NEWSletter
Queen Elizabeth School
Summer 2010
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
HEADlines
CONTENTS
Headlines
Messages from Headteacher Chris Clarke
1
Important messages for parents
4
Reports from around the school
7
Educational trips, visits, excursions and expeditions
9
Noticeboard
On site
Off site
off to the drama showcase in
the Harlequin – some of the
best of this year’s Theatre Arts
work culminating in the most
extraordinary piece of devised
theatre I’ve seen in my time
at QES. Then you come out at
10pm, washed up wearily on
the welcome beach of evening
and it’s still light…wonderful.
Performing Arts
Coverage of the school’s recent dance, drama and music activities 16
International links
An entirely new section covering the global dimension 21
Focus on
Introducing the new Sixth-Form officials, and a discovery by the History Dept. 22
Learning matters
Language College roundup, and some keen readers and writers 27
QESA news
News from the parent/teacher association 37
Sports desk
A round-up of sports and games 39
AUTUMN TERM 2010
Wednesday 1st September
Thursday 2nd September
Friday 3rd September
Monday 6th September
Monday 25th October to Friday 29th October
Friday 17th December
Training Day
Years 7 and 12 only (Year 13 Review Day)
Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 only
All years
Half-term holiday
End of Autumn term (1.30pm)
SPRING TERM 2011
Tuesday 4th January
Wednesday 5th January
Friday 18th February
Monday 21st February to Friday 25th February
Friday 8th April
Training Day (South Lakes Federation)
Start of Spring term
Training Day
Half-term holiday
End of Spring term (1.30pm)
SUMMER TERM 2011
Friday 22nd April
Sunday 24th April
Monday 25th April
Wednesday 27th April
Monday 2nd May
Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June
Thursday 21st July
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QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Easter Bank Holiday Monday
Start of Summer term
Bank Holiday
Half-term holiday
End of Summer term (1.30pm)
Dear parents
I’m writing this with four weeks
to go of the summer term. Unbelievably, the exam season
still lingers like a chilling fog
rolling in to spread its damp
presence indefatigably over
the summer season.
However, it’s Kirkby Lonsdale
Arts Week and spirits have
been lifted by the energy of
Billy Elliot playing each day this
week to everyone in school.
And spirits were raised similarly
on Monday when the balcony
doors of the Art Building were
thrown open to let the sunshine breezes from Springfield
House garden waft creatively
among the wonderful art and
artefacts of the Art & Design
exhibition, mingling with a little airy jazz and a glass of wine.
And just as they were on Tuesday evening when I stood on
the Piazza watching a stream
of boys in crisp cricket whites
flow into the outpouring of primary school children from the
Harlequin Theatre who were, in
turn, engulfed by a wave of Year
Nines tugboating their parents
along to a Barcelona trip meeting in the Hall. For me it was a
quick catch-up with new building plans at a Governors’ Building Committee before darting
Summer at QES; I love it. Legions trooping off on D of E
expeditions; Year 7 residential
in the Lakes; work experience
and enterprise days; glorious
sports day (always with its
blue sky and sunshine…!); the
sponsored walk (a communal
hike of biblical proportions
and celebration of our environment); the mellow (except
for the organizers…) summer
fair; scintillating, jaunty Paris
for younger linguists; ashy
Iceland for our scientists, competitive, chummy Australia
for the sports élite. The whole
utter madness of communal
endeavour: calendar conflicts;
impossible
arrangements;
clashes and clangers but always the infectious optimism
of people who know they can
make it all work in the end;
people determined this
year will be the best
yet, forever dodging
and sidestepping the
lumbering giant
known as Exams.
And just when
we’ve said a
last
lingering
emotional
goodbye to
the best year
group ever, the
like of whose
talents
and
sheer niceness we’ll never see
again, another as yet disparate
group of ‘New Entrants’ creep
and bounce, anxious and excited onto the Piazza and set
in motion once more the deep,
mysterious process which sees
scuttling, awestruck children
grow to beautiful young adults
with unimaginable talents,
views and values and friends
for life.
Summer at QES. You just stand
in the middle of this great whirl
of Life and spin with it. Until
this week when, in a series of
stunning assemblies, we’ve all
been invited by the History department to pause…
As part of Arts Week they exhibited some of the many
boxes of artefacts and archive
materials which bear witness
to the unfolding history of
QES. There’s the ancient rusty
key which opened the great
oak door of the original Elizabethan Grammar School; there
are the various remnants of
uniform (such as these caps)
which have proved the pride or
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
2
scourge of generations of QES
children; there’s the school
magazine article in which the
Headmaster of the time gives
sombre notice of the intention
to continue business as usual
on the outbreak of the second
world war, the same magazine
unwittingly extolling the talents of the cricket captain soon
to be killed in action.
to academy status. If the Governors do vote in September
to pursue the modification of
our status it will be for the third
time in my tenure here, which
only makes me think how
many times in 420 years decisions have been taken which
have helped ensure the prosperity and strategic wellbeing
of our school.
In the series of assemblies
which ran through the week
John Stanley and Heather
Burkitt enthralled today’s QES
as they romped through the
photographs from the nineteenth century to the present
day which chart the changes
and, of course, the consistencies which form the continuum
which is QES: the school of the
1890s grouped before the rosy
portals of Springfield House;
the Edwardian girls in chemistry labs and on the cricket field;
a production of The Rivals in
1916; a horse-drawn carriage
ferrying a school trip to Settle;
the 1938 rugby team eager for
the fray yet about to be propelled into deadly combat. It’s
those two dimensions of QES
again, the one which rolls inexorably through the centuries –
stately, measured and sustaining – and the one which spins
around us in quotidian frenzy
– energetic, vibrant and exciting. How lucky QES students
are to be able to tune between
two wavelengths, the one with
its echoes of the Past and the
other with its shouts from the
Future.
It should give us great heart I
think, in the most bewildering
and complex of eras the School
has known, that the same sense
of solid independence of spirit
and quiet confidence which
has seen the School safely
through social revolution,
political upheaval and world
wars will be brought to bear
on negotiating satisfactorily
the current political and economic challenges. And I can’t
believe that in its long history,
the School has ever had such
an able, varied and committed
Governing Body to navigate a
passage through the rapids.
The governors represent for
QES that sense of continuity
which, looking back into the
past, sees the foundations of
a secure future far beyond the
confines of the present.
Such reflections strike me particularly as we end one year
and start the next with discussions about the benefits and
shortcomings of conversion
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
One aspect of the assemblies
this week which struck me so
forcibly was the linking together of the oldest and newest of QES values – ‘Respecting
the Past and Its Traditions’ and
‘Encouraging Global Citizenship’. The argument was that
by looking closely at the connections with our own close
community and its trials and
tribulations and its successes
and celebrations, we can better understand with tolerance
and respect our relationship to
the many other communities
throughout the world, each
with its own similar integrity,
where ultimately our current
students will live and prosper.
Whether it is in relation to our
orphanage in Malawi which
has so captured the hearts and
minds of staff and students
alike this year or it’s with our
South Lakes Federation family more locally, there is a very
strong sense that we are part
of an inter-connected, worldwide movement called ‘Education’, part of an evolutionary
impulse to make the world
better.
Whatever the outcome of the
current debate, I know that our
Governors will remain committed to the ideals of close
co-operation,
collaboration
and connection. I’m not sure
the academy initiative ever
had such ideals at its heart but
I do know that being more in
control of our own destiny will
always be appealing in that it
allows us more freedom to pursue the kind of future suggested by our values which remain
essentially liberal, tolerant and
generous of spirit rather than
self-serving and introspective.
That, of course, is what a QES
education is all about and I
would like to finish this year
with an expression of heartfelt
thanks to all those governors,
parents, friends, staff and students who have combined
with such passion and commitment to support one another and those around us this
hugely enjoyable and successful year.
Farewell to departing staff
We believe that one of the great
strengths of QES is its stability.
Children coming into school in
Year 7 know that the majority
of people working with them
will still be around when they
leave between five and seven
years later. Of course, occasionally we do have to say good bye
to friends and colleagues, but
what does it say about a school
when, of around 180 staff, only
3 are leaving this summer?
to get a booking in our Sports
Hall or on the all-weather pitch
during the week to test out the
vibrancy of local sport. Richard
is a man of real integrity who
has made a significant contribution in a modest and unassuming manner and he will
be sorely missed by students
who think the world of him.
He’s moving nearer ‘home’ to
become Head of PE at Queen
Ethelburga’s School in York.
Richard Mayhew
Marie Peace
When Richard Mayhew started
at QES as Director of Sport in
2006, we wanted him to concentrate on three things: to
get more students involved
in more sports; to improve
Of the small number of QES
staff who do leave, it’s amazing
how many go off abroad and
Marie Peace, who has been
teaching IT part-time at QES
since 2002, is going to live in
Pam Zahler has been working both full and part-time in
the Technology department
at QES since 2001 and like a
number of staff has had children go through school in that
time. Having started life as an
expert in three-dimensional
design, she has developed
latterly into a committed specialist in Graphics and has
achieved excellent results at all
levels. Indeed, it is Pam who is
credited with the introduction
the quality of the best; and to
build better relationships with
the local community. In all aspects he has done a first-rate
job. We have more sports on
offer and staggering numbers
of young people are involved;
we’ve managed to produce
county champions, regional
representatives and even internationals from among our
ranks and we’ve competed
impressively against some of
the top independent schools
in major sports; and just try
Canada. She will be a real loss.
Marie is one of our unsung
heroes: a quiet, modest and
unassuming person who just
gets on doing a fine job, building excellent relationships with
students and colleagues and
thoroughly conscientious at
all times. She is a consummate
professional and has been
such a reassuring presence in
the sometimes intimidating
world of IT. I often feel that one
of the ways QES has the edge
is in the quality of its part-time
of this subject at QES and it
has been her presence which
has allowed several students
to add this skill to their design
repertoire. Some of the work
produced in her classes is indistinguishable from professional products and this was
evidenced in the recent Art &
Design exhibition where the
Graphics work was stunning.
Pam is lively, interesting and
talented but has family projects
she wants to attend to!
C.Clarke
staff who don’t just ‘fill in’ but
bring really special qualities.
Marie has been a classic example of this and deserves a really
happy future in her new life.
Pam Zahler
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
NOTICEboard
Uniform matters
A
big thank you to all of
you who continue to
support our uniform
policy. Your children are a
great credit to you and get
lots of plaudits from visitors,
who invariably comment on
how smart and professional
they look.
A small number of you have
contacted us over the past
year when you’ve been having
problems with sizes or supply
and we have managed to work
closely with Daleswear to sort
out individual problems. One
frustration has been supply, as
the main manufacturer, Trutex,
went through a takeover, causing problems for retailers.
Daleswear are working with
a number of different manufacturers though. There have
always been two suppliers of
the boys’ trousers and at the
moment a group of pupils are
wear testing a third manufacturers’ products.
The same manufacturer has
come up with a skirt design
with a hidden zipped pocket
and a waistline that won’t roll
over so easily to produce the
“frilly mini” our girls seem to
favour at the moment (and get
strikes for!) and this local supplier is also working on designs
for girls’ trousers too, which will
go to wear-test in the autumn.
Also undergoing a wear-test
in school is a summer-weight
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QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
Attendance issues
fine in all weathers. The code
is published on the website in
the information section but I’ll
just run through the items that
will help you to make sure your
child is weather-proofed:
fleece fabric made from recycled textiles and we’ll let you
know the results of all the testing procedures as soon as we
have them.
Winter matters
I know that now we’re enjoying
a little long awaited sunshine,
the last thing you’ll want to be
reminded of is winter weather
but I know many of you will
be buying uniform, shoes etc
for the new school year during the summer break. If you
are, please remember that you
are buying items that will need
to stand up to the severest of
winters, especially when you
are purchasing shoes.
This year we were alarmed to
see girls paddling about in icy
puddles and trudging through
snow drifts in flimsy ballet
pumps or canvas shoes and to
hear that parents were labouring under the misapprehension that coats weren’t allowed
at all!
If pupils are kitted out with
the items we suggest in our
uniform code then they’ll be
Sturdy school shoes
(not canvas ones or
ballet pumps)
A plain shower-proof
coat that can be
rolled up and kept in
the school bag
Black hats, scarves
and gloves
A plain white vest or
t-shirt can be worn
underneath the
school shirt
When the weather was very
severe we asked pupils to use
their common sense and to use
sturdy boots and outdoor coats
by all means to get into school
but to bring carrier bags to put
them in during the school day
and change into more suitable
school shoes on arrival.
As always, a bit of forward
planning and preparation for
a Cumbrian winter goes a long
way when the bad weather
eventually arrives.
A.Wilkinson
We would just like to send
out a few reminders and
clarification about school
attendance procedures.
School should be notified of any
absence by 11am on the same
day either by phoning school
on 015242 71275 and pressing
option 1 to leave a message, or
by e-mailing school: studentabsence@queenelizabeth.
cumbria.sch.uk. This should be
followed-up by a letter on the
day of return.
