Tettenhallian 2009 by Purely Creative

The Tettenhallian 2009

Tettenhall College Governors and Staff Chairman J Woolridge, CBE, BSc Council of Governors Mrs C Baugh P Brough, BA P H Creed Esq Mrs C Hammond, BA Mrs V Jones Mrs D Margetts

Vice Chairman Rev Preb G Wynne, CMTh, BSc, BD, AKC

Headmaster Deputy Head Head of Lower School

P C Bodkin, BSc, PhD H R J Trump, BA P Kay, BA

Mrs J Parker, SRP, MCSP, JP J Rice Esq Prof R E Smallman CBE, BSc, PhD, DSc, FEng, FRS G Sower, BA Ms M J Whild, BA, Dip Arch RIBA

Assistant Staff Mrs S Blake, BA, MA J Bullock, BSc Mrs P J Bullough, BA Mrs C Cooper, BSc Mrs H Compain-Holt, MA A J T Dyer, BEd R J Ellmore, BSc P G Evans, BSc A T Foster, BA Mrs E J Gwilt, BSc J D Higgs, BA Ms C Hope, BEd Mrs A Y J Jarman, BA Mrs P Jones, CertEd, Dip RSA SpLD Miss J Kendle, BA Mrs J Kibble, BEd S L Lawrence, BSc R M Leighton, BA Mrs M Lofting, BA Clerk to the Governors Bursar Medical Officers

A R Mottershead, BEd, PhD A Nash, ACIB Mrs V M O’Neill, BSc Mr R Parry, BA J M Petfield, BSc G J Raine, BA Mrs A A Ridyard, BA Mrs R K Samra, BSc Mrs B Smith, BA Mrs D E Spencer, BEd Mrs C A Squire, BA Mrs D Stone, BA, Dip TEFL, MEd Mrs K Stone, BA Mrs J L Taylor, C in E Miss M D Uttley, BA I F Wass, BEd Mrs C E Whiting, BSc, BEd Mrs G O Whitmore, BSc MAC Woodward, BA, SpLD

Librarian

M J Kilvert Esq S P Howard, FCMI, FIH Dr J J Bright Dr A Williams Mrs C Wagstaff, RGN Mrs S Philpott, RGN L N Chown, MA Miss A Addison Mrs N Phelps Mrs D Liddle, BA

Visiting Teachers Mrs E Coleman, C in E Mrs L Cooper, C in E, Dip SpLD Mrs S J Daniel, BA, CT, ABRSM Miss H R Davies, BA, BSc, Cert SpLD Mrs I Fowell, BEd Mrs J M Hislop, BEd, Dip SpLD, CPSE, CELTA J Hood, (Percussion) Mrs J Lewis, BEd (Strings) Mrs D Manasseh, BA LRAM (Flute)

WB Peacock, ISTC, MSTA, Dip. Sp. Psyc. (Swimmimg) A Powis, LTCM (Clarinet/Sax) Mrs K Priest, (Dance) M Revell, MusB, GRNCM, ARNCM (Brass) Mrs V Sumner, ARCM (Piano) J Taylor, BMus, FRCO (CHM), GRSM, LRAM, ARCM (Piano/Organ) Miss S Thomas (Voice) J Westwood, (Guitar)

School Nurses O.T. Liaison Officer Headmaster’s PA

Contents

Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foreword........................................... 4 Comings and Goings............................................... 5 The Drive School lorum........................................................................ 8 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10

lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 O.T.s lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10

Lower School Head of Lower School Report............................... 10 Art.......................................................................... 10 Science Week........................................................ 10 Themed Week........................................................ 10 Cranedale Field Trip............................................... 10 Sports: Cricket................................................................. 10 Cross Country..................................................... 10 Football................................................................ 10 Swimming............................................................ 10 The Wiz Musical..................................................... 10 Chess Club............................................................. 10 Upper School lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10 lorum...................................................................... 10

Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foreword P C Bodkin, BSc, PhD

What makes a school like Tettenhall is the combination of the formal curriculum, the extra-curricular programmes, strong personal development and warm personal relationships. These characteristics have stood the test of time and grown over the years from roots like these: a delight in excellence, a belief that individuals matter and that community matters; that confidence grows out of achievement, that differences of belief, ability or interests are to be respected; that moral standards and integrity are the foundations of civilized living; that you need to learn to compete, to cooperate and to settle differences through discussion; that humour is the mark of a happy and confident community. The following pages of this magazine reflect this ethos and bring alive all the intended learning opportunities, experiences and outcomes that a Tettenhallian should have in his or her time at school. The wide range of opportunities reported on provides the framework under which our current cohort of pupils are developing into well-rounded individuals with the qualifications and personal skills necessary for successful and fulfilling lives beyond school. News of the ongoing achievements of former pupils of previous generations in the O.T. section of the magazine confirms that, despite the rapid pace of change, the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s influence continues to bear fruit long into the future. I thank all the O.T.s who maintain a keen interest in the School, attend reunions and support us warmly in other ways. This publication presents a colourful and lively picture of a school year. I am grateful to all the contributors, the design team and especially the Editor for their work in compiling this issue. The content reflects the vibrant and successful community that makes us proud to be Tettenhallians.

Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foreword

Comings and Goings

from the pulpit. His ministry resulted in a number of Christenings and Confirmations in the College Chapel. His new calling is the Chaplaincy at Prestfelde School in Shrewsbury. Mr P Meadows 2007 ~ 2009

Mr M Jackson Mr Jackson joins us as Housemaster to the boy boarders in School House. Mr Jackson has been teaching at Cokethorpe School in Oxfordshire where he has been Assistant Housemaster and Co-ordinator of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. His specialist subjects are Physical Education and ICT. Ms L Teulé Ms Teulé moves from Adams’ Grammar School where she was Head of French to be our Head of Modern Languages. Since qualifying as a teacher at King’s College in London, Ms Teulé has taught at two schools in London before moving to Shropshire in 2005. Her specialist languages are French and Spanish. Mr R Parry Mr Parry is an experienced Lay Minister who has been operating in the Lichfield Diocese for 15 years. A change of career direction led him into teaching five years ago. He joins us as Chaplain and teacher of Religious Studies from King’s School in Chester. We welcome these new members of staff and their families to Tettenhall. Reverend G Parry 2003 ~ 2009 Reverend Parry moved to Tettenhall as Chaplain and teacher of Religious Studies in January 2003. He soon established a reputation for being a gifted speaker

Mr Meadows arrived at Tettenhall in September 2007 as Head of the Lower School and The Drive from Mowden Preparatory School in Northumberland. His appointment to the Headship of Loretto Junior School in Edinburgh sees him reunited with his family in Scotland. Mrs J Tolliday 2007 ~ 2009 Mrs Tolliday was the Coordinator of Learning Support in Upper School between September 2007 and March 2009. She did much to support those with specific learning difficulties both academically and pastorally. She returns to the south-east of England to work for the Local Educational Authority in Kent. Mr J Petfield 2002 ~ 2009 Mr Petfield has been the popular and respected Housemaster to the boys in School House since April 2002. In addition to this leading pastoral role, he contributed significantly to the teaching of Geography and Science. A keen sportsman, Mr Petfield coached games, took responsibility for Cricket and helped forge the partnership with Wolverhampton Cricket Club. His further links with the local community included being renowned as a Quizmaster. He moves to be Housemaster of Baxter House at Old Swinford Hospital School. Mrs S Blake 2000 ~ 2009 Mrs Blake came to Tettenhall in September 2000 from the University of Wolverhampton where she had been lecturing in German. She taught in the Modern Languages department. A keen musician, Mrs Blake also taught music and played the organ in Chapel. Her fine

Comings and Goings

pastoral and administrative skills were put to good use as a Form Teacher in Year 11 with specific responsibility for organising Work Experience. She leaves to pursue a new career outside of teaching. Mrs B Smith 2006 ~ 2009 Mrs Smith started her teaching career as a Newly Qualified Teacher at Tettenhall in September 2006. She taught German and French in Upper and Lower School. Her French Club in The Drive School proved to be very popular. A Form Teacher in Year 8 and Year 9, Mrs Smith also assisted with Foreign Language visits to Europe. Mrs J Kibble 2004 ~ 2009 Mrs Kibble joined Lower School in September 2004 as numbers grew in the new Lower School building which had opened two years previously. She was a Form Teacher to Year 5 and is a Science specialist. Her many other contributions included the leadership of Pearson House and the School Council in Lower School. Also, she was an enthusiastic organiser of a number of clubs and activities.

Mrs V Mayer 2004~ 2009 Mrs Mayer taught both Year 2 and most recently, Reception in The Drive School where she was also the Coordinator for Mathematics. Miss K Murphy 2006 ~ 2009 Miss Murphy joined the School as a Newly Qualified Teacher in September 2006. She taught in both Lower School and The Drive and contributed to the games programmes. Mrs A Highfield 2003 ~ 2009 Mrs Highfield joined the team of Nursery Nurses at The Drive School in January 2003. She established quickly a reputation for her contributions to the education and happiness of the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In September 2004, she was promoted to be in charge of the Kindergarten. She leaves to pursue her further education.

We thank all these colleagues for their work and wish them every happiness and success in the future.

Comings and Goings

The Drive School

Report for Academic Year September 2008 - July 2009

Members of Staff Head Mrs S Fisher, B.Ed (Hons) Staff Miss A Dickinson, BSc Miss K Murphy, BA Mrs V Mayer, BSc Mrs C Squire, BA Miss C Belcher, Btec, FDE (Level 5) Mrs F Dalby, NVQ III Miss R Harrison, Btec

Mrs A Highfield, Btec Miss S Jassal NVQ III Miss H Jones, NNEB Miss N Parkes, Btec Miss K Searle, Btec Miss J Turner, NNEB

Visiting Staff Mrs A Asif, BA, MA Mrs L Cooper, C in E, Dip SPLD Mrs S Daniel, CT, ABRSM (Piano) Mrs J. Lewis B.Ed (Strings) W B Peacock, ISTC, MATA, Dip Sp. Psyc. (Swimming) Mrs K Priest, MASD (Dance) Miss S Thomas (Voice) J Westwood (Guitar)

Head of The Drive School Report Welcome to the world of The Drive School. I do hope you find this article informative and interesting. It is here in The Drive School, that our children take their first important steps into the world of school and education. It is of paramount importance to us that this is a positive and rewarding experience for the children in our care. We aim to give our children the opportunities for learning, both academically and socially, which will form firm foundations for their development into the Lower School. The happiness of the children is our greatest priority as we feel that a happy and confident child is one who will learn. We offer our children an enriched curriculum in a secure environment. Our school has a warm, enthusiastic and purposeful atmosphere. I hope that this report and the photographs truly reflect this and allow you to gain an impression of the quality and enriched education we offer on a daily basis. I would like to thank the children, parents and staff for their contributions to everything we have achieved during the academic year - together. Sarah Fisher Head of The Drive School

Drive School

Autumn Term

September Charity Fund Raising On Tuesday, 23rd September, during our assembly, Gilly Hartley from the NSPCC talked to the children about the work of the charity. This was both an educational and inspirational assembly during which important safety messages were reinforced. The children were invited to help other children by raising vital funds to support the work of the NSPCC including its helpline service - ChildLine. Each child took home an activity sheet and sponsor form. The NSPCC’s work relies on the kindness and generosity of supporters like our parents and the money raised by Tettenhall College enabled the NSPCC to continue to help vulnerable children and offer them hope for a better future.

During September thousands of

people around the country joined in with the Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee morning. The school helped raise funds for this charity by holding a Sweets and Stories Sale in the library on Thursday 25th September. The idea was that each child brought in a storybook from home to sell. All the books collected went on sale at 20p each. There were also cakes and sweets on sale, along with competitions like Name the Bear and Guess How Many Sweets in a Jar and a few stationery items too. This event was organised by Mrs Liddle and Mrs Gallant in the library and raised £220.

October Harvest Thanksgiving The Lower School and Drive School Harvest Thanksgiving Assembly took place in the Towers Theatre on Thursday, 2nd October. A retiring collection in support of ‘P3’, a Wolverhampton based charity that provides support for the homeless, was taken. Parents and Grandparents attended this event led by Rev. Parry.

Geography Topic On Friday 3rd October as part of a Geography topic about the local area around our school, Year One pupils walked into Tettenhall Village to look at the shops, different land uses and the effects people have on the local environment.

Literacy As part of a Literacy focus about different homes, on Wednesday 15th October, Reception pupils walked along Hinckes Road and Stockwell Road in Tettenhall. They even knocked at the door of two houses to see who was waiting inside them - prearranged with the parents of course!

Drive School

November Themed Week - Science In the week commencing Monday 10th November, a themed week was held. Every year The Drive School sets aside a week to promote a specific area of the curriculum. This year it was Science. Themed weeks in The Drive School are aimed at enriching and enhancing the school’s already broad curriculum. Science Week in The Drive was an unusual mixture of the weird and wonderful, as pupils and staff took part in a range of activities. The Planetarium Experience On Monday the children in Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had the opportunity to enter a mobile Planetarium which was 5 metres wide, 3 metres tall and could sit up to 30 children inside. Using cutting-edge digital projection technology, it is designed to educate and inspire pupils in the majesty of astronomy. The planetarium is brought out to schools by Birmingham’s Think Tank team. Big Bug Experience On Tuesday children in Nursery, Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had A Real Big Bug Experience featuring 10 different bug species from around the world including: praying mantis - scorpions - tarantula - giant millipedes - giant centipede - giant cockroaches - prickly stick insects - giant stick insects - flying stick insects and more! The teachers were allowed to get up close and personal with a tarantula by holding it! (A bravery award was presented to Miss Dickinson who suffers from arachnophobia and normally screams at a money spider!) The children looked a praying mantis in the eye, saw giant millipedes marching across the classroom and watched a stick insect fly!

Cookery Workshop Sodexho, our in house catering team, are an official partner for nutrition for the Year of Food and Farming campaign. They aim to help children find out more about the countryside and where their food comes from through memorable, first-hand learning experiences. Sodexho ran a cookery workshop for the children in Year 1 and Year 2. The aim of the activity was to show children where bread comes from and to explain about its nutritional benefits when eaten as part of a balanced diet.

Live Theatre On Friday children in Year 1 and Year 2 watched a Quantum Theatre for Science production called ‘Captain Cholesterol and the Grannies from Mars’. In this theatre production the children learnt that we need to adopt a healthy lifestyle and that exercise is good for our bodies. They also discovered why we need to brush our teeth and how to put together a balanced diet.

Throughout the week, every child in the school planted a hyacinth bulb to take home, nurture and watch grow. Thank you to Mrs Squire for her support in helping Mrs Fisher organise this action - packed week.

Drive School

December Christmas Performances On Friday, 5th December Nursery parents were invited to a ‘Christmas Performance’ of carols and The Nativity Story which was performed in the Drive’s main reception area. Mince pies and coffee were served in Nursery afterwards. Miss Hilary Jones organised this especially for our younger children.

‘Children in Need’ For ‘Children in Need’ on Friday 14th November the children made a large collage of Pudsey Bear out of 1p and 2p coins. The theme for ‘Children in Need’ 2008 was ‘DO’ so to follow the theme we a held a ‘Do Come to School in Your Pyjamas Day’ for all children from Nursery to Year 2. There were fun activities taking place all day, such as cooking and games of Twister. Miss Belcher was responsible for coordinating this event.

This was followed by Kindergarten and Reception’s performance of ‘Humph the Camel’ in Towers Theatre at 10.30am. This was a delightful Christmas nativity musical for our younger children.

Christmas in Mind A collection of Christmas shoe boxes for the charity ‘Samaritan’s Purse’ was held. Almost every pupil brought to school a shoe box covered in wrapping paper containing gift items to send to less fortunate children in Eastern Europe and Africa. This collection was organised by Mrs Squire.

Humph, the grumpy camel, normally showed not the slightest interest in anything. However, to everyone’s surprise and delight, when he met the new-born King he just couldn’t contain his excitement and joy! The children learnt seven lovely songs, telling the familiar nativity story in a fresh and fun way.

All of the children in The Drive designed their own chocolate wrapper for Christmas and parents could place orders for personalised chocolate bars through an event coordinated by Miss Dickinson called ‘Chocolate Chatter’. On Friday 28th November, Year 1 wrote letters to Father Christmas and visited the Post Office in Tettenhall Village, independently, to purchase their own stamp.

Drive School

Year 1 and Year 2 performed ‘The Bossy Christmas Fairy’ later in the day at 2.00pm. This was a humorous musical that taught the children about Christmas customs and the moral that being bossy and judging only by appearances, is not acceptable. The Bossy Christmas Fairy was choosing only the prettiest decorations for her tree, discarding even the Nativity figures, until she learnt the important lesson, that appearance is not everything!

This very busy day was completed by The Drive and Lower School Christmas Fair. Stalls, ‘Beat the Goalie, a Human Fruit Machine and the traditional 50/50 draw were the order of the day. Even Santa, his reindeer and all his elves were seen in the Sports Hall! Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this very worthwhile event. Special thanks go to Mrs Baugh (Drive School P.A. Rep) and Mrs Isbister (Lower School P.A. Rep) who organised this event.

Drive School

Parties and Treats Year 2 enjoyed a visit to the Winter Wonderland at the Snowdome in Tamworth on 8th December. As well as playing in the snow, they saw Father Christmas and his friend ‘Sooty’ in a show and also met real reindeer! All the children received a small gift from Father Christmas. Also, on Monday, 8th December Kindergarten, Reception and Year 1 visited the Majestic Cinema in Bridgnorth for a private viewing of ‘Madagascar 2’.

Christmas lunch was served to the children on Wednesday 10th December in Towers Dining Room. Thank you to Sonia Humphries and her catering team, Chris and Jo, for this lovely occasion. The children wore party hats they had made especially for the occasion.

The Drive School Christmas Party took place on Thursday 11th December when the children came to school in their party clothes. Pee Wee the clown visited to provide an hour of entertainment!

February

Spring Term

Cake Sale Year 2 School Council organised a cake sale on Thursday 12th February for the charities of their choice: RSPCA and the Children of Gaza. The teachers were very impressed with the maturity, confidence and entrepreneurship shown by the Year 2 children. Our objective was to enhance life skills and that was most certainly achieved. The children were responsible for meeting and greeting customers, selling cakes, taking money and the final accounting. They even organised themselves to sell the left over cakes at an extra sale at the end of the day. Those who witnessed the selling techniques at this additional sale can only agree that there was no shortage of confidence or marketing skills! Year 2 raised over £90.00 for their chosen charities. Thank you to Mrs. Squire for helping to organise this.

January School Council As a new initiative in 2009, positions of responsibility were voted for and allocated within Year 2. The initiative was designed to give the children in Year 2 leadership skills and an understanding of responsibility towards others and the world in which they live. Year 2 children wore their badges around the school rather proudly! The responsibilities were as follows: • Chair - Chair of the School Council • School Council responsibility for a particular project each half-term • Playground Buddy responsibility for encouraging friendships in the playground • Energy Monitor responsibility for turning off lights in unused rooms • Door Monitor - responsibility for closing doors to keep in the heat and not waste fuel • Paper Recycling Monitor responsibility for ensuring all scraps of paper are placed in the recycling bins. All of the positions, with the exception of the Chair, Luke Anderton, were re-allocated each half term and all of the Year 2 children had the opportunity to sit on the School Council.

Artist in Residence On Friday 13th February Year 2 worked with Paul Gooderham on a project called “Can buildings speak?” which is linked to the identity of the school and its buildings. Each child produced a clay tile based on relief textures. Paul Gooderham has been an artist/potter for 30 years. As well as running a successful internationally recognised studio pottery business at Gailey in South Staffordshire, he also visits local schools in his capacity as ‘artist in residences’. The work produced is 100% created by the children themselves.

Drive School

The Great Snowfall In the early part of the term, we experienced a prolonged spell of snow - fabulous for young children! The parents sent their children to school with the appropriate clothing and footwear during this inclement weather which meant that the children were able to experience the snow both at break times and as part of their educational experience.

Drive School

World Book Day World Book Day 2009 in the UK took place on Thursday 5th March. World Book Day is designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day a tradition started over 80 years ago. Most other countries hold World Book Day on 23rd April every year. World Book Day is a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all.

World Book Week Activities We celebrated World Book Week and enjoyed library activities organised by Mrs Liddle. Nursery, Kindergarten and Reception were visited by the Gazebo Theatre in Education Company with a production called ‘If you see a crocodile…’ featuring puppets and popular action songs. The production’s key learning areas included: counting, colours, shapes & letters of the alphabet. A Book Fair was organised by Mrs Liddle. Sales for The Drive and Lower School reached a total of £1,027.99, which in turn raised the school a commission of £559.40. A proportion of this was allocated to The Drive School and has been spent on books for The Drive School library and classrooms. Mrs Liddle also organised a ‘Nonsense’ word competition for Year One and Year Two as part of the Scholastic Book Fair who were supporting Comic Relief this year. Mrs Gallant produced a Nonsense Dictionary based on the entries which is now in the classroom book corners. Additionally, we had the following visitors who read stories to the children during story time on World

Book day itself: Mr Trump (Deputy Headmaster) read to Kindergarten, Charlie Thomas’ Mummy read to Reception, Mr Howard (The Bursar) read to Year One and Emily Aston’s Daddy read to Year Two. It was such a treat for the children and a very valuable experience. Thank you to all of them and everyone else who made World Book week exciting and special for the children. To coincide with this, the children in Kindergarten received ‘Bookstart Treasure Chests’. The purpose of the boxes is a national initiative to emphasise that reading stories with children is not only fun, but helps develop their language and listening skills. Contained within the box, were several books, a booklet with lots of tips and ideas on book sharing, as well as information on how to join a local library. This was organised by Mrs Highfield.

Drive School

World Book Day Nonsense Word Competition Winners

Year 2 William Fletcher-Taylor Winker Stinker: If you make a mistake when you are writing and you need to rub it out. Ishika Patel Sluggedy-pluggedy: When the water goes down the plughole and makes a noise. Niall Hamad Slobyboby: Someone who likes to play computer games and doesn’t like to do homework. Hannah Laurence Flapperdapper: To shake your hands to dry them when there are no towels. Joseph McKaig Bumpalumpa: someone who bumps into walls.

Year 1 Oscar Trump Yummy Splurger: Someone who eats sweets until they are sick Melissa Gordon Scrumpshidelicious: when something tastes really nice.

Comic Relief The Drive School supported Comic Relief 2009 by holding a ‘Red’ Mufti Day on Friday 13th March. The children were invited to come to school dressed in something red and pay a £1 donation for Comic Relief. There was also a scratch card game available during the week. Kindergarten baked and sold ‘Clown Cakes’ for Comic Relief. The theme for this year’s Red Nose Day was ‘Do Something Funny for Money’. To follow this theme each child was invited to pay £1 and share a joke during assembly on Friday 13th March. The Joke competition was held in assembly. It was lovely to see the children so happy and confident in their delivery of jokes in front of the whole school! Miss Dickinson judged the competition based on the loudness of the ‘Laugh-o-meter’! Thank you

to Miss Belcher for organising and coordinating the event in school. We raised £240.

Ronan Bagry Oddiocks: Someone who wears odd socks.

Comic Relief Joke Winners Say Something Funny for Money

Kindergarten

Year 1

Harry Gordon Nottaplotter: The gremlin that makes your bedroom untidy.

- Reuben Kaul Why did the banana go to the doctors? Because he wasn’t peeling very well!

- James Bebb What did one pencil say to the other?You’re looking sharp today!

Reception - Ross Gibson What do you call a cow that eats all of your grass? A lawn moo-er!

Drive School

Year 2 - Rajan Basi What did the alien say to the flower garden? Take me to your ‘weeder’!

Fund Raising for Barnado’s The children were visited by a Barnardo’s charity representative, who explained to the children the type of work carried out by the charity. As one of the UK’s leading children’s charities, Barnardo’s works directly with over 100,000 children, young people and their families every year. They run 394 vital projects across the UK, including counselling for children who have been abused, fostering and adoption services, vocational training and disability inclusion groups. Every Barnardo’s project is different but each believes in the potential in every child and young person, no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. During the week the children took part in a fund raising activity called ‘Get Moving’ and took home a donation envelope. Every child returning an envelope received a certificate and all envelopes went into a draw to win Barney Bear who has been donated by Barnardo’s. The Drive School raised £684.30.

West Midlands. The Drive School will receive a complimentary copy of the book over the summer. Congratulations to: Umber Akktar Matthew Anderton Theo Bailey Joseph Brookes Thomas Dixon Amar Dudwall Jonty Hamilton Jorgah Herbert Henry Hill

Rhia Kulair Vieran Mahal Aoibheann O’Neill Theo Sadler Elena Stepp Déjhan Wallace Dominic Wood Oliver Wood and Kate Woodman

Kindergarten Activities The children in Kindergarten took ownership of our garden pond and prepared it very carefully for the arrival of a small amount of frogspawn from another pond in the grounds. The children watched with ‘awe and wonder’ as they witnessed nature at work whilst the tadpoles developed! The Kindergarten children entered the ‘My First Poem 2009’ Competition. The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Me and My Family’. We were thrilled when we heard that some of the poems we entered had been selected for publication in a book ‘Me and My Family’ - poems for the

Drive School

Summer Term

May Year 1 and Year 2 visited The Black Country Museum on Tuesday, 5th May. During their

visit the children experienced what it was like in a Victorian classroom; Harry Gordon very bravely volunteered for the ‘caning’ demonstration! Year 2 pupils went down the mine to understand what it was like for Victorian working children. Year 1 focused on homes in the past. The children’s responsible behaviour was commented on by the museum staff. Thank you to Miss Dickinson for organising this educational visit. Thank you also to Mrs Baugh and Mrs Hamilton for giving up their time to accompany Year 1 and Year 2.

Open Day Mr and Mrs Aston (Emily’s Mummy and Daddy - Year 2) came into assembly on Monday 4th May to talk to the children about their jobs as Peripatetic music teachers. They impressed us all with their amazing musicianship on the flute, saxaphone, clarinet and bassoon! They then told the children the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’ through their instruments. What a lovely start to the Open Day! Swimming Gala A Swimming Gala for Years 1 and 2 was held on the afternoon of Tuesday 12th May. All pupils took part and received a medal. Notable performances were from Joseph McKaig (Year 2) and Oscar Trump (Year 1). Thank you to Miss Dickinson for organising this event.

Drive School

Prizegiving Year 2 Prizegiving was held in Chapel at 4pm on Thursday 21st May 2009. The children in Year 2 performed instrumental and voice solos. There were also whole class performances on the recorder, singing songs and in choral speaking. Year 2 parents were invited to join us on this special occasion and every child had a parent present. Light refreshments were served in the library afterwards. Thank you to Mrs Margetts for her support at this event and for presenting the prizes - especially the chocolate!

June

Themed Week: People Who Help Us The first week back after half term was themed week: ‘People who Help us’. ‘People Who Help Us’ is used in many early years’ settings to teach children about personal safety and to encourage them to take notice of the world around them. The week is split into two parts: People who help us in the school community and People who help us in the wider community. School Community In the first part of the week, the children met members of the school community who explained: Who they were; what they do; where they work in school and when they work. Thank you to the following people for their time with the children: Dr Bodkin, Headmaster: the children visited Dr Bodkin’s office and some were very excited to have sat in his office chair. Mr. Steve Howard, Bursar: the children visited his office and saw the safe! Mrs. Margetts, School Governor

Miss Di White, School Secretary: the children visited Di’s office. Mrs. Debbie Liddle, Librarian: Mrs Liddle told pupils about her job as a school librarian but more importantly about the ‘chocolate’ cupboard where the school tuck shop stock is kept! Mr. Alex Poile, Groundsman: the children were given a detailed tour of the grounds. Mr. Steve Williams, Site Services Manager: the children were given a tour of the buildings, including the laundry and boys’ boarding house. Mrs. Sonia Humphries, Catering Manager: the children were given a tour of the school’s main kitchen. Mrs. Sarah Phillpott, Matron: the children were given a talk about the role of the school nurse.

Drive School

Wider Community In the second part of the week, the children met people who help us in the wider community: Sergeant Evans from Tettenhall Police Station talked to the children and then they sat in his police car. Sergeant Evans demonstrated how he uses his police radio to contact Tettenhall Police Station. Thomas Dixon’s Daddy is a

Fire Service Dog Handler. He demonstrated how Ellie his ‘Fire Dog’ is trained to sniff out fire accelerants. Ellie wore her working harness and fire boots. Ellie also returned at a later date due to popular demand! Year 1 and Year 2 visited Tettenhall Fire Station and everyone had the opportunity to use the fire hose and sit in the fire engine.

