Focus Magazine Spring 2023

ISI Inspection, November 2022

“The quality of the pupils’ personal development… academic and other activities is excellent”

Fun with sticks!

During the frosty weather, Reception had fun making ice melt and then trying to recreate the frost effect with sticks they had collected! The end result involved sugar crystals and cutting up the tiniest pieces of paper they could manage - much fun and very sticky!

Using our senses

Reception

This term, one of our books of the week was all about Stevie Wonder. The children explored a range of blindfolded activities to develop empathy and an understanding about how we can use ALL our senses to give us information.

Literacy lessons

The Read Write Inc program is going fabulously well in Reception’s Literacy sessions. The children are building up their phonic awareness and incorporating it well into a rich range of written and reading activities.

Outdoor fun, games and learning!

Teamwork

It’s all about teamwork in the construction area! We love seeing the children work towards a group goal and make shared models for different purposes. It’s great to see the Reception children’s collaborative skills improving.

Physical development in our sensory garden

Making music in the sensory garden

Year 1

Making Lego models

Making Chinese New Year dragons

Year 2

Christingles

During December, we learned about the importance of Advent to Christians and we enjoyed making our own Christingles.

Maths in Action

In Maths, we have explored different methods for calculating addition and subtraction problems. Ray, our helpful parrot has enjoyed learning alongside us.

Owl pellets

Linked to our English text ‘The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark’, the children were very excited to explore the contents of real-life owl pellets.

Music & Drama

Teatime Concerts

Our programme of delightful Teatime musical concerts has continued this year, with students from Years 1, 2 and 3 given the opportunity to perform their favourite piece of music to their parents in January. All the performers played really well and this stepping stone will help to build their confidence in performing. Well done everyone!

Early Years Nativity

The youngest children in the school treated us to a delightful tale of The Lucky Owl in this year’s Early Years Nativity. All the animals had cosy homes but poor Owl was left outside in the cold. There wasn’t any room for Owl to snuggle in with the bats, the squirrels or the mice. There wasn’t even any room with the people in Bethlehem. Luckily, there was a warm stable to sleep in, with a brand-new baby and a host of visitors!

Carol Service

In December, the Junior School held a wonderful Carol Service at St Peter’s Church in Petersfield. Big Sing and the Chamber Choir performed some beautiful carols with fantastic harmonies that resonated throughout the church. Between carols, the audience listened to readings, beautifully delivered by some of our Year 6 children.

Southern Pro Musica

In January, Year 3 enjoyed a very special trip to Chichester Theatre to see Southern Pro Musica. The children were introduced to the various instruments of the orchestra and listened to musical classics such as Rossini’s Overture and Tchaikovsky’s beautiful ballet music. The children were enthralled as compère and magician Neil Henry narrated a story, accompanied by the wonderful orchestra.

Nursery Angels

Year 3

Geography

Year 3 have been busy in their Geography lessons: focusing on research skills and recycling old newspapers to make their own paper!

Campfire Day

Campfire Day helped Year 3 learn so much about Stone Age life – they made clay pots and lit their own fires by striking metal to make a spark!

We loved sharing our 'chilly' poems in the drama showcase!

Science Magnets and forces

Year 3 have undertaken work on magnets and forces in our Science lessons over the last two terms, from magnet games for our Christmas Science Fair to role playing the forces used in sport.

Wellbeing

Year 3 focused on some self care in our Raising Resilience workshops – sometimes, when we need to calm down a self hug can really help! Learn2Bounce role playing really helped the students to get involved.

Earth Song

The recent Earth Song workshop introduced Year 3 to some wonderful new instruments as they celebrated Diwali!

Rock detectives in action in Year 3 Science

Year 4

A visit to Southampton Art Gallery

Practical biology!

Our focus in Year 4 Science has been looking at the inner workings of the digestive system. Both classes enjoyed doing, possibly, the yuckiest experiment possible to recreate a digestive system from teeth to the other end! The children enjoyed putting all the food and liquid into the mouth/ stomach (plastic bag) and then churning it all up until it became a thicker liquid with some rather interesting looking lumps! We

then strained the smoothie-style creation through tights to mimic the workings of the small intestine before pushing our “meal” through the large intestine. We simulated this by removing water by wrapping the resultant gunge in a tea towel until it became a solid. Hey presto - we had made our own poo which we excreted through a hole cut in the plastic bag. Enormous fun, noise and learning!

Year 4 children were impeccably behaved on our Autumn Term trip to Southampton Art Gallery and showed great focus and attention throughouta real credit to the school. Firstly, they looked at a series of pictures depicting Greek myths by the Victorian artist Edward Burne-Jones. Everyone had the opportunity to act out part of the Perseus story, complete with swords and masks. The children then experienced an amazing clay workshop with one of the resident artists from the gallery and everyone managed to make a fantastic Medusa head in less than an hour. After such a productive day, everyone returned home totally exhausted!

Enjoying their History work on the Bronze Age!

Learning about the digestive system!

Modelling the stomach

Clay models created at Southampton Art Gallery

Clay models created at Southampton Art Gallery

Making the most of the great outdoors!

Roasting marshmallows around the campfire!

Andy Goldsworthy inspired art work!

Volcanoes

Hot chocolate time!

Year 5

100-word stories

As part of their English topic, Year 5 wrote 100-word stories, based on traditional fairy tales, and shared these with the infants. 5R visited Year 2 and 5B visited Year 1 and really benefitted from sharing their work.

History

Aztecs

In History, Year 5 have been learning about the Aztecs and all about their daily life and traditions. They learnt about how they sacrificed people to the gods as they believed that this would make the sun rise each day and bring them good luck in life. They even created a small scene of someone being scarified to show what they had learnt.

Maths

In Maths, Year 5 have been looking at multiples and factors, including how to arrange 36 sweets (counters) in different combinations and ensure that no colour sweet was adjacent to the same colour - with a bit of resilience and resourcefulness, they got there!

