THE ELLESMERIAN 2010 - Ellesmere College

THEELLESMERIAN

2010

11

Headmaster’s Speech ....................................2

Prize List .......................................................11

Common Room Notes ..................................12

Competitive Houses

Meynell ............................................18

Talbot ...............................................21

Wakeman-Lambart ..........................24

Woodard ..........................................27

Pupil Notes

Lower School ...................................30

Middle School ..................................35

Sixth Form .......................................40

University Destinations .................................46

Chapel Notes ...............................................47

CCF ...............................................................49

Art ................................................................55

Drama ...........................................................63

Music ............................................................71

In and Around ...............................................76

Out and About ..............................................79

SportRugby ..............................................86

Girls’ Hockey .................................110

Netball ...........................................118

Football ..........................................125

Boys’ Hockey .................................134

Cricket ............................................135

Shooting ........................................146

Summer Sports .............................148

House Competitions ......................154

Academies .....................................158

Parents’ Society .........................................163

Old Ellesmerians ........................................166

Contents VOLUME CXX2010

Captains of SchoolHead Boy: F J HerzogHead Girl: R A L Britton

College PrefectsW J BevanJ T BoswellT D CarrJ R DaplingJ A EckhoffJ A M E EkertE H EvansV Z GruddeZ E HaynesE L A HughesC D JohnsonM D JonesI Stoica

M VerlegerL T WaltersN Wojtynia

www.ellesmere.comThe College website is updated regularlywith information on sports fixtures, what’s

on and news items

The Editor wishes to thankall contributors and thosewho helped to researchand compile the magazine

CoverOld Ellesmerians

Top Left: Lt Col Nick Lock OBETop right: Emma SnowCentre: Kathleen BennerBottom left: Nigel Spurr

Bottom right: Robert Kelsall

Inside Front Cover Summer Concert in Big School

Back CoverYoung Musicians -

Benjamin Huang, Daisy ClarkeLuca Kuhn, Angelo Daniel, John Paul

Kevin Zhang, Elizabeth Walsh

The Ellesmerian 2010

2

Custos, Ladies and Gentlemen, Iam pleased to be here once againto report on another successfuland extremely busy year in the lifeof the College. Despite the worldrecession, pupil numbersincreased in September to theirhighest point in our history: Iapologise to my audience now, butthe more pupils there are, the moreachievements there are to reportupon and this is a long speechdespite some heavy editing ofnames and achievements that inprevious years would certainlyhave warranted mention.

In my speech last year I criticisedthe then impending visit to the College of UK BordersAgency – who are in charge of immigration – which wasdesigned to ensure that we were not importing terrorists.I don’t imagine anyone at the immigration serviceseriously thought that we were a hotbed of terroristactivity, but – as I am sure we would have been told hadwe challenged their visit – “rules are rules”. It must bevery frustrating to work for a government agency sinceneither judgement nor common sense is allowed to beused as a tool for the job. I’m pleased to report that theimmigration service has made it into this year’s speechand we can start with a quiz as a result. Which of thefollowing questions do you think a new ten-year-oldboarder joining the College from overseas was askedrecently upon his arrival at Manchester Airport:

a) What is your marital status?

b) Have you ever been involved, or suspected ofinvolvement, in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide?

c) Have you ever been involved in, supported orencouraged terrorist activities in any country?

d) Have you any traffic convictions?

Obviously he faced other questions too. So please makeup your minds and choose one. Of course, as you mightguess, “all of the above” is the right answer.

Now I may be crediting our new ten-year-old pupil with anexcess of guile, but I suspect that if he is a marriedgenocidal terrorist with multiple speeding convictions heis unlikely to say so when asked. I’ve actually shortenedthe list as there are three separate questions aboutterrorism that he was asked, as the law requires –presumably in the hope of catching him out. You canimagine the scene:

· Are you a terrorist? – no.

· Have you ever glorifiedterrorism? – no.

· Have you ever supported aterrorist activity? – yes, no, Imean . . . oh no, you’ve caughtme!

Of course it’s not just theimmigration service. The ChildProtection Industry – for that isthe only honest description of it –has destroyed inter-generationaltrust and put in its place anabsurd and costly system whichfrequently gives false positivesthat ruin people’s lives. A fewyears ago a Criminal Records

Bureau check on one of our former Chaplains cameback with the news that over thirty years earlier he hadbeen convicted of shoplifting. My principal response wasone of horror that I had been given this information, as itcould have no bearing on his job and went against alldecent principles of rehabilitation and forgiveness. Idecided not to trouble the then-Chaplain with myinappropriate knowledge of his past. Eventually hefound out that his CRB check had thrown up thisconviction, and he was very upset with me for not tellinghim that I knew of it . . . particularly as it wasn’t true.Someone of a similar name from the same time hadcommitted the offence – and may well have gone on tolead a similarly blameless life.

This mildly amusing story could have had quite adifferent ending; there are many stories of careers beingruined through such mistakes, since such circumstancescan lead to immediate dismissal and it takes the CriminalRecords Bureau many months to correct errors. And, ofcourse, this extremely expensive system – just like therest of the child protection business – has done nothingsignificant to improve the lives of children: quite theopposite in fact, given its destructive effects on theculture of volunteering among adults. It is interesting tonote that no other country in the world has shown theslightest interest in adopting a system similar to our own.

Of course, mindless bureaucracy is an easy target; butjust because it’s an easy target doesn’t mean it shouldn’tbe attacked. It is not just comical, it is part of somethingwhich impoverishes and potentially dehumanises us all.Rules and regulation drive out trust and responsibility. Ithink most of us are pretty tired of the MPs’ expensesscandal but it’s interesting to note that for a long time theargument from many involved was that they had donenothing wrong because what they had done was withinthe rules. A regulation-based culture drives out moralityas well as common sense.

Speech Day 2010The Headmaster’s Speech


3

It’s just the same with the effect on education of multipleforms of inspection and measurement. Education hasbeen impoverished and – considering the national scene– there has been a culture of “if you can’t measure it, itdoesn’t matter”. This reductive approach to educationhas been hugely damaging, and while we havesuccessfully stood against it, we are in an extrememinority. Indeed, I am guilty of framing what we aretrying to do at Ellesmere too narrowly on occasionsmyself.

Of course, we are aiming to send people out who arewell-rounded and well-prepared for their adult lives, butat times I forget to emphasise how much we are trying tomake good people who will enjoy lives that are rich inmany ways and who can make a positive contribution tothe world, measured not through economicproductiveness – although I could not be more in favourof that – but rather through their ability simply to live well.My favourite philosopher is Marcus Aurelius, a RomanEmperor from the second century. He remarks in hisMeditations that “one’s life is what one’s thoughts makeit”; by which he means that our attitudes determine oursuccess and our evaluation of our success in life. AnEllesmere education is very much about inculcating theright attitudes.

The main measure of academic success – at anindividual level, of course – is found in publicexamination results. At this time of the year such resultsseem a long time away (or perhaps alarmingly close forthis year’s candidates), but we can look back on lastsummer’s examination results with some considerablepride. As you will know, the emphasis at Ellesmere is notalways on individual pupil performance, and no mark –however high or low – has any meaning unless we canset it in the context of the abilities of the pupil concerned.Having said that, in headline terms our Sixth Formresults were excellent this year. Taken across the ‘A’ Leveland IB group as a whole our average score – expressedas ‘A’ Levels – was an A and 2 Bs. This is a remarkablyhigh average for a school which prides itself on havingpupils of a wide ability range in its Sixth Form, and I amvery proud of last year’s Sixth Form as a whole for the

results that they achieved. Last year’s Head Boy, DavidAnders-Richards, achieved four A grades and is nowstudying Biochemistry at the University of California, LosAngeles; Colin Fergusson’s four As secured him a placeat Durham to read Geography.

Results for our International Baccalaureate candidateswere even more impressive: they averaged a score inexcess of three As at A level. Hendrick Scheer andYasmin Rahbari achieved the equivalent of five ‘A’ LevelA grades through the IB and took up courses at TheLondon School of Economics and Loughboroughrespectively.

At GCSE the girls excelled themselves with more than38% of their grades being achieved at A or A*standard,and the majority of departments achieved A-Cpass rates of 100%.

We are not interested in the academic success ofEllesmerians only while they are at the school, andhighlights from OE news this year include JenniferSampson receiving a First Class Honours Degree inEngineering from Edinburgh University and SarahHaynes the same class of Honours from ExeterUniversity for History. OEs Kate Eisenstein and Linden

Hutchinson have gone on to Oxford for higherdegrees, having enjoyed successful undergraduatecareers.

Careers are far more than simply proceeding touniversity, and I am pleased to report that this yearour Year 11 Careers Conference attracted over fortyspeakers from a wide range of professional andemployment backgrounds, all ready to give theiradvice and help to students and parents. During thecurrent academic year I have been pleased to see acontinuing number of Gold, Silver and Bronzeawards in the National UK Mathematics Challenge,and also this year Golds, Silvers and Bronzes in theNational Biology Challenge event. Staying withnational competitions, Year 8 student RyenSpencer-Wolfe was highly commended for his entryinto the National Design and Technologycompetition sponsored by Starpack.

GCSE Results: Lucy Harrington, Alex Owen, CallumBooth, Sam Phillips, James McCarthy, Charlotte Boffey

Award-winners at Intermediate level in the National UK MathsChallenge with John Cowley, Head of Maths


4

Particular mention should be made of the success ofJosh Boswell, who was the overall senior winner of theNational Parliamentary Press Gallery WritingCompetition. This took place prior to the recent electionand Josh’s winning entry recommended three policiesthat could be adopted by any of the parties for thatelection. As a reward for winning this prize he travelled toLondon as a guest of the Parliamentary Press Gallery,was given a tour of the Houses of Parliament and metwith the Speaker of the House of Commons. He thenwent on to 10 Downing Street and met with GordonBrown to discuss his suggestions for legal reforms.

The mention of Josh’s travelling reminds me that wehave enjoyed the usual number of academic expeditionsthis year. To pick out simply a random sample, there wasour annual Classics trip to Bath and Cirencester, variousGeography Field Trips and, of course, the ever-popularHistory Battlefield trip to the World One battle sites inNorthern France and Belgium. Staying with History-related travel, Luke Ottaway and James McCarthy werechosen as College ambassadors to Auschwitz whichthey visited over Easter, attending lectures andinformation sessions, and they will be presenting theirexperiences to the College next term.

Continuing with an international theme, for the first timethis year the Collegeparticipated in the ModelUnited Nations, in both Leidenand The Hague. Ellesmeriansrepresented countries asdiverse as Niger and China,and several of our students’resolutions made it all the wayto being passed in theGeneral Assembly.

A crucial part of any politicalor diplomatic career – or forany form of leadership – is theability to communicate welland to speak effectively.Ellesmere has a long traditionof success in EnglishSpeaking Examinations and in

the Lower Sixth more than twenty of our studentsachieved Distinctions which means they have alreadyearned sixty-five UCAS points, the equivalent of a passat ‘AS’ Level, towards the totals that they will need foruniversities next year. The College Public Speakingteams continue to be active and this year has seen a realupsurge of interest in Debating Societies in both theSenior and Lower School.

Artistic endeavour – in all its forms – continues to go fromstrength to strength at Ellesmere. This year, for the firsttime, we worked to the Arts Council-sponsored “ArtsAward” programme and over fifty Ellesmerians havebeen celebrating their achievements as a result. Thesepupils have used the Thursday afternoon time asdedicated Arts time under the banner of the Arena ArtsProgramme, and have taken part in activities includingmusic, script-writing, painting, sculpture, costume andmake-up, stage lighting design, dance, film making, radiodrama, sound recording and musical composition; I haveprobably missed something out! This programme wassupplemented by various theatre and gallery trips. Muchof the work that the pupils produced was showcased inthe Lent Term Arts Evening which celebrated artisticachievement at the College. The Visual Arts have seena number of Exhibitions at the College throughout theyear, and we were pleased that Rory Bothwell and EllaWalker had their work selected for exhibition at TheLowry Arts Centre in Salford.

On the musical front there has been a very wide range ofactivities this year. The Chapel Choir has gone fromstrength to strength and now numbers over fifty voices. Inthe Oswestry Musical Festival they finished first for thesecond year running in the choral competition: we will beaiming for a hat-trick next year. The Lower School Choiris up to around forty singers, and has sung at variousevents in and out of College including the LeonardCheshire Home in Dolywern. At the Oswestry Festivalthey finished a very close second.

The Oswestry Festival also saw a good number ofindividual awards and particular mention should go toJohn Paul, George Fradley and Luke Taylor for winning

the InstrumentalEnsemble class and toJohn Paul for winningthe Strings Solo forAges 15 and under.Sophie Austin fromYear 7 and ElizabethWalsh from Year 5 wonthe Vocal Solo andString Solo classesrespectively at Under12 level.

The Choral Societyhas also seen itsmembership rise thisyear and this linkbetween the schooland local singers isvery valuable. This

Josh Boswell, overall Senior winner of the NationalParliamentary Press Gallery Writing Competition

The team of Ellesmerians who took part in the ModelUnited Nations in Leiden and The Hague


5

year’s major works were Faure’s Requiem and theVivaldi Gloria. The Choral Society contributed to theThree Choirs Concert which is establishing itself as amajor highlight of the cultural calendar. The CollegeOrchestra continues to grow in range and distinguisheditself at the Autumn and Three Choirs Concerts with awide variety of musical styles including Pirates of theCaribbean and a performance of the late MichaelJackson’s Thriller. The relationship between the ChoralSociety and the College’s other choirs continues throughthe now annual Thee Choirs European Tour which thisyear found itself in Malta.

Perhaps not quite on the same level of cultural elevation,the annual House Singing Competition neverthelessreached high standards this year. The Battle of theBands proved as popular as ever with an innovationbeing the appearance of a professional headlining actwith an up-and-coming Band “Jonny Black” spending aday at the College in February to work with and adviseour student Bands about song-writing and the musicindustry. There was the usual excellent crop of grades inthe Associated Board of The Royal School of Musicexaminations and the pass rate this year was onehundred percent with two thirds of those passes at Meritor better.

Drama has been unusually vigorous this year, even bythe high standards set in recent years. The Lower SchoolKey Stage 2 Christmas Show of The Selfish Giant waswell received, as was the Year 7 and 8 The Greeks onStage which included – for one night only – a rathersurprised Headmaster held in a headlock by one of theactors – all in pursuit of Art, of course. The Year 10Pantomime produced two different versions of DickWhittington, so great was the enthusiasm forinvolvement, and played to College audiences and toappreciative local Primary and Prep School audienceswhen they went on their day tours. The Middle SchoolDrama Club produced a particularly interesting set ofperformances in their production of All in the Timing, anevening with David Ives, which included a number ofshort plays, some of which were directed by Sixth Formpupils who have been helping with the Drama Club

throughout the year.Pupil direction alsocame to the fore inthe House DramaFestival in theMichaelmas Term

when the four Senior School Houses put on OutsideEdge, Blithe Spirit, Our Day Out and The House PlayFestival Play.

I hope it is not indulgent of me to mention that an OldEllesmerian who began to learn her craft as a Directorhere wrote and directed a play which was performed asrecently as last month. Catherine Wignall’s Imitation ofLife proved to be very successful, helped byperformances from three strong Sixth Form actors. Sheis now working on her next script.

Of course, the achievements in the sporting arena arealways relatively easy to report upon. Unlike artistic oracademic endeavour you can go out every weekend andbeat the opposition. Last year I reported that twenty-ninedifferent sports had been offered at various standards.This year I am pleased to say that that number hasincreased to thirty-four. Seventeen different Housesports were played and seventy-six school teams turnedout to represent the College in over five hundred and fiftyfixtures. County, Regional or National honours wereachieved in ten sports; Rugby, Hockey, Football, Netball,Tennis, Swimming, Athletics, Cricket, Shooting andSailing.

The year begins withHockey for the girlsand Rugby for theboys, and the 1st XIHockey side enjoyed asuccessful season,playing nine matchesof which six gamesended in wins and onein a draw. The Junior Aside had an unbeatenseason, winning alltheir matches anddrawing only one. TheU12s also had anunbeaten season. Asignificant number ofpupils represented the

EllesmereCollege Chapel

Choirperforming atthe Three

Choirs Concertwith Mr Paul atthe piano

Chloe Prydden, selected forthe North East Wales U18

Hockey side


6

County at various age-groups and particular mentionshould be given to Vivian Grudde, who was chosen asthe Shropshire U17 Team Vice-Captain; to EllieHalstead, who was selected to go on to training with theJunior Regional Performance Centre and the MidlandsSquad; and to Chloe Prydden, who was selected to playfor the North East WalesU18 side.

Rugby saw thirty boysselected at County orRegional level, whichequates roughly to 10% ofthe relevant age-groups forboys from Ellesmere.Staying with individuals,particular mention shouldgo to two Old Ellesmerianrugby players, James Kingand Joel Galley, whorepresented Wales in theU20 Junior Rugby WorldChampionships held inArgentina, as part of a verysuccessful Welsh team thatwon five of their eight games.

At A team level the U15 Sevens won the Adams’Grammar School Tournament, and the Senior Sevenswon the prestigious King’s Worcester SevensTournament, beating teams from Bromsgrove,Loughborough, Cheltenham and Old Swinford Hospitalon the way. The U15 full-size teammade it to the last sixty-four of theDaily Mail Cup, and the 1st XV exitedthe Daily Mail Cup unbeaten. Thisstrange circumstance arose becausethe organisers of the Daily Mail Cupinsisted that we played a match whichwould have meant that a significantnumber of players would have had tomiss ‘AS’ Level examinations to takepart. While we enjoy winning andsuccess, it was clearly not an option tosacrifice the education of individualsfor the glory of school rugby: I canhonestly say that I wasn’t temptedeven for a moment.

The Lent Term was disrupted verysignificantly by the heavy snow at thestart of the year. Of the Footballgames played almost two thirds ended in wins or draws.Individual mentions go to Todd Dobie from Year 11 whohas been given a scholarship to train at TNS, the WelshLeague Champions; Myles Arnold continues to train withShrewsbury Town, and Fraser Murdoch, in addition tobeing on Crewe Alexandra’s books, was selected to playfor Scotland. Netball had a very successful term with the1st Seven winning the North Shropshire Tournament fortheir age-group, as did the U14 team.

Summer Term cricket always straddles Speech Day asthe Cricket season carries on past the end of term. An

achievement from last year certainly worthy of mention isJordan Evans’ tally of 684 runs at an average of 76 withthree centuries. This achievement earned him a listing inthe Wisden National School Cricket Averages as one ofthe top twenty batsmen in the country. This season wehave seen eleven County selections with Fraser Murdoch

selected for the Welsh U14side.

Tennis used to be a SummerTerm sport, but now –weather permitting – it is allyear round. There havebeen some splendid Tennissuccesses this year and forthe second year in a row wewere the only school to sendtwo teams to the NationalFinals at the Bolton Arena.The girls’ team finished thirdoverall out of the eightfinalists with the mixeddoubles team falling at the

final stage and finishing asrunners-up. These exploits inthe National Finals followed

on from our Year 8 and Year 10 girls’ teams finishing thirdand fourth in the country earlier in the year.

The U15 team had an unbeaten season, and we werethe winners of the U19 North Shropshire Girls’ Doublesand the U15 North Shropshire Girls’ and Boys’ Doubles.

Particular mention should go toJoanne Bowen, from Year 11, whowon the U18 Open Competition at TheWelti Tennis Centre, a title that she willbe able to defend for the next twoyears.

Rounders is not a major school sport,but I am pleased to report that ourU13 and U12 teams both won theirNorth Shropshire Tournaments.

It has been a good season for Collegeathletes: forty-seven pupils competedin the North Shropshire SchoolsChampionships and first places weretaken by Colin Dickson, JamesPreston, Sam Owen, Clara Edwardsand Ellie Halstead – who broke theNorth Shropshire record for the 100m.

George Beal represented Shropshire in the MidlandsChampionships in the Shot Put. Lower School pupilsexcelled in the Shropshire Amateur AthleticsChampionships with Will Edwards deserving particularmention as he finished first in the U11 600m and first inthe U11 long jump.

It is only a very short time ago that swimming was noteven a Summer sport, given the quality of BritishSummers and the temperature of our then outdoor pool.In a short time swimming at the College has beentransformed thanks very much to the Coach of

U15 Sevens Team, winners of the AdamsGrammar School Tournament

Nine-year-old Hector Pardoe, UKNo. 1 in his year-group, with some

of his swimming medals


7

Ellesmere College Titans, Mr JonPardoe. Swimming is so strong atEllesmere that we do not swim againstother schools but instead compete inthe National Adult League and for thesecond year running EllesmereCollege Titans achieved promotionfrom a twenty-team league and arenow top of the North of EnglandRegional Structure next year and onestep away from the Premiership.

Nine-year-old Hector Pardoe iscurrently ranked UK Number 1 for hisage-group in the 200 metre butterflyand 200 metre, 400 metre and 800metre freestyle. At the 2010Shropshire County Championshipsthe Titans swimmers racked up animpressive ten County records, wereawarded two overall Best Boy andBest Girl Championship trophies and won twenty-oneGold, thirty-one Silver and twenty-six Bronze individualmedals. James Wilson, Alfie Pardoe and Naomi Craigwere all multiple medal winners. Naomi Craig alsoqualified for the British National Modern TriathlonChampionships and finished second. Eight Titanswimmers qualified for the Midland age-groupChampionships and Alfie Pardoe and James Wilsonqualified for the finals with James returning with six Goldmedals.

The extra-curricular life beyond the areas of sport andcultural activities continues to be wide, varied andvigorous. I can’t possibly cover it all, but an example ofthe breadth might be seen by noting that the LowerSchool Wildlife Garden – with the arrival of the GrowDome – has seen three new large beds added by Lower

School pupils; two hundred bluebellswere added to the wooded area andvarious fencing and tree planting hasalso been undertaken. If we contrastthat with the increasing popularity of theSixth Form Wine Appreciation Society,we can see that although both activitiesare united by the need to grow things,the range is very wide.

Last year’s Duke of Edinburgh GoldExhibition to paddle two of the rivers ofSouthern France was reported – asever – to be tremendous fun and a greatlearning experience for our pupils.Seven Ellesmerians will be going toBuckingham Palace within the next fewmonths to receive their Gold Awards,and five of them are from the currentUpper Sixth – a considerableachievement when Duke of Edinburgh

Awards are made well into people’s twenties. The Dukeof Edinburgh Gold group this year travelled to Canada inan exciting departure from what has become the norm.

Despite a drastic and immediate cut in funding from theMinistry of Defence some months ago, the CCFprogramme has gone ahead as planned and has offeredthe usual wide opportunities for leadership developmentfor our pupils. More than a dozen Army cadets havegained their Young Life Saver award, and over fortycadets were presented with their Bronze Duke ofEdinburgh Awards by Old Ellesmerian, Colonel GuyChambers, earlier this term. Last October ten Navalcadets gained their RYA Level 1 or Level 2 sailingqualifications, and all the cadets were involved in plantingover three hundred trees and hedging shrubs on the golfcourse in aid of Cadet 150. Three cadets, Molly Venner,

Annabel Rogan and Ronnie Clewlow havebeen selected to go to the Cadet 150 GardenParty at Buckingham Palace.

In the RAF Section most of the cadets havehad an opportunity to fly a Grob tutor at RAFCosford, and some have recently beengliding at Tern Hill. Yuriy Loychenko attendeda gliding course in May and gained his wingsflying a Vigalent, and Joe Davies recentlyqualified as a pilot. Martin Jones hasobtained a much-sought-after RAFScholarship for his time as an undergraduate.An Old Ellesmerian a little further down theline, Mark Dean, has graduated fromSandhurst and is now an Officer with theRoyal Logistics Corps.

Staying with matters martial, Jacob Robertsfrom Year 8 was awarded the Litts ChallengeCup at The Welsh Open ShootingCompetition in Cardiff. This Cup is awardedto the junior showing most potential. RyanWilliams represented Wales in overseascompetition and Richard Belcher wasselected to shoot in the British Schools’

Martin Jones receiving his RAFScholarship from Flt Lt M McKenna

Army Cadets who gained the Young Life Savers AwardBack row from left: Joe Pescod, Louis Chaudron, Simon Swannell,

Jens Lee, William Johnson and Sam DaplingFront row from left: Georgina Ottaway, Bethany Lyttle, Kate Parry

and Sarah Carr


8

Competition held in Dortmund,where he scored a personal best,and was only six marks out of sixhundred behind the top Britishshooter at the event.The CollegeU16 shooting team finished first intheir British Schools’ League, andMatthew Steggles, Richard Belcherand Ryan Williams have beenselected to shoot in the JuniorInternational match at Bisley nextmonth.

A large number of Charities havebeen supported, including the HaitiEarthquake Appeal; grants towardsa school in Mozambique which isbeing helped by an Old Ellesmerianat the moment; The Royal BritishLegion Poppy Fund; Hope HouseHospice; and MacMillan Nurses – toname but a few. We hope thatsignificant funds will be raised by theCookbook team producing ourCookbook for Help the Heroes which was launched at acooking demonstration last week led ably by Mrs PatVenner. As well as it being a labour of love andcommitment, the Year 9 pupils who helped were able tocount their work towards the CCF Bronze Duke ofEdinburgh Award. They have already raised over £1000for this worthwhile charity.

Last weekend a College staff andpupil team undertook the annualSnowdon Run to raise funds forthe Chernobyl Continuity charity.Starting at 4.15am they ran inrelay from Ellesmere to Snowdonand completed the course in 11hours and 45 minutes. Severalindividual runners ran distances inexcess of a marathon race. Aspecial mention should be made ofMr Baggaley: noting that the runcoincided with the England-Germany World Cup match, heran up Snowdon in full England kit,a gesture he may have somewhatregretted as news of thehumiliation of the national teamcame through.

The Wildlife and Gardeninggroups have supported CancerResearch and Monduli Green. Ourlinks with Monduli – a reforestationproject in Tanzania – are strong,and more than eighteen months ofdrought have left the people therevery short of food, and thereforestation project in somedoubt. However, World Bankfunding and the College’s

willingness to pay for an extensionof the water-pipe to the villageshould significantly improve thequality of life for villagers andenable them to reforest their land.Staying with a green theme,twenty solar panels are going tobe placed on the roof of theSports Centre over the summerholidays and should significantlyreduce the amount of oil we useas well as our carbon footprint.

Three of our pupils receivedYoung Citizenship awards fromthe High Sheriff of Shropshire inMarch, and Nick West, ElizabethEvans and Christopher Johnsonshould be proud of theirachievements.

There have been the usualschool-based initiatives to providesupport to the education in the

local area, particularly through such events as Music isFun, Science is Fun (both for local primary schools), andvarious primary age sports competitions. I should saythat we are most definitely not doing any of this becauseof the expectations of the Charity Commission, butbecause we think it is the right thing to do.

A fundamental part of the widerEllesmere view is, of course, thelife of the College as it relates toand from the Chapel. In adisparate list of items relating tothe Chapel, Year 7 pupils went ona very successful pilgrimage toBlackburn Cathedral; the ChapelChoir took delivery of new choirrobes – mostly financed by the OldEllesmerian Club; and therestoration of the Chapel furnitureand artefacts is now complete withthe return of the dedicated prayerdesk which accompanies theBishop’s chair. Eleven pupils havebeen confirmed this year by thenew Bishop of Shrewsbury, andthere have been three baptisms inthe Chapel.

Something that we do because –to be honest – it is profitable, is theEnterprise side of life at theCollege, and this year has seengrowing numbers attending ourholiday courses and an increasingprofile for the College as a site forweddings. Enterprise incomecontinues to rise, which is goodnews for everyone involved withEllesmere.

Ryan Williams, Junior Internationalshooter

Raising money for MacMillan NursesBack row, left to right: James Preston,Chloe Prydden, Charles CoppingerFront row, left to right: India Redwood,

Tianna Williams, Mia Foster


9

The College Parents’ Society continues to be a vital partof the social aspect of school life and has providedsupport for the school in the form of a donation of aChristmas tree, paying for the Key Stage 2 Christmasparty and the Year 7 and 8 disco, and the donation offunds to enable the Lower School to develop anadventure playground. Just as importantly it hasorganised the Parents’ Society Winter Ball and thisweek’s Ladies Luncheon, and I am very grateful to theParents’ Society Committee for all the hard work thatthey do on behalf of the College.

Staying with the ‘looking outwards’ theme I am pleasedthat we have been able to establish a DevelopmentOffice at the College. Nick Pettingale has joined us fromStamford Schools and along with Lesley Farrer, hisassistant, is embarking on a programme ofstrengthening furtherthe already strong linksbetween EllesmereCollege and the widerEllesmerian community,defined not just as OldEllesmerians but formerand current parents.All parents will havereceived questionnairesfrom Nick designed tohelp him in this work.

As is always the case atthis time of the year wesay goodbye to anumber of staff whohave served theCollege, in some cases,for many years. Not agoodbye, but certainly athank you, goes to MrMartin Clewlow, whofinishes his time as aHousemaster today.When I arrived at theCollege fourteen years ago Martin was moving from hisrole as Housemaster of Lambart House to become thefounding Housemaster of St Aidan’s. From there he tookresponsibility for the Nankivell Block – now St Luke’s –before taking over Wakeman-Lambart House, then a 13-18 Boys’ Boarding and Day House. With thereorganisation of the House structure he found himselfin his current position, Housemaster of St Cuthbert’s.Martin has done a terrific job in his various pastoral rolesover the years and I am very grateful to him for all hishard work. I have no doubt that he will continue to makean enormously positive contribution to the school in thefuture.

Mrs Maddy Lin joined us for one year, breaking hercareer as a full-time teacher in Guangxi Province, China.As well as introducing the wider College to modernChinese culture, she played an important role in StJohn’s House and acted as a teaching assistant in LowerSchool. She returns home with all our best wishes.

Mrs Jane Fellows joined us in September on a one-yearcontract in the Business Education Department followinga varied career in business and the completion of herPGCE. She has thrown herself wholeheartedly into thelife of the school and her always positive attitude anddemeanour have been a great asset to the College andCommon Room.Young Enterprise and Games are justtwo of the areas that have benefited from herenthusiasm. As her contract comes to an end she movesto Howell’s School; she does not live too far away and Ihope that she will keep in touch with everyone here.

Another enormously positive influence in Common Roomhas been exerted by Miss Anwen Pugh, who has showngreat commitment to the sporting life at Ellesmere,joining initially as a coach before becoming a fully-qualified teacher. She will be a great loss to us, and it is

her commitment tosport that leads tothat loss, as shewishes to free herweekends so thatshe is able toconcentrate uponher professionaldevelopment withinHockey. I hope thatwe can look forwardto hearing of hermany successes inthis – and other –fields in the future.

Mrs Dionne Walker-Smith joined us in2007 from a schoolin the North East ofEngland and leavesus now to move toDoha in the MiddleEast with her family.I am sure thatE l l e s m e r e

represented a physically warmer environment thanCounty Durham, but Doha should be something elseagain. In her time at Ellesmere Mrs Walker-Smith hascontributed significantly to English and Media; she hasalso done excellent work with our Duke of EdinburghSilver Award candidates, and played a significant part ingirls’ games.

Mrs Ann Hendriksen joined the College as a part-timeteacher of Learning Support some years before I arrivedin 1996, and became full-time in 2002. She has taught inthe Support for Learning and the EAL departments, andhas been much loved by the many students whom shehas cared for. “Cared for” is definitely the right term touse for Ann. Her kindness and consideration for allaround her have been a hallmark of her time atEllesmere. She leaves us to go into retirement, and Ihope that that stage of her life will prove to be a long andhappy one.

The Adventure Playground equipment being enjoyed by someLower School pupils, with Sharon Owen, Head of Lower School

(left) and Anita Webster from the Parents’ Society. In thebackground are (left to right) Amanda Venner, Sue Dewhirst, Sue

Parry and Anne Wignall.


10

Another member of the Support for LearningDepartment who began as a part-time teacher beforebeing appointed full-time by me is Mrs Ros McCarthy.Mrs McCarthy was one of my first Head of Departmentappointments and remains one of my best (if I can saythat without offending the many other excellent Heads ofDepartment whom I have appointed!). Ros took analready strong Support for Learning Department and ledit to a position where the College can legitimately claimto have the best provision for dyslexic pupils of anymainstream school in the UK. She is a well-respectedprofessional, known well beyond the bounds ofEllesmere and is a very effective Inspector for CReSTeD,a national dyslexia charity with which we are bothinvolved, and I am glad that she will continue with thatwork as it will give me an opportunity to keep in touchwith her.

Mrs McCarthy, however, is far more than simply Supportfor Learning, so far as Ellesmere is concerned. She hasbeen a very effective Student Council Coordinator inrecent years, but I know that her great love has been theDuke of Edinburgh Gold programme. I mentioned earlierthat the Duke of Edinburgh Gold group depart forCanada tomorrow and I am delighted that it will do sounder the care of Mrs McCarthy. I knowthat she has many happy memories ofDuke of Edinburgh, and an enormousnumber of pupils at Ellesmere – for avariety of reasons – have good reasonto be grateful to her.

Mr Terry Howitt-Dring joined theCollege in September 1970, a fewweeks before my tenth birthday! Fortyyears of Ellesmere and forty years ofMr Howitt-Dring suggests considerablemutual satisfaction, and – so far as theCollege is concerned – that is certainlythe case. Speaking at a farewell partythe other evening, Mr Howitt-Dring puthis time at Ellesmere into good contextby doing the count backwards from1970. A Terry Howitt-Dring finishing in1970 would have begun his career in1930. Many things have changed at Ellesmere in Terry’stime, indeed far too many to mention. Through it all,though, Terry’s own personality has been consistent andhas been a perfect fit for Ellesmere: positive, cheerfuland self-deprecating. Indeed, “cheerful” really does notbegin to describe his fantastic sense of humour and wit,with which he has entertained his colleagues and pupilsover many years. His work in Design Technology and asExaminations Officer has been of the highest standard,and he will be greatly missed as he heads for a well-earned retirement with his wife, Andrea.

A loss to the College in every sense of the word is MrsMarilyn Amako. Marilyn joined Ellesmere in September2002 having returned from Japan the previous yearfollowing the death of her husband. She proved to be ahighly effective member of the EFL department and amuch loved, and very loving, member of CommonRoom. She retired on grounds of ill-health in May and

died two weeks ago. It is customary to eulogise thedeceased, but “much loved” and “loving” are simply veryaccurate descriptions of a truly kind and lovely person. Iwas fortunate enough to attend a Service for Marilyn onTuesday of this week in Ruabon: it was packed and itwas clear that it was not just Ellesmere pupils andEllesmere Common Room who had loved her, but manyin her local community. The Service for Marilyn was verymuch a celebration of her life and I know that is how shewould wish us to approach things. A minute’s silencewould certainly not be her style, just as praise andcongratulation was something that made heruncomfortable. Those of us who knew her certainlycelebrate her life. We can thank her by including her inthe applause that I will ask you now to give all our leavingstaff and wish them all the best for the future.

The same day that I heard of Marilyn Amako’s death, Iheard of a pregnancy, and it made me think of the linefrom A Winter’s Tale: “Thou mettest with things dying, Iwith things newborn”.

I hope that Ellesmere is truly an education for life and allits ups and downs; I believe that it is, and as such it is arare thing. I recall my own education when at the age of

fourteen I took the view that there waseducation and there was life – and Iknew which I preferred. To be fair tome, however, the grammar schooleducation I received was relativelyacademically uninspiring and almostentirely classroom-based. I wantmuch, much more for our pupils.

Education really is about intangibles,and like most things it is in theunmeasurable and the unquantifiablethat its value resides. At the beginningof this speech (and I apologise if thatfeels like some weeks ago) Imentioned Marcus Aurelius and theimportance of having the rightattitude of mind. One of his morememorable phrases sums up an

attitude that I can recommend to all ourpupils and leavers, and – indeed – to

everyone: “When you arise in the morning, think of whata precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think,to enjoy, to love.”

I have the additional privilege of being Headmaster ofthe wonderful community that is Ellesmere College. It isa true privilege to work with such a talented, hard-working and positive staff and I thank them for theircontribution to the success of Ellesmere and for makingthe College such a happy place. I am also lucky to bemanaged by an exceptional School Council, who aresimilarly positive and cheerful and committed to theCollege’s success. Staff and Council are just part of theCollege community and the pupils, parents and OldEllesmerians all make a vital contribution to thesuccessful life of the College. That continuing success isa tribute to you all.Brendan Wignall

Terry Howitt-Dring


11

Year 7Jessica Martin-Jones Art

Sebastian McCarthy English, History

William Ainge French

James Bateman Geography, Maths, Science

Edward Lindop Latin, Spanish

Year 8Ben Williamson Art

David Powell English, Maths

Emily Roberts French, History, Latin

Sam Squires Geography

George Watkin Spanish

Joseph Hughes Science

Year 9Olivia Jones Art

Emily Palmer Chemistry, English, IT, Maths, Biology

Jonathan Cooksey Design & Technology

Jake Rogan Geography, Spanish

John Leadbeater Graph. Communications, History, Latin

Jordan Bulanda Music

Paul Scull Drama, Physics

Peter Nelhans Religious Studies

Year 10Rory Bothwell Art

Joseph Haigh Biology

Bethany Lyttle Bus. Studies, Spanish

John Paul Chemistry, Geography, IT, Music

Dominic Ryder Classical Civilisation

Goetz Frentzen Design & Technology, French

Georgina Ottaway English

Robert Gereke EAL

Olivia Fisher Graph. Communications

Kate Parry History

Mark McBrien Maths, Physics, Religious Studies

Mathew Johnson Media Studies

Lewis Allsop Media Studies

Louis Chaudron PE

Georgina Cutcliffe Drama

Year 11Sophie Osborne Biology, Bus. Studies, English, Physics

Christian Ceislik Chemistry, Geography, History, Maths

Benjamin Huang EAL

Michael Kelly French

Anna Welzel German

Jennifer Griffiths Graph. Communications

Collette Riggs IT, Music

Raphaela Ring Latin

Joel Maddock-James Media Studies

Joanne Bowen PE

Ryan Morley Drama

William Jackson Spanish

Lower SixthElla Walker Art, Sociology

Stephanie Newport-Booth Biology

Zoe Evans Bus. Studies

Fabian Prinz Chemistry

Harry Clewlow Design & Technology, IT

James McCarthy Economics, Politics

Enya Maclean-Roberts English, Gen. Studies

Lower Sixth cont.Fredi Steinebach EAL

Christina Lieberoth-Leden French

Rebecca Maas Geography, History

Valentina Horst German

Gary Xu Maths

Vicky Leadbeater Media Studies, Drama

Robert Lau PE

Xiaonan Peng Physics

Patrick Weigel Theory of Knowledge

Upper SixthElizabeth Evans Art, Media Studies

Christopher Johnson Biology, Chemistry

Andrew Coubrough Bus. Studies

Toby Blake Design & Technology

Joshua Boswell Economics, Gen. Studies, Maths

Zoe Haynes English

Yaroslav Storozhik EAL

Sophie Simic French

Frederick Herzog Geography, History

Stella Lesch German

Matthew Steggles Media Studies, Drama

Afra Ekert Music

Martin Jones PE

Wilson Chan Physics

Cameron Milne Politics

Harry Hughes Sociology

Lisa Niklas Spanish

Nicholas West Theory of Knowledge

Special PrizesNicholas Crow James Merrick Cup

Elizabeth Evans Art

Joshua Boswell Drama, Keith Smith Historical Essay

William Bevan Services to Drama

Niko Wojtynia Lovel Prize for English Literature

Henry Maybury Instrumental Music

Samuel Phillips Tony Churnside Prize for Music Technology

Frederick Anderson Garnett Prize for Creative Music

Afra Ekert Baulcott Organ Prize,

Marsh Cup for Musician of the Year

Katrina Scharf Services to the Choir

Sophie Osborne GCSE Science Coursework Prize

William Mapstone Talbot/Woodard Science Prize

Christian Cieslik Talbot/Woodard Science Prize

Steven Quinlan Colin Russell Prize for Endeavour

in Biology

Christopher Johnson Mark Willis Science Prize

Jennifer Eckoff Gledhill O.E. Prize for Leadership, Initiative and Excellence

Emmie Hughes The O. E. President's Cup

Harry Clewlow Information Technology Cup

Vivian Grudde Ollier Award for German

Wilson Chan Contribution to the International Life of the College

Emily Wicks Sportswoman of the Year

Jordan Evans Sportsman of the Year

Frederick Herzog Jebson Shield,

Headmaster's Prize: Head Boy

Rebecca Britton Headmaster's Prize: Head Girl

Prize List 2010The Ellesmerian 2010

New arrivals for the start of the academic year 2009/10were noted in our last report. As the year progressed anumber of teachers came in for longish stints in order tocover for colleagues who were ill, or as in one case, onmaternity leave. We congratulate both Judith Hibbottand James Baggaley on the new arrivals in theirhouseholds. For the Summer Term we were pleased towelcome Visesh Sahai from Scindia School, Gwalior towork in the Business Education Department, which tookup the whole of his summer vacation. He arrived back inIndia after the start of the new academic year there.

Just after the start of the Michaelmas Term 2010 wewere saddened to learn of the death of former Chaplain,Trevor Harvey. During the Lent Term Ann Hendriksendecided that she would not return to teaching afterillness, and we wish her all happiness in her retirement.Marilyn Amako was also planning to take retirement, andwe were all deeply saddened when she lost the battlewith her illness. In July Maddy Lin, James Bell and JaneFellows moved on after their year here and we wish themwell as their careers progress elsewhere. Other leaversin July included Anwen Pugh, who wished to pursue herhockey career more intensely, and Dionne Walker-Smith,who took up an exciting teaching post in Dubai. We wishthem well in their new endeavours. July also brought theretirements of Ros McCarthy after twenty-one years inSupport for Learning, as teacher and then as Head ofDepartment, and Terry Howitt-Dring after four decadesteaching in and leading the Design and TechnologyDepartment. Tributes to all of them can be found below.Common Room also wishes to honour those retiringfrom the non-teaching staff, which included Brian Daviesand Lydia Tabbron, the latter after thirty-four years at theschool, during which she fulfilled a number of prominent

roles, such as Housemother and Front DeskReceptionist. New arrivals in September 2010 werePeter Bates (Maths), Aldona Done (Romanian), IndikaBolana (IT Gap Student), Tom Haynes (IT Gap Student),Gemma Heald (English and Drama), Tom Hurst(Design), Elsie Luo (Chinese Gap teacher), Jo Manion(Learning Support), Rebecca Morris (Games), AlexMurphy (PE), Tom Rylands (Shooting) and JamesUnderhill (English).GH

ArrivalsGrace Ansell

Grace first came to the College inOctober 2006 as a visiting teacher ofIB Chinese A1. This year she hasbegun teaching in the EALdepartment, which has brought backmany happy memories of EALteaching in Taiwan. She was born,brought up and educated in Taiwan,achieving her Masters in Linguistics,and taught at various languageschools in the capital city of Taipei.Alongside teaching, she also enjoyedthe opportunities of being aninterpreter and translator for differentacademic conferences as well ascommercial industries in Taiwan. In1999, she and her husband Simon,and sons Oliver and Dominic, movedback to the U.K. Shropshire has beena great place for her to put down herroots again as she has always enjoyedwalking in the countryside. She is anenthusiastic gardener who also enjoysbooks, music and wildlife. She lovesthe summer months in Britain as theyremind her of those cool and pleasantautumnal days in Taiwan, though withless rain!

12

Common Room Notes

President of the Common Room, Graham Hutchinson (left) and PaulGoodwin presenting Lydia Tabbron with a memento of her thirty-four years

at the College


13

Kevin Ho

Kevin was born and raised in Birmingham, and hasstayed around the Midlands all his life. His parents areoriginally from Hong Kong, but migrated to UK for abusiness opening in the 1970s. He studied Chemistry atthe University of Warwick, graduating with a HonoursMasters degree. Although there was an intention to gostraight into further studies, he wanted to take a gap yearto do something different. The opportunity arose inFebruary to take up the position of LaboratoryTechnician within the Chemistry Department. Since hestarted in the Summer Term he has also taken on extraresponsibility as a technician in the Design andTechnology Department. His ambition is to take upfurther studies in the field of Forensic Science and workin this field in the future. But at the moment he is justenjoying the experience and atmosphere of the College.

Nick PettingaleNick started at the College on 1st November 2009 asDirector of Development, to initiate a developmentprogramme which would enable the College to fulfill itslong term vision. This required starting a whole newdepartment which would build close relationships withpast students and create ways in which both they andthe parent body could more fully engage with the Collegeof today. He originally trained as a Graphic Designer, andduring this part of his career visited friends in Ethiopia atthe time of the ’85 famine. The experience set him on apath of fundraising and charity work. After helping toestablish two charities in Ethiopia, and a UK-basedcharity focused on disadvantaged young people in theMidlands, he renewed his business career, operating atboard level in three national and internationalcompanies. More recently Nick was a consultanttrainer/mentor for a large London-based charity helpingthe homeless, and latterly set up a CharitableFoundation at Stamford Endowed Schools inLincolnshire. After funding some small capital projects

there he successfully launched a Bursary Fund which iscurrently supporting more than twenty-eight children.Nick is also a board member for World Emergency Reliefand Deputy Chairman of the Institute of DevelopmentProfessionals in Education. Nick has four children andfour step-children and states his main aim in life as‘survival’! To relax Nick loves the gym, water-colourpainting, fine wines and cooking, although not all at thesame time. He remains passionate about issues ofjustice and social inclusion.

DeparturesAnn Hendriksen

Ann, who taught at Ellesmere for sixteen years, retired inearly 2010. She brought warmth and kindness to herteaching, both in EAL and Support for Learning, and herstudents appreciated her care and her keen intelligence.We met in Jordan and our friendship has been valuableand lasting. Ann did her English degree at BirminghamUniversity, and having followed this with an EFLCertificate, taught abroad for a great deal of her teachingcareer. She taught in Cyprus, Africa, Holland and Jordanand her two children, Nicole and Jamie, were born inAfrica. Jamie - an OE - now runs a Game Reserve inKenya, and Nicole worked for several years for MedecinsSans Frontieres in interesting places, so both childrenhave inherited their mother’s love of exotic cultures andadventure. Ann trained with the Dyslexia Institute to gainher Diploma in teaching those with Specific LearningDifficulties and, with her knowledge of linguistics andphonics, became a valued member of both the


departments she worked for. She is a talented linguistand her command of French, Dutch and Arabic areenviable. We all, colleagues past and present, wish Annhealth and happiness in her retirement.RAM

Terry Howitt-Dring

My first contact with Terry was an evening telephone callfrom him in 1995, asking me if I would like a job in hisdepartment. I accepted, and from that moment began aclose working relationship. He ran his DesignDepartment in a quiet and efficient manner, whilst alwayshaving time for the views and opinions of others. Hestrived for the very best results from everyone in a firmyet thoughtful and caring way.

Terry arrived at Ellesmere in 1970. The College was thena very different place, and the boys’ craft department, asit was then known, needed someone like Terry to bring itup to date. He was a good organizer, manager andcommunicator and he needed a bigger stage. Eventuallyhe persuaded the powers-that-be that a larger and morecomprehensively equipped designing and making areawas essential. So was born the Hollway Design Centre.Terry’s good planning ensured that most machines,processes and materials were available and able to copewith almost any design project that a student might havein mind. He was a very conscientious tutor, patient,sympathetic and caring. Many pupils will be able to thankTerry for some thoughtful advice and guidance. Indeed Iam sure that his colleagues will also have benefited fromhis wisdom and level-headedness. He was encouragingand yet he would urge caution if it were needed. He wasa valued and trusted member of the pastoral system inWoodard and St Cuthbert’s, and a loyal supporter oftheir functions. He was always well-prepared for parents’evenings, heartening, suggesting tactics and sometimestelling fortunes. A great promoter of Ellesmere, healways found time to talk to visitors, and he was happyfor his children, Holly, Anna and Miles to experience lifeat Ellesmere in their turn.

He served as the College’s External ExaminationsOfficer for many years, a job which became more andmore involved each year as the number and complexityof examination choices grew. All this he was able tomanage with his quirky mix of analogue and digitaltechnologies with great effect and efficiency, temperedwith his usual good humour.

At heart Terry was a true DT teacher. He loved all sortsof toys, including grown-up ones such as uncommonmotor cars - anything that moved whirred, clanked orbuzzed, needed oiling, winding up, driving or controlling,would catch his interest. He loved sharing these with hispupils and he was always delighted when a boy broughtin his latest toy to show ‘Sir’. My abiding memory of Terrywill be seeing him up on the golf course with two or threeexcited youngsters, flying a radio-controlled aircraft togreat whoops of joy. I cherish the memories of my timeworking with Terry, the ribbing and the banter, and I knowhe will be much missed by so many. After forty years asMr Ellesmere we all wish Terry and his wife Andrea awell-deserved and happy retirement.Frederick Williams

Ros McCarthy

In July 2010 we said farewell to Ros McCarthy, whoretired after twenty-one years of service at EllesmereCollege. After graduating from Leicester University in1971 she worked in schools in Nottingham, Gutersloh inGermany, Amman in Jordan and as a supply teacher inShropshire. She taught English and Art for many yearsand then developed an interest in Specific LearningDifficulties, gaining a Diploma in this area and then anMA. Arriving in Ellesmere in September 1989 shequickly showed her skills as a teacher and her extensiveknowledge of dyslexia, and was appointed to the post ofHead of Learning Support eight years later on theretirement of Olwen Purslow. Whilst in charge Rosexpanded the provision of Support for Learning at theCollege and her knowledge, pleasant manner and senseof humour were always greatly appreciated by herdepartment, pupils, parents and College staff. She hasworked extensively as a Diagnostic Assessor forDyslexia, in and out of College, and is also anexperienced CReSTeD Inspector.

14


15

Outside the classroom she has been a great championof the Duke of Edinburgh Gold programme and led manysuccessful canoeing expeditions to France and morerecently to Canada. Pastoral care was also an area atwhich she excelled and many girls will remember herfondly as a caring tutor and Assistant Housemistress inSt Oswald’s and St Aidan’s, posts she held for elevenyears. As the co-ordinator of the Student Council shewas also able to provide a platform for many students toair their views. Running a department of up to ten mostlypart-time staff was often challenging, but Ros alwaysapproached the organisation of the department, and theLearning Support Conference which she introduced tothe College calendar, with calmness andprofessionalism. New legislation which impacted uponteaching and assessment was always embracedenthusiastically, and the provision of examination accessarrangements has helped many Ellesmere students overthe years and allowed them to fulfil their potential. Inretirement she hopes to travel extensively with herhusband, visit her three sons often, and indulge in herpassion for France, cooking, reading, painting,gardening, canoeing and cycling. In addition, she willcontinue to play an active role in dyslexia assessmentand may well be a guest speaker at one of our LearningSupport Conferences in the future. We wish herhappiness, good health and a well-deserved rest.JH

Anwen Pugh

Anwen started at the College in 2006, initially as a Girls’Games Coach. A year later she joined the PEDepartment on a part-time basis and was able tocomplete her Qualified Teacher Status. Anwen has agreat love for Hockey and devoted a lot of time to thedevelopment of Girls’ Hockey at the College. She

coached many of the girls during her time with us andbrought in her experience of coaching and playing atShropshire County level. She played a huge role in othersports also, such as Netball, Athletics, Rounders andGirls’ Cricket. Anwen was involved in other Staffactivities too. Being a talented singer and actress, shehelped in House Singing and took part in the staffproduction of Thriller. Anwen leaves us to devote moretime to Hockey and we wish her all the best.

Dionne Walker-Smith

In September 2007 Mrs Dionne Walker-Smith joined theEnglish and Media Studies Departments andimmediately established herself as a lively, positivecolleague with an energetic approach to her work both inand out of the classroom. With expertise in two subjectareas, Dionne brought a special flavour to her teaching,guiding students of all ages to an appreciation of the richvariety of ways in which texts could be approached. Inher extra-curricular life, Dionne was a formidable hockeyplayer with a keen (participatory) interest in a wide rangeof sports and adventurous activities. She led the SilverDuke of Edinburgh Expeditions with typical energy andexpertise. Dionne has left the College to take up ateaching post in Qatar, where she joins her husband whohas been working there for some months in the buildingindustry. We wish her the very best of luck in heradventurous career decision and look forward to hearingnews from hotter climes than those enjoyed in NorthShropshire.

Colleagues For One Year OnlyJames Bell

James arrived on a twelve-month placement from July2009, working within the heart of the College as atechnician in the IT Support Department. This formedpart of his studies towards a Network Engineeringdegree at Staffordshire University. Before attendinguniversity James studied ‘A’ Levels in Physics, History, ITand General Studies at Westwood College in Leek,Staffordshire. He lived at the College for the duration of


16

his placement year, rapidly making himself an all butindispensable member of the busy IT team. James alsoflourished as a member of the Ellesmere community andwas well liked and respected by all of his colleagues,some of whom became good friends. He made the mostof the local environment of his placement, taking upswimming and spending weekends exploringSnowdonia. He is a keen Rallying enthusiast, followingthe World Rally Championship and British Touring CarChampionship.NB

Jane Fellows

Jane joined the College and the Business EducationDept on a one-year contract to teach Business and IT inSeptember 2009. She soon established herself with aprofessional approach to her teaching, and becameactively involved in various aspects of College life,including the Young Enterprise Group and later on theDuke of Edinburgh Award programme. She also helpedwith the sporting life of the College, including Hockeyand Netball, and even found time to star in the staffmusic video of Thriller. Jane has moved on to teach in agirls’ school in North Wales and we wish her well in herteaching career.SBM

Maddy Lin

It was Maddy’s misfortune to come to Ellesmere the yearthe UK Border Agency changed its procedures; forMaddy, like so many thousands of others, the result wasa delay of several months! However, once she arrived,Maddy settled quickly into life in Ellesmere and wasinvolved in many areas of College life. Her primary rolewas to teach Chinese ‘A’ Level and GCSE to Chinesestudents at the school. She also taught Chinese toseveral non-Chinese students, some of whom will beable to take GCSE soon, and she started a Chinese Clubfor anyone interested in learning a little Chinese. Maddyalso worked in Lower School as a teaching assistant tothe youngest class. In addition she helped with a cookeryclub and in the Library. It was great to have Maddy withus at Ellesmere and we hope she enjoyed her stay.Since her return to China we have heard that next yearshe is to be married. We wish her the very best.CA


17

Marilyn Lloyd AmakoBorn November 20 1951; passed away June 21st 2010

There are so many good things to say about Marilyn, it is hard to know whereto start.

Before we mention her personal qualities, we should pause a minute torecognise that Marilyn was a gifted linguist who was qualified as a Frenchtranslator, was brought up with the Welsh language and was practically at nativespeaker level in Japanese. She was also an accomplished pianist. Marilynworked in France for two years as well as in the UK, before living for overseventeen years in Japan, where Hiroshi, her son, was born. On the death of herhusband she returned to the UK and worked at Ellesmere College for eightyears, where she worked in the EAL and Support for Learning Departments. Itis not an understatement to say that Marilyn loved her job, especially her workwith the internationalstudents. She was agreat teacher and awonderful colleague.

Marilyn was the kindof person who not only always looked for the positivebut also found a moment to mention it, whether thiswas about people or situations. All through her illness,even to the very last days, she would always say; “Butthere have been some positive things too,” and thenshe would enumerate the good things that hadhappened. Looking back over the summer of 2009,when she discovered the cancer had returned, and hertreatment had to start again, she would comment, “Ihad a lovely summer.”

Marilyn went further than the rest of us to show thestudents they were valued. Every summer the leavers from China, Japan and other distant nations would beinvited to a dinner at her house. She would spend the day preparing Japanese food and that evening was alwaysthe best EAL event of the year. Marilyn appreciated students for whatever was good in them. She could seestraight through to the best in them, and they knew she valued them for who they are.

Marilyn always remembered:to congratulate someone, toenquire about a problem orsomeone who was sick, or toask whether somethingpreviously talked about wasgoing OK. If she noticedunhappiness in a friend, shewould subtly support them.Marilyn was the best offriends – she was goodcompany, a great listener andhad unerring insight. Shenever failed to say how muchshe appreciated her friends.She made them feel as if theyhad a fan club. Marilyn setus all an example of how agood human being shouldbehave.

When Marilyn gave you asmile, you felt immediatelythat your day had improved.CA

Marilyn and her son Hiroshi

Marylin (third from right) with the Year 13 Leavers (plus some friends andrelatives) at the party she hosted annually in her home


The start of the year saw the appointment of RhysHayes and Luana Nanu as House Captains. We alsowelcomed Miss H Coney as a new tutor in the House.

