From the Headmaster Dear Parents, Boy it was windy yesterday; our back gate was swinging on its hinges all night and I went through that, “Do I get up and shut it or do I try to get back to sleep and wait for the wind to die down?” dilemma. I had to go down in the end, at around 4:30 in the morning, and didn’t get back to sleep so apologies if anyone witnessed me stifling a yawn yesterday. Shouldn’t have happened though as I have never needed much sleep. My older son, Patrick, is the same. As much as we tried ‘controlled crying’ when he was a baby, it ended up that he just wasn’t keen on sleeping. He never needed a midday nap and even now, at eleven years old, he gets up early and can lie in bed for hours before falling asleep. When I got back quite late last night, after GCSE Options Evening at the Senior School/Year 6 Parents’ Evening at WPS, he was still wide awake. I went in to check on him and he simply said, “Dad, what do you think Watford’s top five goals have been this season?” I confessed that I hadn’t given it a great deal of thought but he replied that he’d just been thinking about it whilst lying there for the past couple of hours and had come up with a definitive list! None of this is intended in any way to vex a no doubt currently exhausted Mr and Mrs Henry Warner, whom we are delighted to announce have brought Susannah Jill Warner into the world over half-term. Our best wishes and congratulations to them both. As any of us at the Senior School will know, Henry is one of life’s true characters and a most engaging and warm-hearted person; he will undoubtedly make a superb father. Though currently on paternity leave, he is still ‘working’ and has produced this week’s ‘Barometer’. Now that’s true #teamwetherby commitment. Have a good weekend, Nick Baker
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DIARY Monday 27th
Monday
Monday Clubs Basketball Cricket Film Review Football GSCE Art GCSE Graphic Design Performing Arts (Y7 & Y8) Quiz Club School Play YAD Fitness
Rock Choir
13:30
Tuesday 28th
….
Tuesday Clubs
Wetherby Brass Ensemble Year 7 & 8 English SPaG Clinic Football Year 10 WSS A/B/C vs Harrow (H)
13:30 13:45-14:05 14:30
Art and Design Bridge Club Climbing Fencing Football Junior Quiz Club MFL Cinema Club YAD Fitness
Wednesday 1st Year 10 English Intervention Rugby U12/13 WSS A/B/C vs Fulham Prep A/B/C (H) CANCELLED WSS A vs WPS (H) Year 10 trip to see 'My Country; A Work in Progress' at the National Theatre
Wednesday Clubs
07:55-08:30 14:40 14:30 17:30-22:00
Thursday 2nd World Book Day Football Year 9 & 10 WSS A/B/C/D vs Harrow (A) 8 Tyburn to Oxygen Free Jumping
Duke of Edinburgh Award Performing Arts (Y9) Service
Thursday Clubs
14:30
Classics Club Junior Geographical Society Lego Club Table Tennis
17:00-19:30
Friday 3rd Big Band Guitar Ensemble HM Assembly - Hinde Street Methodist Church
13:30 13:30 15:00
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NOTICEBOARD Wednesday 1st March: Year 10 trip to see 'My Country; A Work in Progress' at The National Theatre Boys attending this theatre trip must ensure that their prep is complete; I will hold a supervised prep session in my classroom until 17:30. After this, remaining in school uniform, boys will travel to Southbank with staff. From there, they may organise their own dinner plans (there is a large variety of cafes and restaurants in close proximity to the theatre) before meeting staff at a previously specified place in the theatre at 19:30. Arrangements will need to be made for their return journey home from the National Theatre (the play finishes at approximately 22:00 although boys will be encouraged to text parents during the interval to inform them of a more precise finishing time.)
Thursday 2nd March: World Book Day To mark such a momentous occasion, the English Department will be hosting numerous activities throughout the course of the day. Boys must ensure that they bring their reading book into school as at some point they will be asked to 'Drop Everything And Read': an activity which is taking place nationally to celebrate and promote reading. Also, during break and lunch time, boys will have the opportunity to swap a book which they have already read and enjoyed for another in Room 3 (Miss Kirk's classroom). However, this is no ordinary 'Book Swap'... We would appreciate it if boys could wrap up their book of choice in plain paper and write a brief 'blurb' onto it describing what they enjoyed about the book and why they would recommend it. Hopefully, boys will leave with an exciting new read, having been inspired to pick it up for reasons beyond its front cover... Thank you in advance for your support in reminding the boys to bring in a book and to participate in the 'Book Swap'.
