama and the Performing Arts, with more than 50 students sitting practical Arts examinations. There were triumphs for our LAMDA students, our musicians taking ABRSM examinations and in excess of 50 Year 8 students successfully completing their Arts Award Bronze. Looking at LAMDA, many students took higher grades, including six bronze, seven silver and eight gold. All medal students were awarded Distinctions and gained valuable UCAS points. Fantastic results indeed. Special mention to International student Alexander Mikhaylov, who excelled with Distinction in Public Speaking Gold medal – Grade 8, an incredible achievement! The end of year Art and Photography show celebrated students’ achievements and wowed visitors, who were amazed by our talented artists, animators, sculptors and designers, including Leo Bignell (Y11), who has been shortlisted by the Royal Academy of Arts for the Summer Exhibition. The College musical continued to provide inspiration to local primary schools bringing together the performing power of 140 Year 4, 5 and 6 children from four Ipswich primary schools for an explosion of glorious singing at a musical theatre workshop delivered by Mr Layton and Miss Evans.
Another Successful Day at the Office
Fashion, Turn to the Left, Fashion.
The Managing Director will see you now. Two groups of Year 10 students enjoyed work experience at Barclays Bank, Ipswich. All had impressed representatives of the bank’s LifeSkills programme, which took place at the College back in the Lent Term, and earned the invitation to follow up their training at the workplace.
This season we will mostly be wearing recycled materials. A totally fabulous Trash Fashion Show was staged in The ARC with Year 7, 8 and 9 models strutting their stuff in sublime outfits. Bubble wrap featured widely and newsprint was everywhere. Time to repurpose that garbage everyone.
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Full of Bright Ideas Congratulations to our first recipients of the Silver Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA). Pictured with their certificates are Harry Willetts (Y7), Jimmy Chiu (Y7) and Yushuan Thajul-Ameer (Y9). iDEA is a programme that helps students develop digital, enterprise and employability skills. Through a series of online challenges and events, participants can unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain industry-recognised awards that help them stand out from the crowd. Aimed at anyone who wants to develop their skills, iDEA is about lifelong learning. Those taking part range from students and apprentices to business leaders and pensioners.
Mathematicians Return Outstanding Results St Joseph’s College entered some of its most talented mathematicians in the prestigious World Class Tests in Mathematics and all passed. What is more, the Year 9 students all gained a distinction or merit. A distinction is an outstanding achievement and is only awarded to the top 5% of students worldwide. The six distinctions gained by the College constitute the school’s best results in the 10 years it has taken part in the competition and bode very well for our talented students moving forward into their GCSE courses next year. The Wold Class tests are designed to help recognise and compare talented mathematicians across the globe. The initiative was created by the Department for Education and the problems are set annually by leading universities across the world. Able students from the UK, USA, Australia, Dubai and Hong Kong aim to solve complex problems using mathematical skill and creative intelligence.
Ultra-Cool Trip to Media City The Lower Sixth Digital Media class travelled to Salford’s world-class Media City to experience the wide range of opportunities available at the dynamic University of Salford’s Media faculty. They were able to take part in recording a breakfast television news show, with each student rotating through the various roles of camera operator, presenter, director, editor and sound engineer. They also met up with Old Birkfeldian Colin McKevitt, who is the Media Production Manager of the Digital and Creative Industry Collaboration Zone at the university. Colin was incredibly generous with his time and really inspired the students with the cutting-edge technology he and his team are working with. Our Digital Media students also toured the BBC studios, seeing the Blue Peter set and a range of other radio and production locations.
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The test took a gruelling two-and-a-half hours to complete - longer than most individual A-level or GCSE exams take - and had written and computer-based components. The World Class Arena also compares the students’ overall performance internationally in each of the five Maths strands. The highest attainment by the St Joseph’s College girls and boys was in Number, Algebra and Geometry; all rated excellent and in the top 5%. Distinction: Jessica Logan, Katie Rolph, Matilda Simpson, Sam Slatter, Memocan Topal, Ollie Wroe. Merit: Ethan Willetts
Onwards and Upwards – Celebrations and Partings The summer is a time of watershed moments for our students, moving through and beyond Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form and facing new adventures and challenges. There have been the usual laughter and tears at special assemblies marking these transitions. The students have moved us with their speeches and memories and wowed us with their elegance and maturity, dressed to the nines for school balls at the Belstead Brook Hotel, Ipswich Football Club and Ipswich Corn Exchange. For those going on to new levels at St Joseph’s, we continue to watch your progress with pleasure, and to those stepping into the wider world, we wish you Godspeed – come back and see us soon as Old Birkfeldians.
