SIR ROGER MANWOOD’S SCHOOL
END OF TERM NEWSLETTER – AUTUMN 2013
Table of Contents
Note from the Head
Farewells
Parental Portal
The 450th Anniversary Year comes to a close
Good luck to Students in examination years
Reunion of Past Students
Request for help
Thank You’s
Dates for your Diaries
Lt-Col Eric Wakeling - Obituary
Charity Report
Library News
House System
Art
Film Studies
Young Enterprise
Student Investor National Competition
Design Technology
Sixth Form
International Dimension
Chess Club
Music Report
CCF
Boarding – The Lodge and The Grange
Sports Report
Individual Sporting Achievements
Page 2 of 35
3-4
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
6
7-8
8-10
10-11
11-12
12-17
18
18
18
19-20
20-22
22
23
24-26
26-28
28-30
30-35
35
Dear Parents and Members of the School
Dear Students and Parents,
How time flies! It does not seem that long ago that I was writing the September newsletter. In that, I
made reference to a summer in which we had yet again won an Ashes test. What a difference four
months makes!
It is almost a year to the day that I read the advert for the Headteacher post at SRMS. This
newsletter is a poignant reminder of what attracted me to the school in the first place. The students
here are offered so many opportunities in addition to a first class academic education. I hope this
newsletter gives you a flavour of what they have been up to over the past 15 weeks, which range
from representing Great Britain in cross country to representing their house in events such as
Suicide Chess. It is tiring just reading about it all!
Farewells
Two valued members of the PE department are leaving us at the end of this term.
Amy Midgley will be starting a PGCE at Canterbury Christchurch next October. Between January and
starting her PGCE she will be travelling on a one way ticket around the world, starting in South
Africa, then moving on to South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Her final stop will be in Los
Angeles before heading back to the UK. Amy joined us
in September 2012 as a PE technician and I know her
efforts since joining the PE team have enabled the
teaching staff to deliver the outstanding extracurricular provision that the school is known for. We
wish her well for her travels and look forward to lots
of postcards from faraway places!
Rebekah Harley has been the Assistant Head of PE
and Head of Girls’ Games since September 2012. She
has given a great deal to the school over the year and
a half she has been with us, helping to ensure that as
many girls as possible have benefitted from taking
part in extra-curricular clubs and sports teams as well
as delivering outstanding lessons. I know many
students have improved considerably due to Becky’s top class coaching skills. The Al Bateen
Secondary School in Abu Dhabi is lucky to have her joining their staff, and we are sad to see her go
but are also excited for her.
Parental portal
Log in details to the Parents’ Learning Gateway have now been sent out to parents in all year groups.
If you have not yet logged in and updated your child/ren’s details then could you please do so over
the Christmas period as the intention is to roll out the next part of the programme from January
onwards. Once the rollout is complete parents will be able to see the personal details we hold for
their children, their (that is, the parents’) emergency contact details and the attendance and
assessment records of their children.
Page 3 of 35
The 450th Anniversary Year Comes to a Close
The year of
celebrations in
recognition of the
450 years of the
school’s existence
was closed, on
Saturday 14
December, at St
Stephen’s Church
in Hackington. The
service was one of
thanksgiving for
the life and
generosity of Sir
Roger Manwood
(despite his flaws!)
The service was led
by Canon Mark
Roberts, our Vice
Chair of Governors,
and Revd Canon
Norman Woods. St
Stephen’s was a
fitting place to end
the 450th year as it is where Sir Roger is buried, plus it stands on land where Manwood House used
to be. The photo below shows two Captains of School (James Genders and Gemma Hill) and the two
celebrants in front of Manwood’s tomb.
The school owes a huge debt of gratitude to the members of the 450th Anniversary Committee for
the fantastic and varied programme of events that they organised. Especial thanks must go to the
Chairman of the Committee, Canon Mark Roberts for all of his hard work in leading the Committee.
Good luck to students in examination years
Years 11, 12 and 13 have been working hard all term and are now approximately half way through
their study programmes for the year (the autumn term is 15 weeks long and their courses are
roughly 30 weeks long). We wish them well for the coming Mocks. It is important to find some time
to relax over the next two weeks, but at the same time making sure that enough time in the holiday
period is devoted to revision so that the Mocks are an accurate indicator to the students of where
they currently stand in terms of their grades.
Reunion of past students
A group of ex Manwoodians who left exactly 50 years ago
recently had a reunion in Sandwich. As part of that reunion
they came into school and were given a guided tour by current
sixth form students.
Page 4 of 35
If you know any ex Manwoodians, or maybe are one yourself, please bring the OMA Facebook page
to their attention. The number of people who have joined has grown steadily and it is a fantastic, yet
easy, way to stay in touch with what is happening here.
Request for help
If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in joining the school’s group of potential
examination invigilators then please contact the main school office. Any necessary training will be
given. Our invigilators are an essential part of the team that enables the smooth running of the
Mocks in January and the real examinations in the summer. You do not have to commit to the whole
period. The system works by members of the team choosing to do whichever day/s they can make.
All help is greatly appreciated. (I should add that our invigilators are paid for their efforts!)
Thank You’s
My thanks go to the staff for all that they have done for the students, both in and out of the
classroom, this term; to you, the parents, for continuing to support your children and the school in
so many different ways; and above all to the students themselves. Their hard work, energy and
humour is what makes it such a privilege to work at this school.
Below, you will find a handy list of key dates for the rest of this academic year. The page after that
shows extracts from a Daily Telegraph obituary for one of our alumnus that I thought parents and
students would be interested in.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Lee Hunter
Headteacher
Page 5 of 35
Dates for your diaries
8 – 17 January: Y11 GCSE mocks (art exams on 7 January)
16 - 23 January: Y12 AS mocks (art exam on 10 and 13 January)
16 – 22 January: Y13 A2 mocks (art exam on 10 and 13 January)
29 January: Summary of Mock results issued to Y11 parents
5 February: Half termly reports issued to years 7, 8, 9 and 10
5 February: Summary of Mock results issued to Y12 and Y13 parents
6, 7, 8 February: School Production – The Little Shop of Horrors
11 February: KS4 options evening for Y9 and their parents
14 February: Fashion Show, organised by the Y12 Young Enterprise company
27 February: Full written reports issued to Y11 parents
28 February – 3 March: RS and Italian trip to Rome
28 February: Family Quiz Night
4 March: Y9 parents’ evening
12 March: Full written report issued to Y12 and Y13
13-18 March: Orchestra trip to Venice
19 March: Y10 parents’ evening
21 March: Founders’ Day
23-27 March: Y10 French students in Paris
24 March – 28 March: Charity Week
26 March: Half termly reports issued to years 7, 8, 9, 10
28 March: Afternoon Tea for local senior citizens
29 March: Annual Old Manwoodian Association Dinner
30 March – 3 April: Y9 German students staying with their exchange partners
2 April: CCF Annual Inspection
4 April – 14 April: Gambia trip
4 -12 April: Ski trip to Austria
8 – 9 May: Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze practice expedition 1
10-11 May: Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze practice expedition 2
14 May: Half termly reports issued to years 7, 8, 9 and 10
15 May: Y7 parents’ evening
17-19 May: Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver practice expedition
6-8 June: Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze qualifying expedition 1
13-14 June: Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze qualifying expedition 2
16-20 June: Y10 Enterprise Week
20-24 June: Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold practice expedition
21-25 June: Y10 Spanish students in Barcelona
25-26 June: Y11 at Sixth Form Induction Days
27 June: Sports Day
3 -6 July: Y12 art students in Florence
3-23 July: Sixth form trip to China
5-19 July: Biology trip to Borneo
5-7 July: Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver qualifying expedition
9-13 July: Choir trip to Bratislava
11 July: Full written reports issued to years 7, 8, 9 and 10
12 July: Sixth Form Ball
16-17 July: One Night More performance
12-16 July: Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold qualifying expedition
Page 6 of 35
Lt-Col Eric Wakeling, born August 1 1920, died November 11 2013
Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Edgar Wakeling was born at Deal, Kent, on August 1 1920. He died on
Remembrance Day 2013, aged 93. His father managed a food processing factory and Eric was
educated at Sir Roger Manwood’s School. He enlisted in the Army in 1936 and served in the Army
Apprentices’ College for three years before being commissioned in 1940. He married, Nicky Hopper,
in 1945. She predeceased him and he is survived by their two daughters. He published several books
including The Lonely War (1994); Photographic Story of Bomb Disposal (1995); Danger of UXBs
(1996); and A Short History of Bomb Disposal (1998).
