Duke of Edinbugh Awards
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WIRRALNuntius GRAMMAR SCHOOL A Business & Enterprise School for Boys Cross Lane, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 3AQ | Tel: 0151 644 0908 J u l y 2 0 1 2 Duke of Edinbugh Awards National Handball At 8.00am on Saturday 26th of May, the Bronze Finals – A New Duke of Edinburgh group set off by coach for Success for Our Moel Famau. School We arrived at the car park at Farm where we were camping. the foot of the hills and waited Boys from Years 8, 9 and 10 as each group set off separately, We were greeted by the reached the National Schools which wasn’t too bad as it was remaining teachers and other Handball finals at Sporthouse, a warm day. My group set walkers on the expedition, Romford, East London on Saturday off at 10.30am and reached which was a relief after having the first checkpoint after 20 the company of sheep for the 23rd June. The U13 and U15 minutes, where Mr Webb was afternoon. After a rest we set squads were the only school sitting, and marking chemistry up the tents and relaxed; some represented in both age groups. homework! of us were a little sunburnt, well Both Teams qualified for the finals by quite a bit actually! We ate a winning at both regional and north After a gentle walk up the side late meal of pasta and sauce area levels. Sporthouse is the purpose built training venue for handball and basketball of Moel Famau, we reached the which tasted all the better, for this coming london Olympics. This was a fantastic opportunity to represent our summit, Jubilee Tower, where we knowing we’d worked for it! school in national competition in what is becoming one of the fastest growing emerging were greeted by Mr Hazledine sports. Congratualations to all the boys who particiapted at the weekend. A huge well and stopped a short while for After more chilling out, it was done to the U13 team who finished 3rd in the competition, winning 2/1 in the third/ lunch before heading off for the an early night for the big day fourth playoff. An unbelieveable achievement at the first time of asking. The U15 team third checkpoint. It was quite ahead, which was a similar unfortunatley failed to go past the group stage, needing to win there last game, they a long walk we had now from route back up Offa’s Dyke path, narrowly lost 4/3. the summit of Moel Famau to along Moel Famau ridge and Cilcain, where Mrs Clements back down to the car park, U13 squad, Scott Southwell (Capt) Jack Price, was waiting, not necessarily for where we relaxed a lot more! louis Kenton, Alex Mcbain, David Williams, us but for the AA man and van Andrew Rogers. Ethan Hitchcow. Alistair Dodd, as she had somehow managed I thoroughly enjoyed my Daniel Eames, Daniel O’Halloran. to lock herself out of her car! expedition and urge others to give it a go. I speak for U15 squad. Jordan Price (capt) David Stringer, We set off again for a short everybody when I say thank you Taylor Craven, Lewis Keen. Nick chadwick, while crossing field and paths, Mr McKinney and all of the other Theo Johnson,Elias Larson, Sam Hannah, London Olympics 2012: until we came to Mrs Bradford staff who made it possible for Matthew Calanan, Alex Brophy. Best wishes to Team GB! and Miss Tier. We didn’t stop us to go on the expedition. We as we were eager to get to are looking forward to doing camp. It was a short distance Silver next Year! until we then reached Miss Eaton Olympic Torch Relay Competitions where we were told it wasn’t far. Russell Jones Again, we continued walking 10AS Birkenhead Park and eventually reached Fron On Friday 1st June on a superb afternoon at Birkenhead Park, we took a Year 8 and Year 10 Volleyball team and a Year 9 Football team to participate in the Pre-Olympic Torch Relay celebrations. The competitions were attended by many Wirral Schools and in the football we faired very well, coming runners up to South Wirral in the final 1-0. It was the only goal conceded and out of the 12 competing teams an excellent achievement. The Volleyball was an excellent spectacle and a very well organised competition. Both our teams played very well, with the Year 8 boys winning 4 and losing 2 games and the Year 10’s in a difficult competition, having very close matches winning 3 and losing 3. The day saw many different events take place all across the park and culminated in the evening with the Torch relay itself. It was certainly a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ and thoroughly enjoyed by all! www.wirralgrammarboys.com WIRRAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL J u l y 2 0 1 2 A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys Welcome Dear All Iwele As another school year comes to a close, we are able to look back Iwele means twin in Xhosa on a wide range of both academic and extracurricular achievements. and that is what we now have. With Wirral Girls GCSE and A Level results at the start of the year demonstrated we now have really firm a continuation of excellent standards. As always, our Nuntius links with two schools in provides a flavour of the extracurricular activity throughout the term and this issue is no exception. Cape Town. This has been facilitated through the While the rhythm to each year is broadly the same, each year Afritwin group and we have received our initial funding presents new opportunities, successes and challenges. Achievements from the British Council to facilitate the first of our teacher exchanges. Bardale School is a in sport have been especially notable during 2011/2012 and brand new school in Mfuleni township and is currently housed in prefabs while they wait especially fitting given the focus on the Olympic Games this Summer. for government funding for their new building. Sans Souci is a girls’ school which was Boys have excelled in all areas of sport and we have gained a originally for whites only but is now multi-racial. national profile in Rugby, Hockey and Handball, with regional successes in Basketball, Cricket and Athletics. In March Neli Hopa and Justin Grundlingh visited us for a week and spent their time observing lessons and speaking to pupils. It was wonderful to see our school through their 2011/2012 saw the completion of significant capital improvements eyes and during that week they met with the with the opening of our Food and Cookery room at the start of group of girls and boys who are really driving the links forward. In May Mr James Sills the school year. It has been a pleasure to see pupils making (WGSG) and I were fortunate enough to visit their two schools in Cape Town and what a trip very effective use of this new facility with all boys having had the it was! opportunity to learn some basic cooking skills. The Art Department moved into new, purpose-built accommodation in January. We have so many amazing memories from the week. Both schools were so warm and welcoming and we just felt so at home in both schools. What struck me was that regardless During 2011/2012 we have enjoyed excellent musical of where we are in the world, regardless of whether we live in brick built three bedroomed performances with our Chamber Concerts and termly Music Society houses or in a one roomed corrugated iron shack, regardless of whether our home language Concert, the last of which took place in the penultimate week of term. is Xhosa, English, Afrikaaans or Tswana, we are all the same with many of the same It is gratifying to see so many boys taking part in both music lessons uncertainties and issues when we are growing up. and our public events. Plans for the future include a The Awards Ceremony at the end of term provided the opportunity green fair across all four schools to celebrate the boys’ achievements during the course of the school in October, a film of a Day year and I congratulate all pupils on their successes whether they in the Life of one pupil from be in the classroom, or the sports field or through the wide variety each school (filming for this has of extracurricular opportunities. Hardly a week goes by without the already begun) and improved news of a significant achievement of some description. music links between all four schools. Students from our two At the end of the year we say our farewells to Mrs Finnegan (ICT), schools have already started Mrs Walker (Learning Mentor), and Mrs Mounsey (ICT), Mr Webb raising money and had stands at (Chemistry) and Mrs Nyakatawa, members of staff who have been two recent local fairs in order to with us for the duration of the academic year in a temporary capacity. promote our partnership. Please Staff retiring this year are Mrs Lewis (office administrator) who will go towww.iwele.org for more be retiring after nearly 23 years of service and Mr Hayes(caretaker) information and pictures as well as who will be retiring after nearly 11 years of service. Mrs Chalmers the blog we kept while we were (Music), Mrs Chambers (SEN Teaching Assistant) and Mrs Gibson there. (Science Technician) will be starting maternity leave and we wish them well with their new arrivals! From September 2012, Mrs Jones Mrs O Kahn (Deputy Headteacher) will be assuming the position of Head of History with Mrs Ahern as Head of Politics.