Pages 61-70 - Oswestry School

NETBALL
O
swestry made an excellent start to the U16 north
Shropshire tournament, winning 7-1 against Moreton
Hall. In the second match against the Marches, Oswestry
again took control and dominated the game, showing
excellent passing and attacking moves to enable Katy Yates
(GA) and Katherine Stockdale (GS) to score many excellent
goals. Oswestry also showed effective defending to deny
the opposition and regain possession. Result: Oswestry 11,
Marches 2.
The team continued to play very well together, winning
7-2 against Ellesmere, 4-3 against Lakelands and finishing
their last game by winning 9-1 against Corbet.
It was an outstanding performance by Oswestry.
Victoria Martoccia, Katy Yates and Gemma Watkiss
Congratulations to the squad who are the U16 north
only 23 places being awarded for the whole of the county,
C Ainslie
After the recent demise of the Shropshire schools county
Shropshire champions!
A
Selected for the U16 Shropshire Academy
fter trials at the beginning of December, Victoria
Martoccia, Gemma Watkiss and Katy Yates of year 11
were awarded places in the U16 Shropshire County Netball
Academy for 2007—a terrific achievement for them with
including Telford.
netball structure, the academy is an initiative between
England Netball and the Shropshire Sports Partnership to
develop young talent. There were four, two-hour sessions
of training over two months taking place in Telford, Ludlow
and Shrewsbury, the first being at Idsall Sports Centre,
Telford.
The U13 squad, who were runners up in their north Shropshire tournament
Lucy Williams, Natalie Renwick, Louise Aust, Laura Doyle, Sophie Yates, Ruth Reynolds, Lorna Hankey, Georgina Mercer, Victoria Whittingham
The Oswestrian – 61
O
Out & About
Year 8 at Alton Towers
N TUESDAY 26 June 2007, year 8 were taken
out for the day to Alton Towers by Mrs
Leonard, Mrs Chidlow and Mr Croft. I would
like to take the chance to say a huge thank you
to all of them, especially Mrs Leonard, who organized the
whole thing for us.
Early in the morning, the day had started with a few
bursts of rain, but it started to clear up and sunshine peeked
through the clouds. The bus journey was enjoyable for most
of us and it soon passed quickly.
After each collecting our packed lunches and passes, we
were on our way, and finally made it inside the place itself.
The teams split up and headed in different directions. All
the year 8 girls and three of the boys went straight to the X
Sector, where we ran for the queue for Oblivion.
Leo Banks
Once there, we waited for about an hour through
pictures and key rings, we were ready again, for a fast one
“we hope to have it working again soon”. Finally though,
time wasn’t that bad, about 20 minutes. It was the time they
announcements that “the ride was temporarily stuck” and,
the next empty carriage came along, and we were on. All
the year 8 girls sat in the front row—and I was on the edge!
I won’t bother you with the details, but Oblivion was
the single most terrifying and adrenaline-causing experience
of my life. When can I do it again?
After we had all staggered off and bought our assorted
this time. Rita, Queen of Speed was waiting, and the queuing
spent trying to fix it after it had broken down, constantly
telling us that they were sorry and they would fix it as soon
as possible, that took up most of the rest of the morning.
After waiting ages, we were told that Rita’s problems
couldn’t be fixed, so we all had to leave the queuing area.
So much for a g-force of 4·7.
After lunch we split off into two groups: Victoria, Sophie
and Laura in one group, and Lorna, Natalie, Seren, Louise
and I in the other. Our group decided to make our way to
the Flume whilst the others decided to go on the Hex ride.
When we reached the flume we were lucky because there
was barely any queue so we got to go on the ride quickly.
Once there we got into a large floating bathtub and we were
pushed along the track by the currents. Although the flume
may not seem so scary compared with Oblivion or Rita, our
group was certainly petrified! This was mainly because there
was a very scary duck, and also because there were steep
drops.
Next our group walked to the River Rapids. There, like
Sophie Yates, Seren Heyward-Jones, Natalie Renwick and Laura Doyle
62 – The Oswestrian
the flume, there wasn’t a big queue so we practically went
straight to our seats. While we were on the rapids the water
ALTON TOWERS
shaky legs before and after.
We got off the ride and walked across a bridge to get to
the gift shop and amusement arcade to buy a photo of us all
on Oblivion.
