Issue No 59 - Welcome to Shebbear College …shebbearwebdev.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SC...a tremendous performance as the curtain raiser to Bideford’s league match against

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster

Issue No 5916th January 2015

Dear Parents,If anything, this week has reinforced the sense of community in Shebbear. On Saturday our sponsored rugby day at Bideford RFC underlined how important rugby is to many people in North Devon, and it is amazing how many of the unfamiliar faces there turned out to have links with the College. The First XV put on a tremendous performance as the curtain raiser to Bideford’s league match against Bridgwater and Albion. It was nice to see former pupil Seb Sanders turning out for Bideford Colts and we will forgive him his try which ultimately proved the difference between the two teams. In the main event, former Head Boy Olly Wickett was Bideford’s star performer as they overturned the form book to beat their opponents from Somerset. Our thanks go to Bideford and we hope to return next year to gain our revenge.

On Tuesday the Winter Concert took place in the Memorial Hall and underlined the outstanding talent we have in the school. Our musical community were treated to several special performances including a cracking String Quintet version of ‘White Christmas’. It was no surprise that Edward Tai and Jimmy So stole the plaudits as they revealed the skills and touch that has won them places at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

A third sub-community, the OSA, meet in London on Saturday night at the RAF Club. This promises to be a splendid evening, if a little tense for Katie Trask and George Daniel, who are expected to make their Head Girl and Head Boy speeches. No doubt their predecessors will be on hand to soothe their nerves.

Simon Weale

News from the Junior SchoolDear Parents,I can honestly say, with all that’s been going on in the Junior School this week, that it seems as if we have never been away.

Our week started earlier than usual with sixteen of our pupils attending the final race of the Gliddon and Squire Cross Country

League on Sunday. This race, held at West Buckland School, capped off a successful season for our athletes, particularly for our U11 boys, who narrowly missed out on third place in the overall rankings. On behalf of the children who took part, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who have given up their Sunday mornings to take them to these races and to endure some rather challenging weather conditions at times. On Monday morning in assembly, all the runners received their medals for taking part in the competition, thanks to Mr Brown (Harry’s dad), who stayed on after Sunday’s race to collect them for us.

For the rest of the week we have tried hard not to let the wintery conditions stop us from starting this term’s programme of sporting activities. However, after surviving two sessions of ‘mud football’ and near frost-bite following a hockey session on the all-weather pitch, we finally had to admit defeat and our U9 football and netball fixtures against St. Petroc’s School were sadly cancelled.

However, as always, both Mrs Jones and Mrs Biddlecombe have seen this inclement weather as a learning opportunity. In the Kindergarten, pupils have been busily investigating all things hot and cold and have made some wonderful paper snowflakes. In the Year 1 and 2 class, the children have been looking at life in both the North and South Poles and have been carrying out a fascinating science investigation, all about icebergs (more about that later).

It has been rather hotter climates that have been the focus for our Year 5 pupils as they have continued to study the wonders of the Ancient Egyptians. If you get the chance, I recommend you take a look in their classroom where a wonderful display certainly shows off all that they have been learning about so far this term.

Finally, I would like to say a big well done to both Timothy Parker and Tony Chen. Both of these Year 6 musicians joined with students from the Senior School to perform in the Winter Concert in the Memorial Hall. Although sadly I wasn’t able to attend the concert myself, I have

World AIMS VisitLaura Fraser, our new World AIMS Officer, visited us this week from Head Office. She ran some climate change workshops with the Junior School and Forms 1 and 2. The students really enjoyed these workshops which involved highly informative and interactive discussions on the childrens’ own experiences of climate change. It was an enjoyable presentation including videos and group activities.

The pupils were shocked to discover that the issue of climate change is actually closer to home than they had realised. Laura also spent some time with our Fairtrade Fashion Show committee, helping them plan and prepare for the big event. Laura has a breadth of knowledge about Fairtrade and the students found her input to be invaluable. Fran Lovett

A Word from the Library“Children who read for pleasure make more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read”.

Institute of Education, 2013

Royal Society Young People’s Book PrizeWith the aim of inspiring young people to read about science, each year the Royal Society awards a prize to a book that achieves that aspiration. Thanks to Mr Colville, Shebbear College was one of the schools invited to select a judging panel and receive copies of the shortlisted books. Pictured above are just a few of the pupils involved, with their ‘thank you’ certificates and the books, now in the college library, which they enjoyed scrutinizing with Mrs Welby. The

it on good authority that both boys represented the Junior School wonderfully well and we are very proud of them.

Mike Furber

Winter ConcertAs the snow fell and the wind blew on Tuesday evening, the musicians welcomed their audience for this year’s Winter Concert. The concert opened with a poignant rendition of ‘The Fallen’ sung by the 6th Form and Staff Choir which was followed by a rousing performance of ‘Hosanna’ from all members of the choirs. As the pupil’s voices mature it is always a challenge to find repertoire that is both stimulating and enjoyable to sing, this year the quality of singing was marvellous with the standard ever improving.

