The Packwoodian 2013-14

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The

Packwoodian 2013-2014

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The

Packwoodian 2013-2014 Head Boy Head Girl Deputy Head Boy Deputy Head Girl

Nick Yeoward Amelia Peterson Piers Merison Annabel Robertson

Monitors Alexander Ainslie Amelia Ashworth Owen Carroll George Compston Chloe Edwards Ollie Hall

James Hinwood William Holcroft Ellie Mason Amelia Maunder Zoe Nugent

Captain of Football Captain of Netball Captain of Hockey Captain of Lacrosse Captain of Rugby Captain of Cricket Captain of Rounders Captain of Fencing Captain of Swimming Captain of Tennis Heads of Choir

Freddie Furnival Lottie Clarke Amelia Ashworth Ellie Mason Harry Swinburne Daniel Humes Annabel Robertson William Holcroft Freddy Williams Ollie Hall James Hinwood Amelia Peterson Leader of the Orchestra Romy Grigg

Packwood Haugh School Ruyton XI Towns, Shrewsbury SY4 1HX Telephone 01939 260217 Fax 01939 262077 enquiries@packwood-haugh.co.uk www.packwood-haugh.co.uk

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CONTENTS

Review of the Year The Headmaster Salvete Valete Subject Prizes

3 7 7 8

Sixes Competition Headmaster’s Prizes Industry Awards Farewell

8 9 9 9

Packwood Acorns Girls’ boarding Boys’ boarding

10 12 12

Subjects Art Classics English Physical Education Craft, Design & Technology

14 15 15 15 16

Religious Studies ICT Science Maths Modern Foreign Languages

16 16 17 18 18

Geography History Music

19 19 20

23 23 24 25 26 26

Roman and Greek mornings History Day Grease Packwood Sporting Experience Packwood remembers Packwood Pentathlon

27 27 28 29 30 30

Packwood Adventure Experience Packwood quiz night Dads v Boys football match Christmas feast and entertainment Weekend events and activities

32 32 32 33 33

34 35 36 37 37 37 37 38 38 38

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Chester Zoo Chirk Castle History trip to Montgomery Art trip to Liverpool Tate Trip to Bosworth Field Wendy and Peter Pan at the RSC Latin trip to Wroxeter 8C trip to Birmingham Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

39 39 39 40 40 40 41 41 41 41

Crocky Trail Horrible Histories theatre trip RS trip to Derby Liverpool Football Club Shrewsbury Bookfest National League Hockey Wolverhampton Art Gallery Manchester Jewish Museum Trip to Under 21 football international Chinese New Year, Birmingham

41 42 42 42 42 43 43 43 43 43

44 44 44 45 45 45 45 45 46 46 46 46 46 46

Gardening Touch rugby Trampolining Cookery Pizza making Drama Jewellery club Cupcake making Cookie club Mixed hockey Squash Science club Judo Quiz club

47 47 47 48 48 48 48 49 49 49 49 49 50 50

Textiles Chess Stage lighting club Mixed rounders Spanish club Fly Tying Canoeing Badminton Sailing Mandarin club Rowing Croquet PACTS

50 50 51 51 51 51 51 51 52 52 53 53 53

54 58 61 66 69 72

Girls’Cricket and Rounders Riding Sixes Athletics Rifle Shooting Cross Country Golf

76 79 80 80 81 81

Fencing Swimming Tennis Aquathlon

82 83 84 85

86 86 86

Old Packwoodian reunion Ladies Tennis competition Obituaries

87 87 87

Old Packwoodian cricket match News of Old Packwoodians

88 88

Events Schools Ski Championships Author visits Noah’s Ark Hindu workshop Packwood Arts Experience Packwood Pigeons XI v The Fathers XI

Trips Girls’ leavers trip – Pembrokeshire Boys’ leavers trip – North Wales First World War history trip Mulberry Alpacas War Horse Sleeping Beauty Midland Game Fair Carding Mill Valley Great Escape History trip to Manchester and Chester

Clubs & Activities Archery Pop lacrosse Basketball Mini Olympics Handball International film club Board games Pottery club Clay pigeon shooting Ballet Knitting club Card club Sub aqua Yoga

Sports Football Hockey Rugby Netball Lacrosse Cricket

Old Packwoodians Harry Martin rows the Atlantic Dinner for 2008 leavers Engagements, Births and Marriages

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR

The Headmaster Extracts from the Headmaster’s Speech on Speech Day Chairman of Governors, Miss Griffiths, parents, friends, members of staff and most importantly children...

Last week, the whole school commemorated the outbreak of the First World War. We remembered those who gave their lives for their country in this dreadful conflict and in particular the 23 Old Packwoodians who paid the ultimate price. If you have not yet visited our new Centenary Copse on the far side of the 1st XI cricket pitch, perhaps you will find five minutes today to stroll over there and admire the 23 new oak trees planted in their memory and the memorial stone and plaque. We had a moving ceremony of commemoration at the copse; it is a fitting place for quiet reflection and thought.

The day was comprised of a mixture of workshops and talks for the children. All the guest speakers were outstanding. One is in the audience today, thank you Colonel Weir for an insight into differences in warfare and the life of a soldier then and now. Lance Corporal Ian Russell from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps spoke on the theme of animals in the First World War and was inundated with questions from the children especially regarding the use of pigeons in the War. It has made me wonder whether we should have pigeon racing added to our wide and varied activities programme and I now ponder the addition of a pigeon loft into the school’s development plan. He showed some wonderful old video clips of circus elephants working the land – tossing hay bales onto wagons, ploughing fields and working water pumps with their trunks. My thanks to the team of staff, spearheaded by Cath Hammond, who ran and organised the whole day and to all the visiting speakers; the day provided a poignant break from the regular school routine.

Events such as this naturally lead one to reflect and look back. Very recently I was reading a series of letters written by Packwood children just before the outbreak of the First World War and herewith an extract from a letter written by a boy called Theodore in 1913: “Dearest Mother and Daddy, This will be the first time I shall have been captain in a 1st XI match. My bat has turned out a beauty, driving like old boots. It has split a little at the side and will have to be bound at some time. I got your cutting this morning and I thought it very amusing, but I don’t think anything can beat this – a boy at school was asked in a lesson what the feudal system was. He said “As William the Conqueror was riding, his horse stumbled over a cinder, threw him against the pommel of his saddle

and wounded him in the feudal system, so that he died.” And that’s absolutely true. It seems there was some confusion between History and Biology in those days, surely not today, although I did pass by the Science lab last week to hear Richard Herzog telling the children “You can’t trust atoms – they make up everything!”

This year there seems to have been no such confusion over academic matters at Packwood. Academic scholarships were won by our leavers to Shrewsbury and St Edward’s – congratulations to Archie Mobbs, Piers Merison and Sybilla Hamilton. The Common Entrance results for our top year group produced some of the best grades seen for years with 91% of passes graded A – C. We started the year with some fine history projects, well done James Lewis on winning the prize. We entered Maths challenges both locally and nationally, our Year 6s performing very well at Wrekin College and our senior children winning a staggering 32 medals in the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. Particular congratulations to Harry Zhang who qualified for the Junior Maths Olympiad in which he achieved a distinction finding himself in the top 0.3% of mathematicians for his age group in the country. In the English Speaking Board assessments children in Years 4 and 6 not only all passed but also amassed a total of 24 distinctions – very well done all of you.

Trips and workshops enrich the children’s academic work and of these we have had plenty. History trips to Montgomery, Bosworth, Birmingham, Manchester, Chester, Chirk, the Staffordshire Regiment Museum and the National Memorial

Arboretum. Year 8 went out for their Geography fieldwork, Year 7s went to see ‘War Horse’ and Year 6s to ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’. There have been trips to the Manchester Jewish Museum, the Derby Open Centre and a Classics trip to Wroxeter.

A Hinduism workshop, a Roman and a Greek morning, entries into the National Climate Week competition, seven children through to the second round of the Townsend Warner History competition all capped what has been a very good year on the academic front.

The new study centre, the revamped Geography classrooms, iPads in the Modern Foreign Languages and Learning Support departments have all brought new life and energy to the academic side of the school this year. From September, Roy Chambers takes on the mantle of Director of Studies and joins the management team and I’m very excited about the academic prospects for Packwood for the coming years with his enthusiasm and passion for teaching and learning being brought to the fore.

I’m often asked by prospective parents what makes Packwood special. It would be very easy to state what to me seems obvious: the academic excellence to which I have just referred, the breadth of education and the development of a child’s character; or to launch into a list of the scholarships won, our Common Entrance results, the many sporting tournaments we have won, music exams passed and so on and so forth. Indeed these are all very tangible signs that the school is doing very well, but does this make us unique from the other very best prep schools in this country or the wider world? I prefer instead to refer to a feeling that the school has, an Page 3

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR atmosphere around the corridors, a sense of community, a special chemistry between the staff and children, as one prospective parent told me this week that the children just seem very happy or the ‘can-do’ attitude amongst young and old alike. The tangible things that are special about Packwood are the conker competition, a Fence-athon in aid of charity, the Christmas feast and hats, our own judo tournament, the fact that we still have a traditional Bonfire Night, Great Escape weekends, boarders stacking plates and wiping tables at the end of meals, a family Christmas quiz, fathers and sons football, mothers and daughters tennis, books being read in the swimming pool or the Packwood Pentathlon. Just look at our very first weekend of the academic year: lessons on Saturday morning, then the Packwood equestrian show, a boarders’ trip to the Midland Game Fair, boarders going to the cinema, lacrosse matches, Sixes football matches and a triathlon. Not bad for one weekend and all special to Packwood.

If you Google ‘UK Education Policy’ it will bring up 711 million results. 711 million. We live in a time when Government looks to impose so much on us, everyone, most likely with no teaching experience whatsoever, thinks they know best when it comes to education. As so much in our lives heads towards commonality and uniformity, independent prep schools such as Packwood and the special, individual atmosphere we create and events we put on for our children, stand out and it is vital that we continue to maintain and celebrate the diversity and choice we offer rather than conforming to some sort of greyness designed and fostered by a civil servant in an office in London.

What’s wrong with a school that has four houses called Sixes?

As so many other prep schools give up on their boarding or run a bed and breakfast style facility, so boarding for Packwood represents part of our uniqueness and grows in popularity and stature. It’s at the very core of who we are and all the children at this school, whether day or boarders, gain much from it. I would like to thank all the staff at Packwood who contribute so much to the boarding, especially the houseparents, matrons and other staff who live on site. It is a demanding and tiring role, but one that I know they find hugely rewarding.

Howard Bourne has run a series of assemblies on the history of Packwood and I and the children have particularly enjoyed some of his boarders’ tales from days gone by.

There was the night there was a real fire and the boys escaped the boarding house via ladders.One boy having come down the ladder went straight back up again despite shouts from the ground. He made it back to the window to where the Master was helping the boys out and said “Sir, I forgot to say thank you. Thank you, sir” and then started to go down the ladder again. Howard told us Page 4

how the swimming pool area was dug out by the boarders on Sundays – imagine our calendar now with similar Sunday boarders’ activities: dig foundations for new science block; plane and sand timber for new riding stables; carry out groundworks for new junior boarding house. You would be aghast – or then again would you? In a strange sort of way, to me at least, these sound rather appealing in a modern world full of gadgets, gizmos and quick thrills.

Those of you who follow the BBC may have seen the recent regurgitation of a story from the last Olympics: “Olympics dominated by privately educated”, it was entitled. The story stated that although only 7% of children in this country are privately educated, one third of Team GB went to independent schools, nearly 40% of British medal winners and 50% of Britain’s gold

medallists. It went on to say that private schools can afford to devote more time to sport and have better facilities and often topclass coaches. Well, I would say that we choose, rather than afford, to devote more time to sport here at Packwood because we see the value in physical fitness, teamwork, setting individual goals and targets, and the ethics of winning and losing in sport. Sport is part of the Packwood atmosphere that instils confidence, a can-do attitude and an openness to challenges.

It has certainly been a bumper year on the sports field, arena, piste and pitch. We’ve had tours to the Isle of Man and down south to Berkhamsted. Boys playing West Midlands and Midlands football and rugby at Under 11 and Under 13 level, 32 boys and nine girls nominated for the county cricket programme, six girls in the Under 13 county hockey team, fifth place nationally at Under 13 lacrosse, 10 girls in the Under 13 county lacrosse squad, the Packwood Pentathlon, tourists visiting us to fence and play cricket and rounders, boys and girls competing in the Royal Shrewsbury Hunt cross country, Aquathlons, biathlons, winners of an Under 11 rugby tournament at Terra Nova, winners of the Oswestry cross country for the Under 13 boys, Under 9 girls winning a tournament at Birchfield, Under 13 county champions at lacrosse and netball.

We even had a hat-trick on the cricket pitch, well done Ben. And then, just last week, our Under 13 girls went off to Oxford and won the national JET rounders competition beating Windlesham House in the final. We are all so proud of their sporting achievements this year.

And I’ve got this far without even mentioning Lord’s! What a day that was for the girls appearing in the finals of the national girls’ indoor cricket competition organised by the Lady Taverners. To compete there and have a full tour of the ground including visiting the Long Room and England dressing room was very special for the girls and, I must admit, myself as well. It reminded me of the time that a friend of mine, living in London, who was an expectant father for the first time, rang the hospital where his wife was to see how she was getting on. By mistake he was

connected to Lord's. "How's it going?" he asked. "Fine," came the answer, "We've got three out and hope to have the rest out before lunch. The last one was a duck."

What a year it’s also been on the fencing piste. In the West Midlands championships a total of 14 medals including five golds, an Under 9 champion in the Leon Paul, seven medals there in total, five medals at the Cocks Moors Woods Open and a silver and bronze medal at the Elite Epee Junior Series. Our fencing coach, David Gregory won gold at the GB nationals. For Packwood at the GB individual championships, there were record top 20 finishes for William Holcroft and Jacob Jones, Edward Don was crowned Under 14 Welsh champion and finally, at the GB team championships, both Under 13 and Under 11 boys’ teams became national champions, Under 13 girls were runners-up and Under 11 girls were place third. Not bad for a little prep school from Shropshire.

There have been national honours as well for our riders. 15 Packwood children took part at South View and seven qualified for the nationals. All performed superbly, but particular praise must go to Lily Freeman-Attwood who came second in the 85cm show jumping, second in the 95cm jumping and third in the 105cm jumping.

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR More recently, at Beaver Hall our riders again put up a splendid show coming second to older more experienced riders and will be off to Addington I’m sure, for the national championships in the autumn. Further qualifications were secured at Netley Hall last Sunday.

It just seems to me that Packwood children can turn their hand to any sport and do well.

We took part in an IAPS sailing regatta and in the Shropshire Sailing Club Inter-schools Regatta we were winners against older children from Oswestry, Ellesmere and Moreton Hall. Well done Oliver KeelingPaglia and George Weston as the winning pair. In skiing Packwood sent a team to the Independent School Ski and Snowboarding Championships. Despite being juniors we somehow ended up coming fourth in the senior parallel slalom, goodness knows how that happened. Congratulations to Scott Nicholson and Jac Evans who both won medals in individual events.

In our new programme of Thursday afternoon PACTS (short for Packwood activities) children have been given an opportunity to try out different disciplines and minority sports. It is now well established and will no doubt go from strength to strength in the coming years. We have children rowing and playing fives at Shrewsbury School, learning to play golf, fishing, sailing and taking part in so many different activities. My thanks for this, and all the sport taking place at Packwood, to our Director of Sport, Paul Phillips and to all of the dedicated staff who support him, often travelling far and wide on all seven days of the week in support of sport at Packwood.

Oh and I’ll say this now, so he’ll have to do it for next year – I promise we will have a map of the grounds up on match days showing you which groups of children are playing where. I have appreciated that some of you have yomped around our extensive grounds in search of your children on sporting afternoons, though I do think the new Sixes shirts have helped in identification from afar.

Down in Packwood Acorns the children have

been beavering away as always. There have been trips to Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, open assemblies galore, new trees planted in the Forest School, a Book Week (including the story in the swimming pool), a sponsored Readathon raising over £300 for charity, parents reading to children, a Maths Day, a fabulous nativity play, an Art Week, a trip to the Tate Liverpool, the reintroduction of ballet as an after-school club, a grandparents’ tea party, a trip to Shrewsbury’s new museum and Attingham Park, a splendid sports day and a Science Week. And in between all of this they have managed a few normal days and normal lessons. Personally I do very much enjoy my visits and assemblies with the younger children.

They work and play inside and outside and I never quite know what exciting things they will be doing when I pop down there.

This part of the school has been celebrating its 20th birthday this year. As part of this the children did some research into life 20 years ago, 1994. Let’s see if mums and dads remember some of this – 1994 was the year ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘The Lion King’ came out. Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. The first ever episode of ‘Friends’ came out, OJ Simpson was in the dock, Oasis brought out their first album – album, how old does that sound?

Sony released their first computer games console. They, like other computer game manufacturers, released trailers for their new upcoming games on VHS video cassettes.

There were just 67 very big mobile phones for every 1,000 people in Britain – ten years later, by the way, there were more mobiles than people in the country – and lastly, in 1994 Bryan Robson was still playing for Manchester United. Well I’m glad to report that, whilst some of these things might have faded away and disappeared now, Packwood Acorns goes from strength to strength. We have a full Reception class for September.

With their new neighbours, the Happy Faces nursery, right next door to them and working closely together on so many educational projects, I look forward to more exciting times for the Acorns children in the coming months and years.

The Music department has been as busy as ever. Mannings Sodens won the Sixes music competition for the second year running.

Come on the rest of you! Individual music performances in assemblies have now become a common occurrence. There were Big Band workshops at Shrewsbury School and informal concerts in our old Reference

Library, now called the Lamasery, which Nick Jones assures me is the correct term for a religious place of reflection though it sounds a little like Ruyton’s newest upmarket bistro. We’ve had so many Associated Board Music exams passed, a senior choir carol service at West Felton, Royal School of Church Music medals awarded, a Year 7 trip to the Birmingham Symphony Hall, Evensong led at Shrewsbury Abbey by our choirs, a junior concert, a summer concert, Evensong taken at St Asaph and a fabulous concert at Shrewsbury Abbey this week.

In our festive Christmas concert we even had a collapsing trombone, thank you Felix, I did

so admire the way he just carried on. Thank you to all the children who have entertained us musically throughout the year, but in particular my thanks to the choirs who give up a great deal of time rehearsing and performing and to Mrs Boutwood and her team for running the department so well.

Sticking with the arts, Year 7 visited Birmingham City Art Gallery and Year 6 went on an Art trip to Wolverhampton.

Congratulations to Arthur Gell for having a mono print featured in the SATIPS National Prep School Art Exhibition and once again Packwood’s entries in the Millicent Kaye Art Competition were of a very high standard with prizes awarded just this week.

And so what else has been new this year?

Drama lessons for all children in Years 3 to 6 in our splendid theatre. From these the children now work towards open assemblies that both the school and parents can enjoy.

What super plays we had this year. The senior production of ‘Grease’ was simply vast with such a big cast, big production, scenery and props. We were all singing those songs for weeks afterwards. Huge thanks once again to Richard Cowley and Rachael Downey for directing this. The junior production of ‘Noah’s Ark’ was a festival of colour, song and dance with so many of the younger children involved. Thank you Emma Middlemiss and Sam Hughes for masterminding this and to all the children who have performed on the stage this year in whatever guise.

Going off-piste really does enrich the Page 5

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR curriculum and helps us develop the curious minds that we strive for in our Packwood children. Here I include many of the academic trips already mentioned and school debates which are of great value as the children learn to argue and influence using their minds and words. This year the school pondered the motions ‘War is wrong’ and ‘Is Christmas over-commercialised?’ Year 7 children took their debating skills to a prep schools debating competition at Malvern College and won (for the second year running); congratulations to Edward Barry and Sophia Bureau. In the SATIPS General Knowledge Competition Packwood finished in the top 20 in the country and congratulations to Tom Thurstan, Orlando Williams and Natasha Carter-Motley who were all winners in our own elocution contest. We’ve even had a French elocution competition which was completed just this week; congratulations to the prize winners, James Lewis in Year 4, Georgie Nicholas in Year 6 and Nick Yeoward in Year 8. In clubs and activities, the chance to learn Mandarin or yoga or street dancing skills all add breadth to the educational experience. These and other opportunities throughout the year help Packwood children develop life skills that simply wouldn’t be possible without, and apologies for the phrase I’m about to use, stepping outside of the box.

Community links with which the school and the children have been involved are of enormous value. So much can be gained from learning to serve the wider community.

This year, as every year, much has been achieved: putting together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, supporting the Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal, raising £1900 for Severn Hospice and Midlands Air Ambulance at our Christmas fair, a nonuniform day for Shropshire Deaf Children’s Society, the Fence-athon in aid of Perry Riding for the Disabled and our work helping the Indochina Starfish Foundation in Cambodia.

The visit of Harry Martin enabled us not only to support charity work but also an old boy of the school. His assembly with Alex Bland after their incredible cross-Atlantic trip was very moving.

We held our first London reunion for Old Packwoodians at the East India Club with a terrific turnout of nearly 70 OPs. There have been OP cricket and tennis matches and we began the year with a reunion dinner for Page 6

leavers from 2008. This coming September we are holding an OP reunion at the Manchester Tennis and Racquets Club on Wednesday 25th, more details are available on Facebook. If any of you are unfamiliar with the workings of Facebook, please contact our IT enthusiast, Ken Webster, for further support.

And sticking with the community theme, our boarders continue to enjoy church services in the village. Our joining up with the village congregation from time to time such as for Remembrance Sunday is very important.

Year 3 children carry out studies in Ruyton and I look to support the local village school, Parish Council and local businesses as much as I can in the name of the school.

Well I’d like to thank the ‘neck’ of Packwood, my management team, Natalie Shaw, Nick Jones and Sue Rigby for all their efforts this year in moving this particular head in the right direction.

And then there’s Sally... Last year I told a joke about my wildest dreams that seems to have stuck with many of you. I couldn’t possibly top that one this year, needless to say that I couldn’t do this job without her constant support and love, for which I am eternally grateful, especially as I forgot to buy her an anniversary present this year.

But if I can end by going back to our leavers.

I have already mentioned the academic scholarships and outstanding CE results.

2014 Scholars Packwood has a strong heritage and fine traditions. However, nothing stands still.

Amongst the staff we have been blessed with new babies this year: congratulations again to Jon and Ally Onions, Nicola Tomlins, Leanne Willis and Nell Corbet.

Jerome Nogues, who makes all of us feel unfit all of the time, ran the London Marathon in under three hours, and if I can give another plug at this point for his Ring O’ Fire run over the summer holidays in aid of JDRF. Sadly we have to say goodbye to Geraldine Lee and Sue Draper at the end of this academic year. Both have given many years of outstanding service to the school and to your children and I wish them well in their new ventures. And our best wishes go to James Mullock and Beth Nimmo who tie the knot over the summer holidays. I thank all the staff and the Governors for their tremendous efforts and support for the children of this school and I thank my Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy, Deputy Head Girl and Monitors for all their hard work this year.

One of the Smith-Langridge family’s favourite movies when our daughters were young was ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’.

There’s a moment in the plot between the mother and father of the future bride when they are arguing over who is the smartest and who has control of their family. The father argues that he is the head of the family so he is the most important, but the mother disagrees, saying she is the neck of the family, and it’s the neck that moves the head, so she is the most important. Cute.

In total this year, the leavers amassed 22 scholarships to their senior schools. These are tremendous achievements, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them today, so congratulations once again for Felix Jebb and Romy Grigg who won Music awards to Shrewsbury and Moreton Hall and William Brooke for his Choral award to Downside; to Talullah Blackham for Drama scholarships to Moreton Hall and Malvern College; Freddy Williams for his Drama and All-rounder scholarships to Shrewsbury; All-rounder scholars to Shrewsbury and Moreton Hall, William Holcroft, James Hinwood, Ellie Mason and Freya Beasley and our Sports scholars to Shrewsbury, Tudor Hall, Malvern College, Ellesmere and Moreton Hall, Amelia Maunder, Daniel Humes, Lottie Clarke, Annabel Robertson, Nick Yeoward, Freddie Furnival and Rosie Simpson.

Well done to all of them and to all those children who were good enough to have a go at a scholarship, the process of stretching themselves towards demanding targets will stand them all in good stead at senior school.

To all the leavers, we hope we have prepared you well for your next five years at senior school as you now sail off into deeper waters.

The potential is amazing for all of you; grasp it with both hands, but never forget your roots back here at Packwood and come to visit us in the years ahead. Once a Packwoodian, always a Packwoodian.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls I wish you all a very happy summer holiday. CNSL

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Salvete Autumn 2013

Spring 2014

Summer 2014

Florence Acton

AJ Kraisuraphong

Teresa Rodriguez

Laure Penet de Monterno

William Goddard

Rohan Alaca

Ryan Lee

Heath Rosselli

William Maunder

Dylan Griffith

Marta Banegas

Edward Lewis

Johnnie Thurstan

Hugo Compston

Alex Keeling-Paglia

Orlando Bayliss

Guy Macey

Tom Thurstan

Mollie Matthews

Harry Bradshaw

Imogen Macey

Archie Tulloch

Morgan Matthews

Sebastian Corry

Max Macey

Yuta Umetani

Abraham Mosley

Amelia Farmer

Archie McParland

Leo Walton

Tallulah Pollock

Alejandro Gimenez Canovas

Arturo Merigo Garcia

Lottie Waterhouse

Callum Reid

Megan Greenwell

Bridget Merison

Elsa Waterhouse

Jake Reid

Garret Healy

Riko Munakata

Barnaby Welch

Manon Scart

Mario Hernandez

Flora Raichura

Bertie Weston

Meghan Sheppard

Lucas Jones Polanco

Maria Rey

Jules Schneuwly

Valete Scholarships Piers Merison

Kennedy Academic Scholarship Shrewsbury

Daniel Humes

Sports Scholarship

Shrewsbury

Archie Mobbs

Kennedy Academic Scholarship Shrewsbury

Amelia Maunder

Sports Scholarship

Shrewsbury

Sybilla Hamilton

Lord Halifax Academic Scholarship

Lottie Clarke

Sports Scholarship

Moreton Hall

St Edward’s

Annabel Robertson Sports Scholarship

Tudor Hall

All Rounder Scholarship

Shrewsbury

Daniel Humes

Sports Scholarship

Malvern College

James Hinwood William Holcroft

All Rounder Scholarship

Shrewsbury

Nick Yeoward

Sports Scholarship

Malvern College

Freddy Williams

All Rounder Scholarship

Shrewsbury

Freddie Furnival

Sports Scholarship

Ellesmere College

Freya Beasley

All Rounder Scholarship

Moreton Hall

Felix Jebb

Music Exhibition

Shrewsbury

Ellie Mason

All Rounder Scholarship

Moreton Hall

Rosie Simpson

Sports Exhibition

Moreton Hall

Romy Grigg

Music Scholarship

Moreton Hall

William Brooke

Choral Exhibition

Downside School

Talullah Blackham Drama Scholarship

Moreton Hall

Ben Cowley

House Foundation

Shrewsbury

Freddy Williams

Shrewsbury

Archie Mobbs

House Foundation

Shrewsbury

Drama Scholarship

Talullah Blackham Major Drama Scholarship

Malvern College

Passed on Scholarship Papers

Sophie Barlow, Lottie Clarke, Romy Grigg, Rosie Simpson

Moreton Hall

Thomas Mercer

Repton

Alex Ainslie

Shrewsbury

Freya Beasley

Moreton Hall

Natasha Carter-Motley

St Mary’s Ascot

John Elliott, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Zoe Nugent, Marcus Woodhead

Rugby

Ben Cowley

Shrewsbury

Imogen Downey, Octavia Hamilton

St Edward’s

Ali Davies

Shrewsbury

Alfie Deahl

Winchester

Oscar Holt

Rugby

Felix Jebb

Shrewsbury

Adam Pattenden

Shrewsbury

Amelia Peterson

Wycombe Abbey

Amelia Ashworth, George Compston, Dragon Dararattanarojna, Chloe Edwards, Arthur Gell, Ollie Hall, James Hinwood,William Holcroft, Daniel Humes, Theodora Jarvis, Lucas Jones Polanco, Scott Karnsuwan, AJ Kraisuraphong, Amelia Maunder, Nat McAllister, Ned Moreau, Frank Morris, Keita Nakamura, Scott Nicholson, Pun Vatayanonta, Phoebe Wasdell, Freddy Williams, Harry Zhang

Shrewsbury

Annabel Robertson

Tudor Hall

Common (or School) Entrance Exam William Brooke

Downside

Sebastian Corry, Freddie Furnival, Harry Griffiths, Max Pickering, Rowan Pickstock

Ellesmere College

Talullah Blackham, Owen Carroll, Harry Myddelton, Nick Yeoward

Malvern College

Harry Swinburne

Millfield

Non-CE leavers Arturo Merigo Garcia, Maria Rey, Laure Penet de Monterno

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Prizes Subject prizes

Junior School

Middle School

Subject Prizes

Senior School

Mathematics English French Science Biology History Geography Religious Studies ICT Music Art Latin CDT PE Form 6 prize

Louis Graham Poppy Stephens Poppy Stephens Dan Richardson Will Tate Hugo Davies Jago Ainslie Jack Yeoward Orlando Bayliss Edward Forde-Johnston Eliza Blackham Archie McParland Lulu Bright, Imogen Macey

Riko Munakata Edward Bayliss Georgiana Nicholas Tom Baines Edward Barry Gus Ames Edward Don Sophia Bureau Will Gardiner George Clowes Anna Cowan Thomas Dix Jack Goodall William Stanford-Davis

Mathematics Wonnacott English Ollier French Science Harcourt Clarke Classics Headley Latin History Geography Religious Studies Biology Music ICT Daler-Rowney Cup for Art CDT PE

Harry Zhang Piers Merison Scott Karnsuwan Arthur Gell Archie Mobbs Natasha Carter-Motley Piers Merison, Alfie Deahl Freya Beasley Archie Mobbs James Hinwood Zoe Nugent Freddy Williams Harry Griffiths Daniel Humes

Ormsby-Gore Drama

Freddy Williams

Smith Drama

Talullah Blackham

Allan Cup for Character

Owen Carroll

Bruno Bowl

2nd Rugby XV

Croydon Cup for Shooting

Orlando Bayliss

Antonia Lock Most Improved Netballer

Riko Munakata

Dunning Prize (Rugby candidates)

Zoe Nugent

Special Common Entrance Prize

Thomas Mercer

Old Boys’ Memorial English Prize

Theodora Jarvis

Allott Cup

Talullah Blackham

Clarke Cup

Ellie Mason

Justin Davies Memorial Prize

Nick Yeoward, Amelia Peterson

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Robertson Cup (highest number of Greens)

Alejandro Gimenez

William Holcroft

Alejandro Gimenez

Allen Cup (highest number of Sixes Points)

Alejandro Gimenez

Alejandro Gimenez

Eliza Rosselli

Sixes Competitions Summer Term

Autumn Term Football Junior (Burnham Cup) Football Overall (Cooper Cup) Hockey (Barling Cup) Music Senior Fencing (Bibby Bowl) Junior Fencing (Holcroft Brothers Trophy) Cross country Quellyn-Roberts Cup Sixes Shield

Mannings/Sodens Bradshaw/Boyces Mannings/Sodens Mannings/Sodens Bradshaw/Boyces Mannings/Sodens McFerran/Wilsons Mannings/Sodens Mannings/Sodens

Spring Term Rugby (Hannay Cup) Netball (Boyes Cup) Lacrosse (Morrey Shield) Quellyn-Roberts Cup Sixes Shield Page 8

Mannings/Sodens Mannings/Sodens Harcourt/Clarkes Mannings/Sodens Mannings/Sodens

Cricket (Cowan Cup) Girls’ cricket (Wilkinson Cup) Rounders (Skempton Cup) Athletics (Miriam Heard Cup) Swimming (Prosser Cup) Aquathlon (McLaughlin Shield) Tennis Sports Quellyn-Roberts Cup Sixes Shield

Mannings/Sodens Mannings/Sodens McFerran/Wilsons McFerran/Wilsons McFerran/Wilsons Mannings/Sodens Bradshaw/Boyces Mannings/Sodens McFerran/Wilsons McFerran/Wilsons

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Headmaster’s Prizes Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Hal Cowan Zennor Harvey Edward Forde-Johnston Tommy Jarvis George Clowes Harry Zhang Maria Rey

Lottie Waterhouse Freddie Cox Tony Li Robert Vick Phoebe Wasdell Ned Moreau

Rufus Farmer James Lewis Dylan Griffith Emily McParland Oscar Holt

Industry Awards Autumn Term

Spring/Summer Term

3H 3L 4F 4C

Catherine Morton-Willetts Rohan Alaca Elsa Waterhouse, William Goodall Lucy Clarke, Liberty Clarke

5M 5W 6R

Lottie Waterhouse Angus Hill-Trevor Edward Bayliss

6E 7H 7C 7L 8C 8N 8KW 8NW

Daisy David, Freja Bedell Sophia Bureau, Anna Cowan, Robert Vick Francis McLaughlin, Sacha Sandbach Eliza Rosselli Alfie Deahl Octavia Hamilton, Romy Grigg Harry Swinburne Owen Carroll

Joseph Bowdler, Catherine Morton-Willetts Tom Williams Tom Bright Lucy Clarke, Liberty Clarke, Georgina Kenyon, George Hughes, George Stanford-Davis James Pickering, Lottie Waterhouse Will Tate Edward Bayliss, Alice Hughes, Thomas Dix, Georgiana Nicholas Orlando Williams Sophia Bureau Francis McLaughlin Eliza Rosselli Piers Merison Zoe Nugent, Annabel Robertson Amelia Ashworth Owen Carroll

Farewell At the end of the summer term, we said goodbye to two members of staff who have been part of the Packwood family for the last 14 years.

Geraldine Lee is moving onto pastures new after many years’ sterling service in the Modern Foreign Languages department as a French teacher to the junior year groups. She has been an invaluable member of the Park House boarding team too and a much-loved Year 5 form tutor. In the last couple of years, Geraldine has demonstrated her adaptability by initially adding Religious Studies and Latin to her repertoire of teaching responsibilities and then, just last year, making a courageous leap into the unknown and taking on the role of Year 2 teacher in the Acorns. Through it all, Geraldine has shown impeccable professionalism, true devotion to the education and well-being of the children in her care and a wonderfully kind nature.

She will be greatly missed – as will our other leaver, Sue Draper.

Sue has been an incomparable games coach helping Packwood achieve a stunning record of sporting success, particularly in her beloved lacrosse.

Over the years, the girls have achieved astounding results in Shropshire county tournaments, the Berkhamsted London Tournament and the Midlands Tournament beating teams from much larger, lacrosse-specialist schools. Sue is the embodiment of enthusiasm and competitive spirit – two qualities which she seems able to engender effortlessly in the children she coaches. Regardless of the raw material, through some sort of extraordinary alchemy, Sue manages to produce winners. In the last few years, Sue has also taken on responsibility for Packwood’s tennis teams and, unsurprisingly, they have flourished. Always full of energy and get up and go, it can be exhausting for other more ‘sedentary’ members of staff, just watching Sue and it is impossible to believe that she will slow down much in her retirement!

We thank both Sue and Geraldine for all they have contributed to Packwood in so many ways over the years and wish then all the very best in their future ventures.

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Packwood Acorns

The past year in the Acorns has been one of change and continuity, of fresh ideas and firm traditions, and of growth and togetherness.

Twenty years ago the Acorns opened its doors to pupils for the first time and as I write this, I cannot help but reflect on that time, as well as more recent events. The children have always been the most important part of the Acorns, and we are committed to nurturing their love of learning and their development as happy, well-rounded children.

Each individual Acorn is tended with care, supported where necessary, and given room to grow. We look forward to the day when they become mighty oaks.

When the children first arrived through our gates in September and saw the new play area at the front of Acorns, this was only a glimpse of some of the changes that had taken place over the holidays. Inside, the classrooms had been thoroughly refurbished and given a new lease of life, ready to welcome back the children on their first day of term. Mrs Corbet and Mrs Lee also joined us that day, and it was my first day as Acting Head of Acorns too, so it was quite an exciting day for everyone.

Luckily, we all worked out where we had to hang our coats, we liked the welly trolley and nobody cried (very much).

September saw our first school trip of the year to Acton Scott Working Farm, where the children made a scarecrow, stroked a sheep and milked a (fake) cow. The runaway pig was one of the highlights of the day, albeit an unscheduled one! The following week saw the Acorns go to Forest School to plant trees together, which is not something you get

to write very often. Our Harvest Festival took place to round off the work we had done on farming and harvesting.

In October, two exciting events happened. Mrs Tomlins had a baby called Jack (not at school) and we had Book Week (at school).

Book Week was a great success, as ever. We supported Readathon, a children’s book charity, through sponsored reading and running a small book shop for a week or two. The children dressed up as book characters and the teachers too…well, the Acorns are famous for their love of dressing up after all.

The end of term brought the usual fun and games of tinsel, glitter and Christmas shaped treats. We had a Christmas themed Maths Day to kick things off, during which we weighed parcels, decorated trees with repeated patterns, and so on. Children from the Happy Faces nursery joined us for our Christmas party, and clever old Father Christmas worked out that we were in a slightly different place than we had been before and that he had to give presents to different children as well. His back hurt carrying all those gifts, so we had to sing extra loud to cheer him up a bit. Then came the Nativity play. I was unable to attend, due to illness, but I heard it was a splendid affair where nearly everyone behaved themselves.

Although brief, the spring term was busy and action-packed. Mrs Corbet passed the Reception class teaching baton to Miss Gurden.

To coincide with our Art Week, we went on an excellent trip to Tate Liverpool, which was truly inspirational. The children loved looking at the artworks on display and interacting with them. They took their sketch books and drew away happily, although of the twenty pencils that went, only nineteen came back, as one of them ‘accidentally’ got stuck in one of the exhibits and for all I know, may be there still.

Science Week followed after half term, fairly loosely based on ‘Materials’. Mr Herzog blew things up and made things change colour in his lab, ably assisted by Acorns in lab coats. Mrs Weston from Shrewsbury School, also Bertie and Charlie’s mum, brought in microscopes and led a simple biology session for us. Miss Middlemiss gave blood for the cause – “There is no cost too great for the Acorns,” she said bravely. Even Miss Wood got in on the act and ran a session on sorting materials.

With the arrival of the summer term, we started celebrating the twentieth birthday of the Acorns in grand style. Our History Day centred on ‘Twenty years ago…’ The children looked at documentary evidence and found out some interesting facts about the times, such as Nelson Mandela’s election as South Africa’s first black president and

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REVIEW OF THE YEAR

the invention of the wheelie suitcase.

