SFXtra December 2010 by Peter Evans

sfxtra December 2010

In partnership with

YOUTH PARTNER

Contents

Dear Parents

Maths Paris Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Welcome to the Christmas edition of our newsletter, I do hope that you enjoy reading about the many activities which have taken place.

Afghanistan Shoebox Appeal . . . . . . . . . 3 Christmas Card Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Student Art Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Diploma News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Music Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Science Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Moodle Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Debating Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Paintballing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Enterprise Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Sport Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 School Sport Programme . . . . . . . . . . . 24

As this is the first official newsletter of the academic year I must make special mention of those pupils and students in Years 11 and 13 who took external examinations last term and who received their results in August. Those involved obtained outstanding results – the best in the College’s recent history. At A Level, 41% of all grades were A*, A or B placing the College in the Times 500 top performing schools in England, whilst in Year 11 just short of 75% of pupils obtained 5 good quality GCSE passes at grades A*-C. This tremendous achievement is down to the sheer hard work of pupils and students, the dedication of staff and the huge support of parents. The youngsters should be very proud of their achievement and I congratulate each and every one of them. We will be celebrating their success at Senior Proclamation at the end of the term. At the end of term as we enter the final stages of Advent and approach the Christmas season we will be celebrating the fact that Jesus was born to give us eternal life. As well as a time for celebration, Advent and Christmas are often when we think of others less fortunate than ourselves and I know for example that the sixth form have been working hard to send parcels to those serving in Afghanistan, some of whom are former members of the College. Let us all take a little time out over the Christmas season to think about those for whom this time of year is difficult and pray that they too may be able to enjoy the celebrations of the birth of Jesus. On behalf of all at the College I send you best wishes for Christmas and 2011. Yours sincerely L D Rippon Headteacher

Newsletter Editing Team James Leyshon 11BR - Senior Editor Declan Jones 11KE Tom Buck 11MA Dominic McCaffrey 11KE Michael Manville 11OW Matthew Powell 9KE

Dates for your Diary Friday December 3rd 2010 Feast of St Francis Xavier – school closes at 12.25pm Tuesday December 14th 2010 Senior Proclamation at 7.30pm in the College Hall. Former Year 11 and 13 students receive awards and certificates. School closes at 2.30pm Wednesday December 15th 2010 Christmas lunch for pupils and staff. Wednesday December 15th 2010 Annual College Advent Carol Service at 7.30pm in the College Chapel followed by light refreshments. Please come along with relatives and friends to begin the celebration of Christmas. Friday December 17th 2010 School closes at 12.25pm for Christmas Holidays Tuesday January 4th 2011 School re-opens at 8.40am for all pupils, students and staff

Maths Paris Trip 2010 In July 2010 a group of forty four pupils visited Paris for four days for a Maths trip. They completed lots of fun mathematical tasks throughout the trip including calculating the ratio of passengers to lifeboats on the ferry trip to Calais. Upon arrival, pupils visited La Villette Science Museum to see the Mathematics exhibition, where pupils saw real life examples of a fractal and much more.

The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all and Miss Warwick is hoping to run the trip again in July 2012.

During the visit pupils visited many famous tourist attractions in Paris such as; the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Pupils also visited Euro Disney and learned how queue times were calculated; they also practised map reading skills and how to estimate the speed of some of the rides. Throughout the trip pupils also practised more practical mathematical skills converting their spending money from Euros into Pounds!

Year 7 Pupils on Hunt for Asteroids with Liverpool JMU Robotic Telescope At the end of the summer term 7G3 had a wonderful opportunity to engage in cutting edge science with the some advanced technology developed by John Moores University (JMU) in Liverpool. JMU has a remote controlled telescope on top of a mountain in the Canary Islands. With some of the photographs taken using the telescope, boys who were in 7G3 were able to hunt for asteroids. They used special software that enhanced pictures of distant objects to see if there was any unusual movement which might be evidence of an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Josh Dunne (now in Year 8) said, “what a fantastic experience, I love Science!” This was a really enjoyable trip and we learnt a lot. It was great working with the Apple team and we were given T-shirts which are the same as the ones the staff wear for uniform. They also gave us disks to keep which they had burnt our music onto. Shea McChrystal

PTA Update The PTA would like to thank everyone who attended our Christmas Bingo which was held recently in school. The event was well supported and a great afternoon was had by all. We managed to raise just under £500.00 which will go towards our funds and the upkeep of the minibuses. Thank you also to all the new Year 7 parents who came along to the PTA AGM and the Wine and Cheese gathering afterwards. It was so nice to meet up on an informal basis and we hope you will continue to support the PTA if you are able. Please remember that we will be losing a few Committee Members at the end of this academic year so if 2

you are interested in undertaking one of their roles please let us know. In addition, thank you to all who have responded to our request for donations and completion of Gift Aid forms. Response has been positive and any further donations can still be made either directly to school or via the website www.justgiving.com In the meantime, thank you for your continued support. Chairperson SFX PTA

Nightowl

Afghanistan Shoebox Appeal

The NIGHTOWL sessions were launched on Monday 20th September. The sessions run from 4.00 – 6.00pm each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. Many Year 11 pupils have attended the sessions each week which provide boys with an opportunity to, complete coursework or revision, attend targeted intervention and booster sessions or brush up on study skills and exam technique. NIGHTOWL sessions are also provided for Year 10 ICT pupils to enable them to complete coursework for BTEC and GCSE qualifications.

In November the Sixth Form held a shoebox appeal with the aim of collecting Christmas shoeboxes to be sent to soldiers in Afghanistan. Many Sixth Form students have strong family connections with the military, whilst others belong to various army, air force or sea cadet units and are looking forward to a possible career in the services. This Christmas students wanted to show their appreciation for the work that the soldiers do and decided to launch the shoebox appeal.

This is a wonderful opportunity to catch up on work missed, do a little extra work with your friends, or simply start revision early with teachers available to help you. The sessions are aimed at helping you to achieve your potential in all subjects. The sessions run in one hour blocks from 4pm – 5pm and from 5pm – 6pm, so if you are attending NIGHTOWL don’t forget to tell your parents you are staying late at school. Hot evening snacks are available between 3.30 and 4pm at a small cost. Miss Lindop

Ms Finlay arranged for each form group to bring in various items which would fit into a shoebox. There was extremely stiff competition between the form groups as they all strived fill the most shoeboxes. In total the sixth form donated a staggering 32 shoeboxes which have been sent to a small platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan. The generosity of students, staff and families was staggering. People donated toiletries, novelty Christmas items, noodles, chocolates, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, books, note paper, socks, hats and various Christmas novelty items and seasonal goodies. The list was endless, ensuring there will be plenty of fragrant soldiers in Afghanistan this Christmas!! Ms Finlay was certainly surprised when she saw how many shoeboxes and donations had been collected to wrap, so together with a trusty group of Sixth Form students, she embarked on the "Big Wrap" (which was no mean feat as each shoebox had to be wrapped, packed, weighed, its contents labelled for customs and finally sealed). There were so many shoeboxes to post it took the best part of an hour to process them all in the post office, maybe it was not such a good idea to have taken them on a busy Saturday Morning! On behalf of the Sixth Form Ms Finlay would like to express her gratitude for the kind and generous donations sent in by the students, staff and parents of the Sixth Form, as usual their support for charitable work was outstanding.