By this time it was lunch, so our group decided that we
would go to another ride and eat lunch in the queue. This
ride was Rita, Queen of Speed and the queue was much
quicker than Oblivion. Unfortunately, when we were almost
at the front and soon to be stepping on the ride it was
announced, after some debating and further discussions by
the crew, that the ride was “experiencing some technical
Louise Aust, Seren Heyward-Jones, Natalie Renwick,
Umar Lawal and Steven Leung
splashed up a lot and so Lorna (who wasn’t wearing a
waterproof) got soaked!
By then it was quarter past four so we decided not to
go on any other rides or we might be late and then we might
not be very popular with the teachers. This was the first time
I have ever been to a theme park and I found it amazing! I
expected it to be small and packed with different roller
coasters, but in fact the moment we entered the park I
difficulties” and was not able to run until further notice!
From there we left Rita not knowing which ride we
wanted to go to next, so we looked at our map and some of
us decided that we would go to Hex the Haunted House,
after which we joined up with the other half of our group
and went to the Flume. The group got off the ride wet and
cold but excited for more, and bought yet another photo
from the shop.
By this time it was about 3.30pm and we didn’t have
much time left to go on any more big rides with long queues,
so we chose Spinball Whizzer as the queue for this ride was
realized that it covered a huge area of land with many
different sections.
The day was fantastic and I believe a fitting conclusion
is “a great time was had by all”!
Ruth Reynolds and Louise Aust
Descending into Oblivion
E
arly one Tuesday morning in June, all the year 8s went
to school excited, anticipating our two-hour bus journey
that would take us all to Alton Towers.
On the journey there was a buzz, and we couldn’t wait
to arrive at our destination. As soon as we arrived at the car
Year 8 pupils at Alton Towers
through the gates we split off into groups that we chose and
only 20 minutes, and it was also very convenient to us as it
pleased.
of time! The ride passed by quickly and we had just enough
took nearly two hours to get on the ride owing to several
before we ran back to the coach where there was another
park we were given our tickets and then when we got
from then on we were free to roam the theme park as we
My group first went off to go to Oblivion. This queue
stoppages and the never-ending queue. Whoever rides
Oblivion must be nervous and scared for his life as you go
up and up and then, suddenly, fall down a vertical drop into
was right next to the entrance gate and we were running out
time to go to the shop and purchase souvenirs of our trip
giant buzz of people telling each other of their day and
showing each other their photos.
Altogether this was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and a
a black hole, although the ride does stop, briefly, before you
fantastic way to end our Middle School years.
reading Don’t Look Down!. It was a fantastic experience for
came with us.
drop so that you can see a sign painted on the floor below
all, even though there were some jittering stomachs and
Thanks to Mrs Leonard, Mr Croft and Mrs Chidlow who
Sophie Yates
The Oswestrian – 63
BLENCATHRA
W
Year 7 at Blencathra
E ALL THOUGHT that Blencathra was
really
good
because
it
was
both
educational and lots of fun. However, we
are not going to tell you all about it
otherwise it will spoil the surprise for you if you are ever
lucky enough to go. Each day we did something different
and we started off, not long after we had arrived, by walking
to the local village of Threlkeld where we studied the
different styles of buildings as well as getting used to our
newly acquired walking boots. After supper there was a
debate about reintroducing the train service to Keswick.
Then finally there was some FREE TIME.
On Tuesday we were split up into two groups because
we were going canoeing, but we were in the group doing
freshwater studies first. We went to a stream and a pond
quite close to the centre and caught a number of different
invertebrates, including some enormous dragonfly larvae.
After lunch we got ready for canoeing and set off for
Derwent Water. We had a great time and most of us jumped
in off the pier at the end.
Wednesday saw us walking up Catbells. I was really
excited, as I’d never walked up a mountain before. We were
lucky with the weather and the view from the top was
Ryan Morris
Friday dawned and we realized that this was our last
amazing.
day. We went to Whinlatter Forest to do some orienteering
However, by the time we reached the river the rain had
talking about the Blind Trail! I hope that next year’s year 7s
Thursday was the river day and yes it started to rain!
stopped and we had great fun measuring the width and
depth of the river and getting a wellie full of water! On the
way back several of us had a Lake District shower. You will
have to find out about that for yourself next year.
64 – The Oswestrian
and the Blind Trail. Some people got lost and we’re not
have an even greater time than we did, although that’s
unlikely because we had an amazing time. Have a great time
trying!