When he joined No 3 Bomb Disposal (BD) Company, two of its sections had just returned from
Birmingham, where there had been heavy raids. They were leaderless; their officers and sergeants
had been killed. Wakeling was in no doubt that he was a replacement. Officers at first had little
training and, as a subaltern and section commander, in the early part of the war life expectancy was
about 10 weeks. The odds improved once BD units acquired more experience and better equipment
to help them tackle the devices.
During the Second World War the men of the Royal Engineer Bomb Disposal Companies risked their
lives almost every day, often without ever leaving the shores of Britain. Some 45,000 unexploded
enemy bombs (UXBs), as well as 7,000 live anti-aircraft shells and 300,000 beach mines were made
safe. In all 394 BD officers and other ranks were killed, and more than 200 were wounded, mostly in
the early years of the war when disposal techniques were in their infancy and developed by an often
deadly process of trial and error. It was lonely work. Officers were often working on their own and
much of the time there was no way of telling why one of them had been killed and so avoiding fatal
mistakes in future. A “Category A” UXB, such as one which had halted production at a tank factory or
was buried under the runway of an RAF station, had to be dealt with at once. It might be on a time
delay fuse set to go off at any moment. The death of a BD officer in those circumstances was
regarded as an acceptable risk.
Wakeling would reconnoitre the site and then the BD squads would work around the clock to dig out
the bomb, which might be up to 50ft underground. The slightest vibration — a passing train or
breaking up concrete — might re-start a clock or explode a bomb with a sensitive fuse. On one
occasion, working on an unexploded bomb in a brewery, Wakeling had great difficulty in extracting a
fuse that he had not encountered before. As soon as it had been removed it was rushed to the
Directorate of Bomb Disposals. It turned out that the device was equipped with mercury switches so
sensitive that the slightest movement in any direction would explode the bomb – a deliberate
attempt to kill any bomb disposal officer unfortunate enough to handle it. “It was only by the
greatest luck that I was still alive,” Wakeling wrote later. “The fuse had a slight manufacturing fault
in the system.”
From 1943 minefields which had been sown when Britain was threatened with invasion began to be
cleared. This was a hazardous task as few accurate maps had been kept and, as many mines had
been placed on beaches, wind and water had often moved them or rendered them unstable.
Detecting mines amid shifting shingle was a nerve-shredding task. Wakeling was posted to 14 BD
Company which had the job of clearing the Yorkshire coast. After 14 BD Company was disbanded in
1946 he moved to 12 BD Company at Horsham, Sussex, as second-in-command. He was in the War
Office for a spell before being demobilised in 1947.
In civilian life Wakeling worked for Heinz and then for the pharmaceutical and household products
firm Johnson & Johnson. In 1951 the Army Emergency Reserve was formed and, the following year,
he became adjutant of 142 Regiment. He commanded it in 1965 and retired from the Army in 1967.
He was awarded the Emergency Reserve Decoration. Settled in a village in Buckinghamshire, he was
Page 7 of 35
a volunteer driver for the elderly and disabled, and for the county’s ambulance service. After his wife
died, he moved back to Kent. He was regarded latterly as one of the last living links with wartime
bomb disposal.
Charity Report
The last week of the Summer Term was eventful for Charity fundraising in school.
On Friday, 12th July a raffle was held at the 450th Anniversary Ball, £840 was raised for this year’s
charity, GamBLE. This is a Kent based charity which supports a school in Gambia, the Yalding School.
Each Easter, since 2007, a group of our sixth form students travel the school and help with projects
at the school. They also teach some classes. We are hoping to raise a significant sum to help with
these projects as part of the 450th Anniversary legacy.
On Saturday, 13th July a raffle was held at the sixth form ball. Almost £300 was raised for last year’s
charity, The Brain Tumour Charity. This meant that on Thursday, 18th July a cheque was presented
for £9,700, in a special assembly, to two representatives of the Charity. The cheque was presented
by Nathan Joseph, 7Tu who had taken part in the Fowlmead charity morning, and had raised an
incredible £551 in sponsorship. This made him the school’s top fundraiser last year.
Sport’s Day had had to be postponed and was held on the final Tuesday of term. The Junior Charity
committee ran a stall including tombola, nail-painting and selling bric-a-brac. This raised a further
£130 for their chosen charity, “Help the Heroes”.
The Autumn term has been another very busy term for Charity fundraising at school.
September
At the end of September we held a “World’s biggest coffee morning” for MacMillan Cancer Support.
Members of the Junior and Sixth Form charity committees made a huge amount of cakes and
goodies. Many other members of the school community also made cakes for this event. On the day
the cake stalls and hot drink sales made a fantastic £470 for the charity.
Also in September, Emma Sims from 9Tr, with the help of many members of her form, held a cake
sale for the “Scoliosis Campaign Fund”. They raised a super £136.30.
October
The beginning of October saw our traditional harvest assemblies led by the Reverend Canon Mark
Roberts, the Rector of St Clement’s Church, Sandwich. Again, many members of the school brought
in harvest gifts. The sixth form charity committee made a bright and dramatic display in the school
hall, and after the assemblies, packed up the gifts that were distributed to elderly citizens, and
organisations, in Sandwich and the surrounding area. Many pupils also nominated recipients for
harvest gifts, collected them after school and delivered to their neighbours. Many letters and cards
were sent to the school thanking our pupils for the food and the visits from them.
At the end of October pupils started to collect donations for the Poppy Appeal.
Page 8 of 35
November
November is always a very busy month for the charity
committees. The week before and after the October
half-term the school’s focus was on Remembrance.
Pupils collected donations for the Royal British Legion’s
Poppy Appeal. The Legion has informed us that
£533.13 was collected at our school.
On Monday, 11th November we held our Remembrance
Services. Again, these were led by the Reverend Canon
Mark Roberts.
Straight after Remembrance we held our third Children-in-Need week from Tuesday 12th to Friday
15th November. Many different fundraising events took place during the week which finished with a
non-uniform day on Children-in-Need day, Friday 15th. Also on this day the junior and sixth form
charity committees held cake sales. This year many other junior forms also held cake sales. Over
£825 was donated by pupils and staff on the non-uniform day. Also, over £400 was raised by
members of the junior and sixth form charity committees by selling Children-in-Need merchandise
and cakes.
A special mention must go to the following members of the junior charity committee. Georgia
Collighan and Anne Grant of Year 7 raised almost £55 selling Pudsey key rings and wristbands.
Rhiannon Wood, Year 8 and Jay Stedman of Year 9 raised over £52 selling Pudsey wristbands. Also
Jordan Burn and Ted Missons of Year 10 raised over £40 selling wristbands.
However, more than half the amount raised this year for Children-in-Need was raised by Year 7 and
8 forms – many junior pupils really did get enthusiastically involved with raising funds.
In 7D Annie Grant and some of her friends raised over £45 with a tombola and selling cakes. Jessie
Harvey and Izabella Wells raised £160 by selling handmade key rings, Pudsey chocolates, running
Children-in-Need games and through sponsorship.
7K raised over £70 by running a cake stall. Individual pupils in 7K also made an incredible effort to
raise funds. Molly Barter raised over £45 with a sponsored silence. Karys Battenfield raised over
£10 by dressing up in spots. Molly and Karys raised a further £20 together by running a raffle. Alice
Cox raised £260 in sponsorship by wearing spotty clothes for the day. Chloe Davidson raised £101 by
holding a cake sale at home during the half-term holiday. Shannon Hill raised almost £40 by dressing
up as Kermit the frog for the day, and Millie Manners raised £22 with a sponsored silence. So,
overall 7K raised an amazing £568.
7Tr raised over £140 in sponsorship with their outfits for Children-in-Need day.
7Tu raised almost £300. Esther Wilson, with help from many members of the form, raised over £210
by selling cakes, sweets and Children-in-Need merchandise. Other members of 7Tu who helped with
fundraising were Lydia Blacklock, Isabella Bottle, James Clugston, Pauline Crisostomo, Jess Garrett,
Daisy Goebe, Charlotte Griffin, Ashleigh Prosser, Millie Richards, Kate Samuel, Daniel Schulz, Amy
Sullivan, Faith Tudor and Lauren Wild.
Page 9 of 35
In Year 8, 8Tu raised almost £900! Abigail Thorley raised almost £250 of the total by selling Childrenin-Need merchandise, cakes and drinks at her home during half-term holiday – this event raised over
£150. Abigail also raised almost £90 in sponsorship!
As a form 8Tu raised £101 with a cake stall and £34 with nail painting. The rest of their incredible
total was raised by individual sponsorship for their outfits for the non-uniform day. Special mentions
must go to Johnny Morrison-Howe who raised over £53 and Ethan Salvatori who raised £40.
In Year 9, Darcey Holmes, Jess Harrison-Lindsey, Alice Potter and Orla-May Wood of 9D raised over
£80 with a cake sale.