Christmas Card Designs This Christmas heralds a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;new lookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Christmas card that will be sent out from the college. A competition was organised by the Art Department and a winner was identified from each year group. The winning entries will be printed in house by the college Reprographics Department ready for distribution before Christmas. The pupils who submitted winning designs were:Year 7 Kern Fowler Year 8 Callum Bissett Year 9 Haydn McChrystal Year 10 Joshua Blakemore Year 11 Michael Sweetman Year 12 Jenny Marshall Year 13 David Jones (Overall Winner) The theme behind the designs reflect the true meaning of Christmas and the judges were Mr Rippon (Headteacher), Mrs Goodall (Governor), Ms Douglass (Head of Art Department), Jonathan Rigby and Matthew Powell (members of the school council). There were many good entries and thanks to all who submitted designs. David Jones Callum Bissett

Michael Sweetman

Haydn McChrystal

Printing the Winning Entries Many thanks to the Reprographics helpers Luke and Scott for helping with the printing and folding of 2000 of the winning Christmas Card Entries. Mrs Leong 4

Jennifer Marshall

Joshua Blakemore

Kern Fowler

6th Form Study Day at the Walker and Tate Galleries

Annual National Students Art Exhibition

As part of one A Level Art course students attended a study day at the Walker and Tate Galleries with Mr Kelly. The morning session at the Walker focussed on the John Moores exhibition with an introductory talk by an Artist/Educator: students engaged with contemporary exhibits providing primary source to support their Portfolio units at both the Walker and the Tate.

Two students were successful in their submissions to the annual National Students’ Art Exhibition which is affiliated to the Royal Society of British Arts. David Jones and Philip Evans had their paintings exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London in July this year. David’s paintings were ‘Hereford Cathedral’ and ‘Still with Bottle and Vase’. Philip’s painting was entitled ‘M.U.D’ (Mediterranean Urban Decay) and he was congratulated on his award of Scholar of The Royal Society of British Arts. His painting will be exhibited in the Annual RBA Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in 2011. In addition he will receive a certificate signed by the President formally recognising this honour. Well done to both Students, it is an honour to exhibit at this prestigious Mall Galleries in the capital.

10th Big Schools' Birdwatch birthday! (24th January – 4th February 2011) The Pied Wagtail is a common visitor to SFX school grounds in the winter. These birds have migrated from Northern Europe to escape the harsh winters The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is holding its 10th Big Schools' Birdwatch birthday! This free, fun and simple activity only takes an hour to complete, is rich in curriculum links, and is open to all UK schools and youth groups (brownies, scouts etc). It's also a great way to get to know more about the wildlife visiting your school grounds, or a local park. Big Schools' Birdwatch runs between 24 January–4 February 2011. Not sure how to take part in Big Schools' Birdwatch? Just follow our step-by-step guide: •

Arrange a day between 24 January-4 February to do your watch. Morning is the best time of day to see birds – or after break when they come to pick up dropped crumbs from the playground

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Set up some feeders in a convenient place near your classroom windows and around your school grounds

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Watch birds for a total of one hour, keeping count of how many birds of the same kind you see at any one time. You only need to record the birds actually in your grounds or in the park, not those flying over

Diploma News In October 2010 Diploma students attended a Curriculum Vitae (CV) course for a day which was delivered by Antony from Inspire (the North Liverpool Diploma Learning Centre). Diploma learners were taught how to make a CV, and given advice on everything needed to ensure an employer would read our CV. (e.g. can’t have spelling mistakes, must be relevant to the job and must have the proper qualification and experience to apply). During the last part of the day Antony hosted a CV writing contest, the prize for the best CV was £50.00 in HMV vouchers. At the end of the day he assessed each and every CV and read them out to everyone which enabled us all to discuss the good and the bad points. Later on in October, we undertook the second week of our work experience. My work experience was to work at Premier Court, Moorfields, Hatton Garden, in Liverpool Direct Ltd (LDL). My work experience taught me about the different sectors in the IT function (Network Group, Service Group, Voice Group, Education Group and Change Group). Each group showed me what they did and in every almost every group I was constantly on the move, whether that be in a different building or area (Moorfields to West Derby). Both the CV Course and the Work Experience were great fun and really valuable learning experiences. I hope to do more activities that will teach me more about the IT sector and help me to stand out from other job applicants in the future. Aaron Tsang IT Diploma Student

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Send us your results! These are vital to us. You can do this online or by post and once you've done this we'll enter you into our prize draw for some fantastic goodies for your school. If you do the count in shifts, pull together all your counts so that you are ready to submit ONE set of results for each class or group. The deadline for submitting your results is 18 February 2011 SFX College submitted results in 2010, so we will automatically receive a schools pack in the Autumn term.

Anyone interested in taking part in this event, see Mr Fox.

Stop Press Matthew Handley has – for the second successive year been selected for the England team. He will be representing his country at the World Championships, which will be held in Dundee in August 2011. Congratulations to Matthew for this remarkable achievement.

Junior DAPSS Monday 22nd November sees the beginning of a new initiative whereby pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 will have the opportunity to establish their own after-school debating club. Junior DAPSS will run every Monday between 3:45-5:00 pm. It will take place in E2 and will be organised by Mr Cugley. Who can attend? Quite simply, any pupil in Years 7-9 who would like to. It will exercise your mind, firm up your logic, broaden your general knowledge and bring you a new-found eloquence. Competitive debating is a challenging and exciting activity, which yields untold benefits for its participants and is actually very enjoyable. See you there!

Music Showcase October 20th 2010 This year’s musical showcase was an amazing event, a night of variety and outstanding performances. The opening piece of music by the orchestra was amazing and when they played Star Wars later in the show the atmosphere in the hall was electric. This was followed by several fantastic pieces which pupils will perform for the music exams; these will be performed and assessed later in the school year. The choir also showed everyone their talents and filled the hall with graceful harmonies. We would like to thank all staff involved in the planning and production of such a wonderful night including: Miss Anderson (for organising a great night), Mr. Stokes (for his enthusiastic conducting) and Mr Irwin, Mr Fox and Mr Flowers also known as The Manic Street Teachers (for their brilliant performance). Thomas Howard 7 Mayne.

A’Level Product Design (DT) Trip to London 8th October 2010 This year A’ Level students visited various exhibitions across London to assist them with the development of their coursework. Mr. Bowers and Mrs Hesketh accompanied students on their visit which took the students to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the New London Architecture Exhibition at the Centre for London’s built Environment which displays architectural work. Here, students were able to preview architectural designs which included the Olympic Village model for London 2012. All students involved had a fantastic time and found it really useful and informative. The trip which is undertaken each year is always well received and sometimes there is even time for a little site-seeing! The students were excellent ambassadors and were a credit to the College. Mr Bowers

SFX vs Queensland State XI In late November 2010 SFX welcomed the visit of a travelling Australian touring side from the State of Queensland. The team were on an invitational Football tour of Britain and took in a couple of Premier League and Scottish games as well as training at England headquarters Bisham Abbey and playing a couple of matches themselves en route. Due to frozen conditions the U15’s 11-aside games were unable to take place, so after lunch at SFX it was down the road to Liverpool Hope University where we arranged a 6-aside tournament between ourselves and the state school. The SFX A team won the tournament and on the whole the afternoon was a great success with the Australian team proving to be very skilful and determined opponents . It was a great opportunity for both sides to play against and meet young footballers of the same age from a different country and culture. Mr Brown

