C OL L E G E ALSO INSIDE: A VISIT TO SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE AND dahl delights at the junior school
Autumn 2017
CHURC HER ’S
remembrance sunday parade
LOve's labour's lost
As the chill sets in, Summer is but a wonderful memory of picnics and Shakespeare in the Park. As ever, the cast wrestled with Shakespeare’s language and fought to make it their own, finding meaning and movement in the most complicated of scripts. Not for the faint-hearted, 'Love’s Labour's Lost' has the longest word in Shakespeare’s arsenal: ‘honorificabilitudinitatibus’ and some of the most tongue-twisting verse the bard ever created. The cast took up the challenge, and enjoyed it too! I applaud them for their hard work and humour. Sarah Stokes
2 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
drawing inspiration
A day at the Globe
On 2nd November the First Year spent the day at the Globe Theatre, discovering something of what it was like to perform in Shakespeare’s London. Pupils were fortunate to be led in acting workshops by members of the RSC, negotiating their way through unfamiliar lines from Macbeth and experimenting with different ways of using performance to interpret the text. Although denied the opportunity of venturing onto the stage of the Globe, David Tenant having thoughtlessly chosen that same morning to be filmed upon it, pupils learned much about how the theatre was constructed (in all three incarnations) and what the experience of the audience might have been in 1606, when Macbeth was first performed. The afternoon was taken up with a self-guided tour of the permanent exhibition, full of costumes and other artefacts garnered from the past four centuries, followed by a demonstration of sword fighting using each of the various weapons implied in plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Henry V. The day provided pupils with a valuable opportunity to see, at first hand, some of the aspects of Shakespeare’s life and work that they are currently studying in the classroom. I hope that some of them will be eager to return next year, as the days begin to lengthen once more, and see a play performed on the world’s most famous stage. David Cave
Lower School artists have been involved in some exciting activities to stretch their imagination, explore mark-making and see the world from a different point of view. Whether drawing with light in Digital Photography Club or mark-making with sticks, orange peel and bubble wrap in Experimental Drawing Club, pupils have been encouraged to think laterally and to take creative risks with a variety of unusual techniques to develop their approaches to fine art. David Heath, Gemma Heath and Gwen Roff
FOCUS • 3
Hawkeye
In the Summer Term, the First Year pupils were treated to a flying display by Hawkeye Falconry. Alistair Leese brought a team of raptors down from his base in Shropshire, to teach the pupils about the amazing adaptations of these beautiful birds. The pupils had the opportunity to fly the birds themselves, and learned a huge amount about their extraordinary abilities to hunt their prey, and also about the life cycles and biographies of each of the birds. The oldest bird was in his fifties, which surprised us all, and gave the pupils food for thought as to why these creatures have shorter lifespans in the wild. Mandy Westwood
4 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
Computer Science Unplugged Third Year pupils who opted to study computing instead of ICT learnt about variables in class by getting to BE the variables. They worked their way through some program code as a class and kept a record of how the data changed within variables by changing the pieces of paper held by the other students. Karen McCathie
STEAM Day
The Third Years boosted their understanding of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) with a hands-on day of activities related to the theme of bridges. The pupils completed a series of challenges set by the Science, Art and Maths Departments designed to stretch their intellectual, creative and teamwork abilities. On the same day they were given valuable instruction in selfdefence. The University of Sheffield kindly allowed us to borrow a 9m long cable-stayed bridge, which our teams competed to assemble in the shortest time, without stepping or falling in to the (apparently) piranha and crocodile infested water below. Our students impressed visiting Structural Engineering lecturer Richard Harpin, who commented on the most effective groups’ exceptional teamwork and quick grasp of engineering principles.
Science E x plo On S the tre peech Da rers Da y y, th at
when of a d e Fir in the the older p ay’s imme st Years ha rsio Sports d upils w Hall! T ere ot n in scienc arrive h d w e o a r w t enorm scho teach ise o e, space ing the chil ol, with enth ous 'scien ccupied ce do usia other. in one, a dren abo ut the stic presen mes' nd ab The p o s ters u u olar s pils ha t the b and c ys o d night lours of lig so much ehaviour of tem and fun pla sk ht li ying w ght in the some y which had ; they also e ith sha of the n t h jo e un yed enjoye d t d sho eachers fee fortunate e the revolvin ows ws on ffect o l a bit Tricks g fm Ch ill! ,w weird hich gave anges of S The pupils aking a th ta t scienc nd wonderf em the ch te and Scie hen ance ul phe e kno nce to e wle no cours e, the dge. The mena usin xplain b g explos e ions a st bits wer their e, nd the dry ice of Mand . y Wes twood
FOCUS • 5
LANGUAGES The European Day of Languages on September 26th each year gives us the opportunity to celebrate the importance of languages in the world today and have lots of fun along the way. This year was probably our best yet!
