Autumn Term Action - Twycross House School

Autumn 2009
TIMES
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL
TWYCROSS HOUSE PRE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Autumn Term Action
Raising Mon
ey For Chari
ties
Room
Form Common
Opening Sixth
Museum Visit
Geography
Sixth Form In Wales
ing Success
Public Speak
ss
ing Succe
id
R
e
s
r
o
H
cess
Ultimate Suc
Field Trip
Christmas
Football Success
Children In
Need
Author Visit
Duke Of
Edinburgh
Expeditio
n
aining
Duke Of Edinburgh Tr
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
Twycross Times
AUTUMN TERM 2010
FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN TERM
MONDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2010
AUTUMN HALF TERM
25TH - 29TH OCTOBER 2010
LAST DAY OF AUTUMN TERM
FRIDAY 17TH DECEMBER 2010
SPRING TERM 2011
FIRST DAY OF SPRING TERM
MONDAY 10TH JANUARY 2011
SPRING HALF TERM
21ST -25TH FEBRUARY 2011
LAST DAY OF SPRING TERM
FRIDAY 8TH APRIL 2011
SUMMER TERM 2011
FIRST DAY OF SUMMER TERM
TUESDAY 3RD MAY 2011
SUMMER HALF TERM
30TH MAY - 3RD JUNE 2011
LAST DAY OF SUMMER TERM
FRIDAY 8TH JULY 2011
SPONSORED
SILENCE
SNOW NEWS!
In the event of bad weather the school
website will inform parents if the school
has to close. This will be updated by 7am
each day during snowy weather.
Please log onto:
www.twycrosshouseschool.org.uk
Then click on the information page – the
information box on the top right corner will
indicate whether or not the school is open.
The school is very rarely closed because of
bad weather conditions. However, if the
school is open but you feel the roads are
too treacherous to drive to school, please
telephone to let us know your child will
be absent.
JILLY BEANS
DOES SHOES!
On 27th November and 4th December
Senior 3 took part in a sponsored silence to
raise money for the renal unit at Birmingham
Children’s Hospital. The event was very
successful and we raised £784. Thank you
to the people who took part or sponsored
someone. Charlotte Smith S3Y
TWYCROSS HOUSE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
www.twycrosshouse.biz
If you have not yet heard about it, the
THBC is for all parents of The Hollies and
Twycross House pupils. It is not only for
those who are part of a business, profession
or organisation that they wish to promote,
but also for anyone who is interested in
helping to improve and widen Twycross
pupils’ knowledge and experience with
respect to careers, work and finance. Have
a look on www.twycrosshouse.biz to see
our directory. You too can be listed by just
clicking on Register. If you don’t want to
be listed you can still attend any of the
meetings or simply email us with any ideas
or questions you have.
Our aims:
To promote business among parents, i.e.
local people and friends whom we bump
into everyday and whom we can trust.
To support our children with projects such
as a “Dragon’s Den“ for budding young
FULL STOP
In the autumn term Mrs Sharp came to
speak to the 10-14 year olds about the very
varied work of the NSPCC and in particular
its FULL STOP campaign, which aims to end
cruelty to children. She invited the pupils of
S1 and S2 to raise money with a sponsored
spelling event. This raised a magnificent
£1,613.08. Many thanks to all the spellers
and their supporters.
2
Twycross House entrepreneurs, and to
share careers knowledge and expertise
with the older students in the form of short
talks, presentations, interview practice,
CV writing, job shadowing and work
experience.
This project has the school’s backing, but
please do not contact them directly.
In addition to providing for all your uniform
and sports kit requirements (not to mention
other items from stationery and hair
accessories to sports bags and briefcases!)
Jilly Beans now have shoes in stock! Both
girls’ and boys’ indoor and outdoor shoes,
football/hockey boots and trainers are
available with most sizes in stock. Brands
include Hush Puppies, Buckle My Shoe,
Ricosta, Puma and Skechers. The storeroom
at the Hollies is open weekdays 8-9am
and 3-4pm. For weekend and holiday
appointments please call Bridget Allen on
07967 619645.
Jacqui Wordsworth
The Aspiration Group
[email protected]
THANK YOU!
Our second meeting was held on the 18th
November at the school and was very
well attended yet again, including many
new faces.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 24th
February 2010 at 7.30pm (tbc).
Everyone is very welcome. For
further information email accounts@
theaspirationgroup.com.
Thank you for all your generous support for
our charity events this term – the amounts
raised have been so generous. In addition
to the events reported here and elsewhere
in the Twycross Times, £138.39 was raised
from the sale of poppies and £208 from the
sale of Christmas stamps. The Sixth Form
have decided that the money raised from
the Christmas stamps will be donated to the
Myton Hospices. Thank you.
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
Twycross Times
NEW STAFF
Mrs J Coward - Mathematics
Mrs J Judd - Art
Mrs Coward joins after a ten year break
looking after her children. She read
mathematics at Exeter followed by a MSc
at Manchester and teaches Senior 3, 4 and
5. Prior to having children she taught in
Lancashire and Reading and has really enjoyed
the return to work at Twycross House.
Mrs Judd is delighted to be back at Twycross
House after a break of five years following
the birth of her three children. A graduate of
Birmingham and Manchester she is teaching
Forms 3, 4, 5 and Senior 1.
Mrs J Pound - French
Dr J Ewington - Chemistry and Physics
Mrs Pound has recently returned from
Australia where she spent over six years
living in Sydney and working at Pymble
Ladies College. She studied French at Oxford
Brookes, Wolverhampton and Manchester
and teaches Forms 3, 4, 5 and Senior 2.
We welcome Dr Ewington from Coleshill
School where he taught Chemistry and
Physics to A level. At Twycross he teaches
Chemistry to Form 5 – Senior 4 and Lower
and Upper Sixth and Physics to Form 5. A
graduate of Coventry, he completed his PGCE
at Warwick and his PhD at Cranfield.
Mrs S Alves - English
Mrs Williams - Girls’ Games & Religious Studies
Mrs Alves joins Twycross House from Parkhall
School in Birmingham. She is a graduate of
Sheffield University where she completed her
BA in English and was awarded her PGCE.
She is enjoying teaching Form 3, 4 and 5
and can also be found in the library most
lunchtimes.
