the leader 2012 - Monmouth Comprehensive School

Transcription

The
Leader
Issue 8 • Summer 2012
Learning to Lead our Lives
Working Together at MCS
The Leader celebrates the achievements and experiences
of our students and chronicles the life of the school
TheLeader Issue 8 - Summer 2012
Student Design & Technology Work
Emily Yeates
Aled Priday
Sally Oakley
Amy Wallace
Andrew Morgan
Beth Jones
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Guy Erro Castillo
Alex Boyrazien
Hex Chew Tsang
Welcome
Contents
When looking between the
covers of ‘The Leader’ I am
always reminded of how quickly
life passes and also how much we
achieve as a school in one year.
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My first reflection is probably to do
with age. My second because, of
course, I am very proud of our students
and all the staff, governors and parents
who work together to secure
outstanding achievements for all our
students across so many varied and
diverse areas of learning.
In my first year as Headteacher, I know
I am very privileged to be leading our
school and recognise the trust the
whole community has placed in me to
care, support and develop learning for
all our children.
Mrs Wendy Baker, in her annual article
about ‘A Year in the Life of Our School’,
has chronicled as much as she can on
two pages. There is not enough room
though to include everything. We can
only provide a panoramic view.
As you read our magazine, remember
this is just the tip of the iceberg and
every day students at our school
achieve fantastic results and make
progress that will lead them to their
own success. Every year Mrs Baker
achieves the impossible and produces
a school magazine which unashamedly
stands out from the rest. It is ‘The
Leader’
Vaughan Davies
Headteacher 2012
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Welcome to Issue No. 8 of The
Leader.
The Leader continues to showcase the
activities of the students both academic
and otherwise and I am pleased to be
able to bring you more out of school
activities this year, showing you all just
how amazing our students are.
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Editorial
A big thank you to all of our sponsors,
both old and new; it is thanks to you
that we can provide this magazine free
of charge to our students and the local
community and I am very grateful for
your support. I would also like to thank
all the students and staff who have
contributed to the magazine over the
last year – I know it feels a little strange
when I am asking you for an article 11
months before the next magazine !
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I am happy to receive details of out of
school activities at any time during the
year and I will always try to include
them in The Leader, wherever possible.
I hope you all enjoy this edition of our
magazine.
Wendy Baker, Editor
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Welcome
Editorial
Leading with Learning
A Year in the Life...
A busy year for Olivia & Richard
Learning with Friends
Student Art
Awards Evening
Making an Exhibition of Ourselves
Art Trip to Oxford
BBC Young Reporters
Youth Speaks
Diary of a ski trip novice…
Charity Roundup
Music
Rowing - Why Row?
Annual Restorative Justice
Conference
Eco Council
Recycled Fashion
Sporting Round Up
Science
Y13 Leavers
Careers and Higher Education Fair
Success
Community Participation at MCS
Iceland 2012
Monmouth Comprehensive
School’s Eisteddfod
A Welsh Evening
Serving the school....
How do you keep the roadways
clear in a massive shipping port?
Italy Sports Tour
Student Art
2012 Trip to the Netherlands
Motion Racing
Monmouth’s Got Talent!
Summer Learning Year 7
Out in the big, wide world....
Catering at Monmouth
Comprehensive School
Out of School Achievements
Anyone for Petanque?
A Level Geography students visited
by British Hazard Rescue worker
Geography & PE visit to London
and the Olympic sites
Religious Studies
Thoughts from a former Head Girl
The Olympic Torch comes to MCS
MCS Boat Club 2011-2012 Season
Front Cover:
Georgia Bevan and Daisy Willcocks
School Photography by Des Pugh,
Official School Photographer
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Leading with Learning
‘The Leader’ shows that nothing stands still for too long
at our school. Of course, you would not expect it to if
we are preparing young people to live their lives in the
21st Century. As teachers, we reflect continually about
what our students will be faced with in this new
century.We think not only about their working lives but
their whole life, their wellbeing, their dreams, hopes
and ambitions.We develop continually our schemes of
work, our practice and our provision to ensure that
learning is relevant, authentic and holistic and will
help students to be independent and lead their lives.
We are always looking to the future and using the
present to help to plan the way forward. ‘The
Leader’ provides a glimpse of how we are moving
forward into the 21st Century.
This year has seen a significant investment in new
technologies to support learning at our school. We have
been planning for this for some time but with money
made available from Monmouthshire County Council
and the Welsh Government, we have been able to develop
our facilities to create a relevant and purposeful learning
environment. Students are now able to access learning
materials that are up-to-date and authentic at any time.
Students can, with new technologies, go out into the real
world and interact with it to make sure learning is relevant
and real. Students can now link their learning across areas
of the curriculum and communicate their understanding
in a variety of ways – essays, reports, databases, films,
presentations, cartoons and many, many more. For our
students it is proving a more natural way of working
because for them technology is second nature. It is such
an exciting time for us as a school.
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We have also focused on the fact that technology not
only changes the way in which we learn but how we learn.
Students are having to learn to deal with masses of
information – more than could ever be contained within a
text book. No longer can a student impress with a quick
panoramic view of a topic by cutting pieces together from
the Internet. Students are being supported to look for
patterns, connections, structures and depth. Far more is
being expected of learners because we are no longer
confined by the limitations of space, time and access to
materials. The school at the same time is much smaller in
learning together but much bigger in what we do and
achieve.
Technology is changing the way we relate to each other
and has implications for all our students. I am sure as
parents you are sometimes perplexed by the way in
which children now communicate and organise their
lives. It is exciting but it also identifies challenges for
us all; challenges ranging from security, trust and
access to knowledge about an individual. At school,
for instance, we know that electronic forms of
communication can both support and compromise
how we build relationships. For our students they
will require support with this aspect of learning in
order to lead their lives in the 21st Century. This
year we have continued to develop our
Relationships Policy to support all students in how
they relate, communicate and build relationships.
Our approach and practice has received recognition from
the Welsh Government and students from our school met
with Princess Anne earlier this year to talk about the way
they have been supported in building their own selfesteem and confidence to build successful relationships.
Throughout all these developments with learning and
looking forward it is important, though, that we never lose
sight of the fact that children are children and
that will never change. All of us, when we are
growing-up, want to be known and known
well. We want to be able to dream, imagine
and explore. We want to be able to learn
from our mistakes and share our lives. We
want to receive praise for what we do and
be recognised for our talents. In the pages
of this magazine we have tried to do just
that. ‘The Leader’ brings together our
students and their achievements, our
community and our future.
Vaughan Davies
Headteacher
Technology will no doubt provide opportunities
for us to communicate quickly as a community.
As parents it may mean in the future that there is
much more immediate information about your
child’s progress. As teachers we can share
learning across the school with all and between
other schools.There is a bigger journey to come
and we are only at the cusp of the technological
revolution. As we prepare very soon to develop
our campus and build for a completely
different school, we will have to plan, as a
community, what we want for our children
and for the rest of the 21st Century.
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A Year in the Life...
Summer Learning Week and a flurry
of trips (France, Belgium and
Llangrannog) ended the Summer
term on a high, but exhausted, note.
9SB (now 10SB) were our champion
recyclers, deciding to save their prize
until they are in Y11, to ensure they
have a last trip together before they
leave school in May 2013 – some time
away but I am sure it will be upon us
before we can blink!
August brought our exam results with
144 of our Sixth Form students
celebrating their success in their A
Level and B.T.E.C. Examinations.The
Pass rate was 98%, with over 82% of
students achieving the very highest
three grades. This meant a 4.5%
increase in the very top grades at the
school, with 30% of students obtaining
the very highest grade. The following
week saw our nervous Y11 students
arrive for their GCSE results, but
they had nothing to fear as the
results across all subjects and courses
by Y11 students at MCS were the
highest ever. 73% of all GCSE grades
achieved were at A* - C, with over
42% gaining the highest two grades. In
addition, the school offered for the
first time the prestigious Welsh
Baccalaureate Qualification to all
students in Y11 and over 80%
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achieved the award (equivalent to
three further GCSEs ).When taking
into account all the qualifications, the
school achieved 80% A* - C. Well
done to all concerned.
Our first event, Awards Evening, took
place on 15th September when we
were delighted to welcome Olympic
Gold Medal winner Matt Ryan, an
inspiring choice for the coming
Olympic year – see page 11.
A Level Fine Art and the Applied Art
students put on a well attended
exhibition at the Oriel Jones Gallery in
Monmouth and a further opportunity
to exhibit work from the whole school
came with the Joint Schools Exhibition
at The Shire Hall, details to be found
on page 12.
Our students once again rose to the
Harvest Collection challenge, filling
the Meeting Room with donations
which were passed to The Wallich, a
charity supporting the homeless in
Cardiff.
Open Evening rounded off September
when our prospective parents visited
us to tour the Faculties and see how
much is on offer at Monmouth
Comprehensive. A busy evening for
all – even the Romans needed to sit
down for a tea break !
The Forms voted for their Council
Representatives at the beginning of
October and our Councils met for the
first time, ready to face the busy year
ahead, including their involvement in
the recruitment of a new Headteacher
for MCS.
A group of our Y9 Geography and
Y13 BTEC students were lucky
enough to visit some of the Olympic
Sites in November. They also visited
the Natural History Museum where
students looked at material relevant to
their new unit on Natural Hazards.
Our Geography students were also
visited by Paul Simmons, a local
fireman with South Wales Fire and to
talk about his work with the UKISAR
(United Kingdom International
Search and Rescue unit). Details of
both these events can be found on
page 65.
The Monmouth’s Got Talent semi
finals took place at the end of
November, in preparation for the
March Final at the Blake Theatre – a
very difficult choice for the judges as
the standard of performance was so
high.
Our usual flurry of activities
in December included the
Y7 Christmas Fair, the Y7
Christmas
lunch
and
pantomime visit, the Carol
Service and the Interform
Creative Days for Years 7, 8
and 9. Details of these days
can be found on page 31.
The Y7/8 Christmas Disco
finished off the term.
Fortunately, this year the
Christmas holiday period was
uneventful without burst
pipes and flooded rooms!
February saw the Eisteddfod
rehearsals start in the build up
to the main event on Friday
2nd March. Forms worked
hard, practising routines until
they were perfect.
Interviews took place for our
Headteacher position which
saw Mr Vaughan Davies
confirmed in place for
September 2012.
Our Eisteddfod, featured on
pages 37-38, was a riot of
colour and talent. April saw
our first Evening in Wales, a
tremendous success attended
by The Mayor and his consort.
Ella Sutton and George Thomas
were triumphant at Monmouth’s
got Talent on 9th March – a
brilliant fundraiser organised
by our Head Boy and Girl,
Richard
Middleton
and
Olivia Grice, together with the
Joint Schools Council. The
money
raised
went
to
Monmouth Aid and Bridges.
You will see Ella and George’s
account of this competition on
page 49. Their prize was a
recording session at Nimbus
Studios and at the time of going
to press they have recorded their
music and are looking to get it out
to a wider audience.
Easter brought the Sports Tour of
Italy, details on pages 42-45, and the
Geography trip to Holland, page 47.
where students once again proved
themselves a credit to the school.
The middle of May saw our Y11
students
enjoy
their
Prom
(congratulations to Prom King and
Queen, Max and Celeste) before
settling down to the serious business of
exams, with Y13 leaving us at the end
of May.
Two of our students, George Ryley
(Y12) and Megan Jephcote (Y9) had
the honour of carrying the Olympic
Torch as it travelled through the area,
something I am sure they will
remember for the rest of their lives.
Our Y11 Rugby League team have had
a successful season (page 29)
culminating in them lifting the Wales
Schools Carnegie Cup in May – well
done to Mr Penny and the team.
Our young footballers had a
tremendous end to the season as you
will see on page 27, winning four Cup
Finals in three days.
The Charity Committee had another
fabulous year, raising over £6,000, see
page 17 for full details of the year.
This year the MCS Friends
Association supplied the school with
PA equipment and mountain bikes
and a ‘green button’ box in Waitrose
during May meant the school would
be receiving Kindles for our literacy
programme. A Promise Auction is in
the pipeline for October 2012 and
there is still time to donate a ‘promise’
if you are able to.
Following his athletic success last year,
Y11 student Ryan Lee has continued
his improvement this year, details of
which can be found on page 28.
All in all, another jam-packed year at
MCS, including all the out of school
activities our students are involved in,
which are featured in more detail this
year on pages 62-64.
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A busy year for Olivia & Richard
Olivia Grice
Richard Middleton
Head Girl
Reflections of my role
Head Boy
Enjoying the Ride...
When reading the articles written by
previous Head Girls and Boys, I thought the
time when I would have to write mine
wouldn’t arrive for a while, but the year has
flown by and It’s quite sad to know our
time as Head Boy and Girl is coming to an
end. Rich and I have had so many great
experiences and events that I know we will
take with us through life. From the speech
at the Women’s Festival to Monmouth’s
Got Talent, the opportunities I have had this
year have been fantastic.
It has been a rollercoaster of a year for Livvy
and me; we’ve interviewed Headteachers,
dined in the Shire Hall and organised
another successful ‘Monmouth’s Got
Talent’ in cooperation with Monmouth
School and HMSG. Now it’s time to look
back at the ups, the downs and the
backward loops; an opportunity for us to
say ‘Diolch yn fawr’ and work out what
we’ve done.
After being appointed in April 2011, our
first official event wasn’t until Awards
Evening in September. It was fantastic to
see all the amazing students that attend
Monmouth Comprehensive School and
hear their stories and achievements. We
waited nervously on the side, before giving our ‘vote
of thanks’ speech at the end of the ceremony. A
daunting task, but a successful one too. It prepared
us for many more speeches to come.
Amongst all the meetings with the School and Year
Councils, March arrived bringing a busy month. The
Final of Monmouth’s Got Talent was a chance for
Monmouth Comprehensive to showcase its most
talented students. However, choosing from our 13
acts in the semi-final back in November was a huge
task as all our acts were brilliant. We were immensely
proud of the performances at the Final, and so were
the audience as George and Ella won the
competition, and Freya and Ele Dow were chosen to
record at Nimbus records because they were so
talented.
This was not the only event in March for me, as I had
to open the Women’s Festival Awards Evening with
a speech about what the Festival meant to me. This
was the first event I had been to without Rich, but
two of the excellent prefects, Rosie and Caitlin,
accompanied me for support. This was a lovely
night, and it was great to hear how many amazing
women there are in our community. I spotted a few
faces who won awards from our school too!
So with our year finally closing, and the new Head
Boy and Girl appointed, I feel so privileged to have
been given the opportunity to be Head Girl.
However, my year wouldn’t have been as successful
if it wasn’t for the support from Rich, Tilly, Robbie
and all the prefects. The role has taught me so many
skills and improved many others. I know that I will
look back on it with fond memories in years to come.
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The year began for us back in April 2011
when we were appointed but it didn’t really
get going until we returned to School after
the summer break. From then on we had to
hold on for the ride of our lives. I remember
sitting down to Chair our first School
Council meeting and wondering what on
earth we’d got ourselves into; after a while (and a few gentle safety stops)
we managed to work out what was happening and settled into our new
roles. My role came with the added bonus of acting as Livvy’s walking,
talking diary…
When January arrived, so did a new challenge; interviewing prospective
Head Teachers for our school – a job that we and the School Council did
not take lightly. The Council wrote its own questions, identified criteria for
success and eventually interviewed five candidates. It was a challenge but
one that the students who took part rose to; they conducted themselves
fantastically and were a credit to the school. After some difficult
deliberations and detailed interrogations, the student panel gave its
feedback to the Governors and Mr Davies was appointed as our new Head
Teacher. I cannot thank the Student Council enough for their hard work in
preparation and to the seven students who made up our panel – you were
amazing, guys!
Another month, another event; March brought the Final of ‘Monmouth’s
Got Talent 2012’. We’d already seen a fantastic semi-final at MCS in
November, featuring 13 amazing acts from our school. It’s normally 12, but
we just couldn’t choose! Four of our acts went through to the Final and one
of them succeeded! George Thomas and Ella Sutton won the opportunity
to record at Nimbus Records’ studios in Wyastone Leys. Not only did MCS
win for the first time (!), a second of our acts, Freya Johnson and Eleanor
Dow, were also invited to Nimbus after one of the judges thought they
were so talented. Diolch yn fawr iawn to everyone who competed,
supported or came along to Monmouth’s Got Talent this year.
Rollercoasters are normally fun for at least a couple of minutes: this one has
been fun for a whole year. It has been a fantastic end to the last seven years
at MCS. Diolch to the teachers and support staff who’ve helped, supported
and checked I wasn’t falling off the rollercoaster. Thank you to the friends
who’ve ridden along with me, screaming wildly with their hands in the air
- it has been amazing! Time to swap rides and move on to the next step,
taking a few photographs with me, as souvenirs.
One tip for next year’s officials: life is a rollercoaster, just hang on! Diolch
yn fawr Ysgol Gyfun Trefynwy.
Learning with Friends
With the help and support of the MCS community, the Friends Association has a big aim - to make a
real difference: not just by raising funds, but also using Friends' enthusiasm, skills and experience to
create real learning opportunities for students and support for parents.
Last year, through fund raising,
we purchased a professional PA
system which has been extensively
used at Bands’ Night, Welsh Night,
Monmouth's Got Talent and many
other activities that have supported
learning outside the classroom. The
Friends have recently purchased 20 new
mountain bikes to enhance the current
stock - they will be used to support the
PE curriculum and the after
school Mountain Bike Club.
The Charity Committee has
also provided the Friends
with welcome support and
valuable input at our
meetings, a valuable learning
experience for all. We
particularly enjoyed supporting
the school's Charity Committee
and World Challenge students
at their Zumbathon!
A small, but dedicated, group of Friends has been working hard
towards the launch of a Film Club that will support learning
through the media of film. Students will
improve their skills of communication and
literacy through organising the club and
reviewing films online. We plan to extend this
learning into our local community using our
local theatre.
To help the school to purchase a number of
Kindles to support literacy, and to
provide giant IT screens for
communal use to support
communication across the
campus, the Friends will be
holding a Promise Auction in
October 2012. We look forward
to bringing the school community
together for a great evening.
Meetings are held monthly during
term time, all are welcome and
we aim to finish business in just
one hour - and we usually succeed!
Did you know.... all parents, guardians,
teaching staff, non teaching staff, and
Governors are automatically members of the Friends Association.
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Student Art
Zak Carey
Annie James
Jed Tattersdill
Kalie Vallis
Gweniver Tremayne-Exton
Elysia Evans
Joanna Green
Jodie Beddoes
Oriane Pierrepoint
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Joanna Green
Jacob Picken
Oriane Pierrepoint
Megan Scantlebury
Awards Evening
Our school year started off with Awards Evening, when
we were delighted to welcome Olympic Gold medallist
equestrian Matt Ryan to the school to present the prizes.
Ella Phillips and Will Korb were given the opportunity of
interviewing him prior to the ceremony, as
Monmouthshire Olympic Young Ambassadors at the
school. Ella gives her thoughts below.
An Interview with Matt Ryan
When asked to interview Matt Ryan, I was instantly
overwhelmed. Despite, as part of my role, meeting Olympians
previously, it was an honour to be able to ask questions
concerning his career and other aspects of his life. Will and I
were given questions to ask on behalf of the Media club which
was helpful as it meant we were asking questions that
represented what other students wished to find out. When
asked who his main inspiration was he replied “There were
many inspirational figures in my life as I grew up. I have three
older brothers who all supported me and motivated me to
succeed. My family have always helped me to achieve and they
are all, individually, huge inspirational figures.” He continued to
talk about his family when asked what the proudest moment of
his career was; “I competed, with the team, in the 2000
Olympics at Sydney. Although I obviously felt a large pressure to
perform well, having my family and friends in the crowd
ensured that I remained focussed and I would say that winning
gold in my country, with my family and friends present, was a
fantastic feeling - the best of my career.”
Obviously, horse riding is a popular sport and we even have it
available as an extra curricular activity in school so we asked if
he had any advice for young riders in our school “Well, I
suppose the most important piece of advice I could give to any
aspiring rider, or any athlete for that matter in a metaphorical
sense, would be that no matter how many times you fall off
your horse, getting back on is the biggest step you have to take
to succeed. Success doesn’t happen overnight; you’re going to
fall down and you’re going to struggle but if you keep at it will
be worth the bruises you endure on the way! As my coaches
told me before my individual performance at Barcelona ‘Success
has been, and continues to be, defined as getting up one time
more than you’ve been knocked down.’” Later, when speaking
at the Awards Evening he mentioned this theory again and
talked of the time he visited Redbrook Equestrian Centre and
showed the students there a picture of himself falling off his
horse to back up his theory.
We later asked how he found British equestrianism. “I came to
Britain in 1984 to train with Richard Meade which was an
honour to say the least. Richard Meade is an incredible
equestrian himself and I very much appreciated training with
him. I hope to see him in the London Olympics 2012 although
we would be competing at different ends.” It seemed, from his
previous answers, that his family were a huge inspiration to him
so we went on to ask whether his family influenced him to ride
or whether it was his own decision to begin his career, “My
older brothers all rode and horses have always been a large part
of my life. It seemed natural to follow in their footsteps. At first
it never occurred to me to ride professionally but as I
progressed, along with my family’s support, I began to aspire to
achieve great things as any young boy would!” Matt Ryan’s
older brother, Heath Ryan, competed at the Beijing Olympics so
it would seem that success runs in the family!
Our final question was what his biggest struggle had been as a
competitor where he replied “As any sportsperson will know
there will always be a struggle along the way to achievement,
Despite making the team for the 1996 Olympic Games in
Atlanta I was forced to withdraw just days before due to the
injury of my horse. This was hard to deal with at the time
because mentally I was prepared and I had bonded with the
team but I was forced to simply watch. This made my Gold
Medal at the Sydney Olympics even greater in a sense! I am very
much looking forward to the London 2012; it is set to be a
fantastic Olympic Games!”
Ella Phillips
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Making an Exhibition
of Ourselves
Aphra Das Gupta
Last years’ A Level groups had the opportunity to exhibit their
work in a number of venues.
The Applied Art group were set a brief,
based around the sculptures in the
Forest of Dean. They then put on an
exhibition at Beechenhurst Lodge that
described their project and the processes
they went through to produce their final
pieces. Their work showed a rich and
varied response to the brief with some
positive feedback from the Forest
Connections retail outlet and members
of the public.
A further opportunity to exhibit work
came in the autumn with the Joint
Schools Exhibition at The Shire Hall last
September. This was a new enterprise
taken on by the Wye Valley Arts Society
to revive an old tradition of the three
secondary schools in Monmouth
exhibiting together.
Both A Level Fine Art and the Applied
Art students put on an exhibition at the
Oriel Jones Gallery in Monmouth. This
proved to be a real success. The students
work looked fabulous and the Private
View was well attended.
This year we are hoping to exhibit work
as part of our new Faculty Showcase,
with
work
displayed
alongside
performances from the Music and
Drama Departments.
The Fine Art class went on to gain 80%
A* at A level, our best result yet.
Mrs J Boswell, Faculty Leader,
Performing and Expressive Arts
Art Trip to Oxford
We collected together at the Bus Bay for
8.45am, ready for the day ahead. The
journey was long and loud and we were
all relieved to get off the hot bus in
Oxford. As we walked around the corner
to the museum we all had a look at the
grand architecture of the Natural
History and Pitt Rivers Museum. We
had a talk from a professor from the
Museum and he spoke to us about some
ideas for Natural Forms in the museum.
He brought out a zebra skin and two
snake skins. He also showed us the shells
of some marine creatures. We took
pictures of the objects before splitting
into groups and looking around the
museum.
After about 45 minutes of looking
around, many people started to sit down
and draw until lunchtime. We gathered
together and sat out on the grass and ate
lunch. We viewed a few people’s work
before walking into the centre of Oxford
to go to the Botanical Gardens.