A request to any avid bookworm parents out there... To further celebrate 'National World Book Day', the English Department would be keen to publish book reviews in next Friday's Barometer that are written by YOU. Is there a novel that you particularly enjoyed at school? Or, perhaps you have read something recently which you believe our Wetherby boys would get something out of reading? If you would like to get involved, please email me (lottie.kirk@wetherbysenior.co.uk) with the name and author of your recommended text, a brief description of the plot (no spoilers, please!) and why you think the boys might enjoy it. I eagerly await a bombardment of reviews and promise to reply to every response with a further book recommendation based on yours!
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VOTES FOR SCHOOLS Mr Hartley writes...
This week’s topic has been: 'Do we need more female scientists and engineers?'
Next week’s topic will be: ’Can music change politics?’ 6 The Barometer - 24/02/2017
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the Geography Department Mrs Deedat writes‌ Junior Geography Forum started this week with an excellent speech from Zachary on Antarctica. He told us about the Antarctic Treaty, Antarctic animals and threats to the continent. Lots of Year 7 boys came along to support him which was fantastic! We look forward to Senior Geography Forum kicking off next Monday with Ethan, Tobi and Louis speaking. Feel free to come and listen, boys! Meanwhile, in class, Year 9 geographers have been studying plate tectonics. Here are their annotated models of plate boundaries made using playdough.
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CURRICULUM NEWS
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the Art & Graphic Design Department Mr Meyer writes... Year 10 Art & Design boys have completed their first unit of the course. During the first half of the academic year, they looked at ‘Natural Forms’ as their subject matter.
Above: Adin DeC - copper plate etching
Above: James H - 4 layer screen print
Left: Lachlan W - 4 layer screen print 10 The Barometer - 24/02/2017
CURRICULUM NEWS
Above: Jack H-G - 4 layer screen print Above: Manuel C-C worked back into copper plate etching
Left & Above: Nelson T 4 layer screen print
Above: Alan A mixed media
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CURRICULUM NEWS Below & below left - JP C Worked back into copper plate etching
Above & above right: Massi M - copper plate etching
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the Maths Department Mr Bray writes... A few weeks ago, Year 10 Set 1 were entered in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge and this week we received their results. Despite the fact that our boys were amongst the youngest competitors – this is a competition for Year 11 and below and most schools would only enter their best Year 11 mathematicians – most scored at least average marks. In fact, Olly, Edouard, Armand and Louis scored marks easily within the top 40% of competitors and will be awarded Bronze Certificates. Even more impressively, Joshua and Manuel were in the top 6% of competitors and will be award Gold Certificates as well as being invited to enter the ‘Pink Kangaroo’, an international competition sat in 37 countries. We know that our boys are good problem solvers, but it is nice to receive some independent recognition. Questions from the Maths Challenge require a multi-step approach and, to be honest, are less predictable than GCSE questions. We use questions from the UKMT in all year groups, when the boys have a go at ‘Cup Questions’ at the end of the week – scores count towards an inter-trib competition. In lessons, we expect all boys to have a go at questions in unfamiliar contexts as we believe that Maths should be about using skills to solve problems and not simply about learning algorithms to pass exams (although exam technique is taught where appropriate). Here is a question from this year’s competition to get you thinking:
Two brothers and three sisters form a single line for a photograph. The two boys refuse to stand next to each other. How many different line-ups are possible?
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the Chemistry Department Miss Hoskins writes... The Year 10 boys have been learning about polymerisation in Chemistry and they finished their lesson with a rather competitive challenge (the prize being a bar of fantastic Swiss chocolate) to make the longest polymer paper chain. The green team of Manuel, Louis and Talal won the competition with their polychloroethene (PVC) polymer.