Sam Ansloos and Chris Jones
BLENCATHRA
Scenes from Blencathra
Conor Lakin
Georgina Mercer and Lucy Williams
, Sam Ansloos,
Sam Johnson, Ryan Morris
ry James
Hen
Conor Lakin and
Rebecca Evans, Scott Val
lely, Edward Green, Jake
Chesworth, Oliver Morris
Rhys Gaynor-Johnson, Con
,
or Roche, Maisie Hicklin
and Daisy Tickner
Kendal Welsby, Lucy Wh
itthread, Sarah Rowley,
an instructor, Joe Colling
e,
Freddie Kynaston-Evan
s and Mrs Morris
Adcock, Ryan Morris,
Sam Ansloos, Henry James, Rebecca
Alex Herbert and Sam Johnson
The Oswestrian – 65
SKIING
O
Ski Aosta 2007
N SATURDAY 14 April 2007, 40 pupils set off
on the long journey to Aosta in Italy. This was
our first time on the ski trip and we only knew
the details Mrs Chidlow had given us in the
ski meetings, so we were rather nervous but still really
excited about the experience.
Lucy was very organized as always(!) and had plenty of
time to stock up on supplies, such as chocolate, chocolate,
chocolate etc, also the less important stuff like batteries for
mp3 players and neck pillows (maybe the other way round).
But she still managed to have to rush on the day before
departure. Millie was pretty much the same (mainly because
they went shopping for these together). We did this before
embarking on the 24-hour coach journey which, we must
admit, we were not looking forward to.
Frances Rowles, Charlotte Hartey and Polly Morgan
All in all the coach was rather comfortable as we chatted
taster of this exciting sport. It was really hard at first (Millie
a few fruitless attempts trying to find a comfortable position
but after a while, a matter of hours, we got the general hang
for a number of hours until it was time to go to sleep. After
to sleep in, we got a little frustrated. Millie had remembered
to bring Nytol, yet somehow she decided that it wasn’t as
good as it said! So the sleeping side of things wasn’t totally
successful.
could barely stand up, which Lucy found rather hilarious)
of standing up without falling and mastered the
snowplough. We decided there and then that we really
enjoyed this sport.
Even though Lucy thought the hotel had possibly
The next day we arrived at the ski resort at about one o’
replaced the mattresses with concrete on our beds, we were
next busy, exciting week. Our hotel was located in Valle
the coach. Also skiing was really tiring and after the activities
clock in the afternoon, where we would be spending the
d’Aosta which is a very scenic area of Italy. You can see the
high mountains of both the French and Swiss Alps, including
both very glad to get some sleep, as we got hardly any on
all we wanted to do was sleep!
For the rest of the week we skied every day which gave
Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. It is a very popular place
us all lots of opportunities to develop our skiing technique.
excellent skiing facilities.
as bowling on Monday and ice-skating on Tuesday. We went
with tourists because of the breathtaking views and the
On the first day we went to ski school and got our first
Going bowling: Norrie Brown, Liam Chambers, Ben Draper, Ricardo
Martoccia, Sophie Morgan, Kinzi Welsby and Alex Morgan
66 – The Oswestrian
After each day of skiing, activities had been planned such
to a pizzeria followed by a disco on Wednesday. We visited
Pizza night: Simon Bick, George Hugheston-Roberts, Jonathan
Molesworth, James Anderson, Gregory Bateman and Alister Talbot
SKIING
the Nike factory straight after skiing and did a pool
competition on Thursday, and on the last evening there was
a presentation from all the skiing instructors. Lucy’s
favourite was the pizza night, but Millie’s the ice-skating.
On the Friday evening, presentation night, there were
speeches given by the instructors and pupils in their group.
Also prizes were given by the teachers which no one knew
about, so that was a real surprise. The different prizes were
given for a wide range of different things, such as the people
who were best at the activities in the evenings. Millie was
surprised when she was given a prize for being a kamikaze
ice-skater as she thought it was totally normal to slam into
the sides of the ice-rink at full speed! But that evening was
great fun and very enjoyable.
Charlotte Stonehill, Emma Chapman, Helen Limbrey and Charlotte Eve
you need to be quite careful on the ski lift as it’s easy to fall
and how they were never bored. There was always
snap them!
or going into the town of Aosta. (No doubt the owners of
One thing Lucy learned the hard way in skiing was that
off or to catch your ski poles on the ground and bend or even
On the Saturday, it was the final day on the ski slopes
before loading the coach with our bags and ourselves for
something going on, whether it was the skiing, the activities
the shops in Aosta appreciated the school staying in the town
home. We said good bye to the ski instructors and thanked
them. They had been really amazing, putting up with having
to stop every five seconds as someone fell over, without
showing frustration even though they had got extremely fed
up after saying the same things to the same people over and
over again. Millie knows; she did! Soon on the coach, after
returning our equipment, there was no trouble in falling
asleep this time! Everyone was so tired from the week that
they slept very easily and a lot longer than on the way there.