Poetry

The children have written poems inspired by Lord Byron's 'She walks in Beauty', Walter De La Mare's 'Silver', 'The Moon' by Carol Anne Duffy and 'Jinnie Ghost' by Berlie Doherty. They looked at the techniques these poets used to create an atmosphere as well as the structure of the poems and then applied these techniques and structures to their own ideas. The children created atmospheric poems, which they performed to the rest of the class.

Tudors

After the Aztecs, Year 5 have moved onto the Tudors, sharing what they know about the Tudors already and thinking about what they would like to find out. So far, they have learnt about The Battle of Bosworth, where Henry VII won and became king. They have also been looking at the Tudor Rose and how it was formed and are now researching Henry VIII and finding out all about his life. They are particularly interested in how he is connected to The Mary Rose as they are looking forward to visiting the ship at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Maths factors

Henry VII

Lifecycles

Year 5 have found time to create presentations about the lifecycle of an animal of their choice. The children enjoyed researching their animal, creating Google Slides and then presenting these to the class, practicing their presentation skills. We heard about the lifecycles of newts, turtles, falcons and toucans.

Science

Diffusion and osmosis

Year 5 have also been investigating diffusion and osmosis - how our bodies absorb the oxygen, energy and nutrients from our blood supply and from what we eat and drink. They observed how dyes diffuse when dropped in the medium of gelatine, how jelly worms absorb liquid and expand when place in a bowl of water and how the white of an egg is a semipermeable membrane that can change colour when placed in coloured water.

Quiet reflection!

Year 5 enjoyed a class gathering around the campfire to reflect over the Autumn Term, look forward to the spring and chat about Christmas, over a hot chocolate and giant marshmallow - if only we could do this every week!

Pulleys and friction

Year 5 children took their Science lesson into the playground for some hands-on experimenting to discover how pulleys work. With children acting as ‘passengers’, they attempted to pull them on a trolley using different combinations of pulleys. They have also been looking at how friction acts upon a toy car on different types of materials, making predictions and creating a means to test them using time and distance travelled.

Year 6

Learning some invaluable First Aid skills!

Masterchef Returns

MasterChef returned for another year of adventurous cooking exploits. After researching and creating a recipe card for their dish, the intrepid year group took a trip to the local Sainsbury’s to buy their ingredients.

There was a wonderful range of skills and dishes displayed. It is always good to know that the children should be able to fend for themselves if needed!

Southsea Coastal Scheme

In the course of learning about coasts, Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic workshop form the Southsea Coastal Scheme. The wave machine allowed them to see the effects waves have on coastal erosion, and consider the steps taken by humans to limit it. They considered the different types of coastal defences which could be created and considered the pros and cons of each type.

Water Survival Skills

Year 6 spent a brilliant morning learning survival skills in the Senior School pool! The children learnt what to do when trapped in water, including creating their own floatation devices from their clothes.

Otter Adoption

At Christmas time, Year 6 adopted an otter from the Surrey Wildlife Trust. Everyone has enjoyed finding out more about our local wildlife and supporting the efforts to preserve it.

Our MP Visits

Year 6 enjoyed a visit from Damian Hinds, our local MP. It was a great opportunity for the pupils to ask questions about what life is like as an MP. They also had a chance to raise some of the issues that are important to them, including WiFi in rural areas and what to do during the cost-of-living crisis.

London Trip

Year 6 had a wonderful day out in London. They enjoyed a tour of the Houses of Parliament, managing to view the House of Lords and walk through the historic corridors of power. From there, they hopped onto a River Cruise down the Thames, seeing such sights as the Globe, HMS Belfast and St Paul’s Cathedral, to name but a few. The day was rounded off with a wonderful tour of the Tower of London. Sadly, the crowns had already been taken to be cleaned, however, everyone enjoyed viewing the wonderful exhibits about different prisoners and looking out for any ghostly sightings.

Sport

Girls' Football

A new addition to the sporting line up this year is the introduction of a girls’ football club for the Upper School, as well as the addition of some girls’ football fixtures. The squad continues to grow from strength to strength and put in a strong performance at the recent PGS girls’ football festival.

U7 Festivals

Highlights of the sporting calendar are always the U7 Festivals. On this occasion, Year 2 headed to Brookham for some hockey action and in return Churcher’s hosted their annual U7 rugby festival. Action-packed afternoons with loads of match play and fun had by all!

Highfield Cross-Country

With a squad of more than 50 runners, we headed to Highfield to compete in one of the busiest cross-country races in recent years. Every child gave it their all and can feel very proud, some even had the added excitement of meeting Sir Mo Farah, CBE, who was there to support his daughter.

U11 Netball

Taking advantage of the Senior School facilities to host our annual U11 netball tournament, CCJS had three teams competing in the A and B team events. All the girls played wonderfully with both B teams recording some respectable results. The A team won almost all their group matches but lost out in their semifinal; this resulted in a third place play off against St. Ives. The girls played brilliantly and came out as winners, earning some rather lovely bronze medals. Not even the rain or the fire alarms could stop them!

Football Festival

Hockey Festival

Rugby Festival

Swimming Galas

House swimming galas are always hotly contested events and we are always very impressed with the talent, hard work and determination on display at all levels. Our most recent galas have seen some fabulous swims from Years 3 and 4, with Meon coming out on top in Year 3 and Hamble in Year 4. Special mentions to fastest boys and girls Tillie Cholmondeley-Smith and Benjamin Threlfall for Year 3 and Izzy Baillon and Max Parsons in Year 4.

U11 Rugby 7s winners

Churcher’s U11 A team competed in the Boundary Oak Rugby 7s Tournament. Scoring 18 tries and conceding only one in the group stage, Churcher’s won all three games and progressed comfortably into the play-offs against the winners from the other groups. A hard-fought draw against Farleigh and a win against Oakwood, meant that Churcher’s were crowned champions of the day! Well done to all involved!

Junior Equestrian Team

The Junior School Equestrian team competed in the National Schools Regional Finals and took the title to become the Southeast Regional Champions! The team had some great results on the day including a third and fourth place as well as numerous individual placings. In true Churcher’s spirit the children worked hard, supported each other and cheered loudly. Congratulations Charlie, Clarke, Finley, Maisie, Isla, Ellis, Willow and Chip on an achievement of which they should be very proud!