We welcome back Mrs Williams who has
returned to school after the birth of her
second daughter. A graduate of Sunderland
and Cambridge, and a keen hockey player
and coach at Nuneaton Ladies Hockey Club,
Mrs Williams teaches RE to Form 3 and
games to Forms 4, 5, Senior 1 and 2.
FOOTBALL REPORT
Five trophies and 132 goals in the first half of the
season represent an excellent achievement for the
junior and inter footballers at Twycross House.
By contrast, injuries, absences and some woeful
defending have produced a lamentable record
of just one win and six defeats for the two most
senior sides.
The Under 9s maintained our fine record in the ISA 5-a-side
tournament as they won the trophy for Twycross the third year
in succession, beating a strong High Clare team 2-0 in the final
with goals from Tom Leyland and Ethan Morrell. They have also
enjoyed comfortable victories and one hard fought defeat in their
three friendlies with all 21 boys in the year representing school.
The Under 10s achieved a unique
success at the start of October
winning the prestigious Foremarke
Cup for the school’s first time. They
remained unbeaten throughout the
tournament, in spite of a shaky start
that saw them two goals down in
the first five minutes of their opening
match! In the final they defeated The
Ryleys 2-0 thanks to goals from Max Lee and Angus Osborne and
tremendous vociferous support from a lively and enthusiastic flock
of parents.
There was some good support from the U11s in the district cup
and the ISA tournament but they saved their best for the David
Hunt Challenge Cup in Ashby which they won by the narrowest
of margins despite missing a couple of key players. Credit must go
to the spirited B team in this competition and to Ollie Burrows in
particular, who was outstanding in goal. The 11-a-side friendlies
have both been won by 12-1 margins even with the strongest
players being ‘subbed off’, showing the future potential in this
age group.
The Under 12s have had a good start to their season with success
in their first round of the County Cup
and a third place finish in the District
5-a-sides but most of their matches
come in the second half of the season
in the District league. The Under 13s
achieved more ‘silverware’ for the
school, winning the District 5-a-side tournament and looking
very strong in friendly 11-a-side games, scoring 16 without
reply in their last two matches. Seb Allen and Declan Cartwright
have been in outstanding form as the team has been reshaped
following the departure of key players last year.
The Under 14s and 15s have also
been playing well and between
them have won all bar one match in
seven outings. The form of Anthony
Parkes, William Arnold and Tom
Dwyer has been vital to the U15s
and Charlie Stockton, Charles Lee,
George Rushton and Jack Hall have
been the heart of the U14s’ success.
The U14s were also victorious in the District 5-a-side tournament
defeating the likes of NCTC and George Eliot to ‘lift the trophy’
for the second year in succession.
Congratulations must go to the six players selected for the District
teams, namely Charlie Stockton and George Rushton of Senior
3, Seb Allen and Declan Cartwright of Senior 2, and Rory Oliver
and Jonathan Paul of Senior 1. This is by far the largest number
Twycross has ever had and a remarkable achievement for a small
school. Well done to all footballers! Mr C Perry
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3
Twycross Times
ULTIMATE AT TWYCROSS
This year the sport of ultimate has really taken off at Twycross.
The endless hours of trying to make the disc fly straight towards
the person you were aiming at have paid off.
Earlier in 2009 the Twycross school team ‘FLUX’ finished 5th in the
U20 and 2nd in the U17 indoor national championships, and 5th
in the U20 outdoor national championships.
On the back of these early
successes 7 students from Twycross
represented Great Britain at the
Junior European Championships
in Vienna. Thomas Cartwright
made it into the U20 first team
and finished 5th, while James
Mead, Hamish Rankine and Danny
Thomas all competed in the U20
second team. Will Allen also played
in this second team but competed
for the Great Britain U17 team,
who won their division. Caitlin
Wilson and Amina Malik played
for the U20 girls’ second team,
for which Caitlin was asked to be
captain.
Since the highs of the summer, FLUX have been training hard
every Thursday after school and have played many friendly
fixtures against local teams, only losing once to the Nottingham
men’s team.
FLUX GIRLS!
Arriving at school for 8am for an
early start in Cheshire was not
the best start to the weekend but
Flux girls were ready to play some
ultimate!
As we entered the sports hall you
could see the nervous faces on the
6 of our 8 players who had never
played at an ultimate frisbee tournament before. However, this
did not hinder us as we went into each game with our heads held
high and ready to play, after inspiring pep talks from Mr. Beavan.
Taking an initial lead in the first game was reassuring but a couple
of dubious rule debates meant that the final score was a tie. Never
disheartened we went into the next games with more confidence.
Now on a winning streak, with superb defending by Amy and Alicia
and some great catches by Charlotte, Flux girls were on a roll!
Flux finished 5th in a
recent winter league
and several students
will be heading off
to Great Britain trials
once again before
Christmas.
The most recent
success has been the
women’s team. FLUX
women went to the
Junior Nationals in
Cheshire and after
only losing one game
in the pool play made it to the final where they finished second,
which was a fantastic achievement for their first tournament.
Flux will continue to grow and compete in many more fixtures in
the future and we hope to get even more students challenging
themselves at this physically demanding sport.
Mr M Beavan
We then faced the reigning champions, Psychedelic Rhinos, and the
nervous faces returned. We knew they would be good and they
didn’t disappoint, with the final score being 9-1. The highlight of
the match was an excellent point score by Amina provided by one
of Caitlin’s accurate throws in the last 5 seconds!
Realising we had reached the final was nerve-wracking but with
every game our confidence had grown and we all went in giving it
everything to win the trophy.
Having to replay Psychedelic Rhinos just made it a little harder.
After 18 minutes the score was stuck on 4-4 thanks to some good
defence by Eleanor and Katie and some good attack by Yovina
and Caitlin. But we eventually tired and began to trail and had to
concede victory 8-4.
Nonetheless, we were very proud to accept that Flux Girls are the
2nd best ultimate team in the country.
We would like to thank Mr. Beavan for his coaching and sideline
support, and both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Bartrick for giving up their
time to take us to the tournament. Caitlin Wilson & Amina Malik
ULTIMATE WORLD GAMES
This summer after six months of intense training
and trials, I was selected to represent Great
Britain at the World Games in Taiwan. These
are held every four years and provide a unique
setting for thousands of athletes representing
thirty sports to join in a celebration of sporting
competition, unity and friendship.