Poetry and Performance Evening
Our Cultural Evening was a huge success and was watched by a packed audience enjoying a glass of wine and light tapas. With over fifty performers and seven different languages, the songs and poems were a delight, all ably introduced by our Sixth Form comperes: Carl Flohr, Emily Giffin, Emilie Green and Roberta Barrett. From a poem about a little ant in French to ‘Karma’ by the Dalai Lama in Spanish, the variety was astounding. This year’s audience participation came in the form of ‘Bona Nox’ (Mozart at his most playful) by Carl and Jonas Flohr and the evening ended with the hauntingly beautiful ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ sung by Florrie Ransom.
Whole school assembly
Gloria Vessey, simultaneous interpreter, cross-cultural trainer and business woman, came to speak to us about her varied and interesting career in languages and her message was clear: Keep up your languages as much as you can.
we love languages We were bowled over by the number and quality of the entries in the 'Love Languages' poster competition this year. Many congratulations to our winner Julia Nicholls and runners-up Izzy Harris and Tommy Allen. The posters are up in the Modern Languages Department for all to see.
6 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior Barcelona
The Third Year students enjoyed a fantastic four days in Barcelona visiting Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona and the largest football stadium in Europe, as well as Parc Güell, Montjuic, and Portaventura. We also took the time to enjoy incredible views of the Sagrada Familia. The position of our youth hostel gave us a safe but informative understanding of the protests and marches for ‘Independence’ which were well under way at the time of our trip. We had an amazing time and returned inspired and culturally richer. Anna-Maria Giffin
Language Quiz and continental breakfast
Our 3rd Year pupils were treated to a delicious continental breakfast in our Dining Hall whilst competing in teams to win our Languages Quiz. With chocolate as the prize, the stakes were high! Two teams tied to take the glory. Congratulations to all!
European Lunch
The whole school was treated to a Europeanthemed lunch served by members of the Languages Department for added 'je ne sais quoi!' The waffles and the crêpes were a big hit.
FOCUS • 7
Tudor Trip
We had a fantastic new Tudor trip with the Lower Sixth historians. We visited Titchfield and Netley Abbeys, both destroyed in Henry VIII’s dissolution of the Monasteries between 15361540. Both abbeys were given to supporters of the king; the former abbey was bestowed upon Thomas Wriothesley (later the Earl of Southampton) and the latter to Sir William Paulet. Both these men made millions out of exmonastic lands and created Tudor mansions out of the ruins of the monasteries. We all noted this very visual transfer of wealth from the church to private individuals which created a vested interest in seeing the Reformation continue. We then were given an enlightening tour of Romsey Abbey, a convent that narrowly escaped the dissolution but was fortuitously saved by the townsfolk who paid up. After a relaxed lunch in the grounds of the abbey we headed to the records office in Winchester to meet the curator who gave us a fascinating talk about the Tudors in Hampshire and showed us a number of priceless Tudor manuscripts. Overall a lovely day out of the classroom! Helen Jolliffe
Weald and Downland
The Second Year historians spent a day at the Weald and Downland Living Museum. The site is designed to explain the nature of country life in Southern England in past centuries. The collection includes rescued vernacular buildings, agricultural equipment and the preserved tools of traditional rural crafts. The pupils took part in a range of activities including farmhouse baking, the Victorian classroom and maypole dancing. They particularly enjoyed the opportunity to examine farm animals from the rare breeds collection. The museum staff explained the harshness of peasant life, and after contemplating school beatings and life in small, overcrowded cottages, the consensus was that 2017 was better than 1895. John McClearie
8 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
history and classics
true stories
The Fourth Years were enthralled by a talk from the author Thomas Harding. He told the pupils simultaneously about his great uncle, Hanns Alexander, and Rudolf Hoess, the Kommandant of Auschwitz. He told us how Alexander, a German Jew, singlehandedly hunted down Hoess after the Second World War, and it was Hoess’ testimony at the Nuremburg War trials that was so important in understanding what occurred during the Holocaust. Rudolf Hoess oversaw the deaths of over one million men, women and children and he and his family were the inspiration behind 'The Boy in Striped Pyjamas'. He was finally hanged at the gates of Auschwitz. Many pupils were also inspired to buy his book at the end. Helen Jolliffe
FOCUS • 9
first challenge
At the beginning of the summer holidays fifty-five intrepid Third Years embarked on their First Challenge trip to Romania. Having spent the previous twelve months earning the money to go from various fundraising ideas such as: lads and dads cricket matches, cake sales, gardening, car boot sales, village hall quizzes and many more, the Challengers were raring to go. The trip had an action-packed itinerary including hiking and kayaking as well as a communitybased project rejuvenating some of the local schools attended by Roma children. During the project the Challengers had the opportunity to interact with the locals. They enjoyed a BBQ with them where they shared playground games and football with the new goals some of the teams had constructed. The current Third Year are now focussed on their trip in the summer and are already sharing their fundraising ideas to help each other reach their goal: Iceland 2018, here we come! Jamie Daniel