In 9Tu Phoebe Holmwood, Elizabeth Sumner and Abigail Williams raised over £22 with their cake
sale.
In Year 10, Megan Battenfield and friends raised over £30 by nail painting.
Finally, over super librarian, Mrs Turrell, with her enthusiastic helpers, raised over £115 with a “Take
Your Pick” game and a “Pennies for Pudsey” jar.
So a fantastic total of £3,400 was raised for Children-in-Need.
Unfortunately the Sixth Form Charity Committee’s Christmas lunch for local senior citizens had to be
cancelled due to the predicted flooding. An Afternoon Tea will be taking place next term.
Thank you to everyone in school and at home who has supported the various events with their time,
talents, expertise, donations and money.
With best wished for a happy Christmas time.
Library News
This has been a busy term in the Library! Over the summer we have had a new library management
system installed which gives much better access to resources for our students. They can search the
on-line catalogue, reserve items, write reviews, watch author videos and much more. All this is
available at school and at home.
Year 7s started the year with the opportunity to choose a free book from a selection of twelve. This
scheme is operated by the organisation Booktrust to encourage reading as students make the
transition from primary to secondary education. We also run our own ‘Reading Challenge’ for Year
7s to help broaden their reading and introduce them to authors and titles they may not have
discovered before. They have started to produce some fantastic reviews and posters which will be
displayed in the Library.
A Year 7 Reading Group has started this term and our enthusiastic readers have already discussed
‘Wonder’ by R.J.Palacio, ‘Frozen in Time’ by Ali Sparkes and ‘My Name is Mina’ by David Almond.
We meet every Tuesday lunchtime in the Library and new members are always welcome. Our next
book will be ‘The Forbidden Room’ by Sarah Wray.
Page 10 of 35
Meanwhile, the Library Club for Year 7s and 8s has reconvened, helping with activities in the Library
(particularly Children in Need fund-raisers!) and Christmas crafts. We meet Thursday lunchtime in
the Library and again new members are always welcome.
In October we held an ‘Off By Heart’ poetry competition to celebrate National Poetry Day. Teams
from each Year 7 and 8 form recited a wonderful selection of poems ranging from Spike Milligan to
Wordsworth. 7TR and 8K were the winning forms, with Flo Stirrup (8K) and Josh Coombes (8D)
giving the best individual performances.
Also in October a Book Fair in the Library generated a lot of interest and excitement. Students
enjoyed choosing books to buy and also suggesting titles they would like to read, to add to our
Library shelves. We sold over £600 in books, stationery and posters which meant £300 in free books
for our school. Thank you very much to everyone who supported this.
Meanwhile, a mention must go to the efficient band of Year 12 librarians who have learnt to
navigate the library management system this term and have been a great help with younger
students at lunchtime.
Finally, a reminder that we are collecting ‘Boxtops for Books’ tokens (these are printed on Nestle
cereal packets). So can Shreddies and Cheerios lovers please cut them out and drop them in the
boxes in reception or the Library. Thank you.
House Competition
Once again, the beginning of this academic year has been very busy but exciting for the House
Competition with 20 competitions to date.
It has been very pleasing to see so many students entering the different and varied competitions
available. Many of the winners did not just win points for their house but also received a range of
fantastic prizes.
All curriculum areas have been involved: a design for the Manwoodian, German spellings, Science
cells for Year 7, and travel brochures for Year 8, History timelines, Suicide Chess, a University
Challenge quiz, Poetry recital.
In the Travel Photographer competition, Anna Wilson (8 Knolles) won the junior category, Ruby
Ovenden (Trappes) won the senior category and Mr Williams (Dorman) won the staff competition.
In the Year 10 Public Speaking competition, Alex GALLAGHER gained 1st place for Tudor with
the topic of “There should be no limits on artistic expression” and for Year 11, Janani RAGAVAN
presented the following argument “The government should take tougher action on unhealthy
behaviour”, taking the 1st place for Tudor as well.
The staff and 6th Form inter-house Badminton Tournament that took place last week. This resulted
in a win for Tudor.
We have some other exciting competitions coming up later on this year.
For more information on how well your house is doing, please check Moodle as the House Captains
are constantly updating it.
Page 11 of 35
So far, with 780 points, Knolles is leading this year’s competition. The Heads of House Mrs Lamb, Mrs
Grist, Mr Acourt and Mr Van Poppel, would like to thank all the students who have taken part and
made a difference. Well done for your involvement!
Current Scores:
1.
2.
3.
4.
KNOLLES: 780 points
TUDOR: 665 points
TRAPPES: 565 points
DORMAN: 455 points
Art Dept.
Manwood’s Travel Photographer of the Year 2013
Before the summer break the school’s Art and Geography departments launched the annual SRMS
Travel Photographer of the Year competition for 2013. This year, however, as well as the usual
categories of students (lower school – Years 7-9, middle school – Years 10-11 and senior school –
Years 12-13) and teachers, for the first time ever we opened up this prestigious competition to
parents as well. Whilst the competition’s theme was based on travel, this was not to see who was
able to visit the most exotic locations but more about portraying the theme of travel creatively
through photography.
The popularity of this competition seems to grow and develop year on year, with the number and
quality of submissions getting ever higher. The guest judge of the competition – Karen Shepherdson
(principle lecturer in photography at Canterbury Christ Church University and Director of both SEAS
Photography and the Old Lookout Gallery in Broadstairs) – was delighted to be invited back again
this year, stating that there seems to be ‘a real integrity to the competition and the outcomes
submitted’. It seems the creative talents and competitive edge of our school body is worth tapping
into.
Thank you and congratulations to all those who submitted entries to the competition. The winning
entries for each category can be seen below, and on the school’s website. The framed originals of
these will also be displayed proudly in the exhibition area of the school’s library until November
2014.
Winner of the Junior category (Years 7-10):Anna
Wilson
I took it on a day trip to London near Russell Square.
As I walked around the corner into a boring grey
street there was an ice cream van which contrasted
really well. I was really attracted to the multicoloured, bold, retro style mini ice cream van. I took
the photograph straight on and close up to make the
photograph more effective.
Judge’s comments: So bold and confident whilst seemingly so simple – genuine confidence and ability is
demonstrated by Anna. Excellent work!
Karen Shepherdson - Principal Lecturer in Photography at Canterbury Christ Church University
Page 12 of 35
Winner of the Senior category (Years 11-13):
Ruby Ovenden
(Year 12)
This photo of a
narrow Barcelona
street was taken on a
day trip to Barcelona
in the summer, during
my family camping
holiday in Tossa de
Mar.
This photo was taken
later in the day in a
more traditional area
of Barcelona. The
view of the narrow
streets were just
beautiful, all the tiny
details really stand
out in the photograph
and I really felt it
showed
a
very
Spanish living.
Judge’s comments:
Aesthetically
very
engaging. This was
technically
challenging in terms
of the variation in
light
across
the
picture. Ruby has a
strong photographic
eye and is able to
execute with terrific
confidence. Very well
done.
Karen Shepherdson - Principal Lecturer in Photography at Canterbury Christ Church University
Page 13 of 35
Winner of Staff category:
Jon Williams (Head of Music)
I’m not entirely certain where exactly this photo was taken but I think it was looking South across Loch Alsh
towards Beinn a’Chuirn in Wester Ross. I saw this view almost by chance in a gap in a hedgerow as I drove past
and reversed back to take the photo. The symmetry of the mountains reflected in the water of the Loch creates
an almost surreal effect. The drama of the sky is also reflected to frame the composition. The foreground
presented a bit of a problem but providing more saturation in the editing process brought out the wonderful
range of colours in the grass and other vegetation and I think it adds a nice contrast to the other elements of
the image.
Judge’s comments:
The Scottish photos are a really strong body of work and the stillness and composition of this particular image
proves both moving & compelling.
Karen Shepherdson - Principal Lecturer in Photography at Canterbury Christ Church University
Page 14 of 35
Winner of Parent / Guardian category:
Alex Ovenden
AS and A-Level Art trips
Life Drawing at the Wallace Collection, London
In late November, the Art department led a trip for AS Art students to the Wallace Collection in
London to study their collections of figure drawings, paintings and sculptures from the Rococo and
Baroque eras, and to participate in their own life drawing workshop within a studio space in the
gallery. A particular highlight of the day included visiting and studying the life drawings of leading
Baroque artists from their own time in Art school.
