Taking Stock
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Stockport Grammar TAKING School Newsletter Issue 67 STOCK Autumn 2017 EXPLORERS REACH NEW HEIGHTS IN BORNEO Page 3 PUPILS EMBRACE THE YOUNG ENTERPRISE CELEBRATING CRACKING TIME GREAT OUTDOORS IN TEAM REACH THE EXCELLENT IN CASTLETON GRASMERE NATIONAL FINAL EXAM RESULTS Page 16 Page 5 Page 7 Page 8 OUT AND aboUT OUT AND aboUT OUT AND ABOUT PARLIAMENT VISIT FABULOUS TIME WHETS PUPILS’ POLITICAL APPETITE HAD ON FRENCH Pupils from the Fourth Year EXCHANGE TRIP and the Sixth Form travelled Fourth Year pupils spent an to London to visit the Houses exciting week in Paris as they of Parliament and the made the return trip to visit Supreme Court with the aim of their French exchange partners MUSICIANS EXCEL ON CONCERT JUNGLE ADVENTURE TAKES developing their understanding at Collège Sévigné in the TOUR TO THE RHINELAND PUPILS TO NEW HEIGHTS and interest in Law, Politics and beautiful 5ème arrondissement. International Relations. Pupils from all year groups enjoyed Concerto, a selection of Piazzolla Intrepid explorers embarked on an The group completed a Padi Scuba The group took in sights a highly successful Music tour of the Tangos, various short sacred and exciting expedition to Borneo where Diving course and enjoyed snorkelling including the Sorbonne, Rhineland in Germany. secular choral items and culminated in they spent 21 days trekking through amongst a host of sea creatures Luxembourg Gardens, the a rousing rendition of Vivaldi’s Gloria. the jungle, climbing South East Asia’s including black tip reef shark, turtles, A demanding schedule included four Pantheon and Notre Dame as tallest mountain, scuba diving and lion fish, moray eels, blue spotted sting concerts and a prestigious invitation Lighter outdoor performances were well as attending several school helping out with community projects. rays, squid, lobsters and clown fish. to sing at a midday service in Cologne given at the Stadtfest in Andernach lessons with their hosts. Cathedral. and as part of the Kulturufer festival Sixth Form pupils took the lead The highlight of the trip was a trek up in Bingen. These featured the Concert in planning the trip and managed Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain The traditional concerts were given at Band, Big Band, Wind Orchestra, their own finances, accommodation, in South East Asia, with pupils pushing the Pfarrkirche in Zeltingen-Rachtig and Saxophone Quartet, Wind Quintet, food and transportation. themselves to the limit to be rewarded Kurpavillon in Bad Münster and included Junior Chamber Choir and Chorus. with stunning views across the whole performances from the First Orchestra, The travelling party flew from of Borneo from the summit. String Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Junior Head of Music, Mr Michael Dow, said: Manchester to Kota Kinabalu via Chamber Choir and Chorus. “The pupils should all Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur. Their first A short stay in Tampat Do Aman in HISTORY TRIP TO be congratulated on their few days were spent in Sepilok where Kudat saw the group walk to the tip These programmes featured the first outstanding singing and playing they were able to see orangutans, sun of Borneo as well as helping local GERMANY BRINGS movements of Mozart’s Symphony throughout the tour.” bears and the long and pink-tailed labourers to complete a community STUDIES TO LIFE No. 40 and Bottesini’s Double Bass macaques on an unforgettable forest project and taking part in the village IGCSE History pupils spent canopy walk. sports day. an engaging, educational and enlightening week in Munich, Nuremberg and Berlin. After arriving in Germany, the PLANNING girls and boys first visited the FOR THE FUTURE Bavarian city of Munich. The city offered them a particularly As they contemplate their good insight into the history of Ethan Howgate was impressed next steps, Lower Sixth Germany after the First World by Paris. He said: pupils visited the University of War and how the country began “It was great to spend time Oxford to have a look around to rebuild itself. the prestigious institution in such a beautiful city.” A visit to the labour camp at and speak to current Dachau was sombering and Charlie Escott added: “It was students and staff. interesting getting an insight thought-provoking for the pupils into what French pupils learn as they learnt more about what in school.” happened at the first of the ARTISTIC INSPIRATION Nazis’ concentration camps. A tour of the Olympic Stadium in Lower Sixth and Fourth Year pupils visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park for research PSYCHOLOGY Berlin brought the trip to a close. for their coursework and GCSE and A-level portfolios. PUPILS ENJOY A Alfred Bradshaw would definitely The Art department ran a workshop looking at key sculptures in the park by recommend the trip to others. DAY AT THE ZOO Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and a temporary show displaying the work of He commented: “The trip Psychology pupils from the Tony Cragg which impressed the pupils in both scale, form and construction. built upon what we learnt Lower Sixth attended an in class and it was good to interactive workshop on experience the culture first- courtship behaviour and the hand. We knew about many evolution of intelligence on a of the places from textbooks visit to Chester Zoo. The pupils but it was really beneficial to then ventured out into the sun see the sites in person.” so that they could see primate behaviour up-close. 