Focus Magazine - Autumn 2022

Arts Week

Collage Animals

Continuing our jungle-themed Art Week, Year 5 created fantastic collage animals for the whole school art work that will be revealed later in the year.

Reception

Reception used lots of different arts and crafts to try and create things that are found on the jungle floor. Leaf rubbings, caterpillars, conker snails and model spiders were all a big part of their week!

Jungle Ants

Year 1 had a fantastic Art Week making an army of jungle ants!

Nursery

Nursery children have learnt about tigers and looked at their stripy pattern. In drama, they had a go at acting out a tiger creeping through the jungle! They loved our book of the week ‘Don’t Wake Up Tiger’ and have experimented with making lots of different noises with both body percussion and different instruments.

Creative Fun!

Year 2 produced butterfly sun catchers, Year 3 embraced everything tiger during Art Week, enjoying learning about tiger conservation in Geography lessons and using their knowledge to create a stunning display at the Middle School entrance and Year 4 linked their work to the rainforest and impressed us in their drama workshop.

Arts Week delivered an exciting end to the half term with all the children linking their learning to the painting Surprised by Henri Rousseau as part of the National Gallery’s Take One Picture Project.

Paper Flowers

Years 3-6 had a visit from paper flower artist, Wendy Sturgess of the Paper Flower Company. She inspired the children with her lifelike creations and we were impressed with the children's work.

Tiger Conservation

Thinking of the tiger in the Rousseau painting, Mark Ellis visited from the David Sheppard Foundation to tell us all about the conservation of tigers. The children were fascinated to learn all about the different tigers and their habitats and the threats they face for survival.

Year 6

Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their flower workshop, making some stunning hibiscus inspired blooms in tropical colours. The painting has not only inspired art work, but also our English classes! The children studied 'The Tyger' by William Blake, and this amazing poem, alongside many more, has inspired Year 6 to create some of their own tiger-based poetry.

The Gingerbread Man

Reception children loved this particular “book of the week” and kept revisiting the writing table to add to their minibooks, and make their own version of the story.

"Big School" role play

Reception

Phonics fun

Reception children enjoy an array of practical activities to help them apply their new learning from our Read Write Inc. Lessons.

We loved seeing the children create their own role play scenario called “ Big School. ” They all grabbed clipboards and created their own writing and number tasks, inspiring each other as they went along.

An Autumn Treasure Hunt showing our fantastic team work!

Outdoor artwork!

Autumn colour matching in the sensory garden

Working with practical objects and our friends to cement our number work

Art

In Art, we have found out about artists such as Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso and explored the different ways that they created portraits. The pupils have enjoyed drawing their own self-portraits and creating their own ‘moving pictures’ portraits using a watercolour background.

Baptism

Year 2 has been learning about the importance of Baptism ceremonies to Christians. We discussed what happens in a Baptism and finished the topic by role playing the ceremony.

Year 2

Geography

In Geography, Year 2 have been using maps to locate places and landmarks in Liphook. We then found them in real life when we took a wonderful autumnal walk. After looking at maps locally, we used an atlas to find places in the United Kingdom.

Building sculptures on the beach

Doing our bit for the environment by cleaning up the beach of any rubbish

Paul Klee watercolour backgrounds

Walk to Liphook

Meeting the volunteer guard and staff on a seaside train ride

Baptism role play

We love getting outside...

Year 3 worked together to collect water during their water wise activity

Year 3 started the academic year with some team building!

Year 3 Three Peaks Outdoor Education Day

Travelling further afield...

A Year 6 visit to the Isle of Wight

As part of their Victorians topic, they visited Osborne House, finding out about life above and below the staircase.

Maddy's Mark

This term in our charitable endeavours the children and staff have been supporting Maddy’s Mark, in memory of Old Churcherian Maddy Lawrence who tragically lost her life to sepsis last year, aged 20. The name puts a spotlight on the enormous mark that Maddy had made in her short life and the mark that her charity would have on young women. As part this fundraising, Maddy’s aunt and Year 4 teacher Janine Gillard and her fiancé decided to cycle to Athens! The children waved them off on September 12, with banners and flags that they had made for the occasion having researched their itinerary. On completion of this Herculean task, they returned triumphantly to a celebratory non-uniform day at the Junior School having raised more than £13,000 – over £1,000 of that from the Junior School & Nursery children! We hope that Maddy’s Mark has inspired the children and encouraged them to think about what can be achieved with resilience, which is one of our school’s key values.

Quad Biking at Barfield Education Centre

Highfield Forest

Year 3 beginning their caring for the environment topic in Highfields Forest

Year 3 visited the Sustainability Centre

Year 5 Trips

Year 5 have had a busy time making the most of a return to school trips, visiting Cobnor and Selborne.

Year 6 Residential

At the annual residential trip to PGL everyone pushed themselves to the limit, facing their fears to reach the top of Jacob’s Ladder, abseil down a wall, zipline through the sky or have a go on the giant swing.

Year 4 visited The Living Rainforest

Enjoying a spot of sunshine on their rainforest trip.

Looking for and classifying minibeasts at the Sustainability centre

... back in the classroom

Year 4 are problem solving warriors - working hard in PowerMaths lessons

Year 5 have been raising awareness with their plastic pollution posters A Year 5 project designing and making ear muffs

3 have been working hard in maths

Music & Drama

Darwin Rocks

At the end of last academic year, the departing Year 6 worked hard to prepare a wonderful performance of Darwin Rocks, a musical which travels through time looking at the scientific theories of Charles Darwin. Year 6 certainly rocked the Studio with their fabulous performances and brilliant singing.

Exam Success!

The children love setting themselves musical goals and having something to work towards. Pictured are some of our pupils from our Summer ABRSM exams who passed and received their certificates. Well done everyone!

Year 4 Drama Showcase 'Into the Forest'

Tea Time Concerts

Tea Time Concerts are an ongoing part of the Music Department and each term every year group has the opportunity to perform to an appreciative audience in our school studio. This improves confidence and helps to improve our performing skills, well done everyone involved!

Music Monitors

Our Year 6 children take their roles of responsibility very seriously. This year’s Music Monitors, Gemma and Evie, have been helping out with our Tea Time concerts and even put together their own concert during one assembly! Keep up the good work girls!

Sport

Football and Netball Festivals

A fantastic performance by all the Churcher’s teams taking part in the netball and football festivals. A particular highlight for the footballers was meeting the manager of Portsmouth Football Club, Danny Cowley.