The ultimate squad of just seven men and
six women competed in a mixed competition
against the other four top nations in the world
and the hosts, Taiwan. We played six games and lost narrowly to the USA, Canada,
Australia and Japan (all 13-11). We then beat Taiwan 13-0 to claim fifth place.
While the result was disappointing the experience itself was unbelievable. I was the
union-jack flag-bearer during the opening ceremony and walked in ahead of all the other
athletes competing for Great Britain. We played in a 60,000 capacity stadium and gave
countless radio and TV interviews. I hope I can stay fit and compete in the next World
Games in Columbia in four years’ time. Mr M Beavan
4
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The U14 girls played in a Nuneaton District
4v4 Basketball Tournament. The girls played
well, winning all 4 games to finish first
overall. They will now go on to play the
winners from a second area tournament.
It was an excellent result for their first
competition. Well done!
Squad: Seline Hopkins, Alice Gilman, Rachel
Scott, Holly Hall
CROSS COUNTRY REPORT
Twycross House School had representatives
in the Nuneaton District Cross Country
League. The teams were depleted owing
to other commitments, but those who did
run performed well. The highlights were
Anthony Parkes who finished 3rd and 1st,
Charlotte Lynch and Hannah McKeown
10th, Ella Parodi 11th, Helena EversonCrane and Ben Parkes 17th.
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
Twycross Times
JUNIOR HOCKEY REPORT
There has been a lot of enthusiasm for hockey this year, in particular the under 11/12s.
They have shown full commitment to practices and are shaping into what could be a
very exciting team. Their results have been a win against Polesworth and a loss
against Bablake.
The under 13 team have started the season very well with draws against Chase
Academy and Lichfield Cathedral and losses against Bablake and Dixie.
An excellent result against Polesworth and a promising draw against King Henry looked
good for the under 14s but a lack of consistency in the team and poor commitment from
the girls has also resulted in a disappointing loss against Dixie.
A number of girls from the school have been training as part of a Junior Development
Squad for Warwickshire this term: Philippa Thirlby, Sam Borley, Molly Richardson, Amy
Potts, Alice Gilman, Rachel Scott, Becky Evans, Charlotte Rutter, Charlotte Paul, Amelia
Cartwright, Anna Paul, Beth Parkes and Katherine Moncur.
SENIOR HOCKEY
A keen and enthusiastic Under 18 squad led
by captain Amina Malik trained hard with
some encouraging match results in their pretournament warm-up. They narrowly missed
the semi-finals of the County Tournament by
one goal in a very tight section. The Under 15s
have been unlucky with several fixtures and their
tournament cancelled, but they have worked
hard and many of them have been part of the
Under 16 squad which won the Area Tournament. Congratulations to Lily Bird who has
been training with the Midlands squad this term. Mrs S Wright
U10 & U11 NETBALL REPORT
This year has seen the introduction of a new format
for the Junior Netball league. Instead of having
to play individual schools at either home or away
fixtures, a central venue has been chosen (the
flood-lit courts at Ambleside Club in Nuneaton)
and all the league games are to be played over two
or three evenings. Another major change is that
boys are now allowed to play in the High 5 Netball
teams. However, having discussed this with the
Twycross girls we decided to continue to play with
girls and see how we would perform against the boys.
The Form 5s have played and won two games. Emily Czechowski’s side played some
outstanding netball and despite the cold rainy night the girls easily beat Michael Drayton
18:0 and Milverton 10:0. Their last game of 2009 saw them face a new team to the
league, Queens Junior School from Nuneaton. The opposition’s inexperience was evident
from the start and despite very strict umpiring for the Twycross girls and coaching of the
opposition, the Form 5s still managed to win 28-0, with Emily scoring half of our goals.
The last mini league fixture is against Milby Primary school in early January and then it’s
into the overall play-offs. The Twycross girls will need to secure a win to take them into
the first v first play-off later in the year.
They have also played a friendly fixture against a much stronger Stoneygate team which
both the A and B teams lost.
The Form 4s also played in a NPSSA mini league tournament and had some great support
on the side-line from their parents. Here is an extract from a match report written by
Joanne Copson’s father, Dave Copson.
‘The final game against an undefeated Weddington Jnr School provided a much more
difficult test and threatened to break our winning run. Twycross were pinned back 1-2
and behind for the first time, but then Freya scored again to take us into half-time at 2-2.
For the second half of a tough match Freya resorted to Centre with Joanne and Phoebe
in defence and Charlotte and Emily in attack. All the girls worked really hard and covered
the court with some very energetic running. Both teams were weary but our girls never
gave up for a moment. Joanne and Phoebe had to battle hard to keep the ball away from
our goal, while Emily and Charlotte tried to find the elusive winner. Then Emily scored
to make it 3-2. The final few minutes were frantic but our team came off with proud
smiles on their faces. The whole team were a credit to the school and themselves and
had thoroughly deserved a victorious afternoon’s netball.’
U11 CROSS
COUNTRY
To date two out of the three Nuneaton
Primary Schools Cross Country events
have taken place. For such a small school
Twycross has once again performed
exceptionally well. The girls’ team finished
first at both events and the boys were
third in the first race and second in the
second race. The first race was held at our
home venue, so a special thank you to Mr
Edwards for helping to set up the course
and Mr Hughes for allowing us to use his
fields. The second race was at St Thomas
More School in Nuneaton.
Individual mentions
need to go to
Emily Negus, who
finished first in
both races with
two outstanding
performances,
Maisie Ryan fourth
and Kate Henderson
seventh again in
both races. In the
boys’ event Bradley
Pugh pulled off two fourth places, George
Rutter a fifth and sixth place and Alex
Parodi a ninth and an eleventh. The third
and final race will be held in the New Year,
so let’s hope both Emily and the girls’ team
manage to make it a hat trick. With so
many of the Twycross runners in the top
ten places they should all stand a very good
chance of being selected to represent the
Nuneaton area against Atherstone
and Bedworth.
Mrs J Thomas
SENIOR
NETBALL
It has been an encouraging start to the
netball season for all the teams, with 14
wins from 22 matches. The U12s have
had a particularly good term, winning
6 out of 8 matches and showing some
improving tactics at centre and in defence.