The first competitions of the year were the 6-a-sideFootball competitions. Unfortunately the two girls’competitions were cancelled due to so many girls havingother commitments. However, the boys did play all theirgames. Our Junior Boys played well, winning two out oftheir three games and eventually finishing second. TheSenior Boys won only one of their games in a toughcompetition and finished third overall.

Another sporting competition this term was the HouseSquash. The Juniors played Woodard in their semi-finaland narrowly lost. The Seniors faired better though andcomfortably beat Talbot in their semi-final before goingon to win the final against Wakeman-Lambart.

This term saw a new competition, the Senior House QuizChallenge. Mr Bambridge was Question-master in oursemi-final against Talbot; we didn’t have quite enough tobeat them and eventually lost an entertainingcompetition to a more knowledgeable team.

By Half Term it was time for the House Play Festival. Thisyear our play was Outside Edge, a comedy by RichardHarris. Matthew Steggles was the director and he did anamazing job with an excellent cast. We went on to winBest Actress – Rebecca Britton; Best Supporting Actor –Tom Lee; Best Cross Dresser – Nick West; BestRomantic Moment – Nick West and Charles Coppinger.Overall we scored the highest and were crowned BestHouse Play.

The Michaelmas Term drew to a close with the Girls’House Hockey and Boys’ House Rugby Competitions.The Junior Girls went on to win all three of their matches,crowning themselves champions in this competition. TheSenior Girls couldn’t quite match the Juniors and finishedsecond to a very good Wakeman-Lambart team. On theRugby field our Junior team easily beat Wakeman-Lambart in the semi-final before going on to demolishTalbot in the final 41 - 15. The Inter team also did well,narrowly beating Talbot in an entertaining semi-finalbefore going on to win the final 24 - 7 against Wakeman-Lambart. The Senior team faced a very tough semi-finalagainst Woodard. They played their socks off but in theend Woodard proved too strong, beating us 21 - 0. Wewent on to beat Talbot comfortably for third place in theplay-off.

18

House Notes - MeynellHousemaster:Mr I L Roberts

House Tutors:

Mr R P Boswell, Miss H E Coney, Miss A C Darrant, Mr P J

Hayes, Mr R P Heaton, Mrs D Lensing, Mr S B Mullock, Mrs S

Phillips, Dr J K Ripley, Mrs D Walker-Smith, Dr I G Tompkins,

Mr I L WilliamsCaptains of House:R L Hayes and L Nanu

Above left: The castAbove right: Dominick Coppinger

Above far right: Nick West and Charles CoppingerRight: Luke Taylor and Tom Philips

Outside EdgeWinning play at theHouse Play Festival


After Christmas the first competitionwas House Basketball. The JuniorBoys won one out of three and finishedthird overall. Our Junior Girls went onebetter and finished second. The SeniorBoys won one, drew one and lost onein a close competition, finishing secondoverall. Our Senior Girls finished thirdoverall.

Midway through the term saw twomajor competitions take place, HouseCross Country and House Singing. Inthe Cross Country our Juniors werefourth overall; the Inters were first andthe Seniors were fourth, which meantwe came fourth overall. However,special mention should go to George Cave, who wasthe first runner back out of the entire school, very welldone!

The House Singing Competition had a colours theme,meaning all the Houses had to choose songs associatedwith colours. Our Unison was Michael Jackson’s Blackand White, while our Part-Song was Sorry Seems To BeThe Hardest Word by the band Blue. Matt Steggles didan excellent job of conducting the Unison and we were abit hard done by to be given last place on the night.Howvever, our Part-Song blew the audience away andwe came a very justifiable first, which was all down to thehard work Henry Maybury put the Part-singers through tolearn their words and actions.

Just after Half Term we began the House DebatingCompetitions. Our Junior team did particularly well,beating Wakeman-Lambart in their semi-final beforenarrowly losing out to Talbot in the final. The Senior teamcame up against a strong Woodard team in the semi-finaland couldn’t match the exploits of the Junior team.

Following on from the House Debating came the Boys’House Hockey Competition. The Juniors beat Talbot inthe semi-final and then went on to win the final againstWoodard 2 - 1. The Seniors unfortunately lost their semi-final 1 - 2 on penalties and then lost the third place play-off by the same score. The Lent Term ended with theGirls’ House Netball and Boys’ House FootballCompetitions. The girls fielded an A and a B team. Bothteams played admirably and we ended up overall

winners. In the House Football our Juniors won two anddrew one, making them overall champions. The Seniorsfound it a bit more tough going, winning one and losingtwo, finishing third overall.

The Summer Term began with the House Volleyballcompetition. We played three matches and over thosethree matches won the most sets and therefore werecrowned champions. House Tennis was played overthree rounds, Boys, Girls and Mixed. The boys came

second in their competition, the girls comfortablywon their round and finally our mixed teams also wontheir competition, which meant we finishedcomfortable winners overall. There were mixedresults and turnouts for the Swimming competitionand we finished fourth in the Senior Boys’competition, while the Senior Girls’ and MiddleSchool competitions didn’t take place due to lack ofnumbers, which is a shame. Senior House Tug-o-War was a new competition this year. This took placeat the bottom of the terraces. We comfortably wonour semi-final before narrowly losing out to Woodardin the final.

House Cricket took place towards the end of term.Our Seniors managed to lose their semi-final toWoodard, which was a bit of an upset. The Juniorsfaired better, beating Wakeman-Lambart in the semi-final before losing to a strong Talbot team in the final.The term drew to a close with House Golf and HouseShooting. Our Golfers played very well and finishedfirst, Cameron Murdoch gaining the top score with a

round of 33. On the shooting range we proved to be ontarget and also finished first.

19

Carlo Leilich and Toby Madaus in action against Talbot inthe House Football

Above: Housemaster Ian Roberts and team-mate LydiaLam look on as Viola Grosvenor controls the ball

Below: Zoe Evans on the attack!


20

The final day of term was the annual Speech Day andPrize-giving. The following Meynell pupils all receivedwork prizes; in Year 10 Joseph Haigh, Bethany Lyttle andRobert Gereke; in Year 11 Christian Cieslik, JoelMaddock-James and Joanne Bowen; in Year 12 ZoeEvans, James McCarthy and Robert Lau; in Year 13Matthew Steggles, Wilson Chan, Harry Hughes, LisaNiklas and Nick West. Special prizes also went to HenryMaybury, Sam Phillips, Katrina Scharf, Christian Cieslik,Emmie Hughes, Wilson Chan and Rebecca Britton.

Reflecting on the year I think it has been once again asuccessful and entertaining year. We continue to keepthe good name of Meynell burning brightly through ourenthusiasm and desire to win as many competitions aspossible. I already look forward to next year and wish ourdeparting House Captains and leavers all the best for thefuture. Finally I would also like to wish Mrs Walker-Smithall the best in her new job in Qatar.ILR

What a try!From a pass byAngus Cross,

James Latter runshalfway down thefield to score


‘The King is dead, long live the King’. A much over-usedsaying perhaps, but I believe that it perfectly illustratesthat whilst last Christmas marked the end of DrChatterjee’s hugely successful six-year reign and thebeginning of my tenure, the message to those pupilswho constitute Talbot House was very much the samethroughout 2009-10. The fact that I am able in thesenotes to reflect on another very productive nine monthsis testament to their willingness to commit unstintinglyto the House’s ethos under both my predecessor andmyself, which I feel is perfectly encapsulated by VinceLombardi’s oft misquoted utterance, “Winning isn’teverything, wanting to win is”.

But enough of the philosophy, it is time to move on totalk of triumphs, of which there were many. The firsthighlight of the year for me was Streuth, the TalbotHouse play, which was directed with great aplomb byCharlotte Shearer, a performance which deservedlyearned her the Best Director award. The whole cast puton a splendid show, from those with a major part suchas Dominic Simpson, to others whose roles weresmaller but no less memorable. Danil Nasybullin’s roleas a charismatic bus driver was perhaps the stand-outexample.

The first term was also notable for the success of theTalbot team in the inaugural House Quiz challenge.Having swept aside the challenge of Meynell in the semi-final, the stage was set for a clash of the heavyweights,with Woodard offering stiff opposition in the final.

However Will Bevan’s impressive knowledge of The Lordof the Rings eventually proved decisive in a tense tie-breaker, and the title was ours.

In the Lent Term we again achieved success away fromthe sports field with an excellent display in the JuniorDebating competition, with the trio of Dominic Simpson,Joe Pescod and Peter Nelhans successfully arguing that‘Abortion is better than adoption’ and ‘There are no badchildren, just bad parents’ to become champions. TheSeniors also performed very creditably in proposing themotion that ‘Socialism works better than capitalism’, andspecial mention should be made of Ludwig Schinzing,who stepped into the breach at very short notice, but didan admirable job on what was his first ever appearancein the debating arena.

The House’s sports teams have been no less successfulover the three terms, with a number of triumphs toreport. The biggest sporting event of the year in termsof numbers participating is the House Cross Country,which takes place in the Lent Term, and the Houseturned out in force. Indeed special mention should bemade of Joe Johnson, who declined the opportunityafforded to him to miss the race because of medicalreasons, and duly completed the course, thuscontributing valuable points to a team which emerged asoverall winners. Sam and Alex Owen were also keyfigures in this success, with Sam winning the Juniorevent and Alex finishing sixth in the Intermediate race.

There were several other notable triumphs over thecourse of the year, and in most cases they involvedpeople stepping up to the plate and making sacrifices forthe good of the House, going that little bit further to makethings happen. Few who saw Matthew Macintosh’sdecisive penalty flick in the Senior House Hockey semi-final against Meynell would have imagined that it wasone of the first he had ever attempted, but when the timecame he stood tall, and this enabled us to go on and winthe final against Woodard thanks to two goals from starman Gareth Da Costa. Then there was James Austin,plucked from a cricket practice without warning, andthrust into the spotlight as a key component of the Junior

21

House Notes - TalbotHousemaster:

Mr L C BambridgeHouse Tutors:

Mr M Coats, Mrs Z J Fisher,

Mrs V M Howle, Mr G Hutchinson, Miss L Killen,

Mr R J Macintosh, Mr D J Morgan, Mr H B Orr, Mr G Owen,

Mrs J E Purcell, Mrs C Westwood

Captains of House:

M D Jones, S M Lesch

Winners of the Junior Debating CompetitionFrom left: Dominic Simpson, Peter Nelhans

and Joe Pescod

Victorious Talbot Junior Cricketers


22

House Basketball team, who secured a thirdsuccessive victory in a thrilling clash with Meynellwhich earned them the title. Our House Swimmingteam had a number of late withdrawals because ofillness and exams, but those who were availableswam to the point of near exhaustion to ensure thatwe competed in all the races, and we duly emergedwith a crushing victory over the other three Houses.Of course there were times when we went into thecompetition as favourites, and never more so thanin the Junior House Cricket. However with thisstatus comes the pressure to live up toexpectations, and the boys certainly rose to thechallenge, easily underlining their superiority whenit mattered most.

Of course I cannot begin to suggest that we wonevery competition which we entered – this is clearlyan impossible feat, with so much talent in otherHouses as well as our own. However my target wasalways that we should finish in the top two, and wedid manage this on numerous occasions. Notableexamples were the Senior Girls’ Basketball teamand the Senior Football team, as well as the Junior

Boys’ Rugby side. What was pleasing about all three ofthese teams was that they might easily have crumbledand thrown in the towel, having fallen behind againststrong opposition, but they kept their heads up and wererewarded with a modicum of success in each arena.This characteristic was equally in evidence in a teamwho did not get anywhere near a top two finish, namelythe Senior Rugby team. They found themselves hugelyoutmatched in all three of their games, but led byinspirational captain Martin Jones they refused to give ineven with the odds stacked so heavily against them.

The year ended with the traditional Speech Day andPrize-giving, and it was pleasing to see so many Talbotpupils gain recognition for their efforts in the academicarena. The list is as follows:

Year 9 Jordan Bulanda (Music)Peter Nelhans (Religious Studies)

Year 10 Rory Bothwell (Art)Goetz Frentzen (D.T., French)Matthew Johnson (Media Studies)

Year 11 Benjamin Huang (EAL)Michael Kelly (French)Collette Riggs (I.T., Music)

Year 12 Christina Lieberoth-Leden (French)Year 13 Elizabeth Evans (Art, Media Studies)

Yaroslav Storozhik (EAL)Chris Johnson (Biology, Chemistry)Mark Willis (Science Cup)Stella Lesch (German)Martin Jones (PE)Will Bevan (Services to Drama)

There have been many instances when I have, in myshort time as Housemaster of Talbot, felt proud to beresponsible for such a pleasant and well-rounded groupof pupils. They have demonstrated many qualities in avast array of different areas, and have also found theheart to contribute towards the sponsorship of a younggirl in the Dominican Republic through the the Plan UKorganisation. Of course there are things which we will

Junior Basketball Team, winners of the Inter-HouseChampionship

The Senior Hockey Team, who beat Woodard in the finalthanks to goals by Gareth da Costa

The heroic - and successful - Swimming TeamFrom left: Ludwig Schinzing, Owain Roberts, Martin

Jones, Raj Basu and Matt Bulanda


seek to improve in 2010-11 (not least of which will be theneed for a dazzling choreography routine to go with ourHouse Song!), but overall I can look to the future withconfidence that the House will continue to thrive andmake its mark on the Competitive House stage.Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank myHouse Captains, Martin Jones and Stella Lesch, whoseenthusiasm and organisational skills have been vital tothe House’s successes in 2009-10. They also bothspoke with great eloquence at the annual House dinner,and I have no doubt that that they will go on to greatthings in the future.LCB

23

Above: Megan BrayLeft above: Stella Lesch

Left: Jens LeeRight: Will Bevan (above) and

Dominic Simpson Below: The cast in rehearsalBelow right: Jonathan Pescod

Above: Hanna Swan andAmber Cauchi

The talented cast of Streuth


House play rehearsals were the first thing to occupy theHouse with Jo Dapling and Freddie ‘Captain of School’Herzog cracking the whip early. Close on their heels wasthe Junior Boys’ Football in which we came third afterone win and two losses. The House team spirit wasevident from the beginning of term and a good year wasin prospect. Both Vivian and Lawrence were on the casestraight away and I was badgered (by Viv) in to gettinglists sorted even earlier than usual. Team spirit wasagain in evidence when we managed to have enoughJunior Girls to field a Football side when most of the girlswere involved in Hockey. Unfortunately, not enoughteams were complete and the competition could not beplayed.

The Senior Boys started this year’s Indoor Football verywell with a very composed 8 - 2 win over Woodard. Thiswas followed by another excellent win 4 - 3 over Talbot(coming back from 3 - 1 down) and rounded off with acomprehensive 6 - 1 victory over Meynell. Championsyet again!

Our first adventure in the new General Knowledge Quizended with a semi-final defeat at the hands of Woodard.Lawrence, Freddie, Julie and Enya scored 200 points tothe Woodard team’s 270 in a close-fought battle. Fasteron the buzzer next year! However, we then went on tobeat Meynell 290 points to 150 for third place.

Junior House Squash was also a close-fought affair withTalbot just beating us 2 matches to 1.

Girls’ Hockey is as strong as ever with the Senior teambeating all three other Houses to win their competitionand the Junior team coming in second place to Meynell(after beating Woodard and Talbot) who narrowly beatthem 2 - 1 in their competition.

The House Play was certainly the highlight of the termwith all involved putting in a massive effort and achievingexcellence once again. The director, Joe Dapling writes:“This year Wakeman put on a production of Our Day Outby Willy Russell to be shown at the infamous House PlayFestival. With a funny script, a large cast and anopportunity to cross-dress, this play was perfect forWakeman-Lambart House. Audition standards werehigh, and choosing lead roles was difficult but it wasevident that the correct choice was made, as LewisAllsop and Georgina Ottaway fitted the roles of the

grumpy Mr Briggs and the patient Mrs Kay. Before wecould blink rehearsals were underway and so was thetedious task of learning lines. The cast put an immenseamount of energy into the rehearsals, and a lot wasgained from them because of this. They had to deal witha lot of changes to the set, characters and lines, so allcredit goes to the cast for putting up with a neuroticdirector!

24

House Notes - Wakeman-LambartHousemaster:Dr M T Gareh

House Tutors:

Ms S M Abbots, Mr M P Clewlow, Mr J H Cowley,

Mr D W Crawford, Mrs J E Fellows, Miss H L Goss,

Mrs J Heath, Mrs M E Hutchings, Mrs D Joynson-Brooke,

Mr S F W Purcell, Mr P E Swainson, Mr P A Wood

Captains of House:Vivian Z Grudde and Lawrence T Walters

House Hockey: the Seniors in action against Woodard

Junior Rugby team defending their goal-line

House Netball against Woodard


25

Performance night came, and asdirector I couldn’t have asked fora more brilliant performance.Everyone got the lines right, theenergy in the characters wasphenomenal and it showed.Peter von Hoven’s cries of‘Swimming!’ added improvisedhilarity, and Freddie Steinebachin an apron and mascara madesure the cross-dressing quotawas filled. The highlyanticipated Ellie’s Awardsadded confirmation to a greatperformance, with Luca Kuhnwinning Best Supporting Actress for herrole as Carol, the whole cast winning BestEnsemble and nominations for LewisAllsop and Georgina Ottaway for the BestActor and Best Actress among numerousothers. A truly fantastic end to a wonderfulproduction, which was made possible bythe cast, Mr Boswell and Freddie Herzog,my assistant director. Many thanks to all.”

The House Rugby was a close-fought affairfor the Senior and Intermediate teams,both of whom ended up runners-up afterplaying some excellent rugby. The Seniorteam lost to Woodard (22 - 17) and theIntermediate team lost to Meynell (24 - 7).

House Basketball was the Wednesdayafternoon sport and it didn’t suit the boys.However, the Junior Girls won theircompetition as the only team to turn up with

enough players – a testament to their commitment to theHouse. The Senior Girls brushed aside their opposition,beating Meynell 14 - 2 in the semi-finals and then Talbot12 - 0 in the final. House Cross-Country was againstrong for us and we won the Merit Cup for the mostpupils taking part. Two second places (Seniors andInters) and third place for the Juniors gave us secondplace overall. This was again a superb House effort.House Singing followed swiftly behind, and with thestandard higher than ever we were placed second for theUnison Song (Black and Gold) and an excellent PartSong (Yellow) gained us third place overall. Again asuperb effort from the House and thanks again to MrCrawford who accompanied every practice and playedthe piano in the competition. No other House has hisequal.

The Junior Debating team (G Ottaway, M McBrienand E Palmer) narrowly lost their semi-finalagainst Meynell but the Senior team (L Ottaway,F Herzog and J Eckhoff) were the clear victors intheir opposition to Talbot’s proposal, Socialism isbetter than Capitalism.

Boys’ Junior House Hockey was interesting asnone of the participants had played Hockeybefore which perhaps explained their defeats.The Senior Team played well and was placedthird overall. House Netball was almost a cleansweep but a couple of people let us down for theB team and that placed us second in the Bcompetition with two wins and a loss. The A teamwere first with two wins and a draw which put ussecond overall by goal difference – a great effort.

The Senior Boys’ Football team improved uponthe girls’ result by winning all three of theirmatches to win their competition and with a win,a draw and a loss, the Juniors’ team were placedthird. This was another excellent day for theHouse.

“Yeah but, No but....”Ruslana Rashchupkina andElla Walker in Our Day Out

The victorious Senior Debating TeamLeft to right: Luke Ottaway, Freddie Herzog and Jennifer Eckhoff

A scene from Our Day Out byWilly Russell


26

Although we had quantity, we lacked a little quality in thefirst Volleyball match against Talbot but the second weeksaw us leap to an excellent victory against Meynell.Unfortunately Woodard beat us in their match thefollowing week, placing us third overall.

We were a little out of our depth in the Boys’ SeniorHouse Swimming but we competed in every event andmanaged a very creditable third place.

In difficult conditions for the Senior House Tennis wemanaged a victory for the Boys’ team but overall weended the competition in third place. Continuing our runof third places this term, our House Golf team wassqueezed out of second place by two shots. However,

our Senior Cricket team knocked this run of results forsix by comfortably winning the competition with theJunior team just failing to qualify for the final by one run.

Another successful year for the House – well doneeveryone.MTG

Junior Girls’ Hockey Team captained by E Halstead

Senior Girls’ Hockey Team captained by V Grudde

Inters Rugby Team captained by R Morley

Senior Rugby Team captained by L Walters

Junior Football Team captained by A Main

Senior Football Team captained by Freddie Anderson


Another excellent and very active year has passed andthe members of Woodard House have once again takenfull advantage of the events, competitions and activitiesopen to them. The start of the year saw the promotionof some of last year’s Lower Sixth Formers to prominentpositions within the pupil body of the House. Theposition of Captain for the boys went to Moritz Verleger,ably supported by his Vice Captain Thomas Carr. Theposition of Captain for the Girls went to Zoe Haynes, andher Vice Captain was Emily Wicks. Last year’s Captainswere excellent in every respect so this year the Captainshad a lot to live up to. I need not have worried however,as it quickly became apparent that the newly appointedCaptain team was highly organised and proactive in theirpursuit of teams to fill the numerous events that occurredwithin the first term.

The first event of the year was Inter-House IndoorSoccer. It was good to witness the new Y9 recruitseagerly anticipating the matches that lay before them,although I feel that they were on occasions a little over-eager. Almost immediately the match got off to anaggressive start. Initially I was impressed by the paceand tenacity of our team, but I am afraid that so strongwas the urge to beat Wakeman-Lambart that it was notlong before the referee’s whistle was blown for ‘overenthusiastic’ tackling from the Woodard side. Such wasthe order of the game throughout. The match eventuallyended 3 - 2 in favour of Woodard. There followed arather severe debrief from me during the next Houseassembly and a reminder to all Junior teams ofwhat it means to be a Woodard team player!Thankfully this episode was short-lived and thefollowing matches restored our sense of pride andHouse spirit. The Seniors, despite their valiantefforts to fend off the Wakeman-Lambert team,ended their match seven goals down. There weresome great saves by Cameron Milne who threwhimself from one end of the goal to the other, andaround the keeper’s box (no mean feat for a largeman!), and our one goal of the game was scoredby Ricardo Martoccia.

A brand new House event was introduced late inSeptember – The House Quiz. With Mr DCrawford as the quizmaster one can imagine thecalibre of the questions that tested the cerebralmettle of our House Seniors. Our team comprisedZoe Haynes, Nick Haukohl, Josh Boswell and NikoWojtynia. We beat Wakeman-Lambart in the semi-finals by 270 points to 200 and secured a well-deserved place in the final where we were pittedagainst a very capable Talbot team. A significantnumber of spectators turned out to support the

Woodard team. As the final got under way thequizmaster (in this case Mr L Bambridge) fired questionsthick and fast against the clock. They ranged from ‘Whokilled Cock Robin?’ to ‘Who lived in Shrewsbury Abbey inthe Twelfth Century?’ Unbelievably, as the final secondsticked away it was clear that the teams had ended thequiz on 320 points apiece. The quizmaster took it to atie-breaker with two final questions. I am sorry to saythat Talbot answered two questions correctly to our one,so they won by a hairsbreadth!

The Junior and Senior House Squash tournament alsobegan in mid-October. Our team players includedGeorge Crow who did well to play with a recently injured(and I believe broken) ankle. He annihilated hisopponent and this was very impressive to watch. Itbecame even more impressive when after the match hadfinished he informed me that he had never playedSquash before! Javier Menendez also followed suit andthis left Milun Dhansingani with little to do as Meynell’sfinal player failed to show up (evidently intimidated by ourexceptional performance). The Juniors then met Talbotin the final. Due to several injuries our team wasseriously weakened. Nevertheless a strong GeorgeCrow showed class in quite a tight loss against Meynell’stop player in the last set. Although James Preston andJake Rogan put in sterling performances, in the end itwas Meynell who snatched the victory. As for theSeniors, the girls’ game was one of the best I have everseen. Valentina Horst had complete control throughout,and I was most impressed when she saw fit to openlycriticise the foot position of her opponent during a serve.Sophie Simic’s game against Wakeman-Lambart wasequally fast-paced with some vicious serving that trulypunished her opponent. In the final, Anton Dimroth,Moritz Verleger, and Nick Haukohl were very impressive.Moritz played with what he termed ‘a substandardracquet’ but still pulled out some great rallies againstTom King of Meynell. Anton’s game against ChristianSieslik was everything that you would expect to see fromtwo skilled and seasoned players. Such was the pace ofthe match that after just the first few points were made,both players were exhausted.

27

House Notes - WoodardHousemaster:Mr C R Davies

House Tutors:Mr J J Baggaley, Mrs S J Bogue

Mr R J Curtis, Mrs J Evans, Mr T C Howitt-Dring, Mrs R McCarthy, Mrs J R Nicholson, Mrs L A Paton,

Mr K J Paul, Mr R C Paul, Mr D M Roberts, Mrs H T Scarisbrick Captains of House:

Z E Haynes and M Verleger

The cast of the Woodard House Play,


28

The House Drama performance was by far the largestevent of the Michaelmas Term with regard to timeconsumption. The cast are again to be congratulated onpulling together another astonishing performance whichrevealed the talents of Zoe Haynes as Director. TheHouse gained a number of points for Best Actor, andBest Use of Costume. These performances are nowlegendary amongst the staff and pupils at Ellesmere andit comes as no surprise when it is announced that ‘alltickets are now gone!’ only a couple of days afterbecoming available. Once again all Woodardperformance members produced a professional level

show that left meand their fellowHouse membersfull of pride andadmiration fortheir exceptionaltalents.

Closely followingthe Inter-HouseDrama was theHouse Hockey,played out onceagain on a cold,wet afternoon infailing light.Un fo r tuna te l y,despite braveefforts by ourgirls, this was anunusually difficultafternoon for us,not least becausetwo of theWoodard ladies

were ill and still insisted on representing the House.Steph Newport Booth actually left the field due to illness,only then to insist on returning to play in the next match.One has to admire the grit! By the end of the dayWoodard finished the tournament in third position overall.

The approach towards Christmas saw much festivityamongst the staff and the pupils. Our thanks go to allfriends and relatives who were able to share the mulledwine and mince pies with us after the Carol Service andonce again my thanks to Mrs McCarthy for her delightfulreading during the service. Following on into the LentTerm, the Inter-House Cross Country presented the

runners with thet r a d i t i o n a l l yp u n i s h i n gcombination ofdistance, stiffcompetition, andchilly Februaryweather. All ourrunners turned outin good spirits forthis exhaustingafternoon event inwhich all sectionsof the House(Juniors, Inters,Seniors) ran. I amsure that theWoodard Year 11sand Sixth Formerswelcomed thischance to shakeoff their examinationcobwebs and torevitalise body andmind to see themthrough until Half Term. All runners put in an excellenteffort and our very own House Captain Moritz Verlegerwas the first Senior runner across the finish line.

Once again this year the House Singing created a stirlong before the event was scheduled to take place.‘Colours’ was the theme for this year and it spurredsome terrific singing from all Houses. The WoodardUnison song was Ruby, and the part song the EvaCassidy classic Fields of Gold. After last year’ssensational performances I was not expecting to get asecond chance at the House Singing trophy. Imaginemy delight when once again Woodard came out on topon the evening and the trophy was again ours foranother year. All credit to Josh Boswell and BenLingard-Lane for pulling the House together in perfectharmony. I hope that in the future we will be able torecord the part-songs as they certainly warrant it – thestandard is now at least at professional level!

The Debating team did the House proud again. TheJunior team comprising Sophie Osborne, Daisy Clarkeand Kate Parry put forward a forceful argument that hadobviously been well-researched and was delivered with

Zoe Haynes and Ben Lingard-Lanewith Ellies

The Junior Girls’ House Hockey team

House Captain Moritz Verlegerwinning the Senior House Cross

Country

House Singing victoryThe Part-song Group with the trophies


29

confidence and panache. Although the opposing Housebombarded the Woodard team with difficult questionsWoodard defended with a passion. Unfortunatelysuccess on this occasion did not come our way. TheSenior team was Josh Boswell (a solid debater if everthere was one, and fresh from debating at the ‘ModelUnited Nations’ in the Hague), Niko Wojtynia and NickHaukohl. These pillars of the Ellesmere debatingcommunity put in a terrific effort and a very entertainingdebate against Wakeman. Sadly Woodard lost thedebate in the final due to a technicality. Even so theeffort was admirable! The annual Woodard House formal dinner took place inearly March and I was delighted with thesupport shown by so many guests again thisyear. The evening was a great success, forwhich most of the credit, as always, rests withthe pupils, and of course the House Captainswho gave excellent speeches, reminding us allof many of the best moments from theWoodard competitive calendar to date. Ourguests were treated to a rendition of our part-song from the House Singing Contest. Thelegendary musical skills of Mr Paul and MrsBogue were greatly appreciated. The LentTerm rounded off nicely with the WoodardJunior Basketball team winning in the final,and a very entertaining Hockey match againstTalbot that saw us through to the final, thanksto a shot from Elliot Rogan that found a waythrough to the back of the goal. The efforts ofthe Junior section of the House this year havebeen magnificent and very visible. Hardly

surprising then that I have awarded more Junior HouseColours this year to pupils in Y9 and Y10 in particularthan at any point during the past four years. Well doneJuniors, keep it up!

The late spring weather provided a very pleasantbackdrop for a number of Competitive House events,most notably the sports day (this year run as a tug ‘o’war). This was highly competitive as always but allteams maintained their usual high standards of dressand conduct on the field and Woodard made CompetitiveHouse history by beating Meynell in the final ‘tug’ of theday to become the first ever Competitive House to winthe Inter-House Tug ’o’ War contest!

I know that we all owe a great deal to our HouseCaptains, Moritz and Zoe, and their Vice Captains, Tomand Emily, for carrying the House through to 2010. Theyhave my sincere thanks in appreciation for all that theyhave done so well together.

Finally, I must apologise if I have omitted to mention anymember of the House in this report. If I did this reportwould amount to nothing more than a very extensive listand would make for boring reading. I suppose it is a signof just how full and busy the Competitive House calendaris that I cannot remember every single achievement, nomatter how hard I try. I extend my thanks andappreciation to all House members, their families andfriends who continue to support us and be a part of thisflourishing and rewarding team that is Woodard House. CD

The Senior Debating Team of Niko Wojtynia,Josh Boswell and Nick Haukohl

The Junior Debating Team of Sophie Osborne,Daisy Clarke and Kate Parry

Inaugural winners of the Tug O’ War Contest!

The Junior Basketball Team looking like winners beforetheir final match


It was wonderful to welcome everyone on Speech Day tocelebrate the end of the academic year in Lower School.Following our small celebration in Lower School, parentsand pupils moved on to the strawberries and champagnereception on the main school terraces. (Obviouslychampagne was for the adults!). The sun shone and itwas a truly memorable occasion to mark the end of asuper academic year.

The end of an academic year is a time for reflection. It’sgood to look back and see all that has been achieved.2009 /2010 has been a good year in Lower School. TheLower School community contains one hundred andeighty-two pupils. It is a busy place where growingyoung people enjoy lessons and activities. Each pupilhas an individual personality, following programmes thataim to challenge and inspire. Whilst writing end-of-termreports I spent some time considering each pupil in turn.I then attempted to encapsulate their educational journeyinto a sentence or two. It was a good feeling to realisethat I know them all very well. The teachers and I have

been through the natural highs andchallenges with them as they have arisenthroughout the year. I thought about thechildren new to the school, the pupils whohave joined at stages as the year hasprogressed. I have been proud to see the wayin which our established children welcomedand absorbed them into our busy school life.

The Years 3 and 4 children are full of play andexcitement. Everything is both completelyamazing and enthralling or absolutedevastation can reign if they have a tiff withfriends. The Years 5 and 6 pupils begin toestablish themselves as the year develops, inareas such as sport, music and drama, andtheir activity preferences really begin to show.The Year 7 group have their early-yearstruggles at times, as they are expected tomove on from completely playful learning to amore mature approach to their studies. By theend of the year they manage this very well. We begin to ask a lot from the Year 8 group ofchildren. They are expected to be mature andtake responsibility. It takes some time for some

of them to catch on to this. I have been pleased with theway that they rose to this challenge by the end of theyear. We see them become physically too big for theLower School classrooms as they near the end of theSummer Term and prepare to leave us for Middle School.The Year 8 pupils begin to establish good relationshipswith staff in these later weeks. I have been impressed bya large number of them undertaking show-rounds withprospective families - their personable, confident aircertainly impresses visitors. Many of them begin tocommunicate and articulate more maturely - and thenwe have to pass them on to Middle School.Busy children are happy children. Busy children get intoless trouble and develop positive habits. Positive habitsare life skills that all well-balanced adults need. This iswhy I firmly believe that Ellesmere is a super place toeducate children. Through the dedicated and fun waythat the children carry out their studies with our teachers,they gradually pick up and develop these vital life skills.

30

Pupil Notes - Lower School

Celebrating our 10th Anniversary with Head of Lower SchoolSharon Owen are (from left) Sebastian Dewhurst, Nathan Bulanda,

Natasha Foster and Rosie Holland

Making the most of the snow are (from left)Thomas Gereke, Anthony Bailey and Jonathan Bailey

Learning about the Romans


31

The Headmaster often says, ”If you want to get a jobdone well and quickly, give the job to a busy person.” Alarge number of our pupils are well-motivated and getthings done. Ellesmere helps to develop children whocan eventually manage themselves to good effect. Weencourage children to think for themselves and they arecertainly not spoon-fed. I can relay a typical day for oneof our current Year 8 pupils: An early rise for swimtraining, then on to Chapel or assembly. Lessons andmusic lessons follow. Lunch time sports practice, moreacademic study in the afternoon, then on to orchestra,shooting and prep.

The beauty of Ellesmere is that the Ellesmerian isstretched and challenged to manage this. Lower Schoolis fundamental in developing these good organisationalhabits. In the initial stages the boys and girls will makemistakes. In assembly I often say, “It is fine to make amistake from time to time, as long as one learns andmoves on from the mistake that one makes.”

The other strength of our School is that there are manydifferent areas in which our children can be busy, fromsport to music, arts to academia. When one looks backover all of the achievements from this year, it isimpressive to see the range of activities that our childrenhave had the opportunity to try. During a train journeyback in November I read an article in The Timesnewspaper which initiated reflections about the essenceof what I believe to be true education and developmentof intelligence. True education and lifelong developmentto me comes from having a plethora of experiences tosample…. to work through…. and to reflect upon. Gettingthings wrong and, essentially, working to get things rightthe next time is one of the fundamentals of what learningis all about. Children here certainly get that colourfulrange of experiences and they are encouraged tosample a wide variety.

In the article some of thecountry’s most respectedacademics and critical thinkersput forward their thoughts abouteducation and their notions ofintelligent people. Greenfield,Greer, Grayling and Moor wroteabout being on the threshold of a‘new intelligence’. At the turn ofthe 20th Century a person’sintellectual worth was determinedby an individual’s performance onverbal and numerical IQ tests.‘Hot housing’ children to simplypass tests is now considered avery limiting and outdated

practice. This way of educating is questioned in themodern world of work due to the large number ofindividuals performing well on these tests but actingunintelligently. Their social intelligence is lacking. Theydon’t know how to function competently and interrelatewith others. Their problem-solving skills are lacking andthey cannot communicate their knowledge effectively.

It was acknowledged that, in the successful schools thatdeveloped well-balanced individuals, the notion of how toteach and how to nurture intelligence was also changing.It is often seen that to be purely scholarly, having theability just to pass tests, is really not the full picture. Forreal intelligence, a person has to relate knowledge to lifesituations. Well-balanced, intelligent children can learnfacts and recall to some extent in tests but marks of trueintelligence are alertness, perceptiveness, wit, curiosityand creative responses in a variety of situations; theability to work through a variety of experiences andactivities with increasing confidence. I was reallyheartened to read this as I believe the children in LowerSchool have the opportunity to develop these skills anddevelop the ability to function intelligently, qualities much-needed in the modern work-place. Therefore, to sum upwhat I do know and believe wholeheartedly, Ellesmere isa super place to keep learning stimulating and interestingfor the children placed in our care.

Two people have been super ambassadors for LowerSchool throughout this year. David Powell and FfionDavies are the Head Boy and Head Girl who lead a teamof eighteen prefects. They have done a sterling jobkeeping the Lower School running smoothly. I really willbe watching the progress that these two young peoplemake in Middle School. I am convinced that they will gofrom strength to strength.

We have achieved a great deal in many areas of life aswe have gone through the year. We have battled with

swine flu, floods and snow. We had acelebratory tea to commemorate the10th anniversary of the opening ofLower School. Her Royal HighnessPrincess Anne, the Princess Royal,sent her good wishes. The Grow Domewas erected in September. It has beenused for many charity events by theenvironment and gardening groups.The Parents’ Society funded the newplayground which has been reallyenjoyed by the children. Arecreation area on the top floor was

Left: Tile-making at Blists HillBelow: Rebecca Neary andCatriona Jones who won thirdprize in the Year 8 PhysicsCompetitionFar right: Alistair O’Brienexperiences a different era atWolverhampton Art Gallery


32

developed for Year 8 use. The facilitiesinclude table football, snooker and pool,plus table tennis, board games and arelaxation corner. The outside equipmenthas been extended too to includebadminton, volleyball and extra footballpitches. An outside covered area has beenconstructed which can be usedeither to teach in or just to sit underand read or chat.

We have completed work for thecharity, Monduli Green. Donationshave been made through thefantastic plant sale, a reallyenjoyable Christmas Fair, a superContinental Market, MacmillanCoffee Mornings and cake sales,Age Concern non-uniform days andOperation Christmas Child. Tom Hilland Eoin Murtagh in Year 5organised a talent show in aid of theHaiti Earthquake Disaster Fund. Wehad an Art exhibition.

The KS2 children performed TheSelfish Giant as their Christmas play,highlighting some of the charactersthat we have in the younger agegroup. The older children performed the play TheGreeks. Once again this was excellent. We have alsohad a group of very committed stage technicians, whohave helped with the senior plays too. Isaac Maddock-James, Jo Jameson and Dylan Hughes did a fantasticjob.

We have had a very successful year of sport. There wereover one hundred and thirty fixtures with thirty-two teamsin twelve competitive sports. Eight other sports areavailable which makes twenty sports to play. There havebeen ten different House sport competitions. Rugby isstrong as always. Armani Roberts, a Year 6 pupil, was

selected for North Wales U13 team. Weplayed three tournaments in Sevens andprogressed to the final stages in all ofthem. A number of colours were awardedfor performance. Full colours were awardedto Jacob Roberts, Matthew Kinney andHarry Byrne. The Football season startedslowly with early defeats for all teams.Performances strengthened as the seasonprogressed and dedication in practice paidoff. The U11 team narrowly lost in the finalof the Ellesmere tournament. The girls had

successful Hockey and Netball seasons.Ellie Williams had final trials for theCounty Netball Squad. We are blessedto have a super golf course and thechampion golfer and winner of our Green

Jacket this year was Teddy Hall. We undoubtedly havetalented swimmers. They have continued to train hardthroughout the whole year and have gone fromstrength to strength. A team consisting of AlfiePardoe, James Wilson, Hector Pardoe, Jamie Thomasand Ryen Spencer-Wolfe won the North Shropshireswimming gala. The girls’ team with Naomi Craig,Rebecca Neary, Eleanor Shields, and Amy Latham

Plant sale in aid of Monduli GreenAbove: Mr Bongers being served byKieran Smith and Elliott Price

Left and above: Scenes from the Key Stage 2production of The Selfish Giant

Left: James Thomas (left), Sophie Austinand Elliot Lee in the Key Stage 3

production of The Greeks

Above: GeorgiaStackhouse shows off

the plantsRight: Louis Gameson(left) and Harry Byrneentertaining shoppers atthe Christmas Bazaar


33

came second. Hector Pardoe and Jack Bacon wereselected for the North Shropshire Primary Schools team.Hector Pardoe, Year 4, has been ranked UK NumberOne in his age-group in 200m Butterfly and 200m, 400mand 800m Freestyle. Ten County records were broken byour swimmers at the 2010 County Championships.

We are very lucky to have super shooting facilities andcommitted shooting coaches. A number of children havebeen awarded honours for shooting as the year hasprogressed. Richard Lay has competed at a high levelthroughout the year and captained the shooting squad.Jacob Roberts shot at the Welsh Open national shootingevent and competed in the U21 section. He was alsoawarded the Lits Cup. There were many goodperformances in both School and Academy Tennis thisyear. The Best Player Award went to Catriona Jones. TheMost Improved Players Award went to Georgia Edwardsand James Schofield.

Mr Owen and MrPurnell report that itwas a very enjoyableCricket season withsome memorablemoments, includingtwo openingpartnerships of over100 by David Powell and William Doerr, two superbcatches by William Doerr, two crucial match-winningcatches by James Watson, a bowling hat-trick byMatthew Kinney and superb bowling from SebastianMcCarthy and Anthony Bailey (Year 7), who secured awin with their match-winning partnership. The squadwas superbly led by David and William and HarryWilliams was respected for his keeping and batting. Thetop batting award was given to David Powell, the topbowling award to Matthew Kinney, the top fielding awardto William Doerr.

The Rounders teams had very successful seasons. BothU12 and U13 teams won their respective NorthShropshire tournaments. U13 top batting award waspresented to Catriona Jones and the U12 top battingaward went to Tilly Walker. The Best Fielder award waspresented to Anna Collard-Underwood, the MostImproved Player award to Rebecca Neary and BethHulme.

Once again we have had a super year of music wherethe Lower School musicians and choir have performed toa wonderful standard. Over ninety Lower School childrenhave individual music tuition. The Autumn Concert was ahuge success and the Oswestry Music Festival gave ourperformers a chance to shine. The choir gave animpressive performance in the Three Choirs Concert andthe year was concluded with a visit to Malta, the highlightof which was their performance in Valetta Cathedral. Wehave recently received Grade Certificates from theAssociated Board of the Royal School of Music.

Obviously as a Christian school we place importance onthe focal point of the Chapel and the Chapel service. Anumber of children have been confirmed this year andthere are many children who help with the smoothrunning of our services.

Lily Wilson (right) andElizabeth Walsh (below)performing in the Autumn

Concert

Above: Lower SchoolHockey Squad

Right: Tilly Walker,winner of the U12Rounders Batting

Award

Below:Young guitarist EoinMurtagh in his lesson

with Mr Smith

Left: Lower Schoolservers in Chapel:Henry Byrne withthe Crucifer andacolytes JamesSchofield (left) and

Richard Lay


At the top of our list on Speech Day we celebrated theacademic awards for the year. It has been a real pleasureto write to the parents and tell them how pleased I havebeen with their son or daughter’s individual academicprogress. Effort as well as excellence is celebrated. Itwas a pleasure to name pupils who scored the highestaverage period grades for the year. Keep at the back ofyour mind that the maximum level is 5 and this is for thewhole year!

Year 4 Caitlin Bradley 4.7Year 5 Kate Williamson 4.91Year 6 Mia Foster 4.84Year 7 Beth Hulme 4.88Year 8 Charlie Whitehead 4.87

A number of children have been awarded ExcellenceAwards for the academic subjects in the Whole SchoolSpeech day:Year 7 Jessica Martin-Jones Art

Sebastian McCarthy English and HistoryWilliam Ainge FrenchJames Bateman Geography, Maths,

ScienceEdward Lindop Latin and Spanish

Year 8 Ben Williamson ArtDavid Powell English and MathsEmily Roberts French, History, LatinSam Squires GeographyGeorge Watkin SpanishJoseph Hughes Science

Key Stage 2 Academic Awards:Year 3/4

Natasha Foster EnglishAlistair O’Brien MathsJack Pochin Maths

Year 5 Kate Williamson EnglishAdam Crossman MathsEoin Murtagh Science

Year 6 Mia Foster EnglishKate Moore MathsWil Morgan Science

A special award was donated by a former Head of LowerSchool, Mrs Carolyn Newbold. This award is for a Year 8person who displays all of the qualities of a trueEllesmerian; hardworking, dedicated, with a breadth ofinterest and excellence. There were many children whowould have fitted the bill and the decision was difficult.However, as I have mentioned above, this person playsteam sport to a high standard, shoots, runs, swimscompetitively, plays a number of musical instrumentsand achieves academic excellence too. To top all of thatshe is modest and a lovely person to know. This year’sNewbold Cup was awarded to Naomi Craig. EmilyRoberts played the flute to close Lower Schoolcelebrations. It was an excellent performance and afitting conclusion to events.

At this point I would like to say that I am very muchlooking forward to next year. After long thought andcareful consideration I have asked Beth Hulme to beHead girl next year and Thomas Sloan to be Head boy. Iam positive they will rise to the challenge admirably.SO

34


It was a great pleasure when I was appointed as Head ofMiddle School at the beginning of this year. Little did Irealise how busy my year ahead was going to be. Justkeeping up with all that goes on in Middle School is a full-time job in itself. The variety of activities both within andoutside the College that pupils take part in is immense.On top of this the pupils were, of course, challengingthemselves academically. This year all year-groups tookexternal exams, the first in December for Years 10 and11, and in the Summer for Year 9, when many of themsat the Short Course GCSE in Religious Studies, withnotable success. Modular Science results for Year 10were excellent, with some pupils achieving 100% in anumber of units. However, the majority of academicexams in Middle School falls to Year 11, who of coursewere given a strong reminder of this on their first dayback. I would like to think that this had some effect onthe outcome as the results were great, with 82.7% ofgrades awarded being A* to C grades. It was pleasing tonote that over 24% of all grades were the top grades ofA*/A. Yet again our girls excelled with 94% of A*- C, andover 45% of grades secured were A* or A. Mostdepartments recorded 100% pass. Results for IGCEshowed over 86% awarded pass grades between A*-C.

There were some outstanding results. Sophie Osborneachieved seven A*s and two As. Christian Ceslik addedsix A*s to three As and a B, with Freya West, Vicky vonHoven and William Jackson each getting five A*s andRuslana Rashchupkina gaining three A*s, five As andtwo Bs in her second language - staggering. Successmust not be judged just at the top end; a number ofstudents exceeded their own expectations and achievedgrades that they would not have thought possible at thebeginning of the year. This in the end comes down totheir hard work and determination to succeed.

Throughout the year it has been a pleasure to see all thecommendations that have been given out to worthypupils. Those achieving five or more in a term have beenon the increase and it is certainly something to strive for.The effort put in by pupils is also rewarded, in the formof work prizes which are awarded by the Headmaster atthe end of each term.

In the Intermediate Maths Challenge, eleven pupilsgained Bronze Awards, nine won Silver awards, including

two Year 9 boys, Benjamin Hughes and JohnLeadbeater, and four won Gold Awards; Mark McBrien,Joseph Haigh, Andrew Main and Christian Cieslik. MarkMcBrien won Best in School. In Year 9 and 10 we tookpart in the Biology Challenge, a Junior version of theBritish Biology Olympiad (BBO). Joseph Haigh achieveda Gold Award and many others gained success withSilver and Bronze Awards.

Away from academia, Middle School pupils were just asbusy. With CCF, the Duke of Edinburgh programme andthe Arena Arts programme, Thursday afternoons andExpeditions are always full-on. Be it having to walk andcamp overnight, sail, fly, take part in drama, art, music orArmy tactics, there is something for everyone.

In the major sports some of our pupils are alreadyrepresenting the College at First Team level and havebeen selected for County or Regional teams. Shooting,Tennis and Swimming are year-round events andcompetitions take place throughout the year. Betweenthese events many Middle School pupils haverepresented the College at the top level. RichardBelcher and Ryan Williams achieved GB Wales selectionfor their shooting, Jo Bowen became the U16 TennisCounty Champion and Hannah Clark was the runner-up.In a reversal of roles, Hannah won the U18 Tennis

35

Pupil Notes - Middle School

GCSE Results DayFrom left: Sarah Wicks, Jo Bowen and Freya West

Above: Drum workshop in the Arena Arts programmeBelow: Year 9 cadets receive a lesson on weapon-

handling from Cdt Sgt Callum Booth


36

County Championships with Jo as runner-up.George Shelley, Year 11 and his brother Edward,Year 9, have represented Team GB in the RSFeva Sailing Nationals. They were selected inOctober 2009 to join the National Squad, incompetition with seventy other crews, to train forthe World Cup in July 2010. Due to their excellentseamanship, they have been selected for extratraining by one of the top coaches in the UK. Theboys have recently been sponsored by the OldEllesmerian Club and as a result will be sailingwith the School crest on their boat. During theSummer vacation Elliot Rogan (Year 10), amember of the Navy Section of the CCF, gainedthe British Sub-Aqua Ocean Diving qualification.Rugby and Hockey are the main sports of theMichalemas Term and there were well overtwenty County and Regional selections madefrom our boys and girls.

The October Open Day is a time when College can boastof its many successes and its beautiful grounds.However, this would all be meaningless if it were not forthe guides and helpers who demonstrate what Ellesmereis about. A big thank you to all those that helped out;they are too numerous to list.

Throughout the year many membersof the school have music lessons andfor some there are also music exams.This year saw ten Middle Schoolpupils pass the Associated Board ofthe Royal School of Music exams, withLuke Taylor gaining a Grade 7Distinction on the violin and John Paulachieving a Grade 8 Distinction on the‘cello. The Autumn Concert had anumber of Middle School pupils takingpart, both as instrumentalists and asmembers of the Chapel Choir.Performance of the night went toOuming Huang on Piano. The HousePlays were once again veryprofessional, with many of the leadingroles falling to a very talented MiddleSchool. It was encouraging to see thenumber of Year 9s who took part.

George and Ed Shelley, Team GB

Top left: Tom and TedParker, Regional and

County players in RugbyLeague and Rugby UnionTop right: Elliot Rogan,

Sub-Aqua Diver Above: County Hockeyplayers Annabel Rogan(centre) and Ellie

Halstead (right) with BethHulme (LS)

Right: Fraser Murdoch,Scotland U15 squad

member

Autumn Concert in Big School


37

As the end of the Michaelmas Term approached thepace did not slacken. Choir members were busyrehearsing for the candle-lit Carol Services that are ahighlight of the Ellesmere calendar. The House Rugbyand Hockey matches took place in the last week alongwith the House outings. The girls went to the ClothesShow at the NEC and both boys’ Houses opted for thecinema and ‘all you can eat’. At the Middle SchoolChristmas lunch it was great to see all the pupils lookingso smart in their suits and the confidence that manyexhibited when it came to making the speeches or sayinggrace. A great way to end the term. Then Mr and MrsOwen took twenty-five pupils to Gstaad on the annual skitrip, enjoyed by all, despite Sam beating his Dad on theslalom!

The Lent termwas no lesshectic, with notonly CompetitiveHouse eventstaking place mostweeks, but Cross-country as well asFootball, Hockeyand Netball as

the main sports. It is also Sevensterm, and the U15 Sevens Rugbyteam went on to win the AdamsTournament, a major coup for them.Year 9 pupil Fraser Murdoch wasselected for the Scotland U15 Footballsquad (as well as playing for NorthEast Wales this Summer in the U14Cricket team - he lives in Wales butwas born in Scotland!). Another Year9 pair who have excelled in twosports, Rugby League and RugbyUnion, are twins Tom and Ted Parker.They represented the Midlands in thefirst and Shropshire in the second, aswell as being selected for the YouthDevelopment Group of the WorcesterWarriors.

There were as usual a number oftrips, which included Year 11 going toa Hitler on Trial Workshop, a mocktrial which looks at Hitlers’ culpabilityin starting WW2. The Classicists wentto Bath and the South East, and

attended two performances of Greek tragedies. VictoriaSchaeff and Ouming Huang from Year 11 joined a groupof Sixth Formers who took part in a Model UnitedNations conference in The Hague, where debates tookplace during three days. It is no surprise that we havethis sort of expertise, as many pupils are in the DebatingClub. The Oswestry Music Festival has always seenEllesmere pupils perform well and this year was noexception. John Paul, Luke Taylor, George Fradley andAlice Tow were particularly successful. The SchoolMusical was the Little Shop of Horrors and stared LucaKuhn in the lead role, well supported by a glittering castof over twelve Middle School actors. Battle of the Bandswas well attended by Middle School, with a fine debutperformance by Year 11s Ben Kelly, Gordon Humphriesand Tom Watkin.

Two versatile MiddleSchool musicians

Above: George Fradley(piano, saxophone, drums)Right: Kate Parry (‘cello,

singing)

Classics pupils at the Roman town of Caerwent in South Wales

Above: Luca Kuhn as Audrey in Little Shopof Horrors with co-star Henry Maybury


38

The Summer Term was of course a serious timefor all year groups in terms of exams, but therewere still plenty of activities going on. Thehighlight for Year 11 was their Prom, which tookplace early on in the term so as not to distract them fromtheir studies. A big thank you to all those involved in theorganisation as this was a group effort. The themedecided upon this year was Bond, James Bond. It wastime for the suave sophisticated look;Dinner Suits and evening wear all round,as well as music, cards and glamour.

Cricket and Rounders were the maingames for Wednesdays. Athletics cameto the fore with a talented Middle Schoolsquad taking part in a number of AthleticChampionships. Ellie Halstead (Year 9)shone in the 100m and George Beal(Year 9) represented Shropshire in theMidlands Championship in the Shot Put.A number of Years 10 and 11 pupilswere selected for the 1st Cricket XI andalso for the County. Three pupils fromYear 11 also took part in the SnowdonRun, a gruelling relay run from EllesmereCollege to the top of Snowdon. SarahRichardson, Owain Roberts and SamThurmer helped the team to keep thetime under twelve hours and at the sametime raise a lot of money for charity.

The Middle School play, All in theTiming, was fantastic. There were aseries of comedy sketches relating to

time that were justbrilliant, I would go sofar as to say that their‘timing’ was perfect......The Three ChoirsSummer Concert hadin it many pupils fromMiddle School, mainlyin the Chapel Choir,some of whom went onthe Music Tour to Maltaat the end of the term,where they sang inMedina and Valetta.The annual Battlefieldstrip took place with MrWood taking a group offorty Years 9 and 10pupils to Ypres inBelgium.

Speech Day and Prize Giving marked the term’s end, notbefore many more successes were acknowledged. Aspecial mention must go to Emily Palmer, who wasawarded no less than five work prizes. However, even

after the end of term, the MiddleSchool year was not over; therewas the CCF Summer Camp toCrowbourgh, which was a roaringsuccess. Sarah Carr wasawarded The Wootton MemorialTropy for Best Cadet. Other pupilswere also involved in the CricketFestival.

I would like to wish all the MiddleSchool leavers well with everysuccess in their future. For thosecoming back, the Summervacation is a time to rechargebefore the start of another hecticyear. I would also like to take thisopportunity to thank all theteachers of Middle School fortheir hard work, but especially tothe Heads of St. Aidan’s, St.Cuthbert’s and St. Patrick’s, alongwith all the tutors.RCSarah Carr, winner of The Wootton

Memorial Trophy, at Summer Camp

All in the TimingAbove: Georgina Ottaway in Time Flies

Above right: Bethany Lytttle, Lewis Allsop (centre)and Mark McBrien in Variations on the Death ofTrotsky (and yes, that is an axe in Trotsky’s

head!)Right: Ben Williams in Time Flies


39

Year 11 Prom


40

Pupil Notes - Sixth Form



41

Sixth Form Examination Results

The first year of the A* grade has given Ellesmere SixthFormers the opportunity to record the high standardachieved with over 10% of the girls and nearly 5% of theboys gaining the top award. Overall performance wasexcellent, with close to 97% of students achieving passgrades. Half of the girls and 44.5% of boys gainedpasses in the A* to B category. Most departmentsrecorded 100% pass rates.

Whilst congratulations are due to all students there weresome particularly notable performances worthy ofspecific mention. Joshua Boswell amassed animpressive number of top results with two Grade A*s inHistory and Maths, two Grade As in Economics and

General Studies, and a Grade A in Further Maths AS.He has a place at York University to read Philosophy,Politics and Economics. Rebecca Britton, Head Girl,achieved an A* in English Literature and a further threeGrade As in Geography, History and General Studies.She will be taking up her place to read English Literatureat Cardiff. Freddie Herzog, Head Boy, achieved twoGrade As, a B and a C and has a place at BirminghamUniversity; as did Zoe Haynes, who has a place atLancaster. A Grade A* was also achieved by ElizabethEvans in Fine Art to go with her A and B grades.