Sports Day

Always a highlight of the sporting calendar, Sports Day allows pupils to finish the year in style! Throwing, jumping and running their way through the day, the children gave it everything in an effort to help their House win the House Cup – very well done to Rother!

A First for Year 2!

In October, Year 2 had their first football festival, playing alongside pupils from Brookham and St Hilary’s. We had a fantastic time at the festival and enjoyed the marvellous match tea!

Year 5 Swimming Gala

Finishing off their unit of swimming and showcasing all their hard work over the term, the Year 5 swimmers put on a fantastic performance!

We Will Remember

Town Parade

On Remembrance Sunday, 252 of the contingent’s cadets and officers paraded from Swan Street to Petersfield town square for the Remembrance Service outside St Peter’s Church, and then on to the war memorial for the act of remembrance, last post and national anthem. Our cadets were led by Charlie Briggs, beating time on the bass drum, and the last post was sounded by Matthew Russell. Wreaths were laid by RSM Bas Taylor and the Captains of College. Four Churcher’s cadets were amongst the readers of the names of the fallen.

Armistice Day

On Friday 11 November Churcher’s College commemorated Armistice Day with a special morning service followed by a procession through the school’s war memorial whilst the CCF cadets stood in formation. After the service, the banner party and wreath bearers started the procession to the school’s war memorial. Poppy wreaths were laid and saluted after which all senior school pupils and CCF cadets followed behind the wreath bearers to walk the route through the memorial to remember those lost. We were privileged to host Michael Tibbs as guest of honour this year, the last surviving British sub-mariner who served in WW2.

Remembrance Sunday

As

Remembrance Concert

The annual Remembrance Concert took place in St. Peter’s Church to raise money for the Royal British Legion. This is always one of the musical highlights of the year and this concert was no exception. The orchestra began the evening with a sparkling display of virtuosity, playing two famous pieces, the first movement from Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 and ‘Jupiter’ from ‘The Planets’. The Barbershop, Senior Chamber Choir and SSA choir delighted

the audience with some truly outstanding singing. An Old Churcherian, Benjamin Thiele–Long wrote a piece for the Senior Choir to perform – a setting of Oculi Omnium to mark the Tercentenary of Churcher’s College. The evening then concluded with an emotional performance of ‘The Armed Man’ by Carl Jenkins, performed by the Senior Choir, accompanied by a professional orchestra and a slide show that had been brilliantly put together by Jacob Smith.

in previous years, the Senior Wind Band was in attendance on Remembrance Sunday to provide music for the Act of Remembrance led by Rev'd Will Hughes in Petersfield market square. The band performed some suitably solemn music in between the peeling of muffled bells at the parish church. At the end of the service the large gathering of people moved down the high street to the war memorial for the laying of wreaths and the Last Post played by Upper Sixth student Matthew Russell.

Adventurous Activities

Expedition Part 1: Snowdonia

During October half term four teams ventured to Snowdonia to complete their Gold Practice Expedition. Predictably, the weather was unpredictable and the team successfully hiked through 40mph gusts of wind, lashing rain and occasional sunshine. After staying the first night at YHA Pen-y-Pas, all achieved four days of walking, wild camping and fending for themselves using all the skills that they have been taught. Snowdonia is a challenging area for a practice expedition but all students were resilient and determined to complete it in this harsh environment, hopeful that their Final Expedition in Cumbria will be warm and sunny.

Canoeing

Expedition Part 2: Lake District

In Summer half term, eight teams of Lower Sixth students tackled the mountains and lakes of the Lake District in glorious sunshine. The fine weather made all routes possible and the views magnificent. This was the group of students who survived the most horrendous weather in Snowdonia the previous October for their practice expedition. Tough as it was, it was clear that these students had emerged with enhanced training and resilience as a result. Many of the campsites chosen were wild, water was sourced from rivers, and as many peaks were ‘bagged’ as possible.

The first Churcher’s Gold DofE canoeing teams successfully canoed between Tamworth and Nottingham (National Watersports Centre) over four days, using the River Tame, River Trent and the Cranfleet Canal. The teams started on the Friday afternoon with training in paddle skills, capsize and rescue before setting off on their four-day journey of more than 90km. They experienced mixed weather - heavy rain, cold, wind and sun, with the River Trent very swollen and moving twice as fast as normal, resulting in early arrival at their campsites. However, it also meant that they had to learn to manoeuvre the boats quickly and sharply to avoid overhanging trees and bridges. Adding to the challenge was a weir with a canoe shoot at the start of Day 1, and several portages

Silver Expedition: Exmoor

The assessed expedition in Exmoor this September gave the teams all the ingredients needed for a challenging and successful adventure. There was rain and sunshine, hills and mud, but also smiles, throughout! The rain tested out their waterproofs, as well as their resilience. All teams successfully completed their expedition with thanks to the team of leaders and assessors for their knowledge and expertise, making sure that the students were being challenged within their own and their teams’ capabilities.

Gold DofE

Senior Adventure Club

A group of 20 adventurous Lower Sixth students took part in the Senior Adventure Club challenge, an extended weekend of mountain activities in Snowdonia. Day One saw the intrepid team traverse Snowdon, eschewing the usual routes to take in scrambles across The Horns and the Crib-yDdysgl ridge or Gribin ridge before setting up camp and heading off for a well-earned meal. Scrambling, described as “the middle ground between walking and climbing”, was a new experience for most of the students, and one they took to with impressive enthusiasm and ability. Day Two

upped the stakes with more challenging routes such as the North Ridge of Tryfan and Bristly Ridge of Glyder Fach, visiting the famous Cantilever which several Churcher’s year groups have found to be a lot more solid than it looks! A rest for the feet and a (possibly) welcome cold bath for tired limbs was provided on Day Three with a morning jumping, sliding and floating along the Afon Prysor river. By general acclaim a very successful and memorable weekend and, hopefully, the first of many such mountain adventures.

Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race Team Winners

On Saturday, 25 June, five of last year’s DW canoe squad attended a prize-giving ceremony in Newbury to collect the Junior Team Trophy, Metropolitan Police Cadet Shield, Junior Ladies Team Trophy, as well as medals for the third fastest ladies crew. The guest speaker was Jon White, a former Royal Marine and triple amputee after stepping on an explosive device whilst on patrol in Afghanistan, he has since completed the DW marathon twice. Last year’s DW team was the biggest ever entered by Churcher’s and was hugely successful with all fifteen crews completing the 105 miles from Devizes to Teddington.