Yet again we studied the architecture as
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Jed Tattersdill
The show proved to be an outstanding
success with our artwork looking
amazing.
we went through the city. We went into
the gardens and after a quick talk from
Mrs Boswell we all walked around the
gardens, taking pictures to get ideas for
our artwork. The greenhouses with the
cacti were particularly useful and the
Rainforest House gave us good leaf
shapes and textures to draw. We had
more time in the afternoon to look
around and draw so some people
finished their drawings from the Natural
History Museum. Other people used
their time to make a start on new
drawings of the gardens. We packed up
ready for the bus and eventually arrived
back in Monmouth at 4.45pm.
We would like to thank all of the Art
Department staff, the bus driver and the
staff of both the Natural History
Museum and the Botanical Gardens. We
thoroughly enjoyed the trip and learned
new techniques through drawing the
things we had seen during the day.
Georgie Chadwick
and Alex Davies
Joanna Payton
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BBC Young Reporters
On Thursday the 15th of March, a group of lucky Y7 students
were invited to experience the pressures and deadlines of a real
newsroom, as Monmouth Comprehensive School took part in
its third BBC School Report Day.
After a thorough briefing, the aspiring reporters were issued
with their all-important BBC reporter badges. A quick editorial
meeting later, and students divided into groups in order to
gather their stories.
The day was spent planning, interviewing, photographing and
typing up the stories. The added pressure of the three o’clock
deadline helped keep the young reporters focused, and at the
end of the day they were able to breathe a sigh of relief at a job
extremely well done.
Here are some of the stories reported on BBC School Report day:
Healthy body? Healthy mind!
Monmouth Comprehensive School students like to think that their
health is of the highest standard. They will always try to improve
their health to the best of their ability. This was proved when they
won the Healthy Food Award.
When we interviewed students from Monmouth Comprehensive
School about the wellbeing of the school in general and, specifically,
their eating habits, they said “I think we have a very good range of
food to choose from and it is made from the best quality ingredients”.
From our investigation, all of the students think that the food is of a
high standard and its health level is great for them because it makes
a difference to their overall learning environment.
Josey Worgan, the Catering Manager, thinks that people buy lots of
healthy foods but she hopes people replace zingy burgers for the salad
bar because she thinks it is healthier.
The school aim is ‘Learning to Lead Our Lives’ and with a healthy
diet that should be possible and, hopefully, this will encourage people
to eat healthily.
Keep It Cymru!
Monmouth Comprehensive School prove why it is!
Over 1500 students, 67 Forms and over 80 classrooms make up
Monmouth Comprehensive School. While some would say it
isn’t necessary to
learn
the
Welsh
language, they would
be wrong. We are
going to tell you about
the relevance of the
brilliant language!
We asked Ted, a Year 9
student, if he enjoyed
learning Welsh. Like a
lot of students he
replied “Yes I do because it’s a new, different and exciting
language and there are many jobs and careers which can benefit
from learning Welsh.”
Another beneficial factor to learning Welsh is that it provides the
necessary language learning skills needed to learn other
languages: determination, understanding, and memory skills
can all be developed from learning Welsh.
A Sixth Former, Liam, pointed out “it will help me get a job in
Wales in the future, something I have been looking forward to!”
14
The only downside is that Welsh is not widely spoken but that’s
what makes it unique.
Just recently Monmouth Comprehensive School has hosted a
local Eisteddfod which people thought was amazing because it
shares and keeps the Welsh heritage alive.
As one of the Welsh teachers pointed out “the Eisteddfod is an
extremely good way to promote the language and culture to the
students of our school”.
As the Welsh show is coming up on the 5th April, Welsh has
become even more relevant to the school and with the likes of
Tom Jones and Marina and the Diamonds performing in front
of international audiences, this how Wales is showing off its
talent. This is coupled with Wales’ spectacular victories in the
rugby so be sure to watch the match on the 17th March as they
will try to get a Grand Slam!!
Monmouth Comprehensive has been
working very hard to raise money
for Sport Relief
Planned activities include non-school unifor m, myster y
entertainment and a 24 hour football match. The football match is
held in the Monmouth Leisure Centre sports hall.
A big thank you to the Charity Committee for organising all of these
events.When we spoke to Charity Events Coordinator Miss Feldon
she said ‘We raise money for Sports Relief every year and it is a
tradition at our school. It makes students and staff think of other
people as part of our global community. We will be putting on
mystery entertainment on the active zone and a non-school uniform
day.’
Last year the school raised £2000 which paid for 8 children to go to
primary school for 1 year in Kenya.This year we hope to raise even
more!
Dominic, in Y8, is very proud of his father who is taking part in a
24 hour football match. He told us that his father is hoping to raise
over £200. We asked him ‘why did your dad want to take part?’
Dominic said ‘my father enjoys helping others and is going to give
the money to Sports Relief.
Monmouth Comprehensive School will do it’s very best to raise
money, make a difference and have fun for Sports Relief!
Youth Speaks
the team as ‘wow, wow, wow!’ This sent us on our way to the
National Semi-Finals in Stafford.
Ellie said she enjoyed participating in the event because it has
been “amazing for my confidence to speak in front of others.”
Reuben was proud to participate in an event that “is a great
opportunity to introduce young people to the world of public
speaking as well as providing a forum for students to voice
their interests and passions.”
Harry was astounded by the “wide variety of topics
discussed - everything from Tuna fishing to whether Britain
should raise a superhuman race to compete in the Olympics.
We took an elephant named Political Correctness and
discussed whether or not political correctness is slowly
ballooning out of control.”
Merlin Gable, George Thomas and Sophie Dowle competed
valiantly as part of our Senior team but, unfortunately, were
unsuccessful on this occasion.
“The Rotary Youth Speaks Competition provides practice
for a set of skills that are ever more necessary in an ever
changing and fast moving world.” Reuben Pierrepoint
stepped into the role of Chairperson as he set the tone of
Monmouth Comprehensive School’s Intermediate entry to
this year’s event in the Highnam Community Centre. The
judges awarded the team, which also consisted of Ellie Aston
as Speaker and Harry Lloyd as Proposer of the Vote of
Thanks, first place at this year’s District Finals; describing
The competition at the National Semi-Finals in Stafford on
the 24th of March was very stiff and, unfortunately, we did
not make it through to the National Final but thoroughly
enjoyed the whole experience. We would definitely
recommend the competition to any budding speakers and
would like to thank Monmouth Rotary Club for sponsoring
us and all the Rotary Clubs who helped to organise the event.
I am sure we will see many more Youth Speaks trophies in
our trophy cabinet in future!
Reuben Pierrepoint, Ellie Ashton, Harry Lloyd
“Willmott Dixon Construction is proud to sponsor
Monmouth Comprehensive School”
We are a privately owned construction and property development company
responsible for a diverse range of projects in both private and public sectors.
With over 150 years of experience and employing more than 2000 people,
we represent a truly sustainable business managed by some of the most dynamic
and forward thinking professionals in the sector.
32 Cathedral Road
Cardiff
CF11 9UQ
Tel: 029 2022 1002
Fax: 029 2038 8206
Website: www.willmottdixongroup.co.uk
15
Diary of a ski trip novice…
I was very fortunate to go on the Austria Skiing trip, especially as so
many of my friends were going as well. It was a fantastic experience and
we had a lot of fun either learning a new skill or practising an old one.
It was my first time both skiing and going to Austria and I was initially
sceptical about learning a new skill - but if I was given the option to do
it again I definitely would.
Friday
We got on the bus after a day in school.
There was an excited atmosphere on the
bus as everyone was looking forward to
getting there. Although a 30 hour bus
drive awaited us, everyone seemed
positive. As we began our journey we
had things like films and music to
entertain us and collectively the bus
brought enough Doritos to feed a
hippo. Late Friday night/early Saturday
morning saw us getting on the ferry.This
is when the fatigue started to kick in
and many people choose to go to sleep
in various places around the ferry
including the floor by an unplugged
arcade machine.
Saturday
We got off the ferry early Saturday
morning and continued our journey on
the bus. By this time people were getting
tired and the excitement began to die
down as they fell asleep. On Saturday
we went through France, Belgium,
Luxembourg and Germany before we
got to Austria. The journey took a little
longer than expected so we arrived at
night, but we were in time for dinner.
After dinner everyone went to their
rooms and settled in.
Sunday
On Sunday morning we got our boots
and skis fitted. After doing this we had to
walk from the beginning of the ski resort
to the entrance as we had arrived at the
wrong end (a feat that proved very
challenging in ski boots), we were split
off into groups of skiers and
snowboarders, then by experience. I was
16
Jack Whittaker,Year 10
in the beginner group and started on the
green slopes, learning the basics of
skiing.
well as some joke awards such as the
biggest ‘bail-outs’ and the most whiny
person award!
Monday-Wednesday
Friday
Throughout these days we got up early
in order to let everyone have a shower.
We had breakfast downstairs and left for
the slopes. Each day we gradually
improved and we were using the
chairlifts to go up the mountain by
Tuesday afternoon. The concept of the
chairlift felt alien to me the first time I
went on it, and when prompted to get off
I snapped my ski pole straight in half
because I got it stuck in the door!
Between getting back to the hotel and
having dinner we were allowed to go into
town in order to look around the various
shops. After dinner there was always
entertainment such as swimming (where
there were various slides and a heated
pool in the freezing outdoors) and
bowling (with a complementary drink).
It was our last day on the slopes and we
only had half a day. As we were leaving
for the bus it came to our attention that
four people from our group were
missing. It turns out they were following
someone they thought was the instructor
but turned out to be a random skier who
wasn’t affiliated with our school. Luckily
Miss Biddle came across them while
they were lost and got them to the
bottom of the hill safely. When we got
back we were given an early dinner. We
left early evening and although we were
sad to leave, we looked forward to
getting back as it was Christmas Eve the
next day.
Thursday
This was our last full day on the slopes
and we went all the way from the top of
the mountain. We were given the
opportunity to do a timed run on a ski
course. Instead of going to the town, we
went to a shopping mall.This gave us the
chance to buy gifts and souvenirs. After
dinner, we split into groups and had a
quiz based on 2011. This included
naming extracts from songs, Harry
Potter characters and stadiums. After a
short break there was an awards evening
when ski slope times were revealed,
medals awarded and achievements in
skiing and snowboarding honoured as
Saturday (a.k.a. Christmas Eve)
We got back on the ferry early Saturday
morning to a similar long journey, aside
from the fact that the sun was shining.
Once back at school, everyone was being
collected, except me! I had attempted to
call my home several times on the coach
ride back and couldn’t get a response;
this led to me being at school with
nobody to pick me up. Luckily a parent
took pity on me and drove me home - a
big thank you to Mr Bradley!
Overall the Austria trip was a great
success and I hope to go again before I
leave MCS.
We would all like to thank Mr Osborne,
Mr Bird and all the other staff who came
for making the trip unforgettable.
Charity Roundup
The Charity Committee has enjoyed another
hugely successful and fun year with a current
total topping £6,000. Thanks to the new group
of enthusiastic Y12s adding to the dedicated
Year 13s, there hasn’t been a dull moment!
When I took on the role of Head of the Charity Committee in
September, I knew there was a lot to live up to. Last year was
so successful that I was determined to make this year even
better. We’ve had an extremely busy year raising money for
local charities such as the Welsh Air Ambulance and The
Little Princesses Trust, as well as supporting Sport Relief,
Children in Need, Operation Christmas Child, Breast Cancer
Awareness and so many more worthy national and
international charities!
From dressing up as pink pigs to “showing our spots to raise
lots”, the Charity Committee has done it all this year!
Children In Need and Sport Relief were huge events in
school. Our ‘spot’ themed day saw students exercising their
vocal chords on stage doing karaoke to a fantastic supportive
audience, whilst a mammoth cake sale took place in the
school hall! Sport Relief was extremely successful and
probably my favourite event – our busy sport themed day
included a surprise ‘Flash Mob’ at break time which saw staff
and students break into their best dance moves in the school
yard. Students also entertained the school hall with ‘Just
Dance’ on the wii at lunch times. A coin collection
competition for Key Stage 3 added a creative theme to the
day (£100 was raised in one and two pence coins!) and a
Zumbathon was not only fun for everyone but also helped to
raise a total of just over £1150.
The Charity Committee has also held numerous non-uniform
days with exciting new themes, organised bake sales, served
refreshments at Parents’ Evenings and school events and
organised discos - it has been a busy year! The school also
came together to collect hundreds of items for a harvest
collection with the items going to a non-profit organisation
called Wallich Clifford, who help the homeless in Cardiff.
Students and staff also filled over 150 shoeboxes for
Operation Christmas Child which was another fantastic effort
from the whole MCS community!
On behalf of the Charity Committee, I would like to sincerely
thank all staff, students and parents for their help and all
contributions they have made to our fundraising events this
year. Without your help our events wouldn’t work and we
wouldn’t be able to help so many lives. Looking back,
although this role has been hectic, I’ve enjoyed every minute
of it. Knowing that the Charity Committee has helped so
many people, as well as providing the opportunity to make
new friendships, whilst having so much fun, has made my
last year in Monmouth Comprehensive that much more
enjoyable and fulfilling – thank you.
Jenny Fowler
Y13 Head of Charity Committee
17
Music
Comprehensive School
Student plays for the Queen
Matt Brown, a Y12 student at
Monmouth Comprehensive School, was
part of a small group selected from the
Gwent County Youth Orchestra to play
for the Queen in Christchurch, Ebbw
Vale, on her Jubilee Tour. They played
music by Britten, Holst and VaughanWilliams as the Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh entered the Church, and
again at the end of the service. Matt was
interviewed by the BBC.
Matt leads the
cello section in
the
Orchestra
and, through the
Gwent
Music
Support Service,
has performed
several times in
the past in the
Royal
Albert
Hall, St. David’s
Hall, and Birmingham Symphony Hall,
and toured to Leipzig, along with several
other young musicians from the
Comprehensive.
With the Welsh
National Youth Orchestra he has toured
throughout Wales and to the Sage in
Gateshead.
He gained his cello
performance diploma last year and is
also an accomplished jazz and rock
drummer. As well as studying Music A
Level at school, he is taking Music
Technology, Maths and Physics, and has
an interest in sound engineering,
making good use of the school studio
equipment. He plans a career in music.
Visit from
world famous
jazz drummer
Asaf Sirkis
Wednesday
28th March
During March, world famous jazz
drummer Asaf Sirkis visited MCS to
lead a rhythm workshop with 20
students. Asaf is a professional drummer
and composer who started his
professional career as a musician playing
with manyyoung Jazz-Rock, Kleizmer,
world music and Free Jazz bands. He has
18
worked with Israel’s local Jazz/world
luminaries such as Harold Rubin,
Albert Beger, Yair Dlal and Eyal Sela.
Many of these early projects were
recorded and released by a pioneer Jazz
record label called Jazzis. He later
formed his own Trio and recorded his
first album ‘One Step Close’. Since then,
Asaf has formed other Trio’s such as
‘The Orient House Ensemble’ which
went on to record seven albums. He is
currently working with his Trio ‘The
Asaf Sirkis Trio’ as well as his ‘Inner
Noise’ band and is gaining in reputation
as a composer and band leader.
The workshop involved Asaf teaching
the students about rhythm through
Konnakol which is based upon the art of
performing percussion syllables vocally
in South Indian Music. The students
very much enjoyed the workshop and it
allowed them to approach rhythm in a
new and exciting way. Matt Brown and
Merlin Gable, who are currently
studying music at A Level, described the
workshop as ‘stimulating - it gave us a
whole new approach to the concept of
rhythm. We have gained a better
understanding of polyrhythm’s and
about music from other cultures.’
We were very lucky to have such a
superb professional musician visit the
school and inspire the students. A big
thank you to Gwent Music Service
Friends Association who supported the
workshop.
Greater Gwent Youth
Orchestra Performance
at the Newport Centre
on the 22nd April
Many congratulations to Bronwyn
Russell, Nerys Russell, Matt Brown,
Mary Hamilton, Rachel Tucker, Corin
Dennehey and Louisa Hasler. Following
a residential six day course at the Urdd
Residential Centre in Llangrannog in
Easter, the above students performed in
the annual concert of the Greater Gwent
Youth Orchestra which took place with
great success on Sunday 22nd April in
the Newport Centre.
The programme included the Romeo
and Juliet Overture by Tchaikovsky and
the very descriptive 'Scheherazade' by
Rimsky Korsakov. Both works were
rehearsed on the annual residential
course at the Urdd Residential Centre in
Llangrannog and both were performed
with maturity and with style.
Alun F.Williams
Gwent Musical Success
We currently have over 70 students from
Monmouth Comprehensive involved in
a wide range of Gwent Ensembles.
Some of the recent successes include the
performance at the Royal Albert Hall by
the Greater Gwent Youth Band and the
Greater Gwent Youth Senior Strings.
Other more recent successes include the
annual Gwent Music for Youth Regional
Festival which was held on 9th and 10th
March.
Over 96 ensembles and 3,000 pupils and
students from schools in Gwent
performed in front of good audiences at
the Newport Centre Main Hall and
Riverside Suite. Over 40 students from
Monmouth Comprehensive School were
involved.
The event was held over two full days
and all performances were listened to by
the music mentors provided by Music
for Youth and feedback on all
performances was given on the day.
This event was one of 76 Regional
Festivals held over the UK and is one of
the largest.This was the first time for the
event to take place at the Newport
Centre and it proved to be a very
popular and successful venue.
Of the 96 ensembles, 21 made it through
to the next round and these will now be
invited to the National Festival of Music
for Youth in July 2012 and 30 ensembles
from the National Festival will then be
invited to perform at the Schools Proms
at the Royal Albert Hall in November.
A big congratulations to all of
those involved from Monmouth
Comprehensive School!
Emily Kedward
Rhianna Lewis
Fenella Bauert
Hollie Smith
Emily Ward
Suzanne Atkins
Elissia Evans
Saffron Phipps
Bethan Lydford
19
Rowing - Why Row?
My First Regatta
Jess Williams,Year 9
My first regatta was at Birmingham’s
Edgbaston Reservoir. After an early start
and a minibus journey, we had arrived.
A total of 16 athletes from the school’s
rowing squad took part in the event,
forming seven crews, and entering six
different events. As the conditions were
initially poor due to the wind and rain,
the organisers were contemplating
calling the event off but, after discussion
with squad coaches and subsequent
changes to the organisation of the event,
racing got underway. One change was
that the course was to be shortened to
450 metres from 750 metres, a change
welcomed by the athletes!
After rigging the boats, and setting up, it
was my turn to get on the water, I was to
race a double, with Megan Jephcote.
Each crew was to race at least two races.
Our first was against Royal Grammar
School, Worcester. When doing a few
warm up laps, nerves were beginning to
set in for the both of us, the conditions
were not easy as the water was choppy,
and it was windy so we could easily be
thrown off course during our race.
Nevertheless, after a hard push at the
end of our race we had won!
We were both extremely happy, but
knew that we had to focus. Our next race
was to be against fellow athletes from the
club, Georgia Howe and Meg Butler.
After training with them, we knew they
would be a strong competition. The race
was extremely close, but in the last 20
meters or so, Meg and I were beginning
to take the lead, only to win by half a
length. A close race, but also another
win for us. Once off the water, our main
priority was to get warm and dry. As we
20
won both of our races we had made it
through to the final to compete against
St Edwards’s School, Oxford. While
watching them on their warm up laps we
both began to get nervous as they looked
extremely good. Then we were lined up
to race and they said
go! We had an
extremely good start
which saw us gain a
small lead. It was a
tough race but when
we had crossed the
finishing line, we
had beaten them by
over two lengths.
We were both happy
as all our hard
training over the
winter months had
paid off. We won a gold medal and I was
so happy and felt very proud as this was
the first Summer Regatta that I had
competed in. I will be training as hard as
I can and trying my best so that I have a
better chance of winning. Overall a very
successful day for all of the crews!
checked everything, trying to remove the
possibility of anything going wrong.
When this was done we went for a short
warm up run along a path to kick the
brain into action. I enjoyed this as we got
to see all of the other people busily
preparing for their own races.
My First Regatta
We did the usual warm up from our
training sessions, bringing in the rowing
sequence starting with just arms, then
bringing in the body and then bringing
in the slide, quarter, half and then full.
We were doing well and I felt confident,
although this didn't stop me from feeling
nervous. We went around the warm up
circuit twice with our friends on the side
cheering us as we passed each time.
When we finished we headed towards a
towering wall that protected us from the
wind whilst we were queuing. Now that
we had stopped I began to cool down,
the heat escaping from the thin clothes
that I was wearing. I hoped that the races
would start quickly so that we could get
moving again. We began to look around
us, sizing up the people in the other
boats huddled against the wall for
protection in the windbreak.
Oliver Hedges,Year 9
As we got closer my nerves began to
build. I started looking out of the
window for signs that we were near our
destination. I was very relieved to arrive.
Leaving our bags, we left the coach and
looked out over the reservoir that we
would soon be rowing on.The water was
so high that it lapped at the edges. The
wind had whipped the surface of the
deep black water into a mess of waves
making it look forbidding.
We quickly took the boats off the trailer
before attaching the riggers. Everybody
checked, double checked and triple
We now went the short distance back to
our own, splendid looking, boat and
checked everything one final time.
Pleased with the results, we heaved the
boat onto our shoulders and headed
along the muddy path to the launching
area. The sides of the boat dug into my
shoulders making the journey long.
Along the way an official checked over
our boat, giving everything a good shake
and making sure things wouldn't fall off
in the water. With this done we started
off towards the landing stage which, to
our dismay, was under ten centimetres of
water. We struggled quickly to flick our
shoes off before we had to step into the
water, soaking my socks and my trousers
up to my ankles in cold water.We quickly
attached our oars and pushed off out
into the huge expanse of water.
Then, finally, we were called up to the
start. I felt so many eyes on me as we
rowed up to the start. Our opponents,
Royal Shrewsbury School, must have
been sizing us up, looking for our
weakness. When we got to the start we
got a look at them. They were massive;
four big and strong looking boys, looking
confidently at us.When we got level with
the other boat an official shouted,
“Ready”
We went forwards on our slides, just as
we had done in training. I was extremely
nervous. My heart was pounding.
“Attention”
We turned our blades and placed them
in the water. I stared at the back of
George's neck, waiting for the final
command. The butterflies in my
stomach got worse.
“Go”
I pushed down on my legs, powering
through the water. I tried to remember
everything from training. I built up the
sequence, taking short strokes at first,
building up into more powerful ones.
My legs began to tire. My muscles
ached. I had a huge urge to look over, see
where the other crew was.The water was
rough, making it harder to concentrate
and it threw out our timing.We fixed this
easily though, getting back into our
stride and powering on. Suddenly I
heard a bell coming from land, this time
I had to look but before I did our cox
told us to wind down and I knew it was
the end. But who had won? Our cox told
us, but only after much confusion. We
had won. We had beaten them. We had
won our first race!
As we stopped, at the back of the queue
I noticed I was soaked. The splashes
from the blades had drenched me. The
wind cut through my clothes chilling me
instantly. To my dismay the crew that we
were racing second had only just started
their first. We saw them racing off.
Suddenly the minutes passing felt like
hours. My hands started to shake with
the cold. It felt like ages until the other
crew came.
We lined up again. This time the
opposing crew looked smaller but I
wasn't going to get over confident.
“Ready”
I did feel ready this time.
“Attention”
My nerves had gone. I knew what I had
to do.
“Go”
We pushed off for the second time that
day, powering through the water. I felt
like I knew the conditions better this
time. I lifted my blades higher off the
water, clearing the waves. I could see us
pulling away from their boat. Then
suddenly they stopped. Their timing had
become so bad that they had to stop and
sort it out. I could almost laugh but we
didn't stop. We kept going and finished
the race. Another win!
My body was now shaking from the
cold. We landed and removed the blades.
We heaved our boat onto tired shoulders
and took it back to the trailer. We had no
time to put shoes on and made the
journey in bare feet. Mine were now so
numb the hard ground felt like a
cushion. We loaded the boat back onto
the trailer and flopped on the coach,
tired but exhilarated. Once warmed
back up, our coach came to confirm that
we had won our whole event!