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the Drama Department Miss Twomey writes... This week in Drama, I have had the pleasure of teaching one of my favourite scenes in Drama, the shipwreck storm at the beginning of The Tempest. The Year 7 boys began by acting out the back story of the William Shakespeare's famous play; they meet characters such as Prospero, Antonio and Gonzalo. We then all took on the role of the sailors on the ship, quoting famous lines such as 'Down with the topmast!', 'Mercy on us!' and 'We split, we split!'. With every boy acting as a sailor on our giant ship, we created a whole class performance as the sound effects of thunder, wind and torrential rain boomed around us.
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the French Department Mrs Diamond writes... Year 7 love a good game of Jeu du pourcentage in French. This week it was Luca O who won his place in the much coveted driving seat by guessing Mrs Diamond’s secret sentence about fancy dress costume and characters.
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SPORTING NEWS Meanwhile, Year 9 had a good go at role play in French about their school timetable and really impressed me with their enthusiasm and lovely pronunciation. Special mention to Younis A for going the extra mile and adding details to his script on the spot.
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CURRICULUM NEWS From the English Department Miss Kirk writes... Having completed almost all components of Paper 2, Year 10 have produced some colourful and informative revision posters with tips on how to tackle each component of the exam. Please encourage your sons to display these in a prominent place; regular reminders of the skills required will really help the boys when they come to sit their IGCSE English.
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SPORTING NEWS From the Games Department Mr Sullivan writes… From the success of last term’s Inter-Trib Rugby, we are joining Years 9 and 10 together again for Inter -Trib Football.
Change of date: Inter-Trib Football for Y9&10 will be on Thursday 23rd March We’ve just launched our new Sports Website, which you can see via the address below.
Our Sports Website: www.wetherbyseniorsport.co.uk Please see the attached for more info. Enjoy!
Pick up: Please be aware that if you intend to pick your son up from fixtures or training you must email your son’s games teacher by midday. This is important because our attention will be focused on coaching the boys after this time and emails sent may not be received. It also improves the efficiency of returning boys to school, which is essential for the day to day running at Wetherby – thank you for your help with this!
Waiting area: Please can parents be aware that they must wait under the umbrellas by the decking area when collecting boys from the sports field after their Games lessons; this is essential for our child protection policy. This does not apply for fixtures. Please ensure that you arrive no later than 15:35 and if you are sending a taxi for your son you should email James Sullivan: james.sullivan@wetherbysenior.co.uk well in advance. If your son's taxi is late then we will be forced to take your son back to school as we cannot delay leaving the ground.
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SPORTING NEWS Cricket is coming As the cricket season is fast approaching, we would like to make you aware of the clothing that your son will be required to wear for his Games lessons. It is important that your son has the relevant attire to keep in line with the ECB safety regulations and to enhance the sense of team identity.
Ordering With regards to clothing, the mandatory whites can be ordered here from Perry. We would advise placing your order sooner rather than later so that Perry are given the maximum amount of time to process your order. Please note – all boys will need to purchase the new cricket shirt that has been customised for Wetherby Senior School. The white polo shirt will not be considered cricket attire during the Summer Term.
Batting Equipment With regard to batting safety regulations, all boys will need to have the following to be allowed to play in fixtures:
Cricket Bat It is important for the boys to choose the correct bat size to help them swing properly and develop good technique. The longer a bat, the heavier it is to swing and there are recommended sizes of bats for players based on their age. It is important that cricket bats are purchased based on your son’s height.
Cricket Box This is a mandatory requirement for playing cricket at any level and offers important protection. Boxes can be purchased from any sports shop (such as Sports Direct) or Amazon. These also come in different sizes: YS – Adult.
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SPORTING NEWS Optional Extras As your son progresses through the school, he will play hard ball cricket on a frequent basis. With this comes additional essential safety equipment. Please see below for equipment required for hard ball cricket.