OSCA

Second Year Oscaneers undertook a two-day, one-night expedition where they employed the skills and knowledge that had gained from the previous weeks of the OSCA training. Students walked in teams, dropped off at various locations in the South Downs National Park and converged at the end of the day at our campsite, just north of Stedham. Students cooked pizzas, baked potatoes, popcorn, bananas and chocolate and s'mores on an open fire and survived torrential downpours overnight!

Exercise Hidden Tiger

As part of their Basic Fieldcraft & Tactics syllabus, the Third Year Army cadets attended Exercise Hidden Tiger on Longmoor training area in October. The day included key lessons on camouflage and concealment and tactical movement in woodland environments, which the cadets took on board impressively quickly, and all faces were soon painted green and brown as they crawled through the undergrowth. The exercise concluded with a competition between the platoons, as each group of 24 cadets had to approach two observers through dense forest over a range of 100m without being detected.

Biennial Inspection

Charlie Murphy

Mayor Peter Clist appointed Cadet Charlie Murphy WO1 as the Petersfield Mayor's cadet for 2022-23 at a special ceremony during CCF Parade on Tuesday 21 June. Charlie was given special duties this year, especially at the town's Remembrance Sunday parade.

Summer Field Day

In November, the CCF had its biennial inspection. The Reviewing Officer (RO), Commodore Paul Pitcher RN, inspected the Royal Navy, Army and RAF sections formed up on parade in the Sports Hall, having relocated indoors thanks to a yellow weather warning for heavy rain. The RO was looking at drill, dress and turnout and chatted to a large number of the cadets about their experiences and aspirations, while the Senior Wind Band provided the music. After lunch, the clouds parted in time

for three well-executed section battle drill demonstrations by the Army on Memorial Field. For the remainder of the afternoon the RO and guests toured a broad range of training activities around the school site: the Royal Navy showcased field gun and limber drills and maritime ropework on the parade square, the RAF demonstrated teamwork through blindfold drone piloting in the gym and the Army exhibited training in advanced drill movements and patrolling in the grounds.

Royal Navy cadets got to spend some amazing time on the water this summer as they were treated to a day’s sailing under blue skies, from HMS Excellent out into the Solent. Cadets learnt about safety afloat, rope work, boat handling, navigation, pilotage, seamanship and helming the vessel. It was great to see so many smiles on board, and with few instances of sea sickness! The day proved an overwhelming success!

HMS Collingwood

The Navy cadets took part in an amazing field day at HMS Collingwood, working in small groups with a focus on improving teamwork and leadership skills. Being able to work with some of the finest serving Naval instructors was a real privilege and the cadets undoubtedly learnt vast amounts about problem solving and sharing their ideas to accomplish their tasks. The low ropes and field gun tasks were of immense value, and it was great seeing so many smiling faces enjoying such a brilliant and challenging field day.

RAF Flying Experience Days

The weather has been on our side this year! Four of our lucky cadets finally got into the air in July after a long Covid induced hiatus, and returned with triumphant stories of pulling loop the loops over Stonehenge. Since returning in September we have been successful in securing multiple flying days, with cadets lifting off from MOD Boscombe Down and taking to the sky in Tutor T1 aircraft.

RAF Paintballing

In the Summer Term, RAF cadets enjoyed practicing tactical manoeuvres and leadership skills in glorious sunshine at Campaign Paintball, Cobham.

RAF Tangmere Aviation Museum

Third Year RAF cadets spent the morning getting up close and personal with jets, helicopters and flight simulators at Tangmere Aviation Museum. They had the opportunity to read about the spy masters who operated out of the base during the Second World War, as well as chat to real life English Electric Lightning pilots who coached cadets through a supersonic simulator flight around Portsmouth.

Exploring near and far!

Berlin

At the start of October half term, 34 Fifth Year students travelled to Berlin to explore some of the topics that they had been studying in their History GCSE first hand. During our first two days we explored the history of Nazi Germany, visiting the site of the Holocaust Memorial, the Olympic Stadium where the 1936 Games were held, and the house at Wannsee where leading Nazis met to prepare the ‘Final Solution’. Perhaps the most moving of our

Classical Greece

42 Classicists, Latinists and Ancient Historians headed off for our Classics Tour of Greece over October half term. We were guided around the historical sites of Greece by our ever-knowledgeable Classics Department. Highlights of the trip included the Acropolis in Athens, the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi, the Epidaurus Theatre, and the ancient remains of Mycenae, although these were only a few of the wonderful sites that we were able to visit. It was a truly invaluable experience to see the images and stories of our textbooks come to life, for example being able to see the Caryatids, which we enjoyed learning about in class, in the Acropolis Museum. Overall, we all had an amazing time, even if it was a little hot at times!

Phoebe Davidson and Lettie Moffat

visits was to the former concentration camp at Sachsenhausen where we were able to see for ourselves the conditions in which those considered to be ‘enemies’ of the Nazi regime were held and learn more about life – and all too often death – in the camps. On the third day of the trip our attentions turned to the Cold War and Berlin’s unique position as the meeting place between the communist East and capitalist West. After a fascinating trip

to the DDR Museum which allowed us to step back in time to see what life was like in East Berlin, we explored the history of the Berlin Wall with a visit to Checkpoint Charlie and the brilliant Berlin Wall memorial on Bernauer Strasse. We particularly enjoyed learning about all of the amazing escape attempts and seeing ‘Tunnel 29’ which allowed 29 men, women and children to escape from East to West in 1962.

Isle of Wight

“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot,” said Queen Victoria of the Isle of Wight, and the 28 pupils from the Third Year, who visited over October half term, would agree. They were blessed with exceptionally good weather, and as such were able to take in the impressive scenery created by powerful coastal processes; The Needles, Allum Bay, Shanklin Chine and Ventnor Cliffs. Despite the clear skies (and rainbows) we had to hold onto Tennyson Down for dear life as we braved the wind all in the name of geography. We crammed a lot into three days; red squirrel spotting, ambush competitions, tobogganing, quizzes, and falconry – all of which has strengthened our appreciation of this diverse and unique area.