The U13s have had a mixed start, winning
3 and losing 4, although they have
narrowly lost several games due to an
ever-changing squad! Well done to those
girls who regularly attend practices and
work hard on improving their skills. The
U14s have also suffered from a squad
that changes frequently but can count on
some committed performances from those
girls who also play for the U15s –well
done! Finally the U15s and U16s have
amalgamated to produce some exciting and
well-deserved results this term, winning
3 out of 4 matches. Congratulations to
the U15s who have regularly committed
themselves to practices.
Mrs R Sharrott
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
5
Twycross Times
ATHERSTONE TOWN CRICKET CLUB
TWYCROSS HOUSE BOYS 2009
The cricket season is over but here is a
short note covering some of the great
achievements of our boys in 2009 and their
successes at trials for 2010.
Quite a number of Twycross pupils play
their cricket at Atherstone Town Cricket
Club. The club’s under 10 player of the
year was James Scott, under 11 Kieran
Wordsworth, most improved player Alex
Headington and under 14 Bill Arnold. The
under 11s won their league (Jonny Paul,
Tom Smith, Rory Oliver, Harry Vaughan,
Toby Marshall, Will Evans, Alex Headington
& Kieran Wordsworth) but unfortunately
lost a closely contested quarter final at the
end of July.
SWIMMING
The under 13s (George Rushton and
Callum Wordsworth) went further. After
doing brilliantly to get to the Warwickshire
Knockout Cup Final, they then went on to
win their league, which pitted them against
the best 8 teams in Warwickshire. In front
of a good crowd in September they won
by 6 wickets and were deservedly crowned
Champions of Warwickshire.
The under 15s won the District Millennium
League and the play-off final, in which Bill
Arnold played a starring role supported by
George Rushton and Callum Wordsworth.
is in their excellence squad for 2010. Rory
Oliver, Harry Vaughan, George Rushton
and Bill Arnold have played for the North &
East Warks district and have been selected
for 2010; Callum Wordsworth likewise for
Leicestershire.
The school has some excellent budding
cricketers. If cricket is your child’s sport (our
younger age groups are 20% girls) just give
Simon Wordsworth a call on 07956 99 61
79 - all levels very welcome at Atherstone
or I can direct you to a nearby club.
Kieran Wordsworth represented
Warwickshire throughout the summer and
MY BLACK BELT
TEST DAY
On Saturday 5th December I arrived at the
Dojo feeling very nervous. There were 9
people taking their test that day. I had to
perform all the kata’s that I had learnt over
the past 4 years and also demonstrate that
I could fight too. I had to do some kicking,
punching and blocking combinations. I was
being watched by my instructor, Master
Varney, and by Master Smith from another
club. The test lasted 2 ½ hours and was very
tiring so I made sure that I had plenty to drink
and I ate 2 bananas to give me some energy.
Everyone was exhausted by the end.
We all had to line up and bow to the Masters
and then wait to hear whether we had
passed. Master Varney called my name and
said “Joanne……1st Dan.” That meant I had passed my test and was a Black belt at last.
I threw away the belt that I was wearing and bowed and was handed my Black belt. I
was so happy. Thank you Master Varney. Joanne Copson
We have in our school today a young,
competitive swimmer named Emily
Czechowski.
Emily is in form 5 aged 11.
On Saturday 16 October Emily went
to High Wycombe to compete in a
swimming open meet. She and her
team did a fantastic job and Emily came
back home with gold, silver and bronze
medals. She managed to achieve her
gold and silver medals in butterfly and
the bronze medal in backstroke. It
was a great day which included some
competitive spirit and a lot of fun.
At the moment she swims for Hinckley
swimming club (the Hornets).
A short time ago Emily also competed
in her club championships. She won six
bronze medals and 3 silver medals. Emily
is now training for county championships
which will take place in February and
March. This involves a lot of training
and early morning pool sessions on
Saturdays! We wish her good luck.
6
BASKETBALL
The autumn term has not been as busy
as usual for basketball fixtures owing to
the unwillingness of other schools to fulfil
fixtures. However, the U19 squad easily
beat Netherstowe in a friendly 86-35 before
embarking on their English Cup campaign.
Victory over King Henry VIII Coventry 7252 in the first home game and an amazing
104-51 defeat of Aylesford in Warwick in
the second have set up a good chance of
qualification after Christmas. An awesome
40-10 first quarter against Aylesford was
the highlight, with every player contributing
well. A victory over Repton at the end of
term 51-35 in a friendly highlights the
team’s strengths and hopes for a long run in
the English Cup.
The U16 boys also beat Netherstowe in a
friendly 65-28 but then proceeded to give
their poorest performance for many years
in the opening game of the English Cup
against Trinity Catholic school, going down
59-46. The team then put things back on
track with a far more energetic performance
when they beat King Henry VIII in Coventry
49-23. This was particularly satisfying as
a former team member was playing for the
opposition.
The U14 boys are awaiting English Cup
fixtures but easily defeated Market
Bosworth High School 62-36 in a friendly.
The U13 boys also tasted victory in their
first game with a 42-34 win over Mount
Grace.
The girls’ U19 team continue to progress
and although losing a tough friendly at
Desford College 48-17, they stepped it up
in a very physical English Cup match against
Warwickshire College, managing to triumph
34-26. Defeat followed to a very good
Kingsley College team 73-21 in the next
English Cup game, but I am hopeful they
can qualify after Christmas.
Training for all the teams will continue after
Christmas and I am hopeful of gaining
progress in the English Cup; next term the
West Midlands Cup will start for all ages.
Mr D Morrell
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
Twycross Times
LOTTIE STRIKES GOLD
In early December we interviewed upper-sixth student Charlotte
Poynton shortly after she achieved her DofE Gold Award in
record time.
TT: First of all - congratulations, Lottie! Why did you initially
decide to go for the Award Scheme?
Lottie: I was the same as most people, I suppose. It sounded like
fun and a lot of my friends were enrolling.
TT: Was it what you expected?
Lottie: More or less. The Bronze and Silver expeditions seemed
hard at the time, but they weren’t really.
TT: Which parts did you enjoy?
Lottie: All of it, actually. I was very lucky with my expedition
groups. We always got on well and supported each other. At
Silver and Gold level I was in mixed groups, and that worked really
well. The group dynamic was better, somehow. The first aid
training was worthwhile, too; that’s always a useful thing to know.
