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2nd May 2014
Dear Parents,
A very warm welcome back to the Summer Term after what I hope proved to be a lovely Easter
holiday for you and your families.
End of Term News:
The end of last term may seem a long time ago, but much happened within the last two days and
then over the holiday. On the penultimate day of term, our Year 12 students attended
an excellent Higher Education Fair at the University of Nottingham organised by Mr Taylor,
while a splendid Media Department Mastermind House Competition took place that evening,
with Mistress of Ceremonies, Miss Gregory, on fine form! Additionally, Mrs Hadley organised
a most enjoyable Year 10 Dragons Den, with the support of several parents. The final day
of term saw a truly moving Whole School Easter Service, organised by the Chaplaincy Team and
Mrs Bennett, followed the next day by the annual Opera by Candlelight, organised by one of our
Governors, Mrs Goldstraw, and featuring a beautiful solo this year performed by Y12 student,
Sally Croysdale.
Holiday News:
During the Easter holiday, Mrs Reddin, assisted by Mrs Cushing, organised a hugely successful
GCSE and ‘A’ Level French Language Homestay in Nice for 25 of our students from Years 10 – 12,
while the CCF Trip kayaking and canoeing in the Ardèche, in southern France, under the
leadership of Lt Col Balmbra, Mr Dziemianko and Mr Kaye, proved a fantastic experience.
In addition, many staff came into School to run revision sessions for our public examination
candidates.
My sincere thanks, therefore, go to all the staff, parents and friends of Ratcliffe College
for facilitating all the above activities.
At Headmaster’s Assembly, we welcomed the following new students to Ratcliffe College:
Gyaan Sagoo (Cygnets), Charlotte Ball (Year 8), Harriet Ball (Year 9) and Dominic Short (Year 9),
as well as the 11 exchange students from St Peter’s, Gore, New Zealand – and a very sincere
thank you to host parents here. During the course of this week, Nursery School and Junior
School Class Photographs and School Photographs, together with those of the Boarding
Community, were taken on Wednesday. Mrs Nightingale will shortly send you details of how to
place orders. Wednesday also saw the Annual House Square Races, when terrific fun was had by
all (the results appear later in this E-Newsletter), while students in Years 7 and 8 participated in
the Junior UKMT Mathematics Challenge. On Thursday, we welcomed many children
from schools across the county to enjoy our Feeder Schools’ Choral Day, under the baton of
Mr McCall, and it proved to be a tremendously successful and enjoyable day.
It was very good to see so many attend both the Year 10 Parents’ Evening on Tuesday evening,
and the Year 7 Parents’ Evening last night. Power-point presentations from both evenings
will appear on the School Website. We have a busy term ahead of boys’ cricket and tennis,
and girls’ tennis and rounders, together with a number of athletics fixtures, and we look forward
to seeing you supporting our boys and girls. Public Examinations have now commenced, so do
please remember the school community, and especially the students, in your thoughts and
prayers. We also pray for Mrs Ann Maguire, the teacher tragically killed at Corpus Christi
Catholic College, Leeds, along with her family and school; I have written to the Headmaster
to express our collective condolences.
Wishing you and your families a very happy, healthy and successful Summer Term,
Yours sincerely,
Gareth P. Lloyd,
Headmaster.
PARENT NEWS
Dear Parent,
Netball and Hockey Sport Team Photographs taken on 10th, 11th and 13th March 2014
As you may be aware your son/daughter sat for a sports team photograph in March 2014.
The cost of each A4 sized photograph is £20 per student, the sum of which would be added to your
school bill.
The photographs can be viewed at the following website- www.jonathanflintphotography.co.uk
The Password to view the photographs is the same one you use for the Parents’ Portal.
If you would like to place an order, please complete the attached order form; this needs to be
returned to the Registrar’s Department by Friday 30th May 2014. The Photographs will then be
printed for collection.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Phil Gilchrist
Director of Sports
[email protected]
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Netball and Hockey Sports Team Photographs taken on the 10th, 11th, 13th March 2014
To be returned to Registrar’s Office by Friday 30 th May 2014
I would like to place an order for my Son’s/Daughter’s (name) sport team photograph.
Name:
Year:
Team (as noted on website photo):
Address:
I agree for the sum of £20 to be added to my end of term account.
Signed (parent/guardian)______________________
Date ________________
Dear Parents of children in Year 10
Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre
On Monday 12th May 2014, the Religious Studies Department have organised a trip to the Beth Shalom
Holocaust Centre near Newark, Nottinghamshire. The centre was set up in 1985 as a place of memory for the
victims of the Holocaust and as a place to teach future generations about what happened and the
consequences.