But Millie seriously regretted not using a neck pillow the
following day!
In Lucy’s opinion the best things about the trip were the
fantastic views, the skiing and the delectable chocolate bread
and pizza. And Millie agreed with her: the views, the skiing,
Sean Crompton, Sam Clifford and Ben Draper
The Oswestrian – 67
THE CATALYST MUSEUM
because of the amount of money spent!)
No doubt everyone else enjoyed the trip as much as we
did, and we have no doubts that next year’s group will have
as much fun and enjoyment out of the whole experience as
this year’s. We would recommend going on the ski trip to
everyone as it was so much fun and we would love to go
again.
Many thanks to Mr Philp, Mr Stockdale, Mrs Morris and
particularly Mrs Chidlow, who must have felt she was going
crazy with the amount of work she had to do in organizing
the trip!
Millie Evans and Lucy Williams
Footnote:
Mrs Chidlow (pictured above) was taken on a sightseeing flight as a thank you for having organized eight school skiing trips in as
many years. During the flight she saw many breathtaking sights, including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.
I
The Catalyst Museum
mistry
Museum in Widnes, learning about che
t
alys
Cat
the
at
out
day
ic
tast
fan
a
had
learnt
d in everyday life. I enjoyed it all,
and how our knowledge of this is use
icult to pick out my favourite part!
loads, had lots of fun and find it diff
erent
gallery, where there are lots of diff
ic”
trif
ien
“sc
the
d
oye
enj
y
larl
I particu
s, I had to
things for myself. In one of the exhibit
experiments allowing me to find out
had to find
tank to a reactor vessel. To do this, I
get the coloured liquid from a storage
g the open
p the liquid in the right direction, usin
pum
to
ves
val
of
n
atio
bin
com
t
righ
the
g. I
nd this both interesting and challengin
fou
I
.
ves
val
of
set
h
eac
for
s
ton
but
and close
ly satisfied
that the sequence was logical. I felt real
used the drawing given and discovered
once I had managed to do it!
ch screen
exhibit. To do this, I used a special tou
I also liked the “build your own gene”
add a
make up part of a gene. If I tried to
to
als
mic
che
nt
ere
diff
ose
cho
to
computer
After I had
gene it bounced away off the screen!
chemical that was not suitable for the
sequence of
tificate, which explained the genetic
completed my gene I printed out a cer
amino acids it
it tells the body to produce and the
tein
pro
at
wh
de,
ma
had
I
A
DN
the
contains.
seum
love to go there again. The Catalyst Mu
It was a great day all round and I would
se!
ing I’ll get chance to go to one of the
runs science workshops, so I’m hop
Matthew Masters
68 – The Oswestrian
Music & Drama
F
The musical year
Annus miraculis, or: “mainly because it’s a challenge”
ROM THE OUTSET, this was always going to be
a particularly demanding year, although, on paper,
the music department was adhering to the well-
established pattern of musical events of previous
years. The difference, of course, was that this was our 600th
anniversary year. Having made the decision to feature The
Armed Man in the St David’s Day concert, once the harvest
festival/open morning preparations were in hand for the
Lower and Middle School, the way was clear for the senior
choir to learn two of the numbers—the Agnus Dei and the
Benedictus, partly as a kind of trial run and partly to break
the back of the tremendous amount of learning required.
FOUNDER’S DAY AND CHRISTMAS
From the outset, the choir really seemed to take to Karl
Jenkins’ work and it wasn’t unusual for rehearsals to overrun
as we were all engrossed in the music. Having made the
point about the paucity of male voices, particularly tenors,
last year, I’m grateful to the lads who allowed themselves
to be press-ganged into taking part. Together with the
regulars, by the time Founder’s Day arrived they were
Nathaniel Gliksman and Chris Harvey in Les Misérables
confidence and sensitivity required for both of Jenkins’
pieces. For that alone, they could be forgiven for a rather can
contributing to the choir’s well-rounded sound with the
belto approach to the congregational hymns! Once again, the
proceedings were enhanced by some spirited playing from
the concert band beforehand, although I was mortified to
note that our overseas woodwind contingent was missing
as I lifted my baton for the traditional Gaudeamus Igitur. (One
had to admire the way in which they snaked through players
and stands alike to get to their allotted positions in time for
the Silvergate Overture.)