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Senior School Sport Girls’ Athletics In the Suffolk County Athletics Championships St Joseph’s girls triumphed across all age groups. At U13 Grace Bestley had to sprint home to clinch the gold in the 800m and soon after added a silver medal in the 200m. Scarlett Deasy ran a superb 300m to take silver in U15 girls. Jemima Bestley took the gold in two county events in her preferred U17 300m, while Olivia Cave (L6) medalled in both 100m and discus, along with Kirsten Snook (U6) taking to the track for the first time in the 100m hurdles, achieving a silver medal and winning the high jump. Great teamwork was shown by all female relay runners across the year groups to win both A and B team relay events in the Suffolk Schools Athletics Competitions. There were many outstanding performances by our Y7 girls at the County Finals in Ipswich. A special mention to Catherine Gillard for stepping up an hour before departure to run the 800m due to a last-minute injury. We are delighted that Jemima Bestley has been selected for the third consecutive year to race at the National English Schools Athletic Championships and wish her the very best of luck.
Boys’ Cricket
Girls’ Cricket
The Summer Term has seen more than 60 boys’ and 30 girls’ cricket fixtures, for students from Year 3 to Upper Sixth. Throughout these fixtures, it has been clear that development, progress and personal achievement has occurred. This is proven within a number of individual successes across the season. Two in particular stand above the rest: U6 students, Harvey Skinner and Jacob Marston have both scored centuries for the 1st XI this summer, scoring 100 and 109 not out respectively. Harvey and Jacob have both have worked extremely hard on their cricket at St Joseph’s over the years and achieving such success is fully deserved.
Overall, a good season of cricket for the girls. There were some key performances from Grace Collins (Y8) with the ball (including a triple-wicket maiden v Ipswich School) and Sophie Singer with the bat in the game against RHS, plus a few half centuries. Helena Ringwood (Y8) has been extremely impressive with the ball this year and has picked up many wickets throughout the season.
Further individual batting performances to note were from Matt Kent (Y12), who scored 66 against Framlingham College 1st XI and Josh Stokes (Y10) who scored 72 v New Hall School. The 1st XI has seen a number of younger students deservedly making appearances throughout the season, which can only mean exciting times ahead for St Joseph’s College as talented younger students come through to senior teams. Both the U14 and U15 teams have played an exciting and positive brand of cricket. The U12 and U13 teams are progressing well. The U13s competed in the prestigious 6-a-side competition, during our annual Cricket Week, beating Langley and taking Woodbridge and Brentwood to the wire. Stand out performances came from Year 8 students Freddie Cloud and Sophie Singer.
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The U15s had a mixed season, posting some victories and lots development. Eloise Ward (Y10) has excelled for the team with the bat and during her bowling spells, alongside Jessica Logan with some strong bowling figures. 1st XI girls had some exciting games against RHS and Framlingham. Ellie Cook, Dena Glading, Mai Easton and Phoebe Hutley impressed with the bat, scoring lots of runs in the pre-season game against Framlingham, with Mai scoring a half century and Ellie Cook picking up a double-wicket maiden with the ball. Highlights: U13s Lady Tavener’s (indoors) second place U13s Orwell Park County Cup second place
Karate Helena Chan (Y10) won a bronze with her team mates in the Kumite Karate European Championships, held in the Czech Republic. She is also our national champion 2019, having taken gold in both kata and kumite. Truly outstanding!
Cycle Speedway James Porter (L6) has continued to produce dominant performances in both regional and national Cycle Speedway events. These have resulted in his inclusion in the British Cycling Team for the World Championships in Poland.
