SHEBBEAR COLLEGE NEWS

SHEBBEAR COLLEGE NEWS
MICHAELMAS TERM 2013
It’s History for
THE JUNIORS
CAMP PYKE
UGANDA
EXPEDITION
5th & 6th Form
SOCIAL
D of E
EXPEDITIONS
World AIMS
TEN TORS
Training
2013
RESULTS
Busy in the
KINDERGARTEN
Boarders
on the Rampage
SHEBBEAR
REMEMBERS
Let’s Go
Surfing!
Bhangra comes
to Shebbear
PEARL OF
AFRICA CHOIR
www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
HEADMASTER’S
WORDS
Dear Parents, Friends and
Shebbearians (current and past),
Please enjoy this summary of
the vast range of activities that
have taken place at the College
this term. We demand a huge
amount from every member of
the school community and you
will see that once again they
have responded with typical
enthusiasm,
dedication
and
determination.
I am sure the productivity of
the school community has been
helped by the fantastic summer
we enjoyed this year. No doubt
winter will soon reveal its teeth
but I hope that these highlights
of the term will engender a
little warmth in the cold months
ahead.
I have greatly enjoyed meeting
new and existing parents and
their guests at school functions,
whether at academic meetings,
on the touchline, at concerts or
the many other events during
the term.
I would like to take this
opportunity to thank all staff,
pupils and parents for making
Shebbear the fantastic school it
is and conclude by wishing you
all a very Happy Christmas.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Weale, Headmaster
ARTIST OF
THE TERM
RESULTS 2013
The A2 results were excellent
and nearly all of our Upper Sixth
have gained a place at either
their first or second choice
university.
Well over a quarter of the grades achieved
were A* or A with 75% of grades being A* - C.
Dan Lee gained an A* in Maths and A
grades in Chemistry and Biology, securing
his place at Bath University to read Natural
Sciences. Sarah Balsdon is going to study
Economics at Exeter having gained three
A grades and Head Boy Rob Dunn will be
able to follow his dream to be a paramedic
by studying at Oxford Brookes University.
Other students studying further afield
include Jason Liu whose A* and three A
grades were more than enough for a
place at the University of Hong Kong,
Rose Frith who now has to put up with the
‘hardships’ of living in Paris for the next
three years, and Anthony McGeorge, one
of England’s brightest golfing hopes, who
will take up a scholarship to the University
of Western New Mexico.
Other students have opted to enter the
workplace, notably Head Girl Grace Beal
who performed with distinction in the
exams despite a serious illness and will
now join the teaching staff of Prior Park
School in Bath. Our star performing
department was Maths where out of
eleven entrants, four students gained A*
grades and two gained A grades.
Our GCSE pupils achieved over 40% of all
grades at A* and A. Amongst the many
impressive achievements were some truly
outstanding performances particularly
from Emilio Aliberti (8 A*s and 6 As),
Julian Blaskiewicz (10A*s and 2As), Jack
Honey (5A*s and 7As), Tom Hill (6A*s and
5As), and George Daniel (6A*s and 3As).
These boys defied the national trend of
falling grades in science by achieving
11A*s and 3As in their respective science
GCSE exams.
Other pupils achieving at least eight A*s
and As included Emily Dunn, Katie Trask,
and county rugby player George Bone.
The Art department had 100% pass rate
from A* to C with sixteen out of the
nineteen pupils getting an A* or an A.
Three of our new Fourth Form deserve
special mention – Nadia Blaskiewicz,
Connie Bromhead, and Will Cox took
their GCSE Maths two years early and all
finished with A*. Will scored an impressive
120 out of 120 in his final paper.
Ellie Bird, 4th Form
Title: Autumn
Our GCSE PE pupils demonstrated a
vivacious thirst for knowledge and
determination to succeed and were
rewarded with an excellent set of results
with a 100% pass rate at A*- C grades
(73% of students gaining A*- B grades);
well done to you all for your superb
achievements.
Above: A level students Dan Lee, Joe
Furber, Saskia Weale and Harry Chibbett.
Above: GCSE students Tom Hill, Katie
Trask, Julian Blaskiewicz, Francesca
Stevens and Martha Johnstone.
Above: Emilio Aliberti, Jack Honey,
Julian Blaskiewicz and Thomas Hill with
Headmaster Simon Weale.
BOARDERS’ LASER
COMBAT EVENING
As the mist descended one
evening, two squadrons of
desperate warriors emerged
from the shadows of the peaceful
fields around the college.