The instrumentalists presented a varied programme of music from the groovy jazz of the Single Reeds, the exotic South American rhythms of the String Ensemble, the Brass Ensemble played with gravitas and the String Quintet gave as a wonderfully apposite rendition of Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’.

The evening was punctuated by outstanding performances from our many soloists, culminating in Edward Tai’s bravura performance of ‘Praeludium and Allegro’ by Kreisler, which demonstrated flair and dramatic technique and Jimmy So, who played the Saint-Saëns ‘Sonata’ on his clarinet with poise and sophistication, creating exquisite sounds across the full range of the instrument.

Lisa Parker

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster www.shebbearcollege.co.uk



2014 winner of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, and that chosen by our judges, is ‘Eyebenders; the Science of Seeing and Believing’ by Clive Gifford.

Jane Welby

Amazed by IcebergsYears 1 and 2 have been investigating icebergs this week as part of their Geographical study of the Arctic and Antarctic. They were amazed to discover just how much of an iceberg is underneath the surface of the water and how many different shades of ‘white’ there are within the ice itself.

Di Jones

FootballThe 1st XI started their season with a win over local rivals Kingsley School on Wednesday. Despite missing several key players, Shebbear took the lead with a Harry Dymond penalty early in the first half, but failed to add to their lead until skipper, Conner Roberts, slotted home following a corner midway through the second half.

Kingsley scored a disputed goal in the last minute to make the final score 2-1, so it was an encouraging start to the campaign, but with Exeter School and Wellington to come next week there is room for improvement.

Andy Bryan

U12/13 Boys HockeyThe Junior hockey season began with a pulsating match against West Buckland as both sides battled hard in the first 15 minutes. There was plenty of determination and after conceding the first goal Shebbear levelled after a swift counter attack led by Will Cunningham. He played the ball to Patrick Faulkner who calmly slotted the ball passed the goalkeeper at the back post. As the game ebbed and flowed at 1-1 both keepers came to the fore with Cameron Matthew Young between the sticks for Shebbear using his feet with intelligence to clear any danger.

Disappointingly the defence then switched off and West Buckland capitalised, taking a two goal lead at half time. Things then went from bad to worse for Shebbear as not long after the re-start it became 4-1 and then 5-1, but with a goal from Jack Joslin after an intelligent run behind the defence to bring the score to 5-2, the team found their confidence. The passing became much crisper and with Casper

Griffin and Dan Chamberlain resolute at the back, supplying our midfield Shebbear scored a third; this time Cameron George Young sweeping the ball passed the keeper after his initial save.

The last 5 minutes were equally frantic as Shebbear pushed on but the result of them chasing the game led to a counter attack with devastating consequences and a 6-3 defeat; a reasonable start in preparation for our home match against Kingsley School on Thursday 15th January. Thanks to all the supporting parents who braved the wind on the sidelines!

Arron Steel

NetballThe Second Form played a very strong St. Joseph’s team this week in very cold, windy conditions, at home. Shebbear made a tentative start in the first quarter after an injury was sustained in the first minute of the game. Jessica Biggs was tended to on the side line and then continued on, playing a very strong defence until half time.

The second quarter saw St. Joseph’s go ahead by 10 goals. The second half saw Sophie and Connie Gillies come on court and they both immediately immersed themselves in the game, working really hard. Cara Phillips played extremely well, working really hard right until the end of the game and was named by the opposition as player of the match.

In the final quarter Shebbear held them to a one all draw. They continued to play strongly right until the end of the game. The whole team showed great promise and should be commended for such an excellent match.

Vicky Innes

The U12s also played St. Joseph’s, their first game together as a team at Shebbear. The game was very end to end with both teams struggling a little with the pace and controlling their feet! Some strong shooting from Ellerker Singleton and Bridget Mathews saw Shebbear sneak ahead to 5-1 ahead at half time. We continued to dominate the game and some excellent defending from Poppy Daniels meant St. Joseph’s were unable to score again and we went onto win the game 10-1. Well done girls, an excellent start to your first netball season.

Serena Ham

The U13/12 B team lost to a skilfull St. Joseph’s team on Thursday. There were excellent performances from Jess Alexander, Chloe Caudwell and player of the match Laura Priest. Chloe Westaway was busy throughout the game and at the end of the third quarter scores were very tight at 5-4 to the visitors. St. Joseph’s ran away with it in the final quarter, but well done all for an excellent match in challenging conditions.