Equestrian Katie Rolph (Y9) has been competing strongly all year with her horse, Millie, and has recently been selected as a final five finalist for the KBIS (British Equestrian Insurance) NSEA (National Schools Equestrian Association) Bursary. Katie will find out the results during the summer holidays. Freya Milner-Moore (Y7) has also had a strong season with her pony, Spikeman. In the British Show Jumping National Classes in Wales she jumped 11 out of 12 rounds clear, dropping just one pole at the final fence of the twelfth. Freya came away with three winner’s rosettes. Pony and rider qualified for the Trailblazers National Finals this summer in three classes and also the Champions finals back in Wales in August. Freya also won both her BS classes at Brook Farm in Essex.
Football Erika Lempek (Y8) has been ranked second best U14 female in Suffolk Football, having scored 21 goals from 10 appearances. She has also scored a further four for Norwich Elite U16. Eloise Ward gained captaincy of the U16 England team and has so far earned four caps.
East Region Swimming Championships Excellent swims by a number of our students at UEA in Norwich. Special congratulations to Ben Howlett (Y7), who reached the finals of six events and set a 39 second PB in the 1500m freestyle to take the bronze medal.
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Staff in the Spotlight Miss Lucia Jesenaiova International Student Coordinator
My parents and grandparents supported me in discovering my passions while growing up - sport, reading, the history of Czechoslovakia being the main ones. Their knowledge and values helped to shape me to become the person I am now and for that, I will always be thankful.
As the last year of my Masters was a very intense year, I decided to spend a year abroad before starting my professional career. Having previous experience working at Alexanders College in Bawdsey, I was offered a year contract as a Housemistress. At that time, little did I know that one year in the UK would turn into twelve and counting.
Sport has played a big part of my life and I’m very grateful for all the opportunities I had as a child. I played football and tennis and have skied since I can remember and was encouraged to try many other sports.
I spent 10 rewarding years at Alexanders College, holding various roles from Housemistress, Head of Boarding to Head of Student Welfare, and I truly enjoyed all of them in different ways.
My dad introduced me to judo when I was six, and what started as a bit of fun, turned out to be my main passion while growing up. Being National Judo Champion in youth categories still remains one of my biggest achievements so far. Despite having to finish my sports career due to injury, doing martial arts gave me more than physical exercise and titles; it taught me lessons in self-control, determination and the will never to give up. After finishing my high school education, I continued my studies at the University of Economics in Bratislava, reading Finance, Banking and Investing. Combining my interest in politics and the situation in Slovakia at the time, I wrote my final thesis on The Effects of Political Decisions on the Structure of Tax Systems.
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I have been working at St Joseph’s College for two and half years now and I still remember how welcome I was made to feel during my first few weeks. Some things never change here; I’m truly fortunate to work with some outstanding professionals and kind and supportive colleagues. Working as the International Student Co-ordinator enables me to combine my interest in pastoral care with my drive to support the students on their academic journey and teaching EAL; it is very rewarding to help students discover their own passions and desires. Looking forward to next year, I’m excited to be a Year 7 Form Tutor from September and to continue my work with international students at the College.
Our St Joseph’s Community
Dragon Boat Racers Beat the Drum for St Joseph’s Our intrepid Dragon Boat team took to the water at Ipswich waterfront in a good natured but highly competitive series of short races… and covered themselves in glory. The mostly tyro rowers strained every muscle and sinew to finish fourth of 19 teams, and posted the third fastest time for a single race overall. The challenge raised a huge £15,000 for Fresh Start New Beginnings, which supports children who have suffered sexual abuse.
Suffolk Punch Draws an Adoring Crowd Colony Vee, a beautiful example of the highly endangered breed of heavy horse native to the county, visited St Joseph’s College on Suffolk Day and wowed everyone with her power and gentleness. The Prep School has adopted Colony Vee and supports her at the Suffolk Punch Trust. The girls and boys also ran a cake stall in aid of the Trust, raising over £180 and helping to make the day extra special.
Raising the Roof with Ruthie Our current appeal for the restoration of the Chapel received a wonderful boost thanks to West End star, Ruthie Henshall – a St Joseph’s College parent – when she performed a delightful evening show in Refs. The audience was treated to a preview of the onewoman show Ruthie was about to take to Sydney Opera House. Thanks to ticket sales, the bar and a raffle the Chapel Fund received a magnificent £8,000.