The School and Local Authority do not encourage holidays
in term time due to the inevitable effect this has on pupil
learning and progress. However, although these should be
avoided where possible, we do
appreciate that some parents/
guardians are not always able
to take time off in school holidays. We would therefore remind you that holiday requests
must be made in writing to Ms
H Martin, Assistant Headteacher, c/o the school office as soon
as you know and at least two
weeks prior to the event. This
is to enable your request to be
authorised, processed and to
allow pupils time to collect any
work that will be missed.
It is difficult for us to authorise
any holiday absence that we
are not informed of in advance.
The LA also discourages us from
authorising any holidays during exam time and if you have
any doubt about dates, please
contact the school office who
will advise you of these before
booking your holiday.
Parents also need to be aware
that the new KS4 controlled assessments take place
throughout the year and can
account for up to 60% of the
final exam.
The school governors allow us
to give up to 10 days leave in
term time in any one year, but
this is of course dependant
upon good attendance, and
any time beyond this period
is considered unauthorised
absence. We would be grateful
for your support in these matters and thank you in advance
for your help. H.Martin (Assistant Headteacher)
C.Dennett (Attendance Officer)
The Westmorland Show 2010
This year’s Westmorland
Show takes place on Thursday 9 September and we
wanted to clarify our policy
on pupils who need to attend the show.
Serving a farming community, QES recognises the importance of these events.
Although official guidance
advises us to mark these absences as ‘unauthorised’, we
are prepared to grant it in
some instances.
We will be issuing passes this
year authorising our pupils
to attend the show if they are
involved in it. Pupils helping
show animals, sell produce
or generally supporting the
family business can obtain a
pass from Mrs Dennett in the
school office as long as the
request for a day’s absence is
made in writing to Mrs H Martin, Assistant Headteacher by
Monday 6 September. Such
absences will be authorised by
the school and LA as work experience and will not adversely
affect their attendance record.
According to our policy which
requires two weeks’ notice for absences
from school, we
will not be able
to issue passes
authorising
any absence
requested after that date.
Obviously,
pupils who absent themselves from
school without our
authorisation will be marked
down as an unauthorised absence (truancy), as has always
been the case.
You will shortly be receiving
a letter about this via your
child.
H.Martin
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
ONsite
Can You
Help?
e-safety: worrying research
The Design Technology
Department is changing
and as part of the new developments we would like
to purchase a laser cutter
like the one in the picture
below.
This is a piece of CAD/
CAM cutting and engraving equipment that will
benefit pupils of all ages
and help us meet exam
board requirements at
GCSE and A-level. We
have had a very generous
donation from the QESA
but still have a considerable amount to raise.
If you think you might be
able to help please contact Mrs Vose at school or
k.vose@queenelizabeth.
cumbria.sch.uk
We are looking for ideas
of unique ways to fundraise or volunteers who
think they might be able
to help. In addition we are
seeking donations from
any individuals or companies who feel able to
sponsor us. Thank you!
K.Vose
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QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
How safe is your child online? Worrying results from a
research project we’ve taken
part in suggest that 4 out of 5
of our young people might not
be very safe at all!
You may have seen from the
local press or BBC news that
we’ve been involved in really
interesting work with the Computer Research department of
Lancaster University. Professor
Awais and his team have been
designing software that will
help to detect paedophiles
posing as young people in
chat rooms in order to groom
children.
We have helped the project
by providing lots of data from
specially set up chat rooms.
Each chat room had five pupils
talking to a mystery person:
some were talking to their
peers, some to adults posing as
children. At the end of the chat
the pupils were asked the age
and gender of the person they
had just been talking to…and
80% of them got it completely
wrong! They thought they’d be
able to tell by using clues like
text language, topics of conversation or the use of smiley
faces for example, but these
were the techniques used by
the masquerading adults, so
the children were very easily
fooled.
We were glad that we could
make a contribution to something that could help all young
people to stay safer on line but
we were alarmed at just how
difficult it is for our children to
stay safe. The Professor came in
to school with detectives from
the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Service (CEOPS)
to talk to pupils and staff about
on-line dangers. The police
shared some recent cases with
us and afterwards we had lots
of pupils coming forwards with
their own stories of things that
they were worried about, including some very young girls
who were being encouraged to
send personal details and photographs to a “model agency”
– needless to say we reported
this straight to the police.
We cannot reinforce the message about e–safety enough.
As teachers and parents we
simply cannot afford to ignore
the dangers faced by young
people as they interact with
new communications technologies: phones, gaming consoles and computers all allow
internet access and the popularity of social networking has
meant a very rapid expansion
of opportunities for adults who
wish to do harm.
If you are at all unsure about
how to keep your child safe
you can contact us and we’ll
share with you what we are
learning as we go along. The
CEOPS website is a very useful source of information and
there are links to lots of useful advice websites from our
own website. Just click on the
e-safety advice button at the
bottom of the right-hand side
of the screen.
If you are worried about any
aspect of your child’s safety
please don’t hesitate to contact
us - we are always here to help.
A.Wilkinson
Landscape Committee create new water feature
The Landscape Committee
first discussed building a water
feature in Ann’s Garden three
years ago, but we didn’t know
how to go about it - so we
called on the expert advice of
Mr Evison. We got the materials reclaimed from elsewhere
in the school and we had Mr
Dent from the Site Team to
help us, so all we needed was
the skills of an engineer.
That’s where Mr Evison came
in. So we set out with a plan
and set to work. On the morn-
ing of 17th May we started by
setting the slate out into piles
of the same size pieces. About
an hour later we put a layer of
cement on the base and placed
the slate very carefully round
the edge. At 10:45 we had a
visit from Café Q, bringing us
some very welcome hot drinks
and bacon butties!
After our relaxing break we
had completed a quarter of the
way up our supporting plant
pot. We had a 20-minute lunch
break and set to work again.
After working flat out all afternoon, 3pm came and finally we
got the last layer put on. It was
an amazing experience.
On 21 May we had the official
opening, which was attended
by the Landscape Committee.
Mr Foster, Miss Jackson and
many other staff came. It was
officially opened by Luke Morris and Mr Evison switched on
the water. Rome has the Trevi
Fountain and now QES has the
Evi Fountain!
Luke Morris
Science Club
Report
Following the success of the
Murder Mystery after Christmas, a Science Club Committee was formed from Year 7, 8,
9 and 13 Science Club members, helpers, technicians and
teaching staff. The result was
a successful bid for extra funding which has allowed us to experiment with new practicals,
which have included messy
volcano simulations in the
week of the Iceland volcano,
fragranced bath bombs and
making fire extinguishers. We
were treated to a surprise visit
from Mrs Prior and her rescue
rabbits in Spring and another
highlight was a 37-pupil strong
trip in June to the Museum of
Science and Industry in Manchester. The committee (with
a small amount of help from
teaching staff ) decide on a
programme of activities for our
Tuesday lunchtime sessions, all
of which involve lots of fun, lots
of mess and, of course, plenty
of interesting Science!
A.Waters
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
OFFsite
It’s Springwatch at QES!
Well, you may have marvelled
at the images of nature broadcast on the BBC over the past
few weeks, but here at QES we
have had our own amazing
experiences with our feathered friends. The nest boxes
that were carefully located by
Messrs Wynne and Dent were
occupied by a blue tit family and a nuthatch family, the
youngsters fledging successfully just after half term.
The highlight of the term
though was, surprisingly, not
England’s performance at the
World Cup but an oystercatcher that decided the best place
to lay her two eggs was on the
middle of the astroturf pitch!
Two beautiful speckled eggs
have been incubated over the
last few weeks and we are all
waiting with bated breath to
see if they will hatch.
The parents have been taking
turns to brood the eggs and
have had to cope with strong
winds and regular disturbances as people have parked their
cars, but they seem to be doing
a good job. The PE department
have been extremely patient
and have even postponed the
inter-form hockey to give the
eggs a chance to hatch. Fingers
crossed we will be seeing two
bundles of fluff in the next few
days so that they can vacate
the astroturf and make their
way to a more familiar habitat.
Hopefully we will continue
to nurture the wildlife on the
QES site – we already have a
number of nest boxes and bird
feeders and in the new year
will look to provide more habitats for birds and insects.
A.Rogers
PS please still keep sending in your stamps for the
ongoing Save the Albatross
appeal!
New recycling system introduced
At QES we take the future of
the planet very seriously. A
key part of moving towards
a sustainable future is an understanding of waste and its
disposal. On 23 March this year
members of the school ‘sustainability club’ were joined by
Envirofirst, our local experts in
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QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
waste collection and recycling.
Under the watchful eye of the
professionals, pupils spent
a whole day knee-deep in a
week’s worth of the school’s
waste. Our ordinary general
waste bins were emptied-out
and re-sorted into a variety of
recyclables. As well as being
great fun for all, the exercise
provided valuable data that will
be used inform the provision of
recycling bins on site over the
course of the coming year. The
sorted waste was shipped off
to Envirofirst’s depot in Lancaster to be recycled.
S.Holmes
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award
Letter from Year 10 to Year 9
So, Year 9s – you want to do D
of E next year? This is what the
award is about and here are
our top ten tips to help you get
the most out of it!
What is the D of E award?
The Duke of Edinburgh Award
is an achievement award which
is also a great opportunity to
gain new skills, experiences
and friends! It looks great
on your CV and teaches you
about your personal strengths
and weaknesses. It is divided
into different sections and to
achieve the Award you need to
show that you are responsible
(Expedition section), capable
of helping your community
(Volunteering section), getting
or keeping fit (Physical section) and developing interests
– there’s a long list to choose
from (Skills section). You have
to stick at each of these activities for 3-6 months, for at least
an hour a week.
Finally, after going to training
sessions every week at school
for the Expedition section you
get to go on two expeditions
which are loads of fun. The
meetings are interesting because you are learning about
doing an Expedition right on
your doorstep. It’s great because you get to make new
friends and after working towards it for so many months
it’s great to finally get to go on
your expedition.
Top tips for getting
the most out of it
Pick activities you’ll like and
that you’ll want to stick at.
If you already do an activ-
Bronze expedition - Dentdale
Learn from mistakes, and
remember it’s meant to be fun!
ity such as hockey club or you
already play a musical instrument then these can count, so
use them.
Appreciate the help your
teachers give you.
Get started on the different
sections as soon as possible,
then keep up to date with your
log book and meetings.
Avoid a competitive attitude – this is NOT what the
Award is about! Listen to each
other and work together, not
at individual tasks.
Choose an expedition group
who have the same goals as
you – if they are not as keen as
you, you won’t get on.
Don’t over-pack, e.g. take
one main meal for your group
rather than several packets
of rice, because that way it’s
quicker to cook and it means
someone isn’t waiting for their
dinner while everyone else is
eating!
Be prepared for all posible
weather conditions.
Choose an aim for your expedition that suits where you
are going. While on your expedition gather lots of evidence
to make an original presentation that shows you care.
And finally, a note from Mrs
Lomax – the groups have yet
again excelled themselves,
impressing us with their organisation, competence and
enthusiasm whilst on their expeditions. We have done our
bit signing up log books after
expeditions and presentations,
but it is always a shame when
the Award then doesn’t get finished. So parents, please urge
your child to get all four sections signed off and correctly
dated by their assessors; then
they can return log books to us
so that we can have them processed by the County office. If
pupils wish to go on to do Silver, it is particularly important
that their Bronze level award
is completed and processed
before the autumn as this will
reduce the time that needs to
be spent on each section at Silver level.
S.Lomax
Bronze expedition - Dentdale
9
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Outdoor Expedition — Glencoe, Scotland
Friday 30 April 2010
Whilst the staff of QES were
discussing the school’s international dimension, nineteen
intrepid explorers were setting
off on their own international
expedition.Well, up the M6
to Scotland anyway! After a
long drive through the beautiful Scottish countryside and
a few games of I-spy (most of
which were won convincingly
by Mr Leedham!) we arrived
at our destination just outside
Kinlochleven – we had a Youth
Hostel to ourselves in the stunning surroundings of Glencoe
and after a home made pizza
to die for from Mr Brooks, we
had an early night ready for the
walking ahead.
Day One
Glencoe - the Lost Valley. Expecting previously-thoughtto-be-extinct pterodactyls to
swoop off the cliffs, we made
our way up the “Lost” or “Hidden” valley toward the peak
of Bidean nam Bian. Well,
there were no dinosaurs, but
there were some excellent
stream crossings, some very
friendly chaffinches, a stretch
of green grass that you could
have played cricket on and a
very steep climb! There was
still a lot of snow on the tops
and after Mr Gerrard’s superb
identification of mountain
10
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
hare droppings, we were in for
a real treat - an ice axe lesson.
Now Fergus McArthur with an
axe is a sight to behold, but we
were in the hands of an expert
in the form of Mr Brooks and
we were soon learning how to
break a slide on our bum, abdomen and any other manner
of positions. We headed up to
the summit to be met with a
“seasonal” snow
flurry and mooched across
to Stob Coire nam Beith before heading down a fantastic
scree slope to return to our bus
and head back for some well
earned carbohydrates.