Success Outside School

Felix Berry

Third Year Felix Berry recently held a quiz night in aid of The Rosemary Foundation and his First Challenge Expedition to Croatia in July 2023. Felix helped set up the hall, cooked chilli with jacket potatoes for his guests and played the part of quiz master on the night. This helped contribute to more than £1,000 raised by Felix and his family for The Rosemary Foundation, a cause very close to their hearts as they cared for Felix's grandfather at the end of his life, providing care, compassion and support at such a difficult time.

Lisa Bychova

In February, Year 6 pupil Lisa Bychova was invited to the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Lisa was one of the 12 winners of the National Jubilee Art Competition run by the London Grid for Learning and The Royal Collection Trust last year. Winners were presented with a commemorative printed copy of their pictures mounted on card. Accompanied by her mother and Art teacher Catherine Foley, Lisa was invited to see the Art of Japan exhibition at the gallery, before being taken on a private guided tour of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.

Izzy Wheeler

First Year Izzy Wheeler was selected to represent Guildford Hockey Club at the 35th Torneo Internationale de la Inmaculada, an international hockey festival that each year attracts some of the best junior club sides in Europe. Hosted by RC Polo at their prestigious club in the centre of Barcelona, some 25 clubs, 106 teams and 1,300 children took part across the various age groups. The weekend was an amazing experience for all the players but even more special for Izzy’s team who returned as champions of their age group beating the host club RC Polo in the final.

Lottie Virtue

Second Year pupil Lottie Virtue has been flying high in recent trampolining competitions. She trains at Alpha Trampoline Club in Alton and only took up the sport a year ago after training as an acro gymnast since the age of four. She has only been competing since May, but has already won two bronze medals, one for DMT (double mini trampoline) at the National League Finals held at the Olympic Velodrome in London and another at her Club Championships, competing at level 3. We suspect there will be many more medals to come!

Jessica Tomalin

Fifth Year pupil Jessica Tomalin recently represented Churcher’s College in the 2023 British Schools Shooting competition, having qualified through the South East regional competition in held last Autumn. The championships were held in Cannock at the beginning of February, and brought together more than 250 rifle and pistol shooters from across the UK. Competing for the first time in the Senior age group, Jessica finished in a very respectable 13th place in the Sporter category. This provides a fantastic start to a year of competitions as she looks forward to the Junior International competition in August, and Scout Nationals to follow in the Autumn.

Team Forbes

Team Forbes has been back in action with two competitions in two weeks. At the Karate England Kyu Grade Competition, the team came away with nine medals! Rosalie in Year 5 won gold in both kata (pattern of movement) and kumite (fighting), while big sister Evelyn (Second Year) won gold in kata and bronze in kumite and Dad Matt came away with a bronze in both kata and kumite. Merely a week later, they were at the WUKF British Open Championships, competing against more than 700 top level competitors from across the UK. More medal success followed: Rosalie won a silver medal in individual kumite and a bronze medal in team kumite, and for Evelyn, a gold medal in team kata. Not to be outdone, Matt toko home a silver medal in team kumite and a bronze medal in individual kumite.

Ireland

Lower Sixth student Joel Ireland has recently returned from the U18 Mens English Artistic Championships in gymnastics in Telford, held on 25 February. He competed on six pieces of apparatus (floor, pommel, still rings, vault, parallel bars and the horizontal bar) and was placed a very respectable 18th overall and has qualified for the U18 Mens British Championships which will take place in Liverpool at the end of March. A highlight of the competition for Joel was the chance to meet Max Whitlock OBE, triple Olympic and World Champion gymnast, an inspiration!

Joel

Adventurous Activities

Aircraft Carrier Visit

A group of Navy cadets experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity by getting access to the aircraft carrier and Fleet Flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth. The cadets were shown what life on a serving warship is like and were chaperoned around most of the operational areas of the ship, including the command centres and the incredible launch ramp. The ship is equipped with the latest technology and its size, complexity and capability created an overwhelming impression on all those who had the privilege of being offered this opportunity.

Mountain Biking

A visit to Sandhurst

In December, Churcher’s College CCF sent seven cadets to assist with the running of the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Over two days, our senior cadets were able to immerse themselves in the setting and lifestyle of RMAS’ officer cadets, including a tour of Old College, the Sandhurst Chapel, and their detailed histories. On the day of the parade, cadets assisted permanent staff at the academy in welcoming guests, dignitaries, and families of the officer cadets passing out on the day. We had the privilege of watching the splendour of the parade, inspected by HRH Duke of Gloucester, and witness the first officers receive a King’s Commission in more than 70 years.

In early March, 11 eager Navy cadets rendezvoused at Queen Elizabeth Country Park bright and early for a day of mountain biking. Their first task was to get acquainted with the kit, carrying out a full inspection of their bikes for the day. Once mounted, they carried out a range of basic drills to ensure everyone was comfortable on their bikes, with a practice circuit of the blue trail, stopping for instruction on techniques for tackling key sections. Cadets pushed their abilities to demonstrate the core values of the Navy, C2DRIL: Commitment, Courage,

Easter Cycling Challenge

A group of Third Year cadets are in training for their upcoming Easter holidays cycling challenge, when they will attempt to cycle the entire South Downs Way (100 miles) over four days, camping each night.

Discipline, Respect for others, Integrity and Loyalty. The afternoon session saw the pace increase: those who were initially tentative became more courageous and those who were comfortable from the outset were even more daring!

Up, Up and Away!

The clear skies that March brought propelled six RAF cadets into the skies this half term. They pulled 4G climbs, loop-the-loops over Stonehenge and daring corkscrew dives. Everyone had a thrilling ride and are keen to get back into the cockpit as soon as possible!