Helmet If you are planning on buying or upgrading your son’s helmet, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) strongly recommend that school players only wear helmets that comply with the new specifications set by the national organisation. The school has plenty of helmets for the boys to use so please do not feel that you will need to buy one. However, for boys who are real cricket enthusiasts, especially those playing outside of school, it is recommended that your helmet meets the new regulatory standards. Click here for the latest helmets that meet the new specifications (N.B this list is constantly being updated and can be found on the ECB website). There has been a development with helmet safety in the form of the StemGuard. This was designed to further enhance the safety of a cricket helmet. At current, the ECB highly recommends (but does not demand) this additional safety support. Please click here for further information.
Leg Pads Hard ball cricket demand the need for protective clothing. It is important that each boy placed in an A/B team has a pair of leg pads. While the school has some pairs to share amongst the boys, our stockpile is not large enough to accommodate the year group as a whole. These can be purchased from any sports store.
Batting Gloves Boys who play hard ball cricket will also be required to wear protective batting gloves. It is important that each boy placed in an A/B team has a pair of gloves. While the school has some pairs to share amongst the boys, our stockpile is not large enough to accommodate the year group as a whole.
Cricket Bag Cricket bags are extremely useful for holding all cricket-related equipment. Bag sizes vary enormously, but experience has told us that all necessary equipment can be stored (with a modicum of packing practice!) in bags measuring 700mm x 280mm x 290mm. If you wish to purchase a cricket bag, please use these dimensions as a guide for maximum size permitted. As stated, all of the above equipment can be purchased from any sport shop / www.amazon.co.uk. For further details, please contact ryan.underwood@wetherbysenior.co.uk. The Barometer - 24/02/2017 21
SPORTING NEWS Year 7/8 Rugby WSS As vs. WPS Mr Betts writes‌ On Wednesday Wetherby Senior School went up against their close rivals, Wetherby Prep School, in the under 13A fixture. The weather was good with a little bit of wind to provide a bit of entertainment and make it trickier for the boys! Mr Sullivan blew the whistle and the boys were off. Straight from the start it was an incredibly intense and action packed game. There were tackles flying in from both teams, as well as great runs and great communication
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between the backs. The Senior School got off to a flying start with some great tries as a result of some strong running from the forwards. The first half continued as a back and forth game but Wetherby Senior School were able to maintain their lead and go in at halftime a few tries up. The second half was very similar to the first in the sense that both teams were putting a great amount of effort into the rugby and playing with a very high intensity. The Prep School managed to grab a quick try, after some very good running, to make the game much more interesting and put the Senior School on the back foot. However, having felt the pressure for a few minutes, the Senior School were able to widen their lead with some great footwork from the wingers resulting in some beautiful tries. The game finished 6 tries to 2 to WSS. It was a great afternoon of rugby and an excellent performance from all the boys.
SPORTING NEWS WSS B vs. WPS Mr Montgomery writes..... Wetherby Senior School hosted the Prep School at Twyford Avenue on Wednesday 22nd February on a cold and blustery afternoon. The game kicked off with WSS starting with most of the possession and progress was instantly made with a fantastic run from Alessandro G, who scored in the bottom corner of the pitch. The WPS looked somewhat disorganised and didn't make much progress in the first half of the game, with WSS running in many tries. A special mention goes to Tommaso S for scoring a hat trick in a one-sided game. It was great to see the boys show some fantastic teamwork as well as all of the passing, tackling and rucking skills they have been developing in training. We have another game against the Prep School on Wednesday 1st March, this time against their B team. Let's hope this game is a little more competitive!
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SPORTING NEWS Year 9 Football WSS A vs. UCS A Mr Montgomery writes..... Wetherby took the short trip over to UCS on Thursday 23rd February to play their A team. The game was almost called off due to storm Doris, but in the end we agreed it was safe to play despite difficult conditions. Wetherby started well, adapting their game plan to meet the challenge of the weather. Montagu C & Ignacio G did well in midfield, moving the ball along the wings to Nour H and Antony A. Wetherby looked like they had more attacking prowess and scored after fifteen minutes of play with a sublime long pass from Harrison S setting up Ethan E who chipped the UCS goalie. Leonid K kept us in the game with some superb saves in goal after 10 minutes of constant pressure from UCS. UCS finished the first half frustrated, with Leonid constantly stopping any threats from their strikers. Half time came and went with the score still 1-0 to Wetherby, who were still creating lots of shooting opportunities. UCS had some speedy wingers who were just starting to get into the game winning them a handful of corners. A common theme of this season has been our inability to defend from corners, but the boys rallied and prevented too many shots on goal. Wetherby had more chances, with some good shots saved by the UCS goalie. In the end, despite valiant defending from Jock S and Harrison S, we were unable to keep a clean sheet as the wind assisted a scrappy shot from UCS into the goal.
