Junior Ski Trip - Yellow Torpedo · The Barnardian Magazine 2009 49 In the first week of the Easter holidays, a full coach of staff and pupils arrived in Brides Les Bains for a week

2009 49The Barnardian Magazine

In the first week of the Easterholidays, a full coach of staff and pupils arrived in Brides Les Bains for a week of slidingabout the French mountainsand noisy fun.

On the first morning our beginners met theirinstructress and headed off to the magic carpetarea to explore the mysteries of local gravity.Almost all returned without a scratch or bump atthe end of their first day and told everyone theymet about how fast they had been going and whothey had bumped into by accident. That said thata far simpler task would have been to list thenumber they had not bumped into.

Other groups fired off around the countryside andlandscape whooping and shrieking for all their skiingwas worth. In some cases this was a great deal, (TopGun are not so named without good reason) whilst inothers the skill of exaggeration was in full flow.

By the end of the week a beginners group thathad started so carefully had gathered at the top ofthe cable car and the other groups had all tried to gonon stop from near the top of somewhere. We hadall been to ‘The Park’ and all ‘nailed some radicallines’ and I believe I am correct in saying we mostdefinitely took some frightfully ‘big air’.

We enjoyed a fabulous week with good weatherand lots of hilarious moments and activities. Bowlingin Meribel was a favourite of mine and seeing DanielWestgarth’s whirling bowling motion restored myfaith in age being no barrier to hysterical laughter.Sledging was also very good fun and a lot of us didmanage to stay with our sledges for much of thetime. But it would not be sledging day if someonewas not seen running after a friend who wasaccelerating away from them down the hillside. Imust say that the ice skating does make menervous but despite the extremely slippery andsomewhat firm nature of frozen water, we took to itlike ducks. Well, I say ducks, perhaps I meant floppybunnies! By the time we got to presentation night‘Big George’ had entertained the hotel with music,‘The Natural’ had entertained us with her incrediblerate of progress and Mrs Bish had entertained mostof our girls to window shopping “sans riff raff” in trulyexpensive places where a bargain is a mistake!

All our pupils thought it was a great shame tohave to go home again and some little ones pleadedto be able to stay. Mindful of litigation we decided tosend the little pleaders home and promised to takethem all again next season.

GB

Junior Ski Trip

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This year’s Adventure Training in the Lake Districtfor the Combined Cadet Force saw a complement of12 pupils, Mr Lewis, Mr Monument and MissMcDonald set off from School at 3pm on Sunday the12th of April. It had been eagerly anticipated andrightly so; all had their fill of sweets on the way up!The facilities at the hostel were great and thelocation on Lake Windermere in Ambleside wasstunning, although a fellow group of studentsdiscovered the water was not the ideal temperaturefor swimming!

Day one was kayaking, canoeing and sailing onDerwent Water from Derwent Water Marina. MissMcDonald put on her brave face and joined the twogroups of teenagers out on the water on what turnedout to be a beautifully warm day; they even had to puttheir sun-cream on!

That evening the (somewhat sleepy) group tooksome leisure time and enjoyed ‘Gran Torino’ (Mr Lewis’schoice) starring Clint Eastwood at Zeffirellis Cinema inAmbleside and a relatively early night was had by all.

Day two started early with climbing and abseiling,very unflattering harnesses and a rather grey day. Theafternoon offered more of a challenge with an aerialassault course consisting of all manner of deathdefying climbs, balances and zip wires. Team One, ledby Mr Monument tried hard but could never hope tocompete with the physical prowess and ability of TeamMcDonald who stepped up to every trial fearlessly(well, mostly).

Day Three saw Captain Garvey join the team for alow level hill walk and some souvenir shopping inAmbleside followed by some ‘Pitch and Put’ and ‘CrazyGolf’, talent notwithstanding, a good time was had by all.

The Contingent meal was a roaring success wherethe weary cadets and grown ups celebrated withChinese food and all the prawn crackers they good eat.