With lasers and flashing lights darting in
every direction, this was the beginning of
a fun packed evening for the boarders.
The trees and hedges provided cover as
the boarders stalked and chased their
opponents. The wide, open spaces gave
lots of opportunities to run and chase
their opponents.
They all enjoyed the event and said that
they had felt the full atmosphere and
tension of the adventurous evening.
The troops returned to the boarding
houses for a warming supper before bed.
WORLD AIMS
Action in Methodist Schools (AIMS),
the global citizenship organisation,
held its annual students weekend
this term at the Frontier Centre
near Northampton.
Mr. Rogers and Mrs. Blundell attended
along with eight students. In all, over sixty
students participated from the Methodist
Schools Group.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Monday 11th November at
10.45am we had our annual
Remembrance Day Service in
Lake Chapel.
The service was attended by all staff
and Senior School years accompanied
by the Year 6 children from our Junior
School. We also welcomed some ‘Old
Boys’ who wished to attend the service.
The service was led by our Chaplain and
our Headmaster and the Bursar also took
part. Our 6th Form and Staff Choir gave
a beautiful rendition of the anthem ‘The
Lord is My Shepherd’ as part of our act of
remembrance.
The two minute silence was started by
the playing of ‘The Last Post’ and was
observed at 11.00am, ending with the
‘Reveille’ played by a 6th Form student.
Two wreaths were laid at the alter and the
names of all the Shebbearians who died
during WW1 and WW2 were read out.
After the service the wreaths were taken
by the Head Boy, Head Girl and the
Chaplain to the Memorial Hall where they
were placed next to the roll of honour and
a prayer was said.
were delighted to discover the variety of
creatures which live in and around the
pond.
They also explored the habitats of the
birdlife, and discovered why Rosemoor
is such a wonderful choice of home for
robins. The children looked for evidence
of worms, a supply of water, seeds and
many other food sources which enable
the birds to thrive.
UGANDA
EXPEDITION
This year’s expedition to Uganda
was enriching for our students
visiting Uganda from Shebbear
College and also for the schools
and charity organisations that
we visited.
The students also enjoyed activities such
as fencing, high wires and ropes, raft
building, kayaking and a nerve-racking
‘Big Swing’. Evening activities included a
campfire and an interactive session on
activism, dealing with how to get involved
and campaign on issues such as those
that had been discussed.
It was lovely to return to Bbira School, with
whom we have been partners since 2008.
We have also established relationships
with other schools, Mengo Primary, Katosi
Primary and Gayaza High School for Girls.
MACMILLAN
COFFEE MORNING
The Macmillan ‘World’s Biggest
Coffee Morning’ held at the end
of September raised a grand
total of £403.60
TRIPS to ROSEMOOR
GARDENS
Years 1 and 2 had wonderful
trips to Rosemoor Gardens,
a popular destination for the
Junior School.
Their enthusiasm never dampened by
the typical Devon weather, the children
The weekend included a fun icebreaker
session, workshops on Jubilee Debt,
Methodist Relief And Development Fund
(MRDF), Tradecraft (linked to Fairtrade)
and a fun practical session on the work
of the Mission Aviation Fellowship which
involved an obstacle course tackled whilst
blindfolded.
The students were immersed fully in
Ugandan culture and spent over a week
working specifically with organisations
who support rural, poorer communities,
teaching them valuable life skills.
One memorable experience for our
students was our visit to Kira Farm, a
residential vocational college. Here we met
young Ugandans who have had a difficult
start in life, who shared their experiences
with us and taught us much about how
privileged we are.
Mr Sanders and Mr Steel ended up
coaching at the Nile Rugby Club, which
has opened up a new dimension to
forthcoming trips.
Friday 15th November saw lots
of hilarious activities taking place
during break times.
This year’s Children in Need event was made even
more poignant by the recent hurricane in the
Phillipines, leaving many homeless and in need.
Once again we ran a week of fun events to help
raise awareness and funds for a very worthy cause.
These events included a raffle, face painting, cupcake
competition, a music gig and stocks. We also sold
some Children in Need wrist bands for extra cash! The
mufti theme this year was pyjamas or onesies and we
had an array of both pupils and staff walking around
‘ready for bed’ throughout the day. Mrs Cardoo’s
onesie was particularly good as was Connie Gillies –
the Pink Panther. A great effort from all involved.
Break time on Friday saw an excited mob descend
upon The Quad where those favourite stocks had
appeared overnight! It didn’t take long before a crowd
had gathered around the stocks to witness Mr Newitt
and Salah Gobara get a proper Shebbear soaking!