Improvements to the College Hall We are very grateful for the financial support given by Mr Samuels, an old boy of the College, for his very generous donation which has enabled us to improve the sound system in the College Hall. Part of the improvement has included the installation of a LOOP system to help those who are hard of hearing. Mr Samuels’ support is much appreciated and we look forward to meeting him again at Senior Proclamation. 7

The event took place at Liverpool's World Museum, where a whole floor had been dedicated to displaying the work of all 127 Nuffield students in the North West, as well as the launch of a new exhibition “Inside DNA.” Each student was given a board to present their project on, mostly in the forms of posters but also laptops. Some chose to bring models or demonstrations of their work, including locust body parts and a robotic finger. The projects themselves ranged across the far reaches of science and engineering, from Astrophysics to Zoology, and displayed incredible diligence and professionalism from such relatively young scientists. A lot of the work done will be used by the Universities and companies who took on the students, allowing them to contribute to a scientific field before reaching University. Guests of the students arrived, friends and family, anxious to view the displays. Among them, Dr M. Leach, who taught physics at SFX last year and coordinated the students’ applications and guided them throughout the process. Also spotted were members of St Julie’s Catholic High School science staff, who came to support and congratulate two pupils representing the school, Georgia Parr and Sam McGaw.

Students' Science Projects Celebrated On Wednesday 10th November, five students attended the Nuffield Science Bursary Celebration Evening, an appraisal and celebration of their Nuffield projects, completed over the summer during four-week placements at various academic and scientific institutions, following a competitive application process undertaken last year. 8

Guests were then invited downstairs to the atrium whilst Tim Sibthorp, Director of Maestro Services and Professor Michael Brown, ViceChancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, gave speeches, and their certificates were presented to all who had undertaken the Bursary, some receiving a Gold Crest award as well. As part of the evening, the projects were judged by Nuffield officials and a select few will be chosen to represent

the North West nationally and potentially internationally at science fairs. However, it wasn’t about winning or losing; everybody had won, having gained a great deal of experience and insight into science and its applications in the real world. SFX STUDENT PROJECTS: Rory Back: “A Study into the Provision of Sexual Health Services in Halton”NHS PCT Halton & St. Helens. Daniel Keeley:

“Gamma Ray Imaging with Germanium Detectors for Gamma Ray Energies 600-800 keV”, University of Liverpool

Phil Evans:

“Intracellular Air Pollution Particulates – Image Analysis”, University of Liverpool

Matthew Oldham: “How to Stop Your Kaon Detector Exploding”, University of Liverpool Rachel Lyon:

“Technologies to Promote Public Health: Pregnant? The Teen Guide”, LJMU Rory Back, Y13

DAPPS Pimlico World Style Competition Picking up from where they left off at Durham, SFX have made a dynamic start to the new debate season with their triumphant performance at the Pimlico World Style Competition. Held in London on 6th November, the event saw a crack team of Matthew Handley, Matthew Oldham and Daniel Keeley sweep through the first three rounds, winning each of their debates convincingly. A no less convincing performance in the final – where they were pitted against Latymer School – earned this formidable trio their victory. Given the calibre of our debaters at SFX, it would be fair to say that success is becoming increasingly commonplace. Nonetheless, we at DAPSS do not take for granted the skill, dedication and sheer nerve that contribute to these winning performances. The boys set an incredible standard and we can only salute them for it. The Pimlico competition provided useful practise for those students who will shortly be trialling for the England team. This highly competitive selection process takes place over the weekend of 20th/21st November and flying the flag for SFX will be Matthew Handley and Matthew Oldham. Only four students from the whole country will ultimately be selected for the team: a fact that starkly underlines the level of challenge involved. Matthew Handley – who actually represented his country at Qatar’s World Championships in February – is hoping to be reselected, whereas Matthew Oldham is hoping to improve upon the commendable top-twelve finish that he achieved last year.

Donation for the Sixth Form LRC

Llangollen Barge Trip Between October 25th – 29th 2010, myself and a group of students took part in a barge trip to Llangollen. We set off at 12.00pm and travelled an hour to get to Trevor where we loaded the barge and set set off. The boys quickly got used to the layout of the barge and chose their rooms. We were travelling almost constantly in the daylight to cover the distance we wanted and the boys took it in shifts so they all had a turn at steering, locks, lift bridges, steering through tunnels and over bridges and cooking meals!

The Sixth Form Learning Resource Centre recently received a very generous donation from the family of the late Fred Devereux. Mr Devereux; a former pupil, member of staff, Governor and Deputy Headmaster died on 4th December 2008 after decades of valuable service to the College and its students. His family have made the decision make a donation on his behalf and the money has been used to buy a collection of history books which have fittingly been named the “Devereux Collection” The collection is proving to be an invaluable asset to the Sixth Form students. Mrs Grace said, “Many thanks must go to the Devereux family for their kind generosity.” James Leyshon 11 BR

Winter Book Fair 2010 In November 2010 the school once again held a Winter Book Fair in the LRC. As usual, this was a very successful event with lots of pupils purchasing books from a wide selection. Thanks to the support of pupils who purchased books, the school benefited from in excess of £400.00 worth of free books. We also raised money for charity by making a small charge for a Christmas gift wrapping service to pupils who wanted to make a start with their Christmas shopping. Once again, thank you to everyone for supporting this event.

There were lots of lovely views and highlights included; Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which sits atop 120 foot high slender masonry towers (when you cross it by Mrs Grace boat there is an exhilarating sheer drop on the non-towpath side) and the Chirk Tunnel which is some 1200 feet in length! At night the boys played cards and watched DVDs. We went to Whitchurch, and then continued to Llangollen where the boys had a couple of hours to look around and shop for souvenirs. All of the boys had a great week and the Year 10’s are keen to go again next year! Mr Daniels

KS3 Author Live Webcast

On Wednesday 2nd November 2010, students from Years 7, 8 and 9 were invited to take part in a live webcast with Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series of books. Schools from around the country took part in the event, which was held to try and promote Riordan’s new book and also to encourage more young people to read. The webcast featured two sessions, one centred on Mr Riordan’s newest book, The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero and the other featured a question and answer session with specially selected questions which had previously been submitted by pupils from across the country. The pupils found the experience very interactive and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. On behalf of all the students who took part many thanks must go to Mrs Grace for arranging the event. James Leyshon 11BRY

Year 7 Fundraising Since the school year began in September, Year 7 has been raising money for the Alder Hey Imagine Appeal. The Imagine appeal is a local charity which supports Alder Hey hospital, its patients and their families. Alder Hey, the busiest children’s hospital in Europe, uses funding from the charity to help pay for books, games and DVD’s for sick children while in hospital, to provide comfortable accommodation for families of patients and also to fund much needed research into a wide range of diseases and treatments. So far the year group have raised over £300.00 through donations and they hope to begin using some imaginative ideas to raise even more money in the coming months. Mrs Grace said, “The boys have shown incredible generosity in their fundraising efforts so far this year.” On Monday 22nd November 2010, Irene Axon, community fundraising manager for Alder Hey, gave a speech to the boys about how their donations will help the hospital and its patients at a time when they need it most and explained what exactly their money is going to be used for. Mrs Axon said, “I was really surprised at the quick start the boys have made with the fundraising and also the show of hands for how many boys have themselves visited Alder Hey. I want to say a big thank you on behalf of the Imagine appeal and also the patients and their families for choosing us to raise money for.” Anyone wishing to suggest an idea for ways in which to raise money should see either their form tutor or Mrs Grace. James Leyshon 11 BRY