DLM

200950 The Barnardian Magazine

Both RAF and Army 2008 summercamps were successful and ourcadets once again equippedthemselves with distinction. Ournumbers continue to grow. This willbe my last year as CommandingOfficer and next September will seeMajor Caroline Hall take the reignsand I wish her every success.

Colts Canter was a great success. Our team, ablylead by RSM Vicky Usher, were rewarded for theirhard training by achieving second place. SurteesShield, a .22 target shooting competition run by theRFCA for all cadet organisations in the North Eastfrom all sections, RN, RAF, ACF and CCF, the teamearned second place in their class and Cdt C Priorachieved the award for best shot overall.

Adventure Training run by Mr Lewis, Lt Monumentand 2Lt MacDonald was attended by 12 cadets andused Ambleside YH as a base to enjoy training on rockand water. All cadets are now First Aid trained and havecertificates that will be valid for three years. Infantrytraining has been covered by all year 10 cadets andabove and we are ready for Wathgill in July. The SeniorHouse shooting shield was won by Tees and best shotwas R Strawbridge with a perfect score of 100. Thebest ‘First time shot was won by J D Harrison with ascore of 95. The major change to our stock has beenthe new cadet rifle that we received at the end of May.The new rifle is a self loading rather than single shottype, and this should make training easier, especiallyfor the younger cadets. Training on this rifle has to becompleted before the cadets go on camp.

The highlight of the year for me is always ExerciseFirst Look in which we take the year 9 recruits onto theCatterick training area for a survival weekend. Therethey construct their own shelters, cook their own meals,attempt command tasks and enjoy a night-times’escape and evade exercise and camouflage training.Amazing fun had by all.

Year 9 also learn about .22 target shooting andparticipate in a House shooting competition. This yearTees house were victorious and best shot was D Hall.Cadets that have helped in training right up to the end

deserve our thanks. But special thanks to H Tosley, SGreen, S Turner, D Wilkins and Z Wilkinson. Finally, ahuge thank you to RSM V Usher, the retiring seniorcadet, for the amazing contribution she has made totraining and for the help she has managed to offer to MrLewis and myself whilst studying for her A levels. Wewish all our cadets leaving school the very best of luckin their future endeavours and hope they take somehappy memories with them about their time in the CCF.

Lt Col S KeanCommanding Officer.

The Cadet Vocational Qualifications Organisationoffers a Level 2 BTEC First Diploma in PublicServices; this mixes theory and practical elementswith specialist emphasis on leadership, teamwork,communications, problem solving and fitness. Thisis equivalent to four GCSEs at A*to C grades.

The following have been awarded the CVQO FirstDiploma in Public Services:

Distinctions (equivalent of 4 A’s at GCSE)Daniel Wilkins Chris Wood Victoria UsherHeather Stanwix Christian Prior David OrrMatthew Noble Oliver Milverton Chris MasonVincent Lau Laura Honeyman Aaron Bellamy

Distinctions* (equivalent of 2A* and 2 A’s at GCSE)Mohit Devgan Guy Hartley Edward KeighleyJessica Neville Oliver Oates James ThomasStephanie Turner Heather Tosley

CVQO also offers cadets with an interest in musicthe opportunity to earn this qualification; it has beendesigned to develop an understanding of the musicprofession and combines both technical skills withpractical elements and research. On completion,cadets are able to demonstrate an understanding of allaspects of performance including ensemble work andare able to manage rehearsals. They will also learn howto market, budget, advertise and publicise musicalevents. Cadets are expected to be able to play amusical instrument and read music competently.

The following have been awarded the CVQO inMusic in the Armed Services: Distinction (equivalent to 4 A*s at GCSE)Katie Welsh Christian Prior

LDM

Adventure TrainingCombined Cadet Force

CCF RAF SECTIONREPORT 2009Summer Camp 2008 was at RAF Benson,Oxfordshire. Mr West accompanied the cadets forthe whole week, though Mr Kean travelled down forthe first couple of days. Mr West first had to contendwith the problems resulting from the British GrandPrix being held at nearby Silverstone over the firstweekend, then with the monsoon conditions thatcharacterized the Summer. Nevertheless, the cadetsgreatly enjoyed the week, made lots of friends andgave a good account of themselves. The highlight ofthe week was the visit to the airshow at RAF Fairfordat which new colours were presented to the RAF byHM Queen Elizabeth.

