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2016-17

YOUNG WYCLIFFIAN

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The view from the Headmaster’s Study

Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Boarding

Year 4

Kirby Challenge

Sport

The Great Outdoors

Year 5

Year 6

Drama

World Book Day

Music

News Hounds

Poetry

Year 7

French Trip

Red Letter Day

Art

Year 8

Battle Writing

Our New-Look Library

4-11

12-13

14-15

16-17

18-19

20-21

22-23

24-25

26-27

28-41

42-43

44-45

46-47

48-49

50-51

52-53

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56-57

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60-61

62-63

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Year 6 have been to the Cheltenham Literature

Festival and Year 5 went to the SkillZONE

courtesy of the Parents’ Association, who also

organised a superb irework display and have

run ilm nights and discos for the children.

The pupils all dressed up as their favourite

character on World Book Day and have

continued to raise money for charity. I am

happy to report that we donated over £5,000

to the Bristol Children’s Hospital back in the

Autumn. The pupils have experienced a poetry

week, where everything that moved for one

week was linked to poetry.

Music has continued to lourish. We have had

several Lunchtime Concerts, the Summer

Concert and the Middle Prep Concert on

Grandparents’ Day. Eve Chandler took up her

place in the Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir.

Abigail Opaleye, Lewis Crabb-La Hei and Bo

Buckingham did well in the Cheltenham Arts

Festival winning three trophies between them

for their recorder playing and Jamie Smith in

Year 6 sang an unaccompanied solo in front of

the whole school – a truly special moment.

The pupils have been busy performing on stage

in a variety of productions. Year 8 started the

ball rolling with a fabulous performance of ELF,

followed by Year 7 dazzling us with Singin’ in

the Rain, leading on to Year 4 enchanting us

with Aladdin and Year 6 rounding it all off with

two outstanding performances of Seussical.

For his Design Technology scholarship, Henry

Garrard designed and made a superb portable

lighting system to be used when we are serving

match teas in the winter to alert the kitchen

when we need more supplies.

Six Year 8 girls represented the school in SATIPs

Art exhibition in Cheltenham College, the best

art on show from around the country. Ruby

Rose was selected for Young Photographers’

competition. Art badges for outstanding

achievement have been awarded to Molly

Rawlinson, Sophia Levy, Eleana Irvine,

Nikol Yessimova, Echo Parker, Ruby Rose

and Isabella Rowland.

The single most important resource in any

school is the staff and we are blessed with a

highly talented and dedicated group of staff.

The staff at the Prep School are an incredible

group of committed professionals whom it is a

pleasure and a privilege to work alongside. On

top of their day jobs, a vast range of activities

have been organised. Please join me in

thanking the staff for their untiring dedication

to help make the Prep School such a fabulous

environment for the children to be educated

and be prepared for their future lives.

Sadly, as ever at this time of the year we have

staff departures. Mr Wainwright is leaving us

to teach in sunnier climes and Mr Jones who

has been assistant housemaster in Pennwood,

as well as our cricket coach, is moving on.

This year, we have continued to invest in the GL

Assessment Progress Test Series, which assess

our pupils’ abilities and achievement in the

English areas of reading, spelling, punctuation

and grammar, as well as in Maths and Science.

Outcomes for pupils continue to show the Prep

school in a successful academic light and,

above all else, highlight the progress made by

pupils. Across Years 3-8, over 95% of our pupils

are working at or above national Age-Related

Expectations in English, Maths and Science, an

increase from last year.

In order to supplement what the children learn in

the classroom, the staff run a vast array of trips,

two of which were overseas, a group of Year 8

pupils enjoyed a trip to visit Belgium and Northern

France to see various battleields. Over 40 pupils

in Years 7 and 8 experienced life in Normandy

and were able to practise their French.

There have also been a series of residential

trips, with Year 4 staying at Hooke Court,

Year 5 spending a few days in York, Year 6

experiencing water sports in Rockley, Year 8

visited Boscastle in Cornwall and had day trips

to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare

and a Sikh Gurdwara Temple. Year 8 also

enjoyed worked with a news reporter which led

to a special edition of the Wycliffe Prep Times

being published.

Year 7 have taken part in the annual re-

enactment of the Battle of Hastings and visited

Warwick castle where they found the visit

to the castle dungeons particularly scary. In

Science, pupils in Year 6 had the opportunity

to dissect hearts, and Year 8 were given the

smelly delight of dissecting pig intestines, both

of which go beyond what is expected for their

respective age groups.

The view from theHeadmaster’s studyExtracts from the Headmaster’s speech

Having officially introduced

the concept of the Wycliffe

Baccalaureate last year, we

awarded our Year 8 pupils their

diplomas, with Mr Gregory

presenting each pupil with

a certificate at one of the

four levels of achievement;

Foundation Pass, Pass, Merit

or Distinction. The Wycliffe

Baccalaureate allows all school

subjects equal value and,

therefore each subject carries

an equal weighting in its

contribution to the final award.“The Wycliffe

Baccalaureate allows all

school subjects equal

value and, therefore

each subject carries an

equal weighting in its

contribution to the

final award.”

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Mrs Bate is starting her maternity leave and

we wish her well with impending events. Mrs

Murray is moving to be a matron in the Senior

School but thankfully is still going to provide

our costumes for us. Mr Andrew Golding is

leaving the College after over 27 loyal years’

service as Finance Director. We wish them all

well in their future careers.

Our girls have had another successful year

in sport. Our Under 12 hockey team qualiied

for the IAPS national inals and inished

ifth in the country and won the Severnside

hockey tournament, as well as an invitational

tournament involving many other schools. They

also won the Severnside netball tournament.

Eleven of our senior girls have been selected

for the County Junior Development Centre for

hockey, Jasmine Jackson, Olivia Lundie and

Connie Palmer have all been selected for the

satellite academy, whilst Molly Rawlinson

has been selected for the county development

squad. Equally the boys have continued to

excel themselves.

In rugby Sam Davenport, Archie Davie,

Charlie Hosking, George Pillinger, Alex

Reynolds and Andrew Uys have all been

selected for the Gloucester development

programme. In soccer, the Under 13 team

won the annual 6-a-side competition. Alex

Reynolds, Gabriel Gual Bobillo, Gabe Evans

and Freddie Searle were all selected for the

South-West of England squad and Conal

Navruz is on the books of Cheltenham Town.

We also have Conal Navruz, Leon Hutchings,

Harry Brownless and Edward Thompson all

representing the district in cricket.

Daisy Cole and Charlie Hosking represented

the school at the IAPS national swimming

inals. Daisy is also county 200 metre individual

medley champion as well as being county

runner-up in a number of other events. Sam

Osborne-Wylde has represented England in

squash, won the British closed competition

and is county Under 19 champion at the age of

thirteen. Daisy Hartson was the IAPS runner-

up in squash a year early.

We enjoyed a wonderful sports day where

every single pupil who took part really gave

everything they could to whatever event they

were asked to compete in. Kiran Carter was

third in the South-West athletics inals which

makes him irst reserve for England schools

in Triple Jump and at the South-West Prep

Schools championships he broke a 46-year high

jump record, clearing 1m64. He represented

the school in the national prep schools inals.

Charlie Hosking is the South-West 800m

champion. Congratulations to Sophie Izon who

represented Great Britain in the world Biathle

championships in Portugal.