And I’m also very glad the DofE prompted me to start playing the
piano again. I play a lot for my own pleasure now.
TT: Were there any low points?
Lottie: I found the Gold practice expedition hard. The terrain was
very uneven and rugged. But it must have been good training,
because we didn’t find the Gold final expedition as difficult
afterwards.
TT: You had to set up your Gold residential placement at very
short notice, didn’t you?
Lottie: Yes, the one I had arranged fell through at the last minute,
but luckily I obtained five days working with the University of
Birmingham Art Gallery. That was wonderful: I saw exhibits
in the special collections which most people never see. I did
cataloguing and prepared captions for some of the pictures,
but one of the best parts was transcribing an air-raid wardens’
log book from the Second World War. The writing was hard to
decipher, but it was a privilege to have a piece of living history in
your hands. I’ve made the contents available to researchers on
the internet now.
TT: How did you manage to
complete the Award in such
record time?
Lottie: I realised that if I just did
one section at a time I would be
doing it for ever, so at the start of
each level of the Award I sat down
and planned out how I was going
to do it. At any one time I was
working on at least three sections.
TT: What difference do you think it will make to you?
Lottie: Firstly, I’ve enjoyed the process of doing it. The Award is
obviously something to put on your university application forms,
but surprisingly I’ve found it has earned me a lot of respect in
new situations. Many adults know of people who have done
the Bronze or Silver Award, but when I said I was doing Gold
that seemed to impress them. And a number of people have
told me that it tends to crop up in job interviews after university.
Employers seem to understand the DofE and value it, and it sets
you apart from other applicants.
TT: Thank you for talking to us, and every good wish for
the future.
Lottie: Thank you. My pleasure.
STOP PRESS
More good news:
Fiona Jackson has also crowned
her success at Bronze and Silver
by recently completing her
Gold Award in very good order.
Congratulations!
EVERY CLOUD…
For their final expedition, the hastily
rearranged DofE Silver groups ventured into
the ‘empty quarter’ – the quiet and relatively
little-visited area bounded by Monmouth,
Abergavenny and Hay-on-Wye in the
Welsh Marches.
Poor weather and visibility, coupled with
reduced day length and dodgy navigation in one
case, made days 1 and 2 exhausting, with some
groups not reaching camp until well after dark.
Day 3 saw much finer weather. The route ran north along the Golden Valley, leading to the
climb up to Arthur’s Stone (a Neolithic burial chamber, pictured). This ascent impressed many
people. The next 4 extracts from their reports take up the story:
‘...a long, high, impossible-looking beast of a hill. Personally I would call it a mountain.’
SENIOR 4
BRONZE
TRAINING
The Senior
4 Bronze
participants
attended their
first expedition
training sessions
this term in
preparation for
their expeditions
in May and
June.
‘Feet were sore with blisters on the soles and edges, and boots were damp if not wet, but we
... slowly but surely climbed the hill. We knew this leg would be the last of our ascent. At
Arthur’s Stone we were greeted by friendly faces, who were as excited as we were to be near
the finish.’
‘Tired, drained, mentally exhausted, physically shattered, but on a high, we had done it.
We didn’t get lost (drastically) and we didn’t have (horrendous) arguments. In our throwntogether, all-kinds-of-people, mixed-up, reshuffled, tired, misshapen, mildly disorganised
group, after all the commotion... it had turned out all right.’
‘With all the negatives behind us we began to appreciate what we had accomplished. We
were amazed when we looked back at how far we had come. The sense of pride was evident
in everyone. I believe we won’t be the same again: we have learned to trust one another
and found out who our real friends are, and those you can rely on when the going gets
tough. All in all, I found the Silver expedition great fun and I am looking forward to Gold.’
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7
Twycross Times
STUDENTS MAKE BOND COUNT
The opportunity to head off to the pastoral delight that is midWales in the sunshine of September, is not one to be missed,
especially if you are able to go with all your friends. Such is the
annual bonding event for the Lower Sixth who are just embarking
on their new examination courses (and in need of a break after
whiling away busy summer holidays awaiting GCSE results – which
were by the way excellent). The programme for the weekend
was based on a tried and tested series of activities and fuelled by
frequent breaks for serious amounts of food.
Saturday was spent at the Red Ridge Activity Centre, working as
teams to tackle various physical and mental challenges. Climbing
and abseiling, caving simulations and raft building never fail to
bring out the best in the students, even those who don’t claim
any great athletic prowess. And, as has been the case in previous
years, the staff at the centre were full of praise for the positive
attitude of the students; their willingness to help each other and
participate in what might best be called friendly competition.
Sometimes it’s not about being first, but making sure that
everyone gets through…in one piece!
A well deserved barbecue of truly gargantuan proportions was
enjoyed on Saturday evening followed by fireworks and cocoa;
just the right preparation for the Sunday team building activity
- the egg catapult. For those who are unfamiliar with this
‘game’ the aim is to pack a fresh egg in such a way that it can
be launched as far as possible without breaking by a catapult
constructed with nothing more sophisticated than a dozen canes,
some string and tape and a length of inner tube. As usual the
secondary objective was to defeat the previously undefeated
staff team.
The hour given to design and build a
successful contraption focused minds
wonderfully and under a sweltering
sun the teams brought a range of skills
they never knew they had to bear on
the problem. Practice shots brought
gasps of amazement and words of
commiseration in equal measure. The
students, to be fair, were more than a
match for the staff team whose egg
had reached sub-lunar orbit minutes
before but barely achieved two
metres in the final competition. Not
surprisingly the students rubbed much
salt into the wounded pride of their
teachers who had no excuse for their
poor performance other than a surfeit
of sunshine and perhaps too much
breakfast. I Redford
SENIOR 3 VISIT TO THE STAFFORDSHIRE REGIMENT MUSEUM
In a year that marks 70 years since the start of WW2 and 95 years since the start of WWI it seems especially apt that Senior 3 visited
the museum as part of their study of the Great War. They were able to
employ their skills of enquiry and empathy to understand something of
the experiences of soldiers who fought in this conflict. They participated
in activities that ranged from dressing up in actual uniforms from the time
and handling weapons (all safely blocked off!), investigating the careers
of actual members of the Staffordshire Regiment who fought in this war
and exploring the Trench network. This year they were invited to put their
research to good use and write a letter from the Trenches that will be part
of an exhibition in the museum. Mrs J Powell, Mrs J C Rose
NATIONAL INTER SCHOOL SHOW
JUMPINGCHAMPIONSHIPS 2009
In November the THS equestrian team consisting of Lucinda Roche, Philippa and William Thirlby
and Rebecca Evans arrived at Keysoe for the National Inter-School Show-Jumping Championships
for which they had qualified earlier in the autumn.
