Term in View AU TUM N 2 0 1 7
NEWS & VIEWS FROM ST EDWARD’S SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Autumn in
New York New York! New York! It certainly is a wonderful town! Mr Strachan and Ms Bowen led a very successful Drama trip to New York over half term. A group of 15 students drawn from years 11-13 had a fabulous trip with a focus on the artistic life of the city. We had two very interesting tours. At the Lincoln Centre we eavesdropped on a rehearsal of the New York Symphony Orchestra and wandered around some of the best Arts venues in the world. We were moved and impressed by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which tells the story of the saddest day in the city’s history.
At NBC Studios we had a behind the scenes tour which culminated in making our own chat show! Students took part as either host, guest, studio audience or band, or worked behind the cameras or control desks. this tour was really fun and informative and gave us a real insight into the workings of a state-of-the art broadcaster. We also saw two Broadway shows, the musical ‘Chicago’ and the comedy ‘The Play That Goes Wrong.’ Both were really good, and a great way to combat our jet lag!
At the Museum of the Moving Image after a brief tour, we learnt about political advertising and about sound design. Students had a great time manipulating political messages to change the bias of the advert with just a few changes of emphasis in language or image.
Another highlight was visiting some iconic movie sites, and re-creating some famous scenes – just for fun! We even bumped into Oscar winning actress Julianne Moore as she came out of ABC Studios. We rounded off the trip with a visit to Top of the Rock to see New York spread before us in the fabulous sunshine. It was a spectacular way to see all the famous landmarks, many of which we had seen or visited during our whirlwind tour. It was a very full and exciting trip. Many thanks to all that came along and to the staff for giving up their holiday time – Mr Strachan, Ms Bowen, Mrs Bee and Mrs Pozzi.
Forthcoming Events and Dates: Spring Term 2018
Friday 19th January: 24th - 27th January: Thursday 1st February: Tuesday 6th February: Thursday 1st March: Friday 9th March: Tuesday 27th March:
Open Day 9:30am - 3pm Whole School Production ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ 7:30pm Sixth Form Information Evening 7pm Year 6 STEM Day Year 6 History Day Open Day 9:30am - 3pm Spring Concert, Pittville Pump Room 7:30pm
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The Canadian
Connections
Exercise Maple Leaf: Milly in Canada Over the summer holiday, SSgt Milly Till, a Year 12 pupil from St Edward’s School’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF) spent an exciting six weeks in Canada. Having been selected to take part in joint British-Canadian Exchange programme – Exercise Maple Leaf, Milly undertook several expeditions in and around the Yukon Territory, Canada.
A significant aspect of the exchange was an 18-day expedition. The expedition was split into three parts: Five days of canoeing (180km), five days of cycling (226km) and a 3-day hike with a few rest and resupply days in between. Milly also saw some local wildlife: bears, beavers, bald eagles and a caribou along the way.
Stationed in a barracks outside of Whitehorse, Milly joined a group of British cadets where they were put to the test by their Canadian hosts; various activities including rifle shooting, physical training (twice a day), rigorous barracks inspections and learning how to take care of 180 Alaskan Huskies.
When asked about her time on the exchange programme, Milly responded with “Canada was such an amazing place to gain expedition and life experience. I particularly enjoyed the 180km canoeing expedition and the final graduation.”
Children’s International Summer Villages Jon Webster (L6th) has been a member of CISV (Children’s International Summer Villages) since he was 10 years old; and during the summer he had a marvellous experience through the organisation. Jon travelled to Canada to attend a camp in Toronto along with representatives from eleven other countries including Ecuador, Denmark and Poland. Jon had attended a Leadership course in March to give him some experience of what might be expected of him in Canada. Jon says: “There were four members of staff to look after us enabling us to get on with organizing the activities and further group discussions. The activities we planned were all focused on the main theme of the year which was Human Rights; and also on the Camp Theme of Safe Haven”
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World Challenge Botswana and Zambia During the summer of 2017, a group of students went on a World Challenge expedition for 4 weeks to Botswana and Zambia. During our time in Africa we had many amazing experiences and opportunities. In the first week, we went to the Kalahari and were able to learn some skills from the bushmen, like spear throwing and setting traps. We were surprised to see that one of the bushmen had a tweed cap! In the second week, we did our project
work. We were helping to build part of a library for the local community and, although the work was off to a slow start, we managed to crack on and see noticeable results by the end. The local community was very welcoming, especially the children who would come and help us with the library. During the last two weeks, we had our gorge trek and all our rest and relaxation activities. The trek was challenging, to say the least, and the terrain was tough. Although it was hard, the location was
beautiful and we were all determined and pushed through together as a team to complete the trek. For our rest and relaxation activities we went on lots of safaris and saw lots of wildlife, like lions and elephants. We also went to the Okavango Delta and went in dugout canoes. We saw the massive Victoria Falls and on the last day we went white water rafting. We all had a fantastic time and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this trip to others! Eve Quiney (L6th)
CCF Summer Camp
No sooner had term finished than St Edward’s cadets were on their way to Devon for the 2017 CCF Summer Camp. This was held at Okehampton and had been arranged by the South West Cadet Training Team. The days were packed: field exercises, field craft and section attacks, an ambush scenario and Adventurous Training package which included high ropes, raft building, wind surfing and some indoors leadership games. Cadets also enjoyed a day at an outdoor survival centre learning some incredible survival skills including rabbit skinning, axe throwing, fire starting, knife skills and whittling.