In Cross-Country, our Under 13 boys reached

the National Schools’ Cup Final. Our Under 11

girls won the Severnside competition, with

Jena Harvey being the overall champion. The

Under 11 girls and boys won their respective

Dursley league competitions, with Jena Harvey

inishing as 2nd individual overall. Sophie Izon,

Mimi Green and Freddie Searle qualiied for

the English schools inal. Charlie Hosking and

Sophie Izon performed very well in the IAPS

Cross-Country, gaining top 30 placings.

The pupils in Year 8 have once again

embraced the Kirby Challenge the aim of

which is to encourage these young people

to become leaders, challenge themselves

physically and mentally and take pride in

becoming an asset to their communities.

Among the highlights have been: Hamish

Armstrong swam the distance of the channel

in the evenings, over a week; Eve Chandler

organised a tea dance for the elderly; George

Tomblin walked 11km to school for five

consecutive days; Eleanor Irvine walked 175

miles over Ten Tors; Isabella Rowland walked

the Ten Tors over two days and then along

with Freya Roe made her own dress for the Y8

formal dinner walk. Henry Garrard highlighted

the plight of families living on 20l of water a

day, by walking to collect and surviving on 20l of

spring water a day for three days.

The highly enjoyable and enriching Exploration

Days continued to be a success. In a STEM

related theme, pupils in Years 3-6 enjoyed a

morning with the UK Space Agency. In contrast,

the theme for the Spring term exploration was

‘Cats’, taken from TS Eliot’s ‘Old Possum’s Book

of Practical Cats’. The highlight of the day was

the Prep School’s irst performance of Cats,

which was put on in just over an hour, with a

cast of over 90 children.

We entered our irst quiz teams for ‘Quiz

Club’s’ national Science, Maths and General

Knowledge quiz competitions. We were

runners-up in area heats for both Maths and

General Knowledge, and we went a step further

in Science, winning the heat and making it

through to the next round.

Gifted Scientists were again stretched through

rocket science and payload recovery with a

visit from Mr Philip Spiers, an engineer in the

Bloodhound Land Speed Record Attempt.

Chess has started to develop this year under

the guidance of Mr Broadhead and the house

competition ended with an international inal

between Jerry Xue, representing China and

Artem Nesvetov, representing Russia with

Russia coming out on top this time. Our chess

The view from the Headmaster’s studyExtracts from the Headmaster’s speech cont’d

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players also enjoyed a master class in chess

conducted by a grand master who is the father

of one of our Head Girls – Nikol Yessimova.

Once again, our pupils have come up trumps

in the Language Perfect World Championships.

Our top linguists answered a total of 94,861

questions in a wide range of languages.

Our top scorers were:

Bronze Award: Jena Harvey, Fred Lissenden

and Sarah Shakir-Apps (top 2% of all

competitors).

Elite Award: Naomi Opaleye (top 0.2% of all

competitors) Naomi outperformed more than

349,300 competitors to achieve her award.

As a school, we excelled ourselves, coming third

in our category in the UK and sixth in the world.

We have had our CReSTeD accreditation

successfully reviewed and this meant yet

another visit from an inspection team. I am

indebted to all those staff who were involved

in this process for sending out such a hugely

positive impression to the inspector.

We introduced certiicates for the pupils as

they reached an ever-increasing number of

house points. No-one in the school has ever

scored more than 500 house points over a

year before so the top award was a Platinum

for reaching 500 points – safe we thought.

But then Frankie Perrill and Jena Harvey

reached 600 and the Emerald Certiicate was

presented, then Jena reached the 700 mark so

the Rhodium award was introduced. There is

no doubt that the introduction of certiicates

has inspired the children as over 70,000 house

points have been awarded in total this year,

which is over double the number for last year.

I would like to thank Abigail Richardson,

Nikol Yessimova and Isabella Rowland our

three Head Girls and George Tomblin, Ciaran

Carden and Hamish Armstrong our Head Boys

for the incredible contribution they have made.

I am delighted to announce that Head Girl for

next term will be Lia Trainor and Head Boy

will be Joe Pier.

The view from the Headmaster’s studyExtracts from the Headmaster’s speech cont’d

Jena Harvey presents Mr Palmer

with a piece of her art work

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The great outdoors is an

important classroom for

our Nursery children.

THEGREAT

OUTDOORS

IT’S AFACT

Did you know all insects have six legs?

Whenever possible the curriculum is

structured to enable the children to

beneit from these experiences.

This could include mark making in snow

and frost, counting lowers or bugs,

observing the magic of buds bursting

open in the spring or just enjoying the

sheer joy of jumping in puddles, throwing

fallen leaves or running across the ields.

Happy, curious young children who

investigate the world around them

become conident self-reliant

learners as they grow and move through

the school.

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Wycliffe Explorers

Each week or fortnight we ‘ly’ to a different

country. One week we were in France and

experienced our own Tour De France. The

children had to work out who had the best

time after each race and who would wear

the yellow jersey for the next stage. After

all of the races we found our best times (the

lowest number because that meant it was

the quickest!) Our 1st, 2nd and 3rd places

were Kitty Ashbee, Max Hursthouse and

William Papps.

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Reception have enjoyed exploring the new

outdoor kitchen. This, along with some

waterproof suits, was kindly bought by the

Parents’ Association.

We can go out and make use of the facility

whatever the weather. We have enjoyed making

different muddy creations, pouring and illing,

learning about capacity and much much more.

We have planted some herbs as well to add to

the excitement of items we make.

We are very independent and put on our suits

and Wellington boots ourselves. Splashing in

muddy water is fantastic!

It is great being outside and exploring this

wonderful resource.

Pirate Stories

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By Libby Nelson

One day on a pirate ship there was a pirate

called Hecudy. Hecudy wanted to sail the

Seven Seas.

So he set off to sail the Seven Seas. As he hit the

water there wasn an island in view. “It’s a cracky

wacky island!” When he landed there were foot

prints on the loor. He walked a bit further and

saw a diamond on the ground. He ended up at

a ship wreck. As he emerged to the edge of the

ship he found a treasure chest. In that chest

there was a lot of jewels. By the side of the chest

there was a ginormous gem. “I am rich” yelled

Hecudy. When he was back on his ship he set off

to sail the rest of the world.

Wilf Rodgers

Kitty Ashbee

By Lilly Williams

Once there was a pirate ship. A dark ship, It was

quiet. In the morning the pirates were on the

ship. In the afternoon they landed at the island

and found the treasure under the waterfall. The

pirates were excited. In the treasure box there

were rings and gold. Then they sailed the Seven

Seas. Then they found a parrot. They looked at

their map and they bumped

into another pirate and

killed him and then one of

them walked the plank.

IT’S AFACTDragonflies can fly at an amazing 50mph!

Florina Harris

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Mark the Shark lives in a dark park. It was

nearly his birthday, his birthday was in

March. His mum was a carpenter and his

dad was a farmer. As a farmer he had a

very smart cow who liked to charm the

other animals. Mark’s dream was to be a

rock star and his favourite food was a Mars

bar. His favourite thing to do was watch

cartoons all day.

Mark The SharkI Wonder Why The Aliens Stole My Cling Film

By Will Turley

They could use it as a smooth sleep mask,

or a table cloth to put down before a mask.

They could use it as a toilet roll then attach it

to a pole,or as a cloth to block out the draft.