Joseph and Molly McKaig’s Mummy is a dentist. She gave the children a presentation on her job; how to look after teeth and all of the children took part in a teeth cleaning exercise. Amar and Jarun Bhadal’s Mummy is a Health Visitor. She showed the children how to wash their hands properly using a special ‘germ showing powder’ which showed ‘germs’ up in a special light box.

Benjamin and Oliver Lloyd’s Mummy was a Nurse. She told the children about her job and they practised their first aid skills by applying bandages to each other. Thank you to everyone who participated during this week and their efforts in planning activities to make this week exciting, purposeful and meaningful for the children.

Drive School

Year 2 children were invited to join Lower School for their Summer Disco between 6.30pm - 7.30pm on Friday, 12th June in The Towers Theatre. Art: A visit to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery To support their Art studies and as part of Year 2’s Art Induction programme into Lower School, Year 2 and 3 visited Birmingham Art Gallery. The children viewed works of art with an animal theme and made clay fish. Year 2 visited Jackfield Tile Museum on Wednesday 8th July as part of their art project called ‘Mother Nature Designer’. The village of Jackfield was once the world centre of the tile industry, and Jackfield Tile Museum, set in an immense Victorian factory, celebrates the decorative tiles that once graced the Empire. Room after room is filled with beautiful displays and room settings such as the pub, the tube station and the butchers. The children participated in a workshop where they learnt the tile decorating technique known as ‘tube lining’ or ‘sliptrailing’, and by the end of the experience they had produced a 6 x 6 inch tile featuring their own flower design and choice of colours.

Library Activities On Tuesday 23rd June we held a ‘Bring Your Bear to School Day’. This event was very kindly organised by Mrs Liddle, the School Librarian. Paddington Bear was the star of this Action Medical Research fundraiser. The idea was simple. Children brought their teddy bear to school or nursery for the day in exchange for £1 and helped fund raise for the ‘Touching Tiny Lives Appeal’ for sick and vulnerable babies. All donations went to research to find answers to help reduce premature birth and pregnancy complications. The children visited Mrs Liddle in the Library and took part in a variety of activities. There was also a ‘Colour the Bear Competition’ which was won by Harriet Crust in Nursery. At lunch time on this day, The Drive School hosted a Teddy Bears Picnic in the garden for the visiting bears.

Performing Arts Examinations in Ballet, Tap and Disco took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 24th June. Mrs Priest prepared the children for these examinations and the pass rate was an outstanding100%. This year’s Summer Concert was ‘Mister Skellybones’. It was a humorous musical based on the wonders of the human body and hosted by Mister Skellybones (William Fletcher-Taylor), Mrs Skellybones (Madeline Baugh), Captain Heart (David Naylor), Doctor Brain (Ben Ward) and friends. The performance took place on Friday 26th June at 2.30pm in Towers Theatre. All of the children from Kindergarten to Year 2 took part, as did some of the older children in Nursery. The children wore a t-shirt printed with the “Mister Skellybones” logo and looked fabulous.

Drive School

July Church Visit On Thursday, 2nd July 2009, Year One visited the church in Chetton Village near Bridgnorth as part of an R.E. topic, ‘What can we learn from a church?’ Sports Day The Drive School Sports Day took place on Friday, 3rd July and was held in the Sports Hall due to the wet weather. Every child participated and was awarded a sticker at the end of each race. The line judges were Dr. Bodkin, Mr Howard (Bursar), Mr Trump and Mrs Fisher. The afternoon was rounded off with a medal presentation for all involved. Gala Performance of ‘Anything Goes’ On Tuesday 7th July, Upper School pupils performed the musical ‘Anything Goes’ at a Gala performance for Year 1 and Year 2. There was a lovely family atmosphere at the performance. The children enjoyed goodie bags and interval ice creams. We held a colouring competition to run alongside this event. The winners were Ishika Patel (Year 2) and Angus Hamilton (Year 1). Family Barbecue On Thursday, 9th July we held a family barbecue for the children in Year 2. Mums, Dads, brothers and sisters were also invited to this family event. Thank you once again to Mrs Baugh and Mrs Isbister for organising and running the evening which marked the end of the children’s time in The Drive before they move to Lower School in September 2009.

Drive School

Pirate Day Kindergarten’s Pirate Day took place on 6th July. The children and staff wore pirate costumes, went on a treasure hunt and walked the plank. All survived to enjoy their pirate picnic lunch!

Nursery

Drive School

Kindergarten

Drive School

Reception

Year 1 & 2

Drive School

Year 1 & 2

Drive School

Lower School

Head of Lower School Report

The fact that another year has flown by is always an indicator to me of how busy life is in Lower School. This is especially true for the boys and girls and hopefully the articles that follow will give you a feel for many (but by no means all) of the events and activities that have taken place throughout the year. It is worth noting that these activities are in addition to a full and varied academic timetable. Enrichment of the curriculum, with the aim of producing multi-talented and well rounded individuals who are sensitive to the needs of others, is the very cornerstone of what we are attempting to achieve in Lower School. I am personally very proud to be part of an establishment that produces such outstanding individual and team performances from its pupils in such a variety of areas. Art, music, drama, sport, chess are just some of the areas in which the children have continued to excel this year. The school would not be the success it is, however, without the equally busy contribution of the Parents’ Association. I would like to extend my personal thanks to all parents who have contributed to extra-curricular events this year; from the outstanding team effort that was the Musical Committee to the Discos and even ‘ever willing’ cake baking for ‘our ‘cake sales’. Finally, a big thank you to all of the parents who have offered kind words of encouragement throughout my first two terms as Head of Lower School. Your support has been invaluable. Phillip Kay Head of Lower School

Lower School

Art

It’s been another productive year in the Lower School Art Department. The Autumn Term started with preparations for the Lower School concert which this year was on the theme of ABBA. Whilst Mrs Whiting and the rest of the staff were brushing off their old flares and tie dye T-shirts, Lower School pupils were creating two huge sets of ABBA letters to be displayed during the show. These were individually cut out and decorated in mixed media using bold, imaginative patterns and colours, creating an eye catching final effect. Theme week in the Autumn Term was ‘Science and Technology’ and once again the Lower School pupils demonstrated their artistic abilities exploring this interesting topic. Science fiction seemed to be the order of the day in the Art room. Year 5 drew imaginary robots based on real science apparatus and electrical components. Years 3 and 4 created a model of a futuristic city complete with sky scrapers and space ship landing pads. It really was a trip into another dimension. Meanwhile, in Art Club Year 3 pupils were busy creating papier mache farm animals. These took weeks to plan and construct and were finally displayed outside Dianne White’s office. With the addition of the Year 6 bird sculptures the foyer started to take on the appearance of Pets Corner! In the Spring Term it was time once again for the School Musical. This year it was ‘The

Lower School

Wiz.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; James Hawkins and Chad Danks took on the roles of prop builders and made two super environments for the main characters to perform against. It was quite a challenge to create two fields but Chad and James overcame all technical difficulties and created one poppy field and one maize field. Well done to them both! In class pupils were busy building too. Year 5 made particularly successful mythological animal masks and Year 6 constructed some inspirational Spring Hats. I was also impressed with Year 4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s painting skills. Their dream paintings based on the work of Chagall were very sensitively handled and created a stunning visual display. One of the highlights of the Summer Term was House Competition Week. In the Art Room pupils undertook the task of designing and making a House shield. All pupils had the chance to contribute ideas and sketches and then teams from each House drew out appropriate designs. Using this design each team constructed their shield in clay. Some super results were achieved and each team were able to present their work during a final assembly. The finished pieces will be put on display in Lower School so watch this space! Another highlight of the Summer Term was the joint Year 2 and Year 3 trip to Birmingham Art Gallery. Pupils had a guided tour of the Art Gallery with particular

Lower School

The last trip of the year was to Carding Mill Valley. This was a joint Geography and Art trip and pupils enjoyed studying and drawing the picturesque landscape (in between considerable downpours!). Once again a busy year has been had by all and the creativity continues to flow in the Lower School Art Room! Mrs K. Stone

My t

l animal mas gica kb o l y ho ebb (Yr 5 en B ) og Im

Art

emphasis on paintings which had animals as a theme. Pupils were very interested to hear about individual paintings and the stories they revealed about the animals they portrayed. Back in the workshop the pupils made some enchanting clay models of fish using a range of different tools and techniques. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were very proud of their final models which have been brought back to school to be decorated.

Science Week

Themed Week

Science Week November 2008

Things I Like About Themed Week

Fun was had by Lower School children as they came off regular time table to enjoy a week of Science and Technology activities. The children enjoyed Electricity and Flight workshops run by Sphere Science. Children enjoyed cooking and learning about a range of animals and birds from The Animal Lady. All year groups were fascinated by Alex Poile who took them around the stunning grounds, telling them about the trees and animals they saw. Year 5 were especially lucky as they were able to visit the Upper School Science labs where they carried out experiments to find out - How much Vitamin C there is in different fruits? Which bubble mixture made the best bubbles? And how to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a height. It was a really rewarding week - seeing so many smiling faces enjoying taking part in Science and Technology Activities.

I liked the climbing wall because all my friends were cheering me on but most of all I did it for the sponsors to help other people.

Mrs Jo Kibble

I liked House Music, I can’t believe I was first to do it. I really enjoyed playing with Mrs Whiting. Also I enjoyed listening to other people’s music. On Friday afternoon we did an indoor sports competition when my heart was pumping extremely fast. I was really red in the face by the time I finished my race. I lost my voice because I was shouting so much for Pearson. I like playing Football. I tackled Matthew but I lost the ball. Rounders was great fun. I managed to hit the ball so far that I got a rounder in one go. In the Swimming Gala I came second in all my races. The noise was really loud in the pool. When we were waiting on the side, Lisa dived in and a big wave came up and splashed us all. I really liked the House Art. We used clay to make a shield for Pearson. Rolling out the clay was very messy but lots of fun. When we finished our shields looked really good. I liked House Art when we went around the school with Mr Woodward and Miss Hope. I drew a tree and some of the fort. I really enjoyed not doing ‘normal’ work and just wearing our tracksuits was great!

And some things I didn’t like The rain meant that Sports Day was cancelled on Friday. I wanted Mum and Dad to be there. So you can see I really enjoyed ‘Themed Week’ Report by Zoe Oakley Year 3 Pearson House

Lower School

Themed Week

had all designed a shield and mine was on there and everyone had done their bit. When Mr Kay announced that we had won I was really thrilled. I thought who is going to win overall? I couldn’t wait to find out.

Week commencing Monday, 11th May 2009, we had a House Competitions week. I had a feeling that the week was going to be great and I was right! The week was ‘jam packed’ with fun things to do. I wondered how we would fit them all in, but we did… just about!

Events we lost: We didn’t do so well in Football because we didn’t have as many boys as the other teams; I’m not saying it wasn’t fair but in fact we had none! I mentioned this to Mrs Kibble but she said it was fair because girls can play football as well as boys.

My Favourite Events: There were lots of exciting events, but one of my favourites was the cricket. I enjoyed it because I have never really thought about playing cricket before, but when I played it I really enjoyed it. Now it is one of my favourite sports.

We were expecting Haydon to win the House Drama; I have to admit they were very good. However, they didn’t have any props and I did wonder if it would make a difference. We in Nicholson had some good props. We had got a cardboard box and covered it in tin foil for the robots’ heads, it was great! The boys wanted the robots to turn into magic pigs. In the end we didn’t allow it….we didn’t want it to be ‘make believe’.

I also liked rounders, having played it before I had lots of practice. This helped me and made me realise that you can’t always choose the position you want because you have to let other people have their turn also. I really liked the Swimming as well because it was like a beach! Everyone was sitting around with their towels cheering each other. I did three races and won two. The next day I got a medal for it. I was really pleased and proud of myself and everyone else who had won. Events we won: Over the week we won lots of events but some of the main ones were the ‘House Project’ and ‘House Art’. When we won House Project I was especially pleased because I had been involved, therefore, it was nice that I had helped Nicholson to win. I was also pleased when we won ‘House Art’ because we

Lower School

Team Spirit Events In rounders we were all

supporting each other even the people who were not in our team! It got so noisy I had to cover my ears. Also, in cricket the support was just as loud. In Conclusion: The ‘Themed Week’ was absolutely brilliant! I wish every week was like this. I learned lots of new skills like how to work together over a long course of time. I also got to know some people in other year groups better. Overall the competitions, team spirit and mixing with other people was really super. I want to do it all over again. THANK YOU! Report by: Poppy O’Hara, Year 4 Nicholson House

Individual Winners of House Week For Best All Round Contribution

Cameron Bagry & Chris Cox - Bantock Priya Kumar - Haydon Alice Holden - Pearson Sabian Lawley & Francesca Woodman - Nicholson Charlotte Rogers - Haydon

Year 4 on the Climbing Wall

Themed Week House Competition On the 11th May 2009 all the children in Lower School went to school full of anticipation because the InterHouse School Competition Week was due to commence. At Tettenhall College there are four Houses: Pearson, Haydon, Nicholson and Bantock. The school was founded by Albert Baldwin Bantock who was also a Headmaster of Tettenhall College; Horace Pearson, Albert Haydon and Sir Thomas Nicholson were also Headmasters of Tettenhall College. Each of the Houses has a main colour:

Bantock Haydon Nicholson Pearson

- - - -

Green Yellow Blue Red

All the children in Lower School had various activities to choose from throughout the week. These were: Swimming, Hockey, Story Writing, Debating, House Project (researching the history of the four House groups), and House Art. As well as these activities all children participated in set activities at different times. These were: Zone Ball, Treasure Hunt, Maths Trail, General Knowledge Quiz, Golf, Nature Walk, Drama, Creating Playground Games, a mini Olympics and the huge Climbing Wall!! One of the first activities of themed

week I was involved in was the House Swimming Competition organised by Bill Peacock. The first stroke we did was front crawl. Then we did back stroke and finally we did, what I think, is the hardest, the breast stroke. I was really pleased with myself for coming 1st, 2nd and another 2nd in my races. Another event I was involved in was the House Story writing. Tom Lawton, Alastair Winning, Ellie- RhodesWilliams, Becky Lawton, Mark Saul and I made up a team. Our task was to write a short story book for 5-6 year olds. First of all we all wrote a story and voted for each one. The one that won was Alastair’s. As a team we then produced our final production of the story and had to read it to Year 2 who voted ours the best! The General Knowledge Quiz had us working in teams in our House groups. There were lots of different rounds such as Geography, Picture round, English, Maths, History, Marathon etc. Another Event was the Treasure Hunt. We had a table to record our findings on. There was a letter and number column. Firstly, we were given a piece of card with a letter, picture and clue on it. We had to record the letter down onto the table and use the clue to find the place that the picture was showing. When we got there we found a yellow piece of card with a

number on it, then we had to record the number onto our table. Alex Poile, the Groundsman, took us on a nature walk. He showed us the tallest tree in Wolverhampton, which was 110 feet. I was surprised at this. We heard that the Romans brought the seeds and grew a lot of the trees in England. An interesting fact is that some trees have fire-proof bark! On Thursday the Lower School car park was closed to make way for the Climbing Wall. As I arrived at school that morning there on the car park was a huge climbing wall. WOW!! Later that day we had to try to get to the top. Everyone had a go. We were put into a harness in case we fell and the aim was to press the red buzzer on the top of the wall and then bounce down. In the mini Olympics which were held in the Sports Hall we did lots of really fun activities, like the chest push, 5 stride and 75 metre race; the biggest race that we all did was the mass relay. I had a really fun ‘House Themed Week’. I especially enjoyed the swimming, story writing and chess. Thanks to all the teachers who organised it - I will always remember it! Report by: Archie Hamilton Year 5 Pearson House

Lower School

Cranedale Field Trip

Year 6 Residential Trip to Cranedale The highlight of the year for every Year 6 pupil is always the Summer Term residential trip to Cranedale, North Yorkshire. Pupils and staff are always impressed by the beauty of the countryside and the luxurious standard of the facilities at the Centre. This year was no exception. The weather forecast wasn’t promising, indeed it was raining as we boarded the coach on the Friday afternoon. However, by the size and weight of the suitcases being hauled into the luggage compartment, we were ready for

Some of us more camouflaged than others! L-R (back row) Mufaro Katakwa, Isobel Sharma, Paris Sinclair Robinson, Isabel Jones, Chloe Fisher, Lauren Tarrant, Sam Squire, James Hawkins, James Alder, Subaru Onitake. (Front) Ben Magill, Chad Danks, Joseph Lee, Poppy Thompson, Isabel Proffitt, Ellie Burton, Dominic Allsopp, Kim Dong Young, Thomas Lawton, Sam Smallwood.

anything. After several hours, the long journey north was broken by the ever popular service station stop, where all kinds of furry, plastic and bouncy amusements could be won at the arcades. From then on the cries of ‘how much further?’ echoed as the lanes got narrower and the coach banked from left to right through the winding uphill roads. The journey was worth it - at long last we arrived at the beautiful Yorkshire village of Kirby Grindalythe, and we were shown to our rooms before having the first of many super meals. For many children, this was their first experience of being away from parents, so the official plan for Friday evening involved team games in the woods behind the village and then a well earned early night. The unofficial timetable proved to be more along the lines of midnight feasts and spreading the contents of suitcases as far as possible across the rooms. However, all made it through the night, had a hearty breakfast and were ready for the first full day of activites at Flamborough Head. Bright sunshine, but a bracing wind, met us on the wave –hewn platform of Flamborough Head beach for our lowtide rock-pooling. Many nearly succumbed to the wet slippery seaweed covered rocks, but our finds were extensive, from a female crab carrying her eggs to many small fish, snails and shrimps. The

Lower School

theme of the day was Food Webs and Interdependence and Year 6 were able to identify and sort producers, herbivores, carnivores and even detritivores from our catch. More team games, including the unforgettable water race (the flow of energy through a food chain immortalised in plastic drinking cups with holes in the bottom), followed. Table football champions were crowned, unusual forms of Jenga were invented and much hot chocolate was drunk. An earlier bedtime was enjoyed by all. Sunday was our last day. After coaxing belongings back into suitcases seemingly far too small to contain everything, and chasing the owners of several stray socks and toothbrushes, we were packed and ready for the last adventure. The Survival Game. Herbivores, carnivores, a top carnivore, and even a disease were all given their tasks, and an hour was given over to the largest, and most educational, game of hide and seek ever. To complete the game, the humans rounded up and dispatched (metaphorically of course), any survivors. We arrived back at T.C. on Sunday evening, tired, happy and very proud of our achievements. Mel Lofting

School Under-13 B sides and were successful in both games. Sam Squire (Year 6) gave two wonderful displays as Captain and Chad Danks (Year 6) showed terrific skill behind the stumps.

Sport

Under 11 Cricket The Under-11 cricket team this summer have developed into a very good squad. At the end of May, we played our opening game at home to Stafford Grammar Prep School and it is fair to say that we were comfortably beaten. The only highlights being the fielding and bowling with Peter McMahon and Govind Randhawa (both Year 5) the pick of the bowlers. Unfortunately, our match against Old Hall, Wellington was cancelled due to bad weather. However, we did manage to play two games against Upper

Our final match was the return fixture against Stafford Grammar and there was plenty to make up for after our less than convincing home performance. Chad Danks and Sam Squire made a very good opening stand of 46 with Chad making a convincing 29 before an excellent piece of fielding ran him out. We set a very good score of 71 and our improvement in our running between the wicket was clear for all to see. Once again the weather played a part and a heavy storm during the interval flooded the pitch and the match was abandoned.

the current team being Year 5 pupils. The Under 11 team comprised of Chad Danks, Sam Squire, Luke Jones (not pictured), Tom Genner, Govind Randhawa, James Hawkins, Aidan Bennett, Peter McMahon, Jordan Joiner, Dominic Allsopp, Oliver Thompson, Cameron Isbister and Mason Hawkins (not pictured).

Mr A Foster

It is clear that this has been a summer of improvement for the Under-11 side and there is much promise for next year with 7 of

Front row (L-R) Govind Randhawa, Oliver Thompson, Tom Genner, Aidan Bennett, Jordan Joiner Back Row (L-R) Dominic Allsopp, James Hawkins, Chad Danks, Sam Squire, Peter McMahon and Cameron Isbister

Lower School

Cross Country Spring Term The WASPS Under -11 Cross Country season began in January, on a cold and wet Saturday morning at Aldersley Stadium with the infamous Relay. Some thirty schools from all over Wolverhampton take part every year and some of them with more than one team! The Tettenhall College team consisted of runners from Year 5 and Year 6, some of whom were representing the College for the first time, including Mr Foster. Despite the mud and general misery of the conditions, our boys and girls performed very well indeed. None of them got lost in the woods, all of them completed the race with both shoes intact and we finished in the top half. Result! On to the individual and team competitions. The Tettenhall Area races are held at T.C. every year, thanks to Alex Poile and the PE department for their hard work in providing the course, marshalls and hares. Tettenhall College were represented by pupils from all four year groups, including the youngest ever competitor in an U11 race, and more firsttime runners. Well-supported by parents, and in welcome spring sunshine, Tettenhall College came 3rd in both the boys’ and

girls’ competitions. A fantastic achievement considering the majority of out teams were under nine! Two of our star runners, both in Year 5, also qualified for the Town Finals to be held a few days later, the same day as ‘The Wiz’ dress rehearsal! Back to Aldersley Stadium, Tuesday 24th March, and after the quickest costume changes ever (and some pretty nifty driving down Tettenhall Road), both of our boys run exceptionally well. Mrs Lofting missed the race as her costume change proved to be a little more tricky... but was present to receive the news that both boys qualified for the Area final, representing themselves in the individual races, and WASPS as a team. The Area final was held on Saturday 28th March at T.C. and included the best runners from Wolverhampton, Dudley and Walsall. After cajoling unsuspecting parents into marshalling the course (term had already ended for T.C.), and one parent on crutches descending through the woods in the scoop of Alex’s digger, the races began. Our star runners finished the last race of the season with excellent

The T.C. Team Star Runners Jordan Joiner, Aidan Bennett (Y5) The Boys Dominic Allsopp (Y6) Oliver Thompson, Tom Genner ( Y5) Adam Inglett, Mitchell Porter (Y4) Matthew Bennett (Y3) The Girls Ellie Burton, Lauren Tarrant, Poppy Thompson (Y6) Emily Rogers, Imogen Bebb (Y5) Lisa Obi, Rebecca Lawton (Y4)

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positions, despite both of them taking a fall in the early part of the race. Even Mrs Lofting got a run as the hare was exhausted and couldn’t finish the boys’ race! Finally, the running spikes could be cleaned and forgotten about until 2010. A super year for the team, and congratulations to two future running stars. Watch out Olympics 2020! Mrs M Lofting

Football Under 11 This season’s fixtures were once again affected by the rain in February and March; nevertheless we were able to complete all of the scheduled matches except one. Despite playing schools larger than ourselves we were competitive in all three matches and certainly made huge progress as a squad throughout the games. Our record at the end of the matches shows we were

unbeaten - a great achievement for a small squad.

Tettenhall College 0 - Wilkinson 0 Tettenhall College 1 - Hill Avenue 1 Our goal scorer Jordan Joiner

Tettenhall College 4 - Springvale 1 Our goal scorer/s Chad Danks (Hat trick) Own goal x1

Well done to all the team members, but Sam Squire deserves a separate mention for some excellent performances at the heart of the defence. An extra-special mention must also go to Chad Danks, who not only scored a great hat-trick in the final game, but also led the team superbly all season as Captain. He also became the first Tettenhall College Lower School pupil to be selected for the Wolverhampton Primary Schools Area team for some time and actually went on to Captain this team as well. A magnificent achievement.

Swimming Wolverhampton Primary Schools Championships A full compliment of Under 11 swimmers represented Tettenhall College in the primary schools swimming heats held at Aldersley School. It was a very closely fought competition but we were beaten into 2nd place this year. However, both boys’ and girls’ teams performed excellently. Competitors: Chad Danks, Dong Young Kim, Luis Evitt, Chloe Fisher, James Hawkins, Cameron Isbister, Harrison

Maddox, Oliver Thompson, Poppy Thompson, Tom Wassermann. The pupils who won their races and qualified for the City Championships swam at the Royal School where all the primary school winners from Wolverhampton competed. James Hawkins was triumphant. Well done to all the swimmers! J.L.Taylor

Six members of the squad also represented the School earlier in the year in a Wolverhampton Primary Schools ‘Four–a-side indoor tournament’. Before Christmas the team won their qualifying group against four other schools and therefore went forward to compete in the finals in January. This was the first time a Lower School team has reached the final stage of the competition. Unfortunately, by the narrowest of margins, the team just failed to qualify for the semi-finals. They lost only one group match, 1-0 (a heavily deflected goal), and this was to the eventual overall winners of the tournament. A case of so near yet so far! Well done to Aidan Bennett, Chad Danks, Tom Genner, Cameron Isbister, Luke Jones and Sam Squire.

Lower School

difficult songs to perform. She was always very professional and a pleasure to watch on stage. Poppy was joined on her journey by Oliver Thompson (Scarecrow) who sang brilliantly in ‘I Was Born’, complete with backing vocals and dancing from the crows and ‘The Yellow Brick Road’. Both Poppy and Oliver were excellent at improvising; a skill that was definitely required! Harrison Maddox made a cool Tinman and his dancing skills were admired by everyone, especially The first job which faces Miss when he did a cartwheel and Hope and I when we return from managed to catch his microphone the summer holidays is choosing a musical. This year we decided to risk pack at the same time. Chloe Fisher the most ambitious and challenging took on the role of the lion with ease and her fantastic performance led musical as yet performed by Lower to her being awarded the drama School, ‘The Wiz’. Based on the traditional tale of ‘The Wizard of Oz’, prize this year. Chloe is a wonderful ‘The Wiz’ is a funky soul version, with actress with a great voice and a added comedy and strange creatures. definite star of the future.

The Wiz Musical

Lower School Musical 2009

Mrs Lofting stepped into the role as the Wicked Witch of the West and wowed the audience with her soulful voice and impressive heels. She was joined by her long suffering assistant, Cameron Isbister (Wonkie) who had to endure beatings and sarcastic comments. Mr Kay also made his Musical debut as the Lord High Underling and his performance shows much potential for the future! Other staff appearances from Mr Raine, Mrs Taylor and Mr Bullock are much appreciated by the children and they make the musical feel like a real team effort. The staff involvement in front of the curtain Poppy Thompson played Dorothy and backstage always shows the who had to cope with dogs, spinning fantastic team spirit of the houses and funky monkeys, not Lower School Staff. A to mention having two of the most special thank you must go to Mrs As the auditions got underway the parents got started on the mammoth task of producing at least one fabulous costume per pupil. ‘The Wiz’ required a larger than normal cast of lead characters and we were very impressed with the talent on display in the auditions. The pupils involved also did a great job of learning their lines and attending all the lunch time rehearsals. The main characters showed real commitment and dedication to their roles this year and we were delighted that all their hard work paid off when the performances finally arrived.

Lower School

Kibble and Mrs Stone for their hours spent on make-up, props and back stage supervision. Mr Foster and Mr Jones were also stars and were happy to dance as rather larger than average munchkins…too many biscuits at break time perhaps! Imogen Bebb and Grace Pugh sang like angels in their roles as the Good Witches. Alastair Winning was outstanding from the auditions to the final performance. ‘The Wiz’ is an exceptionally difficult role to perform at such a young age, with tricky songs and long speeches. Alastair managed it all with ease and made the part his own, complete with Nebraskan accent. The musical is a fantastic opportunity for all the pupils in Lower School and helps build their confidence and self esteem. None of this would have been possible this year without the fantastic support shown by the parents, ably led by Mrs Hawkins. We are in debt to all of the parents who helped sew, paint, build, make up, and organise things seamlessly backstage. We know how many hours it all took and are extremely grateful for all their willingness to help. Miss Hope was heard saying, “Never again!” but I’m sure I can persuade her by next term! Carina Whiting

The Yellow Brick Road

Kalidahs in enchanted wood

Mrs Lofting Melts

The Poppy Fields

Mr Bullock & funky monkeys Ease on Down the Road

Yr 3 sing Brand New Day

Yr 4 munchkins, Mr Jones & Foster

Lower School

Chess

Chess Report 2008-9 The experienced gained by the younger members of the team last year certainly stood them in good stead this year. Put quite simply, this was the most successful year ever for the Under 11 chess team. Every competition that could be won was won. Both Jamborees (the first one shared with St Michael’s), the League, the Cup and even both Individual City Championships (Under 11 and Under 9), saw Tettenhall College Lower School come out victorious. It will be impossible to ever beat this achievement and very difficult to even match it in future years. Nevertheless this is what next year’s team will have to attempt to do. Internal competitions were keenly contested again this year. Pearson won the House Chess competition in a very good final against Bantock, with Nicholson and Haydon (last year’s winners) coming third and fourth. The Tettenhall College Individual Under 11 Knockout Trophy was once again keenly contested. The final was eventually battled out between the number one seed Marihah Mir and Joseph Lee, who played superbly to make it to the final. Marihah proved just too strong for Joseph in the end though. Well done to Marihah, who also went on to compete against the best players from Wolverhampton and came out victorious in the Wolverhampton Under 11’s School Championships. Mitchell Porter also deserves a special mention for his victory in the City Individual Under 9’s tournament, albeit by the narrowest of margins after a very tight final game against Adam Inglett. Well done to all the players who made contributions to the team this year.