Paris

20 students from the Fourth Year to the Upper Sixth took the Eurostar, the Métro, walked, tasted and admired all there is to love in Paris. From the beautiful Orsay Museum, to the iconic Tour Eiffel, there were landmarks to see, avenues to walk along, galleries to admire, paintings and sculptures to view, posters and souvenirs to buy, songs to listen to… we even managed to squeeze in some French lessons for good measure, and the Bateau Mouche trip was “insane”! We could not have packed more into this fiveday trip and we could not have asked for a better group of students!

Off to the Tower!

In October, Second Year students visited the Tower of London. Despite being a rather wet day, they enjoyed seeing the exhibits of armour within William the Conqueror’s White Tower and participated in workshops focusing on the Norman Conquest and stories of protest and rebellion. During a year when the crown jewels have once again been in the national spotlight, students were particularly curious to see them first hand and were astonished by the size and quantity of precious stones that decorate them. Students will hopefully be well informed as they watch the Coronation next year.

Field Trips

Gunwharf Quays

The Fifth Year also completed a day of fieldwork in a human environment, investigating urban contrasts between the Charles Dickens and St Thomas’ wards in the Gunwharf area of Portsmouth Harbour. The data collection comprised mapping land use, appraising environmental quality and pedestrian counts.

West Wittering

In October the Upper Sixth Geographers spent a day piloting data collection techniques for their Independent Investigations. The morning focused on coastal processes, landforms and management at West Wittering and the afternoon on place identity, perception and characteristics in Chichester.

Hampton Court

Did you know that the word ‘eavesdropping’ derived from the eaves in the Great Hall at Hampton Court, where courtiers were spied upon? Or that the palace has the largest surviving 16th-century kitchens, with six huge fireplaces inside, where a team of up to 200 cooks would prepare huge all-day feasts for the King and his entourage? These fun facts were gleaned from two great workshops that our pupils attended. In these sessions they impressed the guide so much, that he said they were the most knowledgeable Tudor First Years he had come across. They amazed him with their knowledge of concepts such as ‘transubstantiation’, ‘annulment’ and the Papacy! Pupils also raced through the famous maze, sat at the great banqueting table, and wandered the beautiful gardens.

Lulworth Cove

140 Second Year pupils travelled to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. They braved the high winds to walk the coastal path and observe geography in action along this unique section of the Jurassic Coast. They made observations on the roles of geology and impact of coastal processes over 250 million years of geological time, from the embryonic cove at Stair Hole, through the entire landform sequence to Man o’ War Rocks and the chalk cliffs at St Oswald’s Bay.

Geography

Sixth Form

Essay Competition

Our first ever cohort of students entered the prestigious John Locke Essay Prize during the Summer Term, hosted by Oxford and Princeton Universities, competing against students from across the UK and all over the world. The students produced a range of impressive responses on topics as diverse as the nature of consent, the state funding of political parties and the existence of the multiverse. We were thrilled when two of our Upper Sixth, Adam and James, were shortlisted in their subject

categories (Politics and Philosophy). This meant that out of the thousands of responses, theirs were marked as being in the top 100 and both were invited to attend a gala dinner in Oxford to recognise their achievement, where the winners were announced. To our delight, James’ piece on the multiverse was “highly commended”, placing it in the top 25 entries in the world – an outstanding achievement, and one which shows that Churcher’s academic talent can compete with any across the globe!

Safe Drive, Stay Alive

The Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign, which reaches new and pre-drivers in an emotive and powerful way in order to influence behaviour on the roads, welcomed the Churcher’s Lower Sixth to Hedge End in November. Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in a crash on the roads, often due to inexperience and a lack of knowledge of the risks. Around one in four fatalities on the road is aged 17-24. It is a very hard-hitting warning about the dangers of unsafe driving, featuring people who have themselves been affected, often tragically, by road traffic accidents. The Lower Sixth took on board on the clear road safety messages being promulgated.

Mexican Lunch

A sunny September lunchtime was the perfect opportunity to bring the fiesta to Ramshill with the annual Mexican lunch! Organised by the Captains of College, this is a welcome early opportunity for our new Sixth Formers to enter into the more social

side of Sixth Form and mingle with the now firmly-established Upper Sixth! Dressed in the finest sombreros and ponchos, they feasted on chilli con carne, nachos and guacamole and were temporarily transported to the savannas of Mexico.

Taste of Parliament

Two of our top performing Politics students Ailith and Adam had the exciting opportunity to spend two days in Parliament shadowing Damian Hinds MP. This offered the chance for them to see the business of government first hand and meet a range of parliamentarians. The pair sat in on Select Committees, met with Hansard and the Commons Library who help prepare legislation and had numerous opportunities to quiz Damian about the variety of government roles he has fulfilled. It was really rewarding for them to put what they had learnt in the classroom into practice and to help them prepare for studying Politics at university.

MUGA War!

The Sixth Form Committee hosted a “Tug of War” competition on the Ramshill MUGA (thank you to Mr Seaton for the pun) just before half term, a chance to let students flex their muscles and let off some steam.

Tom's Talking Reptiles

The Sixth Form were thrilled to welcome back Tom’s Talking Reptiles to Ramshill, a chance for one or two of the students to face their fears. Tom and his team are exceptionally knowledgeable and the students loved the chance to learn about all manner of different creepy crawlies!

Art & Design

Fashion & Textiles Club

During Fashion and Textiles Club, pupils are able explore a breadth of techniques. From weaving to creating fashion garments, pupils are able to creatively explore new processes and develop understanding of artistic disciplines from different cultures. Pupils

A Trip to the Tate Modern

are introduced to different fashion designers and begin to understand the concept of using a muse to fuel design. The images show a recent construction competition where pupils created paper garments exploring sculpture on the human form.

Paula Rego Exhibition

First Year pupils enjoyed visiting the Petersfield Museum in the Summer Term. As part of Art & Design classes, they studied the illustrations of Paula Rego and her published work. It was lovely to be able to see such incredible work that has formed our understanding of narrative in illustration and the pupils have all been inspired to respond to the work they saw.

In September, pupils in the Fourth Year and Lower Sixth visited the Tate Modern on the South Bank in London. It was wonderful to be able to see work in a gallery setting again. More than 40 pupils travelled to see some of the most interesting contemporary art, helping to contextualise their own personal portfolios. Sixth Former Lara Foulkes said, “The trip was very enjoyable. The Tate has a wide range of art concepts, which allowed everyone to look at art that interested them personally, and also to explore what sort of routes and directions they could take their projects.”