They could use it as a kite but that would

be daft.

Aliens might use it as a see through table

or they could use it as a window pane.

They might use it as a hammer to bat a nail

in the door.

Who knows what they might use it for?

By May EptonYear 2 pupils swapped their ipads and

markers for slates and slate pencils during

their trip to Sevington Victorian School.

They learned irst-hand what Victorian

schools were like under the watchful eye

of Miss Elisabeth Squire, the Sevington

schoolmistress.

The authentic village schoolroom was opened

in 1849 and is almost unchanged, with some

of the original desks, slates, coal ires and

oil lamps.

Victorian School

Phonics ‘ar’ soundBased on the book, Aliens Stole My Underpants

2020

Flame has two huge red horns which are as

red as lava. He has two blue eyes as bright

as the blue sky. The mythical creature has

a tail as long as an axe and he has orange

skin as orange as lava.

He eats the other animals in the jungle

but there is one elephant he never eats

because this elephant is his friend.

Flame eats leaves and drinks water. He

drinks like a dog, eats like a cow and

sounds like a pig! He can fly, lay chocolate

eggs and can set himself on fire without

harming himself. He can breathe out lots

of fire. Mythical Flame can knock 500 trees

down in one swipe with his tail.

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The mythical dragon called Bonfire has

beady eyes like balls of fire. She has

crimped long hair the colour of her habitat.

Her body is as green as grass. Her face is

red with rage. She is as big as the Eiffel

Tower. Bonfire has a stripy back like a zebra

but a human’s nose.

Bonfire lives in a desert. The trees shade

her whilst she sleeps. She lives where it

will not rain and she rolls in the sand to

sunbathe. Elephants and giraffes run wild

where she lives.

Bonfire is black hearted. She eats only

people and giraffes. Bonfire won’t dare to

touch an elephant for she knows elephants

are the King or Queen of the desert.

Bonfire can fly, set herself on fire without

harming herself, breathe fire, lay golden

eggs and she can cut down a thousand

trees in one tail swipe.

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Samuel Hart

Chloe Williams

There Be Dragons

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What stage presence!

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Year 4 pupils were in ine voice when they

gave a polished performance of the musical

Aladdin.

They welcomed audiences to Agrabah and 

adventures of the street rat that became

a prince.

When the street urchin, Aladdin, vies for the

attention of the beautiful princess, Jasmine, he

uses a genie’s magic power to become a prince

in order to marry her. Iago, Jafar, the Genie

shone on stage in a musical adventure illed

with magic, mayhem and the power of love.

With just weeks to prepare for the production

the children wowed the crowd with their

singing and lavish costumes.

“The children themselves took control of this

production and worked together to create a

smooth and polished performance. They should

feel proud of the end result,” said Mr Palmer.

ALADDIN Our Charity of the Year

Every year, all pupils from Year 2 to Year 8

are given the opportunity to vote through

their School Council representatives for

our ‘Charity of the Year’.

Over the course of the year all of our

fundraising efforts go towards one

charity – this year it was the Wallace

and Gromit Appeal for Bristol Children’s

Hospital.

The pupils chose this charity because

three families from our school

community have had personal

experience of their excellent care and

this was a wonderful way to say thank

you. The school raised more than £5,000.

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Henry Garrard decided to live on the same

amount of water that most people in Africa

use every day. For three days he used just

20 litres of water a day. To put that in to

perspective, that’s how much you use by

showering for 1.5 minutes.

To make it even tougher, Henry walked 3km to

a spring every day to collect his water as many

people in Africa do, carrying it another 3km

home. Henry raised £540 for WaterAid.

Hamish Armstrong’s grandmother provided

the inspiration for raising money for Cancer

Research UK when he swam the distance from

home to school in her memory – the same

distance as the English Channel.

Eleana Irvine also supported the charity,

raising £1,104 by walking the entire 177 miles

of the 8th Century Offa’s Dyke. 

Eve Chandler decided that rather than raising

money for charity she wanted to do something

pro-active for her community so she organised

a tea dance for pensioners.

Her guests could have thought they were

somewhere altogether more swish than the

local community centre as Eve decorated

the hall to look like The Ritz. She made inger

sandwiches and cakes and organised the

music, ensuring that each and every guest got

to hear one of their favourite songs.

Isabella Rowland not only completed the Ten

Tors for her challenge but made her own dress

for the formal dinner along with fellow pupil

Freya Roe.

George Tomblin got up at 5.30am for a week

to walk the 11km to school.

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Finger sandwiches, buckets of

spring water, and an 8th Century

dyke all played important parts of

this year’s Kirby Challenge.

Year 8 pupils never cease to impress with the ideas they

come up with for the annual challenge which beneits either

the community or school. And this year was no exception.

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Athletics

We have had another successful Athletics

season this year, with yet more athletes winning

through to the national inals. If we rewind to

the beginning we took nearly 40 athletes to

Beaudesert on exeat weekend, where we saw

excellent efforts across both track and ield.

From here 13 pupils were selected to go through

to the regional athletics at Abingdon. Sophie

Izon inished a very respectable third in the

Under 13 1500m, Olivia Lundie came third in

the Under 13 High Jump, with a jump of 1.3m

and Connie Palmer came fourth in the Under

13 200m, all of whom narrowly missed out on

the inals. Sebastian Forrest had a super race as

a Year 5, running against Year 6 children, and

performed very well in the 200m. It was Kiran

Carter and Charlie Hosking however, who were

the stars of the show. Charlie won his Under

14 1500m race to book himself a place at the

national inals; and Kiran Carter did the double,

coming second in triple jump and winning the

high jump, breaking a meet record that had

stood since 1974 in the process. At the national

inals Kiran performed brilliantly and he won the

triple jump with a jump of 11.35m, and came

third in the high jump. A super effort from a very

talented athlete.

Sports Day

The weather was kind to us once again this year,

as we were blessed with sunshine for the annual

Inter House Athletics Sports Day. The event this

year was thoroughly enjoyed by the children, as

they had the opportunity to select the teams

and events, which gave all of the houses a

feeling of unity and a common goal.

There were some superbly competitive races,

with nine records being broken during the event.

In the Inter Boys 300m Oliver Leonard set a

new time of 53.81s; Jena Harvey set a new

distance of 33.3m in the Inter Girls rounders

ball throw; and Margot Shetliffe jumped

1.30m in the Inter Girls high jump to take the

record. There was a super battle between Jay

Evans and Billy Kerslake, as Jay would break a

record (Inter Boys shot and discus) only for Billy

to beat the record again, so poor Jay was left

without his name in the record books, whilst Billy

celebrated victory and new records for javelin

(18.55m), shot (7.37m) and discus (19.2m).

There was also a team relay record broken in the

senior medley relay. This saw Freddie Searle,

Charlie Hosking and Connie Palmer run 300m,

200m and 100m, passing the baton to each

other to set a new record time of one minute 31

seconds. There should also be an honourable

mention to Kiran Carter, who stumbled during

the 100m, only to inish 0.1 second outside the

100m record which has stood since 1954. If this

wasn’t enough Kiran jumped 5.7m in his inal

long jump, with the whole of sports day coming

to a standstill and clapping him into his run-up,

only to have just stepped on the foul line, so it

was a no jump, although would have smashed

the old 1974 record by 40cm.