DW Canoe Marathon

The Devizes to Westminster race is rapidly approaching… and students have stepped up their preparations accordingly, with training distances increasing from 13 miles up to 26 miles and coaching becoming more focused on honing the paddlers’ technique. They are now in the middle

Girls Fundraising

The girls' boats competing in the DW canoe marathon over the Easter weekend have set themselves an additional challenge – to raise £1,500 for the Wessex Cancer Trust charity, a local charity which provides emotional and wellbeing support for people who have cancer and their families and friends. Each of the team has had someone close to them experience cancer, so they are fundraising in honour of them. You can sponsor Annie, Sophie, Lottie, Lauren, Jemima and Evie by finding their Just Giving page via the school website’s News pages.

of the official build-up races, always mindful of the task ahead: paddling 125 miles over four days, including 77 portages – carrying the kayak around obstacles such as locks. Interesting fact: the paddlers will walk/ run about 10km whilst carrying their kayak during the race!

Taking on the Ten Peaks

Five teams of Fourth Year and Lower Sixth students have been using the long winter evenings to learn micronavigation skills in the dark as part of their training for the Ten Peaks Challenge to take place in the Brecon Beacons in May. This new challenge requires the teams to summit ten designated ‘peaks’ over two days within an overall time limit. As well as navigation skills, the teams have been carrying full kit while taking part in training sessions that have been progressively increasing in duration, so as to develop endurance, stamina and perseverance as well as teamwork skills; in February, they summitted Corn Du (873m) with snow on top, and camped out in the valley in near freezing temperatures.

OSCA

Since the start of term, we have inducted our new group of 63 OSCA students. Things got off to a chilly start in January with temperatures below zero, the students overcame their cold hands and produced some amazingly well-made chariots, tripods and catapults.

Sport

Boys' Hockey

It has been a successful term for our boys’ hockey A teams. Each age group has finished in the top four in Hampshire, with our U12s and U15s winning their respective competitions. The U12As, U14As, and U16As have all qualified for South Central Regional Finals, where they will represent Hampshire against the best teams in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Cross-Country

Swimming

Back in November, the junior boys travelled up to the London Aquatics Centre. With lots of excitement and a few nerves, the boys were eggar to get into the pool, where some of the greatest swimmers have competed! The first event was the boys 4 x 50m medley with all the boys putting in a great swim, beating their qualification time and only narrowly missing out on a place in the final. Brushing off the disappointment, it was time for the 4 x 50m freestyle - another superb performance with a flying last leg from Misha saw the boys sneak a place into the final. After a quick rest and replenishment of fluids, the boys were back up to race. Mustering all the energy and fight they had left all of the boys again put in another brilliant swim finishing 10th fastest in England. A fantastic performance and phenomenal achievement, well done. Our teams have continued to train hard with success in numerous swim galas across this term. One of the highlights was the Hampshire Relays, where our six teams put in some outstanding performances. The junior boys team were crowned Hampshire Champions in the 4 X 50m medley (William O, Reuben Q, Wilf H and Misha K) and 4 x 50m freestyle relay (Reuben Q, Rocco W, Wilf H and Misha K) achieving qualification to the National Relay Championships.

Our junior cross-country teams continued their brilliant year at two events this term –the Highfield Invitational and the South East Hampshire Championships. It was almost a clean sweep at Highfield, with the U13 girls team coming second overall, and the U12 girls, U12 boys and the U13 boys teams all winning their respective races; a quite outstanding return, with the added bonus of meeting Sir Mo Farah! At the South East Hampshire Championships, 23 of our junior runners qualified to represent the area at the upcoming Hampshire Championships, continuing our recent tradition of being the school in our area with the most representatives. Well done to all!

U12 Boys Hampshire Tournament

PGL Netball Weekend

Our annual First and Second Year netball weekend at PGL Liddington in early March was a huge success: six teams, 40 matches, 28 wins, three semi-finals, one final, 24 medals, 16 bronze and eight gold, but most importantly 48 pupils who had a fantastic weekend on and off the court! On Saturday morning. the three U12 teams played their opening four rounds of the tournament before being let loose on the much-loved PGL activities. After lunch, it was the U13s turn to take to the courts for their opening matches. On Sunday, Churcher’s

were the first school out on the courts warming up and ready for business, with their hard work paying off: three of our teams reached the semi-finals. Our U13s narrowly missed out on a place in the finals and an unfortunate draw saw our U12s face each other, with the U12As progressing to the finals and walking away as tournament champions! Fabulous netball all round, and a clear highlight of the weekend for all was the opportunity to meet England Roses player, Chelsea Pitman!

Water Polo

Water Polo at Churcher’s has seen an encouraging increase in numbers; in addition to our U18 boys team we now have U13, an U15 mixed team and an U15 girls team. The U15 mixed team has been working hard and experiencing their first games as a newly formed squad. With bundles of enthusiasm and excitement the team travelled to Trinity School for the first round of the national competition. The team worked cohesively together qualifying through to the semi-finals, and having gained vital game experience in the process. Our U18 team has made their way through to the second round of the National Bowl Competition where they took on a physical Millfield team. The boys worked hard to continually attack and defend, narrowly losing 6–3. The second game against Queen Elizabeth Grammar School saw a battle of ball skills, moving the ball quickly and effectively up the pool. However, their opponents were unable to keep up with the speed of our attack resulting in a Churcher’s 8-4 victory. Churcher’s will now go onto compete in the National Bowl Finals in March.

Girls' Cricket

Our junior girls’ cricketers enjoyed some good success at the ECB (formerly Lady Taverners’s) indoor tournament. With two First Year and one Second Year teams entered, the girls will have gained some great experience by playing this format of the game and also in playing as mixed teams across the year groups. In total the

girls played nine fixtures, winning six and losing three, and went through all of the group stages unbeaten, falling just short in the finals where they unfortunately did not qualify to go through to the next round at the Ageas Bowl. They will definitely be aiming for one better next year, now bring on the cricket season!

Computing

Morse Code

GCSE students learned about wired/wireless network transmission using Morse Code, either by shouting or holding up papers!

Bebras Challenge

We're very proud of our students for performing amazingly well in the recent national Bebras Computing Challenge run by Oxford University. Stan Walker and Toby Restell achieved perfect scores and we have 22 students in the top 5% in the country!