The Big Draw

The Big Draw is an international annual event that celebrates the power of drawing and creativity as a tool for wellbeing, deep thought and social and cultural engagement. Our wonderful students came up with many creative responses to the theme of ‘Back to Colour’; many felt that our lives have been ‘coming back to colour’ since lockdown. This prompted some energetic discussions in class and each lower school student created their own pattern built from shapes and colours relating to themselves and their lives. Alongside this drawing experience, each class collaborated to upcycle and reinvent the wooden chairs in our department with bright colours and patterns inspired by the work of British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori who uses colour to engage, inspire and bring joy to communities.

Academic Lecture Series

Professor William Doyle

Professor William Doyle gave a fantastic lecture on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before the outbreak of the French revolution in July 1789. It was a perfectly pitched academic lecture, fitting in with current Lower Sixth lessons and some of the Upper Sixth’s coursework. His premise that Louis XVI’s absolutism weakened him, since all the decisions (or lack of) he made, rested on him alone. He also pointed out that it was his actions during the revolution, and not prior to it that turned France republican. His knowledge about the intricacies of the triggers that caused revolution was fascinating and we were very privileged to have him come and speak at school.

Claire Brockdorff

We were delighted to welcome Commander Tom Trent to talk to our students about NATO. Tom took the students through the NATO mission and how its expansion post-1989 is one of the major reasons why Putin feels aggressed by NATO, and that Putin feels that its aim is to destroy Russia. Tom robustly refuted this, and said NATO’s role was keeping Russia in check. He added much colour to the talk with his personal encounter with Zelensky and his life on board his ship in the Black Sea. There were numerous questions asked at the end about missiles, nuclear threats, how NATO would and should react if the war expanded, and the role of China in all of this. A very entertaining and informative lecture!

Professor Chris Dillon

Professor Chris Dillon from King’s College London delivered a fascinating lecture to a packed Lecture Theatre of more than 200 historians. He started with the Weimar republic, and all the problems it had to grapple with such as the shattering blow of the Treaty of Versailles, anarchical uprisings and hyperinflation. He also focused on the role of President Hindenburg, who was less partial to democracy than Ebert. He moved on to discuss the Nazi movement and how it exploited the effects of the 1929 crash with their vague, but appealing, slogans to the electorate. Finally, he focused on Hitler’s personal appeal of giving people hope, and the fact that many women voted for the Nazis as they felt Hitler would solve austerity; not because they fancied him! It was fantastic to see so many pupils in the Lecture Theatre.

Claire Brockdorff kindly came to speak to the Fourth and Fifth Years on the attempted assassination of Hitler in July 1944. Claire's relation by marriage was Fritz von der Lancken, who was von Stauffenberg’s adjutant and one of the plotters. Indeed, the suitcase in which the bomb was stored was kept in his home in Potsdam prior to the attack, and von Stauffenberg and his circle met there to plan the attempt. After the plot failed, Fritz was arrested and put on ‘trial’ with some of the other plotters. He met a gruesome end and was hanged by piano wire on a butcher’s hook in September 1944.

James Darley

At the start of October, we welcomed James Darley to present a talk on The State of the Graduate Job Market. James offered some fascinating insights into this ever-changing market, as well as offering suggestions for what Churcher’s students could be doing now to make navigating it easier.

Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette

Music

Lunchtime Concert

Our lunchtime concerts held at St. Peter’s church are always a delight and enjoyed by a local audience. For many of our musicians, this was their first performance of the new academic year. There was a great range of solo items, from First Year Olivia Wu on the violin, through to Beatrice Lingham and Peter Elsom in the Upper Sixth. The concert also featured the Brass Quartet playing ‘Il Est Bel Et Bon’ by Passereau, the group aiming to emulate clucking chickens! The Junior Chamber Choir finished the concert in style with a lovely performance of ‘Lean on Me’.

Senior Recital

Just before half term, we were treated to an impressive concert which featured many of our senior musicians performing solos. The audience was blown away with the virtuosic bass playing of Arthur Bird as he showed his skill with an unaccompanied piece called ‘Can’t Stop Running’ which not only requires a large amount of left-hand dexterity, but the ability to use the double bass like a percussion

A Night at the Theatre

To tie in with our upcoming Senior Musical ‘Grease’ in the Spring Term, we took 52 students to see a production of the very same show in London’s Dominion Theatre. They were delighted by the hilarious feel-good extravaganza and sang along to every word of the famous ‘Grease Megamix’ at the end of the show. They were even lucky enough to witness Peter Andre and Jason Donovan who were guest stars on that night, playing Fontaine and Teen Angel respectively. The trip was a huge success, with many of our future Grease performers taking inspiration from the amazing West End cast, whilst our instrumentalists were in awe of the world-class pit band who made it all seem so effortless.

Nursing Home Visit

Our 23 Fourth Year GCSE musicians visited the Downs Nursing Home in Sheet in October to entertain the residents. They performed a number of solos and small ensembles, ending the concert with all of them performing ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ by Aretha Franklin. The residents thoroughly enjoyed the concert and the choice of pieces, many of them clapping and singing along!

Music Enrichment

As part of the A Level Music enrichment programme, our Sixth Form students have attended two events this term. The first involved a purple and gold 1967 vintage doubledecker bus called Gertrude, parked outside the Science Department! Onboard was an Indonesian Gamelan – a collection of gongs, metallophones, xylophones and drums laid out on beautifully carved frames. After respectfully removing their shoes and carefully avoiding any stepping over the instruments, the students enjoyed a hands-on experience playing various layered ostinati and cyclic melodies – much to the enjoyment of passing students. The second event was a conducting masterclass which aimed to give the students some basic conducting skills. Visiting professional conductor Russell Keable led an entertaining session in which students demonstrated varying degrees of coordination as they attempted to conduct each other in a range of time signatures. As they soon discovered, conducting is a lot harder than it looks!

Drama

Churcher's HIts the West End

Upper

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is traditionally regarded as one of Shakespeare’s most enjoyable comedies, complete with cross dressing, mistaken identities, a pair of drunken fools and a very happy ending! Our Senior Play, which recently ran for three nights in the Assembly Hall, certainly lived up to its reputation. Illyria is transported to a Europe on the brink of war, which adds an extra layer to this otherwise ribald comedy and leads to particularly poignant moment at

the end. Until then, this has everything you could want from a classical play: love, loss, longing, disguise, foolishness, celebration, and music... The marvellous cast displayed the wide gamut of Shakesperian emotion, from Sebastian’s heart-felt soliloquies to the scheming and seductive French maid, from Feste the singing jester to the hilarious drunken Sir Toby Belch and his sidekick. Wonderful costumes and staging made this fast-paced, jubilant and fun performance a joy to watch.