In addition to the records it was great to see the

support and comradery of all the pupils. This

was seen no more so than in the inal event, the

mass house relay, where every child took part,

starting from the youngest, moving through the

houses by age, until the inish with the Year 8

pupils. After nearly 15 minutes all four teams

were on the same lap, with Grenfell coming in

irst place comfortably, followed by Scott and

then there was a battle to the line for third place

between the two speedsters of Year 8 – Kiran

Carter and Alex Reynolds, with Alex nearly

catching his rival on the line.

Football

The football 1st XI enjoyed a successful season,

winning eight of their ten ixtures. The season

consisted of many highlights in the attacking

third, but the success of the season was built on

a solid defence, led by captain Alex Reynolds

and goalkeeper Gabriel Gual Bobillo, who

were both winners of the player of the year

awards. The 1st XI won the annual Wycliffe

six-a-side tournament. The boys were deserving

champions, winning four matches and drawing

one on their way to victory. This is the ifth

time in six years that Wycliffe have ended the

tournament as winners.

The 2nd XI football team had a mixed term,

losing as many games as they won. George

Pillinger proved to be the key player being not

only a very competent goalkeeper, often saving

the day for the rest of his team but also showing

himself to be a very effective midielder as well.

The outstanding match of the term was against

Beaudesert with Mark Davison scoring a pearler

of a free kick in the last minute to win the game.

In the Colts section the A team played well

throughout the term, winning many of their

matches, and often started well. Scoring goals

was never a problem and Farid Abu Mughaisib

in particular showed what a keen eye for goal

he has, with Oliver Leonard being the stand

out player throughout the season. In the South

West Under 11 7 a-side competition the team

played well for each other and on another day

may have won medals. In the Colts B Leon

Hutchings demonstrated in the football season

that he was an intuitive defender, consistently

reading the play well, and making vital

inceptions that kept the team in matches.

The highlight has to be Leon making three

SPORTATHLETICS / SPORTS DAY / FOOTBALL

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tackles in a row against St Johns that stopped

an almost certain goal from the opposition.

The Under 9 players showed some great

team performances throughout the season,

including dominant midield play from Codie

Beachus, and some wonderful long-range goals

from Samuel Hart, playing with Year 4s. The

Under 8s played in some very competitive ixtures

with a team fully up to the challenge. Austin

Webster was a leader from the back with his brave

goal keeping whilst Jack McKerrow’s tireless

defensive work kept the team in more than one

match. An attacking core of Oliver Jewkes and

Ilya Nesvetov, our Russian player acquired in the

transfer window, gave the U8s a strong strike force

against any team.

Rugby

The Under 13A, playing under the new rules this

season, started in ine fettle against Pinewood,

with the ball being thrown around with precision,

showing a great skill level throughout the team

from prop to fullback. The team continued to

develop throughout the season with some great

runs from Charlie Hosking, sniping scrum half

darts from Andrew Uys and some powerful runs

and deft kicks from George Pillinger. At full back

Sam Davenport caught everything that came

his way, and winger Alex Reynolds showed

his pace and commitment to the team, whilst

captain Archie Davie led from the front with

his heart on his sleeve. The six aforementioned

players then went on to train in Gloucester RFC’s

Developing Player Programme along with Henry

Garrard. During the 7s season, the team went

from strength to strength, learning the game

and exploiting its intricacies. At Rosslyn Park

our Under 13s were drawn in a tough group, but

showed their mettle throughout, gaining a great

win over All Hallows School.

The Under 12A team enjoyed a successful season

with some fantastic attacking play, coming from

the elusive running of Freddie Searle, the pace

of Harry Brownless and the skills from Myles

Marklove. The Under 12/13B enjoyed a pleasing

rugby term, with a selection of results which

highlighted the improvements made, especially

by new pupils. Hamish Armstrong in particular

managed to move up to irst team level as a result of

realising that few people could stop his strong runs.

In the Colts section the Under 11A team showed

both power and speed with Billy Kerslake

smashing through opposition defences and Jay

Evans using his skill and speed to beat players and

put others into gaps. The Under 10 rugby squad

showed a lot of enthusiasm and heart throughout

the term and made signiicant improvements

game by game. Simon Fance was the outstanding

sportsman of the team, being a team player and

leading from the front. Adam Searle and Sam

Gregory proved that they are great try scorers and

will always give 100% as the whole team did.

For many Under 9 players this was their irst

attempt at contact rugby and they really enjoyed

it. For some, especially Lewis Ely and Wilf Millard,

learning the correct tackling technique allowed

them to develop their conidence in training

and take this into the inter-school matches and

represent the school very effectively. The Under

8s showed superb improvement across the

season, including great team play from Ben Cook,

incredible defending by Austin Webster, and

some fantastic solo tries by Oliver Jewkes.

Cross-Country

The Under 11 girls and boys won their respective

Dursley league competitions, with Jena Harvey

inishing as second individual overall. The Under

11 girls won the Severnside championship, and

Jena won the race. Sophie Izon, Mimi Green

and Freddie Searle qualiied for the English

schools inal. Charlie Hosking and Sophie Izon

performed well in the IAPS cross country, gaining

top 30 placings. The Under 13 boys team made

it through to the inal of the English Schools Cup

and inished among the top 25 secondary schools

in the country.

Hockey

Senior Hockey

A young 1st V11 squad worked hard throughout

the 2016 hockey term to produce some excellent

hockey and results against strong schools.

Captained superbly by Abigail Richardson,

a predominantly Year 7 team faced stronger,

bigger opposition. The 2nds grew in conidence

as the term progressed, developing technically as

individuals and as a team. However it was in the

match against Beaudesert that they came alight.

Determination, power and passion were evident

in the fast-paced match that led to a 5-4 Wycliffe

victory. Ruby Rose and Connie Palmer stepped

up, driving the play forward down the wings,

bridging the gap between the defence and attack.

While Lia Trainor protected the goal, improving

week on week, pushing her body in front of the

opposition’s shots. The thirds have had a season of

great improvements. There have been individual

improvements in skill, such as Isabella Rowland’s

hit-outs as defender, Naomi Opaleye’s silky ball

skills down the wing, Charlotte Robbins’ amazing

goalkeeping and Holly Keyse’s determination

to be everywhere on the pitch. The word

perseverance sums up the 4th team this season.

Intermediate Hockey

The Under 11 results bear no resemblance to

the effort and skill that these girls have given. All

eight trained hard, acted on advice and have been

enthusiastic and positive in their approach to the

game. The Under 11B team players made super

progress this season, especially in their ability to

work together as a team. The Under 10s have

progressed so much with their hockey over the

term. They have ended the year on a high with a

7-0 and a 5-0 win.

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Junior Hockey

Our Under 9s have had a great season of hockey,

showing an increasing effort to play as a team.

They seem to be grasping the idea of passing

the ball wide to the players on the wing which

has allowed for some remarkable dribbling from

one end of the pitch to the other. The Under 8

hockey has been superb this season; the team

has worked well together and made many

improvements to their hockey skills and team

playing. Enthusiasm has allowed these girls to

go from strength to strength.

Awards

Grifins: Jena Harvey, Katie Rathbone,

Isla Skelston

Half Colours: Mimi Green

Full Colours: Abigail Richardson, Isobel Price,

Eleana Irvine

Swimming

Bella Best and Paddy Errington were our able

swimming captains this year. They provided great

organisational skills at the galas, and encouraged

their team members as well as improving their

own swimming.