2 www.stockportgrammar.co.uk Follow us on twitter @stockportgs 3 OUT AND aboUT OUT AND aboUT BORN TO RIDE Nine thrill-seeking pupils spent a day cycling around the UK’s leading forest visitor centre, Llandegla’s Oneplanet Adventure, ENTERPRISING SECOND YEARS WIN HIGH PRAISE as they took part in the school’s Five Second Year pupils travelled to Telford in Shropshire to take part in the final of first ever mountain biking trip. Ryman Stationery’s National Enterprise Challenge. The pupils had a great time The team, who won the school’s qualifying round, presented confidently and in as they rode around the CERN TRIP festival dress to the judges as they spoke about their ‘GloFestival’ idea – a five day 13 miles of black REVEALS CUTTING festival where people can visit Alton Towers at night with the entire park based and red trails. around the Galactica theme. PUPILS EMBRACE CRACKING EDGE SCIENCE THE GREAT CHEMISTS CLAIM Physicists visited CERN and the Palais des Nations on an OUTDOORS IN TOP PRIZE eye-opening trip to Geneva, GRASMERE Second Year pupils Luke Atkinson, Harry Switzerland. Brown, Tiane Mull and Emily Parkinson Second Year pupils enjoyed came first in the Salters’ Institute Festival At CERN, the European canoeing, raft building, hiking, of Chemistry. Organization for Nuclear ghyll scrambling and canyoning Research, pupils were able to on a four day trip to Grasmere The event, which was held at The University observe the daily running of the in the Lake District. of Manchester in conjunction with the Royal centre, learn about the exciting Society of Chemistry, welcomed teams from The first day saw the group, projects that are carried out and as far and wide as Buxton and Windermere. who stayed at the Grasmere have a tour of the facilities, which YHA, embark on a six hour walk The pupils had to complete two laboratory even included crossing the border that took in stunning scenery exercises – a forensic practical and a into France! from the peaks of Heron Pike challenge where they had to plan and The pupils were impressed with and Great Rigg. create a rainbow of chemical colours both the beauty and the history – before watching a demonstration on The canoeing and raft building of the Palais des Nations as they dramatic chemical reactions. activities were based on visited the United Nations’ office. PUPILS GAIN Thirlmere. The canoes proved Sixth Former Elena Varadé VALUABLE SKILLS ON to be a challenge to manoeuvre García enjoyed the trip and was for some and the raft builders impressed by CERN: “I was BUSHCRAFT BREAK had mixed success but everyone SCALING surprised to find out that it Third Year pupils spent an action- agreed it was a fantastic way to THE HEIGHTS ON is not mainly physicists who packed weekend in the countryside as spend an afternoon. work at CERN, in fact most they took part in a Bushcraft experience AMBITIOUS CLIMB The ghyll scrambling in of the staff are engineers and at Cholmondley Castle Gardens. Our climbers have been testing Stoneycroft Ghyll proved as IT technicians who make sure PUTTING GEOGRAPHY themselves on a number of different Throughout the weekend, the girls popular and enjoyable as ever all the machines run smoothly INTO PRACTICE rock faces throughout the year, and boys were taught a number of with all pupils embracing the and work tirelessly to improve including Castle Inn Quarry in North As part of their A-level fieldwork essential survival lessons such as cold water and getting stuck the way things are done and Wales. The boys and girls had investigation Lower Sixth igniting fires, making shelters, hunting into the slides and pools in their devise new technology to a great day scaling the walls Geography pupils walked a and basic first aid. wetsuits. help us discover more about transect through East Manchester and buttresses, with some our world’s past, present and – from Clayton to the Northern On the second day, the boys and girls Canyoning was a new activity achieving 6c grade future.” Quarter – to collect data. were thrown in to a ‘real life’ situation for most pupils and the group climbs. where they had to utilise the first aid showed great team spirit as The pupils conducted various skills they had acquired.