Moodle is leading the way! You may have heard of the word “MOODLE” but exactly what is it and how can it help with learning? The need to access learning resources anywhere at any time will be the norm in future years and a Moodle VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is leading the way. Created in Australia, it is the most widely used in the educational world with over 40 million users worldwide. Here at the College we have made further progress with the resources available to pupils. Pupils can now set up their own Wiki page on a subject and submit as part of a project. This is similar to what can be done on the famous Wikipedia website. Podcasts can be listened to and we aim to set up a regular “radio station” to enable pupils to get involved in current discussion on all things SFX! LOGGING ON The best way to log Moodle is to visit the College website at: www.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk and click on the Moodle link at the top of the page: Pupils should already have their username and password for example: smith-a – password: hobbies If not, they should see their Form Tutor. There is a space in student planners to record their password. OPEN OFFICE SOFTWARE If you do not have Microsoft Office on your home computer, you can get a free download of Open Office software from their website: www.openoffice.org or use the link available on the Moodle front page. This allows students to save subject resource files then open them through the installed open office software were it can be viewed and edited at will. The software has all the main features as Microsoft Office but is free. GO SCIENCE LIVE TEXT The science department have set up a fantastic live interactive text resource for Key Stage 3 students. It gives a great opportunity for students to catch up or revise at home with current work. Homework can also be appropriately set along with this live text book. Top 7 things to check out and use on SFX Moodle • Daily quizzes on the front page • The new ICT course pages for Years 7 and 8 • Revision files for GCSE English • Sharpen up your Maths skills with the Symphony Maths Program • Year 8 and 9 can access the Go Science Live Text • Interactive Music charts to print off homework and extension sheet • Access the Lexia program

Durham University Schools Debating Competition Nikolaus Pevsner, the German-born British scholar, once declared that Durham Cathedral was “ …one of the great experiences of Europe to the eyes of those who appreciate architecture, and to the minds of those who understand architecture.” A bold statement? Perhaps, but one which the old sage certainly felt he had a good chance of defending. Stepping sideways into the world of school debating, one might equally claim that - to the eyes of those who appreciate school debating and to the minds of those who understand school debating - there are few greater experiences than to witness the SFX pair of Matthew Handley and Matthew Oldham in top form. A bold statement? No, an unmistakably true one. Read on and you will both understand and appreciate its veracity. In March 2010, within the shadow of Durham’s majestic cathedral, Handley and Oldham fashioned what was arguably their finest hour to date. Whatever these gifted young men may have lacked in ribbed vaults or flying buttresses, they more than compensated for with their concrete logic and elegant discourse.

Matthew Handley convincing the audience with strong argumentation.

It should be stressed that Durham University Schools Debating Competition is one of the most prestigious meets of the debating calendar, attracting as it does a pool of talent that is quite international in flavour. Indeed, on their way to the title, ‘SFX A’ encountered Canada’s Webber Academy (whose team boasted a current world champion) as well as Scotland’s St Columba’s School and England’s Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School (both of whom also featured international representatives). However stiff the competition may have been, Handley and Oldham remained matchless. They dominated every single debate they took part in and emerged as worthy winners of the whole competition. ‘Congratulations’ seems too puny a word. Well done also to the ‘SFX B’ team of Daniel Keeley and Jonathan Mitchell, who performed admirably at the same event. Keeley – a dignified elder statesman of SFX debating – and Mitchell - a new and rather tigerish talent – make an intriguing partnership, and one which may well bear fruit in future competitions.

Triumphant victors of Durham University Schools Competition

Matthew Oldham calmly putting forward his case in the Final.

SFX A team waiting pensively for the Final to begin.

Paintballing showdown The Year 11 Charity last year was the Haiti disaster fund and two forms (11 Rigby and 11 Mayne), stood out with their generosity in terms of time, effort and money. Some innovative ideas were put into place with Joseph Kelly suggesting the mobile phone recycling idea; the pupils in his form responded by bringing in thirty old mobiles to send off for cash for the charity. Callum Davison, Charlie Parker and Connor Boothroyd organised a World Cup sweepstake for the teachers and seemed to enjoy the challenge of getting certain members of staff to pay up the money they owed! Also, Tom Kinley organised a band night and donated a share of the proceeds to the fund. This was all in addition to the personal monetary contributions of the pupils themselves. As the collection period was coming to an end, it was difficult to separate the two forms with regard to their respective totals raised, so it was decided that a “Paintballing Challenge” would be the ideal way to settle the argument of who were the winning form. So, we organised a day and a venue and met up early one Sunday morning at the site in Kirby. The guests from other forms and Mrs Thiery were then picked one by one to join either ‘Rigby’ or ‘Mayne’ (Mrs Thiery was eventually picked) and we set off to get changed into our gear. In the three warm up games before the main battle, Mayne performed exceptionally well and Connor McCorkindale made me pay dearly for not picking him for my team by “taking me out” in two of the challenges. The first game was a nervous time for most, with many never having experienced the feeling of the paint pellets sting before. It wasn’t long until we heard the first few yelps from people experiencing this sensation, as Mayne successfully attacked Rigby’s camp. The second game began in a determined fashion from Rigby but was ended abruptly when Ian Rainford from Mayne’s team, showed

incredible marksmanship skills to shoot down Rigby’s flag from long range. At the end of the third game, the spirits of Rigby were faltering a little and the confidence of Mayne was growing visibly stronger. As each game finished we were taken back to the base camp to be briefed on the next challenge. This walk was perhaps the most treacherous part of the day with rogue elements of each group taking the opportunity to take cheap shots at each-other. Miss Donlon was unfortunately shot on one such journey and I would like to publicly apologise for being the guilty party on that particular occasion. After Mayne’s success in the third game, we stopped and had a lunch of unlimited burgers, hotdogs, tea and juice. Then we set off for the main challenge. Rigby were fired up for this main event particularly after the ribbing they received after the results of the practise games. In the final game players had unlimited lives and if they were shot they just went back to their flag and started again. Rigby were outstanding in this final challenge and managed to capture the enemy flag with relative ease, working superbly as a unit in a style some might say reminiscent of the 300 Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae, however, I may perhaps be a little biased. The boys behaviour during the day was commented upon positively by the site management who told me the pupils were polite and respectful at all times. A final message of thanks must go to Miss Thiery who gamely volunteered to help out as a teacher present. She took part with nervous trepidation but still kept going despite getting hit many times and collecting many bruises during the games. Mr Morgan

DAPPS Cambridge University Schools Debating Competition On Friday 12th November, SFX hosted the first round of this competition. The school entered three teams: ‘SFX A’, the trusty combination of Matthew Handley and Matthew Oldham; ‘SFX B’, comprising Daniel Keeley and Jonathan Mitchell; and ‘SFX C’, featuring James Leyshon and – rising star of the SFX debating scene – Philip Devine. DAPSS was also very grateful to Natalie Casey and Jack Wray, who stepped in at the last minute to replace a team from another school who did not attend. All teams put in worthy performances, but it was ‘SFX A’ and ‘SFX B’ who were put through to the Regional Final. Well done to them!