JIRR
Ben Metcalfe,Year 11
We have done it! We have actually done
it! I can’t believe it, we‘re in! These were
just some of the many thoughts blasting
through our heads as our results were
read out at the National Junior Sculling
Head after our 5,400 meter race at
Dorney Lake, near Eton.
We were told at the beginning of this
race about the possibility of our crew
racing for Wales & West of England at
the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta at the
end of April, but that it would only
happen if the four of us as a crew could
beat every other quad in our age group
in our region.
This
meant
putting down a
faster time than
those crews.
What followed
this result was a
programme of
hard
and
vigorous training
in preparation
for the event. We
knew it was not
going to be easy,
each one of the
crew that were to
race there had
had to compete
against all the
other crews in
their region the
same as us, so
only the best crews from each region
would be there. Our whole crew
attended our annual training camp at
Wycliffe Sculling Centre for more
technical training such as backing onto
the starts properly before the race began,
as well as the hard 12 minute, 10 minute
and eight minute pieces that were to be
completed back to back, and at full
power. After a full three days of this you
may be wondering, was it hard work?
Answer: Yes. Was it painful? Yes. Was it
worth it? Yes. We all came out the other
side feeling like we were finally ready to
take
on
the
best
crews
in
the country and show them just how
fast four boys from Monmouth
Comprehensive could move a boat.
When the day arrived, the four of us
were in the school bus bay at 5.45am
before the sun was up, getting on the bus
for the three hour journey that would
take us to the National Watersports
Centre.
The atmosphere on the bus was tense,
especially as we neared our
destination. When we finally
arrived at nine o’clock the
weather
was
far
less
favourable than was hoped
for. There was a strong wind
and
intermittent
rain.
Although the wind was in our
favour, as far as the race was
concerned it still provided
problems when rowing up to
the start with all the other
crews that were due to race. As we got
onto
the
start
for
the
first
of our 1,500 metre sprints down the six
lane course, the four of us realised the
reality of the situation and what we were
21
really about to do. It hit home to us in the
last few minutes before the starting
shout that we were out there
representing not just Wales & West of
England, but that we were representing
our school in front of the hundreds of
crews of all age groups and their coaches
and supporters. Unfortunately as we
joined onto the pontoon that we were to
begin our race from, the weather
worsened and the rain and wind began
to get stronger, picking up white crested
waves for us to have to row through. As
we psyched ourselves up for the race to
begin, all four of us realised that we were
going to have to go completely, 100% flat
out to finish the course really strongly.
The shout went and the race began.
Immediately all six crews fired off the
start into the swirling wind and waves these waves would be the main
opposition in this race. As the 200 metre
marker went by the waves got higher and
higher until they were coming over the
side of the boat, soaking all of us.
This continued for the whole race until
the end where we climbed out of the
boat and realised exactly how much
water we had taken on board in the
rough conditions. Due to the waves, our
boat had filled up with water, although
our boat has sealed air tanks to ensure
we couldn’t sink. As we lifted the boat
out of the lake we realised how much
heavier it had become due to the water,
instead of lifting it straight above our
heads as we would normally, we
struggled to lift it to our waist to tip out
the water that had collected. As it
happened, ours was the last race to go
down the course as the rest were called
off due to the terrible weather conditions
that the course was suffering from.
Nonetheless, this was our experience of
the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, where
we were proud to represent our school in
the colours of the Wales & West of
England team.
My Year as Captain
of MCSBC
Harry King,Y12
July 15th 2011 was one of the proudest
days of my rowing career and, possibly,
my life. In the morning myself and my
three crewmates (Josh Kings, Alex
Thomas and Cole Telford) had the race
of our lives resulting in us winning a
bronze medal at the British National
Championships, and then in the
evening, after attempting to finish off a
Harvester’s cheesecake (they’re huge!), I
was named the new Captain of the
22
Rowing Club, a
position
I
was
incredibly proud of.
That day really
showed me how far
hard work can get
you in all walks of
life,
and
how
bountiful
the
rewards are. (Oh
yes, and it was my
mum’s birthday!).
The role as Captain
was one that I
relished. I knew it
would
be
very
challenging,
but
every minute has been enjoyable and
worthwhile. However, my visions of
leading the Club into a golden age of
glory, and being worshipped by my
squad members as a deity, were short
lived as my first job was to help collate
the paperwork for the start of the
coming season, accompanied by my
‘helpful’ friends, supplying me, of
course, with suitable abuse throughout
the day.
I first realised what a prestigious and
important role I had been awarded at the
start of term meeting, as 50 rowers from
14-18, each as keen as the next, stood
before me expecting me to know what I
was talking about. It was daunting but
also a great reminder of the ‘power’ now
at my fingertips, but of course with great
power comes great responsibility so
sending them all on a five mile run
seemed a bit unfair.
The following morning was my birthday
and also the first morning session of the
year (rowers pride themselves on being
useless at getting up early, yet doing so
all too regularly at some ungodly hour!).
However greeting me at training was not
a giant cake, but a delightful 5km piece
on the rowing machine as we began
preparation for the season ahead.
Our season started brightly with six wins
and good performances all round on
home soil in ‘Monmouth Autumn
Head’. We went from strength to
strength showing numerous strong
displays throughout the winter in testing
conditions. Traditionally the winter is a
time of preparation for a rower (not
always a fun time!) putting in the hard
work to set up the summer racing,
usually in horribly cold weather. I
remember one particularly cold morning
run when I stepped in a puddle at the
start. By the time we got back to the boat
house my shoe had frozen, and it took a
delightfully warm shower to help get it off.
This winter also brought with it another
challenge for me and five other seniors
as we started our rowing coaching
course. This has been a fascinating and
very useful new aspect of rowing. As I
write this I am in the process of coaching
our junior club, and I can confidently say
that the future of MCSBC is bright!
The New Year began with continued
success, notably by the younger athletes
participating and winning in their first
ever events. By the end of March we
were already closing in on the club
record of wins (clearly down to the
Captain’s great leadership!) and many
also got a chance to row on the 2012
Olympic course in Eton, paving the way
for our Olympic heroes at the ‘National
Sculling Head’ against the best in the
country.
In amongst this great racing we had our
annual fundraising event, essential for
keeping the club going. This involved a
far from leisurely bike ride to Symonds
Yat, followed by a gruelling run up the
Kymin. A week afterwards, we then all
set off for Wycliffe (in Gloucester) for a
training camp to put ourselves through
some more mindless pain!
The regatta season kicked off with a trip
to Birmingham, where we had a fantastic
day adding more wins to the total,
despite some having a few steering
difficulties (you know who you are),
clearly following my example having lost
a race there last year due to an encounter
with a tree that jumped into the lake! All
seems to be shaping up for a fantastic
summer of racing which will climax at
National Championships in July up in
Nottingham.
As an experience, being a part of such a
successful vibrant Club for the last five
years has been overwhelming, and is
something I cannot speak highly enough
GB boat, a harsh reality for athletes who
have typically been in full time training
since the last Olympics in 2008. It’s not
only the races where their efforts count,
at every training session every athlete has
to perform at their best to show the
coaches they really do deserve a spot on
the team and challenge to get into not
only the team but then into one of the
fastest boats with the best chances of gold
medals.
about. It has taught me a great deal and
given me so many great memories, and
this year has been even more so.Whether
organising an event, racing, enjoying our
infamous singing sessions or driving
Mr Cowton crazy with my lack of
organisation, it has been a truly fantastic
year. I hope to have an even better one
next year as I try to balance rowing with
the increasingly stressful areas of
schoolwork and University worries!
Anyway I have blabbered on enough
already, all that’s left to say is thank you
to all the members of the Rowing Club
for such a great year, I look forward to
seeing you all next year, and thank you to
Mr and Mrs Cowton, without whose
tireless work the Rowing Club could not
continue.
Training Camp
Sam Rugg and Matt McGrath,
Year11
During the Easter holidays of 2012, we
were given the opportunity to spend half
a week of rowing to help improve our
ability for the upcoming summer season.
We went to Wycliffe Sculling Centre,
where they row on a canal (instead of
our flowing river) as this would prepare
us for many of the upcoming races on
lakes, as well as making it easier to
practise regatta starts and turning on the
spot to get onto the start, which are both
important aspects of the summer rowing
season.
While we were there, we practised these
skills and many others, moving from
skills at the start of the week, then onto
pieces that would improve our ability to
sprint in the shorter, faster, races of the
regatta season, such as 500m pieces and
one minute pieces. We also did a lot of
side by side work which we did to help
prepare us for the side by side racing
intensity of the summer season. In our
last outing of the camp we did a timed
1500m race to see how we had improved
during the training camp.
The point of the training camp was to
improve our ability and confidence for
the upcoming season. However,
everyone also had specific races in mind
while training that made them train as
hard as they could, to ensure they would
have the best race possible. For me and
my crew it was the Inter-Regional
Regatta that inspired us to work to our
full potential throughout this training
camp.
Training camp was a very hard and
tiring three days and by the end I was
completely exhausted, but I had a great
time there as well as we have a very
friendly club atmosphere, where
everyone feels involved and you can have
a good time, whilst improving our rowing.
The athletes racing in this year’s
heavyweight men’s squad have been
coached by a full team of coaches, led
once again by Jürgen Gröbler. He is
renowned for his ruthless motivation to
win. He is a tough coach and his crews
have won medals at every Olympic
Games since 1972, firstly in East
Germany then moving to Great Britain
to coach Steven Redgrave for three of
his stunning five gold medals won in five
consecutive games! He has gone on to
coach his lead crews to gold medals in
2004 and 2008. With a very strong
women’s squad, including the lead boat
with Katherine Grainger, three times
Olympic silver medallist, there is a lot of
expectation for the GB Rowing squad to
succeed. In a final twist, Greg Searle,
who won a dramatic gold medal at the
1992 Barcelona games with his elder
brother, is now aged 40 and looks certain
to row in the eight some 20 years later.
The GB rowers are certainly highly
motivated to ensure rowing could be one
of our most successful sports at London
2012.
London 2012 &
GB Rowing
National Sculling Head
at the London 2012 Venue
Alex Thomas,Y12
Molly James,Y10
It is no secret that this year’s Olympics is
happening on our very own doorstep,
and it’s also no secret that rowing is
going to be one of our country’s top
sports, with expectations to haul in the
medals during the Finals as they had
done in Beijing. What is less well
known though, is the journey of each
athlete racing at
this year’s Olympic
rowing squad.
Every athlete has
already had to prove
themselves worthy
of a seat in a boat at
time trials and many
international races,
where anything but
the best is likely to
lose you a spot in a
On the 19th March, my crew of
Zoe McCarroll, Emily Richards,
Briony Waycott and Abi Sturgess (cox)
were on our way to race at the National
Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake,
where the Olympic rowing is going to be
held this year, 2012. We were nervous
but excited at the same time and we had
23
to beat many crews from our region to
get into Inter-regionals.
It was fairly windy and we needed a fast
enough time to get in. We had a rolling
start then once they said go we had to
race 1000m up then we turned and
raced back down 1000m, so we were
racing against time. We had a fast time
and we overtook several crews on the
way up. We were really happy with our
performance but also tired as we had
worked really hard. We were proud to
have represented our school and very
pleased with our performance.
Later on we found out that we had
qualified to race for Wales & West of
England so we were really happy and
excited! Racing at Dorney Lake has been
a great experience and we are really
pleased that we had the opportunity to
go and represent our school!
24
A record day for MCS
The school Boat Club was founded
20 years ago in 1992, with strong
support from the then Headteacher,
David Every. Many years later, and
after a poor month of weather, the
annual Monmouth Regatta saw superb
weather with sweltering temperatures
on the Welsh Borders. The Club had
one of their largest ever entries at this
home event, with 20 crews entered
for the day of racing, from first year
rowers to Sixth Form high performers,
and even one crew of past students. The
entries were enthusiastically supported
throughout the day by parents,
grandparents and siblings, with all crews
being cheered across the finish line.
It was a wonderful day of racing, with
a record 13 wins for the school.
This beat the previous record of 11 wins
for the same day last year. Despite event
cancellations due to the weather
this season, the Club has already beaten
their
season’s
record of 33
wins, with 38
wins
recorded
already.
Both on the day and across the season,
events have been won by almost every
member of the Club.
Last year’s total number of wins brought
an unexpected bonus. When records for
the season were published, MCS
finished in 15th place of all rowing
schools across England and Wales. This
ranked Monmouth Comprehensive
strongly up amongst some of the most
well-known schools in this very
traditional of sports.
The Club tries hard to include everyone
with its limited resources and the need
for high standards of safety; this can
make it difficult to give everyone the
chance to take up rowing, but we do our
best. The goal is to provide enjoyment
for the rowers and challenge them to “be
the best you can be“, whatever that may
be. When this came together with great
success in front of our home support, it
made for a very special day.
DC
STOP PRESS
Henley Royal Regatta is the most prestigious regatta in the world,
attracting over 500 entries a year from around the world. As the
numbers of students rowing at MCS has increased and the quality
improved, we have targeted qualifying for this event in recent years.
We failed in 2010 and 2011, but in 2012 we were even better
prepared. The school’s top crew of Josh Kings, Jed Tattersdill,
Richard Russell-Broome and Harry King came through a tough
selection process at the school, going on to prepare with vigour in
the maelstrom of summer (!) weather, with heavy rain and high
winds being the norm.
The day of qualifiers was no exception with a 20 mph headwind,
gusting to 35mph and a strong stream for 2.1km upstream course.
The lads stayed focused and determined to produce a special
performance. The start was awesome, immediately making ground
on the crews around them. As the wind took its toll, the crew relied
heavily on each other to put together a true team performance in
the most difficult of conditions. Exhausted at the end, the crew had
to wait half an hour for the results to be announced. The crew had
their heads down, knowing they had done something special but not
knowing if it would be enough and whether it had been worth their
exceptional effort.
Other coaches and former rowing students were passing on their
good wishes a little later, when I suddenly heard “Monmouth
Comprehensive School” ring out on the loudspeakers across the
regatta. Delight and a feeling of “are we sure?” flooded through
me, but I knew you only get announced if you succeed. Losers are
expected to accept their fate gracefully and remove their boats from
the Regatta by the end of the day. I ran to the guys who were still
flat out with exhaustion - Did you hear? I was going to say, but there
was no need, the smiles on their faces and mutual hugs of
congratulation said it all. The tiredness had fallen away and MCS
had qualified for Henley Royal Regatta. Two days later we were
drawn to race Prince Alfred College, Australia in the first round and
as the magazine goes to press, we are embarking on our final
practise outing in Monmouth looking to perfect our strategy to beat
a crew that has travelled across the world to race us!
DC
Annual Restorative Justice Conference
This year the school is incredibly proud to have been represented at the annual conference in Cardiff, which was hosted
by Dr Belinda Hopkins and opened by HRH Princess Anne.
Before the start of the conference, Josh
Rogers, Josh Haile, Natalie Hutchinson, Dan
Morgan, Ellie Ashton, Ed Fear, Ryan James
and Ms Drake all had the opportunity of
talking with Her Royal Highness about our
learning approaches at Monmouth
Comprehensive School. The students
commented that they thought the day was
“a fabulous treat to be able to meet such
famous people” and that “Princess Anne
was really interested in us and our school”.
All the students gave a very good account of
themselves and were a credit to our school.
The conference was so impressed that they
have written to the school to request that
the students have their own item on the
agenda for next year.
The day got even better when HRH made
reference to our school in her opening
address to the conference, highlighting the
work of the staff and the students in
building relationships and supporting one
another as a community.
As a school, we seek to build the skills of
making, maintaining and repairing
relationships. We aim to learn alongside
each other through shared values and
looking out for one another. The Restorative
Justice Council recognises the work we do
and is very supportive of Monmouth
Comprehensive and all it has achieved.
For more information on our approach please
contact Mr Andy Williams at the school.
Monmouth Comprehensive is proud to be at
the forefront of building both relational and
restorative practices and has received
accolades from both national and
international organisations for the work we
have done in this field. We continue to build
skills of empathy and understanding across
our school community, not by seeking out
blame and punishment but by listening and
supporting one another.
We have moved away from a punitive
mindset to one aimed at identifying thoughts
and feelings behind actions and supporting
the development of pro-social skills.
25
Eco Council
The Eco Council this year has made great strides and is about to apply for their second green
flag. It has been led by Binah Cooper and Annabelle Clarke. The main focus this year has been
designing a new logo and writing a new eco code.
Monmouth Comprehensive School had a
very successful Green Week and has
gone a long way to raise awareness of
Fairtrade and recycling.
During Green Week, The Eco Council
took part in Assemblies, informing
students about the events taking place
and what they represented. We also told
the Year Groups what we have achieved
so far and that we are the first
Comprehensive school in Monmouthshire
to achieve the Green Flag Award, which
we are hoping to keep this year.
We started Green Week building a
‘paper mountain’ on the stage in the
School Hall – each box represented
2,500 sheets of paper and shows how
much paper is used in school.
On Wednesday we held a Fairtrade Café,
where we sold cakes made by staff and
students and gave students free samples
of Fairtrade chocolate, tea and coffee.
The proceeds went to help the Charity
Committee raise money for The Attik, a
local youth centre. Leaflets were also on
show to give students some ideas of
what they can do to help the
environment and raise awareness
themselves. On Friday we also held a
Staff v Student football match. Fifteen
students played against ten staff to show
how unfair it is for workers without
Fairtrade (even with fewer players, the
staff team won!). The Eco Council has
also sold Jute bags in aid of the World
Challenge group.
There are also plans to fill a time capsule
which will be buried under the Jubilee
Oak tree the school will be planting
soon. In years to come, future
students can see photographs and items
that represent students of 2012. The
group is now moving forward with
Eloise Oubridge Brock, Sophie Dowle
and Harry King at the helm.
Recycled Fashion
On the 17th of March I took part in The Royal
Forest of Dean’s version of London Fashion
Week. The theme for the catwalk was ‘EcoWarrior’ and I wanted to walk out in
something that no one else would have
contemplated. Although you may not find this
dress walking down alongside Chanel and
Vivienne Westwood it certainly turned a few
heads!
I made this dress out of over 300 crisp packets
for a student at the college who’s currently
studying for her NVQ Level 3 in hairdressing.
This awe striking gown couldn’t have been
created without the help of my mum, my
friends and their families who helped me
collect the crisp packets!
The dress started as just a straight design but I
then decided that I wanted it to be different
26
from the other crisp packet dresses that have
been created. Using the dress I designed and
made for my GCSE Textiles portfolio as
inspiration, I created the overskirt which was
made of 150 crisp packets and 10 tobacco
packets to make the waistband. Finally I
attached straps made of multipacks. My hair
was developed around the design of the dress
and certainly looked the part, using three coke
cans as rollers, my hair was twisted tightly to
my head and the rest crimped and
backcombed. My makeup was applied by
another student at the college, inspired by
‘80’s Punk Fashion’. Should you wish to see my
dress it is held in the Textiles Department at
MCS. Thanks to everyone for their support!!!
Angharad Williams
Sporting
Round Up
Football
MCS End Football
Season in Style
MCS ended the football season in style
by winning no less than four Cup Finals
in three days. On Monday 21st and
Tuesday 22nd May, the Newport and
District Schools Cup Finals were held at
Ty-Isaf Park, Risca. Monday saw
Monmouth U13s take on St. Josephs
High School followed by Monmouth
U15s against Bassaleg Comprehensive.
It was a great day out for MCS as the
U13s led the way with a second half
comeback to win 3-1. Goals from the
prolific marksmen Jack Mayo and
Sam Oxley were added to late on by
Henry Damon meaning that Captain
Matthew Macdonald could lift the
trophy. The display was a fantastic effort
in which Kieran Knight, Owen Walters
and Goalkeeper Jordan Heales were
commended for skill and determination,
in addition to those mentioned above. In
fact, a number of players were identified
by regional selectors for next season with
Jordan Heales even being invited to trial
with Cardiff City Football Club Academy
on the back of the performance.
U13s Squad: J. Heales, L. Mills,
O. Walters, K. Knight, J. Slater,
M. Macdonald, M. Macklin, J. Phillips,
C.Williams, J. Mayo, S. Oxley, H. Damon,
J. Haile, H. Cooper, J. Bishop, R. Stalley,
J.Thomas.
So it was the turn of the U15s and they
didn’t disappoint, dominating for 70
minutes against Bassaleg. For all the
domination and chances created, MCS
only had one goal to show for their
efforts, a spectacular effort direct from a
free kick by Captain Mitchel Palmer.
Palmer, together with Perys Pullen and
Callum Wheatley, formed a formidable
midfield,
while
Max Goodridge led
the team from the
back. Zak Williams
was a constant
threat to Bassaleg
with his skill and
physicality. The final
whistle meant that
MCS picked up
their second trophy
of the day, making it
two from two and a
great day out for all
involved.
U15s
Squad:
C.
Greenstreet,
M. Merola-Scott, H. Edwards, M. Goodridge,
J. Butler, M. Palmer, C.Wheatley, P. Pullen,
J. Slater, Z.Williams, M. Paul, J. Barrett,
B. Davis, B. Bradley, D. Antypas, J. Holder.
Tuesday and it was the turn of the
Seniors to make it a hat-trick for MCS.
Due to the timing of the final clashing
with exams, MCS were missing a
number of regular players and younger
players stepped in. This
resulted in an entertaining
3-3 draw with Newport
High
School
and
penalties ensued. After
falling behind early in the
match, Mitch Palmer
(stepping
up
from
Y10!) shot direct from
centre and immediately
equalised, lobbing the
keeper from the half way
line!
Luke Cleaves added a brace to cap a fine
individual performance and MCS
looked to be cruising to victory until a
late Newport High School surge took the
game to penalties. Harry Wilkes and
George Ryley had worked tirelessly in
midfield with Dan Barnard abley
supporting Luke Cleaves at the back. So
to penalties and Jordan Boxhall-James
stepping in as goalkeeper made a
crucial save that eventually allowed
Mitch Hunt to score the winning
penalty, allowing Jimmy Lee to raise the
trophy and make it three consecutive
successes for MCS. That means that out
of six competitions in the Newport &
District Schools Cup, MCS picked up
three of the trophies.
U18s Squad: G. Clarke-Williams,
M. Hunt, L. Cleaves, D. Barnard,
M. Goodridge, M. Palmer, H. Wilkes,
G. Ryley, J. Lee, J. Jones, C. Wheatley,
J.Wilkinson, A. Bradley, J. Haney.
Wednesday 23rd May and the Y8s
turned their attention to the Gwent Cup
which involves a huge number of schools
and covers all Monmouthshire,
Newport, Torfaen, Caerphilly, Blaenau
Gwent and Islwyn schools. Abertillery
were the opponents and they went ahead
after 10 minutes through a long range
effort. However, Monmouth responded
well, keeping possession and passing the
ball around on a hot day. MCS created a
27
number of chances and it was only a
matter of time before Jack Mayo again
netted as he has done so often this
season. Early in the second half, the
industrious Liam Mills set up a deserved
goal for Cameron Williams for MCS’
second and the lead. Monmouth, with
Josh Phillips going about his business
quietly in midfield, dominated the final
20 minutes without adding to the
scoreline. Matt Macdonald was able to
lift a trophy for a second time in three
days as Y8 were crowned Champions
and surely, undisputably, the best U13
school team in South East Wales.
U13s Squad: J. Heales, L. Mills,
O. Walters, K. Knight, J. Slater,
M. Macdonald, M. Macklin, J. Phillips,
C.Williams, J. Mayo, S. Oxley, H. Damon,
J. Haile, H. Cooper, J. Bishop, R. Stalley,
J.Thomas.
The Cup Final successes were a great
way to finish the season where a number
of MCS students have excelled this year.
Y7 and Y9 had some excellent
performances this year, winning most of
their matches. In Y7, Robbie Atkinson is
one to watch for the future with Lewis
Davies and Joe Pemberton also performing
exceptionally all year. In Y9 Henry
Edwards, Jacob Draper, Jack Collins and
Brad Bradley have been the standout
performers and, who knows, had George
Baynes not been injured most of the
season, he may have helped contribute to
more success for MCS football.