We looked at photographs of the Acorns and old Acorns children to spot changes and similarities. The children also designed and made their own commemorative reading bags. History Day was followed up by two special assemblies, one with current Acorns and one with old Acorns in the main school.

The latter assembly was a very interesting occasion with the children recalling their memories of their time as an Acorn. Some of our favourite thoughts were ‘I lernt to spel’ [sic] and ‘Don’t mess with Miss Middlemiss!’

I spent a large part of my Easter holiday looking at the hundreds and thousands of photographs amassed of the Acorns over the years, sometimes with a tear in my eye, but mostly with a big grin on my face, as it was lovely to be reminded of so many happy memories again. The final Big Birthday Bash took place on a warm June afternoon. We welcomed our new children starting in September, our friends from Happy Faces, and new and current mums and dads for an afternoon of fun, sun and cake. Great excitement bubbled all day about the pink bouncy castle and the teachers absolutely did not have a go at all when nobody was looking, because that was not allowed, not at all, not even when sneaky Mr Weston came to visit.

The summer saw Miss Bright arrive as our permanent Reception class teacher. She settled in quickly to life in Acorns and Packwood as a whole. Mrs Tomlins has returned as our Year 2 teacher, and we are very happy to have her back with us again.

Miss Nimmo is getting married in the summer and we wish her every happiness life

can bring her with Mr Mullock. Mrs Lee is off to pastures new, and we bid her fond farewell and good luck in her future endeavours.

This has been an extraordinary year for me as Acting Head of Acorns. I can’t wait to see what next year will bring! EM

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Girls’ boarding Park House has seen great change this year with the arrival of the Parry family and, since early in the spring term when we bid a fond farewell to Matron Sarah, of Miss Nimmo (Mrs Mullock) as the new assistant houseparent. Our mission this year has been to transform Park House into a ‘home from home’, where the girls can come back at the end of a long day – we hope that we have achieved this!

The seniors have been great. We will really miss having them around, although perhaps not the singing in the showers, the running along the corridors or the odd towel left to fester in a dark corner! They have helped us to settle as a family and 21 babysitters on tap is always a winner in our book! The introduction of boarding captains has given the senior girls responsibility and the juniors have benefited from the pop-up hair salons, manicures and storytelling nights. These girls have changed so much over the course of the year and they are so ready for the next phase that awaits them at their senior schools. We shall miss Rosie carrying the cups (always for a star!), Mimi sneaking that extra minute in her bed, Annabel’s endless energy and smile and we could go on. The girls enquired as to what presents we’d like at the end of term –

Boys’ boarding Over the years in boarding I have often thought that looking after boys is not dissimilar to owning a Labrador. Both need food, a good romp in open space at least twice a day, food, clear instructions, a sofa for lolling on, plenty of tennis balls, did I mention food?!

And although boys are less likely to chew your furniture or your shoes, there does need to be a balance between free ‘down time’ in dorms, and an element of organisation and fulfilling certain expectations. In the boarding house we structure some of the boys’ time, as well as letting them make choices, so they learn independence within the expectations we have of them.

In the first two terms we have nights with certain themes: Boys’ Choice, Game Night, Brain Night among others and, new this year, Gadget Night when they are allowed to play on their various ‘boys’ toys’. In the summer term, with long, light evenings, they stay outside playing for longer. When they come upstairs they have a ‘free choice’ (within reason) and we find that, because they have been used to choosing things to do in the other terms, they generally don’t just flop in front of the TV but will go off and play sock cricket, build fabulous Lego creations or read. So, a bit of guidance encourages more independent thinking in the long run.

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The House Captains have had a successful first year. Arriving early to the boarding house on their duty nights, to read with the juniors, play games and be all-round super surrogate big brothers. House Captains volunteered themselves and we were delighted to have such a good number stepping forward and carrying out the role so wholeheartedly. The juniors have really enjoyed the time with the older boys, and it is always good to see the

different age groups mixing so successfully.

The common room next to the Matron’s surgery, with its new flat screen TV, has also been a popular gathering point for all age groups – ‘Deadly Top Ten’, ‘Top Gear’ or any sport are particular favourites.

On a wet and windy day in February this year, the boys surpassed themselves when we found ourselves with no power or water and with the evening setting in fast. It was looking

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benefited from being able to socialise and relax amongst friends after a long day. Another new initiative has been pyjama night, only run during the summer term; the girls come down, shower and change for bed then they are free to go and play on the playground or play swingball and giant Connect Four. At the junior end we have seen an increasing number of girls popping in for the occasional night and we love the energy and vibrancy that they bring with them. Our more experienced junior boarders have been excellent at shadowing them and the taster night is one that will live with us for a while (still having the cold sweats!) We can confidently say that every Packwood girl boarded at Park House on at least one occasion last year.

we said a crane – they looked puzzled – Mimi will know what it’s for!

Weekends have been busy and fun: we had the boarders’ surprise with a photo booth, bouncy slide and barbecue, Park House pamper night, Park House Christmas party (the re-birth of Jesus!), Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Mulberry Alpacas with Mrs Edwards, Symphony Orchestra trips to Birmingham and then there’s the ever-faithful, always oversubscribed cooking – who doesn’t like pizza and cupcakes? And how could I forget squeezing 27 girls into our dining room and cooking them breakfast on Sloppy Sunday?!

In dorms we have started the ‘star chart’. We reward initiative and kindness with a star and at the end of the term we reward the winners with the chance to have supper with us. This year we had Italian in Oswestry, a Chinese banquet in Park House and a pizza evening. We have created a new junior common room and these girls have

None of the above is possible without a good foundation of values and a serious sense of humour. Our boarding team has truly embraced everything we’ve tried to create this year. Mr Ford’s jokes are as bad as ever, Miss Nimmo (Mrs Mullock) is adored by all and has been amazing to have around the place, Miss Wood is the queen of gadgets and her DVD collection is not to be messed with and then there’s the lovely Mrs Lee – such a calming influence and wise head; thank you and good luck in your new job! Finally, thank you to Sue and Gwennan, our housekeepers – the most silent, yet deadly, folders and hoover-uppers you’ve ever met! It’s been a whirlwind twelve months – thanks to all!

KLP

to be a long, dark night in dorms ahead – no TVs, no computers, no phones ringing. However, the boys thought it was great fun and, armed with torches and a very Enid Blyton spirit, set about ‘getting on with it’ and enjoying their evening regardless – fantastic to see a lack of electrical power did not dent their good humour!

Dorm points have been hotly contested all year and have proved a very effective way of encouraging good habits with points awarded for tidy dorms, reading at lights out and being quiet after lights out. As the scores are for the whole dorm, not individuals, it really is a team effort.

Throughout the year there has been the usual broad range of activities and outings offering something to suit all tastes and the chance for boarders to try something new, develop new interests and make new friends. The experience of boarding provides so much and teaches children how to get on with others, how to live in a community, independence…all great life skills. We have seen occasional boarding gaining popularity this year, with a regular band of boys joining the boarding community each week. Occasional boarding is a popular stand-alone option but also an excellent introduction to being a boarder, helping to ease the transition from day to boarding.

It has been another great year and as ever we are hugely grateful to all those other members of staff who contribute so much in the boarding house. We couldn’t do it without the help of our boarding tutors, Jo Lambkin, James Mullock and Roy Chambers, or without our magnificent matrons, Caron and Sue. We wish this year’s leavers all the very best for their future endeavours and we look forward to welcoming everyone else back in September, and some new faces too.

AO and JO

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Art It has been another good year for the art department with lots of trips, competitions, activities and displays going up all around the school.

The hugely successful productions of ‘Grease’ and ‘Noah’s Ark’ saw the children using their creative skills to make a massive contribution to the visual impact which all added to the drama and music. The colourful rainbows, T-shirts and especially the amazing animal masks that the Year 6s, 5s and 4s made were particularly good.

As well as the diverse and creative activities going on in lessons, the scholarship artists all got very positive responses this year, and Freddy Williams’ art helped him to win an All-rounder award to Shrewsbury. Octavia Hamilton got through to the second round in her scholarship attempt to St Edward’s and Daisy David won an art award to Shrewsbury High.

Impressive skills and imaginative ideas abounded in the children’s entries for the Millicent Kaye, SATIPS and the IAPS art competitions with many taking part, many being exhibited and some winning prizes or certificates. Arthur Gell was chosen to represent the school in the smart catalogue for the SATIPS art exhibition, but also on show were works by Daisy David, Georgie Nicholas, Piers Merison, George Lily Freeman-Attwood

Compston and Freddy Williams. The second prize for 3D art was won by William Gardiner with his splendid castle for which he won £25 and £50 to be spent on art equipment for the school. Emily McParland, Edward Forde- Johnston and Tom Kiel were also exhibited and won highly commended certificates.

Trips to the Wolverhampton Art Gallery with the Year 6s and to the Ikon Gallery with 8C have also taken place. The Year 8s saw some quite challenging conceptual installation art by the artist Michel Francois entitled ‘Pieces of Evidence’ where the varied and unusual objects and materials were arranged and constructed like clues in an investigation that the children imaginatively interpreted and then discussed. They then had great fun doing a hands-on creative workshop where they made a piece of their own installation art using a wide range of materials.

Over the course of the year, there were many memorable and impressive pieces of art produced throughout the school and I am looking forward to seeing what incredible creations the children will come up with next year. PRD

Sebastian Corry

Alfie Deahl

Sophia Bureau Page 14

OrlandoWilliams

Anna Cowan

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SUBJECTS

Classics Spain will probably rule again on the football field…is what I wrote at the end of this report last year.

I’m now writing days after Spain’s 5-1 thumping by the Netherlands in this year’s World Cup (Arturo Merigo has since produced his passport to prove American citizenship), and although a new style of play is breezing through football-land like a hurricane – the rapid, thrusting, four-or-five-but-nomore-passes-before-shooting counter-attack – I think Spain’s ponderous keepball will see them through (but I’m clearly no Paul the Octopus…and having revisited this report before submission, I’m clearly thoroughly outclassed in the milieu of prediction by cephalopod molluscs. But I feel not nearly as humiliated as Spain…or Italy…or England…)

And neither could I have predicted just how well this year’s leavers would perform in their Latin and Greek exams. An astonishing flurry of As at Common Entrance across the levels, alongside the rogue otherly-graded: we all know what an A* (Thomas Mercer, Repton) might mean, and can meaningfully assume that an AA grade (Zoe Nugent, Rugby) is something similar. (I suppose it could also

represent the satisfied murmuring of a musty Classics master unearthing the sensational script from a pile of oh-so-nearlies.) But what is a BA grade (Octavia Hamilton, St Edward’s Oxford)? Sounds like a grade awarded for exams in sheep management. Every one of the Common Entrance candidates scored highly and I am very proud of their conscientious diligence which afforded such rewards.

The scholarship group performed well, too. Natasha Carter-Motley’s Latin paper was singled out for high praise, while Oscar Holt, Archie Mobbs and Piers Merison all gained A grades from their future schools.

Aside from the academic nature of the subject, the usual outing to Wroxeter for Year 8 produced some fine articles as well as revision for CE classics topics.

We also welcomed Murray Edwards to the school twice in the summer term to perform as Titus Iustus for a Year 7 Roman Morning, and as Archon the Hoplite for a Year 6 Greek Morning. Great to see the classical world brought to life with such passion and performance.

It’s been a fine year. Year 7 have high levels to aim for now, and Spain needs to win the football war to reclaim Arturo Merigo. And I need to stop predicting. JO

English From ‘Under Milk Wood’ at the Birmingham Rep to Kate O’Hearn and her sinister assistant ‘The Dark Searcher’, this year seemed to have a wider range of offerings than ever for Packwood pupils in English. Year 7 enjoyed the critically acclaimed production of ‘War Horse’ at The Lowry, Salford which fitted well with our emphasis on commemorating World War One throughout the school. A good number of successful Elocution poems paid homage to the fallen in the war: Alfie Deahl powerfully recited ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, whilst Freddy Williams memorably performed Carol Ann Duffy’s postmodernist reworking of this, ‘Last Post’. Natasha Carter-Motley won the senior section with a tender reading of ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, whilst the junior and intermediate sections were won by Tom Thurstan (Year 3) and Orlando Williams (Year 6) respectively.

The children continue to excel in their spoken English. For the first time, all of the Year 4 and 6 pupils were entered for English Speaking Board exams, achieving a remarkable 24 distinctions out of the 51 successful entries. We were delighted to successfully retain the Malvern Prep Schools’ debating trophy as well. Edward Barry and Sophia Bureau excelled as the winning pair by defending the rather

worrying motion that ‘schools should be shut down and all teaching done via the internet’!

Packwood Year 5 pupils also attended the burgeoning Shrewsbury Bookfest for the first time, and took part in dramatized readings of the shortlisted novels for children, many of which they had already read.

This event hinted at the scope available for teachers of English in an independent school: pupils can write raps, create sketches or even create film-style trailers of their favourite works in this new century.

Packwood, of course, does the basics of English well also. It was heartening for Emma Middlemiss and me to be told, with other conference delegates, that the ‘new’ national curriculum holds the staples of a good prep school curriculum in high esteem, namely: reading for pleasure, spelling and grammar, debating and even learning poetry by heart! The worth of these was exemplified in strong Common Entrance results, with many As to schools with exacting markers such as Rugby, Shrewsbury and Tudor Hall. Well done to scholars Ellie and Freya at Moreton, Sybilla at St Edward’s and Piers and Archie, with alphas to Shrewsbury, also. RAC

Physical Education PE isn’t just about seeing how fast, how high or how far you can do something; it’s about measuring each child’s physical learning journey and only ever comparing their performance against themselves – this is where games and PE differ. Of course, there is always room for competition and plenty of fun along the way.

DOUBLE LESSONS – at last! It is universally agreed that double PE lessons are the way forward and the children have throughout the year made their feelings known on this issue. As a group of staff we have been able to tweak the schemes of work and we have been happier knowing and seeing the learning process take place.

This year all the children have participated in most of the following: socialisation games, target games, hockey, pop lacrosse, swimming, dance, net and wall games, games, mini tennis, golf and athletics (all Acorns) gymnastics, badminton, basketball, striking and fielding, leadership and team building, wheelchair sports, athletics, healthrelated fitness and the list goes on. Your children have breadth and depth in their sport and we are hopefully shaping them into healthy and knowledgeable young people who will make good life choices and decisions as they grow. KLP

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Craft, Design & Technology Another very busy year has flown by! We’ve mostly continued with the projects as last year and many of the year groups, especially Year 8 working on storage items, have been encouraged to use CAD and CAM (Computer Aided Design and manufacture). Year 7 have had a few extra ‘tweaks’ to their summer term Textiles project which has been updated and rejuvenated with the use of these software programs. They have used iron-on vinyl in their project which has gone down very well and made their own patterns using card, again with CAD and CAM. We have also continued with the traditional hands-on sewing and, of course, the use of Resistant Materials in the rest of the projects.

This subject is about problem solving and how to improve our lives creatively and intelligently. World-famous inventor and designer, Sir James Dyson, said, “I’ve always supported Design and Technology. It’s a subject that allows young people to learn with their ‘hands’ and their ‘brains’. We’ll need these practical, problem solving people to address the challenges that face us.” Sir James was specifically referring to environmental challenges here and I quote him as it is the young people we have in our school who are the key to our future. They are the ones that need to be guided and encouraged to solve

problems, especially about being sustainable in the world we live in. This is something that we do touch upon during lessons, thinking about how things can be recycled and re-used, therefore resulting in less wastage, and how a design or product can have less impact on the environment.

This year’s senior CDT prize has been awarded to Harry Griffiths for his final year work on an item of storage and his metal work. The Middle School prize went to Jack Goodall and the junior prize was won by Eliza Blackham. All of these children used their ‘hands’ and ‘brains’ to approach things differently and innovatively. They are the ones who stood out, those who thought ‘outside the box’ and tackled the problems that arose while completing their projects, coming up with creative solutions. Well done to all of them! EN

Religious Studies In RS lessons here, pupils learn to respect themselves and understand their own identity.

They are taught to respect others, and to understand their own and others’ rights and responsibilities. At a time when communities are becoming more diverse, there is an even greater need for a more religiously literate and tolerant society. RS plays a key role in creating social cohesion and generating genuine understanding between communities, thereby hopefully reducing friction, intolerance and social unrest.

During this academic year, pupils in Year 5 have visited Derby and have experienced what a mosque and a Mandir are like. Through role play we also thought about how Hindus celebrate weddings. We also enjoyed a Hindu workshop led by a Hindu priest during which we learnt about the Ramayana.

The Year 6s have studied the Jewish faith and we celebrated a Passover meal in class, tasting some traditional food and learning about the symbolism of the Seder Plate. We also went to The Jewish Museum in Manchester and saw what a synagogue is like. We welcomed some speakers from The Gideon organization into a lesson and 8C listened intently and asked some pertinent questions. We have also had guests to take our assembly this year including Mr Trevor-Jones and Mr Williams from The Royal British Legion. We learnt about the role of the Legion, how it started and what it does today.

RS is a demanding academic discipline in its own right. It engenders critical thinking and rigour in the search for truths in uncertain fields. The scholarship candidates and those that took CE earned some impressive results

ICT What have we been up to in 2013-2014? Well, the Year 3s have had a great time being artists, writers and searching the Internet for pictures and information about castles. Pupils in Year 4 gained access to their email account, made posters to advertise their fantastic ideas to improve break time, and have been doing a project on the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The Year 5s have been designing classrooms and making presentations about the castles of Edward I. Year 6 pupils have been designing and programming their own games using Kodu while the Year 7s have also programmed games, using Scratch as well as making a podcast and doing lots of work under the theme of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. As for the Year 8s, they have done a Geography project, made a video and learnt about the dangers of the Internet. SAR Page 16

this year, reflecting a high level of knowledge and a very good ability to express it.

RS is important because it helps overcome prejudices and negative stereotypes – if people have a better understanding of other faiths, they're less likely to be dismissive of issues that don't concern them directly. RS helps our pupils to become better communicators too, finding it easier to assess both sides of an argument before coming to a conclusion. The lessons they learn in RS are especially valuable after leaving school, as it is in the real world that they will meet more people from different backgrounds, traditions and religious beliefs from across the world. It is vital that schools across the country realise the value of RS. Thank goodness Packwood does! RE

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SUBJECTS

Science

Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.

Practical work remains the cornerstone of the Packwood science department and the children have again been working with enthusiasm in the three laboratories this year. They are fortunate to have the facilities, equipment and experienced staff to enable them to enjoy this approach to science at a time when so many schools seem to have, for various reasons, reduced or abandoned practical science.

Of course (despite what some children would like to believe) it is not all whizzes, bangs and animals screaming. Alongside the practical

work, an ability to write clearly, explain fully and to draw and interpret graphs and diagrams must also be learned for success in the dreaded exams. The high achievers in this year’s scholarships were Archie Mobbs, Amelia Peterson and Sybilla Hamilton.

In the Common Entrance 75% of grades were A or B reflecting an extremely high standard across the year. Special congratulations go to Sebastian Corry, Freddie Furnival, Arthur Gell, William Holcroft, Thomas Mercer, Frank Morris, Annabel Robertson and Harry Griffiths who all achieved the distinction of A grades in all three science papers. As usual my thanks go to Nick Jones and Paul Phillips for putting up with me and for all their hard work in the department. FRH

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SUBJECTS

Maths At the beginning of the year Robbie Tadman was our newly appointed Head of Maths but unfortunately, due to family circumstances, he left half way through the academic year. I took on the role of Head of Department and teaching responsibility for some of his sets, and the dependable Howard Bourne kindly came out of retirement and took over the rest.

We try to ensure that, in addition to understanding the mathematical concepts, pupils can apply themselves to puzzles and investigations and work together to solve challenges they may be given.

The UKMT run individual challenges that are undertaken formally in the classroom and team challenges that can involve 40 or more schools. I took a team of Year 8 pupils comprising Oscar Holt, Ben Cowley, Archie Mobbs and Harry Zhang (aka the human calculator!) to Keele University for the Intermediate Team Challenge. The challenges were varied and stimulating. It was a great day and we were pleased to come ninth out of 39 teams, most of which were made up of a mixture of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils. I will have to try to borrow some Year 9s next time, if Shrewsbury School will allow me to. Mr Cowley took a team of Year 5 boys – Louis Graham, Jago Ainslie, Hugo Davies and Daniel Richardson – to compete at the Wrekin Maths Challenge.

Again it was an exciting and varied day and the pupils got a lot out of it.

In the individual challenge, Harry Zhang did so well that he qualified for the Junior Olympiad.

In this competition he came in the top 260 out of about a quarter of a million pupils that took part. Quite an achievement and one that earned him a Distinction and a Bronze medal.

As ever, the academic year culminated with Common Entrance exams for the Year 8s. The pupils did well, in particular the Level 3 candidates, who under the tutelage of Mr Cowley achieved a high proportion of A grades. We were very grateful to Howard Bourne for taking on a CE set with only a couple of months left before the CE exams. Not an easy task, but one that he did very well. Thank you very much Howard. EAC

UKMT Maths Challenge (13+) Gold: Harry Zhang (best in school), Thomas Mercer, Archie Mobbs, Ben Cowley, Riko Munakata, Dragon Dararattanarojna, Oscar Holt, Adam Pattenden, Alfie Deahl, Theodora Jarvis Silver: Natasha Carter-Motley, Alex Ainslie, Keita Nakamura, Ali Davies, Ned Moreau, Piers Merison, George Clowes Bronze: Felix Jebb, Sybilla Hamilton, Amelia Maunder, Amelia Peterson, James Hinwood, Phoebe Wasdell, Annabel Robertson, Frank Morris, Zoe Nugent, Louisa Jarvis, Tom Baines, Jake Reid, Mario Hernandez, Robert Vick UKMT Maths Challenge (16+) Silver: Oscar Holt, Archie Mobbs Bronze: Adam Pattenden, Ben Cowley, Alex Ainslie

Modern Foreign Languages This year the department has been very fortunate to be the pioneer in the iPad revolution at Packwood. These fabulous tablets have been welcomed enthusiastically by the pupils who have been able to sharpen their linguistics skills by using a great array of applications.

The all-time favourite has been Book Creator which allowed pupils to create e-books on the topics covered in class. We have also been able to do a lot of video work on various projects including our own weather forecast, French cooking show and various dialogues to improve pronunciation and comprehension. Apple TV is a fantastic tool as you can immediately project onto the big screen and share the pupils’ work.

One of the highlights of the year has been the first French elocution competition at school in which all year groups have been involved.

Many congratulations to the finalists who recited their poem fantastically well. It’s not easy to stand in front of the whole school at Page 18

any time, but even harder if you have to say a poem in French! Our guest judge, Mr Webster had a difficult task deciding on the winners but he did a fabulous job in a very short time. Well done to the prize winners: Year 8 – Nick Yeoward, Year 7 – Suguru Gotoh and Eliza Rosselli, Year 6 – Georgiana Nicholas, Year 5 – Honor Grigg, Year 4 – James Lewis and Year 3 – Joseph Bowdler.

We are now very much looking forward to the trip to France in September. For the first time, we will be flying to the south west of the country, staying very close to Toulouse where we will be visiting the Space Museum and going to the market on the main square. We will also be going to Carcassonne to visit the medieval city as well as Albi where the group will be doing a trail around town. It will be a great opportunity to practise their French speaking and listening skills. It will also be a good chance to discover a different culture and maybe some new food. JN

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SUBJECTS

Geography The Geography department has had a very busy and hard-working year, beginning last autumn with 63 Year 8 pupils visiting Carding Mill Valley to collect data for their Geography projects on river studies. We were really lucky with the weather and both groups came back with suitable data to allow them to write up some good projects which counted towards their Common Entrance and Scholarships.

Later that term we had an excellent assembly when Harry Martin (a former Packwood Head Boy) and Alex Bland, his friend from Shrewsbury School, came to tell us about their ambition to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat. In the Geography department, we followed their trip avidly via their blogs and tracked their progress on a big map in the main school building. We also sent them encouraging emails during their crossing –

these must have worked as they arrived at their destination successfully after just 50 days!

In the spring term, the Year 5s and some of the scholars marked Climate Week – a national awareness week – by taking part in the challenge to invent an eco-friendly and efficient heating system. Some entries were sent off to the national competition and others were awarded certificates for their efforts.

After the Geography department presentation to the Governors at the end of the spring term, summer – and therefore exam preparation – was soon upon us.

All the children’s hard work and revision was rewarded with some excellent results.

80% of Common Entrance and Scholarship candidates achieved an A or a B grade –

a very pleasing performance indeed. Prizes were given out at the end of the summer term to Freya Beasley (senior), Edward Don (middle school) and Hugo Davies (junior).

Well done to all of them.

Across all age groups during the school year we have continued using the school grounds as a resource, for example measuring the weather and microclimates, looking for signs and symbols and for helping with map work. Promoting an interest and enjoyment in the subject and a curiosity about the world around us are our main aims and I am very grateful, as ever, to Mr Mullock and Mrs Herzog for all they do to further these aims through their committed teaching, help and support.

What next? – A new syllabus to work on and more Geography projects! GW

History “Stop, stop, that never happened!” so rang the cry from Anna Cowan in 7H’s History play. D’Artagnan had taken a ‘selfie’ in front of the Paris signpost and Miss Cowan, with clipboard, was correcting historical inaccuracies. Certainly no inaccuracies as far as our History superstars have been concerned this year (see below). Special mention also to Dragon Dararattanarojna, Scott Karnsuwan, Pun Vatayanonta and Lucas Jones Polanco who managed to achieve B grades to Shrewsbury in a paper containing Tudor English when their first language isn’t 21st century English!

on plots, rebellions, battles and wars. This year’s two specialist CE evidence topics were the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and Marlborough’s victory at Blenheim. Next year we’re onto Bloody Mary and the causes of the English Civil War. More trips to Montgomery with swords and hats! In 2016 it will be Henry’s Reformation and the Plague/Fire of London so if you’re in Year 6 (Year 7 by the time this is in print),‘get ye to a nunnery’, or an abbey!

Trips really are the lifeblood of the department, as along with the video clips, the music and all the dressing up, they really do help News from the Weston front… Quotes of the year: in third place, develop the higher level understanding that we all aim to achieve. “people didn’t like his French Catholic wife Henrietta-Maria de BonMy grateful thanks to everyone involved in trips: the parents who Bon” (Bourbon actually, she was a biscuit not a sweetie!); runner-up, pay for them, Natalie and Emma who book them, Tom and his team “Yes I dropped it when playing as a child” (Octavia Hamilton when in the kitchens who feed the army on the march, the matrons who asked if she had ever seen her family’s famous heirloom, the weapon provide the sick buckets (oh yes), the drivers and fellow teachers who used in the first ever assassination by firearm in Britain!); winner, volunteer their time and services, the other teachers who cover or “Cardinal Onesie tried to secure Henry VIII a divorce” (Year 6 child, switch around their activities to enable them to take place and finally anon!). My ‘Robert the Bruce’ award for perseverance goes to the boy to the teacher who plans them, fills in the risk assessments and then in the 8s who in his Christmas mocks, having prepared an essay on the enriches the lives of our children (my own included) with all of their ‘Consequences of a Rebellion’, picked the exam essay (60% of the enthusiasm. As Churchill almost said: “Long live the trips; keep calm marks) on ‘Consequences of… an ECONOMIC revolution’. Fortunately and carry bin liners!” NW he learned from his mistake (and what Economic means) and scored the top grade in his real Shrewsbury CE – legend!

Huge thanks to the History team. In Acorns, History is about looking at lives in the past and spotting similarities and differences. This year’s theme of ‘1994’ was a bit of a shock. My life, it appears is now considered ‘History’. Comes to us all I suppose. Mrs Thatcher was on the Winchester Scholarship Paper this year! Well done to Emma, Geraldine and Jenny for another great year of learning with attitude in the Acorns. Cath Hammond sets the ball rolling in the senior school with the 3s and 4s learning stories, investigating Civilisations and producing very impressive project work. Gail Wilkinson works on Mediaeval History bringing in all the gore for the Year 5s. Gail is our resident expert on all things Tudor and helps the children in Year 6 understand the dramatic changes of the sixteenth century. Every year we have a visit from History Squad’s Kevin Hicks (Roman/Mediaeval archer/Infantryman) bringing tales from the past alive and helping the children to understand both chronology and how changes in technology changed the tide of many a battle. Boring old Mr Weston rattles through the Slimy Stuarts from start to finish developing essays

History prize winners: Alfie Deahl and Piers Merison (senior), Gus Ames (middle), Will Tate (junior) Summer project winner: James Lewis, 4C

Christmas quiz winners: Robert Vick, 7H and Euan Montgomery, 5M Townsend Warner History Prize winners: Alfie Deahl, Piers Merison, Gus Ames (Year 6!), Adam Pattenden, Alex Ainslie, Oscar Holt, Archie Mobbs Top grades in scholarship: Sybilla Hamilton (St Edward’s), Piers Merison (Shrewsbury) Top grades in CE: Sophie Barlow (Moreton Hall), Sebastian Corry (Ellesmere), Freddie Furnival (Ellesmere), Harry Griffiths (Ellesmere), Ollie Hall (Shrewsbury), Theodora Jarvis (Shrewsbury), Frank Morris (Shrewsbury), Zoe Nugent (Rugby), Rowan Pickstock (Ellesmere), Nick Yeoward (Malvern)

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SUBJECTS

Music

Near the end of the summer term, Stowe School’s Big Band called in at Packwood to give a concert on their tour of the north of England. They left us with some mugs printed with their departmental motto, ‘Music for everyone’ – a sentiment I share.

Music at Packwood is indeed for everyone, and every child has been involved in some aspect of music this year.

Early in the autumn term, Mr Dougan and I took a minibus-load of children to Malvern College for an Arts’ Day. Whilst the artists were painting and sculpting, members of the Packwood chamber orchestra spent an industrious and enjoyable day with other prep school musicians, learning orchestral music and songs which were then performed to parents and other visitors in the final presentation, an impressive feat for a day’s work.

From the very beginning of the term, rehearsals began for the Sixes Music

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Competition. This year we were celebrating the 10th anniversary of our fine theatre, so ‘own choice’ songs were taken from the greatest hits of 2003. All Sixes performed ‘There’s no business like show business’ from ‘Annie, get your gun’, and each Six was also represented by three soloists.

actual exam; the theory is that, if something is going to go wrong, it is better that it does so before rather than during the exam. Both children and parents have found these concerts an enlightening experience...‘I’ve never heard her play that piece before’, one mother said to me recently!

There were many splendid performances and the marks were very close, but our adjudicator, Mr Stephen Williams (Director of Music at Uppingham), awarded the first place to Mannings Sodens – for the second year running – in which Louisa Jarvis, Nick Yeoward and Alex Ainslie had provided a particularly impressive instrumental break for ‘California’.

The end of term was particularly busy for many musicians. The Acorns put on a lovely Nativity play with songs, with Daniel Humes providing an excellent percussion accompaniment. Many ensembles and soloists donned their reindeer antlers and Santa hats to take part in the Christmas Concert, a riot of tinsel and jollity. Felix Jebb will be forever remembered at Packwood for the aplomb with which he resurrected his trombone during his grand encore! Two days later the Junior Choir led the school church service in Ruyton while the Senior Choirs sang for the village carol service at West Felton church. Finally, all choirs helped to

Music exams are an important (and generally unpopular!) part of every term, and we have now established our pre-exam concerts a couple of weeks before each exam session.

These provide a very useful performance platform for the exam pieces before the

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SUBJECTS bring the term to a splendid close with our own school carol service in Shrewsbury Abbey.

Plenty more music-making continued in the following term, including more church services for the choirs, performances by the Big Band, choirs and soloists at our Open Day, an Evensong at Shrewsbury Abbey by the choirs, musical assemblies from Acorns and Year 3, and a very successful Junior Concert featuring ensembles, duettists and soloists from Years 3-6; lots of hope for the future there.

Music took place out of school too: all of Year 7 attended a schools’ concert at Birmingham Symphony Hall and there were musical trips for boarders – bell ringing in Liverpool and a family concert, again at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Particularly pleasing in the spring term was the news that three of our musicians had been awarded scholarships and exhibitions to their senior schools: Felix Jebb to Shrewsbury, Romy Grigg to Moreton Hall, and William Brooke’s Choral Exhibition to Downside, which we believe to be our first ‘choral’ award from Packwood.

Although the summer term was short, just as much music seemed to take place. More musical assemblies, this time from Acorns and Year 4; an informal concert over lunch at the Grandparents’ Day; the Junior Play, ‘Noah’s Ark’, in which Year 3 proved to be a highly

enthusiastic chorus; the concert given by Stowe School’s Big Band; more music exams and pre-exam concerts.

Whilst everyone else was ‘winding down’ for the last fortnight of the school year, the Music Department prepared for more or less daily musical activity. All ensembles and some selected Year 8 soloists played in an enjoyable and very varied Summer Concert. Highlights included pieces by our two string quartets, showing excellent teamwork and musicality, and a fine clarinet solo by Zoe Nugent.

The following Sunday, the Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs led the music in a packed church for the Leavers’ Service: the parents and school sang the hymns (chosen by Year 8) very enthusiastically and the choirs performed two of their ‘greatest hits’, contrasting anthems by John Rutter and Benedetto Marcello. Next day, the choirs were rewarded for their hard work throughout the year with a fabulous day at Drayton Manor.

The following day saw a trip to sing Evensong at St Asaph Cathedral in North Wales. For some choristers, this was home territory, so their parents were able to attend the service, and it was particularly good to see members of the cathedral there too. This was a new Evensong venue for us; the acoustic was lovely and the choir did real justice to the music (including a set of responses written specially for them), leading a moving service which was appreciated by all. Finally, the swansong for Year 8 choristers came with a concert in Shrewsbury Abbey, part of the abbey’s ‘Wednesday at One’ lunchtime recital series. The choirs were at their best, singing some of their favourite anthems, and several members of the choir played solo items: Louisa Jarvis completely held the audience with her confident guitar and vocal rendition of ‘Demons’; as a real musical contrast, George Clowes played part of a Baroque oboe concerto beautifully; and Edward Bayliss’ fine singing of ‘The Bay of Biscay’ impressed everyone – to name but a few.

The remaining musical event was the Acorns’ final assembly – complete with two rounds sung by all Acorns children, the everpopular ‘Donkeys and Carrots’ and ‘Popocatepetl’. Year 2 children gave a fine performance of ‘Sur le Pont’, arranged for violins, recorders and xylophones, which they had worked on in their weekly instrumental lessons. Certainly some musical talent here to look forward to next year in the main school.

As always, a huge amount has happened in the Music Department, both on a small and large scale. It would be easy to forget that these many events can only happen due to the daily practice sessions, instrumental lessons, ensemble rehearsals and choir practices which our busy Packwood children somehow manage to fit into their packed weekly schedules. So thank you to all our Packwood musicians, from Reception to Year 8, for another successful year, and, of course, to our many peripatetic teachers who work so hard to encourage, help and inspire them. A particular thanks to Elizabeth McEntee for being a truly fantastic, helpful and patient assistant. SB Page 21

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SUBJECTS MUSIC EXAMS AUTUMN TERM James Hinwood Theodora Jarvis William Tate Keita Nakamura Emily McParland Garret Healy Daniel Richardson Dragon Dararattanarojna Euan Montgomery Guy Macey Sebastian Marmont Joseph Bowdler Zennor Harvey

Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 2 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Initial Initial Prep Test Prep Test

MUSIC EXAMS SUMMER TERM Singing Singing Saxophone Drum Kit Violin Violin Cello Drum Kit Drum Kit Drum Kit Drum Kit Piano Piano

Pass Merit Pass Pass Pass Merit Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit

Singing Singing Piano Alto Saxophone Trumpet Singing Singing Piano Piano Cello Organ Organ Alto Saxophone Organ Drums Piano Piano Piano Piano Piano Piano Drums Piano Piano Piano

Pass Merit Pass Pass Distinction Pass Pass Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Pass Pass Pass Merit Merit Merit Pass Merit Pass

MUSIC EXAMS SPRING TERM Romy Grigg Amelia Peterson James Hinwood Nathan Mielczarek Alfred Hughes Honor Grigg Sacha Sandbach Alexander Davies Isabel Morris Honor Grigg Jacob Jones Emily Keeling-Paglia Thomas Mercer Alfie Deahl Pun Vatayanonta Orlando Bayliss Freja Bedell Beatrice Grigg James Lewis Tony Li Poppy Stephens Bobby Boyes Tom Bright Alice Marshall Flora Raichura

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Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Initial Prep Test Prep Test Prep Test

William Brooke Imogen Downey Louisa Jarvis George Clowes Jacob Jones Felix Jebb Zoe Nugent Alfie Deahl George Clowes Jacob Jones Amelia Peterson Sophia Bureau Freya Cox Suguru Gotoh Romy Grigg George Clowes Octavia Hamilton Emily Keeling-Paglia Zoe Nugent Anna Cowan Hugo Compston Henry Dickson Thomas Mercer Orlando Williams Edward Bayliss Tommy Jarvis Octavia Hamilton Sybilla Hamilton Garret Healy Tom Kiel Harry Zhang William Tate Rowena Jones Freddy Williams Joseph Bowdler Lucy Mielczarek Angus Hill-Trevor Frankie McLaughlin Lucy Clarke Isabel Morris Heath Rosselli Georgina Kenyon Catherine Morton-Willetts Louis Graham Claudia Tate

Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 5 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 3 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Prep Test Prep Test Prep Test Prep Test

Singing Singing Singing Oboe Oboe Trombone Clarinet Piano Theory Theory Theory Singing Singing Violin Violin Piano Piano Piano Piano Harp Trumpet Trumpet Alto Saxophone Clarinet Singing Singing Theory Theory Trumpet Trumpet Clarinet Violin Piano Alto Saxophone Piano Piano Tenor Horn Trumpet Singing Singing Singing Piano Piano Double Bass Cello

Merit Pass Distinction Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Merit Pass Merit Pass Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Pass Merit Merit Pass Distinction Pass Merit Merit Merit Distinction Merit Pass Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Pass Pass Merit Pass Merit

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EVENTS

Schools Ski Championships The eighth Independent Schools Ski and Snowboard Championships were held in Les Deux Alpes, France last December and for the first time ever a team from Packwood took part. The team had two days of warm-up race training, followed by two days of races on the glacier.

Conditions could not have been better with blue skies and plenty of snow allowing for fast packed conditions and temperatures warm enough for spectators to enjoy the event.