John de La Mennais 150th Anniversary 2010 is a special year for the Brothers of Christian Instruction – it is 150 years since the death of their Founder, John de La Mennais, who died in 1860. To mark the opening of this year, two special celebrations were held in Brittany, France. They took place at the Mother House of the Brothers in Plöermel on November 25th and 26th. The first was for those who work in schools run by the Brothers in France, Spain, Italy and England. Over 200 delegates attended and examined the legacy that John de La Mennais left in the schools he founded. The second was the official opening ceremony of the anniversary year, with representatives from many of the 24 countries in which the Brothers now run schools. Over 400 people gathered in the Brothers’ chapel for a joyful celebration of Holy Mass, which launched a programme of events that will run throughout the next year until December 2011. During Mass, a beautiful new altar in the refurbished sanctuary was blessed, and an icon of John de La Mennais was placed by his tomb. A dozen representatives from England attended the celebrations, with staff from SFX and St Mary’s College, Southampton, the Brothers’ other school in England. They were all struck by the warmth of the welcome they received and the outstanding hospitality they were shown by their hosts. It is hoped that England will be well represented in other events during the coming year such as World Youth Day in Madrid and a family pilgrimage that has been organised to Lourdes in July. Ploermel

International Schools Award After a year of hard work and after lots of effort from pupils and staff throughout the school, SFX has received the full International Schools Award from the British Council. The award is in recognition of our commitment as a school community to developing our intercultural understanding and embedding an international ethos into our curriculum. It also meant that last year pupils and teachers across the school had the opportunity to collaborate with school communities in France, Spain, Chile, Uganda, India, Haiti and China. The assessor was particularly impressed with our efforts to show support for and solidarity with the people in Haiti following last January's earthquake. Our status as an International School is valid for three years, during which we will continue to develop this important aspect of our pupils' education and build links with our partner schools around the world. Mr Lloyd

Intercambio Cultural - Cutural Exchange The Modern Foreign Languages Department is currently organising a school cultural exchange with our partner school, IES Padre Poveda in Guadix (Granada), Spain. A group of sixteen pupils from Years 10, 12 and 13 will be travelling to Guadix in February 2011 to stay with their exchange partners there. The pupils will accompany the Spanish pupils to lessons and visit the Alhambra Palace in Granada. The exchange partners and two of their teachers will be making a return visit to us at SFX in April 2011. In the pictures you can see the two things the small town of Guadix is most famous for: the Cathedral and the Barrio Troglodita (Cave district) - where families really do live in caves!

Year 9 Routes into Languages Trip NI HAO AHLEN On Monday 1st November 2010 a group of Year 9 boys accompanied by Mr Lloyd and Bro Jacques, boarded the school minibus and visited Manchester University for a Language Learning Enrichment event. We spent the day in the brand new University Place building and were welcomed into one of the massive lecture halls. After an initial talk and a quiz on world languages, the boys (and teachers) had an opportunity to learn a new language. We took part in an Arabic Lesson and practised Arabic calligraphy. We also learned some new phrases (Ahlen means "hello"). We then participated in various cultural sessions, including one in Arabic dance with a real belly dancer! After a little hesitation the boys were able to â&#x20AC;&#x153;strut their stuffâ&#x20AC;? learning veil dances. Later on, we took part in a Chinese cultural session where we learnt to make and race origami frogs! Ma'assalama (Goodbye - in Arabic) 16

El Laberinto del Fauno

Sporting Success Stories The PE department at SFX are not just interested and focused on team sport and sports which only concern us. It has come to our attention that there are a number of boys competing at a very high standard in a variety of different sports outside school. BMX

In October 2010, Miss Marquez took a group of Sixth Form Spanish students to the Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester to see El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) and attend talks from lecturers in European Cinema from Manchester Metropolitan University. Hopefully this will help them to prepare for the Cultural Studies elements of their Language A’ Levels.

Year 9 Liam Vance is currently one of the highest rated BMX riders in the country for his age and also competes at a National level in open age competitions up and down the country. He has been competing in the sport since he was seven years old and in 2006 was crowned U10’s UK BMX Champion. Liam is sponsored by Monster Energy and rides for local team Colony BMX. The sport has taken Liam up and down the country and also enabled him to compete in Europe. The European BMX championships in Montpellier France were a great experience for Liam and we wish him luck for future competitions and events. CLIMBING We are also very lucky to have in our school a member of the Great Britain Climbing Team. Year 10 Michael Hopkins has been competing in the sport for 8 years and recently made it into the Great Britain climbing squad. Michael’s best achievement to date came in the World Championships held in Ratho Scotland where Michael came 46th meaning that he is one of the top 50 climbers in the world. The sport has enabled Michael to compete all over Europe in Italy, Spain, Greece and France. Michael is ranked 4th in Britain and another fantastic achievement was finishing in 23rd place in the Arco Youth Colour Climbing Championships in 2008. Michael feels he is improving every year and has the overall goal of becoming top of the rankings in Britain one day. GOLF

In 2011 we plan to visit more events as part of the La Linea Latin music and culture festival. Mr Lloyd

In 6th form we also have Matthew Thompson who is fast becoming one of the country’s brightest golfing prospects. Matthew has been involved in the sport since an early age and has progressed superbly. He is now playing off a handicap of three which is a great achievement and shows his dedication and determination towards the sport. Whilst playing his golf at his local club (Woolton) he was also offered a junior pro job. His biggest achievement to date is winning the Lee Westwood Junior Golf Tournament at Lindrick Golf Club in which he got to meet Pro golfer Lee Westwood and play a round of golf with the professional. We would like to wish Matthew luck in all his future competitions and tournaments. KICKBOXING Year 7 Daniel Morrissey, has been hitting great heights in his sport kickboxing. Daniel who only took up the sport a year ago has proven himself to be very gifted and talented kick boxer. After only a year in the sport it is amazing to say that Daniel represented England in the 8-12 year old category at the Kickboxing World Championships in Portugal. Daniel undertook a tough training schedule prior to tournament training for two hours each day (before and after school) for two months beforehand to make sure he was in the best physical fitness and shape before the event. All the hard work paid off with Daniel winning the Gold Medal in the boys light contact and the Silver medal in the boy’s points fighting. A tremendous achievement considering Daniel was new to the sport 12 months ago. With more championships and tournaments ahead we wish him success for the future. Mr A Brown 17

Army Work Experience

Work Experience

October 2010 saw a group of Year 11 boys attend the Army as part of their work experience week. The residential week at Halton Training Camp in Lancaster proved to be a very successful week for all those involved. Although physically demanding, the application, effort and overall attitude of the boys on the course was excellent. They participated and completed many activities and workshops. These included a mile and a half timed run, an assault course, problem solving, paintballing, Army skills training, orienteering, marching, drill training and a night exercise mission.

The current Year 11 concluded their work experience on Friday 22nd October 2010. All students successfully completed their one week experience with a variety of employers. Twenty four students attended a one week residential at Halton Training Camp near Lancaster with the Army. They were accompanied by Mr Kelly and Mr Collins and undertook many different activities including tackling the assault course and paintballing.