We have again had a full programme of airexperience flying at 11 AEF, RAF Leeming and manyof our cadets have had the opportunity to developtheir flying skills. Gliding has been limited, but JCplEdward Grundy has been successful in gaining hisSilver Wings and is now aiming for his Gold Wingsand he also has a place on the Air Cadet LeadershipCourse. He should be joined by JCpls Robert Halland James Ingram who have both been awardedGliding Scholarships for Summer 2009. I look forwardto these excellent cadets challenging for FlyingScholarships next year.

The national shooting competition for CCF RAFsections, the Assegai Trophy, has been changedslightly this year to encourage greater participation.The closing date for entries is later and this year’sresults have not yet been published. We had a youngteam this year and although they performedcreditably, I don’t think they will have matched ourbest ever score set last year. They should have this intheir sights, however, for the future.

Flight Sergeant Heather Tosley has led theSection in outstanding fashion over the year. She hasimpressed us all with her efficiency and enthusiasm;but most importantly she has elicited high praise fromthe SSI, Mr Lewis! She thoroughly deserves herCommandant’s Certificate of Outstanding Serviceand the Aquila Trophy for best RAF cadet. The PeterWise Trophy for best recruit was won this year by CdtWilliam Prior. Heather will leave us this year with ourthanks and best wishes for the future. We also sayfarewell to our other senior cadets: Guy Hartley,Edward Keighley, Vincent Lau, Adrian Smith andCharlotte Stewart. We hope that they will take withthem good memories of their time in the RAFSection.

RC



It’s always a pleasure to welcomenew recruits to the ranks of the Gold Award. They start full ofenthusiasm, bright eyed andbushy tailed, and end thoroughlyexhausted but feeling much betterfor the experience!

The class of 2008 has seen five of their numberpresented with the award: Alex Ross; Andrew Moss;Edward Bishop and Rachel Farrar.

As for the class of 2009, eight pupils completedtheir assessed expedition in September 2008 and all ofthem have made good progress with each of theremaining sections and have every chance ofcompletion very soon. I have high hopes for: JoanneBarker, Evelyn Brown, James Thomas, EdwardKeighley, Guy Hartley, Christie Prior, Ollie Oates andAdrian Smith.

Back at the very start of the school year two groupsundertook their assessed expedition in the YorkshireDales. They designed two parallel and interlinking routescovering 80km from Thoralby (near Aysgarth) to Nateby(near Kirkby Stephen). Joanne Barker, Evelyn Brown,James Thomas and Edward Keighley formed a verystrong group of walkers and navigators. Guy Hartley,Christie Prior, Ollie Oates and Adrian Smith formed avery happy group of walkers and navigators!

Over the four days of assessment the weather wasgenerally very wet and cold with just a few gentle rays ofsunshine to take away the pain on the third day. The firstnight’s camp was behind a tea shop in Hardraw: a verypleasant little spot on the edge of this delightful village.Our campers were more concerned with getting someshelter and warmth in their sodden tents thanappreciating the finer points of the village’s geographyand history. However, they and could not believe theirluck when a delicious Victoria sponge cake fell out of thesky! This was the only golden disc they had seen all day!

My own accommodation, as supervisor, was notmuch better: a small and equally waterlogged tent onthe outskirts of Hawes. At least I was able to samplethe delights of one of the best fish and chip shops in thecountry, rather than super noodles which was a morelikely evening meal for them!