The field consisted of over 110 pupils from nine schools, with some very experienced racers and others racing for the first time. The Giant Slalom saw Packwood finish a very respectable twelfth out of 20, beating other teams predominately made up of senior aged pupils from Canford, Bradfield and Lancing. Individually, Harry Myddelton led the way, with Jac Evans, Scott Nicholson and Oscar Holt posting team times. The second race day started with the more technically demanding Slalom. The boys raised their game, seemingly a lot more relaxed having got the first set of races out of the way finishing eighth out of 17 teams with podium places for Scott Nicholson (second ) and Jac Evans (third) overall in the individual Juniors.

After lunch came the Parallel Slalom showcase event, throwing up drama after drama and providing a great spectacle. Run as a head-to-head team relay of six racers, Packwood’s first team progressed out of the pool heats with two out of three victories and then proceeded to win their quarter-final, earning them a place

in the semi-final of the senior competition – and in the words of the Championship Review, emerging as “the surprise package of the event”. Despite winning the first leg against a very strong and experienced senior team from Wycombe Abbey, Packwood just lost the decider amidst loud vocal encouragement, support and almost disbelief at how events unfolded. As the reviewer went on to say this was “a fantastic achievement that bodes well for the future of these racers.” The event concluded with a gala buffet and presentation with a surprised Jac Evans picking up ‘Rookie of the Year’ and Packwood receiving the loudest cheer for their overall team effort that afternoon. Glenn Evans

Author visits With the help of Tim and Carrie from Oswestry’s wonderful Booka book shop, we were delighted to welcome two children’s authors to speak at Packwood during the spring term.

In January Kirsty Riddiford visited to talk about her trilogy of fantasy novels and her career as a writer.

Kirsty kept her audience rapt with an extract from her first book, ending on a tantalising cliffhanger as ‘something’ was about to emerge from a huge, dark lake… The children were clearly inspired by what they’d heard of the story so far and came up with a whole gamut of hideous and fantastic monsters, among some other more unusual suggestions, before Kirsty revealed the truth.

Kirsty also spoke about the process of writing her books and about the importance of editing and refining her work – a crucial stage of the procedure which she encouraged the children to apply to their own essays and stories. She showed them a copy of the first draft of one of her novels which had scribbles, notes and crossings-out on every page. There was plenty of time for questions and the children were keen to hear about how long it took to write the books, who Kirsty’s own favourite authors were, where her ideas came from, and many other details.

Later on in the term we enjoyed the visit of Kate O’Hearn. Dressed in a fabulous, gothic-inspired costume of her own creation, Kate was accompanied by a sinister looking monster, the Dark Searcher, who

appears as a character in her most recent novel, ‘Valkyrie’.

The children were enthralled and amused in equal measure by Kate’s amazing performance. They enjoyed the tales from childhood that fuelled her first forays into writing; joined in with relish and great imagination when given the chance to develop the events of a suitably menacing scenario she gave them; listened intently as she read from her book – and groaned as she left us all on tenterhooks at a thrilling moment in the story.

All the while the children were keeping a watchful eye on the Searcher who prowled soundlessly across the room looming over those poor nervous-looking individuals in the front row seats. Kate, and her mysterious sidekick, effortlessly kept the audience entertained for over an hour and answered question after question before kindly signing the huge pile of books the children had chosen. CEH Page 23

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EVENTS

Noah’s Ark Miss Middlemiss and her team excelled themselves again with this year’s spectacular junior production of ‘Noah’s Ark’. The theatre was filled with colour, music and movement as the children in Years 3 to 6 delighted the audience with their wonderful interpretation of the familiar Bible story.

Four brave soloists, Honor Grigg, Callum Reid, Jago Ainslie and Jack Yeoward opened the performance joined by the chorus singing ‘Rain and rain and rain’ which set the scene for the action to follow. The story was introduced by Noah (played with great self-assurance by Orlando Williams) an elderly gentleman with a loyal, strong family and an unwavering devotion to God. When God spoke, with the authoritative voice of Jacob Jones, Noah listened carefully to His instructions and hurried home to relay the news of the forthcoming flood to his family.

At Noah’s home, the audience was introduced to Georgie Nicholas who gave a great performance as a bustling, pernickety Mrs Noah

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taking great pleasure in bossing around her daughters-in-law, the patient and long suffering Three Rs – Rachel (Daisy David), Rebecca (Alice Hughes) and Ruth (Freja Bedell). We also met Ham (Edward Bayliss), Shem (William Stanford-Davis) and Japheth (Fred Stephens), Noah’s three grown sons. Although sceptical about Noah’s message from God, the family set to work building the Ark – much to the amusement of a crowd of jeering onlookers who regard the preparations with derision. A fight between Noah’s sons and the jeerers is narrowly averted and eventually the Ark is completed.

The next task is to load the precious cargo of animals who, two-bytwo, hopped, stomped, slithered, crawled, stalked and fluttered their way on to the Ark. The parts of the animals were played by the Year 4s who had spared no effort in producing the fantastically detailed masks they wore. At last, all were safely aboard – and they were just in time…

The rain began and steadily built into a furious storm, vividly conveyed in dance by the children in Year 5. Dressed in shades of blue

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EVENTS

and green and using floaty scarves and lengths of translucent material to recreate the turbulent waters of the giant flood, they filled the stage with movement and colour. It was a brilliant performance and one of the very best scenes in the play, earning appreciative and deserved applause.

As the long, slow period of rain persisted over 40 days and 40 nights, the animals – and Noah’s family – confined to the Ark vented their growing restlessness in a very effective rhyming mantra accompanied by stamping feet and the refrain “Is it any wonder that we’re all going mad?!” However, with food supplies running perilously low, a dove dispatched by Noah to search for land returned with an olive branch and all on board realised they were finally safe.

Throughout the play, parts of the story were told in song by the Years 3s’ Ark choir, accompanied by Mrs Boutwood on piano. The children had clearly worked hard to learn the songs and their contribution to the whole was invaluable – lively, enthusiastic and joyful. They joined with the rest of the cast in the jubilant celebratory singing of Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ that ended the play and that saw God appear for the first time – a great comic moment as Jacob swaggered confidently onto the stage dressed as Elvis (who else?!)

As ever, it was not only the outstanding work of Miss Middlemiss and Mrs Hughes, but the contribution of the huge team of helpers behind the scenes that made the production such a success. Many thanks are due to the make-up, hair and dressing team; the backstage crew; those responsible for lighting, sound, music, continuity and props; Mrs Jones for the wonderful costumes, and Mr Dougan and Mrs Nogues for the set and the amazing Ark. CEH

Hindu workshop The Year 5s Hinduism workshop was led by a Hindu priest – a first for Packwood! His name was Tribhangananda and he brought a whole treasure trove of Hindu artefacts to share with us. He began by making a beautiful pure and eerie sound by blowing a conch shell, before helping us to act out the story of Rama and Sita.

We learnt a lot of extra information as he filled the story with so many interesting details.

Some of the children dressed up as the Trimurti and their wives, so we had Brahma and Saraswati; Vishnu and Lakshmi; and Shiva and Durga, and everyone had a chance to try on traditional turbans and saris. We were all given a bindi to wear too and learnt a special Hindu dance with sticks. The children really enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells and stories of their morning – it was a wonderful way to bring our introduction to Hinduism alive. RE

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EVENTS

Packwood Arts Experience In the spring term we welcomed a group of local children to Packwood for an Arts Experience afternoon. They took part in a variety of pirate-themed activities and made the most of the school’s fantastic Art, CDT, Music and Drama facilities.

Mr Dougan guided the children through producing their own ‘pirate’ T shirts and with Mrs Nogues they made key rings, jewellery that pirates would have found on a treasure hunt and, to keep their treasures in, little draw string bags that they decorated on a piratical theme. In Mrs Boutwood’s music workshop the children learnt two songs, one about pirates and parrots which included a violin accompaniment played by one of the visiting boys, and the other about a pirate ship, during which the children enthusiastically added percussion instruments to the chorus. The Drama session was led by Cap’n (Miss) Middlemiss who dressed up as pirate and read the children the story of ‘The Pirate Cruncher’ which they then re-enacted, improvising short scenes themselves using pirate phrases and plenty of exuberant and murderous swashbuckling.

The afternoon culminated in a ‘show and tell’ session in the theatre when the children revealed to their parents what they’d been up to during the day. CEH

Packwood Pigeons XI v The Fathers XI After their emphatic victory last year, the Packwood Pigeons staff team again took on the Fathers XI for their annual cricket match on the first afternoon of half term. Pigeons’ captain, Mr Cowley writes: “The Pigeons batted first with Roy Chambers and Clive Smith-Langridge our openers. Much was expected of our Headmaster after an imperious exhibition of batting last year. However a top edge off a ball “which just died” saw him walking back to the pavilion, with groans from the numerous supporters. Roy and James Mullock saw off the tight bowling of Robin Morris and James Harvey, before Roy was bowled going for a big one. At this stage all was well, a reasonable scoring rate, a couple of wickets for about 40 runs. James Mullock and Chris Leese were looking comfortable and the players yet to bat were lolling in their deck chairs.

Then came the Blitzkrieg…

“Rhys Williams, who was now bowling, suddenly stilled, his eyes narrowed and he bowled a beauty to James, sending his middle stump flying. Eve Jones, our county player, was dispatched the very next ball and, unbelievably, Paul Dougan the one after that, giving Rhys his hattrick! Now everyone was scrabbling for pads and things got even worse in the next over. The fierce hitting Leese was caught on the boundary by the athletic Ian Hill-Trevor and then Tom Hughes was bowled out first ball. It was 50 for 7, and it was nowhere near tea time…

“Fortunately, the wise Fathers XI captain Rhys Williams, does what all good captains do at times like this and gave his ‘occasional’ bowlers a ‘good work out’. It worked. Richard Cowley and Martin Ford were allowed to settle in and start scoring, helped by a dropped catch courtesy of Mr Tate and some pleasant bowling which saw the Pigeons reach 137 for 9 in their 30 overs.

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“The Fathers looked very happy at tea, a total of 137 looked straightforward as they had scored about 260 last year. They had a casual, confident air about them – but they hadn’t counted on three important factors. 1) The ball hardly bounced so it was difficult scoring from a short ball; 2) The Pigeons’ hero Paul Phillips had replaced Eve who had to leave early, and 3) Sarah Wood’s fielding. It was in the first six overs, that the cheery laughter echoing from the pavilion began to fade. Mullock and Phillips were spot on line and length, and at the end of the spell the Fathers had scored only seven runs for the loss of Chris Dickson. It was going to take some hard work. Still, with the new bowlers on, Mr Clarke was finding his form and he was now with the dependable Robin Morris.

“Then came the key moment of the match. Sarah Wood, plucked a low, cracking shot from her feet and in one movement threw the ball like an Exocet to the keeper to run out the stunned Morris. After that, despite a fine innings from James Clarke, their spirit was broken. Catches were taken, Sarah taking two, and Mullock taking a marvellous low catch in the deep. As most Pigeons were given a bowl, they showed they had strength in depth, all impressing, with Roy and Tom picking up two wickets apiece. Rhys looked good, scoring a huge six in the pond, but we then called on Dougs who had ‘done him’ last year – he duly served up the dastardly ball to trap Rhys LBW. With a few overs left, and with the Fathers’ chances looking less than even, Mr Ford took over the bowling, quickly getting a wicket in his first over. Four overs to go, about 30 to make and one wicket left – the end was inevitable for the Fathers and they were duly dispatched. Consolation followed in the form of postmatch refreshments at The Royal Hill on a still gloriously sunny evening.” RHC

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Roman and Greek mornings During the last week of the summer term, two visitors from the past came to Packwood to talk to pupils about their lives in ancient times.

First, Titus Iustus came to teach the Year 7s about the Romans. 7H reported as follows: “We explored the Romans through re-enactment of military punishment and training, followed by a plethora of questions…Did you know that a centurion commanded not 100 men, but 80? Did you know that instead of Andrex or Cushelle, Sponge-on-a-Stick dipped in vinegar was the preferred method of pampering one's derriere?

Spartan King, but then he died and the Persians dragged him away – then the Spartans dragged him back again. This actually happened – and no fewer than four times during the war between the two empires!

The funniest thing was Hoplite training when we were pushing against each other. We were allowed to try on the helmets which were huge and heavy and covered with lots of decorations. During the question and answer session at the end of our Greek morning, we learnt that Altantis was actually real, and that a few mythical creatures were thought to look like animals we have today.” 7H and 6R

Weapons were fun: shields were coated in leather for water-proofing, and foreign recruits to the Roman army were encouraged to continue using their native weaponry due to their familiarity and ability with them. By far the most memorable part of the morning was performing a Roman army charge at Mr Jones. Armed only with his pencil and his Reds, he survived the attack, due to modern health and safety laws.

It was a fun, factual, frightening, fascinating Roman morning with Titus.”

Later in the week, Ancient Greece took centre stage, as described by 6R: “A man who claimed to be from ancient Athens came in and talked about some of the Greek battles and warfare in those days.When we were all settled, he suddenly yelled and nearly ran us through with his spear which made us all jump and not quite so settled! Yuta was dressed up as a Persian soldier and William Maunder was the

History Day Kevin Hicks, the History Man, is an annual visitor to Packwood and one who never fails to entertain and enthral. During his visit early in the summer term, he travelled through time from the days of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages and finally came to rest in the troubled years of the English Civil War. Years 3 and 4 learnt about the life of a Roman centurion and the equipment and tactics he would have used in battle. During the session, with just the right balance of informing and questioning, the children were able to share and build upon their existing knowledge.

We found out about the versatility of the scutum (shield) – from protective cover to rudimentary raft; the clever design of the pilum (javelin) which prevented your enemy throwing it back at you; and the correct way to use the gladius (short sword) to maximum effect. We also learnt about other essential components of the centurion’s kit from nail trimmers, ear cleaners, cooking utensils and the many and varied uses for olive oil. All fascinating!

Kevin’s next incarnation was as a mediaeval archer to provide Years 5

and 6 with an insight to the life of a specialist English soldier at the Battles of Shrewsbury and Agincourt. Out in the school grounds he demonstrated the power and accuracy of the longbow, the weapon that devastated the French knights and which could shoot up to distances of 240m. The children were introduced to the use of archaeology to discover the details of history – the size of the bows, the making of bowstring, and the different types of arrow for different jobs.

Finally, Years 7 and 8 witnessed the fire power of an altogether more modern weapon as Kevin again exhibited his shooting skills, this time with muskets. The noise of one musket firing could be heard across the school grounds and we wondered what the 10,000 used at Blenheim must have sounded like! We learnt about the evolution of the musket from the cumbersome Civil War matchlock muskets to the ‘Brown Bess’ flintlock musket with bayonet. In-depth knowledge of the weapons used in wars, campaigns and battles is a Common Entrance examination theme so, as well as being an interesting and enjoyable afternoon, the children progressed in their knowledge too. CEH

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Grease

This year’s senior play transformed Packwood’s theatre into a little piece of 1950s California, specifically Rydell High School, the setting for the musical, ‘Grease’.

‘Grease’ tells the story of the teenage love of Danny (William Brooke) and Sandy (Imogen Downey) who, having met in the summer holidays, unexpectedly both find themselves at Rydell at the start of the new school year. The prospects for their relationship don’t seem good when Danny is reunited with his gang of friends, the T-Birds, and sweet, good girl Sandy struggles to fit in with the cool crowd of Pink Ladies.

From the start, William gave an air of relaxed, easy confidence in all he did, while a sensitive performance from Imogen

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showed a sunny nature gradually being clouded by frustration.

The students are welcomed back to school by their principal, played by Amelia Peterson, the very embodiment of a strict headmistress who can quell any nonsense with a stern look. The action then shifts to the cafeteria where the Pink Ladies gather round Sandy as she recounts the story of her summer romance, and to the school grounds where Danny tells his version to the T Birds, through the song, ‘Summer Nights’. Imogen and William are respectively the lovelorn sentimentalist and the tough guy showing off in front of his friends. The T-Birds (Freddy Williams, John Elliott, Ollie Hall, Alex Ainslie and Ali Davies) are laddish and

hungry for details. Freddy and John caught the eye as they effortlessly convinced us with their faultless American accents, and super-confident stage presence, while Alex played his comic role with great timing.

Louisa Jarvis’ Patty appeared for the first time in this scene too – played superbly as an overly-enthusiastic, involved-in-everything cheerleader who is endlessly teased and made fun of by the T-Birds and Pink Ladies.

Will Holcroft then entertained us as a ‘genuine’ pop star, with real humour, leading to one of the best scenes in the play: The Pink Ladies are now gathered in Marty’s (Lottie Clarke) bedroom for a pyjama party.

Rizzo (Talullah Blackham), Frenchy (Ellie Mason), Jan (Natasha Carter-Motley), Binky

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(Freya Beasley) and Marty tease Sandy for being a goody two shoes and give a fabulous performance of the song ‘Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee’, complete with choreography on spinning chairs. Talullah really drew the eye as the rather world-weary Rizzo, while all the girls, so at ease with each other after years of sharing dorms in Park House (!), were relaxed and confident in their roles.

Another brilliantly choreographed scene followed featuring the T-Birds and the wider cast of Rydell students as Kenickie’s (Freddy Williams) beaten up old car was transformed into the sleek and magnificent Greased Lightning. The pace, vibrancy, colour and singing brought loud and appreciative applause from the audience.

Soon the action moves back to school where a dance competition is presided over and judged by star DJ Vince Fontaine, a selfadmiring poser played superbly by a

swaggering Nick Yeoward. Amelia Ashworth played the strident, arrogant dancer, Cha-Cha with panache, while James Weir showed us a delightful cameo as the comical ‘straight’ guy, Eugene. There was more wonderful dancing from the company and excellent singing, this time from Scott Nicholson as Johnny Casino.

Gradually Sandy realises that she still loves Danny – poignantly conveyed by Imogen through her beautifully sung rendition of ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ – and she decides to change her attitude and look to impress him. She transforms herself with a black skin-tight cat suit and a new hairstyle before joining Danny for a brilliant, energetic performance of ‘You’re The One That I Want’. The show ends with the whole cast on stage in a magnificent finale singing ‘We Go Together’.

showcased the many talents of the huge number of pupils and members of staff involved in bringing the production to the stage. Mr Cowley and Mrs Downey brought out the best in the cast of 77 children with the invaluable help of assistant director and stage manager, Mr Chambers. Mrs Jones’ and Mrs Rutherford’s costumes brought a real vibrancy and colour to the production while Mrs Nogues, Mr Dougan, and Mrs Blackham showed their creative and artistic skills to evoke the 1950s stage setting.

Special mention must be made of Sir Anthony Rigby for his incredible technical skills in producing the amazing car. The hair and make-up team, those in the sound and lighting booth, dressers and all those others working backstage all made an invaluable contribution to what was another outstanding Packwood drama production.

CEH

Once again the Packwood senior play

Packwood Sporting Experience The Sporting Experience afternoon, held every summer term, is a great way for us to share our fantastic facilities with the local community and is always popular. This year’s group of children had the chance to try fencing, swimming, lacrosse, hockey, tennis, netball, golf, rugby, soccer and cricket. They each chose five different sports and spent the day being coached by the Packwood sports staff or visiting coaches. All the children learnt new skills and tried something new. Parents had the opportunity to tour the grounds and the boarding houses, play a round of golf and have afternoon tea.

The day ended with a slideshow of photographs taken during the course of the day and the presentation of certificates to the children. PP

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Packwood remembers

Towards the end of the summer term, we held a First World War commemoration day to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the War and to remember those former pupils who fought in that terrible conflict.

Inevitably, with the passing of time, the First World War becomes increasingly remote, particularly for children and young people, but it is something that should never be forgotten – a sentiment shared by Mr Hugh Trevor-Jones, Shropshire County Chairman of the Royal British Legion who joined us at the start of our day to take a special assembly.

Mr Trevor-Jones spoke to the children about the origins of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance and how the sale of poppies every year, along with other fundraising activities, raises millions of pounds for the Legion. He explained how this money is spent in supporting members of the armed

forces who have been injured and the bereaved families of those who have been killed. He was accompanied by a colleague who brought along the Legion standard to show the children and this was dipped, as is customary, during our singing of the National Anthem. It was a stirring and thought-provoking assembly that set the tone for the day and helped the children to understand the significance of our commemoration.

Over the course of the day the children took part in a range of workshops – activities designed to be fun but also to give the opportunity to reflect on the experience of those involved in and affected by the War. The juniors studied artefacts from the time, watched part of ‘Joyeux Noel’, a film about the First World War Christmas truce, enacted the story of the Accrington Pals, and talked

more about the theme of remembrance during a poppy-making session. The seniors tackled an assault course, investigated the Chemistry of War, looked at wartime art and poetry and produced some work of their own, and studied the research undertaken into the 23 former Packwood pupils who lost their lives in the War. We were also privileged to welcome two more guests to school whose presentations in the theatre were a highlight of the day. LCpl Ian Russell from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps gave a fascinating talk about the role played by animals in the War – a topic which proved to be extremely popular with the children and which provoked an almost overwhelming number of questions from them, bizarrely mostly about pigeons! He really captured the interest of his audience as he told them, not just about pigeons, but also

Packwood Pentathlon Something was different about the Packwood Pentathlon this year.

Maybe it was that the event was held all in one afternoon rather than throughout the whole summer term. Or maybe it was that the competition over its seven year history had only ever been won by girls – things were about to change…

On a beautiful sunny day, 33 competitors took to the pool, shooting range, track, fencing piste and arena to compete for the coveted glass five-star trophy. They added to their points tally as they completed each discipline and, in a thrilling end to the afternoon, the final results came down to the wire. As the last horse entered the arena for the last jump off, the overall winner was to be decided based on whether Jonty Bright could get round the course in less than 21 seconds to beat the time set by Ned Moreau and Tonto. Jonty’s naughty pony put in a stop on jump four and Ned was crowned the first ‘King’ of the Pentathlon!

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Last year’s champion, Ellie Mason, finished strongly having won the swimming and the shooting, but had been pipped in both the running and fencing by Ned. In the intermediate age group Emily McParland edged out Will Tate by a single point despite Will’s dad’s amazing quadruple run around the arena with the lead rein! As winner of the fencing and swimming, and runner-up in the riding, Emily demonstrated the ‘all round’ sporting prowess that makes pentathlon an Olympic event. She’ll be a real challenger to stop Jonty seizing the crown next year. The future of the event also looks bright further down the school as Archie McParland won three of the five disciplines, but was chased hard by a pack containing ‘hot shot’ William Waterhouse, Bobby Boyes (runner-up in running and riding) and Freddie Greenwell (top five in all five events).

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about the horses that were used by the cavalry and for transport, and about the dogs who carried messages, assisted with casualties and acted as scouts and sentries.

These animals were highly thought of and invaluable four-footed comrades, fiercely loved and protected by the fighting men (they even had their own gas masks as revealed in some very amusing photos!) We also learned how camels were used in the Middle East and how elephants supported the war effort on the Home Front, taking on many of the jobs previously done by horses.

There was some amazing – and incongruous – video footage of circus elephants working on the farm – ploughing fields, pumping water and loading the hay rick.

Our second speaker was Packwood parent, Colonel Colin Weir from the Royal Irish

Regiment. He spoke movingly about his and his soldiers' experiences of modern warfare in Afghanistan and how it compares to the experiences of those who fought in the First World War. It was interesting to realise that while much has changed, there is also much that hasn't. Living conditions can be equally harsh and uncomfortable, there is the everpresent danger from the enemy and there are the long months of separation from loved ones at home to endure. Again the questions flooded in from the rapt audience and Colonel Weir answered as many as time allowed with heroic patience and good humour.

After the final workshop of the day all of the children and members of staff gathered together before making their way to the Centenary Copse. Everyone walked across

the grounds in absolute silence and it was a moving and humbling moment to witness these young people respond so thoughtfully to everything they had done throughout the day and to see that they understood that this was the right and proper behaviour. The ceremony that followed included prayers and the reciting of a poem written by one of the Packwood fallen. A memorial plaque was unveiled and the junior children laid the poppies they had made earlier in the day. The names of those who had died were read out and labels bearing their names were attached to each of the 23 oak trees that make up part of the Copse. The ceremony concluded with Alfie Hughes playing The Last Post followed by a minute's silence – a fitting conclusion to a really special day. CEH

Congratulations to all the competitors and special thanks to the Packwood team – Mr Herzog in the shooting gallery, Mr Nogues and Miss Evans who were impressed by the standard of running and swimming (in particular, James Hinwood and Arthur Gell in the running and Genevieve Bright and Ellie Mason in the swimming), event organiser, Mr Weston, who rattled through three separate Epée competitions in two and a half hours and the heroine of the day, Packwood mum, Vanessa Marmont, who provided all the rosettes and organised the riding event. NW

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Packwood Adventure Experience On Sunday 13th October twenty children from the local community joined us for the day.

Unfortunately the weather was atrocious, forcing a number of the activities into our sports hall. There the children tackled a four lane assault course, where they worked fantastically as teams and demonstrated their huge enthusiasm for physical activity. In the sports hall they also participated in a challenging indoor orienteering exercise.

Another activity undertaken was kite making.

In less than 45 minutes all of the children made kites that proved capable of taking to the sky. Finally the children moved to the woods to build a bonfire and toast marshmallows. A fun day was had by all. CL

Packwood quiz night Did you know that Ruyton XI Towns is the only place name in Britain to have Roman numerals included in its title? Try this one then: Both Adolf Hitler and JRR Tolkien fought at the Battle of the Somme in the First World War. True or False? (Both true in fact!)

These and other equally obscure facts were amongst those unearthed at the annual quiz night attended by a relatively small but incredibly select group of parents, children and friends all intent on cementing their reputations in the heady world of quizzy erudition.

With picture rounds ranging from ‘Famous skylines’ to ‘Top 30 best known food brands’ interspersed with ‘Dingbats’, ‘Olympic winners’ and the ever-popular ‘Country

pursuits’ courtesy of Mr Jones, there was something here for all to savour. Mr Weston was kind enough too, bearing in mind this year’s centenary, to compile a ‘First World War’ round which had most teams scratching the collective head, and providing a moment or two for reflection.

At the interval during which we all enjoyed a splendid curry, courtesy of Tom Hughes and his staff, several teams were vying for supremacy, but ultimately it was the combined intellect of the Cowleys, Jebbs and Bureaus which proved too much for their rivals and saw them stagger over the winning line – or was that the effects of the Station Bitter? – and complete a narrow victory.

Equally notable however, was the

performance of the Ainslie family who managed to get their hands, albeit briefly, on the much-coveted Ligula Lignea (seen by many as the ‘real’ prize of the evening).

Congratulations, also, to William StanfordDavis for winning the massive cash prize in the ‘Heads or Tails’ bingo. Has anyone seen him in school since or is that rumoured trip to the Seychelles actually true?

My thanks to all of those families who attended, and special thanks to Messrs Cowley, Herzog, Jones, Bayliss and Weston for their help in various areas as well as Mrs Jones, Mrs Cumpston, Mrs Bridge, Mrs Boutwood, Immy Downey and Ellie Mason for marking, collecting and distribution of papers and other related tasks. KJW

Dads v Boys football match On a cold winter morning, 12 brave young boys faced a great foe on the football field. Their enemy? Their fathers! Feeling confident, the boys practised their celebrations while the fathers were practising their running.

The game started at 11.30 and the Dads main man up front, Charlie Kannreuther, gave them an early lead, but, after a handball, a penalty was awarded. Oscar Holt (aka Mario Balotelli) stepped up and slotted home for the Boys. The Dads wanted revenge and were clearly angry – soon they’d completed a hat-trick and the Boys looked down and out at half-time with the score 3-1.

The Boys went off for water and the Dads went for the stronger, more energising option of sloe(w?) gin. The Boys rallied and a smart finish from Ollie Hall moved them to just one goal behind. Then Oscar took on his Dad and was fouled for yet another penalty. Oscar stepped up again but a great save from Casper Yeoward spoiled the party.

Then, a minute from time, John Elliott passed the ball to Oscar. A quick one, two from Nick Yeoward and Oscar’s shot hammered into the top corner.

So it came down to penalties and the Boys went first – it was a goal. As the shoot-out progressed, the Boys missed a penalty and the Dads had missed two, it came down to Nick versus his father…GOAL…and the Boys came out as victors in a thrilling encounter.

Oscar Holt

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Christmas feast and entertainment The Christmas feast and hat competition is a perennial fixture on the autumn term calendar and one of the most enduringly popular Packwood traditions. The event is a showcase for the children’s imagination and creative talents as they finally have the chance to show off the results of many hours of work in the Art and CDT departments. Glue, staples, tape, cotton wool, paint, glitter, batterypowered moving parts and lights – some or all of these feature in the amazing panoply of festive hats and the standard this year was as high as ever. As the judges circulated, the children tucked into a delicious feast of party food including sausage rolls, sandwiches, pizza, crisps, cakes and gingerbread men before prizes were awarded for the most innovative and impressive headgear.

After the feast was over, everyone made their way to the theatre where the fun continued in the company of children’s entertainer and magician, Careena Fenton. The highlight of the show was

undoubtedly the appearance of a rather coy but undeniably glamorous volunteer assistant for which Mr Herzog embraced the opportunity (for the second year running!) to dress up in ladies’ clothes. This year’s outfit was a stunning lavender leotard and tutu, teamed with gold lamé scarf, yellow tights, towering platinum blonde wig and monster feet slippers.

Surely a look destined to grace the catwalks of Milan and New York this season…Needless to say, he stole the show and provided the perfect finale to a wonderfully enjoyable evening. CEH

Weekend events and activities Packwood’s most recent Independent Schools Inspectorate report included praise for the wide-ranging programme of activities available during evenings and weekends and noted that boarders “spoke enthusiastically about how the opportunities were part of what made boarding enjoyable.” This year has been no exception with a fantastic variety of things going on in school including a jewellery workshop, pottery and art activities; sausage making and cupcake baking in the Cookery room; as well as clay pigeon shooting, otter holt building, Bonfire Night guy making; fun sporting tournaments, bouncy slides, swimming and more. And then there were the off-site trips, from Alpacas to the Zoo – and many more in between. This year boarders have been ice skating and bell ringing, they’ve been to the cinema, to WaterWorld, the Crocky Trail and Liverpool Football Club… Weekends have been busy and fun and there has been something for everyone. CEH

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Girls’leavers trip – Pembrokeshire

“Every year seems to be even better than the last!” – is the perennial quote from the staff on their return from the girls’ leavers trip and this year proved to be no exception and was certainly helped by the fantastic weather we were blessed with for the week.

If anyone has ever been fortunate enough to visit the Pwll Deri youth hostel on a sunny day, situated as it is at the end of a four mile lane and on the Pembrokeshire coastal footpath then you would concur that there is perhaps no nicer place in the world. Stunningly majestic views, fantastic sunsets and incredible wildlife all

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await you. We had the opportunity to drink in its beauty at the end of each fun-packed day as we barbequed and chatted away and enjoyed what little time we had left together as a group. Fun-packed and tiring, we surfed, coasteered (where you plunge into the sea from great heights!), went go-karting and hit the theme park, went horse riding (I was a natural, apparently) and also managed some serious relaxing on the beach. All of these activities are tried and tested with some places welcoming us back for the twentieth year and each one, without any prompting, commented on how wonderful the girls were. They were simply great ambassadors for Packwood. Well done!

Many thanks also to my colleagues Mrs Jones, Mr Morris (Geoff) and Miss Nimmo (now Mrs Mullock) for their help in making the trip such an enjoyable one! MAF

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Boys’leavers trip – North Wales

Once again the Year 8 boys enjoyed their trip to North Wales.

The hostel in Dolgellau has been taken over by David and his family, who immediately made us feel at home. Guy was still in charge though, and was as wonderfully welcoming as always. This year, the week got underway near Aberdovey where rafts were built and problems solved. The boys even made stretchers, just in case there was an emergency evacuation. The rest of the week was filled with paintballing, climbing at Barmouth, swinging from the trees on a high ropes course, and our annual favourite, gorge walking. The challenging climb of Cader Idris was done mostly in the sunshine and we had some good views from the top.

As ever this trip just wouldn’t happen without the efforts and help of others. A big thank you to Mr Phillips, Mr Mullock, Mr Leese and Mr Dougan and to Rich and his team from Adrenalin Antics, and Jon and his team from Get Wet. The biggest thank you must as always go to Guy and David from Kings Youth Hostel, who kept us fed and watered to their usual brilliant standard. SAR

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First World War history trip

The First World War centenary year seemed a fitting time to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. In researching that trip, we came across the Staffordshire Regiment Museum which is housed at Whittington Barracks just a few miles from the Arboretum and which, among its exhibits, boasts an absolutely fantastic reconstructed front line trench.

They saw gas alarms, medical stations, a barbed-wire strewn No-man’s land, mines for digging underground towards the enemy, ladders for ‘going over the top’ – all the while accompanied by the sound effects of battle – bullets, mortar shells and shouting men.

The trench is an excellent recent addition to the museum and provided a thought-provoking experience for us all.

So, in the week after Common Entrance and half term, we took the Year 8s on a First World War themed trip. Beginning at Whittington, the children had the chance to dress up in period uniforms and handle weapons, including a famous Lee Enfield rifle. They were guided through the museum which houses a collection spanning the history of the regiment from the 1700s to the present day. Among the treasures was a case displaying the medals awarded to members of the regiment over the years, many accompanied by poignant and harrowing accounts of the circumstances in which they had been won. The regiment’s most famous medal winner was LCpl William Coltman who as a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Bar, and the Military Medal and Bar was the most highly decorated soldier (as opposed to officer) of the First World War. It is after him that the Coltman Trench is named. This 100 metre stretch of trench is an authentic reconstruction and gave the children the chance to really imagine what life must have been like for soldiers on the front line.

In pensive mood, we made our way to the National Memorial Arboretum. This is a sobering, but also an uplifting place; a huge site that commemorates civilians as well as those from the armed forces.

It is visited by thousands every year who ensure that those who have died are never forgotten. We walked among the trees and visited many memorials and gardens of remembrance before making our way to the famous Portland stone, Armed Forces Memorial which dominates the site. The children were moved by the thousands and thousands of names engraved into the stone – and by the fact that more were being added that very day.

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Despite being on a high after finishing their CE exams, the Year 8s conducted themselves in an exemplary manner and we were delighted to receive compliments not only from the guides at the Museum and the Arboretum, but also from members of the public.

The children were interested, thoughtful and perceptive – a credit to themselves and the school. CEH

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Mulberry Alpacas We had a lovely, bright spring afternoon for our trip. The young male alpacas were all penned and haltered ready for our guests when they arrived. We started by introducing each child to their alpaca and then took the animals for a walk through the fields. Sacha is a regular visitor to Mulberry Alpacas and she was entrusted with the baby, Goliath, and they got on famously.

Alex Barry has also been before but at the beginning beast (Frankie) tried to take boy (Alex) for a walk! Eventually Alex took control and learned that if he was quiet and calm, the alpaca would copy him. Louis Graham was a natural; he had our new stud, Alex, and once they got to know each other Louis calmly walked him on his lead.

Mr Jones made a surprise visit too so he was also given Felix to look after.

We then let the alpacas off in their field and, much to their delight, fed them. We moved on to the ten females who were eager to be fed too.

After seeing to the animals, we made pom poms before having a look in the workshop at all the goods made with either the fleece or the yarn. We also tried out alpaca duvets and pillows and ended the visit with drinks and cake. RE

War Horse The world famous ‘War Horse’ (based on the children’s book by Michael Morpurgo) came to the Lowry theatre in Manchester in November and Packwood’s Year 7 was dead lucky to go and see the mesmerising performance.

Sleeping Beauty In early December, all of Year 5 went to watch ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at Theatre Severn. It was a really fun day for all of us and we want to thank Mrs Hughes for organising it.

It was funny to watch; there were dramatic bits, exciting and scary bits and even romantic parts as well. Even the audience had to join in with the dancing and singing. John, our school bus driver, got a part too!

One of the characters, Nurse Nelly, pretended to really like John and kept mentioning him. We had to make noises during the show: when the Prince was mentioned, the boys had to say “Hurrah!” and the girls had to say “Oooooh!” so we all had a go at joining in the fun.

We all thought it was an amazing performance and we enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to Mrs Hughes, Mr Herzog and John for taking us.

Emily Keeling-Paglia and Heath Rosselli

The story is about a 12 year old farm boy called Albert Narracott and his young horse named Joey. Joey is a bay Irish draft horse cross thoroughbred. Albert’s horse is taken away from him by the First World War. Albert then joins the army in hope of one day finding his beloved horse. As you have probably heard, ‘War Horse’ is a sad and moving play, but within all of the sadness there are some funny jokes and plays on words. It is sensational how the puppets and their masters move gracefully across the stage. By the end you forget about the puppeteers and only see the horse. They do everything apart from sweat! For me the best part of the show had to be when the young Joey was prancing and galloping around the field. He then canters off and suddenly a massive older version of Joey comes on.

The choreography of the horses and men was amazing: there were three different types of puppet and there was even a tank manned by five men. The acting was also spectacular, especially Albert played by Lee Armstrong. The whole performance was so realistic it made you think you weren’t watching but you were actually on a battlefield. It was great to go and see such a fantastic performance. George Weston

Midland Game Fair The Midland Game Fair at Weston Park is huge. In addition to many displays, there are over 1000 trade stands selling everything from dog kennels to Land Rovers (I am glad to say that, probably due to limited funds, none of our party bought either).

It has proved ever popular with our children both for the freedom it gives them to go off in groups and enjoy themselves safely and the opportunities it affords for them to find out more about the countryside and its many sports and activities.

This year an enthusiastic group of boys and girls had a great day out and, despite the risk of being retrieved, shot or eaten by a goshawk, all returned safely to school. FRH

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Carding Mill Valley In the autumn term, two groups of Year 8 pupils went on their Geography field trip to Carding Mill Valley, near Church Stretton. The purpose was to collect data from the tributary of the River Severn there, which was then used in our Geography project for our senior schools.

Our first stop was at Preston Montford Field study centre. Here we were told precisely what we would be doing and the aims of the project. We also learned a little bit about the background of Carding Mill Valley before continuing our journey. When we arrived we walked to Light Spout Waterfall which was the first of the three sites along the length of the stream at which we recorded data. Working in small groups, we recorded the width of the stream, the depth, the velocity of the water (with a hydro-prop), the gradient and the insect species. It took around an hour to record all the data at each site.

Back at school we spent some time writing up the data for our projects – and in most cases it seemed to fit the hypotheses we had previously drawn up.

We all had a great time and we all learned a lot about Carding Mill Valley and rivers in general. Everyone really enjoyed it. Thank you very much Miss Wilkinson for arranging this trip and all the other teachers who helped. Alfie Deahl

Great Escape In the staffroom we often hear the phrase, “that was the Packwood children at their best”; most often this comment arises after a hard fought match but it could just as easily be heard the day after a school play or then again on returning from a museum or some such place.