The novice team events were not so successful this year but William, Philippa and Lucinda
represented the school in the individual championships and all jumped super rounds, with William
in 4th place and Lucinda 2nd.
Annabel Palmer and Katie Garland arrived to make up our school team for the intermediate
championships and they finished a very creditable 8th out of 38 teams.
Lucinda jumped a perfect round in her bid for the individual title and was thrilled to be named the 2009 Individual Inter-Schools National
Champion!
We have finished on a fantastic note for 2009 and look forward to 2010. Samantha Borley, Maisie Ryan and Alice Gilman have also
competed with us this year
and Victoria Thirlby, the
team trainer, agrees with
me that all the children have
been a credit to the school
and a pleasure to work with.
S J Roche, Team Manager
8
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
The Hollies
SANTA COMES TO THE HOLLIES
The second
years take a
closer look
at Santa’s
transport!
TRIP TO SUDBURY HALL
The second year’s topic on ‘toys in the past’ culminated in a most enjoyable
visit to the Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall. The children learned
how the teddy bear got its name and how the first one was made.
In an age where technology features so strongly in their lives, it was
refreshing to watch the children’s faces and the pleasure so obviously
derived from playing with a variety of simple toys and games from
yesteryear, taking turns, working co-operatively and just having fun.
Mrs Walliker and Mrs Henderson
FIRST YEAR VISIT TO POLESWORTH ABBEY
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13
The Hollies
FIRST TERM IN THE FIRST YEAR
What a fun-packed first term we’ve had in the first year! There have been so many exciting activities,
including making spider biscuits, exploring the local environment and even catching a friendly bear on
a bear hunt!
We have been celebrating our musical talents with Mrs Mead and very much enjoyed our short First
Year concert singing songs about Jack and the Beanstalk.
The run-up to Christmas found us visiting baby Jesus in a stable at Polesworth Abbey, surrounded by
sheep, chickens and a pony. We even had an opportunity to dress up and take part in a nativity play
inside the Abbey.
We practised very hard for our Christmas production and made very convincing ‘Santa’s little helpers’!
Watch out, there’s an elf about!
14
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The Hollies
WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
A MUSICAL GIFT
…and indeed it was!
Parents and grandparents enjoyed
another Christmas musical
extravaganza at the Hollies.
Mrs Mead was thrilled with the
performance,. ‘The musical script was a
challenge which, as always, the children
rose to with great enthusiasm.’
Happy Christmas, everyone!
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15
Presentation Evening
Victoria Turner, guest of honour
After leaving Twycross in 1995 Vicky took
a gap year and spent four months studying
for a French Diploma in French Language
and Civilisation at the Sorbonne in Paris.
She then went to University College,
Oxford, to read Classics and was awarded
a first-class honours degree. Her interest
in archaeology and work as a volunteer at
the prestigious Ashmolean Museum led
her to take an MA in Museum Studies at
UCL, in which she achieved a distinction.
In 2007 she took up a post at the British
Museum as curator in the department of
Greek and Roman antiquities. Since then
she has been co-curator of two major loan
exhibitions: The Ancient Olympic Games
shown in Shanghai and Hong Kong and
The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece,
which commenced its international tour
in Alicante earlier this year. She has also
co-authored the accompanying book and
catalogues. Vicky has just embarked on a
PhD at UCL while keeping her hand in at
the British Museum for one day a week
to help develop their next international
project.
Hamish Rankine (left) is studying Chemical
Engineering at Manchester. He is enjoying
the course and the city and is to play
in the Ultimate national finals against
Loughborough and Dundee. Alasdair Killin
is taking a gap year. He is travelling to
Canada in the New Year to work in a ski
resort and will be reapplying to university to
read English.
Emma Maxted and Maria Stack are both
taking a gap year. They are working to
16
pay for an overseas trip together and
hope to travel to Australia, New Zealand
and Thailand. Both are reapplying to
university, Emma to read Chemistry and
Maria Biology at either Liverpool or Bristol.
Jessica Moore, right, is studying medicine at
Sheffield. She obtained A grades in physics,
chemistry, biology and geography A levels,
and A grades in mathematics and general
studies AS levels. She was presented with
the Kirkpatrick Award for the best A level
certificate. She is enjoying her studies and
was particularly attracted to Sheffield by
their family study programme which links
student doctors with pregnant mums to
study the impact the new arrival makes on
the family.
From left to right, Giles Dash, Alistair
Hughes, Mark Miles and Danny Thomas.
Both Giles and Mark are at Loughborough
University, Giles reading Systems
Engineering and Mark, Human Biology.
Both are enjoying their respective courses
and Mark has already taken blood! Alistair
Hughes is at Reading studying agriculture
and Danny reading Physics at Manchester.
Kiran Kaur (left) comparing notes with
Jessica Moore. Kiran obtained A grades in
chemistry, biology and Latin and a B grade
in mathematics A levels and is studying
medicine at Leicester.
From left to right, guest of honour Victoria
Turner, Jack Mould who is enjoying his
course at Stafford reading Physical and
Environmental Geography, and present
Upper Sixth student Victoria Carlisle.
Simon Hull (left) travelled from Aberdeen
for presentation evening where he is
reading Physics with Geology. Alex Farrell
obtained A grades in English literature,
German and Greek at A level, and a B
grade in mathematics at AS level. He is
pursuing his broadcasting career whilst
reading law at King’s College London.
From left to right Alice Martin, who
is studying Retail Management at
Bournemouth, Mark Miles and Anya
Mokrzycki reading Business Management
at Worcester.
Danny Thomas obtained A grades in
mathematics, further maths, physics
and chemistry at A level and an A grade
in biology at AS level for a place at
Manchester reading physics. Victoria Wilson
obtained A grade in mathematics and B
grades in physics and biology at A level and
a B grade in chemistry at AS level. She is
reading Orthoptics at Sheffield.