Gaming Club

What a great turnout at the lunchtime computing Gaming Club! Last term they were playing Galacticraft combined with Minecraft Edu and building rockets to fly to the moon. This term they are working together to explore the dream dimensions.

Lockheed Martin

In February, students were joined by three members of the Lockheed Martin Application Development Team. Their talk provided some excellent insight into the company’s areas of business with a focus on their projects in the UK Space industry. Abby Watton, a software developer, also provided information on the career opportunities at Lockheed Martin. The Q&A session and merchandise giveaway was a huge hit with the Churcher’s audience!

Dismantle and rebuild!

Our Third Years had great fun learning about how the various computer hardware components work and their purpose, followed by a session on how to dismantle and rebuild computers.

Modern Languages

Christmas Market Trip

In December, a group of First and Second Year German students travelled to Cologne to experience the magic of Christmas. They visited the Lindt Chocolate Museum on a journey through the 5,000-year cultural history of chocolate, tasting the delicious chocolate at various stations in the museum and also in liquid form from a large chocolate fountain. What a treat! Full of chocolate, they went on to the famous gothic cathedral, where many climbed the 533 steps to the platform of the cathedral’s southern tower, which provides a fantastic view from a height of 97 metres. The traditional Christmas Market looked lovely during the daytime but when we went back at dusk it looked even more magical. The students practiced ordering their food in German and tasted traditional German food - Mr Crossman even managed to eat his favourite Spaghetti-Eis in winter!

French Pen Pals

We have not only one, but two French schools with which our students correspond with pen pals; one in the north of France, the other in the south. Our Second Year French students are enjoying sending and receiving “old-fashioned” letters and greeting cards, and are making new friendships abroad, without social media! In February, we were visited by one of our partner school’s teachers, a Petersfield native, who hand-delivered the letters from her class to the delight of our students! She spoke to them about how, when she lived here, she would never have imagined living and working in France… it was inspirational!

Eva, Paul and Thomas, our three language assistants this year, are working relentlessly with our students, bringing them a flair from their home country, inspiring our youngsters and giving more confidence to our more mature students. Gracias, Vielen Dank and merci to all three of them, it makes a huge difference having them at Churcher’s, bringing a fresh outlook and making our language learning a real experience.

Onatti Play

On 6 February, all Third Year German students were treated to an Onatti play called Im Alten Saloon, live theatre which complemented our students’ learning. A carefully constructed dialogue between two actresses who took on different roles during the play was well received by the students. The dialogue was woven into a visually entertaining story about

the happenings in an old saloon in the west of America, using language on the topics of numbers, hobbies and family relationships which was all familiar to the students. Well done to Reggie Wheeler, who was brave enough to take part on the stage as a bar keeper after only being asked to do so shortly before the play started!

Drama

Around the World In 80 Days

From the moment of arrival, the audience were taken on a magical journey, through passport control, to take their seats in the Assembly Hall for the trip of a lifetime! This classic tale follows the protagonist Phileas Fogg, a stiffupper-lipped Englishman perfectly portrayed by Angus Cockburn and his loyal, funny and very French valet Passepartout (Alfie Barton’s accent was superbe!) as they rush to win a bet that they can traverse the globe in 80 days. On the way we meet some fantastic – and fantastical – characters, from the colourful Indian bazaars to a Hong Kong opium den and a Wild West shootout! Our intrepid duo travel by boat, train and even an elephant –wonderfully re-created on the Assembly Hall stage. The circus in Japan was a particular highlight, complete with acrobatic troupe and the choreography throughout was original and perfectly executed. Inspectors Fix and Fax provided a hilariously slapstick approach to sleuthing and Elsie Ashby’s Aouda was the perfect love interest to thaw Fogg’s icy demeanour. Bravo to all!

Grease

The perfect antidote to those January blues was to be found at the start of February… from the opening bars of Grease is the Word, the Sports Hall was filled with electrifyin’ energy and the promise of an evening of 1950s nostalgia… with bells on! There is a great deal of pressure on the lead roles in any show, but it is to their huge credit that our performers seemed to handle that pressure with the cool calm one would expect from a T-Bird or a Pink Lady. Rizzo had bite, and bucketloads of sass, Danny’s swagger from start to finish was perfectly pitched and our girl-next-door Sandy was wonderfully demure until that final, much anticipated transformation! The choreography was excellent and the band were faultless throughout and allowed for all the actors to shine during their solos and dazzle during whole company numbers. The wonderful backstage crew seamlessly transformed the set from burger joint, to dance hall, teenage bedroom and the drive-in. A wonderful evening of toe-tapping, grin-inducing sheer escapism!

LAMDA News

21 LAMDA pupils took part in the Chichester Festival of Music Dance and Speech held at Oakwood School earlier this term.  Churcher's pupils performed with skill and enthusiasm, showcasing their exam pieces. In the Solo Year 9 and under, Abilene Howells received a third-place finish. In the Duo Year 7-11 class we swept the board: third place for Joe Nighy and Katie Withers, joint second place for Alice Chrismas and Jessie Lofthouse, and Rupert Haworth and Molly Taylor, and a fabulous first place for Ari Martin-Wilks and Freya Wilson. Well done everyone!

Sixth Form

Career Bites

Although a very short half term, the Careers and HE Department have had a busy time with two great Career Bites; one on CV Writing and Recruitment and the other about Careers in Intelligence and Communications. We also held two successful launch sessions for our amazing team of over 50 volunteer interview coaches. Interview coaching has also started for the Upper Sixth with twelve scheduled evenings of coaching over the term!

Higher Education Evening

Our Lower Sixth students and their parents recently had the opportunity to hear Mike Nicholson, Deputy Head of Education Services (Admissions and Participation) at the University of Cambridge, speak at our Higher Education Evening. The evening formally launched our main programme supporting students in researching, planning and preparing for life beyond Churcher’s. Mike offered a witty and highly informative insight into the world of Higher Education, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of

Degree Apprenticeships and Professional Pathways. With the increasingly competitive nature of university admissions, this was a hugely insightful evening and hopefully good motivation for the students to start booking their open days and taster session and well as planning, and executing, their super-curricular activities. With the Oxbridge and Medical Programmes now well under way, and the HE Evening under their belts, there is a palpable interest and excitement about planning for the future amount the students.