All of these occasions (and many more besides) could rightly claim the epithet; however, I would put in a bid for one other event when such a statement would be utterly appropriate and that would be The Great Escape Weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with this event the rules are quite simple…arrive at the bus on time and then behave like children for twenty-four hours. No telly, phones, i-gadgets or other trappings of the modern world. Just plenty of fresh air, water, mud, camp fires, scratches, initiative challenges, falling over, falling in,

falling out and falling in again. For all those folk out there who think that children are incapable of playing “like we used to” I suggest they come along and see the Packweeds doing their thing at the Great Escape. We really do have fantastically motivated kids with a tremendous ‘can-do’ attitude.

Many of the children I took this time were coming along for the second or even third time. They completed the challenges sensibly, efficiently and with just the right amount of competitiveness. I really do believe that the children learn something about themselves and the worth of others on this trip; and if they do so whilst also having fun, how great is that? NRJ

History trip to Manchester and Chester We went to Manchester Museum for the first part of our trip. Our guide was called Jack and he talked to us about ancient Egypt and showed us some photos of a mummy named Asru. We went to the gallery to see Asru in her coffin case. We saw lots of different things like clay pots, hieroglyphs, shabti, death masks and jewellery and we were given iPads to take photographs. Then we went to the Education Room where we were allowed to handle some artefacts and to look closely at things that Asru might like to take to the afterlife.

After the museum, we went to Dewa Roman Experience in Chester. Firstly, we got on a Roman galley – we had to say the password ‘Hail Caesar’ to open up the door to get inside – and then we pretended to row to Dewa (Chester). We saw Roman market stalls selling meat, oyster shells (which they ground up to make toothpaste), lavender, clay pots and glis-glis – that was honey-roasted dormouse and they ate the bones and Page 38

everything. Then we went to the baths where Tom pretended to be a gladiator and Rowena was a slave. Rowena pretended to wash Tom with olive oil which she scraped off with a strigil.

Afterwards we saw some archaeological dig sites and looked around the museum before we went to the hands-on room where there was armour to try on, a Roman loo, a catapult to fire, a jail cell and lots more. We had great fun on our trip! James Lewis and Archie McParland

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Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery We saw lots of different art and sculptures, including two statues by Jacob Epstein in the round gallery. These were very interesting because they were so unalike, you would have thought they were made by different artists. The ‘Rock Drill’ was very modern and angular – the figure of the man looked almost skeletal. ‘Lucifer’, by contrast, was a

traditional sculpture made of bronze.

The archangel figure was larger than life.

We were taken round by our guide, Christine.

She showed us the pre-Raphaelite paintings in the gallery’s collection, one of which was ‘The Last of England’ by Ford Madox Brown.

Christine helped us look at the painting

closely and carefully and explained the symbolism in the picture. We could see the white cliffs of Dover and that the artist had painted himself in the picture, which gave it a melancholy touch.

We all really enjoyed our trip to the gallery. It was a great way to spend a day. Anna Cowan

Chester Zoo At the end of November the Headmaster took a group of boarders to the amazing Chester Zoo.The children had a fantastic time – and visiting out of season proved to be a great bonus as the zoo wasn’t too busy, making it really easy to see all the animals. Most

popular were the monkeys, elephants, butterfly house and poisonous frogs and, of course, lunch! Pizza, chips and ice cream were the perfect way for the children to replenish their energy after the many miles they covered walking round. They enjoyed

spending whatever money they had left in the gift shop and were overheard saying it was one of the best Sunday activities ever!

CNSL

Chirk Castle On 9th May we went to Chirk Castle and it was really fun! When we got there we dressed up as servants and then we went to the Adam Tower. We looked at the garderobe (loo) and then we went down 42 steep spiral steps to get to the dungeon. It was very dark with just a tiny bit of light from some very small windows. We tried on armour; it was really heavy. Then we pretended to fire a cannon. We made biscuits and we used combs to make patterns on them. We couldn’t eat them because they were very salty. After that, our guide let us try sleeping on a palliasse which was the servants’ bedding. Later we made posies with petals from old roses and learnt all about oldfashioned medicines. At the end of the trip we went in some stocks which used to be used to punish people who did bad things.

Lucy Mielczarek and Imogen Macey

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History trip to Montgomery The Year 7s began their visit in the South Shropshire hills – the perfect vantage point for a view over the Severn Valley into Wales. This border area is known as the Marches and has witnessed dispute and conflict through the ages, not least in the seventeenth century during the English Civil War. In 1644, the Battle of Montgomery was fought in the fields below the town's castle. The Parliamentarian forces defeated the Royalists in a short but ferocious and bloody battle. Visiting the castle ruins helped us to imagine the lives of those who had lived there – and who had fought and died in the fields below. Our visit to Montgomery also took us to the town's Old Bell Museum which currently has an excellent Battle of Montgomery exhibition. It features a beautifully detailed scale model of the field of battle and many artefacts, some of which had been set aside as a handling collection providing a wonderful and rare opportunity for the children to get their hands on genuine pieces of armour, musket balls and other items from the time.

As well as this exhibition, the museum houses a treasure trove of curios and everyday bits and bobs from Montgomery's past. It is an absolutely fascinating place to while away an hour or so and one in which I

manage to discover something new and different every time I visit. The children were equally engrossed – the surgeon's tools, scold's bridle and cat-o'-nine-tails being among their favourites from the collection.

CEH

Art trip to Liverpool Tate On the last Sunday of September, a small group of boarders went to the Chagall exhibition at the Tate gallery in Liverpool with Mr Dougan. The main attraction was the largest collection of Chagall’s work ever assembled, and the paintings were amazing.

Two highlights of the collection were ‘I and the Village’ which was shipped over from New York for the exhibition, and ‘Paris through the Window’. Both of these works

were made soon after Chagall moved to Paris from Russia when his style changed completely from rather bleak, accurate paintings to lavishly coloured abstract art.

These are just two of his paintings; in fact he did hundreds, all very different. The sheer quantity of his work and the different styles are extraordinary. Some is similar to Pablo Picasso. This is because they knew each other in Paris and influenced one another.

After visiting the Chagall exhibition we walked around the rest of the gallery. Some of the works on display were very strange, ranging from a portrait by Picasso to a parrot in a cage on sand. Finally, we visited a sweet shop next to the Tate, which pleased all of us.

Overall it was a fabulous day – we saw some amazing art at the Tate and we got sweets at the end! Thank you very much Mr Dougan for taking us on such a great trip. Alfie Deahl

Trip to Bosworth Field On 5th November the whole of Year 6 visited the battlefield at Bosworth in Leicestershire. When we got there our guide took us round the battlefield.

He stopped at certain places to tell us information about what happened near that point. At the top of the hill there was a sundial with a crown on top and around the sundial were three thrones with Lord Thomas Stanley, King Richard III and Henry Tudor engraved on them. These were the three most important men on the day of the battle.

We walked down a path into some woods which in 1485 had been an open field. By the fence there was a panel explaining about the death of Richard III and you could look across to see the spot where he died. It was amazing to see the place where he was actually killed. On our tour we saw replica weapons that would have been used on the day including a longbow and a halberd and we saw the well where Richard took his last drink and prayed before the battle.

After lunch we went to the education room for an evidence and archaeology session with another guide. She had lots of artefacts laid out on four tables and she talked to us about how you can find out how old an artefact is and whether it had belonged to a poor or rich person. First we had to put some old irons into order from oldest to newest, then we had to decide which of a collection of cups had belonged to either rich or poor people. The third table had lots of strange items on it and we had to try and work out what they were, and our last task was to copy the position of a skull and some bones on to a grid.

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Afterwards another guide, dressed as a knight, talked to us about weapons and armour. This was my favourite part of the day because we had a chance to try out the weapons. We went round the visitor centre too and some of us dressed up in armour. There were television screens around the museum which showed different people talking about the battle. There was also a longbow machine and lots of other exhibits.

Daisy David

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Wendy and Peter Pan at the RSC On 12th January Mr and Mrs Chambers took a minibus full of lovely young Packwood children to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Royal Shakespeare Company version of the classic children’s tale, Peter Pan. Directed by

Jonathon Munby, and written by Ella Hickson, this version brought a feminist twist to the classic tale, as it was definitely Wendy that was in the limelight rather than Peter.

From start to finish we were all transfixed.

The stage flipped up to reveal The Lost Boys’ secret hideout and a ship came onto the stage in the second half when Captain Hook came into view. Everyone who went thoroughly enjoyed themselves (the sweets helped!) and we all had a great time. Piers Merison

Latin trip to Wroxeter At the very beginning of the summer term, the Year 8s visited Wroxeter in Shropshire to investigate the ancient Roman city of Viroconium. It was one of the largest settlements in Roman Britain, and of particular note are the remains of the bath house, including the highest free standing Roman wall, named the Old Work.

The children’s investigation was based around three topics: the bath house, the importance of Wroxeter, and any other points of interest they could pick up to be used in a display project back at school.

They had a great day and the experience certainly proved educational for all. JO

8C trip to Birmingham 8C’s annual post-scholarship outing was to Birmingham this year. Paul Dougan and I accompanied them on a thought-provoking exhibition on frontiers at the Ikon Gallery.

We learnt about people-smuggling, drugs and the theme of boundaries as part of a workshop in this former boarding school – now a venue for modern art. The pupils then explored these ideas through household materials to create their own sculptures, with varying degrees of success!

Pizza Hut was the inevitable venue for lunch – although they may have to rethink their free refills policy after the visit of this particular group. Afterwards we relaxed in a local park and played Qua, which has quickly become an 8C/1Class favourite. The afternoon theatre workshop introduced us to a similarly-styled game, Ninja, which apparently professional actors use frequently as a warm-up. After many rounds of cutting off each other’s limbs, Oscar was crowned Ninja master.

The same evening we enjoyed the highly acclaimed production of Dylan Thomas’ ‘Under Milk Wood’. As well as the lyrical beauty of the evocation of a bygone day in a Welsh village, the physical theatre was fantastic and kept the younger members of the audience amused.

Character favourites included Mr Pugh –who plots the poisoning of his wife – and Nogood Boyo. The large quantity of sweets which the pupils managed to smuggle into the theatre kept them going through the production and well up the M54 back home. RAC

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power Held every June, the Pageant of Power has become a popular trip for Packwood boarders and the group who went along this year enjoyed exploring this petrol-scented corner of Cheshire! They walked around the incredible displays of vintage cars and motorbikes – and then watched many of the same vehicles racing around the circuit.

They were amazed by the sight of some of the longest ever wheelies by the motorbikes. There was also an impressive aerial display of stunts by a Hunter jet and mock search and rescue operations by a helicopter crew. The numerous stalls were an added attraction and the children enjoyed browsing amongst these and spending their pocket money before the journey back to school. CNSL

Crocky Trail We had a lovely day for our trip to the Crocky Trail in Cheshire. The sun shone, and the weather was warm. Before lunch we did the trail, which as the website describes is “a mile long adventure of pure adrenaline drenched fun as you run along…scrambling through trees, climbing over crooked bridges and swinging over the fast flowing Crocky stream.” After their active morning, a picnic lunch gave the

children time to decide which of the rides they would do in the afternoon. The two most popular by far were the big slides and the ‘Terminator’ which looks great fun. It took a while to round everyone up at the end of the day, so keen were they to have just one more go, which must mean that the trip was a great success. SAR

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Horrible Histories theatre trip If there’s one thing that unites Packwood’s younger pupils, it is a universal love of the BBC’s peerless ‘Horrible Histories’ television programme. For those unfamiliar with this broadcasting phenomenon, it is a fast-moving, fact-packed, no-gory bits-spared romp through history based on a series of children’s books by Terry Deary.

Having conquered Britain’s bookshops and the national broadcaster, ‘Horrible Histories’ has now also found its way to live theatre and in October Packwood’s Year 4 pupils enjoyed a fantastic performance of the ‘Ruthless Romans’ stage show at Birmingham’s Old Rep Theatre.

Three actors played numerous parts to bring to life the story of the

Romans in a highly entertaining – and educational – performance.

We learnt about evil emperors and gruesome gladiators; Julius Caesar’s battle to be emperor; the terrible tactics of the Roman army; Boudicca’s rebellion against the Romans in Britain; the doomed slave uprising led

by Spartacus and much, much more. After the show, we were lucky enough to have a half-hour question and answer session with the cast.

The children loved the show and had lots to ask – in the end they had to be dragged reluctantly away from their wonderful afternoon’s entertainment and all agreed it had been a brilliant trip. CEH

RS trip to Derby The Year 5s have spent this year studying three major world religions – Christianity, Hinduism and Islam – and in the summer term they visited Derby’s Open Centre, a special educational organisation where the children took part in a workshop activity, dressing up for a Hindu wedding ceremony. They also visited a mosque and a Hindu temple and on their walk between the places of worship, they were able to see the beautiful sari shops, the halal butchers, the Asian

sweet shops and the special jewellers. The focus of the trip is respect for other cultures and beliefs – it is an important trip as far as our RS syllabus is concerned but more than that, this trip is an excellent way to highlight the value of knowledge and understanding of others for life in general. The world would be a much better place if more people were as knowledgeable, understanding and respectful as our Year 5s.

They were a credit to the school and to themselves. Well done. RE

Liverpool Football Club A lucky group of Packwood boys had the chance to walk in the footsteps of some of their footballing heroes when they went on a fantastic trip to Anfield, home of Liverpool Football Club. Before going into the stadium itself, the children posed for photographs with the statue of one of the club’s most famous managers, Bill Shankly, and visited the Hillsborough Memorial. Once inside, the tour began with a visit to the club museum where the boys saw all the trophies that had been won over the years, including the four replicas and one genuine Champions League trophy awarded to the club after their victory in the competition in 2005. They learnt that Liverpool was the last club to receive this accolade as the tradition of awarding the genuine trophy after five victories no longer takes place. As they went round the museum the boys each had touch screen tablets and audio tour headphones to access video clips and other information.

Afterwards they made their way to one of the club’s reception rooms with walls lined with photographs of famous players before going to the Old Boot Room – now used as the press room for training new players how to speak to journalists. Owen Carroll was put in the hot seat and had the whole room laughing at his inspired and imaginative responses to the interviewer’s questions. Dubbed ‘Owen the Octopus’ by the interviewer, he attributed his athleticism and goalkeeping prowess to ‘lots of practice and yoga’ and explained in impressive detail how he had made spectacular saves to deny Manchester United’s Rooney, van Persie and Welbeck.

Next on the tour were the changing rooms where the players’ named shirts were hanging, and then out through the tunnel (touching the ‘This is Anfield’ sign for luck on the way) and up into the stadium itself to sit in the Manager’s dugout. Their last port of call was the world famous Kop where the boys learnt how it earned its unusual name – a tribute to the many soldiers from Liverpool who fought and died at Spion Kop during the Boer War. SAR

Shrewsbury Bookfest Over the course of the spring term, pupils in 5W took part in Shrewsbury’s Children’s Bookfest Book Award project. They read the six shortlisted books to help choose the best book for 9-11 year olds published during the last two years. The award ceremony was held in St Chad’s church in Shrewsbury in May and they went along as part of an audience of almost a thousand pupils from 32 schools across the county.

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The proceedings were led by the poet, Sarah Jane Arbury, and the six prize-nominated authors were also present. It was an actionpacked event with pupils from all of the schools demonstrating a plethora of skills and activities inspired by the books. These included film and animation, the performance of short scenes, the chance to meet a real life war dog, art and poetry competitions, a Question & Answer session and readings from the books. Packwood was

represented by Isabel Morris who read a short extract from ‘Skull in the Wood’ by Sandra Greaves.

The key aim of the awards was to find the book that children love the most and, in the end, ‘The Bomber Dog’ by Megan Rix was crowned the winner. The award ceremony was a great event, thoroughly enjoyed by all and we look forward to going again next year!

SH

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National League Hockey For the first time in many years we took an all-boys (but one) trip to Cannock to see a National League game between the hosts and East Grinstead. This was partly due to the increasing popularity of boys’ hockey at Packwood. It is an absolutely fantastic opportunity to see some of the best hockey players in the world at close quarters (and all for £1). Two of the players shared over 150 Great Britain caps between

them. The levels of fitness and skill in the National League are incredible and perhaps not fully appreciated by the children but they enjoyed the game, hopefully learning a little more about the sport as a consequence and had their appetites whetted for future forays on the hockey pitch. The weather was kind, the sweet shop open and so a good day was had by all! MAF

Wolverhampton Art Gallery The Year 6s visited the Pop Art exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery to tie in with the theme of their art lessons during the summer term. We were greeted by the curators who showed us an amazing coat hanger sculpture

by David Mach before we began our guided tour of the show. We started by looking at an iconic Andy Warhol painting of Jackie Kennedy in 1964. The children were very observant in working out that her face was just like a mask, not registering any of the strong emotions that she must have been feeling. They also noted that it was painted in black and white, unlike all of the colourful pop art on display in the rest of the exhibition.

The children had a fun practical workshop session during which they discussed many of the other paintings and wrote down their

thoughts about the meanings of some of the works. After lunch the children visited the Edwardian art section and were able to compare the differences and similarities between that and the later 20th century art they’d seen in the morning.

They had great fun dressing up in the clothes of that era and learning a lot in a very hands-on way about some of the history and the people who lived at that time. They discovered that Edwardians were just as interested in celebrities as we are today and also that fashion was as important as well. The visit finished with a look at the amazing portrait competition exhibition. The incredible skill, imagination and variety of ideas impressed the children, with one of them remarking that they did not realise that art galleries could be so brilliant! PRD

Manchester Jewish Museum All of us in Year 6 visited a synagogue as part of our Judaism topic.

Having expected a big museum with things in glass cases we were quite surprised to find it was a small building surrounded by shops and that it reminded us of a church. The inside was highly decorated and the stained glass windows were unusual because there were no animals or people in them. This is because of the second commandment that says people should not pray to idols. I tried on a kippah and my favourite place was on the bimah, the raised platform where the Torah scroll is. Jacob wore a tallit (prayer shawl) and Gus

was lucky enough to open the Holy Ark doors and to see the Torah scrolls in there. Another favourite place was the Ladies’ Gallery upstairs where there were lots of interesting displays to see and read.

We all tried some real Jewish Challah bread – a plaited loaf specially made by a Jewish baker. We learnt that the Jews are very strict about their rules and some interesting facts like the material they use to put the Torah scroll together is animal skin or gut, not Sellotape like I thought. William Shaw and Oliver Griffiths

Trip to Under 21 football international One cold November evening, 48 children from Years 4 to 8 went to Shrewsbury’s New Meadow Stadium to watch the England Under 21 team play against San Marino. We certainly expected plenty of goals from an England team undefeated under Gareth Southgate, but we did not expect records to be broken…

The glut began early, with three strikes inside 20 minutes.

Manchester United’s Michael Keane headed in first, followed by debutant Danny Ings and Blackpool’s Tom Ince. Plenty of our boys and girls were thrilled to see familiar players such as Liverpool’s

Raheem Sterling, who has also played for the senior team, and it was satisfying to see him score twice. At half time the score was already 5-0 to England. The second half played out in much the same fashion – further goals from Ings and Will Hughes kept the cold at bay. Man of the match, Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson, also scored and the final result was a massive, record-breaking 9-0 to keep England top of their Euro 2015 qualifying group – and to send Packwood’s hardy band of vocal supporters back to school happy. JO

Chinese New Year, Birmingham A group of boarders celebrated the Chinese New Year of the Horse in early February with an afternoon out at Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter accompanied by Packwood's Mandarin teacher, Barney Martin. Chinese New Year festivities traditionally last for two weeks making it the longest and most important event in the Chinese calendar. It is celebrated by thousands all over the UK and throughout

the world. The pupils had a fantastic time helping to celebrate and enjoyed some Chinese snacks from the street stalls as well as face painting and getting their names translated into Chinese characters by calligraphy experts. The afternoon’s events ended with an exciting lion dance and spectacular fireworks. CEH

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C L U B S & AC T I V I T I E S

Archery

Wednesday evening archery sessions proved as popular as ever with 14 pupils signing up to take part. They learnt the ‘Point of Aim’ technique, drawing to the eye and using the arrow to aim at a target placed at a distance of between 10 and 15 yards. The emphasis was on having fun and enjoying yourself rather than concentrating too much on formal archery technique, although safety rules were strictly observed.

An additional incentive was supplied by offering a sweet if you hit a gold. This was a bad move on our part as the pupils won too many Jelly Babies and Starbursts! Other fun activities were shooting at balloons and clout shooting. Normally even those archers who have difficulty hitting the target seem to concentrate more when the target is a balloon. Unfortunately on this occasion the balloons won.

The objective of clout shooting is to land your arrow as close as possible to a flag placed at a distance of 100 yards. Considering they had previously only shot 10 yards, they did very well with some arrows coming close to the flag – although some pupils ignored it and just tried to see how far they could shoot. Thankfully they were only using light bows and could not manage more than 150 yards but this explains why we get nervous when anyone walks behind the targets!

Score

Handicap score

Group 1

Anna Cowan Honor Grigg Bea Grigg Hal Cowan

102 57 36 Did not shoot

169 149 148 –

Group 2

Jules Schneuwly Louis Graham Garret Healy Claudia Tate Will Tate

116 109 80 Did not shoot Did not shoot

166 155 218 – –

Group 3

Alejandro Gimenez Edward Don William Brooke Lottie Hill-Trevor Theodora Jarvis

109 103 Did not shoot Did not shoot Did not shoot

170 – – – –

Later in the term we held a championship competition with results calculated on a handicap basis which favours the person who is shooting better than normal rather than the best archer, and gives

everyone an equal chance of winning. Unfortunately a number of pupils had other commitments and were not able to take part in the competition – in the end our overall champion was Garret Healy.

During our final session we had a field shoot hunting ‘animal’ targets, including a T-Rex and a Triceratops. Targets were placed at 10-25 yards to make it more challenging and everyone had a lot of fun. Dick Hilton

Pop lacrosse

Basketball

This was a ‘proper’ team game! Everyone was always involved and had to play a part, either attacking at speed or defending tightly goal-side. Crucially the teams were four or five a-side, and possession was only allowed for up to four seconds. We played on the AstroTurf, and the surface was fast. Our goals were suspended metal hoops on moveable poles, so we could have a big or little pitch. It was such a versatile game that, according to age groups, we could play with lightweight pop sticks and a soft ball, or field sticks and a hard ball.

And, usefully, it was a great way to progress from one to another.

To the children, though, the most important challenge was that good play earned you points, which were redeemed as treats at the end of term! SD

Basketball club included Year 7 and 8 boys of varying levels of experience and ability so we began with a focus on general ball skills, highlighting the best way to keep control of the ball whilst evading and changing direction. After the boys had developed skills to keep hold of the ball we then worked on the ways to deliver a pass to our teammates and looked at how to defend when we were not in possession of the ball. Adding both ingredients together we were able to pit our skills against each other, playing many different forms of basketball. During small-sided and possession games their skills progressed and there were many competitive encounters. The boys picked up the rules as they played although the rule of ‘no contact’ was a difficult one to get to grips with! JM

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C L U B S & AC T I V I T I E S

Mini Olympics

Handball

If you take all the best bits from all the best sports, then what you end up with is the mini Olympics club. It’s a real amalgamation of lots of equipment, skills and rules. We would set up circuits and work against the clock, we would keep points and tally them up, we even had a tee off in golf – of course I won, but that’s not fair – George Hughes was always there to keep the peace! We had a cross-section of ages so each week, we changed things around and kept things fresh. I even poached a few from Mr Weston’s fencing club as we were having so much fun.

I’m thinking we could go bigger next year – maybe we need Mr Ainslie’s inflatables?! KLP

We covered a mixture of sports during the handball club this term including benchball and dodgeball. The activity that the juniors appeared to enjoy the most was dodgeball.

It was great to see the Year 3s play so well alongside the Year 4s and 5s. The activity is fun, physical and is a great vehicle for teaching integrity and sporting behaviour. CL

International film club As usual all the films chosen for viewing during the year reflect variety and content which stimulate and entertain. It’s not just a question of watching a film and moving on but of discussion and appreciation. This year, like previous ones, has not disappointed our viewers who have watched a mixture of mythical tales, satire and allegories including: Galaxy Quest: a 1999 comic science fiction parody about a troupe of actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. The film parodies the television series ‘Star Trek’ and similar programmes.

It won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and Nebula Award for Best Script.

The Secret of Roan Inish: centred on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies – seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents and her cousin Eamon near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumoured to reside. It is a family legend that her younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie.

Whale Rider: about a twelve-year-old Maori girl who wants to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather Koro believes that this is a role reserved for males only.

It’s A Wonderful Life: George has given up his dreams in order to help others and his suicide attempt on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born.

Bicentennial Man: explores issues of humanity, slavery, prejudice, maturity, intellectual freedom, conformity, love and mortality.

Rabbit Proof Fence: based on a true story concerning two mixed-race Aboriginal girls who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, Western Australia, to return to their Aboriginal families, after having been placed there in 1931. The film follows the Aboriginal girls as they walk for nine weeks along 1,500 miles of the Australian rabbit-proof fence to return to their community at Jigalong, while being pursued by a white authority figure and an Aboriginal tracker.

Groundhog Day: an arrogant and egocentric TV weatherman finds himself in a time loop, repeating the same day again and again. After indulging in hedonism and numerous suicide attempts, he begins to re-examine his life and priorities. In 2006 the film was added to the United States National Film Registry being deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant". JL

Board games This year we enjoyed a new game each week in the comfort of the Senior Library. The children had a choice of bringing their own or putting up with my choice from the school’s secret board games’ cupboard. We are always happy to receive some once-loved family favourites, as some of our sets are beginning to look rather dog-eared!

Popular games included Blokus, Pit and Jenga (which inevitably descended into making long lines of dominos).

As the winter closed in we advanced into more grown-up territory with Cluedo, Scrabble and a mammoth game of Monopoly (Olympic Version) which wore on for weeks, ably presided over by Daniel Richardson. The children took well to Alhambra also, one of many new turn-based strategy games aimed as much at adults as children. RAC

Pottery club Pottery club has now been running for 21 years so we decided to make some of the most successful and fun models that we have done over the years, the tried and tested favourites.

When Tom James revisited the school after winning his two Olympic gold medals for rowing, he mentioned that he still had some of the pottery that he had made when he was at

Packwood as a boy! I hope some of the amazing owls, flower-shaped pots, camels and hedgehogs that we made this term will be kept and last for so long. Imogen Macey was the most improved as her pottery skills went from strength to strength, but I think that, amongst all of the colourful and interesting structures that were made, the best ones this

year were created by Euan Montgomery.

He seems to have a genuine talent for three dimensional work but also has been able to perfect the art of smoothing the damp clay to a really good finish before adding any details or textures. PRD

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Clay pigeon shooting

Ballet

Another year passes and the depth of broken clay pigeon litter in the Spinney is another inch or two deeper. Many boys and girls love this activity and we are fortunate indeed to have the equipment and above all the ground upon which to practise it.

This year I was delighted to find that all the girls who moved up from Acorns last year and who have been taking ballet classes with me now for some years chose to continue.

Lulu, Lucy, Catherine and Claudia were joined by Florence, and this group joined Rowena and Georgina in the junior class. The girls have moved on to more advanced work, occasionally using the splendid new ballet barres that the school have kindly provided.

Their technique continues to develop well and we have had great fun devising and dancing stories from the ballets, using the original music.

The highlight for the clay piggers this year was a trip to the North Wales Shooting School at Sealand near Chester. The NWSC has been owned and run by the Jones family (Lucas Jones Polanco) for three generations and is the school where many top shots including Prince Charles go to brush up their skills.

Hence it came as a wonderful surprise and privilege to be invited by Mr Jones to take Lucas, Harry Myddelton, Owen Carroll, George Compston, Ali Davies, Alfie Deahl, Arthur Gell and James Hinwood for an afternoon of shooting at such a prestigious venue. We were coached, fed and otherwise entertained wonderfully by Lucas’ grandparents and it would be fair to say that the boys learnt more about marksmanship in this afternoon than they had done all year with me. Many, many thanks must go to the Jones family for their generosity. NRJ

Knitting club Wool is a very versatile material to work with and when it’s cold outside it is lovely to handle.

The knitting club had many opportunities to do just that. We started by making colourful pom poms using different types of wool and a special pom pom maker which produces a variety of sizes. Maria loved making these.

We also had a go at various knitting techniques. As well as using needles, we tried French knitting using a bobbin and Riko made a fantastic snake. The following week we tried finger knitting to make a scarf – Teresa and Marta excelled at this and were very fast workers. Finally we used our wool to make friendship bracelets which involved knotting the wool in a particular pattern. All the girls caught on to this skill very quickly. We had lots of fun and lots of success. That doesn’t mean that it was easy all the time – none of us will forget those moments when everything seemed to go wrong, but the great thing about knitting is you can just start again! RE

Happily, new girls from the Acorns have begun classes this year, with Meghan, Megan, Meg and Bella making “name remembering” a great deal easier for me!

They have been joined by Maddie and Tilly from the Nursery and we have spent time going through the basics – how and where ballet began, basic positions and terminology and what pointe shoes and tutus look like!

This they have grasped very quickly, and we have been able to enjoy creating stories to dance, using music from the ballets.

Both classes are, as always, very happy and productive, full of laughter and fun. Riko started classes wonderfully well, but sadly, was unable to continue. Annie Moody

Card club Card club was newly introduced by Miss Wilkinson this year. About six children joined in to play a number of games each Friday evening.

Games like Sevens, Newmarket, Queenie, Chase the Ace and Twenty One were played and the children were encouraged to share some of their own games too.

In the end sweets were given out to the winner and the loser. The children learned new games and experienced the enjoyment of cards.

Scott Karnsuwan

Sub aqua

Yoga

After the success of the last two years, in the spring term we welcomed back Paul and Jane Phillips from Wanadive to lead more try dives.

There was a group of beginners who were keen to see what breathing underwater was like and in the second half of term we had the children who’d enjoyed it so much last year that they wanted another go. Once again all the sessions were a great success, and lots of children left the pool with big, happy smiles. SAR

I’ve really enjoyed teaching yoga to the pupils at Packwood because they have brought so much enthusiasm and creativity to every class.

Teresa and Marta learned to do sun salutations beautifully and Sacha and James enjoyed the yoga games such as 'cat, dog and mouse'.

We always made time for relaxation before finishing which is the perfect way to end the class and a busy day at school! Emma Burton

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Gardening

Most people around these parts will be familiar with the name Percy Thrower, a gardener who in many ways was the pioneer of the popular TV gardening programmes.

Well, gardening at Packwood is similarly popular. We only have a relatively small area tucked alongside the road but each week a dozen or so juniors tend to their plots with care and attention. In fact, gardening goes beyond the parameters of just the junior activity because there are some 41 children throughout the school who are involved with a plot.

The gardening competition has been abandoned and I was pleased to see that few children dropped out as a consequence.

Enthusiasm has waned slightly with some groups, partly due to the good weather and the cricket season but some are particularly impressive. The children also have a communal garden which contains onions, radishes, peas, beans etc. and there is always something exciting about seeing the children harvesting and tasting the fruits of their labours.

With ever-growing green fingers the pupils have produced some very attractive plots and I feel that due to the interest taken and experience gained from such a venture that everyone is actually a winner. You never know, there may even be a young Percy or Percette within our midst! MAF

Touch rugby

Trampolining A lucky few from each year group were introduced to trampolining in the autumn term during junior activities and the Monday evening senior club.

The touch rugby activity is a chance for pupils to play outside their usual games groups whilst still improving their basic skills. Unlike the contact form of the game, touch rugby gives far more opportunity to get your hands on the ball and do what we all love doing – attacking.

We have seen some excellent running rugby and a big improvement in the pupils’ spatial awareness and decision-making. The hardest thing to learn is the right time to pass. This takes years to master but this year’s group have progressed quickly. As with every year the participants have been hugely competitive with everyone trying their absolute best. Well done and keep practising! JM

They had lots of fun working on the basic techniques such as straight jumps and trying to perfect the seat landing and coming back up to their feet. More complicated manoeuvres required the use of the harness and a steadying hand from Mr Tadman. CEH

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Cookery The Food Technology room is one of the children’s very favourite places to be meaning, as it does, that they will emerge with some delicious edible treat! Eating their goodies though, only comes after the serious business of weighing, measuring, mixing, rolling and a host of other useful culinary techniques. The children usually make a lot of mess, have a lot of fun and, without even really realising it, learn life-skills in their cookery sessions, not least how to wash and clean up thoroughly at the end! Over the course of the year they’ve have had a go at making pizzas and baking cupcakes and cookies. They’ve produced a whole variety of Christmas treats and made their very own sausages, a perennially popular activity which has the added benefit of providing the opportunity to talk a little about the importance of quality ingredients and nutrition. Learning should always be fun – it certainly is in cookery! JJ

Pizza making Once again pizza making proved to be a popular Sunday activity with both boys and girls of all ages – indeed, it was often oversubscribed! Running the session in the morning meant the children could enjoy the fruits of their labours at lunchtime and share with their friends. All the pizzas turned out well whether topped with combinations of sweetcorn, ham, salami, pineapple and mushroom or simply cheese and tomato.

Pizza making will be back in next year’s calendar due to popular demand! GW

Drama Drama at Packwood on a Tuesday evening is always a lively occasion and we have done a huge variety of activities this year, working on many drama skills. Improvisation was always popular, particularly creating stories from a first line, last line and setting. Particularly entertaining was Elsa and Flora’s story where the Queen ordered pizza and then met someone using her private toilet!

One week we investigated different ways of using our voices by looking at a huge selection of poems. Edward Scott gave a particularly creepy performance of his poem, and Alex Barry blew us away with his choice which was incredibly well delivered. We also looked at several Greek stories; Daedalus and Icarus,

Theseus and the Minotaur, Arachne and Pandora’s Box. Tom Williams and Lucy Mielczarek had an amazing adventure exploring the labyrinth and hearing the horrible Minotaur.

Puppet shows, freeze frames and lots and lots of games were also a feature of the year.

Special mention should be made of Garret Healy who has worked really hard all year and put in lots of good performances.

In Junior Boarders we made masks in the tradition of Greek plays. Each child had a character in Pandora’s Box and designed a suitable mask. We wore them to perform, and Alice Marshall gave a strong portrayal of Pandora, plagued by all these frightening creatures. We designed superheroes too, with their own particular powers and made up adventures for them. Fred Dollar spent a lot of time carefully creating his and we really enjoyed his adventure.

Amelia Peterson, Amelia Maunder and Natasha Carter-Motley have spent the year working towards their next LAMDA exam, Grade 5 Acting, which they will shortly take in Liverpool. They have worked very hard and have two very mature and intelligent monologues each. Well done girls. I hope LAMDA will continue in the school with younger pupils picking up the baton.

Well done everyone for a great dramatic year.

Martine Jones

Jewellery club Oh the choice! What to make and which beads to use? There was a huge selection on offer for Riko, Laure, Sybilla, Daisy, Bridget, Phoebe and the other girls who regularly came along to the club. They made pairs of earrings, triple layer floating necklaces using seed beads, tiger tail and crimping beads, a charm bracelet or two, among many other items, always concentrating hard on their technique and creative style. The CDT room was like a wellstocked shop with all the different tools, pliers, cutters and the variety of beads. The mix and match of seed beads, glass beads and pearl beads was very popular again this year and the girls produced some beautiful pieces. EN Page 48

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Cupcake making

Cookie club

Packwood’s own Great British Bakers couldn’t wait to mix their ingredients together and had to try very hard to restrain themselves from tucking into the mixture before baking. They worked in pairs to create six cupcakes each. Chocolate fudge icing is still the most popular topping as well as hundreds and thousands, chocolate chips and strands as delicious edible decorations. Not surprisingly there is never much time to admire the bakers’ artistry and creativity as the finished products are quickly eaten up! EN

Cookie club remains as popular as ever at Packwood. Anyone would think that the pupils were on rations, considering the zest with which they scrape the bowls and devour their produce. A Swiss roll can disappear within minutes of a child leaving the food technology room. This year we have briefly branched away from our traditional recipes, which have included chocolate crispies, chocolate brownies and rocky roads, and have made sausage rolls and cheese straws.

Toffee apples were made once, but never again! The clearing up took a very long time. It has been a good and entertaining year. EAC

Mixed hockey For the girls, hockey is a ‘staple’ in their sporting diet and over the last couple of years boys’ hockey has been increasing both in popularity and in profile. It is now firmly part of the boys’ curriculum at senior level and we are bringing the sport more to the fore at junior level by means of clubs and activities.

The mixed hockey activity serves this purpose well.

The boys, relatively new to hockey and still somewhat raw, work alongside the girls in a ‘one week skills, one week game’ system which enables the boys to be ‘fast tracked’ in terms of skill acquisition and knowledge of rules. The girls also benefit from what is perhaps a slightly more physical approach to the game. It works well and the experience gained this year will serve as an excellent foundation from which to develop the children’s game next year.

Squash

Through the winter months, the older children joined me for a mixed hockey club.

Although I was sometimes reluctant to drag myself out of the house on the cold, dark evenings I was always glad to have done so as the loyal 16 or so converged on the AWS. Always full of enthusiasm and no little skill they threw themselves fully into the sessions.

The favourite ‘match up’ was always boys v girls but the latter were normally too physical and so we mixed things up on occasions.

Their enthusiasm was infectious and before long I invariably found myself running around like a young (ish!) thing and joining in all the fun. I would then return to my house feeling rejuvenated, albeit a little battered and bruised, having had my weekly fillip courtesy of the devoted band of the boys and girls hockey club. Thank you! MAF

The squash club was small in numbers but high in quality this year. An all-boy cast invented different games along the way playing singles, doubles and a weird threesome game. Star prize this year must go to Ollie Hall, who played some fantastic squash and pushed the Headmaster all the way in one or two games. The most enthusiastic player and biggest diver on the court award goes to Owen Carroll, closely followed by Archie Mobbs. There were cameo roles for Arturo Merigo Garcia and Ned Moreau. I’d like to think the boys improved their technique and tactical understanding of this classic game, but key to every evening session was simply having fun after a hard day’s work! One day we’ll get those costumes moved and open up the second court again, at which point the numbers in the club can increase. CNSL

Science club One evening a week in the autumn term a group of enthusiastic boffins meets in the lab to explore some science which for one reason or another is not found in the normal curriculum. The activities we did this year mainly involved designing and building something to fulfil a particular task. We built Lego cars, hot air balloons, electric

motors and Cartesian divers and tried to detonate a bomb at a specific time interval. Whether we learned more from the successes or failures is hard to say but there were undoubtedly plenty of both. FRH

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Judo Acorns: This session is always well attended and this year was no exception. These little ones with lots of energy played judo games and learnt judo techniques. From day one their awareness and ability to help one another was spot on. Monty Pemberton and Oliver Edwards showed a great attitude to the sport. We are looking forward to them, and some of the other Acorns, moving up to the junior session next year.