The second day was impossibly wet and very coldwith driving rain, on the verge of being snow at times.In the late afternoon the groups arrived to camp at YoreHouse; they were wet, frozen and quite miserable. Thecampsite was flooded, but the farmer had a lovelysurprise for them. He allowed them to stay in the‘bungalow’, providing they cleaned it out first! Thebungalow turned out to be little more than a stoneshelter open to the elements on one side. The farmerkindly offered them some straw to put onto the concretefloor. It may have been rudimentary, but I have rarelyseen greater appreciation and gratitude. Thankfully, thegroup had dried out slightly and warmed up sufficientlyby morning and the day dawned with brighterprospects. Warm rays of an early September sun wereraised their spirits and their hopes of completion. Byearly afternoon the first group had arrived at their wildcamp in good time. Meanwhile, the second group foundkeeping to time a little more challenging. They hadmanaged to evade the assessor and supervisors formuch of the afternoon, so it was a huge relief for me tosee them arrive at the foot of Cautley Spout, in theHowgill Fells tired but in good spirits as the last bit ofcolour was leaving the landscape. The final day was,once again, wet but nothing was going to stop eithergroup from completing. They arrived in quicksuccession a bedraggled but happy crew.

Thank you to Mr Ewart for carrying out their per-expedition check, to Mrs Good their assessor, and tothe invaluable help and support of Mr Chadwick, Mr Charlesworth and Mr Shawcross.

Meanwhile, the current lower sixth have beencompleting expedition training and hope to completetheir assessment next academic year. Eighteen pupilshave been involved in training expeditions this year andmade good progress in the other sections which makeup the award: volunteering; physical; skills andresidential.

In mid-September Sarah Philips, Sarah Farr,Georgia Chipchase, Matthew Watson, AlasdairAnderson, Anson Chan, Charlotte Miller, AshleyMathews, Gemma Cole and Ryan Brogden had a tasteof wild camping in the High Pennines. They had thebenefit of some pleasant Autumnal weather (once theshowers on the first day had passed) which madecamping on High Cup Plain (near Cow GreenReservoir) not only possible, but positively delightful.

The most recent practice at the time of writing wasa very exciting and challenging affair, as Will Manners,Alastair Brown, Will Trewby, Nick Gaven, Matthew

Robinson, Nick Wilkinson, Sarah Farr, GeorgiaChipchase and Jaime Gruenig will testify. Day 1:cloudburst, strong electrical storm activity; Day 2: hotand sunny; Day 3: limited visibility, gale force winds andhorizontal rain! They had the perfect trainingexpedition…they now all know now that (even insummer) you need: good waterproofs; good boots; hat;gloves; insect repellent; sunscreen; plenty of water.Year 11, take note!

Thank you also to Mr Robinson and Mr Shawcrossfor their invaluable assistance on the hill.

CHA

Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award


Participants can start workingtowards their Duke of Edinburgh’sSilver Award when they join Year 10.

The award has 4 sections: Volunteering, PhysicalActivity, Skills and an Expedition. During Year 10they will participate in expedition training and canstart working towards the other sections once theyare 15 years old.

The minimum time to complete the Silver Award asa direct entrant (not having previously done the BronzeAward) is one year. In Year 11 they will continueworking towards the awards’ sections and finish theirexpedition training before the assessment expedition inthe last week of the Summer Term. Currently there are26 Year 10s and 27 Year 11s working towards the SilverAward. They can continue with Duke of Edinburgh’sAwards in the Sixth Form when they work towards theGold award. All Awards require commitment anddetermination to complete all sections.

This year we have changed the format of theexpedition training for Year 10 by introducing someSaturday all day training sessions and some mid weekwalks. Training involves learning to read maps andputting it into practice on day walks in Teesdale, campcraft, basic first aid, food, cooking on stoves,emergency procedures and learning to use MemoryMap software to plan a route. In the Summer Termthere is a walk and overnight camp where they can putinto practice what they have learnt during the year. InYear 11 they will undertake a three day practiceexpedition and plan their final summer assessedexpedition in Swaledale and Wensleydale. To fulfil theexpedition section, not only do they have to completebeing self sufficient in a wild country area, but they alsohave to complete a presentation, report or displayabout the aim of their expedition.