10 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
FOCUS • 11
The new 2017 OSCA team has enjoyed some good weather overall and everyone got stuck into the 'chariot building catapult war' with gusto! We are all becoming more confident with our knots and, at the time of writing, our cooking skills are about to be tested with Ready Steady Cook. Our 59 Oscaneers face the challenge of route planning through the Downs in preparation for the Rother Valley expedition. More on that in the next edition of Focus! Our second cohort will start in January and I am secretly hoping for snow‌ we could be building igloos! Nicole Sparks
12 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
"It was my first rabbit. I liked the meat!" -Will
DUKE of Edinburgh
Immediately after completing the final GCSE examination on Monday 26th June, fifty-four Churcher’s pupils met their DofE supervisors for a completely different challenge. Final preparations were made before embarking on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award assessed expedition later that day. Our first night was spent at either Minehead or Exford Youth Hostels. Early on Tuesday morning the teams met with their local assessors to have their kit checked and routes discussed before they started off. The Silver DofE Expedition is over three days and two nights and DofE stipulates teams have to be out for a minimum of seven hours each day. On this occasion teams travelled distances of 18-24 kilometres a day. The weather was kind on the first day but rain set in on the second and third, reducing visibility and making conditions more challenging both with navigation and managing kit with respect to keeping dry. On the final day Churcher’s teams could be seen soggily converging at Porlock Weir, Minehead and Dunster before heading back to Churcher’s and a well-deserved summer break. Pupils impressed their assessors over the three days and all the teams passed their expedition sections of the award. Congratulations to all those pupils on this fantastic achievement…and thank you to all the teachers and parent volunteers for working so hard to support pupils through all the training and expeditions over the course of the year. Kirsty Verney
FOCUS • 13
CCF
Army CCF
The term started with our highest ever number of Third Year cadets at 75, including a select fifteen cadets and two officers from The Petersfield School (TPS), who will be shadowing Churcher’s CCF Army Section for the next three years as they establish their own CCF unit. The drill square has been well-pounded and the new cadets have been taught basic field skills, in preparation for the half-term highlight, Operation Long Night. This took the 75 Third Years, 40 Fourth Years and assorted Lower Sixth NCOs plus the four Churcher’s CCF Army officers, two from TPS, three from Seaford, the Cadet Training Team and two volunteer parents off to the Bramley exercise area near Basingstoke for a dry(ish) night in early October. On arrival the cadets erected bashas in their allocated woodland harbour areas, field-cooked the first meals from their 24-hour ration packs, and disappeared on lengthy 2 ½ hour patrols, moving tactically and using the available cover to reconnoitre the training area and recce of disused buildings, returning to the harbours for 2330. Once settled, most heads stayed down until reveille at 0600. This was followed by breakfast, repacking kit and dismantling harbours. There was enough time for a short daylight patrol before returning to college at 1030, and then home, for a much needed bath and recuperative kip. Lt D Nighy
14 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior trafalgar dinner
On Tuesday 17th October Churcher's College CCF hosted their annual Trafalgar Night Dinner. The wood-panelled Assembly Hall was decked out to befit celebrating the great Admiral Lord Nelson, with wooden galleons on the tables, flags flying on the walls and a portrait of Nelson himself taking a prominent position. A superb dinner was provided by the catering team which diners ate accompanied by a wonderful school string quartet. After dinner our Guest of Honour, Captain James Parkin RN set the scene perfectly for toasting the ‘Immortal Memory’ of Admiral Lord Nelson with an after dinner speech perfectly balanced to educate all on the great Admiral, done with such humour that all were captivated. Another highlight was ten Royal Navy Section Cadets providing the ‘Ships of the Line’ as they paraded around the hall to the tune bearing chocolate galleons which were then placed on the tables and devoured by the guests. The evening culminated in the traditional singing of the naval sea shanties ‘Rule Britannia’, ‘What shall we do with the Drunken Sailor?’, ‘Spanish Ladies’ and ‘Heart of Oak’. Kirsty Verney
FOCUS • 15
charity united world schools Ahead of our non-uniform day which raised around £2000 for UWS, Surya Karki, (the Nepal Director for UWS) and Jack Clark (Schools Partnership Director) spoke to the whole school about the importance of education in rural Nepal. Jack has been speaking to us for three years but this is the first time we have been able to welcome Surya who has had a leading role establishing schools in rural Nepal. In 2013, Surya was awarded the Young Sustainable Living Entrepreneurs Award by Prince Charles and was honoured as a Global Laureate Fellow by the International Youth Foundation in 2014. Jeremy Harris
UGANDA