Day Two
Ben Nevis here we come. We
made the short bus trip to the
foot of the tallest mountain in
Britain and looked up at the
peak that was shrouded in
grey cloud. It looked massive!
We headed off along the newly
constructed path towards the
boggy slope that would lead
us up the Carn Mor Dearg
arête. We all found it hard to
comprehend just how imposing the Ben looked. It put the
Lake District Mountains in the
shade. After a long climb, the
highlight of my trip arrived in
the form of a pair of ptarmigan
just coming out of their winter
colours…superb!
The evening saw the opportunity for the students to experience the ice climbing wall at
Kinlochleven. After Mr Brooks’
expert tuition during the day
coupled with some additional
training by the centre staff,
they were off up the ice like,
well, like ice climbers! Suffice
to say there were some tired
limbs when we got back to
the hostel and a hearty meal
was required. A variety of
We arrived on top of the ridge
path and it didn’t look quite
as narrow as we first thought
(although try telling that to
Mrs Cox!) The final ascent was
up a steep snow slope and after cutting some steps in the
ice/snow we finally summited
after six arduous hours - but
boy was it worth it! The top
was a flat plateau (below) with
stunning views of a 360 degree
panorama to die for. We took
“we were in the
hands of an expert
in the form of
Mr Brooks”
Year 7
Residential
dishes were on offer, from fish
chowder (!) to six foot wide pizzas, but Mr Gerrard’s spag bol
would have sunk a ship, there
was so much of it!
the obligatory photos on top
of the trig point and then spotted a snow bunting waiting
to be fed on the emergency
shelter! Our attempts to make
a snow football were not quite
up to scratch, but what followed can only be described
as bum-sliding heaven. Put
it this way, it didn’t take us as
long to descend the mountain.
The tourist track provided our
eventual route down and this
was a killer on the knees, but
we eventually found ourselves
crossing the stream in the valley and meeting up with the
welcome sight of Mr Brooks
bringing the bus. More carbohydrates awaited at the hostel.
Day Three
Our last day. We packed up our
stuff and headed south for our
final walk of the trip. We were
all tired (except Kate Donovan
who has steel cables in her
thighs!) but looking forward
to more great views across the
Scottish hills and glacial valleys.
Our destination was Stob Gabhar, above Glen Etive. It was a
long walk in to the foot of the
mountain, but we were treated
to great views of red deer and
an amazing double rainbow in
the valley. There was a midday
game of charades on the hillside before we made the final
push up towards the summit. It
was another very steep climb,
but after eventually reaching
the top, we were treated to
the best views yet. The sky was
cloudless and the hills and valleys stretched to the horizon. A
peregrine falcon soared overhead as we scoffed our butties on the summit. Absolutely
perfect! Another descent to
test the synovial fluid and we
were back at the bus. Celebratory cake consumption followed and very soon we were
homeward bound. Even a traffic hold-up could not dampen
our spirits.
I would like to thank the
other eighteen members of
the group who made this trip
memorable in so many ways
- Mrs Cox, Mr Brooks, Mr Leedham, Mr Gerrard, Miss Garne,
Alastair Fleming, Fergus McArthur, Jake McCanney, Robert
Hoggarth, David Thexton,
Vicky Taylor, Charlotte Rickards,
Lizzie Wignall, Philip Jackson,
Sam Mason, Kate Donovan,
Matthew Percy and Joe WilkinOxley. It was great to say goodbye to the Year 13 students on
such a high and we will look
forward to seeing the Year 11s
and 12s again in Snowdonia in
October!
A.Rogers
We had lots of fun on the Year
7 residential in June at Fell End
in Sedbergh. We first pitched
up our tents. Then we went
on a hike up Winder, which
was tiring but fun. After a rest
at the top, most of us rolled a
distance down the hill before
getting up and starting walking down again. When we
got back Mr Wilson made up
a game called crazy football.
After that we had some supper. We had lasagne which Mrs
Braithwaite made and it was
gorgeous. After supper we had
a game of dodgeball and then
played jenga.
On Thursday we went ghyll
scrambling at Hell Gill. This
was fun and we got very wet.
After ghyll scrambling we
went to the park in Sedbergh
and played rounders. Then
we went back to Fell End and
all the children did a BBQ. We
cooked sausages and burgers. After that we had a game
of crazy football. On Friday
we went canoeing on Windermere. We were canoeing for a
bit and then rowed to the bank
and had lunch. When we got
back to where we started we
went to a pier and jumped off
it. After that we changed and
went back to QES.
Faye Oliver 7K
11
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
in order to avoid paying them
a pension, they were summarily sacked. At last, 65 years after the war ended, they were
getting the recognition they
deserved.
Washington 2010
hilarious whodunnit that the
audience participates in, and
then thrilled them by saying
he had tickets for the performance just about to start.
Performing in the Elizabethan Theatre
On Friday 19 March 23 tired
but happy students, and four
exhausted but equally happy
teachers, returned after two
weeks in the USA that were
as successful and enjoyable as
any of our previous trips.
From Heathrow we flew direct
to Washington Dulles airport
where our old friend Brian
was waiting to drive us to our
hotel in the always-demanded
yellow school bus. Once again
we were staying in the very
comfortable Carlyle Suites,
Washington’s well-known art
deco hotel in fashionable Dupont Circle, an area of lively
restaurants and bars, just two
blocks from the Metro and only
a fifteen minute walk from the
White House and all the major
tourist sites in downtown DC.
12
Having travelled over three
thousand miles and conscious
that the trip takes place in term
time, we were determined to
pack in as much of what this
most beautiful capital city has
to offer as we could. The Smithsonian group of museums and
galleries that line the National
Mall, the open grassed area
that stretches the one and a
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
half miles between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial,
are amongst the finest in the
world. The Air and Space, the
American History, the Natural
History, the Museum of the Native American Indian, the Hirshorn Museum of Modern Art,
the West and East buildings
of the National Gallery of Art,
where we had a guided tour
and the US Holocaust Museum
are all closely adjacent so we
were able to move easily from
one to the other.
For the second year we also
visited the Newseum, the
museum dedicated to the
freedom of the press. Here, as
well as enjoying the fun of a
4D introductory film, we saw
how the world’s greatest news
stories were made and also
had the opportunity to become a news reporter for the
cameras. We also visited the
Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts. Here Mr Clarke asked
the group if they knew what
was the longest-running play
in the US featuring in one of
the Centre’s theatres. Naturally
they hadn’t a clue, though they
tried to guess. He told them
the answer, Shear Madness, a
9.30 Monday morning saw us
at the Capitol, the centre of
government for the United
States. We entered through the
fabulous new Visitors’ Centre,
feeling very grand when we
were able to walk straight in
and not have to join the long
queues of people eyeing us
enviously. Here we were met
by David Hauck, Director of
Special Services to Congress,
an old friend, who was to give
us our customary private tour.
Our tour ended with a visit
to the House of Representatives. There is a visitors’ gallery
where you are allowed to sit
for a maximum of 15 minutes.
But not for QES groups! For the
second time we were given the
rare privilege of sitting in the
floor of the House, immediately in front of the Speaker’s desk,
in the seats occupied when the
House is in session by the most
senior Democrats. Our tour
over, we took the underground
connecting walkway to the Library of Congress, justifiably
acclaimed to be one of the
most magnificent buildings in
the world. Thomas Jefferson
donated his own personal library to form the nucleus of a
library that, like our Bodleian
Library, has a copy of every
book printed, for, he said, there
was not a subject that at some
time a member of Congress
would not have to refer to.
Washington is also a city of memorials. Every major event in
the Americans’ history and the
people who have shaped them
are remembered. Thursday,
the day after the Festival, was
a real walking day. We would
visit the most famous memorials on foot, walking from the
Washington Monument, the
landmark obelisk in the centre
of the Mall, then west to the
domed Jefferson memorial set
amid cherry trees on the tidal
basin, then to the FDR memorial, the Korean memorial, across
to the Lincoln memorial, where
we would stop for lunch, then
across to the famous Vietnam
Wall and back up to the latest
memorial, the World War Two.
That was the plan!
Our first stop was the Washington Monument, where a very
helpful parks’ ranger came over
to offer information. In answering questions about the Monument he just happened to let
slip that at the World War Two
memorial, a couple of hundred
yards away, Tom Hanks was at-
tending a special ceremony to
celebrate the veterans of that
war. That was it! Mr Clarke’s
plan went out of the window
as the group charged over,
found superb vantage points
and saw not only Tom Hanks
but also Steven Speilberg. After that we were able to get
back on track.
One feature of the trips over
the years is the number of interesting people we have met
and this year was no exception.
At the FDR memorial, where
the weather had fortunately
turned sufficiently spring-like
for the waterfalls to be turned
on, we met with a tiny ninetythree year old lady, dressed in
uniform, who had come to the
capital to attend a ceremony
in the Capitol honouring, for
the first time since the war,
the work of the WASPS, the
women who tested repaired
bomber planes and flew them
out to the men on the front
lines. Shamefully after the war,
And what of the Festival, the
principal reason for our trip?
Happily we can report that
the group really did us and
the school proud with a great
performance of A Comedy of
Errors, for which they received
a number of excellent acting awards. It made all the
rehearsing worthwhile. To
perform in the Elizabethan
theatre in front of such an enthusiastic audience was a tremendous thrill and we were
in celebratory mood when we
went out that night to a new
rendezvous,Bupa do Beco’s, a
great Italian restaurant on Connecticut Avenue.
The weekend in Annapolis was
again one of the trip’s main
highlights. The Broadneck
High School hosts were incredibly generous and amongst
the treats our students experienced were a bonfire party,
where all the QES group, their
American hosts and their hosts’
friends met together, ice-skating, midnight bowling and visits to the National Aquarium in
Baltimore. No wonder it was a
shock to their system to have
to be in school with their hosts
at 7a.m on Monday morning!
This was a terrific trip with an
absolutely delightful group of
young people described by Mr
Clarke as “the nicest group of
young people you could possibly imagine spending time
with.”
D.Sharratt
13
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Geographers in The Lakes
On 7 June, Year 9 geographers
went on a trip to Grasmere. The
weather was not very good as
it rained very heavily all day,
but we still had a great time.
First of all we went up a hill to
measure path erosion, which
is a major problem in the Lake
District. We had to measure
the width of the path and how
steep it was and lots of other
things. We recorded our results
on a laptop and made a few
videos.
We ate lunch on the bus as it
was still raining a lot and in the
afternoon we went on a walk
around Grasmere. We stopped
at several different locations
to make sketches of different
views. We then walked to a car
park where we were picked up
by a bus and returned home.
Josh Norman
Young
firefighters
I thought that the Young Firefighters course was great fun
and sometimes hard work
and tiring, but it’s all paid off,
because in two weeks we’re
getting our award and doing
our passing-out parade. At the
passing out parade on 29 June
we get to show off all of our
skills that we have learned over
the last eight weeks such as
good teamwork and communication skills. We did first aid,
how to use fire hydrants and
how to put out fires. But the
funniest part was crushing and
smashing up the car and what
to do at a car collision. It was
really fun and very upsetting.
Jool Hirons 9L
Sheepdog
training
I have been going to Greenland’s Farm at Tewitfield to
learn about sheepdog training with Stuart Walton. I have
been taking my dog Nip with
me. Neither of us knew what
we were doing at the start, but
with Stuart’s help we’ve learnt
so much. It’s just like One Man
and his Dog! This has been a
fantastic opportunity for me
and Nip. If anyone else out
there wants to learn to train
sheepdogs then you should go
to an expert like Stuart Walton
- he’s really good!
Katie Onions, 9E
14
Year 10 geographers also carried out
fieldwork in the Lakes. They enjoyed
better weather than the Year 9s
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
Cockermouth after the floods
chard Southwell Bourke, the
6th Earl of Mayo, former M.P
.for Cockermouth and Viceroy
of India. He was assassinated in
the Andaman Islands.
Back in March I had the pleasure of driving Mr Davies and a
group of sixth-form students to
the Eco Centre at Cockermouth
School for a series of ICT lectures. The school is a specialist
language, mathematics and
computing school which is
why it was chosen to host the
day. Whilst the students were
being educated I walked into
the town to see what I could
learn about the community of
Cockermouth.
I am sure we all recall the floods
which engulfed the town during the night of 19/20 November last year and I quickly realised that this was a community
not back on its feet yet even
four months later.
was caused by a tree being
jammed against the bridge.
The most moving thing of all
was the emotional support
which the primary school
children were giving to those
whose premises were boarded
up. They had coloured-in some
pictures and pinned them to
I was fascinated to learn that
Fletcher Christian, from just
outside the town, has a public
house named after him. He was
the Master’s Mate on board the
Bounty, on William Bligh’s fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants. Fletcher Christian
seized command of the ship
and instigated the ‘mutiny on
the Bounty’.
I noticed a plaque on a wall
dedicated to an astronomer
called Fearon Fallows who had
lived there. He was elected a
fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and appointed to a
post at the Cape of Good Hope.
He built the first astronomical
observatory in the southern
hemisphere, and catalogued
almost three thousand stars.