On the penultimate day, the contingent took part in Exercise WYVERN CHALLENGE, a series of eight complex stands testing a range of military skills, including section attacks, dummy grenade throwing, stripping and cleaning rifles, navigating, a medical situation and archery. Afterwards, St Edward’s proudly received the ‘Most Outstanding School’ (aka Best School) CCF prize! Once again, CCF Summer Camp proved to be a fun, exciting and challenging few days incredibly well spent.
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Pupils and staff from the Preparatory and Senior School get in shape on the front lawn
Celebrating 30 Years : St Edward’s Anniversary The 30th anniversary of the birth of St Edward’s School was celebrated on Friday 6th October; the Preparatory School staff and pupils came down to the Senior School for a day of fun and games. The number ‘30’ was the theme for the day and a range of activities had been organised across the site by the Senior School teachers. The day ended with a short service in the Main Hall when current pupils heard accounts and stories from former pupils who had passed through the School. To commemorate the occasion, a Whole School photograph was taken on the front lawn.
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Above: Making model polymer bonds Right: Mr Rodrigues demonstrating an experiment in the science laboratory Left: Pupils on the orienteering task
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NEWS GRID
Bristol Challenge Congratulations to Reuben Harris, Davina Smith and Archie Ross on winning the Bristol Challenge Cup. Following a brilliant trip to Bristol in June 2017, the then Yr 9 students produced a short film about the regenerated area of Bristol Harbourside.
Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets for Gloucestershire Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupils, Emily Scarborough and Harrison Gates on their appointments as Cadets to Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Gloucestershire. Emily and Harrison were two of nine cadets from across Gloucestershire to receive the prestigious award from the Lord-Lieutenant, Dame Janet Trotter OBE. Since their recent appointments, Emily and Harrison have both had the opportunity to assist at events alongside Dame Janet Trotter.
Remembering Fr Basil
Stride-Darnley Society
It was with very great sadness that we heard of the death of our former Chaplain, Fr Basil Postlethwaite. Father Basil joined us after Easter in 2007. In his role as Chaplain, he comforted us all in times of sadness, advised in times of uncertainty and celebrated with us in times of joy.
Those attending the Stride-Darnley Society heard a range of fascinating talks from our Senior pupils: Milly Till and Jon Webster discussed their respective trips to Canada and Dominic Wakeham, Philip Duewel and Seb Mander spoke on their involvement in the Engineering Education Scheme.
Joy of Christmas St Edward’s was delighted to be involved in The Joy of Christmas Concert, held at Cheltenham Town Hall. The Senior Choir performed a number of songs and carols alongside the Preparatory School Choir. Several members of staff were also in attendance, playing in the orchestra and singing with the Jubilate Chamber Choir
Dr Rowan Williams
Remembrance Day
Sixth Form pupils from the Philosophy Department were fortunate to attend a seminar with Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-2012), on the theme of Secularism. Dr Williams shared much of his experience and insight into the changing relationship between Church and State.
Forty four cadets took part in Cheltenham’s Remembrance Day Service. The Service was held at War Memorial on The Promenade. St Edward’s CCF stood alongside several other ACF and RAF units to observe the silence. Lord-Lieutenant Cadet, Harrison Gates, laid a wreath on behalf of the St Edward’s CCF.
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National Poetry Day The whole school was caught up in National Poetry Day and festivities culminated in a triad of poetry slams, involving performances by more than a third of the School’s pupils. Separate slams for Years 10 and 11 provided the opportunity to engage with exam texts in live performance. There were many admirable renditions, demonstrating sensitivity to meaning, rhythm and diction, as well as some impressive feats of memory. Zeynep Koseoglu, for example, learned the whole of Browning’s “My Last Duchess”. The main aim is enjoyment, but learning and listening to the poems should also pay dividends in the exam hall. For the third slam, volunteers from across the year groups crowded into the Library
at lunchtime to read or recite favourite poems. Responding to this year’s theme of Freedom, Jack Wright, Ben Rodrigues and Max McNulty demonstrated the political power of poetry with their witty, satirical, anti-establishment - but beautifully controlled - original compositions. Of all the performances of “Talking Turkeys” which I have heard over the years - including a very entertaining recitation by Benjamin Zephaniah himself - the one I enjoyed most was that given by Josh Hall, Adam Johnson, Charlie Mutimer and Brayden Horine. Duncan Clough’s whole-hearted rendition of “The Michael Rosen Rap”, boosted by the audience’s enthusiastic clapping of the beat, provided an appropriately highenergy finale. Mrs B Harris
MYSTY Oscars
The red carpet was rolled out in recognition of the Year 8 and 9 pupils who took part in the MYSTY Project. A special evening was arranged to award pupils who produced digital stories of exceptional quality. An incredible 25 digital stories had been produced by the pupils, each story around one of three keys themes: food, family and festival. Oscars were awarded to a pupil in each category and several awards went to stories with the best Photography, Editing, Audio and Script Writing. It was a delight to see how the pupils’ creativity responded to the MYSTY Project’s brief.
Frank Cottrell Boyce
St Edward’s School was pleased to sponsor Frank Cottrell Boyce - award winning children’s author and prolific screenwriter - at the Literature Festival this year. He is best known for books including Millions, Framed and Cosmic; scriptwriting for numerous films and television programmes from Dr Who to The Railway Man; and was a key writer and collaborator for the opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympic Games. We took a small group of students along to hear about
Frank Cottrell Boyce’s life as a writer and the Carnegie shortlisted book ‘Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth’ – a book which succeeds in being both light-hearted and moving. Beautifully introduced by Eve Quiney of L6th, we all enjoyed an inspirational talk (“finding the right words is like having a superpower”) with humorous yet moving school memories, and a fabulous finish with a hilarious reading from Cosmic.
Squash Tournament Congratulations to James Ryder in Year 9, who competed at an England Squash Tournament in Guernsey. James secured 4th place at the tournament. James is one to watch - another rising Squash star from within St Edward’s.
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Sporting Excellence Award
Touch Rugby During August, Hannah McLaughlin (Year 11) took part in the Junior European Touch Tournament in Dublin. Competing against 27 teams, the English team did extremely well beating the Middle East in the final to win Gold. The Sporting Excellence Award is a prestigious government funded sports performance programme, created by Skills Active in conjunction with the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Professional and Olympic Sports. It provides a structured training and development route for talented young athletes, who have a real chance of excelling in their sport; either by competing on the world stage or securing a professional contract. Two St Edward’s students have recently been given an award in different sports.
Alice Whitehead has received hers for Water Polo; Alice recently attended her first weekend at Dudley College and received technical, psychological and physical training. The training continues for about 15 months and at the end there is an exam. Bizzy Loffet, also Lower Sixth, has received the same Award of funding to develop in the Equestrian World. Bizzy has yet to attend her first training course but looks forward to reporting on it when it is completed.
District Champions
St Edward’s took part in the annual U12 District Hockey Tournament at Balcarras School on Wednesday 29th November. The team has been strong and quite formidable throughout the season and won many of their matches, which showed they had much potential as a team. In the first section of the tournament, St Edward’s played Pittville, Bournside
and Balcarras, accumulated 7 goals and reached the semi-finals in which they played Winchcombe, winning 4-1. The final was against Pate’s (a team they had already beaten earlier in the season 4-0). Prior to the game, the team had a ‘team chat’ and discussed tactics, which obviously paid off as the team won the final 3-1, making St Edward’s School U12 District Hockey Tournament Champions.
U15 Squash Jamie Carmichael has reached No 7 in the U15 National Rankings, which guarantees him a top 8 seeding in the forthcoming British Championships. During the summer break, Jamie reached a national final for the first time and in another national championship in September he was placed 6th.
Going for Gold O Chemistree
Tommy Sheerin (Yr 9) represented St Edward’s School in the Regional (South West) Heat of the British Schools’ Judo Championships on 29th October – and he won the individual Gold Medal, and qualified for the National Event which will be held next year.
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