In August I was part of a group who travelled to Uganda with NKKD WATSAN, a water and sanitation charity that supports the poorest communities in rural South West Uganda. I took on a variety of jobs along the way to collect enough money to go, including bag-packing in my local supermarket. When we arrived in-country our main task was to build new latrines and water tanks for Rumbugu Primary School, which has around 450 pupils. When we arrived the pupils were collecting their water from a small spring that they shared with the local village. The spring was contaminated and outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, bilharzia among the pupils and village was common. Added to this it took an age to fill up due to a year-long drought. The money we raised for WATSAN provided two large rainwater storage tanks for the school and the local community. In addition, we installed a much-needed new toilet block for the girls and boys, another block for the staff, and also some new drying racks and handwashing facilities for the staff who lived on site. I gained so much from going on the trip, learning about the day-to-day lives of the Ugandans. I saw extreme poverty and the challenges facing these people every dayt, things that we take for granted. I have learnt to be a lot more careful with how much water I use after seeing the hardships the Ugandans have to go through, simply to get water to enable them to live. The whole experience has really taught me to be more grateful for what I have, especially when the Ugandans are so generous and welcoming with the little they have. I am now also more willing to take on new challenges and realise that giving up isn’t always the best way out of things. Ellie Hill
16 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior Get A c t iv e for Ne Last
pal
sum organise mer the 1st to 4 d a summ th er fete-s Years in order World Sc to raise money tyle event fo h Butser. T ools (UWS) and r United h H saw the is was a fantasti omestart, pupils ru c event a nning the and takin nd ir g slides, o part in hungry h own stalls bstacle c ippos, w ater ourses a more. M an nd equipme y parents helped so much nt, for ex ample, g by lending and this iant zorb event is your on-g only possible w s, ith oing sup port. Jeremy H arris
FOCUS • 17
MUsic A couple of weeks into term, the A Level music students were treated to a conducting masterclass by professional conductor, Mark Biggins. Mark has just recently been appointed Assistant Conductor of the English National Opera and comes to Petersfield on a weekly basis to conduct the Petersfield Orchestra. Our students (and staff!) had an inspirational morning learning the basics of how to conduct, with each student taking a turn with the ensemble! Shortly after this, the A Level students enjoyed a morning of composing, led by Oliver Lambert, who is currently studying for a composition degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Having talked and learnt about various ways to develop compositions the students were then put into groups to create pieces from an initial idea. The Fourth Year GCSE musicians have been in the community this term, performing to the residents at Downs Nursing Home in Steep. The students entertained the residents with various solos and ensembles they had put together in the first few weeks of term. The first concert of the academic year took place at St. Peter’s Church on Monday 2nd October. This was a lunchtime concert raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Performances ranged from pupils in the First Year, through to the Sixth Form, and featured excellent performances by the Flute Choir and Brass Quintet. The first trip of the academic year took place on 4th October when 57 musicians went to the West End in London to see the stunning show ‘42nd Street’. Helen Purchase
Orchestra Tour
18 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior Summer Concert
FOCUS • 19
FOCUS ON
geography
The Autumn Term is always a busy one in the Geography Fieldwork calendar and this year was no exception. The weather was unseasonably mild and (almost entirely) dry, enabling some very important data collection. The Fifth Years spent a day around Portsmouth Harbour investigating the impact of the Gunwharf redevelopment on the local area, in preparation for their new GCSE Geographical Skills exam. The Upper Sixth spent a day at Studland collecting data for their Independent Investigations, a genuinely individual student selected and led enquiry worth 20% of the new A Level marks. Titles varied from 'Variations in the perceptions of place throughout Studland Village' to 'Comparisons in local beach systems on the coastline'. The Second Years enjoyed a great day at Marwell Zoo exploring the bio-geography of the tropical rainforest and species of contrasting biomes, linking together the First Year work on Africa with this year’s regional focus on Asia. Continual investment sees the zoo get better every year and the now completed Wild Explorers savannah enclosure and Lemur Walks were particular highlights. In countless years of taking pupils to the park, I can’t remember ever being so close to so many of the big cats. David Nighy
20 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior
Green s n ber the enmtirpeany o g a r D 19 Octo ith a co igning,
y w s’ des ay he da hursd se t to On T ar spent t Enterpri a produc ed in n e g e r Y e ok in Third ‘Bright Gr d market l. They w viding the i a n d d calle eloping a inable go rson and that were s t dev a susta hairpe uc h is a ’ prod ve aC whic achie electing hem. The sphere’, ‘Eco-spin n m iont ps, grou s betwee uded a ‘B ign and a erated fro task ned incl sing des rgy gen years the desig nable hou s the ene previous tive and i e a susta harness ner. As in mely cre ortunity h n e p i c r i t p p h x o s e w the all dget ills. the fi ents were d enjoyed iness sk s n d u a u b st ative their innov develop o ll t in Hi Mart
FOCUS ON
