News round-up week ending 14 January

Details

Created on Saturday, 14 January 2012 22:19

Website

The new school website was launched last week and already we have received much positive feedback. As previously, the weekly news updates for the senior school, along with the Junior School’s weekly ‘Inform’, will be posted onto the latest news section of the website to help keep parents informed of what is going on in school.

Ski Trip

On 15th December, a group of 45 pupils and six staff travelled to Folgarida, Italy, unsure as to whether there would be enough snow on the slopes.  Most of Europe had experienced a very dry autumn and snow was scarce.  Ascending high into the Dolomite mountains without any signs of the white stuff, they awoke next morning to the glorious sight of a covering of snow which had fallen during the night.

The resort had been making artificial snow and continued to do so during the week with more and more slopes being groomed every day.  Pupils received four hours’ tuition a day with the Italian ski school.  More skiing was available with qualified school staff after the taught lessons.  Ski conditions were good during the week with the resort benefitting from north-facing slopes and below zero temperatures.  They had five days of sunshine which made skiing very enjoyable.

Although the resort at Folgarida is small, it has everything one would expect in a much larger resort.  As they were skiing at the start of the season, they enjoyed no queues on any of the lifts and were able to book most venues exclusively. 

Evening activities this year included: tenpin bowling, a Max Factor singing competition, a party night, a pizza night, ice skating, and a fact-finding quiz based around the resort on the first evening which turned into a huge snowball fight.  The food and accommodation in the resort were very good and the help and assistance received from Max Ski, the company they travelled with, was second to none.  The pupils participating in the trip were kept active all holiday and became very tired.  Despite this they were a pleasure to take on such a trip and were a credit to the school. 

Mr Harrison is in the process of organising further ski trips this year at Easter and at Christmas.  Look out for more details about the trips soon.

Chairman of Governors

After more than seven outstanding years as Chairman of Governors, Mr Les Everett is retiring from this position.  Mr Tim Smith, who has had a long association with the school both as a former pupil and for the last twenty years as a governor, took over the role from the beginning of January.

Cambridge Scholarship

Toby Ward, a member of last year’s Upper Sixth, has been offered a place at King's College, Cambridge, to read music. His A level grades and his accomplishments as a chorister and organist have secured him a scholarship to pursue his ambitions.  

Extra-curricular programme

This term’s programme of extra-curricular activities is now published on the website. As well as the well-established clubs in sport, music and drama, a number of new opportunities are available such as Chess, Film Production and Girls’ Football.

Eco-group

Every Tuesday after school, a group of active and highly motivated Year 7, Year 8 and Sixth Form pupils gather together to make a difference to the school, the community and to the planet in general, as the Senior School Eco-group.
The group is run by Dr Neuberg and Mr McDermott, with the encouragement and assistance of the Senior Management Team, and the support of Mrs Rhead-Corr, School Governor.

In November and December, the group was involved in the ‘Switch Off’ campaign; designing signs to remind everyone to switch off lights in empty classrooms and save energy. Pupils were encouraged to follow this simple action, not only in school but also at home.

Saving a single kwh of energy means that 200g of coal is not burned in a power station and therefore 0.5kg of carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere.  The result is a cleaner planet for all through the simplest of actions, merely switching off an electrical appliance whilst not in use.

The School has joined 16,496 other UK schools by registering as an Eco-school. So far, the Eco-group has reached the Bronze Level of Award, through their hard work.  This is a fantastic achievement as only a third of the registered Eco-schools have gained this award in recognition of our achievement in working towards a sustainable lifestyle. This term will see the issue of waste being tackled; mainly paper in classrooms, but also raising the awareness of the impact that waste has on our environment. The group is installing a paper-recycling bin in each classroom. Each Form will have a pupil responsible for their eco impact.  The Eco-group counted 25 bins located in the school grounds, so there should not be any litter around our school. At the same time, the group will be planting 60 Jubilee trees, supported by the Woodland trust.