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Final score 1-1 Well done boys you played really well and showed great sportsmanship in the face of adversity. Man of the match Leonid K
WSS B 1 vs. UCS B 3 Mr Underwood writes.... On a windy afternoon, Wetherby travelled to UCS in Hampstead. Playing against the wind in the first half, Wetherby were under constant pressure. Having to defend firmly, Rocco, Fabian, AJ and Tobi formed an impenetrable line of defence. Evangelos marshalled in front, ensuring that UCS had no opportunity to score. Even though we were against the elements, we created chances to take the lead; from a corner, Sebastian channelled his inner Zlatan with a scorpion kick attempt that trickled wide. The half ended 00. Into the second half and with the wind in our sails the game had turned on its head. Gabriel and Luca took control and created chances for the team. After good play from Arthur and Yuvraj, Evangelos pounced on a loose ball to give Wetherby the lead. Unfortunately, our pressure was countered and UCS capitalised with three quick-fire goals in five minutes. The game finished 3-1, with Wetherby having let the game slip through their grasp! The Man of the Match award goes to Henri Jegou; a calm presence in the game, Henri made a fantastic triple save in the closing moments to keep us in the game! Superb play from Henri, congratulations!
SPORTING NEWS WSS C 0 vs. UCS C 4
a 1-0 lead.
Mr Betts writes....
After a tactical substitution at half- time, Harrison G entered the fray and Michael T slipped back into more of a defensive role. UCS came flying out of the blocks, putting pressure on us and suffocating our play. They took advantage as they lashed home from a few yards out, increasing the lead to two goals. As the winds intensified, WSS found it increasingly more challenging to get a stranglehold on the game and UCS peppered the goal with a number of shots, scoring again as a result of this sustained pressure.
On Thursday WSS U14C team travelled to UCS on the windiest day of the year. On an open pitch the football had to be kept on the floor in order to maintain possession. Due to our keeper having to move up teams, Luca went in goal and had a sensational game with saves being made in all areas of the goal. But after a fantastic period of defence from the Wetherby boys, UCS were able to score a goal just before the halftime whistle. The second half was neck and neck for the first 15 minutes until UCS managed to take control for the last 10, despite a monumental performance from our defenders, lead by Talal. Tom B and Faisal were doing all they could up front to try and pull the score line back, however this meant UCS were able to counter twice more to finish it 4-0.
The Man of the Match award goes to Eli; he was a calm and reassuring presence in goal, making a number of impressive saves.
Despite the result, the boys were fantastic and on another day could have got the win from this game. Conditions were extremely tough to play in but the boys should be pleased with their efforts.