Business From Project Fear to Project Cheer: Reasons to be Optimistic about Brexit Jonathan Isaby (Editor, Brexit Central) spoke to about 50 Sixth Formers and a number of staff and parents in the Lecture Theatre on 28th September. Jonathan (also a previous student of both Rick West and Simon Williams when he was a pupil at KCS, Wimbledon) provided an argument in favour of Brexit. Recent previous roles that Jonathan has held include being Political Director and then Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance and prior to that Editor of ConservativeHome.com He has a degree in Modern Languages and Linguistics from the University of York. Jonathan spoke passionately about the new freedoms to be enjoyed by leaving the EU; the fact that most EU countries benefit from trade with the UK so will want a good Brexit deal to allow that to continue, and that the dire warnings of economic damage from leaving the EU had not come about. There was then a robust debate with some equally fervent ‘remainers’ who enthusiastically challenged Jonathan on many of his assertions and vigorously argued against Brexit. It was a lively and animated evening and we were very grateful to Jonathan for clearly stating his position, even if some in the audience were unconvinced regarding being ‘optimistic’ about Brexit. Rick West
FOCUS • 21
m r o f h t x i s n Mexica DaCyollege Catpstatuincsk in
Sixth es and go ixth Form. pper v S ll The U their slee our entire s no sma h a it p r u w w o f d is m e h roll lunc tudents th e TV roo ed their p u n th s ve to ser over 200 decorated ti, and don even went ll c e y a m e c w e h t h T le t A b f xican g! ber o s. Me inflata rtakin unde flags and hos. A num oustache tmosphere nc an al m ea h Mexic ros and po the option hill and th ower Sixt L e s r e h r a t m w b e a e g m w n R so as to d through ming our o smashin me r a f o g so lco blaste ll for s had a to we music convivial r of pupils wspaper- a tball was was A numbe ed up ne ndard foo me of a . a ll Form as with ro rd. The st a lively g sun in piñat late rewa there was joyed the choco rway and others en . unde all whilst ’s Garden b Ed volley s Plewe Nicky
induction day
The Sixth Form Induction Day was a fun-packed event as we welcomed back many Churcher’s College Fifth Formers to school to meet and share time with those who would be joining us from other schools. On the lawns of Ramshill the teams battled it out for the best slingshot or catapult. Some were brightly adorned with electrical tape, others, more modest frames, used the rubber bands to successfully project their missiles along the garden. There was much support all round for the attempts made and it was the red team who finally prevailed. Nicky Plewes
22 • FOCUS
FOCUS Senior oxbridge
We have had a very busy term with our Oxbridge applicants. We have fifteen applying to Oxford and Cambridge for degrees ranging from Natural Science to History, and German to Engineering. We had an Oxbridge interview evening in early November and then Luke Maw from St Edmund’s Hall Oxford came to see us to give the students an idea about their interview experience. Helen Jolliffe
#defendthetruth
After I completed the Lessons from Auschwitz programme in November last year, I became an ambassador to the Holocaust Educational Trust. At the beginning of the summer I attended the HET ambassadors’ conference where the theme for the day was to ‘#DefendTheTruth’. Now, at a time when antisemitism, hatred and intolerance are on the rise, it is more important than ever to defend the Holocaust. I was fortunate enough to hear from two Holocaust survivors at the conference: Harry Spiro and Ben Helfgott MBE, as well as many other inspirational speakers. Game of Thrones star, Laura Pradelska and the BBC’s Nick Robinson told the testimony of their grandparents who had survived the Holocaust. The Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis encouraged us to ‘Champion the Truth’, and Tim Cole, Britain’s leading Holocaust historian gave a fascinating speech based on his new book ‘Holocaust Landscapes’. Judge Robert Rinder, grandson of a Holocaust survivor, interviewed his grandfather’s friend Harry Spiro, also a survivor, about his experience during the Holocaust. I also had the opportunity to choose and attend two workshops during the day. The first I chose was by Dr Zoe Waxman of the University of Oxford, who discussed her pioneering work on women’s experiences in the Holocaust, including the role that their gender played in their fate. The second workshop I attended was by Professor Rainer Schulze of the University of Essex who challenged the ignorance and misconceptions which surround the Nazi genocide of the Sinti and Roma. It was an incredibly inspirational day, and it encouraged me even further to defend the truth about the Holocaust and never let it be forgotten. Anna Hedges
FOCUS • 23
Our guest for Speech Day, Nelson Mandela’s former bodyguard Chris Lubbe made a great impression on the students as he told them stories of what it was like to grow up under apartheid. He was much talked about after the event, with many in the Fourth Year to Sixth Form still quoting him long after the day itself. Chis spoke passionately and openly, sharing personal stories of life in South Africa and recounting how he was handpicked for Mandela’s personal bodyguard team. With tales of courage and determination he challenged us all to think about humanity, responsibility and forgiveness. Penny Harper
24 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
senior speech day
prizewinners 2017
FOCUS • 25
success stories Alice Ramseyer was selected from 300 girls to make it in to the Surrey Storm U14 squad. She had to compete in three separate trials against the strongest girls from across the region. This is an outstanding achievement and comes ahead of an exciting season as Alice also regained her place in the Hampshire Netball Squad. More netball success came with Charlotte Roberts, Eva Bertran, Isabel Brower and Alice regaining their places in the Hampshire Netball Academy. They are also joined by Amy Dickens and Lola Ramseyer in a development squad for the 2017/18 season. We wish the girls lots of success.