The boys participated in all tasks very enthusiastically and although some of the boys came away with the impression that the Army was tough they all enjoyed the experience and agreed that the week was very worthwhile. Congratulations to David Nolan and Alex Almond who were awarded the title of Soldier of the Week for the way they applied themselves on the course and their outstanding attitude and leadership skills. Mr P Kelly

We had been offered some places via Liverpool Compact but the majority of students took the opportunity to find their own placements through family and friends. These places were wide ranging and included some of the following as examples: • Training with Everton FC at Finch Farm and Blackburn Rovers • Airbus in Chester • Ministry Of Defence in RAF Linton • Merseyside Police, Dog Training Section • Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital • Liverpool John Moores University • Royal Court Theatre • Marriott Hotel • Barclays in Guernsey • Costa Coffee • HMV in Speke Retail and Bold Street • Jaguar in Halewood • Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre

Employability Interviews A group of BTEC Business Studies National Certificate students assisted Mr Conroy in organising this year’s employability interviews as part of their Unit 18: Organising an Event. The group consisted of; Dylan Hughes, Peter Ndahiro, Graeme Croft, Jack Hassan and Georgina Hoyle. The interviews were again a great success, with our pupils receiving tremendous feedback regarding their performance at interview. The employers involved were from a variety of backgrounds including Barclaycard, the Passport Office, the RAF, Army Careers, Merseytravel, RBS, Marks and Spencers, the NHS, local universities and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

I would like to thank all the employers involved, the people from compact, the BTEC students, Miss Cain and Mr Farrington for all the help and support. This is an invaluable experience for our pupils especially in the present economic climate. The experience has given them an insight into a real world interview experience. Mr Conroy

• John Lewis • Everton Park Sports Centre • Liverpool Cricket Club. The aim of the work experience is to enhance the opportunities of the SFX students through a quality framework of education business link activities in order for them to develop the necessary employability skills, to prepare for a successful future within a working environment. A 5-day placement gives students a valuable taster of the ‘world of work’, its needs and disciplines. The current Year 10 students should now be contemplating their work experience. It is never too early to start thinking about what they would like to do and where they would like to go. There are limited opportunities within the city and great competition for those places. I would like to take this opportunity to urge Year 10 pupils to make initial enquiries into potential work experience placements. Mr Burke

Sixth Form Business Students Enterprise Activities 2010 Business Studies A’ Level students have taken part in two Enterprise based competitions this year. Three teams entered the 2010 National Student Investor Competition. Students are given a virtual sum of £100,000.00 to invest in the Stock Market. All three teams: Green Army, Do Not Tumble Dry and Bring on the Wall, made a healthy profit. The best performing team was Green Army consisting of Paul Sharkey, Michael Winter and Daniel Ryan. Despite these very turbulent economic times the group managed to return an £8,000.00 profit in just six months. This is a fantastic return and gave them a very high ranking in the National league table. During the course of the summer term the group have been involved in another annual internal Enterprise activity. The brief was to design and market a new confectionery product that combines existing brands. The winning group this year consisted of Sean Cunningham, Max Burns and John Welch. They gave an excellent presentation outlining the ideas behind their product ‘Milky Stars’. They went to the trouble of producing a sample of their product, the flavour of which will be forever in my memory! The judges (Mr Conroy, Mrs Murphy and Miss Johnston) awarded first prize verdict to this group, but it was a very close competition with excellent ideas outlined by the other groups. This was a nice way to end the year and the activities allowed the students to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed on their AS course. Mr Conroy

Report Year 9 Enterprise Day 2010 Year 9 Enterprise Day took place on Tuesday 13th July 2010. It was held with the support of the Liverpool Compact organisation. Pupils were involved in various activities on the day, provided by a wide variety of industry representatives. The organisations involved included: the Royal Navy, the Army, the R.A.F, Trading Standards, the NatWest Bank, Marriot Hotels, Connexions, Merseytravel and many others. Pupils took part in a variety of activities including; designing and marketing ladies fashions, Armed Forces motivational activities and Dragon’s Den style competitions. This event is part of our school’s established programme for delivering the Enterprise and Work Related Learning national requirements. The Enterprise activities have helped pupils to develop some very important skills such as; team working, entrepreneurial and presentation skills. Year 9 pupils demonstrated a very positive and mature approach on the day. Jenny Martin from Liverpool Compact commented “the boys at SFX have again demonstrated a mature attitude, once again a very successful enterprise day at SFX, we would like to thank the boys for all their efforts today.” Mr Conroy 19

Rugby Rugby has once again proved popular this term with all year groups playing the sport in core PE and after school sessions led by Union and League coaches taking place each Wednesday and Thursday. We currently have Years 7 and 8 competing in the Emerging School League for both codes. Both year groups have represented the school in the Merseyside Schools Rugby Union Festivals held at Sefton Rugby Club in West Derby. The Year 7 squad consists of many players who are very new to the sport and their achievement and effort on the day of the festival was excellent (they managed to win 2 games and qualify out of the group stages only to be beaten by a very good Childwall side despite the best efforts of the Captain Phil Langford). Some of the passing and tackling by the Year 7’s on the day was outstanding and if they continue to improve and progress at this rate they are sure to be a team to watch out for in the future. The Year 8’s proved very unlucky in the tournament after all 5 group games and after performing superbly against more experienced schools we found ourselves joint second in the group; on the brink of the quarter final. However with our try difference identical as our joint second place school we ended up being eliminated due to the toss of a coin. This was a very disappointing

Schools Mace Competition Mace is the oldest national debating championship in the UK. Run by the English Speaking Union, it has been encouraging the discussion of controversial topics and current affairs since 1957. SFX have a proud recent history in the tournament, having reached the final in March 2009. The Northwest round of the competition took place on Thursday 18th November at Birkenhead School, an event for which SFX provided two teams. Matthew Handley and Matthew Oldham debated against The Queen’s School (Chester), opposing the motion ‘This House would return national treasures to their country of origin’. The boys gave a highly polished performance that impressed audience and judges alike, the latter describing them as ‘clear winners’. The two Matthews now progress onto the Northern Final of the competition, which will take place in the new year. DAPSS is extremely thankful to the second pairing of Jonathan Mitchell and Daniel Keeley, who compensated for the late withdrawal of St Mary’s (Crosby) by forming a swing team a couple of days before the event. The boys debated the motion ‘This House believes that the UN is just one big talking shop’ and they performed extremely well, especially when one considers the relatively short period of time in which they had to prepare. 20

way to exit the tournament but the boys were in good spirits, recognising they had played extremely well and were just desperately unlucky. From this the boys were straight back into action with a Rugby League fixture vs De la Salle where with an under strength team due to a number of injuries they lost 32-18 to a very strong and quick opponent in De LA Salle. The Year 8’s first fixture in the Merseyside Emerging schools Rugby Union League saw us take on SMA. In a very tightly contested game the effort and hard work paid off and an excellent defending line proved too tough to breach and we held on in the end for a 25-15 win. There were tries on the day for Sean Henderick, Joel Dougherty, Wade Maxwell and George Pennington Reader. The following term will see us compete in more Rugby Union and League fixtures for both age groups in the Emerging Schools League. Congratulations to the following boys for being selected in the Merseyside U13’s Rugby Union squad: Matthew Ledson, Joel Dougherty and Connor Kerr. Mr P Kelly