One look along the main street
told me that this was definitely
not a town open for business
again yet. Most of the premises
were either boarded–up or had
workmen in them, and skips
lined both sides of the streets.
A couple of contractors restoring a public house showed me
the street where a life-boat had
rescued people from an upstairs window. In all, over 200
people had been saved either
by boat, R.A.F. helicopter or by
the Mountain Rescue.
the plywood with the message
that they were thinking about
them and praying for them.
For a town of only 8,000 inhabitants Cockermouth has had its
fair share of influential characters, and we haven’t even
mentioned Keith and Heather
Rushton, the parents of our
Deputy Head of Sixth form
who live there as well!
As I stood on the bridge over
the River Cocker I could see a
badly-damaged
footbridge
upstream with men and diggers working on the eroded
banks on either side. Downstream, half a bridge had had
completely gone. Two elderly
locals told me that the damage
to the stonework and railings
on the bridge where we stood
After surveying the flood-damage and the restoration efforts
I was interested in finding out
more about the town .I knew
that William Wordsworth and
his sister Dorothy were born
there, but when I found Wordsworth House I was disappointed to find that it was closed.
In the main street there is an
imposing marble statue of Ri-
As we drove home Mr Davies
and I reflected on a day which
had proved enlightening for
students, teacher and driver
alike. Perhaps the most amazing thing of all was that Hari
Gujral managed to read 325
pages of his book in the Sea of
Silver Light series on the journey there and back!
S.Dent
“One look along
the main street told
me this was
definitely not a
town open for
business again yet”
15
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
PERFORMINGarts
at QES. Well done to everyone
involved! Particular highlights
were Niall Collingwood’s gutsy
Consider Yourself, Aidan Rowlands’s Caro Mio Ben and the
ever-wonderful Otto Regazze’s
two finale numbers. Looking
forward to next year’s!
Music round-up
Jazz Night on Thursday
4th March featured not only
the wonderful voices of the
sixth-form choirs, but also
their instrumental skills (e.g.
Tom Clarke on guitar and Simon Balshaw on the piano).
Mr Rushton was the host and
compère, and also sang a duet
with Miss O’Neill, to the delight of the audience. Thanks
to our guest performers, the
Saxophone Quartet and – who
could forget – Mr Foster on
the piano, sharing his keyboard with Mr Morwood and
Mrs Hartley. Let’s keep raising
money, singers!
Five, played by Miss McLeod,
Rosie Burd and Helen Stacey,
was particularly enjoyable, as
was the Lower Strings Group’s
performance, under the direction of Mr Milner.
The Lower Strings and Harp
Festival (top picture below)
took place on March 11th,
and was full of excellent performances by beginners and
more experienced players.
Well done to everyone who
brought their own harp (one of
the least portable instruments
invented), and to all those who
played a solo or a group piece.
The harp trio version of Take
The Flute Festival (above),
on March 18th, was the usual
excellent occasion, with over
twenty
performances
by
people in every year group.
Apart from providing a great
opportunity for some exam
candidates to practise their
showpieces in a friendly environment (although maybe they
find it scarier to play in front of
seventy people than they do
16
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
to play for a microphone and
a couple of teachers behind a
recording desk), it gave some
inexperienced Year 7 pupils the
chance to play in a safe group
of three or four, rather than doing a terrifying solo. Mrs Milner
must have been very proud of
her pupils.
Spring Concert
The Spring Concert (bottom
left) took place on March 25th,
compèred by Simon Balshaw
and Ryan Metcalfe, and skilfully staged and lit by Mr Evison
and his team. The programme
was packed with some splendid items, including Queen
and The Doors side-by-side
with Mozart himself, while old
favourites like the Titanic song
(practically a classic by now,
surely) and With or Without You
(U2) sat comfortably with tudor
madrigals and cockney oldtimers. What a variety! Whizzing straight through without
an interval was a sure way to
make this an uninterrupted
tour of the classical, popular
and jazz greats.
Vocal Festival
The Vocal Festival on May 12th
was a big hit, with solos by
many people who were doing
their first public performance
Guitar Festival
The Guitar Festival on May
13th featured a lot of superb
solos but also a lot of group
performances, with some performers supporting more than
one co-guitarist in their playing. It makes a really lovely atmosphere when students turn
up just to play for someone
else, or get up to play in more
than one item so that another
player can give a more rounded performance. Well done,
everybody, and special thanks
to Mr Kellett and M Lheureux.
Samling Outreach 2010
This two-day project saw
members of St Mary’s Primary
School and QES choirs team
up with a specially-picked orchestra to present three medleys of well-known folk songs,
spirituals and opera choruses
to a packed St Mary’s Church
on Wednesday 5th May. (picture, right). The Samling Scholars – four singers and a pianist
– gave presentations to QES
KS3 classes and to the primary
school pupils, and the Berkeley Ensemble (right) did the
same, as well as running an after-school composition workshop for Year 10 GCSE Music
students and recording their
compositions. Some of those
were performed in the concert
on May 5th, and sounded brilliant! We are hoping to be able
to welcome the Ensemble back
to QES several times next year.
The A2 Music recitals offered
our Year 13 students the chance
to run their exam programme
in front of a scary audience, in
preparation for the real thing
(in front of Mrs Morwood, Mrs
Hartley and a microphone –
much less daunting). The scary
audience was an appreciative
and cheerful bunch, and they
were treated to five fantastic
recitals by Zoe Craven, Simon
Balshaw, Oliver Goss, Anna
Cooper and Charlotte Tomlin.
Fingers crossed for results day!
The Choir Tour preview took
place on June 28th in St Mary’s
Church. More on this, and on
the Bruges tour itself, in the
next newsletter.
J.Hartley
17
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Senior Plays
The months of June and
July saw performances of
two plays by students from
Years 10 to 13.
Woyzeck
Woyzeck was performed in
Anne’s Garden, where the
weather, location and performances all combined to make
A Dream of
Blue Water
Over four evenings in early July
the Drama department staged
A Dream of Blue Water, a play
telling the story of a young girl
who joins the Russian Army after the Battle of Stalingrad. In
Germany she is witness to an
act of savagery that alters the
course of her life.
Some years later she returns
home in an attempt to confront
her demons and the daughter
she left behind. The intimate
atmosphere of the drama studio provided audiences with an
intense and powerful series of
performances from students in
three outstanding evenings of
performances of the highest
standard.
Years 10 through to 13. Emmie
Coxey, in a demanding and difficult role, gave an emotionally
sustained, mature and moving
performance as Zinaida, the
protagonist, whose story is the
focus of the piece. A magnificent supporting cast worked
as a mature and focused ensemble, giving performances
at the highest level.
The play was written and directed by Mr Brown. Becky
Radcliffe was Assistant Director, and the performers were:
Emmie Coxey, Eliza Redfern,
Chloe Johnston, Annie Neat,
Fae Sharples, Catherine Favret,
Rachel Smith, David Thexton,
Sam Mason, David Ely, Tom
Clarke, Macauley Collinson, Sophie Webster, Connor Colyer.
J.Brown
Annual Drama Showcase
This year Mr Brown and Mr
Fleming hosted our first
Drama Showcase in the Harlequin Theatre on the 17th
of June.
The evening presented a range
of stunning Drama work from
students in Years 10, 11, 12 and
13 and showcased a combination of both exceptional practical exam work and extra-curricular theatre staged over the
academic year.
The evening was a great success, with a range of students
displaying their skill and commitment to Drama in all its
forms at QES.
Particular highlights of the
evening were extracts from
The Glass Menagerie and The
House of Bernarda Alba, as well
as a dark and twisted (yet raucously funny) devised piece of
drama from Chloe Johnston,
Emily Watts and Catherine Favret, influenced by the ideas
of theatre practitioner Steven
Berkoff.
The staff were very proud of
the students who staged their
Drama work, with the feedback
being nothing short of remarkable. Many people were staggered at the level of creativity
and energy put into exam work
at the school. We intend making this an annual event.
L.Fleming
BTEC Assessment Evening
Year 13 BTEC actors held their
annual assessment evening in
May. Students performed their
work as part of the Performing
to an Audience unit in which assessment takes place in front
of a live audience. All the students did credit to themselves
with some outstanding performances and therefore outstanding grades.
L.Fleming
Kishon McGuire was a compelling and believable Franz
Woyzeck, mentally degenerating as a result of his living on
nothing but peas for the local
doctor; Connie Bancroft played
Marie, his adulterous wife, with
intensity and focus, culminating in her brutal and visually
stunning murder.
18
The cast performed as a tightly
knit ensemble, pushing the
grotesque and distorted characters they portrayed in a fluid
and thought-provoking physical style, and with a very real
sense of maturity and commitment.
J.Brown
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
19
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
INTERNATIONALlinks
Billy Youth Theatre
We were very fortunate to
be selected by the judges to
perform at the Lowry Theatre
alongside six other very talented youth groups and schools
in an evening of outstanding
youth theatre.
In October we had a unique
opportunity to apply for the license to stage a version of Billy
Elliot the Musical along with
115 other school and youth organisations across the country.
As part of the Billy Youth Theatre project we were to submit a
ten-minute extract to a panel
of judges with the aim of being selected to be involved in a
performance of Billy Elliot at the
Lowry Theatre in Manchester.
To help the production get
started, Mr Marriott and Mr
Fleming were invited to attend
a workshop weekend at the Palace Theatre in London, hosted
by the Billy Elliot creative team.
Our initial ten-minute extract
included the moment Billy is
kept behind at his local boxing club to practice and stumbles across Mrs Wilkinson and
her ballet class in the musical
number Shine.
20
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
The next stage was to create
further extracts from the musical for the Kirkby Lonsdale Arts
Festival. The aim was to create a
shortened version of the show,
accompanied by an outstanding student orchestra, which
kept the best musical numbers in and still told the story.
We performed to an audience
of over a thousand during the
Arts Festival. This culminated
in a very special evening where
an audience received a three
course meal before watching
our Billy Elliot performance.
There were many incredible
performances, including Lily
Turner as Mrs Wilkinson, the
Ballet Girls (who worked at a
seemingly professional level
from day one), Sophie Webster in a solid and very funny
performance as Grandma, and
Joe Whittle who stepped in
at the last minute to play Mr
Braithwaite and almost stole
the show. A special mention is
well deserved for Callum Leech
who played Billy Elliot. Callum’s
dance ability was evident from
the moment we cast him but
he continued to grow as an
all-round performer and by the
final night his dancing, singing,
acting (and his Geordie accent)
were outstanding. The whole
process was incredibly enjoyable with hard work and enthusiasm from everyone.
J.Marriot, L.Fleming
Dance Showcase
This year’s event was an eclectic mix of styles highlighting
the diversity of talent at QES.
We had many excellent exam
pieces from individuals and
groups on GCSE, BTEC and A
Level courses - a great demonstration of the outstanding
work in dance lessons.
There were also pieces from
our dance performance companies - South Lakes Youth
Dance, led by Claire McDowell
our community dance officer,
did a musical theatre inspired
piece; Raucous Boys Dance led
by Mr Marriott and Lily Turner
did a high-energy piece; QED
led by Megan Alder-Cox did a
beautiful ballet piece; and Aurora Dance Theatre, led by Mr
Marriott and Mr Brown, did a
dramatic piece that explored
music, spoken word and movement. These companies create
work that is seen by larger
audiences in theatres like the
Brewery and The Dukes.
There were also pieces from
our dance clubs; Yr 7 Dance
Club led by Mrs Winstanley
and Junior Dance Club led by
Miss Smith. Some pieces were
also created especially for the
dance show, by our younger
dancers who are starting to
make their presence known.
We also saw two musical numbers from the Billy Youth Theatre project we have been running this year.
There will be many more exciting opportunities next year for
anyone interested in performing or creating dance.
J.Marriott
QES students continue to develop an awareness of the International Dimension in class, through cross-curricular activities
such as Immersion Days, via assemblies and through a range
of International Visits. A series of flags have been raised in the
Main Corridor to celebrate the links QES has with its partner
schools in many different parts of the world.
A.Douglas
Malawi links
This year Miss Phillips has been
very busy making birthday
cards for all the children at
Sekwe House. So far she has
made a Christmas card and
three birthday cards for Agnes,
Chikondi and Ephraim. Also
cards to the twins will be available to sign in the main corridor and in the post soon. The
children are really happy with
their cards so thank you to all
who signed them and a big
thank you to Miss Phillips.
Emily Phillips 7L
Above: Agnes’ thank you letter for her card
Below: Agnes with her card
Senegal
Linking Project
Queen Elizabeth School has
developed a new and exciting link through PLAN UK with
Soune High School in Senegal.
Many departments in school
have got involved in the link.
In French, Year
9 students have
been forming
questions they
would like answered about life
in Senegal to send out to our
partner school. In Music Year
9 students have been learning
about Senegalese music and
have learned and recorded a
song by the famous Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour. Geography lessons have focused
on issues facing Senegal and
development issues in Africa.