Lower School

Upper School

Art

Art Department It is always sad to see an academic year end, with all of the students dispersing to different parts of the world. However, to send the exam students away with a fine set of exam results keeps the spirits up. The Art Department secured its best results yet with 100% pass (A*-B = 79%). All of the ‘AS’ & ‘A’ level students passed (90% A-C). At the end of term during our activity day the ‘Doodle 4 Google’ raised many inspiring designs, with the six best being submitted to Google; Year 8 pupil, Greg Spooner, was recognized with a certificate from Google as an excellent regional entry. The new academic year always begins with a flurry of field trips: Year 7 enjoyed a great day at Gladstone Pottery, Year

Upper School

8 visited The Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, where they met the exhibiting sculptor, Juginder Lamba, the exam groups visited Manchester Art Gallery and Museum, The Lowry and The Urbis Contemporary Art Gallery. To make a change from our usual House Art Competition we ran a banner making challenge. Each House gathered a team together where individuals pooled their ideas into designing an image with a motto. Before long all of the sewing machines were in full swing and several weeks later four splendid fabric banners had been made. The school secretaries chose the Bantock tiger design as the winning banner. The long term aim for our Sports Day is to fill the stands at Cosford with our banners. The Art facilities are continuing to be very well used beyond teaching hours with project work being extended or finished. The introduction of Key Stage 3 Design Technology in September has also added an additional buzz and energy to an already very busy Department. M Leighton

Year 7 Art Trip to Gladstone Pottery In the second week of our first term in the Upper School the whole year group was taken to Gladstone Pottery. We had the chance to make some clay masks and some porcelain flowers. When we had completed our pieces we took a quick lunch that had been prepared by Tettenhall College catering team. After our ‘gourmet’ lunch we were given a tour of the pottery. We learnt about how hard life was as a potter and the numerous medical problems of the workers. Towards the end of the day we were given the chance to drawer the bottle kilns from the outside. The worst part was when we had to go because I really enjoyed it and it was well worth a visit. Robert Budgen

Art Gallery

Upper School

Business Studies

was obviously looking my age! Nevertheless, the department continues to run our annual tour for the 6th form pupils and this year was no exception (see separate report) We are hoping to have a couple of visits this academic year to add to the annual Tour.

Business Studies and Economics Judging from the numbers taking our subjects, we continue to do something right! At AS and A level once again Business Studies had the highest number of candidates who, fortunately, along with the economists, all passed! Again candidates managed to gain full marks on modules sat both in January and June, something that is always a delight to see when pupils gain their results. To my surprise, I met an expupil and parent who thought that I had retired! I apologised and informed her that I was and am still here! I

Following the excellent trip to Jaguar at Castle Bromwich; only just in time before such trips ended, it was hoped to repeat the visit, however BMW appears to be a distinct possibility. Sadly and to the detriment of pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; education, Health and Safety appears to know no boundaries and has made such visits so much harder. Could this be why so few pupils nationwide want to enter industry when they have had no opportunity to see what actually happens in the wealthcreating sector of the economy? We tried to gain entry to the National Rate of Interest game organised by the Bank of England, but such is the interest in this that we failed to gain an entry in the draw for places, although we will be there for the next academic year.

Instead we shall participate in a national shares game, ironically something I used to operate many years ago as an internal competition. We face the challenge of a new approach to GCSE coursework, another change! Pupils will only be able to complete such work whilst supervised. Naturally we are ready for the challenge and hope to ensure pupils make the most of their abilities. My life at T.C. was somewhat complicated by being President of the Old Tettenhallians, something which I considered to be a great honour. I am continuing to try and raise funds for a 6th form scholarship and will continue to do so until sufficient is available for such an award. I continue to be fortunate enough to have the support of my colleague, Mrs. Nash, for which I continue to be most grateful. Dr A Mottershead

Upper School

Tour to Prague Although the Tour takes place at the end of the Spring Term, we spring into action somewhat earlier! By October we have decided where we want to go and have started to sort out the best way to get to our chosen destination. Prague is but a flight away, in theory. Getting a flight at the right time for both outward and return journeys, at a price that is competitive, is not so straightforward! We had intended to go to Barcelona but the cost and times of flights meant that we could only fit in 3 visits, which negated this option. Nevertheless, Prague seemed a more reasonable option. However, such are the flight times that we ended up having to fly from Stansted, which meant costing in a coach return journey to the other side of Cambridge. The next aspect to be tackled is getting the right visits at the right time in the right order. No problem: finding a small business useful for explaining that the industrial process can take place on a very small scale as well as large scale as at Skoda was not so easy! Once the trips were in place the fun really starts. Visas! How do industrialised nations that collectively can send men to the moon not be able to ensure a school party can gain the correct documentation to travel across Europe? Mrs. Nash takes the huge responsibility of ensuring all our pupils have the correct paperwork to satisfy even the most fastidious of customs staff. The next task is to put together a work booklet for the pupils. Background information is collected on each of the plants we are to visit, questions set and eventually all is ready. If only life

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were so simple. Who would think that checking passports 3 weeks prior to departure could be so stressful? ‘I can’t find it’; ‘Does it need to be up to date?’; ‘Someone else has got it’; ‘Sorry I will bring it tomorrow’; ‘No you won’t it’s Saturday!’ Eventually the night of the Tour Information Evening arrives which parents duly attend, for which I am most grateful. I do my best to summarise what will happen and what should not happen. Question time is usually of interest. Pupils sit hoping Mum will not ask a question, especially as to how much spending money will be required. My answer is a long way short of the pupils’ expectations, but then again once I have sufficient for evening meals and emergencies and chocolate, what more is needed? Pupils are allotted to a member of staff for head counts. These take place at regular intervals, on the coach, off the coach, at check in, at the departure gate, before leaving the hotel, before getting on the trams in Prague, getting off the trams; ensuring one has your own 13 pupils takes on the role of a shepherd gathering in one’s flock. Thirty nine pupils in total are religiously counted until all are accounted for.

Prague is a beautiful city, with its Square that houses the astronomical clock being one of the most visited sights in the Czech Republic. Our hotel was excellent, a 4 star establishment just a 15-minute tram ride from the centre of Prague, perfect. The visits this time were to Skoda, an extremely modern plant built once Volkswagen had bought Skoda and now producing cars totally contrary to the perception of many who were brought up on Skoda jokes. Once I had persuaded the tour guide to hand over the microphone to me in order to impart the information I wanted all to absorb, all was well. We even managed to get the pupils into the press shop, a sight not to be missed. The lager plant, Pilsner Urquell was also better than expected in terms of access to what I wanted the pupils to see. Similarly the Bohemia Crystal glass factory establishment was fascinating but a little too brief for my liking, nevertheless, a worthwhile visit. The Bio goat farm where cheese is manufactured was totally different. Our coach took us way beyond the snow line and we were greeted by what can only be described as a manic dog and two huge enclosures full of goats. The

Design and Technology

Year 7

farm also produced decorative necklaces and bracelets using an archaic process to convert basic coloured strips of coloured plastic into interesting adornments. Yet again the required behaviour deposit left with the hotel upon checking in, was returned in full, I expect no other outcome. Subsequently our coach arrived in plenty of time to allow us another exciting time at check in prior to our flight home.

Animal Masks As part of their textiles curriculum Year 7 have designed and made a theatrical mask. The project involved the construction of a clay form, which was then used as a base for a highly creative felt mask. Projections were added and the masks were embellished using both the sewing machine and hand techniques.

The usual guesses as to who has the heaviest bags were predictable; bookmakers would stop taking bets on the winner being female! EasyJet proved easy, with our plane landing on time, allowing us to make the final leg of the journey somewhat lighter as various pupils were left at Stansted in order to catch flights to more exotic places than Wolverhampton.

Dr A Mottershead

awareness of the work done by Amnesty International. The T shirts needed to be eye catching and cause an emotional response when seen worn by volunteers in public spaces.

Year 8 Ceramic Mugs Using ‘2D’ Computer Aided Design Year 8 have generated images to be used on a box and ceramic mug that would be presented to customers at the celebration opening of a new coffee shop entitled ‘Get Up and Go’. Designed images and logos were then transferred to both the box net and the mug using a Roland Stika method of manufacture.

Next year we plan to go to Brussels via Eurostar and one of the visits is to a chocolate factory. I am as ever indebted to my colleagues, Mrs. Nash and Miss Uttley for sharing the responsibility of taking 39 Sixth Form pupils to a foreign country and managing to return said pupils in one piece.

This year has seen the introduction of Design and Technology at Tettenhall College. Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have had the opportunity to develop skills in Computer Aided Design and Manufacture. Seen here are some of the many textile projects completed by students this year.

T Shirt Using ‘2D’ computer aided design Year 7 have designed and made a T shirt to raise

Upper School

Year 9 Silk Tie Ai is one of many Year 9 students who have designed and decorated a celebration silk tie as part of their textiles project. Students have mastered techniques in the application and blending of colours in addition to designing a repeat pattern.

Mini Enterprise Scheme Having completed their projects Years 7 and 8 then became involved in a mini enterprise scheme, where they were responsible for managing and selling goods made in Design and Technology to sponsor a child in Africa as part of Action Aid. P Jones

Drama

Once again the Drama department has been busy, both on stage and behind the scenes, putting on no less than twelve examination performances and three extracurricular events. Pupils from Year 10 through to Year 12 have worked extremely hard preparing practical work for examination with considerable success. The 100% pass rate at A level and GCSE remains unbroken and the exceptional 2008 GCSE examination results saw half the year’s 14 strong cohort achieving an A* grade. Congratulations to all of the candidates on their outstanding achievements.

Year 11 With such excellent practical work going on in the classroom, there has been a real push to showcase exam pieces to a wider audience. Thus Year 11 performed their final coursework pieces based on fairy tales to a delighted Lower School audience. In their final ‘Realisation Test,’ the groups really explored different performance spaces, performing in a variety of venues including an abandoned classroom and backstage, to add atmosphere and mood.

Year 10 Year 10 worked on a diverse range of scripts, from the moody, melodramatic ‘Maria Marten and the Red Barn’ to the farcical Commedia Dell’Arte inspired ‘Alota Chocolata’. These pieces, performed in front of audiences from Year 9 and 12, tested

Upper School

the pupils’ versatility, comic timing, skills of exaggeration and movement and formed an excellent base for their coursework repertoire.

Sixth Form The AS Drama and Theatre Studies group, embarking on the new specification for the first time, were required to present individual monologues and a group performance. The monologues ranged from Shakespeare’s puritanical figure of fun, Malvolio and ‘As You Like It’s’ pastoral shepherdess, Phebe, to downtrodden cockney convict, Liz Morden and hangman, Ketch Freeman from Timberlake Wertenbaker’s ‘Our Country’s Good’. In addition to these more traditional pieces, the unknown voice in Sarah Kane’s disturbing ‘4.48 Psychosis’ proved an exciting challenge for Kelly Paterson. All of these pieces provided excellent opportunities for the five pupils to explore character, voice and movement, combining personal research with rehearsal and a variety of interim performances throughout the course. The final

performance to the examiner was watched by an audience of staff and pupils and displayed their excellent skills to great effect. ‘100’, written by Neil Monaghan, Diene Petterle & Christopher Heimann, was the play selected as the Year 12 performance piece. Set in a mysterious ‘void’ - an apparent limbo space between life and death run by a chameleon like ‘guide’ figure - the characters are required to choose one single memory from their life...from their whole life, from all they’ve ever done, felt or thought. In choosing this memory they will pass through to eternity and everything else will be erased forever. Failure to choose within the designated time frame is not worth imagining - they have one hour to choose and the clock is ticking. This highly innovative interpretation of ‘100’ magically transported the audience to a

Upper School

dramatic French motorbike race, a South American rainforest, a tube train and a nightmarish London evening as each character in turn tried to capture their memory for eternity. This play really tests the actors’ physical and vocal skills as all the worlds are evoked simply via the actors themselves, 15 bamboo canes and an orange!

Live Theatre Live theatre visits continue to provide an excellent source of inspiration for the pupils of drama. Regular visits to the Arena Theatre enable pupils to see a wide variety of high quality work in a range of styles and genres. The year kicked off with a performance of WYMT’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde,’ a dark and moving musical full of gothic Victorian horror and featuring no less than five current and former pupils from the college. One of the theatrical highlights was an extremely moving and highly entertaining production of ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ by an all male cast. This groundbreaking play interweaves real documentary footage of World War One and the home front with music hall songs from the time and devised dramatic action to create a fast paced and extremely exhilarating theatre experience, one which has inspired the A level students in their upcoming devised drama piece.

House Performing Arts Pupils of all ages, Houses and talents took part in the Annual House Performing Arts Competition which once again showcased both familiar and unexpected stars in the making. In addition to performing to a packed house, giving pupils valuable

Upper School

performance experience, this annual competition is an excellent opportunity for pupils to develop their self-confidence, self-discipline, team work and leadership skills. Since the acts are organised and rehearsed by the pupils themselves, this competition draws members of Houses into a truly collaborative project.

‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ As the winter term drew to a close, Towers Theatre was transformed into an elegant Victorian apartment for the Upper School performances of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. This visually stunning production combined the performance skills of some of our most talented young actors and set a high standard for the rest of the academic year.

The Musical (Please see page 68) In July the SS American set sail with a cast and crew of over 90 pupils and members of staff for the Upper School production of ‘Anything Goes’. Thanks to the talents and dedication of all involved, this musical set aboard a transatlantic cruise ship had all the glitz and glamour, fun and farce, sparkle and shine we have come to expect here at the College. With well-known numbers such as ‘You’re the Top’, ‘I get a kick out of you’ and the title track, ‘Anything Goes,’ it was clear that the various audiences fully appreciated the energy, comedy and downright feel-good-factor provided in each of the four performances. There is no doubt that Drama is great at Tettenhall College. We are extremely proud of all of our pupils and their remarkable achievements and look forward to next year’s ventures with enthusiasm and excitement. M.D. Uttley

House Performing Arts

House Performing Arts and Talent Show - 2008 As always, the ‘smell of the greasepaint’ and the promised ‘roar of the crowd’ draws a wide collection of Tettenhall College talent out from its various hiding places and onto Towers stage in order to do battle for the coveted Performing Arts cup and gigantic tin of choccies! This year was no exception and, as the crowd hushed one November evening and the dramatic strains of Carmina Burana swept echoingly through the auditorium, it was time to cue lights, cue curtain, cue compere Mr Dyer and cue the House Performing Arts and Talent Show - 2008! Mr Wass sat poised, wearing the all important judge’s hat, ready to reward our intrepid performers for the weeks of rehearsal, team work and talent. The night kicked rhythmically into action with Nicholson’s William Bradley on the drums followed hot on his heels by the hot-stepping, toe-tapping Harriet Hommers, flying the flag for Bantock in her superbly choreographed and executed song and dance act from West End musical, ‘42nd Street’. Act Two kicked off in similar style with rival Pearson’s Joe Wood once again giving the drum kit a run for its money. Let battle commence!

Dance Dance was a hugely popular

category this year and contributions included a wide variety of styles. Nicholson’s Faye Bradley, Ellie Hammond and Charlotte Perry showed us exactly how not to behave on the hockey pitch in their version of ‘St Trinians’. Haydon’s Louise Coxhead performed a quirky and very skilful self-choreographed piece entitled ‘The Puppet Show’ and Bantock’s trio of Charlotte Darby, Harriet Hommers and Courtney Hawkins took one step closer to fame and fortune with their cheeky rendition of The Pussy Cat Dolls, ‘When I Grow Up’. Large group dances included Pearson’s pulsating performance of Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia,’ polished to perfection and complete with crazy costumes and an array of luminous glow sticks. Congratulations to Jade Birring, Aimee Fisher, Jonathan Hart, Joseph Hayward, Aneesh Kapil, and Kim Varaich for not falling off stage when the lights went out! The evening came to a dramatic close with another superb group dance - ‘Show Me the Money’. Haydon’s Max Chester, Louise Coxhead, Isabella Fisher, Faye Paterson, Kelly Paterson, Ekta Saini, Joe Schubert and Megan Schubert - proved just what hours of rehearsal, dedication and teamwork can achieve in this extremely high energy and well choreographed performance.

Comedy Our comedy taste buds were well and truly tickled by Pearson House as Joseph Hayward introduced us to the trials and tribulations of the relatively unknown superhero ‘Tupperware Man’ in his highly entertaining and downright hilarious monologue, before managing to baffle, bewilder and downright bamboozle unwitting customer Aimee Fisher in Victoria Wood’s comic duologue based in a rather

unusual shoe shop. Bantock’s ‘Miss Hommers’ provided further comic entertainment with ‘Flowers,’ a Joyce Grenfell monologue based around a nursery music and movement lesson during which the exasperated teacher desperately tries to persuade one of her flock that a cauliflower isn’t actually a flower, while keeping a tight eye on George, who generally isn’t doing what he should be. Managing to keep a straight face after being bamboozled in the shoe shop, Aimee Fisher provided us with a more highly charged emotional performance of a moving monologue from the film ‘Save the Last Dance’.

Music With Mr Wass in the judge’s seat, the musical acts were clearly up against stiff competition and the calibre of vocal performances was possibly the most impressive to date. Songs from the shows prove ever popular and here the performers need to combine both vocal and acting skills to create character and atmosphere. Isabella Fisher set the bar high for Haydon with her beautiful rendition of the well-known ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Haydon then continued to pile up the marks with two further solo performances; Kelly Paterson’s moving performance of ‘Someone like You’ from the hit musical ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ and Faye Paterson’s extremely powerful recital of Celine Dion’s ‘Because You Love Me’. Not to be outdone, Nicholson provided their own pair of singing sisters in the form of Ellie and Olivia Nash. Ellie’s performance of ‘Without You’ from ‘Rent’ was skilfully performed and younger sister Olivia wowed the crowds with the power of her voice in a

Upper School

glorious rendition of ‘Heaven’. Nicholson’s Judith Holt was awarded the title of ‘Outstanding Performer’ for her captivating performance of ‘Memory’ from Cats and newcomer Oliver Rudge completed the Nicholson quartet with an extremely melodious rendition of Paolo Nutini’s ‘Rewind’ on vocals and guitar, gaining him another ‘Outstanding Performer’ award. Pearson’s Kimberly Varaich, on keyboard, accompanied Jade Birring’s wonderful singing voice in a highly entertaining version of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’ complete with super high heels and matching super high beehive and, to round off Pearson’s musical input, Aimee Fisher lightened the mood with the lighthearted and expertly delivered ‘Popular’ from the hit musical ‘Wicked’. Perhaps the most unusual performance of the evening came from Bantock’s very own Jordan Hill who performed the Arctic Monkeys’ number, ‘Don’t You Look Good on the Dance Floor,’ self-accompanied by guitar and a very original personal style. Meanwhile the unofficial award for ‘last minute entry’ goes to Haydon’s ‘A Thousand Miles,’ an act which spontaneously came together during rehearsals, sung harmoniously by Lydia Budgen, Isabella Fisher, Faye Paterson, Kelly Paterson and Megan Schubert and accompanied on the piano by Louise Coxhead.

The Judging So some twenty two acts later, it was down to Mr Wass to come up with the all important scores on the doors. Thanks to his mathematical prowess, it wasn’t long before the individual scores were totted up, checked and rechecked and the judge’s final decisions were announced to the waiting crowd of performers and

Upper School

audience. Both Harriet Hommers and Louise Coxhead were awarded prizes as ‘Outstanding Performers’ alongside Oliver Rudge and Judith Holt thanks to the quality and variety of their contributions throughout the evening. Haydon’s highly energetic dance troupe took third place for their high jumping, hip hopping ‘Show Me the Money’, while Aimee Fisher’s beautifully rendered solo performance from ‘Wicked’ placed her in second. In first place, thanks to his charm, wit and overall genius comic timing, came –Tupperware Man Pearson’s Joseph Hayward - just reward for having the audience rolling in the aisles some sixty minutes earlier. And so to the coveted cup and the even more sought after family tin of chocolates! A combination of comedy, musical prowess and real team commitment meant that the winners this year were a ‘peacock proud’ Pearson with an extremely impressive 37.5 out of 40. Nicholson took second, with Haydon and Bantock in third and fourth respectively. Congratulations to everyone who braved the boards and performed onstage and also to everyone involved behind the scenes, including the stage crew, curtain raisers and Dr Mottershead, Mrs Nash and the Business Enterprise team who organised such a smoothly-run evening. Special thanks must go to Liam Green for his ever faithful technical support and for Mr Dyer, aka ‘anchor man extraordinaire,’ for providing such seamless links between the acts. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to Mr Wass for accepting the role of this year’s judge with grace, guts and a sharp eye for talent in all its guises. MD Uttley

English As A Foreign Language

EFL Department Overseas pupils at Tettenhall College enrich the whole school body in a variety of ways including the important areas of linguistic and cultural awareness. Pupils from Year 6 up to Sixth Form come from a number of countries including Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Russia, Portugal, Spain, Germany and France. This has made for interesting and vociferous support of a variety of sports teams! The EFL department encourages all overseas pupils to take part in the wide range of extra curricular activities offered at the school. This enhances their English language ability as they mix with their British peer group, in addition to giving them a breadth of experience not always available in the classroom. We have good sportsmen and women, not to mention budding musicians, artists and actors! Pupils take part regularly in House competitions, in sporting and artistic events, in addition to the annual Musical. Many overseas pupils come to Tettenhall College in order to take public examinations such as GSCE and A level and often continue into Higher Education in this country. The EFL department has a unique role in helping pupils achieve these academic goals. External examinations are taken almost every term and include the major examinations such as the Cambridge KET and PET exams, Cambridge International which offers IGSCE in ESOL, the City and Guilds exams.

Sixth form pupils take the IELTS examination, which is required by British and American universities to demonstrate English language competence. Pupils of all ages, including those in Year 7, have worked really hard and achieved outstanding results in their examinations.

End of another year and the end of an era as the Geography Geography department sadly says good bye End of another year and the end of an era as the Geography department sadlyHe sayswill goodbe missed to Mr. Petfield. bye to Mr. Petfield. He will be missed for the valuable contribution he has made to the for the valuable contribution Geography department, especially the A Level fieldtrips. he has made to the Geography department, especially the A Level fieldtrips.

Geography

Cross-curricular and cultural work is integral to the teaching and learning process. This year, pupils in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 visited the Grand Theatre to experience Peter Pan, with follow up coursework projects on the Pantomime genre. Other cultural events such as Guy Fawkes’ night on November 5th are highlighted and discussed. The project on London with Year 10 was a popular one, whetting the appetite for a visit! Other pupils followed in the footsteps of Shackleton and the Antarctic, while another group presented a power point presentation to plead the cause of a particular endangered species. Our librarian kindly acted as ‘judge’, donating some money to the species she felt was best, in this instance the Bengal Tiger. A project on Tettenhall Village helped pupils in Year 9 to understand the location in which they live and work. In addition a number of books and videos are studied such as ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ or ‘Rebecca’. The reading scheme is encouraged to help pupils of all ages engage in extensive reading as this promotes attainment in all four language skills. I would like to thank my colleague Mr Higgs for his continued hard work and support. D Stone

Upper School

Modern Foreign Languages

German As a school we have already hosted five German teachers who came via the British-German Connections Group which operate under the umbrella of the Central Bureau. The German teachers generally come for three weeks; they provide extra help in the department, bring material and their contribution is appreciated by pupils and colleagues alike. In the November of this academic year Frau Elsner stayed with us for two weeks. Immediately she settled well in the department. She helped the Year 10 and 11 pupils with their oral practice and was an original source of information for all pupils. This year the colleague coming will take part in our German Day.

1989 - 2009 Twentieth Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall In 1999 I organised a German day to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since I am still here I have planned a similar celebration for the 20th anniversary! Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils will cover a Germany based topic, whether it be in Maths, Geography or the Sciences. All that matters is that every body feels part of this special anniversary! Helene Compain-Holt

Music

The music department continues to offer many opportunities for music making. In the classroom where the foundation is laid, all children are involved in practical music making, singing and learning the keyboard. For those who have more interest, individual music lessons are provided by an excellent team of ten visiting music staff who this last year, have taught over 150 pupils each week. The standard of instrumental playing is continuing to rise and The Drive School and Lower School pupils have performed in assemblies and afternoon concerts. Pupils from the Lower and Upper Schools have been successful in music exams this year, with 43 passes, 10 with merit and an exceptional 13 passing with distinction. Many pupils have also taken part in local music competitions with excellent results.

The Choirs The choirs continue to be busy, and the Carol Service was one of the highlights this year. The Drive School choir, the two Lower School choirs and the Upper School choir, augmented by staff and friends not only performed individually but also combined for many items and a full church made it a very enjoyable occasion.

The Musicals Two musicals again were staged during the year at school, both of which have their own reports elsewhere in the magazine. The standard of these continues to be very high, and they depend on so many staff, parents, pupils and professional musicians and engineers all working together.

‘JOSEPH’ As in previous years, we were given the opportunity to take part in two professional shows at the Grand Theatre. The ever popular ‘Joseph’ returned in the Summer Term, and we provided 40 children (from Years 3 to 7) for each show, two shows per day with three shows on the Saturday. This was quite a punishing workload, particularly as it was the week before we had our own Upper School musical. For many children, this was the first time they had experienced live professional theatre and they responded very well. The show has been ‘modernised’ since we did it two years ago, with a

Upper School

new ‘megamix’ to finish the show and at the start of Act Two, the choir come from their uncomfortable staging to the front of the stage and sing a song themselves. They sounded particularly good in this and many parents were very proud of their children, as indeed, I was.

Eventually, we were taken through our routines, our stage positions, and shown how and when to react. The scenes were not done in order, due to scenery positions, so by the time we had finished the rehearsal, we knew what we were supposed to do but not when or in what order! The next time we were to go through this would be the first show with a 1000 people watching! It is always like this on the first day of a show and so there is a bit of pressure and apprehension on the day. It is particularly ‘nerve-wracking’ for those for whom it is the first time on the stage, but what always amazes me is how quickly the children get used to what they have to do and within a couple of days seem totally ‘at ease’ with performing in front of so many people.

‘EVITA’ The second show we were asked to do was ‘Evita’. Since May 2008, the professional musical production of ‘Evita’ has been touring England and it has received many good newspaper and theatre magazine reviews. In February, the show came to Wolverhampton for two weeks and we were asked to provide the children and some extra adult actors. We provided two teams of twelve children and for the first time twelve adults, giving the opportunity for some staff and parents to experience live theatre. Although the show did not require us to do any singing, the children and adults were to act and react in crowd scenes in a variety of ways. Preparations for the show were limited. After having been approached to do the show, I was sent a basic set of instructions of what we had to do. Not knowing the show, I went to see it when it came to Stoke to get a first hand view of what our involvement would be. To move the show from one venue to another is a huge operation and the speed which it has to be done is amazing. The show will finish at about 10 pm on the Saturday evening when the whole stage, set, lighting, sound equipment, costumes, etc. all has be to dismantled, packed into articulated lorries, driven to the next venue and then unpacked and set up for the new venue first performance on the Monday. This operation requires a huge number of staff working throughout the evening and night on Saturday, during the day and evening on Sunday and the Monday. Six articulated lorries arrived in Wolverhampton during the day on the Sunday. On the day of the first performance, we all went to the theatre during the morning and we watched whilst the many preparations were being made.