A worthwhile and valuable experience for the students involved, the work produced will form the
foundation to a body of life drawing work to be submitted as part of their AS level coursework, with
further workshops to be run in-school after Christmas. Some of the results of this workshop can be
seen below:
Page 15 of 35
Page 16 of 35
The Creative Process; a series of talks by leading artists, photographers and designers, at the
University of London Institute of Education, London
Martin Parr
Roz Hall
In early December a mixture of our AS and A-Level Art students
travelled to London to hear talks by a number of leading artists
on the subject of their own art practice, their techniques and
processes and their experiences as a working professional in the field of art, photography and digital
media. Interesting, informative and for some inspirational, our students left with a greater sense and
understanding of the possibilities out there and the potential for inspiration in the world around
them.
Speakers included renowned photographer Martin Parr, calligrapher and textile artist Rosalind
Wyatt, digital artist Roz Hall, and the still life painter Lisa Milroy RA.
Rosalind Wyatt
Lisa Milroy
Page 17 of 35
Film Studies
There has been a flurry of activity in Film Studies this term.
Year 13 went on a fantastic research visit to the BFI Library in London followed by a visit to the
London Film Festival. Year 12 went on two cinema visits to see Rush at Sandwich Empire and The
Selfish Giant at the Gulbenkian cinema in Canterbury, and were also lucky enough to have a visit
from local Film Director, Jan Dunn in November.
This term has also seen the launch of SRMS’s first Film Competition. The entries showed a wealth of
promise and talent, and the winning entry by Chester Briscoll Harvey shows that Manwood’s may
have its own Oscar winning potential.
As ever, Film Club continues to run on a Tuesday after school, and new members are always
welcome.
Young Enterprise
This year there is only one Young Enterprise Company running in school, and the participants were
selected by interview with a senior manager from the Dover Harbour Board, the local sponsor of the
scheme.
Twelve students were offered directorship places in their newly formed company, called inTEQuk.
The company aims to create a range of teaching aids for Primary schools, that will incorporate the
usage and concept of renewable energy. Their Ecokit consists of a constructible wind turbine, that
when taken outside will power an LED using the wind. Other resources included an animated
presentation on renewable energy, and a CD.
They are working very well together as a strong team, and hopefully when the local area finals come
around in March (a month earlier than usual) they will do themselves justice.
Student Investor National Competition
As usual we have a number of teams made up from students in Year 12 that have been busy
investing a virtual £100,000 on the Stock Market. Changes in position happen on a daily basis and
our best team DI Investments at one stage were in 120th place out of 3059 other teams. The
competition closes in February so there is everything to play for over the next few months, for a
place in the South East finals.
Page 18 of 35
Design Technology
The autumn term has been very busy on production, with 26 A level students and 6 GCSE graphs
undertaking a wide range of projects.
We continue to promote a variety of STEM activities including:
1. The Annual STEM Project Day
This took place on Tuesday 5
November with 51 Year 9
students set the task of
designing and making a model
wind turbine. This team activity
is very challenging as the
students only have 4 hours to
complete it. Once again, I had
excellent feedback from the
Smallpeice Trust Engineer on our
students’ level of effort and
application.
2. National Grid Engineering Experience Course – 24 – 28 March 2014
Congratulations to DT students,
Jordan Burn, Jemma Venness, Lucy
Nichols and Ed Missons on being
selected to take part on this 5 day
residential course. Students get
involved in design and make
projects, to develop team working,
problem-solving, creative thinking
skills, visit power stations and work
alongside real National Grid
engineers.
3. Arkwright Scholarships Trust
Our school is now affiliated to this prestigious scheme. Serious students now have the
opportunity to apply to become an Arkwright Scholar which is a challenging process, only a
few hundred places are awarded each year. As part of the Arkwright community you can
become involved in a wide range of activities/events and receive an annual bursary. Follow
the link on Moodle D&TArkwright Scholarship Trust.
4. STEM Residental Courses 2014
These course have now been released. Students can find details on the Physics Noticeboard
in TB1. You can also follow link on MoodleD&TSTEM Courses.
5. Alu Challenge 2013/2014
Page 19 of 35
A big thank you to DT Prefects Claudia Fox, George Hill and Tom Lewis for supervising 3
groups of Year 9 students (15 in total) who are entering this National Competition. They are
designing a range of sustainable projects using Aluminium as the main material. Their
entries will be submitted by the end of February.
Thank you to all Year 12 D&T Area Prefects who have covered the lunchtime slots Monday to
Thursday. They have helped supervise younger students and completed a number of really useful
projects in the workshop.
Sixth Form Language Conference at the University of Kent at
Canterbury – 13 November 2013
32 students, studying French, Spanish, German at A-Level or Italian at GCSE, Mr Holden and Miss
Peycelon attended the Sixth Form Language Conference organised by the School of European
Culture and Languages and the Partnership Development Office at UKC. The aim of the day was for
students to have a taste of what it would be like to study languages at university.
Students had elected in advance which lectures they wanted to sit on and delivered by academic
staff from all departments, including Dr William Rowlandson, Senior Lecturer of Hispanic Studies, Dr
James Fowler, Senior French Lecturer and Dr Deborah Holmes, Head of German. Students got a
chance to read and discuss an excerpt from Victor Hugo’s “24 hours left to live: the last day of a
condemned man”, Dante’s Inferno, or Modern Spanish Theatre. In the afternoon, they got a chance
to find out what studying European Studies or Linguistics at university. Dr Jeremy Scott from the
department of Language and Linguistics was particularly inspiring. To their surprise, Mr Holden and
Miss Peycelon also got to meet up with a former Manwoodian, Sarah Horton who did go on to
studying languages at university, and who is now working for UKC. All in all, it was a most valuable
day. Many thanks to UKC for organising such a great event.
Sixth Form Formal Dinner
On Friday 22 November at 7pm, 120 members of the Sixth Form, Mr Stedman , Mr Hunter and Miss
Peycelon gathered at the Bell Hotel for the annual Sixth Form Formal Dinner, an exciting event which
aims to give Sixth Formers an idea of what a formal dinner is like, from the refined meal to speeches
and toasts. It is traditional to invite an old Manwoodian as our guest speaker for the evening. We
are keen that our students should hear for themselves about the tremendous, varied achievements
of former Manwoodians. The guest speaker this year was Mr Richard Taylor-Jones who left
Manwood’s in 1993. He was particularly amused and impressed to learn from the students seating
at his table that some members whom he remembers from his time at Manwood’s are still teaching
at Manwood’s today! Richard is now a freelance wildlife filmmaker, photographer and broadcaster,
currently presenting films for BBC One’s Countryfile series , BBC’s Summer of Wildlife and The Urban
Jungle. Richard gave a short but inspiring speech. The sixth formers present left invigorated by the
thought that if you have a passion and you stick with it, you will achieve your dream. Richard was
absolutely delighted to come back to Manwood’s and we were delighted he accepted our invitation,
despite his very busy schedule. It certainly was a great evening.
University application process
A lot of hard work and effort goes to helping Year 13 apply to university. 115 students in Year 13 and
about 15 students from last and previous years decided to go through the Ucas process this
Page 20 of 35
academic year. Thanks to the guidance, efforts and relentless support from all their Year 13 tutors,
Mr Stedman and Miss Peycelon, all students who wanted to apply did so promptly. All applications
at Manwood’s were sent off by 5th December this year, a whole month and a half before the official
Ucas deadline. This strategy is paying off as nearly all students already have offers or interview
invitations. Oxbridge offers will come through early January. For all subjects combined, we have had
more interviews and offers than ever this year. This is a very exciting and nerve-racking time for our
Year 13. We wish them all the best of luck in this process and hope that their hard work will enable
them to meet their predictions and attend the University of their choice to study their chosen
subject. Thanks are due to all staff who were involved in reference writing as well as those who
provided help and guidance with the students’ personal statements or mock interviews.
If any parent would like to offer help with interview practice for our Year 13 students in the fields of
Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Engineering, Physiotherapy, Biochemistry, Natural Science,
Primary Teaching and Architecture in particular, please contact Miss Peycelon, Head of Sixth Form at
the email address fp@srms.kent.sch.uk.
Sixth Form Life
The Autumn Term is always a very busy term for the sixth formers. Firstly, and most importantly, it is
the term to develop good working habits or new working habits as nearly half the syllabus is covered
in all A-Level subjects in the first 15 weeks of the academic year. The assessments to date prove that
most sixth-formers are working hard and aiming high and on course to achieve their predicted
grades. Bearing in mind the new universities quotas, it is crucial that students should be aiming to
achieve the highest grades in their A-Level subjects first time round, both at AS and even more so at
A2. AAB will guarantee anyone a place at university. Starting on 10th January 2014 (for Art students)
and 16th January for all other subjects, AS and A2 mocks will last until 22nd January. Christmas must
be a time of rest but of productive revision. It is also to be noted that the January AS retake option
ceases to be available in the academic year beginning September 2013.