Sixth students Fin Thorpe and Megan Cullen took Churcher’s to the West End at the end of September with a two person performance of the funny and touching Jim Cartwright play, Two. The Phoenix Arts Centre provided the setting for one pub, two actors and fourteen characters, delivering one very skilful performance!

Bookbuzz

First Years have been sampling the BookBuzz feast this term in their English lessons. There are some great authors on the list and it might be a challenge to select just one book! As an added bonus, however, they will be able to add to their 'read your height’ challenge if they choose to borrow the other books from the BookBuzz collection.

Dance

In the Summer Term both the Senior Dance Group and the Junior Dance Squad performed at Open Day to prospective parents. They performed dances from their cabaret performances and two new additions, ‘Try Everything’ from Zootopia and ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody’. The next day, they all performed at the Petersfield Community Fair on the big

stage. They performed all five of their numbers alongside Italia Conti and Petersfield Academy of Dance. Freya Austin particularly impressed with a contemporary solo routine. This term we have continued with two group rehearsals: our Junior Dance Squad have been rehearsing dances to BTS and Moana and the Senior Group have been dancing to ‘Opening Up’ from Waitress.

Enterprise Day

In October, Portsmouth firm Unloc delivered an enterprise workshop day for the Third Years, who arrived smartly presented in business attire instead of school uniform. The pupils developed a ‘fast fashion’ brand using their entrepreneurial skills, and a marketing tool (Canva), ending with a 2-minute pitch for their range. At the end of the workshop, the pupils reflected on the day and assessed whether they have developed the core skills that the day intended to deliver. The pupils were enthusiastic, focused and committed to their projects and many included clever environmentally friendly and socially responsible features in their ideas.

Greek

A number of students have put in extra hours with the Classics Department to learn Classical Greek. In their own time, with the support of Mr Gibbins and Miss Elson, they all received the Intermediate Classical Greek Certificate with 25% gaining a merit and 75% gaining a distinction. Julia Nicolls achieved the highest mark in the country with 99%. There excellent results reflect their determination to succeed and their enthusiasm for the Classical subjects.

Speech Day

Students in the Fifth Year and Sixth Form, prize winners and their parents, were given a real treat at Speech Day, which rounded off the first half term of this academic year in October. Guest speaker Hugh Bonneville regaled us with tales from his life on stage and screen and encouraged the students to “be like Judi”, kind and encouraging in their dealings with others.

Model United Nations

Reigate Grammar School kicked off the MUN circuit on Saturday 1 October; we hardly had time to settle into the school year before our budding diplomats turned their attentions to issues of global concern. Our senior delegates busily started preparing to represent a diverse blend of countries: Cuba, Libya, Finland and India. A range of topics were debated in different committees, from the illegal drugs trade to vaccine mandates

and crypto currency to ISIS prisons. Our club had to work hard and think fast, debating and lobbying to successfully get their resolutions passed. As well as all of this, the students were conducting the debate against other schools, and for some there was the added challenge of this being their first ever conference. As always, they impressed with the passion and intellect that they demonstrated, well done all!

Languages Day

Our annual September Languages Day started on a high with Robert Stern, who talked to us all in assembly about “having a go” in another language, asking “what have you got to lose?”. Robert taught the Fourth and Fifth Years how to speak Japanese in three minutes, read Russian in two minutes, and showed us that speaking Mandarin could open up doors! It was an extremely positive day of celebrating languages, with a fun and games at lunch time, where pupils played boules, tossed pancakes, splatted rats, danced the salsa and scored goals!

STEAM

Bridge Building

Third Years enjoyed a day of hands-on activities related to the theme of bridges towards the end of the Summer Term. This was part of our STEAM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), which helps link pupils’ academic studies to their wider applications. The pupils tested their imagination while creating some beautiful architectural models and their engineering and construction skills when building and testing their own bridges. They also enjoyed exploring the maths behind networks of bridges and investigating resonance as a cause of bridge failure. A final competitive element was provided by the challenge of creating a bridge that would hold itself together using only its own weight and the friction between the planks provided. The solution, often referred to as a da Vinci bridge, requires creativity and effective teamwork to implement it. These skills were both in evidence, especially from the two winning teams, who tied for first place with bridges spanning exactly 6.005m!

Reach For the Stars!

In November, all First Year pupils were taken on a voyage through our outer space, via the Chichester Planetarium. Nestled in between lunchtime and the end of the school day, Dr John Mason led a show that looked first at our night sky, explaining how constellations are formed from star patterns and then moved outside of the Milky Way to talk about the formation of other galaxies and our position in the universe. Finally, the pupils were taken from planet to planet with incredible images and insight provided. The trip completements the First Year physics course and comes in the run up to the first assessment (on the topic of Space and Electricity), but it also gives pupils the chance to sit back, relax and be overwhelmed by the beauty and extraordinary nature of astronomy.

Space Design Success

A team of Fifth Year and Sixth Form students were invited to take part in our inaugural entry to the UK Space Design Competition (UKSDC) this year. Arriving in London early, the team were briefed that they would be working on developing a design brief for an orbital space station around Mercury. They had numerous design criteria including manufacturing, engineering, social, economic and scientific considerations and spent seven hours on their report paper. The team leaders presented their report to a panel of judges (think Dragon’s Den in space!) where they competed to be given the contract and go ahead. Team Churcher’s won this regional heat and now qualify for the UK final in March next year, where they will spend two days over a long weekend competing again. Winners of the UK competition get the chance to present internationally in Florida in August; wish them all luck!

Stargazing

Space being a popular theme for our extra-curricular STEAM events, our evening of virtual stargazing in September was eagerly anticipated. Addressing an audience of 170 pupils and parents, OC and night safari guide Ben Coley joined us from South Africa by video link. Over the course of an enjoyable couple of hours he explained the key stages in the life cycle of a star, brilliantly illustrated by the live images he shared from his telescope and astrophotography camera. The audience enjoyed seeing the images, taken on a long enough exposure to capture details that could not be seen any other way, appear on the screen as Ben described both the science of star formation and the art of astrophotography.

Hampshire Cup Hockey Winners

On

11 October,

Hampshire Cup Cricket Winners

In

of

in the final over.