The team of staff and parents who help me in looking after the children are as much ‘on edge’ as the children are in the first few days, as it is my / our responsibility to make sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be. The smooth running of these shows depends on a lot of people, all led by the stage manager, who has done a lot of the shows we have taken part in. He is vital to the success of the shows and Bill Kenwright’s company and staff are particularly well organised. The amount of people involved in putting on a show is probably not appreciated by most people who go to the theatre. Apart from the actors, there were 50 staff required to put on this show: managerial and stage staff, lighting, sound and special effects technicians, costumes, wigs and make-up specialists, costume dressers, props personnel and musicians. We got to know the actors well during the first week and they were very friendly towards the children. I invited them to the school during the second week to look around and have some lunch with us. Fifteen of them came, and the children were fantastic with them, showing them around Lower School, showing them some of their work, visiting Pets Corner, the Theatre, the Music Department, Sixth Form Centre, Library and finally to the dining room for lunch. The children and actors were so enthusiastic. The actors do not normally get out much from the routine of being at the Theatre / bed / lie in / food / back to the theatre. The children just enjoyed being with the ‘stars’. One of the great delights I get from doing these shows is seeing how the children grow in confidence from showing ‘first night nerves’ into confident happy enthusiastic musical performers, enjoying the thrill of live performance and enjoying the backstage ‘banter’ with company and crew members. I gave the children, parents and adults a questionnaire after the show and I have included a

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few comments from what they said. My thanks to all those parents and staff who helped me chaperone the children, looking after them in the changing rooms, between the shows, helping dress and doing their hair, escorting them to McDonalds etc! Thank you to all the children for being so enthusiastic, for doing such a good job on stage. I’m sure that they will remember the experience for a long time. Response from Questionnaires from the parents A very positive experience. What a fantastic opportunity for a child. I noticed a change over the fortnight, he was more confident and had a real sense of pride and raised self-esteem. It was very moving to see my child up there with all that talent. Her confidence was given a real boost both on stage and with her friends. We were so proud of our daughter. What they got out of the show Independence, friendship, confidence, understanding of what it takes to put a show together, teamwork and understanding. From the children I felt excited and scared at the same time. I felt really special. I learnt what happened in Argentina. On the first night I was absolutely terrified. After that I just got a slight shiver. From the ‘adults’ I felt overwhelmed by everything. The ‘rehearsal’ seemed so rushed and chaotic, I thought it would be a disaster. As I waited to go on for the first time I felt very calm. It was fascinating to see how things were set up, how the cast interacted and all the people involved in the process. As a regular theatre goer, it gave me a new perspective and a real admiration for all of the hard work involved. I can say it was a truly amazing experience. I only originally signed up to do two shows, ended up doing

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more and wished I had signed up for all of them. I enjoyed the music so much that I have it on my iPod and I listen to it each morning when I run. Sometimes when I think no-one is around, I include some of the actions. Yesterday, I was holding up the money (we had to collect this in one scene) as I ran down the street, only to see a man standing at the bus stop across the road looking at me very strangely. It was a brilliant two weeks, which gave me an opportunity of a lifetime, and make me realise how lucky we are at T.C. to be involved in such a wonderful experience. I loved having my hair done each night and pinching Mrs Liddle’s sweeties. Miss Uttley and I had a competition over who could look the saddest in the mourning scene. It was all good fun. I remember completely forgetting what I had been told during the first rehearsal. We had been fitted with wigs, most of which had their own names. Mine did not and it was quite frightful, a bit like a dead cat pinned on my head; hence after two shows the wig was named ‘Dead Cat Di’ even by our hair / makeup girls. On the first night I had to dash round the back of stage which was a very narrow uneven space, and twisted my ankle and feared that to steady myself I was going to pull down the large curtain at the back of the stage, only to arrive just in time for the next scene which was walking across the stage with bags over our heads! Wow, I had arrived! Because there was so little space backstage, we had to continually ‘throw’ ourselves against the walls backstage to get out of the way of the actors dashing back and forth. The amusing thing was that we had all got so used to doing this, that when between performances we went to McDonalds, we found ourselves moving to get out of people’s way. What a wonderful experience to be part of a professional show, probably never to be repeated again. We were all made to feel a real part of the show and it just felt magical coming out of the backstage door alongside the actors. The sheer thrill of experiencing this opportunity with colleagues and building bonds with the other adults, chaperones and our wonderful T.C. choir will never be forgotten. This has been a most rewarding musical year. Ian Wass

Sport

National Preparatory Schools Finals Oliver Pemberton (Year 7) 1st in 100m (Oliverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time of 12.6 s in the heats broke the old record) 1st in 200m.

Athletics Our athletes have represented us well for another season with some splendid results as follows.

City Athletics Championships

Oliver Pemberton (Year7): 1st in 100m (12.5s a new record), 1st in the Long Jump (4.85m a new record). Billy Miller (Year 7): 2nd in High Jump

Well done to the all the athletes and to all the pupils who took part in heats but did not make it through to the finals. The Year 10 boys finished 3rd overall in their year group at the City Athletics Championships which is a terrific achievement with such a small squad. Any budding athletes should get in touch with Mr Dyer so we can boost our squad for next year. Andrew Dyer

Stefan Squire (Year 10): 4th in 200m, 2nd in Triple Jump, 2nd in Long Jump, 3rd in 4x100m Relay Jamie Robinson (Year 10): 3rd in 100m, 3rd in Triple Jump, 3rd in 4x100m Relay

Sports Day This year we were able to resume our place at RAF Cosford again and use the superb facilities provided at the base. It was a lovely day and the weather was kind to us. The standard on the track and in the field events was excellent. Several records were broken which was testament to the talent of the children and their determination to win. Dr Bodkin presented the trophies to all the winners. Our thanks go to all colleagues who helped on the day and to all the competitors who performed so well. Teamwork by staff and pupils equals enormous success!

Individual Sports Day Champions Junior Boys James Winwood (H) Junior Girls Bethany Miller (N) Intermediate Boys Stefan Squire (H) Intermediate Girls Chloe McIntosh (P)

Sam Mueller (Year 10): 3rd in 4x100m Relay

Senior Boys Andrew Samuels (H)

Tetsuto Nakamichi (Year 10): 3rd in 4x100m Relay

Senior Girls Faye Paterson (H) / Claire Kirkhope (N)

Chloe McIntosh (Year 9): 2nd in 100m, 1st in 200m Louise Coxhead (Year 10): 1st in Javelin

West Midlands Biathlon Competition In October 2008, two girls from school Laura Burke (Under 13) and Claire Kirkhope (Under 16) entered the regional biathlon competition held in Birmingham. This competition involved each girl taking part in a long distance swim and run according to their age-group. This was a first for the College and both girls performed extremely well. Both girls just missed out on places in the West Midlands team for the Nationals held in March 2009. We are hoping that Tettenhall College will be able to enter this competition next year with a few more athletes, including Laura who is determined to do even better. My thanks to Mrs Burke who first brought the competition to our attention and who also helped to organise the administration details for the girls.

Overall House Champions 1st - HAYDON 627 pts 2nd - Pearson 614 pts 3rd - Nicholson 575 pts 4th - Bantock 523 pts J.L.Taylor

J.L.Taylor

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Cricket From the Boundary’s Edge An air of familiarity has descended on to the nation’s summer sport! As in the previous two years, the season has been dominated by Britain’s favourite subject…the weather. Unfortunately, despite the promises during the spring, we have not enjoyed a blazing hot summer... the good old jet stream!! As a result, this is not going to be a vast tome to mark the end of my period as master in charge of cricket. For the first time in eight years, we did not play the O.T.s’ match nor any of the fixtures set aside for cricket week at the end of the Summer Term which was a great pity. It means that we have not managed to play the MCC fixture since 2006 and I hope it does not mean they will look to drop us from their ever-expanding fixture calendar.

1st X1 The First XI fixtures were also affected by exams which seem to start earlier and go on later yearon-year, meaning that, in spite of their eagerness to play, the need to prepare effectively for and then sit them takes a toll on availability. Out of the ten fixtures, only 2 were played - one win and one defeat against Abbotsholme and Wrekin College respectively.

Under 15s The Under 15s faired much better in terms of managing to fulfil fixtures but, unfortunately, they were on the receiving end of some heavy defeats, but did secure one victory against Chase Academy. Fixtures, in general, have been difficult to come by as schools seem to be much more reticent to agree fixtures outside their games afternoons and since there are no hard and fast rules

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Under 14 and 15 Cricket

governing those, it is very patchy. As a result, the Under 14s only had two fixtures - a win against Wolverhampton Grammar and a tie with a side from Liverpool returning from a tour of the south. The latter was an excellent game!

Under 12s, 13s The Under 12s and 13s were keen and there is a good degree of promise for the future. However, the draw of other activities and a seemingly less than enthusiastic attitude to practice means that success will arrive later rather than sooner. It is pleasing to see that the Under 11s are showing a real desire to play and my thanks to Mr Foster for his efforts in coaching and organising fixtures. Finally, my thanks go to all the Games staff (Messrs Bullock, Higgs, Trump, Raine, Foster and Dr Mottershead) and the boys who have tried to make the best of the inclement weather and the disappointment with being unable to play. None of us would be able to do anything during the term without the continued love and enthusiasm of Alex Poile who has tried, valiantly, to prepare pitches and wickets in, sometimes, monsoon conditions. J M Petfield

The Under 15 cricket team have had a mixed season, ranging from some superb individual and team cricket to some torrid displays. Although a fair amount of games were called off due to poor weather conditions we were able to get some cricket in. The side was well led by Harry Westwood and in his absence Jack Sheldon and Harry Jones. Our first game was against Wrekin in the first few weeks of term. We were not able to field our best team as many had club commitments on this Saturday. However the side went in a positive frame of mind having trained well prior to the game. Unfortunately we lost narrowly, but the team played well and we gave them a good battle in our first outing. There was hope for the rest of the season Our one convincing win was against Chase Academy. Harry Jones made a stylish 20 and Max Walker, with a useful 25, saw the team knock off the runs to secure the victory. Oswestry, Adams Grammar and Wolverhampton Grammar were our next encounters; all were close and competitive matches. The highlight was the Adams Grammar game where Alex Grant was the star performer scoring an unbeaten 28 not out in a game where we only lost by 4 runs. Despite Alex Grant hitting a six off the penultimate ball the final delivery saw Tettenhall reduced to only a single; but well played. There was another close game at Wolverhampton Grammar. Harsimran Gill reached a staggering 61, hitting

a number of big sixes in the process against his old school. Unfortunately he ran out of support and his valiant efforts went unrewarded. This was our last game of the season, but unfortunately we fell short. However, our bowlers and lower order learnt a lot from the game, which I hope they will take forward into next season. The closest game of the season was our match against a touring side from Liverpool, St. Edward’s. Played on the first team square, two equally matched sides contested a nail biting game. Contributions either with the bat, ball or in the field were made by all who played and as a result the game ended up in a tie; a fitting result for a real team effort. Throughout the season the team always gave 100% and Harry Westwood, Mr. Higgs and Mr. Trump were pleased to have such a committed group and we all hope they will continue to develop in the forthcoming seasons. My thanks must go to Mr. Higgs for all his time and effort and Harry Westwood, not only for his support as Captain, but also helping me put together this report.

Football 1st XI Another extremely impressive season saw Tettenhall College compete against teams that had previously been seen as superior to us, where on occasions in gaining great wins we managed to outplay them. This year’s team consisted of a number of the previous year’s regulars, along with a batch of new talent from Year 11 pupils hoping to break into the team in their first season of 1st team football. T.C. entered the Wolverhampton Schools’ league and for the first time the football season stretched over two school terms, combining both rugby and football in the Autumn term. This became demanding on the players’ fitness as many weeks consisted of matches of both sports only two days apart. Despite the busy schedule, Tettenhall finished third in the league, only narrowly missing out on promotion to the A league on goal difference. The performances were very promising and left myself and Mr Bullock extremely confident for the main football term after Christmas.

When the team returned to school after the Christmas break to commence the Spring term, we were eventually able to focus on skills and fitness during training sessions, which were previously not available to us. In our first match we faced a long away trip to play at Abbotsholme. Despite the long journey we all went into the match highly optimistic that we could return to T.C. with a win under our belts to set out our intent for the rest of the season. Entering the match fresh from a three week rest and with high spirits, allowed us to all enjoy playing our football, which showed with a very convincing 5-0 score line in Tettenhall’s favour. Following this crushing of Abbotsholme we then notched up another impressive win with a 2-1 win against Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. In both these wins Tettenhall dominated the matches which hasn’t always been the case in previous years. Along with some of these great wins came a couple of disappointing defeats; a 6-2 loss at home against Stafford Grammar, with a very weak and injury depleted team. Despite the unfavourable scoreline there were

H Trump & Harry Westwood

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a couple of positives from the game in new talent being called in from Year 10, who will have a bright future in the next few years. Going down 6-0 to the hands of Denstone College left the team extremely dejected and it became a struggle to motivate the lads to bounce back from this result. After some team talks and focused training sessions, we managed to turn ourselves back around and overcame Denstone 2-0 in the return fixture. Nearing the end of the campaign, to reward the players for all their hard work and to celebrate our successful season, myself and Vice-Captain Alex Styles arranged a Football Dinner, which had never previously been included in the Football season. We presented a number of awards, where Marcus Fieldhouse picked up the most improved award after he showed many outstanding performances and was happy to play in any position he was asked to. Injury and other commitments limited the amount of matches Andy Samuels could play, however, when he did he was again an invaluable asset, leading the front line and scoring from almost impossible situations. This year’s defence was severely hampered by Vice-Captain Alex Styles’ injury which ruled him out for the whole of the Spring term. His leadership qualities made him a great Vice-Captain both on and off the field. Alex’s injury meant Richard Kimberlin stepped up and controlled the defence. Both Alex and Richard have great talent and are solid defenders who do not let any opposition past them without a struggle. I would like to thank all of the fellow pupils who supported the team and gave some great atmospheres to the home games. A special mention must also go to Dave Perry who it seems,

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never misses a match of any sport. On behalf of the team I would like to thank Mr Bullock for coaching and supporting the team in the wonderful way he did. I wish the team members, who are privileged enough to have at least one more year left, all the best for next year and hope for another great season ahead. Jon Hart 1st XI Football Captain

Under 14 Football The boys from Year 9 endured a tough series of fixtures in the spring of 2009. Whilst goals and victories proved difficult to find, the boys kept their heads up and showed great character during the campaign where they came up against some very good opposition. There were plenty of fine individual efforts and I hope that next year the boys can move their game up a level and become a stronger team and surprise a few of our local rivals. Many thanks to all the boys who have played a part this season, no matter how big or small. Andrew Dyer Manager

Ladies Hockey Once again, the season ended positively with the mixed 7s tournament at Wolverhampton Grammar School. The team performed excellently, but sadly we were unable to improve on last year’s result and once again, we were runners up.

Ladies 1st XI The ladies (very bravely) ended their season on a very wet and miserable Sunday morning at the beginning of June. Despite an early goal to the 1st team, the O.T.s ultimately won 4-1 and despite the weather, it was a very enjoyable match. Some skilful individual play won Vicky Lui the player of the match award but it was a gallant effort on both sides in truly appalling conditions. As is often commented, we continue to play schools with a much larger pool of players and we therefore continue to find ourselves at a disadvantage when selecting players. Nevertheless, we played some excellent hockey and demonstrated the significant progress made this season. Laura Pringle helped us to secure an impressive win against Abbotsholme, and she was our top goal scorer for the season. Otherwise, we suffered losses, despite our ace goalkeeper Zoe Lewis, who will be very sadly missed next season. Thanks go to Zoe, who has made massive progress this year. Claire Kirkhope also showed significant progress and has developed into a mature and reliable central midfielder. I hope both players continue to play and enjoy their hockey at their new colleges.

Under 14/Under 15 Some excellent results were achieved this year, with a particularly strong squad coming through. The first match of the season was marked with an impressive 5-2 victory against

Stafford Grammar where Chloe McIntosh and Sophie Jones played some lovely hockey, scoring all 5 goals between them. Other notable wins include an 8-0 defeat of St Dominic’s with goals from Vicky Kibble, Ellie Hammond, Chloe McIntosh, Charlotte Perry and Sophie Jones. There was an excellent team spirit in the squad and the future looks promising for this team. Congratulations should also be extended to Chloe McIntosh and Sophie Jones who both recently made it into the Midlands U15 squad - well done!

Under 12/Under 13 The U12s and U13s have continued to make good progress this year and there are a number of players demonstrating potential for the future. There was an excellent team spirit amongst the girls; again the most notable win was against St Dominic’s where we recorded a 6-0 win (U13). Finally my thanks to Mr Trump, Mr Higgs and Mrs Taylor for their continued help and support this year. AJN

Netball Tournaments The City Tournament took place in November 2008 for the U14 and U15 age-group. Two teams from Tettenhall took part. The U15 team, captained by Nicola Smith, had a combined team of Year 9 and Year 10 and played against six teams. All players worked hard and Nicola did a great job in motivating her team. In the U14 competition the squad played five matches in the first round winning two and drawing two. In the semi-finals they won 9-0 and in the final just lost 2-4 in a very exciting game. The girls will be representing Wolverhampton in the Staffordshire tournament next month and have trophies to signify their runners-up position for this week. Under 15 team players: Navpreet Aujlay, Faye Bradley, Louise Coxhead, Isabella Fisher, Ai Kato, Rachel Lawton, Jade Sahni, Nicola Smith (cpt) and Stephanie Williams. Under 14 team players were: Aimee Fisher, Eloise Hammond, Sophie Jones, Victoria Kibble (cpt), Lauren Lovell, Chloe McIntosh, Charlotte Perry and Ekta Saini. The Under 12 and Under 13 tournaments were played in March (2009). Both teams found this a tough competition. The Under 12s played four matches, losing three and winning the last one v Wolverhampton Grammar ‘B’ 1-0. The Under 13 team played seven matches. They won four and lost three. Although this was an excellent effort it was not enough to qualify them for the semi-finals. However both teams enjoyed the competition. Under 12 team players:

Hanisha Cheema, Ella Cox, Chloe Fisher, Charlotte Holden, Charlotte Jones, Savreena Kaur, Natsumi Suganuma, Poppy Thompson, Kelly Westwood, and Catherine Wickens. Under 13 team players: Grace Birch-Bastock, Harriet Dodd, Courtney Hawkins, Bethany Miller, Rebecca Mitchell, Olivia Nash, Kiranpreet Rai and Laura Saul.

South Staffordshire Netball Tournament During the 2007/2008 season the Under 13 team achieved an amazing record of wins including all league matches and the City Tournament. As a result of their success they were selected to represent Wolverhampton in the South Staffordshire Tournament in October 2008. Eight Under 14 teams from the following areas of Walsall, West Bromwich, South Staffordshire, Wolverhampton and Dudley took part in the first stage of this national competition. The winners and the runnersup from each age-group would then go on to represent South Staffordshire in the regional tournament in January 2009. The day was a great day in terms of near to perfect conditions. The girls looked fantastic in their new kit; they had been working very hard in training and were looking forward to the challenge. They clocked up some incredible scores considering the matches were only 7 minutes each way. They only lost one game to Aldridge, who became the eventual winners. The last game was against Wolverhampton Grammar; we had to win the game outright to achieve maximum points to be runners-up. Both teams played a fantastic match. The Tettenhall team fought hard both in attack and defence. They wanted this very much and managed to hold their

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opponents to a 7-6 win. In the closing minutes they clinched the game and were elated at the result, at first not knowing who had actually won. When they realised what they had achieved they were overcome with joy. The girls all received medals from the chairman of South Staffordshire Netball Association and all the parents took photographs. However, all success put aside, it was back to training the following week in readiness for the new challenge in January.

U14 Netball Team - Eloise Hammond, Ekta Saini, Chloe McIntosh, Aimee Fisher, Lauren Lovell, Charlotte Perry, Victoria Kibble (Captain and holding the shield) Sophie Jones is missing from photograph as she was absent that day.

West Midlands Regional Tournament It was much, much harder at the regional tournament in January 2009. But then of course we expected that and enjoyed the challenge. The best fourteen teams representing their counties: Birmingham, Hereford, Shropshire, South Staffordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire were all there on merit. Although we lost five of the games by one or two goals it was a great experience for the team. Two good wins against Wrekin College, Shropshire and St Mary’s, Hereford kept the spirits up. Team players: Aimee Fisher (GS), Charlotte Perry (GA), Eloise Hammond (WA), Victoria Kibble (C),

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Sophie Jones (WD), Lauren Lovell (WD), Chloe McIntosh (GD), Ekta Saini (GK) and Jade Sahni (GK). J.L.Taylor

Netball Leagues This season seven teams ranging from Year 7 through to the 1st V11 have represented the school playing over 50 fixtures, whether in matches in tournaments or leagues. The school continues to be successful in this sport and at U14 level are champions of the City of Wolverhampton. The number of girls extending their interest by representing local clubs continues to grow and we have representatives at elite level in South Staffordshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands. These players play regularly mid-week and at the weekends in regional leagues, county squads and academies Our school teams compete very well alongside large comprehensive schools and local independent establishments achieving worthy results.

Pupils’ Reports Under 12

This season Year 7 played a number of fixtures and tournaments. Every Tuesday we would play small matches with the Year 8s in games lessons. Some us who were new to Tettenhall didn’t know how to play as we had never played the sport properly before. As the weeks went by we became more confident when playing. One thing for sure, we all enjoyed it so we started playing during break and lunchtimes by ourselves. We soon noticed we were improving and we could tell we were all making progress. Every Friday we spent our lunchtimes with Mrs Taylor improving our

skills by practising drills and set tactics. She helped and motivated us into playing much better as a team. After weeks of practice we were finally ready for matches. We played a number of local schools. In the middle of the Spring Term we went to play in a tournament against St Peter’s, Wolverhampton Grammar, Girls’ High school. Northicote and St Dominic’s. We were very pleased because we won our last game in the tournament against the Grammar ‘B’ team. We didn’t win lots of matches but we were all very happy because we had tried our best, made progress and had fun at the same time. The best feeling was the excitement before every match, getting changed into our sports kit and representing T.C. Team players: Hanisha Cheema, Ella Cox, Charlotte Holden, Charlotte Jones, Savreena Kaur, Natsumi Suganama, Ellen Walker, Kelly Westwood and Catherine Wickens. Two Year 6 girls also came to the tournament: Poppy Thompson and Chloe Fisher Savreena Kaur Year 7

Under 13

This season we were able to field two teams. This was good as lots more girls had the opportunity to represent the school in competitive matches. Altogether we played ten fixtures against local schools in the National league and also some independent establishments close by. The ‘B’ team did well in the league,

reaching the semi-finals at the end of the season. It was a shame that they lost the game as they tried really hard to win. However it was one of those days where tactics just didn’t go to plan and the shots didn’t go in. It was even more depressing when we had already beaten the same team very easily a few weeks before. Never mind, there is always next year! The ‘A’ team had quite a tough draw this year. They won three games and drew one but it was not enough to take them through to the finals of the competition in March. Everyone has really enjoyed the season. There was always a full turn out to practices which were held every week. We also had the opportunity to play at break times and also practise our shooting too. All the players have put a great deal of time and effort into their Netball training this year and, although neither team won the major prize, we all know that we have improved as individuals and as a team. Team Players: Harriet Dodd, Laura Burke, Grace Birch-Bastock Ayesha Grewal, Courtney Hawkins, Monica Kumari, Elizabeth Marr-Naylor, Bethany Miller, Moeno Mita, Rebecca Mitchell, Olivia Nash, Arisa Onitake, Kiranpreet Rai, Laura Saul and Rachael Whalen. Courtney Hawkins Bethany Miller Under 13 Captains

Under 14

2009 has been a very successful year for Under 14 netball. The girls who have played in the matches have a

tremendous team bond which has created the foundation for a super team. All members of this team have been to every training session, constantly improving and developing into better team mates and players. Virtually all these players have gone on to play for clubs which has also contributed to their success. Three players have represented their counties, which has given them more skills and confidence. Year 9 won all eight league matches. This took them straight to the finals where they beat Wolverhampton Grammar School 10-6. This was a closely fought match with the score being 5-5 with five minutes of time left. The first centre pass was intercepted by Vicky Kibble who used the tactical court linkage involving Sophie, Lauren and Ellie to feed the ball into our shooters, Charlotte and Aimee. A long shot from Charlotte turned the game and gave the team confidence. This, along with superb centre court defence by Chloe McIntosh and close marking by Goal Keeper Ekta Saini, prevented them from scoring on their centre passes. On the final whistle the team were elated as we were league champions. This made up for being runners up in the City Tournament where the positions had been reversed. The highlight of the season was when we were selected to represent Wolverhampton in the South Staffordshire Tournament and we were runners up. This in turn allowed us to represent South Staffordshire in the West Midlands Tournament. Here our skills were put to the test, meeting the best in the area. The games we lost were only by one or two goals, but the experience was amazing. So looking towards next

season, the team hope to extend their achievements by maintaining their commitment and dedication in training and matches. Victoria Kibble Under 14 Captain

Under 14/15

The combined Under14 and Under15 team have played a series of matches over the season. We have had highs and lows but I’m pleased to say that through hard work, practice and determination we reached the semi-finals. Although losing by just two goals on a very windy afternoon, everyone in the team used their skills and played to their best ability. Throughout the season the players used effective court linkage to send the ball into the attacking third and into the shooters. Rachel Lawton, and Jade Sahni both scored some tremendous and memorable goals. In centre court there was good linkage between attack and defence by Nicola Smith as centre and also from Isabella Fisher, Ai Kato and Faye Bradley. We had a very strong and stable defence in Louise Coxhead, Stephanie Williams and Navpreet Aujlay. They formed an excellent alliance and prevented many more goals from being scored. We played matches against St Edmund’s, Ounsdale, King’s, Codsall, Heath Park, Chase Academy, Wolverhampton Girls’ High and St Dominic’s, winning all of them. Before the quarter-finals we were all nervous but regardless of this we worked hard together once we were on the court and pulled off a tremendous win

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to take us through to the semifinals. This was a tough game against Heath Park, who were playing extremely well. Despite winning the first half we went on to lose the game in the end. This was disheartening for us as a team as we had beaten them in the first round. Spirits remained high although we were disappointed we did not make the final. Next year is another year! I’m sure there will be plenty more success and more evidence of strong team work. Every player has their own skills that they contribute and bring to the overall success of this team. None of this though would be possible without the hard work and training from our coach and teacher Mrs Taylor. I would like to say a big thank-you from all of us. Team players: Navpreet Aujlay, Faye Bradley, Louise Coxhead, Isabella Fisher, Ai Kato, Rachel Lawton, Jade Sahni, Nicola Smith (captain) and Stephanie Williams. Niki Smith U15 Captain

Under 16

We have been a part of the U16 team since Year 7. The five years have flown by so quickly. We have experienced some fantastic games over the years with some tremendous wins and sad losses, but at the end, no matter what, we came out with our heads held high. I would like to congratulate all the team players, who are also my friends. I am so proud to have been your captain and to have experienced the journey with you. We played eight matches this year winning four and losing four. We failed

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to make the league finals, but did only lose some of these games by just one or two goals which did of course make the difference. Our best score was against St Peter’s which was our first game of the season winning 20-8. All the players worked extremely hard in their areas. Without good defence in Judith Holt, Gabrielle Robinson and Kim Chan the scores would have been higher. In centre court Claire Kirkhope was a good link between the defence and the attack; her play and ability to intercept turned the game several times in our favour. Our attacking players supported the shooter well. Georgina Spooner and Holly Winwood fed us the ball accurately and left Lauren Hall and myself to convert these passes into goals. Lauren is a great player; her timing is paramount and we work so well together. I was successful as a Goal Attack and always knew where Lauren was moving to.

and we were able to succeed in competitive matches as all the players gave their maximum effort. The team also possess qualities of commitment to training as well as playing in fixtures, which was a vital factor for the consistent success of the team throughout the year.

A special thank-you goes to Mrs Taylor for being an amazing coach and a great support. She has helped us to keep focused when other distractions could have affected our game. We all worked hard in lessons and in training too.

Team Players: Emma Dawson, Navjoyt Johal, Faye and Kelly Paterson, Tamara Pickstock, Megan Schubert, Frances Southall, Emma Taylor and Kimberley Varaich.