The successful Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s AwardParticipants who gained their Silver Award during 2008were: Alistair Brown, Hamish Byers, Nicholas Gaven,Jaime Gruenig, Fenny Jongschaap, William Manners,Laura Moss, Matthew Robinson and Matthew WatsonCongratulations to them all.

We thank all colleagues, to include Mr Shawcross,Mr Charlesworth, Mr Dalton, Mr Everall, Mr Bird, MrsRhodes and Mr Waddington for their help and supportwith expedition training.

PCO

Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award



K.B.W The first time I saw it was at the train station

The tout who was saying was half black, half Caucasian At first I thought he was Asian

But when I get a bit closer her origin is blatant The best of both worlds caramel complexion

I swear when he smiled I felt Bob Marley’s redemption

I felt confused like division had wonWhen I saw a couple of lowlifes

“K.B.W” they shout sung I have never known a phrase so prejudiced They think their right, Keep Britain White

By Liam Ononeze

Wealth PoemGreed sits on his throneSurveying his servants.

He clicks his fingers and a wife appears."Dear, tell me the news on Poverty.""He has not broken free of his chains.We are starving his soul from him."

"Good," Greed chuckles. "Tell Abuse to start the beatings."The wife sighs.

So much for the dresses and the money:She is as emotionally tied as Poverty

is physically bound to the rough stone wall.As much a slave as her own maid.

The effects of money, wealth and greedAre devastating.

By Lizzie Knight

Half An AppleAt the centre seedy pupils

Pierced by blood-shot eye balls.Covered in bumpy flesh

As though it’s been stung by a thousand nettles.

Rough coarse edgesContaining frozen shards of life.

Impossibly smooth skinAs though it’s been stretched a thousand miles.

At first it’s an invisible smellBut then my nose seeks it out.

Starchy and almost sour,It rushes in at mind boggling speed.

Surprisingly fresh tasteA perfect balance of juice and fruit.

My taste buds are shocked into actionAs though hit with a defibrillator.

Dead brown skin spreadingLike an unwanted plague.The imperfect bite marks

Create a high rise mountain range.

By Hannah Roache

Creative Writing


Lectern Club 2008-2009The Lectern Club is an opportunity for membersof the Sixth Form to try their hand at publicspeaking. This year’s Lectern Club Committeeonly managed to convene once due to hecticextra-curricular commitments and the highacademic demands of A2. Our Head of School,Guy Hartley, chaired this year’s Committee alongwith Christian Prior, Heather Tosley and LydiaHammond, who each took on various areas ofresponsibility in putting the evening together.The Committee decided that the theme for theoccasion would be ‘Heroes and Villains’. Interestin attending the evening was high, but theCommittee were strict about not allowing peoplein just for a free meal. Their tactics encouragedpupils to put themselves forward as speakers inorder to get into this elite event. Miss Burgess,Mr. Butler and Miss Cuneo were the luckyrecipients of VIP staff invitations.

After grace and a starter the Short Speecheswere introduced. Short Speeches must adhere to astrict three minute limit and the committee timer isresponsible for warning the speakers through theuse of green, yellow and red cards. Evelyn Brownand Joanne Barker were the first pair to speak. Theywere well prepared, eloquent and confident and seta very high standard for the evening. Ross Burtonalong with David Orr followed, and worked well as ateam in delivering an insightful message aboutperspective. Hamish Byers and Dan Thompsonwere up next and managed to achieve an effectivebalance of humour and articulate expression.Finishing off this round of speeches were lastminute speech writers Jordan Hazell and KatieWelsh.

The main course was served to the guests bythe males attending the evening. The pupils enjoyeda fantastic meal and the anticipation of the MainSpeeches was palpable. Matthew Noble was thefirst to speak and offered a fluent and note-worthyoration. Sarah Phillips followed with a thoughtprovoking address that challenged the audience.James Lowrey-English was next and delivered awell-prepared speech with poise and confidence.The final speech of the evening was given by OwenThomas and Owen Waldin. The more intellectualmembers of the audience were not impressed bytheir ill advised attempt at a humorous address andtheir visual aids did not help their quest for thewinning speech.