The swim year started with an away gala at

Beaudesert with both boys and girls Under 11 and

Under 12s competing. It was a close fought gala

with races coming down to the touch. A special

mention for Sam Gregory who swam up an age

group supporting the Under 11s.

Beaudesert visited Wycliffe and again Under 10

boys and girls swam along with senior A and B

teams. This gave the more senior swimmers a

chance to race and again provided some very

exciting inishes.

Twenty-ive swimmers swam at the regional IAPS

qualifying round at Millield School. It was a tough

competition against some of the best swimming

schools in the country. Charlie Hosking, Daisy

Cole, Sophie Izon, Alissa Goring and Abigail

Opaleye gave superb performances with Charlie

and Daisy qualifying for the inals and the others

inishing high up the national rankings.

At the IAPS inals Charlie Hosking swam his lifetime

best in the boys Under 13 50m breaststroke inishing

ninth in the country. Daisy Cole swam a fantastic

heat swim in the girls Under 12 50m breaststroke and

qualiied for the inal where she swam her lifetime

best to inish sixth in the country.

Our annual Birdlip gala saw our youngest

swimmers make their debut. It was great to see

all of the work in their lessons and swim squad

relected in their sport.

The inal gala of the year was the annual

Severnside gala. Great performances from

Charlie Hosking, Daisy Cole, Charles Barrett,

Alissa Goring and Olivia Creed who all won their

races. The whole team supported each other and

although Wycliffe inished third the majority of the

races were extremely close.

Grifins: Jena Harvey

Half Colours: Daisy Cole

Full Colours: Charlie Hosking

Tennis

Tennis continues to gain pace at Wycliffe Prep

with all the senior girls playing regularly in

matches. The girls have all beneited from match

play and there have been a number of notable

successes. Olivia Lundie and Alix Williams

have won all their matches at Under 12 age

group and will be a strong pair at 1st team level

next season. Other notable results have been

the 4th VI v Clifton who won 9-0. (Mimi Green,

Naomi Opaleye, Edie Guest, Sophie Izon,

Daisy Cole and Charlotte Robbins played).

All the year groups have been involved in

tournaments, with Eliza Moore and Hannah

Morris winning in Year 5, Jena Harvey and Isla

Skelston in Year 6, and Daisy Hartson and

Jasmine Jackson in Year 7.

The younger girls took part in tennis challenges and

Florrie Matthews in Year 3 and Clara Skelston

in Year 4 have been awarded Tennis Player 2017.

The inale of the tennis season is the Year 8 mixed

doubles tournament in the last week of term with

Abigail Richardson and Sam Osborne-Wylde

taking the title.

Awards

Grifins: Isla Skelston

Half Colours: Olivia Lundie and Alix Williams

Full Colours: Abigail Richardson

Rounders

The Under 11A rounders team have been an exciting

team to watch and work with. Their team spirit and

the selless way they play is fantastic. They show real

team spirit. Madison Charnley-Heaton has taken

superb catches from behind as back-stop and Poppy

Beaumont has caught out many opponents ielding

off third post. Jena Harvey’s variety of fast and spin

bowling have caught the opposition unaware and

made it hard to bat against, whilst Katie Rathbone

has shown determination and skill with the bat.

They performed brilliantly at the Sevenside rounders

tournament this term, inishing in second place.

The Under 10 team enjoyed a mixed season of

rounders this term. Certainly, the weather was mixed;

we had games sessions which were abandoned

because of the torrential rain and matches in which

we all suffered from the heat. The team worked

hard together. The ielding was a real strength with

Eliza Moore’s spectacular lying catches a feature

of most matches. Sadly the batting element of

the game let us down so that even when we had

kept our opponents’ score low, through excellent

ielding, we could not then get enough rounders to

overtake them. In the Severnside tournament the

team performed well with Alissa Goring, Olivia

Larkman and Abigail Opaleye as bowler, backstop

and second post working together to control the

opponents. Amy Bond was tireless in the deep ield

chasing every ball while Tilly Coles was selected

as the best batter of the team. Overall, the girls

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improved their core skills and developed their team

work, supporting each other whether they were

winning or losing.

Both our Under 9 A and B teams have grown. They

began the season facing tough opposition against

Cheltenham Prep and Beaudesert; however this

prepared them well for the Severnside tournament

where they were victorious in one of their games.

During our last few games Erin Harper has stepped

up as a fantastic bowler, but the highlight of the

season has to go to Bella Williams’ ielding against

Beaudesert where she caught out one of their

players, only to immediately turn round and stump

out another player.

Netball

Senior Netball

The 1st team netball term was a busy one,

including numerous matches, IAPS and local

county tournaments, not forgetting the Year

8 sports tour to London. There were many

highlights. Unfortunately, several injuries,

including broken limbs (not caused playing

netball) prevented the team from attaining any

consistency. It did, however, mean that more

players were given the opportunity to play

fast and furious 1st team netball and the girls

improved each time they played.

An unexpected defeat in their irst match of

the season gave the Under 12s the impetus

they needed. The team tackled each match

competitively and won all of their remaining

matches. They also retained their status as

Severnside Champions and won the invitational

tournament at KLB towards the end of the season.

Intermediate Netball

The Under 11A team started and inished the

season winning their matches but in between

they were faced with strong opposition. Coming

tenth in the Severnside Tournament early in the

season; we knew we were going to have some

tough games. They approached each game with

determination and fought well. Tall defenders

made our shooters’ lives dificult and scoring goals

was a problem. The team demonstrated good ball

handling skills, excellent footwork and real team

spirit; supporting each other in winning or losing.

The Under 10s faced an incredibly tough season,

coming up against a number of schools with

much higher numbers of girls to choose teams

from in their year groups. Very often, therefore,

they had to play against far stronger sides and

accept defeat. The silver lining was that all the

girls learned much about resilience and good

sportsmanship, and their team spirit and good

morale was exemplary.

Junior Netball

The Under 9s had a tough netball season, facing

some strong opposition. However they inished the

season on a high, beating Tockington by one goal

whilst the B team drew. The Under 8s relished the

opportunity to play competitively against other

schools, learning to work together as a team.

Awards

Grifins: Jena Harvey

Half Colours: Issey Price

Full Colours: Abigail Richardson and

Molly Rawlinson

Cricket

The 1st XI cricket team had a mixed season with

some excellent performances to win games

including getting through the irst round of the

County Cup. Some notable performances with the

bat from Andrew Uys, some great spin bowling

from Paddy Errington and Harry Brownless

impressed in both disciplines ending the season

as the top run maker. The attitude from the team

was excellent. In the 2nd XI there were some

outstanding innings from Charlie Hosking and

Josh Barker, both making 50s, and some superb

bowling from the likes of Kiran Carter and

Eryx Vane Percy.

The 3rd XI cricket team have developed well within

match situations, where their understanding and

enthusiasm for the game has been undiminished

and, if the bowlers weren’t so keen to give away

wides and no balls, we may well have beaten

Beaudesert at the start of term. In the 4th XI there

were mixed results although many boys new to

cricket began to gain a better understanding of the

game and develop their skills as a result. Gabriel

Gual Bobillo made great strides throughout

the season in his batting and bowling techniques

learned in a term, moving him into the 3rd XI.