Magistrates Visit

Having had two Magistrates visit the school to give an introductory talk about their positions and the role of the Magistrates’ Court, two groups of Fourth and Fifth Year pupils, and Lower Sixth students visited Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court in March. Hosted by local Magistrates, we had a tour of the courts learning about how the Court functions when in

session, its role, structure and the people present in it. After our tours and a Q&A, we sat in on the morning court session. Our pupils agreed that the visits were a brilliant insight into both the court system, the causes of crime and the support for those in the system.

Visit to BAE Systems

This Spring Term, a group of Lower Sixth and Fifth Year girls were hosted by BAE Systems for afternoon tea at the fabulous venue of Boathouse 4 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. It was a great opportunity to meet with BAEs female ambassadors in a relaxed environment. The girls learned about the career opportunities at BAE Systems and working in the Defence Sector. The various pathways from Business Administration and Project Management to Engineering, Supply Chain/Commercial and Engineering Design and Draughtsperson were discussed, covering the various entry levels from a Degree Apprenticeship straight after A Levels, to graduate roles after university. They also gained an insight into the application process and spoke to young women who have recently joined the scheme.

Psychology Trip

In November the Psychology Department took 50 Upper Sixth Psychologists to what promised to be an eye-opening, mind-troubling talk on the Psychology of Serial Killers at Richmond Theatre. The talk gave a fascinating insight into the history and types of serial killers and certainly lived up to the marketing hype of ‘You’ll never sleep again!” The coach ride home was certainly a quieter than the one there!

Networking Evening

Following an afternoon networking workshop, the Lower Sixth spent a wonderful evening practicing their newly learnt skills in March. More than 100 volunteer networkers (including a number of OCs) put our students through their paces over drinks and canapés. Advice, anecdotes and experience were shared and, after a slightly nervous start, the students soon found their networking feet and obviously thoroughly enjoyed meeting such an interesting and supportive group of parent-volunteers.

Institute of Economics Affairs

70 Lower Sixth Business and Economics students went to the Institute of Economic Affairs Sixth Form Conference at The Portsmouth Grammar School earlier this term. Students heard about the economics of happiness from Chris Snowdon (IEA) and then the economics of flexible work given by Dr Len Shackleton and finally a talk regarding money, central banking, and digital currencies by Julian Jessop. Students learnt that, despite the Covid pandemic where many people worked from home, currently 73% of the workforce have no flexible working arrangements with their employer. Students were also able to see the application of supply and demand to the labour market as an explanation of different pay rates known as ‘compensating differentials’.

Remembering the Past

Grill Lecture

OC Anna Hedges set the tone for the evening of the Grill Lecture 2023 when she said that the audience was there to “bear witness” when hearing the story of Holocaust survivor Steven Frank. It is important, she said, that we continue to speak of the genocide, and to repeat those stories to our children, and our children’s children. Steven Frank is a remarkable man, not least because of his own story, but that he is now devoting his retirement to speaking to schools and organisations across the country about his experiences.

As a secular Dutch Jew, sent to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp as a young child, he was one of only 100 children, from 15,000 who entered the camp, to make it out alive. Despite his heart-breaking story, and the loss of his dear father in Auschwitz, Steven’s talk had many light moments, focusing on what a gift life is. He ended with a photograph of his family today, complete with 14 grandchildren, and said, "You can cut a tree down, but it will still grow from its roots". It was a truly inspirational and poignant evening.

Art and Poetry Competition

Our annual art and poetry competition has once again seen some splendid and creative pieces of work, which are now on display in New College. The winners were: Nathaniel Joshua, Chloe Willing, Laurie Smith, Anneka Greenaway, Austen Cooke, Gabriela Cassidy, Arun Juneja, Caspar Moleworth, Ben Sherrington Strange and Emily Bridger.

Holocaust Memorial Day

All of our Fourth Years attended a live webcast given by a remarkable lady, Ruth Posner, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Ruth was born in Warsaw in 1930, and after the Germans invaded, she was thrown out of her home and marched to the Warsaw Ghetto. Ruth’s father arranged for her to work in a factory making leather goods; hard, slave labour. She managed to escape and assumed a false identity but during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943, she was taken prisoner and sent to Germany, where she was imprisoned as a

Polish Catholic as opposed to a Jew. Towards the end of the war, the Germans put Ruth on a train which ended up in the town of Essen, but the Allies were bombing the town and many around Ruth were killed. She hid on a local farm until liberation, when she discovered that both of her parents had been murdered at Treblinka and her cousins, aged 6 and 8, had been shot by the SS whilst in hiding. This was a tragic story, but she remained so positive. Her overriding message was “never generalise” as that is when prejudice sets in and hate

filled words can lead to horrendous outcomes. “Tolerance is so important… and we need to appreciate the differences between people, not use those differences to discriminate.”

Developing Research Skills

Schrödinger Project

The Autumn Term saw a group of 30 highly motivated Fifth Year students join the Schrödinger Programme, an initiative started last year by the Science Faculty to help students develop their appreciation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) disciplines, beyond the GCSE curriculum. At the core of the programme was a five-week project chosen by the students, inspired by their interest in the world at large. Popular topics included the physics of music (specifically, guitars and trumpets) and the analysis of motion, whether related to footballs, tsunamis, rockets or Formula 1 racing cars. Other groups studied crater formation or looked into the fundamental physics of complex oscillations of plates and pendulums. The project culminated in a presentation evening, giving the students the opportunity to present their findings to an audience of students, parents and staff. Congratulations to the group on completing their projects and the best of luck in their future scientific endeavours.