Thankfully the Evaluators for the evening werecarefully vetted and could be relied upon to choosedeserving winners. Steph Turner, Steph Clift, TomRoss and Guy Hartley left the dining hall for theintense discussion as each Evaluator fought for hisor her favourite. Their final vote was noted and theaudience settled back into their seats to hear theresults. The winners of the Short Speech prize wereHamish Byers and Dan Thompson, and the winnerof the Main Speech was Sarah Phillips. It was afantastic evening and the Committee should becongratulated for all of their hard work.

EEB

Senior Public SpeakingCompetition

As ever, the 7 senior houses in the School put ontheir thinking caps to provide a varied andstimulating evening of oratory and discussion,and our adjudicator this year, Mr Peter Grant,Managing Director and Presenter at Durham FM,made it clear afterwards just how impressed hewas by the range of topics and by the skills andteamwork on display.

The first presentation by North House remindedus that there is “nothing new under the sun,” and aclose scrutiny of history, ancient and less so, wouldshow us the cyclic nature of human achievement, andfailure – a strong start. Tees confirmed this indirectlyby referring confidently to the present economicclimate, suggesting ways of making less certain thatwe would at some future stage experience such adownturn once again.

Longfield could be seen to build on this (althoughit is entirely by chance that the order fell out this way) by stressing the need for resistance in the face of

cheap clothes shopping opportunities. (The school lawyers might be happier if I do not mentionthe shop that Longfield had in mind, although I’m sureyou can guess.) The temptations of a £5 pair of jeansneeds to be balanced against the awareness that it ishard to believe that such a garment can be producedethically; and very probably isn’t.

Bowes then introduced a tellingly personal andemotive note by painting in some detail, a picture ofthe misery attendant upon suffers of dementia and itsconcomitant effects upon the lives of carers and lovedones. Any NHS budget controllers in the audiencewould surely have been willing to rethink their financialpriorities after hearing this plea.

Dale House also touched upon the notion that thefast pace of modern life was in danger of ignoring theaccumulated wisdoms of history, while Marwoodsternly drew our attention to one aspect of our BraveNew World that could have all sorts of dangerousramifications: designer babies – sadly, tragically even,not just a WAG’s dream any longer.

The presentations were rounded off (appositely,given the adjudicator) by underlining (not for the firsttime, but it remains necessary to do so) the power ofthe mass media: a reminder that producers andconsumers have responsibilities to society and tothemselves.

Mr Grant spoke warmly about each team, beforeawarding the trophy for the 2nd year running to BowesHouse. Congratulations to Sarah Phillips, HeatherTosley and Heather Stanwix. Only one of thesespeakers can turn out next year, so the contest is wideopen.

If you get the chance, do make the effort to comealong- it really is one of those occasions that showsBCS at its best.

AMW

Junior Public SpeakingCompetition

On Thursday 12th March 2009 the Juniors battledit out to win the Inter-House Speaking competition. Theformat comprised teams of four from each house andeach team had a hot topic to debate. This was no easytask in front of the large audience that had gathered inBig School. The Headmaster positioned himselfcentrally to cast his eye over the speakers but thecompetitors kept their nerve and spoke with verve andpassion. Topics included Barack Obama, animaltesting and the merit of exams. The standard was highand it was clear that topics had been well preparedand practiced. The competition was judged by Mr PeterGrant of Durham FM and he was clearly impressedwith the high standard and rightfully praised all thecompetitors. In the end the team of Dan Gilligan, SamGoyette, Ivan Gaskin and Dale Holden-Dalby fromYork House were crowned as the kings of debate andlifted the cup, much to the delight of Mr Gedye.