Our IB students received their results earlier in thesummer. These students face a challenging course,studying six subjects plus an extra course in the Theoryof Knowledge, and have to complete an independentresearch piece to achieve the Diploma. Stella Leschachieved 42 IB points (which is valued as 654 UCASpoints, or 4.6 A* grades) with a top level 7 in Biology,Maths and French. She is going to University College,London to read Psychology. Afra Ekert, a talented musicscholar, achieved 40 points, an ‘A’ Level equivalent of 4.3A* grades, with high marks for both her extendedresearch and Theory of Knowledge. She plans to attendMedical School in Europe. Vivian Grudde achieved 38points and is going to Bath University to study BusinessAdministration. The average ‘A’ Level equivalent for thewhole IB cohort is just over three A grades or 385 UCASpoints.

This year 86% of our UCAS applicants achieved a placeat their first-choice university. Four accepted theirinsurance offer, and just four went through Clearing. Allfour succeeded in finding suitable places.

Freddie Herzog, Zoe Haynes and Josh Boswellcelebrate their ‘A’ Level results

International Baccalaureate students 2009/10

42

Essay Competition Success

Joshua Boswell, a Year 13 student and Prefect, was theRegional winner of a national writing competitionorganised by the Parliamentary Press Gallery. It involvedwriting an essay recommending three policies that couldbe adopted by any of the parties for the 2010 GeneralElection. Josh was encouraged to enter the competitionby Louise Paton, Head of History and the Gifted &Talented Programme Coordinator. He wrote a 2,000word essay giving ideas for policies for reforms of theFinancial Sector and minimum wage as well as thelegalisation of cannabis. His submission was read by allthree party leaders and won him a two-stay in Londonwhich included a visit to Parliament in session.

High Sheriff’s Award 2010At a presentation evening held at Telford College threeSixth Formers, Elizabeth Evans, Christopher Johnsonand Nicholas West, received the High Sheriff’s Award fortheir outstanding display of good citizenship. All threestudents have been supporting individual younger pupilsas part of their voluntary contribution within the Supportfor Learning Department. In addition, Elizabeth hasdone much fundraising for the school’s nominatedAfrican charity, Monduli Green, Chris has coached

hockey to Lower School pupils and Nick, an IB student,worked as a volunteer in the local Oxfam shop. It wasRos McCarthy, Head of Support for Learning andcoordinator for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold programmeat the school, who nominated Elizabeth, Chris and Nickfor the Young Citizens Award. She noted that all threestudents were stalwart senior members of the Collegeand have patiently supported individual pupils, listeningto them reading and helping with prep.

Reading Half-MarathonAt this year’s Reading Half-Marathon Year 12 studentsJames McCarthy and Julian Sole both completed thecourse in under two hours. As part of their Duke ofEdinburgh Gold Awards James and Julian, who had noprevious experience of long distance running, begantraining after Christmas in preparation for the event,which they entered in order to raise funds for their Dukeof Edinburgh Gold Award Expedition, canoeing inCanada, in July. They raised over £200 towards theirCanadian adventure.

Supermarket Bag PackEleven Sixth Form boarders, nine girls and two boys,gave up a Saturday to pack customers’ shopping atStan’s Supermarket, in aid of Hope House Children’sHospice. They had a hard day, but customers, staff andHope House representatives appreciated their effortsand commented on their courtesy and helpfulnessthroughout the day. They were able to donate £489.20 tothe charity.

DJB

Joshua Boswell receiving his essay award from JohnBercow, Speaker of the House of Commons

Nicholas West (left), the High Sheriff Anna Turner,Elizabeth Evans and Christopher Johnson at the

Citizenship Awards ceremony

James McCarthy (left) and Julian Sole taking part in theReading Half-Marathon



43

Senior Maths Challenge

There is no special preparation for the annual MathsChallenge, and so it is a real test of mathematical ability.This year Liyu Xu in Year 12 and Year 13 pupil, LawrenceWalters, excelled in the Challenge and gained GoldAwards, with Liyu achieving ‘Best in School’. SilverAwards were gained by Aparajit Basu, Joshua Boswell,Tjark Dreyer, Deren Kong, Michael Kuepper, XiaonanPeng, Ami Takahashi and Patrick Weigel. Another sixpupils gained Bronze Awards. They were Douglas Allsop,Cheng-Yu Chaing, Po-Chun Tsai, Frank Murges,Nicholas West and Hugh Wignall.

Model United NationsLeiden

In November 2009, seven Sixth Formstudents attended a Model United NationsConference in Leiden, the Netherlands.This was seen as an opportunity to makeconnections with students from other partsof Europe and to develop a betterunderstanding of the complexity ofinternational issues. For both studentsand teachers it was our first MUNadventure and was a bit of a leap into theunknown.

Leiden was indeed a surprise for theadults. It was almost frightening to seethe competence of the organising studentswho ran the whole event. Their authorityand confidence were awe-inspiring. Youngpeople between the ages of fifteen andnineteen chaired, organised, produceddaily press releases and movies and goteveryone to the right place at the righttime. One couldn’t help realising that asimilar number of paid adults might nothave done this job as competently.

As teachers we are perhaps used to thedisappointment when young people aresomewhat less excited about intellectualideas than we are ourselves. It was,

therefore, a shock to witness the palpable hum ofexcitement, the buzz of enthusiasm as hundreds of

students, unpolluted by the input of teachers,immersed themselves in some of the most challengingissues the world faces today. They lobbied, debatedand painstakingly picked over the details of policiesand resolutions, they listened and they stood up andrepresented the views of their countries. And they hada lot of fun.

I came away thinking that this was the best event I hadever taken students to, and even before we left, thecampaign to ‘go on another MUN soon’ had started.Thanks to the student connections made at Leiden, andthe persistence of a couple of the Upper Sixth, we didindeed go again – this time to the Hague in March2010. CA

The Hague

Ten Sixth Form students travelled to The Hague inMarch for the next three-day Model UN session. Fourhundred students from around the world came togetherfor a realistic simulation of the UN, with some of thedebates being held in the UN Peace Palace. TheEllesmere College team were chosen torepresent China, Israel and Amnesty International.

They took part in the debates leading to the formation ofresolutions in the Security Council and GeneralAssemblies on many issues of importance to the worldat present, ranging from the use of nano-technology, tothe question of self-determination and security in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.

The Ellesmere group was truly international with Englishstudents Joshua Boswell and Dominick Coppingerparticipating alongside Artyom Drobysh, from Russia;Georg Berezkin, Rebecca Maas, Viktoria Schaeff,Ludwig Schinzing, Fredi Steinebach and Niko Wojtyniafrom Germany; and Ouming Huang from China.

Cathy Allen, Head of English as an Additional Language,was responsible for instigating the students’ involvementand accompanied them on both occasions.

Mr Cowley, Head of Maths (far right) with the Sixth FormMaths students who took part in the Challenge

Delegates to the Model United NationsFrom left: Joshua Boswell, Niko Wojtynia, Katrin Scharf, SophieMauersberg, Artyom Drobysh, Anabel Koldijk, Georg Berezkin

44

The Sixth Form Ball

Raising the funds withValentine Roses

From Left: Julie Kennerley,Rebecca Britton, FreddieHerzog, Zoe Haynes,

Jenny Eckhoff, ElizabethEvans, Emmie Hughes



45


46

University Destinations 2010Full Name University Course

Anderson, F. Liverpool John Moores Popular Music StudiesBasu, A. Manchester EconomicsBecker, F.J. Ludwig Maximilians, Munich EconomicsBlake, T.R. Sheffield Hallam Product DesignBoswell, J.T. York Philosophy, Politics and EconomicsBritton, R.A.L. Cardiff English LiteratureBueschler, A.A. Munich Electronic EngineeringCarr, T.D. Harper Adams Agriculture with Farm Business ManagementChan, W.S. Leeds Aeronautical and Aerospace EngineeringClutton, C.R. Liverpool John Moores Real Estate ManagementCole, J.R. Nottingham Trent Property Investment and FinanceCourage, T. Nottingham Trent Planning and Property DevelopmentDapling, J.R. Cardiff Civil EngineeringDimroth, A. Oder LawEckhoff, J.A. UCLA, California BiochemistryEkert, J.A.M.E. Marburg DentistryEvans, E.H. Edge Hill Liverpool Primary Education with QTSFangmann, N. Amsterdam Media and CommunicationsFischer, G-M. Regent Bus. School, London Global Business Management Graf, J-M. Maastricht European StudiesGrudde, V.Z. Bath Business AdministrationHaynes, Z.E. Lancaster English LiteratureHerzog, F.J. Birmingham HistoryHughes, H.B. Sheffield Hallam Criminology and SociologyJackland, A.S.J. Leeds Metropolitan MarketingJohnson, C.D. Southampton Biomedical SciencesJohnson, S.B. Wolverhampton PolicingJones, M.D. Swansea Sports ScienceKennerley, J.E. Harper Adams Rural Property ManagementKillick, A.F.S. Harper Adams Rural Property ManagementKuepper, M. Kaiserslauten Industrial EngineeringLesch, S.M. University College London PsychologyMaybury, H.G. Hull Theatre and PerformanceNanu, L. Amsterdam Fashion Institute ArtQuinlan, S.J. Aberystwyth Marine and Freshwater BiologyRath, C. Erlangen LawRietheimer, M.P.C. London South Bank Business and ManagementSchmid, L.N. Erasmus, Rotterdam International Business AdministrationSesay, A.K. Manchester Metropolitan Hospitality ManagementSorfleet, N. Oxford Brookes Economics/PoliticsSteggles, M.F. Glamorgan Film and VideoStoica, I. Bologna LawStorozhik, Y. Edinburgh Computer ScienceStraub, C.F. Erasmus, Rotterdam International Business AdministrationTomlinson, H. Univ. of Wales Inst., Cardiff PsychologyVerleger, M. Erasmus, Rotterdam International Business AdministrationTsai, P-C. Buckingham Business and Managementvon Hoven, C. Keele Accounting and FinanceWalker, J.R. London South Bank Product DesignWalters, L.T. Bath Chemical Engineering

Wicks, E.J. Bristol West of England Social Work

Wojtynia, N. Utrecht Politics


One of the first places that visitors to the College areshown is the ‘The Chapel of St. Oswald, King andMartyr’. It is also one of the first places to be visited byreturning Old Ellesmerians. New visitors experience asense of history, stability and community that is thebedrock of College life, and returning Old Ellesmeriansfind reassurance, comfort and satisfaction in discoveringthat in an ever-changing world there is one place that hasremained more or less asthey like to remember it.

During its proud service asthe centre of College lifethe Chapel has receivedmany donations and gifts offurnishings and artefacts,from both Old Ellesmeriansand other peopleconnected with the College,as signs of appreciation forwhatever they have foundin and received from thisvery special building. Thereare many small brassplaques discreetly placedaround the Chapel thatbear the names and datesof those who have gifteditems such as stained glasswindows and Sanctuaryfurniture, and there aremany inscriptions to befound on items ofsilverware, from themagnificent processionalcross housed at the eastend to the small wafer boxused for intimate servicesof Holy Communion. Allcommemorate the lives offormer pupils and the longservice of dedicated staff.

It has been both a privilegeand a pleasure to begin along-term project tophotograph and recordeach gifted item with theintention of producing adefinitive catalogue of Chapel ‘treasures’ for the CollegeArchive and for display on Open Days and specialoccasions. Such projects take time to complete, butthankfully can be undertaken alongside others thatensure that the continuity of a blended traditional andcontemporary approach to the presentation of worshipcan be maintained to an acceptable standard.With the project to supply the Chapel Choir of over fiftysingers with new choir robes having been completed,largely due to the generosity of Old Ellesmerians, twonew projects that have been waiting in the wings are nowmoving towards centre stage. As the number of studentsattending Chapel services has been steadily increasing,the struggle to supply and maintain our hymn books hasbeen an issue requiring some thought and attention.Hymn books that are well-worn by regular use arerepaired, but the question of what to do when themajority are beyond repair has caused an investigation

into whether to compile our own ‘in-house’ hymn book orto purchase about seven hundred ready-printed books.Everyone has their own idea about the hymns thatshould be sung and about the type of hymn book that weshould use, and with this in mind pupils, teaching staffand support staff will be invited to express their opinionswhen asked to complete a questionnaire on the subjectof their favourite hymns. It is hoped that the information

gathered will move theproject along and point it ina generally acceptabledirection.

Another pressing projectinvolves updating andimproving the soundsystem in the Chapel. Atthe present time there arefixed microphones only onthe lecterns, and there arejust four speakers, on thesouth side of the Chapel.Hand-held and lapel radiomicrophones, a newamplifier and four morespeakers will improve thequality of presentation ofworship and enable theworship space to be usedmore imaginatively. Thefirst task will be to invitelocal suppliers of audioequipment to send inquotations for the plannedinstallations.

After just over two years ofthe current Chaplain’sincumbency it is becomingclear that there has beenrather too much Chaplainand not enough of otherpeople being involved inleading worship. With thisin mind each residentialCollege House has beeninvited to lead MorningWorship in Chapel. It ishoped that this will

encourage students of all ages to ‘own’ the worship weoffer and will bring further stimulation and freshapproaches to some of our regular services.

The Chapel is open from 7.30 a.m. until about 9 p.m. andis regularly used for choir practice and orchestra practiceas well as for services. The Lady Chapel has provedonce again to be an ideal venue for small familybaptisms. This year I have conducted two baptisms thereand one, for my latest grandchild, in the main body of theChapel. During the working day the Lady Chapel is aplace of quiet retreat for prayer and reflection.

Our two annual Harvest Services raised fundsamounting to £200 which were sent to ‘Water Aid’, acharity providing wells and clean drinking water forpeople in Third World countries. The annualRemembrance Day Service was well attended and acollection of £269 was sent to the Royal British Legion.

47

Chapel Notes

The Chapel by candlelight

48

Over one thousand candles wereused to light the Chapel for thetraditional Christmas CarolServices. The first one of theseason is known as the‘Community Carol Service’ and isattended by a mixture of thecurrent and former pupils andstaff, local people from Ellesmereand friends of the College. Adonation of £1,076 from thisservice and the services forBoarding Houses and LowerSchool was sent to ‘Hope House’,the children’s hospice nearOswestry. Other charitable givinghas focused on the HaitiiEarthquake Appeal (£550), ‘Crisis at Christmas’ (£380),our annual support for MacMillan Nurses, and theBishop’s Ordination Candidates Fund, which was

supported by the collection taken at the 2009Confirmation Service when the College was pleased towelcome the new Bishop of Shrewsbury, The RightReverend Mark Rylands, to presideat the annual service. It was a verylively and enjoyable service andwas attended by several largefamily groups. Bishop Markconfirmed eleven candidates intothe Anglican Communion.

I was reminded of the seniority ofEllesmere College amongst otherWoodard Schools when I took Year7 classes on a one-day WoodardSchool Pilgrimage to BlackburnCathedral. We are prevented fromtravelling too far afield for activitiessuch as pilgrimages by the need toreturn to Ellesmere in time for theafternoon buses, but Blackburnwas just within our reach. Heavytraffic prevented us arriving on timefor the first activities but this turnedout to be to our advantage. Wewould have been sitting at the back

of the building, well away from theaction, if the Provost, CanonClover, had not invited Ellesmerepupils to join him in the cathedralchoir stalls so that they could takea full part in the pilgrimageprogramme. This enhanced thechildren’s enjoyment of worshipthat combined modern andtraditional styles and gave theman experience they are unlikely toforget.

As trust has grown between theChaplaincy and the Collegecommunity I have been privilegedon a number of occasions torevive and use my skills as a

Christian Listener. Some years ago, having realized thatI often talk too much, I decided to take the opportunity totrain to be a Christian Listener. Eventually, havingpassed the three courses involved, I was awarded aCertificate of Qualification signed by the Bishop ofChester. Finally, I had learned the value of being alistening post rather than a talking head and it took myministry as an Anglican priest into new territories.

Christian Listeners offer, on behalf of God and HisChurch, the opportunity for people to speak about theirconcerns in confidence, without being offered adviceand without being judged. The Listener simply providespeople with space and time to express themselves. Heor she may also assist them to summarize what theyhave been talking about. It is a process through whichthe thoughts of the speaker seem to become clearerand speakers usually find that they are able to suggestfor themselves what their future course of action will be.It is my hope that rewarding ministry such as this willcontinue and develop in the future.

In our ever-changing world The Chapel of St. Oswald,King and Martyr has remained the same as it hasalways been; the centre of the life of the Collegecommunity. It is a place where prayer and worship,peace and praise, seriousness and celebration rubshoulders term by term and bring Christian influence intothe lives of all who visit it. Long may God continue tobless our community in our work and worship together.Father David Slim

Lower School pupils help to dress the Chapel for theHarvest Festival

Father David Slim

Pupils assemble for Morning Chapel, with Director of Music Roger Paul at the organ



CO: Lt Col G Hutchinson

2IC: Major M P Clewlow SSI: Sgt C M Collins

Navy SectionLt F R Brook, Sub Lt M Coats

Army SectionMaj M P Clewlow, Capt M T Gareh, Lt K B Hilton,

Lt M A Digby, Lt R Chatterjee

RAF SectionFlt Lt D Joynson-Brooke, Flt Lt J K Collins, Flt Lt F S Williams, Fl Officer R J Heaton

It has been a difficult year for Reserve Forces throughoutthe country, with financial constraints caused byoperational and other pressures affecting many aspectsof training. Cadets have been no different from the adultReserve Forces in this respect, with Army cadets inparticular suffering a much reduced level of support fromOctober to March. Some of these economies werecarried forward into the financial year starting in April2010. Through the hard work of Contingent officers andNCOs most of the training has gone ahead despite theseproblems. Sadly the planned Adventurous Training Campat the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre,Dundonnell, during the Easter vacation, was a casualty

that could not be saved. We now expect to completeECCCF’s fortieth such trip to Scotland in 2011. Analternative trip for a Duke of Edinburgh Award group wasstaged in North Wales, based at a centre owned byShrewsbury School. We are grateful to OE and formerContingent officer, Mr John Harvey, for enabling thearrangements to go through so rapidly. Flt Lt and SSICollins are to be commended for organising and leadingthis trip at such short notice.

The Contingent was close to establishment strength interms of cadets and officers for the year, and all theessential training objectives were fulfilled. The ArmySection would normally complete more in the fieldcraftsection of the syllabus, but the introduction of a newcadet weapon caused a reduction in the time that couldbe devoted to this. I expect 2010/11 to follow a morenormal pattern. Although we were not due a formalReview at the end of the year, we were grateful to OE LtCol Guy Chambers for presenting our annual awards inJune. These included over forty Duke of EdinburghBronze awards earned by cadets in the previous yearand a half. Other awards included The Blake HartleyMemorial Trophy, which went to Cadet Flt Sgt MartinJones; the Wootton Memorial Trophy, awarded to CadetCpl Nick Crow; The Richmond Trophy, won by Cadet CplGuy Cooper; Best Navy Cadet, which was won by CadetAble Seaman George Shelley; Best Army Cadet, won byCadet CSM Harry Hughes; and Best RAF Cadet, won byCadet Flt Sgt Martin Jones. Martin is also to becongratulated on winning an RAF University scholarship. Lt Col G Hutchinson

49

Combined Cadet Force Report2009/10

Presentation of Awards, June 2010From left to right: SSI Chris Collins, Lt Col G Hutchinson (OC), CSM Harry Hughes (Best Army Cadet),

Flt Sgt Martin Jones (Blake Hartley Memorial Trophy, Best RAF Cadet), Cpl Guy Cooper (Richmond Shooting Trophy),LCpl Nick Crowe (Wootton Memorial Trophy), Leading Seaman George Shelley (Best Naval Cadet),

Lt Col Guy Chambers OE, Major Martin Clewlow (2IC)

50

Navy SectionThe Royal Navy Section has completed a full programmeof sailing and watermanship tasks, including an NCOcadre for the Year 11 cadets which produced a group ofsenior cadets who can instruct the juniors. A number ofcadets have attended Royal Navy courses inPortsmouth and Plymouth, including military skills, divingand sailing courses.

The October expedition took place at Whitemere SailingClub, allowing the cadets to sail a variety of dinghies andalso to be assessed for their RYA Level 2 Certificate,which most achieved. Thanks are due to Mr Ian Williams,who braved the elements and helped rig and assist intraining as well as camping out and sampling theexcellent food. Not only did the cadets sail for three fulldays, they also erected tents, camped for two nights andhad to take on various culinary duties as well as keepingthe club ship-shape.

The Field Day gave our senior cadets theopportunity to inspire the recently-attachedYear 9 cadets to develop their sailing prowessand practise their own leadership skills. Theircampcraft skills were put to the test during theSummer Expedition, which was their Duke ofEdinburgh Bronze practice, and for the moresenior cadets the final Bronze expedition. Thistook place between Ellesmere College andLlangollen, camping at Quinta and formulatingthier own menus as well as delivering whatthey brought as edible meals. During thecourse of the year the cadets were shownhow to make scrumptous meals from next tonothing when we had a visit from a RoyalNavy chef who had worked on aircraftcarriers, surface ships and submarines.Sausages can be transformed into deliciousmeatballs (supermarket own brand!).

This year it was our turn to host the annual Royal NavyCombined Cadet Force Conference, which was presidedover by OE Lt Col Roger Armstrong, Royal Marines. Ourthanks to the Headmaster and catering staff for theirhelp and assistance.

The cadets have been aware that during the course ofthis year the cadet movement has been celebrating its150th year. The cadets helped plant a number of treeswithin the College grounds to commemorate theanniversary. Taking part in the Cadet 150 celebrations aselect few, Annabelle Rogan, Molly Venner and HarryClewlow, were given the honour of representing theCollege at Her Majesty the Queen's garden party atBuckingham Palace. They stayed the night before onHMS Bristol, where they brushed up on their drill beforeparading down The Mall in front of members of the RoyalFamily and their guests, who included a trio of proudEllesmere College parents.

We have said a sad farewell to our chief, P. O. KevinWhitely, who has taken up a position at HMS Raleigh, thetraining centre in Plymouth; we await our first official visitby his replacement. We also say farewell to Mr MichaelCoats, who has worked with the Navy cadets for the lasttwo years. We thank him for his services. Lt Frank Brooke, OC Navy Section

Right: RoyalNavy Chefwatches asCadet GrantJones tries outsome cooking

skills

Left: Sailingon Whitemereduring theAutumn

Expeditions:George and EdShelley gainedtheir RYA Level2 Certificates

Navy cadets Annabelle Rogan, Harry Clewlow andMolly Venner with Sub Lt Michael Coats at the Palace

Navy cadets march down to Buckingham Palace in theCadet 150 Celebrations



51

Army Section The Army Section was issued with the new A2 rifle inOctober, which was too late for anyone to pass a SafeHandling test before the first Expeditions. The SeniorRecruit Squad, comprising those new into the SixthForm, went to Nesscliffe for ‘dry’ tactical training, whilstYear 11 similarly carried out exercises in Planning,Command and Control. The Senior Recruits werecommanded by Captain Gareh, with U/O Christian Rathas the leading NCO and Sergeant Leo Schmid insupport. Year 11 training was organised by Lt Digby andLt Chatterjee, who were supported by CSMs HarryHughes and Niko Wojtynia for much of the time, althoughNCOs were required to be very flexible about where theyoperated this year. Year 10, under Major Clewlow, tookthe opportunity to complete the expedition phase of theBronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, in the Llangollen area.Major Huw Gilbert TA (OE) acted as assessor. SeniorNCOs responsible for Year 10 were CSMs Tom Carr andJonathan Pescod, assisted by Cpl Will Bevan, whoreturned to the Corps after an absence of two years.

During the Lent Term Year 10 completed First Aid andLife Saving before moving on to Weapon Handling. Asthe term progressed Year 9 recruits were absorbed ontoa programme organised by SSI Collins, with MrMacintosh in support. NCOs were rotated though thisand other groups as the need arose. Years 9 and10spent the March Field Day completing Command Tasksand Leadership exercises, plus some competitionsorganised by Outreach teams from the Army and RAF.The day also included an observation exercise whichwas won by Cadet Josh Smethurst, who displayed anexcellent eye for the out-of-place and good powers ofrecall. Year 11 and the Senior Recruits had by nowcompleted Safe Handling tests on the new A2s, enablingthem to carry out blank-firing exercises at Nesscliffe, withsome able to set off the evening before in order tocomplete some night training.

The Summer Term examinations loomed large for allyear groups above Year 10, but worthwhile training stillprogressed. Year 11 completed some advanced mapreading, whilst all the Senior Recruits completed a

Methods of Instruction course. Many of these were ableto attend the Summer Expeditions at Swynnerton, wherethey acted as NCOs, and they also made up a fairproportion of the Summer Camp party. Year 10completed Safe Handling tests in time for Swynnerton,which enabled Year 9 to do some familiarisation inaddition to field exercises before Summer Camp. Thewhole Army Section went to Swynnerton in the finalweek of the year as a work-up exercise before the

Crowborough party departed the following Sunday. AtCrowborough most of the training packages were animproved version of those that we have enjoyed in thepast, despite the budget restrictions that have affected allelements of the cadet world. Veterans from Iraq andAfghanistan were able to filter down the latest tacticalthinking from the Infantry during Fieldcraft and PersonalSkills, whist the Range Day and Adventurous Training atBewl Water were better than encountered at mostSummer Camp locations. On Competition Day the partyacquitted itself well in all events and were runners-up inMarkmanship. Within the Contingent Guy Cooper againwon the Richmond Shooting Trophy, whilst Cpl SarahCarr was awarded The Wootton Memorial Trophy forBest Cadet at Summer Camp.Lt Col G Hutchinson

Senior cadet Jamie Stokes shows Year 10 cadetBerwyn Hughes how to ‘cam up’

Field Day: The observation exercise called on powersof concentration and recall

C/Sgt Jamie Whittles issues orders to his SectionCommanders at Swynnerton Camp

52

Ellesmere College Army Cadets atCrowborough Summer Camp



53

Royal Air Force Section

Once again we have had an exceptional year,especially for those cadets wishing to fly in theGrob Tutors at RAF Cosford, or try motorisedgliding at Ternhill. Yuriy Lonchenko took up agliding scholarship during the June holidayand had a fantastic experience.

Our October expedition found the cadets up inthe Welsh hills, camping in the wild and climbingsome big mountains. They all survived andwere proud of themselves for navigatingin some trying terrain. The Field Day found ourcadets assisting the Year 9s as leaders in avariety of activities, including teambuilding, target shooting, archery, swimming,leadership tasks and a paint-balling exercise.Thanks are due to all the staff and seniorcadets who helped provide a wide and variedselection of military and non-military tasks.

The Summer Expedition was used to completethe Silver and Bronze Duke ofEdinburgh expediton section for our senior cadets. Thejunior cadets completed their first camping andcooking overnight exercise at Quinta, which involvedwalking whilst carrying all their possesions, including thehouse, in a rucksack between Ellesmere Collegeand Llangollen. The weather was very kind andwe returned to College for the last day where the RAFdid what it does best, which is FLY....

Throughout the year we have had the help of ourTest Sgt Stu Hamilton who has tested a number of seniorcadets on their Parts 2 and 3 tests, most of whom havepassed. Mr Robert Heaton took up the uniform this yearand we welcome his contribution, which includedaccompanying Fl Lt Fred Williams and four cadets toRAF Leeming.

We were invited to go to RAF Shawbury to see theTyphoon take off for the annual RAF Cosford air show.The cadets and officers were given a guided tour by theWg Cmdr RAF Typhoon A Gregory, who was overseeingthe whole operation. It was absolutely fabulous as theTyphoon roared down the runway and then took offvertically, a sight to behold.... As an extra bonus wewatched as the Red Arrows landed and took centrestage prior to their display at the air show. A once-in-alifetime experience, and our thanks must go to the WingCommander for his valuable time and patience with ourmany questions.

As usual we were in partnership with the RAF section atNewcastle-under-Lyme Grammar School, who came toCollege for a fun-packed day of shooting, swimming andleadership skills. Our cadets are looking forward to goingover to their school in September for a senior NCOcadre.

Fl Lt D Joynson-Brooke, OC RAF Section

Cadets J Pescod, M Steggles and W Bevan on theirDuke of Edinburgh expedition

RAF cadets Noah Appleby and Melissa Andrewsanchoring a ‘river crossing’ during Field Day

Above: RAF cadets andCCF Officers posing infront of the typhoons at

RAF ShawburyRight: The typhoon taking

offBelow: the famous RedArrows on centre stage

Remembance Day Parade 2009

Officers and cadets from Ellesmere College CCF tookpart in the parade at the Ellesmere Town RemembranceService on Sunday 8th November. The Contingentparaded with its new Colours Standard for the first timesince its absorption into the Rifles Regimental family,which is the new home of its previous parent regiment,The Light Infantry. The Queen’s Colour was carried byCadet Able Seaman Mihai Luca (Navy), whilst theContingent Colour was borne by Cadet Corporal YuriLoychenko (RAF). Cadet Bethany Lyttle (Army) laid awreath in memory of the one hundred and sixty eightformer pupils and staff of Ellesmere College who fellduring the two World Wars. Their names are read outeach year at the ceremony at St. Mary’s Church.

Help for Heroes Cookbook

The hard work of collating the first Ellesmere CollegeCookbook, in aid of Help for Heroes, came to fruition asrecipes were demonstrated and tasted and copies of thecookbook were sold to those who attended the launchevent, ensuring that the College is well on its way toreaching its £1,000 target for the charity. The five Year 9Ellesmere College CCF cadets, Ellie Osborne, Hanna

Swan, Molly Venner, Hayden Edge-Roberts andDeclan Roberts undertook the enterprise aspart of the service element of their Duke ofEdinburgh Bronze Award. They were in uniformto receive guests, and following an introductionby Ian Sawers, Help for Heroes’ localcoordinator, participated on stage during thecourse of the evening.

Contributing personally much of the food tastedduring the evening, Mrs Pat Venner, the BBCWales presenter and grandmother of Molly,entertained everyone as she demonstrated howto put the finishing touches to a number of therecipes from the Cookbook. All five cadetsdemonstrated how to make some of the recipeswith Declan, Hayden and Ellie showing howeasy it is to impress guests with their ChocolateDigestive Surprise, while Molly and Hanna,performing an amusing double act, explainedhow to make Lemon Biscuits. They werefollowed by Lower School boarding pupils EdenBrenninkmeyer, Harriet Watson and Ben Swanwho explained how they enjoyed making regular

batches of Brownies with duty teacher Cathy Allen.

The event was supported by Tipples, the external barservices’ company, who served the drinks and RoslinCatering, who served variations of some of the

interesting recipes includedin the book. During theevening Jaimie Wakefield, aYear 5 pupil at the schooland one of the youngestcontributors to the cookbookalso sold bags of the dogbiscuits made from hisrecipe, raising a further sumfor the charity.

At the end of the launch, thefive cadets showed theirappreciation to Mrs Venner by presenting her with agift and Rae Nicolson, the teacher who had helped thegroup to pull the whole event together, also waspresented with a bouquet of flowers as a token of theirappreciation for her support.HJW

54

Army cadet Bethany Lyttle lays a wreath at the Remembrance Dayceremony in Ellesmere with the Standard Bearers in the background

The proof of the recipe is in the eating

From left: Mrs Nicolson with the cadets at the Help forHeroes Cookbook launch



55

Art

Gunnar Schildai Judith Marie Graf

InternationalBaccalaureate

Luana Nanu

Thomas Phillips Ioana Stoica Emmie Hughes


56

Elizabeth Evans

Toby BlakeAilsa Jackland

James Walker

Toby Blake

James Walker

A Level


57

AS Level

Ella Walker

Ella Walker Jack Foster Lydia Lam

Bogdan Davydov

Viola Grosvenor

Carys Fieldhouse

Ella Walker

58

George Cave Zachary Cooper

Olivia Churton

Samantha Wolfson

Megan Bray

Enya MacLiam-Roberts

Sophie Halstead



59

GCSELuca Kuhn Hannah Cumpston

Sarah Richardson Jennifer Griffiths

Alexander Fogg Ryan Jones Hannah Cumpston

60

Reka Kanniess

Sam Thurmer

William Abell

Gordon Humphreys

Raphaela Ring

RuslanaRashchupkina

Sam Thurmer



61

Lower SchoolArt Work

Year 5 Work Based on theTheme of Seeds

Year 5 Work Based on theTheme of Insects


62

Year 6 Work Based on NaturalForms, Looking at Henry Moore

Year 7 Work Based on the Theme ofStill Life and Cakes


63

House Play Festival 2009The 2009 House Play Festival was as vibrant, eclectic and spirited as ever – with the added dimension of a pointsallocation for the Ellies Awards resulting in an overall winner. The festival was conceived as a celebration of dramain the school and we have always approached the competitive aspect with a playful sense of humour rather thanruthless aggression! The addition of the points system did not alter the festival ethos while appeasing those who liketheir art numbered and ranked.

Drama

MeynellOutside Edge by Richard Harris

Meynell’s contribution this year was a sportingfarce with some very notable performances. Amemorable portrayal of uxorial attachment wasgiven by the bizarrely costumed Nick West – afur coat in Summer when everyone else is inshirtsleeves! He was ably partnered by themercurial Charlie Coppinger and played wellagainst Becky Britton’s busybody of anorganiser. Becky and Luke Taylor’s on-stagerelationship was hilariously physicalised in ahunt by the former for a key in the pockets of thelatter. This comic set piece was turned into acoup de theatre by the appearance of theperplexed Dominick Coppinger as we saw theevent through his eyes. Other notableperformances included Sarah Richardson andHenry Maybury. Matthew Steggles did a greatjob directing this fizzy cast.

Dominick Coppinger (left) and Luke Taylor

TalbotThe Talbot House Play Festival by Will

Bevan and Johnny Pescod

I was absolutely delighted to see a homegrownplay this year. Will and Johnny did a great job,creating mischief and mayhem as theylampooned and satirised the other House plays,producing a hilarious hybrid of their own. Willwas a powerful presence on stage as well,causing multiple moments of delirious,spontaneous applause from the audience. Thewhole glorious send-up was very well directedby Charlotte Shearer.

William Bevan

64

WoodardBlithe Spirit by Noel Coward

There appears to be at least one classictext chosen each year and this time itwas Woodard’s choice of this comicperennial, much loved by audiencesfrom the1930s to the present day. Itproved a hit at Ellesmere as well, with afrantic Ben Lingard-Lane and anascerbic Daisy Clarke going at eachother hammer and tongs as the couplehaunted by the wickedly sarcastic spiritof Charlotte Boffey. The cast were veryably supported by a dentally-challengedNico Wojtinya alongside a puzzledJenny Griffiths. Into the mix was thenthrown the larger-than-life character ofMadame Arcati, ebulliently performedby Anna Nilsson. Congratulations toZoe Haynes on her direction of a welldressed and well presented play.

From left: Daisy Clarke, Niko Wojtynia, Jennifer Griffiths,Anna Nilsson

Wakeman-LambartOur Day Out by Willy Russell

A classic House play ensemble piece with acast of tens if not of thousands. Very ablydirected by Joe Dapling, with the assistance ofFreddie Herzog, the production sprawledacross the stage with reckless abandon. Wewere taken on to the school coach, off to amotorway services and into a zoo where thekids behaved atrociously much to the delight ofthe audience. Georgie Ottaway’s caringteacher was pitted against her brother Luke’santagonistic coach driver with dramaticallyappropriate results. Lewis Allsop and MarkMcBrien provided strong support asrecognisable teacher archetypes, and LucaKuhn and Ruslana Rashchupkina were verybelievable school trouble makers.

Luke and Georgina Ottaway and cast



The Ellies AwardsBest Use of Props

Nominations: Talbot’s WhaleWoodard’s Gramaphone(NB Thank you Brian Davies)Wakeman’s Furry AnimalsMeynell’s Cricket Scoreboard

Winner: Talbot’s Whale

Best Romantic Moment

Nominations: Jenny Eckhoff and Andrew Main,Wakeman

Charlie Coppinger and Nick West, Meynell Ben Lingard-Lane and Charlotte Boffey, WoodardWilliam Bevan and The Corpse,Talbot

Winner: Charlie Coppinger and Nick West, Meynell

Best Use of Costume

Nominations: Demonstration of teachers total lack ofdress sense, Wakeman-Lambart

A dress big enough to fit Nick West in Meynell Period detail in Woodard Four plays-worth of costumes designed, tailored, dressed and stolenby Talbot

Winner: Period detail in Woodard

Best Cross Dresser

Nominations: Nick West in Meynell Jonny Pescod in TalbotFredi Steinebach in Wakeman-Lambart

Winner: Nick West in Meynell

Best Ensemble

Nominations: The School Kids and Teachers and Extras in Wakeman-Lambart The Four Play Casts in Talbot

Winner: The School Kids and Teachers and Extras inWakeman-Lambart

Best Supporting Actress

Nominations: Jenny Griffiths, WoodardVicky Leadbeater, WoodardAnna Nilsson, WoodardSarah Richardson, Meynell Bethany Lyttle, Meynell Luca Kuhn, Wakeman-Lambart Jenny Eckhoff, Wakeman-Lambart Ruslana Rashchupkina, Wakeman-Lambart Isabella Kolb, TalbotStella Lesch, Talbot

Winner: Luca Kuhn, Wakeman-Lambart

Best Supporting Actor

Nominations: Dominic Coppinger, Meynell Thomas Phillips, Meynell Nico Wojtyina, WoodardDominic Simpson, TalbotJonny Pescod, TalbotJens Lee, Talbot

Winner: Thomas Phillips, Meynell

Best Actress

Nominations: Daisy Clarke, WoodardCharlotte Boffey, WoodardGeorgina Ottaway, Wakeman-Lambart Becky Britton, Meynell Grace Tomlinson, Talbot

Winner: Becky Britton, Meynell

Best Actor

Nominations: Ben Lingard-Lane, WoodardLuke Taylor, Meynell Lewis Allsop, Wakeman-Lambart William Bevan, Talbot

Winner: Ben Lingard-Lane in Woodard

Commentator’s Award for Best Director

Nominations: Matthew Steggles, Meynell Joe Dapling, Wakeman-Lambart Charlotte Shearer, TalbotZoe Haynes, Woodard

Winner: Charlotte Shearer, Talbot

The allocation of points was as follows:

Best Director Talbot 50Best House Director M/T/Wa/Wo 50Best Actor Woodard 40Best Actress Meynell 40Best Ensemble Wakeman-Lambart 30Best Supporting Actor Meynell 25Best Supporting Wakeman-Lambart 25

ActressBest Use of Props Talbot 20Best Use of Costume Woodard 20Best Cross Dresser Meynell 15Best Romantic Moment Meynell 15

Totals Meynell 145Talbot 120Woodard 110Wakeman-Lambart 105

Highest Scoring House Play - Meynell

Congratulations to Meynell and so much for the statistics!

65

66

Little Shop of HorrorsThey may offer you fortune and fame,Love and money and instant acclaim,

But whatever they offer youDON’T FEED THE PLANTS!”

With the success of the Arena Arts Programme’sSummer Expedition performance, the Senior Schoolpresented the full all-singing, all-dancing version of thepopular musical.

It is the story of Seymour Krelborn (Henry Maybury), ahapless flower shop assistant who is hopelesslyinfatuated with his co-worker, the naive but sweet Audrey(Luca Kuhn). Both of them are struggling to get out ofSkid Row, a gritty and dirty gutter of a small citysomewhere in the world. In a desperate bid to escapethe vicious circle that has become Seymour’s life henurtures a plant, named Audrey II (an absolute showstopper voiced by Head of Music Roger Paul andpuppeteered by Biology teacher Robert Heaton) and itbrings him instant fame due to its unusual nature and itsstrange appearance.

The audience experienced life in downtown Skid Rowand in the flower shop owned by pessimistic Mr. Mushnik(played by Paul Scull), saw the crazy goings-on of thesadistic dentist Orin Scrivello (a little too realisticallyplayed by Matthew Steggles) and experienced a host ofother quirky but lovable characters such as theragamuffin Shoop-shoop girls (Jenny Griffiths, HannaSwan and Daisy Clarke), a suitably crazy patient playedby Tom Phillips, who also wrote and devised somewonderfully wacky radio snippets tailor-made for theshow.

The show was a greatsuccess and demonstratedthe wealth of talent here atEllesmere College. It was atruly memorable productionfor all who took part in it.HC

Cast List

Seymour Krelborn Henry MayburyAudrey Luca KuhnMr Mushnik Paul ScullChiffon Jenny GriffithsCrystal Daisy ClarkeRonnette Hanna SwanAudrey II RCPOrin Scrivello Matt StegglesNarrator Emily PalmerCustomer Annabel RoganRadio Announcer Tom PhillipsMrs Luce/Bernstein Emily PalmerCrazy Patient Tom PhillipsSkip Snip Amber CauchiPatrick Martin Ben Williams

Chorus

Amber Cauchi, Emily Palmer, Tom Philips, AnnabelRogan, and Ben Williams.

Below, from left: MatthewSteggles, Tom Phillips,

Daisy Clarke, Jenny Griffithsand Hanna Swan

Left: Henry Maybury with Audrey II

Right: HenryMaybury (left),Paul Scull andLuca Kuhn



67

After so many successful productions this year, theSummer Term saw the turn of the Middle School pupilsto take to the stage. In something of a departure frompast productions the students, who had been developingtheir dramatic talents all year in Middle School DramaClub, presented a sequence of eight short comic playsby the contemporary American playwright, David Ives.

Demonstrating his typical obsessions with wordplay, Ives’comedies spin absurd tales of love, language andmissed opportunities, with the occasional Communistdictator and monkey thrown in. Whilst the pieces wereoften witty and fast-paced, light and funny, at the sametime they also touched on the deeper issues of life, theuniverse and everything which, like all good comedy, gotthe audience thinking. All the pieces explored differentaspects of the theme of time.

The strong and lively cast was directed by English andMedia teacher Margaret Hutchings, working alongsidetwo Sixth Form students, Ben Lingard-Lane and LukeOttaway, who had been assisting with Drama Club aspart of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

All in the Timing played to highly appreciative audiencesfor two nights in the Arts Centre. A big thank you toeveryone who was involved. A special mention must bemade of Miss Amy Darrant, Head of Physics, whoproved equal to the difficult task of sourcing one of thelongest and most bizarre prop lists we have ever had,including vintage typewriters, golf clubs, a tyre swing andan axe which could appear to be buried in Leon Trotsky’shead.MEH

Sure Thing

Bill Ted FawkeBetty Alex Brooks

Words, Words, Words

Milton Bethany LyttleSwift George FradleyKafka Ellie Osborne

Arabian Nights

FloraSofia KhanNorman

Dominic RyderInterpreter

Annabelle Martin-Jones

Time Flies

MayGeorgina Ottaway

HoraceLuke Taylor

David AttenboroughBen Williams

Degas, C’est Moi

Ed Dominic SimpsonDoris Sarah CarrMan 1 Mark McBrienMan 2 Ben WilliamsWoman 1 Amber CauchiWoman 2 Molly Venner

Captive Audience

TV Man Paul ScullTV Woman Hannah SwanRob Joe PescodLaura Alice Tow

Golf, or the Art of the Fugue

Chuck I Charles CoppingerChuck II Dominic SimpsonChuck III Luke TaylorAmy Daisy ClarkeAnnie Georgie CutcliffeAlma Kate Parry

Variations on the Death of Trotsky

Trotsky Lewis AllsopMrs Trotsky Bethany LyttleRamon Mark McBrien

Backstage

Stage Manager Joe HaighLighting and Sound David Whitehead

William JohnsonProps Amy Darrant

Siobhan PhillipsRichard CurtisEmily Palmer

Set Brian DaviesCostume Sue Hinks

All in the Timing2010 Middle School Play

This was the first year of ArtsAward, giving students a morestructured framework for theirexploration of the Arts as well asthe possibility of achieving awardsat Bronze, Silver or Gold level. TheGold Award is now worth 35 UCAStariff points and the Silver is aTrinity Examinations Level 2Certificate. At the end of the yearfifty-one pupils achieved theirBronze Awards and twosuccessfully went straight for Silver.

Pupils have explored their creativity through music, drama,dance, visual art, costume and make up, stage design,and media. They have produced CD recordings of theirmusic, staged plays, written scripts, mounted exhibitions,street danced, face painted and lit up both the stage andthe College’s cultural life with their infectious enthusiasm.

In the Lent term we celebrated the achievement of pupilactors, artists, musicians, dancers and film-makers whohad entertained, enlightened and enlivened us over thepast year in an Arts Award Evening. Many pupils who hadmade a significant contribution to the Arts were exhibiting,performing or presenting work in the Arts Centre. Parentsand friends were warmly invited to join us for the eveningto see what their child and others had been creating at theCollege. Throughout the evening there was the chance toexperience some of the very best scenes, songs, dancesand designs of the past year:

• Quickfire comic duologues from recent plays• Uplifting duets from the school musical• Chorus line dance routines• Virtuoso solos • Displays of technical wizardry

In the theatre, there were musical, dramatic and danceperformances from our most gifted and talentedperformers and we were able to watch clips from the bestpupil films of the year. In the foyer, our visual artists wereexhibiting their work and giving live demonstrations of theirskills in portraiture and the media arts.

We had some wonderful cultural trips to London andLiverpool and some very stimulating workshops in Dance,Cartoon Drawing, Stage Make Up and Model Making.RPB

68

Arts Awards 2009-2010

Alexandra Sloane and Aparajit Basu with their SilverAwards for Lighting Design and Scriptwriting

Above: Pupils enjoy model-making at The HiveBelow left: Dance masterclass with Street Dance

legend, C SharpBelow right: Learning DJ skills at The Hive


69

Bronze Arts Award ProgrammeA Review of Dorian Gray by the Matthew Bourne

Dance Companyat the Lowry Theatre, Salford, 23rd October 2009

by Ruslana Rashchupkina (Year 11)

About more than a century ago Oscar Wilde introducedhis fabulous book The Picture of Dorian Gray to theworld, and today the book has been updated and turnedinto an amazing dance piece of theatre by MatthewBourne. I have seen this performance in Manchester onthe 23th of October and I thought that it was of anincredibly high standard. I can`t possibly compare it tothe other performances I have seen, because it wasperfect and flowed very smooth, as if it wasn’t live!

Although this dancing piece isn’t the exact copy of thebook, because it was updated, it still has the same theme

and storyline. The storyline is presented as Dorian(Richard Winsor) being a waiter at a party when hemeets fashion photographer, Basil Hallward (JasonPiper), the portrait painter of the novel. The infamousportrait is updated to an iconic photo, making Dorian theface of a new fragrance, aptly named Immortal. Thetheme was Dorian’s obsession to stay famous andimmortal as in the picture.

As far as the dancing goes, I felt like it was veryimpressive and gracious, although quite repetitivesometimes. The team of performers was veryprofessional and stayed in their roles as well as keepingtogether, bringing out the atmosphere of the whole story.Multi-role playing was present, where some of thedancers turned into models or other needed charactersof the play. There were also some clever switches in thecharacters – Lord Henry, Dorian’s influential corruptinginfluence, becomes Lady H (Michela Meazza), a DevilWears Prada style media mogul who takes Dorian underher wing and into her bed, introducing him to a life offame and celebrity parties.

Movement and gesture were very important to developthe character and all the dancers used it very well, theywere showing some big movements and graciousgestures in order for every single person in the audienceto see the feelings and understand their characters. Theactors worked well in a team and so no one let the showdown, as all the actors and musicians were very strongand understood the importance of making the book storyreal. This team made the audience catch their breathand made them understand every single messagecarried throughout the play by their dancing. The goodexamples of this are the ones that include theconnection between Dorian and another character,where within minutes the two are embroiled in anerotically charged scene which is tense, athletic andcertainly breathtaking.

The most impressive things about this performance Ithought were set, lighting and music. The set was very

original, making the multiple places needed easy toshow. They had set-changing all the time; even though itsounds very difficult it was easy by simply having part ofthe stage moving different ways. This helped hugely toshow different party places, different houses andstudios. This idea was supported by lighting, which wasdifferent for different places and times of the day. As wellas that I loved the lighting because for each place theyhad different lamps hanging, coming from the top of thetheatre. The music was partly live and partly recorded,depended on which atmosphere was needed and what itwas needed for. The music was very well connected withuse of media, e.g. the pictures of Dorian appearing onthe screen at the same time as the photographer wastaking them, this tells us how well thought out the wholething was. This leads to the most important thing of all,which is amazing directing, which made the whole dramawork so smoothly and naturally. Direction was very goodin all respects, but especially in where everyone shouldbe on stage, where to move and present each sentencethrough their body language. I have never seen anythingto be so perfect, which idealizes Matthew Bourne in myeyes.


Imitation of LifeA new play by Catherine Wignall

Having performed in numerous school productionsat the College, at The Lowry in Salford and in theUSA, Catherine went on to direct two House playswith great success. It seems that in her gap yearshe felt there was one more challenge to be met –writing her own stage play for students atEllesmere.

The play was performed in three acts, and depictedthe life and relationships of the character Charlie(played by Dominick Coppinger), his sister Sarah(played by Victoria Leadbeater) and their friendDaisy (played by Charlotte Boffey).

The first act was set in a family kitchen in 1967, withCharlie and Sarah playing hide and seek and hidingtogether under a table. This was cleverly stagedwith a giant, outsized table and doorway, helping usto believe that the Sixth Formers really were youngchildren. The dialogue between Charlie and hissister, both afraid of the dark, portrayed siblingrelationships with wit and perception. The writingdemonstrated a remarkable ear for dialogue from anovice playwright. There was much laughter fromthe audience in Act 2, set in a bedroom in 1980, asCharlie’s first romantic encounter with Daisyunfolded on stage. The use of classic farcicalelements as characters exited and entered thestage to find other characters in compromisingsituations was handled with precision and deliciouscomic timing.

The third act, thirty years on, was set in the sittingroom of Charlie and Daisy’s matrimonial home. Itportrayed the challenges of communication andmodern-day living, exploring the influence thatpartners can bring to bear upon each other. Thearrival of Sarah following a period of non-communication between the two siblings thendepicted the tensions and complications offamilies and the managing of reconciliations.These mature and adult themes were broughtacross to the audience by the fine acting of allthree of the cast.

To calls of “Author! Author!” from the audience, thecast, stage hands and director encouragedCatherine Wignall to take the final bow toenthusiastic applause. Whilst the members of thecast will be continuing their drama at the Collegewith House plays and an examination performancenext year, Catherine will be starting her degreecourse at Warwick University, reading English withDrama, after having spent a few weeks thisSummer with the National Youth Theatre learningstage management techniques, as well as visitingthe Edinburgh Festival in August.

Having taught Catherine drama from Lower Schoolupwards I have known that she has always had apassion for the stage and considerable talent foracting and directing. I really feel however that shehas found a possible vocation as a playwright. I amdelighted that through our Arena Arts Programme shewas able to explore and develop her interest and herideas. This is a remarkable debut and we await herfuture pieces with eager anticipation. Watch outWarwick!RPB

Top: Catherine Wignall working on the scriptCentre: Daisy (Charlotte Boffey) and Charlie (Dominick

Coppinger) in their first romantic encounterAbove: Daisy and Sarah (Victoria Leadbeater) in the

third scene

70


Music Is Fun

In September the music department opened its’ doors tonearby junior schools, including Ruyton and The Firs(Chester). Pupils had a great time. The day began with ashort performance given by the College’s visiting musicstaff. This included Jazzy Numbers by Roger Paul(piano), Tim Smith (guitar) and Sarah Smith (violin).Gaynor Ellis (vocals) also performed a moving renditionof Summertime by Gershwin. After this, the day wasdivided equally between String, Percussion, Keyboard,

Brass/Woodwind and Vocal workshops. A Grand Finaletook place in the Arts Centre at the end of the dayfeaturing music by Michael Jackson. All the pupilsinvolved performed together, accompanied by RogerPaul (Director of Music), Tim Smith, Gary Santry (drums)and John Dover (bass).

Autumn Concert

The Autumn Concert took place on Thursday 15thOctober. There was a varied programme, ranging from aMozart Bagatelle, played on the violin by Naomi Craig, toMamma Mia, sung as a duet by Daisy Clarke and KateParry. Other string solos included a Rondo by Seizt,performed by Elizabeth Walsh (violin); Saint Saens’ TheSwan played by John Paul (‘cello); and Adoration byBorowski, performed by Luke Taylor (violin). Theaudience was also treated to a solo on the Chineseviolin, Horse Race Through the Forest, played by KevinZhang.

There were also many enjoyable vocal solos. DaisyClarke sang a song from Fame. Two new students, LilyWilson and Sophie Austin, both in Y7, performed Castleon a Cloud and Carrickfergus respectively. JennyGriffiths sang On My Own from Les Miserables. This wasfollowed by further exceptional performances from HenryMaybury and Luca Kuhn.

Piano solos included Will Ainge’s popular Top Cat themetune and a Grade 6 piece from Alice Tow (Y9). We werealso treated to a stunningly accurate performance of theFirst Movement of Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique byBen Huang.

All sections of the orchestra were represented. AngeloDaniel played the theme from Dad’s Army on the cornet,and there were several lively woodwind items including

71

Music

The Three Choirs performing at their Summer Concert, conducted by Roger Paul, Director of Music

Left: A young musician has ago on one of the biggest brassinstruments in the orchestra

Below: A group of localPrimary School pupils listenenthralled to a presentation by

John Dover


72

Emily Roberts’ Sicilienne by Paradis, Hannah Ward’sOom-pah-pah and George Fradley’s jazzy Mr Creek byJames Rae. Richard Walsh played a lyrical melodyentitled Summer by Paul Read and Afra Ekert treated theaudience to Poulenc’s Elegie.

The evening ended with the sound of the EllesmereCollege Orchestra performing The Good, The Bad & TheUgly followed by themes from Pirates Of The Caribbean,which received an encore from the audience. The qualityof the entertainment was a testament to the hard workand talent of all the musicians involved.

Battle of the Bands

The 5th Battle of theBands took place onOctober 8th. Apacked theatre sawthe College’s rocktalent at its best. Thefirst act comprisedGeorge Fradley andJohn Paul on pianoand drums, playing amedley of songsfrom various genres.Next, Tom Phillips

sang his self-composed songFuture Soon togreat applause. Hewas followed by theYear 11 band, whoplayed the well-known Nirvana hitSmells Like TeenSpirit. Ellesmere’svery own Dream

Theater (a progressive metal band from New York)tribute band came next. They performed the songsProphets of War and The Root of All Evil.

Sam Clewlow returned to Ellesmere to play bass as partof Josh Boswell and Johnny Pescod’s band, with Mr Paulon drums. They performed three popular songs,including Beat It and Are You Gonna Be My Girl, thelatter with Will Bevan on tambourine. Finally, the staffband took to the stage, with guests John Cowley (guitar)and Luca Kuhn (vocals), who rounded off the eveningwith the Stones’ Wild Horses, Ruby, and I Will Survive.

Three Choirs at ChristmasThis year the Choral Society began the choral Christmasfestivities by singing in Ellesmere Town Centre at the endof November. This was in addition to the usual AdventCarol Service which was held in Baschurch this year.Next followed two Community Concerts by Lower SchoolChoir; the first was in the Children’s Ward of theOrthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, and the second tookplace at Dolywern Residential Home. Both were wellreceived and the latter was particularly enjoyable as thepupils were able to meet the residents and chat to themafter performing.

The main Christmas event was, of course, the CarolServices. This year the choir (numbering fifty-five in total)had to spread out onto the congregational seats. AfraEkert, Sarah Richardson and Jenny Griffiths eachperformed the solo of Once in Royal David’s City onconsecutive nights. The choir carols included Gaudete,Rutter’s Angels Carol, a lively spiritual arranged by RogerPaul, a rendition of Away in a Manger, and the well-lovedTorches by John Joubert. The commitment and hardwork of all the choirs was much appreciated by thosewho worked with them and heard them.

Music Examinations

A group of musical pupils celebrated their success withthe Associated Board of Music examinations they took atthe College in December. The school again achieved

100% success rate with anumber of pupils whoachieved Merits and fourwho gained Distinctions:Naomi Craig, Year 8(Grade 5 Saxophone),Beth Hulme, Year 7 (Grade2 Harp), Sophie Pritchard,Year 8 (Grade 1 Clarinet)and Luke Taylor, Year 10(Grade 7 Violin). Later inthe academic year severalother pupils achievedMerits in their exams andJohn Paul achieved aDistinction in Grade 8‘Cello.