Thank you to both chaps for offering their services.
The week was a great success and raised an amazing
£700. The parents, staff and pupils have, once again,
donated a huge amount of money for an incredibly
just cause. A special thank you must also go out to
the four girls who helped organise the week – Kitty
Harding, Claudia Golland, Meg Ryder-Green and
Summer Dunscombe.
CAMP PYKE
During the half term break, eleven
of our overseas boarding pupils
stayed at school in ‘Camp Pyke’.
trips to Longleat Safari Park, The Eden
Project and London, to take in sights such
as Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait
Gallery, the M and M Store and Covent
Garden, before enjoying a traditional feast
in China Town. Other highlights included
shopping at Cribbs Causeway near Bristol
and of course Pizza Hut!
SURFING BOARDERS
Our boarding pupils have been
enjoying weekend surfing lessons
this term at Widemouth Bay.
This was a trial to see if we could put on
a suitable mix of activities, both work
and play, at school for pupils who, for
logistical reasons, cannot make it home.
It is wonderful that the pupils are able to
enjoy the beautiful part of the world that
we live in, something that many other
schools are justly envious of.
This was an ideal opportunity for the
boarders to get out and about and see some
sights around the country. This included
SPORT at SHEBBEAR COLLEGE
SPORT ROUND-UP
One term gone and the race for
the title of ‘Sporting Team of the
Year’ is already hotting up.
The First Form have only just started
their sporting careers at Shebbear, but
their rugby team have proved to be very
competitive with several classically close
encounters against our biggest rivals
West Buckland (narrow win), Kelly (draw
and a narrow loss), and Plymouth College
(narrow loss). The star player has been
Will Cunningham who has scored a hatful
of tries and was the key player when the
team won the inaugural Shebbear U12
Festival beating St Joseph’s, Kingsley, and
Mount House in the process.
The First Form girls can look forward to
a similar bright sporting future with a
number of strong performances in their
first season. Further up the school the
First XV have found themselves matched
at times against much bigger opposition,
but have played patches of excellent
rugby and will retain most of their players
for next season. They have achieved three
victories, a number equalled by the First
XI Hockey Team under the leadership
of Meg Furse. The renaissance of their
fortunes has coincided with the arrival
of new coach Alan Muller, Captain of the
England veteran’s hockey team. His strong
influence is palpable across the year
groups especially at U15 and U13 level
where both teams have been extremely
successful and achieved excellent wins
over rivals as strong as Plymouth College.
The U13 squad of girls is a formidable
unit and they will definitely be one of the
title contenders in the summer. However,
as things stand the U13 boys team
probably have the best record. They also
won the Shebbear Festival, but enjoyed a
string of victories against Mount House,
Exeter Cathedral School, Kelly (twice),
Kingsley (twice), an Exeter School XIII,
Plymouth College, and West Buckland
before they met their ‘Waterloo’ at Truro.
No bad thing – they are only human.
The points have mostly been scored by
try machine Alessandro Aliberti and Will
Cowan-Dickie, who kicks as well as any
U13 around, but of course the team only
works because of the seventeen players
who regular turn up.
BUSY IN THE
KINDERGARTEN
Learning takes on many forms in
the Kindergarten and this term
has been full of fun and learning
activities.
As well as taking a trip down into the copper
mines, the children were put to work, breaking
rocks to find the precious copper. They were
then sent back in time to experience lessons
in a Victorian school before finally dressing
up in authentic costume and taking a stroll
through the town.
The children have been learning about
types of transport in a fun and interactive
way. The stories and songs involved
provide excellent literacy learning.
TEN TORS TRAINING
Training has begun this term for
the 2014 Ten Tors Challenge.
Various training walks have taken place,
each demonstrating valuable procedures
such as advance planning, taking bearings,
map reading and the safety value of
staying on tracks. The training sessions
have been undertaken in a variety of
weather conditions which also illustrates
the need for careful preparation.
A large, interactive computer screen installed
this term has provided the Kindergarten
with a valuable, modern teaching aid.
JUNIOR PGL
Our Year 6 pupils spent an
action-packed week of activities
at Osmington Bay in Dorset.
VISITS FROM
POPULAR AUTHORS
The children have also spent time in the
garden, preparing troughs and tubs for
seed and bulb planting ready for Spring.
Celebrations and events this term have
included the Harvest Festival, Children in
Need, Remembrance Day and, of course,
the Christmas Nativity.
HISTORY IN THE
JUNIOR SCHOOL
In September we were visited by
two renowned authors.