MLW

Public Speaking



Madrid Tour


28th May – 2nd JuneMr Jacobs and Miss Burgesssigned themselves up to take a group of 16 teenage girls toMadrid for 6 days over theirhalf term. But despite what youmay think they had a great time!

The group consisted of 4 year 10s includingHannah Byers (Captain), Charis Preece, HarriettMcHugh and Sam Pearce. As well as 12 year 9sincluding Vice Captain Gaby Hazell.

The Tour had been looked forward to from thevery first mention and a Tuck shop was immediatelyset up to help raise funds, which then went on to payfor the bus journey to and from Liverpool, the trainingkits and a match strip which can also be used infuture matches by the group.

While in Spain the group played 3 matches andplayed well in all 3. In the 1st match Becky McKittonwas awarded player of the match. The 2nd matches’player of the match was awarded to Hannah Byersand Gaby Hazell in the 3rd. Despite losing all of the matches the team played well and kept their spirits high.

Playing football was not all the group enjoyedthough; on Friday (29th) the group went to Real Madrid’s Stadium and enjoyed a tour around thegrounds, the trophy room and the visitors changingroom. The next day after playing a match on Fridaynight, Mr Jacobs took the group to a Theme Parkdespite not enjoying them himself. “ParquesReunidos” was descended upon. At the end of theday the girls managed to get Mr Jacobs on a tameride on which he thought he would be safe but not forlong - he got DRENCHED. So after the entertainmentof the mixture of teachers and water rides the groupmoved across to the other side of the city to eat a pre-ordered meal at the Hard Rock Café.

On Sunday morning the group went to the largestreet market and had a fun day walking around,looking at all of the different stalls and spending lotsof their parents’ money of course! Then played their2nd match in the late afternoon.

On Monday Miss Burgess led the group to ElPrincipio – one of the biggest shopping centres inSpain. Where people (if they had any left) spent moremoney. Then we played the 3rd and final match.

Before leaving on Tuesday the group took a quickvisit to a large department store. Wouldn’t want towaste any of the remaining Euros!

The journey back was rather loud andentertaining thanks to the year 10s who were just alittle hyper!

Germany here we come… if Mr Jacobs thinks hecould survive again??

Charis Preece

Madrid Tour



Gifted and TalentedThe Gifted and Talented programme was set up in2004 to help achieve our aim of, ‘promotingachievements within a caring community’. We arelucky to have a large number of pupils who fall intothe categories with 102 currently on the Register,an impressive 20 of which are new pupils in year 7.

Initiatives for the Gifted, arranged bydepartments, have included:* Chemists attended the ‘Chemistry at Work

Festival’ at Teesside University* The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering

and Maths) Festival* Two History pupils joined an international

‘Lessons from Auschwitz’, Holocaustexperience in Poland.

* TimeTeam at Piercebridge: an archaeologicaldig for young classics’ pupils.

* ‘Sport and drugs’ Conference at SunderlandUniversity for sports’ performers.

* Lectures on Climate Change and ‘BeyondMachu Picchu’ given by the RoyalGeographical Society.

* Theatre Studies trips to The Old Vic Theatre in Covent Garden.

* Technology trip to Cummins EnginesCompany, Darlington for technologists.

* membership to the ‘Alliance Francaise’ forsixth form linguists.

* Rotary Clubs of North Yorkshire TechnologyTournament at Catterick Garrison.

* Geographical Association lectures in York for Geographers.

* English Department trip to SunderlandEmpire.

* Extension fieldwork for biologists at RunswickBay, Deepdale Beck and local quarries tostudy plant succession and ecologicaldiversity.

* Junior and Intermediate UK MathematicalChallenges.

* Visit to Nissan, Washington for economistsand business studies pupils.

* Visiting business speakers to include aBollywood film director and John Raper fromHBoS, and a marketing director of a clothingcompany.

* Durham University German ‘master class’.* Visit to London Art Galleries for Art students.* English trip to Bradford Museum of Film

and Television.* Newcastle University Latin and Classics

lectures.