Basketball Since the start of this Academic year the Year 7 Basketball team has really taken shape. They have been training and receiving coaching from the Merseyside tigers coach and team manager Mr Brown. The progression of the team is evident in their recent results in the Liverpool South School League winning 2 games out of 3, losing narrowly 12-9 to a strong Childwall team. Victories previously against Gateacre 32-18 and SMA 9-7 have given the team great confidence to push on into the New Year. Star turns in those impressive wins for Anthony Chin who is proving to be a great outside shooter, others who caught the eye were Nick Scarfe, Rezza Gharoomi and Connor Taylor, the latter who showed good defensive play with his hustle and determination. With plenty of league fixtures still to play, the Year7 basketball team are looking like a very exciting prospect so watch this space. Mr A Brown

Awesome Walls The Year 10 GCSE group have been taking part in an after school, weekly visit to Awesome Walls in Liverpool. The boys were thrown straight into action, climbing up to the top of the many larger walls they have. They have been taught how to safely set up their safety harnesses, the importance of safety before climbing and how to abseil back down. Once they had been warmed up, the boys were taken to a bigger wall, with 3 different difficulty levels. The boys are really enjoying it, and this is excellent preparation for their trip to Boreatton Park in April 2011. Mr G Taylor

Badminton Club goes from Strength to Strength The start of this Academic year saw a big rise in numbers at the Friday Badminton club. The boys have shown dedication and willingness to push themselves. It is encouraging to see an influx of Year 7 players who no doubt will see an improvement in their game in the forthcoming months. The first tournament started on the 4th November 2010 at the impressive Greenbank Academy with two Key Stage 3 doubles teams. They performed really well against other South Liverpool teams and enjoyed victories over Parklands, Childwall and Broadgreen pupils. I would like to thank Mrs Moore, the administration manager of Woolton High, for occupying the desk and staying late each evening until the club closes. Without her the club wouldn’t be possible so thank you Mrs Moore! Mr D. McKevitt

What the Players say: “The sports hall is a great venue to play Badminton, thank you Woolton High!” J. D’Souza “I am really enjoying the game and enjoy playing against my class mates. I think my Badminton has improved in lots of ways.” D. Fenech

Rowing The Year 10 BTEC group have been taking part in rowing down at the Albert Dock in Liverpool. The boys have been given coaching in how to set up a rowing boat, as well as developing different techniques to use whilst in the boat itself. They have been taught how to balance in the boat, how to spin around and even how to stand up whilst the boat is in the water! The boys have also had coaching on how to turn around, as well how to row up and down the dock. The boys have enjoyed this opportunity, and will be involved in a regatta in the upcoming weeks.

“The tournament was a great way to see how other schools play Badminton.” N. Makin Log onto Moodle for the Badminton Club Page Log into the College VLE (Moodle) to; keep up to date with the latest coaching videos and tournament results, watch the current top players in action and access information from the official Badminton England site to find out more about the Young Officials Award for 14-19 year olds.

Mr G Taylor 21

Football As ever the SFX football teams have had a very promising and successful start to the 2010/11 Football season. Competing in the Merseyside School’s League, English School’s National Cup, Liverpool Cup and Merseyside County Cup our teams have so far proved to be a very strong opponent.

Bebington 7-3 and Plessington 14-1 on route. There were star turns in these games for strikers Lewis Wenton and Daniel Abayomi , both scoring notable hat-tricks. Congratulations also to Wade Maxwell, Declan Nyhus and Dylan Haughey for being selected and representing Liverpool Schoolboy U13’s.

The Year 7 team co-managed by Mr Taylor and Mr Bright, have started the school Football year on top form remaining unbeaten in all competitions and sitting 2nd in the Merseyside School’s League table with games in hand to play. The boys have adapted to secondary school Football very well playing some excellent pass move Football and scoring plenty of goals along the way. Notable results were a 10-0 win over rivals Archbishop Beck and a superb 4-0 national cup victory over close neighbours Calderstones. Eye Catching performances by Heard, Merrie and Griffiths have led to the Year 7 team going strong and looking like contenders in all competitions.

After winning the Year 7 B team 7 aside tournament last season this year’s Year 8 B team set about retaining their crown in excellent fashion, winning all three games at the first fixture night in Wavertree. New joint managers Mr Spencer and Mr Graham held B team trials at the start of the academic year and the new squad have had some notable victories against Broadgreen, SMA and a narrow 2-1 defeat to Gateacre in organised friendlies.

The Year 7 B team have also been catching the eye with some superb friendly victories over Shorefields, Gateacre and St Margaret’s respectively. They are also participating in the Year 7 B team 7 aside league, the first fixture night was at Wavertree and saw the boys take maximum points from the three fixtures played, with another fixture night in the new year the boys are looking very capable of taking the B team title. Following on from last year’s Liverpool Cup final success Mr Glover’s Year 8 team are once again turning heads with some exceptional on field performances. After a convincing 5-1 win against Birkdale High School the Year 8’s national cup run came to an end with a narrow 4-3 defeat to Chesterfield High School. With games in hand to play the Year 8’s are well placed in the Merseyside League to make an assault on the schools near the top and mount a serious title challenge. With an upcoming tie against Fazakerly waiting in the Liverpool Cup, attentions of late have been on the Merseyside County Cup, where the team have progressed to round four beating

After last year’s heartbreaking Liverpool Cup final defeat to Cardinal Heenan this year’s Year 9 team have bounced back terrifically, putting in some great performances. Sitting 3rd in the League table with three games in hand on leaders De La Salle shows the League title is certainly within our grasp and with a 100% record in all competitions Mr Murphy’s team should be very confident . Yet again this team has put together an impressive run in the national cup; a 5-1 win in the opening round against Wellacre Tech was followed by a 1-0 victory vs. South Liverpool Enterprise Academy and a 3-1 triumph vs. St Ambrose Barlow. A 5th round tie against highly fancied Wilmslow High School of Macclesfield now awaits the team. After finishing runners up in the Liverpool Cup the Year 9’s open this year’s tournament at home to close neighbours Calderstones. Congratulations to Ben Jago, James Tierney, Matthew James and Connor Martin for being selected for this season Liverpool schoolboy U14,s squad. Mr Murphy also took a very strong B team to the 7 aside league in Wavertree. After finishing runners up in the competition the previous season, the B team lads got off to a flying start with comprehensive victories in their opening three games vs. Gatacre, Broadgreen and Childwall.