Year 12 as a whole has settled in well in their new capacity of Lower Sixth. The co-habitation with
Year 13 in the Common Room seems to be going well. The Sixth Form Committee has met a few
times this term to discuss issues and collect subscriptions from the forms. Thank you to all Form
Reps for their hard work.
The Captains of School, Gemma Hill, James Genders, Hannah Bossers and Nick Thompson, have
been very busy in their duties, coordinating the Prefect body, during assemblies and at key events in
school. James gave a superb vote of thanks at this year’s Speech Day, Nick also provided a great vote
of thanks at the Sixth Form formal dinner. Both Gemma and James Genders spoke at the Sixth Form
Open Evening which attracted a lot of parents and pupils. Harriet Fleet and Utsav Ale also gave
excellent speeches during the Evening. The Prefect Body has provided invaluable help to staff at
morning assembly, big break and lunchtime. Estelle Papougnot and Charlotte Spinner were
promoted to the Prefect Body on recommendation from their fellow Captains. The assemblies have
seen some great input from Sixth Form students and staff this term. To name but a few: a very
moving assembly from Demi Bola-Ojo from 13C on modern day slavery; a fantastic assembly during
Anti-Bullying week by William Parker-Gorman and Ollie Collins in 12B; a passionate assembly by Zak
Smith from 13E on the wonders of the sky and why we should look at the stars; a touching and
personal reflection on Nelson Mandela by Mr Stedman last week.
Page 21 of 35
This is just a snapshot of everything that has gone on in the sixth form over the last 15 weeks.
Apologies to anyone who did not get an individual mention but many thanks go to the sixth form
body as a whole for their invaluable, varied contributions to the life of the school this term.
International Dimension
This term we have selected ten students to go on the Gambia trip in April, which will be led by Mr
Stedman and Miss Peycelon this year. The team are busy with preparations for fund-raising for the
Yalding School, our Gambian partner school, which is supported by the GamBLE Project charity. We
will let you know more details in the New Year about exactly what activities they will be undertaking
to raise money and how you can donate.
Chinese speaking competition on 9th Dec 2013
8 students from years 9, 10 and 11 took part in the Chinese competition on 9th December 2013. This
was the heat of the National Chinese speaking competition hosted by the British Council at The
Bloomsbury Theatre in London, sponsored by HSBC bank. We have a great team this year and all
students did their best in the competition; they have done very well in three categories.
In the individual competition, they gave 2 minute speeches and answered some questions, as well as
doing three translations from English to Chinese.
This year in the group competition we had an excellent play about the story of the monkey king
written by Raphael Guionaud. All actors really enjoyed the drama.
We will find out the results around 10th January. If we win, we will go to the final in February.
Students:
Intermediate individual competition
Raphael GUIONAUD
Year 11
Beginner individual competition
Brianna MIDDLETON
Year 9
Group drama performance
Jemima SPARKES
Year 11
Gianluca MARAZZI
Year 11
Jessica EVANGELOU
Year 11
Ross GRIFFITHS
Year 10
Lottie SPARKES
Year 9
Oscar MACARTNEY
Year 9
Page 22 of 35
Chess Club
This year was the second for the suicide chess competition. Suicide chess is a fast and furious game
that is accessible to anyone who has a basic grasp of the rules of chess. The only differences being
that the aim is to lose all of your pieces including the king and the winner is the player who loses all
of their pieces first. The nature of the game results in the advantage quickly oscillating between
competitors leaving the final outcome often impossible to predict. Normally games are finished
within 10 minutes and leagues require 3 games to be played. Staff in league 2 worked hard to win
their games forcing the competition into extra time. The critical last game was eventually played
with house scores at 35 each. The game was a draw but Mr Bowman’s earlier win gave him the
victory in his league and Knolles the winning points.
The table below summarise the winning players for the two divisions that were in operation for each
of the year groups.
League
Winner
House
Points
Year 7, League 1
Tadhg Barrett
Knolles
10
Year 7 League 2
Andrea May/Millie Rudge
Trappes/Dorman
5/5
Year 8 League 1
Ed Bartlett
Tudor
10
Year 8 League 2
Austin Brazier
Dorman
10
Year 9 League 1
Oscar Macartney/Matt Gates
Trappes/Knolles
5/5
Year 9 League 2
Lucy Stephenson
Tudor
10
Year 10 League 1
Christopher Smith (10A)
Tudor
10
Year 11 League 1
John Wilkinson (11C)
Dorman
10
Year 11 League 2
Keenan Down (11B)
Knolles
10
Year 12 League 1
Jack Palmer (12A)
Knolles
10
Year 12 League 2
Hugo Church
Dorman
10
Year 13 League 1
Harry Urquhart
Trappes
10
Year 13 League 2
William Sparrow (13B)
Trappes
10
Staff League 1
Mrs Charlesworth/Mr Ainsworth
Trappes/Tudor
5/5
Staff League 2
Mr Bowman
Knolles
10
Year10 League 2
Final house points were allocated as follows:-
House
KS3
KS4
KS5 + Staff
Total House Points
Trappes
10
0
25
35
Tudor
20
10
5
35
Knolles
15
10
10
45
Dorman
15
10
10
35
Page 23 of 35
Preparations are already underway for next terms knockout competition with normal chess being
played, house points available and a prize for the winner.
Music Report
Looking back over a very long term there has been so much going on musically in addition to some
major physical changes in and around the Music Department. Building work on the foyer area and
the former courtyard began in the summer but continued throughout most of this term. The new
layout now places the main department entrance on the opposite side of the building and M9 and
M10 practice rooms are no longer accessed from the exterior of the building. M11 has also reduced
in size to accommodate expanded toilet facilities next to the School Hall. There has been a certain
amount of extraneous noise and dust (Mr Williams' analysis of the Beethoven Septet was much
enhanced by the strains of a hammer drill on at least one occasion) but we have been able to work
around the disruption and hopefully all agree that the new facilities that have emerged are a
considerable improvement on what was there before.
It has been a great pleasure to welcome Mr David Smith to the department teaching staff this term.
David joined us in September and brings many years of excellent teaching and practical experience.
In addition to his classroom work Mr Smith also plays professionally from in West End music theatre
productions - he is currently involved in Mama Mia. We have seen very quickly how he has enthused
and galvanised lower school singing, the Elastic Band and Little Shop and I look forward to all that
David will bring to Manwood's music in the years to come.
Speech Day took place even earlier than in 2012 - practically 2 weeks in to term - but this did not
stop as full a musical presentation as always with well-received items from the Orchestra and a
medley from the forthcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors. Music was also prominent in the
traditional Harvest and Remembrance assemblies with contributions from Chamber and VI Form
Choirs, the String Group and the Brass Group. There has also been an increased amount of music in
the normal cycle of school assemblies and this will continue to develop next term and beyond.
Auditions took place in September for Little Shop of Horrors with over 80
applicants for chorus and principal roles. Such was the popularity of the
production that much of it is double cast and rehearsals are now well
underway. Little Shop will run for the usual 3 nights in the first full week of
February 2014 and promises to be highly entertaining - don't miss it!! Tickets
will be going on sale in late January.
Our annual Divertimento took place in early October. We would normally have
been in the Common room and M1 but due to the building work restrictions the main performance
space transferred to the Hall which was fortunate as this was our most successful Divertimento yet
with well over 200 people attending most of whom were friends and families of the new Year 7. The
evening included performances from many pupils across the school. The Jazz Band was the headline
act in the Hall and a considerable number of Year 7 entertained the masses with sung items they had
been working on in class and in music assemblies.
A small group of GCSE pupils paid a visit to the Marlowe
Theatre on November 14th see the stunning Glyndebourne
Touring Opera production of the 19th century opera
Hansel and Gretal by (the excellently named) German
composer Engelbert Humperdinck. GTO provide schools
days every year for their touring productions and we look
Page 24 of 35
forward to taking up future opportunities to see more top class opera in the future.
Following the great success of The Burning of the Boats production in
the Deal Festival back in the Summer at Duke of Yorks, the Chamber
Choir were asked to participate in the rekindling of the 'Boats' at St
George's Church, Deal for two performances in late November.
Although it was not on as grand a scale as the summer production, the
Deal revival was more focused and felt more 'at home' as the story is
set in Deal. We were able to provide a good-sized choir and all involved
enjoyed revisiting this interesting and worthwhile story and score.
It was very pleasing to see that every candidate entered for ABRSM exams through the school this
term passed. Particular plaudits to Jack Scanlon (Year 11) who achieved a distinction in Grade 4
Singing and Hugo Church, Georgia Collighan, Emily Kennedy, Florence Stirrup and Anna Wilson who
all achieved Merits in their exams. Congratulations to all who achieved successes in music exams
both in school and elsewhere and best of luck as you prepare for the next level.