WSS D 0 vs. UCS D 6 Mr Meyer writes... I always enjoy this part of the Spring Term, as the days get longer and the sunshine starts to penetrate the earth around us and we start to see glimpses of the season ahead. No such luck today though, as gale force winds battered UCS’s Sports Ground. The home side controlled the opening phases of play, with the two attackers applying pressure in the final third of the field, creating small opportunities to attack. Alejandro controlled the defence with ease, making strong tackles and being efficient with the ball. As the game continued, Maxwell and Jack controlled the midfield, threading passes to Giacomo. As the first half came to a close, UCS created further chances, with Eli producing a series of superb saves from the opposition forwards. As we continued to advance, UCS hit us on the counter -attack, opening the scoring with a scruffy shot. The home side went into the half-time break with
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SPORTING NEWS Year 10 Football WSS A vs. Twyford Academy A Mr Montgomery writes….. On Tuesday 21st February, the U15 A team took on Twyford Academy in a friendly fixture at the WSS ground. A later kick off than usual allowed the boys plenty of time to warm up and they looked focused and ready as the game kicked off. Our boys held their positional shape well and made the ball do the work, keeping it away from Twyford who hardly touched the ball for the first few minutes of the game. JP had the first clear chance of the game after Luke K played a lovely through ball to him, but he was brought down in the box after a poor tackle from the Twyford centre half. JP stepped up to take the penalty that was awarded and put Wetherby in the lead with a well-placed finish to the bottom-right corner of the goal. Wetherby were playing some excellent football, passing and moving well off the ball, which created space on the wings for Will B and Louie G, who
had plenty of time to take on and beat defenders. Wetherby created a lot of chances and were unlucky not to score, with a few boys missing from close range. But then JP scored again, this time from a corner as the ball bumbled around, with Twyford unable to clear their lines. In the last 10 minutes four substitutions were made and unfortunately this spelt disaster for Wetherby, who conceded a poor goal just before half time. The second half began and the less said about it the better! Our boys made a few mistakes, with all the hard work they had put in the first half going to waste. We completely lost our shape and this made it really easy for Twyford to run past us with the ball, which in turn allowed them to have a lot of shots on goal. Despite Nelson T’s best efforts he could not keep the ball out of the goal as we conceded five goals, making the final score 6-2. Let’s hope we can keep our concentration in the future and secure our first win.
Sports Quote of the Week:
“A goal without a plan is a wish” Follow us for results and updates on Twitter via @WetherbySSports #teamwetherby 26 The Barometer - 24/02/2017
SCHOOL PLAY First rehearsal with the theatre company Miss Twomey writes... This has been a very exciting week for the boys who are lucky enough to be involved in the school production as we had our first workshop with our professional theatre director, Joe Hufton. Joe has been working with Les Enfants Terribles for several years now, and it was wonderful to see the incredible work produced by the boys in this session. The tasks mainly revolved around story telling and character development; these ideas will be the foundation of our eventual piece. It is extremely exciting to create a play in association with this excellent theatre company and the production we devise will be a completely unique one. I'm already looking forward to seeing what ideas the next workshop will bring....
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CLUB NEWS Senior Quiz Club Mr Hasthorpe writes... This week's quiz was unusual in being won by a team of only two boys - Vadim and Ed. They made a formidable team, complementing each other well. When one didn't know the answer, the other often did. Well done indeed to a fearsome twosome! Fancy yourself a quizzard? This week's questions are about the London Underground. 1) The first line on the underground ran between Farringdon and which station? 2) When did trains first run on this line? 3) Can you name a station with all five vowels in its name?
Answers: 1) Paddington; 2) 1863; 3) Mansion House or South Ealing 28 The Barometer - 24/02/2017
IN OTHER NEWS... The Wethergirls notch up a double victory! Miss Maroudi writes.. Wethergirls had a double header this week with a game rolled over from half term. The first game was against 'Gower girls' who were above us in the table. Some impressive defence from Mrs Skinner and Frau Eaves kept our heads above water and kept their shooters at bay. We kept fighting and came out the winners; 16-13. The second game was against the team 'whippets' who we'd beaten by one goal previously. Their particularly feisty Goal Defence had something to prove but the team rose to the challenge and managed to grind out the win 19-18. Captain's players of the match were Miss Nash for her fantastic defence in centre court and Miss Ridley for her overall speed and agility and feeds into the circle to the shooters.
It’s a girl! Mr Warner writes‌ No doubt the more observant boys will, by now, have noticed that I never made it back from half term. Despite rumours that I may have finally cracked and run away to sea, I am in fact at home in Fulham enjoying a short stint of paternity leave. During half term my wife, Emma, gave birth to a daughter: Susannah. We are delighted to have this new addition to our household and both mother and daughter are in very good health. Whilst Susannah is a little young to start reading about history, I have already taken her to Fulham Palace, so that is one historic building ticked off already.
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From the Editor On this week’s front cover: Mr Sullivan gives a pep talk On the back: Jack H-G’s screen print For all comments and feedback please email: henry.warner@wetherbysenior.co.uk
http://www.wetherbysenior.co.uk/