Results of this year’s Judo tournament: Gold Silver Freddie Timmis James Lewis Lucy Clarke Liberty Clarke Wilbur Blackham Rufus Farmer Ed Scott Archie McParland Zennor Harvey Hugo Rees-Pullman Sebastian Marmont Laurie Rathbone Tommy Jarvis Tony Li Frankie McLaughlin Angus Hill-Trevor Robert Vick Arturo Garcia Will Shaw Isabel Morris Fred Stephens Leo Walton Nick Yeoward Ed Barry

Bronze Hal Cowan Tom Kenyon, Bea Grigg Lottie Waterhouse Henry Jones-Perrott, Todd Rees-Pullman George Stanford-Davis William Goodall, William Gardiner Alice Marshall Alexander Barry, Louis Graham Toby Turpin, Owen Carroll James Weir, Dan Richardson Harry Waterworth, Jac Evans Sybilla Hamilton, Octavia Hamilton

Throw of the tournament

‘Spirit of Judo’ award

Fred Stephens

Jac Evans

Junior School: In this group the youngsters have a real desire to learn. They ask more questions about the sport and learn many new techniques. We have plenty of mock contests and games like King of the Ring (sumo) that help them with their balance and movements around the mat. All the children gave a good account of themselves and special mention to Hal Cowan, Freddie Timmis and Genevieve Bright who put in just that extra bit of effort during training.

Middle School: This is where some of the best judo takes place as most of the players have had two or more years training with me.

By this time they have gained more knowledge of the syllabus laid down by the British Judo Association (BJA), their techniques are at a higher level and again each and every one looks after their training partners. The children have to have more awareness at this level and those who have done particularly well this year include Angus Hill-Trevor, Sacha Sandbach and Fred Stephens.

Senior School: This group comprises the older and wiser – and stronger – players.

They have more experience most of them having been with me for many years and they have performed their judo at several school competitions gaining medals and awards.

They have also learnt about personal safety along the way. As some of them leave Packwood this year and move on to other schools I truly hope that they get the chance to continue either in school or at a judo club.

This year’s group has been outstanding and I could quite easily name all the players for their attitude towards myself and the sport; particularly well done to Harry Waterworth and Jac Evans – although they were the smallest two boys in the group they showed great skills. Roger Houston, BJA 6th Dan

Quiz club

Textiles

This year we have had a select junior group coming to quiz club during activity time. We always begin by catching up with the national and international news by watching ‘Newsround’ and then we start on the quizzes. This year we have looked at quizzes on baby animals, geography, football, flags, outer space and sweets, to name but a few! James Lewis and Todd Rees-Pullman have had a lot of successes and have been closely challenged by Will Tate, Garret Healy, Edward Forde-Johnston, Flora Raichura, Callum Reid and Tom Thurstan. We have a special rule to make play more interesting – once you have won a point you have to beware because if you decide to play the next question and answer incorrectly you can lose it. Hugo Mathias impressed us all with his technique and Alex Barry made us laugh by always deciding to play every question. It has been a fun time and we all learnt something new, ready for the next time.

Do you know what a baby duck-billed platypus is called?

We do! RE

Poppy Stephens, Heath Rosselli and a happy little group of Year 3 and 4 boys and girls enjoyed working on a variety of projects during their textiles activity.

They made mini bunting using different patterned fabrics, buttons, sequins and ribbons; a wall display which has changed every term according to the season and has been decorated using glitter, shells and other materials; and pom pom bunnies and chicks at Easter. Once more, this activity has proved very popular and has been very much enjoyed by the children and me! EN

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Chess This year we ran a junior and senior activity. The juniors were of varying standards, some learning from scratch while others were already welldeveloped players. There was a real fascination and focus on how to use ‘check’ to your advantage. In the senior club there were some excellent players, who showed some well thought-out strategies. Matches could last a long time, and could even carry over into breaks during the week! Tom Bright was probably the best junior, while Dragon was the finest player in the school. RHC

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Stage lighting club This year’s Stage lighting club members were George Compston, Scott Karnsuwan, Harry Myddelton and Harry Swinburne. They have learnt how to use the many functions of the lighting board and how to patch the various pieces of equipment used by the school into the sound board to generate sound effects

and record sound. They also learnt how to set up wired and wireless microphones and how to patch the theatre Tannoy system for back stage to control booth communication, invaluable during the school drama productions. For ‘Grease’ and ‘Noah’s Ark’ they used the sound board and computer to

generate special effects and programmed the lighting board to automate the scene changes. Concerts throughout the year required the positioning of lights so that all those on stage could be clearly seen but were also able to read their sheet music without being dazzled. JB

Mixed rounders Every Tuesday a keen and eager bunch of us would meet up and battle would commence. Junior play practice often meant that we were a few down so we had to be inventive with positions, rules and occasionally with the points and time (me!).

William Goodall seemed to be everywhere – except perhaps not bowling! Tom Thurstan could launch a ball and Tom Kenyon would often get lost in the nearby countryside looking for lofted efforts.

Then, there were the Clarke girls, Lucy and Liberty; the boys didn’t mess with their tactics and cries of ‘Big hitter!’ went up as either of them set foot in the batters’ box.

I loved their youthful energy; occasionally their lack of knowledge of the rules made it a humorous game to watch. And finally, Archie Tulloch can now run the right way around four posts. My work here is done – until next year! KLP

Fly Tying Spanish club Spanish club has been a lot of fun this year. The children learnt some basic conversation skills reinforced with the use of iPads. We played a great number of games, learnt a lot about food and even attempted a bit of singing. It was rather off-key but it generated a lot of enthusiasm!

Top of the pops was the energetic 'La Bamba' by Ritchie Valens. It was a great experience for all and it has given the children more confidence to communicate in another foreign language. JN

This year’s club members included a few diehards (Harry Griffiths, Harry Myddelton and George Compston) some newcomers (Lucas Jones, Alfie Deahl and Piers Merison) and a few casual visitors who wandered in having seen something interesting going on and thought they would come and have a go. As usual the basic skills were quickly acquired so that all could produce an acceptable simple spider fly by the second week. Other skills took a little longer to perfect and although the addition of wings was mastered by some, my hopes that somebody would produce a perfect parachute dun or fully dressed Durham ranger proved to be a little too ambitious. FRH

Canoeing

Badminton

Lots more falling in and getting wet this year, but also lots more support strokes, and attempts at Eskimo rolls. This year’s canoeists were George Compston, Seb Corry, Dragon Dararattanarojna, and Max Pickering. All the boys really enjoyed themselves, however, there were times when Dragon didn’t look too happy about practising his self-rescue and going underwater again.

As in previous years there have been some new players amongst the seasoned ones that keep coming back for more and the standard some of these pupils have now reached is very high. We were invited to play for parents and their children during an Open Day and Jack Yeoward, Isabel Morris, Jago Ainslie, George Hughes and Freddie Cox kindly came and demonstrated their skills.

At the end of term everyone was so much more confident, and hopefully they will have another go when they get to their senior schools. SAR

The children also played a tournament this year with some very hard-fought and close matches. In the end Jack Yeoward came second and Jago Ainslie was the overall winner. During the summer term some Year 3 boys joined the group. Tom Kenyon, Tom Williams and Hal Cowan have all improved their technique and have played some very good rallies. EAC Page 51

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Sailing

Packwood sailing isn’t just jollying about in boats on a sunny afternoon. Twenty children over the year have been learning teamwork, manners, humility and boatmanship. They have learnt how to manoeuvre in precious little wind and how to rig the boat for too much wind. They have learnt how to communicate, instructing and informing each other of conditions, race positions,

the ripples on the surface and any hint of a change in direction of the wind. They have learnt how to look out for each other; to help each other; to correct capsized Pico-Lasers, Toppers and RS Fevas. They have discussed tactics, safety and strategy. They warmed up with hot chocolate and school onesies, cooled down with a splash and slapped on the sun cream.

First capsize of the year went to Ned Moreau; ‘Most fearless pirate’ award goes to Wilbur Blackham; ‘You must be cold, you’re turning blue’ award goes to Bobby Boyes; ‘Most likely to capsize award’ goes to Mr Weston for the second year running. Well done to everyone who brought home medals and trophies (Ollie Hall, Ollie and Emily Keeling-Paglia, Theodora, Louisa and Tommy Jarvis, George Weston) and to all those that took to the water for the first time, overcoming challenges and fears.

Enormous thanks to Brian Johnson, Sue Tuerena, Chris Cater and Robbie Tadman for putting up with us and for all of your enthusiasm. Thanks also go to the matrons, kitchens and Bursar’s team at Packwood who continue to make everything run so smoothly and to everyone at Shropshire Sailing Club at Whitemere for your facilities and welcoming friendship. We have all made new friends (young and old) and yes, OK, we have jollied about in boats on sunny afternoons. NW

Mandarin club Mandarin club has grown this year to a total of 15 students taking a weekly class focusing mainly on the language but also on various aspects of Chinese culture, such as art, history and food. The academic highlight was Thomas Mercer achieving an A* in his Common Entrance Mandarin exam! Gongxi gongxi! (Congratulations!).

Socially, the main event was a trip to Birmingham's Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebrations with students enjoying martial arts performances, getting their names drawn by a Chinese calligraphy Page 52

artist and the fireworks. Students have embraced the “Kung Fu Kingdom” online material used which gives them points for homework submitted and other online games. As a student reaches a new level of points, he or she is awarded online a new coloured belt, or “fu”. Both Finn Bowdler and James Lewis achieved a King Fu in books one and two, with Catherine MortonWilletts achieving a Dark Orange Fu at the top of the table for the other students in book one. Well done everyone! Barney Martin

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Rowing This year, the school was very lucky to have the opportunity to go and use the fantastic rowing facilities at Shrewsbury School during the new Thursday afternoon PACTS slot. Lots of children went and used the rowing machines, learnt how to row in the ‘tank’, and in the summer term some lucky ones got onto the water and put all their newly acquired skills to the test. The sight of the Packwood boat smoothly cruising along the river was wonderful, and a great credit to all the coaches from Shrewsbury who have given so much of their time to help.

A big thank you in particular must go to Packwood dad, Paul Pattenden, and his colleague at Shrewsbury. Hopefully this PACT will continue next year as it was such a great success. SAR

Croquet This summer Packwood’s two croquet lawns were well-used as ever, as evident from the worn-out grass on the first hoop. There is rarely a break time when pupils cannot be seen enjoying a game. The Friday afternoon junior activity remains very popular and is becoming the schooling ground for future champions. The annual tournament was also well supported, and again I felt it necessary to state that no Year 8s should enter as a pair together, in order to give the juniors a chance. I need not have worried about such a handicap system, as not a single Year 8 managed to reach the eventual final!

fifteen minutes. The two semi-finals had been much closer affairs: Davies and Yeoward knocked out the Williams brothers in a tense finish, and the eventual winners earned a deserved victory over tournament heavyweights, Chambers and McParland.

I hope many Packwood pupils continue to enjoy their croquet well into the summer.

RAC

Hugo Davies and Jack Yeoward (both Year 5), were surely our youngest ever tournament finalists when they met a Year 7 pairing of Harry Waterworth and Jonty Bright. Those numerous break time practices for Harry and Jonty clearly paid off (shouldn’t they have been somewhere else?) as they sped their way to victory in under

PACTS In September 2013 the PACTS programme (Packwood Activities) was introduced to give Packwood pupils the opportunity to try a varied range of games and activities. PACTS are every Thursday afternoon during normal games time. Groups change over to different activities every half term.

Just some of those on offer so far have been: sailing, dry slope skiing, girls’ football and rugby, fives, rowing, boules, boys’ lacrosse, dodgeball, animation, origami, coarse fishing, ultimate Frisbee and kitchen gardening. PP

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S P O R T: F O O T B A L L

Football 1st XI

This season there was an uncanny similarity to what was unfolding in the Premier League and the changes in Packwood football. A team that had achieved a number of successful seasons dominating the opposition were having to deal with change. The manager was stepping down after a long and successful reign to be replaced by a coach who had experience but was new to this level and lacked silverware! Have you worked it out yet?

This season will stay with me for a long time and not just for being my first season in charge of the 1st XI. Looking down the results column the memories of frustration come flooding back. To have lost four games by one goal when three of them should have been victories was tough to take for the boys.

This year’s group possessed a lot of ability and there was strength all over the pitch, with a core that had played and been successful with the 2nd XI last year. In goal the athletic and committed Nick Yeoward saved the team on many occasions and grew in confidence with every game. Alex Ainslie also spent some time between the sticks and made some memorable contributions; the save against Yarlet in the dying minutes to keep us at 1-0 was heroic to say the least. The back four was a real mixture. On the right hand side Ollie Hall, with the heart of a lion, would go into every challenge fully committed against opposition twice his size. Rowan Pickstock provided strength and a solid, clearing left boot in moments of distress. Seb Corry, a new addition to the school and plenty of pedigree, brought us real class at the back with great touches and close control to rival any of the forwards.

Partnering Seb, Ben Cowley was straight out of the ‘old school’ line of central defenders, prepared to put his head, chest, knee, shin or foot wherever it needed to be to win the ball.

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Many times, once in particular against Prestfelde, Ben produced a perfectly timed challenge.

Played 10 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 6 For 21 Against 15

The midfield unit possessed a lot of flair and ability v Prestfelde (A) Lost and in the latter part of the season really began to v Foremarke (A) Lost move the ball well, demonstrating the Packwood v Shrewsbury U14C (H) Won free-flowing pass and move football. The first half v Foremarke (H) Lost against Terra Nova was a masterclass in the way v Wrekin (A) Lost v Terra Nova (A) Lost the team could play; zipping the ball across, v Prestfelde (H) Lost through, behind and over their opposition. Oscar v Yarlet (A) Won Holt played the holding role well with a good first v Shrewsbury High Prep (A) Won touch and most importantly vision to spot the next v Yarlet (A) Won pass. This gave Daniel Humes, Frank Morris and Shrewsbury 6-a-side tournament Fred Furnival, our captain, the freedom to play. v Priory School Lost 1-6 Daniel dictated many Packwood attacks and v Prestfelde B Won 3-1 developed a slick passing game, while Fred linked v Elstree Won 2-0 well, keeping the ball and thwarting opposition v Foremarke Lost 0-3 attacks with his aggressive but fair defence. Frank IAPS North and Midlands Region was so important to the side because he could 6-a-side tournament cover anywhere in the midfield or defence. He v Birchfield Won 5 - 1 came into his own at the IAPS tournament when v St Olave’s Lost 0 - 4 he turned round the game against Terra Nova, v Foremarke Lost 0 - 3 playing on the left hand side! As captain, Fred led v Westbourne Won 7 - 0 the team with a real purpose, setting the standard v Terra Nova Lost 0 - 2 for everyone else to follow. Our wide men, John v Prestfelde Drawn 1 - 1 Elliott and Harry Swinburne, brought pace and skill to the flanks. Against Shrewsbury High Prep they were given far too much room and tore apart the opposition, creating chance after chance.

0-1 1-4 9-1 0-3 1-2 2-3 0-1 1-0 6-0 1-0

Archie Mobbs led the line up front and kept opposition defenders guessing. Although Archie didn’t bag as many goals as he would have liked, he was blessed with the ability to produce something sublime and his goal against Foremarke away was a glimpse of what he could do, coolly slotting a shot in the top corner from distance. The team showed tremendous heart throughout the term, no more so than at home against Prestfelde where the opposition coach said to the boys afterwards that they were the better side on the day. Some performances just lacked that killer blow but to finish off with three victories showed their fight and it was a pleasing way to end. I hope all the boys leaving continue to enjoy their football and look back fondly at their time roaming the playing fields here at Packwood. Thankfully, to return to my earlier reference, I managed to outlast the Premier League’s David Moyes!

Team: Fred Furnival (Capt), Nick Yeoward, Alex Ainslie, Ollie Hall, Seb Corry, Ben Cowley, Rowan Pickstock, Harry Swinburne, Oscar Holt, Frank Morris, Daniel Humes, John Elliott, Archie Mobbs. JM

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S P O R T: F O O T B A L L

2nd XI Overall, this was a very satisfying season for the 2nd XI. We certainly had some ups and downs in terms of results, but we always tried to play an attractive style of football with many of our players comfortable in possession of the ball. With around half of the squad in Year 7, I fully expect the boys to have a major influence on the 1st XI next season.

We had a very encouraging start to the season at the Shrewsbury 6-a-side Tournament where Packwood U13B side progressed to the quarter-finals of the main competition. Until our final match where we ran out of steam against a very strong Terra Nova side, the team played with pace and flair going forward and were very solid in defence. In the XI-a-side games the team significantly improved in all aspects of the game and this was reflected in our results as the season progressed. The first choice back four of Harry Bradshaw, James Hinwood, AJ Kraisuraphong and Alexander Ainslie were tremendous in their defensive qualities and in setting up much of our attacking play. Our captain, Felix Jebb, also made some important contributions to keep us in games with his tremendous shot stopping. Add to this some excellent wide players and the creative midfield of Tom Mercer, Harry Waterworth and Toby Turpin; we had an effective team all over the pitch. At times the boys played brilliantly, particularly when we passed the ball around quickly and used the width of the field. William Holcroft, our top scorer with six goals, and Marcus Woodhead for his pace and energy also deserve special mentions for their work this season. The four goals William scored against Terra Nova was a terrific effort.

I thoroughly enjoyed coaching the team this year. It was a challenging season, but all the players responded very well and all improved significantly with their performances on the pitch.

Squad : Felix Jebb (Capt), Harry Bradshaw, James Hinwood, AJ Kraisuraphong, Alexander Ainslie, Thomas Mercer, Marcus Woodhead, Arturo Merigo Garcia, Toby Turpin, Harry Waterworth, Jac Evans, William Holcroft, Pun Vatayanonta, Leo Walton. PJP

Played 7 Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 3 For 18 Against 14 v Prestfelde v Foremarke v Shrewsbury U14D v Foremarke v Birchfield v Terra Nova v Prestfelde

(H) (H) (H) (A) (A) (H) (A)

Lost Lost Won Lost Drawn Won Drawn

2-3 0-3 4-1 0-2 3-3 8-1 1-1

7-a-side matches Packwood City v The Ryleys 1st XI Packwood United v Packwood City Packwood United v The Ryleys 1st XI

Lost Won Lost

Shrewsbury 6-a-side Tournament v Shrewsbury High Prep Drawn v Beech Hall Won v Lockers Park Drawn v Terra Nova Lost

Quarter-finalists 0-0 3-0 2-2 0-4

1-2 1-0 2-3

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S P O R T: F O O T B A L L

3rd XI Despite relatively few fixtures for the 3rd XI, the boys have worked hard in training and applied themselves excellently during matches. All of our games have been exciting, especially away at Foremarke, where the result was in doubt until the last few moments; it was very satisfying also to finally get the better of the same opposition in another close encounter at home, once again by a single goal margin: it was very much a case of the ‘Cloggies’ against the ‘Thoroughbreds’, but no less satisfying a result for that.

Played 4 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 13 Against 4 v Prestfelde v Foremarke v Foremarke v Prestfelde

(H) (A) (H) (A)

Won Lost Won Won

3-0 0-1 3-2 7-1

The culmination of this short season was at Prestfelde where, in the pouring rain, the team put on their best performance of the term by some distance and emerged worthy winners.

They have been an exceptionally willing and good-hearted group of boys and have accepted advice and attempted at all times to play the game in the correct fashion and spirit. Well done to them all.

Squad: Max Horler (Capt), Mario Hernandez, Max Pickering, Arthur Gell, Nat McAllister, Harry Myddelton, Owen Carroll, Alfred Hughes, Edward Don, Arturo Garcia, Patrick Norman, Francis McLaughlin, Alejandro Gimenez, Adam Pattenden, Jonty Bright, Pun Vatayanonta, Edward Barry. KJW

4th XI The 4th XI showed some good progress as a team through the short season. We were perhaps unlucky to lose our opening fixture at home against a large and relatively skilful Foremarke side. After Oliver Keeling-Paglia had opened the scoring, Foremarke kept equalising despite goals from Nicholson and Jones Polanco. The dying moments were exciting; Jonty Bright even ran out of his area to handle the ball in midfield before the final whistle went! In our second match we belatedly discovered our top goal scorer for the season: Keita Nakamura, all the way from Japan/Game 3. Keita was to prove our calmest and most accurate striker over the next two games, scoring four goals.

The season ended on a sunny afternoon at Moffats, where Myddelton, Jones Polanco and Nicholson again managed to score. I lost count of

the number of times Dragon Played 3 Won 1 Drawn 1 Lost 1 was presented with an open For 10 Against 6 goal but proceeded to miss! v Foremarke (H) Lost 3-4 The team were enjoyable to v Foremarke (A) Drawn 2-2 coach throughout the term, v Moffats (A) Won 5-0 typified by good spirits and a keenness to take on – and usually lose to – the 3rd XI in practice sessions. Well done all.

Squad: Harry Myddelton (Capt), Ned Moreau, Edward Barry, Ali Davies, Dragon Dararattanarojna, Edward Don, Lucas Jones, Polanco, Robert Vick, Keita Nakamura, Scott Nicholson, Oliver Keeling-Paglia, Jonty Bright, Alejandro Giminez, Adam Pattenden, Freddy Williams. RAC

Under 11A I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching the Under 11As this season; their attitude has been excellent and they developed considerably as a team. They have earned some very good wins, and in defeat fought hard against some excellent sides. At their best it was a pleasure to witness them passing the ball slickly and finishing so effectively. One of the highlights of the season for me was the Prestfelde game at home when, despite being 5-0 down at half time, they fought hard against a particularly good Prestfelde team to beat them in the second half 3-2. Although the match finished 3-7 the boys should be proud of their determination and levels of skill. Another great moment was the last match of the season against The Ryleys when the boys won emphatically thanks to some excellent passing and superb finishing.

Played 7 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 4 For 28 Against 29 v Prestfelde v Old Hall v Foremarke v Birchfield v Terra Nova v Prestfelde v The Ryleys

(A) (A) (H) (A) (H) (H) (H)

Lost Lost Lost Won Won Lost Won

1-8 0-1 1-5 8-4 5-3 3-7 10-1

Team: Joe Pattenden, Edward Bayliss, William Stanford-Davis, Fred Stephens, Jack Yeoward, Guy Macey, Oliver Holcroft, Freddie Cox. CL

Under 11B This team produced my favourite school goal of all time! Prestfelde was piling on the pressure; they were camped in our penalty area; our intelligent and brave keeper Tom Dix plucked the ball above the heads of defenders and attackers. But then, in one movement, Tom had surged out of the area with the ball at his feet and was running at breakneck speed.

At the halfway line he met a solitary defender, and swept past him, speeding on to the opponent’s penalty area. Now only one defender blocked the way…a flick to forward William Gardiner who had kept up with the maestro and the ball was buried in the back of the net. The Prestfelde coach’s mouth was wide open! A modest smile from Tom, as he trotted back to his goal with the others in the Page 56

team all enjoying the moment. Whether winning or losing, the boys always seemed to enjoy this 7-a-side football and encouraged each other. Though they lost quite a few, they were always competitive, and scored plenty of goals through the season. In defence, James Pickering and Laurie Rathbone, though still learning their craft, are capable footballers, and show bags of potential for the future.

Garret Healey and Louis Graham were dynamos in midfield, working their socks off.

Max Macey ran a bit less, but impressed the crowd with his with silky skills! Up front was our captain, William Gardiner, who led the team from the front, had a very good sense of position and scored loads of goals.

They were a great bunch to work with.

Played 9 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 7 For 20 Against 38 v Prestfelde v Foremarke U10A v Old Hall v Foremarke U10A v Birchfield v Terra Nova B v Prestfelde B v Yarlet U11A v The Ryleys U10A

(A) (H) (H) (A) (A) (A) (H) (A) (H)

Won Lost Lost Lost Won Lost Lost Lost Lost

3-2 1-6 3-5 0-4 5-3 1-6 2-4 3-4 2-4

Team: William Gardiner (Capt), Jacob Jones, Garret Healy, Laurie Rathbone, Thomas Dix, Max Macey, Louis Graham, James Pickering.

RHC

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S P O R T: F O O T B A L L

Under 11C What a season! I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed v Prestfelde (H) Lost 0-10 coaching a football v Foremarke (H) Lost 1-11 team more than I did v Old Hall (A) Lost 2-6 this year; the boys v Terra Nova (H) Drawn 1-1 trained hard, worked v Prestfelde (A) Lost 1-8 their socks off in v The Ryleys (H) Drawn 2-2 matches and improved so much from the first match to the last. Just think how happy I would have been if we had actually won a match!

Played 6 Won 0 Drawn 2 Lost 4 For 7 Against 38

After only two games the scorebook made depressing reading with a goal difference of minus 20 but in reality, we weren’t that bad! There is only one way to go from there, and through hard work and tenacity the boys started to improve every aspect of their play. Their positional awareness and discipline gave us structure and made the opposition work hard to create chances on goal, with Orlando Williams and Edward Forde-Johnston hard-working and dependable as wing backs, and Will Shaw holding the fort in the middle. Henry Dickson developed as a holding midfielder and even our creative maestro Yuta Umetani started to tackle back and harass the opposition. Great defence starts up front and no one worked harder to get the ball from the opposition than our centre forward Seb Marmont, whilst at the other end Gus Ames grew in confidence and started to make some

great saves. In our third match against Old Hall, the boys showed how far they had come in a hard-fought 2-6 loss against a strong team.

In the second half of the season, the boys started to use the width of the pitch and the players around them to greater effect. The ball was no longer simply kicked downfield, but passed backwards, sideways and along the flanks to create space for our small but perfectly formed team to outplay their larger opponents. With Jacob Jones joining us on loan from the B team, we also added strength to our squad. A draw against Terra Nova was followed by a disappointing loss to Prestfelde, before our last chance of victory came in the form of a home game to The Ryleys. After going down 1-0 to a fluke shot from behind the halfway line, the boys played their best football of the season to score two great team goals and lead 2-1 with only seconds on the clock. With the referee desperately hoping time would speed up and wondering whether he would lose sleep over blowing the whistle a little early, The Ryleys launched one last attack to score and break our hearts!

So the season ended without a win, but every single boy who played can be very proud of the progress they made this season and the manner in which they deported themselves before, during and after matches. Well done boys and a big thank you to the loyal supporters who watched every match come rain or shine.

Squad: Orlando Williams, Edward Forde-Johnston, Gus Ames, Sebastian Marmont, Yuta Umetani, Will Shaw, Henry Dickson, Jacob Jones. RLT

Under 11D

Under 9A

This season for the under 11D team was quite tough, with only one win to their names and bruising encounters against some very strong sides. However, the improvement in skill and teamwork made by every player from the beginning of the season to the end was, quite frankly, amazing to witness.

Played 8 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 7 For 11 Against 45 v Prestfelde v Foremarke (U10B) v Old Hall v Foremarke (U10B) v Terra Nova (10B) v Moffats (U11A) v Prestfelde v The Ryleys (U10B)

(H) (H) (A) (A) (A) (H) (A) (H)

Lost Lost Won Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost

The two Prestfelde games encapsulate the team’s progress perfectly. After losing heavily at the start of the season, in the return fixture the boys put in a great performance and even though they lost, they had taken the lead at one point and almost snatched a last ditch goal to draw the game.

Played 4 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 3 For 5 Against 11 0-9 2-5 4-3 1-2 0-9 0-4 3-4 1-9

Throughout the season, there were many notable performances. Tom Kiel led the side very well as captain and became quite a formidable defender, supported well by Freddie Mathias and William Waterhouse. Up front, we could always rely on the likes of the dangerous Jago Ainslie to get a quick break and score a goal. However, probably the most improved player of the year was Fred Dollar in goal. He isn’t the most agile of players but he was still able to pull off some amazing saves against some quality opposition.

Everybody in the team must be congratulated for coming so far in just one short season. It was a pleasure to coach this team, and there were some games that I definitely won’t forget.

v Prestfelde v Birchfield v Moreton Hall v Prestfelde

(H) Lost (H) Lost (A) Won (A) Lost

0-3 0-1 3-1 2-6

This year, the Under 9As have had some ups and downs but the team got stronger and stronger throughout the season. They performed very well at the Prestfelde Tournament. They narrowly lost one nil against the winners, Prestfelde, and played some sensational football. The player of the tournament for the Packwood team had to be Wilbur Blackham who demonstrated some incredible goalkeeping skills and made some fabulous saves. Well done all for showing such a good spirit; it bodes well for next year.

Team: Wilbur Blackham, Orlando Bayliss, William Goodall, George Hughes, Archie McParland, Tom Bright. JN

Squad: Tom Kiel (Capt), Jago Ainslie, Alexander Barry, Hugo Davies, Fred Dollar, Oliver Griffiths, Angus Hill-Trevor, Tony Li, Freddie Mathias, James Miles, Euan Montgomery, Daniel Richardson, William Tate, William Waterhouse. CD

Under 9B and Under 8 Played 6 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 4 For 9 Against 13 U9B v Prestfelde U9B v Terra Nova U10B U9B v Birchfield U9B v Prestfelde U8 v Terra Nova U9B U8 v Birchfield

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(H) (A) (A) (A) (H) (A)

Lost Lost Lost Won Won Lost

0-1 0-4 1-2 5-0 3-1 0-5

It was a good season from these teams – lots of endeavour and quite a bit of skill. I know we didn’t win all our matches; however the effort and commitment from the boys does mean that I am very optimistic for this group as they move through the school.

U9B squad: Ryan Lee, Henry Jones-Perrott, Jamie Warburton-Lee, Edward Scott, Freddie Greenwell, Bobby Boyes.

U8 squad: Joseph Bowdler, Rufus Farmer, Archie Tulloch, Rohan Alaca, Thomas Kenyon, Tom Thurstan, Freddie Timmis. SAR

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S P O R T: H O C K E Y

Hockey

*colours awarded

Under 13A

It was obvious from as early as last season that the senior girls would be a very v Oswestry (H) Won 9-0 talented bunch on the v Moor Park (H) Won 4-0 hockey field this year and v Ellesmere (H) Won 5-0 that was confirmed by v Abberley (A) Won 2-1 excellent performances in Packwood Tournament Runners-up all of their matches, leading Moor Park Triangular Winners to an outstanding set of results. The fact that we won our games was perhaps not the most significant issue – it was the style of hockey and manner in which we played that was so impressive.

We were skilful, determined and once we started to become more aggressive we were a very ‘complete’ team. Packed to the brim with county players, we were led exceptionally by our captain Amelia Played 4 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 0 For 20 Against 1

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Ashworth. Our midfield rotated around Amelia with bursts of brilliance; Ellie Mason, Freya Beasley and Lottie Clarke all injecting pace when necessary. The strike force alternated between Amelia Maunder and Rosie Simpson and at the back few players were ever going to pass the invincible trio of Annabel Robertson, Phoebe Wasdell and Louisa Jarvis.

This has been the best team that I have coached at Packwood and all except Louisa are moving on to senior school. Some ‘old girls’ are still playing at those schools with at least one in the national hockey academy. I am sure that some of these girls can follow in their footsteps.

Well done!

Team: Amelia Ashworth* (Capt), Louisa Jarvis, Phoebe Wasdell*, Annabel Robertson*, Ellie Mason*, Freya Beasley*, Lottie Clarke*, Rosie Simpson*, Amelia Maunder*, Talullah Blackham*. MAF

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S P O R T: H O C K E Y

Under 13B In ‘normal’ years, most of the Played 5 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 2 players in this team would For 13 Against 6 have been donning the first v Terra Nova (H) Won 6-1 team shirt on a regular basis v Moor Park (H) Won 4-0 but such was the strength in v Ellesmere (H) Won 1-0 depth and competition v Abberley (A) Lost 0-1 amongst the girls that v St Mary’s Hall (A) Lost 2-4 selection was always a ‘pleasant’ headache for the selectors. Natasha Carter-Motley, Amelia Peterson and Talullah Blackham were always knocking on the door of the first team and from Year 7 Zara Vickers, Georgia Kannreuther, Sophia Bureau, Eliza Rosselli and Freya Cox were putting in their bids for future selection. The Year 7 girls also qualified for the Midlands tournament via the Shropshire County Cup which will have given them invaluable experience for next season.

*colours awarded

All of the coaching sessions were done as one group and so all of the girls have benefited from playing with the ‘senior’, more experienced players.We played well, fought hard but were sometimes a little too nice against some of the more physical teams. It will have proved to be a good apprenticeship for those entering Year 8 next term. For those that are leaving, however, well done and stick with it –you will be playing 11 a-side next year and will definitely be regulars at first team level!

Team: Amelia Peterson* (Capt), Natasha Carter-Motley*, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Sophie Barlow, Sophia Bureau, Sacha Sandbach, Zara Vickers, Freya Cox, Georgia Kannreuther, Eliza Rosselli. MAF

Under 13C & D I take great pride in the fact Played 7 Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 3 that every girl in the top two For 10 Against 13 years at Packwood has U13C v Birchfield (H) Lost 1-4 represented the school in a U13C v Moor Park (H) Won 1-0 hockey team this year and U13C v Bromsgrove (A) Won 3-1 they have done so with great U13C vAbberley (A) Won 3-1 enthusiasm and a smile U13C v St Mary’s Hall (A) Lost 1-2 upon their faces. For some it U13D v Bromsgrove (A) Lost 0-4 has been their first U13D v Adcote U12 (H) Drawn 1-1 introduction to the sport.

They have picked up the skills and rules quickly, the commitment of the others has been infectious and as you can see by the results it has been successful.

Girls such as Romy Grigg, Chloe Edwards, Zoe Nugent and Immy Downey have been stalwarts of the team. Sybilla and Octavia Hamilton have driven the others forward and I hope that they will continue to play at their senior school and to get as much enjoyment out of the sport as they have this season. Well done all!

Team: Zoe Nugent, Octavia Hamilton, Romy Grigg, Sybilla Hamilton, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Chloe Edwards, Imogen Downey, Maria Rey, Theodora Jarvis, Marta Banegas, Riko Munakata, Teresa Rodriguez, Anna Cowan, Sacha Sandbach, Sophia Bureau. MAF

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S P O R T: H O C K E Y

Under 11A When you consider that this squad was made up from girls in Years 5 and 6, some still being only nine years old, then the results are not as bad as they first seem. Often playing against schools with larger pools of girls who were physically older and stronger, they have had to dig deep and the learning curve was huge.

Played 5 Won 0 Drawn 2 Lost 3 For 7 Against 18 v Foremarke v Moor Park v Rydal Penrhos v Birchfield v Terra Nova

(A) (A) (H) (A) (H)

Lost Lost Drawn Lost Drawn

0-6 1-2 2-2 2-6 2-2

Bromsgrove Tournament Plate Runners-up

Any parent watching on the sidelines would also have noticed their progression over the term; certainly the Bromsgrove tournament showcased what we did achieve and the style of hockey that we strived to play week in, week out through the wind and rain. A special mention to Georgiana Nicholas who commanded the midfield and to Emily McParland who worked so hard on her runs off the ball. It’s a big step up for some of them next year and the ball will be hit fast and hard – take care out there!

Team: Tommy Jarvis, Alice Hughes, Amelia Farmer, Alice Marshall, Georgiana Nicholas, Emily McParland, Daisy David, Eliza Blackham, Isabel Morris, Poppy Stephens. KLP

Under 11B Many of the girls in this squad were either new to the game or had only limited experience playing hockey. They rallied each session to improve their own skills base and to gel as a squad. A few made such good progress that at times they also played up in the Under 11As – Amelia Farmer, Alice Marshall, Daisy David and Heath Rosselli. At times we lacked the ‘killer’ instinct and we were too nice! Next year they will need to toughen up and be more clinical with their efforts. A special mention to Bridget Merison who did so well in goal, regardless of the stats – keep at it!

Team: Bridget Merison, Lottie Waterhouse, Emily Keeling-Paglia, Freja Bedell, Alice Marshall, Amelia Farmer, Daisy David, Honor Grigg, Heath Rosselli. KLP

Played 5 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 5 For 3 Against 27 v Foremarke v Moor Park v Ellesmere College v Bromsgrove v Terra Nova

(A) (A) (H) (H) (A)

Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost

1-16 0-4 1-3 1-3 0-1

Under 9/Under 8 Played 7 Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 2 For 20 Against 13 U9 v Bromsgrove U10C U9 v Terra Nova U9 v Birchfield U9 v Abberley U8 v Birchfield

(H) (A) (A) (H) (A)

Packwood Under 9 Triangular Festival v Moor Park v Birchfield

Won Drawn Won Lost Lost

6-0 2-2 7-2 2-4 0-2

Drawn Drawn

2-2 1-1

The Under 9s and Under 8s have had a great season of hockey. Games sessions focused on skills and match practices and the girls increased their knowledge of tactics and the rules of the game.

They practised passing, tackling, shooting and set pieces and all their efforts paid off with some good results. Genevieve played well in goal and Lucy and Liberty Clarke produced some great performances in midfield.

Among the Under 8s, Catherine Morton-Willetts in particular showed encouraging form for next year. In all their matches the girls played well as a team and made good progress over the course of the season.

Squad: Genevieve Bright, Lucy Clarke, Zennor Harvey, Georgina Kenyon, Liberty Clarke, Bea Grigg, Rowena Jones, Flora Raichura, Elsa Waterhouse, Claudia Tate, Catherine Morton-Willetts, Lucy Mielczarek, Florence Acton, Lulu Bright, Imogen Macey. KE

Boys’ Hockey Played 5 Won 1 Drawn 1 Lost 3 For 8 Against 13 U13 A VII v Rydal U13 B VII v Rydal U13 A XI v Foremarke 3rd XI U13 B XI v Foremarke 4th XI U12 VII v Terra Nova

(A) (A) (A) (A) (H)

Lost Lost Won Drawn Lost

2-3 1-6 3-1 1-1 1-2

This is probably the first ever boys’ hockey report in a Packwood magazine, certainly in my memory, and what a delight it is to be writing about this increasingly popular sport. Most senior schools now have artificial surfaces and offer hockey as a core subject on the games curriculum. For many years our own AWS has been sitting untouched during the spring term when the girls have swapped over to netball.

We have had boys’ hockey clubs and activities in the past but it now features strongly on the games timetable.