Jamie Sanders

The U14s had their first netball game of the season on Tuesday against Okehampton College. Struggling to find their feet in the first quarter the score was 4 all. However, after 10 minutes the girls calmed down, concentrated on accurate passes, their positioning up the court and went on to win the game 12-7. Well done to Antonia Aliberti who has stepped into the role as goal shooter and Caitlin McCartney as goalkeeper, whose energetic approach stopped the opposition scoring on a number of occasions.



The 4th Form also played Okehampton but didn’t fare as well. They all worked extremely hard and looked like a team, however the opposition were clearly a more experienced side. The final score did not reflect the tenacity and work rate displayed by the 4th Form. Annie Westlake worked particularly hard gaining possession for the team on countless occasions. Mrs Innes looks forward to building on their strength and skill over the coming weeks.

Our 2nd VII played Kingsley’s First VII on Wednesday. Struggling with the pace of the game in the first quarter, Shebbear went 4-6 down. Realising they needed to pull their socks up and put in a little more effort, the girls turned it around and at half time were 10-8 up. We continued to dominate the second half going on to win the match 23-11. Well done to Abbey Selwyn, Summer Dunscombe and Pheobe Willis-Butcher on their return to netball after a 2 year break.

Serena Ham

RugbyA slightly reduced U13 rugby team travelled to St. Peter’s School for a sevens tournament on Wednesday. Unfortunately they were missing two players (one due to illness and one to snow), however the boys did very well after using the first game against the hosts as a warm up. They went on to win their second game against Stover 24-7 with a try from Cameron Young (Devonian Cameron) and three from Sean Nadin. Despite many not playing rugby since December, the boys responded well to some tough opposition and with lots of rugby sevens to play this term, they have the makings of a good side.

Jamie Sanders

Shebbear 1st XV v Bideford ColtsBideford Colts 24 - Shebbear College 19

Shebbear looked like a well drilled side in this match, scoring a try early on through Sean Clark, who sprinted 50 metres to score, with Bideford replying with a try through James Ford after a quick tap penalty by Reece Pearn.

Shebbear scored another converted try with George Daniel touching down before Bideford started to take control, scoring tries through Billy Cockwill, after some good passing, and Alex Rodgers after a great supporting run by Seb Sanders, with Pearn converting one. The score at half time was 17-12 to Bideford.

Bideford started well in the second half, using the wind to their advantage and gaining territory, the pressure telling with Seb Sanders crashing over for a try, Pearn converting. Bideford then lost their way with poor discipline and decision-making, with Shebbear showing determination and skill to pull back a converted penalty try, the final score being 24-19 to Bideford.

Shebbear Captain Salah Gobara worked hard throughout, especially at the breakdown, with good performances from Centre Sam Westlake and Lock Mark Withecombe, for their strong running and defence throughout.

For Bideford, Fraser Priest was ‘everywhere’, with strong performances from Ashley Deakin, Seb Sanders and Mattew Grout.

Jamie Sanders




If any pupils are interested there are currently vacancies to undertake LAMDA Drama and Speech classes. Please contact Susannah Billeter by email on [email protected]

Best Wishes BrianIt has come to our attention that a past member of staff, Brian Pocock, suffered a heart attack last week and has undergone surgery. Brian was Head of Chemistry for many years during the 1980s and 90s and also stepped in as acting Headmaster for a short time. We send Brian our best wishes for a fast recovery.

Request for VolunteersOnce again we are hosting the music section of the very

successful North Devon Performing Arts Festival. In order for this to run smoothly we need volunteers to help steward the Festival over the two days of Tuesday 10th February and

Wednesday 11th February.

If you can help please contact Mrs Goode: Email: [email protected] or tel: 01409 282009

We would be very grateful for all offers, even if you can only spare a couple of hours. Thank you.

Fairtrade Fashion ShowUrgent Request for Second Hand ClothesIf you have any used ladies, mens or childrens clothes in good condition that you could donate for use in our Fairtrade Fashion Show we would be very grateful. Any excess clothes will be sent

to Uganda to be put to good use.

Please bring anything you can spare to Fran Lovett as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your support!

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far (we still need a few more).

Fiona Goode


Picture this ... Winter Concert



Picture this ... Shebbear College 1st XV v Bideford Colts

Shebbear College, Shebbear, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5HJ Telephone: 01409 282001 Email: [email protected]


Photography: Naomi Giddy

Start the week with a WIGGLE!!! Every Monday 10.00 – 11.00am

Tuesday class cancelled.

Nearly there! Time to GIGGLE!!!

Every Thursday 6.00 – 7.00pm

Shebbear Village Hall

£5 a class (after 10 classes you get one free!) Zumba is AMAZING FUN and suitable for ALL!

If you have any questions please e-mail me at [email protected] or call 07741 462353

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Issue No 59 - Welcome to Shebbear College …shebbearwebdev.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SC...a tremendous performance as the curtain raiser to Bideford’s league match against