Harriet-Mae Broadhurst U16 Captain

Under 18

Playing for the U18 Netball Team this season has been a privilege. The team members have been highly motivated and it’s been a joy to attend practice sessions and play matches as the camaraderie and determination within the team has been something to be commended. For that reason the performance of the team has been of a high standard

Netball has been a form of release from the demands of Sixth Form life and provided opportunities to challenge and test our physical and psychological boundaries and the lessons learnt can be carried through to the field of study. Netball has also provided us with life - long skills and attributes of teamwork, leadership, confidence, communication and sportsmanship. The success of the team is due to the talent and skill of the players and the regular coaching that the team received.

The whole team would like to express their gratitude to Mrs Taylor who has been immensely influential in the success of the team and has been a huge support on and off the pitch. We have valued her knowledge and advice in coaching and we are grateful for all the fixtures Mrs Taylor organised and also providing the transport to attend matches, which enabled the team to compete throughout the season. Kimberley Varaich U18 Vice-Captain

Club Netball It’s great to see so many girls from a variety of year groups playing Netball outside of school. Tettenhall College has links with several clubs. These clubs are used by the girls, depending of course, where they live. It is also good to hear that players are achieving performance awards from within their clubs. Any pupil who wishes to take their game to another level is encouraged to join a club. If any further information is required please contact me through the school.

Staffordshire Academy Three girls have been linked to the U14 Academy this year: Chloe McIntosh, Aimee Fisher and Victoria Kibble. This involved attending training every fortnight. At the end of the season certificates were awarded for commitment, improvement and overall application. Victoria was awarded player of the season, which was not only an exceptional achievement, but a great honour.

Cartwright, Lillie Core, Katie Cork, Catherine Gough, Victoria Liu, Becky Rice, Kathryn Stanley, Bethan Stoll, Fiona Taylor and Eleyna Whalley T.C. Players: Harriet Mae-Broadhurst, Kim Chan, Eloise Hammond, Victoria Kibble, Claire Kirkhope, Chloe McIntosh, Faye Paterson, Kelly Paterson, Tamara Pickstock and Megan Schubert. ‘The John Dale Memorial Trophy’ was presented to the Old Tettenhallians by the President Deborah Brook, for the second year in succession. The ‘Players’ Player’ trophy was voted by the school team and was awarded to the captain of the Old Tettenhallians, Fiona Taylor, who had done a fantastic job in organising the girls for the game and had played a great match on the court. Here’s to next year and hopefully better weather and a win for the school!!

1st Team Squad v The Old Tettenhalians

J.L.T

House Netball

This year the competition was held on 6th/7th June. The weather was atrocious so the game took place inside the sports hall in the afternoon. Twelve school players from across the teams took on a talented group of Old Tettenhallians. The match took just over an hour to play. It was a fast, high scoring and very entertaining game and in the end, a very close game. I was impressed with the level of fitness and skills of the O.T. team captained by Fiona Taylor. The result was excellent, 53-50 to the O.T. team, with all participants demonstrating a high level of netball.

Juniors (Year 7 & 8) 1st HAYDON 2nd Bantock 3rd Pearson 4th Nicholson

O.T. Players: Janine Andrews, Emily Beddoes, Kelly

Overall Winners 2009 Haydon

Seniors (Year 9-6th Form) 1st HAYDON 2nd Pearson 3rd Bantock 4th Nicholson J.L.Taylor

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Rounders This year all girls have shown a great interest in this game. In lessons the groups worked on developing their skills, learning tactics and strategies and putting a games plan into operation. The girls became very talented during games sessions, despite the dreadful weather. In the latter weeks of the term, we played a competitive fixture against St Dominic’s, Brewood. They were great matches with all the girls in the two year groups making up the teams. Tettenhall won both: Year 9 16-5 and Year 9/10 12-5. The girls really enjoyed the matches so next summer we hope to have a few more! J.L.Taylor

Rugby

1st XV This year the 1st XV have enjoyed a mixed set of results from the packed autumn schedule. 12 games have resulted in 6 wins and 6 losses, but it was the way in which the results varied that was interesting. We started the season well, with a noticeable victory against Wolverhampton Grammar School of 77 - 0, building on the emphatic victories from the season before. We ended the season with a string of losses; however, these results did not reflect the skill of the teams involved. With the experimental law variations in place, the effective driving maul from the previous two seasons was all but eliminated. This meant that there was more pressure on the backs to produce tries, and they did not disappoint! Led by Chris Perry at no 10 and supported by a magnificent Andy Samuels at full back, they took the lead in a confident routing of Wolverhampton Grammar. Hiroto Ochiai played his part in a number of matches, using his pace to devastating effect. Marcus Fieldhouse also stood out, taking the opportunity in its fullest and despite his inexperience, shone through on almost every occasion. The scrummage turned out to be

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strong too and with the loss of a number of the previous year’s forwards, players such as Tony Wong and Callum Green had ample chance to prove their worth in the back row. The steadfast experience of Joe Wood in the front row meant that an often out weighted pack executed its duties to the letter; they even chipped in with a few tries here and there! This year was another fantastic effort from a relatively small squad. The chance to celebrate this came at our rugby dinner where we, along with Mr Bullock, gave awards for the players that really stood out this season: Coaches’ Player: Tony Wong Captain’s Player: Alex Styles Players’ Player: Chris Perry Best Newcomer: Marcus Fieldhouse Most Improved: Jon Hart I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Joe and myself, to thank Alex Styles for his support as the ever important Vice-Captain; Dave Perry for his magnificent support; Mr Petfield for his work in the backs this season; but most of all, Mr Bullock for his effort and tolerance of us as a group of players, who has contributed most to our success this season. I look forward to returning to watch next season! Liam Green 1st XV Captain 2008/09

Swimming

Under 15 Rugby Boys from Years 9 and 10 represented the school in splendid fashion for another season. Under the captaincy of James Taylor the boys were able to compete well in all our fixtures and enjoyed victories over Wrekin College, Wolverhampton Grammar School and Abbotsholme. The boys played “proper rugby” in all weathers and maintained an excellent team spirit throughout the season. The first team beckons for several members of the squad and I hope that all the boys will continue to “get stuck in” for many seasons to come. A big thank you to all the boys who played a part in the Under 15 rugby squad, be it big or small.

The organisation was slightly different this year. All the local secondary schools find each term very busy due to lots of competitions going on in a variety of sports. It was therefore decided to hold two galas: one each for Juniors and Seniors. In the junior competition twelve schools took part, each swimming the four strokes and two relays. Tettenhall performed extremely well coming 6th overall.

Team members: Aimee Fisher, Eloise Hammond, Judith Holt, Victoria Kibble, Claire Kirkhope, Laura Pringle, Eleanor Robinson and Danielle Tatton (captain). J.L.Taylor

House Swimming Championships 1st - HAYDON 2nd - Pearson 3rd - Bantock 4th - Nicholson

Team members: Laura Burke, Harriet Dodd, Chloe Fisher, Charlotte Jones, Rebecca Mitchell, Natsumi Suganuma, Poppy Thompson Year 7 Girls: Catherine Wickens (B) and Rachael Whalen. Junior Boys: Joseph Kinsell (P) In the senior competition, there Junior Girls: Laura Burke (P) were fewer teams taking part. Intermediate Boys: Stefan Squire Only seven school teams swam (H) in all the events. Tettenhall came Intermediate Girls: Aimee Fisher (P) 5th with a few individual wins. It Senior Boys: Tony Wong (B) was a good standard with many Senior Girls: Judith Holt (N) club swimmers swimming for J.L.Taylor their school.

Individual Championship Winners

Andrew Dyer Manager

Tennis City League Competitions (2008-2009) Two teams were entered into the competition this year. The U15 team played two matches. Against Wolverhampton Girls’ High the team were victorious 5-1 but they lost against St Peter’s 1-5. Due to bad weather the U13 team played one match against Wolverhampton Girls’ High

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The Musical

which they lost 6-0. In the U15 tournament Victoria and Louise got through to the semi-finals. Well done girls! In addition to the league, fourteen girls played double matches against St Dominic’s, Brewood. This was a lovely afternoon, even though we did have to dodge the showers of rain. This fixture wasn’t about winning, but about having fun and putting our skills that we had learnt in lessons into a competitive situation. The girls really enjoyed the experience. U15 team: Louise Coxhead, Isabella Fisher, Eloise Hammond, Sophie Jones, Ai Kato, Victoria Kibble, Charlotte Perry and Jade Sahni. U13 team: Harriet Dodd, Rebecca Mitchell, Moeno Mita and Laura Saul. Congratulations to Poppy O’Hara (Year 4) and Grace Pugh (Year 5) from Lower School. J.L.Taylor

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Anything Goes It is summer; the passengers aboard the SS American are looking forward to a peaceful crossing, enjoying champagne and strawberries on deck. But no, thanks to a couple of stowaways, Reno Sweeny the world’s most sensuous sermoniser, three Gangsters, two Chinese convicts, an eccentric Lord, a lost Pekinese and a fairly hopeless Captain, the SS American soon enters rather choppier waters. Can the hero get the girl before she is betrothed to the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh? Can Mrs Evangeline Harcourt find her little dog Cheeky? Can Moon (aka Public Enemy No 13 and hapless gangster) really get away with another one of his hair brained schemes? Packed to the mizzen mast with mistaken identity, farcical frivolity and screaming sailors, ‘Anything Goes’ was a real blast. Ok, so fairly brief synopsis: Billy Crocker (Andy Samuels) accidentally ends up aboard The

SS American; he should be down on Wall Street selling his boss, aka Elisha Whitney’s (aka Harry Westwood), failing shares. Why is Billy on board I hear you ask? Well, he is delivering Whitney’s passport which he had forgotten to give him the previous evening. On board he bumps into ex love interest Hope Harcourt (Megan Schubert) - how romantic - only problem is she is sailing to England with English fiancé Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Robin Barrow) under the watchful eye of domineering matriarch Mrs Evangeline Harcourt (Judith Holt). To add to the love triangle, Reno Sweeny (Aimee Fisher) the famous show girl - is also on board with her glamorous Angel quartet (Isabella Fisher, Harriet Hommers, Ellie Hammond, Sophie Jones). Reno (Billy’s good friend) is in love with said Billy, who is in love with Hope, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, (who later on discovers he quite fancies Reno!) What a carry on!

Billy searches frantically for Hope to speak to her before the ship leaves dock but - who would have believed it - the ship sets sail with him still on board!

As Billy engineers some alone time with Hope and desperately tries to keep out of the way of his boss –he meets up with two gangster stowaways - Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No 13 (Joe Hayward) and sidekick, Erma (Faye Paterson). The two gangsters are trying to get to England but have left behind Erma’s fella, aka Snake Eyes Johnson - Public Enemy No 1. Erma, distraught to discover her beloved fella is miles away, seeks comfort in the first sailor to wolf whistle and they prepare to settle in for the trip. Disguised as a violin playing minister, Moon hopes to make it safely across the ocean. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, he could meet a real minister who wants a good old chat about ministering type things. Great stuff! Luckily for Moon and unluckily for Minister Henry T Dobson (Jonathan Petfield) two handily placed F.B.I. agents have got wind of the gangster-dressedas- a- minister plot and they force Billy to show them where the Minister is. Billy inadvertently identifies Minister Dobson as

Moonface Martin the gangster and the F.B.I. dudes handily arrest the wrong minister leaving his two faithful Chinese converts Luke (Scott Place) and John (Jacob Elcock) to roam free on board. Phew. Still following? Well done you! Moonface and Erma, now completely indebted to Billy, offer him their friend’s unused ticket and passport. The only problem is that their friend - you know - Snake Eyes Johnson - Erma’s ex - the guy who didn’t make it on board is actually Public Enemy Number 1 and, holy cow, he is wanted by the F.B.I. too! The plot thickens. Now, our little Billy - who shouldn’t be on the ship anyway, who

should be selling his bosses failing shares, who loves Hope (the pretty young debutante engaged to an English Lord) - is travelling with a fake passport and ticket as the nonexistent ‘Murray Hill Flowers’ who in reality is Snake Eyes Johnson - Public Enemy No 1. Yikes - this is not a good day! Still, all will be fine as long as no one finds out eh?

In order to avoid bumping into his Boss, Mr Whitney - and hopefully spend some time persuading Hope to break off her engagement - Billy enlists the help of new found buddies Erma and Moon. Luckily Erma has made good friends with some of the sailors.... Cue dodgy disguise No 1 - the itsy bitsy, teeny weeny sailor suit. Ok, so not so heavily disguised as a Chippendales version of a sailor (sorry Andy!), Erma, Moon and good friend Reno team up with Billy to help him break up Hope and Evelyn’s engagement (aw how sweet!) and get the girl of his dreams. They come up with a plan. Step one - convince the somewhat neurotic and money grabbing Mrs

Evangeline Harcourt that the ship is sinking. That will get ‘mumsie’ out of the way for a while. Of course it will also cue a swarm of screaming sailors and panicking passengers but all’s fair in love and war so what the heck! Lavishly bedecked in all her jewellery, furs and complete with bright orange life jacket Mrs Harcourt appears to be

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descending into madness, much to the annoyance and partial amusement of the bemused Captain (Jonathan Hart) and his efficient Purser (Kelly Paterson). Step 2 - do a bad Mickey Mouse impression and cover your boss in seagull poop. Ok so it was only whipped cream but poor Elijah Whitney, blind as a bat without his glasses - and so close to rumbling Billy’s feeble disguise - is sent off stage covered in the stuff. Eeeugh! Step 3 - when all else fails - send in Moon! Looking every inch the mini minster, Moon infiltrates Whitney’s stateroom. Whitney, already half-soaked in gleeful anticipation of an evening with old flame Evangeline is hardly a match for the wily... wiles of Moonface Martin, Public enemy Number 13 (help police!?) Does he pepper him with machine gun bullets from his heavily disguised straddlevarious? No. Does he threaten him with a concrete jacket and force him to drink Moonface’s toxic Moonshine? No! He bops him on the head and nicks his glasses. Poor Whitney, blind drunk and - well - practically blind - is thoroughly confused as to who barged into whose room and is left to drown his sorrows with his little Yale bulldog as Moon triumphantly returns to his mates. Fabulous! What a success. Now everything will be fine so long as the Captain doesn’t turn up. Cue - the Captain. Moon prays, Billy hides and Erma feigns innocence through knitting. Good job the Captain isn’t too on the ball eh??? Step 4 - get rid of the English Lord. Send in the smouldering

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Reno to seduce said Lord, thus splitting up Lord and Hope. Thus reuniting Billy and bird! What could possibly go wrong? Well for a start, it’s Moon’s plan. True to form, Moon bursts in too early (he never quite got it right in rehearsal either!) and launches into his pre-planned tirade, condemning the actions of this English beast, despoiler of American girlhood only to find Reno fully clothed and smiling. There’s something very wrong here.

In addition to this, Evelyn is rather enamoured by the idea that he has been nearly framed into being a bit naughty with a bit on the side and desperately hopes Moon will pass on all the night’s gory details to Hope who feels her fiancé ‘lacks fervour’. As Evelyn (the master bungler of American words and phrases) publically declares he has ‘hot pants’ for Moon - the curtain falls and the plan appears to have reached a dead end.

Or so it seems. In actual fact the germ of a seed of a twinkle of a possible romance is blooming - between Lordy Lordy Saints preserve us Oakleigh and Littl’ Ole Miss Reno Sweeny. Watch this space!!! Meanwhile, back on deck, still blind and drunk, Whitney mistakenly proposes to the Purser

and Evangeline desperately searches for her missing Cheeky (her Pekinese pooch). Having stumbled across the mini mutt in the ship’s kitchen, the irate Purser grabs the nearest sailor and demands he finds Cheeky’s owner. Luckily for our pals, the aforementioned sailor is Billy in disguise; unluckily for Cheeky, Moon has a plan! Cue dodgy disguise No 2. ‘Growl, yelp, splash’ and the game is afoot! Loosely disguised as a cross between Sherlock Holmes, Father Christmas and Basil Fawlty, Billy manages to persuade ‘mumsie’ (Mrs H) that he is in fact the real Lord Evelyn Oakleigh and that the man posing as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh is in fact his crazy brother Edna, or Mona or something! Aided and abetted by Moon, dressed as a Kenneth Williams style butter fly catcher (???), they manage to convince her just as the hapless Lord strides on stage wielding the family heirloom - Excalibur. Mrs H faints, several sailors scream and a couple of passengers pass out with all the excitement and wish they had spent their holiday in the safety of their own backyard. Despite the fantastic dog hair beard disguise .....!???....Billy is unmasked... oh no... is it the end for Billy and Hope? Will Whitney blow a gasket when he realises that his broker has failed to sell those shares? Will Moon be transported back to Sing Sing? And I don’t mean the new one - I mean the old one? Oh no, my farce loving fellows, just as the two men are to be slung into the brig, in strides the courageous Captain, the charismatic Captain - the Captain who doesn’t know his reef knot from his half hitch. Clap in irons such two notorious gangsters? Not on his nelly! In a world of mixed up morals - where indeed

anything goes - these two men should be celebrated and celebrated they jolly well are! I think it’s about time for a bally good party don’t you? What Ho! A couple of full cast numbers and several thousand sequins later and Billy only goes and blows it all by fessing up. Moved by the sensuous sermonising of Reno and the Angels, Billy admits he is not really Snake Eyes Johnson and that he is on the ship to chase Hope. You fool! Still, his revelation comes after another humdinger of a confession - it seems that squeaky clean - stiff upper lip what ho rather - young Oakleigh here enjoyed an ‘unpremeditated romp in a rice paddy’ many moons ago. I say! You stinker! Good job Hope still wants to marry you, huh? After all that honesty Hope’s in a huff with Evelyn and Billy and Moon are in the brig. They are soon joined by Luke and John

- the not quite fully converted gamblers who since Act 1 have been running riot and cleaning out 1st class with their make shift casinos! Back in the posh cabins, Evelyn, spurred on by gin and his gypsy animal passions, declares his love for Reno - that’s great ‘cos Reno has had hot pants for him ever since the failed seduction plan in Act 1. Unfortunately for all involved, his British steadfastness means he won’t let Hope down even though that would actually suit everyone and the audience could get home in time for a nice hot chocolate and the late night repeat of ‘Corrie’. Reno visits the men in jail and tells them that she and Evelyn are in love with each other. The two failed gangsters desperately need to escape and sort out this god forsaken love quadrangle before Hope finally ties the knot with Mr Brit. To top it off, if Billy

has to listen to anymore of Moon’s warbling it might be violin cases at dawn. Oh sweet musical farce - if only they were Chinese. Why? Because they are getting out in an hour! Cue step 5 - the game of strip poker. Calling all pants, calling all pants! So, miraculously togged in Chinese hats and jackets, Billy and Moon, now in his final disguise as Wu Chan Moon, manage to halt the marriage proceedings just in time - phew! Somehow Reno has also managed to find herself a little Chinese frock, hat and fan - the things people leave in lost property aboard an American ocean liner these days, huh? And even more surprisingly, she manages to pass herself off as the daughter of Little Plum Blossom - the fruit of Evelyn’s ‘unpremeditated romp in a rice paddy’ way back... I say! You double stinker! How on earth does that help anyone I hear you cry?

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Well; Whitney offers to pay off these oriental wedding crashers, Moon is more than happy to take the cash but Billy, with his eye on the real prize, refuses to sell his Chinese honour. Hope - who quietly seems to have made sense of the unravelling fiasco (more than the audience has I am sure) –steps in with some female logic; to even the score, Evelyn must offer Hope to Plum Blossom’s relative, who is actually Billy.

Great stuff you clever young debutante you! Now everyone is happy and smiling and clapping and wailing... huh? Oh that’ll be Mrs H who, having lost a Lord for a son in law, thinks she will be forever poor. Ah, but you haven’t reckoned on good old Elisha Whitney, who - sober for the first time since setting sail dramatically proposes: after all, since his broker Billy (who is definitely not on the boat), has spent the last few days on Wall Street selling his failing shares in Amalgamated Prestoleum (and is definitely NOT ON THE BOAT) he is rich. Ooops a daisy! Billy comes clean, Whitney turns to his intended for comfort - Mrs H gives him the cold shoulder. Could there really be a sad ending to this most farcical of farces?

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Cue the Purser. As the luckiest of luck would have it, Amalgamated just went through the roof. Whitney is now a zillionaire! Hurrah! A triple wedding. Who’d a believed it?

So with such a farcical plot we needed a fairly hardy bunch of actors who were able to keep a straight face when confronted by a Santa Claus beard, a screaming sailor and an easy access brig (I’ll come back to that). We auditioned, we re-auditioned - we tried it every which way and we finally came up with a magnificent cast.

extraordinaire, was superbly portrayed by Aimee Fisher who danced, sang and acted with all the sparkle and energy of Mrs Harcourt’s complete jewellery collection - and that woman has some diamonds! She flirted with Billy to no avail; she pretty much took confession from the whole ship, half seduced an English Lord on the eve of his wedding, danced a tango, strutted, shimmied and skipped through the show dealing with heartbreak, drunken Englishmen and a rather large Chinese hat. Still, all good things come to those who wait and, like all good leading ladies, she finally got her man. And so to Evelyn, the debonair Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nostrum Fuglium Sentorum and so on and so forth. Robin Barrow’s debut performance as the lovable Lord brought the house down every evening. He stepped in it, sat on it, danced with it and threw caution to the winds as the gypsy was unleashed. He wore long johns, white socks, plus fours, a prince charming outfit and never flinched. He was the epitome of the English gentleman and wore his hot pants with pride. What a star!

Andy Samuels came into his own as the broken down broker - Billy Crocker. A smart suit, some fancy foot work and the Crocker croon provided an excellent leading man and a perfect partner to Miss Hope Harcourt the debutante, played with elegance and poise (and a cheeky little twinkle - oh yes don’t let her deceive you - Hope knows her Cognac from her Cointreau) by Megan Schubert. Miss Sweeny Reno, leading lady

Moonface Martin, Public Enemy

Number 13, the hopeless gangster, king of the dodgy disguise and the mysteriously disappearing machine gun was magnificently portrayed by resident comedian Joseph Hayward. Master of the witty one liner, Moon won the hearts of the audiences every evening. Moon smiled in the face of adversity and sang like the blue bird when banged up in the broke down brig. Oh look, no bars - there is something very wrong here! Faye Paterson emerged as Erma the sultry, sassy and sailorseducing gangster’s moll whose effect on the said sailors was downright hilarious. A great sidekick for Moon, Erma strutted her stuff on deck with all the glamour and pizzazz of a forties pin up girl. The handsome, yet somewhat misguided Captain of the SS American was created by Jonathan Hart. Jon had joined us last year and relished the opportunity to play a larger role. His portrayal of the Captain – who is on and off stage in nearly every scene was remarkable. A huge amount of comedy was derived from the contrast between the Captain’s quirky, carefree and chaotic approach to captaining and the super efficiency of his pragmatic Purser – Kelly Paterson. You don’t mess with the purser – she is the height of efficiency and decorum and kept not only the Captain in check but also had the arduous task of clearing the upper deck of stray Pekinese and dodgy Chinese convert gambler types.

Judith Holt as Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt represented the height of sophistication and style. She had it all: the poise, the jewellery, the debutante daughter, the future aristocratic son in law, the mega rich suitors – that was until Billy Crocker came on board and then it all went wrong. Judith depicted Evangeline’s descent into high class madness with charm and elegance. Not everyone still looks glamorous wearing 45 necklaces and a bright orange life jacket you know! That takes years of training.

Luke – Scott Place - and John – Jake Elcock - to run riot on board. Both Scott and Jake provided oodles of humour thanks to their larger than life personalities and their oversized Coolie hats.

Harry Westwood gave us Elisha Whitney – the Yale-loving, bulldogowning, whiskey-swigging business tycoon who loses a million and gains a zillion and a fiancée in the course of two acts. Virtually blind and a little worse for wear during most of his performance, Harry pulled off the bumbling, stumbling but ultimately generous business man with great energy and humour. The short–lived but expertly performed Minister Henry T Dobson was brought to life by Jonathan Petfield. He came, he converted and he was then carted off by two shady FBI agents, leaving his two Chinese converts

Many thanks to the reporters, the photographers, the sailors (large and small – screaming and none screaming), the FBI agents, the sinners, the ‘Eleven’ - of whom there were twelve and who later became known as the Americanettes, the panicking passengers, the late for dinner passengers, the ‘walking around on deck enjoying the evening passengers’, the posh lady in the wheel chair and the passenger who pushed her. All of these cast members turned up to scores of rehearsals, willingly ran screaming on and off stage until we were happy with the timing, rhubarbed and ad libbed during the crowd scenes, learned the dances, relearned them as we changed them and did as they were told when asked to put their names on

The prize for the first cast member to learn his lines and return his script goes to Fred the bar tender, otherwise known as Daniel Gill. His skills of cocktail crafting, Manhattan making and infinite bar polishing were second to none.