Year 8 students have been
studying the slave trade in
West Africa, and students in
Year 7 Food Technology and
Textiles have been learning
about Senegalese culture. The
staff of QES are really looking
forward to working with colleagues in Senegal to further
understanding between our
students and young people in
a very different region of the
world. Several activities are
planned for next year, including a project in Year 8 Maths
to compare and contrast water use between students at
QES and those at Soune High
School.
A.Douglas
21
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
FOCUSon
New Sixth-Form Officials
SNAPshots
Lots more colour photographs on our website: www.queenelizabeth.cumbria.sch.uk
Alisha Casement
Hello, my name is Alisha and
I am the new Head Girl! I’m so
happy to have been given this
role and hope that I will be able
to live up to the amazing standards set in previous years.
At QES I am currently studying
Biology, Chemistry, Maths and
Economics, with the hope of
going on to University to study
Medicine. Getting Head Girl
was a really big thing for me
as QES has helped me through
all aspects of secondary school
life since I started in year 7; so
this is my opportunity to actively express my gratitude.
22
As Head Girl, I hope to improve
the support for sixth-formers
when it comes to interviews
for jobs or university or college,
along with improving aspects
of lower school and offering
further support to students
– not to mention all the other
hundred-and-one jobs that are
bound to be thrown at The 6
and myself!
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
I am proud to represent the
school and its students as their
Head Boy.
‘The 6’ are a really great group
of people, and we all get along
really well as a team – with
many different personalities
providing a great representation of the school.
I am really excited for next year
and experiencing all the aspects of QES that this job will
present, as well as representing the community and making some great friends in the
process! Hopefully together
we will be successful in achieving all that we anticipate.
Ryan Metcalfe
I’m Ryan, new Head Boy here at
QES. To quote myself “I’m more
hip replacement than hip” and
As summer draws near, the rest
of The 6 and I prepare to settle
into our new roles. No sooner
have we begun to settle in
than the list of jobs has arrived,
and it is quite a long list indeed
(one which will no doubt grow,
and grow, and grow).
Other than being incredibly
excited about my new role
and all that it offers, I am also
very pleased that I am able to
make a positive difference to
the school and surrounding
community. I applied for the
role with the idea of increasing communication between
pupils, parents and the school.
I aim to do this with help from
the others here at the top
through a series of consultations with pupils in the beginning of the next school year,
to be named Meet The 6 (or
something similar).
Over the next year I look forward to working with Alisha,
Annie, David, Rachel and Oliver and all of the shiny new
officials that we have here at
QES so that we can make this
school an even greater place
to be than it already is. I would
also like to thank our predecessors, “The 7“ from last year, for
leaving us with a great legacy
to live up to.
(continued....)
19
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
SNAPshots
SNAPshots
Works from the summer Art & Design exhibition
1 2
3
6
20
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
8
4 5
7
9
1: Will Rycroft, water feature, A2
2: Alice Houghton, fabrics, A2
3: Josh Thatcher, face, A2
4: Katie Grieve, fabrics, A2
5: Robert Davenport, light, AS
6: Georgina Shuttleworth, apples, GCSE
7: Rachel Evison, wire bird, AS
8: Adam Lewis, felt pebbles, AS
9: Rebecca Snow, shoes, AS.
21
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
SNAPshots
Front page, clockwise from top left:
Miss Donnelly and students on the waste-management project; the main corridor showing our international links;
DukeofEdinburghBronzeexpedition;theFrenchexchangegroupatCompiègnes;DukeofEdinburghBronzeexpedition
This page, clockwise from top left:
Billy Elliott; Year 7 Residential - ghyll scrambling; Year 7 Residential - canoeing
Year 9 pupils in Long Churn Cave
Oliver Schofield Robinson
Hi, I’m Oli and I hold the position of Deputy Head Boy at
QES. I actually arrived at this
school from Australia in Year
8 and after a rather hazy few
days I settled in very nicely. It
wasn’t hard for me to do so,
due to the general openness
of the pupils and teachers. I’m
not one of these people who
have striven to become an official for my whole life, but as
my confidence grew, with help
from some inspirational teachers coupled with experiences
of the multi-dimensional QES
(Washington Trip etc), I decided that the role suited me and
that I really wanted to challenge myself.
Now that I have it, I’m going
to give the job all I’ve got! I
currently take the following
subjects: Modern History, Philosophy, Biology and Extended
Project. After QES I intend to
go to university to study Modern History. Outside school I
am a keen sportsman, with
tennis being my favourite way
to spend an afternoon. And,
(continuing the theme) I also
love to watch tennis.
22
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
My personal motto is: If it is to
be, it is up to me. I try to apply
it to all my choices because it
can be very easy to sit back and
rely on others!
David Ely
Hi, I’m David. I am very happy
to have been given the opportunity to be Deputy Head Boy
and I am looking forward to
the next year.
I have been looking forward to
applying for this role for many
years, slightly overlooking the
process of this application (the
letter, the speech, the interviews) but still looking forward
to it.
Already I can tell that we are
in for a busy year. We’ve just
started work on the induction
process for the new Year 12s
in September and are sorting
numerous assemblies to introduce ourselves to you.
Annie Neat
Hello my name’s Annie and I
am one of your new Deputy
Head Girls! The subjects I take
are Art, Drama and History
and I hope to pursue Drama
as some sort of career. I’m fun
and creative and love hearing
any new ideas that would help
with the running of the school.
I’m excited about getting involved with the school next
year and we have some fun
new additions up our sleeves
that I can’t wait to put into
place!
Rachel Smith
I’m Rachel and I’m one of your
Deputy Head Girls. I am inter-
As a member of The 6 I hope
to increase the involvement
of the said six with the lower
school, to act as a representative of the whole school and
not just the sixth form.
We as a six have decided to
make this one of our semi
“principles” with things such as
“meet the six” lunchtime sessions, for you to explain all your
woes to us and see if we can fix
them, already being planned.
Once again, I am really looking
forward to this next year, see
you around.
ested in Drama and hope to go
into television presenting or
acting. I am excited for the social side of my role in The 6 such
as giving tours and welcoming
new people into the school as
well as the challenging side,
balancing out the responsibility with my school work.
23
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
School archives on show for Arts Week
24
Keswick to Barrow (K2B)
Walk - Saturday 8 May 2010
Having found out only a few
weeks before the event that I
was to take part in the Keswick
to Barrow Walk I decided that if
I was going to walk (or run!) 40
miles I would rather do it for a
worthwhile cause and one of
my own choosing! I decided I
would raise as much money as
possible for the Paul Percy Memorial Fund. I think he would
have approved! I do quite a bit
of running, but nothing more
than 5 or 6 miles at a time, so
I was nervous about the prospect of such a mammoth distance. I did a few longer runs
prior to the event, with a final
long run home from work.
and some of the terrain became quite tricky (some hills
too steep to even walk up!), I
realised that this was going to
be a huge challenge. When I
reached 18 miles I felt a huge
sense of achievement, only to
realise that I had to focus as
there were still another 22 gruelling miles left. I had adopted
the approach of running along
the flats and up gentle hills but
the steep downhills were definitely for walking!
On the morning of the K2B I set
off from home at 5am ready
to be at the start just outside
Keswick at about 6am. We had
to queue at the start and pick
up the tags that would track
our progress over the course of
the day at various checkpoints.
I was with a team of 12 people,
some runners and some walkers, but with no real plan of my
own I decided to walk to start
with and see how I felt. After
a couple of miles I decided
to run and did so for the next
few miles. We had a minibus
supporting us that stopped at
different points for us to collect food and drink if needed.
I arrived at the first checkpoint
feeling quite relaxed and not
too tired, but as time went on
I stopped briefly for lunch and
then carried on with my runwalking approach and slowly
realised that this was as much
about a mind-set as it was
about physical endurance. I
had to keep focused on the
fact that every mile covered
was a mile nearer to the end,
as the pain of the long distance
started to set in - the ibuprofen
worked! At thirty miles I felt a
great sense of achievement – I
had managed to travel thirty
miles on foot, something I
had never dreamed I could do
– and could be somewhat encouraged by having (only!) ten
miles to go. So many people
get to the 30 miles and can’t
go on, or so I’d heard. Going
from checkpoint to check-
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
“I was nervous
about the prospect
of such a mammoth
distance”
point, taking on as much fluid
and food as possible, as well
as taking every opportunity to
use the delightful portaloos, I
kept going. I don’t know quite
how many bananas I ate that
day, probably more than I had
eaten in my life, but they certainly helped!
The last three miles were probably the hardest; knowing that
I was so near the end, but also
in pain from so much road
running, not completing the
journey was never an option. I
reached the end after 9 hours
and 4 minutes, totally elated at
having completed the distance
and even more pleased that I
had managed to run about two
thirds of it. I felt encouraged
throughout by the supporters
at the road side cheering me
on and by the knowledge that
Paul would have been proud of
me having a go (and no doubt
laughing at me at certain
points!). I hope that the money
raised - £365 was the final total
– is enjoyed by those who are
fortunate enough to receive
the funding. Thank you to
everyone who sponsored me
– your support kept me going!
S.Armitstead
As part of Kirkby Lonsdale Arts
Week, Mrs Hartwell, Mr Stanley
and Mrs Burkitt conducted
year-group assemblies on the
history of the school, using
photographs of the last 100
years from the school archives.
They covered interesting topics
such as celebrating the Armistice in 1918, drama and sport
in the 1920s, and the impact
of 137 evacuees from South
Shields Girls High School at the
start of the Second World War.
After his comedic performances it is rumoured that Mr
Stanley has been booked for
the summer season at The Platform theatre in Morecambe!
The History Department also
put together a display of some
interesting documents and
artefacts from the school archives. Room 4 was set aside
for the week and both students
and teachers were encouraged
to investigate the history of
their school. Items included a
key from the original school
building in 1591, a school bible from the 1860s, beautifully
handwritten school magazines
from 1908 and school caps
from the 1930s. Numerous
old school photos were also
on display and most students
took great delight in spotting
their current teachers in more
youthful guise.
Toby Barker, a trainee history
teacher on placement with
the school earlier in the year,
returned to put on the display
and also carry out some research using the archives. For a
number of years a photograph
(above) of an unidentified
young man in RAF uniform had
been in the archives. Using old
school photographs and crossreferencing with school magazines from the 1930s he was
identified as Anthony Gordon
Walker who was captain of the
rugby and cricket teams, Head
Prefect, captain of Johnson
House and school scout troop
leader. “Tony” went on to study
medicine at Sheffield University but tragically was to die in
January 1942 as an RAF pilot,
probably flying a Wellington
Bomber over Germany.
Further research on the thirteen who died in the Second
World War has so far revealed
at least six RAF personnel, with
deaths occurring as far apart as
Burma, Libya and South Africa.
If anyone has any further information on those former pupils
who died in the Second World
War please contact Mrs Hartwell in the History department.
Their names are recorded on
the commemorative plaque
near the main entrance:
James Armitstead, Richard
Arthur Major, Harry Willan
Batty, Thomas Parker, Robert
Cowin, Anthony Charles Pennington, Hammond Craven,
Thomas Robinson Sowerby,
Arthur Wilson Dale, William
Hugh Stent, William Dawson,
Anthony Gordon Walker,
James Wotherspoon
Toby Barker
PGCE student/display curator
25
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
LEARNINGmatters
Kirkby Lonsdale Arts
Festival was a great success!
The Festival took place from 13
to 20 June and was organized
by Kirkby Lonsdale Arts Scene.
We enjoyed outstanding performances by A-Level Music
students at a wonderful recital
in St Mary’s Church. QES students took part in arts workshops at Underley Hall School
and Casterton School, and the
Paul Pfeuti Piano Competition saw an exceptionally high
standard of entrants. Drama
Performances by our A-level
and GCSE Drama students
meant that there was something for everyone.
The cast of Billy Elliot, along
with the orchestra, performed
to over a thousand pupils and
staff throughout the week with
a grand finale on Friday which
included a themed meal.
Locals and pupils were invited
into the QES Final Art & Design Exhibition all during the
week as part of the Arts Trail
The choir performing in the park
Photo: Fenner Pearson
to admire the A-Level work of
the school’s Year 13 pupils, and
displays of Year 10’s work were
much admired in St Mary’s
Church. Shop windows became
home to scores of travelling
socks as Year 7 created its colourful Socks On Holiday exhibit
- they popped up everywhere!
Local businesses also took part
by exhibiting artwork.
The Arts Trail also took people
to Underley Hall and Casterton Schools, St Mary’s Primary
School, Leck St Peter’s C of E Primary School and the library as
well as Casterton Church. With
street entertainment from our
very own Mr Marriott, crafty
arts demonstrations, an Indigo
106.6fm Roadshow, a visit from
the Why-Not-Alpacas, and face
painting, the Market Square
was buzzing on 19 June. The
week came to a spectacular
close with the Annual Brass
Band Contest.
H.Baines
Kirkby Lonsdale Arts Scene
is a not-for-profit voluntary
organisation that brings
together people with a passion for the promotion of
the arts in Kirkby Lonsdale
New youth council proposed
Students living in Kirkby
Lonsdale have joined forces
and after numerous meetings we have decided to begin a youth council.
youth councils like Breeze in
Leeds, which the city council
has set up as a way of letting
under-19s know about the
positive events in the area.