In Religious Studies, students in Year 10 are currently studying a unit of work on Religion and Equality, focusing
especially on prejudice and discrimination. In Year 11, all students will study a unit of work on Good and Evil.
The Holocaust will provide an important focus for both units.
It is anticipated that this trip will be beneficial to the students in their academic studies and also for their own
spiritual and moral development. At the centre, they will study a number of displays on the Holocaust,
the Second World War and on the subjects of genocide and racism in general, including current examples.
They will also listen to a guest speaker, who is a Holocaust survivor!
All Year 10 students are expected to attend the trip and will leave school by coach at 9.00 am and return to
school by 4.30 pm. Students must wear school uniform. A packed lunch will be provided by the school.
The cost of this trip will be £15.00 and will be added to your school bill unless I hear to the contrary. If you
wish to receive any further information about the day, please feel free to contact me at school. We are
confident that the day will be a positive educational and personal experience.
Kind regards.
Yours sincerely
Mr Nicholas Walsh
Head of Religious Studies
SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENT NEWS
Headmaster’s Assemblies, 28th April and 6th May 2014
Awards
Merit Badge
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Joe Hunt
William Westwood
Merit Shield
Super Shield
Matthew Elton
Holly Vinall
Isobel Barnard
Sarah Curnick
Emily Dunne
Molly Edwards
Emiliano Orsini-Rottner
Isobel Hose
Zoe Duffin
Tiree Cover
George Foston
Hannah Grinham
Georgia Holt
Jamie Lanyon
Abigail Mayne
Nicole McBallantine
Lucie Prusinski
Outstanding Reward Voucher 1
Outstanding Reward Voucher 2
Lucia Faulkner
Robyn Hendry
Olivia Latham
Joshua Leung
Tom Unwin
Katie Winston
Charley Flowers
William Smith
Year 12
Year 13
Olivia Armon
Matthew Booth
Natalie Cheung
Sibella Chew
Alana Chin
Ron Chung
Sasha Farzin-Nia
Cameron Hart
Isabelle Holford
Danny Hsu
Robert Hunton
Angharad Lloyd
James Marsh
Henry Mellors
India Mitchell-Jarvis
Lewis Smith
Charlotte Perfect
Melissa Taylor
Dick Wong
Robert Bourne
Alice Gilbert
Ricky Hsu
Gordon Lai
Benjamin Latham
Matthew Nutter
Thomas Roalfe
Roisin Sheehy
Ashley Stokes
Lilly Thomas
Benjamin Trudgill
Ernie Tung
Maco Wong
Maggie Wong
Oliver Lawden
Bernadette Li
Allen Loo
Lewis Smith
Dick Wong
Matthew Nutter
Ashley Stokes
Benjamin Trudgill
Maco Wong
Appointment of Monitors
A further four monitors were recently appointed in Year 12:
Phoebe Allen, Jacob Bird, Emily Hollis and Gianluca Misso
Young Enterprise Success
On Wednesday 2nd April, Ratcliffe Young Enterprise students attended the Leicester Area Final at
Loughborough University. They set up a trade stand, attended interviews and gave a 4 minute
presentation about their business to an audience of nearly 200 people. The team of Year 12
students performed extremely well, winning through to the County Final in May and picking up
several awards in the process – Best Product for their unique, high quality T-shirts, Best Trade
Stand and Best Interview.
Three trophies and a certificate were presented to:
Emily Hollis
Sav Fishel
Lauren White
Phoebe Merriman
Eleanor Bournes
Melisa Taylor
David Astill
Alicia Morrison
By Mr Spencer
UKMT 2014 Intermediate Mathematical Challenge
In this year’s challenge, there were over 200,000 entries from over 3,000 schools.
Ratcliffe achieved the following results:
33 Bronze
Year 9
John Sommerville
Philip Gyesi-Appiah
Lucia Cano Garcia
Lara Gee
Nathalie Dawe
Natasha Walsh
Year 10
Jeffery Jiang
Harry Redding
Kate Scarborough
Anna Reviakina
Daniel Warwick
Ella Schulze
Emilia Lawden
Christia Waters
Hattie Bridgwater
Olivia Latham
Sharon Lee
Johannes Fritz
Lucia Faulkner
Year 11
Nima Patel
Lisl Tudor
Lolade Mosaku
Amritha Nayar
Elena Wheatley
Jack Archer
Lauren Mulla
Adam Park
Carrick Anderson
Joseph Higham
Seb Dewhirst
Thomas Chandler
Toby Smith
Victoria Moretonstraw
12 Silver
Year 9
Tom Cusack
Year 10
Joshua Leung
Kristy Kan
Rebecca Astill
Year 11
Jody Goodfellow
Raj Odedra
Sam Nightingale
William Smith
Declan McAuley
Emma Furlong
Archie Herrick
Chrissy Taylor
4 Gold
Year 10
Charlie Nicholson
Year 11
Matthew Harris
Helena Yu
Kasey Newby
Year 9
Best in Year 9 – Tom Cusack
Year 10
Best in Year 10 – Charlie Nicholson
Year 11
Best in Year 11 – Matthew Harris
Best in School Certificate is awarded to: Matthew Harris
Ratcliffe had 4 qualifiers: Matt Harris, Helena Yu, Kasey Newby and Charlie Nicholson for the
Pink Kangaroo paper which took place on Thursday 20th March 2014.