EPQ Presentation Evening

More than 30 Upper Sixth students rounded off their Extended Project Qualifications with a Presentation Evening in the Sports Hall in early December. Over the course of the last 15 months, these students have chosen a topic of research of interest to them and outside of their A Level studies, and planned and undertaken their own investigative research. The end results, either a 5,000word essay or an artefact created from scratch, were on display to students, staff and parents. Some of the fantastic artefacts on display included a re-creation

of Kendall Jenner’s Cannes Gala dress, made on a budget of £100, and a drone designed to deliver medicines to remote communities. One student had depicted the stages of Alzheimer's through three paintings as a means of understanding the progress of the disease. Written projects ranged from the role of MSG in our food, to whether Latin should be taught more widely in schools and the effect of the pandemic on athletes’ performance in the Tokyo Olympics. A fascinating evening, celebrating the huge amount of work they have undertaken. Well done all!

Model United Nations

On Saturday 25 February, six pupils took part in a Model United Nations (MUN) conference at Guildford High School. Representing Russia and the United Arab Emirates, a lengthy list of resolutions was formulated and discussed, with topics ranging from the financing of terrorism to over-fishing in our oceans. The day really highlighted the challenges that the international community faces in tackling world problems and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Music

A Level Enrichment

A Level musicians enjoyed an introductory Alexander Technique workshop in January, led by Adrian Ward. The benefits of this technique are widely recognised, and it is practised by many professional and amateur musicians world-wide. It is considered a perfect accompaniment to learning to sing or play a musical instrument since it improves breathing, balance and co-ordination, and can help performers with issues such as back or neck pain, muscle tension, poor posture and management of stress and anxiety. This was a relaxing session and by the end of if everyone felt calmer and taller!

Junior Recital

The Junior Recital is always an exciting evening as we are able to witness the amazing musical talent from the younger pupils. We were treated to a wide selection of solos, which concluded with Jayden Siu's virtuosic performance of Pirates of the Caribbean on the Marimba, together with numerous ensembles such as the Junior Strings, three string quartets, the Junior Choir, Junior Wind Band, Junior Improv group and the evening finished with the Junior Chamber Choir singing a beautiful arrangement of Bridge over Troubled Water

A Concert for the Junior School

Benefactor's Concert

The Benefactor’s Concert was an incredibly special evening as the Music Auditorium was being named after a previous Headmaster, Donald Brooks, who was a great supporter of Performing Arts at Churcher’s College. To mark the event, a music scholar from each year group was selected to performed a solo. Each performance was an exceptionally high quality from start to finish. The performers were Olivia Wu, Jayden Siu, Elisa Zaman, Cecily Morrogh, Alex Way, Darcia Scott, Jonny Murray and Arthur Bird.

Rock School Showcase

This year’s Rock School showcase was a resounding success and featured many wonderful musicians from different backgrounds. The Blues Group and Jazz Quintet wowed the audience with their improvising skills, and this was followed by our singer-songwriters who had the talent and bravery to play their self-penned songs to a full house. The second half of the concert was a tour de force from the Rock School performers and featured iconic rock songs from greats such as Metallica, Status Quo, Muse and many more.

The Junior Wind Band recently treated pupils from the Junior School to a bespoke concert in the Music Auditorium.

Carol Service

Senior Choir, Senior Chamber Choir, SSA Choir and Barbershop to perform. The service began with the Senior Choir singing Silent Night unaccompanied from the back of the church and ended with the traditional Hark the Herald Angels Sing, interspersed by readings from representatives of all year groups. Senior

Brass and Woodwind Concert

This concert is designed to showcase the musical talent of our brass and woodwind players and with no less than 11 ensembles and a scattering of high-quality solos, it certainly provided us with a fantastic evening of performances! The ensembles ranged from our larger groups such as the Senior Wind Band and Jazz Band to the smaller ‘chamber’ ensembles such as the Blues Group, Flute Group, Clarinet Group, Senior Jazz Quartet, Saxophone Group, Junior Brass Quartet, Fourth Year Brass Group, Senior Brass Ensemble and Senior Brass Quintet.

Lunchtime Concert

The first concert of the new year was a delightful lunchtime concert in St. Peter’s Church, which featured soloists from the First Year, through to the Upper Sixth, with the Junior Chamber Choir top and tailing the concert with O Waly Waly and Dream a Little Dream of Me

Save the Children Concert

Churcher’s musicians joined forces with The Petersfield School and Ditcham Park School shortly before Christmas to raise money for this excellent charity. Representing Churcher’s were the SSA Choir who sang River and The Bird’s Lullaby and the Jazz Band, with soloist Fin Thorpe, who sang Sway, together with the Blues Brothers Review

Out of the Classroom

Awesome Austria!

Over February half term, 100 staff and students set off from the College eager to get to the slopes. The long journey to get there was thoroughly worthwhile and after arriving and enjoying a good first night's sleep, we fitted skis early on Sunday morning. Although a little overcast on Sunday morning, the sun

broke through the clouds and remained with us for the rest of the week, a quintet of bluebird days. The ten skiing groups roamed the ski Amade area exploring many of the interlinked resorts, visiting Alpendorf, Flachau, Kleinarl, Zachensee, Wagrain and Flachauwinkl. All groups progressed well with some of the GCSE

Sport Science students showcasing their skills for submission towards their final mark. A full après ski programme was also enjoyed, including swimming, pizza night, quiz and football tournament, topped off with an ice hockey match in Zell am See.

A Religious Tour

The R&P Fifth Year visited both a church and a mosque as part of their religious tour of the South of England. In the Church we ‘grilled’ a Christian with our students’ amazing questions. The highlight of the trip, however, came in the mosque where we experienced real life segregation: boys and girls had to be separated and the girls had to wear a head scarf. The Iman later explained that girls are fire and boys are deadwood and in order to avoid disaster, they must be kept apart at all time. Now we know!

V&A Museum Visit

Upper Sixth and Fifth Year Art students enjoyed a day exploring the V&A Museum in South Kensington; a world of creativity in the heart of London. The students researched artists and artefacts for their current exam preparation and had the opportunity to explore the works of African Fashion, the Korean Wave and sculpture from the Renaissance. With more than seven miles of inspiring art galleries, everyone certainly had plenty to view and help them find exciting starting points for their personal sketchbooks.