We are opening it to 11- to
17-year-olds and are looking more closely at existing
We’ve had lots of help from
chosen adults and from the
QES in the Community officials
26
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
in the sixth form. We are looking forward to discussing and
hearing their ideas at our first
public meeting. So, welcome
to all students eager to get involved. Come along on Thurs
9th September at 1:30pm in
the Harlequin Theatre.
Connie Luckham 9W
The Inspector calls
On 11th and 12th March we
had a visit from Her Majesty’s Inspector Gina White for
a subject inspection in Design & Technology.
As well as coming to look at
key areas of the subjects (Food,
Textiles, Resistant Materials,
Product Design, Electronics),
the visit also had a particular
focus on how the school promotes awareness and relevance of Design & Technology
to students and their parents.
Some of the key findings that
Mrs White highlighted were:
Students
make
good
progress in lessons and
those who have special
educational needs and/or
disabilities make very good
progress.
A solid trend of well-above
average attainment is firmly
established in each Key
Stage 4 Design & Technology course.
Students enjoy their examination courses and show
great commitment to completing coursework.
Teachers’ knowledge of specialist focus areas is highly
regarded by students.
Excellent relationships between staff and students
lead to a supportive learning environment.
Teachers’ management of
their lessons, and of complex equipment, are excellent.
PD courses
Enrichment of the curriculum through competitions,
trips and visits and opportunities to benefit the local
community are promoted
well through textiles, food
and catering courses.
These members of staff have
all completed or are working
towards professional development courses or programmes:
Students enjoy and are
proud of their work and
their achievements in acquiring Taste for Success
awards.
Emily Newton – Level 1 Sign
Language
Leaders are focused on developing provision and promoting students’ achievement. Both leaders have
an accurate picture of the
strengths and weaknesses
in the parts of Design &
Technology that they are
responsible for. Actions to
secure improvement have
moved forward quickly.
Parents and students are
positive about the breadth
of designing and making
opportunities and see relevance in Design & Technology to life skills, to careers
and to higher-level qualifications.
On behalf of Mrs Vose, Miss
Falcus and Mrs Kershaw, I
would like to thank all students and parents who took
part in questionnaires, phone
calls, interviews and conversations with the Inspector; you
really helped to demonstrate
all of the positive and exciting
things that happen in Food,
Textiles, Resistant Materials,
Product Design and Electronics here at QES.
A.Hall
Assistant Headteacher
Louise Nixon – Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Autism
Hannah Dixon – BA Hons in
Working with Young People &
Young People’s Services
Sue Dixon - NVQ Level 3 in
Advice and Guidance
Amanda Braithwaite - Post
Graduate Certificate in ‘Working with Children on the
Autistic Spectrum’
Adam Rawson – Teacher
Learning Academy Stage 2
Award
Dianne Hornby – NVQ Level
2 in Supporting Teaching &
Learning
Pete Weston – National Award
for SEN Coordination, and a
Masters in Education
Simon Wilson - National Award
for SEN Coordination
Katy Lingard – Masters in
Teaching & Learning
Angela Johnson – Executive
MBA
Alison Donnelly – Masters in
Education
David Beale – Masters in
Education
A.Hall
27
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Feedback from our trainee teachers
H
aving been told that I
would be attending QES
for my final placement, I was
bombarded with jealous comments from my fellow PGCE
students. Not being from the
area myself, I was excited and
intrigued to see if the school
would live up to the praise that
I had heard so much about.
Needless to say, it has. My time
at QES has given me so many
opportunities to further my career in becoming a teacher. The
support of the staff and the advice given has been invaluable.
The students are a delight to
teach, and I will miss them all. I
can only say thank you for making my time at QES as amazing
as I had hoped it would be.
Kate Hunter – English
W
28
hen I walked through
the doors of QES twelve
weeks ago I never thought
that I would make such a connection with one single place.
The people that I have met,
from my first phone call to introduce myself to the school,
to the greeting from the receptionists, to meeting all the
members of staff and then the
wonderful pupils, have made it
an inviting, warm, friendly and
professional place to train.
I have developed so much as
a person and as a professional
over the past twelve weeks.
Through the effort and dedication of my mentor and professional development mentor,
the guidance and advice I have
received from all members of
staff and the responsibilities
I have been given, I have enhanced my ability to progress
learners’ needs and create a
positive and challenging learn-
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
ing environment. It has been a
challenge meeting the high expectations of pupils and staff,
but it is one that I have thriven
on, as I have been able to teach
activities in lessons that I would
never be able to teach if I knew
that I didn’t have the support
of the staff, and the enthusiasm and willingness to learn of
the pupils. At QES the staff support and advice is there for me
to experiment with new activities, and the knowledge that I
gained of my classes enabled
me to plan and teach lessons
that are unique to each class.
F
rom day one to day sixty, the
staff have been welcoming,
inquisitive and interested in my
career choice and have always
been on hand to answer my
questions and give me advice.
At other schools that I have
been in, walking into the staff
room and teachers looking
at your student badge often
resulted in them not batting
an eyelid at you. The ground
rules that have been laid down
by the members of staff, the
existing positive morals and
attitude the pupils possess,
have enabled me to come in
and carry on the fantastic work
happening at this school.
Robin Dalglish - PE
M
y time at QES has been integral to my development
as a teacher. The support and
opportunities offered to me,
have inspired me in so many
ways. QES has high standards
and expectations of pupils and
teachers and during my time
here, it became clear it is for
this reason that the school is so
successful in its ability to educate and to create a safe, happy
environment for all. I would
advise anyone coming into the
school to work hard and invest
time and effort into the people
here, who in turn give so much
and often more support than is
expected from them.
The pupils and staff alike are
friendly and welcoming. There
are so many inspirational
teachers here and I would advise anyone lucky enough to
train here to make the most
of them. My three months at
QES are three which I will not
forget readily. My mentors
have taken an extremely profound interest in my development as a teacher and given so
much guidance, support and
encouragement, each of them
have influenced me in more
ways than they know and the
knowledge gained at QES will
continue to contribute to any
success I have in my career in
the future. I am grateful for
having the opportunity to
have worked here and for the
individuals I have met. I will
be so sad to leave, but happy
knowing I will take so much
with me and desperately hoping that during my time here I
have given something back to
the school.
Emma Marston - PE
H
aving the opportunity to
complete my final teaching practice at QES, has been
an exhilarating and extremely
valuable experience. Polite,
well mannered and eager to
learn, the pupils have been
an absolute pleasure to work
with.
Subject-specific and professional mentors, along with all
members of the Physical Education department, have willingly gone out of their way to
provide myself and the other
trainees in the department
with additional guidance, far
beyond what may have been
expected of them. They have all
been friendly and supportive
throughout and have assisted
greatly with my development
as both a teacher of Physical
Education and a young professional.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my
time here at QES and although
sad to move on I am extremely
grateful to the staff and pupils
for their support. I leave QES a
well-rounded and mature professional eager to put the skills
that I have learnt into practice,
and inspire pupils in the way
staff at QES continue to inspire
theirs.
Hannah Moseley - PE
I
have really enjoyed my time
at Queen Elizabeth School,
especially because of the support and guidance that I have
been given from a number of
different people. The main
thing to mention is that I have
been lucky in having two mentors, which has helped me
immensely as there is always
one of them knocking around
to ask advice etc. The music
department has made me feel
very welcome and I have felt
like part of the team. I would
especially like to mention Diane and Paul, the cover staff
that I have worked with occasionally as well, for always
helping me out.
Even though the first day was
slightly scary, the talks and
presentations were very informative, especially the presentation on what not to do
which I found amusing and
also slightly worrying. The
professional meetings have
been excellent and have really helped me improve my
knowledge of the Teaching
Standards and student teacher
grading criteria. I have also felt
much supported by the professional mentor, who has helped
me with a number of concerns
and issues.
“I have had pupils
saying thank you at
the end of lessons”
The pupils at this school are excellent to teach, and guessed
early on that I was a trainee
teacher but still gave me the
same respect as any other
teacher. I have had pupils saying thank you at the end of
lessons, and asking me if they
can do any extra work for the
following lesson. This has surprised and pleased me, as well
as the respect they demonstrate for the well-publicised
QES core values.
Rebecca Johnson – Music
I
had very few preconceptions
when I first came to QES.
However I was hit by a number
of shocking observations on
my first day. Firstly, the pupils
actually appeared to enjoy at-
tending school, and secondly,
the teachers and pupils had
such a fantastic rapport you’d
think they were next-door
neighbours, and thirdly, there
was such a sense of purpose
oozing through the hallways I
felt guilty for sitting still longer
than a minute.
It quickly became apparent
to me that I was in no ordinary school. The students and
teachers alike helped me along
in finding my way around the
huge school grounds (within
which I easily got lost!), and
I was amazed at how helpful
everyone was despite the immense pressures of everyday
school life bearing down on
them.
Throughout the last four
months I have had tremendous
support, not only from the Geography department to whom
I am attached, but from every
member of the school community. I have found the students
to be willing to learn in every
year group, and certainly up
for a challenge, which is fantastic. The teachers and students
at QES really do work together
to create an excellent learning
environment, and every member of the school is a credit to
that.
I am thankful that I have had
the opportunity to train at a
school which offers the rare
combination of such high
standards and yet such a warm
and friendly atmosphere. I am
yet to acquire a job for next
September, but I certainly
hope my future school holds
many of the qualities QES possess.
Helen Taylor - Geography
29
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
QES writers in action
Kate Mee wins Spinebreakers prize
Young crime
writers reach
regional finals
Two QES pupils were shortlisted for the 2010 Cumbria
section of the Crime Writers
Association Young Crime Writers Competition.
Stories by Matthew Fleming
(right) and Gentian Khan (left)
made it to the final fifteen
in the regional round of the
contest, which culminated in
national Crime Fiction Week
in mid-June. Gentian’s entry
was one of three stories which
were highly-commended.
TV presenter Kim Inglis hosted
the Cumbria event at Carlisle
castle in April. Award-winning
crime writer Reginald Hill (of
the Dalziel & Pascoe series,
pictured above) announced
the winner and presented the
prize and certificates.
S.Bennett
30
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
It was in February that Miss
Sosnowsky, the school librarian, told me about
a competition that
Spinebreakers was
running.
Spinebreakers is a website about books
for teenagers, and
this particular competition was asking
people to write, in
no more than 200
words, about two
literary lovers, from
different
books,
meeting for the first time.
I entered it, using Ron Weasley
(from the Harry Potter series)
and Bella Swan (from Twilight)
as my subjects, more because I
thought it would be
an interesting thing
to write about,
rather than to win
– I didn’t even think
they’d read my entry.
I forgot about it,
which is why when
I got an e-mail a
month or two later
telling me that I was
a runner-up, I very nearly deleted it, thinking it was spam.
Fortunately I did read it, to dis-
cover that I’d won a book and
a “limited edition bracelet”; but
the main prize for
me was that they
published what I’d
written on their
website. This tiny
bit of publicity has
reminded me why
I love writing, and
has encouraged
me to do more
things like this in
the future. Thanks
Miss S!
Kate Mee
Miss Sosnowsky adds:
Spinebreakers is a very popular
site with contributions from
young people all over the country, so Kate’s done very well
(and it’s a great story!) It’s also a good
way of introducing
the students to a
really good contemporary website
run by their peers
promoting reading, writing and self
expression of all
kinds. There’s a link
to it on the library
homepage.
QES readers in action in Spellbinding project
Spellbinding involves reading as many books as you can
from the selection provided,
and posting information to the
online forums. It was started to
try to encourage children to
read more books from a wider
range of genres, and to encourage reading for pleasure.
There are twelve different
books in the selection, six of
which are aimed at Year 7-8
pupils, and the other six are
aimed at Year 9-10 pupils. The
shortlist includes the following
books:
Year 7-8:
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Love Aubrey
by Suzanne LaFleur
Jackdaw Summer
by David Almond
The Book of a Thousand Days
by Shannon Hale
Shark Island
by David Miller
The Story of Cirrus Flux
by Matthew Skelton
Year 9-10:
Devil’s Kiss
by Sarwat Chadda
Creature of the Night
by Kate Thompson
Bang, Bang, You’re Dead
by Narinder Dhami
Sovay
by Celia Rees
Auslander
by Paul Dowswell
Where the Streets Had a Name
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
I have read all of these books
and my personal favourite
was Devil’s Kiss, because it was
really compelling, and even
though I found the start of the
book hard to endure, towards
the middle I found it got really
exciting! I don’t normally like
horror books, but I think this
really is the best book I have
ever read!
On the Spellbinding website,
there are forums on which you
can post your views of any of
the books in the selection, and
pupils from any of the participating schools can reply as to
whether or not they agree with
you. It is a really great way of
discussing the books you’ve
read.
There is also a picture board
competition, where you design
and make a poster portraying
what happens in one of the
books. All of the participants in
your school join in and schools
compete to see who has made
the best poster.