* Practical visit to and study of a farm diversifying its income base for businessstudies’ pupils.

* Cultural and historical trip to Durham LightInfantry Museum.

* Durham University History Conference forhistorians.

* Young Enterprise for those with businessinterests.

Initiatives for the Talented have included:* Kayaking trip to Anglesey, North Wales. * Scuba diving trip to Ripon.* Tennis visit to Wimbledon for elite team

performers.* HMC Athletics at Gateshead International

Stadium.* Aldwark Water Activity weekend.* Air experience flying at RAF Leeming.* Attendance at the National Schools’ Sevens.* The Royal Military School of Music - concert

by the Army Big Band.* Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.* Medlink and Vetlink careers’ courses. * Clinic for actors at Newcastle Theatre.* Master Classes for pupils by visiting music

specialists. * County, District and National Trials for all

sports.* Training at BCS Hockey Performance Centre.* Running coaching by Susan Deacon.* Newcastle Falcons’ coaching for elite rugby

players.LVR

News Matters

Question TimeWhat better an opportunity to witness politics inaction and enjoy it than to go to a political debateshow? On the 18th of June, a group includingtwo teachers and four students set off to BBC‘Question Time’ at the Nissan car factory inSunderland.

Mr. Beaty, Mr Mawhinney, Felix Pearson, WilliamFord, Toby Spark and Varun Balupuri departed afterlessons and arrived at the venue after a long journeyof discussion and arguments. It was unfortunate thatnone of our group’s questions were selected by theeditors, but nevertheless, it was an engaging andstimulating experience for all involved. The membersof the panel were Kenneth Clark, Charles Falconer,Esther Rantzen, Ed Davy and Polly Toynbee. Afterhours of technical rehearsals and waiting in thefoyer, they let us stream into the stands. Hoping itwould increase our chance of having our handnotices, we opted to sit in the centre. It didn’t work…

Highlights for us included a discussion whenDavid Dimbleby asked for a show of hands of allpractising teachers, the four of us looked eagerly tothe row behind us at our two teachers to see themblushing and embarrassingly keeping a low profile infear of being on national TV. It was also entertainingto see the ministers to fumble and slip up so manytimes about their expenses claims. Although ourquestions weren’t picked, it didn’t stop us fromappearing on television. The next day in school, wefelt like celebrities with everyone coming and tellingus how they saw us on Television. It was a pricelessopportunity for us to discuss with the political elite ofthis country as well as with each other. It wasunanimously agreed that the outing was a hugesuccess and offered educational values that onecould not have in a formal classroom environment.

Balupuri.

BollywooodMedia students received a lesson in film makingfrom a Bollywood director at a time when Asianmovies are grabbing the Oscars.

Students at Barnard Castle School received amasterclass from Sujoy Ghosh, a film directorcurrently working in Mumbai on a multi-million dollarBollywood blockbuster of Aladdin.

Pupils have formed a movie making club andare currently working on videos of school life for theirwebsite. Mr Ghosh, whose son Agni, 13, attends theschool, spent time with the group speaking aboutthe movie industry and advising them how to filmand edit their videos.

“It’s a great time for Asian movie making and Ihave always been a big fan of Slum Dog Millionairedirector Danny Boyle who has increased greatly theprofile of the country,” he said. “It is good to have anIndian story put out on a global platform. I’m alwaysdelighted to help young people who are interested inthe film industry and I’m looking forward to seeingwhat they produce.”

Mr Connor said that the club was working onfour one minute videos designed to capture a flavourof life at the school which would be shown on thewebsite. “The children have been really enthusedand encouraged by the masterclass,” he said. “Beingable to question someone who actually works in thefilm industry has been an incredible experience for them.”

The film club is one of about 100 extra curriculaactivities the school provides for students.

NJC


Documents

Junior Ski Trip - Yellow Torpedo · The Barnardian Magazine 2009 49 In the first week of the Easter holidays, a full coach of staff and pupils arrived in Brides Les Bains for a week