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their gloves/ hat/ collar/ shorts and so on and so forth. Elegance, crisp lines and the hint of a whiff of an ocean breeze please – this was the set designer’s brief and Dr Mottershead and his crew once again got the set ship shape in time for curtain up. Gallons of white and blue paint, yards of rather festive bunting and some generously donated scaffolding, mixed with Mottershead magic and a lot of hours of sawing, measuring, fixing and refixing, turned the stage into our home for the voyage. Creativity and ingenuity are the name of the game – and if you want real expert DIY tips, find out how they mended the bars on the brig on Friday! Many thanks to the crew and especially to Holly Winwood as assistant stage manager for once again braving the backstage, the Ager Room and the sound of 40 galloping actors as they realise they are not on the side they ought to be and don’t have much time to do much about it! Captain of the chord and the quaver, Mr Wass, kept his characteristic cool during the relentless rehearsal schedules. Doubtlessly fuelled by his bottomless bag of chocolate bars and a passion for show business, he managed to organise the ‘Joseph’ choir and the ‘Anything Goes’ cast concurrently with only a mild whiff of madness occasionally creeping in. Thanks to his hard work, creative cutting and sheer determination, the singing stirred us into the required frenzy by curtain up. PE teacher by day and

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choreographer by 4.30pm: Mrs Taylor turned our troupe of willing volunteers into a charlestoning, hip swinging, high kicking horde of designer dancers! It’s not everyone who can smile in the face of lyrics such as ‘You’re broccoli’ and still come up with the goods. We rehearsed on stage, in the auditorium, squished like sardines in the Ager Room (small steps everyone please we don’t want any injuries!).

two parts and all end at the same time - boo hiss you disbelievers!’), ‘Friendship’ (‘ok guys what can we do for ‘crack your spine’ anybody? Anybody? Oh well we’ll come back to it’) and ‘Anything Goes’ (‘ok sailors one last time!!!’) We also loved the ‘are we near the end yet Mr Wass?’ pages and pages of ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’. One number in every show had us tearing our hair out - 55 cast members, section A through to X to get through - minds are blank, cast is staring at us on stage ready to go. Don’t worry we can just build it up! Build it up! Several sessions releasing our inner gypsies went into choreographing and rehearsing one of the most comical dances in the production. When Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, the paragon of decorum, admits to something

We practised in classrooms, in courtyards, at home and in the garden in fact any patch of land over one square metre became a temporary rehearsal space! Oh the dedication. Mrs T’s trusty co-choreographers, Isabella Fisher and Harriet Hommers (aka Angels Charity and Chastity), were on hand to tighten up twirls and untangle confusing footwork and, as always, plenty of cast members offered their ideas during the rehearsals. Reno and the Angels were mesmerising in their show piece dances in ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’ while Andy Samuels swapped his break dancing for his step ball change in the Fred Astaire–esque ‘Easy to Love’ and ‘It’s De - Lovely’ alongside the ever graceful Megan Schubert as Hope. Whole cast highlights included ‘There’s No Cure like Travel’ (‘crisp, crisp, crisp!’), ‘Bon Voyage’ (‘ah yes you see we can sing in

‘dark and savage’ in his blood, the temperature begins to rise. Add to this a dozen dancing gypsies, jangly headdresses and a virtuoso bit of violin playing, the effect is hip-swayingly hypnotic! Erma and the sailors did their bit for Hollywood style glamour in the bravely choreographed ‘Buddy Beware’. Several hair-raising lifts and a domino effect ‘fall in’ later and the final song of the show drew sparklingly (and safely) to a close. Content in the knowledge that our stalwart cast had a fairly solid grasp of when to sway, when to turn and when to shimmy, Mrs Taylor whipped out her make-up brushes and shimmering eye shadow in order to transform our 21st century teenagers into

1930s’ chic. Thanks to her artistic talents, a crew of able volunteers and her ability to blank out the chaos around her while keeping the eyeliner straight, it wasn’t long before the cast emerged suitably coiffed, curled, slicked and sparkling ready for their audience. Red, white and blue was the order of the day for costumes, and Mrs Spencer was on hand to trim, take in, make and mend. We needed red hats and blue hats, beach shorts and braces, several sailor collars with spares, a couple of cassocks, a series of slinky, sequinned numbers, a gallon of gloves, wedding dresses, tailcoats, long johns and macs. With a cast of eclectic characters ranging from minister-disguised gangsters and super sassy showgirls to Chinese converts, English Lords and business tycoons, the list of costumes read like a fancy dress evening at the ambassador’s ball. ‘Ah Mrs Spencer, you’re really spoiling us...’ If it stood still long enough, it had sequins sewn on it and boy what a visual array of stylish magic and sparkle lay before us. Thanks to the hard work and imagination of Mrs Spencer and her creative costume guys, the captain, crew, purser and passengers were spruced up for sailing, dressed for dinner, suited, and booted for the weddings and decked out in more disguises than you could shake a pair of hot pants at. Neaters! The infamous properties triumvirate of Nash, Gwilt and Cooper once more took charge of such random requests as machine gun disguised as a violin, a wheel chair (not again!), an old fashioned camera (not again, again), a butterfly net, a comedy beard, a life jacket, a lobster, several dozen diamond necklaces and a couple of dodgy passports and some fake cash. Had any roaming CIA agents happened upon the College anytime in June there was a certain chance that the intrepid trio could have been

questioned... passports, cash, jewellery - dodgy disguises what kind of racket are they running here? Unfazed by the request for a bulldog dressed in a Yale sweater!!??? they smiled in the face of the following demand - a dog that can be shaved, to produce a beard that can be worn! No problem - with Mrs Gwilt wielding scissors, and a yard of white fur - Cheeky the Pekinese was successfully transformed into Cheeky the bald Pekinese every evening! Hurrah! (Please note no animals were harmed during the creating of this musical - check out the lobster!) Not to be outdone Mrs Nash, having contacted the agents of David Copperfield and Paul Daniels to no avail, set about making a trick set of cards. For days upon end you would spy her huddled in the corner of the library, the staffroom, sometimes even on the hockey pitch (just kidding!), stapling, sticking, cutting, threading, fighting with elastic bands until - Abracadabra - Eureka - thank blooming goodness - success was hers. Oh the magic of theatre! A huge thank you to everyone involved in our production of ‘Anything Goes’. Thanks to all the parents who collected, dropped off, made packed lunches, raided the charity shops for and then sat smiling through one or more (and sometimes all) of the performances and clapped like crazy in the curtain calls. Thanks also to the technical crews, Ms Stone and the front of house gang, Sonia and the caterers for packed teas, late teas and picnics, Alex for locking up and the cleaners for cleaning up especially after the Lower School

gala night! Special thanks to Dannii, Emma and Tamara for not abandoning ship when faced with the extra responsibility of helping Holly keep our cast afloat during the performances. And finally a huge thank you to the wonderful audiences without whom this show would have been deader than the Flying Dutchman! So, the SS American has reached her final port and the passengers, audience, sailors have disembarked. It’s time to hang up our hats and pack away our cases. Somewhere in ‘theatre imagination land’ Billy and Hope are raising orange trees and kids, Evelyn and Reno are tangoing in some castle in the Home Counties, Erma is brushing up on the ‘finer art of stoking’, Moon is polishing his Straddlevarius in the hope of moving up to No 12, the Captain and Purser are enjoying a well earned snifter in some B&B in Southampton and Elisha and Evangeline are trying to come to terms with a traumatised Pekinese by the name of Cheeky. Au revoir and Bon Voyage to the SS American and all who sailed in her! All over for another year. How do we do it I hear you cry? Why... ‘Brains guts and the world’s finest education!’ See you later elevator! M. D. Uttley

Upper School

Confessions of a Wardrobe Mistress

It’s that time of year again. Summer Term and the preparations for the summer musical are well on their way. Miss Uttley and Mrs. Taylor are performing daily miracles in rehearsing a cast so large it sometimes struggles to fit on our stage, which is actually quite a large one. Mr. Wass is rehearsing soloists and exercising extraordinary patience by playing the same bit of music over and over again as dances and movements are set and polished. Mrs. Gwilt, Mrs. Nash and Mrs. Cooper are tracking down the peculiar props that every production seems to demand. Dr Mottershead and his team are sawing things, hammering things and moving things. And then there’s me. Me, I’m the wardrobe mistress. Posher than it sounds, really. In large companies, a wardrobe mistress will have numerous specialists who make costumes, repair them and launder them. I have some lovely, helpful mums, who I would like to take this opportunity to thank, but on the whole the bulk of the job is down to me. So how does it happen then? A lot depends on the show, of course. Contemporary shows are easiest, as the pupils can bring clothing for themselves, but we don’t do many of those. Well, ok, we’ve done one - High School Musical. That involved cheerleaders and basketball players, so those were a bit specialised. For everything else, it’s buy it, make it or find it; find it should be the easiest of the three, but only if you haven’t seen

Upper School

my loft! My talented husband has built lots of storage, but the space constantly runs out as the costumes for one or two shows a year need to be stored safely. The ceilings are in imminent danger of collapsing. Buy it, then. Now as everyone knows, I’m a bit of a shopaholic, but even I can get all shopped out by the time I’ve finished a show. Birmingham Rag Market is an Aladdin’s cave of fabric, retro, second hand clothes and just about anything really. I’m also thinking of listing Matalan Clearance and Primark under the costume credits. EBay is also treasure trove - 50s dresses, fluorescent tights, 12 nurses’ uniforms, a rubber flying helmet and a set of long johns with vest being amongst my more recent purchases. Then there’s the sewing. Sewing involves patterns. I now have several hundred, many of them now out of print or vintage. I get most of them mail order from America, as they work out cheaper that way, but again, EBay is a source of vintage ones. I confess to rather a lot of fabric too. Well if you see it really, really cheap by the roll, you can’t not buy it, can you? Even if it is printed with the logo of a well-known car manufacturer! My husband, now retired, helps too. He initially cut things out, then progressed to using the sewing machine, and has now been promoted to the interlocker. For ‘Brenda Bly’ he made about 50 skirts; for ‘Anything Goes’ about 20 sailor collars and the same number of hats. If I take ‘Anything Goes’ as a typical production, it has involved making about 30 costume pieces from scratch and sourcing about a hundred or so more, often with significant alterations/ modifications/trimmings. Forgive me then if I get a bit snappy when someone says “Miss, this

is a bit loose on the waist”. The only thing worse than that is phenomenon known as the Black Country ‘wearzme?’ That involves sentences such as “Wearzme hat? or “Wearzme other shoe?” A colleague of mine once said to me, “Isn’t it a lot of work for a few nights’ performances?” He was right. It is. So why do we do it then? It’s certainly about teamwork. In an odd way, teaching is quite a solitary occupation, certainly as far as working with your colleagues is concerned. For the majority of the day we are in our own classroom, teaching, preparing or marking. Yes, we have pupils for company, but in a particular role, where relationships are constrained by the work we have to get through. The musical gives us the opportunity to work with our colleagues and pupils in a much more direct way, seeing sides of them we don’t perhaps see every day (metaphorically and physically - we do end up in some pretty strange positions sometimes!) Those last few days when my job is down to a few running repairs, plus the fun bits like wrapping presents, make it all worthwhile. I look at what the team has done and marvel at the skill and dedication of cast, crew, pupils and parents, and finally get to say “Ahhh, so that’s why we do it!” D Spencer

Extra Curricular Activities BBC News Report Day 26 March 2009 An exciting Enrichment project was undertaken by the whole of Year 9 in the Spring Term. In fact it was part of a national programme involving thousands of young people from more than 500 schools around the UK. Over the weeks the pupils were guided by Huw Edwards, the newscaster, on topics such as Finding News, Gathering News, Writing News, Assembling News, Ordering News, and Broadcasting News. Huw Edwards was keen to be involved because he values giving young people the chance to make the news themselves and to share the principles of good journalism with them. It certainly gave the pupils the chance to make their own news reports for a real audience.

Each of these skills was practised and finally culminated in the reports and bulletins for the online website on News Day itself. The budding reporters had two deadlines to hit. At 14.00 GMT, they broadcast to a real classroom audience and then at 16.00 GMT, their work went live on the school’s website. Some of the interviews were conducted by our pupils with celebrities such as Vikram Solanki, (captain of Worcestershire), Jez Moxey, the Chief Executive of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mel Ellis the MD of a High Ropes Course. Other personnel such as the local police, shopkeepers, parents and staff were interviewed on topics such as crime, smoking, healthy eating, climate change and school dinners. A few of our overseas pupils interviewed pupils from a school in Zimbabwe, learning about their average day at school and how it compared with that of ours at Tettenhall College. This enrichment project was thoroughly enjoyed by our Year 9 pupils, so much so that one pupil even composed a theme song specifically for it. The icing on the cake for the BBC News Report project itself was when the Royal Television Society Educational Television Awards also recognized what a valuable project it was and awarded it a prize for Innovation in Education.

D. Stone Head of Year 9

The Pizza Picnic Earlier on in the school year, four Year 8 pupils, Arun Kundy, Scott Place, Lewis Price and Laura Saul, went to Wolverhampton University to take part in the ‘Pizza Picnic’. Firstly we took part in a quiz in which Lewis won a Wolverhampton memory stick. Then we were mixed up and briefed on the task in hand We were asked to design a new pizza restaurant and show it to the

other groups and the teachers. We were then sent off to work. Mine and Arun’s group designed a pizza restaurant that sold slices of pizza as well as whole ones and we sold extra small pizzas for people who just wanted a quick bite. Our restaurant was located next to a cinema, with a door between them, so you could buy your pizza and then go to the cinema. Scott and Lewis’ group made ‘Mamma Mia Pizzas’! They had a ‘choose your own toppings’ area where you could choose as many and whatever toppings you like. In the end, neither of our groups won. The group that won had made a model of the inside of their restaurant and had a conveyer belt system like you get with sushi. Overall, we enjoyed the day very much!

Laura Saul

Career Champions! One day, six pupils from Years 7 and 8 were asked to take part in a nationwide scheme to educate children in Year 6 about secondary school life and how it affects their careers and the rest of their lives. We were educated about how we could become: Independent Enquirers; Team Workers; Self Managers; Reflective Learners; Effective Participators and Creative Thinkers. We were also taught various presentation skills. After we were taught we were sent away to do our research about the various jobs the Year 6s showed an interest in. These jobs were careers in: Finance (Lewis Price) Football (Rodrigo Alves) Law (Laura Saul) Showbiz (Catherine Wickens and Savreena Kaur) RAF (Scott Place) After weeks of gruelling research on our jobs we set off to do our

Upper School

presentations which were a huge success; we used all of the skills we had learned in our lessons and somehow managed to get the Year 6s listening intently on our various jobs. After a few weeks we returned to answer the Year 6s’ questions, which was once more a huge success. We also provided the Year 6s a friendly face for when they come up to Upper School. In conclusion we learned lots about the various skills we will need when we leave school. We also taught the Year 6s a lot about careers and we had a great time doing it!

Scott Place Career Champion

Expedition To Pacaya Samiria In Peru

This expedition to deepest darkest Peru was undertaken in order to observe, count and catalogue the unique bio-diversity in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in the Western Amazonian Rainforest, not to investigate Paddington’s origins. The idea for this scientific expedition was first proposed by Dr Sue Howarth and when she took up a new position away from Tettenhall College, the responsibility for organising it was passed on to me. However, Sue had not forgotten us and whilst no longer being a member of staff at the school, still came along, and I am very grateful for her invaluable help. Four intrepid Year 11 students

Upper School

(Elliott Cooper, Claire Kirkhope, Zoe Lewis and Joseph Tanton) met up at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 on the afternoon of August 4th for our flight to Sao Paulo. Alas, there are no direct flights from the U.K. to Peru and so via Brazil was the chosen route. Only a couple of hours in that confusing airport where your ticket, the information board and the personnel all tell you different things was enough. Onward to Lima where we were met by Mr Bullough’s sister-in-law who works in customs and had organised a taxi for us. The children all had a jumper, which was just as well, as it was mid-winter and the sky was grey. Two of Mr Bullough’s nephews had been pressganged into being our tour guides in Miraflores, the area of Lima where we were to spend the night. We all resisted the temptation to try the local speciality of guinea pig for dinner. Iquitos, W Peru Back to the airport and onto Iquitos, in western Peru which is a city of some 500,000 people in the middle of the jungle that grew out of the rubber boom in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century; a boom that when it was at its height saw rubber barons accrue huge fortunes. Some of the architecture in Iquitos reflects this, such as the Iron House built by Gustav Eiffel for the World Fair in Paris, bought by a visiting rubber baron and shipped up the Amazon to Iquitos and reassembled in the main square where it still stands today. Iquitos is a bizarre place. It is not connected by road to the rest of Peru; everything has to be either shipped by river or flown in. The city and its people do not fit with the image that comes to mind for many of us when we think of Peru, when we think of the Andes and the Incas. However, the Amazonian rainforest accounts for approximately 60% of Peru, as a local was quick to point out.

We spent a night in Iquitos and finally in the morning, from the hotel roof, we could get our first glimpse of the Amazon, already more than half a kilometre across even though it had well over 1,000 kilometres to go before it reached the Atlantic Ocean. River Journey We took the only road in Western Peru to Nauta where finally we boarded our boat, the Clavero, the oldest boat on the Amazon. There followed a day and a half motoring upstream, zig-zagging in order to avoid the sand banks. The first night we moored up earlier than planned as a tropical storm was heading in our direction. The rainfall was tremendous and we anticipated experiencing many more like it and getting good use of our ponchos that we had all bought especially for the trip. It did not rain again until the return journey. Instead it was just humid and hot, hot, hot; 40 degrees, accompanied by high humidity, insects and no air conditioning. As we progressed upriver we had a series of meetings with the Principal Investigator for the Pacaya-Samiria bio-diversity project, Dr Richard Bodmer. He informed us of what they were trying to do there, what our part was, as well as the hisory of Iquitos, the history of the boat and the daily routines on the boat. We quickly learnt that the generator only came on from 5 till 10, that the toilet was flushed by filling a bucket with river water and tipping it in and that showers would also be in cold river water. The Samiria river is particularly rich in bio-diversity as it is

what is known as a “clean” or “black” river. It looks like tea, as opposed to the “white” rivers in the Amazonian rainforest which look pale brown. As soon as we entered the river mouth of the Samiria we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of wading birds in flight - egrets, herons and neotropical cormorants. We were also greeted, much to the children’s delight, by pink nosed river dolphins that seemed to surround the boat. Day 6 - Our Research Begins Finally, on the sixth day of our odyssey we began our research. There were also 40 undergraduate students on the Samiria collecting data that is then used by the biologists for their research. Five of the students joined us so that they could continue their data collection near to the mouth of the Samiria, which was where we were to be based. The activities available to the students were: dolphins, wading birds, macaws, jungle transect, fishing and caimans. I was required to select a morning and evening activity each day for them at the previous evening’s meeting. It was my intention that they did everything and they did. Activities Dolphins involved going in a boat on a chosen transect and recording how many pink and/ or grey dolphins you saw and whether they were they resting, fishing or playing. Wading birds and macaws was similar in that a river transect, measured with GPS was undertaken, but the wading

birds were on the banks and the macaws in the air. The jungle transect meant getting a canoe made from a tree trunk with an outboard on it upriver and then walking through the jungle for one and a half kilometres recording what was seen and measuring the distance from the transect. Unfortunately no giant river otters, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, ant eaters, armadillos or large monkeys were spotted, but toucans, tayras, squirrel monkeys, woodpeckers, otters, lizards, capuchin monkeys, turtles and a huge osprey were. The fishing involved putting out a net and catching fish, which were then measured and weighed and returned to the water, most of the time. It also meant waiting an hour or so, which allowed the children to fish with fishing rods consisting of a stick with a line and hook. Everyone managed to catch something, though the girls had the most success catching piranhas and catfish. The Caimans involved getting in a boat after dinner in the pitch black and going upriver shining a huge light on the riverbanks looking for caimans’ eyes. Once spotted the variety was noted: black, white or dwarf, the age and

Upper School

size estimated and then Alfredo, our fearless local guide, just leaned over the side and caught it with his bare hands. Seen for the first time this is quite literally unbelievable, and he seemed fearless. Each activity was accompanied by a local biologist (Maria or Antonio) and by a local guide from the nearby village of Bolivar (Alfredo or Euclides), none of whom spoke English, so I spent my whole time translating. What other groups without a Spanish speaker in the party did I have no idea. After being there for a week we all went to visit the village of Bolivar, so as to understand how the locals lived and to understand how the biological research was working hand in hand with the local Cochama people to employ some as guides, but also to allow them to continue entering the reserve for subsistence hunting and fishing. Both Alfredo and Euclides invited us into their huts, Euclides had even prepared some food for us - fish smoked in banana leaves and boiled green banana, which tastes like potatoes. Everyone was greatly amused to discover that Euclides had six children and the youngest was called Harry Potter! On returning from the village we celebrated Joe’s 16th birthday with balloons, jelly and a cake made especially by the kitchen ladies in their cramped galley. The journey back down river was easier as we went with the flow. We all dreamed of a better diet, dishes without rice, breakfasts that looked like breakfasts, not sardines and rice. So it was that back in Iquitos we went and sat on the balcony of Eiffel’s Iron House and ordered riceless dishes whilst watching the frenetic activity of the rickshaws below. We left Iquitos and in Lima airport this time the children made a beeline for a certain American fastfood chain’s outlet. On the back of virtually no sleep we arrived in Sao Paulo with 16 hours to kill. Fortunately I had arranged to meet my friend Joao Paulo in Sao Paulo and he acted as tour guide in the crazy city where favelas, tall buildings and traffic dominate. Oh well better than sitting in the airport. Back to Heathrow safe and well. Zoe, remarkably, was never bitten, myself and Joe were bitten nearly 200 times by mosquitos, horse flies and wasps. No snakes fortunately, only one tarantula, and a rat in my cabin. All in all we got off lightly. J Higgs

Upper School

The Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme The academic year 2008 – 2009 has seen growing interest in the D of E Award Scheme. The Scheme has changed a little over the years in order to reflect the changing nature of the society that we live in. However, it is still viewed by employers and academic institutions as the premier personal development scheme. The Bronze qualifying expedition in November took place in the ancient county of Radnorshire, nestling on the south Shropshire border with Wales. The area is renowned for its unspoilt beauty and wildlife, red kites being a common sight on the heather clad moor lands. The group: Holly Winwood, Claire Kirkhope, Laura Pringle, Jo Tanton, Elliott Cooper and Stuart Jones, all passed in conditions that can only be described as adverse; a fine sunrise followed a night of gales and storms, only to be quickly replaced by hail, sleet and then snow, driven by gale force winds. The group camped at Brandy House Farm, Felindre, where a warm welcome is guaranteed for those walking Glyndwr’s Way or pony trekking in the area. Members of Year 10 completed their practice expedition in July in the Long Mynd area. They enjoyed good weather and managed to maintain a lively sense of humour on the hills in the area. My thanks go to Abi, Claire, Carol and Graham who helped to ensure that no one went adrift and that the expedition was a great success. The challenge for 2009 – 2010 now lies for those successful Bronze candidates to progress to Silver and to extend their expedition menu beyond pot noodle. Mr Robert Ellmore D of E Award Coordinator

Ski Trip To Stowe, Vermont In December 2008 A group of 65 staff and students from Year 6 in Lower School all the way up to Year 11 in Upper School went on a trip to remember to New York City and Stowe, Vermont in December 2008. The idea was to combine a skiing trip with the opportunity for some sightseeing in New York en route. After a long and tiring journey the party arrived at the Hilton Garden Hotel in New Jersey in time for a meal and much needed sleep. The following morning the excited students left the hotel to travel into New York City, into the heart of Manhattan. Most of them had not visited New York before and seeing the places that TV and film had made so familar was, for many, the highlight of the week.

Sightseeing in New York A walk in Central Park was followed by our whirlwind sightseeing tour to Ground Zero, the Flatiron building, Broadway, The Statue of Liberty, Fifth Avenue. Then we went up the

Empire State, an unforgettable experience, hopefully not for the lengthy queue, which at the time may have seemed endless for some.

Ski Resort - Stowe, Vermont We then headed north; it was late when we arrived at the excellent Commodores Inn in Stowe, Vermont, just up the road from Ben and Jerryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ice cream headquarters, where many of the students would visit with Mrs Trump on the last day. The children who had attended the previous ski trip to France 18 months before were amazed by the facilities available to them. A swimming pool, jacuzzi, games room and more importantly, a restaurant, serving a wide variety of food with something for everyone.

The ski fitting was done in a most efficient manner the following morning at the golf club and was again a vast improvement on our gallic experience. The fact that the instructors spoke the same language as the students made them immediately more comfortable and they were all soon in their groups on the slopes. Lunch was taken in the huge base lodge where a British Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Menu was available. Stowe is a superb resort with something for everyone. There are plenty of nursery slopes, intermediate slopes and on Mount Marshall more testing terrain with its famous front four, as the snowboarding Ben Houghton and Mr Bullock soon discovered. It was also extremely cold on the top there as Mr Trump and I discovered one day. Stowe is a very picturesque New England town, in fact it is the town where the Von Trapps settled after

Evening activities included Bowling, swimming and disco dancing.

Upper School

NASA Visit March 2010

In March 2010, 23 students from Years 9-13 will be visiting the John F. Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. This centre is NASA’s Spacepor technology cenre. It is from the KSC that astronauts are sent to the moon and someday will be sent to Mars and beyond. These days NASA is launching astronauts into low Earth orbit aboard the space shuttle, their mission to build the space station and perform experiments to improve life on Earth.

leaving Europe and some of their descendants still live there today. Many of the students walked up the road to explore the town, though many also discovered that there was a pizza shop almost next door to the hotel. As the week progressed the skiing became more challenging and the beeper began beeping. The first casualty was Ibrahim Quddoos; a taxi ride to the family doctor’s practice in Copley and a long wait revealed that nothing was broken, but a lot of paperwork was filled in. I was to be there again the following day with Thomas Isgar. The day after, Courtney Hawkins fell, but fortunately an x-ray was not required. On the final day Alex Kibble needed to attend the hospital, this time with Mr Trump. They were the walking wounded, but thankfully not a break between them, just some crutches, airsocks and x-rays as mementoes.

Blizzards in Massachusetts The final day’s skiing over, we awoke early for the eagerly anticipated journey home with a stop off at the retail outlet mall north of New York. As we headed south it began snowing and by the time we were in Massachusetts it was a blizzard. The buses slowed

Upper School

to a virtual halt and cars littered the sides of the road where they had slid into the central barrier or the roadside ditch. As we progressed at a snail’s pace it became apparent that the shopping bonanza would have to be foregone. In fact after battling through the snow and ice for nearly 12 hours we only just made it in time to JFK for the return flight. The only shopping available now was in the terminal before we boarded the red-eye to London. Exhausted children were brought safely back to their parents after an arduous journey and many I know slept for a long long time that weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of staff who came along, helping to make it so unforgettable and successful.

Mr J Higgs

Our students will be looking at many aspects of these missions including:• Astronaut training experience • SeaWorld and how it strives to conserve endangered species, the KSC itself is set amongst the largest conservation zone in the USA. • NASA’s planetarium and observatory • Historic Apollo 1 launch sites • How astronauts adapt to survive in space This is just a brief overview of the activities the students will participate in. Watch this space to see just how our budding astronauts coped with their mission to NASA’s headquarters.

V O’Neill

House Reports

Bantock House House Staff: S Lawrence, PE Evans, J Higgs, V Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill, G Raine, J Taylor House Captains: Emma Dawson, Liam Green

previous injury/health issues and rise like a phoenix to achieve a much higher level. Participating and being able to work with each other co-operatively and harmoniously is the main thrust of our House competitions and I know that this criteria has been met in our House with the stoic efforts of all concerned. I hope that we can build on our successes and take up the challenge next year to achieve even more.

S. Lawrence

Haydon House

Well here we are again with our end of year report and before I comment further on our achievements I would like to offer my sincere thanks to House Captains Emma Dawson and Liam Green who have worked long and hard throughout the year in order to arrange House teams.

House Staff: J Gwilt, S Blake, P Bullough, A Dyer, R Ellmore, G Whitmore.

We have a low number of girls in our house and because of injuries and illness, participation in team games has proven difficult for us again this year. To highlight our difficulties the statistics are as follows: 4 girls in Years 8, 9 and 11, 3 girls in Year 7 and only 2 in Year 10 and the Lower Sixth.

This has been another good year for Haydon. Our House is typified by people willing to take part in events and by very positive and hardworking House Captains. Despite being short of sufficient pupils to fill all of the events on Sports Day, so many people ran or jumped in their maximum events that we scored really well. Sports Day alone though is not the whole picture. A number of Sports events which normally run throughout the year did not take place, and this lessened our opportunities to excel. Thank you though, to all who contributed. Remember that it really is the taking part that matters, since just by competing, you win points for the House.

Despite our obvious problems with participants, the girls have been incredibly heroic in their efforts this year, particularly Laura Hall, Harriet Broadhurst and Charlotte Darby. However, we have had some good performances this year in Hockey, Football and excellent effort on Sports Day when Lauren Hall and George Southall performed well. We won numerous individual events but have not fared well in the House cup I extend my thanks and appreciation to all those students who tried so hard this year and represented the House. We are hopeful that this coming year we can overcome any

House Captains: Andy Samuels, Kelly Paterson. Deputy House Captains: Josh Thornton, Faye Paterson, Danielle Tatton.

Interestingly, though, this positive attitude was not able to help us much in the Culture category. House Music was removed from the events and although Haydon produced the only Art contribution involving more than a very few people, we still came 4th! House Performing Arts however, was

true to form with a whole series of outstanding performances which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to all who took part in either category. Work points are awarded on the basis of effort grades. The better your effort grades, the more points you earn for the House. Poor grades lose points though, which is unfortunate. I am still rather disappointed that there are no work points collected from the 6th Form since they receive no grade cards. A good number of 6th Form Haydonites worked really well last year and would have earned us some valuable points. All in all this has been a really good year, even though we just missed out on the big prizes. Thank you to all the pupils who gave of their time and effort to keep us so close to the Top Spot, and to all of the Staff who helped and encouraged. We are really close to getting back into contention and I am looking forward to competing next year.

J Gwilt

Nicholson House House Staff: M Leighton, B Smith, D Spencer, D Stone House Captains: Frances Southall, Alex Styles The aim of the House system is to promote and encourage participation in numerous extracurricular activities. The key to success for any team is to make sure that everyone can contribute and play a part no matter how small. Points are gained and accumulated in numerous cultural, sporting and academic events. It would be wrong to single out individuals for praise in this report for it is the willingness to take part that matters; winning is secondary to participation. For example the individual who steps forward on Sports Day for the 1500 metres, a race that not many wish to do, finds themselves

Upper School

getting the loudest and heartiest support from those watching. The quiet individuals who take pride in their work and earnestly seek to improve their learning are rightfully rewarded with stars; likewise the musician, the actor, the artist, the swimmer, the audience. In the scheme of things everyone does contribute and if Nicholson win overall it is important that they had fun doing so.

Mark Leighton

Pearson House

Members of Staff: C. Cooper, A Bland, J Bullock, A. A. Ridyard, R. Samra House Captains: Kimberley Varaich and Jonathan Hart Congratulations, we have won the Cock House Cup. All the members of the House should be really pleased with themselves. The main highlight of the year was the Talent Show. Kimberley Varaich and Joseph Hayward put a lot of work in so that we had members of the House performing their Disturbia Dance. It was just a shame that only a few Pearson pupils took part as the dance was very good. Joseph Hayward and Aimee Fisher won the best performers’ prize which is a great achievement. Sports Day was another great event. We won a number of races and were fighting for first place with Haydon right until the last few events. Unfortunately we missed out on winning, but the pupils did really well in their events. There are a number of sports events that we won as well, swimming and netball to name but a few. It was another successful year overall and under the leadership of Joseph Hayward, we will do our best to remain as champions next year.