Josh Boswell (above)and Luca Kuhn(right), two of theperformers in a

Battle of the Bandshigh on atmosphere

and talent

Pupils of Distinction, pictured from left to right: LukeTaylor, Beth Hulme, Naomi Craig and Sophie Pritchard,

and (below) John Paul


73

Choral Society Concert

Ellesmere College was alive with the sound of musicfrom France and Italy on Saturday 13th March when theChoral Society performed Fauré’s Requiem and Vivaldi’sGloria. Ellesmere College pupils, staff, parents andmembers of the local community are all represented inthe Ellesmere College Choral Society, which has existedfor many decades and annually performs a concert thattakes place in the College Chapel.

The concert included three professional soloists fromManchester, Roger Barlow, Sasha Johnson and HollyMarland, as well as the Ellesmere Chamber Orchestrawith some of the College’s Music Scholars; Afra Ekert, inYear 13 (Oboe), George Fradley, in Year 10 (Timpani)and John Paul (Cello), also in Year 10.

The Choral Society rehearsed for many months underthe direction of Director of Music, Roger Paul, whoconducted the performance. The soloists and orchestrawere excellent and they complemented the months ofhard work that the Society has put into rehearsals.

Oswestry Music Festival

At this year’s Oswestry Music Festival Ellesmere Collegewas the best-represented School. Many pupils took part

in a variety of classes and ageranges. This year the school had aspecial mention in the final concertfor entering a pupil on the ChineseViolin.

For the second year running, firstplace was achieved in the YouthChoir Ages 21 and Under class bythe Ellesmere College Chapel Choir,thus retaining The Harry Moore-Bridger Cup. A trio of Year 10 pupils,George Fradley (piano), John Paul(‘cello) and Luke Taylor (violin) wonthe Instrumental Ensemble Ages 19and Under. John Paul then went onto win the String Solo Ages 15 andUnder. Lower School pupils, SophieAustin, Year 7 and Elizabeth Walsh,Year 5, won Vocal Solo and StringSolo respectively in the Ages 12 andUnder classes. John Paul and

George Fradley won the Piano Duet class whilst AliceTow, Year 9, won the Piano Solo Ages 15 and Under.Numerous second places were also won by pupils,including Henry Maybury and Daisy Clarke (Vocal DuetAges 21 and Under); Luke Taylor (String Solo Ages 15and Under); and Year 8 pupils Naomi Craig (WoodwindAges 12 and Under) and Beth Hulme (String Solo Ages12 and Under). Congratulations should also go to thosewho achieved third places; George Fradley, piano; KevinZhang, Chinese violin; Angelo Daniel, cornet; LowerSchool Choir; Kate Parry and John Paul, instrumentalduet; Kate Parry and Daisy Clarke, vocal duet; and EmilyRoberts, woodwind. As well as performing, theEllesmere pupils enjoyed meeting and listening toperformers from other schools. It was great for them toreceive such encouraging feedback from theadjudicators.

Three Choirs Summer Concert

After weeks of rehearsals since the beginning of theterm, the Choral Society joined the College’s Senior andLower School Choirs to sing in front of a packedaudience in Big School. The enthusiastic Lower SchoolChoir, conducted by Rebecca Paul, music teacher,opened the programme and set the scene, performingMy Heart Will Go On from Titanic and O when the Saints.Three talented Year 10 musicians, George Fradley, JohnPaul and Luke Taylor, then accompanied Year 11 pupilLuca Kuhn singing Try, from the musical Fame. This wasfollowed by Helen Coney, the Arts Centre Manager andaccomplished saxophonist, performing I wish I KnewHow It Would Feel To Be Free by Billy Taylor.

The evening of song included a medley from LesMiserables preformed by the Community Choir. Betweenperformances by the Choirs the Scholar’s Ensembleplayed the overture to The Marriage of Figaro by Mozartand the orchestra performed highlights from Star Wars,The Phantom Menace by John Williams, as well asMichael Jackson’s Thriller, which included an amusingvocal accompaniment by Roger Paul, Director of Music.The talented singing duo of Daisy Clarke and HenryMaybury again delighted their audience by singingSomewhere over the Rainbow and the Lloyd-Webberfavourite, All I Ask of You, from The Phantom of theOpera. The evening ended with a Grand Finale featuringall the performers, well over one hundred voices, singingtwo favorites: What a Wonderful World and Bridge OverTroubled Water.

Oswestry Music Festival WinnersFrom left: Elizabeth Walsh, John Paul, Luke Taylor,Freddie Herzog, Matthew Dewhirst, George Fradley

The Ellesmere College Choral Society and Chamber Orchestra performingFaure’s Requiem in the Chapel


74

Malta ‘10 Music Tour

ThursdayThe four-hour flight touched down past midnight, and wewandered through customs in varying states ofalertness. The coach driver woke us up though: abreakneck ride through the narrow, uneven roads ofMalta managed to shake most people conscious enoughto negotiate the scrum at check-in and find their rooms tocrash out on their beds. We got to sleep at about 3.30am.

FridayBreakfast was followed by a practice in the hotelconference room – the choir sounded very good, aconsiderable achievement after being up half the nightbefore. A walk around Sliema to get our bearingspreceded lunch at the Hotel Plevna. The afternoon wasdevoted to the Sliema Pitch, a large seawater pool withfacilities for water polo, a bar and access to some fairlylarge waves on the open sea. We explored the caveswhich went back into the island about fifty metres, swam,played beach football and ate Magnum Sandwiches, among other things. We went to dinner at the local Pizza

Hut before going up to the rooftop before bed.

SaturdayThe day of our first concert dawned. Breakfast was at8.30 before we set off for Mdina at 9. Breakfast wasalways at this time, yet Luke and I developed our ownmorning schedule, which ran like this: 8.00 a.m. receivewake up call; 8:01 leave phone off the hook and return tosleep; 8.30 one of us has the first shower whilst the othergets things ready; 8.45 swap; 9.00 go down to breakfast,eat a pancake and a kiwi, then get on the bus as it startsto leave. Despite this, we never held up the coach.

Somehow, we ended up with an open-top bus, whichproved to be excellent, especially with the same manicbus driver as on our arrival. Rolling through the

countryside towards Mdina was brilliant.When we got to ‘The Silent City’ weproceeded on foot towards the church.A rehearsal was followed by theconcert, and our performance wasgreeted with an enthusiastic receptionfrom the residents, who had turned outin quite large numbers. A traditionalMaltese lunch of ham ftiras (or ‘Rocks’as they became known) was followed bya bus ride back to Sliema Pitch.

Riding the open-top bus through Mdina

Malta scenesTop: bus and crazy driver

Right: local colourBelow:Year 10s enjoying

their free time Far right: walking throughthe streets of Mdina


75

SundayLate breakfast was followed by a bus ride to Valletta,where we found the largest pothole in road history. Themorning was spent in Valletta, the capital of the island,either shopping or singing in the Anglican Cathedral forSunday Mass. A flurry of photo-copied pages and somehasty sight-reading led to a good service, with possiblythe craziest and most technophobic priest I have everencountered. We returned to Sliema for the afternoon, before travellingto the other side of the island for a concert in a localmonastery, courtesy of Amber Cauchi’s grandmother,Marion Peterson. We were slightly held up, and expecteda fairly small audience. Imagine our surprise when thechurch was packed to the very back, an audience ofabout six hundred in total. The concert must have beengood, as one by one the congregation rose to their feetat the end, giving us our first ever full standing ovation ontour. With all those people there it was something tobehold. We stopped at St. Julians for dinner at the HardRock Cafe, who were showing the football match whichno-one was interested in, having watched England’sembarrassing defeat earlier that afternoon. However, asthe starter was served the match ended, and the eveningpassed in typical Hard Rock style.

MondayWe took another bus ride to the Mdina Glass Factory,where, it seemed, the five glass-blowers made an entireBig School’s worth of glass objects, ranging from vases(35 Euros) to tiny horse-drawn carriages, ranging in size(300-1200 Euros. Seriously). After watching the men attheir craft, which was truly amazing, I spent ten minutestrying to find something wrong with a fish from thecheaper ‘seconds’ section, and was unable to, until Katepointed out to me that its nose was missing. I thereforeput it back, picked up an unbroken one, and joined thequeue, which consisted of the entire choir and a fewbewildered holiday-makers. We visited the Sliema Pitch for our last swim there,before going to Valletta’s Anglican Cathedral for our finalconcert. The audience was not as large as the previousnight, but the concert went well. George was very happyto have a proper piano to play Beethoven on. We

returned to Sliema in the evening where we split upbetween Pizza Hut, Macdonald’s or a traditional Malteserestaurant. We chose the third option: La Pappa’s was adeceptively large restaurant with a wide range of foodwhich we greatly enjoyed.

TuesdayOur last full day was spent at the Aqua Marine Park,which was split into two sections. In the morning wewatched the Sea Lion, Parrot and Dolphin shows, whichwere all excellent spectacles. The majority of the groupthen went to the Water Park, but some stayed behind todo the side option of Swimming with Dolphins. I decidedto watch - it looked fantastic, and anyone who was in thewater would definitely tell you the same story.

The water park was split into threesections: The main slide section, the wavepool, and the rubber ring hardcore slidesection. Many people complained of theslides being too slow, but they wereunaware of the best ways to maximisewater slide speed. 1. Raise yourself off thefloor. 2. Keep your head down. 3. Makesure arms and feet are the only points ofcontact. If you did that, you found out whythe extra bits of slide to stop people fallingout on some of sharper bends weren’t awaste of time! The best and most originalslide was the Sidewinder, which hadrubber rings which you pushed off a highplatform down a near-vertical slope and upthe other side. We returned to the hotel for dinner, beforepacking for the flight the next day. It wasdefinitely an excellent trip. Although I stillwonder what has become of my swimmingshorts, which, halfway through the planejourney home, I realised were still on thebathroom towel rail.John Paul

Right: RyanCawsey andWill Aingemaking themost of theirfree time

Below:swimming

with dolphins

Mr Paul (left) with choir members outside the Anglican Cathedralin Valletta



Maura von Voris Revisits the College

A former Theatre GAP Student, Maura returned inJanuary 2010 to run a series of ‘A’ Level and GCSEdrama workshops. Maura is from Boston,Massachutusetts, USA. She first visited the College withthe Tabor Academy theatre group on one of its regulartours of the UK. She then spent the academic year2006/7 at Ellesmere College as the first Arena ArtsCentre Manager, before starting a degree course back inthe USA at The Hartt School of Music, Dance andTheatre in Hartford, Connecticut. Now in her third yearof study for a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Actor Training,Maura was invited to return to the College beforecommencing a three-month Intensive Shakespearecourse in Birmingham.

Maura was an energetic and innovative drama tutorduring her year in Ellesmere, and Richard Boswell,Director of the Arena Arts Programme, was delightedto be able to invite her back to run some voice andspeech, movement, text and Shakespeareworkshops.

Wine Appreciation SocietyChardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Shiraz, Burgundy,Chablis, Champagne, Gewurztraminer, Rioja,

Sauvignon, Chianti, Pinot Noir. At the start of the LentTerm, the Sixth Formers who enrolled on the WineAppreciation Course knew very little about these verydifferent wines. However as the course drew to a closeeveryone’s knowledge had improved considerably, to theextent that we were able to identify, in a blind tasting,where the wine came from (New World or Old World)and what type of grape it originated from. Thisknowledge was only made possible by our excellenttutor, Jonathan Hislop, who eloquently explained eachweek wine-making processes, the perfect wine-growingconditions and of course how to sample the wines byassessing their appearances, aromas and tastes. As wellas many different wine varieties, Jonathan’s expansivewine cellar produced wines from the length and breadthof the globe including Germany, France, Italy and Spainfor the Old World and Australia, New Zealand, Chile,South Africa and the Lebanon for the New World.

The course culminated in an outing to the workingvineyard at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury. This showed usthe process of wine-making in action and also how thevines are grown. It was interesting to see that there waseven a market for English wine and also to be able totaste very different wine from what we were used to. Wethen spent the second half of the day at Tanners WineMerchants in Shrewsbury, which gave us an insight intothe marketing and business side of wine, after which wetasted or “degusted” various different wines. One thingthat the course taught us was how to appreciate wineand not to just drink it for the sake of it. We would all liketo thank Mr. Wood for organising the course and toJonathan Hislop for passing on his extensive knowledgeto us. Freddie Herzog

76

In and Around

Maura von Voris running a workshop for Arena Artsstudents

Above: Learning about thewine business from MrRobert Boutflower of

Tanners Wine Merchants

Left: Mr Wood and MrJonathan Hislop (secondleft) with the Wine Societygroup after a lesson inwine appreciation

77

Ellesmere College Weather Station

Sited on the roof of the Library at Ellesmere College isa solar-powered weather station, the latest addition tothe school’s resources. Instigated and co-ordinated bythe Head of Geography, Helen Scarisbrick, andsupported by the IT Team, the weather station receivesdata and sends it to screens in Lower School, and theGeography Department in Senior School. The data ison the College Intranet and is updated every fiveminutes. The College website will also be linked to theweather station, which records temperature, wind chill,rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, andatmospheric pressure. It means that secondary datacan be stored over the years so that future pupils cananalyse climate data in the long term.

PSHE DayIn November Ellesmere College held its annual PersonalSocial and Health Education Day. Pupils from Year 3 toU6 covered topics as varied as Developing Confidence,Respecting Differences Between People and DevelopingHealthy Safer Lifestyles (Key Stage 2) to Sexual Health,Self Defence and Binge Drinking (Sixth Form).

Year 7 pupils spent the day participating in team-buildingexercises and Year 8 pupils’ day revolved around thethree topics Diet, Fitness and Health. For Year 9 MichaelCoats, Head of IT, delivered sessions that focused on‘Making Good Personal Choices’, including aspects ofInternet Safety; Dr Chatterjee ran a session about theeffects of common illegal substances, solvent abuse andsmoking; and the School Nurses gave presentations onthe importance of putting quality food into growingbodies, body awareness, sexual behavior and protectingoneself from abuse.

The theme for Years 10 and 11 was ‘TakingResponsibility’. Whilst Year 10 pupils focused onbullying, Year 11 pupils participated in workshops thatcovered Study Skills, Exams Survival as well as Alcoholand Binge Drinking.

The PSHE Day is an important one for all pupils,focusing attention on topics relevant to pupils’ ages.Follow-up discussions take place in tutor groups insubsequent weeks.

Sixth Former Jonathan Pescod (left) and FreddyHerzog, Head Boy, in front of the Weather Station

monitor

Above from left:Year 9 pupils

Bryony Webster,Jasmine

Douglas, MollyVenner andSamantha

Williams receivedietary adviceduring PSHE

Day

Left: SixthFormers learningthe skills of self-

defence



78

Trainee Teacher from Down Under

As part of a programme of international internships atthe Griffiths University in Queensland, Australia,Ellesmere College Year 5 pupils enjoyed the additionalsupport of a trainee teacher from across the world.Teresa Ellison, from the Gold Coast, is currently in thefourth and final year of her teaching degree. Mindful thatshe needed to complete a period of teacher trainingbefore she could graduate, Teresa was delighted to learnthat she could apply for a travel bursary and fulfill herplacement overseas. It was the mother of a former Gapstudent who recommended that Teresa should apply tothe College. Living in College for six weeks, Teresagained valuable work experience alongside ElainePhilips, Key Stage 2 Co-ordinator. Teresa’s Englishexperience included visiting theSevern Theatre to see fourEllesmere pupils in the EnglishYouth Ballet production ofSleeping Beauty, and watching aWolverhampton Wanderers’home match with colleagues.

Christmas Tree Lightingand Fair

In November Ellesmere College’sLower School Choir was onceagain singing enthusiastically atthe annual Christmas TreeLighting Ceremony, and for thesecond year the event wasfollowed by a Christmas Marketfor pupils, parents and staff in aidof Hope House Hospice. Thelights adorned a twelve-footChristmas Tree donated by theEllesmere College Parents’Society, and the two youngestYear 3 pupils, Amelie Davies andRosie Holland, were invited toswitch them on after the Choirhad sung their Christmas Carols.

The Christmas Market then took place with manyChristmas items for sale, including the Sixth FormCalendar and Ellesmere College 125th AnniversaryChristmas cards. The event was organised by SeniorLibrarian, Kate Sampson, and a member of theModern Languages team, Christina Westwood,supported by a team of Sixth Form students. Thecatering team, supported by members of the Parents’Society, served hot chocolate to pupils and mulledwine to the adults, with mince pies and stollenavailable to all. The Housemaster of St Luke’s, JamesBaggaley, was in charge of the Bratwurst stand. Theevent raised £400 for Hope House.

The Grow-Dome and The Plant Sale

In recent years there has been muchhorticultural activity in the grounds ofLower School in preparation for theannual Plant Sale in May, in aid of theTanzanian charity, Monduli Green.Both the gardening activity group andthe wildlife garden have benefited fromthe installation earlier in the year of thegrow-dome, a rather sculptural additionto the Lower School landscape. Thegreenhouse has meant that it has beenpossible to grow a variety of plants ingreat abundance, and pupils havebeen involved in planting seeds,pricking out seedlings, planting onsmall plugs and making hangingbaskets. The seasonal hangingbaskets, planted to order, are verypopular amongst staff and parentsalike. Garden plants and wildflowerswere raised for sale this year, the thirdthat the event has taken place. Thesale is an important date for the diariesof keen gardeners.

Teacher from AustraliaBack row from left: Jaimie Wakefield, Eve Davies, Millie

Shaw, Sabrina Forde-Johnson, Alex Sambrook-Jones, GuyLloyd and Bruce Buglass

Front row from left: Katie Stokes, Teresa Ellison andCharlotte Davies

Top from left: Kieran Smith and Kieran YoungFront from left: Georgina Stackhouse and

Luke Caldecott

Rosie Holland (left) and Amelie Daviesready to press the plunger to switch on

the Christmas Lights

Auschwitz May 2010James McCarthy and Icame to Auschwitz notreally knowing what toexpect. It is not easyputting into perspective thedeath toll of the camp,which is estimated to havebeen two million. ButAuschwitz 1 and Auschwitz2 Birkenau described indetail the individuals whohad worked and died there.Even now I find it difficult toput two million into myhead and understand it as

a huge sum of individuals,but clearly the camp has

taken great lengths to break that figure down, and youcertainly feel a lot more upset when you are actuallywithin the walls of death, than hearing about it in aHistory classroom. I saw the famous railway line thatseparated one side of Auschwitz-Birkenau from theother. The look-out towers stood menacingly near thewalls, which encircled the entire camp and were riddledwith barbed wire. It was eerie, but the numerous touristgroups casually strolling around the place made it farless intimidating than it could have been. The mostpainful part of the whole experiencewas going inside the only remaininggas chamber. The walls within werecovered in finger-nail marks. No-onetalked in the gas chamber. A mark ofrespect. But that heightened theeeriness of the experience. It wasincredibly unsettling. Upon leaving thecamp, there was much to contemplate.James and I had extensive debates, butwe both agreed it to be an experiencethat we would never forget. Nothing inthese past several months has mademe think otherwise.Luke Ottaway

79

Out and About

Luke Ottaway atAuschwitz

The infamous entrance to Auschwitz

The gas chamber at Auschwitz with, inset, the marks offinger-nails on the walls

The Marathon RunnersThe New Year presented a fresh set of challenges for Helen Coney, ArtsCentre Manager, and Jayne Griffiths, Academic Secretary, who learnt thatthey had been allocated places for the 2010 London Marathon. Jayne (onthe right in the picture) was selected to run for the Robert Jones andAgnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital, and thus her additional challenge was toraise a minimum of £1500 to secure her place in the Marathon. Helen wasallocated a balloted place, which meant that she was able to choose thecharities she supported with her participation. They were Everyman (acharity that supports medical research into prostate cancer), Parkinson’sDisease UK and The Little Princess Trust (a charity that raises funds toprovide wigs to children who have lost hair due to illness). She haddecided to apply for a place in memory of her uncle who died of cancerlast year; he completed the London Marathon himself some years ago.Each of the charities she chose had particular significance for her and herfamily.

They had just sixteen weeks to prepare themselves, and set up a dailyfitness routine at lunchtimes in the gym as well as training runs around thelocal lanes and meres. Both completed the race. Jayne raised the £1500for the hospital and Helen shared £1500 between her charities.



80

History Trip to the YpresBattlefields

Long bus journeys, lots of laughsand plenty of cemeteries is what Iexpected of the 2010 History Trip.I thought it would be interestingand sad in parts but I didn’t thinkthat I would be so overwhelmedwith sadness. At the Menin GateMemorial in Ypres, inscribed withover 50,000 names of Britishsoldiers lost in World War 1 butnever found, we saw the name ofRalph Breckell. He was a formerpupil of Ellesmere College. Thethought that he was once sitting inBig School really touched me andothers on the trip. We learn many things in Historylessons but don’t always think ofthem in context. At the FlandersMuseum, also in Ypres, there wasa very interesting exhibit. Itshowed gas masks with gasaround them. How scary it wouldhave been to see massiveclouds of gas comingtowards you, knowing that itwould burn your throat, stingyour eyes and probably killyou.It is impossible to talk abouta battlefields history tripwithout mentioningcemeteries. We sawMANY…. however it justshowed how many peoplewere actually killed. Thedifference between theBritish graves and Germangraves reflected the war - thevictors and the losers. TheBritish graves were grand,white and amongst beautifulgardens. On the other hand,the German graves looked dull andgloomy. In the British cemeteries, itwas one big headstone per person,with family messages and personaltouches. In the German cemeteryone tombstone could have marked agrave containing as many as twentysoldiers. There was a mass gravewith over thirty thousand Germanbodies.The history trip made it easier tounderstand what World War 1 waslike, and in between cemetaries wasgreat fun for everyone. We wouldlike to thank Mr Wood for organisingthe trip and the other teachers whoaccompanied us.Bethany Lyttle

Classics TripsWe organised a number of classicstrips during the year. For our maintrip, we returned in the Spring toBath and the South West, to visit anumber of Roman sites includingthe baths in Bath, the museum atCirencester, and the villa atChedworth. We extended the trip toinclude for the first time a visit toCaerwent in South Wales, wherelarge parts of the defensive wall ofthe Roman town have survived, aswell as the ruins of a number of thebuildings.

During the year, we also took theopportunity to see some Greektragedies in performance. InJanuary we went to see Euripides'Hecuba at Oundle School, and inMarch we also went to seeEuripides' Medea at the New VicTheatre in Newcastle under Lyme.

Our classics pupils also took part ina number of externalcompetitions. In December, wesubmitted stories set in Romantimes for the GoldenSpongestick competition. InMarch we entered for the firsttime the international MedusaMythology Exam, which is runfrom America, and three of ourpupils (James Hadden, JamesBateman and Emily Roberts)won prizes. At the end of theSummer Term, the work ofeleven of our pupils wasselected to be shown in anexhibition in Oxford University'sClassics Centre to celebratethe 2,500th Anniversary of theBattle of Marathon.IGT

From left: Ed Shelley, Ben Williams,Harvey Rickett, Ioan Parry-Jones andCraig Tattersall in an Ypres trench

Ed Shelley and Bethany Lyttle; two fifteen-year-olds at the grave of a fifteen-year-old

Classics group outside ChedworthRoman Villa


81

Spanish Trip to Salamanca

During the February Half Term a group of Year 13 pupilsspent a few days in the beautiful city of Salamanca.Their time was divided between classes by way ofpreparation for their impending exams, and experiencinga variety of cultural delights which the city has to offer,including a walking tour of the Old Town - and a salsalesson! LMB

The Snowdon Relay RunDate: 27th June 2010Time: 4am! Dawn! Weather Conditions:

Predicted to be the hottest day of the year.Team:

Dr Chatterjee, Mr Baggaley, Mr Richardson, MattSteggles, Toby Blake, Niklas Haukohl, Ludwig

Schinzing, Rob Lau, Fabian Prinz, Owain Roberts,Sam Thurmer, and Sarah Richardson

Once again the Snowdon run was a success, with theteam completing the relay from the College to the topof Snowdon in 11 hours 45 minutes.

The task of organising the event was once againundertaken by Dr Chatterjee along with Mr Baggaley,and as usual, aims to give Ellesmerians the opportunityto challenge themselves to a long-distance relay runwhilst raising money for two worthy causes. The twocharities chosen were Cancer Research UK, our leadingcancer research charity, and Chernobyl Continuity, whichhelps children from Belarus who still suffer from theaftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power stationdisaster of 1986.

To add a competitive edge, the goal is to reach thesummit of Snowdon in less than twelve hours, which isno mean feat. The run is done as a relay with tworunners completing each leg. Each pair completes five tosix legs of approximately three miles each. The totaldistance is about seventy-five miles, with each runnerdoing about fifteen miles, excluding the almighty climb upSnowdon for all the team, although this is run at the endby the maddest pair, in our case Matt and Toby. Despitetired legs they still managed to run to the top from Pen-Y-Pass in just over the hour.

At 4.15 a.m., in semi-darkness, Owain and I kicked off onthe first leg, leaving behind a busload of food, drink,bleary eyes and barely awake bodies as many of theteam hadn’t seen this time of the morning since at leastNew Year. Mr Baggaley dressed in his England sports kitas it was also the day of the (rather horrific) World Cupmatch England v Germany! Toby met us just outsideOswestry and as the price for allowing him a lie-in, wegave him a lovely hill to run up for his opening leg. Mr

Richardson (Dad) turned outto be a really solid runnerand was very encouraging toall the team throughout theday. He was a last-minutesubstitute and loved everymoment of it. Rob, Fabianand Niklas had no idea whatto expect, but coped with thedemands fantastically. Ithink they thought it was a

The Spanish group in the Language School inSalamanca, with some of their teachers

Left: Runners and supportersAbove: Sarah Richardson and Owain Roberts

recovering from their leg of the runInset: Veteran Snowdon Relay runner Toby Blake

82

day-trip up Snowdon! Sam, Owain and I representedYear 11 and showed that you are never too young. Thehardest sections we did of course reserve for the olderand more experienced runners (certainly not wiser - whywould you do it again?!). Toby and Matt were on theirsecond and third runs respectively and were even keento do the hills. Ludwig had been doing some serioustraining and easily kept up with the others. The cross-country sections were mainly run by Mr Baggaley and DrChatterjee. They kept on telling us these were the toughsections and required precise navigation - so why werethey doing them?

Each leg was very different, some short but hilly, otherslonger, and some cross-country. Each, however,presented a challenge. A great atmosphere of teamworkbuilt up between diverse characters, some of whom hadnever met at school before. Team members paired andre-paired (sometimes literally), with others stepping up todo extra legs for any who were struggling. Typically, theBritish weather did not do as predicted, there was lightcloud cover and it remained cool, not the blistering hotday we expected. As it turns out, just the sort of day weneeded.

With Matt and Toby running the last leg, the rest of ustook a leisurely walk up to the peak with a runningcommentary on the depressing Football game fromLudwig, Fabian and Niklas (all supporting Germany!).

Everyone should be really proud of what they achievedas it was definitely a challenge for everyone, even thosewho had done it before. Special mention goes to ourdriver Sue Richardson (Mum) who was the first driver tocomplete the course without crashing the minibus, evenif the bus did physically leave the ground and take to thesky during one “off road” leg.

It was a very long journey back. If we weren’t completelybushed by the run (which we were) the walk up Snowdonhad finished us off, especially those relying on England’ssuccess to fortify us! After finishing off the last drinks andsnacks we all fell asleep, leaving Dr Chatterjee to talknon-stop to the driver to keep her awake. When wearrived in the quad there were many stiff limbs to say theleast, and the thought of Expeditions the next day formost of us absolutely HORRIFIC! However, I thinkeveryone who took part enjoyed the experience and can’twait to do it next year - even if our legs aren’t quite askeen.Sarah Richardson

Monduli Green 2009-2010Here is an update on one of the most exciting projects

undertaken through College fundraising

The drought in Monduli dominated both 2008 and 2009,with many consequences. The health and happiness ofthe people in the villages we are working withdeteriorated considerably and food was scarce for muchof 2009. Our reforestation project obviously tooksecond place when the threat of starvation loomed forthese people, and so it is surprising that any saplings atall survived the year.

Lodaru Mollel who co-ordinates this project withEllesmere College, spent the summer in Monduli andfound that despite all the problems, about three hundredsaplings had survived through the drought.

Mollel oversaw the most exciting event in the project sofar. After the World Bank-funded pipeline to the town ofMonduli brought water to that small but important town in

eastern Tanzania,Monduli Green lookedat ways to add abranch of the pipelineto the villages we workwith. Over the summerthis pipeline was built.It is now complete –the pipeline purchasedby Monduli Green andconstructed by thevillagers themselves.For the first time ever,the villagers havewater close to theirhomes. To say they

are excited and pleased about this is really anunderstatement. Especially the women! This will releaseabout two hours of their day that they can now use moreproductively. It will have a hugely beneficial impact ontheir lives, and also mean that tree survival throughdrought will be improved.

The funding of the pipeline is in the form of a loan.Villagers will repay the loan by tending saplings. Howdoes this work?! For each sapling that survives for sixmonths after being planted out, villagers will receive asmall stipend. Initially this stipend will go towardsrepaying the cost of the pipeline (about £800). Later thestipends will form a type of micro-financing to enablevillagers to start small enterprises, or invest in goodswhich will ultimately save them time or money.

Monduli Green and the villagers feel that lending moneyis a more sensible and dignified assistance than simpledonation. It neatly combines reforestation with thepossibility of borrowing money in the future; the impetusfor ideas and action is with the villagers themselves. Asfar as Monduli Green is concerned, it also releases fundsfor other green projects in the area.

We would, therefore, like to thank Mollel and his team inTanzania for coming up with this plan after muchdiscussion throughout the Summer. We hear that thetalk in Monduli villages is all about trees! Watch thisspace!CA

Above: One of the 300 saplings to survive the droughtBelow: Villagers construct the pipeline



83

Duke of EdinburghAwards

The High Sheriff ofShropshire, Mr. Hugh Trevor-Jones, presented Bronzeand Silver Awards to thisyear’s total of forty-twopupils from Years 12 and 13to gain the awards. Pupilsare encouraged to continuewith the programme to Goldlevel, as the training andchallenges involved are ofconsiderable benefit to pupilsas well as enhancing CVsand job prospects. TheCollege has run the DoEprogramme for fifty-threeyears. During this time overone thousand young peoplehave left school with a Dukeof Edinburgh Award.

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze AwardThe Year 10 pupils involved with Duke of Edinburgh werekept busy throughout the year. The first half of theMichaelmas Term was spent reminding the group ofthings they’d forgotten over the summer break. Re-acquaintance with Ordnance Survey Explorer maps wasthe main theme and this culminated in the OctoberExpeditions in which their Bronze ExpeditionAssessment took place. A pleasant, small campsite nearthe foot of Dinas Bran in Llangollen was the centre of theaction. As is customary, the pupils were dropped offconsiderably short of the campsite on Wednesday andhad to navigate their way to the field. This they did withreasonable success and everyone managed to a) findthe site, b) erect their tents, c) cook and eat a hot mealand d) have a game of football before settling down forthe night. The next day’s walk was conducted in ratherwet conditions and bedraggled groups filed intermittentlypast the minibus checkpoints along the route. Somepupils learned the hard way that a tent not properlyfastened down will suffer somewhat in inclementweather. Fortunately the organisers had had the foresightto bring a few spares. After Half Term pupils spent theirThursday afternoons working towards the Volunteering

section of the award. A large number did a SportsLeaders course, helping out with Lower School games,and others helped in Primary Schools, charity shops andstables. The Summer Expeditions were an opportunity topractice for the Silver Expedition. A lovely campsite inQuinta was the venue which we shared with the Year 9group. Two long walks were the requirement andnavigation skills were again tested, as were blistered feetand aching legs.

It is hoped that the pupils look back with fondness to theexpeditions and indeed all aspects of the Bronze Award,and will take pride in their achievements. Miss Smith, MrCurtis and I wish them the very best as they now embarkon the more challenging Silver Award in Year 11. JHC

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award‘The Completion of a Physically Demanding Journey…’I think every member of our group would agree that thiswas indeed a particularly ‘physically demanding journey’.We set off on what looked like a beautiful summermorning in June, our bags stuffed so full of food we couldbarely carry them and our stout boots well broken in afterour previous practice expedition – no more dreadedblisters this time. As we stepped out of the ‘wagon’ and

into the stunning Cumbriancountryside, in true D of E stylethe heavens opened - what joy.But this didn’t stop us; we setabout our first challenge, to findour campsite and assemble ourtents. We walked alongsideUllswater through the rain andeventually after some tense map-reading disputes, with lots ofdisparaging comments about girlsand maps, we found thecampsite! We got into some dryclothes, and ate and pitched ourtents in the dark, hoping the nextday would be a lot dryer!

My group felt so competitive (afterarriving last at the site the nightbefore) that we decided to wakeup bright and early to get off onour journey first this time.

The High Sheriff of Shropshire, Mr Hugh Trevor-Jones (centre), with award-winners

The Silver Duke of Edinburgh group in the hills of Cumbria

84

Leaving other slackers to enjoy Jack Smith’s full English,we packed away our tents and on a abstemious brekkieof gruel (well porridge actually), we were on our wayaround Grasmere. The weather was much clearer andwe could enjoy the beautiful scenery on the surroundinghills. We worked much better as a team on this secondday, helping those struggling and building up confidenceat the base of a hill which at the time appeared asimpossible as K2. As we reached the last few miles ofour journey we found a lake with a rope swing and someof us couldn’t resist the temptation; in we went. Wepitched our tents and after cooking our tea went straightto sleep.

The next day we packed away for the last time - what arelief. It was a much shorter walk and our bags felt somuch lighter, after we had eaten most of the weight! Weturned the corner and I’ve never been so happy to seeour little white wagon. The journey back to school wasmuch quieter to begin with than the one to Cumbria, andof course we had to have our traditional stop at theservice station to fill up on food to fuel many a rousingchorus of We No Speak Americano to drive Mr Crawfordinsane. This is certainly a CD that won’t be on hisChristmas list!

I would definitely do it again on condition there was anice bath waiting for me on return!! Sarah Richardson

Silver Participants: Freya West, Jenny Griffiths, SarahWicks, Sarah Richardson, Grace Tomlinson, ChloePrydden, Joanna Scull, Victoria von Hoven, OwainRoberts, Will Mapstone, Will Jackson, Todd Dobie, JackSmith, Scarlett Walker-Smith.

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition to Canada 2010

We did it! A year of planning and overcoming obstaclesand we did it! On the early morning of July 4th twenty-five Sixth Formers (some slightly jaded victims of theSixth Form Ball the previous night) and six adultsassociated in some way with Ellesmere College set offon the long journey to Algonquin Park that was made

longer by the four-hour delay at Manchester Airport.Algonquin is a forestry reserve and true wilderness to thenorth of Toronto. The planned three-day practicefollowed by a planning day then four-day assessedexpedition became an eight-day expedition because ofthe nature of the terrain, so these Sixth Formers (andtheir supervisors) did an expedition above and beyondrequirements. And none of us would have missed it forthe world!

We lived for eight days in a wilderness with only theresources carried with us, and those resources all had tobe carried from lake to lake in portages that in one casewas over a mile and a half. We drank purified lake waterand the lakes were our baths - they were also theleeches’ lairs. Each little campsite had a loo that was apit covered by a wooden box – known as the thunderbox.Incumbents sang and slapped the mosquitoes on theirlegs while they performed. Unfortunately not all baredareas could be thus protected from insect attack.

The bears avoided us (we probably smelled too bad) butsome of us watched a moose for about thirty minutesand we saw a beaver as well as racoons and too manychipmunks. It was an amazing experience. It was toughphysically and sometimes socially but the scenery andthe experience were unforgettable.

When we left Algonquin and arrived in the concrete andglass wilderness of Toronto we were a little like CrocodileDundee – fascinated by the Walk/Don’t Walk signs andwater from taps. Icy cold drinks were joys beyondcompare. The turquoise power of the falls in Niagara,which we visited before the return to the airport, washypnotic and some of us were looking for the last eddybefore the drop! The mist was wonderfully cooling.

This was all an astounding experience. All thecandidates did well and all learned valuable lessons (likewearing shoes and not turning around with a canoe onyour head?). Some were outstanding and the girls inparticular were impressive in their stamina and goodhumour. Previously unremarked strengths wereobserved in all teams and they dealt well with problems.

Over the past twenty years or so around three hundredEllesmere students have paddledtowards a Gold Award, and eventhough they haven’t all completedit, they have had what they haveoften called the “best two weeks ofmy life”. They have all come backenriched in some way. It has beena great pleasure and privilege forme to have been a part of that forthe last fifteen or so years and Iwould like to thank everyone whohas been involved, from supportiveand appreciative parents tocolleagues such as Jan Heath whohas been the most generous,hard-working and amusing offriends; students who have beenfunny, lively, courageous andgenerally well-behaved; our canoeinstructors and assessors, MattOsburn and latterly Ben Scholesand Ruari McCarthy, whoseknowledge and humour have beeninvaluable.

Next stop the Palace, I hope!RAM

The full Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition crew at the Niagara Falls



85

College Song of the Wilderness(Apologies to Longfellow and the Songs of Hiawatha)

By the shores of Big Trout WaterAnd the shores of Big Sea Water

Stood the tents of Ellesmere CollegeSons and daughters of the College.Dark behind them rose the forest

Rose the black and gloomy pine treesRose the firs with cones upon themBright before them flowed the waterFlowed the clear and sunny waterWith the leeches therewithin.

By the shores of PetawawaOn their backs canoes they carriedBarrels and canoes they carriedTo the shining Big Sea Water

Miles and miles across the portage -Timberwolf, Big Misty, called them,

Little Joe from Otterslide.On their feet were cuts and blistersOn their legs the bites of insectsOn their faces hope still shone

Looking still towards the sunshineAnd the next meal - rehydrated -

And the barrels would get lighterAnd the blisters would get better

And the breakfast pancakes sweeter.There the tents would be assembledAnd the feasts would be consumedAnd the box along the pathway

Would be filled with thunder’s boom.

They will leave these tracks of splendourTravel far away from here

Back to where there’s running waterShining streams of running waterTo a Palace travel westwardFind rewards awaiting there

From a Prince with richest raimentRobes of fur and belts of wampumHe will give them medals thereGold Awards await them thereIf they finish, as they must do,

Tasks and skills and presentations.

Travel forward Hiawathas!Sail into the fiery sunsets!Sail into the future brave!

Don’t forget the Big Sea WaterAnd the lessons that you learned there.

This year’s teams were:Alex Owen, Ben Lingard-Lane, Sam Phillips, Amy Kite, Pippa Price, James McCarthy, Jack Foster.

Rob Lau, Hugh Wignall, Harry Clewlow, Doug Allsop, Dani Stock, Ami Takahashi.Luke Ottaway, Bogdan Davydov, Megan Bray, Olivia Churton, Gareth da Costa, Joe Cauchi.Mel Evans, Zoe Evans, Charlotte Boffey, Sean Johnson, Julian Sole, Dominick Coppinger.

Summary of Results

v Old Ellesmerians W 42 - 7v Llandovery L 7 - 43v Old Swinford Hospital W 34 - 19v Bromsgrove L 12 - 55v Bishop Vesey’s W 31 - 0v Malvern W 57 - 5v Denstone College L 13 - 16v Birkenhead W 32 - 0v Wilmslow W 22 - 7

A very young squad got together to prepare for a toughopening run of matches. To their credit they arrived atLeave Weekend at the start of October with two wins andtwo losses. The first win was against the OEs whichturned out to be quite comfortable as the oppositiontired. Unfortunately this game left us with a lot of injurieswhich was a serious difficulty in preparing for the nextmatch and which resulted in defeat at Llandovery. Weheld them up for the first half when the score was 7-17but as we tired in the second half it became one-waytraffic and we lost by some margin.

The following week spirits were raised when we took onOld Swinford at home The first twenty minutes was a testof our defence. We secured very little ball and foundourselves tackling wave after wave of Old Swinfordattacks. We played a controlled game and found goodpositions deep in the opposition half only to give them

away with cheap penalties. As possession was minimalwe had little chance to be creative. We were unlucky notto score, however, when a cross kick from Lloyd Hayesfound Martin Jones with acres of space and a simple runin. The bounce of the ball was atrocious and like amagnet set off sideways to cover thirty metres and findtouch. We finally picked up a penalty in the attackingzone and Lloyd Hayes put it over from forty-five metresout. This brought the first half to an end with Ellesmereleading 3-0.

While we had taken less ball in the first half we lookedmuch stronger in the scrum and gradually this becamean advantage. We worked the best score of the matchfive minutes into the second half when a switch backfrom first phase after a scrum saw Lloyd Hayes powerthrough two defenders and go in under the posts. As ourpossession increased further quick rucks led to JakeSmithers going over in the corner. Our kicking game,excellent throughout, yielded two direct scores, onewhen their fullback failed to claim the ball and it bouncedup for James Webb, and the other after a clever chip fromLloyd Hayes caught the fullback out of position andallowed Ahmed Sesay to dribble over the line and touchdown. Some weak tackling later in the game allowedthem to claw back another two tries, but we finished witha flourish when George Baxter picked up from a scrumand drove over. Cameron Milne’s celebration at this pointwas worthy of rugby dinner mention; for someone of fewwords it was a shock to one and all.

86

Sport - Rugby



87

The match against Bromsgrove was a repeat of theLlandovery fixture. We played downhill in the first half butfound ourselves without the ball for the first fifteenminutes. In that time Bromsgrove stretched us with theirkicking game and achieved deep positions from wherethey could attack. Their pressure brought two tries duringthis period when on both occasions they recycled the ballseveral times within ten metres of our line to force theirway over. We then had our best period of the game whenBromsgrove gave some cheap penalties away and wekicked for position. Our inability to win any of our lineoutball during the game cost us dearly at this time anddespite being in their 22 on our throw three times wecame away without points. Bromsgrove continued toinfringe and Lloyd Hayes punished the opposition tobring the score to 14 – 9. We exchanged furtherpenalties and then we gave away another in front of theposts as we went offside chasing our own kick. As withLlandovery we were in the frame at half time with thescore at 12-20.

In the second half we immediately got ourselves in amess from kick-off, failed to clear our lines and allowedBromsgrove to score. Heads dropped and we werepunished at regular intervals throughout the second half.Bromsgrove playing with the slope played faultless rugby.The following pattern dictated the second half: we kickoff and Lawrence Walters and Tom King try to getamongst the opposition and tackle their receivers; theysecure the ball and kick for position from scrum half, andcamp in our half. Their kick chases throughout wereprecise and we could not escape the pressure. Webegan to look slow and tired, partly through thesustained pressure we had been under throughout thematch in the scrum, lineout and driving maul, and alsobecause we were not matching the opposition’s fitnesslevels. We gave them a couple of tries from buying adummy and coming up too quickly on the wing, but bythen the damage was done. The final score was a greatdisappointment, but Bromsgrove played well and veryefficiently, and injuries to key positions in the front rowand at half back meant that we were under strength.

The season picked up from here after a rest over LeaveWeekend and the return of a number of players. AgainstBishop Vesey’s we managed a comfortable win withoutplaying free-flowing rugby. After starting brightly, with theforwards taking control by shunting the opposition backin the scrum and driving strongly from the lineout, itlooked as though we would be scoring freely. An earlymove through the middle saw George Baxter scoreunder the posts. Similar space allowed Will Goodwin togo through and round the fullback to dot down under theposts. We then managed a try out wide by Ahmed Sesayto give us a comfortable lead. However, we struggled tomove the ball down the line when the opportunities cameand so wasted a lot of hard-won possession. BishopVesey’s began to move against us and we becameinvolved in a bit of a battle. In the second half westruggled to put much rugby together and made a furthertwo scores through mistakes by the Vesey backs.

Our next fixture against Malvern allowed us to relax alittle. Initially we lapsed into the pattern of making errors,but due to the weakness of the opposition we were notpunished as they struggled in the scrum and lineout. Bycontrast we were able to launch moves from our ownscrum and create opportunities. The box kick from BrynPhillips was consistently accurate and good chasing

particularly by Ahmed Sesay put the opposition underpressure. More care with the contact skills and ballretention was required to really open the floodgates.Backchat to the referee cost us penalties and positionand for a while it was one step forward and one stepback. We did however score some good tries mainly outwide following good quick service from the halfbacks (anotable feature throughout the match), powerful runningin the centre from Lloyd Hayes and George Baxter, andgood finishing on the wings. It was good to see the blindside scrum move work and eventually result in a try forLawrence Walters.

We finished a busy week with a very good game of rugbyagainst Denstone on the windiest and wettest day so far.We got off to a bad start and conceded a 5 metre scrumwhich led to a try from the kick-off. Denstone added apenalty and after fifteen minutes we were 10 - 0 downwith Denstone having played all the rugby. From thispoint on we had the better of the game, just failing toscore on a couple of occasions before half time. We hadbeen battling against the elements which promptlyswung round when we changed ends. We kicked apenalty and then spent twenty minutes battering theDenstone line before eventually scoring; a break fromLloyd Hayes who ran well throughout the game and aslipped pass to Andy Coubrough saw us score under theposts. Each time we scored we then gave a penalty awayfrom the kick-off which cost us the game. Although wedid enough to win the match we failed to break a strongDenstone defence; we looked as though we would on anumber of occasions but ultimately we came up short.

The fixture against Birkenhead gave us a solid but fairlyscrappy win. After working hard up the slope we had agood half-time lead of 17 – 0. After an error-strewn startwe had played tidy rugby to gradually accumulate thisscore. Lloyd Hayes was in form, running through for abrace, and we looked set to enjoy the second half. Withthe slope we pressurised them to achieve a quick scoreand our counter-rucking when chasing kicks wasimpressive. Unfortunately we were drawn into someunsavoury name-calling and the odd swinging handbag,which then detracted from our second-half performance.A further score and a clean sheet left us with asatisfactory feeling nevertheless.

Against Wilmslow we made our best start to a match sofar, playing the first ten minutes in the Wilmslow 22,pressurising the opposition in every aspect of forwardplay and tackling their backs when they attempted to runout. We missed a couple of penalties that would normallyhave been taken and eventually slotted one and quicklyfollowed it with a pushover try from a lineout. After beingforced to defend our line for several minutes we weregiven a penalty on our own 5 metre line. Bryn Phillipstapped it and made a half break. Lloyd Hayes carried themove on before passing to Martin Jones, who injectedpace to carry the ball clear before feeding GeorgeBaxter, who had the pace to make it in under the posts.This was not only our best try of the season but also thebest in any match I have seen this season. With a halftime lead of 15 – 0 we looked to be in a position to enjoythe second half, but with numerous penalties at thebreakdown we were pegged back. Wilmslow eventuallymanaged to score a try, before an interception in the lasttwo minutes by Andy Oakden saw him run away andsecure the final points.PAG

88

Daily Mail Cupv Sir John Talbot W 49 - 0v Wrekin College Wv Adam’s Grammar W 11 - 6v King Edward’s Lichfield W 20 - 7

After a confused start against Sir John Talbot that put usunder pressure on our own line we gradually beganputting plays together that saw us score at will out wide.With many substitutions designed to give everyone agame and not win too quickly, many combinations hadthe opportunity to enjoy the game. Ten players turned outfor the 1st XV for the first time in this match, gaining goodmatch experience. Despite trying to even things outEllesmere remained too strong for Sir John Talbot andthe referee finished the game twenty minutes early. Thematch against Wrekin College had a similar outcome.

Ellesmere gave a spirited performance against Adam’sGrammar in difficult conditions, holding them to just twopenalties in the first half to turn round 6 - 6. After that wefailed to secure position with our kicking game as weshould have done and gave away a string of penalties.Adam’s failed to convert and eventually after twentyminutes we finally made it into the Adam’s 22 and droveover from a close range lineout. We tackled well andturned over ball consistently throughout the game toproduce a satisfying win.

Ellesmere put in a very good performance in difficultconditions in Lichfield. We played with the wind andslope for the first half, and although we were denied agood try with a forward pass called we managed to turnround 13 – 0 up at half time. Our balance of kicking andrunning had been good and a third score was deserved- we were well worth the lead. Knowing that we weregoing to need to defend well we got off to a great start inthe second half. Our pressure tackling had been goodthroughout and we forced an error in their midfield andbroke up field to score. This eased the pressure on usand left the opposition with a lot of points to score. Wedefended for much of the half although we were unluckynot to score late on when we pinned them in the cornerwith good forward play. They eventually pulled back a trylate on, but the game by then was won. This was anexcellent result that put us through to the last thirty-twoin the Cup. Unfortunately the snow in January meant thatwe were unable to play further in the competition.PAG

Squad: Anderson F, Baxter GW, Coubrough AT, GoodwinWJ, Hayes RL (Captain), Johnson CD, Jones MD, King T,Milne CJM, Oakden AS, Padgett MN, Phillips DB, PhillipsIW, Smithers J, Sole JO, Walters LT, Webb JP, WignallHE.

Full Colours Half ColoursPadgett MilneWignall SoleWalters SmethersWebb KingHayes Phillips BJones Goodwin

AndersonCoubroughBaxter

County and Regional Selections

Shropshire U14 Shropshire U15

George Beal Louis ChaudronJonny Charmley Matthew DewhirstOliver Lock Colin DixonAlistair Miller Kyle McNamaraEdward Parker Samuel OwenThomas Parker Luke TaylorLewis Suckling James Latter

Edward MorrisJames Preston

Shropshire U16 Staffordshire U16

Angus Cross Jack BaxterTodd DobieMatthew Macintosh Cheshire U16Jack Smith George Hymes

North Midlands U16

Jack Smith

Shropshire U18 Cheshire U18

George Baxter Tom KingWilliam GoodwinBryn PhillipsHugh WignallMartin JonesLaurence WaltersAndrew Coubrough

North Midlands U18

George BaxterWilliam GoodwinBryn PhillipsAndrew Coubrough

Representing their Counties in RugbyThirty players - two teams’ worth!



89

Summary of Results

v OEsv Bedstone College W 24 - 12v Old Swinford Hospital W 31 - 5v Bromsgrove L 7 - 22v Wrekin College Wv Malvern College W 60 - 0v Bishop Vesey’s Wv King Edward’s School, Bath L 0 - 5v Denstone College Lv Birkenhead Wv Wilmslow W 10 - 7

The season started brightly with a solid performance andvictory over Shropshire rivals Bedstone College.Ellesmere travelled with only fifteen men after a bruisingencounter with the OEs the previous Wednesday had lefta number of players sidelined. Playing the game at timeswith thirteen men made life awkward for Ellesmere butthey dug deep and ran out worthy victors.

Our next match saw Ellesmere play Old Swinford athome. Buoyed by the recent win and resoluteperformance over Bedstone the 2nd XV focused hard intraining, in preparation for the stern test we would receiveagainst the large pack and quick backs from Stourbridge.Ellesmere needed to start solidly, which they did, andwith excellent defence and quick-thinking counter-attacking the 2nds held Old Swinford 7 – 5 at the break.After half time Ellesmere began to cash in on the workdone in the first half and eventually ran out clear winners.

If we thought that Old Swinford would be tough thenBromsgrove would prove to be our toughest test yet. The

2nds shook the long journey from their legs with avigorous pre-match warm-up and got straight into thegame. We kept in close touch with Bromsgrovethroughout but they eventually proved too much and weended up as the losing side. A good game nevertheless.After the trip to Bromsgrove we had four days to regroupand recoup before the second of our Shropshire Derbies,this time against Wrekin College. With great drive anddetermination the 2nds ran out close victors, by the oddtry, over Wrekin’s 1st XV in what was a very scrappygame.

It is incredible what a victory over a local rival can do toa team’s spirit and confidence and this was essential aswe welcomed Malvern to the College. Malvern made agood start but our slick passing, resolute defence anddetermination to win proved to be too much for Malvernand we won overwhelmingly. After that big win Ellesmerewelcomed the very tough and uncompromising boysfrom Bishop Vessey’s. With a forward pack trained anddrilled by Samoan and Bath legend Zac Feau'nati, theEllesmere team knew they would be in for a torrid timeup front. However over the course of the eighty minutesEllesmere played hard and strong and ended up winningthe game with a bit to spare.

After the hard-fought win over Bishop Vesey’s, EllesmereCollege’s Senior XVs travelled down to Bath to take onKing Edward’s School. This fixture represented thestandard which Ellesmere rugby has reached over thecourse of the years, and each player was looking forwardimmensely to the battle. A long journey and an often ill-tempered encounter made for a scrappy match whichEllesmere lost 5 – 0. The 2nds barely had time to licktheir wounds before it was back to hard training as theeagerly-awaited Woodard Schools clash with DenstoneCollege approached. We had become used to beating

90

Denstone in the past, but rumours were rife thatDenstone were determined to put the record straight andtake this match from Ellesmere. It was not a good day forrunning rugby; as such a tactical, not to mentionphysical, forward battle ensued with no quarter given byeither team. Over the course of the game Denstoneproved too much for us and ran out close winners, settingup the prospect of an enticing encounter next season…Still smarting from this narrow defeat, the prescribedtonic for getting back on track was an away fixture atBirkenhead School. Another productive week of training,shoring up the defence and adapting to the worseningwinter conditions, meant that we were well-placed to takethe game to the opposition. Fortunately it was one ofthose games that suited us better and we ended ascomfortable winners.

The final game of the season was at home againstWilmslow who, in the past, had proved to be very toughopposition, and this year was no exception. Both teams

battled hard in the bitter winter conditions whichprevented the expansive game we had becomeaccustomed to over the course of the season. This wasa game definitely for the purist and the final scoredemonstrated this, with Ellesmere winning by the oddpenalty kick.

Overall this was an enjoyable season with someexcellent rugby being played by all involved. At times theteam needed to dig deep to produce performances eachweek that we could all be proud of. To the boys’ creditthey stuck to their task together, and grew as a team,together. Roll on next season!JJB

Squad: Allsop DJ, Brereton OD, Cave GT, Clutton CR,Cole JR, Dewaurin R, Dreyer TH, Holt LF, Jenkins LEW,Johnson CD, Lomax T, Maddock-James JM, MartocciaRE, Maybury HG, McIlraith RJ, Phillips OR, StegglesME, Thomas OR, Whittles JEK.

Ist XV in Action Against OEs (left), Malvern (below) and Birkenhead

(below left)

Fylde U18 SevensTournament Below and right

North of EnglandU18 Sevens

Above right and right



91

Summary of Results

v Old Swinford Hospital L 5 - 45v Denstone College (A) W 10 - 1v Bromsgrove L 41 - 12v Malvern W 71 - 12v Concorde College (H) W 45 - 7v Concorde College (A) W 35 - 5v Denstone College (H) W 53 - 0

This season the School decided to run three teams atsenior level plus a protected U16 side. In the past playersfrom Year 11 have been part of the senior squads and sorunning a 3rd team was experimental and a challenge.

We could not have had a tougher start to the season.With only a couple of training sessions before ouropening game and losing a couple of players to the 2ndteam due to injuries in the 1st XV, we welcomed O.S.Htraditionally a very good opposition. After a good first halfwe tired towards the end and leaked a number of tries.

A following midweek fixture allowed us to get the firstgame out of our system and we returned from Denstonewith a hard fought victory under our belts. We went intothe weekend tired and with out a number of key forwards.We were never in with a shout but we made Bromsgrovework for their win.

We then had a little time to train, combinations wereforged and techniques were honed and we started tolook like a decent team. Malvern were the unlucky schoolto meet us in the next game and everything clickedallowing us an impressive win. After this we never lookedback. Concord could not match us either home or awayand we went into our final game against Denstonewanting to improve on our early season result. The ladswere fantastic on that day attacking swiftly and defendingstoutly to show how far they had come since thebeginning of the term.

As a coach I could ask for no more than what the boysgave. It was a pleasure to work with them. I would alsolike to thank all those parents who supported the team.DJM

Squad: Allsop DJ, Carr TD (Captain), Cave G, CooperZPJ, Crowe N, Cowan D, Cross A, Dapling JR,Dimitrescu V, Dobie, T, Evans E, Evans JW, Fairbank S,Foster J, Fuller MPT, Haukohl N, Hughes HB, Kelly MS,Killick AFS, Johnson K, Johnson S, Jones R, Lomax T,Macintosh M, Mapstone WJ, Murges M, Nasybullin D,Ost L, Pescod JRJ, Phillips SA, Prinz I, Roberts OBL,Schmit L, Spavin B, Steggles ME, Stokes JME, VergelerM, West N.

92

Summary of Results

v Llandovery Lost 12 - 38v Old Swinford Hospital Won 40 - 7v Bromsgrove Lost 0 - 50v Bishop Heber Won 52 - 14v Wrekin Won 48 - 0v Malvern Won 33 - 7v Church Stretton Won 33 - 22v Bishop Veseys Won 24 - 6v Old Swinford Hospital Lost 10 - 17v KES Bath Lost 12 - 24v Birkenhead Won 29 - 17v Wilmslow Lost 0 - 24

Following a week of training that had concentrated onthe rudimentary of lifting in the lineout, the team travelledto Llandovery in fine fettle. The players clearly still hadtheir minds on the bus journey as they conceded scoresin excess of a point a minute for the first quarter of anhour. To their credit Ellesmere rallied and somepassionate defending saw them claw their way into thegame. The forwards were able to generate some quickballs from a dominant lineout and gained ground throughstrong direct running. Todd Dobie made an excellentbreak in a very narrow channel and the back row of Abelland Roberts were quick to support; Roberts scoring a trythat owed much to quick hands by Abell.During the second half, Roberts and Morley soared in thelinouts and good accuracy from Diamond meant that theteams were evenly matched in possession and territory.Midway through the half and an altercation involvingDobie and an Interjection from Hymes saw them both

sin-binned, along with a member of the home team.Despite some resolute tackling by Roberts, Blewitt andHunter Johnston, they were unable to prevent theoffloads as the Home side galloped in for two moretouchdowns. When parity was restored both teamssought to dominate in the final quarter. Abell scored witha fine try as reward for his tireless effort – Dobieconverted; this effort was scant reward for the endeavourshow during the game and as it came between anotherbrace for the home side, it meant a comprehensivedefeat by 38 points to 12.

There was plenty to work on and training was focused ondeveloping the strengths in the forwards and providingclean ball for the strike runners in the backs. Availabilityand injuries meant a shuffle in the pack for the visit ofOld Swinford Hospital School. Changes in the front rowsaw Nick Crow and Will Bird rising to the challenges ofpropping and Tom Watkin was a revelation in movingacross one position to hooker. Will Abell was alwayslooking to support and received his rewards after eightminutes as he drove over to score, Macintoshdemonstrated that he was in good form with the boot ashe converted the try. George Hymes was dynamic inscoring two tries in five minutes, Macintosh convertingthe first. Ellesmere led 19 - 7 at half time.

In the second half Jack Brewitt was able to initiatecounter-attacks as he covered from full back and bothwingers were given opportunities to test their pace.Three tries were scored and converted, Fashanugrabbing a brace and Macintosh scoring a try to add tohis five conversions, scoring 20 points in total.

A home game against Bromsgrove followed and thevisitors immediately showed their intention to run the ballat every opportunity. With forwards dominant, they set



93

about creating opportunities and had rattled up four triesby the half time whistle. Ellesmere set about re-organising at half time and managed to provide a sternerdefence of territory. However, as the rearguard effortsapped their strength, gaps began to appear asBromsgrove added another four tries to match their firsthalf effort.

There was a quick turnaround before a Tuesday outingagainst Bishop Heber. It was heartening to seeindividuals raise their game and demonstrate skill andflair as the opportunities were exploited. Macintoshscored two tries in the first three minutes to set the tonefor the afternoon. Roberts was able to capitalise on somesustained phase play as he went through for the third tryand Nick Crow, again holding his own in the front row,showed the pace of a wing-forward as he chargedthrough for the fourth score. Macintosh started thesecond half as he had done in the first half, scoring a try.Hymes and Baxter both managed individual tries.However, defensive frailties were also apparent as thevisitors were allowed to score twice themselves. Thegame culminated in another score for Crow as hecapped a great week on the rugby field. Others notablefor their efforts were Cooper and Bird, and Mapstoneworked hard to make things happen. A bad knee injuryto Hunter Johnston spoiled an excellent afternoon.

There was time to rest before the game at WrekinCollege and the team were eager to get back on the fieldof play. It was very pleasing to see unselfish play asplayers shone in creating scores for team-mates.Macintosh and Dobie were outstanding in the midfieldand Fashanu was given the space to exploit his pace andswerve. As captain, Roberts was dynamic in contact andregularly turned over possession. Smith and Dobie werealso eager to show that their skills were plentiful as theyadded scores. Michell capped a fine performance as hecontributed to the bounty. Whilst Fashanu’s hat-trick wasparticularly noteworthy, the highlight was a near missfrom Towers who had volunteered to cover as a winger;he gathered an interception in his own half and sprintedfor all he was worth, only to be hauled down two metresshort of his goal.

Malvern met a stern challenge as Ellesmere completelydominated from the outset. After Malvern had beendriven back over their own line Hymes was able to pickand drive from the ensuing scrum and charged over forthe opening score. Fashanu continued his rich scoringvein and Will Abell added a third moments after therestart. With Macintosh adding two conversions,Ellesmere were 19 points to the good after ten minutes.The visitors rallied and the standard of play degeneratedas Ellesmere started to give away a number of needlesspenalties. Half time did little to help the home side regaintheir composure, but they did manage to score two goodtries, an excellent solo effort by Jack Smith and a final tryscored by Jack Brewitt. Two conversions by Macintoshcompleted the scoring.

The home match against Church Stretton continued theimproving performances. Every player played wellagainst a team that was very competitive and well drilled.An excellent break by Hymes released Brewitt to score afine try in the corner which Macintosh converted. Smithscored the second to continue his outstanding form oflate; unfortunately he sustained an injury as he set up yetanother counter attack and was limited to some sterlingdefensive work. Abell, having switched from the back rowonto the wing, demonstrated that he has the pace to be

dangerous from all aspects of play. Baxter was next tocapitalise as he profited from a pass inside and racedthrough to touchdown behind the posts. The second halfsaw Church Stretton score two well-worked tries. Thegame continued with the result meaning a great deal toboth teams and both sides were extremely competitive inall aspects. It was a good victory.

The side next faced Bishop Vesey’s, having taken overthe 3rd XV fixture from the calendar. Spaven, Mapstoneand Johnson were drafted in and played with distinction.The Ellesmere scrum was dominant from the outset andthe visitors were trying to play their moves off the backfoot. Baxter moved into the forwards to supplement thedepleted numbers and he was outstanding in all aspectsof play. Spaven had got off his sick bed to play andenjoyed an armchair ride behind a dominant pack.Johnson was superb at full back as he calmly dealt withanything that came his way. Motoccia added his secondtry ten minutes into the second half and Owain Roberts– demonstrating excellent leadership skills as captain -closed the match with a try that Macintosh converted. Itwas an excellent all-round team performance.

A cup competition allowed for a return fixture against OldSwinford Hospital. A brace from Dixon, moving up fromthe U15s, was well-deserved and the result was in thebalance until the final whistle as the visitors held on towin. An overnight stay in the South-West allowed theteam to challenge KES Bath. This proved to be a toughmatch; KES only had one game plan and they executedit exquisitely. Initially Ellesmere were penalised for anyattempt they made to compete and the home side wereallowed two scores early on in the game. They wouldhave gone further ahead but for some excellent work byBaxter. The flankers, Roberts and Bird, were alsoprominent in their defence. However, the home scrumhalf was beginning to dart under their tackles and thiswas a warning sign. Our first score was an excellent tryfor Abell who continued his outstanding form, and oursecond was an excellent individual try by Angus Cross,though unfortunately there was time for KES to add totheir first half total.

Birkenhead came and provided a stern test for the teamin very competitive match, which could have gone eitherway. The sides were evenly balanced, but Brewitt madetelling contributions to swing the balance of power; hescored a great try and capped the game with a finedropped goal to put the visitors to bed and settle a goodvictory. The term was completed with a visit to a soddenpitch at Wilmslow at the start of December. Ellesmerenever really got out of the blocks against giganticopponents. The battle against the elements andWilmslow became too onerous as they slipped to adefeat by 24 points.

A number of players played with distinction and fullydeserved their rewards for the effort they made inrepresenting the College. Whilst many made significantindividual contributions, it was very pleasing to seeplayers make sacrifices and play in an array of positionsin order to benefit the side.DMR

Squad: Abell WGT, Baxter GW,Bird WAS, Brewitt JG,Cooper GR, Cowan DT, Cross AWJ, Crow G, DiamondFT, Dobie T, Fashanu OG, Hunter Johnston T, HymesGE, Jones RW, Mapstone WJ, Michell RWK, Morley RJ,Roberts OBL (Captain), Smith J, Spaven B, Towers JA,Watkin TA.

94

Summary of Results

v Bedstone Won 51 - 7v Old Swinford Hospital Won 51 - 12v Bishop Heber Won 31 - 12v Bromsgrove Lost 14 - 37v The Marches (Daily Mail Cup R2) Won 53 - 0v Malvern College Won 24 - 15v The Corbet School (DMC R3) Won 56 - 0v Bishop Vesey GS Won 24 - 19v Stafford GS Won 45 - 7 v St Joseph’s College (DMC R4) Won 22 - 7v Denstone College Won 34 - 12v Old Swinford Hospital (DMC R5) Lost 12 - 13v Bramhall Won 24 - 14v Wilmslow High School Lost 3 - 33

Despite a lack of preparation time the side gave a goodaccount of themselves against Bedstone, approachingthe match with great enthusiasm and playing with a realsense of purpose. Apart from the most unfortunate injuryto our winger it was a good start to the season. They hadanother great result against Old Swinford Hospital. Bothteams were missing some key players but the backsmoved the ball and set up their moves well to give thecentre and fullback the space to get going. The forwardsout-scrummaged a bigger pack and provided maul ballfor Louis Chaudron at number eight to make somebreaks. We allowed the opposition to make ground in theforwards and some first-up tackles went missing –weaknesses that we struggled to overcome all season.

Against Bishop Heber, despite the score-line, weperformed poorly. The scene was set from the kick-offwhere we allowed the ball to land amongst the pack,nobody called for it, and it bounced into touch. From thelineout that followed we let the ball go loose and theydrove us back. Apart from breakaways from ColinDickson in the centre, leading to our two scores of thefirst half, we spent our time defending our line. It was onlythe inability of the opposition to pass effectively and acouple of last-ditch tackles from Sam Owen at open sidethat enabled us to restrict their scoring.

With just ten minutes to go against Bromsgrove the scorewas 14 - 22, and although we had been under extremepressure for most of the match we were defendingstoutly and making the odd foray into Bromsgroveterritory. However the sheer weight and power of theopposition pack wore us down and the last ten minutessaw us surrender too much possession, the oppositiontaking full advantage and running in three unansweredtries.

In our Round 2 match in the Daily Mail Cup against TheMarches, the game presented the opportunity to see arange of players, some from the U14s, in a competitivesetting. The opposition were enthusiastic but lacked thecohesion of the Ellesmere team. Powerful running soonset the scoreboard in motion and so some of thestronger players were rested. We ran the ball quite wellon a very narrow pitch and scored at regular intervals.

The Away fixture against Malvern was a tough matchagainst a team that had beaten us heavily as U14s lastyear. We began very well, scoring a try in the first minutethrough Colin Dickson; a wonderful solo effort from our22 metre line saw him break through to run aroundseveral players before scoring under the posts. The



95

pattern of the match was set as we attempted to movethe ball whilst the opposition kicked for position. Goodplay from James Preston at fullback and some soliddefence, particularly from the back-row of Sam, Louisand Ed Morris, kept them at bay when it mattered andalthough they scored three tries Colin scored four!

In the Daily Mail Cup Round 3 against The Corbet Schoolthe match began with the opposition showing littlerespect for reputation and running at us repeatedly. Theysupported well but our tackling was mostly sound andthey made little progress. Once we had settled down toproduce regular possession we were able to dominate inevery department.

Our next match, against Bishop Vesey Grammar School,was described by those on the sidelines as ‘a heck of agame of rugby’. This was without doubt the performanceof the season so far. Vesey’s were unbeaten this sessionand had run in big scores against some notable schools.They started confidently running strongly and easilydriving us off the loose ball – it seemed that, rather likethe Bromsgrove game, we would be ‘bullied’ in theforwards and would fail to secure sufficient possession.However, as in the Bromsgrove match, we startled theopposition by taking the lead with some direct runningand so found ourselves 12 - 0 up. It was testimony to thestrength of the Vesey’s team that they came roaring backat us, their big forwards charging in and providing goodball for their back line. We missed a tackle or two andbefore we knew it the score was all square at half time.An attack from deep in our own half saw the centre gounder the posts and we were back in the lead. We werenow put under a period of sustained pressure. Therewere several try-saving tackles before they scored in thecorner. A superb conversion levelled the scores again.Still we found ourselves “under the cosh” and on morethan one occasion they seemed destined to score onlyfor the cover to haul them down at the last gasp. A drawwould probably have been a fair result but with only acouple of minutes remaining we collected a loose balljust outside our ‘22’ and the centre set off up field. Hewas well tackled just short of half way but slipped the ballto the supporting Sam Owen who demonstratedtremendous pace to outdistance one defender afteranother before scoring wide out. There was only timeremaining for the kick-off before the final whistle blew. Atremendous performance by all.

Whilst it was pleasing to turn around last year’s resultagainst Stafford Grammar School this was adisappointing performance. Too often we gave the ballaway in contact; our passing was poor and frequentlytook momentum out of the attack. In the ruck we failed toclear out beyond the ball so giving only slow possession.Sadly we could not replicate the quality of our previousgame.

In Round 4 of the Daily Mail Cup we met St Joseph’sCollege. This was a pleasing win to take us into the last64 of the National Knockout. Against a much larger packwe started slowly and they rumbled towards our linebefore moving the ball to their wing who scored in thecorner. A super conversion added the two points.However, we were now galvanised into action and beganto win some ball. Strong running by Colin from brokenplay saw him under the posts, and just before half time aswitch move put the same player through at pace as nohand was laid on him as he again crossed under theposts. In the second half one or two decent kicks,followed by a chase, allowed us to score twice more andmake the game safe.

In difficult conditions against Denstone College westruggled to hold onto the ball and our errors allowedDenstone to stay in the game for longer than theydeserved. Early in the match, having lost the ball over theline, a series of mistakes saw the opposition score at theother end of the pitch to draw level. Against some largeboys the front row scrummaged and rucked well and weenjoyed a reasonable amount of possession. James atfullback coped well with the opposition kicking game and,taking advantage of some weak tackling, we turnedaround 17 – 7 to the good. The second half was spentmostly at the Denstone end of the pitch and we scoredanother three tries.

The fifth round of the Daily Mail Cup saw us back at OldSwinford Hospital. Swinford only scored one more pointthan they did when we trounced them earlier in theseason. This speaks well of our defence since they hadseveral key attacking players back in their team who hadbeen missing first time around. The fact was that we didnot score enough. There were two main reasons for that.Firstly they controlled the field position due to good workin their lineout and the play of their excellent flyhalf.Secondly they had tightened up their defenceconsiderably. Our outside centre was a marked man(despite which he still scored two tries!) and we were notable to make the decisions to attack wider out using himas the dummy runner. Even so we came back from 0 -10 down to lead 12 - 10 with only three minutes to play.We were extremely unfortunate that the opposition wereawarded a penalty in front of our posts and so pinchedthe game at the death.

Our final outing saw us playing Bramhall and WilmslowHigh School. This ‘double header’ was an interestingconcept but might perhaps be better suited to an earlyseason preparation. In the first match against Bramhallwe started well but after taking the lead conceded twotries due to defensive lapses, so turning around 5 - 14down. The second fifteen-minute half saw us back tosomething like our best with three unanswered tries,including one straight from a kick-off involving ablindside run from the number eight, a quick ruck andfast hands to move the ball away, made the game safe.Against Wilmslow we struggled from the start. Theopposition were a strong side with a good back line whoran strongly, particularly in broken play. We were missingour normal fullback and our lack of pace at the back wasexposed. Whilst a penalty from Dominic Simpson kept usin touch at half time we had no answer in the secondperiod when, assisted by some feeble tackling, theopposition ran-in three scores.

Taken as a whole the season was tremendouslysuccessful with seventy five tries scored, Colin Dicksonamassing 32 of them; making progress to the last sixtyfour of the National Knock Out and reversing nearlyevery loss of last year as U14s. Everyone worked hardand enjoyed themselves, and our best performanceswere team performances.MDTS

The following made six or more appearances on theteam sheet: Bostock-Williams LW, Carrington-Sykes CQ, ChaudronLB, Chewins S, Dapling SG, Dewhirst MR, Dickson C,Faulkner MJ, Hughes B, Jones DP, Latter JE,McNamara KPA, Morris EE, Owen SL (Captain),Pescod JJR, Preston JEA, Simpson DW, Smethurst JR,Taylor LG, Sesay KA, Walker J.

96

Summary of Results

v Old Swinford Hospital W 50 - 7

v Denstone College L 7 - 37

v Bromsgrove L 0 - 47

v Malvern L 19 - 46

v Bishop Vesey’s L 0 - 50

v Bedstone L 0 - 58

v Denstone College L 0 - 27

Despite the fact that the season’s statistics make grimreading, this year’s U15Bs made some good progresswith their individual and unit skills. Many of the thirty-twowho represented the team appeared for the highlysuccessful A side, when needed, in a term that wasblighted by a high number of injuries in the peer group.Indeed a number made the jump without ever returning.The fact that this did not disturb the success of the seniorside bears witness to the fact that the skills of the B XVwere never the problem, but rather the general lack ofstature and bulk. One opposition coach observed thatEllesmere had played all the rugby, but still lost thematch. It was never possible to be sure of tactics andmoves until the personnel of the team was known, whichwas usually on the morning of a match.

Through it all the side maintained its pattern of playing aquick rucking game up front with the aim of releasing ourswift threequarters. The bulk of opposition tries camethrough scores by big forwards, and despite the fact thatwe had many brave tacklers, the lack of mass behind the

hits would not guarantee a second phase that led toEllesmere possession. It was frequently the case thatEllesmere played the more attractive rugby, when we hadthe ball - a promising sign for the future as the year groupmatures - but we could not achieve the total dominationof possession that would have led to greater success interms of results. We frequently had long periods inwhich we recycled the ball well and kept manoeuvringand battering our way into scoring positions, but againlack of mass would leave us unable to convert thisexpenditure of energy and ability at ball retention intoactual points.

Four boys skippered the side at different times during theseason, all of whom were as likely to be playing for the AXV as not, but Mitchell Faulkener filled the position mostoften. They all showed tactical awareness and an abilityto mine the great team spirit of the squad in adversity,which meant that the season was both constructive andenjoyable. As one opponent obseved with some humour,“Fair play lads, you’re the smallest side we’ve played thisyear!”GH

Squad: Allsop L, Belcher R, Bostock-Williams L,Bothwell R, Butt A, Chewins S, Cole H, Dapling S,Davies J, Eaton A, Faulkner M (Captain), Fernandez–Menedez J, Fletcher J, Fradley G, Fraser-Smith M,Frentzen G, Haigh J, Hampton J F, Hannes J, Johnson M,Johnson W, Latter J, Lopez J, McCarthy A, McBrienM, McIlraith S, Parry-Jones L, Pescod J, Rogan E, SesayK, Smethhurst J, Whitehead D.



97

Summary of Results

v Llandovery Won 44 - 7

v Old Swinford Hospital Lost 10 - 7

v Bishop Heber Won 54 - 7

v Bromsgrove Won 48 - 7

v Malvern Won 47 - 0

v Bishop Vesey’s Won 41 - 3

v Stafford Grammar Won 55 - 5

v Denstone College Won 24 - 7

v Bramhall Won 42 - 0

v Wilmslow Won 15 - 0

This proved to be a very successful season. The teamproduced some excellent rugby and scored somememorable tries. The forwards and back line combinedwell and always kept the opposition on their toes. Thebest game of the season was, strangely enough, the onlygame that we lost. Old Swinford Hospital proved to be avery big and physical team that brought out the best ofus. Other games where we produced some good rugbywere against Bromsgrove and Denstone where we weretruly tested. Although we were unable to field our best XVonce during the season, the depth at U14 this seasonwas unbelievable – at one stage we had six playersinjured, but were still able to put out a strong team.

Our first game of the season was against Llandovery,and with quite a few new pupils in the team it was difficultto predict what was going to happen. After only twominutes, though, Joe Rogers scored one of his six tries.Ellesmere maintained their momentum and showed

great skill for so early on in the season. Tom and TedParker proved to be quite a handful for the oppositionboth on attack and defence and George Beal put in somemassive hits which helped keep Llandovery at bay.Through some direct running and determination wescored some great tries. Every single player made acontribution and this was a great way to start the season.

Our next game was against a very strong Old SwinfordHospital team. We were on the back foot from the kick-off with their large loose forwards taking us on. Onlygood defence work prevented them from scoring andthrough great determination we played ourselves backinto their half. A good drive up field was finally finished offby Tom Parker who crossed over for a good try. JoeRogers converted. The rest of the first half was keenlycontested with possession continuously changing.Ellesmere played up the hill in the second half and bothteams produced some fantastic rugby. Old Swinfordmanaged to score two good tries through a few missedtackles, but missed both conversions. With five minutesremaining and trailing by three points Ellesmere triedtheir hardest but were unable to score again. Atremendous game from both sides and a fantastic rugbymatch to watch. After the loss we needed a bit of aboost where we were able to practice our set pieces.Bishop Heber was, unfortunately, not as strong as weexpected and we had to make some changes at half timeafter we scored six tries in the first half. We stilldominated the second half.

Bromsgrove was always going to be a hard game andthe way in which we approached this game helped usproduce some fantastic rugby. Bromsgrove applied theearly pressure, but we defended very well and were ableto turn the ball over at a ruck. This resulted in Joe Rogersputting in a good run on the right wing to score the first

98

of his three excellent tries. The way in which the forwardsand backs combined created huge pressure onBromsgrove and we were able to score a few more greattries before half time. Although they had a much largerpack, our forwards out-scrummed them which ensuredthat our backs got the ball on the front foot. At thechangeover, we went into defence mode slightly and tookour foot off the pedal. Although we ended up defendingmore than we liked, our back line put their backs underpressure and once again were able to create turnoverball, with Tom Parker scoring the first of his two tries.James Slater also had a great game on his debut for theunder 14A team and combined well with the Parker twinsto form a formidable loose trio.

After a long bus journey we eventually arrived to face amotivated Malvern U14 team. They were soon to realisejust how good we were with Josh Bendal scoring a try ondebut. Once again the forwards and backs combinedwell and produced some good rugby, putting them underpressure. Oli Locke played his best game of the season.Joe Rogers once again made the scoreboard.

Despite missing six players due to injury we were able toput out a very good team against Bishop Vesey’s. Westarted the game off on a great note scoring a try in thefirst minute. Although we scored four more tries in thefirst half, we allowed the game to get a bit scrappy andconceded numerous turnovers at the breakdown.George Beal had his best game of the season and put insome big hits and carried the ball well. Joe Rogersscored another two tries and Jack Wear also crossed theline twice. After the break, we went into defensive modeand only scored two tries. Our motivation and disciplinewas not good from the outset and we let ourselves downand could easily have scored three or four further tries.

Stafford Grammar was unfortunately very weak and thegame was a mismatch from the beginning with themarriving with only twelve players. After giving them aplayer to use, we then agreed on a 13-a-side game. Wescored a try within the first minute and it soon becameevident that this was going to be a very one-sided game.With us rotating players on a regular basis we tried toplay a Sevens sort of game. The game had tounfortunately, be blown short.

Continuous rain meant us playing on a very wet fieldagainst Denstone which made ball handling very difficult.They arrived with a very big pack and made life difficultfor us, attacking our try line for five minutes. Gooddefence forced one of their players to drop the ball overour try line, resulting in a scrum. Excellent ball handlinghelped us take the ball into their half and finally get it outwide to Ali Miller on the wing, who dived over to score anexcellent try. Going into the second half with a 19 - 0lead, we should have put more points on the board, butspent most of the half defending and making more andmore unforced errors. Denstone applied great pressureand were rewarded with a good try which was converted.Missed tackles started creeping in and only sheer gutsand determination kept them away from our try line. AliMiller scored a second try just before the end to securea hard-fought win for us.

The game against Birkenhead was unfortunatelycancelled due to bad weather. We set off for Wilmslowwithout four regular players to take play two games onthe same day. Our first was against a rather weakBramhall team. We scored some good tries and tackled

very well. After scoring five tries in the first half, wedecided to play some Sevens rugby by throwing the ballaround and trying a few different things. Although we didnot score many tries in the second half we played somegood rugby and kept the ball moving. The final game ofthe season was against a big team from Wilmslow. Thisproved to be a hard game and our defence was reallytested. We should have scored a few more tries, butmade careless mistakes. We did manage to score threeunconverted tries to run out winners. A good end to agood season. Well done to all the players.

James Austin, Paul Scull and Noah Appleby proved to bean awesome front row and did not get pushed back inone scrum the whole season. They all learnt during theseason to carry the ball well and their general skillsimproved fantastically well throughout the season. Petervon Hoven was an excellent cover at hooker when wepicked up a few injuries during the season and hasproved what an awesome hooker/blindside flank he is –if only he would grow a little more. The second row ofNelson Hughes and Jonny Charmley were also verygood and were able to use their size and strength well.The normal loose trio of Harry Whitehouse, Tom Parkerand Ted Parker were awesome during the season. Theinterplay between the Parker twins was fantastic towatch. As mentioned, Peter von Hoven also played flankduring the season as did James Slater who, when heputs his mind to it, can produce some excellent rugby.George Crow was scrumhalf, along with HarryWhitehouse when George was injured, and both of themshowed good skill from the base of the scrum andconstantly worked on their passing. Oli Lock was ourflyhalf and played some great games, but must learn tobelieve in himself and work on his tackling as this washis main weakness. George Beal at 12 was awesome –big, strong and physical. His only area to work on is hisspeed work which will help him once he gets through afew tackles. Ali Miller and Joe Rogers filled the outsidecentre birth and both possessed loads of speed andgood defence. One area to work on is once they receivethe ball, it is immediately tucked under one arm whichdoes not help when having to make a pass. Joe was ourtop try scorer and by far the highest points scorer in theteam – scored some brilliant tries during the season.Both also played on the wing during the season. Theother wing was Jack Wear who scored some good triesfor the B team early on. This was noticed and he waspromoted to the A team. He continued to score tries forus and improved tremendously. Lewis Suckling andHenry Collard-Underwood were our fullbacks during theseason – Lewis unfortunately was injured most of theseason, so we were unable to see him at his best –neither at 10 or 15. Henry played well during the seasonand remained positive, even when dropped to the B teamfor a while.

Well done this year guys and all the very best for thefuture. A big thank you to all parents for the fantasticsupport during the season – it was greatly appreciatedby your sons and myself.CCC

Regular Players: Appleby NA, Austin JH, Beal GW,Charmley JC, Collard-Underwood HC, Crow G, vonHoven PJ, Hughes NB, Lock OR, Miller AJ, Parker EM(Captain), Parker TH, Rogers JSJW, Scull PM, SlaterJAS, Suckling LA, Wear JJ, Whitehouse HA.



99

Summary of Results


v Denstone L 23 - 19

v Bromsgrove L 29 - 14

v Wrekin W 31 - 17

v Malvern D 25 - 25

The U14B team, coached by Mr Macintosh and MrCrawford, was a talented and feisty team who won theirfirst match of the season by a considerable margin, withJack Wear starting as he meant to go on, scoring the firsttry for the team, who went on to put seven more past theOld Swinford defence. Under Captain Jake Rogan theteam acquitted themselves well in their fixtures and werestrongly supported by many Ellesmere parents. Thehuge squad was very helpful, at least until it came toselection dilemmas, and the bench available for everygame was at least four strong. It was felt important thatall who turned up were involved in the game, even thoughthis meant changing the team around quite a bit.

Injuries to the U14A team meant that we lost players onoccasion, with Jack Wear called up permanently to theAs very early on. However, the team was notdiscouraged by this, and gave some great performancesin the next couple of matches. Further injuries gave moreB team players the chance to be promoted and theyproudly stepped up to the mark when asked; JoshBendel, the aggressive yet speedy winger, was snatchedaway as well as John Leadbeater the try-saving tacklingmachine.

There was little disgrace in the losses away at Denstoneand against a customarily strong Bromsgrove team, andthe manner with which they took the fight to such augustopposition was heartening. A hard-fought win againstWrekin College proved to be the team’s finest hour; it isfair at this stage to acknowledge the reliable goal kickingof Ioan Parry-Jones, whose sure aim led to a steadystream of conversions through the season, and whosetumbling, gyrating crossbar-pounding drop goal againstWrekin capped a dominant performance by theEllesmere forwards.

A long trip to Malvern showed the team at their mostresilient; after a punishing first half the team rightedthemselves to finish with a draw. The result was welldeserved, not least because our own injury problemshad led to call-ups for players from the DevelopmentSquad.

This was a talented U14B team, but what they must doto improve is to make the most of their training sessions.Not enough skills were enhanced through the seasondue to complacency and immaturity. It is hoped that nextseason they manage to go unbeaten, and this will onlyhappen with greater responsibility for their ownperformance, both on the field and in training.DWC, RJM and Jake Rogan

Squad: Austin JA, Benardete A, Bendel JM, BeswickCJ, Bland H, Bridge EM, Clarke RC, Clewlow RC,Cooksey JM, Derosa DER, Dhansangani MJ, Edge-Roberts HRJ, Hayes JWP, Hoffman MJC, von Hoven PJ,Jones GR, Killick SRC, Leadbetter JC, Leung CK-Y,Nelhans PA, Nolan RC, Parry-Jones I, Rickett HS, RoganJH, Slater JAS, Smith AE, Wear JJ, Williams BT,Whittaker JR, Ziegenhain LV.

100

Summary of Results

v Llandovery L 19 - 5v Old Swinford W 10 - 12v Bishop Heber W 67 - 0v Liverpool College L 5 - 17v Bishop Vesey’s L 36 - 0v Stafford Grammar L 7 - 17v Denstone College L 12 - 13v Birkenhead W 17 - 10v Bramhall L 7 - 5v Wilmslow W 5 - 12

Our first game of the term took us to Llandovery College.We started well and competed at the breakdown, but itsoon became evident that Llandovery had a well-drilledback row that were spoiling the break-down and alsogiving Will Doerr problems at fly-half, which limited theamount of ball we could get out to our wingers, JoelLyttle and James Wilson. This frustrated us a bit and wegave away a penalty in our 22, from which they scored.The half continued in much the same fashion, where wejust hung in there and defended well. But we gave awayanother penalty in our 22 area and again they scored.The second half was much closer, and at times we werea bit unlucky with some of the referee’s decisions. Werucked much better in this half; special mention shouldgo to our back row three of JJ Broburg, Ben Wynne andHarry Williams, and also to our hooker George Watkinwho played magnificently to provide ball for the backs.Unfortunatey we conceded a third try. After this weworked the ball up to their 22 and from quick ballmanaged to get the ball through the hands for pretty

much the first time in the match for Carmen Edwards toscore in the corner. This was the last action of the match.

The second match of the term was against Old SwinfordHospital. We seemed to be still on the bus as OldSwinford ran in a fairly easy try from a simple mistakebetween our 10 and 12. After this we started to play a bitof rugby, recognising the threat of their quick wingersand keeping the ball away from them. This clever playstarted to pay dividends and we were camped on their22. After three number eight pick-up-and-goes we optedon the fourth scrum to pass it out wide, the opposition didnot get up quickly enough, and we were able to get theball to Carmen Edwards who scored the try. In thesecond half we started much more strongly and from ourkick-off we gained a lucky bounce and were able to carrythe ball up to the opposition 22m line. From here weshipped the ball out to Will Doerr, who ran in under theposts for our second try of the game. After this the gamebecame much closer with both teams competing well atthe break-down and attempting to play a bit of runningrugby. Although they scored to make it 10-12 we held onfor the win.

Our third match of the term was a mid-week fixtureagainst Bishop Heber. We began strongly, attacking fromthe kick-off and never taking our foot off the gas in thefirst half, running in seven tries. Our tries came fromHarry Williams, Will Doerr, Joel Lyttle, Armani Roberts,Carmen Edwards, James Watson and Ben Wynne. In thesecond half we scored an early try, Harry Williamscompleting his hat-trick. After this as it was now 50-0 wefirst checked that the opposition wanted to carry on, andthen took off some players to give others an opportunityto play. Further tries were scored by Harry Byrne, MattKinney, and JJ Broberg, who had worked hard in theback row and deserved his try.



101

The fourth match was against Liverpool College. Webegan well and looked to take the game to them from thestart. However, we were up against a good forward unit,with bigger and at times faster boys who were turning usover in the ruck situation, and were 7- 0 down after onlyfive minutes. We then tried to play ball in hand but toomany times we opted to take the ball into contact andthus played into the opposition’s hands. During thesecond half we again tried to play the ball through thehands. This saw us camped on their 22 line and scoreout wide through Carmen Edwards. After this theopposition came back at us and again we got sucked intotheir game plan by taking it into contact instead of tryingto pass through the hands. However, if we had been a bitmore accurate with our passing we could have scoredagain, unfortunately it was not to be and right at the endthey scored again.

We were always going to find the Bishop Vesey’s matchtough as we had lost very heavily to them last year. Wedidn’t start brilliantly. They secured the ball from a kick-off and two minutes later scored. They poured attackafter attack against us. We were given a penalty againstus on our five metre line and they used their big playersup front to power through and score again. Threeminutes later they scored again. We can argue that theirfourth was not a try as they appeared to step into touchand there was a hint of a knock-on. However, we cannotuse this as an excuse as we did not play well in the firsthalf. In the second half we played much better and wereunlucky to concede the fifth try as again they appearedto put a foot into touch before scoring. We played withmuch more heart and passion and did not commit asmany mistakes. As the half drew on we started to sustainsome injuries and as we had no substitutes at times wewere given a player by them. The opposition scored oncemore, right at the end; not our best game.

At home against Stafford Grammar School we kicked offafter losing the toss and were attacking downfield. Wewere passing the ball out and using the width of the pitchto attack, but finding the last pass was not going to handor we were knocking the ball on. This lack of accuracy inour passing meant we were not converting possessioninto points until Carmen Edwards scored just before halftime. The second half was a different story. Theopposition were now playing down the field and came outwith a much more positive attitude. They were quickerthan us at the breakdown and seemed to want the gamemore than us. They eventually scored but missed theconversion, so we were still in the lead. At this point itwas a pretty even game but as the half wore on webecame lazy and gave away a few penalties. Theopposition exploited this and scored two more tries. Thiswas again a disappointing result and a match we couldhave won.

Against Denstone College we started very poorly.Denstone’s fullback managed to run through half of ourteam and score under the posts. We were guilty ofseveral missed tackles and had no excuses! After this wefinally woke up and started to compete. Good ruckingmade us competitive up front and our scrum wasexcellent throughout the whole match. We were unluckynot to score in the first half but some excellent defendingprevented any further scores. However, we did concedea penalty in front of the posts, which the oppositionchose to kick and converted. The second half saw usplay with the wind, so a couple of times we tried to play

into the corner to put their back three under pressure.This did not always work, as they had a good fullbackwho ran a lot of ball back to us. We decided to changeour tactics and play ball through the hands, enabling WillDoerr to power over for a try. After this we played somegood rugby and the next score could have gone eitherway. Unfortunately for us the opposition were given apenalty on our 22m line and took a quick tap and shippedthe ball out to the fullback who saw gaping holes in ourback line and scored again. We also scored againthrough a JJ Broberg try, but finished just one point off.

We didn’t begin well against Birkenhead. The first fewminutes were very nervy but after this we began to calmdown and play a bit of rugby. We dominated the scrumand this allowed our backs to pass the ball around. Thehalf saw us play downhill and we ended up camped intheir half - we should have come away with a couple ofscores but for final passes going forward. Eventuallythough our pressure began to tell and James Watsontook a quick tap and ran through some tackles to score.In the second half we worked the ball up into their 22where we eventually scored through JJ Broberg, whopowered over from close range. After this it became anentertaining half of rugby with both teams playing well.They scored through a scrum on the 5m line, but we werenot done and scored through Joel Lyttle. They scoredagain, which led to a nervy last five minutes which wemanaged to wind down by holding the ball up in their half,before eventually kicking the ball out once we knew thattime was up.

Our ninth match of the term was the first in a triangularfixture with Wilmslow and Bramhall School. We beganpositively and competed well. However, we were stoppedfrom playing a quick game as the referee slowedeverything down. The conditions were also poor. Wespent large amounts of the first half camped on their tryline and eventually came away with a Jamie Thomas try.The conditions underfoot worsened in the second half.We gave away a soft try in the end and they scored theconversion. After this the rugby was disrupted by poorconditions and the referee slowing down proceedings.We appeared to have scored again but the referee didnot give it and later on in the half we lost a player due toa late-off-the ball incident, which the referee missed.This put a dampener on the game and we ended uplosing.

The second match of our triangular fixture was againstthe host school, Wilmslow. Again we began verypositively and dominated much of the half, retainingpossession, and this forward domination eventually sawBen Wynne cross over for the try. Armani Roberts scoredanother by breaking through several tackles down thewing to power his way over the try-line. The second halfwas much scrappier and we were guilty of mistakes attimes. They scored a soft try. After this we tried to play abit but were often stripped of the ball in contact and gaveaway possession too easily. However, we held on in trickyconditions for the win. ILR

Squad: Broberg JJ, Byrne HN, Byrne TE, Doerr WK, Edwards CC, Houlder FAR, Lyttle JA, McCarthy SHG,Roberts CA, Sloan TWJ, Thomas JS (Captain), WatkinGP, Watson JP, Williams HC, Williamson BD, Wilson JD,Wynne BJ.

102

Summary of Results

v Bedstone (U13A) Lost 0 - 51v Old Swinford Hospital Lost 5 - 22v Liverpool College (U12A) Lost 5 - 19v Bishop Vesey’s Lost 0 - 10v Stafford Grammar (U12A) Won 54 - 0v Denstone College (U12A) Won 5 - 0v Kingsland Grange (U13A) Lost 10 - 24v Wilmslow (U12A) Lost 0 - 19v Bramhall (U12A) Won 15 - 10v Packwood Haugh Lost 5 - 17

This was a difficult season; with little experience from lastyear, some new, raw players and a distinct lack of sizeand pace we were always going to be up against it.Having said this we did improve as the seasonprogressed and by the end we managed to play withgreater cohesion and understanding of the game, whichafter all at this level is one of the main aims. The firstgame against a huge Bedstone side was a baptism offire for some players who perhaps found themselves outof their depth. A hot day at Old Swinford followed despiteswine ‘flu, though this did mean that with the oppositionshort, five of their A team had to play for the Bs! Thenadir of our season followed against Liverpool College -against a weak side we allowed them to dictate the levelof play and we were simply too greedy and upright.

Some tough talking and home truths in training followedprior to a traditionally tough game against BishopVesey’s. Whilst we went down again, this was a vastly

improved performance and there were signs that wewere heading in the right direction. Stafford Grammarwere raw and weak, but this game gave the opportunityto put what we had been practising to the test and weachieved a morale boosting win.

A hard-fought win against Denstone, when we hadvirtually all the ball, turned out to be a relief as we had torely on a late ‘rumble’ from the forwards to get the all-important score. The Kingsland Grange game wassomewhat frustrating as we had the early play and werelooking good until we conceded a soft score and headswent down, allowing the opposition to get away from usbefore we hit back late on. A triangular with Wilmslowand Bramhall was a new innovation and gave us two finalgames at home, the overriding memory of which wasAngelo Daniel’s two tries - what a pity his pace had beenunavailable for so much of the season. We finished witha rousing encounter at Packwood, which was a greatcompetitive game, showing that we had come a hugedistance in thirteen weeks.

My thanks to Mr Morgan for his help with coaching, JoHughes for leading the side and the parents who cameto support.WJH

Squad: Appleby JJ, Austin AH, Batson TWR, DanielAIET, Dutton GJ, Fashanu W, Hughes JW (Captain),Hymes HR, Jeffs TW, Lay RJ, Lever WEG, McCormackGA, O’Brien PJ, Roberts JA, Shields C, Spencer-WolfeRM, Squires SJ, Williamson HG.



103

Summary of Resultsv Abbeygate W 50 - 0v Shrewsbury High School W 57 - 7v Packwood Haugh L 7 - 14v Lyndon Prep L 26 - 28 v Prestfelde W 12 - 7

The season started well with a trip away to Abbeygate.The match had to be changed to an away venue as thepoor weather had affected our pitches. The weather hadcaused considerable disruption to our preparation. Fromthe start we played strong running rugby. The sideshowed the ability to move the ball and when not inpossession they placed pressure on the opposition. Thegame turned out to be very one-sided with Ellesmerescoring several tries and keeping a clean sheet.

The second match was played at home againstShrewsbury High School. They started well, out-ruckingand out-scrimmaging us. However, when the ball waswon back, our good passing and movement showedagain. Strong work in the loose by Marcus Bruce andWill Rothery allowed Harry Pochin, Nick Bulanada,Armarni Roberts and Sam Chapman the space to run. Itwas pleasing that we were able to play several youngerboys who also did extremely well. We rang the changesin position throughout the game and lost shape in thesecond half, but there were some excellent passages ofplay with good interchange of hands and supportrunning.

Packwood away is always a challenging fixture. Wedidn’t start the game well, conceding a try within the firstfew minutes. Weaker sides may have buckled at thatpoint but we showed great determination and endeavourto pull ourselves back into the game. We evened up thescore and were unfortunate on several occasions not to

take the lead. Packwood moved the ball well in thesecond half and despite our pressing we could not find ascore to tie the game. Particularly pleasing was ourability to run a second twelve on the same day, giving theopportunity for more boys to represent the College andgain some experience in match play. The Bs were veryplucky but could not match the experience of thePackwood team.

Our next match was away at Lyndon Prep school. Wetravelled with a vey depleted team and took on perhapsthe largest U11 team I have ever seen on a very smallpitch which did not allow us to move the ball. We have alarge number of young and inexperienced players butthey all showed great resolve and played their hearts out.The lead changed hands several times and in the end wenarrowly lost by two points. We deserved at least a drawfrom the game but again the experience gained by theyounger players will be very valuable.

Our last match was at home to Prestfelde. It proved tobe a very tough and robust match with both teamsdesperate for the win. The game didn’t really flow butagain showed our great determination and strongdefence. In the tightest of finishes we edged a win tofinish the season on a high.

Many thanks must go to all the parents who supported soenthusiastically throughout the term. I am really lookingforward to seeing the young players develop their rugbyat the College in future years.

ILWSquad: Bulanda NE, Bulanda NJ, Chapman SJ,Crossman AL, Edwards W, Fashanu JO, Faulkner RM,Hill TP, Houlder AKC, Lloyd GF, Maclean CJ, MurtaghEM, Pochin HJ, Pochin JW, Roberts CA (Captain),Rothery WHJ.

104

North of England Sevens TournamentGroup Matches

v 5 Barnard Castle L 5 - 32v King Henry VIII W 41 - 5v 29 Merchant Taylors W 29 - 12v 61 Rossall W 61 - 0

Plate Competition

v Lymm L 31 - 12

A tough opening match against a good outfit left us witha lot to do in the group, but we picked things up in the restof the group stages with a very good win againstMerchant Taylors when we put pressure on theopposition and used our ball well. We then went throughto face Lymm who had narrowly missed out winning theirgroup and were well organised. As in the opener wemade basic mistakes, coughing the ball up when putunder pressure and yet on occasions played some verygood sevens.

This very much had the feel of a rusty openingtournament and there were some positive points to someof our play. There was a fair gap however betweenEllesmere and the better teams in the tournament, partof which was due to confidence on the ball.

Fylde U18 Sevens TournamentGroup Matches

v Kirkham W 35 - 14v St David’s W 50 - 5v Pocklington W 34 - 7v Rishworth W 47 - 21v St Bede’s W 48 - 0

Quarter-Final

v Filton L 5 - 14

Facing last year’s champions was a daunting prospect,but this proved to be a fantastic confidence-boostingperformance. We tackled hard and did not let them playsevens and then whenever we had the ball we moved itquickly and threatened out wide. We suddenly lookedconfident and quick and, importantly, well-organised. Wegradually made our way through the rest of the groupwith all members of the squad joining in the party andscoring freely. The bonus of having a strong squadensured players were rested and we continued to looksharp.

We played our final group game against St Bede’s onSunday morning and then had to wait until Sunday mid -afternoon to play in the quarter-final. Filton andIvybridge, the two Academy Colleges, were the teamseveryone was talking about so we knew it was to be atough one. While Filton played a physical game wemoved the ball smartly, eventually surprising them withan unexpected dart from Lloyd Hayes to go 5 – 0 up. Wehad them under pressure on their 5 metre line only toallow them, from a tapped penalty, to run the length. Wethen put them under pressure but lost our lineout fivemetres from their line (unchallenged!). They broke and a



105

fantastic sequence of tackles and recycling led to themscoring on the wing some five or six phases later. Therest of the match was all Ellesmere – history repeateditself from Rosslyn when we crossed the line and, tryingto go under the post, didn’t get the ball down, then onlya minute later failing to ground the ball in the corner,again having crossed the line.

Although it was a disappointing end after all their effort itwas a confidence-boosting tournament where we playedgreat sevens all weekend. Forty-five teams started thecompetition and we finished in the top eight, feeling thatwe still could have gone further.

King’s Worcester Sevens Tournament

Group Matches

v Solihull Sixth Form College W 48 - 14v Bromsgrove W 24 - 12v Loughborough W 26 - 14

Quarter-Final

v Cheltenham W 28 - 12

Semi-Final

v Sir Thomas Rich W 24 - 14

Final


At last winners of the King’s Worcester SevensTournament! Ellesmere 1st Seven put together amagnificent run of matches to take the title. In the grouprounds the most difficult game was against Bromsgrove,who played a physical kick-and-rush brand of Sevensthat was very effective. The quarter-final was acomfortable win against Cheltenham and we played veryeffectively, scoring some excellent tries by moving theball wide. The semi-final was a close shave after we hadlooked comfortable, moving to 14 - 0 up after twoexcellent attacking kick-offs that gave us soft scores.This was just as well as the opposition recovered tonarrow it to 19 - 14 and were pushing us hard. A superbtackle by Will Goodwin brought down their strike runnerand was followed by further tackles that led to a turnoverand we ran away to finish the match off.

The final was an epic encounter against oldrivals Old Swinford. We started well with asuperbly taken try from Lloyd Hayes - whoincidentally played every minute of thecompetition, leading by examplethroughout. We moved to 14 - 0 afterplaying excellent sevens. We put IwanPhillips one-on-one against the full backwhom he danced around to score underthe posts. Just before half time it looked asthough we might score again as a movethat started from behind our own line sweptdown the field. Unfortunately when lookingfor support there was an interception fromthe last pass that resulted in Old Swinfordscoring.Half Time: 14 - 7We turned round and were put underimmense pressure, and although we nevermissed a tackle we let Swinford get aroundus for two tries. With two minutes to go itwas time to stand up and be counted; wewere 19 - 14 down. A great break fromGeorge Baxter and an offload in the tackle

saw the fresh legs of Andy Coubrough score wide out.We regained possession and with the last play of thegame we were given a penalty which we ran from the halfway line. The ball moved out to the wing where for asecond time Iwan Phillips danced round his oppositeman and sprinted off up field. The sweeper came acrossto cover and a great pass inside saw Andy Coubrough goin under the posts; followed by the kick; followed by thefinal whistle.

A magnificent match that went right down to the wire.The Ellesmere boys wanted it - well done to them!

Rosslyn Park Sevensv King’s Taunton W 22 - 5v Pangbourne L 12 - 33v Woodbridge W 31 - 19v Oundle L 15 - 22This was always going to be difficult once captain LloydHayes was unavailable; however this was compoundedwhen Bryn Phillips pulled a hamstring in the openingmatch. We still started brightly, playing good sevens, butas happened before with short recovery time after King’sWorcester we looked tired in the second match. Playingon a pitch the same size as Pump House we weresteam-rollered in the next match with Pangbourne. Wehad a late rally in the second half but we looked wellbeaten. Against Woodbridge, the whipping boys of thegroup, everyone enjoyed a run out, and it left us with thefinal match against Oundle. Even if we had won wewould have gone out on points difference but we wantedto give a good account of ourselves. We began as a truecharity and gifted them three tries. We then played someexcellent sevens to bring things back to go down onlyfour tries to three.

Although a let-down after winning the King’s Worcestertournament there were some positives to take from this.Seven players from the squad will return next year muchmore experienced after a sevens campaign in which weplayed well although a little inconsistently.PAG

Squad: Baxter GW, Brereton OD, Coubrough AT,Goodwin WJ, Hayes RL (Captain), Jones MD, King T,Oakden AS, Padgett MN, Phillips DB, Phillips IW, SoleJO, Walters LT, Webb JP, Wignall HE.

King’s Worcester Sevens Champions

106

Adams Grammar School Tournament

Group games

v Sandbach School W 26 - 21


v Birkenhead School w/o

Semi-Final

v Malvern College W 54 - 5

Final

v Sandbach School W 24 - 12

Ellesmere Cup Winners

As usual the team travelled to Adams very short ofpractice and approaching the tournament in true‘Corinthian Spirit’.

Sandbach had won the equivalent U14 tournament lastyear and were clearly the favourites for this year too. (Itturned out later that they had not lost a Sevens game fortwo years, winning three tournaments in that time. Justas well that we didn’t know!) The first game was an untidyaffair with many errors made on both sides but wemanaged to keep our noses in front, and although wemissed some tackles and leaked a couple of triestowards the end we held on for a very narrow win. Areassessment of our strengths led to some positionalchanges as we prepared to take on a very slick-lookingOSH team. Initially we struggled as they moved the ball

well to lead 14 - 10 at half time. A half-time talk aboutpressure in defence made all the difference in thesecond half and we scored three unanswered tries as wecaught them in possession and moved the ball brilliantlyourselves – the first try after the break could only bedescribed as the ‘perfect try’ as the whole team handledto move the ball from one touch line to the other tooutflank the defence and give an easy run in. Anunfortunate injury to one of their players led toBirkenhead withdrawing and so denying us our thirdgroup game but we topped the league anyway.

In the other group the final game between Adams andMalvern had decided things with Adams winning. Asrunners-up (after beating Bishop Vesey and CaldyGrange) Malvern played us. We had won a closeencounter in the 15s season but here we wereunstoppable. Tremendous pressure on them when theyhad the ball produced many turnovers and we moved theball well to run in eight tries – the last three with our twomost powerful players taken off for a rest.

The final against Sandbach, who had defeated Adamswith a ‘golden try’ after drawing at full time, producedsome high quality sevens. Having taken the lead we werebehind at the break but still in touch due to somefantastic covering and tackling by Colin Dickson. As thereferee had been hard on us in the first half he gave theopposition no leeway in the second and so, with a decentamount of possession, we took the game to them, ourown defence really piling on the pressure when they hadthe ball. They were using a rush defence in the centreand so we decided to attack closer to the scrum, lineout



107

or loose. Powerful running and good support saw usthrough to a great win and our first victory at the AdamsTournament.

Everybody contributed to the victory. Sam Owen endedup on the wing running in several scores, and played hispart in stopping and reloading for the ‘perfect try’. EdMorris and Conor Carrington-Sykes competed for aplace in the forwards, and worked hard to achievepossession as well as learning to get up in defence toexert pressure. James Latter hooked well, threw ineffectively and improved his defence. Luke Taylor scoreda key try with an outrageous dummy in the first game,and was able to come on to give Colin a rest in the semi-final. Dominic Simpson was always elusive and sound indefence as well as demonstrating a ‘good set of wheels’from time to time. James Preston defended well, kickedoff sublimely so enabling us to put pressure on from thekick-off and converted fifteen of our twenty-one tries.Louis Chaudron worked tirelessly to turn overpossession and put in some hard-hitting tackles. ColinDickson, playing at scrumhalf, was our top scorer andwas responsible for the two cover tackles in the first halfof the final that probably made the win possible.

As we went through the afternoon our handling improvedas did our understanding of the need to support andkeep possession. Similarly our preparation for eachgame, taken seriously and worked on by the playersthemselves, contributed in no small way to their success.All in all it was a super afternoon – the sun even shonefor a period of time and yes, the bacon butties weregreat!

Warwick School Tournament

v Portsmouth Grammar School L 5 - 38

(Eventual losing finalists)

v Warwick School L 7- 40

v Sir Thomas Rich’s L 17 - 19

A weakened squad failed to play to the best of theirability. Whilst the endeavour of individuals was all onecould expect, the team work necessary for success atthis high level (PGS having already won competitions thisyear and Warwick being the winners at U14 last year)was lacking on this occasion.

Despite the disappointment of the first two games thesquad pulled themselves together in the final game andwere unlucky not to win since they dominated the secondhalf, scoring twice.

King’s Worcester Tournament

v Wellington School W 52 - 0

v King’s Worcester L 19 - 22

v Hereford Cathedral W 47 - 7

v Bromsgrove School W 43 - 0

v Old Swinford Hospital L 12 - 42

v Royal Grammar School Worcester L 12 - 21

When we were good we were quite good, when we werebad we were rather poor. The early signs were quiteencouraging as we easily disposed of Wellington; thewhole squad played in the opening game and weseemed to be back to the level of performance that hadseen us win the Adams’ Tournament. As the secondgame started and we moved into a 14 - 0 lead all seemedwell, but we neglected to bunch up in front of the ball

carrier and allowed a nippy runner to round our forwardsto get a try back. Even so we pressed again and goodsupport saw us over for a 19 - 5 half time lead. Howeverin the second half we lost the contact battle, madeseveral silly errors and failed to clear our lines whengiven the chance following some really goodscrummaging. Worcester kicked off for the last passageof play leading by three points and although we brokeaway with the ball we could not support our runner andthe opportunity to snatch back victory was missed.

To have a chance of progressing from the group we hadto win at least two of our last three games. HerefordCathedral offered little resistance and the subs were onearly to give others a rest. Bromsgrove seemed to offertough opposition but we played quite superbly.Reclaiming the ball from the kick-off on severaloccasions we scored four first-half tries withoutBromsgrove having any meaningful time with the ball. Afurther three scores in the second half saw us to aremarkable and comprehensive victory. Sadly this provedto be the peak of our day. OSH, whom we hadcomfortably beaten at Adams, profited from some weakplay in mid-field and completely dominated the contactarea – this proved to be our weak area throughout andone that lack of any meaningful coaching time hadmeant was uncoached – giving them the lion’s share ofpossession.

Coming third in the group we were now due to play RGSin a play-off. The squad was clearly very tired anddisappointed in the OSH result. We did not play to ourpotential and on a narrow pitch too often found ourselvesin contact situations, suffered a turnover, and were thenimmediately under pressure again. We were 12 - 14down at half time and although we pressed for a time wefailed to move the ball when we should, too many playersgoing on their own, and the opposition finally broke awayfor the only score of the half.

Whilst it was perhaps a disappointing end to the Sevensseason we can be pleased with the fact of winning theAdams’ Tournament and bagging a cup – not manyteams achieve a win! Well done everyone.MDTS

Adams Tournament WinnersBack Row from left: CQ Carrington-Sykes,JEA Preston, C Dickson, LB Chaudron

Centre Row from left: JE Latter, DW Simpson, LG Taylor

Front row: EE Morris, SL Owen (Captain) with trophy

Also played this season: KPA McNamara, GW Beal

108

This was a very short Sevens season for the U14s.Practices were very limited due to it being Footballseason, so it came as no surprise that we struggled atthe Adams Sevens where we won only one game – itwas still very disappointing as the team possessed agreat deal of talent. They were still trying to play fifteens-style rugby and took too much contact.

The second tournament was hosted by Warwick School,where some of the top schools from all over the countrytook part. We played Sedbergh in the first game, andproved to ourselves that if we avoid contact we canactually play some good sevens. We led the game withonly two minutes remaining, but unfortunately lost theball in contact and allowed them to score with us losingby a few points.

Our second game was against Bishop Vesey’s where westarted the game without our “big guns” and let ourreserves start so that every player played at least onegame. Although we won the game comfortably, it endedup costing us a place in the quarter final.

Our final game was against Solihull, who had earlierbeaten Sedbergh, so a tough game was on the cards.We played fantastic sevens, scored some great tries anddefended brilliantly. We won the game well and had towait for the end of the Sedbergh vs. Bishop Vesey’sgame to know whether we would progress into thequarter final. Unfortunately for us, although we had wontwo of our three games, as had Sedbergh and Solihull, itcame down to points difference and we lost out by a fewpoints This was mainly because the other two teams hadplayed their best players in all the games, while we gaveour entire squad some game time.

I trust the players learnt more about the game of Sevensthis year and will be able to take this forward with them.Well done and good luck next year.CCC

Squad: Beal GW, Crow G, Collard-Underwood HC, vonHoven PJ, Lock OR, Miller AJ, Parker EM, Parker TH(Captain), Rogers JSJW, Suckling LA, Whitehouse HA.



109

Despite snow and rain at the start of term the Sevenssquad trained continuously throughout the term. Theteam was well supported with fifteen or more boysturning out for training. Unfortunately the combinationsof weight restrictions and the limited number oftournaments for us to enter didn’t allow us to give everyboy a start. However, the skills development which tookplace will certainly help in the fifteen-a-side season.

The first tournament was at Adams. We started well,winning both of our opening matches, then lost narrowlyto qualify as second in our group. We played Adams inthe semi-final but were just edged in a tight encounter.Adams went on to win the event.

The next tournament was at Packwood. Luck was notwith us as in our group were the eventual finalists inAdams and St Olaves. We played well in the groupstages and qualified for the Plate semi-final. But theextreme effort expended in playing in a tough pool stageshowed in the semi. We took the lead but eventually lostout by a conversion, having looked the better side.

The final tournament was at home. We didn’t play well inthe group stages but managed to battle our way throughto the Plate final, beating Old Swinford, whom we hadlost to earlier in the season, along the way. Unfortunatelyfitness and structure let us down and, having drawn withWoodlands in the group match, we looked tired andcouldn’t pull out a performance. Overall it has been a

promising season. We looked competitive with somevery strong teams and showed progression throughoutthe season.ILW

Squad: Broburg JJ, Byrne HN, Edwards CC,Hughes JW, Kinney MP, Lyttle JA, Roberts JA,Thomas JS, Watkin GP(Captain), Williams HC,Wilson JD, Wynn BJ .

Harry Williams with Jacob Roberts in close support atthe Adams Sevens Tournament

Season Review 2009

Girls’ Hockey, once again, has enjoyed a successfulseason. We have again used the astroturf pitch atShawbury in Wednesday Senior Games time so that allour Senior Teams can train on the playing surface onwhich many schools are now playing their hockey. This isessential and is the key to us performing well againstother schools who are playing the fast-flowing game ofHockey that we aspire to. Many of our girls are regularlyattending Hockey Clubs or Junior Development Centres(JDCs) in the area and are bringing their experiencesback into our school hockey.

There have been some creditable performances duringthe season. Last year the 1st XI enjoyed an unbeatenseason and it was always going to be hard to beat thatachievement, especially after saying goodbye to anumber of the players. The team had a new outlook -new coaches and new young players. However, theydidn’t disappoint and they won six out of their ninematches convincingly. A special thanks should go toVivian Grudde, who captained the team and always ledby example both in training and in matches. There areonly a few girls leaving this year and I would like to thankthem for their contribution to Girls’ Sport at the College.

During the second part of the term many of our fixtureswere cancelled, mainly due to the weather and ourpitches being unplayable. The 2nd XI played fourmatches and lost all. This year we decided to go back tothe system of Junior A and B teams for the U14 and U15squads. The Junior A squad had an unbeaten season.They were very professional in their approach and manyhad call ups to the 1st XI Squad. The Junior Bs enjoyedtheir season and progressed as the season developed.

Although we entered all County tournaments this year,we did not achieve the same success as last year.However we did finish 3rd in both the U16 and U14Tournaments.

Lower School Hockey continues to thrive! The U13s wonfour out of their six matches and were runners-up in theU13 North Shropshire Tournament, and the U12s had anunbeaten season. Considering there are only thirteengirls in this year, winning all their matches was aconsiderable achievement. The U11s and U10s also hada full fixture but the emphasis here is all aboutparticipation and the enjoyment of the game.

I would like to thank all the coaching staff for their hardwork during the season. The success of Girls’ Hockey atEllesmere is largely down to their motivation and theamount of time they dedicate to their teams’ training. Aspecial thank you should go to Mr Richard Purnell andMiss Anwen Pugh for coaching the 1st XI Hockey thisyear, which I know they have found challenging at times.I must also thank Miss Pugh for help in co-ordinating therunning of the Girls’ Fixtures. HLD

Representative Honours 2009Shropshire U13 Beth Hulme

Shropshire U14 Ellie Halstead

Shropshire U15 Annie Rogan

Shropshire U17 Vicky von Hoven

Vivian Grudde

Ellie Halstead was also selected for the Midlands CountySquad.

Many of our girls attended the Junior DevelopmentCentres around the area in order to progress further tothe County squads.

110

Sport - Girls’ Hockey

Coach Helen Davenport (far left) running a trainingsession for the senior girls

U11s in actionLeft: Lottie Hulme drives

the ball up the fieldagainst Moreton Hall

Below: Mia Fostercaptures the ball fromher Lyndon challengers



111

Summary of Results

v Stafford Grammar W 6 - 0v Wolverhampton Grammar W 8 - 0v King’s Chester D 2 - 2v Rydal Penrhos W 1 - 0v Thomas Alleyne’s High W 7 - 0v Abbots Bromley W 4 - 0v Shrewsbury School L 3 - 4v Moreton Hall W 2 - 0v Wrekin College L 0 - 7

The season began in earnest a week before the start ofterm with an intensive two days of pre-season training.This enabled the coaches to begin the process ofselecting fresh talent into the squad after the departureof eight players from the all-conquering side of 2008. Italso provided an opportunity for the players to refreshsome core skills and get to grips with the new self-passdirective - arguably the most significant change in thelaws of the game since the elimination of the offside rule.Our subsequent training then focused on familiarising thesquad with the philosophy and principles of the 2-3-5system of play, which the coaches felt would best utilisethe individual strengths of the players and facilitate ashort passing game in all areas of the pitch.

The opening match against Stafford Grammar waspredictably scrappy and a more even contest than theresult suggests. However, we took our chances well andthe sequence of passes that led to the final goal wassuperb. Vivian Grudde was the catalyst for much of ourattacking play and some outstanding recovery work byZoe Evans meant that our defence rarely came underserious threat. Chloe Prydden, Sarah Wicks and GraceTomlinson had impressive debuts and showed

themselves to be more than capable of coping with thedemands of first team hockey.

With Zoe unavailable for the King’s Chester match, theteam reverted to a more traditional 3-4-3 formation inorder to bolster the defence. We started well and twogoals from Steph Newport-Booth, who had an immensegame, gave us a deserved early lead. However, we tiredsignificantly in the second half and the opposition wereable to exploit the gaps that opened up between ourdefensive lines to level the score. The last ten minuteswere extremely tense and it needed several excellentsaves by Vicky von Hoven to keep us in the match. Wedisplayed plenty of fighting spirit but the way we lost ourshape towards the end of the game provided convincingevidence for adhering to 2-3-5 for the rest of the season.

Two quick goals by Olivia Dingwall-Fordyce againstWolverhampton Grammar settled any early nerves andallowed us to execute short passing to retain possessionand change our channels of attack. Emily Wicksrepeatedly got in behind the opposition defence toprovide dangerous crosses from the dead-ball line, andOlivia made some excellent lead runs to create spaceand pull defenders out of position. Overall, this was acomprehensive win accomplished in fine style.

As predicted, the match against Rydal Penrhos proved tobe an extremely tight and absorbing contest. We startedvery tentatively and spent much of the first fifteenminutes defending inside our 25-metre area, but towardshalf time our confidence increased and we were able tohold our lines higher up the pitch. We posed more of athreat after the interval and Vivian eventually broke thedeadlock with some quick thinking on a free hit justoutside the circle. Our passing and movement improvedsignificantly after the goal and, with Charlotte Shearerand Viola Grosvenor resolute in defence, we never

112

looked in trouble despite the narrow lead. We did notrealise it at the time but that amazing second halfperformance was the pinnacle of our season.

With the squad supplemented by several Junior As, wetravelled to Uttoxeter to play back-to-back matchesagainst Thomas Alleyne's High School and AbbotsBromley. We took control of the first game right from thestart and a 4 - 0 lead at half time enabled us to providethe younger members of the party with a taste of FirstTeam hockey. These substitutions did not upset ourmomentum and showed that we have some promisingtalent waiting in the wings. Indeed, Ellie Halstead was soimpressive that she was drafted into the squad for therest of the season, which is a remarkable achievementfor such a young player. In our second match both sidesproduced some good hockey despite having to playunder floodlights in torrential rain. Abbots Bromleypassed the ball well but we had the all-important cuttingedge. A drenched, but very happy, band of travellersboarded the bus for the long journey home knowing theyhad accomplished their mission in impressive fashion!

From then on, our fortune, along with the weather, took adownward turn. Deteriorating pitches and conflictingdemands on players’ time seriously impeded our trainingprogramme at a crucial point in the season. We were wellaware that our next opponents posed a significant threat.Although we had previously beaten Shrewsbury Schoolin the first stage of the U18 National Tournament, the 5 -1 defeat they inflicted on us in the second round provedjust how dangerous they could be! We took an early lead,but mistakes in defence and clever movement by theopposition forwards meant that we were soon behind. Totheir great credit, the girls fought back to make it 3 - 3 butwith only minutes to go we were undone by a clinicalpenalty corner routine. The reaction of the oppositionplayers and coaches at the final whistle showed just howmuch the victory meant to them and, to be fair, they justabout deserved it on the overall balance of play.

After that first defeat we were determined to put thingsright against Moreton Hall. This proved to be yet anothertense affair as both teams battled to gain control of themidfield. As in the previous game we put ourselves underunnecessary pressure by giving away too many free hits,but excellent marking by Sophie Halstead and GraceTomlinson made it difficult for the opposition wingers topenetrate our circle. In the second half we began to lookthe stronger side and two clean strikes by Olivia sealedthe victory.

And so it came to the final match of the season. This wasalways going to be our toughest challenge but the 1 - 1draw we had secured against Wrekin College in the U18Tournament gave us reason to be optimistic about ourchances. We started brightly but missed an excellentearly chance and then conceded two soft goals. Fromthat point on, Wrekin grew in confidence and turned onthe style. Slick passing, intelligent movement and quicktransfers out of congested areas made it very difficult forus to get hold of the ball. When possession wasachieved we tried to clear our lines with long passes thatsimply gave the ball away. It was a painful anddisappointing way to end the season but full credit to ouropponents for producing some sublime hockey. In truth,we were not prepared physically or mentally for theencounter and, coming at the end of a full anddemanding schedule of matches and tournaments, thiswas probably a game too far.

Following in the wake of an unbeaten team is alwaysdifficult as judgments about the degree of progress andsuccess of the current side tend to be coloured bycomparisons with the previous season’s achievements.Although we were unable to match the heights of 2008,winning six of our nine games and scoring 33 goalsrepresents a very creditable performance. Well done toall involved - including Mel Evans and Charlotte Boffeywho never put a foot wrong on the pitch but had to becontent with spending much of their time sitting on thesubs bench. Finally, huge thanks to the all those parentswho were prepared to brave the elements and support usthrough thick and thin. RJP

Season’s Awards

Player of the Year Vivian GruddePlayers’ Player Ellie HalsteadMost Improved Player Grace Tomlinson

Squad: Boffey CRD, Dingwall-Fordyce OR, Evans MA,Evans ZL (vice-captain), Grosvenor VG, Grudde VZ(captain), Halstead ED, Halstead SL, von Hoven VA,Newport-Booth SL, Prydden CL, Shearer CR, TomlinsonGTM, Wicks EJ, Wicks SE.

1st Team TournamentsWrekin College Sevens Tournament

At the start of the season the girls played exceptionallywell to progress to the semi-final of Wrekin College’sSevens tournament. Ellesmere faced a tough matchagainst a very experienced Denstone College team, yetgained success in all other matches, beatingShrewsbury High School, Shrewsbury School, WrekinCollege B and Ludlow College. A close semi-final againstWrekin College A resulted in a 2 - 1 loss. Throughout theday, the girls demonstrated some very good skills andadvanced team play, which gave us much optimism forthe season ahead.

U18 England National Schools Hockey Champioship

The first team were aiming to add to last year’s successin the U18 England National Schools HockeyChampionship. Following the results of the firsttournament, Ellesmere looked the favourite team toprogress on to the Midlands section, yet their dreamswere dashed by illness. Round 1 results included a 2 - 2draw against Shrewsbury Sixth Form (Grudde 1,Dingwall-Fordyce 1), a 2 - 1 win over Shrewsbury School(Grudde 1, Dingwall-Fordyce 1) and a 3 - 0 victory overMoreton Hall (Grudde 2, Dingwall-Fordyce 1). In Round2, irrespective of sickness, the players fought on butsuffered an unlucky 5 - 1 defeat to Shrewsbury School(Grudde 1). They regained some pride with a 4 - 0 victoryover Ludlow College (Grudde 2, Dingwall-Fordyce 2),and remained strong in the toughest match of the dayagainst Wrekin College. Ellesmere played with greatdetermination and effort, and captain Vivian Grudde ledthe way when she took the lead early on in the game.Ellesmere had overcome the mistakes apparent in theirfirst match, and were transferring the play with muchconfidence and ease. Within the closing minutes,Ellesmere were hoping for glory, yet Wrekin equalisedwith seconds to go. The girls were devastated, and it wassuch a disappointment that they were not on their bestperformance in the first match of the day.AP



113

Summary of Results

v Rydal Penrhos L 0 - 3v Oswestry L 0 - 2v Moreton Hall L 0 - 7v Wrekin L 0 - 12

Seconds Hockey is made up of pupils new to the sportin the upper school and those that have chosen tocontinue playing just for the fun of it. Regardless of theirhockey background, all members of the seconds werekeen to learn new skills and of course represent theCollege. All the away matches were on astro-turf andthis always takes a little getting used to. Travelling awaywas always hard, especially for the first match of theseason. This is certainly true when playing Rydal. Thegirls put in a good performance and came close toscoring in the second half.

At the end of the first half we were one goal down witheverything to play for. The defence was superb, clearingwell and allowing the midfield to move the ball forward.Carys Fieldhouse controlled the game, jut as a goodcaptain should. After half time, the Rydal substitutes putus under a lot of pressure, but Ellesmere withstood theonslaught. Two unlucky breaks saw the final result end3 - 0, the last goal in the dying minutes.

The next match of the season was at home on grassagainst an unknown Oswestry team so we were unsure

what to expect. The first half showed them to be of avery similar standard to us. At the end of the first half thescore was 0 - 0. Both sides had chances, and somegood saves from Pippa in her debut as goalie kept us inthe match. Carys once again dominated the midfieldand controlled the play throughout. A couple of goodbreaks by Hannah nearly put us through, with Katherinegoing wide of the post by a few centimetres. Thedeadlock was finally broken by two quick goals fromOswestry.

Three days later we were playing Moreton Hall on areally wet and windy day. Despite the brave defendingand fortitude of all the players it was not enough to holdback a much stronger team. The following week told asimilar story when we played Wrekin.

Despite the defeats the players were upbeat as they justenjoyed playing hockey. Good luck to all those that havenow gone on to college or university and may the hockeycontinue.RC

Squad: Cumpston HM, Fieldhouse CM, Griffiths JL,Kanniess RE, Leadbeater VS, Neary KE, Osborne SA,Price PJ, Richardson SAH, Riggs CE, Ring RMM,Schaeff VLK, Walker E

114

Summary of Results

v King’s Chester W 1 - 0v Wolverhampton Grammar School W 4 - 0v Rydal Penrhos W 4 - 0v Oswestry School D 0 - 0

This year the decision was made to go back to the JuniorA and B system. The Junior A squad consisted of agroup of fourteen girls from Years 9 and 10 who I knowwill be our 1st XI squad in two years’ time. A 1 - 0 victoryin the girls’ first match against a good King’s Chesterside gave the team much confidence at the start of theseason. This was always going to be a tough first match,especially away on their astroturf. Thankfully, the teammade a solid start which encouraged all those whowatched the game. The defence impressed straightaway, with the King’s forwards being unable to make anyattacking moves as Eve Davies, Sarah Carr and BethanyLyttle dominated and cleared any risks. The youngmidfield of Ellie Halstead, Annie Rogan and EmmaGreville started to move the ball well and played a maturegame, feeding the forwards, who unfortunately lackedthe finish in this game.

In the next games against Wolverhampton and Rydal theattacking players were on fire, scoring four goals in eachmatch. The team were a delight to watch, using the widthof the pitch nicely by recycling the ball when needed. Itwas great to see them putting their training into practicein a match situation. Ellie Halstead, playing in the centre,used her pace to open up the defence so that she couldsprint with the ball down the middle of the field. KateNorman and Tara Goodwin were always a threat up front.Kate’s finishes were superb; after being supplied with the

ball from midfield she scored four goals in two matches.Alex Brooks, Georgina Cutcliffe and Georgina Ottawayalso deserve a mention for their hard work in keepingpossession on the attack.

After Half Term many of our fixtures had to be cancelleddue to poor playing conditions. This was a shame as thegirls’ hockey was developing nicely and they wereregularly matching the 1st XI in ability in friendly matchesduring Friday night squad training. In fact some of thegirls were invited to play for the 1sts, and Ellie Halsteadfitted in so well that she was given a regular place.

We did manage to fit in another match after Half Term,against Oswestry School. Conditions weren’t great andour team was depleted of regular players due to the 1stXI having a fixture. I can best describe the game as afeisty one. We did have most of the possession, butOswestry played well and we were unable to find theback of the net after some superb saves from theOswestry goalkeeper.

Despite the cancellations in the latter stages of theseason the girls developed a cohesive style of play, withseveral players demonstrating an advancedunderstanding of tactics and strategy. I describe themnow as a team playing an astro game on grass. Theyhave been a delight to coach and have shown a matureapproach in all areas. A special mention should go toKate Norman and Bethany Lyttle, who led the team well.Well done everyone - what a good season we had!HLD

Squad: Andrews MJ, Biggs EV, Brooks AH, Carr SC,Cutcliffe GE, Davies EH, Goodwin TL, Greville EL,Halstead ED, Khan SH, Lyttle BH, Norman K, OttawayGI, Rogan AH.



115

Summary of Results

v Abbots Bromley W 1 - 0v Rydal L 0 - 1v Adcote (coached game) W 4 - 0v Oswestry D 0 - 0

This was something of a foreshortened season for theJunior B team. Games were lost to the weather and evento mass hysteria at the possible spread of swine ‘flu. Inthe event, they played out four very different games andhopefully learned a good deal from them.

Victory in the first game against Abbots Bromley was nosmall achievement. The game had nil – nil written allover it until Alice Tow, frustrated at a lack of enterprise upfront, meandered forward and slotted home the game’sonly goal. In many respects, the following match againstRydal was a better performance, despite the result goingthe other way. Rydal were strong and well organized,dominating possession. Brave defence spearheaded byAmelia Morris held out until minutes from the end when

it was finally breached. The Junior Bs then played acoached game against Adcote – a very amicable fixtureagainst a young and inexperienced team that saw ourgirls secure a 4 - 0 win. The final game was an unusualone – a game of three halves against Oswestry, wherethe first period was played out by the Junior As, thesecond by the regular Junior B team and the third byeffectively a C team. The As and Bs both had goallessdraws, and the Cs battled bravely to a 2 - 0 defeat.

Credit is due to the many players who turned out for theJunior Bs, who were ably and energetically led by theircaptain Sian Gatenby.TEB

Squad: Bulanda JM, Edwards CA, Fisher OG,Gatenby S, Gough LM, Hampton LJE, Hobbs EN,Martin-Jones AM, Morris AA, Osborne EL, Palmer EE,Parry KLD, Pegg JL, Rogers HL, Sheldon SA, Swan HL,Tow AM, Williams HJ, Williams S.

116

U13 Summary of Resultsv Abbots Bromley W 2 - 0v Wolverhampton Grammar School W 5 - 0v Oswestry School W 10 - 0v Rydal Penrhos W 5 - 1v King’s Chester L 1 - 0v Packwood Haugh L 3 - 0

North Shropshire Tournament

Pool Gamesv Marches D 0 - 0v Ellesmere ‘B’ W 1 - 0v Adcote W 5 - 0v Oswestry W 4 - 0Semi-finalv Sir John Talbot D 0 - 0

Lost on penalties

Overall the U13 squad had a positiveseason. They faced a challengingfixture list against a number of strongteams. Out of the six fixtures played,four resulted in a win with two defeats.However, we scored twenty-two goalsand conceded only five goals, giving avery healthy goal difference of +17goals. We also entered two teamsinto the North ShropshireTournament; both teams wereunfortunate to lose narrowly in theirrespective semi-finals. The high pointof the season was a 10 - 0 victoryover Oswestry School. ZoeZembrzuski was top scorer with animpressive tally of nine goals from sixgames. The team has a great deal ofpotential for the future.SO and LK

Squad: Bruce GA, Burrows MJ,Craig N, Davies EM, Edwards GB,Fawke JEC, Gatenby H, Hill AJ,Marshall IJE, Neary RE, Snailum AG,Stackhouse GL, Zembrzuski ZA.

U12 Summary of Results

v Abbots Bromley W 4 - 0v Wolverhampton Grammar School W 4 - 0v Rydal Penrhos W 3 - 0v Packwood Haugh D 1 - 1

This year a different coaching approach was adopted forthe U12 team which proved very useful and successful,with all girls showing much progression. Consequently,all girls were chosen to represent the school. Key playerssuch as Beth Hulme, Jess Martin-Jones and Tilly Walkerproved very forceful, resulting in Ellesmere dominatingevery match. Intelligent play and ball distribution wasapplied by each player, allowing them to gain the upperhand over their opponents. There were strong victoriesagainst Abbotts Bromley, Wolverhampton GrammarSchool and Rydal Penrhos, and a respectable drawagainst Packwood Haugh. Unfortunately, several other

matches were cancelled due tobad weather. The resultsindicate an excellent season,particularly with such a smallyear-group.

Several girls attended aShropshire Junior AcademyCentre session for assessment,and despite being youngcandidates for their group theyall did very well. Beth Hulme wasasked to attend training andrepresent the County, but theothers should remain hopeful fornext year’s selection.AP

Squad: Arnold TR, Austin SA,Brenninkmeyer HS, Collard-Underwood AE, Forde-JohnstonAK, Hiley SE, Hulme ES,Latham AK, Leeming KE,Martin-Jones JE, Rickett CR,Walker M, Wilson IAM.



117

U11 Team Summary of Results

v Moreton Hall W 1 - 0v The Firs W 3 - 1v Lyndon Prep L 0 - 1v The Firs L 0 - 2v Packwood Haugh L 1 - 2v Moreton Hall W 8 - 0

Matches at junior level are supposed to be aboutdevelopment rather than results, but try telling that to ourU11 team! This talented and highly competitive group ofplayers love their hockey and cannot get enough of thegame. The season started on a positive note with winsover Moreton Hall and The Firs, but then came thedisappointment of three consecutive defeats. The girls

simply did not have any luckwhen they played Lyndon Prepand in the second matchagainst The Firs they failed touse their width. In thePackwood game they madethemselves vulnerable tocounter-attacks because toomany players got ahead of theball. However, the girls took onboard the lessons learned fromthese defeats and producedsome awesome hockey in theirfinal game to finish the seasonon a high.

U11 Squad: Bradley CH,Bulanda JL, Davies EL, DuttonSM, Edwards GI, Forde-Johnston SP, Foster NB(Captain), Holland RE, HulmeCR, Hulme RC, Lindop GE,Moore KE, Mundell LH,Shields E, Stokes ESH,Williams TJ, Williamson KAR.


v Moreton Hall W 1 - 0v The Firs L 1 - 2v The Firs L 0 - 3v Packwood Haugh W 2 - 0v Moreton Hall W 6 - 2

Team selection for the U10s was not an easy task asthere are many enthusiastic and promising athleteswithin the cohort. The players struggled in their earlymatches but under the guidance of Mrs Cox and MrsGriffiths their structure and team play improvedsignificantly. By the end of the season they had

developed into a very useful unitand their victory at Packwoodwas a feat that very few Collegesides, at any level, have achievedin the past.

U10 Squad: Bulanda JL, DaviesAS, Davies CM, Dutton SMEdwards GI, Foster MN, HollandRE, Hulme CR, Hulme RC,Lindop GE, Moore KE, Shaw MH,Shields E, Stokes ESH, StokesKAH, Walsh EC (Captain).

Well done to all the Key Stage 2girls. The enthusiasm, energy andskills witnessed throughout theseason must bode well for thefuture. Finally, special thanks toChris von Hoven and ChrisJohnson who provided fantasticsupport in training and retainedthe element of fun with theiradapted version of ‘bulldogs’!RJP

Overview of the SeasonEllesmere College Netball enjoyed yet anothersuccessful season on the courts, though the Lent Termdidn’t get off to a flying start as the weather stoppedmuch of our training for the first three weeks. The SportsHall was in much demand for Squad practices!Fortunately, Netball being an indoor as well as outdoorsport, we were able to play some of our fixtures in theSports Hall. This year we fielded twelve teams, withmany years fielding an A and a B team. This means thatagain over one hundred girls represented Ellesmere atsome point during the term.

As usual we were in for tough competition, with schoolssuch as Thomas Telford, Wrekin College andWolverhampton Grammar in our fixture list. We werekeen to see how closely we could compete with theseschools, which have national reputations for Netball.

The 1st VII was made up of old and new players, a groupof talented girls who developed as the term progressed.The team was captained by Emily Wicks. She led theway both in training and in matches. All the 1st VIIdeserve to be commended, alongside the 2nd VII, ontheattitude and passion they show for representingEllesmere College, as they act as excellent role modelsfor the younger teams.

North Shropshire Tournaments were the highlight of theterm for many of our teams. They are always hotlycontested with around ten schools in the region entering.We also entered the U15 and U12 ShropshireTournaments. The 1st VII and U14 VII performed thebest and both teams won the competition in their age

groups. The 1st VII beat four other schools in the U19competition and the U14 VII beat ten schools to win theirtournament.

Many of our girls are now beginning to show a real lovefor their Netball and many have started attending aNetball Club. Tara Goodwin was selected for the U14Shropshire Squad and she was also a regular 1st VIIplayer.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to theNetball this term. All coaches put a lot of hard work intotheir teams and this year the hard work has definitelypaid off. Thanks!

HLD1st Team Summary of Results

v Thomas Telford L 31 - 8v Bedstone College W 27 - 13v Oswestry School W 12 - 11v Stafford Grammar School W 17 - 7v Wrekin College L 25 - 13v Moreton Hall W 16 - 12v Rydal Penrhos W 11 - 8v Denstone College W 13 - 11v Thomas Telford L 17 - 7v Wolverhampton Grammar L 24 - 21

U19 North Shropshire Tournament

v Thomas Adams W 11 - 4v Oswestry School W 20 - 1v Moreton Hall W 9 - 2

Winners of the Tournament

118

Sport - Netball



119

With many of the girls having been in the 1st VII last year,much of the play was already instilled into them and itdidn’t take long for the team to gel successfully. We werelucky to have Sophie Halstead, Steph Newport-Booth,Zoe Haynes and Tara Goodwin join the squad to adddepth. Team selection proved a difficult task due to thededication of the girls in training and their commitment toplay. We often used some 2nd VII players and thankthem for their contribution, especially Julie Kennerley.

This term saw us win over half our matches, which isprobably the best season we have had for six years. Inaddition the matches we lost against Thomas Telford,Wrekin College and Wolverhampton Grammar proved tobe even matches and great competition. It was great tosee the girls competing so well against schools of highNetball reputation. The shooters Zoe Haynes, Zoe Evansand Y9 girl Tara Goodwin all worked well together in thecircle and their shooting success rate was very high. Thecentre court players of Emily Wicks, Sophie Halsteadand Olivia Dingwall-Fordyce were probably the strongestwe have had for a while. Sophie Halstead wasrecognised as a quality player by many of the otherschools’ coaches. Our defence unit of Viola Grosvenorand Steph Newport-Booth was excellent. They workedhard in all their matches and were always quick to breakdown the opposition’s attack. A special mention shouldgo to Emily Wicks who has represented the College atFirst Team Level for three years and has played a hugerole in the development of Netball.

Possibly the highlight of the season was winning the U19North Shropshire Tournament. We have tried to win it forthe last five years but were always beaten by OswestrySchool. However, this year was to be our year; we beatthe three other schools comfortably.HLD

Squad: Dingwall-Fordyce OR, Evans ZL, Goodwin TL,Grosvenor VZ, Halstead SL, Haynes ZE, Kennerley JE,Newport-Booth SL, Wicks EJ.

The following awards were given at the end of theseason:

Best Player Award Viola GrosvenorMost Improved Player Sophie HalsteadPlayers Player Emily Wicks

2nd Team Summary of Results

v Thomas Telford Academy L 3 - 25v Stafford Grammar School W 9 - 6v Wrekin (combined with 1st Team) L 13 - 23v Moreton Hall L 5 - 23v Thomas Telford Academy L 5 - 11v Rydal Penrhos (combined 2nds/U15) W 24 - 15

The 2nd VII played a number of games against somevery strong teams and by the end of the season theirperformances had improved as a result. Although theysuffered losses in the two games against ThomasTelford, the deficit was much reduced in the latter game.The team were worthy victors in the match against a veryphysical Stafford Grammar team. Players were also ableto take part in combined teams with both the 1st VII andthe U15 team. Although it was a challenging season, allplayers are to be congratulated for their spirit anddetermination.LK

Squad: Britton RAL, Cumpston AM, Evans MA,Kennerley JE, Osbourne SA, Prydden CL, Shearer CR,Tomlinson GTM, Wicks SE.

120

Summary of Results

v Stafford Grammar School L 4 - 34v Oswestry W 10 - 4v Moreton Hall W 20 - 9v Rydal Penrhos W 24 - 15v Bedstone College W 19 - 9v Denstone College L 22 - 11v Wolverhampton Grammar L 12 - 28(combined U15/Senior B)

The U15s had a good season with four wins and threelosses. They also reached the semi-final of the Countynetball tournament.

It started with a tough away fixture at StaffordshireGrammar, and although we performed better than theprevious year we suffered a heavy defeat. The girlspicked themselves back up and worked hard in trainingsessions to improve on certain areas. This was rewardedwith a good run of victories, starting with Oswestry,followed by an even better game against Moreton Hall,then a fantastic high-scoring match against Rydal andfinally almost as good a match against Bedstone.

We felt reasonably confident when we travelled toDenstone as, although they had beaten us substantiallylast year, the team had improved and it was working well.

However Denstone still proved too strong for us and beatus 22 - 11. The girls were a bit despondent as they feltthey could have won this had a few decisions gone theirway. It was however a good effort from them - andperhaps next year!

The girls had a good afternoon at the CountyTournament, winning all their group matches and goinginto the semi-final. Unfortunately they lost their way andtheir concentration a bit and did not progress any further.

The final game of the season, with a mixture of U15 andSenior B players, went ahead in dreadful wet conditions.We never really got going in this match and lost heavily.The combination of a very slippy surface and thedifferent substitions made it a particularly difficult gamefor the girls.

All in all I was pleased with the girls’ efforts this season.They were always keen and positive, worked welltogether as a team, and were a pleasure to work with.TC

Squad: Biggs EV, Brooks AH, Edwards CA, Gatenby S,Khan SH, Lyttle BH, Norman K, Parry KLD, Ottaway GY.



121

Summary of Results

v Stafford Grammar School W 18 - 9v Oswestry School W 14 - 4v Rydal Penrhos W 25 - 3v Moreton Hall D 17 - 17v Denstone College L 10 - 13v Wolverhampton Grammar School L 10 - 39

The U14 Netball team had a outstanding season, withthe exception of a closely contested match withDenstone College, and a large defeat without captainTara Goodwin against Wolverhampton Grammar School.

The girls showed much potential to be an excellent team,and demonstrated so until their penultimate match. Inmany games the opposition rarely had opportunities toscore, which allowed the girls to change positions anddevelop their personal experiences. Strong victoriesemerged against Stafford Grammar School, OswestrySchool and Rydal Penrhos. The draw against MoretonHall was the most enjoyable challenge, as juvenilemistakes led to a considerable deficit, and a greatrecovery in the second half.

Very few weaknesses were evident when the girls playedto their full potential, with much strength in attack anddefensive unit play. Yet this overturned in their finalmatch, with the captain being injured and unable to play.The lack of confidence in the last match should be notedfor experience but the girls should concentrate on theexceptional performance that they are capable inproducing when moving into their next netball season.AP

U14 North Shropshire Netball Tournament

Pool Matches

v Corbet School W 8 - 0v Grove School W 6 - 1v Lakelands School W 13 - 0

Semi-final

v Adcote School W 6 - 5

Final

v Moreton Hall W 6 - 4

Ellesmere gained the full 20 points in their round robinmatches in the U14 North Shropshire Tournament. Thegirls dominated their games, working at pace anddisplaying excellent passing and movement on court attimes. However, a rather dismal performance followed inthe semi-final, with players losing possession far tooeasily. At full time Ellesmere and Adcote were tied 5 - 5,and victory was determined only when Tara Goodwinshot the final goal as the hooter sounded in extra time.

The girls were aware that they needed to regain theirprior superiority, as the final against Moreton Hall waslikely to be tough and closely contested. It was a gameof two halves; despite a 1 - 3 deficit at half time greatdetermination ensured an excellent comeback, withEllesmere finally reigning supreme. AP

Squad: Andrews MJ, Bulanda JM, Goodwin TL,Halstead ED, Martin-Jones AM, Palmer EE, Rogan AH,Tow AM, Williams S.


122

Summary of Results

v Stafford Grammar L 8 - 35v Abbotts Bromley W 8 - 4v Prestfelde L 8 - 9v Oswestry D 7 - 7v Rydal Penrhos W 30 - 1v Denstone College L 5 - 15v Wolverhampton Grammar School L 11 - 25

This was a mixed season for the U13s as so manymatches slipped away from them, mainly because ofslow starts.

The season began with a difficult fixture at StaffordGrammar and although we played better and scoredmore goals we still lost to a strong team. We worked onour movement skills and passing, and put them into goodeffect when we played Abbotts Bromley, against whomthe girls were pleased with their convincing win.

We then travelled to Prestfelde and had a very slow start,which was a great shame because after half time thegirls played some fantastic netball and were very unluckyto lose. Had they played like this in the first half the gamewould have been put out of reach of Prestfelde. It was a

similar story against Oswestry. A slow start left us amountain to climb, and our dominant second half displaymeant we were able to level the scores.Our bestperformance by far was a comprehensive victory overRydal, where the girls played fantastic netball and usedthe set plays and moves they had worked on in trainingsessions. Unfortunately we couldn’t carry our form intoour last games of the season, losing to both Denstoneand Wolverhampton.

So the term was a bit disappointing, considering howhard the girls worked throughout the season. They werealways keen to play and to learn new skills. We mustlearn to get into the game quicker in order to build a leadrather than chase the game, but I am sure that with theirlevel of commitment next season will be much moresuccessful for them. They are a great group of girls withgood team spirit and deserve a few wins to build theirconfidence.TC

Squad: Broster MD, Burrows MJ, Hill AJ, MacLiam-Roberts AE, Neary RE, Stackhouse GL, Ward H,Williams ED, Zembrzuski ZA.


123

Summary of Results

v Packwood Haugh W 7 - 3v Rydal Penrhos W 16 - 8v Denstone College W 12 - 11v Oswestry School L 8 - 12v Prestfelde Bs L 5 - 8v Abbots Bromley L 5 - 8v Wolverhampton Grammar School L 36 - 3

The U12 Netball team had a reasonably successfulseason, winning matches against Packwood Haugh,Rydal Penrhos and Denstone College. Unfortunatelythey lost four games, with the majority being closelycontested. Indeed, basic errors were evident at times,yet the girls fought well to diminish the deficit againstOswestry School, Presfelde Bs and Abbotts Bromley. Aheavy defeat against a very experienced WolverhamptonGrammar team finished the season, yet the girls shouldnot be too disheartened and focus on their successfuldevelopment across the season.AP

U12 Shropshire Schools NetballPool Matches

v Burton Borough School W 3 - 0v Thomas Telford Academy W 6 - 0v Madeley Academy W 7 - 1v Idsall School L 2 - 4

Semi-final

v The Priory School L 1 - 9

Regardless of the absence of shooters Beth Hulme andTaylor Arnold, Ellesmere proved to be one of thestrongest teams in their tournament pool. Mia Foster andLottie Hulme helped the U12 team win several matchesand did well to play against people who are in the yearabove them.

As the day progressed, so did the girls enjoyment andoptimism. Ellesmere started strong in all matches, withparticularly good wins against Thomas Telford andMadely Academies. However, a strong start againstIdsall was overturned in the second half, resulting in adisapointing loss. Nevertheless, having gained 16 points,Ellesmere faced The Priory School in the semi-finals,though they unfortunately suffered a heavy defeat.Nevertheless they gained much experience andsatisfaction from the day.AP

Squad: Arnold TR, Collard-Underwood A, Hulme ES,Latham AK, Leeming KE, Martin-Jones KE, Walker M.


124


v The Firs, Chester L 7 - 10v Packwood Haugh U11Bs W 15 - 9v Moreton Hall W 10 - 5v The Firs, Chester D 14 - 14

The U11 pupils are a competitive bunch and seem toenjoy all the sports they participate in. Although at thethis age group the main aim is about participation andenjoyment, it was clear from the start of the season thisteam wanted to perform well in matches.

The first match against the Firs was a good performance,but the girls unfortunately lost 7 - 10 due to a lack of

team practice. Slightly disappointedwith the first result, they showedmuch enthusiasm in practices andworked hard to develop their teamtactics during training sessions.They performed very well againstPackwood and Moreton Hall, andmust be commended in particularfor their mature attitude againstPackwood, where theyunfortunately found themselveswithout a coach for some of thefixture. They organised themselvesvery well and were a credit toEllesmere College.

The last game was a return matchagainst The Firs and the girls weredetermined to beat them this time.This game was probably one of thebest U11 matches I have seen -both teams displaying some goodnetball skills and game play. Thescoreline was probably the bestoutcome as both teams deservedto win.

The highlight of the season was ourU11 Tournament. It was a very

enjoyable day, and finally we beat The Firs, but lost outto Shrewsbury High School and Old Hall to finish fourth.

This season has been a good one and it has definitelybeen a developmental one for next year. The girls haveperformed very well and have been a joy to coach. Goodluck as U12s.HLD

Squad: Dutton SM, Foster MN, Hulme CR, Hulme RC,Lindop GE, Moore KE, Mundell LH, Shield E,Williams TJ.


v The Firs, Chester W 4 - 3v Packwood Haugh W 5 - 1v Moreton Hall D 5 - 5v The Firs, Chester L 9 - 13

The U10 team approached theseason with a vast amount ofdetermination and willingness tomaster new skills. Their passing andpositional play improved greatly overthe course of the term. Theydemonstrated great athleticism in allareas of the court. The team enjoyedplaying against The Firs, MoretonHall and Packwood. The two gamesagainst The Firs were very evenlymatched and the team won one andlost one! They also recorded a 5-1victory against Packwood. Well doneto all players.

LK

Squad: Bradley CH, Bulanda JL,Davies SM, Davies EL, Edwards GI,Shaw MJ, Stokes KAH, Walsh EC,Williamson KAR.


Season OverviewThis was a difficult football season. The weather wasoften against us during the first half of term; weeventually started playing towards the end of Januaryafter several cancelled fixtures. This did not stop usfielding eight teams from U11 to U18. Over a hundredboys represented the school. Overall we won fifteenmatches, lost eleven and drew five. This means we wonor drew well over fifty percent of our total matches, agreat achievement.

The 1st XI had a tough term, playing some experiencedsides with a fairly young team. The 2nd XI proved a verygood team, winning over seventy-five percent of theirmatches. The 3rd XI had their best season for a fewyears, with some excellent results. The U15s proved tobe the best performing team this term - they did not loseany of their matches! At U14 we also had a very goodteam, who should go on to great things next year. LowerSchool fielded U13, U12 and U11 teams. They have allworked on improving their performance over the termand the U13 side is looking good as they prepare tomove up to Senior School next year.

Overall it has been a successful term and the football isas good as it has ever been at Ellesmere. Long may itcontinue! On a final note a special mention andcongratulations should go to Fraser Murdoch in Year 9,who was selected to play for his National Team,Scotland, at his age group, very well done indeed!ILR

1st XV Summary of Resultsv Shrewsbury 6th Form College W 5 - 4v Bedstone College W 9 - 1v Old Swinford Hospital D 3 - 3v Denstone College L 1 - 5v Stafford Grammar School D 2 - 2v Sandbach L 1 - 2

As the above table shows this was a season where theweather ruined early preparation, which is vital for us aswe play only one term of football. However we playedsome good football and the only disappointing result wasthe away game at Denstone on a pitch that resembled aploughed field.

Due to particularly cold weather and frozen pitches, thematch against Shrewsbury 6th Form College was ourfirst game of the season and the first time that thecoaches could have a good look at the abilities of theboys selected. There were a number of newcomers andShrewsbury VI Form are always an organised side,already fifteen weeks ahead in their season havingplayed the Autumn term. We were slow to start and werelucky not to be immediately one down as their forwardbroke through the middle to push his shot wide. We thenstarted to knock the ball around and createdopportunities. Good link-up between Smithers andDreyer led to their keeper making a smart save fromSmithers. Pressure was building and Dreyer turned in anear post cross with a deft touch.

125

Sport - Football


126

Soon afterwards he got his second, again linking withSmithers to open up the back four and slot past theoncoming keeper. We were in full control until a longclearance by their keeper was not dealt with by ourcentral defenders and they made the score 2 - 1. Wereplied almost immediately through Smithers but theyknew that there was a weakness down the middle andscored another two goals. We replied with the goal of thematch. Leilich won the ball on the halfway line, wide outon the left. He pushed it inside to Evans, who slid it intothe feet of Smithers. He played it back to Anderson whospread it out to Cave on the right. His centre waschallenged for by Smithers in the air, causing thedefender to clear weakly to the edge of the box. Evanshit the ball on the half volley so sweetly that the keeperwas rooted to the spot. The second half was a lot tighterand we began to tire. They equalised from a free kickwhich should have been dealt with and could have goneahead. However, good work from Leilich saw the ballreach Dreyer in the box. He turned his two markersinside out and then slid the ball into the net.

After a win at Shrewsbury but a poor defensiveperformance, changes were made for the Bedstonematch. Cole remained to marshal a young back four.Dobie moved to centre half while Chris Cieslik started atright back and Jack Smith at left. Carlo Leilich started onthe left of midfield. Clutton and Maddock-James beganon the bench and were joined by James McCarthymaking his debut for the 1sts. We started brightly, movingthe ball and the physical opposition around the park.Within eight minutes we had taken the lead. Cave put adangerous ball into the box between their keeper and theretreating defence. In an attempt to clear the danger theircentre half-sliced his clearance into the net and we werea goal up. The second goal was an excellent display ofone-touch counter-attack. Dobie won the ball back in ourhalf and slotted a pass through to Anderson who playedit to the on-rushing Evans. He played a one-two withSmithers and burst into the box, closely tracked by hisopposite number. The defender prevented the first shotfrom going in but Evans remained cool, finding space toget his second shot away. Bedstone came back stronglyand capitalised on our only moment of poor play. Theyworked hard to earn a corner on the right and while weswitched off they took it quickly, putting a good ball intothe middle. Their midfielder met it well to power it into thenet unchallenged. From then on we communicated muchbetter and regained our two-goal advantage before thebreak. Anderson broke down the left and slid a perfectball across the 6-yard box for Dreyer to slide in andconvert on the far post. The second half was one-waytraffic. Clutton, Maddock-James and McCarthy replacedSmith, Leilich and Cave. Excellent attacking play sawDreyer score a further three goals, Smithers two andMcCarthy one. A good way to end the half term.

We could not have had a worse start against OldSwinford Hospital, a school which always provides

strong opposition. After ten minutes we were two goalsdown. The first came through an unfortunate slip at justthe wrong time but the second came from not dealingwith the aerial ball. This proved to be the differencebetween a hard-fought draw and what could have been agood win. After the initial mistakes we settled well andthe back four looked solid. Anderson and Evans began tocontrol midfield and Maddock-James and Holt providedproblems in attack. Dreyer showed good feet andSmithers was looking sharp with some nice touches andgood runs. Indeed it was he who first replied, latching onto a through ball and lobbing the advancing keeper.Before half time he had levelled the score, getting acrossthe defender to head in a Holt cross at the near post. Westarted the second half strongly but could not put afinishing touch to good build-up play. McCarthy replacedHolt on the right and Leilich replaced Maddock James onthe left. For much of the half we dominated, but theirkeeper was in good form, and they worked hard toprevent us from taking the lead. They also lookeddangerous on the counter-attack and Booth pulled off agood save to keep the scores level. With five minutes leftluck was against us as an initial shot was blocked byCole only for the ball to drop into the path of theopposition striker within the box. He rifled his shot pastBooth and it looked as if it was all over. Smithers hadother ideas; from kick-off he spotted the keeper off hisline and placed an inch-perfect chip into the net from thehalf-way line. The game was drawn and Smitherscollected his hat-trick.

I would like to thank the boys and all who were involvedwith and supported the football teams this year. I wouldalso like to thank Mr G Owen for assisting with thecoaching and Mr H Orr for organizing the Football Dinner.DJM

Squad: Anderson F (Captain), Booth C, Brewitt J, CaveG, Cieslik C, Clutton C, Cole J, Cross A, Dapling J,Dreyer T, Dobie J, Evans J, Holt L, Leilich C, Madaus T,McCarthy J, Maddock-James J, Mattoccia R, Smith J,Smithers J, Spavin B.

Goal scorers: Dreyer (7)

Evans (2)

Holt (1)

McCarthy (1)

Smithers (7).

Full Colours Half ColoursT Madaus C CieslikJ Cole T DobieF AndersonJ EvansC CluttonT Dreyer


127

Summary of Results

v Shrewsbury Sixth Form (H) W 5 - 1v Old Swinford Hospital W 5 - 3v Denstone College W 2 - 0v Rydal Penrhos 1st XI L 0 - 1v Shrewsbury Sixth Form (A) D 0 - 0

The wintry weather meant that the 2nd XI spent much ofthe first half of the Lent Term waiting to get their seasonstarted. However once they were under way they neverlooked back, with the highlights far outweighing thedisappointments in what was ultimately a triumph forteam spirit and work ethic over individual flair.

There is little doubt that Shrewsbury Sixth Form, the firstopponents of the campaign, travelled north in confidentmood, having recorded two comfortable victories theprevious year. However a fantastic display, capped by anAngus Cross hat-trick, resulted in a comfortable victory,and this was followed by a success against Old SwinfordHospital which was more comfortable than the scorelinesuggested. Arguably the best performance of the seasonarrived in the next fixture, when the team travelled toDenstone to take on a big physical side on a pitch whichbore a close resemblance to a quagmire. However theboys’ punishing fitness regime to which they hadresolutely adhered in training was duly rewarded, withthe home side being outfought and outthought as thewinning run was extended to three games.

Hopes were high by this point that the remaining twofixtures could also be negotiated without defeat, and thusthe reverse at the hands of Rydal Penrhos was hugelydisappointing, with little consolation to be gained fromthe fact that the boys played against the visitors’ 1st XI.

The manner of the defeat was particularly hard to take,with several good opportunities being spurned before alate goal was conceded against the run of play. Howeverthe team shrugged off this disappointment to record adraw against Shrewsbury Sixth Form in the return fixture,again battling with great determination on an afternoonwhen a gale force wind sabotaged what might have beenan intriguing rematch.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the campaign wasthe fact that those players who had made their debuts atthis level twelve months previously had clearly learned alot from the experience, and provided the backbone ofthe team. They were joined by some excellentyoungsters who will be stalwarts of 2nd XI Football in thefuture, and indeed some of them have the quality and thetenacity to go higher than that. Nevertheless if I had tochoose the one detail which pleased Mr Paul and myselfmost about this team, there would be a clear winner.There have no doubt been times in the past whenEllesmere College Football has been about the 1st XI,who by definition will always take their football veryseriously, and then The Rest. However although thisgroup of lads did not all necessarily have the quality tobridge that sizeable gap between 1st and 2nd XIFootball, their attitude was exemplary throughout theterm, regardless of the snow, torrential rain and howlinggales. They were thus a pleasure to work with, and I lookforward to working with some of them again in 2011. LCB

Squad: Booth CJ, Brahim A, Brewitt JG, Cross AWJ,Dapling JR, Dumitrescu V-G, Eeckelaers MA, Fisher JA,Gwilt HWL, Haukohl N, Jackson WI, Johnson KL,Kandola S, Kelly MS, McCarthy JMG, Martoccia RE,Murges F, Owen AJ, Spaven B.


128

Summary of Results

v Shrewsbury Sixth Form College L 1 - 2v Old Swinford Hospital W 3 - 0v Rydal Penrhos W 2 - 0v Shrewsbury Sixth Form College W 2 - 1

This season many of our games were cancelled by thesnowy conditions and it was not until the third week thatwe eventually played. At this stage we were uncertain ofpositions and, indeed, what our best team was. Westarted as usual against the experienced ShrewsburyVIth Form at home. We went behind against them butcame back strongly. Will Abell scored a crackingequaliser but, just when we thought we were getting ontop, they scored against the run of play. Despite our bestefforts we could not force a draw.

Our next game saw us pitted against Old Swinford. Theywere incredibly weak and we scored three quick goals aswell as hitting the post numerous times. Adam Brahimscored twice. In the second half we made major changesand did not score any more although they never causedus any problems. We were gaining in confidence andtook Rydal apart comfortably 2 - 0. Again, we creatednumerous chances.

Our last game saw a return fixture against Shrewsbury.This time we went behind again to a soft goal but then cutthem apart with Kandola scoring twice. Early in the

second half Kandola was clean through and should haveput the game to bed, but a miss meant we played out thesecond half looking for the final whistle when we shouldhave been dominating.Frank Murges and Sho Sato captained the side. Both didwell. Sho is an old stager of Ellesmere football. Hewould willingly play anywhere but was happy to play rightback. His last performance against Shrewsbury won himthe man of the match award. Frank is a solid midfielder,skilful on the ball.

Other players were making their senior debuts. CameronMurdoch played a pivotal midfield role and all too soonwas snapped up by the 2nd XI, deservedly. Jack Fosterstarted off in defence and moved up to midfield. He gavean enormous amount to the side and was always reliableand strong in the tackle. Rob Lau was a fast, skilful rightwinger with Vol Lim and Jayson Towers doing well on theleft. Adam Brahim was an excellent striker and causedthe opposition defences all sorts of problems. In defenceWill Jackson looks a good bet for higher honours.

It was an enjoyable if short season. Thanks go to all, andparticularly Rod Jones for his enthusiastic coaching.HBO

Squad: Cooper ZPJ, Fashanu OG, Foster JR, HaukohlN, Jackson W I, Lav KL, Lertkomolsuk W, Lim V, McIlraithRJ, Murdoch CI, Stokes JME, Towers JA, Weigel PA.


129

Summary of Results

v Abbeygate W 3 - 2v Denstone College W 3 - 0v Stafford Grammar D 3 - 3v Sandbach W 3 - 2

The football season kicked off with three consecutivecancellations due to a rather deep layer of snow coveringthe pitches. The team did well as they attempted trainingsessions with considerable difficulty.

Eventually at the end of the first week in February wewere able to escape the boundaries of College and headto Abbeygate. This turned out to be a well-fought gamebetween two evenly-matched teams. Abbeygate took thelead from a long, high free kick that sailed overeveryone’s head and into the net. Colin Dickson scoredan excellent goal two minutes later, created by his paceand perseverance. McCarthy then added a second onthe quarter hour to give us a 2 - 1 half-time lead. Apenalty two minutes after the break made it 2 - 2 andSimpson scored the winner from a long, high free kickthat sailed over everyone’s head.

The Exeat weekend interrupted our winning streak ofone game but the team had not lost their impetus whennext they turned out. The opposition was DenstoneCollege and the game was won by three goals to nilcourtesy of McCarthy, Sesay and Simpson. Against aweak opposition my question was: “Why was it not five orsix?”

The team took control of the next game, against StaffordGrammar, and established a comfortable 3 - 0 lead withgoals from Dickson and Jones. This potentially winningmargin was maintained until seven minutes from timewhen two sloppy goals were conceded. By this time theStafford players, with their interest in the gamesomewhat rekindled, were throwing everything at us. Itwas a fraught finish capped by a last minute penalty thatleft the result at 3- 3 and the team at loggerheads withfrustration.

Undaunted by the previous result the team went into theirfinal game against Sandbach with great confidence.They took a 2 - 0 lead within ten minutes with goals fromMitch Faulkner and Colin Dickson (who had scored inevery game he played in). Sandbach made it 2 - 1 and itremained at this score for a lengthy period. Faulkner thenadded a third late in the game. An own goal concededtwo minutes from time set the alarm bells ringing but thistime we held out to win 3 - 2.The players should take pride in their performances asthis was a shortened but unbeaten season. It was apleasure for Mr Crawford and me to have been involvedwith these players. We hope they will continue to enjoytheir football next season and in the years to come.JHC

Squad: Bostock-Williams LW, Butt AC, Dapling SG,Dickson C, Faulkner MJ, Jones DP, Latter JE, Lopez delHierro Valdes J, McCarthy AWJ, McIlraith SJ, Main AN,Owen SL, Preston JEA, Sesay KA, Simpson DW.


130

Summary of Results

v Bedstone U15 W 3 - 2v Denstone College W 4 - 0v Stafford Grammar W 2 - 0v Sandbach L 2 - 3

The first match of the term, after several cancellationsdue to the weather, was against Bedstone. We playedvery well against older opposition. We dominated in thefirst half, scoring twice, and went in at the break twogoals up, thanks to Fraser Murdoch. The second halfsaw us let them back into the game and we scored thewinner with minutes to go. This was a good test for us.

The second match was against Denstone, a team wehad not played before. We started very positively, somegood breaks by our forwards Joe Rogers and Ioan Parry-Jones creating goal-scoring opportunities. Both ourattacking players were ably assisted by some good playin the midfield. Jack Wear created problems for theopposition with his long throw into the box. Rogerseventually scored just before half time. So by half timeour defenders had not been tested and Peter von Hovenin goal barely had to do any work. Within two minutes ofthe start of the second half we were two goals up,Rogers finishing magnificently to score his second. Afterten more minutes Rogers had completed his hat-trickwith another fine finish. Credit must also go to JakeRogan who made a goal-mouth save in the second halfto deny the opposition a goal. Fraser Murdoch capped afine performance with a goal.

Our third match this term was against Stafford GrammarSchool. Within three minutes we were a goal up after anear-perfect corner from Fraser Murdoch which JamesSlater headed in. From then on it was pretty much one-

way traffic. One of the moments of the game came aboutmidway through the half when Bendel attempted to beatthe keeper from far out wide; he was unlucky, hitting thecrossbar. Just before the end of the half Murdochproduced a peach of a shot from about twenty yards outwhich sailed into the net. The second half was not quiteas entertaining as the first, but our defence was againgood; James Austin helped us keep the sheet clean witha couple of good saves. This is probably the best U14performance I have seen since being at the school andwe can only get better.

The last and toughest game of the term was againstSandbach. Both teams started strongly, making acontest of it. Unfortunately Sandbach broke through; theball was high in the air and three of our players allsomehow missed it, thus allowing Sandbach to pounce.The second half saw us attack as much as possible andthis bold play was rewarded when Joe Rogers took arebounded ball to finish well in the bottom corner. Twominutes later we scored again, a fine shot from MylesArnold beating their keeper. With only ten minutes of thehalf to go a good cross from their right midfielder sawthem even the score. A draw would have been fair bynow but we conceded a penalty. We gave it our all for thelast few minutes and were unlucky in the end.

It has been a fantastic season of football and the playershave worked really hard to make this one of the bestteams that I have seen at U14 level. Thank you to MrBongers for all of his hard work throughout the season.ILRSquad: Arnold MR, Austin JH, Bendel JM, BernadetteA, Crow G, von Hoven PJ, Hughes NB, Leung CKY,Parry-Jones I, Rogan JH, Rogers JSJW, Slater JAS,Whitehouse HA, Whittaker JR.


131

Summary of Results

v Packwood Haugh L 4 - 7v Abbeygate L 3 - 4v Denstone College W 3 - 1v Stafford Grammar School D 1 - 1v Sandbach L 2 - 4

It has been very enjoyable coaching this team. Theyhave been so willing to learn and develop their technicalskills. The objectives of the season were not only to wingames but also to be competitive against those schoolswhere Football is a two-term sport. Positive results wereachieved through a great deal of hard work on thetraining pitch and listening to instructions with regard toorganisation in game situations. Their willingness to workas a squad was always evident. The squad improvedthroughout the season, becoming well-organised indefence and creative in midfield.

Those players who contributed the most were awardedtheir colours for a high level of commitment to developinga ‘professional’ ethos to training sessions and matches.Without the continual professional approach of theseparticular players the team would not have achieved apositive team spirit. William Doer provided leadership,showing creative dribbling skills in attack. Oliver Gwiltprovided some excellent finishes at important times andCarmen Edwards and Ben Williamson provided strengthin the centre of midfield. David Powell and Joe Hughesprovided good positional sense in defence and MatthewKinney was very solid in goal. GO

Squad: Byrne TE, Doer WK, Edwards CC, FairbanksJK, Gwilt OWT, Hall EJ, Hughes JW, Kinney MP, Lay RJ,Lyttle JA, McCormack GA, Powell DR, Roberts JA,Spencer-Wolfe RM, Watkin GP, Williams HC, WilliamsonBD, Wilson JD, Wynne RJ.


132

Summary of Results

v Packwood Haugh L 0 - 3v Abbeygate L 0 - 1v Stafford Grammar L 1 - 3v Sandbach L 0 - 8

With almost no practice under our belts we took to thefield against a Packwood team that had already playedsome football in the winter term. We started brightly andHarry Williamson hit a post with an excellent effort fromdistance. Unfortunately, we lost our shape in defencewhen Packwood started to apply pressure and poormarking allowed them to score three goals. However, welooked far more secure after the interval, and betterpossession in midfield enabled us to put them underpressure at times. Overall, this was a very creditableperformance given the lack of preparation.

Some productive time on the training ground meant thatwe faced Abbeygate with a much clearer idea about ourstructure and style of play. This turned out to be a veryclose contest against another side into its second term offootball. Our opponents scored the only goal with acounter-attack midway through the first half, but weshould have won the game after setting up severalexcellent chances.

In the lead-up to the next fixture a lot of productive timewas spent on the training ground focusing on positioning,passing and set pieces. The boys also attendedlunchtime sessions in the sports hall, which enabledthem to develop their touch and ball control. StaffordGrammar proved to be our toughest opponents so far

and were simply too strong for us, but the way wecompeted showed that significant progress had beenachieved in a very short space of time. The game wasmemorable for the outstanding performance of SebMcCarthy and a peach of a goal by Ben Kirk.

When Sandbach scored before we had even touched theball it was clear that we were in for a long and extremelydifficult final match. With five academy players in theside, they were simply way out of our league. Indeed, thescore might have got into double figures had it not beenfor some excellent goalkeeping by Barnaby Franklin.However, full credit must be given to the boys for workingright to the end and coming off the pitch with their headsheld high.

The U12 football season is all about laying foundationsfor the future. There is sufficient potential in this squad topredict that better times lie ahead, especially if two orthree new players come in over the next couple of yearsto strengthen the side and add some pace. It wasextremely enjoyable working with this group of playersbecause they showed real commitment in practicesessions and maintained a high standard of conduct inall their matches. Finally, special thanks to Rod Jones forhis invaluable technical assistance on the trainingground.RJP

Regular Players: Appleby JJ, Clarke JE, Davies SA,Dutton GJ, Evans WCK, Franklin BOS, Gereke TPP, KirkBJ, Lee EW, Lever WEG, McCarthy SHG (Captain),Pardoe A, Williamson HG, Willis PG.


133

Summary of Results

Finalists in U11 Ellesmere College 6-a-side FootballTournament

This was altogether a very good competitive season.Wins were achieved through good organisation, playerskeeping to their positions, and sound basic passing andtackling. Will Edwards (Captain) was very solid in goal,providing an essential platform for the outfield players toperform with confidence. Nathan Bulanda providedcoolness in defence with excellent support from GeorgeThorpe. Ross Faulkner, Tom Hill and Harry Pochinprovided plenty of energy in midfield and Sam Chapmangave the team attacking options with his ability to controla ball in tight situations.

The team set out to be competitive in all matches. Allmatches were won, apart from one, through a great dealof hard work, good organisation and skill. All of thesquad contributed to developing a positive team spirit intheir attitude to training and matches. As a result, theteam progressed to the final of the school tournamentwhich was an excellent achievement.

The whole squad progressed nicely throughout theseason showing developing organisation and technicalskills. A very enjoyable season throughout.GO

Squad: Bruce MA, Bulanda NE, Bulanda NJ, ChapmanSJ, Edwards W, Fashanu JO, Faulkner RM, Hill TP, LloydGE, Morgan TW, Murtagh EM, Pochin HJ, Pochin JW,Rothery WHJ, Thorpe GDA.


This season was one of reorganising and rebuilding withthe aim of ensuring the survival of Boys’ Hockey atEllesmere College. What started out as a strictly Seniorteam fast grew in popularity, so much so we began toallow younger boys into the squad. The initial focus wasto develop a team whose skills would make themcompetitive and who could then go on and represent theCollege against other schools. With help from JamesJoule and Chris von Hoven (Upper Sixth boys), whobrought in new drills and games for the players to do, thesessions were kept lively and interesting and each playerbecame more confident in their own abilities.

The 1st Team had two competitivegames, the first being againstDeeside Ramblers. Ellesmerestarted brightly and the game wasvery competitive. Excellent playfrom James Joule, who workedtirelessly in all positions on the field,set up countless Ellesmerechances. The lead changed handsseveral times with Ellesmereeventually losing 4 - 5.

Whilst this was happening Deesidehad brought a second team overwho played an Ellesmeredevelopment side. This proved to bevaluable experience for thoseplayers new to the game, learningfrom our more experienced (andgenerous) opponents.

Ellesmere’s second fixture cameagainst Adams’ Grammar School,

Newport, on the new astroturf atLilleshall National Sport Centre. With ateam comprising players withexperience, players with determination,and those at a more novice level, thegoing was always going to be tough.However it was Ellesmere who took afully-deserved early lead; sticking to thegame plan of resolute and tirelessdefence followed by swift and clinicalcounter-attacking Ellesmere found theback of the net in impressive style. Thisis how it remained until the break. Afterthe interval Adams’ began to pile onthe pressure. To Ellesmere’s credit theyheld out Adams’ for much of the secondhalf, but eventually Adams’ scoredenough goals to see them ease pastEllesmere for a win.

Overall it was a successful term ofHockey; interest grew throughout theterm and lots of positives were gainedfrom the fixtures we had. The future ofBoys’ Hockey looks more secure nowwith the arrival of enthusiast Tom Hurst,

whose skills and hockey know-how will certainly continueto raise the popularity and profile of Boys’ Hockey at theCollege.

JJB

Squad: Berezkin G, Blake TR, Carr TD, Davydov V,Diamond FT, Evans EJ, von Hoven CG, Hughes HB,Johnson CD, Johnson SB, Joule J, Killick AFS, KillickSRC, Mapstone WJ, Michell RWK, Morley RJ, ProbyshA, Roberts OBL, Rogan EP, Schinzing LW, Walker JR,Wenzel JB, plus Grudde VZ.

134

Sport - Boys’ Hockey

Played 11 Won 6 Drawn 2 Lost 3 Abandoned 2

The year ended with a very impressive performance todefeat Hurstpierpoint in the final match of the season,before rain brought the Woodard Schools Festival to anearly finish. Hurstpierpoint won the toss and elected tobat first on a wicket which looked as though it would helpthe seam bowlers with the new ball. Opening thebowling, fifteen-year-old Dewi Jones took the first threewickets in just eleven deliveries to send Hurstpierpointreeling at 15-3, while Lloyd Hayes bowled a fiery first fourovers at the other end for just 8 runs to keep up thepressure. They were never able to recover from this ascaptain Jordan Evans (4-25) and Raunak Jain (3-18),one of two Indian exchange students from the ScindiaSchool, skittled the visitors for just 87 runs. Jordan thenattacked the bowling to send a strong Hurspierpoint sideto an emphatic defeat by scoring 52* to complete thevictory in just fourteen overs for the loss of only onewicket.

Dewi, one of the youngest players at the Festival, hadthe distinction of taking the most wickets by any bowlerfrom the four teams taking part in the three-day Festivalat Ellesmere. Dewi is an exciting prospect as an openingbowler to spearhead the Ellesmere attack in the future,but he has also shown that he can score important runswith the bat and should be looking to develop into an all-rounder in the coming seasons.

This year we potentially had five good fast bowlers in ourattack, Jordan Evans, Raunak Jain, Lloyd Hayes, SamPhillips and Dewi Jones, any two of whom could take thenew ball. Injury and availability meant that they rarelyplayed together, but a glance at the averages shows thatthey all took wickets economically and at a good rate perball bowled.

The seam bowlers also excelled as Newcastle werebowled out for just 60, this time Sam Phillips (3-19)combined with Raunak Jain (4-7). In reply JamesWilliams, our first exchange student from South Africa,calmly scored 38* to ensure a comfortable win by eightwickets. James enjoyed a successful season in England,showing a good technique and a positive approach at thecrease, scoring 63 against the MCC and 64 againstWorksop, although he may have been disappointed notto have scored a century. He deputised as an efficientwicket-keeper in a season where four keepers wereused, and against Oswestry, when Jordan Evans wasabsent, captained the side calmly in overseeing a victoryeven though he himself struggled through the match witha hand injury.

Raunak Jain was also disappointed not to have scored acentury, although he scored 73* in his first innings onEnglish soil only hours after arriving at Ellesmere and

135

Sport - Cricket



136

having to travel to an away match at Rydal. In the samematch Jordan Evans scored the only century of theseason to set up a dominating total of 300-6 in fortyovers. Overall Raunak enjoyed an excellent season,producing good performances with both bat and ball andended up heading the batting averages and winning thebowling prize as leading wicket-taker.

Lloyd Hayes produced his best bowling performanceagainst Wrekin College in one of the closest matches ofthe season. Wrekin batted first, and after Lloyd had takentwo early wickets recovered from 24-2 to 171-3. One ofthe disadvantages of having a number of bowlers in theside was that Lloyd was not brought back into the attackuntil the score had reached 140-3 in the thirtieth over, buthe made a significant breakthrough, dismissing their top-scorer for 75 and immediately dismissing the newbatsman for a duck. Wrekin collapsed to 215-7, but alower-order fifty delayed the declaration and allowedWrekin to reach 264-8. Ellesmere were left what turnedout to be forty-eight overs to chase the target. Afterlosing an early wicket Jordan Evans (76) combined firstwith James Williams (22) and then Ben Spaven (66*) totake the score to 115-2 with twenty-two overs remaining.However, Jordan was then caught trying to hit over thetop. Although Jain scored 34, the rest of the order wereunable to help Ben keep up with the required rate and wehad to settle for a draw.

Ben Spaven had been promoted to number four in thismatch after showing promise in the earlier fixtures,particularly his 59 against Adams Newport. AlthoughBen did not score another 50, he did share a crucialsecond-wicket partnership with Josh Maddock-Jamesagainst Oswestry, which saw off their opening bowlerswhen the pitch was at its most difficult and allowed thebatsmen who followed (in particular Raunak Jain 64,Cameron Murdoch 21 and Dewi Jones 25) to play withfreedom and set up a match-winning total of 196.

Although the captain Jordan Evans scored fewer runsthan in 2009 he remained the leading run scorer, makinga century in the victory against Rydal, 76 against Wrekinand 52 not out to see his side reach the target againstHurspierpoint. Unselfishly as captain he often bowledhimself at the most difficult stages of an innings andconsequently his economy rate suffered. In his finalmatch against Hurstpierpoint Jordan produced his bestbowling performance when he bowled with pace andaccuracy to remove their middle order coming on as firstchange. Over his two years as captain at Ellesmere hehas set an excellent example to the younger players andshown what can be achieved with a good technique andapplication.

Matthew Macintosh lost his confidence and found itharder to score runs this summer. Determinedapplication to his technique during the winter willhopefully see him return to scoring heavily again nextyear. James Joule, who had not played cricket at all lastyear, volunteered in his final year to keep wicket. Jamesshowed great determination and application both behindthe stumps and with the bat. He always made thebowlers work hard to take his wicket and made a resolute

32 in the match against Whitchurch. Alex Owen hadbeen the leading wicket-taker in 2009 and he enjoyed aspin-bowling coaching day at Lord’s with John Embureyin March. Early in the season he did not have theopportunity to bowl long spells as the seam bowlersdominated, and he only came into his own with his off-spin in the matches towards the end of term against theOld Ellesmerians and Oswestry, where he took 3-9 towrap up the match. Unfortunately he was not availablefor the Festival as the Gold Duke of Edinburgh expeditiontook place at the same time. He is a determined cricketerand he has the ability to perform well with both bat andball in his final season next year.

There have been opportunities for a large squad toexperience First Eleven cricket this year and almosteveryone who has played for the eleven has produced anencouraging performance. However, at this level acameo innings of 20 or 30 and a couple of wicketsfollowed by a loose delivery and a few wides is invariablynot sufficient to win matches, especially against thestronger schools such as Worksop and Birkenhead.Batsmen need to value their wickets and take theopportunity to build partnerships and push on to largerscores – even in a twenty-20 match at least one of thetop order needs to score 60 or 70. Increasingly in schoolcricket this is a big hurdle for young players as there arefew opportunities in school matches at U14 or U15 levelto bat for long periods of time. Raunak Jain, JamesWilliams and Jordan Evans in particular have given theyounger players good examples of what it takes toproduce match-winning performances. They now needto rise to the challenge next season and realise that toproduce these performances is as much a test ofcharacter as it is of cricketing technique.

Unfortunately after the Wrekin match Chris Morrisoncould not continue to umpire our matches due to illness.He has been a very reliable and extremely good umpirein recent seasons and has been well respected both byour players and opponents alike. We hope that he maybe able to umpire for us again next season and were verypleased to see him turn up to support us during theFestival.

My thanks go to Ian Morris and his ground staff for theirdedicated work preparing grounds both for practice andmatches, and in particular for the excellent wicketsduring the Festival; to Paul Rudd and his catering stafffor all the lunches and teas during the season and thespecial meal they produced at the formal dinner duringthe Festival; and in particular to Rod Jones for hisassistance and his coaching throughout the year, not justwith the First Eleven but with players throughout theschool as we aim to raise the standard of cricket at alllevels with the development of the Cricket Academy. Hewill have been especially heartened to see William Doerrand David Powell compile two century openingpartnerships for the U13 team, the first time at this agelevel, as positive evidence for the future prospects ofCollege cricket.

PJH


137

Played 4 Won 1 Lost 3 Abandoned 1

This year the structure of the National Schools Twenty20competition changed. Instead of being organised byRumsey Travel it is now organised by HMC schools, whoenlarged the competition so that the number of teamstaking part doubled from sixty to one hundred and twenty.The country was divided into four areas and we wereentered into the North section of the draw, comprisingalmost forty schools.

The first Regional round of the competition was againhosted by Shrewsbury School. Under cloudy skies therewas a dramatic start to our first match againstShrewsbury when the Shrewsbury captain played thefirst ball of the match straight to Ben Spaven at mid-wicket and set off for a single. Ben picked the ball upcleanly and with a direct hit at the bowler’s end thebatsman was run out (0-1). In the next over JordanEvans dismissed the other opener as he skied a catchtrying to play a pull shot (4-2) and shortly afterwardsShrewsbury were 15-3 when Sam Phillips had an lbwappeal successfully upheld. After seven oversShrewsbury were only 31-3, but unfortunately with thetotal on 32 a relatively straightforward catch was droppedand the pair then went on to add 95 for the fourth wicketand lead Shrewsbury to a comfortable 160–6. It was,however, disappointing that while trying to exert pressureon the batting side no less than thirteen wides werebowled, even if the criteria for a wide is stricter in thesematches. In reply Joshua Maddock-James and MatthewMacintosh added over 50 for the second wicket, but theextra pace of the Shrewsbury opening bowlers and the

accuracy of their spin attack meant that we were alwayswell behind the required rate, and after fourteen overswere only 61-1.

We approached the second match against Denstone,whom we were playing for the first time in thiscompetition, with confidence and this time batted first.Joshua Maddock-James was dismissed early on butLloyd Hayes (37) and Jordan Evans (56) added 64 in justsix overs. After eleven overs we were 95-2, but only 58runs were scored from the final nine overs to set a targetof 154.

Denstone were always up with the rate, but at 113-2 offeleven overs we were gifted a breakthrough when anattempted reverse sweep failed and the batsman wasbowled through his legs. Lloyd Hayes then bowled awicket maiden over and Alex Owen followed up bybowling the number three batsman who had made 63,and suddenly Denstone were 116-5 with two newbatsmen at the crease. However, they reached theirtarget with no further loss of wickets as steady drizzlemade it increasingly difficult for bowlers and fieldersalike.

The final match against Wrekin was abandoned as therain which had threatened all day settled in. As expectedShrewsbury progressed to the next round, winning allthree of their games and indeed went on to reach thefinal at Lords which was won by Millfield.PJH


138

1st XI Cricket 2010 Results and Averages

Team (from): Evans JW*(captain), Hayes RL*, Jain R*, Williams J*,

Jones DP+, Macintosh MR+, Maddock-James JM+, OwenAJ+, Spaven B+ , Anderson F, Joule J, Lingard-Lane B,Martoccia RE, Mittal P, Murdoch CI, Phillips SA, Owen SL

* 1st XI colours + Half-colours

ResultsPlayed 11 Won 6 Drawn 2 Lost 3 Abandoned 2

(H) Sunday April 25th - 35 over matchWhitchurch 139 – 8 (Macintosh 2-14, A Owen 2-17)Ellesmere 140 – 7 (Joule 32)Won by 3 wkts

(H) Wednesday April 28th - 30 over matchAdams Newport 194 – 5 (Evans 2-60)Ellesmere 169 – 8 (Spaven 59)Lost by 25 runs

(H) Saturday May 8th v Birkenhead – abandoned rain

(A) Saturday May 15th – 40 over matchEllesmere 300 – 6 (Evans 109, Jain 73*, Hayes 43)Rydal 109 – 8 (Hayes 3-18)Won by 191 runs

(H) Saturday May 22nd - declaration matchWrekin 264 – 8 dec (Hayes 5-56)Ellesmere 238 – 8 (Evans 76, Spaven 66*, Jain 34)Match drawn

(A) Saturday June 12th – declaration matchNewcastle 60 all out (Jain 4-7, Phillips 3-19)Ellesmere 61 – 2 (Williams 38*)Won by 8 wkts

(H) Friday June 25th v Gentlemen of Shropshire –abandoned

(A) Saturday June 26th - 35 over match Ellesmere 210 – 7 (Jain 64)Oswestry 77 all out (A Owen 3-9)Won by 133 runs

(H) Sunday June 27th – declaration matchOld Ellesmerians 186 all out (Mittal 2-53)Ellesmere 187 – 7 (Hayes 53, Jain 37)Won by 3 wkts

(H) Friday July 2nd – declaration matchMCC 241 – 6 dec (S Owen 4-35)Ellesmere 196 – 7 (Williams 63, Jain 35)Match Drawn

Woodard Festival at Ellesmere – 50 over matches

Monday July 5thEllesmere 158 all out (Evans 25)Bloxham 159 – 4 (Jones 2-11)Lost by 6 wkts

Tuesday July 6thWorksop 299 – 6 (Jones 2-61)Ellesmere 200 – 7 (Williams 64, Jain 52)Lost by 99 runs

Woodard Festival cont.Wednesday July 7th

Hurstpierpoint 87 all out (Evans 4-25, Jain 3-18, Jones 3-23)

Ellesmere 88 – 1 (Evans 52*)Won by 9 wkts

Senior Batting Trophy (most runs)Jordan Evans (354 runs)

Senior Bowling Trophy (most runs)Raunak Jain (13 wkts)

House MatchesSenior Wakeman-LambartJunior Talbot

Batting Averages

Name Inns n.o. Runs h.s. 100 50 AverageR Jain 7 1 318 73* 3 53.00

J Williams 9 2 283 64 2 40.42

J W Evans* 10 1 354 109 1 2 39.33

B. Spaven 8 3 163 66 2 32.60

R L Hayes 5 0 108 53 1 21.60

J Joule 5 2 62 32 20.66

D P Jones 7 2 83 25 16.60

A J Owen 6 3 36 17* 12.00

C I Murdoch 10 2 90 21 11.25

S A Phillips 4 1 28 17 9.33

J M Maddock-James 5 0 44 24 8.80

Also batted:P Mittal 1*, 1*, 2 F Anderson 11, 10

S L Owen 13*, 22 R E Martoccia 15, 14*

Bowling Averages

Name O M R W Best AverageBowling

S L Owen 14 2 64 7 4-35 9.14

R Jain 53 6 182 13 4-7 14.00

D P Jones 51.3 8 178 11 3-23 16.18

R L Hayes 53.1 7 184 11 5-56 16.72

B Lingard-Lane 21 1 68 4 1-7 17.00

S A Phillips 28 4 87 5 3-19 17.40

J W Evans* 59.2 6 274 11 4-25 24.90

A J Owen 47 2 200 8 3-9 25.00

P Mittal 46 4 193 4 2-53 48.25

Also bowled:

S Kandola 6-2-15-1 B Spaven 14-2-78-1

M R Macintosh 5-0-40-2 J M Maddock-James 7-0-44-0

C I Murdoch 8-0-45-2 F Anderson 14-1-75-2

Catches

Williams 7Hayes, Jain, Jones, Spaven 4

S Owen 3Joule 2 + 1 stumped

Evans, Maddock-James, Murdoch, Phillips 2A Owen, Morrison 1


139

Twenty Over Matches

Played 4 Won 1 Lost 3 Abandoned 1

Monday May 3rd

Ellesmere 128 – 4 (Evans 69, Spaven 30)

Invitation XI 129 – 0

Lost by 10 wkts

Wednesday May 5thNational Twenty/20 at Shrewsbury School

Shrewsbury 162 – 6 (Phillips 2-13, Evans 2-20)

Ellesmere 90 – 4 (Maddock-James 34)

Lost by 72 runs

Ellesmere 152 – 6 (Evans 56, Hayes 37)

Denstone 156 – 5

Lost by 5 wkts

Ellesmere v Wrekin – abandoned rain

Friday June 18th

Ellesmere 176 – 4 (Evans 66, Hayes 55*, Williams 33)

Ravens 69 all out (A Owen 3-1)

Won by 107 runs

Twenty-20 Averages

Batting (Qualification 3 innings)

Name Inns n.o. Runs h.s. 50 Average

J W Evans* 4 0 199 69 3 49.75

R L Hayes 4 1 93 55* 1 31.00

M R Macintosh 4 2 41 19 20.50

B Spaven 4 0 59 30 14.75

J Joule 3 1 17 10 8.50

Bowling (Qualification 2 wickets)

Name O M R W BB Av Run rate

P Mittal 4 0 24 2 2-24 12.00 6.00

A Owen 9 0 64 4 3-1 16.00 7.11

J M M-James 3 0 39 2 1-18 19.50 13.00

J W Evans* 11 0 70 3 2-20 23.33 6.36

R L Hayes 12 1 86 3 2-4 28.66 7.16

Cricketers Across the Year-GroupsFrom left to right: Sam Phillips (Lower 6th), Ed Bridge (Y9), Matthew Macintosh (Y11), Dewi Jones (Y10), DavidPowell (Y8), Jordan Evans (Captain of the 1st XI), Milun Dhansingani (Y9), Sebastian McCarthy (Y7), Ben Oakley

(Y11) and Sam Owen (Y10)


140

Played 6 Won 2 Lost 4

The season started with a trip to local rivals WrekinCollege in a friendly game against their Third XI. Afterwinning the toss Ellesmere decided to bat which, as itturned out, was the correct decision. Both openers gotamongst the runs quickly and both made 30s before theirdismissals. The pick of the batters however was FreddieAnderson who amassed an impressive 71, including four6s and nine 4s before being caught on the boundaryattempting another booming drive. Martoccia, Breretonand Walters all chipped in with runs to put Ellesmere in acommanding position on 199 after 25 overs. The Wrekinreply was stout but they had little in the way of resistanceagainst an ‘in form’ Saajan Kandola who finished withfigures of 3-6. Wrekin managed to see out their twenty-five overs but were able to score only 114 in reply.

Ellesmere’s second game was a reduced overs gameagainst King’s Chester 2nd XI on a very gloomy day.Ellesmere again won the toss and chose to bat on a veryunpredictable wicket and, having come off for rain in avery disrupted innings, managed to put on 162 in 25overs; a little short of a par score. James Williams, ourSouth African friend, was outstanding with the bat justfalling short of his 50 (47). Only Adam Brahim and RickyMartoccia offered any runs in partnership with Williamsas the inning stuttered to a close. Chester, with the bestof the brightening conditions, chased down Ellesmere’stotal for the loss of only two wickets as they reached thetarget with ten balls to spare. There were lots of technicaland tactical lessons to be learnt from this game but thisdid not make the defeat any easier to take.

Following the defeat to King’s Chester Ellesmere took onBirkenhead School on their immaculate and verypicturesque First Team pitch. Canny, tight bowling

reduced Birkenhead to 151 off their thirty overs with JoelMaddock-James the best of the them with 2-5 off justone over! Ellesmere set about the task of knocking offthe runs in professional style with the openingpartnership of Hayes and Williams putting on 75 for thefirst wicket before Hayes retired. Significant contributionscame from Anderson and Brereton, scoring 21 and 23respectively. Ellesmere managed to reach the total in 16overs to bring about a well-deserved and timely victoryfor the team.

Buoyed by their recent victory over BirkenheadEllesmere took on Shrewsbury School’s 2nd XI atEllesmere. This was always going to be a toughproposition and so it proved to be. Shrewsbury won thetoss and elected to bat and put on a total of 175 for 6 onwhat was a fairly bowler-friendly wicket. In replyEllesmere never really got going as the Shrewsburybowlers took full advantage of the pitch and overheadconditions. James Williams made a promising start,putting on 28 which was backed up with 20 from BenOakley and 29 from Martoccia, but then came a collapsewith only a flourish of 15 from Brahim to save theblushes. Ellesmere had been given a tough test but it hadgiven fresh focus to the training.

Ellesmere’s next game was a home game againstThomas Telford 1st XI who brought with them some veryexperienced and useful players. Ellesmere batted firstand found making runs hard work, with James Williamsonce again the top scorer with 42, and only FreddieAnderson and James Joule making contributionselsewhere in the line-up. When it came to defending thistotal Ellesmere found the going even harder, bowling atpatient and skillful players who were able to wait and pickthe bad ball and dispatch to all corners of the ground. It


141

looked at one point, when Brereton found his way pastthe guard of a couple of their better batsmen, that thegame could be on but Telford held firm and came awayfrom Ellesmere with the win.

Ellesmere’s final game came against Wrekin 2nds, whichwas always going to be a stronger test than our last visitto Wrekin at the beginning of the season. Injury andunavailability meant that Ellesmere had to rely on anextremely inexperienced, but no less determined, set ofplayers who were recruited at the last minute. However,batting first, Ellesmere got off to a good start withFreddie Anderson getting into the 40s, but he foundhimself fast running out of partners and by the time thetail had come in Ellesmere were scratching for whateverruns would come their way. Paddy Fuller, BogdanDavydov, Vlad Dumitrescu and Rob Lau all got a bat asEllesmere manoeuvered their way to 95. What followednext was a nearly a miracle. Chasing a meagre 95,Wrekin slumped to 23-4 in reply thanks to some superb

swing bowling from Ollie Brereton who claimed a welldeserved hat-trick in the fourth over! UnfortunatelyEllesmere were not able to press home this start andafter a further eleven overs Wrekin had made it to thetotal and won the game.

Overall it was a great season. Quite often Ellesmerefound their backs against the wall and had to dig deep.James Williams and Freddie Anderson were excellentwith the bat all season and Ollie Brereton and Anderson,again, asked serious questions of the oppositionbatsmen with the ball. The stand-out part of the season,however, which summed it all up, was when Ellesmere2nd XI fielded a side with players of eight differentnationalities, representing the level of interest in thegame and the eagerness to take part.JJB

Squad: Anderson F, Brahim A, Brereton OD, Davydov B,Dumitrescu V-G, Fuller M-PT, Hayes RL, Holt LF, Joule J,

Played 5 Won 3 Lost 2 Cancelled 5

This turned out to be a rather strange season in that weplayed only five games out of a potential ten. A fewgames were cancelled due to rain, one due to theopposition not being able to raise a team, and one due toone of England’s World Cup Football matches.

We started the season off playing a T20 game against avery strong Lakelands team. The game was reduced to a10-over game due to wet weather and without our two

best players we struggled from the first ball. Only LukeTaylor managed a decent score before being run out for21 with us reaching a paltry 68-6. Lakelands battedexceptionally well to pass our score, having lost only onewicket and with five balls to spare. Our second game wasagainst Rydal where we won the toss and batted first.Sam Owen (64 not out) batted well and some big hittingfrom Dom Simpson (30) helped us reach a total of 138-5 in twenty overs. In reply Rydal could only manage 95-


142

6 with some excellent bowling from Alex Eaton (2-8) andJonny Davies (2-4) resulting in us winning by 43 runs.Our next game was against Wrekin and this turned out tobe a rather disappointing game as they were very weak.Dewi Jones (40), Louis Bostock-Williams (27) and SamOwen (54 not out) helped us reach a good total of 185-6in twenty-five overs. This was always going to be achallenging total for Wrekin and they were bowled out for89. Alex Eaton (4-9) and Alex McCarthy (3-20) were ourbest bowlers.

Travelling away to Newcastle always produces somegood cricket, and this game was no different. Newcastlebatted first and with the score on 44-2 and their two bestbatsmen settling in, Dom Simpson took an absoluteblinder in the covers. This helped reduce them to 61 allout. Once again Alex Eaton (3-6) was our best bowlerwith good assistance from Mark McBrien (4-17) and SamDapling (2-9). After losing a few quick wickets, SamOwen (35 not out) helped settle things and we ran outcomfortable winners by five wickets with five overs tospare.

The final game of the season was very disappointing.Playing against Shrewsbury U15B team, we made aconfident start with Sam Owen (20) and Dewi Jones (28)putting on 44 for the second wicket. However, with theirdeparture we failed to set Shrewsbury a very challengingscore and only managed 96-9. We only managed toscore five runs off the last four overs and lost fourwickets. To win this match we were going to have to bowland field brilliantly, both of which we failed to do. We gaveaway too many runs through misfields and our bowlingwas not up to scratch. Jonny Davies (2-14) was our bestbowler, but did not have much back up. The fact that theythrew away a few wickets at the end gave us a slightchance as they needed 10 runs off the last over to win.Unfortunately we were unable to restrict them and welost by five wickets.

Sam Owen captained the side very well and always ledfrom the front. The team as a whole fielded reasonablywell during the season, but need to realise that every runsaved in the field means less runs needed when batting.Our bowling was good, but as soon as we came under abit of pressure we started bowling short, and on slowwickets this is not the answer. We relied slightly too muchon Sam Owen and Dewi Jones to score the runs andeach player needs to take a look at themselves and howthey could have batted if they were in that position again.This ended up being an enjoyable season where theplayers showed good commitment both at practices andon the field and were always willing to learn.CCC

Regular players: Butt A, Dewhirst M, Dapling S, DaviesJ, Eaton A, Jones M, Latter J, Main A, McBrien M,McCarthy A, Morris E, Owen S (Captain), Simpson D,Taylor L.

U15B CricketPlayed 2 Won 1 Lost 1

The Ellesmere U15B team had a rather short season thisyear; the weather was, for once, blameless, as variouspotential oppositions (often with much larger pupil

numbers) failed to muster enough players to mount achallenge. However, the squad remained in good heartand regular practice led to steady improvement in thequality of the cricket.

A fixture against Marches School kicked off the season,captain Dominic Ryder winning the toss and electing tobat. Despite the early loss of opener Andrew Main, theEllesmere team posted a respectable 114-6 in theirtwenty overs, with Jonathon Davies contributing a rapid27 not out.

The Marches team began brightly, and had raced to 38-1 from only five overs when Sam Dapling dropped a ballshort. The batsman smote it mightily to square leg,where it hit Josh Sambrook-Jones squarely in the midriff.As he got up from the ground it became clear that thecatch had stuck and the disconsolate batsman trudgedoff.

With two-thirds of the overs gone, Marches were justahead of the run rate and had six wickets in hand; in atimely change, wrist-spinning captain Ryder took the balland turned the game. A ball which both moved andbounced took a top edge and soared high to midwicket…Aeons passed…glaciers rumbled…tectonic platesshunted……Alex Millington clung onto the ball. Thisproved a decisive event, and the game turned irrevocablyin favour of Ellesmere; the opposition finished eight runsshort at 106-9.

The following day a stiffer challenge beckoned:Shrewsbury School. Ellesmere chose to field first thistime and no Shrewsbury player was allowed to dominate;the largest contribution to their score being Extras(including a disappointing 25 in byes). Wickets werespread fairly evenly, with the top bowler being MitchFaulkner who took 2-15 in his four overs. Elliot Roganshowed the way in the field with two catches and a runout. The visitors’ innings closed on 137 all out.

The Ellesmere reply stuttered to 18-3 and everyonefeared the worst; however, this brought Ed Morris andGeorge Crow together for eight overs of mayhem. Thegame was dragged back onto a more even keel as theyadded 76 for the fourth wicket at a furious pace. It was agreat shame, but unsurprising given their enterprisingbatting, that both departed in quick succession givinghigh catches from daring shots.

Several tight overs made the game tight again, andEllesmere players perished as they tried to force thepace. We had the unusual occurrence of a helmet-hit-wicket, when Elliot Rogan played a short quick ball intohis headgear. The innings slowly faded away 18 runsshort; conceding fewer extras (almost always avoidable)would have given Ellesmere the victory, and keeping aswifter over rate would have taken away the pressure oftime which weighed heavily on the team (longnegotiations and field changes every other ball are notneeded!)

So, an all-too-brief season came to an end, and we allhad to settle for a 50% record. My thanks to all involvedand best wishes for next summer.DWC


143

U14A XI CricketPlayed 6 Won 0 Lost 5 Drew 1 Cancelled 5

All matches were overs contests

This year’s U14 squad was an enthusiastic group ofcricketers, all of whom were keen to get into a match ifpossible. Sadly a number of fixtures were lost due to theweather, or through oppositions having to cancel, but aninternal match within the year-group was always ameaningful option to supplement the amount ofcompetitive cricket that was played.

Overall the results column is not flattering, but the teamcertainly possessed sufficient talent to suggest betterseasons lay ahead. The team would probably haveflourished more in timed matches, as few of our batsmenwere able to score quick runs without using risky shots.We managed to score at 6 an over only once, with 5 anover as the record for the whole season. Captain FraserMurdoch averaged 58.5 from his two matches, but injuryand National commitments kept him out of the team formuch of the season. Fraser has the full range of shotsand the ability to play them at the appropriate time. Hewas sorely missed when not available. James Austinwas the only other batsman to achieve over 20 as anaverage, at 21 over four matches. He is a powerful hitteron the leg side, but he must develop an off-side game tomake himself more secure at the crease. George Crowis an aggressive hitter who averaged 14, but his shotselection can be wayward. When given responsibility ascaptain he batted with more circumspection, thusachieving his highest score of the season, whilst lookinga much better batsman. Other batsmen, such as MilunDhansinghani, Ioan Parry-Jones and Myles Arnold,made promising starts, but too often fell to injudiciousshots when they tried to force the pace. James Whittakerbatted well in the final match, showing what can beachieved if attack is tempered by good shot selection,when he found himself promoted up the order.

In his two matches Fraser Murdoch took three wickets for24 runs in ten overs. In the first match he was able tobowl at pace, whilst he was limited to spin in the second.Sadly most of the other bowlers were not able to be asparsimonious. Opening bowler Milun Dhansinghanibowled most overs in the season, at a creditable run rateof 4 an over. He was beaten in the wickets tally by hisusual opening partner, Nelson Hughes, who achieved arun rate of 5 an over. Edward Shelley always posedproblems with his leg-spin, developing a goodunderstanding with wicket-keeper Myles Arnold, whowas ever alert for a stumping. However it was theinconsistency of the bowling that was the underlyingproblem of the team this year. All were capable of agood over, but too few could do so for a whole spell. Thismeant that the batsmen were always under too muchpressure to score rapidly in most of our matches. Thegroup has a good attitude during training and I am surethat they will work hard to improve in the future.GH

Those that played: Arnold M, Austin J, Bendell J,Bridge E, Crow G, Dhansinghani M, Hughes N, Lock O,Murdoch F, Parker E, Parry-Jones I, Rogers J, Shelley E,Suckling L, Wear J, Whittaker J.

U14B CricketThe Summer Term opened with an ensemble ofcricketers assembling to show off their talents and gaina place in the U14B team. Competition was fierce in thenets as batters battled to save their wicket and stay in foras long as possible – Ted Parker was particularly adept,as he used cunning and guile to defy a battery ofbowlers; he was quickly spotted by Mr Hutchinson andwhisked away to the A Team’s nets. The competition totake wickets grew through the weeks and the rattlingsound of wickets was quickly followed by a passionateplea for the boy’s averages to be updated. The squadwas in fine fettle and chomping at the bit to challenge allcomers on Parry’s Field.

It was a scorching Saturday afternoon when WrekinCollege visited. Max Beardmore led the team as they setabout attacking the opening batsmen. Beardmore waselectric as he took wickets with his seventh andthirteenth deliveries – Wrekin were shell-shocked at 9-2.As the visiting number three settled his nerves,Beardmore struck again and was backed up by JoshBendell and Cam Beswick who grabbed a wicket each –Wrekin were 31-5. However, despite the attack beingspiced by the introduction of Ed Bridge and Hugo Blandno more wickets fell until Cam Beswick achieved a run-out on the penultimate ball, and by then Wrekin hadrevived to achieve a total 126. Fuelled by a lovely tea, thehome side set about their innings in a tranquil manner.Things looked promising as the openers familiarisedthemselves with the pace of the attack - until the firstwicket fell and the innings collapsed. It took adetermined effort from Henry Collard-Underwood andHarry Whitehouse to revive the attack. Whitehousemanaged 17 runs and Collard-Underwood carried his batas his support ran out. Ellesmere had amassed a totalof 39 and were soundly beaten.

In the weeks that followed, the intensity in trainingcontinued and a number of players were able todemonstrate that they could build an innings incompetitive matches with the As. John Leadbeater hadtwo substantial innings that showed he had the powerand finesse to score a number of boundaries. JoshBendell, always the strongest batsman in the nets,scored 35 not out on the First Eleven wicket as the U14senjoyed the privilege of playing in such a glorious setting.Subsequent matches were called off by our opponentsand the squad never got the opportunity to make amendsas a team. Despite this, many were able to build on theirprogress in the nets as they were selected to representthe As; it was very pleasing to see a number of themmove up and play well under Mr Hutchinson’s guidance.

DMR

Squad: Appleby N, Beal G, Beardmore M, Bendell J,Beswick C, Bland H, Bridge E, Charmley J, Collard-Underwood H, Holland S, von Hoven P, Hughes B,Leadbetter J, Miller A, Parker T, Rickett H, Slater J,Suckling L, Whitehouse H, Williams B.


144

This particular squad of players improved a great dealthrough the season both as individuals and as a team, .Matches that failed to secure a win were often againstCounty representative sides. Remembering that thesquad contained a large contingent of Year 7s is a goodindication that cricket is continuing to improve in theLower School. The boys were prepared to work veryhard at the basic technical skills in batting, bowling andfielding. Also, the general organisation when fieldingimproved significantly, with players acceptingresponsibility for their own field placing and fieldingperformance. As a result of this hard work the boys wereable to win a good number of games, including the end-of-season match against a good touring side. The teamwas creditably led by the Year 8 players including DavidPowell (Captain, batsman and bowler), William Doerr(Vice Captain, batsman and bowler), Matthew Kinney(opening bowler) and Harry Williams (wicket keeper).Also, other Year 8s made key positive contributions atvarious moments throughout the season, includingJacob Roberts and Harry Williamson. All of the Year 7players matured considerably, with Sebastian McCarthyproducing some fine performances and Anthony Baileyshowing potential with the bat. It is important to note thattwo individuals, David Powell and William Doerr, havehad a very good season as an opening partnership. Ontwo occasions they have made over 100 runs before thefirst wicket of the innings has fallen.

This was a very enjoyable season with some memorablemoments: two opening partnerships of over 100 by

David Powell and William Doerr; two superb catches byWilliam Doerr; two very good catches (at crucialmoments) by James Watson in the final game; a hat-trickof wickets by Matthew Kinney; a superb spell of openingbowling in one match by Matthew Kinney (the oppositionfeared his bowling for the rest of the match!); SebMcCarthy and Anthony Bailey (Year 7s) playing a match-winning innings when the Senior players failed for once!

I would like to take this opportunity to say that it was mostenjoyable to coach a squad who were so keen to improvetheir cricket. GO

Colours and Prizes were awarded to the following:

Full Colours Half ColoursDavid Powell Sebastian McCarthyWilliam Doerr Jacob RobertHarry Williams Ben WilliamsonMatthew Kinney

Batting Prize: David PowellBowling Prize: Matthew KinneyFielding Prize: William Doerr

Mini Bats (50 runs): David Powell - 3 occasionsWilliam Doerr - 2 occasions

Mini Balls (4 wickets): William Doerr - 2 occasionsMatthew Kinney - 1 occasion


145

U13 B CricketAlthough the team failed to secure a win, it mounted areasonably competitive challenge in all three matchesagainst useful opposition. On occasions the bowlinglooked quite sharp, but never quite attained the level ofconsistency required to bowl teams out. Despite beinggiven considerable attention in training the batting provedto be somewhat brittle, and too many cheap wickets weregiven away by attempting to hit across the line. This is akey area that several players willneed to address next season inorder to develop their game.

On a more positive note, therewere some commendableperformances. Captain GeorgeMcCormack emerged as acompetent player who led histeam with authority. JamieThomas demonstrated goodbatting technique, while JamesWatson showed potential as anall-rounder. George Watkin andRyen Spencer-Wolfe bowledsome testing deliveries at times.

Well done to all the players formaintaining their excellent teamspirit and positive attitudethroughout the season.RJP

U13 C CricketIn essence, this was adevelopment side comprisingYear 7 players not selected for theU13A Team. A crushing defeat toCheshire in the opening gamesignalled the need for some hard

work on the training ground,especially with regard toraising the standard ofbatting. Progress was alreadyevident in the second matchas Packwood were made towork hard for their narrowvictory. With Seb McCarthy,Harry Williamson, PatrickWillis and Anthony Baileystepping down from the As, afull-strength team travelled toNewcastle-Under-Lyme andsecured a memorable victoryagainst strong opponents inthe final match of the season.

From the outset this group ofplayers showed terrific teamspirit and a willingness tospend every availableopportunity in the nets todevelop their skills. ThomasSloan led by example inmatches and during training.Will Evans was reliablebehind the stumps and ascorrect a batsman as mostteams can hope for at thislevel. Jonathan Baileydeveloped into an excellentchange bowler and

consistently caused batsmen problems with his variedflight. Barnaby Franklin performed well with both bat andball and will undoubtedly be missed next year.

From a coaching point of view, this was a rewarding andenjoyable season thanks to the enthusiasm andcommitment shown by every player. A big thank you to allconcerned!

RJP


This year started with my absence due to a back injurybut with new coaches David Gregory and Tom Rylandsacting as cover.

David Gregory, who recently retired from Michelin TyreCo, started shooting when he was at Highgate School. Atthat stage he shot .22 rifle and .303 target rifle and wasa member of his school team. He continued at University,UWIST in Cardiff, where he became Secretary of theRifle & Pistol Club and won UWIST Colours shooting7.62mm target rifle. He was a member of the NationalRifle Association GB Black Powder Rifle Team between1997 and 1999 and continues to support their activitiesas Match Director for the NRAHistoric Arms Meeting heldeach year in Bisley. Dave is theoriginator and organiser of“HBSA 1910” Short RangeClassic meeting which hasbeen held every June fortwenty years. He is an activemember of Crewe Rifle andPistol Club.

Tom Rylands currently shootsfor Cheshire and England andis also a member of the GreatBritain Squad preparing forthe World Long RangeChampionships in 2011. Helives in Whitchurch and workedas Managing Director of a business in Malpas untiljoining the College. In 2008 he toured the USA withthe England Team and this year was their Captainwhen they competed in South Africa. He has alsobeen part of the British Team since 1988, touringCanada, South Africa and Australia; and hasregularly represented England in the HomeInternationals at Bisley, including twice this year. Hehas wide experience of team selection and hasbeen involved in coaching of all age groups since1993; Great Britain Seniors, Great Britain Under25s, Clubs and County shooters, Scout and Guidegroups.

It was a superb start to the season and theCollege is extremely fortunate to have threesuch highly experienced coaches with manyyears of international match experience.

Our Michaelmas and Lent Termprogrammes revolve around the NationalU14 League and the British Schools SmallBore League. By November our U16 team ofRichard Belcher, Ryan Williams, JamesSlater and Guy Cooper were well on theirway to a win in the National Schools League.Our U14 team of Richard Lay, James Slater,Samantha Williams, Marcus Bruce, HaydenEdge Roberts, Joanna Fawke, KatyLeeming and George Crow were pushingArdvreck School all the way in the topdivision of the National League.

146

Sport - Shooting

New Coaches Tom Rylands (left) and David Gregory

Above: Matthew Steggles with another PersonalBest, on his way to International status

Left and below: Richard Belcher, one of ourJunior Internationals


147

The development of new talent isone of our main aims and thereis always a great supply ofpromising new shooters.September 2009 was noexception, with Seniors such asAlex Bueschler and Robert Laoand Juniors such as RichardWalsh, Hannah Miles, EmilyRoberts and Katy Leemingshowing great promise. It istremendously exciting to start theSurvive and Thrive shootingprogramme in Lower Schooleach year to see what shootinggems are to be discovered. TheSurvive and Thrive sessionsproduced promising newshooters in Thomas Gereke, Geoffrey Walsh, AnthonyBailey, Will Evans and Luke Caldecott. Summer Term isalways our season for Open competitions, with matchesat Bromyard, Appleton and Bisley. Matthew Steggles inhis last term’s shooting performed superbly, recordingnew personal bests at every match, resulting in hisinvitation to join the Wales team for the JuniorInternational at Bisley. He has moved on to theUniversity of Glamorgan where his shooting will befurther developed by the Wales Team Coaches. RichardBelcher and Ryan Williams also backed up their JuniorInternational status with wins at Appleton and Bromyardrespectively and will be joining Matthew at the BisleyInternational Match. Strong performances were alsorecorded by Marcus Bruce, Samantha Williams, RichardLay, Hannah Miles and Katy Leeming. At all the openshoots this year the shooting team have beencomplimented on their behaviour and their performance,which are a credit to the pupils and the College.

House shooting competitionswere difficult to organise in theSummer Term and a moveback to the Lent Term isindicated. Lower School andUpper School matches wererunaway victories for BrownlowHouse and Meynell Houserespectively, both of which hadteams full of College teamshooters.

Our annual expedition to theNational Championships atBisley was our largest to datewith sixteen pupils and fourstaff. This year we catered forourselves and stayed in twoexcellent huts on Bisley camp.Our main base was the

Greshams School hut, which was ideal for our purposes.Tom Rylands, in his twin roles as Coach and Chef,performed admirably with able assistance from DagmarLensing and David Gregory. The shooting was alsoexcellent with Bisley debutantes Caro and Lottie Hulmeshowing flashes of the immense talent they bothpossess. Guy Cooper in his last shoot with us performedsuperbly to gain a place in the overall aggregate andboth Ryan Williams and Richard Belcher were selectedfor the GB Schools Team in a shoulder-to-shouldermatch against Denmark. It was a wholly successful tripand has set a standard for us to aspire to on futureoccasions.Jim Quinlan, Shooting Coach

Right: SamanthaWilliams (left) andRichard Lay atthe WorcesterOpen Meet

Below: CoachJim Quinlan in theCollege Indoorrange with YuriLoychenko andAlice Tow

Left: Katie Leemingon target at Bromyard

Range

Below: James Slateris awarded his prizeat the Hereford Open

Meet


U14 and U15 RoundersThe U14 Rounders Team had ashort but impressive season. Theystarted well with an 11 - 7 win overOswestry School and then drew10.5 - All with Moreton Hall, despiteonly having eight players available.Unfortunately the North ShropshireRounders Tournament was rainedoff. The girls’ fielding was lively attimes, with excellent decision-making and quick reactions tostump players out and minimise anyscoring opportunities. Ellie Halsteadwas agile on second base, andimportant catches were evidentfrom Annie Rogan (6) andAnnabelle Martin-Jones (2).Hannah Rogers consistentlybowled with much variety, makingbatting awkward for the opposition.Top batters included Olivia Jones(4), Ellie Halstead (3.5), AnnieRogan (3) and Annabelle Martin-Jones (3).

The U15 Team also had a shortrounders season, and wereunfortunate to lose both matches.Over-cautious batting was thecause of their 14 - 8 loss against Oswestry School, butthe girls achieved a great comeback after being 9 - 1down at half time. Despite only having eight playersagainst Moreton Hall the game was decided by the lastball of the game. It was a very close game and despite itnot going Ellesmere’s way the girls enjoyed it immensely.Alex Brooks (6) and Sian Gatenby (4) were the topbatters in the team. However, many players contributedby gaining several rounders each in both games. AlexBrooks, Ellie Hobbs and Kate Norman proved excellentfielders, feeding the ball directly into the appropriateposts to stump out batters. Critical catches were madeby Eve Davies, Alex Brooks, Kate Parry, Kate Normanand Clara Edwards.

U13 RoundersAll batters contributed to the high-scoring match againstMoreton Hall (17 - 10), with Ellie Williams, Annie Hill andMolly Broster scoring well. The team scored 6.5 roundersin the first innings, and confidence grew followingfaultless fielding. Excellent bowling from HannahGatenby brought much variation and difficulty for theMoreton batters, and exceptional catches by MollyBroster (5), Catriona Jones (1) and Rebecca Neary (1)prevented opposing rounders from being scored. Thesecond batting innings was very strong with 10 roundersbeing scored. The high target was too much for Moretonto chase. The team’s maturity showed during acomfortable win over Oswestry School. The girls’intelligent play and supportive attitude was clearlyevident in their 22 - 8 victory. Ellesmere set a healthytarget of 10 to defend in the first innings, and HannahGatenby once again delivered some very awkward balls

for the Oswestry batters. Cat Jones, Hannah Ward andMolly Broster’s catches were key in eliminatingOswestry’s big hitters, and Ellie Williams was nimble onfirst and second base to stump out several players. Onceagain Ellesmere demonstrated an outstanding battingperformance with Cat Jones (5) and Hannah Ward (4.5)leading the way. Had all players been available againstDenstone College the match would have been closelycontested and very competitive. However, Ellesmerewere down to seven players and were subjected to a 26- 12.5 defeat. Year 6 pupil, Lottie Hulme, gave an extrahand and put on an outstanding performance to play withand against pupils two years her senior. Despite the largeloss, the scores were close at half time; 10 - 8 toDenstone College. However, the lack of players affectedEllesmere’s second batting innings, as the side was allout half way through the innings.

This team has been a great group to coach and apleasure to teach, with much positive encouragementand enthusiasm from all players. Many have progressedwell from last year, with exceptional fielding and strongbatting performances. The girls have been playing anadvanced fielding system, which has brought muchstrength and security to their performance.

The top batters were Catriona Jones (18), Ellie Williams(14), Zoe Zembrzuski (8.5), Annie Hill (7.5), RebeccaNeary (6.5), Molly Broster (6) and Hannah Ward (6).Catches were taken by Molly Broster (11), Hannah Gatenby(6), Catriona Jones (4), Rebecca Neary (3), Hannah Ward(2), Ellie Williams (2) and Zoe Zembrzuski (1).

AP

148

Summer SportsRounders


149

U12 RoundersThe U12s were unfortunate to lose all matches, butproved their worth when they beat two of these teamswhilst winning the North Shropshire Tournament. Theyhave also adopted an advanced fielding system, whichthey hope to develop further next year.

Despite only having eight players available, Ellesmerenarrowly lost by two rounders to Moreton Hall. Over-cautious batting and uncertainty gave Ellesmere a scoreof only 2.5 rounders in their first batting innings. Despitethe low score the girls fielded well to keep Moreton’sscore to a minimum, and Taylor Arnold and AnnaCollard-Underwood had important catches during thegame. Ellesmere’s second innings was much better, with

Tilly Walker proving to be a first-class opening batter. However,the girls’ excitement causedseveral errors during fielding,allowing Moreton to win thematch.

A consistent batting performancewas evident against OswestrySchool, with the girls scoring 7 ineach innings. Once again TillyWalker was the top batter,scoring 4, though she wasclosely challenged by JessMartin-Jones on 3.5. BethHulme, Tilly Walker and AnnaCollard-Underwood tried to keepOswestry’s score to a minimumwith great catches, but Oswestryproved to be very strong in theirsecond innings, and Ellesmerelost the match 14 - 10.

The final Match againstDenstone College was tough andthe girls appeared tired followingtwo previous sports-packeddays, i.e. North ShropshireRounders Tournament andSports Day. They lost 17.5 - 5, asEllesmere’s top batters were

forced out early in both innings. Anna Collard-Underwood was top batter, and Caro Hulme took anoutstanding diving catch at first base to give Ellesmeresome pride.

Overall, Tilly Walker was the U12 Team’s best batter,scoring an exceptional 21 rounders. She was followed byAnna Collard-Underwood (7), Jess Martin-Jones (6),Katy Leeming (3.5) and Amy Latham (3.5), witheveryone else contributing to the score with severalrounders each. Two catches were taken by AnnaCollard-Underwood, and Taylor Arnold, Beth Hulme, TillyWalker, Jess Martin-Jones and Caro Hulme took a catcheach. AP

Penny Shield Golf 2010The great weather was supported by a fine turn-out ofgolfing talent from the school. Eight staff and eight boysbattled for the prestigious Penny Shield. The pairing lookedvery even and the final results supported that, with mostpairs shooting in the 40s. However it was the pairing of DrChatterjee and Seb, the youngest of the four McCarthys toplay, who claimed the victory with a very impressive 36. It isbelieved that Seb is the youngest-ever winner of the Shieldand has several years ahead of him to defend the title.

1st Dr Chatterjee & Seb McCarthy2nd = Dr Garah & Alex McCarthy2nd = Mr Crawford & Nick Haukohl3rd Mr McCarthy & Fabian Prinz4th Mr Collins & James McCarthy5th Mr Sampson & Patrick Weigel6th = Mr Goodwin & Roberts Lau6th = Mr Roberts & Ludwig Shinzing

Mr Morgan and Mr Cawcutt played without pupil partners. Seb McCarthy, youngest-ever winner of the PennyShield, with partner Dr Chatterjee


150

Senior Athletics

This year the school entered several Athletics eventswith many pupils participating. As the term progressed,so did the numbers of pupils representing the school.The Shropshire AA Championships was a greatexperience, particularly for the younger pupils, as manytook part for their first time and gained much success.Representation from Year 9 upwards was fairly limited,but Ellie Halstead won all her 100m heats, and the finalwith a sound time of 13.9 seconds, and HannahCumpston achieved second place in the Senior Girls’High Jump event.

There were talented pupils entered into the ShropshireSchools Track and Field Championships, but suddenillness and injuries prevented several from participating.Hannah Cumpston achieved third place in the HighJump, and George Beal was the only College pupil to goon to represent Shropshire in the MidlandsChampionships, throwing 10.04m in the Shot Put.

Forty-seven pupils represented the school in variousevents in the North Shropshire Schools AthleticsChampionships. It was great to see pupils volunteer forevents whatever their ability, to ensure that Ellesmeregained as many points as possible. The highlight of theday was when Ellie Halstead broke the North Shropshire100m record, completing it in 13.19 seconds. Otheroutstanding performances came from Clara Edwards(1st in High Jump, 2nd in Shot); Annie Rogan (3rd in800m); Colin Dickson (1st in 100m - 11.10s, and 1st inShot - 13.06m); James Preston (1st and a personal bestin Long Jump - 5.05m, and 2nd in 200m) and Sam Owen(1st in 800m). The relay teams also did well in their heatswith both Senior Boys and Girls gaining second place.The girls achieved a well-deserved third place, but anunfortunate error occurred during the boys’ race, whichleft them in last place. Other pupils, icluding Joe Rogers,Lesley Gebhard and Olivia Jones narrowly missed out onmedal positions but did well to contribute to the College’saccumulation of a decent points total. AP

Lower School Athletics

This year a good number of Lower School pupils enteredAthletics events, notably the Shropshire AAChampionships, with many pupils participating incompetitive athletics for the first time. Lunchtimepractices have been open to all pupils, and several haveattended and developed their skills to a good standard.Year 4 pupil Rosie Holland achieved second place in theCricket Ball Throw, and Hector Pardoe only just missedout on third place in the 600m in spite of competingagainst pupils two years older. Year 5 pupils Huw and WillEdwards gained awards, with Huw achieving third placein the 60m sprint, and Will reigning supreme in the 600mwith an outstanding time of 2.02.7mins, another firstplace in the Long Jump (3.57m) and second place in theCricket Ball Throw. In Years 7 and 8 Beth Hulme camethird in the Discus, narrowly beating her younger sister,Lottie Hulme, who came fourth, and James Wilson justmissed out on a medal in the Long Jump.

Once again many Year 8 pupils participated in theShropshire Schools Track and Field Championships.Naomi Craig came second in her 800m heat with anexcellent time of 2.35.6mins – only 14 seconds off theShropshire record. However, despite putting in anothergreat performance in the final, she gained fifth place.Twenty pupils from Years 7 and 8 represented the schoolin the North Shropshire Schools AthleticsChampionships. Highlights of the day included CarmenEdwards (3rd in the High Jump), James Wilson (3rd inthe 1500m), Molly Broster (3rd in 200m), Ryen Spencer-Wolfe (2nd in Javelin), James Watson (2nd in Shot), JessMartin-Jones (2nd in 100m) and Zoe Zembrzuski (1st in800m). All sprinters qualified for their final, and it wasgreat to see the pupils enjoy themselves and have a goat a variety of events. Despite not gaining a medalGeorge Watkin had a great day, gaining personal bestsin each event. Similarly, well done to Ryen Spencer-Wolfe who has never run the hurdles before, yet he camesecond in his heat and fourth overall. The Junior Girls’Relay Team gained third place in their heat, and thenfourth in the final. The Junior Boys’ Relay Team gainedsecond place in their heat, and then third in the final.Everyone’s placement counts within this Championship,so well done for each pupil trying their best.

AP

Athletics

Above: Ellie Halstead winningthe 100m

Left: George Beal, whorepresented Shropshire in the

Shot Put

Lower School pupils practising their starts


151

School Tennis

U15 and U14 School TennisA mixture of Academy Players and School Players, the U14 and U15 teams have had an excellent Tennis term, havingwon most of their matches. The U15s had an unbeaten season and the U14s lost only one match. Combining theAcademy players with the school players has strengthened our teams and increased the players’ experience of matchplay. The term has seen good victories against Moreton Hall, Denstone College and Oswestry School.

The U15s won the the North Shropshire Doubles Tournament and Kate Norman also represented North Shropshirein the U15 Singles Tournament and reached the quarter finals but just narrowly lost to the eventual winner.

On Wednesday afternoons the U14 and U15 squad visited the Welti Tennis Centre with Mrs Davenport and MrsGriffiths.This proved to be useful as we were able to use their extensive facilities. The girls were a delight to coachand we all had a lot of fun mixed in with hard work.

Squad: (Girls) Andrews M, Brooks A, Carr S, Clarke HL, Goodwin T, Jones H, Jones O, Halstead E, Morris A,Norman K, Ottaway G, Parry K, Sheldon S, Sutcliffe E, Venner M (Boys) Arnold MR, Beswick CJ, Faulkner MJ,

Freutzen GG, Ziegenhain LV.

Lower School TennisU13 Tennis

This was another promising team withgood individual players backed up by theexperience of some of the Academyplayers of Catriona Jones and ChloeHughes. Match results were excellent withgood wins over Oswestry School andRydal Penrhos. Unfortunately, the U13North Shropshire Tennis Tournament wascancelled but Georgia Edwardsrepresented North Shropshire in the U13Shropshire Singles Tournament andreached the quarter-finals.

Squad: (Girls) Burrows MJ, Edwards GB,Jackson SA, Jones CR, Chloe Hughes,Pritchard SE, Williams ED (Boys) GwiltOWT, Hall EJ, Powell DR.


152

U12 School Tennis

The U12s played some good tennis anddeveloped as the term progressed. There weregood wins against Rydal Penrhos and OswestrySchool. Anna Collard Underwood and Tilly Walkerrepresented North Shropshire in the U13Shropshire Singles Tournament and Tilly reachedthe quarter-finals.

HLD

Squad: Anna Collard Underwood, Tilly Walker,Taylor Arnold, Jess Martin Jones, JessicaOldham, Amy Latham, Sophie Austin

U11 and U10 Tennis

All the girls from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6represented Ellesmere in matches againstMoreton Hall, competing at their ownrespective standard of play. It was anenjoyable afternoon of tennis with all girlsable to play, and the final score wasEllesmere 206 Points to Moreton Hall’s 150points.HLD


153

The Reffell Open Tennis Tournament

Once again thirty-two mixed pairs, staff and pupils(except in one case), men and women assembled oncourt on the last night of the Summer Term for the ninthyear in a row.

Head Boy Freddie Herzog nervously paired up with MrsHoy (when she finally arrived!) whilst Head Girl, BeckyBritton, once paired up with a no hoper, suddenly foundherself partnering Boys’ Tennis Captain FrediSteinebach, on his last night in school and with maternalsupport, fortunately not like Murray’s maternal support!Becky started laughing at approximately 5.45 and did notstop until 10pm-ish by which time she had confounded allher critics and sceptics by appearing in the final! Butmore of that later.

The first round sees each match played for 24 points andafter eight rounds the top four of each league go into theknock-out stages.There were some interesting pairings.For the first time we had two sets of twins playing, theEvans girls and the Lieberoth-Leden girls. Zoe Evans,obviously being punished for sins in a former life waspaired with Mr MacIntosh. Don’t worry, Zoe, next year willbe better. Mr MacIntosh basks in hisformer glory as a past finalist.However, like England’s World Cupwin in 1966, his glory seems to havebeen a one-off. He has neverreached the dizzy heights again,despite reassurances from him,usually sometime in mid-January,that this will be his year: “Just giveme a good partner.”

Dr Chatterjee was all smiles toowhen he realised he had been pickedwith Christina Lieberoth-Leden andso was Mr Cowley, partneringPatricia. Other stars faded. Whathappened to Mr Owen? Mr Morgan?Somewhere out on court, their brieflights were extinguished. Why wasthe tower of strength, AKA LawrenceWalters, playing as if he had neverheard of tennis before? Why couldn’tMrs Davenport tame Will Goodwin?Off the pairs would go in each round,ever hopeful, only to return tenminutes later, shaking their heads indisbelief: “Can I really play thatbadly?”

But there was one out there. ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’;‘The Deadly Assassin’;’The Smiler’ - call her what youwill (and many do) but Mrs Owen meant business. LloydHayes, under orders, talking tactics, out-staring theopponents, was Owen’s ideal partner. They cruised thefirst round, moved up a gear in the quarters, breezedthrough the semis. Now, back to Becky! Owen/Hayesfaced Becky and Fredi. The romantics among us urgedBecky and Fredi on. Mrs. Fredi sipped heavily on thePimms, Becky’s supporters became more vocal, Fredi

grunted louder and louder. But when the cat’s at thecream, there’s no stopping her. Owen and Hayes, withoutone drop of compassion in their cold blood, despatchedBecky and Fredi to history. So Sharon Owen won, hersecond triumph, and Lloyd Hayes won like his brotherRhys did two years ago.

Next year sees the 10th Open. We hope to see someformer stars return as well, of course, as the usual fishand chips, Pimms and cakes!HBO

Finalists (from left): Fredi Steinebach, Becky Britton, Lloyd Hayes and SheWho Must Be Obeyed, Mrs Sharon Owen

Well, he looks the part..... Mr Macintosh and Zoe Evans


Senior School House RugbyThe competition was played in near-perfect conditions,which allowed the following game of 10-a-side tofunction. There were some fantastic individual and teamskills on show and the spirit and determination of thesides should be commended. This year’s matches wereperhaps exemplified by the thrilling Senior final playedout between Woodard and Wakeman-Lambart. The leadin the match swung from one side to the other early on,then Woodard took control and pulled out a small lead. Inthe second half Wakeman-Lambart rallied and drew thescore-line to 17 - 22 with two minutes remaining.Woodard attacked but gave up possession, allowingGeorge Hymes to attack the line with only one man tobeat. There was a fantastic chase from Andy Coubrough,who finally caught Hymes only metres from the line andthus saved the match for Woodard.

ResultsSeniors1st Woodard

(Woodard 22 - Wakeman-Lambart 17)2nd Wakeman-Lambart3rd Meynell4th Talbot

Inters1st Meynell

(Meynell 24 – Wakeman-Lambart 7)2nd Wakeman-Lambart3rd Woodard4th Talbot

Juniors1st Meynell

(Meynell 41 – Talbot 15)2nd Talbot3rd Woodard4th Wakeman-Lambart

Lower School House RugbyIn what were very difficult, windy conditions the HouseRugby was played out in great fashion. All the matcheswere played with great spirit and the score-lines reflectedhow competitive all the teams were. In the first matchHeywood defeated Phillips 12 - 5. At half time it wasvery close, with Phillips claiming a late try, but Heywoodrallied in the second half to claim the victory. Phillipswent one better in their second game against Brownlow,winning 12 - 0. Unfortunately Brownlow had to face thedominant Heywood in the last encounter, but put up anexcellent fight. They lost 14 - 0. Heywood ended upChampions but had been pushed all the way by the othertwo Houses.

Results1st Heywood2nd Phillips3rd Brownlow

Senior House FootballAll four Houses fielded a Senior team, made up of pupilsin Years 11 to 13, and a Junior team of Years 9 and 10pupils.

Results

Seniors

1st Wakeman-Lambart 9 pts2nd Talbot 6 pts3rd Meynell 3 pts4th Woodard 0 pts

Juniors

1st Meynell 7 pts2nd Woodard 5 pts3rd Wakeman-Lambart 4 pts4th Talbot 0 pts

Lower School House Football

Each House fielded an A and a B team. The competitionwas very tight and it all came down to goal difference atthe end. In the A competition each team won and lost amatch and all three had the same goals for and against.However, the B competition was won by Heywood asthey had a goal in hand over Phillips. Thus Heywoodwon overall.

Result

1st Heywood 7 pts2nd Phillips 7 pts3rd Brownlow 3 pts

Inter-House 6-a-side FootballIn the Junior competition Talbot dominated from the start,winning all three games and conceding only two goalsthroughout the competition. Meynell battled to keep intouch but the strong Talbot team proved difficult to beat.In the Senior matches the result was decided in the lastround, with three possible winners. Wakeman-Lambartmade sure of first place by winning their matchconvincingly against Meynell, who had to settle for thirdplace behind Talbot on goal difference.

The standard of football in this event is rising each yearand it was good to see the commitment andsportsmanship from the teams.

Results

Senior Boys

1st Wakeman-Lambart 9 pts2nd Talbot 3 pts3rd Meynell 3 pts4th Woodard 3 pts

Junior Boys

1st Talbot 9 pts2nd Meynell 6 pts3rd Wakeman-Lambart 3 pts4th Woodard 0 pts

154

Sport - House Competitions


155

Senior House NetballAgain this year, Houses entered A and B teams into theHouse Netball competition and the teams could consistof girls of any year. It proved to be a good competitionwith the standard in the A competition impressively high.The overall result had to be decided on goal difference,with Meynell just pipping Wakeman-Lambart for the title.

Results

A Teams

1st Wakeman-Lambart2nd Meynell3rd Woodard4th Talbot

B Teams

1st Meynell2nd Wakeman-Lambart3rd Talbot4th Woodard

Overall Results

1st Meynell2nd Wakeman-Lambart3rd Talbot 4th Woodard

Lower School House NetballU13 Competition

The U13 competition was highly competitive, with all ofthe matches being closely fought. Heywood did emergethe winners, but only just, by beating Phillips by just twogoals. All teams should be proud of their performances.

Results

1st Heywood2nd Brownlow3rd Phillips

U11 CompetitionThis year’s competition was dominated by Heywood whowon all of their matches quite convincingly. Neverthelessit was an enjoyable afternoon for all involved.

Results

1st Heywood2nd Brownlow3rd Phillips

House Volleyball 2010This year’s event was very close, with the top two teamsdrawing on points. Meynell won the event overall, as inthe encounter between them and Talbot they won twosets to one. Wakeman-Lambart managed to secure thirdplace having drawn with Woodard on points but beatingthem in the round robin stages.

Results

1st Meynell 3, 4, 12nd Talbot 1, 4, 33rd Wakeman-Lambart 1, 0, 34th Woodard 3, 0, 1

Inter-House Basketball 2010Congratulations to everyone who took part in theBasketball this year. The competition in both boys’ age-groups was extremely close. There was some excellentbasketball played, but the Senior side from Woodardexcelled and showed great poise when shooting.

Results

Senior Boys

1st Woodard2nd Meynell3rd Wakeman-Lambart4th Talbot

Junior Boys

1st Talbot2nd Woodard3rd Meynell4th Wakeman-Lambart

Junior Girls

1st Wakeman-Lambart 2nd Meynell (on shoot-out)3rd Woodard (on shoot-out)

Talbot - no team

There was no Senior Girls’ event due to Netball matches.

Senior School House Cross CountryResults

Juniors1st Talbot 414 pts2nd Woodard3rd Wakeman-Lambart 618 pts4th Meynell 658 pts

Individual winnersJunior Boy Sam Owen (Talbot)Junior Girl Annie Rogan (Woodard)

Inters1st Meynell 424 pts2nd Wakeman-Lambart 466 pts3rd Woodard 578 pts4th Talbot 704 pts

Individual winnersInters Boy George Cave (Meynell)Inters Girl Ella Walker (Wakeman-Lambart)

Seniors1st Talbot 413 pts2nd Wakeman-Lambart 473 pts3rd Woodard 489 pts4th Meynell 589 pts

Individual winnersSenior Boy Moritz Verleger (Woodard)Senior Girl Vivian Grudde (Wakeman-Lambart)

Overall1st Talbot2nd Wakeman-Lambart3rd Woodard4th Meynell


156

Merit Cup(awarded to House with most runners taking part)1st Wakeman-Lambart2nd Meynell3rd Woodard4th Talbot

Boys’ House HockeyDespite struggling to find fixtures for the Senior sideduring the Lent term, the House Hockey provided anexcellent finish to the term. There were some fineindividual and team performances from both Junior andSenior sides. Talbot proved the strongest on the Seniorevent, edging Woodard in the final by one goal.

Results

Seniors

1st Talbot2nd Woodard3rd Wakeman-Lambart 4th Meynell

Senior House Golf 2010We had perfect weather for the Senior House Golf thisyear. Sixteen players competed in a very even match.There was some excellent golf played, with some veryrespectable scores being posted, especially consideringthe difficult green conditions. Meynell ran out winnershelped by a superb round of 33 by Cameron Murdoch.This is the second-best score ever posted in thiscompetition. The battle for second place was very tight,with Talbot edging the result by only two shots.

ScoresName House Score

Cameron Murdoch Meynell 33Harrison Gwilt Wakeman-Lambart 41Grant Jones Meynell 42James Mcarthy Meynell 42Marcus Talbot 42Goetz Frentzen Talbot 42Patrick Wakeman-Lambart 43James Walker Talbot 43Ben Lingard-Lane Woodard 43Nick Haukohl Woodard 44Mark Mcbrien Wakeman-Lambart 45Angus Cross Meynell 45Javier Lopez Wakeman-Lambart 47James Webb Woodard 51Adam Brahim Talbot 56Euan Phillips Woodard Retired

Final Result

1st Meynell 117 pts2nd Talbot 127 pts3rd Wakeman-Lambart 129 pts4th Woodard 138 pts

Lower School House Golf 2010This year’s event was played in magnificent sunshine.We played over a shorter course of six holes. It wasgreat to see so many young golfers and their caddies outplaying. Best rounds of the day were shot by Oliver

Gwilt, 27, and Teddy Hall, 27, with Tom Sloan alsoposting a respectable 30.

Results

1st Brownlow 84 pts2nd Phillips 120 pts3rd Heywood 161 pts

Lower School Golf Open June 2010This year we were blessed with excellent conditions forthe Lower School Golf Open. Twelve golfers (withcaddies) battled it out for the coveted Open Trophy.There was some excellent golf played by the youngcompetitors. On a shortened six-hole course RichardLay, Jamie Thomas and Taylor Batson tied for secondplace with rounds of 32. The day was won by Teddy Hallwith a magnificent round of 23; he also nearly scored ahole-in-one on the sixth green.

Inter-House Tug O’ WarThe first ever (as far as we know) House Tug-o-War tookplace this Summer. In the semi-finals Woodard defeatedWakeman-Lambart by two pulls to nil and Meynell,having lost the first pull to Talbot, pulled back to win 2 -1. Third place was claimed by Talbot beating Wakeman-Lambart 2 - 0. In the final Woodard proved too strong andbeat Meynell 2 - 0.

Senior School House SwimmingResults

Boys

1st Talbot 56 pts2nd Woodard 48 pts3rd Wakeman-Lambart 32 pts4th Meynell 16 pts

Girls

1st Woodard 22 pts2nd Talbot 16 pts3rd Meynell 11 pts4th Wakeman-Lambart 2 pts

Overall

1st Talbot 72 pts2nd Woodard 70 pts3rd Wakeman-Lambart 34 pts4th Meynell 27 pts

Lower School Swimming GalasResults

Years 7 and 8 Boys1st Phillips 74 pts2nd Heywood 69 pts3rd Brownlow 35 pts

Years 7 and 8 Girls1st Phillips 54 pts2nd Heywood 42 pts3rd Brownlow 20 ptsOverall Result1st Phillips 128 pts2nd Heywood 111 pts3rd Brownlow 55 pts


157

Key Stage 2 Boys1st Phillips 32 pts2nd Heywood 28 pts3rd Brownlow 23 pts

Key Stage 2 Girls1st Phillips 19 pts2nd Heywood 18 pts3rd Brownlow 17 pts

Key Stage 2 Mixed Relays1st Phillips 16 pts2nd Heywood 14 pts3rd Brownlow 6 pts

Overall Result 1st Phillips 67 pts2nd Heywood 60 pts3rd Brownlow 46 pts

House Rugby Above, Meynell and Talbot battle it out in the airBelow, Wakeman-Lambart looking irresistableBelow right: Woodard on the attack against

Wakeman-Lambart

Above: Key Stage 2 Swimming GalaBelow: A happy bunch of runners in the Cross Coutry

Above: Girls’ House HockeyThe Talbot goalkeeper under pressure from Meynell


Ellesmere College Titans continue towards their goal ofbecoming a major force in British swimming. Just twoyears after setting up the Ellesmere College TitansSwimming Programme, and despite the relatively smallsize of the club, Titan swimmers have achievedremarkable success at County, Regional, National andInternational level. As a result, the Titans SwimmingProgramme is now attracting unprecedented interest inEllesmere College and its training regime from swimmersfrom all over the UK and beyond.

In the Age Group Long Course rankings (as at 20thAugust 2010), maintained by the sport’s governing body,the ASA, Titan swimmers held an incredible ten No 1 UKrankings. This was in addition to a multitude of high-placed West Midland and Shropshire Countyrankings.The competition season kicked off in Octoberwhen, after two hotly-contested qualifying rounds, theTitans reached the prestigious final of the North WestNational Arena League Division 2. Competing againsttwenty other teams from all over the North of England,the Titans achieved promotion for the second yearrunning and are now just one promotion away from thePremiership.

In December at a Level 1 Open Meet held at MillfieldSchool, Ellesmere College Titan swimmer DarrenMew smashed the British 50m Long Course Breaststrokerecord in a time of 0:27.42. The club achieved furthersuccess again at Millfield in April when Hector Pardoe,aged nine, captured the UK No 1 Age Group rankingpositions in the 200m Butterfly and the 200m, 400m &800m Freestyle. In February and March at the 2010Shropshire County Championships Titan swimmersliterally stormed to victory; gaining two overall bestswimmer trophies, smashing ten all-time County recordsand bringing home a medal haul of twenty-one IndividualGold, thirty-one Silver and twenty-six Bronze medals.James Wilson, Alfie Pardoe and Naomi Craig wereamongst those swimmers returning from theChampionships in possession of multiple medals.

In March, Titan swimmers Darren Mew, James Faureand Stacey Tadd all competed at the BritishChampionships held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. StaceyTadd, who also represents Bath University, won the Goldmedal in the 200m Breaststroke in a personal best timeof 2:29.66 – beating Olympic heroine Hannah Miley intosecond place, and securing herself a place at thisAutumn's Commonwealth Games, which are being heldin Delhi, India.

158

Sports - Academies

The Titans team out in force at the 2010 Shropshire County Championships

Darren Mew, British 50m Long Course Breastrokerecord-holder, with young Titans

The Mighty Titans


159

In June, Titan swimmers moved ontocompeting at the Midland Age Group & YouthChampionships which were held in Coventry.The competition includes the best swimmersfrom ten counties and eligibility is determinedby the achievement of qualifying times. TheTitans had ten swimmers reaching qualifyingstandard. Congratulations should go to thefollowing swimmers, who all reached thequalification standard: Alfie Pardoe (aged 11),James Wilson (aged 11), Naomi Craig (aged12), Elliot Hughes (aged 12), Hannah Greene(aged 12), Michael Doyle (aged 10), LucSebastian-Jarzynski (aged 11), JamesNorman (aged 19), Courtney Pickstone (aged17) and David Main (aged 17). Alfie Pardoe(Year 7), and James Wilson (Year 8), bothreached finals and James returned with sixGold medals. To top the year off James Wilsonreached finals at the British Gas National AgeGroup Championships, which were held in Julyat Ponds Forge International Pool in Sheffield;Darren Mew and James Faure both reachedfinals at the English National Championships,which were held in Sunderland in August; andStacey Tadd reached the final of the Women’s200m Breaststroke at the EuropeanChampionships in Budapest.

Throughout the year the club has added toboth its training facilities and its coachingresources. Swimmers now benefit from oversixteen hours per week of pool training, whichis dovetailed with dry-land Trixter X Biking,cross country running and regular Yogasessions. In addition the club continues itsregular weekly Long Course (50m pool)training time at Liverpool, and we have fromtime to time been joined by leading experts innutrition, hydration, aqua-running, and corestability and strength training.

In September 2009 the Titans JuniorDevelopment Squad was launched (for verypromising 9 - 11 year- olds). Both this and theCompetitive Training Squad are nowfunctioning at capacity.

What has been achieved in our second yearreflects the ambition, hard work,determination and, above all, vision ofeveryone at the club. This is a positive go-getting training environment for positive go-getting swimmers. I am extremely proud ofeveryone who has committed their time andeffort to follow their dreams. So it’s onwardsand upwards to the new swimming season –a season in which the Titans will doeverything possible to achieve their goals.One of the club’s mottos is “Think Big…WinBig”. The Titans are already “Thinking Bigger”and intend to “Win Bigger”.

Jon PardoeHead Coach

The ‘usual suspects’ in mean mood - after securing promotion tothe National Arena League First Division

Titans in training

Celebrating the medal haul at the Liverpool Open Meet


160

The main aim for the Academy this year was to developthe players we had at the College, with a view to beingmore mentally prepared on the field of play.

Throughout the closed season,players had access to one-to-one coaching, personal fitnesstraining and advice on how toprepare mentally for matchdays. Personally I don't thinkenough time is spent in thisarea, compared with the timetraditionally given to nets orphysical training. It is a matter ofstriking the right balance.During the season thisapproach began to prove itself,with Will Doerr and DavidPowell demonstrating twice thatthey could put on partnershipsof over a hundred. JordanEvans, too, batted for longperiods of the game, scoringtwo centuries. Our bowlingbecame more consistent in lineand length. This was reflectedin team performancesthroughout the College agerange.

Another area on which theAcademy is focusing is Girls’Cricket. Regular trainingsessions during lunch breakshave been set up and arecontinuing throughout the year.Alongside that the girls havebeen involved in matchesagainst local primary schools togive them the experience ofplaying the game. With this inmind, for the second yearrunning the National ClubFestival was held at the College.Although the day was too wet toplay outside we still managedto play indoors, and twoEngland women players, JennyGunn and Katie Brunt, camealong to support the event. Twodays later the College held theNational County semi-finals, atwhich Kent, Wales, Lancashireand Yorkshire staged anexciting day's play. The ECBnow recognises the College asa superb venue and intends tohost National and Districttraining as well as matcheshere. There will therefore be abig emphasis on developingGirls’ Cricket for the future.

We are again grateful to AdamShantry from GlamorganCC, who visited the Open Day and helped out with atraining session. He also gave an in-depth interview onwhat it takes to be a First Class cricketer in the modernera. The Academy boys also visited Worcestershire CCduring Expeditions to watch a four-day game. This was

invaluable as it gave an insight into what goes onduring the day's play and, importantly, how long thegame lasts, hence the necessity for preparing mentally

for long sessions.

Links with Scindia School(India) and Western Province(South Africa) are still strong.Two players from ScindiaSchool, Ranuak Jain andPiyush Mittal, and JamesWilliams from Cape Town allexperienced playing cricket overhere. On the back of thatJordan Evans, Cricket Scholarand our Captain for the last twoyears, has now gone over toSouth Africa for six months toplay cricket. We wish him all thebest and hope the experience ofplaying over there will be oflasting value.

Two young cricketers, WilliamDoerr and David Powell, havehad a very good season as anopening partnership for the U13Cricket team. On two occasionsthey have made over 100 runsbefore the first wicket of theinnings has fallen. The mostimportant of the two inningswas against North West Wales,which is a representative side.This was a great achievementagainst good quality bowling.For such young boys theydisplayed an extremely highlevel of concentration, gooddecision-making and confidentstroke play at the approriatetimes. This is a very goodexample of what can beachieved if one is prepared towork hard at developing goodbatting technique.

Another talented youngcricketer from the EllesmereCollege Cricket Academy hasrecently been named NorthEast Wales Young Player of theYear. Dewi Jones, who joinedthe School in Year 10 as a dayboy, was previously a pupil ofYsgol Morgan Llwyd School inWrexham. Whilst continuing toplay for Brymbo Cricket Club,he also is an Ellesmere CollegeCricket Academy Scholar. As asuccessful batsman, with anaverage score of 63, Dewirepresents North East Wales atRegional level and Wales atNational level.

Another year, another Kwik Cricket Festival for youngcricketers, once again played in glorious weather. Sixschools and eight teams played in two groups;Cockshutt, Ellesmere Primary A and B, Criftens,

Ellesmere College Cricket Academy

Above: William Doerr and David Powell withtheir record-breaking first-wicket partnership

Below: Dewi Jones, North East Wales YoungPlayer of the Year


161

Welshampton, Myddle A and B andIfton Heath. The winners of Group A,Ellesmere Primary A XI, then playedthe runners-up of Group B, whichturned out to be Ellesmere B XI. Itproved to be the most exciting game ofthe festival, with Ellesmere As winningoff the last ball. The other group wascontested between Ifton Heath andCriftens, the latter winning. They wenton to be runners-up to Ellesmere A XIin the final. They went forward torepresent the North Shropshire areain June. Everyone enjoyed the day,with teachers getting involved eitherscoring or umpiring. This is for sometheir first attempt at playing cricket.We hopeful they will now go on to playfor local clubs.My thanks must go to all the supportstaff who made the season sosuccessful.Rod Jones, Director

The Kwik Cricket Festival, for teams from local primary schools

Ellesmere College Tennis AcademyThe Academy has again grown in strength andnumbers this year. Our results were the best ever andthe programme even busier. We had an expedition toa Tennis Academy in Spain last October, a day at Weltiin March and a Summer expedition to Middlesexwhere we worked with a fabulous team of coaches andplayers.

We have now reached every National final in the girls’game in this last twelve months, and are well on theway this season already; and the Year 8 boys havequalified for the Regional finals for the first time.

We have introduced a programme from Bath TennisAcademy to structure our strength and conditioningtraining, and have a National coach who visits us oncea month to add variety to the programme.

This year we have set up a Mini-Tennis DevelopmentGroup, which seems to have made a very good start.We still have our connections with Welti to help withour performance programme. Maybe the coming yearwill be our year for a National Championship!

Aegon League

The Years 8 and 10 Girls’ teams qualified for theRegional Finals of the Aegon League, following sixsuccessful County rounds and two MidlandsRegional knock-out rounds. We then travelled toNottingham Tennis Centre for the Regional Finals inmid-November, in which both teams triumphed,taking us to the National Finals in Dee. The Year 10team comprised Jo Bowen, Hannah Clarke, KateNorman and Emily Sutcliffe. The Year 8 teamcomprised Chloe Hughes, Catriona Jones, HarrietJones and Olivia Jones.

Winning Aegon League TeamsTop right: Year 8s Olivia Jones, Harriet Jones,

Catriona Jones and Chloe Hughes

Right: Year 10s Jo Bowen, Emily Sutcliffe,Hannah Clarke and Kate Norman


162

Aberdare Cup

Both U19 Girls’ teams had a good run in the Aberdare Cup this season. The A team squad of Jo Bowen in Year 11,Hannah Clarke in Year 10 and twins Harriet and Olivia Jones in Year 9 won all twelve sets in their matches againstThe Grange School and Rydal Penrhos. In the Regional Final they played Lymm High School in a long and very closematch which in the end they lost. The B team of Emily Sutcliffe in Year 10, twins Christina and Patricia Lieberoth-Leden, and Anabel Koldijk, all in Year 12, knocked out Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury High Schoolbefore losing to Lymm High School in the semi-final.

Glanville CupThe U19 Boys’ squad of James Joule and Toby Blake in Year 13, Fredi Steinebach in Year 12 and Christian Cieslik inYear 11 also made good progress in their National competition. We travelled to Idsall School knowing that we weretwo wins away from a possible joint trip to the National Finals with their female counterparts. We defeated Idsall butthen lost in the semi-final to Wolverhampton Grammar School.

National Tennis Finals at Bolton Arena

At the end of April a mixed squad and a girls’ team travelled to the Senior StudentsNational Finals in Bolton. The Girls’ team was faced with a baptism of fire in the firstof their three matches, coming up against the top seeds and eventual Championsfrom Culford School. However, they came agonisingly close to a major upset asthey took Culford to a match tie-break. The girls recovered well from thisdisappointment, recording convincing victories againstBenenden and Peter Symmonds College to secure thirdplace overall in the eight-team event. Jo Bowen andChristian Cieslik from Year 11 played alongside PatriciaLieberoth-Leden from Year 12 and James Joule fromYear 13 in the Mixed Doubles team. They played verywell and qualified for the final thanks to excellentperformances against Boston Grammar School andGreenhead College. However, despite a battling display,the effort of playing fourteen sets in little more than twodays took its toll. In the final, the quartet slipped to anarrow defeat against Queen Mary’s College. Havingperformed creditably at this tournament last year, itwas very pleasing to see how our standard hadimproved sufficiently to be so close to securing twochampionships this year.

Welti U18 Open Tournament

This is an LTA-recognised event which attracts theleading young players in the region. The achievementof Jo Bowen in winning the title was all the moreimpressive because, at sixteen, she was one of theyoungest competitors in the tournament. She endureda marathon semi-final and still had the tenacity andstrength of character to come through an equally longfinal against an opponent whom she had not beaten infifteen previous attempts.Nikki Hoy, Director

Aberdare Cup TeamsLeft: The A Team of Jo Bowen, Hannah Clarke, Harriet Jones and Olivia Jones

Right: The B Team of Emily Sutcliffe, Patricia Lieberoth-Leden, Anabel Koldijk and Christina Lieberoth-Leden

Above: Second in theNational Finals, theMixed Doubles TeamofJames Joule, JoBowen, Patricia

Lieberoth-Leden andChristian CieslikRight: Welti U18

Champion Jo Bowen


The Ellesmere College Parents’ Society organises socialevents to be enjoyed by parents, staff, children andfriends of the College. Numbers have grown during2010, with a steady flow of new parents being welcomedto its monthly meetings. The last twelve months haveseen a variety of well-supported social events for parentsand families, and whilst the participants were enjoyingeach other’s company the events collectively produced asurplus of funds which has been re-invested in theschool as well as being donated to charities. LowerSchool has received, as well as support for the WildlifeGarden, an activity centre purchased by the Parents’Society for the enjoyment of Lower School pupils.

At the 2010 Annual General Meeting of theEllesmere College Parents’ Society a newChairman was elected. Sue Dewhirst relinquishedthe reins to Sena Parry, last year’s Vice Chairman.Sena, who is mother to Kate in Year 10, becameinvolved with the Parents’ Society in 2007, initiallyhelping out at events and gradually becomingmore involved with the Committee with theintention of getting to know the other parents andfamilies. She decided to accept the role asChairman with the aim of developing further thesocial side of the Society and encouraging moreparents and families to become involved.

Quiz NightThis year the Quiz and Chilli night was held in theArts Centre in March and was again a greatsuccess with over sixty-five quizzers taking part.This year’s champions were one of the College’sTeachers’ Teams - no surprises there! Thank youto exceptional Bar Staff Mr & Mrs NigelLeadbeater for their stalwart service on the night.

Parents’ Society Christmas Tree

As part of their ongoing support to projects around theschool, the Parents’ Society agreed to fund thepurchase of a new Christmas tree to be planted on thelawn opposite the School Library. Members of theParents’ Society were invited to join representativesfrom Year 6 and the Sixth Form Prefect body to plant thetree. The School Chaplain, Father David Slim,performed a short dedication, followed by the planting ofa time capsule by the Lower School pupils. Items

163

Parents’ Society

Sena Parry, new Chairman of the EC Parents’ Society,

with daughter Kate

Sue Dewhirst, previous Chairman, planting theChristmas Tree

The Parents’ Society CommitteeFrom left, standing: Zoe Walker, Helen Ainge, Denise Murdoch,

Ann Austin, Sena Parry (Chairman), Mary McCarthy, Sue Hamilton, Sue Dewhirst

From left, sitting: Anne Wignall, Amanda Venner, Carole Main


164

depicting life at Ellesmere College had been collected bythe pupils as part of the commemorative activities tomark the 10th Anniversary of Lower School. TheParents’ Society are always looking for ways to enhancethe enjoyment of the pupils’ life at the College and it wasparticularly pleasing this year to contribute to thewonderful atmosphere that pervades the whole school atChristmas time. The Christmas tree was lit for the firsttime, as the Lower School Choir sang, during the secondInternational Christmas Market in aid of Hope House.Parent Society representatives were again present tohelp serve the refreshments during this event.

125th Anniversary Christmas BallThanks to much preparation by members of the Parents’Society Committee, two hundred and twenty parents andtheir guests enjoyed the annual Parents’ Society Ball,with the theme of ‘Money, Money Money’, during theChristmas holidays. Following a drinks reception held in

Ante-School and Ante-Chapel, everyoneproceeded up the stairs to the DiningHall, which looked enchanting with itsdecorated lining and beautifully preparedcandlelit tables. A delicious mealfollowed, prepared by the Shropshirecatering company, Roslin Caterers.Carvers were nominated for each table,and supplied with a chef’s hat and apron.During the meal Spanner in the Worksentertained guests with their anticsaround the Dining Hall. After thepresentation of raffle prizes, the band,Abba Arrival, began to play and dancingcontinued until the early hours. Guestsalso had the opportunity to try their luckat the casino arranged by members ofthe Whitchurch Round Table. Barservices were provided by the localcompany, Tipples.

Ballroom Dancing Master ClassMay 2010 brought Ballroom Dancingenthusiasts - parents, staff and 6th Formpupils - together for the first time on thedance floor, to learn the basics of the Waltzand the Cha Cha Cha. The evening wasenormous fun and enjoyed by all. Therewas a light buffet supper and cafe bar, tohelp with aching feet! Further sessions areplanned for next year. The chosen charity ofthe marvellous Dancing Instructors Mr & MrsRon Powell, ‘Riding for the Disabled’,benefitted from this event.

‘Neon Glow’ Disco for Years 7 & 8The Main hall in Lower School wastransformed into a Neon Disco for the twotop junior years, as they enjoyed a ‘rave’ inMay this year. There was a ‘happening’ DJ,delicious party food and enough neon glowsticks to light North Shropshire; theatmosphere was electric! Many thanks aredue to the very creative Mrs Sam Arnold andher team of volunteers for a wonderfulnight’s entertainment.Guests at the Parents’ Society Christmas Ball

Learning to waltz in good company

Pupils enjoying themselves at the Neon Glow Disco


165

Contributions to CharitiesThe Parents' Society contributes to a number of goodcauses during the year. One notable event this year wasthe Macmillan 'Biggest Coffee Morning', laid on in theArts Centre for parents and members of the localcommunity, and sponsored by The Body Shop at Home,which offered a variety of treatments to participants.Coffee and chocolates were donated by local businessesand there were stalls selling jewellery and cards. Theevent raised £550 for Macmillan Cancer Relief which,together with another cheque for £661 raised from aNon-Uniform Day, was presented to Claire Nestor,Shropshire Fundraising Manager for the charity.

Another charity which benefitted from Parents' Societyefforts was Self Unlimited, the charity supported byAndrew Collinge, OE, the speaker at last year's Ladies’Lunch. Sue Dewhirst, Michelle Potts and Carole Main,with Suzanne Bellis from Ellesmere College Enterprises,travelled to the flagship salon of Andrew CollingeHairdressing in Liverpool, to enjoy a wash and blow-dryand a glass of champagne. A cheque for £1500 waspresented to Joan McLarnon, Events Co-ordinator forSelf Unlimited. The very fortunate raffle prize winner forthe Andrew Collinge makeover was Mrs VanessaBateman, who looked amazing after her makeover.Without all the parents like Vanessa who purchasedraffle tickets, ECPS could not have raised the £1500.

Summer PicnicThe family picnic againfollowed Lower School SportsDay in June this year. ECPSwas pleased to host anevening of family fun thatincluded a delicious barbequeand salad buffet on theTerraces. Many of thechildren (and adventurousparents) took part in the Tug-O-War and the Bungee Run,while others enjoyed meetinga real Hollywood star -Scarlet, the wonder-pig fromNanny McPhee! Picnickersenjoyed shopping at the manystalls and watching thewonderful Dog Show, otherssimply relaxed with theirpicnics, watching the 1st XICricket match.

Ladies’ Summer Luncheon On 1st July, ECPS once again organised the now verypopular Ladies’ Luncheon, which has become anessential fixture in the local Shropshire social calendar.Over 240 guests enjoyed lunch on the College Terraces.Many local businesses came with stalls and guestsshopped before and after lunch. Our guest speaker wasEmma Wellings, Chief Stylist at ‘Style Our Souls’, whopreformed a live makeover on Mrs Anne Wignall & MrsCarole Main. The Ellesmere College Music Scholarsprovided an amazing line-up of talent to entertain guestsduring lunch and ECPS thanked them by donating fundsto ‘The Peter Messenger Memorial Scholarship’. Theraffle raised funds for ‘Age Concern’ and many wonderfulprizes were donated by the local companies present.The Committee is grateful to all ECPS members andvolunteers.

Parents’ Society FundraisingLeft, from left: Michelle Potts, Sue Dewhirst, SuzanneBellis, Carol Main, Joan McLarnon from Self Unlimited

and Andrew CollingeBelow, from left: Josh Boswell representing the pupils,Sena Parry (Chairman), Claire Nestor of MacmillanCancer Relief, Sue Dewhirst and Michelle Potts

Ladies’ Lunch guests listening to speaker Emma Wellings in the marquee


Message from the President

Half-way through my Presidency I feel it is time to reflecton the College, the OE Club and the year to date. TheCollege goes from strength to strength, with continuinghigh numbers of pupils despite the current downturn.Results, be they academic or sporting, are impressivewhilst activities such as drama continue to thrive. All ofthese aspects point to a happy and balancedenvironment where young people can develop to their fullpotential. In this respect it seems that nothing haschanged from the days when I entered Zoo (JuniorSchool) in 1946, subsequently spending nine very happyyears at the College, before leaving in 1955 having beena member of the now infamous 5C brigade.

The OE Club continues to thrive and it is very pleasing tosee the influx of younger members to the Executive,including Mel Halstead and Siobhan Connor. Also joiningin May 2010 was David Bradley, who is now taking overthe Chairmanship of the West Midlands. The newdiversity of the Executive reflects the changes in theCollege over the past twenty years or so and will ensurethat the club expands and meets the challenges facing it.The appointment of Nick Pettingale as the CollegeDevelopment Director, together his PA, Lesley Farrar, hasbeen invaluable to both the school and the Club over thelast twelve months. They are always supportive andhelpful in the many areas where we need their servicesand fill superbly the administrative void that always lurksin voluntary organisations.

The OE Club continues to support the College in manyand varied ways. As I write, a new tiled floor is beinginstalled in Founders Gate which features the Raven andrepresents the latest phase in our involvement in therefurbishment of this area. In addition, two new boardswill shortly be erected in Big School listing Headmastersand Custodes. Support has not been limited to‘hardware’ and the Club has sponsored a number of ex-pupils in their endeavours in sporting and research fields.

The Summer Festival, which was held in earlySeptember, was a great success thanks to thegood weather, but I must say that the turnout wasdisappointing and we must work even harder toencourage members to return for events such asthese. Our thanks must go to Paul Russell, NickPettingale and Lesley Farrar for all the work thatthey did to make the event so enjoyable. RichardMorris should also be congratulated for organisingthe sports side.

Turning to the more social aspects of Club life Ihave attended the Liverpool Dinner at HeswallGolf Club, the Jersey Dinner at the GreenhillsHotel, and the Manchester Dinner atStanneylands Hotel. All the events have beenwell supported, in particular Manchester, whichattracted seventy-eight members. It is also goodto see younger OEs organising their own socialevents and it is important that these are supportedby the Club and integrated into the overallcalendar of events.

At the Manchester Dinner it was with regret that Ihad to announce that David Swinn was steppingdown as Chairman after serving in his capacity asSecretary and Chairman since 1981. Certainlytwenty-nine years is an incredible time for anyoneto have worked with the Club. As a token of our

appreciation, he was presented with a case of wine, andhis wife Eleanor with a bouquet of flowers.

Finally, I look forward to playing my part at theRemembrance Service and attending the remainder ofthe Dinners at Wolfscastle and Shifnal.Ian Johnston

The Frank Sutterby LegacyThanks to a bequest from Frank Sutterby, retired memberof the Common Room, both students and staff can nowenjoy and benefit from a state-of-the-art gym and fitnesssuite. The College is very grateful for the generosity ofthe Sutterby family and acknowledge their gift withthanks.

166

Old Ellesmerians

Ian Johnston, OE President, with Mel Halstead (left) and Siobhan Connor

Hugh Wignall (left) and Max Deighton Winter makinguse of some of the fitness equipment purchased with

Frank Sutterby’s bequest


Gold Awards for 2009 Leavers

167

Honorary OEsEight members of the support staff with over twohundred and sixty years of service between them,and four members of the Common Room with onehundred and fourteen years between them (andstill counting, in some cases) have been awardedHonorary Membership of the Old EllesmerianClub. The presentations were made by JohnHarvey, then President, and Richard Morris,Chairman.

The support staff thus honoured were CarolThompson, Headmaster’s Secretary; Sue Hinks,Housekeeper; Brian Davies, a member of theMaintenance Team; Chris Jones, Plumber; AnneKnowles, School Shop Manager; Ian Morris, HeadGroundsman; Keith Tomkins, Assistant CateringManager; and Lydia Tabbron, House Mother andmore recently Receptionist. The Common Roomstaff honoured were Ros McCarthy, who retiredthis Summer after twenty-one years of teachingand, latterly, managing the Support forLearning Department; Terry Howitt-Dring, who began teaching atEllesmere in 1970 and who, as well asrunning the Design Department, wasresponsible for the organisation ofExternal Examinations; MikeSampson, currently Deputy Head(Pastoral), but who will be rememberedby most OEs as Housemaster ofMeynell and Rugby coach (he stillcoaches the U15As); and PaulGoodwin, erstwhile Head of PE andcurrently Director of Admissions, whostill coaches the 1st XV Rugby.

From left: Brian Davies, Ian Morris,Lydia Tabbron, Sue Hinks, John Harvey(former President), Anne Knowles,Carol Thompson, Keith Tomkins and

Chris Jones

From left: Mike Sampson, Paul Goodwin, Ros McCarthy,Richard Morris (OE Chairman) and Terry Howitt-Dring

From left: Emma Johnson, Pippa Sole andElizabeth Boffey with their Duke of Edinburgh Gold

Awards at Buckingham Palace

OEs Return to Help OutThe CCF regularly welcomes back OEs to help out with itsactivities. This year Beth Clewlow and Chris Green stepped inat the last minute when there was an unexpected staff shortageat the Army Summer Camp at Crowborough.

Beth Clewlow and Chris Green assisting at Summer Camp


168

Cover StoriesEmma Snow (St Oswald's 1995-1997)

Emma graduated with a Masters degree in Chemistry from Jesus College, Oxford, in 2001.Since training as a chartered accountant at a charity specialist City firm, she has workedfor a number of charities and social enterprises, including international developmentcharity Plan and Workers Beer Company, a fundraising organisation running the bars atmajor festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds. She is currently Director ofFinance and Administration at the Refugee Council, the national umbrella charity forrefugees. Meanwhile, outside work, Emma completed a BA in Fine Art at Chelsea Collegeof Art and Design in 2008 and exhibits around London. She is also a trustee of humanrights charity Anti-Slavery International. She got married in January this year.

Kathleen Benner (Talbot 2005-2006)Kate Benner graduated this year from Princeton University with a degree in Public Policy.She has moved to Washington, DC to work for the Office of the United States TradeRepresentative, which is a part of the Executive Office of the President and serves suchpurposes as advising the President on trade, monitoring the fulfillment of trade agreementsand participating in trade negotiations. In particular, she spends her time as a member ofthe Office of the General Counsel, where she assists the General Counsel and otherlawyers and is deciding whether to pursue a degree in Law herself.

Robert Kelsall ( Wakeman 1980-1984)Robert Kelsall left Ellesmere and followed his dream to travel and work in hotels. Havingstudied Hotel Management in Brighton, and after various stints in multiple locations inScotland, England and Wales, he was transferred to Jakarta in 1995. He subsequentlymarried an Irish woman, adopted two beautiful Indonesian kids, and in 1999 moved withhis family to Bali where he has since built his home. He is now Vice President ofOperations for Prime Plaza Hotels and Resorts and also manages the Bali Dynasty Resort.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Lock OBE MA Royal Welsh (Lambert 1979-1984)

Nick Lock left Ellesmere in 1984 to study History and Archaeologyat Bangor University. Whilst at Bangor he joined the TerritorialArmy and met his future wife, Sarah. In 1989 he joined the 1stBattalion,The Royal Welch Fusiliers. Tours of duty followed inNorthern Ireland, Berlin (where he was the Battalion duty officerthe night the Berlin Wall fell), New Zealand, Norway and England.He was Operations Officer for the Battalion’s United Nations tourof duty in Bosnia in 1995 where it fought prolonged engagementswith the Bosnian Serb Army in the eastern enclave of Gorazde.Following a number of staff jobs he returned to the 1st Battalionas a Company Commander in 2002. During his command hisCompany exercised in Canada, fought fires in London during thefire strikes and deployed on operations to Iraq in 2004 during theAl-Sadr uprisings. Moving to Germany for a three-year tour of dutyin 2005, he deployed on an operational tour in Kabul, Afghanistan.He assumed command of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh,(The Royal Welch Fusiliers) based at the Dale Barracks Chester,in August 2008. The Battalion deployed to Helmand Provence inDecember 2009 as the Aviation Assault Battlegroup where,

commanding a Combined Force of Afghan, French and Estonian forces, it was the principle force element forOperation MOSHTARAK, the largest Aviation Assault Operation since the first Gulf War. On its return fromAfghanistan Her Majesty The Queen presented Campaign Medals to the Battalion at Chester Racecourse. Nick hasbeen married to Sarah for eighteen years and they have one son, Jack who is eleven.

Nigel Spurr (Woodard 1965-1969)Nigel completed his PhD in human cancer genetics in 1984 and then went on to run hisown laboratory group at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund for over twenty years,ending up as Professor of Cancer Genetics at Leeds University. He then moved to thepharmaceutical industry and has spent the past fifteen years working on understandinghow patients react to different drugs and developing medicines based on thisunderstanding. Much of his time is spent travelling between Switzerland, and his homein Somerset, where he tends his acre of garden and tries to stop the marauding hoardsof rabbits, badgers, pigeons, moles and other pests from getting to the produce beforehe does!


169

Where Are They Now?

Dave Blakeman (Lambert,1977-1982)

After leaving Ellesmere in 1982, Dave received aMaster’s degree at UMIST in softwareengineering. He later worked in Italy beforesetting up his own software business in 1996.His business now also has an office in Michigan,and last year he was invited to Downing Streetfor his export activities. He is married, toCaroline, with a teenage daughter, Sarah.

Oliver Condy (Wakeman, 1988-1993)

Oliver has spent the last six years as the editor ofBBC Music Magazine and currently lives in Bristol.His work allows him the privilege of interviewingthe world's greatest classical music artists (he'spictured here with the late conductor Sir CharlesMackerras) and makes an appearance from time totime on radio and TV, recently learning the trumpetfor a Radio 4 audio diary. Appearing, though, on'Piers Morgan's Life Stories' in October issomething he'd like to forget... Oliver still plays theorgan and gives a couple of recitals every year,most recently in Norfolk which was attended bynone other than Mark Jones, former assistantdirector of music at Ellesmere and Oliver's firstorgan teacher.

Sir Noel Davies (Talbot ‘44)

Sir Noel’s career began with an engineeringapprenticeship with Austin at Longbridge; fromthere he won a Technical State Scholarship toImperial College and studied MechanicalEngineering. He joined Vickers, the shipbuilders,and became their Chief Engineer for theconstruction of the first British nuclear submarinepropulsion plant at the age of 29. He worked forVickers for forty years, rising to be Company ChiefExecutive in 1989, leading the team building theTrident nuclear submarines. He was President ofthe Engineering Employers Federation in itscentenary year, 1998. He is now retired.


170

Alan Halsall (Meynell 1966-1972)

After leaving the College, Alan qualified as alawyer. He subsequently took over control of thefamily Toy Company where he stayed until 2006,when the company was sold to the management.In 2002 he purchased out of AdministrationSilver Cross, the famous Pram Company, andhas been Chairman and sole shareholder since2006. The company now supplies nurseryproducts in about twenty-six countries worldwideand is the only pram manufacturer left in the UK.He has just finished producing a book on theSilver Cross brand, which sells on the websitesilvercross.co.uk.

William Hart (Woodard 1985-1989)

William qualified with a degree in Medicine fromLondon and worked in London, Bristol andOxford whilst completing his basic surgicaltraining. He then returned to Shropshire tocomplete his specialist surgical training at theOrthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. (The onlyprevious time he had been there was after arugby injury folllowing a match with the U14s.)After a further period learning specialisttechniques for joint replacement surgery inNorth America and Canada William returned tothe UK and settled into a ConsultantOrthopaedic Surgery post at New CrossHospital in Wolverhampton whilst alsoconsulting privately in Wolverhampton andShrewsbury.

Linden Hutchinson (Meynell 1989-1997)

Linden gained a First in IT and BusinessManagement from York University. On graduationhe joined Tata Consultancy Services as aConsultant, working in Leeds after initial training inMumbai. In 2005 he joined Accenture, workinginitially on a project in Newcastle and commuting atweekends to Nottingham, where his girlfriend Helenwas studying for her Doctorate. He and Helenmarried in 2008. He is currently a Project Managerwith Accenture, based in London and living inSussex. Recently he has fulfilled an ambition tostudy History by taking on a part-time postgraduatecourse at Oxford University, which he is very muchenjoying.


171

Alastair Keeble (Woodard 2002-2007)

Alastair enjoyed many activities in the CCF, whichcertainly fuelled the taste for military adventure,and in December 2007 following a series ofinterviews he passed the physical Potential RoyalMarine Recruit tests. In February 2008, along withfifty-two other recruits, his gruelling thirty-four-week training started at the Commando TrainingCentre in Lympstone, Devon. He was finally“passed for duty” in November 2008, with onlythirteen colleagues left of the original group.

He is now based in Taunton, Somerset with 40Commando RM. He has served in Cyprus, Turkey,Malaysia, and Brunei, where he completed eightweeks of jungle warfare training. He was deployedto Afghanistan during the early part of 2010.

Nicholas Jones (Lambert 1976-1978)

After leaving Ellesmere Nick joined the familybusiness, prior to graduating from college inLondon. After meeting Karen, an American onholiday in London, Nick relocated to the UnitedStates to work in IT for GE. In 1994 he settled inAtlanta with Karen, now his wife, and their twochildren, subsequently graduating with an MBAfrom Liverpool University. He continues to work inIT, as Quality Assurance Director -Implementation and Compliance, for GlobalPayments, an International payment processingcompany. In September, Nick was proud tobecome a dual citizen of both the US and the UKat a ceremony held at the Georgia Capitolbuilding. Nick wears his recently-acquiredEllesmere College cuff-links with great pride.

David Massey (Meynell 1992-1997)

Just as Barack Obama told the United States,“Our destiny isn’t written for us - it’s written byus”, David set out to have a career in tennisafter completing a four-year degree at theUniversity of Bristol. Starting as nothing morethan an unpaid intern for ATP, the governingbody of men's professional tennis, David isnow Vice President of ATP Europe. Based inthe Principality of Monaco, ATP Europeserves as the European headquarters for theATP World Tour featuring sixty-twotournaments in thirty-one countries.


172

Mike McMahon (Wakeman 1974 -1979)

Mike went straight from Ellesmere to the RoyalMilitary Academy, Sandhurst; quite a culture shock!During a career spanning twenty-six years he servedin Northern Ireland, Germany, The Balkans, SierraLeone, Liberia and Afghanistan, and reached therank of Colonel. In late 2006 he joined the AustralianArmy as a Lieutenant Colonel for a complete changeof scenery. Based in Sydney for the first couple ofyears, he spent some time in Iraq, Kuwait andAfghanistan (again!). Far more importantly, he metAndrea (an officer in the Army’s Band Corps) andthey were married in Melbourne in March 2009.During that year Mike’s responsibilities includedassisting with the response to the worst bushfires inliving memory. Mike was promoted to Colonel at theend of 2009. He and Andrea are now settled in theirown home in Melbourne and are immersed in sport,culture and the arts.

Robert Napier (Talbot 1974-1979)

When Bob Napier left Ellesmere he went tostudy English Literature and Politics at OxfordPolytechnic. Commissioned into the RoyalArtillery in 1984, he is currently a LieutenantColonel on loan service as an Instructor at theJoint Command and Staff College in Kuwait.During his service he was in Kuwait during itsliberation in 1991, Northern Ireland in 1992,Bosnia in 1995 and 1996, Kosovo in 1999, Iraqin 2003 and Afghanistan in 2007. Having spentonly four years in the UK in the last twenty-six,he has also been posted around Germany,Holland and Valencia in Spain.

Richard Sampson (Meynell 1997-2002)

Richard read Law at the University of Exeter andinitially worked as a Legal Secretary with Paul Harfitt& Co in Wem. He then gained a place at the Inns ofCourt School of Law in London to follow his ambitionof studying for the Bar. Graduating and being calledto the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 2007 he went on to workas Clerk to The Rt Hon Lord Justice Leveson (at thattime Senior Presiding Judge for England andWales), visiting courts and compiling the Judge’sreport for the Lord Chancellor as well as the leadingmembers of the Judiciary. He was encouraged bythe Judge to apply for a post as a Legal Adviserwithin Her Majesty’s Courts Service and wasaccepted for a traineeship at Croydon Magistrates’Court. Richard secured his current post as a pupilbarrister at Blackfriars Chambers in London in 2010.He is Chairman of the London OE Club.

NSPrint 01939 232796Designed & Printed by

OLD ELLESMERIAN cLub

As a former pupil of the Collegethe Old Ellesmerian Club is for you

Do keep in touch with us as we have regional dinnersthroughout the year, sporting events, regular newsletters, anactive website and we are able to sponsor worthwhile causes.

Those who are responsible for the day-to-day running of theClub always appreciate news of your progress through life.Wherever you are in the world please stay in contact via theOE Club website

www.oeclub.co.uk

orwww.oeclub.com

Club Chairman:Richard Morris (Woodard 82-88)

Willington Lodge, Horseman’s GreenNr. Whitchurch SY13 3BZ

Home Tel: 01948 830275 Mobile: 07801 592120email: [email protected]

So - don’t forget - keep in touch!

www.ellesmere.com

THE ELLESMERIAN 2010 - Ellesmere College

Documents