For me, the best part of Spellbinding is getting to read from
a wide selection of books, so
you’re not just reading the
same thing over and over, you
pick something different every
time. There is something for
everybody.
Megan Stevenson
The Spellbinding group:
Jake Blondel
Megan McAvoy
Benedict Rickards
Indus Hill
Hannah Hodgson
Laura Hunt
Megan Stevenson
Heather Wilkins
Emma Hopkins
Rachel Hopkins
Anya Kuliszewski
Sammie Reid
Alex Callaghan
Miss Sosnowsky adds:
The Spellbinding Group are
acting out (above) scenes from
The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton. We will put them
together with various other
objects and pictures to make
a Picture Board representing
the book. We’ll then enter it
into a competition with all the
other Spellbinding groups in
the South Lakes Area.
31
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Original writing - The River
Immersion Days
Learning families
As the first birds begin to sing, the emerald green grass wakes in
a perfect symphony with the sapphire water and the onyx rocks.
The birds graze in the sky as the herds of insects cross the stray old
branch. The thirst-quenching waters sway and strife at the rocky
onyxes throwing the smooth pebbles far across the stream. Weeds
complement the air with the fragrance of petals and blossoming.
Since the last newsletter,
Year 7 have been involved in
another Immersion Day, this
time on Sustainability & the
Global Dimension.
Your child may well have
come home and talked
about their Learning Family this year. We introduced
these sessions in the autumn term and the families have met six times altogether. Each family has
approximately 14 students
in it, two from each of our
seven school years and
they are led by learning
coaches who are members
of the teaching staff or support staff.
As the river’s sapphire waters flow through the buzzing town the
clear sapphire water falls victim to pollution and turns into a dark
flowing puddle of mystery. With no obstacles in its path the river
flashes through the town with a mighty roar - all the shopping trolleys, plastics, poisons and sewerage riding on its back as if the river
were a mighty steed. As the river’s belly rumbles it often seizes the
opportunity to grab a quick snack by flooding over the town. On
a hot summer’s day the town is a busy bee of tourism and grand
days are had out on the river bank. Meanwhile the now foul river
casts an illusion to entice these people to take a dip in the waters.
The river undergoes a transformation when it enters a city - some
might say it’s like a puberty the river has to undergo in its life.
As the river hits its mouth it prepares its cargo for the abyss of the
ocean, a never ending whimsy of mystery and wonder. The wellversed birds glide through the air with a roar making all fish tremble with fright. Each speck of sand is millions of years old, a million
years of ocean life only to find a temporary testimony before being swallowed up once more. The driftwood, all that remains of
an ancient ship, a champion of the sea, reduced to an eyesore by
Mother Nature’s wrath. People, humans, dogs, cats all find their
tension relieved by the seashore.
This is the tide of the river, its beginning, and its end, in an infinite
cycle.
Josh Ireland Y10 (submitted by his English teacher Mrs Weber)
Sonnet XIII - dedicated to 13K
32
Shall I compare thee to all other forms?
Thou art more betterer than them by far;
Yet not in quizzes, tests or uniform,
Timekeeping, homework, arriving by car!
Sometimes too soft the bell of Springfield rings,
And oft for registration are you late:
Your keen, young minds fixéd on higher things:
Weekends, gossip, parties and looking great.
But there is more to you than this suggests,
As two yeares in your company has taught
Me that in heart you stand above the rest,
And qualities that cannot be bought.
So long may you all “take care and have fun”,
This past remains, though your future’s begun.
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
The focus was on developing pupils’ understanding of
contrasting continents and of
sustainable technologies. This
included the concept of food
miles, exploring African art,
international dance, awareness of different cultures, and
what sustainability means.
As a result of the day, we
now have some new features
around school, including a
greenhouse (below) made of
plastic bottles!
Year 9 also had their second
Immersion Day, looking at
Technology & Media. Each
form group was given a decade from the twentieth century and asked to prepare a
multi-media presentation using aspects of art, sport, fashion, music, architecture, literature, science and cinema.
Content produced by the pupils included podcasts, web
pages, video clips and newspaper pages, which should
appear on the QES website
before the end of term.
D.McGregor
A.Hall
The sessions are a chance
for younger pupils to learn
about studying, preparing
for exams and making options choices from older
pupils, who give excellent
advice. It’s also an opportunity for all pupils to have
some valuable one-to-one
time with a key member of
staff who can get to know
them well and follow and
support their progress
throughout their school
career.
We will continue to hold
Learning Family sessions
next year and will keep
working on the quality of
our resources and coaching
skills, as we are sure that
pupils will benefit enormously from this provision
through the years that they
are with us. We’re looking
forward to welcoming our
new family members in
Years 7 and 12 next year
and we wish our family
members who are leaving
QES all the very best for the
future.
A.Wilkinson
Creative classes for all
Felt making
Come and experience the magic of felt making!
We will progress through various exciting techniques including
using pre-felt, making cobweb material, flowers and other three
dimensional forms. Later there will be the opportunity to incorporate these techniques to create your own project.
Costs
Full £45, 60+ £36, 16-18+ Concessions £24
At the start of the class there is a £15 charge for basic materials.
Special items may be obtained from the tutor at cost or need to
be brought in, depending on your individual projects.
To book a class contact Helen Baines on 015242 71275 or
email h.baines@queenelizabeth.cumbria.sch.uk
Life drawing and portraiture
This course will be split between figure and portrait drawing.
Beginners will develop skills, more experienced students can
further advance their drawing ability guided by the tutor.
Costs
Full £56, 60+ £45, 16-18 years old and concessions £24
Cost of the model will be charged separately and basic materials
will be provided for.
To book a class contact Helen Baines on 015242 71275 or
email h.baines@queenelizabeth.cumbria.sch.uk
Sculpting with clay
Both courses are 10 weeks. Thursday night’s class is primarily for
those with little or no experience. You will be able to adapt new
skills to your own interests, learning about ceramic hand building, working with surfaces and glazing. Students should have a
number of great presents for Xmas. For the more experienced
students it will be an opportunity to develop your own project
with tutor support.
Costs
Full £70, 60+ £56, 16-18 and concessions £30
Materials including firing £12
For further course information contact j.timshle@btinternet.com
To book a class contact Helen Baines on 015242 71275 or
email h.baines@queenelizabeth.cumbria.sch.uk
33
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
French students were able to
attend a film study day at St
Anne’s School in Windermere.
Languages College activities
Les Trois Mousquetaires
theatre production
On Monday, 14 June we once
again hosted the French theatre company Theatre Sans
Frontières and Year 7 enjoyed a
humorous and energetic production of The Three Musketeers in French. The production
really brought the French language to life and our youngest
linguists thoroughly enjoyed
the slapstick humour.
I’ve met (quite a lot) have been
really nice and welcoming since
my first day here. I’ve enjoyed
every class although some of
them I had never heard of.
practice their German and experience a German Christmas
market.
Modern Languages
Trips 2010
On Sunday 27 June, our Year 8s
and 9s set off on their language
and culture trips to Paris and
Barcelona respectively. They
always gain a lot from these
trips linguistically, practicing
the language they have learnt
in school in real situations, but
they also experience the culture, food and lifestyle of the
countries concerned. There will
be a fuller report on both trips
in the next newsletter.
34
We also have a new trip for
2010, a joint German and History venture. 30 pupils from
Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 will
visit Berlin in November to enhance their knowledge of the
Nazi period of German history,
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
German exchange student
My name is Anna Ressler and
I’m from Munich in the south
of Germany. I spent six weeks
at QES in May and June. School
in England is very different
from school in Germany. For
example, we start school at the
age of six and normally finish
at the age of 18. What I definitely prefer at English schools
is that they start at 9.00 in the
morning whereas I start at 8.00
in the morning which means
getting up at about 6.00 am.
Very tiring sometimes!
But that’s only one of the great
things at QES. All the people
Anna and friends, with Mrs Martin
I go to one of the many language grammar schools in
Munich and so when I take
my A-Levels I will hopefully be
able to speak three languages
fluently. I’ll miss QES a lot
when I go back home mainly
because I’ve had such a good
time here.
At the end I would just like to
thank everybody who has been
so supportive, especially Ms
Martin who set everything up
for me, Lydia and Lori for being
such great friends in this time
and also all the other friends
I’ve made in the six weeks.
Thanks!
Anna Ressler
French and Spanish
CLIL teaching
We have hosted two trainees
from University of Cumbria
this month to experiment with
CLIL (Content and Language
Integrated Learning), which
effectively means teaching another subject through the me-
dium of the language. Year 7
have therefore learnt their current History unit (King John)
in French, two Year 9 groups
have been taught Geography
in French or Spanish, and Year
8 have learnt about starch and
soup thickening in Food lessons through the medium of
Spanish.
It has been a really interesting,
challenging and enjoyable few
weeks and the pupils’ learning
of both subjects has been enhanced by the experience, as
the comments below show:
I found it really interesting. It
was great to have more of a
challenge and it was interesting learning about the culture
of Senegal in French, which is
the language they speak there
Constance Luckham, Y9
The sessions included ‘icebreaker’ activities with students from all four schools,
viewing of Azur et Asmar (a recent animated film) and workshops which took place around
the school and its grounds.
Students collaborated in small
groups in order to develop
GCSE-level language skills, as
well as to consider broader
cultural issues such as mythological characters, images of
East and West and the French
tradition of cartoons and animation.
S.Stephens
Comments from students:
Chris Moore: It was good to
work with other schools.
Jess Street: The film taught me
about different cultures and religions.
Stephen Baxendale: The activities I liked best were the ones
where you got most involved,
like the drama role plays.
Hamish Milne: I especially enjoyed the treasure hunt, as we
learnt about connections with
the Arabic language.
It was fun and interesting
learning about Senegal. I learnt
French in a different way and
had lots of fun, yet also learnt
Geography at the same time.
Rachel Todner, Y9
Xavier Lequitte: The activities
were a fun thing to do together
and I met other people who
are just as enthusiastic about
French.
Year 10 French
Independent and State
Schools Partnership
As part of the ISSP project with
three other Cumbrian schools,
some of our Year 10 GCSE
Edward Pike: My favourite activity was the quest, as it made
me think more about different
kinds of journey. All in all it was
an interesting, out of the ordinary day.
French Exchange
March 2010
(for picture see our
Snapshots colour pages)
Amy Harrison (8E) describes the
time spent with the host family.
My French exchange trip was
très bien. We left QES at approximately 5:00am on 19
March to go to Conde en Brie
in France.
The journey was long and tiring
but it was worth it. We eventually arrived at the college at
6:30pm (French time), where
we met our French exchange
partners and their family who
took us back to their houses.
On the Saturday, I went to
Reims shopping and we went
into the cathedral with Lea, my
French exchange partner, and
her family. It was a great day,
even though the language barrier proved to be a challenge.
On the Sunday, Lea and her
family took me swimming with
another QES girl and her French
exchange partner. There were
loads of water slides and there
was a really enjoyable wave
machine. The next morning I
had tea, but in a bowl, instead
of a cup which I thought was
rather strange.
The next time I saw my family was on the Tuesday night,
after our trip to Paris. On the
Wednesday, Lea didn’t have
to go to school, because their
other 4 days at school are long
- they don’t finish until 5 pm.
On Wednesday afternoon,
we spent time with our family and I watched Lea horseriding. Then we went fishing with
Lea’s dad. This was excellent -
35
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
QESAnews
Lea’s dad caught a massive fish
from a really small river. On the
Friday we said goodbye to our
family at 5 o’clock in the morning, to start the long journey
home. We arrived back at QES
at 7.00pm.
Freya Rock (8M) describes the
visits we did as a school group:
The French Exchange 2010 was
one of the best experiences
I’ve had so far at QES! Everyone had a fantastic week and
really got a taste of French life.
As well as spending time getting to know our host families,
we went on lots of visits as a
school group. My favourite trip
was the two days spent in Paris
and Compiègne. Here is a bit
about what we got up to.
36
After a very long coach journey on Friday, and a weekend settling in with our host
families, we spent Monday as
a school group, visiting sites
in Compiègne. In the morning we went to the site where
the Armistice was signed, and
after lunch in a French park,
we visited a former deportation camp and learnt about
the conditions that people
were kept in. On Tuesday, after a night spent in a hotel, we
drove to Paris, ready for a day
of sightseeing. In the morning
we went to a museum about
the history of immigration, and
then travelled to the centre
of Paris and ate our lunch on
the steps of Notre-Dame! After that we got the chance to
go into some souvenir shops,
and then took the Bateaubus
down the river Seine to a historical French palace which is
now the Louvre art museum.
We even saw the Eiffel Tower in
the distance. Throughout the
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
week we also spent time at the
French school in lessons with
our partners, learnt how champagne is made and lots more!
Overall, the French exchange
was an amazing experience
for me. Now, having been back
for a while, I can tell that my
French has really improved. I
hope to stay in touch with my
exchange partner for a long
time. Thanks again to all the
teachers for organising such a
fantastique trip!