The Christmas concert was a relatively relaxed affair
with its customary mixture of both classical and more
contemporary items. Items from Lower and Middle school
pupils provided the bulk of the first half of the programme.
It is always gratifying to chart the progress our pupils make
At Bellan House’s Christmas concert
as the months pass. Evie Lacey and Leo Banks gave
confident and accomplished performances on the piano.
The Oswestrian – 69
THE MUSICAL YEAR
THE CAST OF LES MISÉRABLES
Valjean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TANNY GLIKSMAN
Javert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TOM GONZALEZ
Eponine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EMILY MIDDLETON
Cosette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VICKY BOOTH
Marius/Constable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TRISTAN HARTEY
Fantine/Prostitute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BIBA GONZALEZ
M Thenardier/Constable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CHARLIE PIERCE
Mme Thenardier/Factory Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ALICE PARKER
Enjolras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LARA WHITE
Gavroche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CONOR ROCHE
Little Cosette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAIGE BAKER
Little Eponine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LUCY WHITTHREAD
Grantaire/Foreman/Farmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HARRY HICKSON
Bamatabois/Feuilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .NICK ZAMPARIELLO
Combeferre/Courfeyrac/Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ALUN MORRIS
Joly/Lesgles/Fauchelevant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CHRIS HARVEY
Prouvaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TOM NIBLOCK
Old Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CHELSEA BENTLEY
Nuns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LUCY WILLIAMS, CATHERINE BATEMAN
Bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OLIVER DOWEN
Lovely Lady and Army Officer . . . . . . . . . .LAURA BELL WILLIAMS
Soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .LEO BANKS, TOM WILSON
Lovely Ladies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KRISTINA KINGOLTS, ALEX MOWBRAY,
SOPHIE MORGAN, LAURA BELL WILLIAMS, DANI JONES, ISABEL
TOMLEY, LUCY BELCHER, POLLY MORGAN, LORNA HANKEY
Sailors and Students . . . . . . .CHARLES MANFORD, OLIVER DOWEN,
ELLIOT DYKE, TRISTAN CHIDLOW
Factory Girls . . . . . .EVIE LACEY, ISABELLE MAKIN, LORNA HANKEY,
LUCY WILLIAMS, CATHERINE BATEMAN, KRISTINA KINGOLTS
Chain Gang and Beggars . . . . . . . .LEO BANKS, DOUGLAS LAUNDY,
TOM WILSON, SAM SKUBALA, JACK NYHAN, TOM NIBLOCK,
ALEX HERBERT, SAM FOGGIN, ISABELLE MAKIN, PAIGE BAKER,
LUCY WHITTHREAD
Lara White as Enjolras
who took part.
The Lower School nativity play
was performed to capacity audiences
and was complete with its fair share of
tender and/or amusing moments. The
three kings rather stole the show, partly
owing to their relatively flamboyant
costumes but also to some spirited
singing and stage manoeuvring in
their tricky 7/4 number.
After the Christmas concert,
pressure of time meant that, inevitably,
some of the weekly activities began to
Ruth Reynolds displayed a mature sense of style in her
be affected as the demands mounted. Concert band worked
Rose and Alister Talbot have acquired a fine vibrato tone
Night. Amongst other things, I was particularly pleased with
performance of a gigue for violin. Brass players Thomas
which much enhanced their performances of Andante and
Nessun Dorma (respectively). Alex Simon enthralled the
capacity audience with his scintillating rendition of the Sabre
Dance on the piano. Other highlights were a movement from
a Beethoven cello sonata by Edward Wadon and some
hard to prepare three numbers in time for the the Variety
their grasp of the subtle syncopations in the rendition of
Birdland.
THE ST DAVID’S DAY CONCERT
Preparations continued apace for the St David’s Day
soulful playing by Tom Niblock (saxophone) in A Ballade for
concert on 1 March, both in school with the various choirs,
close with Merry Christmas, Everybody, much enjoyed by the
“musicians of Shropshire” who made up the orchestra for
Joe before the senior concert band brought the evening to a
devotees of audience participation. Well done to every one
70 – The Oswestrian
and out of school with rehearsals with Cantiones and
the performance of The Armed Man, the main work of the