Y11 made the semi-final of the Newport
& District Cup and their route to the
semi was led by performances from
goalkeeper Coby Smith-Steen and centre
back Dean Bufton with Matthew Jones
exceptional in whatever position he played.
A fantastic season with a great deal of
effort from many more boys and girls than
those mentioned here.Well done everyone.
Athletics
Ryan’s Olympic Dream
Following my introduction to the world
of sprinting last year, I have increased
my experience with every race run.
For me, the turning point came in
January 2011 when I won two gold
medals at UWIC in Cardiff, making me
the fastest 60m and 200m runner in
Wales in my age group. This made me
look at Athletics in a new light, and from
just wanting a day off school to run 100
28
stood behind our blocks waiting for the
starter to give us the orders and then he
did. The last thing I saw before I went
into my blocks was my name on the big
screen in the Olympic Stadium, for
everyone to see.
metres in Newport, I now stand at
Number One.
From there I had many Invitational
competitions in England, such as the
English Championships in the NIA
Arena which was for the fastest sprinters
in England.
I ran in May in London on the Olympic
track to represent Wales in the UKSG
(UK School Games), without doubt the
best experience of my life. A televised
competition from 6-9 May with over
30,000 spectators, this was a totally
different experience. As part of the
Wales squad, I competed in the 200m
and ran the first leg of the 4x100m relay.
Starting with the batten was an anxious
moment for me as people, even seconds
before ‘on your marks’ was called were
crowding near you and constantly taking
photos. The gun went off and I ran to
the second runner with a clean
changeover. After the race, even though
we finished fifth, people swarmed
around, wanting autographs and photos
of us with them. This lasted around
three hours, all the way until my
individual 200m race. At this point, all
the schools around London came to the
Stadium to watch the final few races.
As the 200m runners from around the
Nation were escorted onto the track, the
reality of the atmosphere hit us all.
About 30,000 spectators were now
watching eight people run. Predicted
last, I knew I was going to be up against
it in this race and something special
needed to happen. I did not want to
mess up, especially on this stage. We all
The gun went off and so did we –
running around the bend I was in last
place so I kicked. Slowly catching the
other competitors, I grabbed three places
to finish 5th with a massive new personal
best of 22.2 seconds. Fourth place
finished with 22.18 and third with 22.15
seconds. It was pretty much a blanket
finish for the three of us. The rest of the
day was just an experience within itself,
with people calling your name
everywhere we went, signing shirts and
magazines and famous people saying
how well you had done – it was just
beyond my imagination.
London, as a whole, has motivated me to
keep going with athletics and I wouldn’t
have swapped the experience with
anyone in the world. I would like to
thank the PE staff at MCS for giving me
the opportunity to take part in the sport
in the first place.
I am now aiming to run in the 2016
Olympics with a hard 4 years of training.
This is a dream I am working towards
with 100% effort and determination.
From my point of view, athletics has
shaped my life, turned me away from
routes I wouldn’t want to go down, and
helped me to become an inspirational
person to young and upcoming talent. I
wouldn’t trade it for anything - it’s
become such a huge part of me now, and
everything I do relates to it, trying to
make me better, faster and stronger.
My advice to youngsters coming
through the age groups is to take a
chance with this sport - you might not be
the best there is, but you will always be
the best you can be. Work hard, stay
ready, and never give up on your dream.
Ryan Lee, 11AF
Champion Schools British Cup and
faced Tiffin School (London). The first
half was a close contest with MCS going
into half time with a 6-4 lead. Try
coming from scrum half Joe Light
converted by Stand-off.
Rugby League
MCS Crowned Wales
Schools Carnegie
Rugby League
Champions
Maesydderwen 12
Monmouth 44
Monmouth Comprehensive’s U16s have
continued their successful Rugby
League campaign by reaching the Welsh
Schools Final for the second year in a
row. After losing in the dying moments
of last year’s final, MCS made no
mistake this year with a clinical display
of attacking Rugby League.
MCS, brilliantly led by captain
Tom Hawkins, won convincingly with 44
points to 12 with tries coming from;
Joe Light (two), Dan Musselbrook,
Jamie Ridgway, Jake Williams (two),
Dan Dunmore, Max Senior, Zak Williams
and four conversions coming from the
boot of Senior. Joe Light, after an
outstanding performance, was also
crowned Man of the Match.
In the lead up to the Final, MCS were
unbeaten in the competition, being
crowned East Wales Champions after
picking up wins against St. Albans,
St. Josephs, Llantarnam and Brynmawr.
The semi-final saw MCS facing Cwm
Rhymni where MCS were outstanding
in both attack and defence and came
away with a comprehensive 40 points to
nil victory with Will Korb picking up a
well deserved Man of the Match
performance for outstanding defence
and running in four tries.
Carnegie Champion
Schools Rugby League
British Cup
After qualifying for the Welsh Final,
MCS booked their place in the last
sixteen of the prestigious Carnegie
During the second half, MCS took full
control of the game with their
entertaining attacking play and
aggressive defence. Two tries from full
back Dan Dunmore and one from
stand-off Max Senior who also
converted two. Final Score: MCS 22
Tiffin 8.
Carnegie Champion
School Quarter Finals
Next up was Yorkshire based
Brooksbank School in the quarter finals
of the Champions Schools. Brooksbank
have won the competition for the last
three years so MCS knew that they had
to be at the top of their game.
MCS were slow to start and soon found
themselves 12-nil down within the first 10
minutes. MCS then started to raise their
game and scored tries
through
stand-off
Max Senior and
captain Tom Hawkins
with Senior converting
to bring the scores
level at half time
12-12.
The second half
was another high
intensity affair with
Brooksbank first to strike with an
unconverted try wide out. MCS then
started to take control of the game with
further tries coming from scrum half
Joe Light, centre Morgan Paley and
second row Will Korb with Max Senior
putting over a conversion and a drop
goal. Scores were close going into the
final minutes of the game with MCS
leading 27-26. With a minute or two
remaining MCS just had to play time out
when Brooksbank managed to turn the
ball over and pushed play deep inside the
MCS half. A quick play the ball saw
Brooksbank attack the blindside creating
a two on one which saw the Brooksbank
winger go over in the corner to break
MCS hearts. Final Score Brooksbank 30
MCS 27.
The MCS squad can be very proud of
their
performances
within
the
Competition reaching the quarter finals
of the national cup and running the
2011 champions very close.
MCS Under 16’s Rugby League
Squad: Dan Dunmore, Zak Williams,
Chris
Martin,
Jake
Williams,
Morgan Paley, Cai Jones, Max Senior,
Joe Light, Tom Hawkins (Captain),
Will
Korb,
Lewis
Chapman,
Jamie
Ridgeway,
Dan
Impey,
Dan Musselbrook, Jordan Holder,
Luke Richards, Rhodri Griffiths,
Ryan Lee,Will Watkins and Alex Grubb.
Rugby Union
U16s
Monmouth Comprehensive’s U16s have
had an outstanding season. Our
successful rugby union squad got their
Welsh Schools Cup campaign off to a
flying start, brushing away their
opponents in the group stages of the
Cup, recording comprehensive wins
against
Croesyceiliog,
Fairwater,
West Mon, Llantarnam, Abersychan,
Gwynllyw, and St. Albans.
Their efforts in the group stages were
rewarded with a tough last 16 trip to
Greenhill School (Tenby). After a long
bus journey to Tenby, MCS put in an
outstanding performance to eventually
come away with a close 15-12 win. MCS
were, once again, awesome in both attack
and defence and thoroughly deserved
the win with tries coming from Joe Light
and Jake Williams with Max Senior
converting a conversion and a penalty.
Although the squad was outstanding as a
whole, there were some standout
performances on the day. These came
from Dan Musselbrook at hooker who
took several against the head in the
scrum at crucial points in the game. The
back row of Tom Hawkins, Joe Light and
Will Korb were a force to be reckoned
with in both attack and defence.
Ashley Murphy, Jamie Marchant and
Jordan Holder, all playing up an age
29
group and all part of the front row
union, stood up to the test. And finally
Zak Williams, another playing up at age
at full back, was safe under the high ball
all day and also produced a try saving
tackle in the last play of the game which
saw MCS take their place in the quarter
final draw.
Welsh School
Quarter Final
MCS travelled to Maesteg to play in the
quarter finals of the Welsh Schools Cup.
The game was a scrappy affair with
handling errors coming from both
teams. MCS were in total control during
the first half but couldn’t turn pressure
into points. The MCS backs were
causing problems for the Maesteg
defence with strong runs coming from
Dan Dunmore, Morgan Paley and Jake
Williams but the final pass never went to
hand for MCS to capitalise. A cross-field
kick by centre Morgan Paley put
pressure on the Maesteg back three
which Full Back Dan Dunmore took full
advantage of to score the opening try
and the only points of the half.
The second half was pretty much a
carbon copy of the first with both teams
making errors and MCS failing to
capitalise on the amount of possession.
Maesteg managed to score two scrappy
tries which gave them a 12-5 lead. With
time running out, MCS threw
everything they had at the Maesteg
defence but couldn’t cross the try line.
Final Score: Maesteg 12 MCS 5.
MCS have once again had an
outstanding season only losing one game
all season and only losing two games of
rugby union since they started school in
Y7. Although they have been knocked
out of the tournament, the squad have
come a long way and have been
outstanding during their time at MCS.
They know deep down that they let this
one get away but they are an outstanding
squad of players who deserved to
progress. I’m sure the boys will learn
from this and progress on to bigger and
better things in their rugby careers.
Good luck boys!
MCS Under 16’s Rugby Union Squad:
Zak Willimas, Alex Grubb, Dan Dunmore,
Jake Williams, Cai Jones, Morgan Paley,
Max Senior, Tom Hawkins, Joe Light,
Will Korb, Lewis Chapman, Dan Impey,
Jordan Holder, Dan Musselbrook, Ryan Lee,
Jamie Ridgeway, Sean McMahon,
30
Sam Rugg, Jamie Marchant,Ashley Murphy,
Dan Sadler, Rhodri Griffiths, Luke Richards,
Will Watkins, Chris Martin, Chris Powell,
Jacob Picken, Liam Richards, Coby SmithSteen, and Sam Foster.
Boys Hockey
Boy’s
hockey
at
Monmouth
Comprehensive is going from strength
to strength with a number of players
being selected to represent their local
county, Wales and even at International
level. Jacob Draper-Stone has been
selected to play for Great Britain U16
even though he is currently an U14.
Jacob has travelled to numerous
destinations around the world to
represent both Wales and Great Britain.
George Goldsmith is playing in goal
alongside Jacob in the U16 Welsh team.
Edward Goldsmith, Matthew Goldsmith
and Marcus Hutchinson have all received
county honours with Edward also
playing for South Wales alongside Jacob.
U14 Boys South Wales
Tournament
On Friday 23rd March Monmouth
Comprehensive School took a squad of
9 U14 boys to compete in the annual
South Wales Tournament in Swansea.
Having never entered the tournament
before the level of competition was
unknown. Monmouth were in Pool A
along with six other schools.Throughout
the Pool stages, Monmouth dominated
possession and looked confident in front
of goal converting a number of well
worked opportunities. Monmouth
looked strong from defence all the way
through to attack and started to play
more as a team throughout the group
stages. After some varied level of
competition, Monmouth went on to win
the group without losing a game or
conceding a goal. The same record was
to be true of the winning team
in Pool B,Ysgol Gwyr, leading
to an interesting Final. With
both teams having not
dropped a point between
them, the Final was set to be a
thriller! Monmouth started
slowly finding it difficult to
keep possession. They then
went 1-0 down after five
minutes
but
responded
confidently bringing the score
back to 1-1 after an Oscar
Calderwood goal. Monmouth then
starting playing like they had in the
group stages and went close to taking the
lead on numerous occasions, with a
number of shots narrowly missing the
goal. After enjoying possession,
Monmouth conceded another goal
taking the score to 2-1. The Monmouth
boys’ heads dropped and Ysgol Gwyr
took full advantage by extending their
lead to 3-1. After some well worked play
by Monmouth a shot corner was
awarded and with the last stroke of the
game Edward Goldsmith scored a wellrehearsed short corner routine. As runners
up in the tournament, the boys would be
heading to the Welsh Finals in Newtown.
The U14 boys had an early morning
start on 26th April, to travel to Newtown
in Mid Wales to compete in the Welsh
Finals. The boys got off to a flying start,
beating their first opponents, Eirias High,
4-1, having played some fantastic hockey.
They carried this momentum into their
second game against Ysgol Gwyr, who
beat Monmouth in the final of the South
Wales Tournament, securing victory with
a 2-1 score line. Going into the final
game, Monmouth had to win or draw to
secure the Welsh title. Unfortunately the
team from Ysgol Tywyn proved too
strong for the Monmouth boys and ran
out 6-2 winners. This left Monmouth in
runners up position overall. This is a
fantastic achievement for the boys and
with this being the first year we have
entered the tournament, finishing as the
number two team in Wales is something
to really be proud of.
The squad for both tournaments were:
Alex Kennett-Davies, Jacob Draper-Stone,
Matthew Goldsmith, Edward Goldsmith,
Marcus Hutchinson, Oscar Calderwood,
Elliott Williamson, Elliott Kramer and
Rhys Kedward.
Well done to all the boys!
of the week. In the gymnastics, the girls
excelled on the floor scoring very high
marks with routines which demonstrated
a range of moves, levels and pathways
and which were performed with
confidence, control and precision.
However, it was the boys who stole the
show in the vault competition with an
assortment of eye catching vaults, the
Creative Days
December 2011
It was the first experience of Inter Form
Sporting Competition for the Y7 Forms,
but with such high levels of participation,
performance and enjoyment it was a
great success. Every student took part in
the day, competing in gymnastics, dance
or swimming, working hard to win
points for their Form.
gymnastics saw a range of extravagant
vaulting and controlled floor work with a
high standard displayed by both boys
and girls. The dance saw another range
of high quality performances with
creative choreography, performed with
confidence and enthusiasm. The
outstanding performance of the day was
from the group representing 8JP (Rhian,
Cara, Rachel, Charlie, Bronwen,
Natasha and Madison). The swimming
The gymnastics saw tremendous talent
on show in both the floor and vault
competitions, with the quartet of
Jessica Chance, Daisy Wilcocks,
Laura MacDonald and Georgia Bevan
helping 7JD to top the table. In the
dance
competition,
groups
choreographed and performed a dance
to their choice of music. The
competition was extremely close with all
groups
working
well
together,
performing with confidence and
incorporating a range of choreographic
devices. The swimming gala consisted of
numerous events; from water polo to the
lifesaving tow race. The day saw superb
levels of effort and enthusiasm from
members of all Forms with stand out
performances from Nya Levey (7NC),
Lydia Smith (7LM) and Andrew Cole
(7FI). The tremendous showing in the
swimming was enough for 7NC to win
their first Inter Form Competition with
7LM coming second and 7JD third.
For the Y8 Forms it was their second
year of creative
days and it was
equally successful
with the dance,
gymnastics and
swimming
all
seeing fabulous
performances and
excellent effort
from students of
all Forms. The
saw a fabulous team performance by
8MI, who won several competitions,
with everyone fully playing their part.
One of the highlights in the pool was the
racing rivalry between Rory Gordon
(8JP) and Matthew Peters (8MI) who
pushed each other all the way, and
impressed not only their own Forms but
everyone else with their high-quality
stroke
technique
and determination.
The
top
team
performance in the
pool
was
just
enough to see 8MI
win the overall
competition, with
8JP close behind in
second place.
most memorable of which being
Charlie Rogers’ (9HF) half turn jump
onto the box top and a back somersault
off which he landed perfectly and for
which the judges awarded him full
marks. 9HF, who won for the last two
years, continued their domination by
winning the dance competition and
topping the leaderboard in the
swimming as well with outstanding
swims from Lara Gordon and Mitchell
Savage. Other excellent performances in
the pool came from Nick Watkins
(9MA), Megan Cameron (9PK) and
Cerian Barrell (9DS). With 9HF
running away with the competition, it
was close race for second place overall,
and 9DS just managed to claim it,
pushing 9PK into third, to end an
incredible three days of participation,
enthusiasm and success.
The Y9 competition
saw some of the very
best performances
31
Science
The Big Bang Science Fair
After arriving at school on the 16th of March 2012, young scientists
from Years Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten gathered at the bus bay eagerly
awaiting the coaches that would take us to The Big Bang Science Fair
in the NEC Birmingham. The two buses headed off and with traffic in
our favour we arrived at the NEC, just after 10:30am.With hundreds of
schools all gathered to explore and investigate the scientific and
technological careers available, the Exhibition Hall was full.
There were hundreds of stands and experts to talk to, including Eon
Electricity, BBC and Google.There were many interactive activities and
work shops to take part in and loads of prizes and freebies to be won.
At the Trauma Science stand a few members of our school donned
surgical scrubs and experienced the life of a Trauma surgeon, using a
human model and porcine organs.
Over the other side of the Exhibition Hall, many students took part in
quizzes and games, set up by energy companies such as National Grid
and British Gas.
Most of the students on the trip visited Miles Isted s’Jacob, a Year Ten
student of Monmouth Comprehensive, to watch him exhibit and race
his F1 miniature car in the national championships against many other
teams.We felt we shared his success in achieving the Best Team Identity
Award.
We broke briefly for lunch then headed to the super Theatre to view
Brainiac Live. It was a really great show, where we saw many scientific
facts and theories proved. On the journey home all the students
reviewed what a phenomenal day it had been and discussed possible
futures in science, inspired by the day's events.
Amelia Ralph
“Thunderbolts and Lightning, very, very
frightening” - Freddie Mercury
On average, every year every single aircraft in the skies is hit by lightning.
Amazingly, all passengers and crew remain safe. This is due to most
aircraft being made from aluminium which, being a metal and,
therefore, a conductor of electricity, acts as a Faraday cage; allowing the
electricity to ‘pass around’ the outside of the aircraft.
Modern aircraft are increasingly being made out of Carbon Fibre to
save weight and increase strength, though this Carbon Fibre will not
conduct electricity and will ‘burn’, certainly not a safe way to travel!
On the afternoon of 23rd March an engineer visited the school from a
company called EADS. He engineers solutions to carbon fibre aircraft
being hit by lightning. He spoke to Year Seven about his work and
showed us some demonstrations of the effects of the technology he has
developed which proved very interesting as Year Seven are studying
aircraft and flight as part of their ‘Stop Press’ unit of work which
investigates air pressure and the power of air.
Jonathan Cole from 7SG said he found it “very informative, especially
with my interest in aeroplanes". Charlie Cooke from the same form
described it as a “very interesting subject, which was demonstrated in a
different and exciting way”.
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32
Y13 Leavers
33
Careers and Higher
Education Fair Success
Monmouth Comprehensive School’s annual Careers and Higher
Education Fair was once again an unqualified success. The event
featured over one hundred industry experts and Higher
Education professionals, offering advice on careers, work
experience opportunities, apprenticeships, subject choices and
progression into Higher Education.
Despite being one
of the coldest nights
of the year, record
numbers of visitors
attended the Fair,
which is now a firm
fixture for both the
school and the local
community.
One
delegate stated that
‘it was larger, better organised and better attended than any
regional fair they attend’.
The event featured representatives from such high profile
organisations such as GE, BBC, Oxford University, Forestry
Commission and event sponsor General Dynamics, as well a
large number of local professionals from the Monmouthshire
area. Local radio station Sunshine Radio even provided the
opportunity for visitors to record their own broadcast!
Joint Headteachers,
Mr Tim Bird and
Mr Vaughan Davies
said “Supporting
students in making
the next steps in
their learning and
being able to work
with students on the
relevance of what
and how they learn
at school are essential elements of our practice and
provision.The providers at the Careers and Higher Education
Fair have supported all our students in understanding the
choices and opportunities they have in their lives.
We very much
appreciate the time
and effort that has
gone into making
this
such
a
wonderful event.
We
were
also
pleased to see so
many students from
34
surrounding schools on the night
who also found the evening very
beneficial. Mr David Egan and
Mrs Kirsten Jones at
school
lead
on
learning Pathways
and the evening is a
tribute to their
ambition
and
expectation for all
our students.”
Advert
Community Participation at MCS
Tidy Wales Award
Community Fair
Our annual Community Fair took place in
February this year. The Fair is a springboard for students to volunteer for an
activity during our Summer Learning
Week so the opportunity to meet with
organisations that provide vital services
to our community is an essential part of
the learning process as well as being a key
component of the Welsh Baccalaureate
Intermediate Diploma.
Community Connections
Befrienders Scheme
Our Sixth Form Health & Social Care
students have undergone specialist
training for working with vulnerable
members of our community in readiness
to participate in the recently launched
Befrienders Scheme, centred at the Bridges
Community Centre. Volunteers, including
our students, will be supporting members
of the community in and around Monmouth
doing odd jobs, shopping or just visiting
for a friendly and comforting chat.
MCS were runners
up in the Schools
category
for
their community
participation
work during the
Summer Learning
week at the Two
River
Meadow
Project
at
the
confluence of the Wye and Monnow
rivers. Students, supported by members
of the project and Tidy Wales, removed
large amounts of the invasive Himalayan
Balsam, litter and debris to enhance the
locality for the community.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Year 10 students are
well
into
their
expedition training that
includes basic first aid,
safety
outdoors,
navigation and campcraft and they are
looking forward to their
practice and assessed
expeditions in May and June. One of the
largest groups for some time (98
students in total) are completing their
Skills, Physical and Volunteering sections
of the Award, learning new skills,
increasing confidence and learning a
great deal about themselves.
Y11 students are completing the Award
in increasing numbers - currently 25
students have received their welldeserved lapel badge and certificate
whilst 22 students have progressed to
the Silver Award run by Monmouthshire
Youth Service.
activities led by coaches from our
community.
The squash club have played Monmouth
School and won the majority of their
matches.
All our riders have reached Level 1, and
some Level 2, in Equitation and Stable
Management.
Ten of our Tae Kwon Do students have
succeeded in their gradings - Kenzo
Fagan (10NI) to Green 6th Kup,
Sam Wagget (11DP) to Blue ends 5th
Kup and seven students gaining Yellow
end 9th Kup.
Our London Academy of Music and
Dramatic Art (LAMDA) students have
been successful in their examinations
with every student reaching Level 2
(Grade 4) in Speaking Verse and Prose,
Acting Solo or Acting Duologue with a
Pass, Merit and (notably) Philippa Parry
(10SC) Pass with Distinction. Most
students have continued with their tutor
to work towards Level 5 or 6 (Level 6
attracts UCAS points).
Monmouthshire Children’s
and Youth University
The Children’s University awards credits
to young people who attend activities
outside normal school hours. The
University aims to provide a broad
framework within which each student
can reach their maximum potential in
whatever areas of learning they desire.
Currently our academy students are
receiving credits for attending and
completing modules after school. The
credits are banked and lead progressively
to Bronze (100), Silver (200) and Gold
(400) Children’s Awards for Y7 and Y8.
Years 9-11 need to bank 150 credits for
the Certificate, 350 for Diploma and 600
for the Advanced Diploma for the Youth
award. 10% of the credit value must be
for community contribution.
Youth Rangers
Amelia
Ralph,
Gregor
Belcher,
Olivia Farrow and Ella Rook were
successful in their bid to become Wye
Valley Youth Rangers. They have embarked
on a schedule that includes kayaking,
first aid, bushcraft, stone walling, hedge
laying, archaeology, ecology and conservation
- a fantastic learning experience!
Academies
Squash, Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, Equine,
Street-dance, Fencing, Water Polo and
LAMDA remain very popular after school
35
Iceland 2012
Very early on a bitterly cold February morning, our group of 19 explorers left
Monmouth Comprehensive School ready to begin our Icelandic sojourn.
Day 1
The
The journey
journey we
we made
made would
would take
take us
us
northwards
northwards by
by plane
plane from
from London
London
Heathrow
Heathrow almost
almost to
to the
the Arctic
Arctic Circle
Circle
at
at 66
66 degrees
degrees North
North ,, to
to Keflavik
Keflavik
airport,
airport, outside
outside the
the Capital
Capital City
City of
of
Reykjavik.
Reykjavik.
steaming
steaming sky-blue
sky-blue waters
waters of the lagoon
beat
beat any
any hot
hot tub
tub and
and were
were the
the best
best way
way
to
to escape
escape the
the surrounding
surrounding chill
chill from
from
the
the night
night air.
air.
Whilst
Whilst at
at the
the airport
airport we
we met
met our
our guide,
guide,
Snorri
Snorri Balsson,
Balsson, who
who would
would lead
lead us
us
around
around his
his beloved
beloved Iceland
Iceland for
for the
the
next
next three
three days,
days, taking
taking us
us down
down to
to the
the
coast,
coast, high
high into
into the
the mountains,
mountains, and
and
providing
providing aa first
first class
class commentary
commentary on
on
various
various geological
geological features,
features, history,
history,
and
and an
an insight
insight into
into the
the wonderful
wonderful
folklore
of
Iceland.
folklore of Iceland.
Later
Later on
on in
in the
the evening
evening we
we were
were told
told
that
that our
our best
best chance
chance to
to see
see the
the
Northern
Northern Lights
Lights would
would be
be that
that night,
night,
so,
so, after
after aa hasty
hasty supper
supper (and
(and aa chance
chance
to
put
some
warmer
clothes
on)
to put some warmer clothes on) we
we
ventured
ventured out
out of
of Reykjavik
Reykjavik on
on to
to aa
peninsula,
peninsula, where
where there
there would
would be
be
almost
no
light
pollution.
With
spirits
almost no light pollution. With spirits
and
and expectations
expectations high we filed out of
the
the coach
coach on
on the
the side
side of
of aa road,
road,
confronted
confronted immediately
immediately with
with the
the bitter
bitter
Atlantic
Atlantic winds,
winds, and
and stared
stared into
into the
the
heavens.
heavens.
After
After leaving
leaving the
the airport
airport we
we were
were taken
taken
straight
straight to
to the
the famous
famous Blue
Blue Lagoon,
Lagoon, to
to
go
go swimming.
swimming. Heated
Heated by
by red
red hot
hot
magma
magma deep
deep within
within the
the earth,
earth, the
the
Unfortunately,
Unfortunately, the
the weather
weather wasn't
wasn't on
on
our
our side,
side, and
and the
the stars
stars were
were obscured
obscured
by
by passing
passing rainclouds.
rainclouds. The
The Lights
Lights
remained
elusive,
and
after
10
fruitless
remained elusive, and after 10 fruitless
36
minutes
minutes in
in the
the freezing
freezing winds,
winds, we
we
moved
moved on
on to
to another
another site
site further
further along
along
the
the coast.
coast. The
The skies
skies were
were now
now less
less
clouded,
clouded, and
and eventually,
eventually, aa narrow,
narrow,
wispy
wispy malachite
malachite green
green beam
beam began
began to
to
stretch
stretch across
across the
the sky.
sky. Within
Within aa few
few
moments
moments the
the Lights
Lights had
had faded
faded away,
away,
but
but we
we had witnessed their wonder and
magic.
magic.
Day 2
Our
Our first
first full
full day
day in
in Iceland
Iceland saw
saw us
us
make
make another
another early
early start,
start, this
this time
time to
to
embark
embark on
on The
The Golden
Golden Circle
Circle Tour.
Tour.
Being
Being so far north, the sun didn't rise
until
until late
late in
in the
the morning,
morning, at
at which
which
point
point we
we were
were well
well on
on our
our way
way to
to begin
begin
our
our tour,
tour, which
which included
included Volcanic
Volcanic
craters,
craters, tectonic
tectonic plate
plate boundaries,
boundaries,
getting
getting up
up close
close to
to the
the beautiful
beautiful
Icelandic
Icelandic horse,
horse, and
and seeing
seeing the
the famous
famous
geysers.
geysers.
We got the chance to see 'Strokkur',
one of the geysers, erupt, thrusting a
vast column of hot water and steam
some 50' into the air. As with the Blue
Lagoon, the pools of hot water around
the geysers were a brilliant azure blue,
due to all of the minerals in the water,
all sending up vapour columns into the
sky.
Travelling along the empty roads we
were able to view the rugged terrain
that Iceland is known for, negotiating
snowy mountain passes, driving over
pristine white plateaus, and going
through rocky inhospitable landscapes
that looked as though they could be
from another planet.
Day 3
On
On our
our third
third day
day in
in Iceland
Iceland we
we would
would
head
south-east
along
the
head south-east along the coast
coast
towards
towards the
the small
small town
town of
of Vik,
Vik, and
and on
on
to
to the
the glaciers.
glaciers. Near
Near Vik
Vik we
we visited
visited aa
pebble
pebble beach
beach with
with two
two enormous
enormous sea
sea
stacks.
Snorri,
our
guide,
explained
stacks. Snorri, our guide, explained
that
that according
according to
to legend,
legend, two
two trolls
trolls had
had
been
been wading
wading around
around the
the cliffs
cliffs with
with
their
their boats
boats when
when the
the sun
sun rose,
rose, turning
turning
them
to
stone.
them to stone.
Next
Next we
we stopped
stopped off
off at
at aa restaurant
restaurant in
in
Vik,
Vik, where
where we
we had
had the
the chance
chance to
to eat
eat aa
lunch
lunch of
of puffin
puffin burger
burger and
and chips,
chips, and
and
an
an Ice
Ice lolly
lolly for
for dessert.
dessert. I'd
I'd never
never eaten
eaten
puffin
puffin before,
before, but
but itit really
really was
was very
very
good,
good, and
and II would
would certainly
certainly
recommend
recommend it.
it.
After
After our
our excellent
excellent lunch,
lunch, we
we set
set off
off
towards
towards Eyjafjallajökull.
Eyjafjallajökull. The
The name
name
may
may not
not mean
mean much
much to
to you
you (even
(even ifif
you
you can
can pronounce
pronounce it!),
it!), but
but it's
it's that
that
glacier
glacier with
with the
the volcano
volcano underneath
underneath itit
that
that stopped
stopped all
all of
of the
the aeroplanes
aeroplanes back
back
in
in 2010. Remnants of the eruption
were
were everywhere,
everywhere, with
with almost
almost
everything
everything being
being covered
covered by
by aa layer
layer of
of
black
black ash.
ash.The
The locals,
locals, however,
however, seemed
seemed
to
to be
be making
making the
the best
best of
of the
the situation
situation
and
and Iceland's
Iceland's recent
recent money
money problems,
problems,
selling
T
-shirts
bearing
slogans
selling T-shirts bearing slogans such
such as;
as;
'Iceland,
'Iceland, we
we may
may not
not have
have cash,
cash, but
but
we've
we've got
got plenty
plenty of
of ash.'
ash.'
At
At the
the end
end of
of an
an unbelievable
unbelievable bumpy
bumpy
track
track we
we arrived
arrived at
at one
one of
of Iceland's
Iceland's
many
many glaciers.
glaciers. From
From here
here we
we could
could
walk
walk right
right up
up to
to the
the wall
wall of
of ice
ice and
and
rock
rock sprawling
sprawling up
up into
into the
the mountains.
mountains.
It
It was
was an experience that appealed to
the
the senses
senses -- being
being able
able to
to hear
hear the
the
melted
melted glacier
glacier ice
ice running
running beneath
beneath
you,
you, see
see bubbles
bubbles of
of air
air trapped
trapped in the
ice,
ice, and
and run
run your
your hands
hands along
along its
its
smooth
edges.
smooth edges.
Day 4
On
On this
this final
final day
day we
we would
would visit
visit
Reykjavik,
Reykjavik, Iceland's
Iceland's capital
capital city,
city, and
and
then
then fly
fly back
back to
to Britain.
Britain.
Whilst
Whilst in
in Reykjavik
Reykjavik we
we got
got to
to do
do some
some
last
last minute
minute shopping
shopping and
and souvenir
souvenir
buying,
buying, and
and another
another chance
chance to
to sample
sample
some
some Icelandic
Icelandic cuisine,
cuisine, though
though the
the
seared
seared sheep's
sheep's head
head didn't
didn't really
really appeal
appeal
to
to me...
me...
Iceland,
Iceland, as
as II have
have seen
seen it,
it, is
is an
an
incredible
incredible country
country full
full of
of untamed
untamed
beauty
beauty and
and showcases
showcases nature's
nature's infinite
infinite
power
power and
and II would
would most
most definitely
definitely
return
return in
in the
the future.
future. II thoroughly
thoroughly
enjoyed
myself
and
the
company
enjoyed myself and the company of
of
my
my companions.
companions. Thank
Thank you
you to
to
Mrs
Mrs Fry
Fry for
for organising
organising the
the trip,
trip, and
and aa
special
special thank
thank you
you to
to Dr
Dr C.
C. for
for keeping
keeping
us
us entertained
entertained with
with his
his own
own special
special
brand
brand of
of Irish
Irish humour.
humour.
Tom
Tom Edgeworth
Edgeworth
37
Eisteddfod Ysgol Gyfun Trefynwy
Mawrth 4ydd
March 4th
Monmouth Comprehensive School’s Eisteddfod
The Eisteddfod is a celebration of Welsh literature, music and art which can be traced back to the 12th
century. It's thought that the first Eisteddfod was held in Cardigan at the Court of Rhys ap Gruffyd in
1176 although for many hundreds of years the festival wasn't celebrated, perhaps as English rule took
hold of the region and the Welsh identity was eroded.
However, in 1789 what is now recognised as the first
National Eisteddfod took place in Corwen and the
celebration of Welsh arts began again. Today, with Wales
once again proud to celebrate our proud history the
Eisteddfod is held at schools throughout the country.
perform music. Every Form in Y7, Y8, and Y9 also sing a song
in front of the Sixth Form with the best three from each Year
getting the opportunity to sing in front of the whole school
on Eisteddfod day. For me, that's one of the most enjoyable
but nerve wracking parts of Eisteddfod!
At Monmouth Comprehensive School we have an Eisteddfod
day when we celebrate our heritage with our own festival
when people get the chance to sing, dance, compose and
As well as song and dance we also have individual and Form
competitions. This year the competitions were really good.
For the Form competition we had to design a rugby shirt ours had a sheep on the front and a
daffodil on the back. Our Form Tutor,
Miss Thomas, bought us t-shirts so we
were able to make and model our
design which helped us secure second
place in the competition. We also
designed a costume made from
recycled materials and used Caley as
our model for our Welsh dragon suit
made out of a cardboard box. We won
third place, which is just as well
because I don't think Caley would have
been too pleased to go through that
for
nothing!
The
individual
competitions were quite challenging
and included making a Torah scroll for
a Welsh synagogue in RE, creating a
21st century Welsh dragon in Art,
composing a piece of past tense
38
writing in Welsh and for Maths we had to create a dragon
made out of co-ordinates. Although the competitions are
held on one single day, the entries are always of a really high
standard so if you want to win you need to start work early!
I was fortunate enough to win first place in the Welsh
competition and third place in the Art competition. Although
I had hoped to get, maybe, third place or at best second in
the Welsh competition, I thought that my chance was gone
when those places were announced and my name wasn't
called out so I was proud and delighted when Miss Pearson
called my name out! Although it was great to win, I really
enjoyed taking part and learning a little more about the
subjects along the way.
The Eisteddfod obviously took a little longer to reach
Monmouth Comprehensive School because it wasn't
celebrated when my parents were at the school just twenty
years ago.
I really enjoy celebrating the Eisteddfod and learning more
about Welsh arts and history in such an enjoyable and
inspirational way. I'm glad that it got here at last!
Louise Pardington, Year 8
A Welsh Evening
On Thursday April 5th, students of MCS took part in a show
to celebrate Welsh Culture. This was an ideal opportunity for
students to share their many talents and to show the
importance of Wales and its culture. Over 60 students from
all age groups took part and a wide variety of performances
were showcased.
be a fantastic opportunity and will again showcase the
talents of our students. In total, we raised just over £550
through refreshments, tickets sales and programmes- a great
amount to support the talent of the students in our school.
It was a delight to see so many people supporting the
evening. Many members of staff and senior leadership came
to support, along with the Chair of Governors and the Mayor
and his consort, which was a great honour.
The show started with our Year 12 A Level Welsh students
and then a brilliant performance of a song by Marina and the
Diamonds from Ella Sutton and George Thomas, the winners
of Monmouth’s Got Talent.
The Welsh Department are extremely grateful for all the
support that they had from all students that performed and
a large number of staff. It was such a great joy to see a
School come together to enjoy the celebration of its culture.
There was a fantastic performance from Rory Gorden on the
trumpet and an intense acting scene from ‘Under Milk
Wood’. Even staff members embraced the culture by
performing a Tom Jones medley with all cast members to end
the show.
The Charity Committee were also there to support and raise
money for the World Challenge trip to Morocco in the
Summer, which will be a great opportunity for the 6th Form.
The money raised in the show will also be used to send
students of our school to the National Eisteddfod. This will
39
Serving the school....
On Thursday 2nd February 2012, a team of catering students gathered to supply exhibitors at the
CHEF (Careers and Higher Education Fair) with a range of delicious food to take them through the busy
evening ahead.
tirelessly to produce the food on time, all great experience
for catering careers and functions in the future.
On schedule, the food was delivered fresh to the exhibitors
at 6:00pm, with a selection of sweet and savoury nibbles for
each stand. After the kitchens were cleared away to the
exacting standards of Miss Cook (Head of Food Technology)
and Mrs Fuller, who had helped and supported the team all
day, the team was excited to explore the Fair and hear all the
positive feedback regarding the food.
As the Fair began at 6:30pm, it was due to be a busy day for
the young chefs from Food Technology. The team of
passionate cooks met at 8:30am to start preparation for the
exhibitors arriving later that day.
Working hard all day, the team managed to produce a large
array of food for the exhibitors, including mini quiches,
choux pastry and a selection of cakes and brownies.
Occupying both Food Tech kitchens, the group worked
40
The Careers and Higher Education Fair had many exhibitors
and experts to talk to as students and parents from all Years
strolled through the Leisure Centre and School Hall, producing
a great buzz. The opportunity to investigate different options
after leaving school, from universities and colleges such as Oxford
and Hartbury, to careers such as engineering apprenticeships
and medicine, was appreciated by all who attended. After a
tiring day the catering students were proud of their
outstanding efforts and look forward to CHEF events to come.
Amelia Ralph Y10
How do you keep the roadways
clear in a massive shipping port?
This was the challenge set by General Dynamics UK in November 2011 to six budding
engineers in Year 12 as part of the Engineering Education Scheme in Wales. (EESW)
Perhaps you could have lots of people
patrolling, or a huge network of
cameras.... or, even better, cameras
mounted on mobile robotic platforms
that can patrol autonomously, alerting
their controller only when an obstruction
is detected.
Problem solved? Well, turning this idea
into a working prototype took four
months of hard work by the group,
assisted by helpful engineers from GD,
with a three day intensive workshop in
December. We succeeded, and, at the
ceremony at Celtic Manor on 26th
March, opened by the First Minister, we
were nominated for national awards for
‘Best Application of Technology’, ‘Best
Working Prototype’, and the one we
won, ‘Best Use of IT.’
We started with a wheeled buggy, but it
was difficult to programme it to steer
accurately. Also, we were reminded that
dockyard cranes run on rails that could
cause problems. So we switched to a
tracked vehicle – one of many decisions
we were to make after weighing up the
pros and cons of different options.
The control programme was written into
a Lego NXT ‘Mindstorms’ block. We
had no knowledge of the programming
language at first, but were forced to
become
experts
(particularly
Alex Thomas) to make it do what we
wanted. It follows a preset route, and
when its ultrasonic sensors detect an
obstacle, it stops, waits to make sure it is
not just a passing person or vehicle, and
switches on its camera to give the
operator an image. It also switches out
of autonomous mode to allow control by
a handheld bluetooth device. The
operator can tilt the
camera and steer the
platform to get the best
view. A major problem
was that the NXT
block did not have
enough output ports to
perform
all
these
functions. After much
head-scratching,
we
decided to use the
tilting of the camera to
operate a switch and
relay circuit that would
control the power to the
camera and also some
indicator lights. The prototype circuit
was a spaghetti of wires, so a neater
printed circuit board was designed,
etched and wired up. Luke Bowley and
Cole Telford had to persevere to make it
work correctly.
Another problem was navigation. The
digital compass didn’t work until we
realised it was too close to the magnets in
the camera tilt motor. GPS was tried,
but when it finally acquired a satellite
signal during a test in the school’s
technology department, it indicated that
we were somewhere on Vauxhall Fields!
Alex Mason used a Computer Aided
Design package to draw accurately some
bodywork panels that were then cut out
on the school’s computer controlled laser
cutter by Aaron Mills. The design called
for intricate holes that would precisely
match the lego components, and tiny
custom made spacers.
The programme started with a big
introductory event at the University in
Caerleon in October. We then visited
General Dynamics for a briefing and
were
shown
some
impressive
James Bond type gadgets that were being
developed. The GD engineers visited
school several times to help the project
along and were with us on the December
workshop days.
By February the device was working well
but there was a looming deadline for the
production of a 20 page report to
professional standard.
Fran Davies had made
an excellent start on
this, but it needed
several intense group
sessions after school
and last minute phone
calls to GD to knock it
into final shape. Then
it was preparing for the
Celtic Manor where
there would be 68
schools and colleges,
from all over Wales,
competing. The group
gave
a
draft
presentation to a room full of senior
engineers at GD who bombarded them
with questions and comments. The final
version was then tried out on the entire
MCS Science Department. With big
glossy posters produced by the GD
Marketing Department, (to the students’
design), and some big GD display
screens, the performance at the Celtic
Manor was polished and confident.
The judges were impressed, as were the
numerous visitors to the stand all day. It
has been an excellent project, giving a
real insight into the world of the
professional engineer, and we have been
invited to present at the ‘Big Bang’
Science and Technology Fair in
Swansea.
41
Italy Sports Tour
98 students, 11 staff, 2 buses, 6 drivers, 5 sports, 13 fixtures, 678 packed lunches, 1 double leg
fracture, 1 concussion, 1 dislocated knee, 123 pizzas and 84 hours in hospital – this year’s Sports Tour
was nothing short of eventful!
The 2012 Sports Tour to Lake Garda, Italy was another huge success for both students and the school. Students had
the opportunity to experience playing sporting activities in a foreign country and to experience the diversity of the
Italian culture. The tour included the opportunity to develop skills, techniques and experiences in Dance, Football,
Hockey, Netball or Rugby, in both coaching sessions/workshops and competitive matches.
Students were fantastic, both in terms of their performances
and also their general attitude and effort throughout the
week. There were a number of comments made from the
local Italians, hotel staff, opposition players and even
members of the Manic Street Preachers (whom we met on
the ferry!) regarding their conduct and effort on and off the
pitch - as one Italian said “a credit to both your school and
to Wales”.
There were a number of standout performances in
the activities and the following students received
awards:
‘Top Tourists’ - Sam Hawkins (9DS), Vashti Miller
(11GD) & Claire Baker (11AF)
Dance - Daniel Morgan (10SN) & Katherine French
(8HT)
Football - Henry Edwards (9MH) &
Matthew Macdonald (8BF)
Hockey - Katie Gillespie (11NJ) &
Edward Goldsmith (9DS)
Netball - Nicole Bond (10CH) & Taylor Brown (9HF)
Rugby - Zak Williams (10PY), Michaela Bowen
(10SN) & Luke Macdonald (9PK)
This year the school was fortunate to have been sponsored
by Monmouthshire Housing Association. This support
has built upon the
already successful link
between the school and
Monmouthshire Housing
Association and provided
equipment and resources
for the tour.
On the following pages are
some of the reflections
from the week.
42
Sarah McCartney (11LE)
Millie Jenkins (8RH)
On our sports tour to Lake Garda, I was set to join the dance
workshops. We were given five workshop times that we
could go to, each being an hour and a half. At our first dance
workshop we met our dance instructor, Michelle, who was
going to teach us for all of our sessions. We started off with
contemporary dancing, and our whole group participated in
creating a dance together, with the help of Michelle. On our
second day of the workshops we changed to street-dance
and, after a few warm-ups, we all learnt how to lock and pop
our bodies, and used this in our second dance. In our last
workshop, Michelle wanted to let us learn a fun dance, so
she taught us the Mamma Mia Musical dance to ‘Mamma
Mia’. Every workshop was fun and exhausting, we are all very
grateful to Michelle for teaching us for these five workshops.
On the 13th of April we set off to Lake Garda for a week’s visit!
On this sports tour there were five activities you could have
chosen from; netball, football, hockey, rugby and dance. I chose to
do netball.When we got to the hotel after over a day of travelling,
the weather was damp and windy, but it didn’t dampen our
excitement to be in Italy! We each had a few sessions of our chosen
activity. It was lovely playing my favourite sport in the sun
(when we had some, ha-ha!).The best part of playing netball was
finding out and developing new techniques which we can add to
our knowledge of the sport. Not only did we play sports, we also
went on day trips. On one of the free days we went to Lake
Garda - it was absolutely beautiful, walking through the hustle
and bustle of the market next to the lake eating Italian ice cream.
We also visited San Siro which was just astonishing and really
interesting to think that two football clubs play on the same
football ground but the best part was, most definitely, shopping in
Milan. So many amazing shops to go to, if only I had taken more
money! Despite having a thunder storm and it raining a lot we
all had an amazing time in Italy, we came out of it with lots of
new friendships! I can’t wait for the next sports tour now; it has
a lot to live up to if it can be as good as Italy!
Jack Collins (9HS)
My experience on the Italy sports tour 2012 was awesome!
The bus journey was extremely long, taking over a day to get
there, but it was worth it; talking to some of your best mates
whilst making new friends in every Year Group. When we
arrived at the hotel it looked okay from the outside, but when
we walked in I was shocked at how good the hotel was! The
day trip to Milan included a trip to the San Siro Stadium,
home of both Inter and AC Milan, which was amazing. The
next day the footballers had our first training session and
our first match. We played outstandingly
well, but unfortunately we still lost by a
substantial amount of goals. At our next
fixture, we also played fantastically well
and managed to win this game by beating
the opposition 2:1; Jack Mayo scoring both
of the goals. Overall, my sports tour
experience was great fun and I would go
again if I had the chance.
43
Hope Henry (8MI)
During April, the school ventured into Italy for the Sports
Tour of 2012. After a 23 hour journey through France and
Switzerland we arrived at the hotel tired and relieved to get
off the coach on Saturday evening. Everyone was very excited
and couldn’t wait to start the fun week of activities that lay
ahead.
On the Sunday, we went to Milan. It is safe to say that it
wasn’t a quiet Sunday lunch like Britain has! In the morning
we went to the San Siro Stadium, the home of AC and Inter
Milan football teams. We went to the stadium itself, sat in
VIP seats (free of charge!) and then had a tour of the changing
rooms and conference places. In the afternoon we had three
and a half hours of free time to shop and do whatever we
wanted - many people got ice-creams, went to Superdry and
saw the amazing cathedral in the centre of Milan.
On the Monday we had the first of two intense sport days. I
played hockey and it was awesome! We had a lovely water
based astro-turf pitch to train on, used some of the Italian
national teams training kit and had loads of fun exercises and
activities to do!
It was a great morning and at lunch time we went back to
the hotel for some Italian cuisine. After a wonderful lunch of
pasta and an assorted buffet, we had a couple of hours to
relax.
When it came to 4pm we had to board the bus and set off
to our first match. The girl’s teams played first and despite a
great effort we sadly lost. It was a great experience to play
such a strong team and a confidence booster for us all!
After we had played our match, the boys, determined not to
lose, started to play. They played extremely well and
eventually won! They played four sets and in the first game
won, second set drew, third set lost and in the final set they
won meaning that they won overall!
On Tuesday we had the second and final training session; it
was very good again because of the high standard of the
pitch
and
the
equipment. It ran
pretty much the same
as
Monday,
with
warm-ups followed by
dynamic stretching
and some training
activities to finish.
The activities were
great fun, ranging
from
volleyball,
tackling boxes and
so much more. It
was unbelievable
that we could play
volleyball
using
hockey equipment!
44
We got back to the hotel and had some lunch and after a
few hours of relaxation we were ready to go again!
At about 4pm we all climbed aboard the coach and set off
to another hockey match.
This time, instead of playing a separate boys and girls match,
we played a mixed match where both boys and girls played
together as one team. It was a good game and adrenaline
was pumping throughout, especially for Emily Richards who
got a hockey ball in the eye! She was as hard as nails and
after such a shock she still cheered and supported our team!
After all of the injury and suspense we came out the winners,
with two amazing goals scored by Alistair Williamson and
Edward Goldsmith.
On the Wednesday we had an optional day and we could
choose what we wanted to do. Everyone went to Lake Garda
in the morning and looked around the markets and little
shops there. In the afternoon we could again choose what
we wanted to do, the options being to go either to a spa or
to a place where they had go-carting, bowling and laser
tagging.
I chose to go on the spa trip and it was spectacular! They had
an indoor pool with lanes in (a bit like the pool in
Monmouth), complete with a Jacuzzi. A small tunnel led to
a heated outdoor pool equipped with jets and seats to sit on
inside the pool that were made out of stone.
All of the people that went to the go-carting, bowling and
laser tagging place said that it was awesome too!
On Wednesday night we went out for pizza, it was all paid
for by the school and we were very grateful – there were so
many different pizzas to try.
On Thursday everyone got ready to travel back on the coach.
Everyone was packed and ready and we left at about 2pm.
Everyone was dreading the 23 hour bus journey back and
sad to leave the hotel in Italy.
Everyone was really pleased when we arrived back in Britain,
then Wales then finally Monmouth.
Without the staff the trip couldn’t have been possible and
from me and everyone on the tour I would like to say
thank-you for the wonderful memories and experiences that
will stay with us for life!
Reuben Pierrepoint (9HS)
One of the sports included in the Italy Sports Tour was rugby. The U15s rugby
was in fact seven-a-side rugby, which proved to be a new experience for many
players, even those that had played rugby competitively before. The team
assembled for the Sports Tour had never played together before, and certainly
never Sevens Rugby, and so this proved a rare opportunity to play with new
teammates and to practise a type of rugby that requires a whole different set of
skills to play. After a single training session the team set out to play against a
local Italian team. Although we didn’t win, the team did learn a lot of valuable
lessons about how to work together and get the ball out of contact as quickly as
possible. The local rugby club were extremely welcoming and provided a meal
after the match for the players. The next day saw another training session, in
which I had my first experience of Gaelic football, a sport which consists of a
football being thrown, kicked or bounced in any direction, with players hurling
themselves at the person with possession, whose aim is to score either in the
football goal, or to kick it through the rugby posts behind them. I have to say it
was new and was a very enjoyable hour. The second match, later that evening,
saw the team play even more quickly, hard and skilled than the night before, and
although not coming away with a win, the rest of the team and myself gained a
huge amount of experience and, indeed, confidence in playing the sport. It was
obvious during and after the match how much passion the players had, and how
much they cared about the match they were playing.
After the game, the team were once again
invited to eat by the rugby club, during which
we experienced some of the more ‘interesting’
aspects of Italian rugby culture.
On the last day of the trip, awards were given
to certain players from all of the activities. In
the
U15s,
awards
were
given
to
Jack Thomas, who unfortunately had to be
taken to hospital in an ambulance during the
first match due to mild concussion and to
Luke Macdonald, for outstanding play. I have seen him play, and am terrified of
the efficient and effective way in which Luke can completely smash opposition
in a ruck. A final award was given to Mickey, who played with great passion and
commitment, not only for the Under 15s, but for the older team as well, putting
her all into both games.
It, therefore, remains
only to congratulate the
U15s team for playing
a
game
that
was
completely new to all of
them, and playing to a
level, and with a unity
that I have never seen in
any other team. When
something as valuable as
that is achieved, winning
fades into insignificance.
The tour presented an opportunity for students to develop their skills and
understanding of sporting activities regardless of previous experience –
developing an ethos of sport for all. Details regarding next year’s sports tour
to Spain have already been distributed; please contact Mr Egan for further
information.
Students:
Enya Ashley-Morgan, Claire Baker,
Charlotte Bancroft, Katie Bedney,
Laura Bedney, Amy Bennett, Nicole
Bond, Michaela Bowen, Brad
Bradley, charlie Breton, Taylor
Brown, Lewys Bufton, Christopher
Bull, Gareth Clarke Williams, Ruben
Collin, Jack Collins, Bronwen
Crabtree, Megan Crabtree, Henry
Damon, Matthew Davies, Jacob
Draper-Stone, Chloe Dunmore,
Henry Edwards, Tabitha Elmes,
Melody Fawcett, Timothy Ford,
Katherine French, Euan Gillespie,
Katie Gillespie, Annie Glynn-Jones,
Edward Goldsmith, George
Goldsmith, Mathew Goldsmith
Molly Griffin, Rhodri Griffiths, Alex
Grubb, Joel Haile, Nye Hamer
Nichkells, Megan Harrington,
Samuel Hawkins, Hope Henry,
Jordan Holder, Caitlin Hyde, Daniel
Impey, Milline Jenkins, Kiren Jhinger,
Alicia Kear, Megan KinnimentWilliams, Emily Lake, Lauren
Lanfear, Ryan Lee, Luke Macdonald,
Matthew Macdonald, Lydia
Marangon, Cameron Martin, Jack
Mayo, Sarah McCartney, Spencer
McNaught, James Mear, Lewis
Miller, Vashti Miller, Charlotte Mills,
Ryan Mills, Celeste Mizen, Chloe
Morgan, Daniel Morgan, Ashley
Murphy, Alexander Nicholas,
Jessica Oakley, Daisy O’Hagan,
Matthew Peters, Joshua Phillips,
Lauren Pick, Reuben Pierrepoint,
Shannon Revill, Emily Richards,
Luke Richards, Glen Saunders, Harry
Streeter, Thomas Taylor, Georgia
Thomas, Jack Thomas, Ashley
Ward, William Watkins, Daniel
Whistance, Chella Wilkins, Catherine
Williams, Francesca Williams, Jake
Williams, Taylor Williams, Zak
Williams, Alistair Williamson, Elliot
Williamson.
Staff:
Mr D Egan, Miss E Biddle, Mr J Davies,
Mr P Michael, Mr J Murphy,
Mr P Jenkins, Mr P Catten,
Mr R Jones, Miss K Wheeler,
Miss J Grubb, Miss R Davies.
45
Student Art
Mary Hamilton
Jacob Ward
Robert Cornock
Annie James
Josh Owens
Jed Tattersdill
Ellie Vallis
Josh Owens
Joanna Green
Laura Davies
George Stevens
Robert Cornock
46
Megan Stokes
Nicola Bowen
Amy Wallace
Geography/Art Trip 2012
Netherlands
Five a.m. on a Monday morning and we
loaded our luggage on to our 19 day old
coach ready for our 12 hour journey to
Holland. We got to the Eurotunnel at
about 10 am and just had time to get
something to eat. After having something
to eat we met back at the bus only to find
out that our crossing was actually half an
hour later! After the Eurotunnel journey
and a long coach ride we finally reached
our hotel where we were to spend the
next 4 nights. Food and sleep were very
welcome.
The next morning we woke up early
ready for breakfast, packed our lunches
and headed off to Amsterdam, reaching
Anne Frank’s house by 8.45am. We saw a
large queue starting to build up but
luckily we had the whole visit pre-booked.
It was strange to think this was actually
the place where Anne had been hiding
from the Nazis. Next we went to
Rijksmuseum, where we split into two
groups - Art and Geography. The artists
sketched their favourite exhibit whilst the
Geographers looked around the museum.
The Geographers then went on a canal
and harbour cruise (the 5th largest
harbour in Europe) whilst the Artists
visited the Van Gogh
museum. We then went back
to the hotel for our evening
meal and quiz night.
Wednesday morning we were up and
ready to go to the FloraHolland Aalsmeer
flower auction. Inside the huge warehouse
the smell of the flowers was amazing. We
saw where the flowers were checked for
diseases and the big screens in the auction
rooms where buyers from all around the
world could bid for the flowers picked
freshly that morning. Next we went to
the Clara Maria Clog and Cheese Farm.
Here we were split into groups to tour the
different areas. In the clog area we were
asked for a volunteer to make a clog. We
nearly left James Howe behind as their
apprentice!
In the next room we saw the farmer’s wife
making cheese. She told a story about
their ‘Farmer’s flame’ cheese - a chilli
flavoured cheese made as a surprise for
her by her husband. We then returned to
Noordwijk where the Geographers
undertook fieldwork looking at tourism,
residential and retail areas. That night
after our evening meal, we walked to the
Bowling complex where we had an hour
of bowling – with Perris becoming the
overall champion.
On Thursday, our last full day, we went to
Delft to see how the pottery is made. It
was interesting to see how the black ink
glazed blue in the kiln. Here we were able
to buy gifts for home.
We
then
went to the
Euromast
in Rotterdam, designed
in 1960. The Euromast is a tower,
originally 101 metres high, and the tallest
building in Rotterdam. It lost that title for
a while but regained it in 1970 when the
Space Tower was added to the top of the
building giving it an additional 85 metres.
The highest viewpoint is reached by a
rotating glass elevator - no good if you
don’t like heights (Mr Sims)! After lunch
we went to Rotterdam harbour - the
largest harbour in Europe and fourth
largest harbour in the world. On our 75
minute cruise we saw stacks of massive
containers all around. Our final evening
meal was followed by our Award
Ceremony - congrats to Mr Aggleton!
Friday saw us start on our long journey
home. We stopped off for lunch at
McDonalds where their staff seemed
surprised but happy to serve a coach full
of students. Back in the UK we made
good time home and were happy to see
our families and own beds. Thanks to
Mr Sims, Mrs Boswell, Mr Aggleton,
Mrs Chaplin and Ms Grubb for an action
packed week.
Natasha Bradley,
Y10
47
Motion Racing
Motion Racing showed our racing talent as
we were beaten on the track by only one
car at the F1 in Schools UK National Finals
in April.
The venue for the competition was the prestigious Big Bang
Fair held at the NEC, Birmingham, with over 100,000 visitors
attending. Overall, Motion Racing came 5th of the 20
participating teams, with only a few points separating the best
teams. The team now has a place in the International Finals,
with participants from over 40 countries competing for the title
of F1 in Schools World Champions.
F1 in Schools is a great way for students to learn a range of ‘real
life’ skills. Cars are designed on computer, then machined from
balsa and finally painted and finished to a showcase sheen. This
year, wheels and aerofoils were fabricated using a ‘world-class
manufacturing’ 3D printer, available on-line to all
Pembrokeshire schools through the Pembrokeshire Education
Portal. The cars are powered by ‘soda siphon’ gas canisters,
travelling the 20m race track in just over a second! Teams have
to present verbally, create portfolios, build a pit stand and
manage all the business aspects of marketing, finance and
sponsorship.
As the car designer, I recently moved to Monmouthshire,
resulting in a unique collaboration between Ysgol Dewi Sant and
48
Monmouth Comprehensive. The advanced features of the
Pembrokeshire Portal are used to communicate using chat,
video-conferencing and to share files. This enables the team to
collaborate effectively wherever they are.
The judges were impressed by many aspects of Motion Racing,
including our Pop Art branding, professional pit display and
excellent verbal presentation. Our car was beaten into 2nd place
by a mere 4/100s and by a team four years our senior.
Motion Racing have also been invited to showcase their work
and conduct racing demonstrations at the Excellence in
Engineering Wales trade show at the Celtic Manor. This is a
unique opportunity to represent the achievements of young
people and to network the multi-national engineering
companies.
Miles Isted s’Jacob
Monmouth’s Got Talent!
Ella: I’ve always loved music. I started
playing the flute at the age of seven,
performing in various school productions
and in the local orchestra. My first solo
singing performance was in Y7, when I
joined the school choir and there was an
opportunity to perform and sing alone. I
chose to sing a solo piece, Chasing
Pavements by Adele. After that
performance, I was offered the chance to
sing in a jazz group, and we were lucky
enough to play in the Birmingham
Symphony Hall and also at Raglan
Festival. A few years ago I started to learn
the piano which was when I discovered my
passion for song writing. I’ve always loved
folk artists and alternate music mainly
because of their musical style and
inspirational lyrics. After a few tries I
realised I could write some decent material
that could succeed in making a successful
song. After a while, improving my voice
and my ability with guitar, I thought it
would be a good idea to post videos on
YouTube to gain a wider audience and
critic. This started off a bit slow, as it is
always difficult and nerve racking to post
something close to home such as a talent
on the World Wide Web. However, as views
started to roll in I gained a new kind of
confidence, one which led me to think I
could really go somewhere with this. This
was when I was introduced to George.
George: I’ve always had a passion for
music in my life; however, I never knew
that this passion would lead me to meet
Ella. I first started playing violin when I
was about 6 and this, I thought, was the
coolest thing to do. But then I decided to
take up playing the piano as well, to follow
in my brother’s footsteps. When I got to
about 11, when I joined MCS, I realised
that I loved performing and playing on
stage to the biggest audience possible.
Through the North Monmouthshire
Orchestra group (in which I used to play in
Senior Strings) I played in places such as
County Hall in Cwmbran, the Symphony
Hall in Birmingham and also the
performance hall in Wyastone, Nimbus
Records. As I slowly improved my musical
ability, my attention turned to playing
more modern music, a contrast to the
orchestral, classical music. I started
watching videos on YouTube of people
doing covers of other famous artists’
music. I found this mesmerising, to have
the ability to alter the style and
characteristic of a song and make it your
own. This was when I came across Ella.
Ella first started posting music videos onto
YouTube at the start of 2010. When George
accidently came across her page whilst
searching through videos on YouTube, a spark
ignited. George proposed the idea of getting
together to ‘jam’ with each other and play
through some songs. This proposal led to the
forming of ‘Wearethemusicmen’ (look it up).
‘Wearethemusicmen’ is an idea for a band
name that comes from the old folksong ‘The
Music Man’.
Since the YouTube page has been established,
Ella & George have accumulated over 30,000
views with a total of 30 videos with numerous
‘positive’ comments. They hope for the
publicity and positivity to continue to
increase.
George: I think there’s always been some
sense of pressure in my family to compete
and reach the final of Monmouth’s Got
Talent. With both of my brothers
competing and reaching the final stage I
guess I had a lot to live up to... Well, as the
auditions came around, I was constantly
nagging Ella saying that we must audition!
Eventually she said we could have a shot
and this led to success as we got through
the auditions.
Ella: After getting through the first
auditions of the competition this gave me a
great boost of confidence! Again it made
me realise that we really have something
together. As the semi finals came around
that was when we realised that we hadn’t
prepared a different song, so we thought
we’d lost our chances of getting to the
finals because we didn’t have something
new to perform. But again we prevailed,
our rendition of Alex Winston’s Choice
Notes confirmed us a spot in the 2012,
Monmouth’s Got Talent final!
Junior Monmouth’s Got Talent) I felt a
great deal of stress and pressure. Ella and I
had been working on many different pieces
that we could possibly perform for the
night but none of them seemed right. We
weren’t feeling too optimistic but then we
thought of the ‘mash up’ possibility, which
of course we went for; covering Florence &
The Machine’s Shake It Out with Alex
Winston’s Choice Notes.
Ella: The night of the performance
brought in many thoughts: Are we ready? I
don’t want to trip up on stage. Should I
keep practising my voice? What should I
wear? But of course this all went out of the
window when we went on stage and the
lights went down.
George: During the results of that night’s
competition, Ella and I, along with
Ellie and Freya, were chatting away
backstage, oblivious to what was
happening on stage. That was when we
heard our names being called, - 3rd place!
We really believed that we’d managed to
get 3rd place in the competition so Ella and
I walked on stage feeling pretty happy and
shocked at the same time... that was when
they started calling out other contestants in
the ‘final three’. Then the realisation came
that there was still the possibility of
winning this competition.
George Thomas & Ella Sutton
Ella Sutton and George Thomas (A.K.A.
Wearethemusicmen) are the first students from
Monmouth Comprehensive School to win
Monmouth’s Got Talent and, as their prize,
will be spending the day at Nimbus Records’
Recording Studio in Wyastone. Having
written several original songs they now hope
to play at live gigs and open mic sessions
throughout the year. They will work towards
creating an album and, hopefully, we will see
their names in big lights in the future!
George: As we drew closer to March 9th
(the week in which Departmental
coursework deadlines were due AND the
week in which I was co-hosting the final of
49
Adventures at Hilston Park
from the other band and we couldn't
wait to make new friends and share the
fun with them.
As I stood on top of the really small
platform on top of the really tall tree
looking at the really flimsy pole I'd
been told to leap across to, the
excitement I'd felt that very morning
seemed to be fading!
My alarm clock had gone off at
6.30am that morning, finally signalling
the end of a sleepless night spent
wondering about all the great activities
that I'd soon be doing at Hilston Park
as part of our Summer Learning Week.
My friends were just the same on the
bus on the way to school and by the
time Registration was over, you could
have bottled the excitement! Our
Form had been paired with a Form
After a meeting in the Reception Hall
at Hilston, we were shown to our
rooms where we quickly put our things
away and made our way to our first
activity and the tree that I found
myself on top of. I counted to three
and launched myself from the safety of
my platform towards the pole and the
possibility of broken bones. I found
myself dangling from the pole by my
legs with a huge smile across my face let the fun begin! Next up was rock
climbing which was just great, my
favourite activity of the whole trip.
After going up by ourselves we were
blind folded and had to rely on our
friends to guide us up. It was brilliant
having friends that I could trust to get
me home safely. We spent the evening
having a really good dinner and getting
to know our new friends.
On Tuesday it was time to get wet and
we went canoeing. Our first job was to
tie our boats together as the water was
too high and then we played a game
where we had to run from boat to boat
tapping everyone on the head. One of
our team put their foot down in the
wrong place and slipped straight into
the water which was really funny and
we helped her get back out. Before we
knew it most of us had fallen in or
found a reason to jump in anyway and
we were all soaking wet and laughing.
I wasn't looking forward to
Wednesday's activity as much orienteering just didn't sound like fun
but I decided to try my best to enjoy it.
I didn't have to try too hard either
because it was actually really good fun.
We had to find our way to different
points using just a compass and a map,
collecting numbers along the way and
there were prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
place. We weren't too bothered about
50
that and had a great time learning how
to find our way around with a compass
with our friends.
We all had a brilliant time at Hilston. It
was great to try so many new activities
and work with my friends in a team.
We also enjoyed seeing our teachers
outside of school (particularly those
with such questionable fashion sense!).
Louise Pardington
Walking in
the Wye Valley
Llandogo - Day One
On Monday, Y7 walked in the Wye
Valley. We were split into groups
according to which walk we chose, and
set off on our bus.
We arrived at Llandogo and sat down
by the War Memorial as Mr Collins
(our Group leader) talked to us about
where we were and the surrounding
area, introducing us to our local tour
guide who was joining us for the day.
We looked at a number of species of
plants and animals we found on the
quadrant by the war memorial and
recording our findings.We then moved
to a field full of long grass next to the
Wye and recorded what we found
there. Once the information from
both areas was collected, we compared
our results from each field. There
were more species in the field by the
river than in the short grass by the war
memorial.
We walked across the field to a
footpath by the river where the tour
guide and Mr Collins showed us two
invasive species of plant. We learned
how these plants survived better than
the indigenous plants and about the
damage they were causing. The two
plants were Himalayan Balsam and
Japanese Knot Weed.
After our picnic lunch, we climbed
LOTS of steps up a hill to a house. We
sat in the garden looking out at the
amazing view whilst the man who lived
there told us about the history of that
section of the Wye Valley. He showed
us a painting of how Llandogo looked
50 years ago – a very big difference
between now and then. Back then, the
hills were bare of trees as they were
using them to make charcoal whereas
trees now covered the hillside.
After our visit we walked a little way
back down the hill to find a different
path which led up to two rocks called
Bread and Cheese, because of their
shapes. We then made our way back
down the hill to catch the bus back to
school.
Making our TV
adverts - Day Two
Tuesday saw us back in our Form
Groups, working together to plan and
produce a presentation/advertisement
for our walks in the Wye Valley. We
planned what we were going to include
before moving on to the ICT rooms to
produce our final pieces.
Gilwern Outdoor
Education Centre Days Three to Five
We set off for Gilwern on Wednesday
morning and, on arrival, went to the
meeting room where Craig (the
person in charge) told us about the
activities we would take part in and
what was expected of us. After finding
our rooms and grabbing a change of
clothing, we made our way to the
activity building. Each room had a
different sign on it and we entered the
‘canoeing’ room and learnt about our
activity. We then went outside to the
minibus, putting on our buoyancy
aids, before setting off to the canal. At
the canal we lifted the canoes off the
trailer and were shown canoeing and
safety techniques before we put our
boats on the water. We played several
games in the canoes then turned
around and paddled back to the
minibus, loaded the canoes on the
trailer and returned to Gilwern.
After tea, Miss Price, Mr LeBoeuf and
the other teachers organised a quiz
before bedtime.
Our activity the next day was
climbing. We made our way to the
climbing rooms and put on our
harnesses and hard hats. We were then
taken to the climbing wall with some of
us working the ropes whilst our friends
climbed the wall. We then swapped
roles – it was surprising how many
reached the top.
After lunch we went to do the crate
challenge. You have to stand on a small
stack of crates (with our harness on)
and try not to knock them over. The
Group Leader kept stacking the crates
so the tower got higher and higher and
the group with the highest stack of
crates before it falls is the winner. The
winning group balanced on crates
stacked 14 high!
on). Once you reach the top of the
pole, there is a very small square
platform that twists around when you
lean on it – you have to pull yourself
onto the platform and then jump off
the platform (which is mega-high!) and
grab onto a metal trapeze.The majority
of people who got to the top of the
pole jumped, but missed the bar. Only
two people managed to grab the bar.
After this, we walked down to the
wood and got into pairs with one
person in each pair putting on a
blindfold.
We clipped ourselves
together and the blindfolded person
followed the verbal directions from
their partner, working their way
through lots of obstacles.
That evening, after tea, the teachers
organised a talent contest. Quite a lot
of people entered and the acts
included singing, dancing, comedy
routines, drawing the teachers and
playing musical instruments. After a
tiring day, we all went to bed.
The next day was our final day so we
packed up everything, hoovered our
rooms, stripped the beds, piled all our
bags in the common rooms and went
off to breakfast. After breakfast we
went on our last activity – orienteering.
We competed against another group
but, unfortunately, they won! After
lunch we went to the souvenir shop
and bought things to take home.
We thanked all the staff at Gilwern
then loaded the bus and headed back
to MCS.
Hannah Wood
Once everyone had completed the
crate challenge, we moved on to the
trapeze. The trapeze involves climbing
the equivalent of a telephone pole with
metal pipes sticking out of it for
footholds (obviously with our harness
51
looks good, was it meant to have writing
in it? Wow hers is well presented with a
lovely cover, should I have decorated
mine?
I started to get that feeling - the sinking
one. (Which there was no real reason
for, as it turns out.)
A few days later the plans had been
judged.A Bride, two to four Bridesmaids,
a Groom, a Best Man and a Father of
the Bride had to be picked - along with
three ushers from each Form.
We did it.We really did it. Phew! Those
were the first words I spoke when we
came out of the hall and the door
closed behind us. I sighed - we’d done
it. Then I thought about how long it
had taken to organise this one day – six
whole months but it had really paid
off. I was involved from the start,
whether I knew it or not. I’d always
heard tales of a wedding - now, I can
tell them.Tales of an experience I can’t
forget.
You may have already guessed but I
was the bride, but it wasn’t as simple as
that. There was a lot of planning
involved - in fact we were all wedding
planners.
Our task: by 3rd March we had to
create a full and detailed wedding
plan. Not too difficult, until you realise
that you’ve kept putting it off as you
want to do other things and then find
you only have a week to do it – which
was my situation. I still managed to
produce a wedding plan and made my
whole family check everything they
could. Then I arrived at school and
saw the other plans.
Oh, was mine meant to look like that?
Mine has writing in it, hers doesn’t, but it
52
Out of nowhere an announcement for
“Bethan Morgan and Philippa Parry
to please go to R2 this break time…” I
was honestly disappointed because I
thought only two ushers were to be
picked, and I guessed it was me and
Philippa.
When we got there I found that there
weren’t as many people as I thought
there we going to be - maybe we
weren’t going to be ushers. After a
little chat the roles were decided:
Alexi Pavlimbey - Father of the Bride,
Henry Edwards - Groom, Owen Hughes
- Best Man, Philippa Parry - Chief
Bridesmaid, Millie Sutton, Ani Steele
and Chloe Dunmore - Bridesmaids,
and Bee Morgan (me) - Bride. YAY!
Oh wait aren’t I supposed to think about
it first before making a decision?
Time passed and things started to
happen: I got the occasional up-date
from the boys about speeches and
suits, while the girls attended dress
fittings and hair and make-up trials
and then we all attended rehearsals except Alexi. Turns out Alexi was ill
the week before the wedding so all
through rehearsals my father was my
husband’s best friend – confused? We
were.
On the Wednesday and Thursday
before the wedding a few students had
been making and decorating the
wedding cakes which were amazing.
How much time and effort must it
have taken to produce, from scratch,
over 300 cakes?! Plus the special
‘H&B’ cake which we shared.
The Day
As a whole I believe it ran pretty
smoothly with a few minor bumps in
the road but that’s part of the
experience isn't it?
We arrived early to school and started
having our hair done, enjoying the
feast of ‘this and that’ brought in by
Mrs Edwards. The cookies were by far
the most popular. It didn’t take forever
to do our hair so for a while everyone
played UNO.
Once we had attended a non-dress
dress rehearsal (nice suits by the way!)
it was time to get dressed. A few
changes were made to the dresses and
a few pins were required but we made
it. Until this came from Millie “Do you
think these shoes would be OK? These are
the only ones I’ve got.” They were
purpley-pinky Converse. “No Millie
No. Can you borrow, beg or steal from
someone?” No-one had anything
suitable but then I had and idea, since
I wouldn’t be wearing my black pumps
maybe Millie could wear them! Millie
is the same shoe size as me so they fit
- sorted.
We hung around out of sight for a
while, peeping out of the window at
what other people were wearing. It
was time…
Time for the REAL THING, no
worries it will be fine. It was. I said what
I was meant to, so did Henry, not to
mention Father Lyndon, also Frey and
Chloe did an amazing job at their
reading - good singing too.
As in a real wedding, the Best Man,
Groom and Father of the Bride are
required to write and make a speech.
Henry went first and all he said was
true - a mighty thanks to all the staff
from me too. Then Owen. There was
not a single person there who wasn’t
laughing, especially when it came to “I
must say Ani, Chloe, Millie and Philippa
you all look…” He paused then
suddenly looked round, “FIT!”
Everyone was in fits of laughter. After
that we all left and went to go get
changed. It was great experience.
Thanks must go to Father Lyndon,
The R.E., English, Music, D&T and
Art Departments, Shirtbox, Hair and
make up students and Mrs Edwards’
Mother - the bouquets were fantastic
by the way - for making the day that
little bit more special. An extra special
thanks though to Mrs Edwards and
Mrs Perry-Philips for co-ordinating
the day.
Bethan Morgan
My Summer
Learning Experience
(Wedding Cakes)
When I arrived at my activity for
Summer Learning you could tell that
everyone in the room was excited.
Most people had chosen wedding
cakes as their first or second choice
and we were all waiting to find out
what our two day course in wedding
cake decorating would be like! All the
cakes we made and decorated were to
be used for the Y8 wedding on Friday.
The first day was taken up with
baking. Endless amounts of ingredients
were weighed, whisked and baked to
finally result in over 300 cakes! As you
can imagine this took up a fair amount
of the day but there was still time left
to do some research after lunch. We
looked at wedding cakes from all over
the world stretching from France to India.
The day was finished with the group
sketching ideas for the icing decorations
we were to make the following day.
The fun of the second day started as
soon as we arrived! Along with
Signs and Murals
Mrs Fuller we were joined by Hazel
and Shirley who kindly came in to
teach us the basic skills for decorating
wedding cakes. Along with Hazel and
Shirley came an array of different
moulds, cutters and coloured icing we
could use to let our imaginations run
wild! The day began with a talk from
our visiting experts about how they
started decorating cakes and a quick
lesson in how to use the different
shapes and colours we had available.
The next job was to make over 300
white circles to put on the cakes for the
icing to lie on. The class quickly
formed into a mini production line
with one person rolling, another
cutting and a final person sticking
them onto the cakes. After every cake
had a white base the fun could really
begin! The class was set free to create
enough icing decorations to have one
per cake. The decorations varied from
hearts to letters and from flowers to
birds. Everybody really enjoyed
creating the decorations and it was a
great feeling to see the finished cakes
with their delicate decorations ready to
be enjoyed by Y8 the following day.
During Summer Learning Week I took
part in the Signs and Murals activity. I
chose this because I enjoy art, I think I
am quite creative and I have a good
imagination. I enjoyed this activity
very much because as well as having a
passion for art, I got to enjoy it with
my friends. The projects that went on
during the two days were fun and
expressive - the first project was to
design and paint a mural for the Music
Department. I chose to paint a picture
of Jessie J because she is one of my
favourite singers and she definitely
stands out in a crowd.
The second project was to paint a sign
for disabled drivers in the car park. We
were given a printout of the normal
wheel chair sign and had to
incorporate patterns similar to the
style of Hundertwasser, who we have
been studying in our art lessons. We
used wooden boards for both of the
signs/murals. My favourite thing we
did was the pictures for the Music
Department. They looked very
professional because of the paints we
used and the tips we were given by our
teachers. I am very glad I chose this
activity because everyone likes music
(which was an obvious theme) so the
paintings interested us and made us all
the more eager to finish them and see
them on display to the rest of the
school.
Kitty Jones
In three words I would describe the
two days as enjoyable, creative and
interesting and I’m sure that I join the
rest of the group in saying that we are
very grateful for the help that Hazel,
Shirley and Mrs Fuller gave us.
Grace Allan
53
The Monday of Summer Learning
Week was a technology day. We
completed a series of activities
involving problem solving and team
work skills. In the first activity we had
to designing our own racing car and
then build it out of paper, which was
tricky but fun. In the next activity we
had to design a race car to scale, this
was interesting and challenged us to
really think about what we were doing.
The third activity was the Ping Pong
Ball Challenge. You have to design a
mechanism that would let the ping
pong ball roll down the slowest. We
only had 40 art straws and masking
tape to complete this challenge but it
was fun and it worked well. Our last
and final challenge was a competition
to see who could build the highest
tower that could hold the weight of a
tennis ball.We were only given an hour
to build it and we had to use 60 art
straws and masking tape. It was a
difficult challenge but an enjoyable
one.
On the Tuesday morning we went on a
walk to Beechenhurst and took
pictures of the art and then used it as
inspiration later on. In the afternoon
we went out on the sports field and did
some land art. We used the natural
materials around us to create art out of
them on the field - we could do
anything we wanted with it and there
54
were some really
interesting
creations.
Wednesday saw us
spend the whole
day planning and
preparing for the
school fete where
we would be selling
our product that we
had designed and
created for our
Business Enterprise. The whole of
Y9 went around the school putting
up posters to advertise their product
and we were also hard at work putting
the finishing touches to our planning
and making sure everything was in
place.
Thursday was the day of the school
fete. In the morning we added the
finishing touches to our stalls and
decorated them. In the afternoon we
actually managed to sell our products,
despite the 10 minute heavy rain
shower. The school fete was a huge
success and lots of money was made.
We put PowerPoint presentations
together on Friday morning and
presented them to our Forms. Each
Form then decided on their favourite
and that group was then put forward
to be part of Dragons Den.Three local
business people came into school and
we presented our
presentations
to
them. They then
decided on the top
three, with the
winning
group
receiving the main
prize which was
going on a trip in
September to a
local business.
Overall, Summer Learning Week was
fun and we really developed our skills
as learners, taking one step towards
completing our Welsh Baccalaureate
Programme.
Paige Lewis
55
a very tiring though very rewarding
experience and, for many, was the final
chapter in completing the DofE
scheme.
There were plenty of other
opportunities for those who did not
take part in the expedition. As part of
the Welsh Baccalaureate,Year 10s must
carry out some form of voluntary work
in the local community. For many this
was covered in the work which was
required for the DofE but, as part of
Summer Learning, some students took
part in a multitude of activities
throughout the community including
many which provided services for
Bridges Community Centre.
Monday
For many Year 10s at least, Monday
was perhaps the most challenging day
academically. GCSE exams carried
over onto this, the first day of Summer
Learning, and many of the Y10
students were required to sit a
Statistics exam in the morning.
The main aim of the day, however, was
to take part in a sponsored walk to
raise money for one of two charities.
Students had the choice of which
charity they wished to raise money for:
‘Help for Heroes’ which raises money
to support injured members of the
Armed Forces or ‘The Lily
Foundation’ which was set up in order
to raise money to conduct research
into Mitochondrial Disease and other
metabolic disorders as well as
providing support for those who are
affected by the conditions.
The weeks prior to Summer Learning
were spent collecting sponsorship
ready for the walk. The walk itself was
from our school to the Biblins site in
the Wye Valley and then back. Those
who did not sit the morning exam set
56
out on the walk at 9am and those who
did left at 11am. After lunch at the
Biblins Bridge the party returned to
school, with those who had taken a
9am walk competing in a sporting
mini-tournament when they returned.
Tuesday and
Wednesday
As a great deal of Y10 students had
opted to take part in the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award scheme, both
Tuesday and Wednesday were taken
up with the DofE expedition. The
expedition began at the Skirrid
Mountain Inn in Llanvihangel
Crucorney and
the teams (which
included between
4 and 7 students)
set off on a
mountain walk at
regular intervals.
After
camping
at a site near
Llanthony Priory,
we took a different
route back to the
Inn. Overall it was
As well as work in the local area, there
was work to be done within the school.
A number of students, particularly
those who enjoy art, helped the
Science Department by creating a
painted display to decorate the Science
corridor. The display, which can now
be seen outside Room 13, shows a
large periodic table displaying the
chemical symbol, atomic number and
atomic mass of all of the elements.The
Kymin View project also provided
opportunities for artistic students as
they worked with local primary
schools to produce decorations for the
playground of the school.
in Black’ which has been on in the
West End for over 23 years. A
wonderful, and somewhat terrifying,
time was had by all with the play forming
part of the GCSE drama coursework.
Friday
Thursday
Throughout our time at school, Year
10s have taken part in various
workshops and activities concerning
safety and first aid. The aim of
Thursday’s activities was to truly
consolidate the knowledge built up
over our time at school with
presentations given from local police
officers, the Red Cross, the local fire
service, community youth nurses and
Trading Standards.
In the afternoon the Red Cross carried
out two workshops dealing with First
Aid. The Year Group was split into
two and switched between the two
activities, one of which taught CPR
and the other how to deal with minor
cuts, burns and other such injuries.
GCSE drama students had the
opportunity to travel to London
during Summer Learning. They
visited Fortune Theatre in London
where they watched the play ‘Woman
Whilst the majority of DofE students
took part in the expedition on Tuesday
and Wednesday, there were several
groups (around 20 students) who took
part instead on Thursday and Friday.
Aside from the date, the expedition
was unchanged. On the fifth and final
day of Summer Learning, Year 10s
who were in school took part in a
Sports Academy day where we had the
opportunity to take part in a number
of sports which we would otherwise
have been unable to try. These
included judo, fencing, street dance
and many more.
Overall, Summer Learning provided a
fun and active way to learn straight
after the exam period.
Chloe Jai Blake
57
Out in the big, wide world....
In November, 254 Year 11 students took part in a one week Work Experience placement. Students
researched and organised their placements in an employment area of their own choosing. This
experience forms a key component of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification that all students study in
Years 10 and 11.
It was evident from the range and
calibre of placements that students
were aspirational in their approach to
securing a week’s Work Experience.
Placements included Welsh Assembly
Government, General Dynamics, Hilton
Hotels,
Welsh
Rugby
Union,
Beechams, Marks and Spencers and
the RAF as well as many employers
based in Monmouth and the
surrounding areas. Some students
even secured placements abroad in
Portugal, Guernsey, Ireland, Los
Angeles, Northern Ireland, UAE and
Egypt.
do for an occupation in the future. I
decided that I wanted to do
something medically based and my
initial thoughts leaned towards a
hospital or surgery of some kind. To
cut a long story short, I found a
placement at Trefynwy Dental Practice
that met my requirements. These
included exposure to a medical
environment, hands-on activities and
understanding the general workings of
a medical facility.
Students in Y10 are currently in the
process of finalising their placements
for their Work Experience week which
takes place 19th-23rd November.
Below some of the Y11 students share
their experiences.
Lewis Kramer (11LE):
Trefynwy Dental Practice,
Monmouth
Where do you start when planning
your Work Experience? For me it
started with thinking where I wanted
to go and what I thought I wanted to
58
Each
day
contained
different
challenges that developed skills and
understanding, whether it was making
plaster-of-Paris models of my own
teeth, helping with the administrative
side of the business, drilling and
putting fillings in model mouths or
injecting tomatoes and oranges with
anaesthetics; there was never a dull
moment.
Taking part in work experience inspired
me to think more openly about my
future career options. During my time
the most valuable lessons I learned
was being stimulated and happy in my
chosen place of work and feeling a
sense of reward in what I did.
Alex Boyrazian (11AF):
GE Aviation
On arrival I was immediately exposed
to the day to day running of a business
as well as observing what went on in
the dental surgery. I was asked to
invite patients into the surgery as well
as mixing the solution for an
impression. The days seemed to fly by!
For my Work Experience placement I
applied to several different avionic
companies such as Rolls Royce and Air
Bus, however I ultimately secured at
placement with GE Aviation. This
ended up being a fantastic placement
and I learnt several new things about a
jet engine. My course lasted for one
week and I have applied to return for
another two weeks next summer. I
have chosen avionics as a career choice
so working with an avionics company
for the week is fantastic experience.
Over the five days I compiled the low
pressure turbine and the turbo thruster.
I have learnt many new skills such as
wire locking, torqueing and using
giant cranes. The entire process of my
placement has been complicated but
enjoyable. I found it very interesting
and have been given the opportunity
for a three year apprenticeship followed
by a sponsored degree. Thanks to this
opportunity if I successfully gain an A
in Physics and Maths at A-level, my
university will be paid for by GE.
Work Experience has helped me
develop my choice of avionics and has
already kick started my career. I’m
looking forward to returning to GE this
next summer and working once again
along side the LPT team.
Claire Baker (11AF):
Heart of the Forest
Community School,
Coleford
In November, I joined the Heart of the
Forest Community School for my Work
Experience. This is the only school in
the Forest of Dean serving children and
young people (ages 3-19) with severe
and multiple learning difficulties. Like
all schools, it follows the National
Curriculum, but each pupil has their
own Individual Education Programme
to meet their needs.
I was welcomed into the class of about
ten boys and girls where I helped the
teacher and three teaching assistants
to follow each pupil’s education
programme. The atmosphere was
relaxed and caring. A wide range of
multi-sensory equipment is used on a
daily basis. The swimming and horse
riding trips were particularly enjoyable
as was the end of week assembly.
During the week I developed my
communication skills, both with the
pupils and teaching team. I learnt that
effective communication is very
important in the working environment.
The insight I gained into teaching
children with learning difficulties
showed me that it is very challenging
but also rewarding. No matter how
severe the children’s difficulties, they
all have so much potential and the
challenge and reward is to help them
develop this potential.
Shannon Revill (11AF):
Old Court Hotel,
Symonds Yat
For my Work Experience placement I
went to the Old Court Hotel in
Symonds Yat. During my week I had
many roles and responsibilities
including filling up the sauce pots,
cleaning up and relaying the tables
from breakfast, filling up the tea and
coffee dispensers and cleaning and
restocking the cutlery. Every morning
we would have a list of jobs to
complete.
customers and prepare and serve any
desserts that they ordered. Once the
lunch had been served we then had to
clean up ready for the evening.
From my Work Experience I have
gained many skills. However, the main
development was my communication
skills; I feel I am more confident when
speaking to people due to my time at
my Work Experience.
Sara Tyler (11TR):
Elite Divers
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
I went to Egypt for Work Experience to
scuba dive with Elite Divers based in
Sharm El Sheikh.
A simple day consisted of three dives
along with checking that there were
enough tanks and spare equipment for
customers. I had to ensure that all
information forms were complete,
lunch was ordered and the money for
the crew collected - the boat was often
filled with up to 20 divers.
Many days out often consisted of
travelling to the National Parks, so I
During lunch we would serve the
59
would have to collect passports for the
authorities to check.
I really enjoyed my Work Experience
and learnt that there is a lot more to
running a dive company than meets
the eye. Days can be very long and
extremely tiring. My Work Experience
helped me to further my passion for
the ocean and to develop more
interest in having a career in Marine
Biology.
Sophie Macklin (11NJ):
Welsh Assembly
Government, Cardiff
For Work Experience I went to the
Welsh Assembly Government where I
worked with the Translation Unit and
the Welsh Language Team.
I chose this placement because I am
interested in becoming a foreign
languages translator in the future. I
was able to talk with several different
employees about the jobs available in
translation on the Welsh Language
Team. The Work Experience also
involved going to the Senedd on three
different days and I was able to watch
different meetings taking place with
the Welsh Assembly Government
Ministers.
There was also an opportunity to sit in
on a young person’s meeting with
Ministers where they were making
decisions that would involve young
people at school in Wales. I had an
amazing opportunity to witness for
myself what it is like working as an
60
employee for the Welsh Assembly
Government and I would definitely
recommend doing Work Experience
there.
Will Kemp (11NJ):
Forge Motorsport,
Gloucester
For my Work Experience I managed to
obtain a placement at Forge
Motorsport of Gloucester. Forge is a
worldwide company that creates
performance parts for cars. The most
popular product that Forge make is a
dump valve, a part that prevents the
turbo charger damaging the car’s
exhaust system. In the week that I
spent at Forge I was lucky enough to
see this invention being completed
from start to finish, but it was not just
an education in engineering, I was well
and truly taken under the company’s
wing. I was able to sit in on
Development
and
Production
meetings, learning about the everyday
problems and strains of a global
business, and even allowed to work on
a sponsor’s car.
I absolutely loved my time with Forge
especially in the Development Division,
as at the time the staff were working
on none other than X-games gold
medallist and British rally-cross
champion Liam Doran’s RS200. On
this car I was able to fasten in and
modify two new Forge made catch
cans and relevant braded hose’s. I was
also able to help manufacture a new
air intake system on the front, side and
hood of the car. During this work I got
to observe some hand aluminium
welding - the skill in the welding and
general manufacturing abilities from
all of the employees was incredible, a
level of skill that I hadn’t seen before
and I found it highly impressive.
Work Experience has really helped me
as I had previously been interested in
engineering, and I am now sure that it
is a field I want to pursue further.
I would like to thank all of the staff at
Forge for an eye-opening week into
the world of engineering, their time
and their tutoring. Working as part of
a world renowned business really
made me realize how lucky I was to
have been given the opportunity that
many others sixteen year olds would
never have.
The last 12 months have seen even more improvements at
MCS. We continue to source local suppliers for all of our meat,
and bread products are produced by Wigmores the Bakers.
Catering @
Monmouth Comprehensive School
The recycling machine, which turns what would have been
rubbish into points, meant that last year’s winning Form was
9SB, who have decided to save their prize until they are in Year
11, to have a last trip out together as a Form.
Redcliffe has been responsible for the Catering Service at MCS
since September 2000 and, by working in true partnership with
the School, we have seen the catering offered change
significantly. Over the last few years, convenience foods have
disappeared from the menu, to be replaced by a pasta, wrap
and jacket potato bar, a self service fruit and salad bar and the
deli bar, where sandwiches and rolls are made up fresh to order.
We would like to thank you for your support for the school
catering service and ask that you continue to ensure that
accounts are regularly topped up. Payment can by made either
through ParentPay, or by cheque, made payable to Redcliffe
Catering Limited.
ParentPay is now more popular than ever as parents can now
check their child’s purchases online.
Should you have any queries regarding the Catering Service, please do
not hesitate to contact the Catering Manager on 01600 775163.
Healthy Eating, choice and quality are of vital importance to
Redcliffe Catering and Monmouth Comprehensive School. We
have never stood still and are continually working to improve
the choices available to the students.
So what have we got planned for the future?
September 2012 will be very exciting as we move our catering
to the next level.
We will be introducing our new range of Street Food, a concept
which will change every week. From Indian to Italian, Mexican
to Thai, Chinese to Caribbean, all will be nutritionally analysed
to meet the ‘Appetite for Life’ standards and have a lower entry
price to meet all budgets.
Our catering service will be open at 7am for breakfast and stay
open until 6pm for tea. The breakfast and tea services are also
open to parents, so come and join us.
61
Out of School Achievements
My Ultimate Sports
Day Experience
Ultimate Sports Day is a TV programme
set in Ravenscraig Sports Centre in
Scotland, where the best young athletes
from a range of sports enter to try and
get selected to be one of four children to
represent their country. It was aired on
CBBC and on BBC 2 throughout February
and March 2012.
Applying and making
Team Wales
Arriving home from school one
afternoon, I saw an advert on the TV
saying “are you the best sports man in
your school or in your club? Why not
enter for this…” As soon as I heard it I
went straight on my computer and
printed off an Ultimate Sports Day entry
form. I filled everything in and when my
mum got home I asked her to sign it for
me at that moment. I was so excited! I
sprinted to the post box and posted it.
Two weeks went by and I was feeling
gutted because I thought that I hadn’t
got in, but my luck changed when my
dad texted me to say the TV organiser
was really interested in me going on
Ultimate Sports Day. I just couldn’t wait
until I got home and sent off more
information about my health and ability.
The next day my dad was told I was
travelling up to Scotland to film the first
stage of the TV show.
I had made it through the first selection
stage via the application form, where
400 boys and girls (100 each from
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland) were picked from thousands of
applicants. This 100 people per country
Jacob Draper-Stone
62
was then to be reduced down to 40
contestants via the physical selection
day. Everyone in the Welsh camp wanted
to try and impress our mentor, Christian
Malcolm, who is a 200 metre
Commonwealth Gold medallist. There
were a range of challenges on the test
day - one was the bleep test, which I got
top marks in, another was a 100 metre
sprint where I got a time of 14.2
(average) and, last but not least, a 500m
row that I also did well in. All the
challenges pushed you to the limit, but
in my experience with the adrenalin
pumping through your body and that
sense of drive, all the pain went away
until afterwards. As you can see, I made
it through to Team Wales, alongside Joe,
Hannah and Izzy and had a fantastic
time on the show!
My favourite moments
My favourite moment would have to be
meeting all the people and other
athletes. I never would have thought I
would be meeting a Commonwealth
Gold medallist runner and a Feather
Weight World Boxing Champion, Barry
McGuigan. My second favourite
moment would have to be making new
friends who shared the same interests. I
have stayed in touch with a lot of them
and all of the other Welsh team
members. My final favourite moment
would have to be representing Wales
against England, Ireland and Scotland when I put that Welsh top on I was so
proud to be Welsh and so happy that I
was one of the final four athletes out of
100 to challenge all the other nations.
Altogether, Ultimate Sports Day was a
great time. It helped to build up my
confidence and I made lots of new
Emily Pardington
friends that I am still in contact with
even after the show. Ultimate Sports Day
was an awesome show that I will never
forget for the rest of my life.
Jacob Draper-Stone
South Africa Diary
Dear Diary
I can’t believe that it’s been over two
weeks since I last wrote in you! I have so
much to tell you about my trip to South
Africa with Wales Under 15 cricket
team!
The first thing that I noticed when we
landed in Johannesburg for the first
week of the trip was the heat. I have
never been so hot in my life and I had no
choice but to take a swim in the pool
every day to help me cool down! We did
so much while we were there, including
visiting a lion park, seeing Lesedi Cultural
Village, staying at the Pretona Centre of
Sporting Excellence and going on safari
at Mabula Lodge which was my
favourite part of the whole trip. I got to
see all “Big Five” animals - (elephants,
lions, rhinos, buffalos and leopards) in
their natural environment which was
great. We played three matches and
won one, the South African teams were
really strong and we were pleased to get
a victory in the final match.
After Johannesburg we flew to Cape
Town for our final week and played our
last two matches and came away with a
win and a loss against two really good
sides.
Cape Town is amazing with so much to
see and do. We were there for a whole
week and visited Robben Island where
Nelson Mandella was imprisoned (I even
got to see his tiny cell), went to the
Langa township, went on a seal tour and
did some serious shopping at the ‘V and
A ‘Waterfront!
South Africa was amazing and I’m very
lucky to have been able to go. I played in
all five matches and bowled pretty well
throughout the tour, I even batted well
and didn’t get out once (a real surprise
for me and the coaches!).
Love Emily Pardington
Other Achievements
Holly Bluett (8MI) recently achieved a
first class pass in karate taking her to her
8th Kyu. This achievement is testament
to Holly's determination as she has just
undergone five months of intensive
physiotherapy due to a severe wrist
injury.
Joanna Traverse (7PN) decided last year
to learn to play the piano. She has,
with no previous experience of playing
the piano, just passed (in April)
with credits, Level 2 of the ABRSM
examining board.
Lavar Englefield (9SH) achieved his
purple belt in Karate in March and is
working hard on his next one - the
brown belt!
Lowri Scrivens (10PM) is a keen gymnast
who travelled to Florida in February for a
competition with her club from the
Forest of Dean.
Nathan Hawkins (7SG) has been picked
for the Gloucester and Forest of Dean
under 12's District Cricket Team.
Sam
Royston (13TM) entered a
marathon with a difference, coxing a
crew from Monmouth Rowing Club.
The Boston Marathon is an annual
rowing event held between Lincoln and
Boston using 31 miles of navigable
rivers. Bearing in mind most rowing
events are 2km or thereabouts
completed in a few minutes, 31 miles is
a completely different experience for all
of those taking part. The entire course
took just over four hours to complete
and, in the process, the boat from
Monmouth Rowing Club set the course
record for their entry category. Sam’s
reaction was one of achievement in
being able to keep the crew motivated
and the boat pointed in the right
direction for the whole time. A couple
of weeks previously Sam coxed another
crew from Monmouth Rowing club on
the annual Head of the River event on
the Tideway in London – this is the boat
race course in reverse.
Many students from MCS are part of the
Savoy Youth Theatre, which is an
Holly Bluett
organisation bringing young people
together and giving them a voice in the
wider community. They learn social and
communication skills, trust, respect and
loyalty from being part of this large
family. On March 30th they performed
for the old folks at Bridges Community
Centre, Monmouth, and at the end of
Easter (20/21st April) they performed, to
critical acclaim, the huge show of Jack
and the Beanstalk, at the Savoy Theatre,
Monmouth.
They have worked incredibly hard, not
just on performing, but doing lights,
costume, make up and also marketing
and publicity and fundraising.
Jessica
Preece
Ross Ingram (9HM) has been hired by EA
Games as a video editor. He has made a
Crysis 3 trailer and is currently working
on Medal of Honor Warfighter which is a
tremendous achievement.
Eleanor Bromfield (10CH) has recently
designed a window which was made in
stained glass and installed into a new
door in the schoolroom of Holy Trinity
Church, Drybrook. She was asked to
come up with some designs which were
approved by the Churchwardens and
then commissioned by a local artist who
was able to transfer the original
drawings into the work.
Jessica Preece (8JP) was nominated for,
and won, a Monmouthshire Pride
Award, for help in the community.
The main part of the nomination
was for her commitment and
dedication to her disabled brother
and also for the invaluable support
and help she gives to her mum.
Jessica has always put her family
first, even if it means she has gone
without or even missed out on
certain things, she has very strong
family values and is always helping
other people and looking for ways to
make peoples lives better. The
nomination was put forward by a
number of staff who work closely with
Jessica’s brother who agreed that the
level of dedication she has for him
should have been recognised and she
should
be
rewarded
for
her
understanding, dedication and patience
in what can sometime be rather trying
circumstances. Her family and friends are
enormously proud of her.
Lavar Englefield
Eleanor
Bromfield
63
Anyone for Petanque?
The sport Pétanque is similar to French boules
and the game has recently come to Monmouth.
Pétanque is a very old sport which has been
around since the Ancient Greeks (around 6BC)
who are recorded to have played the game by
tossing coins, throwing flat stones then stone
balls. There have been many variations of boules
from a stone to the well known hollow metal
boule used today. By the 19th Century in
England, the game had become known as lawn
bowling or bowles, The game of Pétanque that
we know today was invented in 1907 in the
town of La Ciotat by a French player named
Jules Lenior and the first tournament with these
new rules was played in 1910.
The first world Championship was organised in
1959 and is still played today. National
tournaments are held regularly, for example, the
Anglo-Welsh Junior Championships which was
held in September 2011 which is where I first
competed at National Level. There are endless
opportunities for players at International Level,
even travelling all over the world. Team England
1 recently went to Tenerife to play. Where could
Pétanque take you?
Our club was founded in February 2010 but the
playing pistes we now use regularly didn’t open
fully until May 2011 and we now have a
wonderful outdoor all weather area that is used
extensively by members. The club now has
around 40 members licensed to the Welsh
64
Pétanque Association who all meet on a regular
basis both for practise and interclub matches.
Links have also been made with surrounding
clubs in Ross on Wye, Abergavenny and
Monkstone in Cardiff and we regularly meet up
for friendly competitions. We are continually
fundraising to extend the facilities at our club,
floodlights are the next big thing! This means
more playing time!
The game itself is wonderfully simple and suits
people of all ages, abilities and fitness levels.
Players start with three ‘boules’ which vary in size
and weight and the aim of the game is to get as
close to the ‘coche’ as possible. The closer your
‘boule’, the higher your score. It’s that simple…
The person furthest away from the coche after
each throw, throws again until all the boule have
gone. The person or team with their boule closest
is holding, and however many they have closer
than the opposition, that is the number of points
scored. A game of Pétanque is played to 13
points. There are other rules depending at what
level your play is at, but you can pick it up quite easily.
Pétanque terrains vary considerably but all are
played on gravel/sandy ‘pistes’ be they rough or
fine ground. At our Rockfield club we currently
have six playing pistes and two practise pistes all
of the finer ground type of gravel which gives a
faster playing experience which we are proud of
and admired for.
The urban myth that
this is an old man’s
game is so out
dated! This game is
not an “old man’s
game” at all and
there are hundreds
of junior players all
over the World.
Clubs have only
recently opened in
Wales
and
the
numbers are soon to
grow. Could you be one of these?
When I first joined the club last June, I was
sceptical about the game. However, I found I
thoroughly enjoyed it. It was interesting and fun
and I got to meet lots of new people and
travelled to different clubs in the area.
Representing Wales was a great experience and I
was given so much support from my club. I’m
looking forward to my future with the sport.
Pétanque is a sport which just keeps growing.
Where will your journey take you?
If you are interested in the game, we always have
room for new members. Come along and bring
your friends to the Rockfield Park/Community
Centre for a fun filled afternoon.
Saturdays: 2pm - 4pm (approx)
Wednesdays (Winter): 10am onwards
Wednesdays (Summer): 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Competitions are played at weekends and
training is given by our two coaches.
Rebecca Minshull, 11AP
A Level Geography students
visited by British Hazard
Rescue worker
On Tuesday November 15th, Paul Simmons,
a local fireman with South Wales Fire and
Rescue visited the school’s Geography
students to talk about his work with the
UKISAR (United Kingdom International
Search and Rescue unit).
He brought with him some of the
equipment used to search for the victims
trapped by the collapse of buildings
following an earthquake. He also talked
about the work that he and the other 56
members of the UK team carried out in
Christchurch, New Zealand, earlier this
year following the devastating earthquake that killed almost 200 citizens.
Paul explained how the team is one of
only two recognised by the United
Nations as capable of the highest level of
international rescue and how they are all
highly trained volunteers who can be
called to any part of the world in the event
of a disaster. In Christchurch he
personally saved the lives of people
trapped by collapsed buildings. He also
told us how he has to go through the grim
task of recovering bodies where fatalities
have occurred.
The students were fascinated by his
accounts and the real world nature of the
subject that they study.
Geography & PE visit to
London and the Olympic sites
A group of Y9 Geography and Y13 PE
students spent Thursday November 3rd
and Friday November 4th in London.
The first day saw them visiting the site of
the 2012 London Olympics to study the
transformation of Stratford in East
London as a result of the construction
work for the global event.This was a main
focus for the A Level PE students and
also formed a link with the work that the
Y9 students have been studying in lessons
under the topic of the Geography of
Sport. The next day they spent viewing
London from a great height ….on the
London Eye, visited the Natural History
Museum where students looked at
material relevant to their new unit on
Natural Hazards. They studied the
impact of volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes and were subject to the
effects of the 1995 Kobe earthquake on
the simulator. There was also a brief
shopping opportunity at Covent Garden.
The very successful trip certainly packed
a lot into a one-night stay and both the
Geography and PE Departments look to
run the trip again next year.
65
RE
Year 10 students of Religious Studies have been examining the now illegal caste
system in India as part of their study of the religion of Hinduism. Their Senses Poems
below are an expression of their understanding of the status and experiences of the
Dalits or the ‘Untouchables’. They show marvellous empathy and personal insight.
I am an untouchable,
I am at the bottom of society,
I am one of the lucky ones
I see death, violence and disease all around,
I see my children hungry and upset,
I see what you could not imagine
I hear human beings crying because of others,
I hear people begging each and every day because they have
no choice,
I hear people being abused as there is no escape
I smell rotting faeces and gone off urine,
I smell bodies burning by the river,
I smell death all around
I am a Dalit
Nothing more, nothing less
I see slum after slum
So small and so compressed
I hear noises around me
Laughter, crying
I smell sewage waste
People cleaning, people trying
I scavenge for money
I beg and I plead
I suffer my life
But I know I’ll succeed
I do as I should
Fulfilling my dharma
I hope I come back
Carrying good karma
Shannon Stevens
I work in the sewers,
I work to feed my wife and children,
I work for a better life
I suffer the pain of losing children and loved ones,
I suffer the attacks from others,
I suffer because they say I deserve it,
I hope for a better life for me and my family,
I hope that my children don’t get hurt,
I hope, just hope, this ends soon.
Abi Bayliss
I am a Dalit
I see my own kind lying in the street begging and people
walking past ignoring them as if they are oblivious of their
existence
I hear people cry as their child dies from hunger
I smell sewerage and rotting waste piled in the river outside
I fear the fires that sweep through the slum destroying our
homes
I feel like life has lost all purpose
I suffer from illnesses that slowly kill the slums
I hope that I move closer to Moksha in my next life
I am a Dalit, I have no rights I have no dignity
I see suffering, brutal abuse, severe pain and disease never
diagnosed
I see faeces floating and every humid scent lingering
I smell my smeared body and the pollution which interferes
with my purity, dwelling
I do everything which is expected of me, I accept the false
superstitions and the unnecessary consequences
I hear every possible cry, weep and bawling, every withdrawal
from society
I suffer the bruises sinking in and the betrayals of un-godly
like characteristics
What to appreciate about this?
Fleur Williams
I am an untouchable, an outcast to society, I am not alone.
I see nothing but havoc upon us,
I hear the screaming and tormenting, the law of discrimination
is not obeyed.
I smell the blood sweat and tears we shed.
I do not resent myself.
I suffer from illness, starvation, lonliness.
I hope for a better future, a home, a family….love.
I am the underbelly of society, the forgotten link in a never
ending cycle of hatred.
I see the masses of the upper castes withdraw from me as I
walk, I see them looking down on me.
I hear the constant insults and ridicule only masked by the
ever present array of piercing noise from the slums.
I smell the constant stench of filth that permeates my body
and coats my soul as I clean the disgusting sewers of the
upper castes.
I hide from the ocean of people who feel it their duty to
punish me, to hurt me.
I feel the weight of thousands of misdeeds crash down on
me every second of every day as I pay for the crimes of a
previous life.
I suffer from the worst fate possibly imaginable, the constant
disease and loneliness that have become attached to my
tortured being.
I hope that one day I will be accepted and treated like an
equal, like a human.
Robyn Smillie
Jack Whittaker
Adam Shields
66
I am an untouchable living in the slums.
I see violence and filth all around me but I also see children
playing and great community spirit.
The slums are filled with the sight of colour and happiness.
I hear crying and calls for help but I also hear friends
chatting and having fun.
The slums are filled with the sound of laughter and singing.
I smell burning and a strong odour from the latrines but I
also smell joss sticks and the inviting smell of a cooked meal
as the family gathers around.
The slums are filled with the scent of herbs and spices.
I clean sewers for a living and the smell clings to me but I
also live a happy life with my family and friends around me.
The slums are filled with high spirits.
I suffer greatly from abuse from members of a high caste but
I also hope for a better future and that my family and friends
live long joyful lives and that I will eventually reach Moksha.
Billie Jones
I am a Dalit.
I am not a ‘child of God’ as Gandhi called me.
I am an Untouchable.
I see my shelter around me.
I see happy colours that distress me more.
I see a slum.
I hear laughter and voices.
I hear screams and crying.
I hear happiness, but I can’t feel it.
I smell dirt.
I smell blood and impurity.
I smell the burning of homes in the distance.
I am a Dalit.
I am an untouchable.
I am nothing and I will never be anything.
I feel disgusting.
I feel God doesn’t care.
I feel deserving of this life but I am angry.
I suffer with worry, fear and dread.
I suffer with my family’s safety.
I suffer and it goes on.
I hope this can change.
I hope that Brahman can forgive me and see the good in me.
I hope for a better future.
Jessica Scrivin
I am an untouchable, dirty and frowned upon.
I feel pain, hurt, people want my life gone,
I suffer daily with burns and scars from the people who
despise me
I do cleaning out waste as a money earning job but I must
remember that the money is the key.
I see the lives that many like me live every day,
I smell the stench upon my skin but I know inside, I’ll be
okay,
I feel sorry for myself as well as others, but is this all it
seems?
I hope one day I can escape this life and fulfil my hopes and
dreams.
I am a Dalit
I see society at its worst, how life really is, behind all the
sugar coated lies, are the slums and the horrors that make
up my experiences
I hear the shrill cries of those who cannot cope, lost a loved
one or had a beating from a man. But outside this prison,
this awful hell, life continues, for those of higher caste and
they pass without a care because we ‘deserve it’ and are
‘unworthy’.
I smell the evil that makes up this fearful, frightful life, yet
even the stench of the open sewers that circulate the stuffy
air, slowly, tediously are better than that. The malicious forces
that surround this place, hold us in, like animals – we are not
given a chance.
I run through these cramped, filthy streets – trying to escape
from this – and I reach to the skies, to the gods for answers,
for reasons and to know what I have done, but it is
untouchable, just like me.
I suffer from all of this but, I know I must have done
something terrible for Brahman to do this to me, so I know
that I do deserve it,
I hope for another life, to perform my dharma to the best I
can, to get the best karma I can, so for that, I hope, I try, I
pray, I look for answers – but most of all I live and for that I
am most grateful. So I hope to spread happiness and help all
I can, so we can get through this together because we are all
harijans, children of god, and by performing our dharma we
will one day have another chance at life, another chance to
reach the top, a chance to reach God.
Michaela Bowen
I am a Dalit standing atop a decaying mound of rubbish
I see the slum stretched out before me, an ocean of
corrugated iron extends over the horizon.
I hear the screams and cries of small children, mixed in with
the busy chat of people sifting through the waste.
I smell the rubbish under my feet and the stench rising from
my unwashed body.
I watch skeleton like dogs and people picking at the rubbish
searching for food or materials to make their lives more
bearable.
I feel the waves of heat rising up from the rotting rubbish
and the sensation of it under my feet.
I suffer the discrimination from others and the illnesses, life
on the slums brings
I hope for liberation.
Robert Payne
Katherine Giovanelli
67
I am hungry and I wonder when I’ll get the chance to eat,
As I look down at the dog, curled at my feet
I hope
I am oppressed and looked down upon,
I see people walk past me, and only see the dirt on my skin,
I hear the cries of people in pain every night before I drift
into sleep,
I smell the smouldering bodies of those who I associated
myself with the day before,
I stare at my younger siblings laughing, aware of the life they
will grow into,
I feel an ache in my chest, which is constant,
I suffer from the words that have damaged my confidence,
I hope I have done enough in this life to move onto a better
one, I will keep trying.
Grace Blamey
I see flashes of vibrant coloured clothes, from those around my
position,
Contrasting greatly with this bleak situation
I hear people constantly working, humming to pass the time,
But also cries of pain and anguish from many victims of crime
I smell rotting, damp and waste,
Surrounding this dark, cramped space
I think about the bad deeds I previously committed,
And wonder if it was he who had me convicted
I suffer for what I have previously done,
For now, all my family have completely gone
I hope in truth that when I appear again,
I will be rewarded instead.
My Life…
I am branded as a disgrace.
I see the scars upon my face, reminding me of who I am,
I hear the cries deep within the slums.
I smell the faint burning of incense masking the rancid smell
of poverty,
I make beds for the deceased, I hope it is enough.
I feel ashamed of who I am,
I suffer in silence because no one wants to help.
I hope I have done enough to break free,
I am and always will be a Dalit.
Poppy Taylor
My Life…
I am an untouchable, my life is based on my religion and it
affects everything I do throughout it. People think I deserve it
but I know it’s my dharma to serve this life
Zoe McCarroll
I am tired, I haven’t slept comfortably in years, I am 14 years
old and looking after my two younger brothers alone.
I see the slums all around me, no sight of greenery.
I hear the screams of enjoyment coming from the mouths of
young children playing in the narrow streets.
I smell the strong stench of the sewage as another Dalit
walks past.
I sweep the chunks of dry mud out of my small cramped
shelter.
I feel more and more hungry thinking about my next meal
which may be a long time from now.
I suffer in silence.
I hope that one day I will be able to desert these slums.
Edie Morris
I see slums every day of my life. I live in one. It’s made out of
corrugated metal collected by me from landfill. It’s not just me
who lives there though, my two younger brothers and sister,
but others too. Of course, Dalits.
I hear noises, they are non-stop. Screams, shouts, banging,
water, laughter. It’s everywhere. You can’t get away.
I smell mud, sewage, cooking. And, especially, me.
I feel the dirt grinding on my body. I feel the hurt and misery
of my life. I feel lost in this world and the only thing to guide
me, GOD.
I suffer the looks, the actions of people in this world. They
don’t want me here and if they are kind, it’s for their own
benefit, not mine.
I hope my brothers and sisters will be fine. It’s easy for them,
they are so young. They don’t know the pain in this world.
I know my life will improve. I am just waiting for that day.
Tilly Greenstreet
I am a Dalit.
I see violence in my home everyday.
I hear screaming as acid burns the skin of those who have
stepped out of line.
I smell the word, close to my face as I lean against my home.
I run through the slum, viewing a sea of colour from all
angles, as my community, and family, envelopes
me.
I feel an ache surge through my bones as I realise what my
life is and how I wish it was different.
I suffer the impact of fists on me everyday, implanted where
the old bruises used to lie, replacing them with fresh
markings symbolising my wrong doing.
I hope to escape this, maybe rise up to a higher caste and
make my life bearable.
Maybe, one day I will be a respected member of my society
and be pure.
I hope one day to be allowed to enter a mandir to show my
full devotion to God.
Jamie Leigh Morgan
68
Thoughts from a former Head Girl
Easter holidays, 2011, were a crucial
time for intense revision, exams were
approaching quickly and the stress levels
were rising.
I had this certain feeling of excitement
and a need to get involved when I visited
Portsmouth on an Open Day and I knew
this was the University for me!
Easter 2012 sees me sitting here at
home, glad to be back in Monmouth
with a fully stocked fridge with only five
weeks left before finishing my first year
at university! The time has flown by,
what with fully immersing myself in my
chosen course, making new friends,
finding my bearings in this big new city,
the list is endless!
I've
become
increasingly
more
independent since my time in university for example, I know if I'm hungry I'm the
one making my dinner (not Mum), and if
the dishes don't get washed - they never
will! These are all simple life skills which
come hand in hand with being a student
at university and it's fair to say I've
become pretty used to it now.
I'm studying Drama and Performance in
Portsmouth which I absolutely love and
I’m so pleased I picked this University. I
know how hard it was to choose which
course to do as every University makes
theirs as appealing as the next but in
Portsmouth I feel as though I'm really
being pushed to exceed my comfort
zone which was something I really wanted.
University is everything I thought it
would be and more - continuing your
chosen course to such a high level, the
social side, the night life and, most
importantly, the amount you grow up.
Leaving home to go to Uni is a daunting,
scary process as you leave behind so
much but I assure you, as soon as you
get there, your worries are left at the
door and you begin the three best years
of your life!
One of the first tasks was free-falling off
four stage blocks into our group, a
nerve-racking yet exhilarating experience!
Kate Willington, Former Head Girl
69
The Olympic Torch
comes to our school
On Friday the 25th May the Olympic Torch came to our school. This was
also the point at which the Torch first entered Wales! Our school hosted all
the Torch Bearers for the Monmouth town part of the Relay, complete
with their entourage of the World’s Press and Sponsors of the Olympic
Games London 2012.
The day began with the school forming into one long walking party
to process through the town and take up our designated place on
Cinderhill street to wait for the Torch. For many this was the best
part of the day, walking down the High Street and being
applauded by people from the town.You would have thought that
we were more important than the Torch!
Whilst we waited for the Torch, the teachers, especially Mr
Jones (Mathematics) found time to keep us entertained by
organising a Mexican Wave. We were standing opposite
students from Overmonnow Primary school and we
ended-up having a competition between the two schools.
I think Overmonnow Primary school were better than we
were but Mr Jones was very fast and should certainly
think about entering the Olympics.
The Torch came and went and we returned to school.
The school catering company had organised a
special ‘free’ Olympic lunch for us all. All the food
was labelled with its nutritional value and had a
special ‘Olympic’ name. In the afternoon Mr
Egan had organised a range of special learning
programmes:- Year 7 staged their own
Olympic sports trials,Year 8 had an Olympic
debate and Year 9 produced a multi-media
presentation on the Olympic Torch.Year 10
had their Welsh GCSE Examination.
We would have liked to have seen
George Ryley and Megan Jephcote
from our school run with their
Torches but George had been
organised to run in Abergavenny
and Megan had already carried her
torch in Painswick.
It was a once in a life time
opportunity to see the Torch.
We were all hoping that we
would have been on the
television as they filmed the
Torch coming into Wales
and our school. Sadly
this was not the case
but we will still have
the memories and
we can say that
we were there to
our children and
grandchildren.
MCS Reporter – A Hack
70
Will Watkins
Luke Richards
Kieron Brown
Miranda Swan
Tom Reason
Will Kemp
Kyle Jones
Tom Lacey
Morgan Paley
Tabitha Elmes
Kiren Jingher
71
MCS Boat Club 2011-2012 Season

the leader 2012 - Monmouth Comprehensive School

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