Simon Hull and David Roberts. David
obtained A grades in mathematics, further
maths, physics and history at A level and
an A grade in English literature at AS level.
He is enjoying life at Durham where he is
reading physics.
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Twycross Times
SPY DOG BURIES HER BONE AT TWYCROSS!
Ace Secret Agent Lara, the star of the SPY DOG books, recently dropped in to meet the excited pupils of
Swallows Hill. With her accomplice, ace local author Andrew Cope, our two visitors were very popular guests
on Thursday November 19th.
They both entertained and amused us all with a talk and slide show before visiting classrooms to work with
the children on a writing assignment. Lara, the laid back canine with a cocked ear and a penchant for cream
doughnuts, enjoyed the experience so much that she lay on her back with her legs in the air and snored for
much of this humorous author’s presentation!
Andrew later signed books and presented prizes for a story competition
involving the escapades of a gorilla who just happened to drop in at home
for a day of fun and frolics. George Arnold’s masterpiece was selected and
he is now the proud owner of a large red Spy Dog T-shirt. Ethan Morrell
won the book-cover competition with a brilliant drawing of Lara in one of
her famous poses.
The pupils had a wonderful afternoon with many now inspired to read all
the stories in the series.
Jake Bhakta from 3Y reports…
‘George Arnold 3x and Alfie Miles 4Y
winners of the Andrew Cope, Spy Dog
writing competition with their books and
wearing T Shirt prizes!
“It was great meeting Andy and Lara and getting my books signed. He
wrote” Happy reading” and “I hope you enjoy my book”. His writing was
really big as he had to sign quickly. He explained that Lara was from the
RSPCA and whilst watching a James Bond film looking at Lara he got the
idea of making this spy character dog! He gave us all some writing advice.
He said make rough notes but it was alright to change things. I feel inspired to be a writer and I can’t
wait to read my new book!
Special thanks must go to Elliott Towlson, a fan of the books, for introducing Andrew to me and also
to all the staff who helped to make this enjoyable event run smoothly. We all had a wonderful time
and are looking forward very much to the publication of Andrew’s new book due out in the New Year.
A. Molyneux
FIRING THE LITERARY IMAGINATION
At the start of December the students in
the Upper and Lower Sixth taking A level
English Literature and English Language
and Literature, enjoyed two days of lectures
in Birmingham organised by Sovereign
Education. The lectures (four on each day)
were delivered by a range of Professors and
Senior Examiners working at Universities
around the country. Topics included:
‘What is Tragedy?’, ‘Sexual Jealousy in
Othello’, ‘The Gaudiest Spree in History:
1920s America’ and ‘Jay Gatsby: Figure
of Romance or Corruption’. The lectures
provided numerous talking points and new
ideas for the students to incorporate in their
own essays. It was also a good experience
for the students who in little over a year will
be sitting in universities around the country
listening to lectures on a regular basis
(although it’s unlikely they will ever have
four in a single day!) As is often the case at
these events, many of the questions raised
needed considerably more time than was
available on the day to explore fully. Having
scribbled down plenty of notes though, the
students will be able to continue scrutinising
the texts for weeks to come. Perhaps the
most flamboyant lecturer, Professor John
McRae from Nottingham University (who
spoke enthusiastically about ‘Othello’
and ‘The Great Gatsby’ as he wandered
around the audience) was delighted when
I told him what one of our students had
said at the end of his talk – ‘I can’t wait to
buy some more books and get reading’.
Like me he clearly thought that his trip to
Birmingham had been worthwhile in firing
the imagination of committed students of
literature still further.
“Pet Fashion” and Katharine Bull, Alex
Considine and Natalie Milner whose topic
was “Beauty is not just skin deep”.
East Midlands. Unfortunately Charlotte,
Helena and Jenny will not attend the
next round, but as one of the youngest
teams they will be able to compete at the
intermediate level for several more years.
I Redord
ROTARY YOUTH
SPEAKS 2009
What can you do on a dark, dismal night
in November? You could enjoy an evening
listening to teams of enthusiastic young
people speaking about a range of topics.
This year three Twycross House teams
entered the Ashby district Youth Speaks
competition and presented a variety of
topics. The senior team comprising Lily
Bird, Will Allen and Will Jackson chose
“The 2012 Olympics”, stressing its
importance in encouraging young people
to become involved in sport.
There were two intermediate teams:
Charlotte Baum, Helena Everson-Crane
and Jenny Mortiboy speaking about
The judges commented on the very high
standard achieved by all teams and praised
the students for their hard work. Alex,
Katharine and Natalie were awarded first
place in the intermediate section and the
senior team second in the senior section.
Both teams go on to the next round after
Christmas and meet other teams from the
Thanks to everyone who supported the
teams on the evening and congratulations
to the students on their amazing
performances.
Mrs M Cartlidge
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9
Twycross Times
FORM 4 VISIT TO BOSWORTH BATTLEFIELD
Form 4’s visit to the Bosworth Battlefield site has now become something of a tradition. It sparks our study of the Tudor period and
this year’s group participated in this activity with great enthusiasm. This year we undertook some different activities, visiting Mick the
Fletcher for the first time and using the interactive exhibition.
However, no visit would be complete without a visit to the ‘Les Routiers’ tent where the captain showed us every conceivable way to
damage your enemy and how to drill as a Tudor soldier. At this Form 4 were surprisingly good and well disciplined!
We were also made aware of the current controversy over the site of the battle (not at Bosworth!) and
will follow this up at a later date. Mrs J Powell, Mrs J C Rose
HISTORY IN
THE MAKING!
SIXTH FORM GEOGRAPHY WEEKEND
This October saw a first for the Sixth Form
geographers at Twycross – a residential fieldwork weekend on the North Norfolk Coast.
Nine students and three staff set off early on
Friday morning – destination Overstrand Field
Study Centre. With the journey punctuated
by mid-morning and lunchtime ‘re-fuelling’
stops we finally arrived mid-afternoon. After
a short guided tour of the site we set out to
walk up the Cromer Ridge – evidence that,
despite the general opinion, Norfolk is not
entirely flat!
Form 5 were on a top secret mission as they
returned to Bosworth Battlefield Centre –
two weeks before the site of the famous
battle was revealed by the experts.