If any pupil has music lessons and wishes to enter for ABRSM exams here during a normal school day
rather than attending the public sessions in Dover, Thanet or Canterbury you are most welcome to do
so. This option saves a lot of hassle for parents and music teachers. You do not have to have lessons in
school to be eligible for this option and we can even provide the services of an accompanist for you as
required. For further information your parents or music teacher should contact Mr Williams in the
first instance on 01304 610464 or via the main school number.
The Rock & Pop concert on November 28th continued to raise
the standard of popular music performance that this event has
encouraged over many years. It was
good to see so many pupils taking
part and a full auditorium on the
night helped to add to the
atmosphere and general enjoyment
of the occasion. Particular thanks go
to Dudley Ross, Jeff Alexander, Jay
McCluskey, Noël McCalla and guest keyboard player Paul Jobson for all
their expertise and mentoring of pupils to produce such a fantastic gig.
There will be another Rock & Pop next term.
The Christmas Concert on Dec 12th brought together as always the cream
of music ensemble performance in a full evening of festive fun. More students than ever were
involved in the concert and the school hall was as full as I have ever seen it. Many audience
members commented on the variety and very high quality of the performances and veteran
attendees at our concerts thought that it was the best Christmas Concert they could remember.
Congratulations to all involved.
We rang the changes with our Christmas Carol Services this year with both events taking place at
consecutively at St Clement's Church rather than simultaneously at school and in church as has been
the practice in previous years. This has been a welcome development from a musical perspective as
it enabled us to focus rather than spread our music resources and we hope produced an effective
and high quality seasonal act of worship for the whole school community.
Page 25 of 35
We brought our 450th Anniversary celebrations to a close on
Saturday Dec 14th with a short but very moving service to
commemorate Sir Roger Manwood on the anniversary of his death
date at the site of his tomb in St Stephen's Canterbury. The Choir
and String Group with invited soloists and members of The
Manwood Singers led the service and performed a short anthem by
Henry Purcell alongside other music. A fitting and dignified end to a
memorable year of events.
Thank you to all who have been involved in musical events this term and throughout this
Anniversary year. We look forward to all that 2014 brings.
Future Music Dates:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Music Makers
Little Shop of Horrors
Orchestra Trip to Venice
Founders Day
ESU concert in Canterbury
Visit from Hardelot Band
Choir perform in Montreuil-sur-Mer
Spring Concert
Rock & Pop Concert
20th January
3rd-6th February
13th-18th March
21st March
23rd March
29th March
Date tbc
3rd April
Date tbc
SRMS CCF
Royal Air Force Association (Rafa) Memorial Service
This annual event falls on what used to be Battle of Britain Day. The CCF supported the event in
Sandwich alongside other cadet units, The Royal British Legion and local dignitaries. On parade in
Market Street, Sandwich our Colour Party (Cadet Flag Bearer and two Escorts) joined the other
representatives as Cadet Michael Dyer played Last Post on the bugle.
Year 6 Open Days
Once again the CCF main hut was furnished with equipment and photos of our training. Cadets were
on hand to talk to Year 6 students and families about the CCF. There was a good deal of interest and
I imagine many applications to join SRMS will be, in part, due to the efforts of those cadets showing
the activities and equipment of the CCF.
New Cadets and Exercise Raw Recruit
Y8 cadets joined the CCF on the second Wednesday of the term and spent 5 weeks learning basic
skills before deploying onto a local army training area for Exercise RAW RECRUIT. Thirty four cadets
spent the day being introduced to Fieldcraft lessons such as Personal Camouflage, Patrol Hand
Signals, Patrolling, making hot drinks and preparing hot food in the field, Section Attack, Ambush and
finally Platoon Attack. All the lessons were taught by the senior cadets. Despite the rain and mud it
was a thoroughly successful and enjoyable day.
Page 26 of 35
Ex Kenyan Venturer 14
Cadets Dash Eyles and George Hyett have been selected to join an expedition to Kenya in 2014. In
October hey both attended the first of two training weeks in the Lake District with their team of
selected cadets and staff.
Visit To The Army Air Corps At Middle Wallop
After the Lynx helicopter visit to the school earlier in the year, three cadets expressed an interest in
joining the army and perhaps becoming helicopter pilots. To find out more about the job we visited
the Army Air Corps pilot training school. Fourteen senior cadets spent the day visiting the various
phases of pilot training, meeting the instructors and experiencing a flight in the Lynx helicopter from
the school and over the local low flying training area.
CCF Band Presentation to Year 7
During assembly the senior musicians in the CCF Band gave a presentation to Year 7. As a result eight
students joined the Band. As mentioned during the assembly, we are looking for anyone in the
school in any year to join the Band. Band cadets can join the main CCF in Y8 or remain as Band
cadets only. You may already be a musician but many members of the band over the years, have
joined with little, or no musical background.
Remembrance
Cadets wore CCF uniform in school for the two school Remembrance Assemblies. Lieutenant Colonel
(Retired) Harlow and Lt Moon represented the Contingent and laid a wreath of poppies. Cadet Drum
Michael Dyer played Last Post on the bugle. On Remembrance Sunday the Contingent joined the
Sandwich Parade with our Colour Party, Band and a marching contingent. Senior Cadet Michael Dyer
played Last Post on the bugle and Senior Cadet Company Sergeant Major Tom Atkins laid a wreath
on behalf of the School and Cadet Drum Major Ian Carpenter laid a wreath on behalf of the Old
Manwoodian Association.
Light Support Weapon Range Day
Fourteen senior cadets completed training on the LSW and braved the wet weather on a Wednesday
to practice shooting at the Hythe Range Complex. In continuous rain the cadets shot some excellent
scores with our senior cadet CSM Tom Atkins gaining the highest score and a Marksman Badge.
Exercise Christmas Cracker
The Signals Section competed in a national radio competition over 24 hours. The High Frequency
(HF) radio set was manned continuously and messages were passed between schools to score
points. Y9 cadets were halfway through a 6 week signals course and many joined the exercise to put
some of their new skills into practice. The log sheets showing what the team did achieve were
submitted and we are awaiting the results. We managed to introduce a number of new cadets to the
radios and had a lot of fun.
Sandwich Christmas Carnival
Once again the CCF Band of Fifes and Drums supported the Sandwich Christmas Carnival. This was
the first time on parade for the new Band Cadets who performed very well. Dressed in CCF Band
uniform with Christmas hats and scarves the band led the carnival through Sandwich. With their
considerable talent and enthusiasm, they again demonstrated Sir Roger Manwood’s Schools positive
commitment to the local community. Well done.
Method of Instruction Course
Y10 cadets took the entrance test to join the MOI course in Jan 2014. Fourteen cadets took the test
and the top ten scores gained places on the course. Well done to all the cadets who took part and
congratulations to those who gained places.
Page 27 of 35
Staff and Senior Cadets Christmas Dinner
Twenty three members of the CCF staff, senior cadets and ex-cadets enjoyed a Christmas meal in
Worth. This is an annual event to thank everyone for their support including the families of the staff.
Thanks to Mr P MacKay for organizing the event.
CCF Christmas Party
To finish the term the last CCF parade will involve some seasonal games and a team Christmas Quiz
followed by refreshments. Last year the staff team was defeated so the challenge is on. Good Luck.
New CCF Staff
This term we welcomed Mr T Outen who teaches RE and also Mr M Robinson who was the senior
cadet last year and has now started at University in Canterbury. Both will be Civilian Instructors for a
short time before applying to be commissioned as CCF Officers.
School Staff Instructor
Mr T Cavanagh joined us as the School Staff Instructor this term. Mr Cavanagh was in the army for a
number of years but his recent experience has been providing adventurous training packages to
schools. Mr Cavanagh will be a huge asset to the School and we look forward to benefitting from his
time and efforts with us.
Happy Christmas.
Captain Martin
Contingent Commander
Sgt Cavanagh
School Staff Instructor
srmsccf@yahoo.co.uk
www.srmsccf.webnode.com
Boarding
The Lodge
This year in the girls’ boarding house, we are happy to welcome back Mrs Coles, who has previously
taken care of us. We are glad she is back and hope to make more memories with her such as
pumpkin carving, Christmas dinners and several more pantomimes that the whole boarding
community enjoys. We know we are definitely glad that she wakes us up early every morning with
several rings of the bell as breakfast in the canteen is the most important meal of the day.
This has been a very fruitful year for the youths of the Manwood’s boarding community as we have
seen a lot of developments in friendships and relationships. Some people prefer to keep their
private lives private but living in the boarding house, nothing is ever kept secret for long. Despite
this blossoming of relationships, there has been some tension with the planning of events such as
the Nigerian Church Service. However, in the end, it turned out to be a joyous occasion which
echoed the fun we had at the Nigerian Independence day celebration in the canteen. The food was
delicious, thanks to Adele and her mum and we all had a great time.