Cross Country

It has been a very successful start to the cross country season. The traditional start to the season, the Butser Hill Challenge, was cancelled due to the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, but our students did get the opportunity shortly afterwards to enter the first competition of the year – the English Schools’ Athletics Association cross country cup. Round one was hosted at Down Grange in Basingstoke; it is a very challenging event with only the top two school teams at each age category progressing from Hampshire to the regional finals. Remarkably, our junior boys’, junior girls’ and senior boys’ all achieved this feat and represented the county in Kent. Unfortunately, with only three schools progressing to the national final, this is where the journey ended, but it means we have had representation at south east England level for two consecutive years.

June, our U13A boys cricket team faced King Edward VI School in the Hampshire County Cup Final. Churcher's started strongly with the ball and were electric in the field. Alfie Barton was the pick of the crop, claiming two wickets with his bowling as well as running one of the batters out. KES finished 108 for 9 from 20 overs. Needing 109 runs to win, Churcher's stepped into bat. The KES opening bowlers were exceptional, totting up two maidens in the opening four overs. The pressure took its toll with a few early wickets until Ewan Edwards stepped in to shore up the innings with a knock

35 not out. Ewan was ably supported by some heavy hitting from Adam Hodges and Oliver Weller, with Ted Morrison scoring the winning run

Tuesday

the U14 Girls A team attended the Hampshire Hockey Cup Competition. The girls won the tournament in fine style going unbeaten throughout the day. We look forward to seeing how they get on in the Tier 1 South Regional Finals!

Rugby

Friday Night Lights

Friday, 7 October saw our two senior teams take on Reading Blue Coat School for the second year running in our unique Friday Night Lights fixtures. This year, the senior teams travelled to Reading Rugby Club. With a 7pm kick off it was a great opportunity for another evening rugby experience. Both the 1st XV and the 2nd XV produced two strong performances, and this added to what was a fantastic celebration of rugby and a very enjoyable evening all round.

Swimming

Henley Classic Swim

Through to National Finals!

So far this year and we have seen unprecedented numbers in the pool for both swimming and water polo. Record attendance at training has resulted in some great swimming performances, including domination in galas against Charterhouse, St Swithun’s, Bedales, and Meoncross. In September, six teams competed in the Hampshire Relays. It was a fantastic event that saw great team spirit and some very competitive racing. We had second place finishes from the U13 and U15 girls along with U18 boys’ teams. Stealing the competition and finishing in first place for both the 4x50m freestyle and 4x50m medley was the U13 boys’ team, with an incredible last leg in both relays from Misha Kolesnykov. They have made it through to the National Finals where they will compete against the fastest schools in the country. We wish them all the best in the next stage of the competition.

On 26 June 2022 five students, two old Churcherians and six staff and parents were up at 4:30am to take on the Henley Classic Swim 2022. The swim is 2.1km upstream on the River Thames in time to see the sunrise. For the first time ever, the start was postponed, with a reduced race distance, due to thick fog which descended on the river just before the start. Despite the disappointment of not swimming the full distance - and after hopping up and down to stay warm for longer than expected - our swimmers performed admirably and we had some fantastic swims from Charlie Stevenson, Nicole Parker, Henry Plewes, James Medley and Isabella Liedtke.

Tennis Champions

SwimRun

Well done to everyone who competed in the first of a series of SwimRun events this term, tackling a 150m swim then straight in to a 2.4 km run. Standout performance from Lewis Bryce, Wilf Hogg and Rocco Whitehouse, finishing in super speedy times.

Having successfully navigated their regional matches last summer, the U12 and U15 boys tennis teams were invited to Oxford to take part in the Regional finals for Division 2. Playing a round-robin series of matches, in a Davis Cup style format, the boys were playing both singles and doubles rubbers against each opponent. Each team played a full set of matches, captained by Jack Douglas (U15) and Cameron Jeffries-Keel (U12) and were delighted with the performances over a gruelling day. The U15 team competed really well and were announced as runners up for their age group. The U12s went one step further, becoming winners overall! The teams celebrated their relative successes on court together and the future (and present) of tennis at Churcher's is looking great!

The start to the rugby term has seen a number of great Saturday fixtures. It’s been fantastic to see the boys taking to the pitches and testing themselves against some excellent opposition. Traditional fixtures such as Gordons School, King Edward VI Southampton and Portsmouth Grammar School, along with new a new fixture at the prestigious Marlborough College, have all proved to be great occasions. A number of year groups have had particularly strong performances and results for the school. The U16s should be very pleased with their current unbeaten season. In the second half of the season, we look forward to fixtures against Halliford School, Christ’s Hospital and our new annual community rugby celebration games with Petersfield RFC.

New House Mascots!

We are incredibly excited to share with you the new House emblems! Each House now has a mascot to rally behind, whether you channel the strength of the Nelson Lion or the ferocity of the Drake Dragon. You may roar like the Collingwood Tiger, never give up like the Rodney Phoenix or be as brave as a Grenville Griffin! These new emblems are inspired by the original mascots that adorn the naval badges of HMS Grenville, Nelson and Drake and we think you’ll agree that they look fantastic!

Drake Socials

Drake pupils in the First and Second Years visited Rogate Pumpkin Patch to pick their own pumpkin and engage in pumpkin smashing amongst other activities before Halloween. The following day, they were invited to carve their pumpkins, enjoy s’mores and tell ghost stories in the Art Department. Lots of fun was had by all!

Not to miss out on the socials, Year 4 Drake put their golfing skills to the test in a glow-in-the-dark golfing experience like no other: 18 holes of walking the plank, finding buried treasure, and swimming with enchanted mermaids! And pizza, of course!

House Shout

This term saw the inaugural House Shout competition for our First to Third Years. Although the Houses regularly compete in quizzes and on the sporting field, this gave them to change to show off their musical talents! Each House had chosen and rehearsed a song to perform in the packed Sports Hall, submitting themselves to the extremely keen eyes and ears of Glenna and her Teal Team, who judged them on a range of categories. Nelson were judged the song everyone wanted to hear again with their rendition of How Far I'll Go from Moana!

Community News

Community Fair

The day after the night before – the Grand Summer Concert – Churcher’s College hosted the Petersfield Community Fair, offering local charities, schools, clubs, societies and other groups in Petersfield and the surrounding area the opportunity to promote and raise awareness for all the fantastic work they undertake. With free entry, thousands of people came through the school gates and more than 40 local charities, community organisations and businesses took part in the day. The atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed, with perfect weather conditions. The day was billed as 'Fun for all the Family' and there truly was something for everyone.