The Kangaroo papers are 1-hour papers taken by over 40 countries worldwide.
By Mr Higham
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Success
Congratulations to the following students who were presented their awards at Headmaster’s
Assembly – before Easter and this week:
Carrick Anderson, Emily Cheetham, Anya Locke, Edward Purcell, Elena Wheatley and
Annabel Wright
On Saturday, 25th April, Tom Chandler, Year 11, rode a strong ride at Leamington Spa leaving
the pack 15 seconds behind and coming in 1st.
Photograph: Tom receiving his prize for coming in 1st.
Mia Mordecai-Smith, Year 10, has been competing in several Pony Trials where selectors for
the Junior British Pony Team are keen to watch the current progress that individuals have made
(this is not necessarily based on where you are placed but how you have performed under
competition situations).
Results so far
6th March, Oasby Pony Trial - 14th out of 40
14th March, Lincoln Pony Trial - 16th out of 38
4th April, Belton Park International - Open Novice Under 18 year olds - 16th out of 40
12th April, Weston Park Pony Trial - 15th out of 30
Mia will now attend Pony Trials on 14th May (Aston Le Walls) and 31st May (Brand Hall); short
listing for the British Team will be made and an invitation to ride at Barbury Open Novice
International on 4th July if Mia is selected. There has been stiff competition and only 6 under 16
year olds from the country are chosen to represent Britain in the European Pony Trials, so
fingers crossed; however, there is always next year! Mia is dedicated to training every day.
George Morgan-Jones, Year 8, attended his first training session with the “Welsh Exiles”
on 15th of April at Llandovery College and is now registered at the WRU. Members of the
Ospreys Coaching staff took the boys through their paces. His next training session, with the
Exiles, will be in October during half term. George will have to work hard to get selected at U14s
but it is an on-going objective through the age groups for many of the boys.
The Welsh Exiles was established in 1990 to search for Welsh players, or players of Welsh
ancestry, living outside of the homeland.
Photograph of George with Terwyn Williams (Secretary of the Welsh Exiles).
Art is …
‘Plastic Flowers’ by James Richardson Year 13
Nice Homestay Trip, 6th – 13th April 2014
Twenty five of our French students from Years 10, 11 and 12, accompanied by Mrs Cushing,
Christian Bär and Mrs Reddin, spent the first week of the Easter holidays staying with individual
host families in Nice. The students participated in language lessons in an excellent Language
School in the centre of the town each morning, and the afternoons were filled with an action
packed programme of activities, including watching a French film at the cinema, visiting the
‘Fragonard’ perfume factory in Eze, relaxing on the beach in St Jean Cap Ferrat, discovering the
beautiful town of Nice on foot with a French guide and sharing a delicious group meal in a local
restaurant during our last evening. The sun shone and the Mediterranean looked stunning every
day as we ate our picnic lunches either on the beach or in the park. We were all exhausted after
our lessons and afternoon activities so were happy to return to our families for an evening meal
and conversation around the table. The students were a credit to Ratcliffe and rose to all the
challenges presented to them during the week – finding their way around a strange environment
by themselves, participating in demanding French lessons, being great company during all the
activities and remaining calm during their first experience of an earthquake one evening! I hope
that all the students will find that their Nice experience will help them in their GCSE and AS
examinations this term and that they will realise how lucky they have been to immerse
themselves in French life for a week in an amazing French town.
Our guided tour of Nice
Year 10 girls enjoying our final evening spent in a restaurant together
Year 10 and 11 students working together completing a survey in a market
By Mrs Reddin
Square Races 2014
The annual House Square Races for Years 7 to 13 were run after lessons on Wednesday
30th April. There were separate races for Boys and Girls at Junior, Intermediate and Senior ages.
Each race was a 4 x 1 lap relay around the outside of the main school building.
In what turned out to be the most closely contested of events, Arundel, Emery and Leetham each
won 2 of the 6 Races. It is perhaps poetic justice, however, that De Lisle finished in first place
overall, as they were the only House to have complete teams in all races.