They listened carefully to the archaeological
clues and theories from Richard Knox,
Bosworth’s Curator, and viewed the
artefacts in the BFI laboratory. From this
evidence they wrote their own version
about the real battlefield site. Two weeks
later the National Press releases agreed
with them! Well done, Form 5! That’s
REAL history! Mrs J Rose
ANGLING TRUST
Form 5 enjoyed an interesting talk from
Mr Mark Owen of the Angling Trust.
We learned about the work of the Trust
including the types of fish and invertebrates
found in the local rivers. We discovered that
three otters have taken residence on a river
very close to Twycross House School.
Mrs L Holland
10
Saturday morning, and we were up early (and
not all bright) to set off for a morning study of
the River Glaven. With the sartorial elegance of
over-sized waders the group sampled the water
and measured its flow, assisted by the supply of
apples provided from the centre. After a ‘fish and
chip’ break in Cromer the afternoon was spent
on the beach at Overstrand. Happily the weather,
unusually for this autumn, was dry, although the
‘bracing’ element of the North Sea coastline tested
the nature of the Sixth Form clothing.
A challenge of a different nature on Sunday – the centre’s climbing
wall. Difficult enough whilst sighted, an altogether different
challenge when blindfolded. With much support from one another
the group performed enthusiastically to race to the top.
A unanimous verdict that the trip had been both educational and
fun – it will undoubtedly become a permanent fixture on the
Geography calendar.
Mrs D Bray
TWYCROSS HOUSE SCHOOL | THE GREEN | TWYCROSS | NEAR ATHERSTONE | WARWICKSHIRE | CV9 3PL | T: 01827 880651
Twycross Times
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP
As part of their settlement studies in Geography, the pupils of 4X and
4Y recently enjoyed a field trip to the nearby village of Shenton.
Crowded bus, many happy faces
Out of class and off to nearby places
Shenton beckoned, cold and foggy
Country lanes, look out for moggy!
Clipboards poised, pens at the ready
Questions to answer, take it steady.
Ghosts of trains no longer steaming,
Mist-swirled hall that’s lost its meaning
Reminders of floods and glories past
Canals and aqueducts built to last
‘Don’t know the answer’… that’s what your
brain’s for
Ah! Hot chocolate! That’s what we came for.
Mr C Perry
TIME MACHINE INVASION!
H.G.Wells inspired
time machines made
by 4Y from recycled
junk recently landed
in Swallows Hill
and provided the
stimulus for some
excellent science
fiction writing. After
extensive time travel
into the past and
future most decided
that they missed their
creature comforts
and, of course,
Twycross House
School far too much,
so have happily all
decided to stay here
with us …well, at
least for now !
Joanne Copson and
Violette Pretorius with
their Time Machine poem
and Manual.
CHILDREN IN NEED
ECO GROUP
This year’s fund raising for ‘Children in Need’ has been
amazingly successful. There were several fund raising activities.
The Senior 4 Eco Group welcomed four
chickens into their hutch at the Hollies!
The Juniors filled ‘Reward’ (or ‘Fines’!!) boxes – greatly
appreciated by the parents! They also covered Pudsey with
stickers. The winners were Amy van Zyl and George Rutter.
Heather Gibson of 4Y wrote a special play and she and her
friends from 4X and 4Y, Joanne Copson, Violette Pretorius,
Sophie Manion, Ashley Blackwood, Isabelle Chastney, Phoebe
Hunt, Freya Milne and Josie Lynch performed it in assembly. Heather asked for donations
to the cause and the Inspectors were so impressed, they also gave a donation. This helped
Heather raise £37.
The teachers had two competitions of the ‘Spot the Ball’ type. The winners were Mrs Bray
(I promise this was not a fix!) and Dr Ewington.
In total we raised a fantastic £583.68 – a truly splendid achievement.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this wonderful total.
TWYCROSS HOUSE
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Performers spanning the age-range 7 to 18 put on a tremendous Christmas concert at the
end of term. The Hollies’ 4th Year proved they could sing with both gusto and sensitivity
in their two songs, and then gave a spirited group recital of ‘Christmas Morning Blues’.
The senior choir performed ‘O, Christmas tree’ and two traditional carols, while the choir
of Form 5 sang a catchy medley from ‘Scrooge’.
The wind-band gave an enthusiastic performance of ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and ‘Jingle
Bells’ which had everybody’s feet tapping.
The musical numbers were interspersed with readings, of which ‘A Politically Correct Christmas Story’ proved
particularly popular with the audience.
The concert ended with a beautiful tableau of the nativity scene by children from The Hollies to the
accompaniment first of violin and cello from two senior boys, and then of carols sung by everyone in the hall.
This was a delightful evening and we are grateful to all the performers and their teachers for their hard work
throughout the term. Mrs N Lilley
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11
The Hollies
BOOK WEEK
The second year theme of Little Miss and Mr Men proved a huge success during Book Week. We made
Mr Messy biscuits, bookmarks, wrote and illustrated our own book and even the homework became
part of the fun.
The best day, however, was when the children came prepared for their Mr Topsy Turvy Day. Clothes,
speech and even walking into assembly were attempted backwards with hilarious results. Mrs Walliker
and Mrs Henderson
ST JAMES’ CHURCH
In the autumn term the 4th year children visited the church in Twycross. This was part
of their exploration of their local environment. The children were
interested in seeing the oldest stained glass in England and learning
about the historical connections with the Royal Family.
EXTREME READING
IN THE THIRD AND
FOURTH YEAR
It was interesting to see the unique
places children found to read their
books!
4y Oscar Young (in bubble bath)
3RD YEAR
COOKING
Each week we cook with Mrs Brownlow and
Mrs Orchard. We made cakes and cookies.
I made chocolate rice krispie cakes. We
melted chocolate and mixed the rice krispies
in the chocolate. We put them into paper
cases. They tasted fantastic. I used Cadbury
chocolate. I ate them in the car. Yummy!!
4m Ellie Withers
(hanging on a washing line)
By Laurence Springall 3o
4o Hannah Brayer
(amongst leaves)
3y Laura Wylie
(hanging upside
down)
THANK YOU
A very big thank you to you all for supporting our charity work this term. We raised
£634.06 from our Harvest Festival activity and 148 boxes were collected for the Samaritans
Purse. £70.60 was raised from the sale of poppies and the total from the Christmas concert
was £480 which will be donated to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Thank you.
12
3o Daniel Whitehall (in the bath)
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