We are on a somewhat steep learning curve and inevitably hockey will take second place to rugby, but it is serious enough to produce some very promising players.

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We have had a few competitive fixtures, rarely with the same team (hence no team list below) due to the boys’ rugby commitments but this has created the ideal opportunity for more boys to play the game and represent the school. For some it has proved to be a chance to add yet another sport to their already bulging armoury, the likes of Dan Humes, Seb Corry and Fred Furnival. For others, it has provided the chance to reinforce what they do outside Packwood like Freddy Williams and Scott Nicholson, but perhaps the most rewarding aspect comes from seeing boys who have never played before develop into very talented players indeed, if perhaps still a little ‘raw’. Jac Evans, Lucas Jones Polanco, Harry Bradshaw and Leo Walton are just some of those in this category.

Hockey will continue to strengthen at Packwood and the year that we have now spent introducing the game will have set a firm foundation from which the boys can develop and hone their skills. Many of the boys now leaving will be able to continue with the game and I have a feeling that some will do very well indeed.

Early days but very exciting times! MAF

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S P O R T: R U G B Y

Rugby 1st XV Played 11 Won 9 Drawn 0 Lost 2 For 305 Against 64

With only two minor blemishes on the record – both of which were avoidable – this season can only be seen as another successful one, with the team playing a brand of flowing, running rugby which was very pleasing on the eye.

From the outset, it was obvious that we were going to be physically compromised; most opposition teams seemed to tower above us at line-outs and exert a similar dominance in the set scrum.

Undaunted, however, by such disadvantage, we managed to hold our own in most situations, winning sufficient decent ball to allow our exciting back line time and space.

In the front row, having lost the influential Ali Davies due to injury in the Abberley game, much depended upon the relative inexperience of hooker, Alex Ainslie who coped admirably both in set and loose play, and props Alfred Hughes and Dragon, neither of whom had played any rugby at this level. The fact that Dragon won a ‘Man of the tournament ‘ award on our Isle of Man tour speaks volumes for his rate of improvement during the season: in defence he has been simply magnificent and never taken a backward step. Despite receiving a nasty cut on his knee against Bromsgrove, Alfred Hughes made the best of his opportunities when fit again, and will have learned much from this year. In the second row Nat McAllister has been a steady performer, winning some good line-out ball, while Adam Pattenden has quite simply proved himself a menace to every team we have played with his raw-boned aggression both at the breakdown and with ball in hand.

v Corbet School (H) v St Mary’s Hall (A) v Abberley (A) v Bromsgrove U13B (A) v Prestfelde (A) v St Mary’s Hall (H) v Wolverhampton Grammar(A)

Won Won Lost Won Won Lost Won

57-0 38-12 19-14 12-7 29-0 12-14 29-0

Isle of Man Tour: v I.o.M. Development Squad v Castle Rushen High School v King William’s

Won Won Won

24-5 10-0 41-0

Final: v Castle Rushen

Won

34-12

joining the back line in attack. Sebastian Corry, despite being new to rugby, has considerable pace and good hands and looks to be a promising prospect.

Overall, then, a most enjoyable season for which I thank not only the team, but also those from Game 1 who have provided excellent opposition during practice sessions, and some of whom have come close to securing places in the 1st XV. My thanks also to Harry Swinburne for carrying out the sometimes thankless role of captain thoughtfully and efficiently.

Squad: Harry Swinburne (Capt), Nick Yeoward, Alex Ainslie, Alfred Hughes, Pun Vatayanonta, Ben Cowley, Daniel Humes, Nat McAllister, Ned Moreau, Oscar Holt, Adam Pattenden, Sebastian Corry, James Hinwood, Edward Barry, Jonty Bright, Frank Morris, Marcus Woodhead, Ollie Hall, Freddy Williams, Ali Davies, Jack Goodall, Fred Furnival, Dragon Dararattanarojna, Robert Vick, Nathan Mielczarek. KJW

In the back row, Oscar Holt has improved enormously as a No. 8, especially in defence, and latterly found the confidence to run the ball at the opposition. Ned Moreau lacked self-belief at times, but on his day was effective on the blind-side flank, whilst Frank Morris more than made up for his lack of ‘beef’ with superb defensive displays as well as displaying commendable pace when required. Jonty Bright showed promise in the early games with his aggressive, no-nonsense approach and should be a real force to be reckoned with next year.

Fred Furnival was thoroughly dependable in the No.9 shirt, providing consistently good ball for fellow half-back Daniel Humes to display his excellent range of handling and kicking skills which were key to the success of the team. The midfield combination of Harry Swinburne and Nick Yeoward posed real problems for every side we played, with Nick’s powerful running and resolute defence complemented perfectly by Harry’s steely determination, power and off-loading skills.

On the wing, Freddy Williams has improved throughout the season particularly at the breakdown, and Marcus Woodhead, at his best, has been elusive and determined in his running, which has led to important tries at crucial moments. Ollie Hall was typically dependable at full-back, especially in defence, and became more confident and skilful when Page 61

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S P O R T: R U G B Y

2nd XV Played 6 Won 6 Drawn 0 Lost 0 For 220 Against 10 v St Mary’s Hall v Abberley v Bromsgrove v Foremarke v Corbet School v Prestfelde

(A) (H) (A) (H) (H) (H)

Won Won Won Won Won Won

52-0 17-0 10-5 40-0 39-5 62-0

I feel I have been particularly fortunate this season, I have coached a team with talent, energy and an absolutely fantastic attitude.

During all of their games the boys have maintained great defensive and attacking spirit and excellent teamwork; they have been a pleasure to coach.

The clear highlight of the season, for me, was our match against Abberley. Abberley arrived at Packwood unbeaten with a huge No. 4 and, generally, a team that had size, power and pace. Throughout the game, against fierce attacks, our defence was outstanding, we were wellorganised and our tackling was phenomenal. In attack we moved the ball effortlessly through hand; we eventually won the game 17-0. The referee, with well over twenty years’ experience, stated that it was one of the best schoolboy rugby matches he had had the pleasure to watch and numerous parents echoed his opinion.

The 2nd XV ended the season unbeaten; a superb effort.

Team: Edward Barry, Piers Merison, Robert Vick, Edward Don, Nathan Mielczarek, Felix Jebb, Patrick Norman, Jonty Bright, Jack Goodall, Archie Mobbs, Ben Cowley, James Hinwood, Sebastian Corry, William Holcroft, Rowan Pickstock. CL

3rd XV In a great team display, the boys dominated a bigger team and won convincingly 48 -5.

Teamwork was to become the key feature of the season. With very fit and skilful players, but without any one player who was big enough or fast enough to create tries on their own, the boys had to support each other and work hard for every point they scored. This created an attacking style of rugby which featured fast movement of the ball, passing out of contact and close support running. In addition, the tackling was excellent throughout the season and would not have been out of place in the 1st XV.

The 2013/14 rugby season began in November with the Year 7 and 8 boys v St Mary’s Hall (A) Won being divided into the probable, the v Abberley (H) Won possible and the “Go and see Mr v Bromsgrove (A) Lost Tadman and Mr Jones!” It is hard to v Corbet School (A) Won believe, even with the benefit of v Shrewsbury High Prep (A) Lost hindsight, that those boys, a few of v St Mary’s Hall (H) Won whom had never played a second of v Terra Nova (H) Won rugby in their lives, and others who would happily never play it again, would end up playing to such a high standard by the end of a highly successful season. Every time a player started to show the ability and attitude to stand out, Mr Webster kindly removed them, whilst generously sending the occasional pupil to us who was broken by tackling Dragon or Nick Yeoward! Despite all these odds stacked against them the boys were already looking like a team by the time our first fixture against St Mary’s Hall came about.

Played 7 Won 5 Drawn 0 Lost 2

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Over the rest of the season we played many other very strong schools, and although not every game was won the boys can be very proud of the rugby they played.

We became an extremely difficult team to score against, with a back line that was aggressive in defence and played like flankers in the tackle, a back row that was mobile and fast over the ball in rucks, and five at the front who were willing to put their bodies on the line picking and driving against bigger, older opposition in most games. The boys also scored some good tries, played attractive rugby, and enjoyed themselves and they all deserve praise for their commitment, hard work and achievement.

Squad: Harry Bradshaw, Oliver Keeling-Paglia, George Weston, George Compston, Max Pickering, William Brooke, Thomas Mercer, Owen Carroll, Harry Waterworth, Toby Turpin, Arthur Gell, Leo Walton, Jac Evans, Harry Myddelton, John Elliott, AJ Kraisuraphong, Scott Nicholson. RLT

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S P O R T: R U G B Y

Under 11A XII It really is a privilege to take the Colts for rugby here at Packwood.

Wide-eyed, determined and fearless, every year these boys charge out of the changing rooms ready to put their bodies on the line. I then get to see them grow and develop as rugby players, dealing with the highs and lows that come with the game. This term was no different.

A good mix from Years 5 and 6 made up the Under 11 A side which at first glance looked solid from 1 to 12. An early trip down to Malvern College for a coaching day was a great chance for the boys to pick up some new skills from quality coaching. In the games that followed the boys in green stood fast and, although the ball skills were a little rusty, the tackling was ferocious. The season began with the trip up to SMH where you know the conditions are going to be unpleasant.

The match was a corker, with both sides intent on attacking. The strong running of captain William Stanford-Davis and Jacob Jones made sure the green machine was in front at the final whistle. Our next outings were real testers, coming up against two sides who were very able and who had an extra half a term of match toughness. The effort never faltered though, and against a strong Abberley side the team tackled and tackled all afternoon.

The home victory over Altrincham Prep was a turning point and gave the team confidence going forward. Our pack was building up steam and the likes of Fred Stephens and Oliver Holcroft in the ‘row’ were terrorising defences. The solid unit of Jones, Stanford-Davis and Shaw showed strength as well as speed around the park, giving the team great ball to attack with. The next fixture was the highlight of the season; the challenge of a strong Prestfelde side stood before the boys and the reaction was so positive. Joe Pattenden playing at 9 was everywhere, Will Shaw never missed a breakdown and James Pickering shut the door on everything that tried to come through the middle. It was an impressive, all-round performance against very dangerous opposition. The team then enjoyed a winning streak right through to the end of the season with another battle against SMH that needed a captain’s performance from Will S-D to drag the team over the line. The Old Hall fixture showed what our wide players could do with the amazing running of Garret Healy, Jack Yeoward and Freddie Cox, three big names for next year. This match also saw very mature performances by Guy Macey at 10 and by Laurie Rathbone at full back, fielding a lot more kicks than usual and returning them with

interest. With their tails up, the boys finished the season playing an expansive game that involved the whole team.

The last two matches were played with different rules and in different formats with Packwood coming out on top.

Played 10 Won 8 Drawn 0 Lost 2 For 182 Against 109 v St Mary’s Hall v Abberley v Moor Park v Altrincham Prep v Prestfelde v St Mary’s Hall v Old Hall v Birchfield v Rydal v Yarlet

(A) Won (A) Lost (H) Lost (H) Won (H) Won (H) Won (A) Won (A) Won (A) Won (H) Won

28-22 5-28 14-19 15-5 33-7 28-14 17-7 42-7 N/A N/A

I have a lot of fond memories to take away from both training sessions and matches.

Thank you to the boys for their hard work in providing those and, in particular, to the captain, William Stanford-Davies – a fine leader who did his talking through his performances and led the team by example. Good luck to those moving up to senior rugby next year and for those of you with another crack at Colts, don’t be late to the first practice!

Team: William Stanford-Davis (Capt), Jacob Jones, Will Shaw, Fred Stephens, Oliver Holcroft, Joe Pattenden, Guy Macey, Edward Bayliss, James Pickering, Garret Healy, Freddie Cox, Jack Yeoward, Laurie Rathbone. JM

Under 11B XII Rise up, warriors, take your stand at one another's sides, our feet set wide and rooted like oaks in the ground. (Spartan poet, Tyrtaeus) “Where?” not, “How Played 5 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 4 many?” the Spartans For 68 Against 136 used to ask of their v Abberley (A) Lost 0-33 scouts – where their v St Mary’s Hall (H) Won 49-15 enemies were, not v Shrewsbury High Prep U11A (H) Lost 0-38 how many they were.

(H) Lost 5-22 This year has certainly v Prestfelde (H) Lost 14-28 felt like a heroic battle v Old Hall unfolding. The first injury of the season was the coach! The next casualty was Freddie Cox who, having tackled like a demon, was promptly poached by the A team. Gus Ames went upstairs next. Having run in seven converted tries against St Mary’s Hall, the first half of the season revealed plenty of promise and some areas to work on. The mud-ridden second half of the season was our Thermopylae; memorable not for the victories, but the glory of facing superior opponents with your head held high.

Captain Oliver Griffiths broke his wrist preparing for a match, then Edward Forde-Johnston went down. We battled on, recruiting from the Cs. We found some outstanding players, Louis Graham in particular who went on to play in the Under 11 Sevens! From adversity came a sense of fraternity, gratitude and humility sadly all too uncommon in modern sports. Rugby, a game for gentlemen?

Still so at Packwood. Well done men.

Team: Gus Ames, Oliver Griffiths (Capts), Angus Hill-Trevor, Yuta Umetani, Henry Dickson, Alexander Barry, Max Macey, William Maunder, Fred Dollar, Sebastian Marmont, Freddie Cox, Thomas Dix, Edward Forde-Johnston, Will Tate, Jago Ainslie, Louis Graham. NW Page 63

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S P O R T: R U G B Y

Under 11C XII The Colts C team made excellent progress this season in all aspects of the game. Sadly, unlike the Colts A and B teams who had a full fixture list, the Cs only managed two very competitive matches.In their first match, the boys showed tremendous spirit and the quality of play was very good at times. We did rely heavily on Alexander Barry driving the team forward with his ball-winning skills and powerful running. The Abberley team had a little more experience at that stage and we struggled to defend against the pace of their backs. After lots of work on the training pitches in January, the boys seemed to grow in confidence and the uncertainty of the previous term vanished as we prepared for the next stage of the season. In our final game against Prestfelde, Orlando Williams led the team by example. He scored the majority of our tries in the game with

Louis Graham and Freddie Played 2 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 1 Mathias also contributing.

For 65 Against 72 Credit must go to all the v Abberley (H) Lost 25 - 50 forwards for winning the ball v Prestfelde (H) Won 40 - 22 very well at rucks and mauls.

This gave our backs plenty of opportunity to pass the ball out and attack the opposition. Well done!

Team : Orlando Williams (Capt), Euan Montgomery, Daniel Richardson, Alexander Barry, Fred Dollar, William Waterhouse, Will Gardiner, Tom Kiel, James Miles, Freddie Mathias, Tony Li, Hugo Davies, Louis Graham. PP

Under 9A Played 9 Won 8 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 320 Against 110 v Rydal v Birchfield v Altrincham Prep v Prestfelde v St Mary’s Hall

(A) (H) (A) (A) (H)

Won Won Won Won Won

45-10 45-15 45-20 70-40 45-10

The Ryleys Tournament v Altrincham Prep v Ryleys A v Rydal Semi-final: v Old Hall

Semi-finalists Won 20-5 Won 20-0 Won 25-0 Lost

5-10

It was a great season from this most talented of teams. Great running, passing and ferocious tackling, and that was just in the games lessons. We completely blew away most of the opposition, and played some terrific rugby. We had George Hughes at scrum half distributing the ball with great vision, and some wonderful running rugby from Will (Grub) Goodall, Archie McParland and Wilbur Blackham. With brilliant tackling from Orlando Bayliss, Edward Scott and George Stanford-Davis, this really was a complete team. The only blemish to a great season was a semi-final defeat, but sometimes the best lessons and most improvement come out of adversity, and I think this was a good lesson learnt.

Squad: William Goodall, George Hughes, Edward Scott, Orlando Bayliss, Archie McParland, Wilbur Blackham, George Stanford-Davis. SAR

Under 9B The rugby-playing strength of this year group left us with plenty of talent in the B team, many of whom played for the As as well when called upon.

Henry Jones-Perrott passed well and had some good vision as scrum-half. George Stanford-Davies passed and tackled well throughout the season. Freddie Greenwell was a difficult runner to stop and scored lots of tries. Bobby Boyes, when in the right position, also ran and tackled very effectively. Tom Bright

and Jamie Warburton-Lee Played 5 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 1 improved enormously, the For 255 Against 165 latter scoring a memorable v Prestfelde (A) Won 70-65 hat-trick of tries against v Moor Park U9A (A) Won 30-25 Altrincham Prep. Edward v Altrincham Prep (A) Won 60-20 Scott, George Hughes and v Birchfield (H) Won 65-10 Orlando Bayliss all played for v Rydal (A) Lost 30-45 the A team as well and came on impressively in terms of their running and tackling. As the results indicate, this is a strong rugbyplaying year group with some size, skill and pace to make them a successful squad in the future.

Team: George Stanford-Davis (Capt), Henry Jones-Perrott, Freddie Greenwell, Bobby Boyes, Tom Bright, Jamie Warburton-Lee, George Hughes, Edward Scott, Orlando Bayliss, Ryan Lee. RAC

Under 8 The Under 8s trained hard this season and all were involved in our one competitive match against Birchfield. As expected, Freddie Timmis dominated in the A game and ran in four tries in a comfortable victory. He was well supported by captain Tom Thurstan and Rufus Farmer, both of whom ran well with the ball. Defensive tagging is a hard skill to master, and Archie Tulloch was best here, coming up with the line well in defence and side-stepping to grab a tag when needed.

In the B game, Rohan Alaca featured as a very determined runner and was rewarded with three tries. In a close-run game, home side Birchfield managed to sneak a winning try just before the whistle.

One highlight was watching Under 9 veteran James Lewis catch the Page 64

ball on the wing, tuck it under his arm and make for the try line, only to be tagged after a wonderful run of some one third of the pitch.

Played 2 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 60 Against 45 U8A v Birchfield U8B v Birchfield

(A) Won (A) Lost

30 - 10 30-35

All the boys appear to enjoy the game, and we look forward to what they can do beyond the confines of the tag game next year.

Team: Tom Thurstan (Capt), Freddie Timmis, Rufus Farmer, Joseph Bowdler, Archie Tulloch, Bertie Shute, Hugo Mathias, Hal Cowan, Rohan Alaca, Tom Williams, Tom Kenyon, James Lewis, Hugo Rees-Pullman, Todd Rees-Pullman. RAC

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S P O R T: R U G B Y

1st VII There was much to be positive about this year: five tournaments played in decent weather; Lost in group stage lots of genuine and unselfish parental support; a team trying to play this beautiful version of the game in a positive vein and with considerable style; and a tremendously committed performance at Rosslyn Park, despite being eliminated in the group stages.

Packwood Tournament Ellesmere Tournament Moulsford Tournament Brambletye Tournament National Schools Sevens, Rosslyn Park

Quarter-finalists Runners-up Plate winners Semi-finalists

Our problem has never been a lack of application nor skill, but rather one which is completely out of our hands: insufficient physicality and raw pace to exploit the numerous openings which our excellent handling, re-cycling and teamwork created. In every tournament, we have succumbed to bigger sides, able to use their speed. At no stage, however, have we stopped competing, nor have we lost by a margin of more than two tries, which speaks volumes for the efforts of the boys.

Ellesmere was perhaps our best opportunity of some silverware, but again we were pipped at the post by physique and a degree of fatigue, having played six games to reach the final; after taking the lead, we were beaten eventually in extra time by a solitary break from the opposition’s star player.

My thanks go to the whole squad, some of whom have had fewer opportunities than others, yet never complained, as well as to those hardy parents who have followed us across the country – the support at Rosslyn Park was simply outstanding! As ever, they have encouraged the boys in the correct fashion and in the true spirit of the game. It has been a most enjoyable Sevens season and I can say quite honestly that the squad could not have given more in terms of application and hard work. They have been an absolute pleasure to coach and take to tournaments despite the congested nature of the fixtures, and given all their other commitments in and around school. Well done, boys.

Squad: Harry Swinburne (Capt), James Hinwood, Ollie Hall, Alex Ainslie, Frank Morris, Oscar Holt, Nick Yeoward, Fred Furnival, Daniel Humes, Marcus Woodhead. KJW

Under 11 VII Trying to play 12-a-side rugby whilst at the same time understanding and practising Sevens is an almost impossible task. As the short spring term began and with a number of tournaments looming, practice got underway. Confused faces instantly started to appear. Having been told to “Keep moving forward” and “Take contact” all season, the advice now changed to, “It’s OK to go sideways”, “Contact is a last resort” and “Take risks” and it completely threw the boys. To their credit they tried so hard and did at times play some lovely Sevens.

The team represented the school at the Terra Nova, Packwood, Downs and Caldicott tournaments. The last three attract the top prep schools around the country and are always a steep hill to climb. The boys gave their all but came up against some stiff opposition. However, the Terra Nova tournament brought a welcome confidence boost and was reward for the team’s hard work.

The semi-final saw the Packwood Tournament Quarter-finalists Packwood team really start The Downs Tournament 5th in group to play; Jack Yeoward got Terra Nova Tournament Winners plenty of touches and the Caldicott Tournament 4th in group ball was moved around well. After plenty of tries and with their confidence restored, they took on hosts, Terra Nova, in the final. This was a great match with Packwood starting better and scoring early, but Terra Nova managed to pull things level meaning extra time.

Superb defence from Guy Macey saved a certain score and Packwood kept hold of the ball, off-loading and moving Terra Nova around.

After sustained pressure Jacob Jones received the ball in space and cantered home to the sound of the final whistle. Captain for the day William Shaw held the trophy aloft and there were smiles all round.

Well played to everyone.

The day started with a bang as the boys caught Prestfelde napping and Team: Jacob Jones, William Shaw, Guy Macey, Joe Pattenden, played a very direct brand of Sevens, winning 27-7. After this great start they were brought down to earth with a 12-5 loss against St Bede’s Fred Stephens, William Stanford-Davis, Jack Yeoward, Garret Healy, before winning a close match against St Mary’s Hall, 14-7 to finish top James Pickering and Freddie Cox. JM of their group.

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S P O R T: N E T B A L L

Netball 1st VII

Most of the season was very positive indeed with wins against Prestfelde, Abberley and Wrekin. The girls met their match against Foremarke, many of whose players were much taller, and it was the same story in the Foremarke Tournament. However, the highlight of the season was winning the Under 13 county tournament. The girls were the only undefeated side in the competition and narrowly beat Shrewsbury High School 6-5 to take the title for Packwood for the third time in the past five years. Well done!

Many thanks to Miss Willis who very kindly came and umpired some of the matches – the girls did us proud!

Squad: Lottie Clarke* (Capt), Freya Beasley*, Ellie Mason*, Amelia Ashworth*, Annabel Robertson*, Amelia Maunder*, Talullah Blackham*, Phoebe Wasdell*, Rosie Simpson*, Zoe Nugent, Sophie Barlow. GW

Played 4 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 56 Against 47 v Prestfelde v Abberley v Wrekin v Foremarke

Shropshire Under 13 County Tournament

Played 7 Won 5 Drawn 0 Lost 2 For 87 Against 36 (H) (A) (A) (A) (A) (A) (A)

Won Won Lost Won Lost Won Won

14-2 18-2 8-9 10-2 4-10 22-4 11-7

The 2nd VII netball team had a really successful season, especially as some of the sides they played against were first not second teams. The girls won most of their matches comfortably and those that they lost were very close, particularly the Abberley game which could have gone either way. Through the course of the season, the captaincy was shared around among the regular team players. These included Amelia Peterson and Georgia Kannreuther who scored a good number of goals between them, Sophie Barlow and Zara Vickers who worked hard in the centre court and Natasha Carter-Motley, Louisa Jarvis, Eliza Rosselli and Zoe Nugent who proved formidable in defence. All in all, it was great combination for a winning season.

Congratulations to all involved – and thanks, too, to Mrs Draper who happily stepped in to take the team when I was otherwise engaged with the first team.

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Won Won Won Lost

Squad: Amelia Peterson, Georgia Kannreuther, Sophie Barlow, Zara Vickers, Natasha Carter-Motley, Louisa Jarvis, Zoe Nugent, Eliza Rosselli, Phoebe Wasdell, Rosie Simpson. GW

28-13 6-4 12-9 10-21

Winners

Foremarke Tournament 5th

2nd VII

v Moor Park v Prestfelde v Abberley v Wrekin v Ellesmere v Birchfield v Moor Park

(A) (A) (A) (H)

*colours awarded

Stepping up to take the firsts in the absence of Miss Willis was a challenge for me but one made so much easier by the skill, talent and co-operation of the first team squad.

Most of the girls had played netball together at Packwood for many years and this showed in their play and cohesiveness as a team. Amelia Maunder, Talullah Blackham and Annabel Robertson made up a strong defence. Lottie Clarke and Amelia Ashworth were the centre court players who moved the ball skilfully and effectively to the goal shooters, Ellie Mason and Freya Beasley.

These two were accurate and consistent throughout the season. Phoebe Wasdell and Rosie Simpson completed the squad as reliable reserves.

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S P O R T: N E T B A L L

3rd VII Played 7 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 3 For 66 Against 48 v Adcote v Moor Park v Abberley v Wrekin v Ellesmere v Foremarke v Moor Park

(H) (H) (A) (A) (A) (H) (A)

Won Won Lost Won Lost Lost Won

1-0 8-4 2-9 16-5 5-11 8-9 26-10

Regulars for the team included Freya Cox and Sacha Sandbach who made a sound shooting combination, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Sybilla Hamilton, Riko Munakata, Lily Freeman-Attwood and Immy Downey who controlled the centre court and Sophia Bureau, Theodora Jarvis, Chloe Edwards and Octavia Hamilton who played hard in defence. Well done girls – and thank you to Mrs Parry for taking the 3rd team.

The 3rds had a good season’s netball and it showed what strength in depth we have had this year. It was also great to see them play so many matches. They had pleasing wins against Adcote, Moor Park and Wrekin. Their match against Foremarke was nail-biting and unfortunately they lost narrowly.

4th VII

Under 11A

Played 1 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 3 Against 10 v Abberley

Team: Imogen Downey (Capt), Freya Cox, Sacha Sandbach, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Sybilla Hamilton, Riko Munakata, Lily FreemanAttwood, Sophia Bureau, Theodora Jarvis, Chloe Edwards, Octavia Hamilton. GW

(A) Lost

3-10

There was only one match for this team during the season but it gave everybody, even our complete beginners, the chance to play in a competitive game. They tried hard and managed to score a few goals but Abberley proved too strong for them.

Team: Romy Grigg (Capt), Anna Cowan, Maria Rey, Theodora Jarvis, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Riko Munakata, Laure Penet de Monterno. GW

The netball season was a tough one for the Under 11s. Unfortunately they were unable to come away with a win. However, the girls’ determination and drive to succeed was faultless.

They played in some big tournaments which required them to travel long distances and play against some very skilful schools. Captaincy was changed for each match and tournament and all the girls who took on the role did a great job.

At the S. Anselm’s tournament the girls tried really hard against some much taller opposition and although the results were disappointing, they are not a true reflection of how well they played.

Alice Hughes shone, playing some lovely netball at Wing Attack and Isabel Morris also proved herself at Goal Defence where she intercepted well. The Prestfelde tournament highlighted how well the girls worked as a team. They were placed in a hard group and played against Moor Park who had beaten them by a significant margin a few weeks before. The girls did not let this get to them and knew they needed to be more tactical in their play. Emily McParland was great in defence, with superb back up from Georgiana Nicholas at Centre. Both shooters, Eliza Blackham and Poppy Stephens, rose to the challenge and managed to score some excellent goals from tricky angles and worked beautifully together in the D. Sadly, despite their best efforts, they Played 5 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 5 couldn’t manage a win.

For 12 Against 51 v Moor Park v Old Hall v Shrewsbury High v Abberley v Prestfelde

(H) (A) (H) (H) (H)

Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost

3-5 1-14 1-13 2-7 5-12

Rugby School Tournament Lost in group stages Prestfelde Tournament 5th S. Anselm's Tournament 7th

The girls improved hugely throughout the season and should be really proud of their effort and attitude in every match and tournament.

Team: Alice Hughes, Eliza Blackham, Amelia Farmer, Georgiana Nicholas, Daisy David, Tommy Jarvis, Isabel Morris, Emily McParland, Poppy Stephens. BN Page 67

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S P O R T: N E T B A L L

Under 11B/Under 10 Played 9 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 6 For 19 Against 67 v Moor Park v Rydal v Birchfield v Ellesmere v Birchfield v Old Hall v Shrewsbury High v Prestfelde v Adcote

(H) (A) (A) (A) (H) (A) (H) (H) (H)

Lost Won Lost Drawn Won Lost Lost Lost Lost

3-16 5-2 3-5 3-3 4-3 0-21 0-5 1-6 0-6

A lot of the girls had not played much netball before the beginning of the season and having to go straight into matches very early on in the term proved challenging for the team. The girls trained alongside the Under 11A team which helped them to develop their skills quickly in an effort to keep up with the more experienced players. This season we focused on ensuring that all the girls had developed the fundamental netball skills of footwork, correct passing techniques and catching.

The matches, at times, were a struggle, with the girls often facing other schools’ Under 11A teams. They always remained positive and tried their hardest throughout the season.

Thanks to this excellent attitude the girls have made some incredible improvements, both as a team and as individuals. Many of them will have another season in this age group next year and are in a great position to build on the progress they’ve made.

Team: Alice Marshall, Emily Keeling-Paglia, Honor Grigg, Lottie Waterhouse, Bridget Merison, Freja Bedell, Amelia Farmer, Heath Rosselli, Tommy Jarvis, Poppy Stephens, Daisy David. SW

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Under 9/Under 8 After a shaky start the girls’ season went from strength to strength and they recorded some very encouraging results in their matches. In training sessions we worked on the fundamental skills of passing, shooting, defending and marking, all the time concentrating on accuracy and footwork. They successfully transferred all that they learnt to the match situation with fantastic shooting from Zennor and Lucy and brilliant defending from Bea and Genevieve. Their season was capped by an outstanding performance in the Birchfield Under 9 tournament which they won for the first time in Packwood’s history. Well done girls! The Under 8s only had one match this season which they were unlucky to draw despite the persistence and hard work of Lulu Bright who just couldn’t quite get the ball in the net!

Squad: Genevieve Bright, Lucy Clarke, Zennor Harvey, Georgina Kenyon, Liberty Clarke, Bea Grigg, Rowena Jones, Flora Raichura, Elsa Waterhouse, Claudia Tate, Catherine Morton-Willetts, Lucy Mielczarek, Florence Acton, Lulu Bright, Imogen Macey. KE

Played 7 Won 5 Drawn 1 Lost 1 For 36 Against 10 U9 v Prestfelde U9 v Shrewsbury High U8 v Birchfield U9 v Birchfield U9 v Birchfield U9 v Rydal U9 v Moor Park

(H) (H) (H) (H) (A) (A) (H)

Lost Won Drawn Won Won Won Won

Birchfield Under 9 Tournament

6-7 5-1 0-0 5-0 5-1 12-0 3-1 Winners

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S P O R T: L A C R O S S E

Lacrosse Under 13 Played 23 Won 19 Drawn 3 Lost 1 For 168 Against 38 v Withington Girls’ v Oxton Club v Bedford Girls’ School v Godstowe v Berkhamsted v Withington Girls’ U14 v Moreton Hall U14 v Queen’s, Chester

(H) (A) (A) (A) (A) (A) (A) (A)

Won Drawn Won Won Won Won Lost Won

10-1 6-6 11-3 10-5 7-0 10-3 4-8 14-1

National Schools Championships v St Bartholomew’s Won v St George’s High Won v Wycombe Abbey Won v Cheltenham Ladies’ Won v Guildford High Drawn v Godolphin Drawn v Bedford Girls’ School Won

5th 3-1 4-1 3-0 5-0 2-2 1-1 3-1

Shropshire County Tournament Winners v Moreton Hall Won 10 - 1 v Prestfelde Won 14 - 2

In preparation for the National Schools Championships in the spring, we stretched ourselves by playing Under 14 sides. We had a fantastic win against Withington. Romy Grigg and Lottie Hill-Trevor stepped up into the squad well and Sophie Barlow and Freya Beasley did a fine job, scoring strongly. We then played in rough wind and rain against Moreton. This was always going to be a tough challenge since, just the week before, they had become Northern Under 14 champions!

We scored first, and were only 3-4 down at half-time, eventually being well beaten, but only after a great contest in difficult weather.

A good win against Queen’s saw us ready for the Nationals. Rosie Simpson’s shots on goal were simply awesome, and Immy Downey

was gaining confidence. In our section at the Championships we had to play Guildford High and Godolphin who were historically the strongest schools in the competition. The goal-difference formula denied us a passage to the semi-final, even though we had drawn against these mighty giants, and won our other five games. The united team-play this day was simply outstanding, and Annabel Robertson’s tenacity and stamina were remarkable. The memories of this day will stay with me forever.

As we watched the last games of the tournament it was obvious that we were a better team than the other semi-finalists. We would have relished another chance to play Guildford High (the eventual winners) again in the final. However, there was certainly no shame in being placed fifth nationally!

We ran out clear winners at the county tournament with no fewer than 11 of our girls being selected to play for Shropshire. We were also winners at the Northern Schools tournament, where we won all six matches, scoring 51 goals and only conceding two!

The girls’ play was sensational, though our attacks, particularly Lottie Clarke, were so strong that the defence had little to challenge them.

It has been the greatest privilege of my teaching career to work with this squad of girls. I have been so proud of them. Their willingness and enthusiasm to practise and learn has been justified by their match success (more statistics sorry!), with 168 goals for, and only 38 against, all season.

I thank my captain, Ellie Mason. For many years I have looked forward to seeing her do this job. She was indeed impressive,

Winners Won 9-0 Won 11-0 Won 8-0 Won 7-1 Won 10-0 Won 6-1

determined, responsible, encouraging and always led by great example. Her performances on the field have been tough and inspired. She was always a crucial goal scorer.

There are teams off the pitch that need thanking for their great efforts too. The high standard of ground maintenance has become something we take for granted, but our thanks to Phil Mold and his team who take great pride in producing the best possible pitches for us to play on. The laundry team must be praised for recycling kits endlessly and unstintingly. The kitchen staff are always at our beck and call for team teas, picnics, early this or late that. Nothing ever seems too much trouble for these hard-working folk.

A loyal band of parents has witnessed the girls’ thrilling play and expertise, which was often way above their years. We have also had the joy of seeing certain individuals rise to the challenges that, a year ago, would never have seemed possible. We have been on a wonderfully successful journey. Thank you all for making my last season the very best one!

Team: Ellie Mason (Capt)*, Chloe Edwards*, Amelia Peterson*, Natasha Carter-Motley*, Amelia Maunder*, Phoebe Wasdell*, Talullah Blackham*, Romy Grigg, Lottie Hill-Trevor*, Amelia Ashworth*, Annabel Robertson*, Lottie Clarke*, Freya Beasley*, Sophie Barlow*, Imogen Downey*, Rosie Simpson*. SD Page 69

*colours awarded

Not only did our early season’s matches give us confidence, they also highlighted important rules and strategies: like the consequences of stick checks to the head, and the great dilemma of whether to pass off, or drive into the goal when you want to score.

Importantly, defenders learnt to watch their opponents and the ball and to communicate.

The defence teamwork between Amelia Peterson, Tash Carter-Motley, Amelia Maunder and Phoebe Wasdell gave Chloe Edwards, in goal, great security. However, when the pressure was on, Chloe always measured up. These first four games set us up positively for a fine tour when we beat Bedford, Godstowe and Berkhamstead by the greatest ever margins. And with convincing wins we continued to learn more about decision-making and working together.

Amelia Ashworth’s midfield defending was outstanding, and she had the added security of Talullah Blackham, in her new position, on the other wing.

Northern Schools Tournament v Withington Girls’ v Prestfelde v Harrogate Ladies’ v Moreton Hall v Bolton School v Queen’s, Chester

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Under 13B The Under 13 Bs had two challenging games.

They won their first 11-3 against Prestfelde.

This involved a lovely blend of girls, and they all had fun! Even our complete beginners, Riko and the three Spanish girls, contributed confidently and enjoyed some great moments.

Moreton’s squad, who they took on in their second match, was a little more serious!

Our team went down 2-7, after quite a struggle, but this was a good effort against an experienced A side. Well done girls.

Team: Chloe Edwards, Theodora Jarvis, Riko Munakata, Romy Grigg, Sophie Barlow, Octavia Hamilton, Sybilla Hamilton, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Phoebe Wasdell, Imogen Downey, Rosie Simpson, Zoe Nugent, Maria Rey, Teresa Rodriguez, Marta Banegas, Amelia Peterson. SD

Under 12 Played 11 Won 7 Drawn 2 Lost 2 For 47 Against 32 v Withington Girls’ v Oxton Club v Withington Girls’ U13 v Moreton Hall v Moreton Hall v Queen’s, Chester

(H) (A) (A) (H) (H) (A)

Lost Won Drawn Won Won Won

3-10 7-5 5-5 6-3 5-0 6-1

Northern Schools Tournament Runners-up v Bolton School Won 4-0 v Moreton Hall Won 5-0 v Withington Girls’ Won 4-3 v Queen's, Chester Drawn 2-2 v Harrogate Ladies’ Lost 0-3

The Under 12s have impressed this season due to their improvement as players and their solid teamwork. The girls started the season with great enthusiasm and gelled as a team early on. Their first match against Withington did not do them justice. Withington brought a strong Under 13 team who overpowered our girls with strength and speed. This loss gave the Under 12s the push they needed and renewed their enthusiasm to learn new skills and game tactics to beat such strong teams. They improved hugely and started to become a great little lacrosse team. They played a match against one of the top clubs in the North region and showed off some of their mature, tactical play, producing an excellent win. Eliza Rosselli demonstrated her great speed, superb stick work and solid positioning in midfield.

This gave the girls great confidence to then go on and draw in their second game against Withington Under 13s. The girls played a tremendous game and put in 100% effort for the full 40 minutes.

Zara Vickers had some great breaks resulting in some well-placed shots. The defence from Louisa Jarvis and Anna Cowan was excellent, stopping some of the talented Withington players getting through and scoring. The whole team got involved and worked incredibly hard to keep the game a draw. Their improvement from the start of the season shone through and the girls went on to have

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a cracking season, winning all their other matches and becoming runners-up in the Northern Schools Tournament.

They had a great day at the tournament and really showed their fighting spirit. By their last match the girls were running on empty; however they kept going, worked hard as a team and played some very skilful lacrosse. Lily Freeman-Attwood’s stick work was impressive and she showed great fitness, as did Georgia Kannreuther who had a superb tournament. Her fitness was a great asset to the team, along with her stick work and centre draws. The rest of the team worked extremely hard and they all played well together, supporting each other throughout. Under 11s Emily McParland, Georgie Nicholas and Alice Hughes all played up an age group and did incredibly well to get involved and step up to the standard of play.