The final results were as follows:
1st
De Lisle
15 points
2nd
Leetham
14 points
=3rd
Arundel
13 points
=3rd
Emery
13 points
Well done to all students who participated – whether fast runners or not.
Congratulations to the Leetham Intermediate Girls’ team who turned in a time of 5 minutes
and 6 seconds, thereby shaving one second off the previous record (also set by Leetham,
in 2010).
By Mr Sharpe
JUNIOR SCHOOL PUPIL NEWS
Junior Certificates of Merit were awarded in Junior Assembly to:
YEAR 6
Harry Cusack
YEAR 5
Roman Carpenter
Freya Smith
YEAR 1
Ben Cameron-Smith
Ruby Doran
Tom Lander-Belfie
Jaxon Lee
Joshua Smellie
Merit badge
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
2nd certificate
Congratulations to ……
Kristian Brocksopp, Year 6, who has been awarded a level 2 certificate for ice skating.
Cleo Loizzo, Year 6, who has received a trophy, medal and 3 rosettes for coming 1st and 2nd in
show jumping.
Finlay Noble, Year 6, who gained Gold in the Leon Paul London competition.
Rajen Gupta, Year 5, who competed in a Duathlon at Prestwold Hall on Sunday.
Thomas Ferrier, Year 3, who was a finalist at the Leicestershire Rugby Union County Festival
2013/2014.
Avani Gupta, Year 3, who competed in a Duathlon at Prestwold Hall on Sunday.
Jayde Patterson, Year 3, who competed in a Duathlon at Prestwold Hall on Sunday
Finlay Spencer, Year 3, who competed in a Duathlon at Prestwold Hall on Sunday.
Xavier Illsley-Ridge, Year 2, who attended a Tigers Camp at Loughborough Grammar School,
and was a finalist at the Leicestershire Rugby Union County Festival 2013/2014. He also
received a winner’s trophy for U7 2013-2014 Leicestershire Rugby Union.
Oliver Smith, Year 2, who received the Player of the Season cup for Rugby.
Zara Etty, Year 1, who achieved the British Gymnastics Proficiency Award for Level 6.
SPIRITUAL NEWS
SPORTS
Sporting Fixtures
Date
Opposition
Sat 3rd May
King Henry VIII
Thurs 8th
May
Thurs 8th
May
Sat 10th May
Start
Time
11:00AM
11:00AM
Team
VENUE
1st XI, U14, U13
U15, U12
H
A
Boys Cricket
XL Club
2:00PM
1st XI
H
Boys Cricket
Gateway
2:00PM
2nd XI
H
11:00AM
12:00PM
12:00PM
1st XI
U15, U13
2nd XI, U14, U12
H
H
A
Boys Cricket
Wolverhampton
Grammar School
Boys Cricket
Date
Opposition
Thursday
8th May
Leicester High
Start
Time
4:30PM
Team
VENUE
U15B
U13
H
H
Girls Tennis
Saturday
10th May
Girls Rounders
Wellingborough
10:30am
U14B
U13
U12
1st
2nd
U15A
U15B
H
H
H
H
H
A
A
Girls Tennis
Saturday
10th May
Girls Rounders
Foremark
2:30pm
U15
U14
A
A
U13
H
U13
U12
H
H
Girls Tennis
Girls rounders
PLEASE TURN OVER FOR DETAILS ABOUT A SQUASH ACADEMY.
!
Academy
Summer
Half
Term
Camps
Nottingham Squash Rackets Club
Advance Camps
When – Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th May from 10.00-3.30
Where – NSRC, Tattershall Drive, The Park, Nottingham, NG7 1BX
With – Josh Taylor (FSA Head Coach), Mark Fuller (FSA Coach), and a NSRC
Professional
Costs – Non Member £22, Member £17
Book online - http://fantasysquashshop.com/events/fantasy-squashacademy/half-term-camps-nsrc-intermediate-and-beginner-606.html
Beginner/ Intermediate Camps
When - Wednesday 28th May from 1.00-4.00
Where – NSRC, Tattershall Drive, The Park, Nottingham, NG7 1BX
With – Kevin Emery (Fantasy Squash Academy Coach)
Cost – Non Member £17, Member £12
Book Online - http://fantasysquashshop.com/events/fantasy-squashacademy/half-term-camps-nsrc-intermediate-and-beginner.html
Loughborough – William Davis
When - Friday 30th May 1.00-4.00
Where – William Davis, Forest Road, Loughborough, LE11 3NS
With – Chris Abel (Fantasy Squash Academy Coach)
Costs - Non Member £17, Member £12
Book Online - http://fantasysquashshop.com/events/fantasy-squashacademy/half-term-camps-nsrc-intermediate-and-beginner-607.html
For more details please contact Josh Taylor –
[email protected] or call our office on (0115) 9503756.