Unlike other years we had a flood day rather than a snow day. No-one could say that they were sad
to be missing a day off school and gaining a 3 day weekend. Mrs Pearce was especially excited about
having to dress up in the canteen staff’s cooking gear.
Page 28 of 35
Christmas at the Lodge took a lot of planning – everyone helped setting up for the day and clearing
up (although some people weren’t too happy with the jobs they were nominated for). With the last
event of the Lodge, which involved playing several games, everyone made an extra effort to
contribute and make it a joyous day. Although some complained about the wrapping in the pass the
parcel game, I think that Ife and Inga should be commended on the wrapping up of the 20 layers of
chocolates and dares. The dares included: Tiffany’s selfie, Nina’s spectacular rendition of jingly bells
and Semi’s chilling story that left us shivering with the last phrase, ‘your fate is sealed’. Her story did
not make a lot of sense but we have to give her a gold star for effort.
All in all, we were feeling the Christmas spirit and thankful to the boarding staff for making this
possible.
Manwood Grange Autumn Term 2013
The retirement of Mr and Mrs Taylor meant a new start for everyone at the Grange this year. Mr
Pearce moved in with his family after 7 years as a resident house tutor and many other students
joined the community in year 7, 10 and 12. The Welcome BBQ included current and new staff
including Mr Grimshaw and John and Anne Kennett.
Zhinlap Tamang was named Head of House (a new role) and his first task was to pick mixed teams
for the first event of the year – the bowling and pizza trip.
The bowling was good fun and a great opportunity for new boarders
to interact and feel like part of the community. The winning team of
Fewa, Ayo, Steven, Ryan and Alfie Pearce owed much to the
unbelievable skills shown by Ryan when scoring a double strike
bowling backwards between his legs! After the fierce competition
everybody gorged themselves on pizza and deserts before heading
home at the end of the first week back at school.
In early October we celebrated Nigerian Independence Day by having a party in the canteen and 6th
Form Common Room. Some of the boys and girls ran the kitchen and fed both boarding houses with
an endless supply of chicken and rice before enjoying a party in the Common Room. Musical Chairs
and Dance Offs were enjoyed by all to a great soundtrack of Nigerian influenced music before the
clear up operation began in earnest!
Church services continued this term with the Reverend Mark Roberts and the Nigerian boys and girls
were given the opportunity to lead a service which was energetic and enjoyable. Other students will
get the opportunity to lead services next term. Remembrance Sunday was another important
occasion where we joined many others at the war memorial
in Sandwich. The boys took advantage of Christmas
Shopping at Westwood Cross and Ashford Outlet to buy
their Secret Santa gifts, although far too many took the
opportunity to sneak in a cheeky visit to McDonald’s!
The Christmas theme gathered pace with a trip to the
Marlowe Theatre to watch the panto Jack and The Beanstalk
where even the most reluctant boys were caught smiling,
and dare I suggest, laughing! This was swiftly followed by a
Page 29 of 35
Christingle Service in church and the Grange Christmas Meal at Salmestone Grange where most of
the staff joined the boys for a feast where I’m certain some boys ate their body weight in food!
Secret Santa took place the same evening with some imaginative and thoughtful gifts shared along
with a lot of laughs.
The final event of the term was the joint Boarder’s Christmas Supper where a number of guests
including the Headmaster enjoyed a three course meal provided by Uncle Ray and the Canteen Staff
before the speeches, where Zhinlap spoke on behalf of the Grange. His laid back, comedic approach
was well received and we all learnt that Ayo and Lionel are infact twins! Party Games arranged by
Matron took place in the TV Room afterwards, with Fewa retaining his crown as Musical Chairs
Champion!
We have enjoyed a busy term and are looking forward to a restful and peaceful Christmas holiday
with our families and friends before returning to do it all again in the new year.
Sports Report
Boys’ Football
Football was limited to cup matches this year, with U12, U13, U14 and U15 teams entered in the
Kent Schools Cup. The U14 started the year promisingly, with a fine 8-3 win at St Anselms. Yusha
Sheikh and Ben James provided a solid base to build from at the back, along with Josh Lewis and
Matt Green. In midfield, Ed Harlow and Harry Brown built a strong central partnership allowing Billy
Lewins the freedom to use his fantastic footballing skill to great effect. Billy scored 5 of the 8 goals,
with Joe Clifton contributing a brace and Harpo Randall adding another. A walkover in round two
meant the U14 were handed a game vs Queen Elizabeth’s School, where their challenge for the cup
ended with a convincing 14-1 defeat.
The U12 side suffered a similar fate, winning their first game 7-3 against Astor. Particular praise must
go to Louis Tumilty, Sam Dodrill, Ollie Smith and Ellis Perry for their endeavour and determination
shown to battle back after falling behind in the first minute of the game. Unfortunately, this
determination was not followed through in the next round, as the U12 side were drawn against a
physically superior Harvey Grammar team, who overran the team 11-0.
The U15 again started their cup competition with a win, though this was a much tighter game than
the year 7 and 9 games. A hard fought 3-2 victory away at St George’s School was richly deserved
following a disciplined performance from the team. Nico Latteur scored 2 goals with Gus AlleboneSalt adding the third, whilst Jasper Miles and Laurie Marshall created the chances. Damon Short and
Tom Sumner kept the home side from scoring a last minute equaliser with a solid display at the back.
The U15 had an equally close game against Castle Community College in the next round, but were
reduced to a 3-1 defeat.
The U13 team faired best of all the age groups in this year’s cup competition. Their campaign started
with a close fought 4-3 victory over St George’s School, which then followed up by a 7-1 thrashing of
Castle Community College. Jamie Lyden scored a fantastic hatrick, with the gifted Oliver Nedderman
adding a brace, while Lakis Pantelli and Louis Thornby added a goal each. In the next round, the
team faced the daunting prospect of a trip to Harvey Grammar School, but they stepped up to the
challenge and produced another conquering display to demolish the opposition 9-2. Jack Dodrill
Page 30 of 35
scored 3 goals while Lakis Pantelli pinched a brace. However, the U13 team’s cup run came to an end
with a 7-1 defeat in the quarter-finals to Maidstone Grammar.
All the football squads showed flashes of brilliance this year, and hopefully that skill, coupled with
consistency and an attitude of determination will lead to more success next season.
Boys’ Rugby
The U12’s have enjoyed an encouraging first season at Manwood’s. Despite starting with a very
small year group of just 55 boys, the potential of the team was quickly evident. Two cancellations
by opposition meant only two fixtures before half term with the second match against Chatham and
Clarendon producing a much improved display in a 15-15 draw where the opposition scored their
equalising try in the last play of the match. We also fielded a B team in this fixture who gained
valuable experience and quick development in a 5-30 defeat. Injury and unavailability after half
term tested the lack of numbers in the squad and despite unfortunate results at times, the team
enjoyed winning performances against Duke of York’s (26-19), Kent College (79-12) and Dover Boys’
Grammar (15-10).With club players in George Winham, Tom Whelan, Jason Francis, Guy Reid-Easton
and Sam Bennett leading the way, others also chose to join clubs and it is hoped that continual
development during the club season will benefit this school team in year 8.
After a disappointing start to the season with two losses from two games, the U13 squad galvanized
together and made a conscious decision to train and work harder in order to improve. This
commitment has certainly paid dividends with the squad winning five of the last six games with
memorable victories over St Lawrence College and Dover Grammar. A large squad has kept pressure
on places in the team and I am sure this has helped overall progress and development. Thanks to Mr
Riordan and Mr Laslett for their coaching.
The highpoint of the U14s season was the outstanding performance against Simon Langton where
they were narrowly defeated but played with aggression and determination. A disappointing
performance by us near the end of the season gave DOYs the first win of their season. A hard fought
game against Kent College and convincing performances against Borden Grammar and Folkestone
Academy lead to the teams three victories. Josh Lewis’ tackling continued to impress, along with
Billy Lewin’s line breaks, gaining us many metres. Harry Pierce stepped up to fly half, looking
comfortable in the position and Harry Brown looks strong at 9. Tom Stanley, Michael Eastman,
Jefferson Corbin and Jonny Taylor provided consistency and power in the scrum and at breakdown.
The Under 15’s season has been hampered by cancelled fixtures. Still we managed to play 7, win 2
and lose 5. Good wins against St Lawrence College, 43-24, and Folkestone Academy, 15-7, were
mixed in amongst some narrow defeats. Outstanding as always were Alex Waldron, Laurie Marshall,
Jake Allebone-Salt and Ali Wilkinson. Second row pairing Chris Smith and Noah Allen are developing
into good players, and new comer to the squad this season Connor McGrath has shown excellent
potential. Good luck to the boys as they prepare for Senior Rugby next year.