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New Facilities and Old Friends
St Joseph’s College Cricket Provision Takes Off Essex cricket captain Ryan Ten Doeschate travelled from his base at the County Ground, Chelmsford, to open the superb new St Joseph’s College pavilion. Named by the International Cricket Council as one of the Ten Players to Watch, Ryan was clearly impressed by the school’s facilities, telling an audience of students, staff, parents and alumni, ‘If I’d been to a school like, this I would have been a better cricketer!’ Ryan’s expertise was snapped up by girls and boys who took a masterclass with him in the new cricket nets beside The Pavilion. The dual-aspect pavilion, with its glossy interior, kitchen, bar and stylish furnishings will also be used as a base for numerous sporting and social events besides cricket, and also for seminars and workshops. To further the profile of cricket at St Joseph’s, the new facility will be pivotal. Cricket is one of four performance sports for boys and girls at the school, along with rugby, football and netball. Those leading the push include Head of Cricket, Mr Tyler, and the school’s Cricket Professional, Matt Hunn, a former student of St Joseph’s, who takes up his post in September.
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Former right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler for Kent, Mr Hunn said, ‘It is a pleasure to be back here and I am really excited about this opportunity to help take cricket to the next level at St Joseph’s. I owe a lot to the school and the part it played in getting me to where I am in life.’ In the five years since cricket replaced rounders for girls at the school, some exciting some exciting female cricketing talents have emerged; among them 2018/19 Head Girl Ellie Cook. She said at the opening, ‘When I joined St Joseph’s in Year 7, I was playing at my local club. As the school’s cricket season approached I was anxious to join the boys’ team. Bowling out Ipswich School’s top four batsmen in my debut, meant the boys welcomed me with open arms!’ Since then Ellie has played for Suffolk and Essex, where she is currently a member of the women’s squad. The annual Old Birkfeldians’ match against St Joseph’s 1st XI followed the opening ceremony, with the old boys winning by four runs. OB captain Ash Clarke is pictured receiving the trophy from Mr Tyler.
Old Birkfeldians
What a Start to His Professional Career for Dentist Aidan! Newly qualified after completing his course in Dentistry at Liverpool University, Dr Aidan Yates OB has won second prize in the national Dental Clinical Skills Competition. He was one of over 500 entrants, representing 50% of the final year dental undergraduate population of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Aidan, who aims to undertake further study to become a specialist dental surgeon, received an all-expenses-paid trip to Switzerland and membership of the Royal College of Surgeons as his prize. The Dental Clinical Skills Competition was devised by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh and seeks to bridge the gap between academic studies and practical dentistry. Winners of each heat, 18 in all, were brought together for this year’s final, held at the end of February in Edinburgh. Tasked with demonstrating their individual competency across nine different skill areas (restorative dentistry, endodontics, orthodontics, laparoscopy, dental anatomy, digital scanning, oral surgery, implants and communication skills), the contestants were given just 12 minutes to complete each task. Once time had elapsed, assessments were made and contestants moved to the next task, in all demonstrating two hours of nonstop, practical dental skills.
Aidan said his education at St Joseph’s College had provided an excellent foundation from which to build his career. Mrs Clarke, the Principal, added, ‘The staff and I always take great pleasure in hearing of the successes of former students. It comes as no surprise that Aidan is already making his mark on his chosen profession. We look forward to following his progress and that of his brothers, Francis, who left St Joseph’s in 2013, and Wilfred, who sat his A-levels this summer.’ Francis returned to St Joseph’s College earlier in the year to talk to students about the benefits of studying STEM subjects. He gave Sixth Formers a fascinating insight into the power of Artificial Intelligence now and its potential for the future. Having completed a Master’s degree in Engineering at Trinity College, Dublin, he has remained in the city to work in a technology start-up. Wilfred plans to read Engineering at Sheffield. All three brothers were recipients of Nuffield Scholarships as St Joseph’s College Sixth Formers. Aidan is pictured on the left with the first and third placed entrants, representing the Universities of Newcastle and Glasgow.