They had a busy and exciting week taking on
a range of challenges, many of which they
were trying for the very first time. Over the
course of the week the pupils crawled down
underground tunnels, climbed a forty foot
pole and jumped off the top, abseiled down
a tower, fenced, shot rifles, fired arrows,
sailed around Weymouth Bay, drove quad
bikes, climbed ropes and slid down a giant
zip wire.
The Assembly Hall was packed full of
pupils, many of whom had books signed
by the authors after both presentations.
Our Junior School pupils have
been learning lots of history this
term with a variety of activities.
This included trips to Dingles Heritage
Centre, the Victorian Heritage Centre at
Morwellham Quay, a visit from a Roman
Legionary and studies about the Titanic.
At Morwellham Quay, Year 6 pupils
learned about life in Victorian Britain and
in particular, the hardships that faced the
working class families of the time.
As part of the Appledore Book Festival, we
enjoyed presentations by Paul Dowswell,
author of over 60 books, and Gillian
Cross, who spoke about her latest book
‘After Tomorrow’.
Although it was an exhausting week, it was
a wonderful experience and we were very
proud of each and every one of them. As
well as being great fun, they were polite, well
behaved and very supportive of each other.
D of E EXPEDITIONS
In August, four pupils undertook
a four day practice expedition
towards their Gold D of E Award.
To tie in with these events the new servery
in the dining hall was beautifully decorated
in an Indian theme and there was curry
and plenty of poppadoms for lunch.
5TH & 6TH FORM
SOCIAL EVENING
The 5th and 6th Forms enjoyed a
social evening in September.
A hog roast was accompanied by delicious
side dishes, desserts and soft drinks,
following which the pupils put on their
dancing shoes for a traditional Gaelic
Ceilidh dance in the Memorial Hall.
Alice Cowan-Dickie, Will Hill, Jed Light
and Will Collins walked from The Valley
of the Rocks at Lynton on the north coast
of Devon to Minehead, a total distance
of some 90km. The weather was good
and they successfully completed the
challenge, and are now planning their final
expedition to the Lake District in October.
In September, twenty eight pupils
undertook their Bronze Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award practice expedition,
starting from Tavistock and walking
unaided to Hartford Bridge campsite for
their overnight stay, before continuing to
their finishing points the following day.
In the evening the band performed a
superb concert for 6th Formers and
visitors and quickly got the whole
audience up and dancing.
THE PEARL OF
AFRICA CHOIR
In November we enjoyed a
cultural musical experience.
The aim of the expedition section of the
award is to challenge the teams and all the
individuals within those teams.
All of the pupils worked hard and should
be very proud of their achievements. Now
all of the pupils have to plan and prepare
their routes for their final expeditions
which will take place in the summer term.
The Pearl of Africa Children’s Choir
from Uganda were touring the UK giving
performances to help raise awareness and
improve the health, education and welfare
of people suffering through disease, war
and poverty in Uganda. The choir were
able to visit the school during their busy
schedule. They spent the whole day at the
school giving workshops with Forms 1, 2
and 3 along with the entire Junior School
and Kindergarten.
The day was filled with fun and action,
with many activities such as kayaking, raft
building, archery and a high ropes course
- a day out not for the faint-hearted!
Taking advantage of the rural
college grounds, some of our
boarders have been out and
about on campus.
In November we enjoyed a day
with popular Bhangra band RSVP.
Neither words or pictures can replicate the
fantastic beat and vibrancy of the music
we heard.
In September the new First Form
pupils had a teambuilding day
out at Roadford Lake.
DAMS & DIVERSIONS
BHANGRA COMES
TO SHEBBEAR
The Junior School and most of the Senior
years had the opportunity to meet the
band in a workshop setting where they
experienced and participated in this
highly energetic and vibrant form of
music. The band were excellent and the
pupils took every opportunity to question
them and learn about their music and its
background.
FORM 1 TRIP TO
ROADFORD LAKE
The children experienced the colourful
traditional clothing, music and culture of
Uganda. They learnt about a typical school
day, how to count and sing in Ugandan,
and were shown dance moves before
taking part in some routines.
The choir performed a short concert at the
end of the day which was also enjoyed by
the Senior School and teaching staff.
Along with Pollard Housemaster, Mr.
Sanders and his wife, they set out to
pick blackberries, but this got boring so
they set about doing what boys do best
- damming a stream
and re-routing it
around a large tree,
before breaking the
dam down at the
end. These types
of simple activities
are very important
as they get the boys
out and about in
their spare time.