The purpose of the school 2nd XV is to keep students interested in rugby in year 11 and beyond as
well as introduce the sport to students joining the school in year 12. Many of these players will feed
the 1st XV in years to come so the 8 games played this season were invaluable. In addition, a number
of players enjoyed 1st team action this season which is testament to their development in a short
space of time. Captain Jamie Newgreen led the side admirably and was helped by a collective team
spirit and work ethic on the pitch that saw the side improve markedly during the season. The first 7
Page 31 of 35
games may have resulted in defeats (some close and others not so!) but the team managed to score
far more tries than in previous seasons. This gave encouragement as we went into our final game of
the season away at Bethany. We had the better of a tough first half against a big side, yet poor
decision making meant a 5-5 half-time scoreline. The second half was fantastic with great attacking
play matched with dogged try line defending as we ran in 3 tries to win the match 22-5. Many
players deserve mention but newcomers Ayo Anibaba, Adey Aderibigbe and Kayjay Abayomi
impressed with their improvement during the season.
Boys’ 1st XV Rugby
This season saw a change in leadership with Mr Riordan taking over as Head Coach of the Senior
Rugby teams, assisted by Miss Carnt and Mr Pearce. As a result this was always going to be a season
of transition, with the introduction of new ideas, concepts, and styles of play. However, results have
still been very positive and an encouraging season saw the First XV win five games and lose six.
Although this does not really tell the full story, as many of our defeats were close fought encounters.
The season started superbly with an excellent away win at local rivals Chatham House. The
Manwood’s backs were outstanding on the day, and some brilliant free flowing rugby saw us win 1412. A reality checked followed, with home defeat to a very forward heavy Norton Knatchbull side (515). SRMS responded well and then went on to beat Kent College at home in the Nat West Trophy
(34-5), and Kings’ Canterbury 2nds away (19-0). The second round of the Nat West Trophy gave
Chatham House an opportunity for revenge after our early season victory. Constantly looking after
the ball in the forwards gave Chatham House the spring board for a 26-15 win. SRMS again bounced
back from defeat, beating Dane Court in an untidy game by 25-0. With many senior players missing
through academic commitments back to back defeats followed against Maidstone Grammar (7-67),
Kent College (7-8), and Duke of York’s (19-26). One of the Highlights of the season followed. Despite
defeat at home to St Lawrence College (19-26) SRMS were truly outstanding against a side who have
absolutely blown away all of their opponents this season. The reaction of the St Lawrence boys when
they scored their last minute winning try said it all, and should be a massive complement to our
players. SRMS finished the season in style winning 33-5 away to Bethany School.
The squad has developed well this season and the players seemed to have enjoyed their rugby.
Special mentions must go to inspirational Captain Ben Ebden, who always leads by example and is
never anything short of outstanding on the pitch. Also to top try scorer Mark Thomas whose power
and pace seems to make him unstoppable at times. Finally to Will ‘edge of the law’ Thurgate whose
all-round game, and input to senior rugby has been outstanding since he fully returned to the fold
this season.
All of the players must take credit for this season. A much improved attitude towards attending
training, and communicating availability has resulted in better performances on the pitch and a
better atmosphere around the squad. This must now continue as we look to improve the standard
and reputation of rugby at SRMS, and ensure that we are always competitive on the pitch whoever
the opposition are.
Girls’ 1st XI Hockey
This year we were faced with the predominant fact that we had lost our two strongest players. Both
Charlotte Pape and Jessica Greaves were greatly missed this season; however as the true Manwoods
girls that we are we decided to work as hard as we could to have a successful season. Overall we
Page 32 of 35
won 2 of the 6 games played, with the match against Duke of Yorks’ being our strongest game ever,
even though we had to scrape a team together meaning there were no subs. Joanna Bramwell was
put in goal for the first time ever and played extremely well, defending numerous shots on goal.
Katie Williams, Lydia Elliot and Abbie Ball played extremely well throughout the season in the mid
and forward line and created structure to the team as the 3 best players. Jade Carney and Estelle
Papougnot both played extremely well in every match in defence as well as pushing the ball up the
pitch in times of attack.
Overall we have had a very enjoyable season with Coach Laslett. Despite the 4 losses, everyone has
worked really hard and had a lot of fun. Well done to all the girls who took part in 1st XI senior
hockey this year.
Girls’ 2nd XI Hockey
This year the seconds had a consistent season. Captained by Hannah Bossers; there were a few
disappointing losses against strong sides such as St Lawrence College and St Edmunds Canterbury.
The season finished with a draw against King’s Canterbury, where we saw impressive play from the
whole team.
Page 33 of 35
Throughout the season there was excellent goal keeping from Molly Farley, and goal of the season
goes to Hannah Bossers. Particular mentions must also go to Katie Scott and Jess Evangelou for
constant improvement. Overall a good season with a team that shows great promise for next year.
Girls’ U15 Hockey
The team started the season on two losses to
St Lawrence College and King’s Rochester
despite strong play from the defence. We
soon found our stride defeating Chatham and
Clarendon 3-0, with great play in midfield
from Megan Cantle and Lydia Elliot. Our next
game was Duke of Yorks where we won by a
very impressive 7-0, special mentions must
go to Jemma Venness for her hat-trick and other goals
scored by Olivia Sims. The team then faced King’s
Canterbury, but the improvements in the teamwork
showed and the final result was a fair 1-1 draw. We then
continued going from strength to strength with a strong
win against St Edmund’s Canterbury 2-0 with strong
defence from Beth Gwyer and Katie Williams driving the
team in attack. Well done to all the girls that trained and
played hard this season, great improvements have been
seen and the future looks good for girls hockey at SRMS.
Girls’ U14 Hockey
The U14s had a busy season, playing 8 matches as well as the County Tournament and considering
that 7 of their fixture were against strong independent schools they gave a very good account of
themselves achieving 3 draws and only losing the others by a small margin. In the County
Tournament they defended very well but failed to get the goals to progress through to the second
round. This is a team with real potential and with continued commitment and hard work, they will
do even better next year.
Girls’ U13 Hockey
This U13 team started the season in a very positive way. They played Ashford School with an A and B
team who drew and won respectively. Our next match was against Kent College and we finished
with a loss and a win. Of the next 5 matches that we played, we won 2 and lost 3 but we managed to
score a good number of goals overall with Lauren Martin and Harriet Williams being the top scorers.
This team worked hard throughout the season and put in a lot of time into their training. Final result
won 4, drew 1, lost 4. Well done to everyone for their hard work.
Page 34 of 35
Girls’ U12 Hockey
A fantastic turn out for the first hockey practice of
the season with a great mix of abilities and many
enthusiastic players. The U12s began the season
with 2 brilliant wins against Ashford School, but
then went on to play some very strong schools
and unfortunately had not quite gained enough
experience just yet. SRMS surely progressed over
the weeks taking on a tough St Lawrence side and
holding them to a 0-0 draw. The final game of the
season was an unlucky defeat against Simon
Langton, but it was clear to see how much the girls
have improved over the past 12 weeks and they should all be very proud of themselves.
Thank you to all the teachers involved in Girls Hockey this season, it’s been a great one and one to
remember.
Individual Sporting Achievements
Rebecca Baker 9TR recently played for Kent U15 girls in the SE England and London intercounty festival at
Orpington on Sunday 6th October. Kent won 2 games (vs Herts 20-0, vs Eastern Counties 25-0) and drew one
(vs Hampshire 5-5). Having won their pool they went through to the final where they beat Surrey (20-0). Becky
scored a try vs Herts and a second try against Surrey in the dying seconds of the final. She also assisted with
the final pass in 2 other of the 14 tries scored by Kent during the tournament. Well done Rebecca!
Congratulations to Rory Parker-Gorman (9D) who has recently just been graded a 2nd Dan in Taekwondo. This
is higher than black belt and means Rory can go on to reach 3 rd Dan. Well done and good luck.
Special mention to…
The Clay sisters in their fantastic performances at the Kent Cross-Country League race on Saturday 9th
November. Alex Clay (13E) won the senior women’s race by almost a minute, whilst sister Bobby Clay (12E)
stormed to victory by 39 seconds in the under-17 race.
Also to the Manwoodians who took part at the Kent School’s Sailing Association Regatta, held at Bewl Water
on Saturday 19th October. The team made up of Mark Thomas (13B), Michael Dyer (9Tu), Samuel Dyer (8Tu)
and Max Taylor-Nobbs (10C) came first overall. Well done boys!
Page 35 of 35