During the summer holiday, Upper Sixth student Henry InigoJones competed in the Junior National Gliding Competition which was held at Nympsfield Airfield in Gloucestershire. Henry was one of 45 in his age-group who qualified to take part, and in his first competition came 20th overall; in so doing he was awarded the Best Newcomer Prize. More recently Henry has taken part in the Junior Winter Series in Denbigh, North Wales, gaining experience of flying on ridges and ‘mountain wave’, allowing him to reach an altitude of 12,500 feet. Henry’s successes have given him a chance to qualify for the National Junior Development Squad which could see him compete on the world stage in 2021.
26 • FOCUS
Henry and Max Bowring are completing the LTA Level 1 Tennis Coaching qualifications this term, enabling them to develop not only their own skills and understanding of the game, but those of others with coaching at their own club and in school.
CCJS Year 5 pupil, William Philpott was given the opportunity to speak at the beginning of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Open Day, being introduced by Lesley Watts, CEO of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation. He was then shown around the NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit) where he was born prematurely at just 28 weeks, and spent the first eight weeks of his life. William’s fundraising efforts saw him collect £80 for the unit to help babies just like himself.
FOCUS Senior
3rd Year Alice Robinson’s love for all things horseriding is going from strength to strength as she has been lucky enough to qualify for the London International Horse Show – Olympia in December, riding a black Shetland Pony called Cranford Fantastic (AKA Zorro). She shares her place in the team with Rocco Dettorri, Frankie Dettorri's son.
Sisters Izzy (2nd Year) & Emily Jupe (Lower Sixth) took part in the Swim England Syncro Combo Cup Nationals on Friday 15th September in Manchester. Izzy's team came 2nd in their age group and Emily's team came 4th, missing out on a medal by just 0.2666. Both Izzy and Emily are part of Churcher’s College Development Squad.
Third Year thespian Matilda Shapland has been enthralling audiences, portraying the role of Jenny Caroline ‘Qui Qui’ Marx in the production of 'Young Marx' at the Bridge Theatre in London. This is not her first outing on stage and screen however. She starred as Little Cosette in ‘Les Mis’ in 2012/2013, and following this she played her namesake as the main character in the West End production of ‘Matilda’ in 2015. Matilda has also performed alongside Joan Collins in the movie ‘The Time of Their Lives’.
FOCUS • 27
tennis
Third Year student Benji Hutchinson was our successful winner of the Road to Wimbledon competition organised at school. He had the opportunity to follow up his school win with the invitation to the countylevel competition on the grass courts near Canoe Lake, Southsea during the summer holidays. Eva Bertran (4C) took part in a tennis competition on the grass courts at Cranleigh for the U14 Girls' Doubles Tournament during the summer holidays. Eva and her partner, Ellie Staddon finished 2nd overall, with the girls only narrowly missing out on the top spot. Matthew Kelly and Tina Jenkins
U12 & U13 Rounders
The year groups mixed in for a staffled practice tournament in what was a hotly-contested event between Team Evans, Douthwaite and Forrest. The support of the parents was brilliant and the sun was shining for the duration. All in all it was a great start to the rounders season and helped us to set our sights on the coming season. Laura Howe
Butser Run
We had over twenty pupils from the Senior School and seven members of staff take part this year. They were fully supported, as always, by the Churcher’s Rock Band. Mr Hill led the staff team, coming in 29th and we had some podium places for the pupils. In the Second Year Libby Daunter was 1st and Louise Reed was 3rd. For the boys, Thomas Briggs finished 2nd and George Williams 3rd. In the Third Year the boys took the top three places with Kai Jackson in 1st, James Medley in 2nd and Harry Marden in 3rd. For the girls, Adie Matson finished 2nd. Emma Chambers
28 • FOCUS
A cheque for £5000 raised by the runners of the Butser Hill Race was presented to FitzRoy, the national charity which transforms the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism. Churcher’s pupils Libby Daunter and Ross Calvert met the Community and Fundraising CoOrdinator for Fitzroy, Jim Apted to present the cheque.