Overall it was a great season for the girls; they are going to make a super Under 13 team next year.

Team: Sophia Bureau, Louisa Jarvis, Anna Cowan, Emily McParland, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Eliza Rosselli, Zara Vickers, Georgia Kannreuther, Georgiana Nicholas, Sacha Sandbach, Alice Hughes, Freya Cox, Daisy David, Tommy Jarvis. BN

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S P O R T: L A C R O S S E

Under 11 This is the year when we Played 3 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 1 start to play by the ‘proper’ For 15 Against 6 rules! By that we mean v Prestfelde (H) Won 8-1 discarding the ‘four v Moreton Hall U12 (A) Lost 2-5 seconds possession’ rule in v Moreton Hall (H) Won 5-0 favour of stick checking at last! By our first match in November the girls had appreciated the importance of being careful and controlled. They also knew that their stick work had to be more technically correct to keep possession. Indeed my match report that day began with “fast, feisty, efficient, fantastic, dominant and competent” – it was a great start! We were a little outside our comfort zone against Moreton’s Under 12s a week later, where they had the edge on us with their speed and height. However, the ball went from end to end continuously, helped by the excellent midfield play of Emily McParland and Isabel Morris. We needed to work on safer catching around the goal, but the all-round efforts were huge. Our stick work had progressed by February. Georgie Nicholas, Alice Hughes, Eliza Blackham, Amelia Farmer and Daisy David were comfortably dominant in attack against Moreton’s Under 11s and no goals were scored against us that day either. Well done girls, especially the Under 10s that were called up to swell the ranks.

Clearly lots of progress had been made this season – now let’s get the goalkeepers on the pitch for next year!

Under 10 Now these girls are Played 2 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 0 promising! It was clear after For 20 Against 15 the first 10 minutes of our v Prestfelde (H) Won 9-7 games that we were a little v Prestfelde (A) Won 11-8 too strong for our opposition and so tactfully we made some changes in positions. Then Prestfelde’s confidence grew and we reshuffled once again to finish.

We have some terrific defenders who worked really well to doubleteam any fast attacker. Genevieve Bright, Alice Marshall and Isabel Morris all have great stick work too. Eliza Blackham has a decisive centre draw now. Lucy Clarke and Amelia Farmer measure up well to collect the ball from her, and then Poppy Stephens, Emily KeelingPaglia and Liberty Clarke crack on with the goal scoring. Heath Rosselli has also worked really hard.

As their catching while running develops next year, the attacks will learn to spread out more around the goal and become less pressurised. Yes, all in all girls, things are looking very promising, and I know you can’t wait to start stick checking!

Team: Emily Keeling-Paglia, Honor Grigg, Genevieve Bright, Bea Grigg, Alice Marshall, Isabel Morris, Eliza Blackham, Poppy Stephens, Amelia Farmer, Liberty Clarke, Lucy Clarke, Heath Rosselli, Lottie Waterhouse. SD

Team: Freja Bedell, Tommy Jarvis, Honor Grigg, Lottie Waterhouse, Alice Marshall, Isabel Morris, Emily McParland, Eliza Blackham, Georgiana Nicholas, Poppy Stephens, Amelia Farmer, Alice Hughes, Daisy David, Heath Rosselli, Emily Keeling-Paglia, Bridget Merison.

SD

Under 9/Under 8 Some of these girls Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 1 are going to be For 39 Against 25 seriously good!

U9 v Prestfelde (A) Won 15-5 Lucy Clarke, Liberty U9 v Prestfelde (A) Won 12-6 Clarke and U8 v Prestfelde (A) Lost 5-7 Genevieve Bright are U8 v Moreton Hall (H) Drawn 7-7 strong enough to play with the year above them. Even when this was the case at the second Prestfelde fixture, the Under 9s pop lacrosse team, headed by Rowena Jones, Flora Raichura, Bea Grigg and Zennor Harvey, had a strong win.

The Under 8s followed on, only losing to the same squad by two goals. After a very overexcited start, Imogen Macey and Catherine Morton-Willetts worked out the double-teaming barrier and everyone’s shaky stick work became more confident. Claudia Tate, Florence Acton and Lulu Bright all scored some lovely goals and Lucy Mielczarek was an excellent ball receiver in midfield. Flora Raichura helped the Under 8s to an exciting draw against Moreton. The weather forced us to play indoors. It was certainly challenging; the picking up was tricky and shooting at targets was not as easy as it looks, but the girls played very well indeed.

The fun pop lacrosse matches have introduced the girls to lots of general game strategies and stick work skills. After all their great success and enthusiasm they will certainly be ready to play with a hard ball next year!

Team: Bea Grigg, Genevieve Bright, Liberty Clarke, Lucy Clarke, Rowena Jones, Zennor Harvey, Elsa Waterhouse, Flora Raichura, Georgina Kenyon, Claudia Tate, Florence Acton, Lulu Bright, Lucy Mielczarek, Imogen Macey, Catherine Morton-Willetts. SD

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Cricket 1st XI

2014 proved to be another successful season for the 1st XI despite the poor weather conditions which seriously affected our practice sessions. Thinking back, it was amazing we played as many games as we did. I must credit the ground staff at Packwood for preparing playable pitches throughout the season. It was a great shame that the short format tournaments were all cancelled due to the weather.

This group certainly had a lot of success at tournaments such as Wrekin and Malvern in the past.

Played 11 Won 7 Drawn 1 Lost 2 Abandoned 1

Jet Competition 1st round v Prestfelde (A) 80 for 5 Packwood 114 for 6

Won by 34 runs

Our captain, Daniel Humes led the team by example. He turned out to be the outstanding player with a batting average around 50 and he also took the most wickets for the team, claiming 12 with the ball. His innings of 80 against Prestfelde was a memorable knock. Daniel was very severe on any short pitched bowling that day. The success we had in our matches was down to a terrific team effort.

We regularly used seven or eight bowlers in matches and three of our bowlers claimed over 10 wickets during the season. Daniel Humes, Archie Mobbs, Felix Jebb and William Holcroft were our main seam bowlers with Fred Furnival and Frank Morris the excellent spin options. We also bat from 1 to 11 which was essential when so many of our games were played on rain affected wickets. Much credit must go to Frank Morris who regularly made important contributions with the bat. It was such a shame he could not convert his many hard hitting 20s or 30s into more significant scores.

Bunbury Cup 1st round v Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School Packwood

(H) 72 for 9 73 for 4

Won by 6 wkts

v Shrewsbury School U14B (H) 76 for 7 Packwood 78 for 7

Won by 3 wkts

Jet Competition 2nd round v Birkdale (H) 80 for 5 Packwood 114 for 6

Won by 34 runs

There were many highlights during the term but the moment I enjoyed most was watching Humes, Furnival and Morris knocking off 154 runs against Abberley. It was an excellent run chase with two overs to spare. Other highlights would have to be Felix Jebb’s amazing 33 runs off 14 balls against Ellesmere and William Holcroft’s three wickets conceding no runs against St Mary’s Hall; both match winning performances when we needed them.

Bunbury Cup 2nd round Bromsgrove v Packwood

Lost by 103 runs

Jet Competition 3rd round v Foremarke (A) Packwood 64 for 6

Match abandoned

It has been a frustrating season, particularly with all the tournament cancellations, but despite this, it has still given teachers and parents lots of wonderful memories.

I wish the leavers future successes on the cricket field at their new schools.

v Ellesmere Packwood

(H) 83 all out 121 for 8

Won by 38 runs

v Abberley Packwood

(H) 154 for 5 dec 156 for 4 Won by 6 wkts

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(H) 81 for 3 80 all out

Lost by 7 wkts

v St Mary’s Hall Packwood

(H) 34 all out 118 for 3 dec Won by 84 runs

v Prestfelde Packwood

(H) 71 for 6 126 for 6

(H) 185 for 4 82 all out

Match drawn

*colours awarded

Squad: Daniel Humes*(Capt), Oscar Holt*, Fred Furnival*, Nick Yeoward, Archie Mobbs*, Frank Morris*, Felix Jebb*, Ollie Hall, Alexander Ainslie, Harry Swinburne, Jack Goodall, Owen Carroll. PJP

v Foremarke Packwood

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2nd XI

Played 7 Won 5 Drawn 0 Lost 2

This was a strong 2nd XI that won a good number of matches against opposition of varying standards. One of the coach’s hardest tasks at this level is to rotate players within the team in order to give them a fair crack at batting or bowling – or ideally both – in a competitive match.

We were fortunate to have enough depth in quality for everyone to bowl a reasonable amount, although the strength of our batting was only really tested in our last match against Abberley, which also happened to be the best.

v Foremarke Packwood

(H) 62 all out 97 for 7

Won by 35 runs

v Birchfield 1st XI Packwood

(A) 56 for 2 52 all out

Lost by 8 wkts

Owen Carroll stood out as a batsman, scoring lots of runs over the course of the season including an unbeaten 81 at Ellesmere and a match-winning 34 not out, batting at number seven, against Abberley.

He was kept good company as on opener by Jac Evans, who also scored a 50 at Ellesmere, and Jack Goodall who starred as a deft and athletic wicket-keeper. Toby Turpin grew in stature as a highly accurate opening bowler, leading the attack with 11 wickets. Our bowlers had

v Shrewsbury U14C (H) 134 for 5 (20 overs) Packwood 118 for 6 (20 overs)

Lost by 16 runs

v St Mary’s Hall Packwood

(H) 28 all out 29 for 0

Won by 10 wkts

v Prestfelde Packwood

(A) 56 for 9 57 for 1

Won by 9 wkts

v Ellesmere Packwood

(A) 81 for 7 (25 overs) 174 for 2 (Carroll 81, Evans 50)

Won by 93 runs

v Abberley Packwood

(H) 121 for 8 dec 124 for 9

Won by 1 wkt

great variety, including: left arm pace – Rowan Pickstock, with four wickets against Abberley; leg spin – Jac Evans; off-spin – Owen Carroll again and Harry Waterworth – not sure, but with wonderful variety in his wrist spin. The Year 8 swingers and seamers also starred, with Ben Cowley picking up a hat-trick against Prestfelde, Harry Myddelton taking wickets as an opener and Nat McAllister proving a very effective strike bowler once he had proved too good for the 3rd XI. This highly enjoyable season culminated in a terrific timed game against Abberley, where two small but significant last wicket partnerships took us past their total with just one wicket and one over to spare.

Team: Marcus Woodhead (Capt), Jack Goodall, Alfred Hughes, Owen Carroll, Toby Turpin, Harry Waterworth, Freddy Williams, Jac Evans, Ben Cowley, Rowan Pickstock, Harry Myddelton, Nat McAllister. RAC

3rd XI Again this year we were blessed with a really able and keen bunch of boys in the 3rd XI. There was a nice blend of batting and bowling talent with all of the boys able to bowl an over or go out and score runs.

Our captain, Nat McAllister, led the team with enthusiasm and drive, geeing the boys up in the field and leading by example with the bat and the ball. He was promoted to the 2nd XI halfway through the term, just reward for his efforts. In the first competitive match against Foremarke away the team was a little undercooked and the boys were defeated by a team that they were very capable of beating. On an artificial wicket the bowlers struggled to find the right length and were punished. The batting looked solid with James Hinwood opening up and showing that he possessed a good shot selection coupled with some brute force.

Our next three games were dominated by the bowlers. Our overseas opening pair, Keita Nakamura and Pun Vatayanonta, who have both learnt the game in a short space of time here at Packwood, proved to be a handful for any batsman. The attack didn’t stop there though. With the likes of Leo Walton, Seb Corry, Ned Moreau and Harry Bradshaw

Played 4 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 1 v Foremarke (A) 89 for 7 still to come the Packwood 77 for 6 Lost by 12 runs opposition was v St Mary’s Hall (H) 35 all out never given an easy Packwood 34 for 0 Won by 10 wkts time. Credit must go to Tom Mercer v Prestfelde (H) 54 all out behind the stumps Packwood 55 for 2 Won by 8 wkts who really came v Ellesmere (H) 93 all out on over the season Packwood 127 for 8 Won by 34 runs and made sure the Packwood byes column always looked healthier than the opposition’s.

Overall it was a really enjoyable season with a good group of chaps.

I wish the leavers good luck and hope that they continue to enjoy their cricket in the future.

Team: Nat McAllister, James Hinwood, Ned Moreau, Keita Nakamura, Pun Vatayanonta, Tom Mercer, Sebastian Corry, Ali Davies, George Weston, Patrick Norman, Harry Bradshaw, Leo Walton. JM

4th XI Lady Bracknell might Played 3 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 0 well have said that Abandoned 1 ‘to lose one match v Foremarke (A) 21 for 7 to rain could be Packwood 109 for 1 Match abandoned described as v St Mary’s Hall (H) 12 all out unfortunate but to Packwood 16 for 0 Won by 10 wickets lose two looks like v Abberley (H) 96 for 9 carelessness’.

Packwood 127 for 7 Won by 31 runs Our first two games were indeed affected by the weather; we never even set off for Abberley and although we travelled to Foremarke and started to play, heavy rain after tea ruled out any chance of finishing the game. So we were hoping for a fine day for the next fixture of the season against St Mary’s Hall. It didn’t quite

work out that way but we bravely faced up to the wind and rain and managed to overhaul the 12 run target which our opponents had set in a torturous 17 overs before tea.

By the end of June the weather had settled down a bit and a mixed fourth and fifth eleven took on Abberley at home on a glorious summer’s afternoon. Some excellent batting from Francis McLaughlin, Suguru Gotoh and Ed Barry led to an impressive total and tight bowling and fielding meant that the visitors never really threatened our score.

In the words of Mrs Gell, ‘Yeah baby!’

Team: Francis McLaughlin, Jonty Bright, Arthur Gell, Scott Nicholson, Adam Pattenden, Max Pickering, Edward Barry, John Elliot, George Clowes, Edward Don, Oliver Keeling Paglia, Robert Vick.

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5th XI Played 1 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 1 v Moffats Packwood

(A) 94 for 4 93 all out Lost by 6 wkts

The 5th XI have been a keen bunch all term.

They practised hard and were always eager for more cricket. In their only match of the

term, the team faced a 1st XI outfit from Moffats in the 20/20 format. The Packwood boys played good cricket and were very unlucky to lose. A good knock from Nathan Mielczarek and some tight bowling from Alejandro Gimenez put Moffats under a lot of pressure. Let’s hope for more cricket next summer term!

Team: Dragon Dararattanarojna (Capt), Nathan Mielczarek, George Compston, Patrick Crowe, Suguru Gotoh, Scott Karnsuwan, Alejandro Gimenez, Lucas Jones Polanco, AJ Kraisuraphong, Harry Zhang and Arturo Garcia. JM

Under 11A Expectations were high for the Colts A team this season and they played very well.

They only suffered one defeat, against Old Hall, who had a very strong side. The clear highlight of the season for me was the match against Birchfield. It was a timed game and we had scored 130 runs, helped considerably by a fantastic innings of 47 by Freddie Cox. We took to the field and Birchfield never looked like they were attacking our score – it was clear that they were trying to bat out for a draw. They had to reach 6pm without being bowled out. At a few minutes to six, Packwood started bowling the last over of the game. Birchfield had just one wicket remaining; there was definite tension in the air. On the second ball of the over we managed to deliver the final blow with Freddie Cox skilfully taking Birchfield’s last wicket – a fantastic finish to a very tight game. Thomas Dix bowled superbly, six wickets in six overs for four runs, Guy Macey took a very difficult low catch at mid-on which helped turn the game and Oliver Holcroft took three catches; the team really did dig deeply and thoroughly deserved the win.

There have been many players that deserve a mention this season; William StanfordDavis captained the team terrifically, leading by example. He scored over 200 runs and kept wicket very capably. Joe Pattenden created serious problems for batsmen with the ball and scored superbly with the bat and Thomas Dix, who bowled with pace and accuracy throughout the term, gained two fivers.

Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 1 v Shrewsbury High (A) 88 all out Packwood 91 for 3

Won by 7 wkts

v Old Hall Packwood

(A) 119 for 5 116 all out

Lost by 3 runs

v Birchfield Packwood

(H) 31 all out 130 all out

Won by 99 runs

v Prestfelde Packwood

(H) 129 for 2 dec 78 for 6 Match drawn

Team: William Stanford-Davis (Capt), Jago Ainslie, Freddie Cox, Thomas Dix, Louis Graham, Oliver Holcroft, Guy Macey, Joe Pattenden, Will Shaw, Fred Stephens, Jack Yeoward. CL

Under 11B We had nine games lined up but only played four as bad weather always seemed to strike on match days.

Despite this disappointment, we nevertheless saw a huge development in the standard of cricket played as the term progressed. Our captain, Edward Bayliss, was a case in point. He worked hard at his skills, scored over 40 in one match, and developed into a very effective spin bowler. Other bowlers to catch the eye were William Gardiner and Max Macey.

Our three Under 9 county players gained valuable experience for next year. George Stanford-Davis has an incredibly well-developed leg spin for his age, while George Hughes looks to become that rare treasure – a wicketkeeper/batsman. William Goodall overcame his nerves to show real talent with the bat. James Pickering and Jacob Jones showed they had a great eye for the ball and could score quickly: in a game, where the retiring point was 15 runs, James had to retire after three balls! All-rounders Laurie Rathbone and Angus Hill-Trevor made up the final

Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 1 v Foremarke U11A Packwood

(A) 40 for 2 76 for 5 Match drawn

v Birchfield Packwood

(A) 24 all out 86 for 7

Won

v Prestfelde Packwood

(A) 76 for 4 75 all out

Lost

v Old Hall Packwood

(H) 56 all out 102 for 4

Won

team. I was impressed by how many of them spent their break times improving their skills. They were a fun bunch to coach.

Team: Edward Bayliss (Capt), Jacob Jones, Louis Graham, William Goodall, James Pickering, George Stanford-Davis, Laurie Rathbone, Angus Hill-Trevor, Max Macey, Orlando Williams, William Gardiner, George Hughes. RHC

Under 11C Both matches of this season were close-run affairs; so close in fact that the results remained in the balance until the final over. Nail-biting for the spectators, yet probably the correct result in the two matches, as the opposing teams were slightly slicker in their execution than us, which proved to be decisive.

The dearth of fixtures has meant inevitably that our learning in the match situation has been limited, yet it has been heartening to see how the boys have worked hard during practice sessions to improve their bowling and fielding skills in particular. The problem has been the lack of big hitters, with a couple of notable exceptions, but it has been good to see how many of the boys have spent long periods of their free time in the nets in order to improve on that particular aspect of their game. Well done. Many of these youngsters are in the same age group next year, so I feel sure that we will see them move up through the ranks into the B or possibly A teams.

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Played 2 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 2 v Foremarke Packwood

(H) 104 for 4 103 for 7

Lost by 6 wkts

v Prestfelde Packwood

(H) 102 for 4 93 for 5

Lost by 9 runs

Squad: Gus Ames, William Maunder, Edward Forde-Johnston, Euan Montgomery, Sebastian Marmont, Dylan Griffith, Will Tate, Garret Healy, Tom Kiel, Oliver Griffiths, Henry Dickson, Fred Dollar, Hugo Davies, James Pickering. KJW

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S P O R T: C R I C K E T

Under 9A I really enjoy teaching Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 2 this age group as, for (H) Won the most part, the boys v Birchfield v St Mary’s Hall (H) Won are like sponges, v Prestfelde (A) Lost soaking up all of the v Shrewsbury High Prep (H) Lost information that I can throw at them. They work hard, they listen (most of them!) and they are really keen to learn.

They can also be quite frustrating – wanting to play the ‘Dilshan Scoop’ or the ‘Ramp’ as opposed to the orthodox shot we’re trying to work on.

There are a couple of drawbacks with the Under 9 game, the main one being that it devalues the loss of a wicket. Each team starts on 200 runs and players bat in pairs for four overs. If they are out then they can continue batting at the loss of five runs (still with me?). If a wide or noball is bowled then two extra runs are added without an extra ball being bowled. The advantages – everyone gets to bat and bowl which can only be beneficial in the development of their individual game. The disadvantages – the straighter you bowl the easier it is for the opposition to score runs and it promotes poor stroke selection because ‘you can always have another go if you are out’ which is detrimental to the team game. Those disadvantages caused us to lose two games this season. Our first loss was due to some excellent bowling on our part. It sounds strange but we lost because we bowled better than the opposition! The second loss was due to some very poor shot selection and although we scored many more runs than the opposition we lost too many wickets from some second-rate performances whilst batting.

The Year 4 boys will now be stepping up to the hard ball game and I am sure that many will do well. Tom Bright, the captain, Henry JonesPerrott, Wilbur Blackham and Archie McParland are ready. Others will be continuing with their excellent rate of improvement. Players such as Tom Thurstan, Tom Kenyon and Freddie Timmis are names to watch in the future. Cricket is perhaps the most popular sport at Packwood. We have a fine tradition of producing good players and I am sure that this latest batch of young ’uns will help to uphold that tradition. Well done!

Squad: Tom Bright (Capt), Henry Jones-Perrott, Edward Scott, Orlando Bayliss, Archie McParland, Wilbur Blackham, Freddie Greenwell, Tom Kenyon, Bobby Boyes, Tom Thurstan, Freddie Timmis, Morgan Matthews. MAF

Under 9B An unbeaten season! Ably Played 1 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 0 captained by Edward v Birchfield (A) 273 (pairs) Scott, the team played a 278 (pairs) Won by 5 runs very exciting game against Packwood Birchfield. With Birchfield batting first, some good bowling and excellent fielding restricted them to 273. We batted very well, with a few mighty blows and good running

between the wickets. It all came down to the last over where we only needed to avoid losing any wickets to win. With Rufus Farmer’s knees knocking and the rest of the team chewing their nails, we held out for the win. Well done boys!

Team: Edward Scott (Capt), Bobby Boyes, Hal Cowan, Tom Thurstan, Jamie Warburton-Lee, Bertie Shute, Tom Williams, Rufus Farmer. SAR

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S P O R T: G I R L S ’ C R I C K E T A N D R O U N D E R S

Girls’Cricket and Rounders Under 13A Girls’Cricket

The girls’ Under 13A cricket team had a good outdoor season which built on their terrifically successful indoor season during which they competed in the Lady Taverners Indoor Competition. It was the first time Packwood had ever entered the competition and the team made a stunning debut. After winning the district, county and regional tournaments the team travelled to the National Finals at Lord’s as the Midlands and Wales Champions. The girls finished the competition fifth (third equal on games won) out of 750 schools that originally entered.

Outdoors in the summer term, the girls had one home fixture against Moreton Hall.

Packwood always had the upper hand and won quite comfortably in the end. At the Abberley Cricket Festival they played a

mixture of teams of varying Played 1 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 0 ability. They won their first v Moreton Hall (H) 265 runs four matches thanks in large Packwood 292 runs Won by 27 runs part to some accurate bowling from Lottie HillAbberley Girls’ Cricket Festival Played 5 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost1 Trevor, Freya Beasley, Lottie Lady Taverners Indoor Cricket Competition Clarke, Ellie Mason and District Tournament Winners Phoebe Wasdell. This was Shropshire County Tournament Winners supported by strong batting Midlands and Wales Regional Tournament Winners from Talullah Blackham, National Finals 5th Amelia Ashworth, Annabel Robertson and Freya Beasley, in particular. The whole team also fielded well. In their final match of the day they met Abberley A team and, despite scoring a creditable 46 in their eight overs, their opponents were able to knock off some quick runs and take the win. Nevertheless, it was a busy and entertaining day – well done girls!

Team: Lottie Hill-Trevor (Capt), Freya Beasley, Annabel Robertson, Ellie Mason, Lottie Clarke, Phoebe Wasdell, Amelia Ashworth, Talullah Blackham, Sophie Barlow, Amelia Peterson. GW

Under 13B Girls’Cricket This year the girls have had the opportunity to play more cricket alongside their usual rounders. They started the year with many of them attending a girls’ cricket club with Mr Phillips where they developed their skills and went on to enter the Lady Taverners Indoor Cricket Competition alongside other schools’ Under 13A teams.

The girls performed exceedingly well, winning games against Ellesmere and Mary Webb School and, following a narrow loss against Meole Brace, ended up in fifth place.

Over the summer term they have had cricket once a week with an outside coach to further improve and refine the skills they learnt during their winter sessions. All of the girls’ batting developed from blindly hitting the ball as hard as possible to, by the end of the season, playing some technically sound cricket shots. Both of the matches they played ended up as good wins with some very accurate and consistent bowling by all of the girls. The team’s main strength has been that everyone has a good level of skill rather than being reliant on a few good individuals. The season ended with Abberley Cricket Festival where schools were invited to play and develop their skills by Page 76

competing in five Played 2 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 0 matches over the v Ellesmere (A) 227 runs course of the day.

Packwood 292 runs Won by 65 runs This gave everyone a chance to have a go v Moreton Hall (H) 275 runs Packwood 288 runs Won by 13 runs at both bowling and batting as well as the Abberley Girls’ Cricket Festival opportunity to have Played 5 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost2 a coaching session Lady Taverners Indoor Cricket Competition with some of the District Tournament 5th Worcestershire County players. The girls had a very successful day playing against mainly Under 13A teams, winning three of their five matches.

Team: Amelia Peterson, Amelia Maunder, Sacha Sandbach, Louisa Jarvis, Eliza Rosselli, Georgia Kannreuther, Rosie Simpson, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Imogen Downey, Freya Cox, Sophia Bureau, Sophie Barlow. SW

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S P O R T: G I R L S ’ C R I C K E T A N D R O U N D E R S

Unfortunately the British weather conspired JET/Royal National Children’s Foundation competition Winners against us so all our school fixtures were rained Round 1 v Stafford Grammar (A) Bye off – but it didn’t stop us playing the JET Round 2 v Foremarke Hall (A) Won 2 (and an innings)-11⁄2 competition! Once again, these Under 13 girls Round 3 v Denstone College (A) Won 14 (and an innings)-111⁄2 showed their outstanding sporting talents. The Quarter-final v Beaudesert School (H) Won 181⁄2 -111⁄2 triangle of bowler, backstop and first post is the Semi-final v Witham Hall St Edward’s, Oxford Won 13 (and an innings)-121⁄2 most important and the first thing any coach Final v Windlesham House St Edward’s, Oxford Won 131⁄2 (and an innings)-13 wants to perfect – Ellie’s bowling is the best I’ve seen in 15 years simply because of the way she Ellie was by far our most reliable batter, but Sophie kept things ticking mixes up her deliveries and the donkey drop was effectively what along with her cheeky runs to second. Indeed it was our batting that foxed most of the batters. Freya was outstanding at backstop with eventually won us the title. Our fielding had been exceptional her pitches and calls to her field and, at first post, Lottie made some throughout, but the batting hadn’t really come together all term and amazing catches and stumps. there we were halfway through a national final and 41⁄2 rounders down – it seemed like we had just too much to do! However, these girls are not ones for giving up. Their determination saw them through as bit by bit they chipped away at Windlesham’s lead. Finally, the scores were drawn at 13 each and they needed half a rounder to win with five live batters. The bowler released the ball and it was dinked over third; there was no fielder, we just had to get to second, then for what seemed like an eternity, we waited for the umpires to announce our win. It came and the pitch was invaded by the Packwood parents! It was simply the best possible way for this set of girls and their parents to celebrate their time at Packwood– well done girls, you made me very proud!

Team: Annabel Robertson* (Capt), Ellie Mason*, Freya Beasley*, Lottie Clarke*, Talullah Blackham*, Georgia Kannreuther*, Amelia Ashworth*, Phoebe Wasdell*, Rosie Simpson, Amelia Maunder*, Sacha Sandbach*. KLP

2nd IX Rounders Out in the field we had Phoebe, Annabel, Sophie and Rosie – who could forget that catch at Foremarke, Sophie? Or your mum’s reaction!

Phoebe had to concentrate out at first deep but took some important catches along the way. Rosie is the queen of the pick-up and had great throws in. Annabel had a safe pair of hands and communicated well to her team as captain. On the posts Talullah, Georgia and Amelia had the nerve-wracking tasks of receiving the ball, stumping and then carrying out phase two – well done girls, it was slick! Sacha and Amelia also filled in and made valuable contributions as reserves.

3rd IX Rounders The 3rds did well this season, Played 3 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 28 losing just one of their For 23 matches. However, they did 1 not have a great many chances v Oswestry U13A (H) Lost 8 ⁄2 -19 v Moffats (A) Won 8 - 7 ⁄2 to show off their skills due to v Stafford Grammar (A) Won 111⁄2 - 61⁄2 the unfortunate weather on match days. The girls worked well in games sessions improving on their match play and their individual ball skills. Tash Carter-Motley led the team well as captain and her rounders has been spot on as well.

Rain stopped play Played 2 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 1 again and so we only For 291⁄2 Against 19 squeezed in two v Prestfelde 1st IX (H) Won 22 - 91⁄2 fixtures. However, v Foremarke (A) Lost 71⁄2 - 91⁄2 there were many worthwhile games sessions with the 2nd IX training alongside the JET-winning 1sts in what proved to be a valuable development year. Sacha Sandbach did well to step up and play as a reserve in the JET team. Next year it will be interesting to see who wins the bowler spot with both Louisa Jarvis and Tallulah Pollock looking sharp. Eliza, Lily and Freya were also good in the field and certainly ones to keep an eye out for. Batting was our nemesis – much work still to be done here. A mixed bag that promises so much – you’ve all got to step up next year and be more ruthless!

Team: Louisa Jarvis, Tallulah Pollock, Sophia Bureau, Zara Vickers, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Eliza Rosselli, Freya Cox, Sacha Sandbach, Imogen Downey, Amelia Peterson, Mollie Matthews. KLP

In their first match against Moffats, the girls played well in the first innings but lost focus in the second, allowing Moffats to bring themselves back into the game. In the end, the girls managed to come away with a win but they realised there were a few areas to work on. They upped their game for the match against Stafford Grammar and showed what lovely rounders they can play, producing a comfortable win with outstanding batting from Imogen Downey and mature fielding from Anna Cowan. It’s been an excellent season girls, well done.

Team: Natasha Carter-Motley (Capt), Lily Freeman-Attwood, Romy Grigg, Imogen Downey, Sybilla Hamilton, Chloe Edwards, Zoe Nugent, Anna Cowan, Octavia Hamilton, Amelia Peterson, Marta Banegas, Theodora Jarvis. BN Page 77

*colours awarded

1st IX Rounders

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S P O R T: G I R L S ’ C R I C K E T A N D R O U N D E R S

Under 11A Rounders The Under 11s had Played 5 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 2 a promising season For 391⁄2 Against 391⁄2 although, v Shrewsbury High School (H) Lost 10 - 12 unfortunately, some v Prestfelde (H) Won 131⁄2 - 101⁄2 matches and practice v Hereford Cathedral School (H) Won 5 - 41⁄2 time were lost v Brambletye (H) Won 31⁄2 - 1⁄2 because of the v Foremarke (A) Lost 71⁄2-12 weather. The first Packwood Tournament Winners match of the season against Shrewsbury High School was played in atrocious weather and the girls lost narrowly.

Three more close games followed against Prestfelde, Hereford and Brambletye but on each occasion Packwood was able to edge in front.

The match against Foremarke was more of a challenge and the girls went down fighting in that game. The highlight of the season was winning the Packwood Tournament where the girls took on teams from Prestfelde, Shrewsbury High, Foremarke (A and B), Moor Park and Terra Nova. At the end there were four teams tied on the same number of points so the winner was decided on the number of rounders scored – much to the girls’ relief and joy, they emerged victorious.

Well done girls!

The team was made up of a mixture of Under 11s and Under 10s.

Georgiana Nicholas bowled with great composure and consistency, Emily McParland became increasingly more reliable and accurate at backstop and Daisy David, Alice Hughes, Eliza Blackham and Amelia Farmer played well on the posts, growing in skill and confidence as the season progressed. Isabel Morris was outstanding as a deep fielder, stopping and catching almost everything, and she was ably assisted by Tommy Jarvis, Marta Banegas and Teresa Rodriguez. When batting, the team’s big and most reliable hitters were Georgiana Nicholas, Isabel

Under 9/Under 8 Rounders

Morris, Emily McParland, Amelia Farmer and Alice Hughes.

They were backed up by the others who accumulated many half rounders and some rounders, in what was an all-round team effort.

Team: Alice Hughes, Emily McParland, Eliza Blackham, Georgiana Nicholas, Daisy David, Isabel Morris, Amelia Farmer, Tommy Jarvis, Marta Banegas, Teresa Rodriguez, Freja Bedell, Emily Keeling-Paglia, Heath Rosselli, Alice Marshall. GW

Under 11B/Under 10 Rounders The girls have had Played 5 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 4 some great games this For 561⁄2 Against 641⁄2 season and, although v Foremarke (A) Lost 10 - 141⁄2 the scores have not v Hereford Cathedral School (H) Lost 71⁄2 - 151⁄2 always gone their way, v Prestfelde (A) Lost 12 - 15 every match was v Shrewsbury High (H) Lost 11 - 13 highly competitive v Adcote (H) Won 16 - 61⁄2 and many of the results were really close. They approached every game with a competitive and positive attitude and were always very supportive of each other. As some of the girls were beginners this season, quite a lot of time was spent on developing the basic skills and ensuring all of the rules were understood. They all seemed to really enjoy their rounders season and this meant that their skills and confidence grew quickly.

The most noticeable improvement as a team was the development of every single girl’s batting skills. They went from starting the season with a natural good eye for the ball but having no power behind their hits, to scoring frequent rounders with some very impressive hitting by the end of the season. With the bulk of the team being made up of Under 10s, the improvements made this year leave me with great confidence for an excellent season next year in the Under 11s.

Unfortunately the Played 4 Won 3 Drawn 0 Lost 1 girls had another rainFor 481⁄2 Against 28 affected rounders U9 v Shrewsbury High (H)Won 161⁄2 - 4 season this year U9/8 v Prestfelde U10B (A)Won 161⁄2 - 101⁄2 meaning many games U9/8 v Birchfield (A)Won 7 - 41⁄2 sessions and matches U10/U9 v Birchfield (A)Lost 81⁄2 - 9 were cancelled. In their few opportunities to play, they always tried hard to put the skills they had learnt into practice and achieved some success – most notably against a more experienced team from Prestfelde made up of Under 10 players.

Throughout the term, Rowena showed great promise particularly with her fielding and there were encouraging performances from Flora and also from Lucy, who scored two rounders against Birchfield. Every girl had the opportunity to represent the school in at least one of the matches and by the end of the term all of them were regularly making contact with the ball resulting in many scoring rounders for the team.

Squad: Genevieve Bright, Lucy Clarke, Zennor Harvey, Georgina Kenyon, Liberty Clarke, Bea Grigg, Rowena Jones, Flora Raichura, Elsa Waterhouse, Claudia Tate, Catherine Morton-Willetts, Lucy Mielczarek, Florence Acton, Lulu Bright, Imogen Macey. KE Page 78

Team: Lottie Waterhouse, Honor Grigg, Alice Marshall, Heath Rosselli, Poppy Stephens, Amelia Farmer, Bridget Merison, Emily Keeling-Paglia, Freja Bedell, Tommy Jarvis, Teresa Rodriguez. SW

Under11 Mixed Rounders It was the first time I can remember a mixed rounders team playing a competitive v Moffats (H) Won 121⁄2 - 21⁄2 fixture against another school and it was extremely good fun!

We fielded a team of girls who had played a lot of rounders before and some boys who had not. It is great credit to the boys that they picked up the rules of the game so quickly and played so well, ably assisted by the girls. This proved a winning combination against Moffats, who were really good sports. Well done team! Another match was scheduled but unfortunately was lost to the weather.

Played 1 Won 1 Drawn 0 Lost 0 For 121⁄2 Against 21⁄2

Team: Alice Hughes (Capt), Emily McParland, William Maunder, Callum Reid, Eliza Blackham, Daisy David, William Waterhouse, James Miles, Isabel Morris, Georgiana Nicholas. GW

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S P O R T: R I D I N G

Riding

National Schools Competitions Packwood have had another fabulous year at the NSEA competitions, once again showing strength in depth with riders competing at all levels. We have entered new riders in the Grass Roots competitions which is a great start to the schools competition. At Netley Hall, Bella Timmis was the youngest rider of the day at just six years old, and with up-and-coming riders like Archie Tulloch, Freddie Greenwell, Mollie Matthews and Sebastian Marmont, Packwood riding teams are looking strong for the future.

Packwood had an amazing day at South View in May. Success came not only from individual competitors but from teams too. In the 2’3 class Lily Freeman- Attwood, Eliza Rosselli, Oliver Griffiths and

sections and are also awarded points for their style. Oliver Griffiths, Eliza Rosselli, Heath Rosselli and Lottie Hill-Trevor did Packwood proud and came fourth in the 70-75cm class with Oliver Griffiths taking individual fifth. Next came the more challenging 80-85cm class. There was some serious competition from 13 other teams, some with riders up to 16 years old, but Packwood achieved an excellent result – Oliver Griffiths, Eliza Rosselli and Lottie Hill-Trevor came third. It was a fantastic effort and earned the team qualification for the NSEA Championships in October. Lottie also picked up individual fourth place in this class. It was a great day for our riders – made possible by the very dedicated parents who were prepared to bring the children and their ponies to the event. Qualification is a real bonus, but most of all, I was so proud of how the team conducted themselves all day. They were polite, smartly turned out and most importantly, pleased with their ponies even when it did not all go perfectly.

Packwood Combined Training In June, Packwood held its first Combined Training competition comprising a dressage test followed by a round of show jumping. The competition was open to Packwood children and Pony Club members and there were a pleasing number of entries, including 14 Packwood riders. The weather was kind to us and the children enjoyed a good day’s competition and fun with their ponies. The 30cm class saw some of our Acorns riders competing and it was great to see their older siblings helping them on their way! Packwood’s Eliza Rosselli won the 70-80cm class with a stylish performance in both disciplines.

Jonty Bright took first place in the team challenge, closely followed

by Jac Evans, Emily McParland, Archie Tulloch and Lottie Hill-Trevor who came in second. In the 2’6 class Packwood scooped first place again thanks to Sophie Barlow, Amelia Ashworth, Eliza Rosselli and Lily Freeman- Attwood. Lily, Sophie and Amelia joined Ned Moreau in the 2’9 class to take Packwood’s third win of the day. Lily had a truly exceptional day, taking individual first place in every class she entered.

There was also a second place for Emily McParland in the 2’3 warm up class and two fourth places: Archie Tulloch (2’3) and Amelia Ashworth (2’9).

The team had another great day at Beaver Hall in the ‘Jumping with Style’ competitions. The riders have a lot to think about in these classes as they have to complete both show jumping and cross country

And into the future…

We are looking forward to another year of fun and competitions with our ponies in 2014-15. In addition to our Combined Training competition we are going to hold a Gymkhana Games afternoon for the fast and fearless! Horse riding is also coming to PACTS and will be an option for those who would like to have the chance to ride. For children who might not want to ride but enjoy being around horses and would like to learn how to look after them, we will be holding Horse and Pony Care sessions as a Sunday activity. Competitions with the NSEA happen all year round and we want to send as many riders and teams as possible. One of our current team is heading to the National Championships to represent Packwood and we wish them the very best of luck! J Bright Page 79

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S P O R T: S I X E S AT H L E T I C S / R I F L E S H O O T I N G

Sixes Athletics Sixes athletics in the second week of term proved to be a great success once again. The early hosting of the events also helped with the selection of the team for the Abberley Athletics Competition, although in the end, sadly, the meet due to be held at Stourport Athletics Club was cancelled.

Harcourt/Clarkes won the Under 11 Sixes event with 24 points and McFerran/Wilsons won the senior event with 22 points. The overall winners were McFerran/Wilsons who won the Miriam Heard Cup. There were some fantastic performances in the field events in both the senior and Under 11 athletics. Fred Stephens and Emily McParland showed lots of promise in the Under 11 long jump.

Adam Pattenden dominated the boys’ shot event with an 8m throw and Lottie Clarke threw a solid 16m to win the girls’ javelin by a comfortable margin. Other good performances in the senior age group came in the long jump events with Marcus Woodhead and Amelia Ashworth producing the jumps of the day to win.

On the track, all events were highly competitive and there were some excellent winning times. In the boys’ races Jules Schneuwly won convincingly by over 10 seconds in the 800m and Marcus Woodhead destroyed a strong field in the 100m final. Annabel Robertson produced an impressive performance to win the senior girls’ 100m narrowly beating Amelia Ashworth in an excellent final. Sophie Barlow also produced a powerful performance to claim the senior girls’ 200m by some margin. PJP

Rifle Shooting I have again been impressed by how many children have managed to find time to come up to the range in long breaks and rests on Wednesdays and Saturdays to shoot. It has also been encouraging to see more girls shooting this year.

We start each session by shooting a ten shot target with the gun resting for the younger children and then not resting as they grow older and stronger. Those who shoot without a rest can get second class, first class or marksman certificates. Congratulations to James Weir, Ed Scott, Bridget Merison, Georgie Nicholas, Emily McParland, Pun Vatayanonta, Tom Mercer, Hugo Davies and Will Tate who all won certificates during the year.

In the summer term we were able to incorporate rifle shooting into the pentathlon and the standard of shooting was impressive, particularly by those who had shot regularly during the year.

Many of the keenest shots are in the top year and I hope that they will continue with their shooting at their senior schools. There are also plenty of keen shots throughout the rest of the school and I look forward to helping them to develop their skills next year. FRH Page 80

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S P O R T: C R O S S C O U N T R Y / G O L F

Cross Country

It’s been a good season for Packwood cross country. The most consistent team has been the Under 11 boys. They entered a great number of competitions and did well in all of them. Edward Bayliss, Freddie Cox, Edward Forde-Johnston, Tom Kiel, Seb Marmont, Will Tate and Will Waterhouse got stronger and stronger throughout the season and performed very well against older boys. The team finished third in the Shropshire Young Athletes Cross Country League in which four races had to be run in Oswestry, Much Wenlock, Bridgnorth and, for the first time, at Packwood.

The boys also had a great race at the Hunt held at Shrewsbury School where they finished second. The Hunt has become a bigger and bigger event year after year, and schools from as far afield as Yorkshire come to compete, making the field very strong. On a rather challenging course, Will Tate passed the finish line in seventh position, Edward Forde-Johnston was 11th, Ed Bayliss 13th and Freddie Cox 23rd.

We also entered an Under 13 boys’ team who finished third overall thanks to some great efforts from Leo Walton (5th), James Hinwood (11th), Arthur Gell (24th) and Francis McLaughlin (33rd).

Congratulations to Freya Cox (10th) and Sophia Bureau (15th) who also ran on the day and performed admirably!

The Under 11 boys then took part in the Abberley relays where they finished fourth and in the Under 11 Shropshire County XC Championships in which the team finished third in the Year 5 age group. On the day, Edward FordeJohnston had a great run and finished in fifth position. Tom Kiel, who was the only Packwood representative in the Year 6 age group, had a fabulous race and also finished fifth.

Unfortunately the Nationals at Malvern College were cancelled because of the poor weather, but the boys are looking forward to the opportunity to compete there next year. To finish the year on a high, some members of the team competed in the Park Run in Shrewsbury which was a great experience for all. It’s not such an easy feat to run 5km but they enjoyed the experience and they enjoyed even more the hot chocolate and the piece of cake we had to celebrate the end of a good season. We’re hoping for an even better one next year! JN

Golf Now moved back to its usual beginning of term slot, the parent/pupil golf competition had a quality field.

Alongside the competitive children, there were also some very competitive dads! The scores were extremely good, but the eventual winners were Glenn and Jac Evans.

Sadly there was no time at the end of a very busy term to fit in the pupils’ golf competition. SAR

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S P O R T: F E N C I N G

Fencing

Stockport

Sheffield – English Institute of Sport

Away ‘friendly’ – Won seniors, lost juniors

GB Under 12/14 Championships – William and Oliver Holcroft, James Hinwood, Louisa and Tommy Jarvis, Edward Don, George Weston, Jacob Jones (Sabre), Freja Bedell

Isle of Man Birmingham – Cocks Moors Woods Fencing Club

King William’s College touring Foil teams Winners

CMW Open – Edward Scott, Champion.

Five medals

Packwood West Midlands training hub – Nick Chapman, GB Under 18 Coach West Midlands Epee Championships – seven champions Packwood ‘Champion Factory’ training camp – David Gregory GB #1 Packwood Leon Paul Epee – Edward Scott, Under 9 Champion. Six medals Packwood Epee Cup – Winners Packwood v Prestfelde Foil match – Winners

Warwick School Leon Paul Epee – Edward Don, George Weston

Oundle School GB Under 10 Championships – Daniel Richardson Elite Series – Edward Don (Under 13 Silver), Oliver Holcroft (Under 11 Bronze)

Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Cardiff – Welsh Sports HQ

English Youth Championships/England team trials – James Hinwood 7th

Edward Don – Under 14 Welsh National Champion

Gillingham, Kent – Medway Park

Truro School Summer Camp

GB Team Epee –

Edward Don – Winner of trophy for most improved fencer

Under 13 Boys’ National Champions

City of London School

Surrey – Reigate Fencing Club

Elite Epee Showcase (eight invited nationally from each age group) – Edward Don (Under 13), Oliver Holcroft (Under 11)

Elite Epee Series – Oliver Holcroft (Under 11 Bronze), Edward Don (Under 13 10th)

Thanks to our coaches, David Gregory, Roly Hancock, Sir Charles Holcroft and Nick Weston. Well done to David on his number one GB ranking and good luck in the Commonwealth Games.

Congratulations to the hundred or so Packwood fencers and parents who won two national titles, served their thousandth plate of lasagne

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Under 11 Boys’ National Champions Under 13 Girls’ National Runners-up Under 11 Girls’ Bronze medallists

to visiting competitors and raised over £2000 for the Riding for the Disabled Association Cavalier Project. It was an amazing year for captain, Will Holcroft; will next year under Edward Don’s captaincy be even better? NW

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S P O R T: S W I M M I N G

Swimming

Bell Cup for swimming standards

McFerran/Wilsons

Prosser Cup for Sixes swimming

McFerran/Wilsons

It’s been another very successful year in the swimming pool with some great team successes and many individual achievements. The swimming team started off the season with the Prep Schools’ County Gala where some fantastic performances from Emily McParland and the Year 5 boys’ relay team helped Packwood to our highest ever finish, coming second, close on the heels of Old Hall.

There was one other swimming gala in the spring term held at Oswestry School and Packwood won the event with superb swims from the juniors bringing us victory by a significant margin.

For the first time ever, a Packwood swimmer – Freya Cox – registered a qualifying time in the 50m backstroke which made her eligible for the Shropshire County Senior Schools’ swimming gala where she ultimately finished 10th overall. In another first this season, Packwood represented the NE district of Shropshire at the Shropshire County Junior Schools’ swimming gala. 16 members of the team competed against some of the county’s best swimmers.

Emily McParland qualified second in her 25m freestyle heat which put her through to the finals where she finished fifth – an outstanding achievement!

Front crawl sprint

Front crawl distance

Breaststroke

U8

Claudia Tate*

Claudia Tate

Joseph Bowdler

U9

Morgan Matthews*

Morgan Matthews*

Morgan Matthews*

U10

Isabel Morris*

Isabel Morris

Louis Graham

U11

Emily McParland

Emily McParland

Emily McParland

U12

Alfred Hughes*

Alfred Hughes*

Alfred Hughes*

U13

Freddy Williams*

Freddy Williams

Rosie Simpson

*school record achieved or matched

The term culminated with the closely contested Sixes relays – the noisiest event in the Packwood sporting calendar. This year progress was easier to follow for the supporters at poolside because of the new coloured Sixes swimming hats. McFerran/Wilsons in the red hats won convincingly!

My very grateful thanks to Ally Onions, Nick Weston and our everreliable bus drivers Phil Mold and Kate Parry for all their help and support throughout the year and without whom none of this would have been possible. KE

As ever the children also spent lots of time training for the Aquathlons and working towards achieving swimming standards.

Congratulations to the new school record holders: Claudia Tate, Isabel Morris, Freddy Williams and, in particular, to Morgan Matthews and Alfred Hughes who swept the board in their respective age groups – the first time this has ever been achieved at Packwood. The team trained every Thursday evening throughout the year at Shrewsbury School’s 25m pool. These extra sessions gave the children the opportunity to work not only on their strokes but also on their speed, stamina and race technique. During the summer term the swimmers registered times for the ASA National Schools Speed Swim Awards. Freya Cox, Zara Vickers and Alfred Hughes all achieved golds in all four strokes. Many congratulations to them and well done to all the other award winners.

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S P O R T: T E N N I S

Tennis

Competition got underway against a strong Birchfield team. Our Under 13s lost to their first pair but had very good wins against their second. Their Under 11s were very experienced and again we had well-matched games against their second pair. Prestfelde brought a good squad, including an impressive junior pair, who were unbeatable. However, further down the line we made up the ground to draw the match.

Our boys put in a very creditable performance away against Shrewsbury School – particularly Frank Morris and Dan Humes who took their first pair to a tie-break. The other pairs each won one of their matches. A week later, and with a little more experience, we turned the tables on Shrewsbury. The boys had terrific rallies throughout all sets. Freddie Furnival and Dan Humes had a real nail-biter against their own pair. Our third and fourth pairs, respectively Jules Schneuwly, Nick Yeoward, James Hinwood and John Elliott, won both their sets gallantly with some sound and commanding tennis.

Finally, there was some fine tennis at the Repton tournament. Nick Yeoward and Tom Mercer were utterly brilliant when finally winning their last game. Jules and Toby Turpin put in great performances, and had they won a tie-break would have been runners-up in their section, as Ollie Hall and Frank Morris were in theirs. Ollie and Frank played their very best tennis ever, showing immense concentration and skill, giving us all the greatest of thrills and pleasure with their superb rallies and shots. I was particularly pleased to award them their colours.

Well done boys!

Team: Ollie Hall* (Capt), Frank Morris*, Daniel Humes, Fred Furnival, Nick Yeoward, John Elliott, Thomas Mercer, Alex Ainslie, James Hinwood, Jules Schneuwly, Jac Evans, Toby Turpin, Felix Jebb, Francis McLaughlin, Alfred Hughes, William Maunder, Yuta Umetani, Thomas Dix, Oliver Holcroft. SD

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Girls Natasha Carter-Motley, Tallulah Pollock, Eliza Rosselli and Marta Banegas did well to win all their sets against Birchfield’s girls. Their play and serving was consistent. Annabel Robertson and Amelia Maunder played successfully in mixed pairs against Prestfelde. The standard of girls’ play at Repton this year was high with all our girls learning lots about competitive play. Tallulah and Eliza had many tough rallies, and Natasha and Lottie Clarke came very close to winning their contests. Freya Beasley and Ellie Mason measured up confidently to take two commendable wins and two very closely contested losses.

The Shrewsbury High School fixture clashed with the JET rounders final, but this enabled other girls to fill the places. Four out of the six matches could have gone either way, with two tie-breaks being played.

The teams were closely matched, yet sometimes luck goes against you!

Team: Freya Beasley (Capt), Ellie Mason, Natasha Carter-Motley, Lottie Clarke, Amelia Maunder, Annabel Robertson, Tallulah Pollock, Eliza Rosselli, Marta Banegas, Amelia Peterson, Lottie Hill-Trevor, Imogen Downey, Maria Rey, Octavia Hamilton, Louisa Jarvis, Mollie Matthews, Sophia Bureau, Lily Freeman-Attwood. SD Played 6 Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 2 For 28 Against 26 v Birchfield v Shrewsbury School v Prestfelde v Shrewsbury School v Ellesmere College v Shrewsbury High

(H) (A) (H) (H) (H) (A)

Drawn Lost Drawn Won Won Lost

Repton Tournament Marches mini tournament

Runners-up in section Winners

6-6 3-5 6-6 5-3 8-0 0-6

*colours awarded

Boys

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S P O R T: T E N N I S / A Q U AT H L O N

Juniors For the second year we entered a mixed team of Year 3 and 4 boys and girls into the Marches mini tennis tournament. Tom Bright showed immense potential against some tough opponents and Lucy Clarke beat all the girls in her group. Tom Thurstan was also impressive and had some superb rallies. Claudia Tate was really energetic and picked up the skills very quickly. As a team we beat four other schools to be overall winners. Well done children!

We marked out two ’orange’ courts, for our Year 4s to play in the Ellesmere fixture. With softer balls, Lucy and Liberty Clarke, George Stanford-Davis and Will Goodall played tie-break games. There were wins all round for these two pairs. Under ‘green’ rules the Year 5s, namely Isabel Morris and Eliza Blackham, took on the boys. They held their own convincingly! Will Tate, Jago Ainslie, Freddie Cox, Jack Yeoward, Louis Graham and Seb Marmont all looked like proper tennis players, again winning all their sets (the best of seven games).

My thanks go to Mrs Lambkin for her time, effort and energy on the mini tennis game courts. I am also grateful to Steve Welti and his tennis coaches for laying great foundations and developing this great potential!

Team: Claudia Tate, Tom Thurstan, Lucy Clark, Liberty Clark, George Stanford-Davis, William Goodall, Isabel Morris, Eliza Blackham, William Tate, Jago Ainslie, Freddie Cox, Jack Yeoward, Louis Graham, Sebastian Marmont. SD

Aquathlon Wrekin College Schools Aquathlon Relay

Year 5 & 6 runners-up

Packwood Sixes Aquathlon McLaughlin Shield

Mannings/Sodens

This is Packwood’s third year competing in Aquathlon events and the children are improving all the time. They have built on their previous experience and have achieved some good results. Claudia Tate in particular has had an outstanding year, finishing in the top three in all four events she entered.

The season started with Burntwood Aquathlon which saw Will Tate move up to the Tristar 2 age group for the first time – a tough challenge but he performed well and finished in 16th place. Next was the Shrewsbury Aquathlon where all the Packwood competitors finished in the top 10 in their respective age groups with Freya Cox winning the Tristar 2 girls’ section. At Wrekin College the success continued amongst a much larger and more competitive field made up of schools and Triathlon clubs and with up to 48 entries in each age group. For the first time this year the event began with an

Aquathlon relay and Packwood’s Will Tate, Freddie Cox, Seb Marmont and Will Waterhouse competed against many other schools, finishing in a very impressive second place. In the afternoon, the individual events were held and Freya Cox was the star performer in both swimming and running. The final event of the season was the Packwood Sixes Aquathlon in which children from each year group in the main school represented their Six. This was a great event which saw many in the junior age group take part in an Aquathlon for the first time. Mannings/Sodens were the overall winners for the second year running and the outstanding individual result of the day was achieved by Freya Cox who not only won in her year group but recorded the fastest time in the whole school. Congratulations Freya!

Clearly swimming is only half of the Aquathlon and as ever I am very grateful to Mr Nogues for all his help with the running training – and for giving up so many of his Sundays to help me and accompany the team. Thank you also to the parents for their support and commitment. KE

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O L D PA C K W O O D I A N S

Old Packwoodian News Harry Martin rows the Atlantic which is a huge achievement. Very sadly, Alex Martin, mother of Henrietta, Harry, Ed and Sophie died of leukaemia in the spring of 2013. She was a great friend of the school and very many of the parents and is greatly missed.

During the months of preparation for their challenge Harry and Alex came into school and told the children all about it. They brought their boat with them which the children explored, and explained exactly what the trip entailed. We were delighted to welcome them back in May when they gave us all the gory details and showed us three films about their trip.

Harry delighted everyone by proposing to his girlfriend, Lucy Plant as soon as they arrived in Barbados and they are getting married in November.

For 50 days in December, January and February the whole school followed with bated breath as OP Harry Martin, and his Shrewsbury School friend Alex Bland, battled giant waves, sea-sickness, rowers’ claw and

even a shark encounter in their bid to row the Atlantic as a two-man team to raise money for charity. They rowed in aid of Cure Leukaemia and JDRF (supporting research for junior diabetes) and have now raised over ÂŁ200,000

Rowing the Atlantic was an incredible achievement, the dangers of which cannot be underestimated, but through sheer strength and determination they succeeded and we wish them the very best for the future. FB

Dinner for 2008 leavers were able to say with certainty which university they were going to, some within the next month and others after a gap year.

The evening began with drinks and animated conversation in the foyer of the theatre. Most of the OPs were easy to recognise, but two had grown beards which made identification a little more challenging! Then we all went into the auditorium for a slideshow featuring pictures of them during their Packwood days.

Everyone headed automatically into their Sixes places and the slideshow began, resulting in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment!

As has become the custom, Old Packwoodians who left the school five years ago were invited back to a reunion and dinner. There was a good turnout this year of 28 OPs (including one who had travelled especially from Spain) together with a good number of staff members, both past and present.

Engagements Alistair Cade (1985) Harry Martin (2000) to Lucy Plant Nick Trowbridge (2000) to Sophie Jonathan

For the first time, this event was held in early September rather than late June. This had a number of advantages: firstly that those who disappear to Magaluf and other exotic destinations for post-A level holidays were able to attend; and secondly A level results had been received, so instead of telling us what they hoped to do next, most of the OPs

Births To Edward Lowe (1990) and Olivia a boy in October 2013 To Emily Morris (1988) a son, Humphrey To James Pargeter (1988) a daughter

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Then it was off to the Front Hall for a delicious supper, with lots of reminiscing and good humour. For many, it was their first time back at Packwood since leaving five years ago; and for some, the first time they had seen each other since Sports Day in 2008. For the former staff too it was a chance to catch up, compare numbers of grandchildren and see who had had most cause to turn to the services of the NHS! All in all then, a very happy event. HB

Marriages Alistair McDonald to Joyce in spring 2013 Philip Makinson (1988)

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O L D PA C K W O O D I A N S

Old Packwoodian reunion Last November we held our first Old Packwoodian London reunion.

The evening was a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by Packwoodians from a wide range of year groups who happily reminisced with former pupils and staff over a glass of wine and renewed acquaintances – some after as many as 40 years. We were delighted with the numbers who attended and the fact that, in the end, the event was oversubscribed.

The East India Club proved an excellent venue for people on their way home from work and even for those arriving from Shropshire.

As a result of the success of the evening, the London reunion will take its place on the annual calendar of Old Packwoodian events which include a cricket match and tennis day during the summer term and drinks at Twickenham before certain rugby internationals.

Next year we will also host the first Old Packwoodian reunion in Manchester, so please keep an eye out for forthcoming events.

Details will be published on the website, Facebook and Twitter and if you want to be advised of any Old Packwoodian events, please send your email address/contact details to op@packwood.salop.sch.uk. CNSL

Old Packwoodian Sponsorship Fund Ladies Tennis competition The competition is heating up! Despite the fact that this year’s tournament didn’t start until 9.30am many of the players were down at the courts practising at 8.30. Once again it was a perfect day for tennis. We started off with a leisurely cup of coffee and home-made biscuits – just to lull everyone into a false sense of security before the real competition set in.

Remarkably in the early stages the games were incredibly even – it took a while for everyone to get used to the bounce on the all-weather surface, but as the day got warmer, so did the competition and we managed to finish off with a very exciting final before lunch. This meant that nobody had to spend lunch worrying about playing in the final afterwards. Many congratulations to the eventual winners, Jayney Davies and (Matron) Sue Heath and to the runners-up, Sophia Yeoward and Rachael Kenyon. FB

Obituaries Major Wilfred St Clair Tisdall, who has died aged 92, gave a lifetime of service first in the Army, where he was awarded an MC for his outstanding courage during the Battle of s’Hertogenbosch in 1944, and, afterwards, at Packwood as a teacher of Latin for many years. He joined the school in 1965 and was also the master-in-charge of shooting. He designed and constructed, with the help of the boys, the range on the new field by the river. In his time, Packwood

shooting teams won several medals. He was a popular member of staff, much loved by all who knew him.

the database of all the Old Packwoodians.

She managed all the OP mailings right up to 2001.

St Clair Tisdall married Prue Dixon in 1947.

She predeceased him and he is survived by their two daughters.

Louise Steeple, mother of Harrison, who died very suddenly and unexpectedly in January 2013. Harrison left Packwood in 2010 and Louise was a very supportive mother who is fondly remembered by many of the staff and parents.

Mrs Jane Baker, wife of Peter Baker who retired as Head of French in 2006. Jane did a huge amount of work behind the scenes for Packwood including creating and updating

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O L D PA C K W O O D I A N S

Old Packwoodian cricket match More and more OPs are entering as the realisation sinks in that it is going to be an annual event and this year we had a good number of players without resorting to bribery and corruption. Who knows, next year we might manage to field two teams or even a mini tournament?!

For the first time this year we had an old girl playing – in fact, captaining a team. Thank you very much Sarah Wood. The teams were roughly divided into the ‘Young’ and the ‘Very young’! Those playing for the ‘Young’ team, all of whom left before 2003, included a good number of 2002 leavers thanks to Richard Draper and it was great entertainment to see the likes of Jos Lovegrove-Fielden, James Shelmerdine and Henry Greeves back on the 1st XI pitch – who will forget Shelly going for a boundary with every shot in his Union Jack helmet? Unfortunately for the ‘Young’ the ‘Very young’ included one ringer – a current parent, Rhys Williams, who is particularly good at scoring runs…

A promising start by Captain James Clarke, and brother Charlie, didn’t quite go on long enough and soon the wickets began to tumble.

Inevitably Tom Newman was bowled by his brother Will who then went on to take an incredible four wickets very quickly – luckily Packwood tea, with a fantastic selection of cakes, was on hand.

The ‘Very young’ team, needless to say, had more recent cricketing experience on the whole and in fact, their secret weapons, Jamie Humes and Freddie Earlam, who are both still currently playing for Shrewsbury School 1st team, had to be kept down at the bottom of the batting order.

However, Sarah Wood had her team in hand in hand. Having taken the catch of the day herself in the first innings she masterminded the batting and particularly good innings from Ed Trevor-Jones and James Tilley among others brought the afternoon to an end.

Curry from our local Indian restaurant in Baschurch and a few pints of Station Bitter, were meant to finish off the day but an impromptu football game between the current boarders and remaining cricketers ensued and kept everyone well amused until bedtime – this time the ‘Youngest’ team were the winners!

Teams: The ‘Young’: James Clarke (Capt), Charlie Clarke, Richard Draper, James Shelmerdine, Henry Greeves, Jos Lovegrove-Fielden, Tom Newman, Ben Shaw, David Taylor, Mike Taylor The ‘Very young’: Sarah Wood (Capt), Alasdair Dougan, Henry Bridge, Jo Allan, Ed Trevor-Jones, Will Newman, James Tilley, Ed Bridge, Freddie Earlam, Jamie Humes, Rhys Williams. FB

News of Old Packwoodians 1958 David Brooke is still living in Christchurch, New Zealand but visited the UK for a family wedding last year. He is heavily involved with the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the local cricket club and church.

1960 Andrew Killick has now retired after a lifetime teaching Classics, Chess and Music at Yarm School and is thoroughly enjoying going to a wide variety of events.

1966 Jo Millington is enjoying retirement and recently visited Ruyton XI Towns.

1968 Richard Crewe-Read has recently been promoted to Lt. Colonel.

1969 Richard Montagu has moved to a new oil firm based in London.

1971 Alan Montagu has moved to Andover but commutes to London. He is now a Consultant connected with banking.

1972 John Roe returned to a Penn University classroom with a new mathematics course splendidly named “Winding Around”. He is very active with rock-climbing, playing the guitar at his church, and blogging. He has found his Packwood Latin very useful.

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1974 Tom Davis is a chartered surveyor. He had his own business in the North West in partnership but is slowing down a bit at the moment having to fight off Parkinson’s disease. Huw (1974) and Guy (1972) were involved in the family business. Eventually they had factories in Derbyshire, Thailand and China. They sold the business in 2008. Guy spent a year in China supervising the building of the factory and Huw travelled the world selling the products to the foundry and jewellery casting business. They are all keen and good golfers.

1975 Anthony Barnett has made many trips to India helping his architecture business develop its presence. Many of his early projects out there are now coming to fruition.

Penelope Davies is giving a plenary address to the Classical Association this year at their AGM, as one of the foremost experts in monuments, graves, tombstones and funerary affairs, having written many learned volumes on the matters. She often works with another famous Old Packwoodian, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, in Rome and Herculaneum and remains a Yale Professor.

1977 Nicholas Barnett is still involved in teaching a growing number of future pilots, aged from 14-75, to realise their dreams.

Katherine Rollason came back from New Zealand for a short visit with her 16 year-old son, Jack.

1980 Verity Kerfoot and her husband have adopted a 6 year-old boy in New Zealand.

Ben Mowll is very busy with work but still managed to sell 16 paintings when he held a successful exhibition at his home. He also had five paintings picked for the Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition at the Mall Gallery in London.

James Skelton enjoys his work as Group Financial Director at Selfridges.

Sam Boyes (nee Stephens) has a son, Bobby, who is now 9 and thoroughly enjoying Packwood. Her sister Clare’s son and daughter are entered for 2015.

1981 Sam Dewhurst is still a housemaster at Uppingham.

1982 Joshua Mowll has returned from Switzerland to live at his house in Southsea, Portsmouth, but he expects to move towards London. He has plenty of freelance graphic work.

1983 Charles Burgess has now moved from Singapore to Zurich.

1985 Robin Bennett is still involved with building three houses in Dodleston and is hoping to move into one before next Christmas. He has a two year old daughter and he sees a lot of Justin Roberts and Mark Charlesworth.

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O L D PA C K W O O D I A N S Piers Burgess travels to Switzerland regularly, where he works on the legal side of Arriva, owned now by Deutschebahn. He also spends quite a bit of time in Berlin, their HQ. Alistair Cade will be married during 2014.

After many years in the City, he helped to set up Mytral Energy, which puts up wind farms in India. He lives in Clapham.

Alistair McDonald married Joyce last spring.

He again took part in the Mooragh Challenge Rowing Event which his team won and also took part in the Viking Longboat World Championship.

1986 Natalie Cade moved on from Wycombe Abbey to Rugby for the sixth form and then to Balliol. She then worked for the China Reality Research, part of CLSA recently bought by China’s Citic Company. She is busy giving presentations of the company in Europe and the USA. David Makinson is still in the Cabinet Office but he manages to go on living in Wales and commuting at weekends. He has two girls of six and four.

Fiona Stewart (nee McDonald) has managed to continue with her demanding academic job while having to do all the driving while her husband recovers from a detached retina.

This year her work has taken her to Amsterdam, California, Australia and Dublin.

Emily Taylor has two children aged seven and five.

1988 Lucy Clarke has had a son, the twelfth Clarke grandchild.

Gareth Lee works in Los Angeles. His brother Will is in Sydney and Ewan is in Canary Wharf.

Philip Makinson is working in a new firm, KABBEE, which revolutionises booking minicabs in London. He married his longterm girlfriend in June 2013.

Emily Morris is still living and working in London. We congratulate her on the birth of her first son, Humphrey.

James Pargeter and his wife have had another daughter to join their twins.

1989 Kirsty McDonald enjoys being a magistrate and chairing the London Bench.

1991 Thomas Rowley has joined a private equity firm, North Edge Capital, investing in companies in the North East. He and his wife, Kate, bought a house in Harrogate. They have three young children.

James Shearer went to Goldsmiths College in London and got a degree in Drama and

Theatre arts. For the last 10 years he has been living in Norway and working as a guitar player and vocalist all over the country.

Emma Groome played the lead in ‘Sweet Charity’ at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and received rave reviews.

Alexia Taylor has two children aged six and four.

Alex Hackett worked as a chalet girl in Zermatt for the season and is planning on travelling in South East Asia before going to Exeter University in the autumn to read Modern Languages. In Zermatt she saw a lot of Will Hutchinson-Smith (2006) who was working there as a resort representative for VIP Ski.

1992 Many of the Packwood staff were treated to a fantastic evening’s entertainment when Richard Boyes, Bill Gallimore, Seth Bradbury and Julian Gallimore all performed brilliantly in their band ‘The Right Handies’ at Mrs Gallimore’s birthday party.

Emma Fanning is safely home from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has a job in Oxford based at Oxfam Head Office and should by now have moved into her new house in Oxford.

1993 Andrew Rowley is still broadcasting all over the country.

1995 Simon Rowley has a son, born in January 2013. He is living in Beaconsfield and is still working for Great Portland Estates.

1997 Rupert Cade went to Sedbergh and Rugby and Exeter University before setting up his own company, Inspirations Inc., a marketing, packaging and advertising company based in Manchester.

1999 Maida Bradbury works full time at her local theatre while also taking a part-time MA at Chester University.

2002 George Cavendish is doing very well with his Glutton Club restaurant in Frankwell, Shrewsbury. It’s well worth a visit – the reviews are fantastic.

2004 Rupert Hancock got a 2:1 in Business Management at Liverpool John Moore’s having spent time working for Aldi whilst there. He was offered Graduate Training with them and is currently in Australia travelling before starting.

2005 Kitty Cavendish is studying French at Oxford Brookes and is currently spending her third year in Antibes.

2006 James Brown has graduated with a first class BSc Hons in Audio Production from the SAE Institute. He did a two year degree with the first year in Liverpool and second year in Oxford. He is now taking a gap year building sound machines and working at the Cornmill in Llangollen.

Ludo Higgin spent the summer in Argentina doing his BASI ski qualifications before going on to work as a ski instructor in Japan for the winter season. He is going to Durham to read Economics.

Jamie Robertson, Freddie Rowland and Tom Raichura all spent the ski season working in the Three Valleys and saw a lot of each other.

2011 Ollie Tennant has taken up wakeboarding and recently came third in the intermediate men’s World Series competition at the Singha WWA Wake Park in Thailand.

George Burrell is enjoying Uppingham where he plays lots of rugby and he has also done work experience at Blur technology firm during the summer.

Antonia Brine and Jess Clarke completed their bronze Duke of Edinburgh awards together last Easter at Rugby and they are both part of the Tudor House relay team at Rugby.

They are also both mentors to younger children at a local school, Antonia helping with maths and Jess with Latin.

Charlotte Edwards was captain of Millfield’s Under 16 Girls’ Athletics team which came second overall in the English Schools’ competition, where she herself won the javelin competition.

Saskia Humphreys went on a sports tour to the Far East and is really enjoying her sport.

She has spent three great years at King William’s College and is now going on to Shrewsbury where she will be with many other Old Packwoodians.

Stamos Fearnall carried on with his guitar which he started at Packwood and is really enjoying music at Shrewsbury as well as lots of rugby. Since starting Shrewsbury he has become a keen rower.

Maddie Hall has continued with her sport at Rugby and this summer she is going on a hockey and netball tour to Singapore and Australia.

2008 Ed Cavendish is now a fully-fledged ski instructor and is spending the summer travelling in the States.

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Governors & Staff Governors Mrs L Lewis LLB Chair Dr J Dixey MD FRCP Mrs F J Humphreys W A Johnston Mrs C Mostyn-Owen MA

D R Stacey R G Tovey Cert Ed (Oxon) J J Knight J M Ollier

Teaching Staff Clive Smith-Langridge BA, QTS – Headmaster Sally Smith-Langridge BSc, Dip RSA – Headmaster’s Wife Nick Jones BEd, Cert Ed – Deputy Head, Science Sue Rigby BA, PGCE, Dip SpLD – Deputy Head, Head of LS, Latin Howard Bourne MA, PGCE – Maths Sarah Boutwood BA, PGCE – Director of Music Jenny Bright MA, BSc, PGCE – Packwood Acorns Roy Chambers MEd, BA, PGCE – Head of English Nell Corbet BA, PGCE – Packwood Acorns Richard Cowley BA, PGCE – Head of Drama Elspeth Cumpston BSc, PGCE – Maths Elizabeth Dobson MA – Assistant to Director of Music Paul Dougan MA – Head of Art Roz Edwards BEd – Head of RS Kelly Evans – Swimming, Teaching Assistant Martin Ford BEd – Maths, i/c New Children Poppy Gurden BSc, PGCE – Packwood Acorns Catherine Hammond BA – History, Librarian, Teaching Assistant Richard Herzog BEd – Head of Science Jean Herzog BA, PGCE, Dip SpLD – Year 3, LS Sam Hughes MA, BEd – English Jo Lambkin BA, MCIL – French Geraldine Lee Cert Ed – Packwood Acorns Christopher Leese BA, PGCE – Year 3, PE Emma Middlemiss BEd – Acting Head of Packwood Acorns James Mullock BA, PGCE – Geography, PSHE Beth Nimmo – Teaching Assistant, Girls’ Games Helen Nogues BA, PGCE – Head of CDT Jerome Nogues BA – Head of Modern Languages, i/c Day and Overseas Pupils Allison Onions BSc – Boys’ Houseparent, Swimming Jonathan Onions MEd, BA, PCGE – Head of Classics, Boys’ Houseparent Kate Parry BEd – Head of PE, Girls’ Houseparent Paul Phillips BSc, PGCE – Director of Sport, Science Stephen Rigby BA, PGCE – Head of IT, i/c Timetables Robbie Tadman BA, PGCE – Head of Maths Nicola Tomlins BEd – Packwood Acorns (Maternity leave) Ken Webster Cert Ed – English Nick Weston MA, PGCE – Head of History Gail Wilkinson BA, PGCE – Head of Geography Leanne Willis – PE, Games, Teaching Assistant (Maternity leave)

Matrons Ali Banks RGN – Head Matron Sarah Barton – Girls' Head Matron Sue Heath Caron Lane – Deputy Head Matron

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M Turner MA Mrs S A Rosser BEd Mrs A G Mackeson-Sandbach R C Morris

Learning Support Staff Jane Cooke BA, RSA Cert SpLD Nick Cooke BEcon, TEFL Jo Kapella BSc, PGCE, Dip SpLD Etsuko Koshika BA, JFL Tina Simms BA, PGCE, RSA Cert SpLD

Visiting Staff John Arran – Guitar Duncan Boutwood – Singing Roselinde Glossop – Piano Jane Hadwick – Piano Dawn Jaffray – Singing Roy Johnson – Saxophone, Clarinet Katherine Joyce – Percussion, Piano Kathryn Leeke – Singing Olga Lewis – Piano Jan Lumley – Flute, Clarinet Jane Magee – Cello, Double Bass Harry Percy – Percussion Bethan Roberts – Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon Edward Roberts-Malpass – Trumpet, Trombone Jayne Robinson – Violin Jessica Avery – Yoga Emma Burton – Yoga James Davies – Golf Charlie Goode – Tennis Dick Hilton – Archery Roger Houston – Judo Eve Jones – Girls’ Cricket Martine Jones – Drama Mike Markham – Tennis Barney Martin – Mandarin Annie Moody – Ballet Natalie Pridence – Street Dance Steve Welti – Tennis

Administrative Staff Natalie Shaw FCCA – Bursar Emma Downes – Assitant Bursar Jeremy Bayliss – IT Technician Fiona Bridge – Assistant Secretary, OP Society Secretary Linda Champion – Payroll Helen Cooper – Assistant Secretary, Second-hand uniform Caroline Dougan – Headmaster’s Secretary Jane Jones – School uniform, Pastoral Sarah Wood – Graduate Gap Student

Back row: Pun Vatayanonta, Freddy Williams, Frank Morris, Arthur Gell, John Elliott, Maria Rey, Octavia Hamilton, Scott Nicholson, Fred Furnival, Sebastian Corry Row 2: Ben Cowley, Keita Nakamura, Laure Penet de Monterno, Phoebe Wasdell, Lottie Clarke, Sophie Barlow, Amelia Ashworth, Ellie Mason, Natasha Carter-Motley, Archie Mobbs, Freya Beasley Row 3: Rosie Simpson, Max Pickering, William Brooke, Dragon Dararattanarojna, AJ Kraisuraphong, Arturo Merigo Garcia, Harry Zhang, Lucas Jones Polanco, Harry Myddelton, Amelia Maunder Row 4: William Holcroft, Ollie Hall, Oscar Holt, Marcus Woodhead, Ned Moreau, Alex Ainslie, Theodora Jarvis, Talullah Blackham, Imogen Downey, Ali Davies, Thomas Mercer Row 5: George Compston, Adam Pattenden, Chloe Edwards, Harry Swinburne, Nat McAllister, Felix Jebb, Rowan Pickstock, Daniel Humes, Owen Carroll, Zoe Nugent, Alfie Deahl, James Hinwood Front row: Lottie Hill-Trevor, Sybilla Hamilton, Annabel Robertson, Nick Yeoward, Mrs Smith-Langridge, Mr Smith-Langridge, Amelia Peterson, Piers Merison, Scott Karnsuwan, Romy Grigg, Harry Griffiths

The 2014 Leavers

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This photograph has been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be re-ordered by visiting www.gsarchive.co.uk or telephone 01869 328200

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Packwood Haugh School Ruyton XI Towns, Shrewsbury Shropshire SY4 1HX Telephone 01939 260217 Fax 01939 262077 www.packwood-haugh.co.uk