Visiting the Battlefields of Belgium

After a delayed departure due to striking French border control, we eagerly set off with 57 students to Belgium. We had a fantastic time exploring the First World War battlefields, and we stopped at places such as the Lochnagar crater, Beaumont Hamel and the huge and moving war memorial at Thiepval. We stayed in Ypres and explored the

two very contrasting cemeteries of Tyne Cot and Langemark. Our guides were excellent and brought alive the tragedy and utter waste of human potential that the First World War unleashed. Pupils enjoyed the last post at the Menin gate and the chocolate shop! A great trip which we are delighted to have back on the school calendar after a three-year hiatus.

Community Links

Herne Link

Some of our Lower Sixth students have been engaging in a lovely community activity with Herne Junior School in Petersfield, by spending time with and supporting the learning of some of the younger pupils. From English to History and Maths, our Sixth Formers have engaged in a range of teaching activities and the Junior school pupils have really enjoyed and benefitted from their visits.

Toilet Twinning

In the Autumn Term, the Churcher’s College pupil body wore their home clothes in aid of the charity Toilet Twinning. They raised enough money for 35 toilets to be twinned in 10 different countries, including Afghanistan, Uganda and Mozambique. This will especially help women, as in many countries it is taboo for women to be seen squatting, hence they go at night and often do not drink liquid during the day for this reason. They will now be able to the toilet during the day and avoid being bitten by snakes in the night. We have received certificates with pictures of the toilets with Google coordinates, which will be placed by the toilets around the school.

University of the Third Age

The Science Faculty was delighted to host the first of a new programme of events the College are developing with the Petersfield branch of the U3A (University of the Third Age). 21 intrepid guests engaged in an evening of Science experiments, looking at series and parallel circuits, and Biochemistry, testing a ham sandwich for different nutrients, with a welcome refreshment break in between! Ranging in age up to their late 80s, they were enthusiastically assisted by four of our Sixth Form Science Buddies, as well as our technicians. The evening wrapped up with a tour of the Science block, which they all thought was amazing!

Nursing Home Visit

Last term, Churcher’s College students were inspired by the initiative “No one should be lonely this Christmas” and have been supporting the campaign in different ways. The Sixth Form Charities Committee paid a visit to Steep Nursing Home in early December to share in some Christmas crafting with the residents, who all thoroughly enjoyed the chat and the company of the younger generation. Lower down the school, our First Years wrote Christmas cards for the residents and staff of the Nursing Home and also organised a bake sale fundraiser.

World Book Day

The Senior School celebrated World Book Day with a host of events again this year. Our hotly contested Decorate a Door competition stepped up a gear from last year, with many more Forms participating and some incredible displays of creativity! Doors were judged across four categories: most creative, most visually appealing, cleverest and best linked to classroom subject. The pupils hard work was rewarded with a lunchtime party in the Library, with the launch of the Carnegie longlist, ‘blind date with a book’, literary competitions and quizzes, design your own bookmark and, of course, World Book Day cupcakes! We raised more than £40 for the Read for Good literacy charity and had lots of fun in the process!

In Other News

LSE Dragon's Den Event

The London School of Economics’ entrepreneurship programme, called Generate, arrived at Churcher’s College in December. LSE Students and Alumni were applying for funding to help their start-up ventures and, if successful, they would also get expert advice and support as part of the funding package. The applicants responded to questions from the judges panel as well as Churcher’s students; two of the latter were offered summer internships within the LSE Entrepreneurship School as a reward for the quality of their questioning! Four of the socially-driven entrepreneurship start-ups were awarded £4,500 each, covering a range of projects from a high-tech textile recycling project (aiming to improve rates of recycling from the fast fashion industry, which currently creates a lot of landfill waste) to a project for people with disabilities to settle more easily in to life away from home when moving on to university.

Global Women’s Breakfast

70 Sixth Form students celebrated the IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast, held belatedly on 21 February due to half term. This is an international event where institutions across the globe, from the University of Calgary, Canada to the University of Otago, New Zealand, organise a breakfast gathering to promote inclusivity in Chemistry courses and careers. As well as enjoying a breakfast of bacon roles and pain au chocolate, we looked at the gender balance in Chemistry from Sixth Form up to University Professors and did a quiz on famous female scientists. We celebrated the fact that the gender balance at A Level and at Churcher’s is what would be expected but recognise that this changes as you move up through the more senior positions in research; there is work to do for the current generation of students. Students and staff enjoyed the event and we will aim to build on its success next year.

Ringing Endorsements for Churcher's: “Excellent”!

In November, Churcher’s was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Every aspect of the school was considered, from Nursery and Reception in Liphook to Senior and Sixth Form in Petersfield and the results, published in January, were a ringing endorsement, with the College receiving the highest “Excellent” grading in all areas. This was quickly followed by a review from the highly respected Good Schools Guide, who concluded, “You’ll find every opportunity you could hope for here at Churcher’s, the huge offering in adventure, sport and the arts providing an excellent ballast to all that hard work”.

Equestrian News

2023 has got off to a great start for the Equestrian Team at the NSEA Schools Eventers Challenge National Championship qualifiers held at Coombelands. Churcher's was represented at every height by pupils from the Second Year through to the Sixth Form. Congratulations to Rosie Taylor, who came fourth in the 70cm, the winning team of Aneka Wisniewska, Millie Butterworth, Molly Taylor, Amelia Dallyn in the 80cm, with Aneka winning the class as an individual. More first place success in the 90cm for the team of Aneka, Clemmie Foster, Millie Butterworth and Issie Rendall and second place in the 1m for Issie. We wish those qualifying the

best of luck as they progress to the competitions at Hickstead and look forward to reporting back on continued success.

Harriet Williams on Reko coming 5th at the National Champs on her pony Reko very

PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

With a Live DJ Set

Friday 12 May 2023 7.30 - 11.30pm

An evening of drinks & dancing with cocktails, mocktails, fizz, gin, beer & more

Book your place on MSP: £30 a head including

• cocktail on arrival

• delicious bowl food supper

Location: The Music Auditorium