FOCUS Senior golf
Sam West (4th Year), Tom Basey (5th Year) and Zain Preston (Lower Sixth) were the school’s representatives at the Hampshire Schools’ Golf Tournament at Cams Hall Estate Golf Club. In a field of 53, Sam’s score of one under par was enough to secure him top spot on the leader board in both the under 16 and the under 18 events. He now goes on to represent the school and the county in the English Schools’ Championship at Woodhall Spa next year.
Swimming
Five of our Swim Squad travelled to London Aquatic Centre at the Olympic Park in Stratford. Having qualified for the Schools' National Relay Finals in the Intermediate age category for Years 3 and 4, they were 20th fastest of 30 in the Medley Relay, and 22nd fastest in the Freestyle Relay, so were already in a positive mood.
Cross Country equestrian club
Well done to all of those girls who competed in the NSEA County Challenge Showjumping at Coombelands on Sunday 5 November: Izzy Harris, Georgia Dyer, Megan Dyer, Emily Martin, Hannah Russell, Katie Harris, Lucy Butcher, Bels Foster, Immy Porter Wright, Sophie Davidson and Anna Jackson. Congratulations to the 80cm team (Izzy, Georgia, Megan and Emily) who came second and the 1m team (Sophie, Bels, Lucy and Immy) who came third.
Highlights this term have included the Junior Girls’ Team (comprising of Bo and Lola Texier, Mia Clark, Olivia Bristow, Louise Reed and Bella Crandon) coming sixth in the English Schools' Cross Country Cup (area round), narrowly missing out on the Nationals. Meanwhile, thirteen Churcher’s runners qualified to represent South East Hampshire in January. Elsewhere, in the U12 and U13 Girls’ Cross Country at Prior’s Field Tilly Hutchins and Millie Cooke-Priest led the Churcher’s pack and the U13 girls’ team of Bo and Lola Texier, Mia Clark, Olivia Bristow and Louise Reed won the competition with a score of just twenty.
With James Arnold as Captain, Kai Jackson, Tom Hogg and Rory Plewes' times combined to achieve their goal by going 1.75 seconds faster in the Olympic Pool, narrowly missing out on making the final but able to lay claim to being the Hampshire Champions and the 13th fastest nationally in the Medley. In the Freestyle Relay a fresh Alex Sandberg came into the team with Kai Jackson stepping aside. A very tough heat and lane draw meant that unfortunately the team did not manage to beat the time we qualified with. They still walked away with heads held high as the Hampshire Champions and 23rd fastest nationally in the freestyle. Peter Beard
FOCUS • 29
30 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
Infant Concert The Infant Choir have been working hard at attempting to sing in two parts and rose to the challenge in a simple round and Polynesian ‘echo song’. Ensemble performances were also given by our beginner recorder players in Class 1 as well as our more advanced players in Class 2. Class 1 gave an action- packed performance of ‘Down There Under the Sea’ and Class 2 took the audience on a voyage to the New World, singing about Columbus’ preparation for voyage and giving a controlled but powerful percussive demonstration of a ship caught in a storm. The evening closed with all the Infants on stage giving an energetic performance of the final action song, which is a favourite among the pupils in our Thursday morning whole-school singalongs. The audience was encouraged to join in to give the children something to share and sing about with family and friends at home.
FOCUS • 31
INVASIONS In the Summer Term Year 3 studied the Vikings. As part of the topic, they had a Viking Day involving mock battles, mask-making and a lot of fun. In DT they made Viking longships and sailed them on the North Sea (a paddle pool kindly donated by a parent!). The challenge was to see if they could float for longer than five seconds! With only a 48% success rate it was clear that there were some design issues and after discussions it was agreed that many improvements will be made next time.
The Romans are Coming!
Classes 3G and 3T have been practising what it would be like to be a Roman legionary. Much fun was had practising our marching and trying to do the ‘Tortoise Technique’ used by the Romans as they protected themselves with their shields. Some excellent marching was done by all.
32 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
BOOKED UP!
FOCUS • 33
science
Steam The Junior School celebrated the wonders of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) in ‘STEAM Week’. Pupils had the opportunity to find out all they wanted to know about STEAM with talks, projects and hands-on experts visiting classes. The week began with inspirational scientist and speaker, Ian Russell, who shared his contagious delight in phenomena with the whole Junior School. Ian presented a fast-moving and entertaining demonstration of simple but spectacular experiments using everyday materials to create memorable results! During the week he also shared magical gigantic bubbles in the playground and helped Year 5 launch rockets to astounding heights. Parents joined the children throughout the week as they worked on their science exhibits. Year 4 produced working robots, Year 6 took charge of the iPad explanations for each exhibit which were linked to QR codes and Reception thought about science under the sea!