Colts A had an enjoyable and successful season.

They have played as a team with everyone

involved contributing something at times. The

highlight was the win over Prior Park, which

saw a good bowling performance followed by a

wonderful innings of 72 from Billy Kerslake to

win the match. Jay Evans has captained the team

well and made important contributions with bat

and ball. The team was predominantly Year 5, and

these players have really performed well.

Within the Under 9s there was a dramatic

improvement across the term, in which many of

the boys learned to bowl straight, and developed

their batting and ielding skills. Fantastic

communication and quick running between the

wickets by Micah Groves and Sam Watson was a

particular highlight. It was a thoroughly enjoyable

season for the U8 boys with skills improving

across the board. It has been great to see both

the Larkman boys, Archie Larkman and Harry

Larkman, bowling with such consistency and

their passion for the game has been infectious

throughout the squad. There were some fantastic

batting performances as well, notably Austin

Webster and Oliver Jewkes who hit a number of

majestic boundaries in matches this term.

Girls’ Cricket

Cricket has been a new sport that’s been added

to the vast number of sports already on offer at

Wycliffe. The girls were quick to pick up on all the

rules and how to score – but bowling was proving

their biggest fear. Due to the typical English

weather a few ixtures were cancelled, however,

the girls made it across to Clifton College and

suffered a narrow defeat. For their irst game

Molly Rawlinson outdid herself with the bowling.

Eleana Irvine stood steady as wicket keeper and

all the girls batted with vigour. In June the girls

entered the Clifton College Cricket Festival. They

managed to score 45+ runs every game. The

highlights were a great catch from Issey Price,

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Molly Rawlinson taking a wicket and Bella Best

scoring three fours in a row.

The 3rds played at the cricket festival at

Beaudesert. The girls played Dean Close, The

Downs and Monkton School. Although they came

second in each match the girls did themselves

proud. Special mentions to Eve Chandler for

her bowling prowess and leadership of the

team. Flossy Calnan was our star catcher of the

afternoon with two superb catches. Sophia Levy

and Freya Roe really got their eye in with some

super bowling. All the girls clearly enjoyed the

cricket this season.

Squash

Sam Osborne-Wylde was the stand-out squash

player of the year and achieved some fantastic

results. He won the Under 13 British Junior

Closed, conirming his place as the number 1

player in the United Kingdom. He then went

on to the British Junior open where he inished

second, this effectively ranked him as the second

best player in the world for his age group, as

this tournament is widely regarded as the most

prestigious of junior tournaments.

Daisy Hartson also had a good year, representing

Gloucestershire in the county inals and reaching

the inal of the South-West championships and

IAPS tournaments. Daisy also partnered Sam in

the IAPS doubles competition where they were

runners-up to King’s Taunton in a tight battle.

Equestrian

September saw some of the Prep School pupils

competing at the Cheltenham Ladies’ College

show jumping at Rectory Farm. Madison

Charnley-Heaton rode in the 40cms and came

eighth individually at her irst-ever competition.

Katie Hanson, Alice Tomblin, Isla Skelston and

Madison Charnley-Heaton rode in the 50cms

coming second as a team with Alice in third

place individually and Isla fourth Individually.

This gave them qualiication to the Grassroots

championships.

Katie Hanson, Alice Tomblin, Isla Skelston and

Lucy McKerrow rode in the 60cms and came

fourth as a team with Isla seventh individually and

Alice eighth individually. This also gained them

qualiication for the championships.

The team competed in the Regional Grassroots

Show Jumping Championships. Two of our

youngest team members, Lottie and Codie

Beachus, at six and eight years old, competed in

the 40 and 45cm classes. Both jumped clear in

both classes and Lottie won the best fancy dress

as an elf.

Isla Skelston, Alice Tomblin and Katie Hanson

who had qualiied for the 50cm regional inal,

inished with a team bronze medal, with Alice

Tomblin inishing fourth individually and Isla

Skelston in silver medal position.

All of them qualiied for the 60cm class along with

Lucy McKerrow. Our team inished on a score of

four faults and received the bronze medal. In the

65cms class. Alice and Isla produced faultless

rounds with Isla winning gold and Alice securing

second place.

At an independent schools one-day event held at

Swalcliffe Park, Josh Barker, a Year 8 pupil, was

entered as an individual in his irst-ever BE90 class.

He rode brilliantly gaining a double clear, just

picking up a few time faults on the cross country

course, to inish on a score of 42.6. It was a

fantastic result for Josh’s irst BE90 competition.

At the Dean Close show jumping event held at

Rectory Farm, Codie Beachus riding his new pony,

Monty, produced a faultless clear round in his irst

70cms class but just missed out on the placings.

Isla Skelston also riding in the 70cms class

once again produced a faultless clear round on

her pony Molly and was super through the timed

section to inish in third place in a tough class.

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In February, pupils had a great

time flying round the cycle

track at Lee Valley Velo Park

Sam Osborne-Wylde won the

Under 13 British Junior Closed

Squash title

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THEGREAT

OUTDOORS

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I am writing to you because I would like to

have a different break time snack. I think

that we should have milk shakes for the

following reasons.

My irst reason is that milk shakes are very nutritious. They are

full of ibre and calcium which will make

children’s bones grow stronger. My next

point is that milk shakes are very very tasty which will make

me and the pupils of

Wycliffe school HAPPY!!

Milk shakes are a spectacular way of

getting children eating fruit and veg.

This is helping them get their ive a day. There are endless

combinations of lavours such as

strawberry and banana so

that we will never get bored again.

Dear Kitchen staff

Persuasive Writing

On the other hand you should not choose

juice because one glass of orange juice can

contain as many calories as a can of Coca-

Cola, because of the sugar added to it.

Thank you for giving up your time to read my

letter and I hope you choose milk shakes

because of the massive amount of beneits it will have for us.

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YEAR

I don’t know why anyone hasn’t come

up with this brilliant idea. But you must

agree with it because it’s mind blowing,

it’s incredible, it’s amazing!

Here it is, why not have a gym! Okay, I know

what you are thinking – it’s too much money.

Here are the reasons why! Firstly we’ll be

itter and stronger. Also I know how much

you like to win matches!

Secondly, we will be stronger mentally and

physically which will help in lessons! Also I

was just curious at irst but then I looked it

up! Science tells you that itness calms you

down and makes you focus.

Therefore you would be stupid not to and

us pupils would love you, but if you don’t we

won’t and I know you don’t want that.

Dear Mr Palmer

Persuasive Writing

Pupils from Years 1-8 learned about the exciting

Google Expeditions app. This is a new app developed

by Google to open up the classroom for an immersive

learning experience, helping teachers to demonstrate

learning in a unique way by leading pupils on a virtual

reality ield trip.

Year 1 submerged themselves in an Ocean Safari

workshop, linked to their learning in Geography,

whilst Year 2 learnt about one of the great children’s

authors, working through the Roald Dahl: Phizz

Whizzing expedition.

Year 3 were enriched through an Underwater

Excursion, followed by Year 4 who stepped back

in time as they visited the pyramids of Ancient

Egypt to support their learning across the

Humanities subjects.

Year 5 explored the visual wonders of the Solar

System, whilst Year 6 linked into their studies in

English with an expedition on Charles Dickens.