Mrs C Cooper

Upper School

Sixth Form

The Sixth Form

This has been a year of transition and change for the Sixth Form at Tettenhall College. We welcomed Mr Dyer as assistant Head of Year as Mr Bullough took on new responsibility in Year Nine. Year 12 pupils got to grips with several new AS level specifications which incorporate two modules (rather than the existing three) in the AS year. As always, we endeavour to equip the Sixth Form with vital skills and knowledge, both in their academic studies and in preparation for the wider world or higher education or work. One such venture is the highly popular Peer Mentoring Scheme which encourages sixth form pupils to take on the role of mentor to other pupils in the school. The scheme involves a period of training, enabling the pupils to explore communication skills and body language and to understand the importance of effective listening, responding and recording of meetings.

Preparation for University Preparation for University entrance continues to be monitored under the watchful eye of the personal tutors and this guidance is enhanced in the Summer Term via a series of UCAS presentations both in school and at the University of Birmingham. This annual visit to a thriving campus university gives the Year 12 pupils a student’s eye perspective on University life, accommodation and finance along with many vital tips for creating a successful personal statement, application and interview.

In July, all Year 12 students attend the Higher Education Fair at Aston University - an excellent event offering pupils access to a wealth of information from a vast array of universities, colleges, courses and careers. Specially tailored talks on student finance, Oxbridge entrance, student life and further information on the UCAS process and application enable Year 12 to begin their application fully informed and equipped. Individual pupils have taken advantage of a variety of university open days, residential medical courses and specialised Oxbridge entrance conferences and meetings in order to gather further information and experience for completing their applications in September.

Post Exam Activities Year 12 Leadership Training ‘Navy Day’ Post exam activities aimed at exploring leadership and group work saw Year 12 working alongside the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in a variety of physical, mental and teamwork challenges. Activities included Marine Observation stances, NASA’s Crash on the Moon discussion, assault courses, rope puzzles, tyre stacking and bridge building. It is always very

revealing to observe the reactions of the pupils as they encounter unusual or apparently confusing situations. In all cases the most successful pupils listen, observe and respond. The session was completed by an extremely entertaining and enlightening display of unarmed combat and the infamous crash mat relay race which always brings the house down.

Sixth Form Induction Days After a highly successful open evening in January we looked forward to welcoming the current Year 11 and several newcomers to the Sixth Form induction days in June. During the ‘Taster Day’ pupils sampled a wide range of Sixth Form lessons and had the opportunity to discuss subjects, courses and many other aspects of Sixth Form life with current staff and pupils.

Aerial Ropes Challenge Thanks to last year’s highly successful visit we once again headed off to Baggeridge Country Park, the home of ‘Closer to the Edge Aerial Ropes Adventure,’ for a day of personal and team challenges. True to its name, Closer to the Edge (and boy do you feel close to the edge when you are 45 feet up in the air!) challenges the pupils both as a member of a team and as individuals via a series of activities enabling them to push their limits within an extremely engaging and safe outdoor environment. Ice breakers and ground level team challenges warmed everyone up ready for the adrenalin surge of the Obstacle Traverse, the High All Aboard, the Totem Pole Challenge and the Crate Stack. And what better way to celebrate your success

than descending via the 70 metre Zip Line or the Parachute Fan Descender? For some the day presented real personal challenges, for others it was a chance to imagine they really were starring in Mission Impossible 4! However, for everyone involved it was a chance to let off steam, bond as a group and succeed via the encouragement and support of others As we look forward to the arrival of a new cohort of Year 12 pupils and the new Year 13 prepare for their final year, we wish a wholehearted ‘thank you’ to Liam Green, Jonathan Hart, the Leadership Team and the prefects for their hard work, dedication and support over the past year. Good luck to all our leavers in whatever the future holds.

MD Uttley

Upper School

Boarding Houses

Thorneycroft Girls’ Boarding House A former boarder who came to see me recently commented that Thorneycroft had changed so much since she had left. She liked the new colour scheme, the homely atmosphere and the new pieces of furniture! The common room was entirely re-decorated last summer and we have all enjoyed its brighter feel. The next area of improvement is to use the study corridor as an exercise area since it had to be emptied to pass the Fire regulations. A few girls were inspired by this wide and quiet space and it has now been renamed the Yoga corridor. I sat very proudly as Housemistress on Prizegiving day when eight girls won a variety of prizes; that was approximately a third of them. Well done! The year has been filled by many outings and speakers. We have started attending the free lectures organised by Wolverhampton University; they range from The Influence of IT on our lives, to The Evolution of the Legal System. The most moving one was the address of a Holocaust survivor, who conveyed his faith in Humankind in a powerful manner. The girls have enjoyed full House outings and I must confess to taking a liking to the Karaoke at the local Chinese restaurant! Hopefully there will be more singing and laughter this year. Helene Compain-Holt Housemistress

Upper School

Yoga During the winter term Mrs. Compain-Holt decided to organise a Yoga evening. Immediately we were against the idea as we related it to something older women, such as our mums and grandmas, would take part in. However she reassured us that it would be ‘a good experience’ and allow us to ‘relax’ so we decided to give it a go. When we got there, candles were lit around the outskirts of the room and as soon as we entered the room there was a feeling of relaxation and calmness that washed over us. Most of us realised that we weren’t as flexible as we thought which added humour to the exercises. At first Mrs. Compain-Holt tried to remain serious however, she also broke into laughter, but we did all manage to control ourselves and stay focused. Once calm we became more confident with the routine. At the end we all felt extremely relaxed and ‘sleepy’. We were glad that we were able to have this experience and now know how to relax before exams or other stressful situations which we will all face throughout our schooling and future careers. Faye Paterson

Visit to Birmingham Hippodrome to ‘Flashdance’ In February 2009 a few of us from the Girls’ Boarding House planned to go to on a relaxing afternoon outing to see ‘Flashdance,’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome; however, the beginning of the trip was far from that! Arriving at the train station only one minute before the train was about to depart was the start of the nightmare. As the train stopped at Birmingham New Street station, we rushed off the train, unsure of exactly which direction we were supposed to be heading. Therefore there was quite a bit of panic as it was apparently 15 minutes away and we only had 5 minutes before the performance began. After sprinting through the streets of Birmingham, whilst receiving very strange looks and getting extremely out of breathe, we just made it on time. The show itself was amazing and we all sang along to ‘What a feeling.’ In the end the trip was a complete success and we all had a fantastic time! Kelly Paterson

Boys’ Boarding House It has finally dawned on me that this is the final time I shall be writing anything as Housemaster of School House at Tettenhall College and that my time at the College has finally come to an end after seven years and a term! I suppose that I should take this opportunity to reflect, not only on the past twelve months, but also over my entire time in post. I should like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their extremely kind words and generous gifts. It has been a very humbling experience over the last few weeks of term as it has been commented, on a number of occasions, that I seem to have had more ‘leaving do’s’ than anyone! I suppose it hadn’t really occurred to me that my moving on was going to become such an event, but both my family and I have been made aware that the people of T.C. may miss us! On that note, I must thank everyone who has made my period of tenure to look like the swan on the water; parents, guardians, staff in all areas, and most importantly the boys. I should thank, particularly, the Headmaster who had the clarity of thought and ‘bottle’ to appoint me in the first place, afforded me the opportunity to take up the post. As with all appointments, mine was a gamble, particularly as I had not had any previous experience in the boarding environment! To use a cliché, ‘I wouldn’t be where I am today……’ We continue to have a rich and diverse community with boys coming to us from farflung countries, some of which were new to the House for me. Vietnam provided two young men for the Lower Sixth and

(‘Grub’s up!’ – Chinese New Year meal)

they settled-in well and provided wish them luck in whatever they another challenge for me in do and hope, always, Finally, I’d like to wish Mr Matt Jackson, his wife and son everyas success and they happiness as they join the House. I’m sure he will receive the same degree of time support terms of communication and will think fondly of their in and derive as much enjoyment and satisfaction from the role of Housemaster as I we had a number of amusing School House. have. incidents at the beginning of the There were a good number of academic year where one side events and activities that took J Petfield or the other didn’t quite grasp place throughout the year. Trips what the other was alluding to! to Cheshire Oaks, paintballing, The House was, again, blessed the cinema, ice skating, and with a reliable and dedicated golf was an improvement on Head of House in Liam Green the previous year and it was who, for the first time for me, pleasing to see that more of the was also Head School Prefect. House participated. The annual In fact, such was the calibre of Christmas lunch was a great boys in the House, the Deputy success and, I hope, will have Head Prefect Jon Hart, was also established a few ‘traditions’ one of the House Prefects. Liam which will be maintained in the was ably assisted by Tony Wong future. We also had a fabulous and Josh Brown. Together they time preparing and cooking a developed the role and status meal to celebrate Chinese New of the House Committee, which Year. augurs well for the future. Liam Finally, I’d like to wish Mr Matt also organised and managed Jackson, his wife and son every the House Prefects well and, on success and happiness as they the whole, they performed their join the House. I’m sure he will duties effectively and reliably. receive the same degree of I should like to thank all the support and derive as much Prefects for their support and enjoyment and satisfaction from wish them all every success for the role of Housemaster as I the future. Many of them, like have. me, will be moving to pastures J Petfield new, as will others from the House for various reasons. I

Upper School

Boys’ Boarding House My final year in the boarding house has been a good one. From day one in September to the final term in the summer, a diverse and ever changing community has ensured that the House has never been boring. Trips were frequent and although there was varied participation, there is one in particular that stood out for a number of reasons. In May this

year we embarked on a House paint balling trip with fantastic success. The whole of the boys’ House was in attendance and even some girls ventured out for the day! And it was all going so well until, in the final game, Hiroto’s heroic efforts ended in a particularly messy affair. Despite this, he was in the best of spirits and safe to say all was well not long after. The staff at Warped were fantastic, as were the paramedics in attendance, and this ensured a good end to the day. Another of the stand-out events of the year was the surprise leaving party for Mr. Petfield from the boarding community on Father’s Day. Even with the involvement of so many people, it was fantastic to see that on the day he didn’t have any inkling as to the occasion, on the most appropriate of days. For that, I owe a massive thank you to Mr. Bullock, the catering team and all the boarders who helped make that day memorable. Mr. Petfield, on behalf of all the boarders, we cannot thank you enough for all the work and effort that you have put into this place over the past 7 years. Good luck in your new school and in the future! I think that it is hard to sum up such an eventful place in so few words, yet the memories of all here will stick with us for a very long time. I look forward to retuning in the future and I wish Mr. Jackson every success with a place that has helped so many people be what they are today. Josh Brown and Tony Wong were voted as the new Heads of House and I wish them the best of luck during the next year with the incoming Mr. Jackson, the new Housemaster. Liam Green Head of House

Upper School

Au Revoir, Mr. Petfield The first of several leaving parties was held for Mr. Petfield on Sunday, 21st June. Given Mr. Petfieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prowess at the sport, the cricket pavilion was an appropriate venue. The boarders, along with boarding staff and nurses, prepared a superb barbecue to mark his departure. For her part, Mrs. Petfield had convinced her husband they were going out for a quiet Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day lunch. On arrival he was greeted with warm applause; both his surprise and joy were evident, thereby setting the tone for a most enjoyable afternoon. Head of House, Liam Green, and Jon Hart, Deputy Head of House, presented the honoured guest with a framed photograph of all the current boy boarders. This was to be the first of several gifts he received. In return Mr. Petfield spoke warmly and with good humour of his time at Tettenhall College. Everyone wished him, Mrs. Petfield and Jonathan good luck. The afternoon was passed in pleasant conversation about the lighter side of boarding, as well as plans for the summer holidays. Later there were impromptu games of cricket and rounders. Each of us will have our particular memory of Mr. Petfield; for some that will be on the cricket field and for others in the classroom. For many boarders it will be as a special Housemaster. H Compain Holt

Upper School

Library

A Year in Tettenhall College Library The library has seen another year speed past with visits from bears, spy dogs and cruise ships!

The Drive School at the Library Years 1 and 2 continued to visit the library on a Tuesday afternoon for a story session and crafts. The classes enjoyed tales of aliens, super babies, mixed up fairy tales and class eating snakes!

Lower School at the Library The library continued with the programme of weekly reading lessons for Years 3 to 5 and pupils and staff alike have enjoyed tales of ghost hunters, the invisible man’s socks, secret agent dogs and tales of magic pens that make clothes disappear! The Spy Dog stories by Andrew Cope have proved to be very popular, so as a special library treat a visit by Andrew was arranged and he came to tell the pupils all about the real life Lara and how the stories were written. He gave the Lower School some good advice about being happy in life and told them to always enjoy reading. He was very impressed with the pupils and their imagination and he even posted a Thank You to the pupils on Youtube.

Kindergarten and Reception’s Friday afternoon story times are as popular as ever and they have encountered aliens, dinosaurs, gorillas called Vincent and Daisy, the girl who won’t eat her peas, despite her mom’s bribes! The Drive school visited the library as part of the Macmillan Coffee Morning and purchased books and cakes. They also visited the Action Aid Bring and Buy Sale. World Book Day activities for The Drive focused on the Nonsense theme and they discovered all about crazy elephants made of jelly and designed their own Willy Wonka chocolate bars. In June the annual Bring Your Bear to School Day took place and the Library was transformed into an amazing place for a bear hunt. Using the famous children’s book ‘We’re all going on a Bear Hunt’ the library had long swishy grass, cool water, deep snow and a cave to walk through before the pupils were chased back home by the bear. It was great fun for all and the nursery children were the bravest bear hunters ever!

Drive School library successful bear hunters

Upper School

Hallowe’en turned the library into a scary place with lots of scary tales and ghostly facts. The pupils discovered how to tell if your teacher is a werewolf or a vampire. Unfortunately for Mr Kay and Mr Foster they both seemed to match the criteria! The Library took part in the Lower School Science week in November and each Year group visited for a Space Race quiz. The activities were enjoyed by all and the library staff brushed up their astronomy knowledge. World Book Day in March saw a week of events for all Lower School Year groups, as well as a very successful book sale. The theme was ‘Nonsense’ and the Year 5 pupils enjoyed a game of Call My Bluff, which saw Mrs Liddle and Mrs Gallant and some Sixth Formers try to persuade the classes that their definitions of the nonsense words were genuine. Years 3 and 4 enjoyed a backwards quiz, complete with backwards name badges for the contestants!

May saw the Lower School House Competition take place and once again the Library was the venue for activities for all Year groups. As the theme was ‘House’ there were questions about famous addresses, guess who lives here and animal homes. All the points went towards the winning of the House Cup, so there was a strong competitive spirit! The year of class activities was completed by the Cruise or Lose sessions, which coincided with Lower School’s visit to see the Upper School Musical ‘Anything Goes’, which is set on a cruise ship. The pupils were checked on board from the passenger list as they entered the library and each team answered questions on the Titanic, musicals and items you would find on a cruise ship. The champions of the whole school were the Year 4 team of Millie Gambone, Adam Inglett, Poppy O’Hara, Harry Lawton and Rebecca Roberts with a score of 73 points. Lunchtime activities for Lower School continued throughout the year, with half-termly editions of the newspaper being produced, which this year included exclusive interviews with Alan Shearer and Ricky Hatton, courtesy of the reporting skills of Mark Saul. Poppy O’Hara and Lauren Pataki also interviewed some of the cast members from ‘Evita’, to get an insight into life on the stage. The book club read the ‘Secret of Platform 13’ by Eva Ibbotson and ‘Kaspar Prince of Cats’ by Michael Morpurgo. Crafts were made for all the special occasions throughout the year and the Fantastic Friday Bingo Club still proved to be a massive hit with the pupils.

Upper School at the Library Regular class visits to choose books continue in Year 7 and 8 and the same Year groups visited for information skills as part of their enrichment programme. They were given a secret agent code to crack using the books in the library and it looks like there are some potential James Bonds amongst them. EFL students used the library to research projects on London and also to research endangered animals. They produced some amazing PowerPoint presentations on why their chosen animal should be saved. The winning animal was the Bengal Tiger and a donation was made to the charity supporting the preservation of this great species. The library is greatly indebted to the small band of helpers, who take on some of the small library jobs everyday. These helpers include Joe Tanton, Zoe Lewis, Arun Kundi, Zach Oakley, Scott Place and Joe Proffitt. There has been an increase in the number of books being borrowed throughout the school and this is an added bonus. The Twilight series of books have been popular with female readers and the Robert Muchamore Cherub series proving to be well liked by the male readers.

Overall it has been a great year for activities and reading. The pupils have learned plenty of new facts (the staff too!) and it may be difficult to top this year but the library will surely rise to the challenge as always! D Liddle

Lower School Library Martin & Nikki from the cast of Evita

Upper School

Charities

Charity Update It has been another satisfying year on the charity side of things. The pupils and staff have managed to support many varied charities throughout the year and the total raised is £3263.00 The charities which have benefited are:Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer Care Campaign, Children in Need, Compton Hospice, Royal British Legion, Autism West Midlands, Unicef, Action Aid, New Cross Hospital Children’s Ward, Hitch 09, Guide Dog Sponsorship Scheme Green Meadow Animal Sanctuary, NSPCC, The Good Shepherd Appeal for the Homeless, Comic Relief, Bring Your Bear to School Day, Help for Heroes, Sunnyside Kennels, British Heart Foundation, Victa and Lepra. Over 175 boxes were sent to Kurdistan as part of the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Appeal. Mr Leighton has organised Years 7 and 8 to support Action Aid by sponsoring two children in developing countries and money has been raised for this by Years 7 and 8 through a Bring and Buy sale and also selling items made in Design and Technology lessons. D Liddle

Action Aid Action Aid improves people’s lives everyday. With the effort of pupils, teachers and the parents of Tettenhall College and others, running similar activities around the world, all with the same vision of ending poverty, we can really make a difference. This is why Tettenhall College supports Action Aid. To show our support, Year 7 and 8 put on a cake sale and a sale of Design & Technology items, with proceeds totalling a whopping £540. We are now sponsoring a 4 year old girl called Fatoh from the Gambia, Africa and a 5 year old boy called Afzal from Afghanistan. Well done everyone. Mark Leighton On Tuesday 10th March Year 7 and 8 held a cake sale to raise money for two children whom we sponsor through Action Aid. At breaktime and lunchtime 68 children came together to sell cakes and each and everyone of them had their own job to do. At the end of the day we raised £158 for Action Aid and it was the individual jobs that everyone did that made all the difference in raising so much money. Also everyone enjoyed helping and eating their cakes. This just shows how simple it is to have fun and raise a lot of money for a good cause! Courtney Hawkins Year 8

Upper School

The Retirement of Dorothy Ward Dorothy Ward, one of the College’s wonderful catering team, retired on Friday 10th July 2009, after nearly 35 years service to Sodexo and the College. Dot started work at Tettenhall on the 6th September 1974. She is married to Ron and they have 2 daughters. Her passion is her garden; her lawn is like a bowling green and a weed dare not show its head! She has seen many changes at the College; I have lost count of how many managers she has worked for. She thoroughly enjoyed her work; a job, which initially fitted around the children, turned into 35 years. She served at many O.T. Reunion dinners, remembering many of the ‘boys’ she had served over the counter years before. She also served refreshments at the many Parents’ Evenings each term. Dot is well known by all members of staff; she has had a long running bet with Dr Mottershead as to who would retire first! Dot was extremely hard working. I have never had a phone call to say she would not be in for work and she helped all members of staff without having to be asked.

of Sodexo, presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and shopping vouchers to the value of £600.00. Dot’s husband organised the Express & Star photographer on her last day at work to mark the occasion. Sonia Humphries Catering Manager

Dot will be greatly missed and in appreciation the catering team presented her with a gold locket and bracelet; the Bursar presented a card and gardening vouchers on behalf of the College and my district manager, Michelle Houghton, on behalf

Upper School

Parents’ Association

Chair: Mrs. Vickie Jones Vice Chair: Mrs. Clare Baugh Treasurer: Mrs. Alison Schubert Upper School Representative: Mrs. Catharine Hammond Lower School Representative: Mrs. Sarah Isbister Drive School Representative: Mrs. Clare Baugh

The Parents’ Association has had yet again another busy year and the committee supported the school in many varied ways. Tea and home made cakes were served at the Bluebell Walk with Autumn Leaves and the Ghost Walk yet to take place, but the events are always very well supported come rain or shine! We held our Summer Fayre again this year. This was held in the sports hall as we could not rely on the weather. We had another great turnout with some fantastic stalls. All in all this was a success, everyone, including some teachers, got involved from The Drive through to Upper School. The theme for our 2008 Ball was ‘Diamonds and Tiaras’. Our committee once again did us proud and decorated the Towers Theatre in fantastic style. Next year’s theme has yet to be decided but will no doubt be just as spectacular! Our first Race Night was held earlier this year which was also a great success and once again very well supported. So as you can see the Parents’ Association has a lot of fun together, raising funds for the school, making it an all round winning combination. This is all thanks to the dedicated mums and dads who help in so many ways from giving of their time, helping make cakes, decorating rooms or supplying raffle prizes; the list is endless, but all very important in the coming together of the events we hold and I thank you all. All the children reap the benefits of this hard work. I thank Dr. Bodkin for his continued support and enthusiasm at all our events, it is very much appreciated. Vickie Jones Chair, Tettenhall College Parents’ Association

Parents’ Association

The Old Tettenhalliansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Club

The Old Tettenhalliansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Club President: Deborah Brook Vice President: Graham Foulkes Chairman: Peter Pingree Hon. Secretary: Stephen Corns Hon. Treasurer: James Rennison Editor: Simon Whild (email: simonwhild@aol.com) Committee Members: Graham Aston, Chris Baxter, Julian Bown, John Chown, Andy Mottershead, Paul Whitehead

Dates for 2009-10 Remembrance Sunday Service 8th November at 10.30 a.m. in the Chapel O.T. London Reunion Dinner Saturday 21st November 2009 Venue: Victory Services Club, Seymour Street, London, W2 2HF Dinner & Dance 2010 Saturday 13th March 2010 Venue: Wolverhampton Cricket Club, Danescourt Road, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton WV6 9BJ Annual Reunion Weekend Saturday 12th June and Sunday 13th June 2010

O.T.s

A Letter from the President away from Wolverhampton. Not that I went very far away Birmingham and more recently the Tamworth area.

Dear Tettenhallians - past and present.

For those of you who don’t know me, I am the Head Teacher in an infant school in Nuneaton, although this year I have been seconded to a Primary School near Tamworth. I left T.C. in 1984 and went to Birmingham University from 198588. Having graduated with a BA (Hons) Degree in Music, Drama and Dance, I then went on to complete a PGCE in Primary Education and began my teaching career in inner city Birmingham in 1989. I loved teaching, although it could be extremely challenging at times. I was able to use my degree to support the Creative Arts within the school and had great fun. In 1992 I married and moved to Tamworth. In 1994 my daughter Hannah was born and then my son, Matthew, in 1998. I also changed job and began working for Warwickshire Education Authority. I began teaching at Galley Common Infant School in 1996 and have remained there, with the exception of an Acting Headship for 2 terms, ever since. In 2003 I gained the National Professional Qualification for Headship and luckily was offered the Headship at Galley Common. I adore the school, the children and the community and it simply feels like home!

It was a great honour to be asked to take the role of President of the Old Tettenhallians Club. I have spent a year as the Vice President, playing an active part on the O.T. committee and attending functions at the College. I carefully observed the previous President, Andy Mottershead, in the hope that I would know what I have to do over the coming year and I am now really looking forward to it! It was lovely to spend time with so many “old” friends at the reunion in June when I officially received my chain of office and to have support from the friends I made whilst at the College from 1982-84, many of whom have remained close friends since that time, despite my moving

O.T.s

I continued to pursue my interest in theatre, performing with an amateur society in Birmingham and then becoming the Chair and Director for their Youth Theatre in 1989. I held this post until 2002 when I set up my own Youth Theatre, again based in Birmingham, called Youth Onstage. I continue to take the roles of Chair, Director and sometimes Musical Director. I have been very privileged to work with some fantastically talented children, many of whom have gone on to train and join the profession. My own children are members now as well and so the tradition continues! Memories of T.C.: I have fond memories of various performances at T.C. and taking part in the House Drama and Music competitions for Bantock! I remember the Madrigal Choir and singing in chapel. Music lessons were always fun with only 4 of us at that time. Oh and I also used to love watching the lads playing Rugby. There were numerous parties which were always fun! I think that somewhere along the line I did some work too! I am sure that I will thoroughly enjoy my year as President and hope that I will see many of you along the way, be it at events at T.C. or reunion events such as the Wine Tasting in September, the London Reunion in November or the Dinner Dance in March and, of course, the main Reunion in June. Please use the website to keep yourselves posted and to book your tickets! All the best, Deb Brook

Editorial

Greetings to all Old Tettenhallians, I’m pleased to assume responsibility from John Chown for editing this annual magazine for Old Tettenhallians. I was at the College from 1973 to 1977 and I can say that these were some of the best years of my life, during which I met three people who have remained my best friends ever since. I’ve learned that it’s people that matter in this world and this is why the College means so much to me. This is a magazine for all Old Tettenhallians, so I’d like it to be topical and engaging on the subject that we all have in common. In next year’s issue, I’d like to introduce a regular section of the magazine entitled “Tettenhall Tales”, where we can all share our favourite memories and stories about College life. For this, I’ll need contributions (either written or photographic) from as many people as possible, so if you can take time out to write down your favourite stories or dig out those old photos, I’ll be happy to publish them… and who knows, these may all end up in a book if we can get enough contributions. Please e-mail me at simonwhild@aol.com or write via snail post to Simon Whild, St. Just, Oaken Drive, Oaken, WV8 2AZ, United Kingdom. In this year’s issue of “The Old Tettenhallian”, we have a letter from Deb Brook, our President. There’s also a feature article on my new book, The History of Tettenhall College and another feature on the new improved Old Tettenhallians Club website. There’s also the usual O.T. News, O.T.s in the Press, Lives Remembered and Golf Society sections, not to mention news and photos of the 2009 Reunion weekend held last summer. Remember that this is your magazine and your voice, so any contributions that you think will be of interest to other O.T.s will be gratefully received. With very best wishes, Simon Whild Editor - The Old Tettenhallian

O.T. News

Andrew Adey is a dentist with his practice called Larcholme (formerly A.J. Adey & Associates) on the Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton (http://www. larcholme.co.uk/). He has a special interest in orthodontics and hypnosis in dentistry. Andrew is married with two children and is an active member of Wolverhampton Company of Archers, based off Wergs Hall Road.

Carolyn Attwood (nee Plumb) has moved on from her ten years at the College to a further decade in logistics recruitment. She now works for the Corporate Pensions section of Zurich Assurance near Cheltenham. John Berrington left the UK in 1964 and never came back, apart from brief visits. He emigrated to Canada in 1988 where he worked for Wal-Mart (Canada) as a manager responsible for real estate and store expansion. He is now retired and lives in Georgian Bay 100 miles north of Toronto, close to the Blue Mountains. He is keen to get in touch with his Tettenhallian contemporaries and can be contacted at jsberr@georgian.net. Chris Bourne after a career in the hospitality industry worked as a senior lecturer at Thames Valley University. He is now semi-retired and lives on the Costa Del Sol.

O.T.s

Emily Bridgewood is currently working as a nurse.

David Frew lives in Hanover, Germany and works for the E.ON power corporation.

Deborah Brook (nee Jennings) is now President of the Old Tettenhallians Club. She is the Head Teacher in an infant school in Nuneaton, although this year she has been seconded to a Primary School near Tamworth. She left T.C. and attended Birmingham University from 1985-88. (See Letter from the President).

Brian Griffiths has recently retired as a dentist in Wolverhampton. In 2001, Wolverhampton Lions Club named him Citizen of the Year - an honour conferred on people who have done exceptional work in the community. Brian specialised in children’s dentistry and because of his pioneering work in this field, he was one of the first dentists to fit dentures to children. Brian was so popular as a dentist, patients would fly from as far away as France and Spain to be treated by him.

John Campbell-Harris has now retired from managing a factory in Reading and has moved to the Vendee in France. He would very much like to make contact with his contemporaries at the College. He can be contacted at jon.campbellharris@wanadoo.fr. A.J.C. (Tony) Carroll, after a successful teaching career, retired in 2000. He and his wife Wendy are now volunteers for the Lake District National Park and are involved in activities “ranging from guided walks, footpath patrols to wall repairs and surveys of routes and bridges.” (See Letters from O.T.s). Martin Dale (martindale.dk) is a professional musician and lives in Denmark. Martin sings, plays bass and guitar and has recently released his first album entitled “Fisk?” which is a collection of folk influenced rock songs. When he is not recording his own material, Martin tours extensively with his band.