34 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
stargazing at the chichester planetarium
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Year 3 have been studying healthy eating and a ‘healthy eating plate’ was made in pairs by all of the year group.
STEAM
FOCUS • 35
It's all academic
s in maths shopping task
using ICT within the classroom
36 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
Weather Exp
erts
Autumn T e has prod rm Geography in uced som Y e excelle ear 3 experts a nt n women. T d potential weath weather er h fun makin e children also h men and ad great g tornado activity. es for a h omework
Growth Mindset Year 6 treated the school to a super assembly all about ‘Growth Mind-set’. The children explained that in order to grow and learn you needed to have a positive mind-set and believe with effort you can improve. The children also heard the Juniors’ ‘5R Skills’: Readiness, Responsibility, Resilience, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness, that are central to being an effective learner. They performed short sketches explaining what these words mean and enjoyed a dance about the ‘Power of YET’ learning that you may not be able to do it …YET…but if you use the 5Rs you will achieve your goal!
FOCUS • 37
y t i n u m m o c e h in t
IVAL
FEST HARVEST
38 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior
coffee morning
Churcher’s College Nursery took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning initiative in support of Macmillan. Delicious cakes and a cuppa were enjoyed for a great cause. The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan’s largest fundraising event for people facing cancer. Macmillan ask people all over the UK to host their own coffee mornings and donations on the day are made to the charity. Last year alone it raised £29.5 million and this year it is aiming to raise even more.
DOCTOR, doctor
Class 1 learnt about some of the body parts that we cannot see as they are inside our bodies, such as our heart, lungs, muscles and bones. We met ‘Eric’ the skeleton and saw how our bones are organised and joined together. Dr Lalonde came in to visit to share more information about our bodies and tell us some of the things that doctors have to do to help us.
FOCUS • 39
t u o b a d n a t u o
selborne
Y5 ventured out to the Selborne Study Centre to experience plant life cycles first-hand, among the flora and fauna of the surrounding countryside. After making flowers from locally-sourced clay, the children worked in House teams to collect specimens from the kitchen garden of the Gilbert White Field Study Centre. Year 3 also visited the centre as part of their ‘Rocks and Soils’ topic. They were able to collect soil samples and then do some lab work.
40 • FOCUS
FOCUS Junior cobnor
Y5 jou rneye Cob adven nor for thre d to e days turous the firs t time activities. Th of many is was had sta o two nig yed away f the childre fr n h o ts an mh well. T here w d they all co ome for ere ma ped ve the ch ildr ny ry own b en including highlights fo oat; bu : sailin r rafts; c g il anoein ding and ra their cing g to Bo back, s and th e chall ham and e climbin g wall. nging
bushcraft
FOCUS • 41
football The U11 footballers took part in the ISFA Regional Tournament at Bedales School on 12th Oct. With 12 of the best teams from all over the county competing for a place in the National Finals, it was going to be a tough afternoon. A slow start by Churcher’s saw a loss, a draw and 3 wins during the pool stage, with the boys scraping through on points difference to the semi-finals by only a single point. In the semis they faced Cranmore School and after a 0-0 draw at full time, Churcher’s went through on penalties. In the Final, Churcher’s faced Castle Court and, despite pulling out all the stops, it wasn’t meant to be. The final result was a 2:1 win to Castle Court. Well done to all the boys for a hard fought afternoon!
DREAMS COME TRUE Pupils from Reception to Year 6, were invited to take part in the third and final event in a series of ‘Millie’s Sportive Masterclasses’. The children learnt positioning, bow technique using a recurve bow, and how to aim correctly from Archery GB coaches. Once mastered, they embarked on a competition of ‘nearest the gold wins’! The young archers delighted in the thrill of releasing an arrow and seeing it successfully pierce the target. Millie has raised a grand total of £653 for ‘Dreams Come True’, whilst inspiring her fellow pupils to get involved in different sports. She hopes she has left a lasting legacy for younger pupils to aspire to.
FOCUS Junior
TEAMBUILDING The now legendary Year 3 Teambuilding Day included a wide variety of activities, from team games to assault courses. As ever the children and staff were at the mercy of the great British weather and all were challenged by the wet and windy conditions. Nonetheless, the show went on and the afternoon continued inside with pupils enjoying the activities in the hall and the drama studio. Parents and siblings joined Year 3 for a delightful tea and all went home completely exhausted but with full tummies.
FOCUS • 43