Year 7 were split across two expeditions as they

undertook a Medieval Castle Expedition to Castle

Rushden as part of their History Study, or were virtual

visitors to various museums to look at Impressionist Art.

Year 8 expedition took them to the trenches of

the First World War battleields, linking in with the

centenary of the Great War by looking at the Ypres

WW1 expedition.

Google Expeditions

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By Louise Tutcher By Leon Hutchings

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HAVEYOUR OWN

OUTDOORADVENTURE

Having an outdoor adventure can be as

easy as stepping outside your own back

door and exploring your garden.

See how many birds you can

spot in one hour.1

Get up close and try to identify

as many bugs as you can.2

Don’t forget, make a note of what

you find. Over time you will build a

fantastic record of the wildlife that

visits your garden.

3

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Using artefacts and costumes on loan from

the Cheltenham museum, and videos and

music recordings from the period, pupils

were immersed in the era.

It was all flower power and good vibes for Year 6 pupils as they

experienced the 60s firsthand during their Music and History

studies about John Lennon and the Beatles.

Activities included a whole class version

of Juke Box Jury and a Beatles singalong

as pupils learned about the cultural and

musical inluences of the Beatles.

FAR OUT MAN

Pupils from Year 5 to 7 were asked to make

cells and their organelles out of sweets in

Science Club. Whilst this was a recap for

Year 7, the other years are covering this

content well in advance of their years.

Of course the lesson ended with everyone

gorging on sweets in the name of Science!

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Year 8 proudly performed the wonderful Elf the

musical. Based on the ilm, this hilarious ish-

out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his

quest to ind his true identity.

The production was rehearsed and performed

in a week and was a real team effort with many

memorable cameos and performances. 

Year 8 did a fantastic job in bringing this heart

warming story to the stage. Buddy, a young

orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of

gifts and is transported to the North Pole.

With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a

journey to ind his birth father and discover his

true identity. Buddy is determined to win over

his new family and help New York remember the

true meaning of Christmas.

Year 7 performed the well-known Singin’ in the

Rain to appreciative audiences. The production

allowed them to demonstrate their performance

skills to the full, from wonderful comedy,

memorable toe tapping songs and fantastic

dance routines. An amazing production from a

talented Year group. 

Year 6 pupils brought to life some of Dr. Seuss’

best-loved characters in the unforgettable

musical caper, Seussical.

The Cat in the Hat tells the story of Horton,

an elephant who discovers a speck of dust

containing tiny people called the Whos,

including Jojo, a Who child, who gets in trouble

for thinking too many “thinks.”

Not only must Horton protect the Whos from

danger, he must also guard an abandoned egg

that’s been left in his care. Although Horton

faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial,

the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith

in him.

The pupils were triumphant in their performances

injecting the story with energy, colour, enthusiasm

along with an abundance of talent. 

48

SHOW

STOPPERSIt was a busy year as Prep pupils showed off their

talents on stage and behind the stage.

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Pupils from Reception to Year 8 dressed as their

favourite book character and helped raise money

for the Prep School’s charity: Cancer Research UK.

The best dressed pupils from each Year 3-8 tutor

group gave a fashion parade during assembly, and

a panel of judges chose two winners from Upper

Prep and two from Middle Prep: Fred Lissenden,

AKA Grandpa (from ‘Grandpa’s Great Escape’),

Madeline Small, AKA Saucepan Man, Leon

Hutchings, who was a convincing Mad Hatter,

and Amy Bond as a terrifying Demon Dentist.

Children from Lower Prep were also involved in

the fashion parade.

Pupils took part in a range of book-themed

activities in their English lessons, from Year 3 pupils

hunting the school grounds to ind Wally, to Year

6 conducting a survey to do with the popularity

of bedtime stories, and Year 7 pupils writing their

own phonic-based books for younger pupils to

learn from on i-Pads. 

In the main library pupils were challenged to

deduce the name of a book by the contents of

a set of shoeboxes plus a range of other book

quizzes and activities.

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52 53

There are 16 pupils in our orchestra and 72 pupils in

the three choirs (Senior Middle Prep and Lower Prep).

Then there are our junior strings and senior strings

group as well as the lute group.

During the year, 34 music exams were taken with an

incredible 13 of those achieving Merit or Distinction

(8 Merit, 5 Distinction) and another 14 who will be

taking their exams before the end of this term.

Eve Chandler, a talented young singer, took up her

place in the Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir.

Abigail Opaleye, Lewis Crabb-La Hei and Bo

Buckingham did well in the Cheltenham Arts

Festival, winning three trophies between them for

their recorder playing.

Our 11+ and 13+ music scholars shone when they

performed with pupils from the Senior School in a

Scholars concert.

The summer concert was a truly splendid occasion.

The orchestra set the pace, ably conducted by

Abigail Richardson and Millie Capehorn.

We then had an array of lovely solos, duets and

ensemble items, all of the highest calibre. The

concert was rounded off by a lovely performance of

‘Super Trouper’ by Senior Choir. A itting musical end

to an exciting year.

It was a year of notable

success for pupils involved

with the Music department.

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Working with a journalist, the team of trainee

reporters and photographers wrote news stories

and took pictures to create the Wycliffe Prep Times.

They were assigned stories and given tough

deadlines. One group of reporters interviewed

Olympian Hollie Webb who helped her hockey team

win gold at Rio.

They worked incredibly hard and their efforts

resulted a very well-read Prep newspaper. The irst

issue was such a success that it is hoped to become

an annual project and publication.

News Hounds

The Year 8 pupils, as part of

their media studies, published

their own newspaper for the

first time.

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Life, what a wonderful thing to possess,

Only to be stolen by time itself,

So we must act quickly, make it last my love,

Look into my eyes, tell me what you see,

Let the waves of love wash over your body,

Cupid is up to his old cheeky tricks.

Let the thumping of your heart still my love,

The heat of your lips feels heavenly,

Compared to me, you’re an angel on Earth.

Your voice is a beautiful wooden harp,

Now press your strong body close against mine,

It is done – for now the sun is setting,

And the hills of production are mourning,

And I sheath my sword; I stare. It’s ended.

Sonnet One

As the wind blows, the thin blades of grass dance

like a tribesman,

As the night falls, the yellow sun runs away like a

big yellow lion,

In the morning, the whistles are loud and tuned

like a choir of singing African ladies,

The bush comes alive like a new-born zebra to the

harsh hot Earth,

As the day burns bright, the African Savannah

looks like a bachelor group of golden impala,

exited by the warmth of the world,

But as dusk creeps in, it covers the land like a dark

herd of blue wilderbeast running,

The African land is alive like you and I.

The African Bush

By Echo Parker, Year 8 By Samuel Spiers, Year 6

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Look out, it’s going to blow!

Year 7 History pupils re-enacted the Battle of

Hastings, an event which took place just over 950

years ago.

They got into the tactics of battle as they took

to the irst with their homemade shields and

cardboard swords. The whole day’s events were

supported by re-enactor Kevin Hicks of the History

Squad who was able to brief the pupils and

direct affairs.

The pupils were able to consider through this role

play how King Harold may have won especially if he

had employed different tactics on the day, but as

usual William’s clever method of breaking the shield

wall proved decisive.

More importantly, the pupils will long remember

what happened on this important day in History

because of the fun and excitement of playing a

part in this mock battle.