Ed Johnson and brother Will were reunited in January when Ed, his wife Ingrid and children, Tom and Emily, travelled from Sydney to visit family and friends in the UK. Many happy days were enjoyed, with the highlight of the trip being a short break for the whole family in a very cold, Paris. The return journey by Eurostar was made hours before the great snowfall of the winter. Tom and Emily experienced snow for the first time. A new addition to the family arrived in Sydney on September 10th – another boy, named Jack. Bob and Margaret hope to travel to Sydney to meet their new grandson in February 2010.

Andrew MacArthur is a solicitor and set up the law firm Baxter Brown MacArthur in London four years ago. Despite his heavy workload, Andrew still manages to play some rugby and cricket.

Chris Evans recently retired as one of Tettenhall College’s longest serving teachers. He still lives in Wolverhampton and now enjoys cycling and taking walking trips with John Adams.

O.T.s

Robert Mackie currently lives in Birmingham. After attending Birmingham University, he joined the NHS and gained an accountancy qualification and has held a variety of roles in the NHS ever since. He is currently the Executive Director of Finance for NHS, Walsall. He is married with three children.

Robert still keeps in touch with O.T. Simon Knight, although has not seen him since Simon went to Saudi Arabia to instruct on the piloting of Tornado jets. Robert writes of how his siblings are faring: “Alison still lives in the Lake District and runs her own practice as an osteopath. She is married to Peter and they have a two year old daughter, Iona. “James is married to Vicky; they have two children Lucy (13) and Thomas (11). They live near Hereford and have done so for some time. James has specialised in occupational health medicine, advising a range of organisations, as well as carrying out research work. “Ian lives in Hampshire and is married to MarieAnne. They have a one-year-old son, George, and are expecting their second child later this summer. Ian is a founding partner of Bourne business consultancy, providing specialist advice on tax and related areas.” Caroline Martin (nee Poppleton) currently lives in Zurich, Switzerland and works as a freelance Learning and Development consultant.

Vincent Oakley is a solicitor with his own practice Vincent Oakley & Co., which has offices at Newbridge and carries out mainly personal injury, probate and property work. He is married with three young children and is a keen squash player. Roger Pendrill lives in Ackleton and is a member of a band together with fellow O.T. Paul Williams. Roger plays music from the sixties right up to the present day. His band regularly plays pubs, clubs and weddings (see O.T.s in the Local Press). Peter Radford is Hon. Professor Associate at the School of Sport and Education, Brunel University, Uxbridge, West London, after receiving an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Wolverhampton last year in recognition of his contribution in the area of Sports Science. By the age of twenty-four, Peter had set forty-four British or UK national records, ten Commonwealth records, eight European records, and five World records. He also collected Olympic, European and Commonwealth medals. Peter is also the author of the acclaimed The Celebrated Captain Barclay (Headline Review 2002), a biography of Robert Barclay, one of the greatest athletes of Regency Britain. Peter is married, with one daughter, and lives in Burford, Oxfordshire. William Spooner runs a business in Wolverhampton specialising in re-programming vehicle ECUs to optimise vehicle performance. William Watkins is a Sales Manager for a bathroom equipment manufacturer in Telford, although he still lives in Wolverhampton and keeps in regular contact with fellow O.T.s James Baker, Max Homer, Matthew Slater, Chris Hamblett, James, Matthew and Daniel Brazier. Amanda Wilkin is a professional actor in the London area.

Please send us your news and photographs. Either post a message on the Club website (http://www.oldtettenhallians.co.uk/) on the “Contact” page or e-mail Simon Whild at simonwhild@aol.com or post to Simon Whild, St. Just, Oaken Drive, Oaken WV8 2AZ.

O.T.s

Letters from O.T.s

From: A.J.C. (Tony) Carroll (1950-58) Having completed my A levels in the Lower Sixth, I left T.C. in December 1958 to go as an unqualified teacher at Springfield Secondary Modern School in Wolverhampton. The following year, Mr Field-Hyde invited me back as an unqualified teacher to help Brian Docherty in the PE Department until I went to St. Paul’s College Cheltenham for a three year PE course (Lyn Jobling was away at Carnegie for a year). It felt strange going into the staff room then answering a knock on the door to find prefects such as David Lewis and David Sumberg, who had been classmates, requesting to speak to one of my colleagues! By the time I went to Cheltenham I had gained some eye opening experiences in both the State and Independent sectors of teaching. I followed the three courses in PE and Geography with teaching practices in rural Gloucestershire, Birmingham and West Bromwich. At St. Paul’s I was awarded my colours in rugby (Vice-Captain) and swimming and water polo (Captain). I also played in the basketball team and became very much involved in outdoor pursuits. Following my final teaching practice I was offered a post in the PE Dept. at Churchfields School,West Bromwich. Immediately I finished College Wendy and I married. We had met in the Espresso Coffee Bar in Wolverhampton when I was in the Fifth Form and she was at The Girls’ High School. I taught in West Bromwich for three years before successfully applying for a Head of Department post at the newly established Phoenix School in Telford. Until this time, I had continued playing for WRUFC, trying to referee school games on Saturday morning and racing back to play for the club in the afternoon! As Old Tettenhallians, we formed the OTRUFC and we enjoyed more than five years of rugby attracting quite a number of the Wolves teams to play with us. We found ourselves running two O.T. teams. Records show

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(O.T. magazine No.25 March 1969) that the First XV played 27 won 18, drew 1, lost 8 points for 343 against 189 with the Second Fifteen producing an almost similar success in their twenty games. Stalwarts such as John Griffiths, Rod and Ian Seivewright, Rob Sparrow, Dickie Bird, Tony Hill, Cyril Baynton are but a few who wore the O.T. jersey. Brian Docherty was always on the touchline and wrote reports for the press and was always present at the committee meetings. After I moved to Telford I eventually joined Wellington RUFC and attempted to continue with a hectic Saturday programme. During our time in Telford (we lived in Hilton then moved to Shifnal) Sarah was born followed by Craig three years later. During the next nine years, I developed the dual use of the school facilities and found myself moving more and more into management. I then went to Loughborough University to become qualified in Recreation Management. During this time, I was partly instrumental in helping Peter Lloyd (O.T.) in setting up Shifnal Squash Club. I saw my next progression into full time recreation management and applied for the manager’s post at the Recreation Centre, which was nearing completion, in Burnley. This was a completely new experience dealing with a manual staff of forty, working on three shifts on seven days a week with over a thousand people attending each day to swim in one of the three pools, play sport in two sports halls, squash (six courts) in addition to two other halls, fitness rooms, saunas, bar and catering facilities. During my time in Burnley, I became involved in rugby refereeing and was invited to join the Manchester and District Rugby Union Referees Society (MRUFRS) eventually climbing the ladder and refereeing games at Sale, Preston and Lancaster University and many clubs and Independent Schools throughout the Northwest. Six years after the recreation centre opened, we won the coveted Sports Centre Management Award organised by the Sports Council (now Sport England). Following the award, I was approached by the Sports Council Regional Director and invited to apply for a vacant post of Regional Officer with the Development Team based in Manchester. This meant quite a lot of travelling throughout the North West. It was a challenge and a job I thoroughly enjoyed helping a wide variety of clubs develop by providing advice and grant aid. I was also involved with the Sports Aid Foundation (SAF) assisting talented athletes

and Secretary of the North West Federation for Sport Recreation and Conservation (NWFSRC). I was then appointed to the post of Senior Regional Officer. But this made me more office bound. I maintained my sanity by having the opportunity to see the “hills of the north” from my fifth floor office window! I then began to hanker after getting back to the “coalface”. During a chance conversation with the Headmaster of Malsis Preparatory School (North Yorkshire) where my son, Craig, had attended before moving on to Sedbergh, he invited me to join the staff to develop the PE department and run the History Department (don’t cringe GVH!). After negotiating a suitable salary deal, I took up the offer and threw myself totally into the work enjoying every minute combining my teaching skills with those I had developed in management. I was soon a Housemaster and then Senior Housemaster, taking outdoor pursuits, rugby tours to Scotland, Canada and Ireland. One of the most outstanding highlights of my time at Malsis was the raising of £7,000 in 1990 by completing the National Three Peaks in under twenty-four hours with a team of three members of staff, three Old Boys of Malsis (including Craig our son) and three thirteen year olds.

the course of our volunteering. Having dug out the pile of ‘Tettenhallians’ on O.T. Magazines from the loft I have had to drag myself away from the pleasure of reading them all at once! The July edition has many autographs amongst which are. M. Winyard, Alan “Spud” Taylor, L.L. Jobling, Miss Gould, F.F. Frew, B.H. Docherty and the late Cliff Wood. I have been reading through these notes and feel that it is more like a preparation for an obituary! Not too soon, I hope! It would be wonderful to hear from long lost friends and classmates again. A.J.C. (Tony) Carroll Barnoldswick, Lancashire

During this time, [my wife] Wendy had had a successful career becoming a Senior Radiographer and then, with further training, head of the Ultrasound Department in Burnley GH. She also presented papers on Ultrasound techniques at a National Conference. Just after I joined Malsis Wendy brought her teaching skills to Malsis in the Junior Department. It was ideal for us to be working in the same establishment and weekends in the boarding school were no chore to us. The long holidays also prepared us for retirement in 2000! Sarah and her husband developed an extremely successful business. They have two boys who attend Giggleswick School and we see them very regularly as they live in a farmhouse close to us in Barnoldswick. Craig is a consultant in anaesthetics at Hope Hospital, Salford and his wife is also a doctor hoping to become a consultant shortly. They presented our first granddaughter in the spring (2008). Amongst our many hobbies in retirement Wendy and I are Volunteers with the Lake District National Park (LDNP). We are very much involved with the many varied activities in the National Park ranging from Guided Walks, footpath patrols to wall repairs and surveys of routes and bridges. It keeps us busy and we meet many people during

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The New History

O.T.: How did the College begin? SW: In 1863, Tettenhall College was just fifteen boys, a Headmaster and a cow. All these people were crammed into a modest-sized Georgian “gentleman’s residence” (now separate from the College and known as The Old House), finances were tight, but even then, the renowned Tettenhall College spirit was taking firm shape. Although the College is now a pan-Denominational coeducational school, it was originally founded for the sons of Non-conformists, who had very little in the way of dedicated education back in the late Victorian era. From these brave beginnings emerged an educational institution for children and young adults of all ages and abilities that has successfully steered itself through some of history’s most turbulent times, including two major World Wars, the Great Depression and lots of challenges and pitfalls in-between. Through all this, the College has emerged victorious as one of the most respected educational establishments in the Britain - and now even the world. It’s an engaging and often exciting story that features colourful characters, such as the wildly eccentric Colonel Thorneycroft, some admirable teachers and pupils, plenty of amusing anecdotes, and running through it all is that ever-present College camaraderie that has often been the only thing separating us from disaster. O.T.: Your book is not a chronology of College events, but rather a “College story”. Why is this?

The history of Tettenhall College was first chronicled in 1963 by G.V. Hancock in a superbly written book, History of Tettenhall College, published in commemoration of the College’s Centenary Jubilee. Now, nearly fifty years later, the story has been brought up to date, re-told and augmented by Old Tettenhallian, poet and author Simon Whild. “The Old Tettenhallian” spoke to Simon about his book. O.T.: What made you want to update Mr. Hancock’s original book? SW: When my father (R.J. Whild) became a Governor, he borrowed Mr. Hancock’s book from the College library to learn more of the organisation he was to become involved with for the next twenty-seven years. I picked the book up one weekend and couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it. The idea of writing a sequel or an updated version has appealed to me ever since.

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SW: To write a full and detailed chronology of all College events and people would be the work of a lifetime and could not be published commercially because of the massive financial cost of printing such a massive and largely esoteric work. Instead, I’ve condensed the Tettenhall College story into just eighty-five thousand words with the intention of presenting it as a story, rather than as a work of reference. O.T.: Where did you research all the details of your book? SW: Mostly from the minutes of Governor’s meetings, what few back issues of The Tettenhallian that remain, old letters and other sundry documents currently overseen by Mr. L.N. Chown - without whose help and assistance I couldn’t have written this book. I spent several days at Bantock House, looking into the life and times of the College’s greatest benefactor. I also interviewed many O.T.s, governors and members of staff, past and present. Over the years, many

resources have been lost, so there were occasions when I had to rely on Mr. Hancock’s book. O.T.: What factors have contributed most to the College’s continued survival? SW: Without its Old Boys and Girls (O.T.s), Tettenhall College would not have survived more than twenty years - if that. In the early years, the generous cash donations of Old Tettenhallians, such as Baldwin Bantock, have always been timely in saving the College from certain ruin, but it’s not just financial support, it’s the enthusiasm and love of O.T.s that has nurtured and lit the school’s path through its darkest days. The College has also been most fortunate in having a first class staff and Governors, most of whom have been, and still are, of the highest calibre. Of course, space doesn’t allow me to mention them all in the book, but their enthusiasm for the College has been a major factor in making the College what it is today. There is also the more abstract character of the College’s Guardian Angel - the kind hand of fate - that has often intervened to save the day. Some may call it the hand of God, but it’s strange that on the numerous times when the College has been on the brink of closing its gates forever, this powerful hand has intervened to save us. To me, this is what makes the Tettenhall College story so interesting. Above all, though the Tettenhall indomitable spirit has brought us all through - that ineffable quality that we are all aware of, but none of us can define. I have attempted to convey the feel of this spirit in my book, and whether or not I’ve been successful, only the reader can decide. O.T.: You’ve placed an emphasis on the College’s Headmasters in the book. Why is this? SW: The Headmaster has always been the figurehead of the school. The influence of the Headmaster has always exerted a profound influence on all College affairs, so it seemed right that each era in the College’s fortunes should be defined by its Headmaster. I also wanted emphasise the innate wisdom and vision of the Board of Directors (later Council of Governors) in always managing to acquire precisely the right man for the job. O.T.: Is there any one Headmaster that stands out for you? SW: That’s a tough question. However, excepting the present Headmaster and his predecessor, who are both known to me personally, I think that for me, A. H. Angus (1913-1925) is the one that stands out. When I last met with John Dale only a short

time before his death, he confirmed that out of all his predecessors, Angus was the Headmaster he would have most liked to have met. Angus was a rare mixture of scholar, teacher, raconteur, preacher, leader and consummate businessman, who had the precise qualities required to carry Tettenhall College through the First World War and make it strong enough commercially to withstand the fierce tidal wave of financial destruction that was the Great Depression. He was also a colourful man possessed of a unique charm that could win over almost anyone to his cause. He was the first Headmaster to keep a book of press cuttings in the College reception and he made sure that the book was updated regularly by issuing press releases and organising PR-related events. Whilst all this was going on, he was wowing congregations all over the country with his preaching, and easily had the College Council of Governors (not to mention many of the parents) eating out of his hand. Who couldn’t fail to admire a man such as this? O.T.: What are the most significant changes to have occurred in the College’s history? SW: There have been quite a few changes, but I think that the acquisition of The Towers and its grounds in 1943 really put Tettenhall College quite literally on the map. Whilst the Towers building itself has been quite a financial liability over the years, the extra land allowed the College to expand and grow in ways it could never have done otherwise. It would certainly not have survived the fierce competition ushered in by the twentieth century with only the small portion of land it had before The Towers came along. The next most significant change was the move to co-education exactly forty years later in 1983. Because of ever-growing competition in a rapidly changing market place, the College needed to make this transition; otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have survived. Everyone I spoke to at the school agrees that this was a good move and the right thing to do. Several changes nearly came about, but didn’t quite make it. However, if these changes had have been implemented, they would certainly have meant a very different Tettenhall College to the one we know today. Some of these changes could well have destroyed the College, but who knows? Only the reader can decide this. O.T.: Do you have plans to write any more books about Tettenhall College? SW: I have no plans to write any more books at present. However, as The History of Tettenhall College is largely a text-based book, a volume

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of photographs and other such visual material (with simple explanatory text) would be a good supplement. As the years go by, photographic material from previous eras will inevitably become lost, so a book collating such material would help to preserve a lot of the College’s heritage. Not only this, but it would be good to highlight some of the truly brilliant works of visual art that have emerged from the College’s Art Department over the years. If finance ever becomes available for such a publication, then I would be happy to do it. The History of Tettenhall College by Simon Whild is published by Matador (price £12.95) ISBN 9781848761-247 and is available from Amazon.co.uk, or from all leading bookshops.

O.T. Club Functions

Remembrance Sunday 2008 The plaque in the Chapel displays the legend of all those who gave their lives so we may live. As usual, the service was well attended, with the usual refreshments served in School House afterwards. There is no doubt that Tettenhallians have always felt strongly about those who died in the two World Wars and the conflicts that followed. This excerpt from an anonymous poem published in “The Tettenhallian” in 1918 sums up the typical College spirit on Remembrance Day: Sons who are still on my bosom, sons who have left my side, Remember the School that bore you, do justice now to my pride; England has need of your service ‘tis a chance which you all can take To live your life, or to give it, not for self, but for other’s sake. And then the voice is silent, but with the strength it’s bought We turn again to the same old work, feeling it’s not for nought. Then we think again of you others, and our shout is changed to a prayer, Now Coll., play up well, you fellows! God keep you all in his care! London Dinner 2008 Reunion events took place both at the College and in London during 2008. The London event took place on 22nd November at the Trafalgar Room at the Victory Services Club, Seymour Street and was a well-attended evening that featured guest speaker Peter Radford (1951-57). It is strange whenever visiting these London events that the same Tettenhall College spirit prevails over the proceedings, despite the fact that we’re all far away from Tettenhall. Somehow, the difference in venue is strangely refreshing in that one realises that it is the people and fellowship that matter more than surroundings.

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Annual Reunion 2009 The year 2008 marks a significant year for all Old Tettenhallians, as it is the 120th Anniversary of the Club’s foundation. Looking back over the College’s history, there is little doubt that it would have survived very long had it not been for the unified force of its ex-pupils, so this is truly a time for celebration both in honour of the school that nurtured us all and for its strong extended family that is the Old Tettenhallian’s Club. This year saw a new President in Deb Brook and new Vice President in Graham Foulkes. Members cordially welcomed them both to office. Back at the College, the Annual Reunion was also very well attended despite very bad weather, which unfortunately served to washout the traditional cricket match between O.T.s and the College. However, the hockey and netball matches went ahead as planned. The netball was a tightly paced match with the O.T.s winning by a nose at 2320. And Captain Fiona Taylor was presented the Netball Trophy by President Deb Brook.

The hockey match, which was played in the pouring rain, was also won by the O.T. team and the John Dale Memorial Trophy was also presented to Fiona Taylor by Deb Brook. Victoria Liu also won the Player of the Match Award for her performance in the hockey match.

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Golf Society

Andy Mottershead with John Chown and Geoff Hancock cutting the cake

At the Reunion Dinner, John (L.N.) Chown and Geoff Hancock cut the anniversary cake and a good evening was had by all. It was good to see the Sage family all together at the event and many were pleased to see Graham Aston back from his sojourn in South America. The evening was rounded off in the usual way with members lingering to chat over old times and catching up on one another’s lives after enjoying an excellent dinner. Looking forward, it is doubtful whether things will be very much different at our 240th Reunion Weekend a hundred and twenty years from now. Photographs by Stephen Corns

The Society continues to flourish and at least two new members have joined this year. The last venue for 2008 season was a visit to Copt Heath Golf Club in Knowle. An excellent venue provided us with a first class course and catering afterwards. The morning round was a Four Ball Better Ball and was won by Tony Corkindale with Mike Parr with the Captain Phil Jennings and John Dove coming a close second. Steve Robinson was the star of the day collecting the Centenary Cup in the afternoon event with 37 points. Max Seivewright and Simon Parr had 34 points and Ian Seivewright 31 points. Everyone enjoyed the day and the weather was good for golf. The new season began with our annual match against the Oxley Wanderers held at South Staffs. After last year’s poor result the Captain called for more effort from his team and his words were heeded as the O.T.s responded and the Challenge Shield is now back in our hands. A very convivial evening followed and our Captain who had just been appointed Captain of South Staffs Golf Club was able to glow in reflected glory! The 2009 Spring Meeting was held at Finham Golf Course Coventry. Glorious weather and a very good attendance made for a super day on a very good golf course. Robert Pountney and Mark Wainwright were welcomed as new members to the Society. The morning event was a team game and the winners were John Dove, Mike Parr and Rod Seivewright with 35 points followed by the Captain Tony Corkindale and Paul Whitehead with 35 points. In the afternoon a medal was held for the Captain’s prize and the worthy winner was Roger Ashton with a net 68 followed by Tony Corkindale with a 71. Finham produced an excellent evening meal and the Society would be more than happy to return to this venue in the future. The Frank Vernon Cup Competition was played on 28th May at South Staffs Golf Club and was won by John Dove by a country mile with an exceptionally good score of Gross 85 net 66.

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O.T.s in the Local Press

A match was held against the Old Wulfrunians in July at South Staffs but the game was played on one of the hottest days of the year and despite the valiant efforts of Denis Beddows and Tony Corkindale and Alan Taylor and Max Seivewright who won their matches the team went down 4-2. The anomaly is that Old Wulfrunians were captained by Stephen Corns and the committee will be looking at his continued membership of the O.T. Golf Society! However, Stephen has promised to stand drinks at our next meeting so all objections have now been dropped. The Autumn meeting has been arranged for Enville Golf Club and we are pleased to report that the Society is healthy and looking forward to some exciting venues next year. Any new members please contact Keith Grant-Pearce and a warm welcome will be extended from all members of the O.T. Golf Society. Philip Jennings

Robert Reade endorses a ploughmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comptetition in aid of charity.

Keith Grant-Pearce

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Fifty years ago, O.T. Peter Radford had his national 9.5 second 100m sprint record under threat for lack of a wind gauge.

O.T.s Richard Maddox and Andrew Wynne help charitable organisation Access to Business to larger premises in Tempest Street, Wolverhampton.

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One of Tettenhall Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earliest pupils and its greatest benefactor, Baldwin Bantock, left his house at Merridale in trust to the town of Wolverhampton 70 years ago.

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Local publication â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bugleâ&#x20AC;? remembers the sporting achievements of Edwardian O.T.s.

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New O.T. Website

With the advent of a new and redesigned Tettenhall College website, the Old Tettenhallians Club website has also received a new makeover. The Internet has undoubtedly brought the concept of the Global Village one stage closer and websites like Friends Reunited and Facebook have made social networking on an international level an easy and popular thing to do. With thousands of Old Tettenhallians scattered all over the world, it is a logical progression to provide a website for O.T.s that allows everyone to have up to date news of future events and other items of interest to O.T.s on an easy-to-use website available to all. The new Old Tettenhallians website can now be found at http://www.oldtettenhallians.co.uk and whilst at present, it contains just a letter from the President, contact details, news of new O.T.s and forthcoming O.T. events, there is the potential for much more in the coming years.

Historically, the Old Tettenhallians Club has had a certain amount of autonomy from the College itself, although the new O.T. site has now been integrated with the main Tettenhall College website at http://www.tettenhallcollege.co.uk and follows the same design concept. This gives a unified feel, and the hope is that O.T.s will still be able to feel a part of their old school even many years after they have left. It is also hoped that the new website will easily allow O.T.s to keep track of College events and developments that may interest them. Designed and developed by Entire Marketing Ltd of Stafford (www.entiremarketing.co.uk), the new site is fast and easily manageable, even by those with minimal computer experience. The latest O.T. news is on a right-hand sidebar visible from all pages so that articles can easily be viewed with a single mouse click. The Home page offers a warm introduction from 2009-10 President Deborah Brook (nee Jennings). A click on the Committee members/Past Presidents tab at the top of the page gives details of the current O.T. Committee and a list of past Presidents of the O.T. Club as far back as 1950. After this, there’s a list of this year’s O.T. events and details of books and other material of interest to O.T.s. After this, a list of Head Boys and Girls as far back as 1968 provides a roll of honour, as does a list of latest leavers from the College. Most important is the Contact page where O.T.s can leave details of what they are doing now, and any other relevant news that they might have. The club is all about staying in contact, so it’s important that members of the club take a little time out to share something of their lives with those friends who helped form a part of its foundation. Members can take reassurance that the site is governed by a strict privacy policy that does not allow personal details to be passed on to third parties. This page can also be used to send suggestions on how to improve the website and changes you’d like to see.

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Lives Remembered

Alfred Smallwood (1914-2009) (T.C. 1955-74) Fred Smallwood died earlier this year at Burnhamon-Sea, Somerset at the age of 94. Fred had spent most of his retirement years at Burnham and many will remember him as the Head of Modern Languages at the College until 1974. He was a graduate in Modern Languages at Liverpool University and spent most of the Second World War at Bletchley Park working as a linguist. It was here that he met his wife Joan, who later came to teach at Lower School at Tettenhall College. Many O.T.s will remember the many school trips Fred organised to Europe, mostly Austria and Germany, as German was his specialist language. As well as being a first class linguist, Fred was also a keen amateur photographer and was in charge of the Photographic Society at T.C. for many years. He also had an interest in music and he was active in training the College choir as well as being musical director of the Tettenhall College Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Wolverhampton Trinity Operatic Society. In retirement, he played the organ at St. Andrew’s parish church at Burnham-on-Sea and sang in the church choir. An active Mason in Wolverhampton and Somerset, Fred worked closely with his younger son Lawrence (O.T. d.2002), who ran a company in Switzerland that provided walking holidays. A widower of many years, Fred leaves behind a son and a daughter. J.P.D.W. Jeremy Beasley (1930-2009) (T.C. 1941-44) Leading industrialist and sportsman Jeremy Beasley died aged 78 from cancer after many years struggling with Parkinson’s Disease. He was a father of three and enjoyed considerable success in business and loved hunting and horse racing. His daughter Caroline was the first female jockey to ride a winner at both Cheltenham Festival and Aintree before going on to train many of her father’s point to point horses. Jeremy served an apprenticeship at Joseph

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Sankey in Wolverhampton before joining the family business of Automatic Pressings in Blackheath - a company that he eventually took control of in 1964. Four years later the company moved to Halesfield in Telford and manufactured building products under the subsidiary name of BAT Products, which Jeremy sold to Expamet in 1976. He joined the Expamet board of directors as part of the deal and rose to become Executive Chairman in 1983. As well as being an astute and successful businessman, Jeremy was also a consummate philanthropist. He was a member of the Ironbridge Gorge Development Trust, Chairman of the Princess Royal Hospital Trust in Telford, a Governor of Moreton Hall Girls’ School near Oswestry and secretary to the Albrighton Hunt Point to Point. His other business interest included the founding of Erikson Hotels in 2000, which owns the Old Vicarage at Worfield and the Thornescroft Restaurant at Shipley. Lionel Neville Brown (1923-2008) (T.C. 1934-40) After leaving Tettenhall College, Lionel served in the Second World War, then graduated in Classics and Law at Cambridge University and qualified as a solicitor in 1951. He then spent a year in Lyon, France on a Rotary Fellowship visit and this led to a career in academia - first at the University of Sheffield and then at Birmingham from 1955. He went on to become a much-respected Professor of Comparative Law and Dean at Birmingham Law School until his retirement in 1990. As well as a renowned academic, Lionel was also an author and published his memoirs entitled Law Without Frontiers in 2004 and won an OBE for his services to Law in 1988. He lectured around the world in the USA, Caribbean, Africa Mauritius, China and Europe, although he never forgot his roots. Wherever he went, he was always proud of his home town of Wolverhampton and did his best to attend Wolves matches when time would allow. Jeremy Lloyd (1934-2008) (T.C. 1945-1952) Jeremy passed away after a long battle with cancer and leaves behind his wife of forty-seven years, who nursed and supported him throughout his final days. He also leaves behind two sons and two granddaughters. Graham Norton says that during his lifelong friendship with Jeremy that began in 1940 before they were at T.C., school years were one of the happiest periods for his friend and provided him with memories and anecdotes that would remain for the rest of his life.

The Tettenhallian 2009 Editorial Team Margaret Johnson: me.johnson@tiscali.co.uk Annabelle Addison: AA@tettcoll.co.uk Simon Whild: simonwhild@aol.com Acknowledgement Ellen Walker Year 7 Cartoon artist Designed and Printed by Entire Marketing 6 Hargreaves Court Staffordshire Technology Park Beaconside Stafford ST18 OWN Tel: 01785 246895 Email: info@entiremarketing.co.uk Web: www.entiremarketing.co.uk

The Tettenhallian 2009 Tettenhall College Tettenhall Wolverhampton West Midlands WV6 8QX Tel: 01902 751119 Fax: 01902 741940 Web: www.tettenhallcollege.co.uk