Lewis Ludlam OB Joins England Training Squad to begin World Cup Preparations Northampton Saints flanker Lewis Ludlam was called up to England’s 29-man training squad to attend a camp at Pennyhill Park, Surrey. The 23-year-old is one of four players included by head coach Eddie Jones for the first time in an England senior men’s training squad. England’s official Rugby World Cup training squad was to be announced by Jones at Japan House on 4 July. In an interview for The Guardian, Lewis said: ‘My family were into boxing and football. No one had ever played rugby but my parents thought I should break with tradition and try something new. When England won the World Cup in 2003, rugby seemed the obvious option and I have played ever since.’ Ludlam joined the Saints’ academy when he was 13, spotted playing for St Joseph’s. He continued: ‘I was dropped when I was 15 due to my size and not quite being there in terms of skill. They told me to go away and work hard. It was a defining moment: it made me more confrontational and I started to enjoy my rugby again. I played for Colchester and within a couple of years I was back at Northampton.’
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Boarding News
Boarding Summer Fun Boarding has been abuzz with activities, whether it be pupil-led group revision sessions, sports fixtures aplenty, off-site organised events or in-house movie nights, the students (and staff) have not stopped. It has been a real pleasure to see the quiet and focussed approach to examination preparation and the collaboration between students on specific study points. Our Year 11 and 13 students have now completed all of their examinations and Upper Sixth students await their results with anticipation. There have been tearful goodbyes from students who consider Boarding very much their second home and staff as extended family. We wish all those moving on to pastures new a successful outcome to their examinations and we take great pride and joy in seeing you spread your wings and soar on to all the amazing things that lie ahead of you. Please do come and visit and keep us updated as we love to hear how you are getting on. In fact, this term we have been revisited by a number of returning students. Joel Sou joined us for a barbecue, and fellow university students Joana Cai and Jade Liu met us at Thorpe Park. Samson Ma’asi, now a professional rugby player at Northhampton Saints, popped back to Goldrood for a cup of tea. Boarding really is a home for students and they like to come back and catch up with friends and staff.
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This term has been a hive of activity with educational and enriching trips galore. Mr Kerridge and Dr Rice led an informative trip to Sutton Hoo, where our young people learnt about Anglo-Saxon history, whilst enjoying some fresh air. We spent a very rainy day at Colchester Zoo and bonded with the animals – the chimpanzees were amongst the favourites. The day out at Thorpe Park thrilled all talking part. The boarders returned exhausted and happy, having enjoyed an amazing time with their friends. As the weather has improved, we have become fiercely competitive in volleyball tournaments and water fights, and the sound of young people laughing on the fields has been a true pleasure.
Refurbishment works continue and we have now completed work on three bathrooms, upgraded the electrical supply and painted Goldrood’s downstairs communal areas. Over the summer break, painting will continue and it is hoped that work will commence on the bathrooms in the Mews. However, the most welcome update has been the milk machines in both house. Students have been drinking this nutritious product at almost a faster rate than we can source it! Finally, I wish all our families a most wonderful summer and hope that the holidays will afford time for rest, time for reviewing subject notes and most importantly, time to make memories with loved ones.
Students donned their finest gear for the various school balls. It has to be said, the dance moves have been interesting and all three age groups embraced the staff joining in on the dance floor too.
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Sexting It may feel awkward, but it's important to explain to children the risks of sexting, how to stay safe and to remind them that they can talk to you if something ever makes them feel scared or uncomfortable. Sexting is when someone shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others, or sends sexually explicit messages. They can be sent using mobiles, tablets, smartphones, laptops - any device that allows you to share media and messages. Sexting may also be called: • trading nudes • dirties • pic for pic There are many reasons why a young person may want to send a naked or semi-naked picture, video or message to someone else: • joining in because they think that ‘everyone is doing it’ • boosting their self-esteem • flirting with others and testing their sexual identity • exploring their sexual feelings • to get attention and connect with new people on social media • they may find it difficult to say no if somebody asks them for an explicit image, especially if the person asking is persistent Sexting can be seen as harmless, but creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. A young person is breaking the law if they: • take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend • share an explicit image or video of a child, even if it’s shared between children of the same age • possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child, even if the child gave their permission for it to be created. However, as of January 2016 in England and Wales, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn't in the public interest. Crimes recorded this way are unlikely to appear on future records or checks, unless the young person has been involved in other similar activities which may indicate that they're a risk.
Find a way to start the conversation Explain the risks of sexting Make it clear you will be supportive and understanding
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