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There were excellent examples, made from a wide

variety of materials including modelling plaster,

papier-mâché and a class favourite ‘cake!’ 

A number of the volcanoes were designed to erupt,

with some sticky red substances that spewed from

their craters. 

The three best examples were created by Immy

Telford, Olivia Lundie and Daisy Hartson. Each of

these students received a Violent Volcanoes book

from the Horrible Geography Series, as a prize for

their efforts.

Year 7 pupils were given some

explosive homework – to build

and label a volcano – as part of

their study into Plate Tectonics.

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Once we had unpacked our bags we had a tasty

dinner followed by an evening activity. It was all

very exciting and no-one slept much that night.

Our irst outing was to a market and where we could

practise our French. We bought our picnic lunch and

a few bits and bobs. It was quite hard buying things

at the market because you had to know the right

vocabulary to ask for what you wanted.

After the market we went down to a goat farm.

This was the highlight of the trip for me! The goats

were gorgeous, lots of photos were taken and we

learnt about goats’ cheese.

We also went on many sightseeing trips. We saw

many places of historic interest including Mont-

Saint-Michel and the Bayeux tapestry. It was all

so beautiful.

This was a fabulous trip and I was very sad it came

to an end.

This year, pupils from Years 7

and 8 went on a school trip

to Normandy in France. The

first thing we did once we had

arrived, via ferry, was to get

settled in the place we were

staying, ‘La Grande Ferme’.

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By Lucy McKerrow, Year 7

A bright red truck, flashing blue lights, and yellow

helmets and wellies sent children at the Nursery,

Reception and Lower Prep in to squeals of delight

when a fire engine visited.

They could hardly contain themselves as the engine

from SkillZONE Gloucester rolled up!

“I want to be a fireman when I grow up because I

want to drive the fire engine,” said Peter, aged four.

Firefighter Chris Hale and his colleague talked to the

children about fire safety before the real excitement

took place – having a go with the water hose.

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1. Echo Parker, Yr 6

2. Isabella Rowland, Yr 8

3. Hannah Morris, Yr 5

4. Charles Barrett, Yr 4

5. Ruby Rose, Yr 8

6. Sophia Levy, Yr 8

7. Molly Rawlinson, Yr 8

8. Joe Pier, Yr 7

9. Yr 8 Doodle Wall

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It was a very special trip and

a irst for bringing together

Preparatory and Senior School

pupils. Years 8 and 9 pupils

travelled together for this special

trip to mark the First World War.

Jon Cooksey, of the Western

Front Association, was our guide

and researcher and discovered

where these two gallant men

fell, and the reasons behind it.

We were actually able to stand

on the ground they fought

on, and sense how and why

they died.

Before departure, the pupils

were each given the task of

remembering one of 19 OWs

who died in the First World War.

We visited their memorials/

graves and a small poem

or comment about their life

was given by the pupils. It

was a touching and moving

experience. A itting way to

remember what happened

exactly 100 years ago.

The highlight was taking part in

one of the services at the Menin

Gate during our visit, where

George Tomblin and Freya Roe

presented a wreath after the

Last Post had been played.

In History lessons the Year 8

pupils have been researching

and interpreting the sources that

give us an insight into the lives

of these two young men. They

are writing their own biographies

of these men, padding out the

superbly written biography that

former headmaster WA Sibly

wrote soon after the war.

Sky full of smoke, turning it black,

Below, men running to attack,

Charging into battle, forwards they ly

Any second another may die.

Bullets go lying, through the air,

Soldiers in heaven, will soon be joined there.

Many only seventeen years of age,

Innocent boys, scared and afraid.

This is what war, in reality was like,

Every man full of fright,

Fighting alongside some of his peers,

Facing the gunshots, facing their fears.

All of this for King and country,

All of this to keep Britain free,

Without all this how happy they’d be,

But No…

They still ight…

So Brave.

Twenty-seven pupils and four members

of staff went on a journey of discovery to

find out about what really happened to

two Old Wycliffians – Leonard Tregaskis

and Rex Bird.

Battlefield Trip What War Was Like

By Charlie Hosking

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Battle Writing

Year 8 pupils write about what life was like for the young men

in the trenches of the First World War

The trenches were emptier than anyone had

realised. The loneliness and variation of dead

soldiers gripped by a icy heart. The weariness that

everyone had, the mysterious battleield of no

man’s land claimed poor and rich alike.

The men who clumsily dropped their food to the

rats that had multiplied over the months. We read

our dictionaries, hoping for bad words to shout

at our enemy. The rat-tat-tat of the machine

guns cut through our ears like drums. And the

melodious music from home hurts my ears. I

need the ire at home. So many dead. My end is

soon. I’d better make it good. . .

By Sam Coffey

In my heavy uniform I march wearily through the

capital city of my country. We arrive at the city

edge and are unhappy as a nasty CO hits one of

the other soldiers for singing a merry song. When

we arrived at the war ground I saw a small pile of

poppies in the middle of the ield. I wanted to go

and snatch them for my mum as a gift to tell her

I was doing ine.

That night, I sat down and wrote a letter to my

mum. I told her that I hadn’t been in the war yet

and that they were looking after me; they supply

us with a bed and some food but it won’t be like

this for long.

By Ruby Rose

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When they told me to ight for my king and

countries I though it would all be going merrily. We

would travel through wonderful cities and beautiful

poppy ields but all I have felt so far is unhappy and

everyone is nasty to each other. I am starting to

feel weary. Luckily we got a new batch of supplies

although it will get heavier because of the rations

and the ammo that I will get from the supply.

Sally, the poppy ields are only going to rise when

I lie there, weary for ever more, as I will be shot for

treason at our next stop.

By Kiran Carter

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HOW WE SEE OURSELVES: SELF PORTRAITS

Nikol Yessimova Year 8Freya Roe Year 8 Sophia Levy Year 8

Year 8 pupils visited Shakespeare’s birthplace as

part of their English unit on Our Literary Heritage.

They also helped provide gifts for the charity

Link to Hope.

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When asked what they thought of the new

library, pupils gave it their seal of approval.

Frankie Perrill said: “There is a much wider

range of books to choose from”.

“I love the new library, I go there almost every

day,” said Ethan Fey.

“They use your ideas for new books,” said

Madeline Small.

Fellow pupil Billy Kerslake agreed. “It’s very

good and I love it a lot,” he said.

Staff are also pleased with the end result.

Mrs Emma Muszasty, Head of English, agreed.

“I am absolutely over the moon with the

new library”.

Throughout the whole summer the librarians

have been busy organising all the new books

and arranging them for the pupils to enjoy. It

took a very long time but luckily all went down

well but the librarians say that this is still an

ongoing process.

There are many of the newly-added books to

the collection that have been requested by the

pupils and the estimated number of books is

“easily 1,000”.

Note: this story was originally written and

published in The Wycliffe Prep Times by

Year 8 pupils

The Prep School has

relaunched its senior library.

It was opened by the cutting

of a ribbon done by the Head

Girl and Head Boy in Year 8.

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Our New-look Library

By Year 8 reporters: Jasmine Smith, Archie Davie and Isabelle Small

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Wycliffe Preparatory School, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 2LD Telephone: 01453 820470

Fax: 01453 827634 Wycliffe College Incorporated is a Registered Charity No 311714

and is a Company limited by guarantee and registered No 255632 in England and Wales.

www.wycliffe.co.uk