OC News

Alex Lawther

Fresh from his appearance in Hamlet on stage in New York this summer, OC Alex Lawther, from the Class of 2013, can be seen on screen once again, appearing in episodes 4 and 5 of the new TV series Star Wars: Andor

Hannah Matson

OC Hannah Matson, who left Churcher’s in 2018, has recently won the Gold Medal in the World University Powerlifting Competition in Turkey. She competed in the under 57kilo category and it proved was a hard day with stiff competition, nonetheless she triumphed! She is now hoping that powerlifting gets the green light as an Olympic sport!

Meritt's Meadow

This summer, pupils finally got the wheelbarrows rolling and the students shovelling, after a two-year wait. College teamed up with the resident's association of Merritt’s Meadow to create a nature reserve in the heart of Petersfield, next to the cemetery. The project involved creating a path of about 185 yards, which will steer local walkers away from the centre of the area giving nature space to breathe. The project was begun by our Third Year and Lower Sixth students and is scheduled to last two years. On the final day of path building, the students were addressed by Mayor Peter Clist, who also cut the ribbon to open the path.

Success Outside School

Elliot Chisholm

October half term saw Third Year Elliot Chisholm take on the incredible challenge of cycling from Petersfield to Paris. Elliot wanted to raise money for The Brompton Foundation, who performed lifesaving heart surgery on him when he was four months old and have continued to treat him since. As his surgeon was French it seemed a fitting challenge to cycle to Paris and in doing so, he raised a fabulous £10,000!

Jayden Siu

Evie Bramall

In October, 12 year old student Evie Bramall came first in the Under 16 Junior Great South Run in Southsea, completing 2.5km in just 8.32 minutes. In addition, as the first girl from a Portsmouth postcode to win the event, Evie also won a special trophy, ‘The Christine Weeks Cup', which was officially presented to her by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth. Evie had a truly special time with the Lord Mayor, enjoying afternoon tea and a tour of the Guildhall. She was very proud to receive her own version of the cup to keep. Well done, Evie!

In September, Second Year pupil Jayden Siu achieved a fabulous first place in the National Windsurfing Championship 2022 for the 5.8 fleet, topping his fifth place in the previous year’s competition. Jayden has loved windsurfing since his first taster session in Hong Kong when he was eight years old and on moving to the UK, joined the T15 Windsurf Club with the Andrew Simpson Centre Portsmouth and has trained there two-three times per week, successfully participating in competitions across the country: 2nd place in Oxford, 1st place in Reading and 2nd place Portsmouth, all in 4.5 fleet. His success on the water is not restricted to windsurfing; he also competed in the British Youth Sailing Regional Junior Championships last year and achieved 3rd place in the 4.5 fleet.

Felix Brockdorff

Our huge congratulations go to Lower Sixth student Felix Brockdorff, who this summer was crowned 'National Champion' for the U16 400 Individual Medley at the Swim England Championships.

Lara & Luke

Sixth Formers Lara Toye and Luke Offer wanted to add their personal efforts to the fundraising undertaken as a school in support of Maddy’s Mark, the charity set up in honour of OC Maddy Lawrence who tragically lost her life to sepsis earlier this year. On 18 August, they set out to walk 100,000 steps in a day, around 80kms, requiring some 18 hours of walking. They planned their route to take them past several friends’ houses for some much needed motivation and in the end smashed their target, raising more than £1,300!

Mia Clark

In October, Sixth Former Mia Clark took part in the London Marathon, supporting the charity RNIB after her father was diagnosed with glaucoma in 2020. A regular runner with her father, she said, “My dad ran the London Marathon with his father when he was younger so in a way, history is repeating itself”. She more than exceeded expectations by finishing in an incredible time of 3.55.05. Well done, Mia!

Theo Quemby

First Year Theo Quemby has bounced back from breaking his collarbone with some fabulous athletic and swimming results. After a summer hampered by injury, he competed in his first club championships in swimming and came home with an incredible four gold medals and two silvers! As if that wasn’t enough, he followed it up with a twelfthplace finish in the 2.5km Great South Run, out of a field of 158. A remarkable achievement, Theo!

Ollie Hanson

Third Year Ollie Hanson spent a memorable summer volunteering for the Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) charity in Namibia. The charity aims to reduce conflict between local people and the herds of wild elephants that they live alongside. Sleeping under the stars, camped next to a dry riverbed, Ollie and his family were taught how to behave if they encountered elephants and also to beware of the 3 S’s (snakes, scorpions and spiders!). Ollie spent four days decorating a village school, followed by four days tracking one of the elephant herds. Ollie has returned full of inspiration, “seeing the most incredible southern hemisphere night sky with no light pollution… had been such an insight into another world. It has really inspired me to go on adventures and really get to know places through volunteer work”.

The Return of Expeditions!

World Challenge: Peru & Bolivia

Meanwhile, our older World Challengers touched down in Lima and were immediately immersed in the vibrant colours of Peru, with everyone excited to explore this incredible continent. Two groups spent time in a Quechua community, working on a building project and getting to know the local people. The trek phase took them up into the Andes, hitting the dizzy heights of almost 5,000 metres, and walking in the footsteps of the Incas, whilst condors soared above. The majestic Machu Picchu was the reward; the jungle-covered mountains looming out of the mist and the ancient ‘ruins’ that still looked like they could house a group of weary teenagers, providing a truly jawdropping sight. Crossing the land border into Bolivia was an experience in itself, and what awaited was Lake Titicaca. This immense expanse of water felt more like an ocean and the groups met members of the Uros tribe who permanently inhabit the seventy floating reed islands. Our rest and relaxation phase saw us touring the Salt Flats, posing for perspectivealtering photos with dinosaurs and ‘tiny’ group members. No one wanted to go home!

First Challenge: Norway

Our intrepid Third Year First Challengers headed to Norway at the start of the summer holidays. It was hard to imagine those struggling in the 40-degree heat wave in the UK as they paddled in the chilled crystal water of the fjord, offering worn feet some much needed relief during the four-

the trek was perhaps the most challenging aspect of the trip, and in many ways the most rewarding, they all thoroughly enjoyed the two-day canoe adventure along the River Otra. The confidence and skills the Challengers developed over the 11 days was fabulous to observe, persevering through