Year 7 2010-2011 TEAM

Year 8 2010-2011

Pts GF

GC GD

West Derby (YR7)

SFX (YR7)

Cardinal Heenan (YR7)

Calderstones (YR7)

St Margaret’s (YR7)

Alsop (YR7)

De La Salle (YR7)

Sacred Heart (YR7)

North Liverpool Academy (YR7)

TEAM

Pts GF

GC GD

West Derby (YR8)

St Margaret’s (YR8)

Calderstones (YR8)

-2

Cardinal Heenan (YR8)

SFX (YR8)

-1

De La Salle (YR8)

-6

-4

Bluecoat (YR8)

-6

-3

Sacred Heart (YR8)

-2

-13

North Liverpool Academy (YR8)

-12

Knowsley Hey (YR7)

-2

All Saints (YR8)

-18

Bluecoat (YR7)

-16

Knowsley Hey (YR8)

-3

All Saints (YR7)

-19

Alsop (YR8)

The Year 10 team have began this season in very exciting form, with this age group being possibly the most competitive and tightly contested the boys have done superbly to get some very good results. In the Merseyside League we are currently sitting comfortably at the top of the table having played five, won five and feel very confident in staying there for the remainder of the season. After a good start in the National Cup with a victory against Park High, the Year 10’s were involved in an end to end thriller of a cup tie against St Mary’s College edging a tightly contested 3-3 draw, 4-3 on penalties, long range efforts from Woods and O’Rourke were followed up by a great solo goal by O’Sullivan weren’t enough and we needed penalties to progress. In round 3 we succumbed to a well organised and physically stronger Leftwich County High School side and although we had the majority of the game, we couldn’t manage to find a goal and bowed out 2-0. After the disappointment of the National Cup it was straight on to the Merseyside County Cup. A comfortable 6-1 home victory against Woodchurch has secured a home tie game against either Kirby Sports College or Childwall. Congratulations to Connor Backhouse who was selected for this seasons Liverpool Schoolboy u15’s squad. After the success of last year’s Liverpool Cup win against West Derby the Year 11’s have had some very notable cup wins in both the National Cup and County Cup. Two hard fought wins against Stanley High School 2-1, and Catholic High School Chester 5-2, led to us being narrowly knocked out to Priestnall School of Stockport 2-0. The Liverpool Cup still holds much promise for the team although they have been given a very tough opening draw last year’s runners up West Derby Comp in round one. Competing in the Merseyside Colleges league the 1st and 2nd XI have begun their campaigns in steady fashion. The 1st XI got off to a flying start with a 14-2 victory over Liverpool Community College star turns for George Ferguson who weighed in with 5 goals and Matthew Lowe with 2 goals and a

couple of assists. Overall the 1st XI sit fourth in the league standings backing their opening day win with wins against KCC, Bebington , South Sefton and a draw against Archbishop Beck. With the top eight qualifying for the Merseyside League play offs, we are very well placed to finish close to the summit of the table. After a slow start to the season losing their opening two games the 2nds kick started their season and have shown a lot of passion and commitment to put together back to back wins against Birkenhead 2-0 and KCC 3-0. The 6th Form got off to an excellent start in the National Cup beating a well organised Culchetch School side from Warrington 2-0, playing some excellent one touch short passing we created plenty of chances throughout but had to rely on late strikes from Jordan Scott penalty and an individual goal from Phil Evans. Round 2 saw the 6th Form come up against highly rated and local rivals Archbishop Beck, Beck who previously played in the North West Colleges league were a strong outfit, but the 6th Form players held strong in the 1st half. With a height advantage Beck pushed on in the second half and scored two quick goals after half time. A change in formation meant that we were throwing men forward in an attempt to get back in the game and Beck punished us on the counter attack with two well taken goals. A late consolation from George Ferguson was all we could muster and Beck was a worthy 4-1 winner. Aside from our exit in the National Cup the boys have in their sights a 1st round Merseyside County cup tie at home to Helsby to look forward to. Congratulations to Kieran Kenny, Jordan Scott and James Foley for being selected for the Merseyside County Schools U19 squad. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved in school football so far this season. With the commitment shown from players, parents, managers and staff we are always able to give many boys the opportunity to play competitive schoolboy football. Mr P Kelly

Year 9 2010-2011 TEAM

Year 10 2010-2011

Pts GF

GC GD

De La Salle (YR9)

Cardinal Heenan (YR9)

SFX (YR9)

Calderstones (YR9)

West Derby (YR9)

North Liverpool Academy (YR9)

Alsop (YR9)

Bluecoat (YR9)

Sacred Heart (YR9)

TEAM

Pts GF

GC GD

SFX (YR10)

West Derby (YR10)

De La Salle

Alsop (YR10)

-2

Bluecoat (YR10)

-4

Calderstones (YR10)

-5

Cardinal Heenan (YR10)

-14

Knowsley Hey (YR10)

-2

-10

Sacred Heart (YR10)

-2

Knowsley Hey (YR9)

-1

All Saints (YR10)

-7

St Margaret’s (YR9)

-14

St Margaret’s (YR10)

-19

All Saints (YR9)

-31

Table Tennis

KEY STAGE 3 LSSP LEAGUE TABLE

This term saw the beginning of this year’s Liverpool South Partnership table tennis league, the boys were looking to follow on from last season KS4 league winners’ success. The leagues are split into KS3 for years 7, 8 and 9 and KS4 for years 10 and 11. After the first fixture night held at Calderstones school both age groups are in relatively strong positions in their respective tables. There was some excellent table tennis played by the boys on the night including some very good teamwork displays in the doubles. The KS3 team picked up a total of 18 points drawing 6-6 with Childwall and beating Broadgreen 12-0, they sit 2nd in the table five points adrift of SMA. The KS4 team who have three brand new additions to the squad that won the league got off to a flying start beating King David 10-2 followed by a 9-3 win against SFA finishing with a thrilling 6-6 draw with Childwall. With both age groups looking strong we are looking forward to the next fixture night at Shorefields School in December. Table Tennis Squads KS3 – Liam Barton, Charley Moore, Daniel Johnson, KS4 – Steven Lennon, Luke Towers, George Farrell, Alex Smyth

Pts

St Margaret’s

TEAM

SFX

Childwall

SFA

-14

King David

-10

Gateacre

Shorefields

Bluecoat

Broadgreen

-12

Pts

KEY STAGE 4 LSSP LEAGUE TABLE TEAM

SFX

Childwall

King David

Calderstones

-2

SFA

-8

SLE

St Margarets

Shorefields

Bluecoat

After School Sport Programme Winter/Spring Field – After School

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Gifted & Talented Year 7 (By Invite) Mr Taylor

Football - Squad Year 7/8/9/10 Mr Glover/Mr Murphy/ Mr Burke/Mr Taylor

Rugby Union Year 7/8 Coaches

Rugby League Year 7/8 Mr Kelly/Mr Taylor Gaelic Football Year 7-9 Ms Donlon

Dance 6th Form Girls Coaches

Gym – Lunch

Gym – After School

Fitness Session 1st XI/2nd XI football Coaches

CSLA Year 12 EFC

Squash Court – After School Hall – Lunch Hall/Dining Hall - After School Lower Yard – After School Swimming Pool

Basketball Year7 Mr Brown Basketball Year7/8 Mr Brown

HSLA Year 13 EFC

Year 11 Squash Mr Long

Squash Court – Lunch

FRIDAY

Cricket Year 7/8 Mr Green/ Mr Murphy Squash Squad 7-11 Andrew Breen

Squash Club Year 8 Mr Kelly

Squash Club Year 7 Mr Kelly

Squash Club Year 9 Mr Long

Squash Club Year 10/11 Mr Brown

Table Tennis Club Year 11 Mr Kelly

Table Tennis Club Year 8 Mr Kelly

Table Tennis Club Year 10 Mr Kelly

Table Tennis Club Year 9 Mr Kelly

Table Tennis Club Year 7 Mr Kelly

Table Tennis All Years Coaches Tennis Year 7-9 Mr Brophy Swimming All Years Mr Taylor

Canoeing All Years Mr Daniels

Woolton High – After School

Badminton All Years Mr McKevitt

LA Fitness - After School

HRE All Years Mr Kelly

Beaconsfield Road, Liverpool L25 6EG • Tel: 0151 288 1000 Fax: 0151 288 1001 • Email: admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.uk www.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk