Latin Prayer Spring Term 2010
Monday 8th March
Congratulations to all of you who were nominated for Merit Awards this week. This week has been another wonderful example of the breadth and depth of your talent. I don’t think we have ever had such a diverse and successful period. On Wednesday and Thursday there was an excellent Old House Play. It was a real treat for us all. Well done to all the cast and those behind the scenes, and particular congratulations to Ed Crawford, Hugo Trevelyan-Thomas and Xan Winterton who directed the play. We also had a super joint concert with the Prep School on Tuesday and a quite wonderful orchestral concert on Friday night. There were three separate orchestral pieces, each one excellent. I particularly enjoyed Peter and the Wolf, expertly narrated by Jeremy Manning. There was more music on show on Saturday night with the Westlake music evening; this was also great fun.
This week we have the Petergate play, “No Sex Please, We're British”. We also have the Charity Rock and Soul Concert in here on Friday night; it will be a terrific night in aid of Shelter Box. Tickets are for sale from the School Office.
Sports
Girls' Hockey
The U16 girls were at the National outdoor hockey finals at the start of the week. I was so proud of them. To make the finals for both indoor and outdoor competitions was very impressive. Mr Bucknell has written me a report: -
“The girls were brilliant and played with enormous passion and tenacity. They were really up for it! We drew 1-1 with Altrincham; we dominated the early part of the game but missed a flick in the first half. Altrincham took the lead towards the end of the game but Ciara O'Kelly equalised with a couple of minutes left. Then we beat Oundle 3 – 1; Ciara O'Kelly scored early but scores were level at half-time. Hannah Watts struck from a short corner in the second half and Ciara O'Kelly sealed a wonderful result with 3 seconds left on the clock! The girls clearly listened to advice, reduced the number of errors in their play and importantly marked a lot tighter. They were desperate to win and perform well, and it was a great end to the tournament for us. We finished 7th out of the ten teams present. Although all 14 members of the squad performed to an extremely high level, Ciara O'Kelly deserves special mention, not only for the 3 goals she scored but also her superb, positive and at times robust approach throughout.”
Final table (Pool B): 1. St. George's - 10 pts, 2. Cooper's - 5 pts, 3. Altrincham - 5 pts, 4. Blundell's - 4 pts (Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 2), 5. Oundle - 1 pt. In the final, Trent College beat St. George's 1-0.
| The Russell, 2010 Results | |
| Junior Girls Cup | Charlotte Routledge NC |
| Junior Boys Cup | Harry Bodington OH |
| Junior Girls Team | Gorton House |
| Junior Boys Team | Old House |
| Senior Girls Cup | Tory Margesson NC |
| Senior Boys Cup | Michael Peper P |
| Senior Boys Team | Old House |
| Senior Girls Team | North Close |
| Second to the Russell | Bradley Upcott-Fowler FH |
| Cumulative Points Cups * | |
| Girls Cumulative Points | North Close |
| Boys Cumulative Points | Old House |
| * awarded to the House that amassed the most points from all pupils during all practice runs |
|
The Russell
Of course, Saturday was The Russell. I would like to very publicly thank Mr Guy, and all of Common Room for their support. It was a tremendous day; the new course was very tough yet you still participated with enthusiasm and commitment. See the table of results (right).
The Berry-Barker-Balance Cup for Endeavour – because there are so many worthy individuals considered for this award based on improved pace and effort over the years, it has been extremely difficult to single out any one person. But, after much consideration of the data and discussions with both staff and pupils it has been decided to award the Berry-Barker-Balance cup for Endeavour to Louis Roscoe (Petergate).
Football
Despite missing six 1st XI players the Football team won 3:1 against Wellington demonstrating a resilient defence, with goals from Sam Anderson, Harrison Folland and a truly great strike from Oscar Turner-McKinnel. The U15 team were also in action; they beat Stover 8-0. Many congratulations to Petergate for winning both the Senior and Junior House Football Competitions. Captains were Sam Anderson (Seniors) and Ben Rose (Juniors).
Sevens
The U15's on Sunday played at the Wellington School Sevens tournament. The results were as follows: Group matches - Beat Taunton rugby club 19-14; Beat Kings Worcester 31-14; Lost to Kingswood 17-7; Lost to BGS 15-12 (Very close game that we deserved to win but were very unlucky). They therefore finished 3rd in their group and went into the plate. Semi-Final beat Exeter School 26-19; Plate final lost to Kings Worcester 17-12. It was an excellent effort from all the boys. The U13 boys had a really excellent day at Port Regis Sevens competition. After a slow start losing their first match to Moulsford (eventual semi-finalists) 10-5, they woke up. They beat Cranmore 31-14, and Colstons 29-7. In the Quarter Final against Aldro they won 19-5. In the Semi Final against Kingswood they lost 17-0.
Boys' Hockey
The boys’ hockey club played against Wellington 1sts - Lost 1-3; 2nds - Won 2-0 and played particularly well. U14As - Won 2-0, which means they have not yet lost a schools match this term. They also beat Taunton midweek. U14Bs - Lost 1-3. U13A - Lost 1-2 but Miss Stephenson was really pleased. Pleasingly, these were all very well contested matches. Against Taunton the 1st XI lost quite heavily and perhaps two matches in two days was a bit much for their spirits. Taunton was by far the best team we have encountered this term.
Netball
The netball results against Kingsley School saw the 3rd VII win against their 1st VII, 19-14 (it was a really good match, the girls pulled it back from an even start at the 4th quarter).
Squash
Squash results - Ben Hancock played extremely well to win once again, as did Jess Mudge. Will French is a very solid number 5 and hasn't lost a match all season. It has been a very good week with victories against West Somerset College 4-1 and against King’s Taunton 4-1.
Cross-Country
Twelve teams competed from the region in the Quantock Relays. The Blundell’s Boys team (Ned Menheneott, Mike Peper, Brad Upcott-Fowler and Will Mildren) ran really well to finish third behind a very strong Kings College and Millfield team. The girls (Georgie Hunt, Tory Margesson, Flori Beard and Emily Turner) were the first all girls team to come home, so they won their event.
Head Master