Hannah Burch describes the experience older pupils had at the
lycée:
La semaine avant les vacances
de Pâques, nous sommes allés en France pour faire une
échange. C’était une aventure
merveilleuse que nous nous
rappellerons toujours.
Moi et les autres élèves de mon
âge étaient tous les jours au
lycée (le collège pour les élèves
plus âgés). Le lycée commence
à 8 heures et finit à 18 heures et
donc les journées étaient très
longues et fatigantes. Cependant nous avons appris beaucoup de français et c’était pour
ça que nous y sommes allés.
Je pense que la nourriture
française était très bonne, mais
j’ai trouvé que les portions
était trop grandes! Beaucoup
des élèves ont dit qu’il n’y avait
pas assez de fruits et légumes
frais et donc en rentrant en Angleterre nous avons acheté des
fruits et des légumes au lieu de
chocolat, bonbons etc.
Nous avons passé une très
bonne semaine en France et
nous devrions dire merci beaucoup aux professeurs de l’avoir
organisé pour nous.
Oradour
An imaginative piece by Hannah
Burch based on events at the village of Oradour in 1944:
C’est l’année mil neuf cent
quarante cinq. La guerre a fini
et je suis rentré â mon village;
alors, ce qui me reste. C’est,
ou devrais-je dire, c’était, le
village d’Oradour, un endroit
de famille et amis, de rires et
souris, d’amour et bonheur,
mais plus maintenant.
Je fais une promenade entre les maisons sans fenêtres
et portes, l’école sans toit et
l’église flambée. Je savais que
la visite serait difficile mais
je n’avais jamais imaginé les
émotions que je sentirais.
Je soutiens debout devant
l’église et je me rappelle. Je ne
veux pas y penser mais je comprends que je dois. Je peux les
voir. Mes copains et parents, ma
femme, mes enfants. Les bâtiments ne sont que bâtiments.
Ils peuvent être reconstruits
mais ma famille, ma ville, elles
ont disparu pour toujours et ne
rentreront jamais.
Je ne le comprends toujours
pas et je ne pense pas qu’il soit
possible que je puisse. La cruauté et la haine que j’ai vues ici
ne peuvent pas être décrites
d’une façon compréhensive. Si
l’on n’y était pas, on ne le comprendra pas, mais ça va. C’est
meilleur que la
tristesse
meurt
mais
c’est
nécessaire
qu’on
apprenne
pour que
ce ne soit
jamais
répété.
Queen Elizabeth School Association
Hello and welcome to the QESA
news. We have had a busy few
months and one of the highlights has been donating over
£10,000 to various projects
and
departments
across
school. None of this would be
possible without the generosity of parents, carers, friends
and staff who have helped and
supported our events over the
past year, benefiting our children through different stages
of their education. Thank you!
Department Donations
6th Form: Advertising banner
Site Team: Trolley
Landscape Committee:
Plants, planters and
equipment
Biology: Incubator/Oven
Chemistry: Microscopes and
trolley
Physics: Laser optics kit and
colour mixer
English/Media Studies:
Photography equipment
Art: Kiln controller and Arts
Festival resources
Friends of Sekwe House:
Donation towards running
costs
Music: Amplifiers
PE: Computer analysis
software
Food Technology: Nutrition
programme, cookery books
and ingredients fund
Textiles: Craft books
KL Arts Festival: Sponsorship
donation
DoE Award: Canoeing
expedition equipment
Design & Technology:
Donation towards a laser
cutter
Warhammer Club: Donations
towards equipment
Charity Team: Digital video
camera
Learning Support Sports
Club: Hockey sticks
Learning Support Dept:
Waterproof digital camera
Science Dept: Key word, topic
word walls
ICAG: Camera
Climbing Club: Climbing
ropes & equipment
Learning Support Craft Club:
Craft materials & resources
6th Form: Donation to set up
6 Radio project
Car Boot Sale
We had our first car boot sale
on Sunday 25 April. The weather was against us but fortunately we were able to hold
the event indoors. We would
like to say a big thank you to
the parents who helped out on
the day, Dave Lancaster our Catering Manager for organising
the food and also to Paul and
his site team for their invaluable support. The event raised
a grand total of £355.
Diane and Fiona presenting a cheque
for £1000 to Mr Mayhew and PE
Department colleagues
37
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
SPORTSdesk
Cross Bay Walk
The Cross Bay sponsored walk
on Saturday 22 May (photo below) was a tremendous success
with around 150 parents, staff
and pupils joining the 500 or
so walkers. The sun shone and
everyone was in great spirits. A
big thank you to everyone who
participated on the day, as well
as the many parents who were
unable to make it but gave very
generous donations. This was a
separate fund raiser for the PE
department, targeting sporty
pupils and their parents/carers to help with transport costs
etc. We were pleased to hand
over a cheque for £1000 to Mr
Mayhew and the PE Dept.
Match and event reports 1
A massive thank you to
the site team
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the site team
for all their hard work this year
on our facilities. Their efforts
make our pupils’ sporting experience all the more exciting.
If you are considering joining the 200 Club, please contact Christine Gibson via the
school.
Website
200 Club
The 200 Club is an easy way
to fundraise if you are a busy
working parent/carer. A yearly
subscription of £15 enters you
into regular draws throughout
the year. Lucky winners at our
recent draw are as follows:
New Member
£100 S Harland
Current Members
£100 Mrs Wolfenden
£50 R Bingham
£25 Mrs L Cassar
£25 Mr/s Butterworth
38
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
We update our QESA website on the main QES website
homepage (top) on a regular
basis. This will keep you informed about any news of future events, as well as committee meeting dates and minutes.
Dates for your diary
Promise Auction: Autumn 10
Xmas Fair: Fri 3 December
Themed Ball: Spring 2011
Finally we would like to wish
you all a pleasant and relaxing summer and we look forward to sharing another busy,
fun-packed QESA calendar of
events with you during the
forthcoming school year.
Diane Lequitte
Fiona Sheldon
I would like to thank Steve
Dent in particular for his hard
work on the cricket square.
The square is one of the best
that we see, and visiting teams
never fail to be moved when
they first walk onto the cricket
field by the professionalism
of our cricket wicket, and we
are inundated with praise and
thanks for the quality of our
wicket. So thank you Steve and
the site team.
PE Department and
pupils of QES
.
Football
U14 Football
(322)
(305)
(269)
(154)
(161)
The under 14 Football team
has had a very successful year,
becoming South Lakes Champions and being undefeated
in all friendly fixtures. The side
captained by Will Wilson has
been very committed, both
on fixtures and in training, and
this has been the key to their
success.
Key members of the squad
were: midfielder Josh Norman,
who was also given Football
Player of the Year for his consistent performances; striker
Robbie ‘the Goal Machine’ Davidson for his ability to score hattricks for fun; and newcomer
defender Ryan Terry, aka Tezza,
for his very solid defence. It’s
been a pleasure working with
reliable and committed captain Will in coaching the team
this year. Bring on the defence
of the title next year!
D.Williams
Year 8 Football
The Yr 8 football team made it
to the District Finals but sadly
lost to County Champions The
Lakes School. Team members:
Edward Wilson, Alex Danvers,
Angus Verhagen, Richard Herron, Thomas Bunting, Henry
Fell, George Whittaker, Joe
Portman, Ben McGeever, Harry Ralston, Joe Titterington,
Ben Lardner, Charlie McLeod,
James Wroe
J.McElroy
Fantasy football 09/10
Congratulations to Mr Johnston
who came top of the Schools
Fantasy Football League.
Student Champion: Owain
Sharpe 7M
Runner-up Ben McGeever: 8Q
A big thank-you to everyone
who took part.
J.McElroy
Hockey
results that meant the QES
finished in 6th place nationally
overall. All the girls should be
very proud of their achievements and some of the squad
have gone on to be selected
for regional development
squads over the summer.
S.Garne
Boys’ Tennis
The U16 boys’ tennis team, consisting of Alex Meek, Patrick Rycroft, Arthur Bridgeman Quin
and Stephen Baxendale were
the only representatives for
QES tennis this year. Predicted
early title contenders, they
enjoyed very successful wins
against Windermere St Anne’s
and Dallam, and were given a
fixture against Dowdales.
They were beaten however
by Sedbergh, a match that
we couldn’t have had a better
start in. It was bleak, miserable and wet weather when
we were driving to Sedbergh.
The match, which was almost
called off due to the weather,
started and we were able to
take a strong and commanding lead in the rain.
Year 8 Hockey
The Year 8 hockey team went
to the National Finals of the
Yazoo 7-a-side competition in
May. They played well, beating
Loughborough School 4-0 and
Arnold School 3-0. They drew
with Junior Kings Cantebury
0-0 and Millfield Prep 0-0, and
lost to William Borlaise 1-2,
Cheltenham College 0-2 and
Wellingborough 0-1. Against
such a high standard of opposition these are all fantastic
However, when the rain
stopped, Sedbergh made a
relentless comeback, and both
teams produced some fantastic tennis. However we were
defeated, allowing Sedbergh
to take the place in the final.
Alex and Patrick took revenge
in the district doubles competition at Windermere, beating
the Sedbergh pairing convincingly 6-1, 6-2. They now go on
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Match and event reports 2
to the finals to face Windermere, QEGS Penrith and Chetwynde, and I wish them all the
best!
D.Williams
Table Tennis
Stephen Baxendale in Year 10
enjoyed success on a National
Level for his club where he represented Burton in Kendal Table Tennis team in the National
Finals. Stephen was up against
sixteen other finalists from all
over the country. Great news
for Stephen as he finished second!
Congratulations, Stephen.
D.Williams
Athletics
QES had some fine performances at the South Lakes Athletics Trials at Stanley Park,
Blackpool.
40
Following this event, the following students were selected
to represent South Lakes at the
Cumbria Athletics Championships in Carlisle: Hazel Marsh,
Chloe Holhead, Emily Wheildon, Lauren Challis, Katherine
Atkinson, Jazmyn Brocklebank,
Rachel Dawson, Alisha Casement, Sam Kelly, James Mason, Robbie Davidson, Henry
Holborn, John Staveley, Ryan
Terry, Dan Farley, Will Wilson,
Callum Sheldon, Jed Armitage,
Rob Whiteley, James Atkinson,
Stephen Baxendale, Mike Willan, Tom Crackles, Isaac Dennis,
Louis Morris and Oliver Robinson. Congratulations to them
all and well done.
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
South Lakes Champions included Chloe Halhead (1500m)
and Emily Wheildon (High
Jump) in the Junior Girls section; Jazmyn Brocklebank (Discus) in the Intermediate Girls;
Robbie Davidson (200m and
400m) and John Staveley (80m
Hurdles and Long Jump) in the
Junior Boys section; James Atkinson (Triple Jump) and Isaac
Dennis (Discus) in Intermediate Boys.
R.Mayhew
District Athletics
QES took their athletes to
Sheepmount Stadium in Carlisle where they represented
the South Lakes Federation in
the District Athletics finals. We
had six athletes chosen; Jed Armitage, James Mason, Callum
Sheldon, Isaac Dennis, Katherine Lovell and Chloe Halhead.
Jed had a great day, making
it through to the final of the
100m and finishing a very impressive 5th as he was at the
bottom of his age group for
the event. Jed also finished 5th
in the Long Jump final. Isaac
also had a good day finishing
a close 2nd in the Discus final,
and Callum finished 6th in the
Shot Putt final.
James Mason hit a PB in the
200m final finishing second,
which also earned him the
right to represent Cumbria in
the county finals, the only athlete to do so. James just missed
out by 2 hundredths of a second to represent the county in
the 100m, finishing 4th. James
also contributed to our relay
team, finishing 1st in the 4 x
100m final, so an excellent day
Match and event reports 3
for James. Katherine competed
in both the 100m and the relay
finals and finished 5th and 2nd
consecutively. Unfortunately
Chloe had to retire from her
race due to an achilles heel injury, so we wish her a speedy
recovery!
D.Williams
Cricket
Year 9 Cricket
Fixtures have been hard to
come by for the U14s, only
playing one game so far
against Heysham High.
Commitment levels to training
have been high, making selection difficult for the coach.
However the team started their
campaign strongly, captained
by Jarred Collis. QES won the
toss and decided to bat first.
Opening batsmen Collis and
Greenall took to the crease.
However a disastrous start saw
us lose Collis, Greenall, WoofDwight, Bridgeman Quinn and
Berry for 30 runs. It wasn’t until
the partnership of Rycroft and
Cope developed that QES were
able to assert themselves on
the game. Cope retired on 30,
and Rycroft was bowled on 27,
and then Wilson knocked up
a respectable 19 in the short
number overs he faced, with
Spence hitting a special six
over cow corner so that QES
finished their 20 on 123 runs.
The story of the day goes to the
bowlers, with some very impressive stats. Heysham were
bowled out for 77, with bowling performances from Rycroft,
Greeny, Collis, Cope and a very
impressive performance from
spinner Bridgeman Quinn who
bowled 21 for 6 off 3 overs. A
great start -- bring on the rest
of the fixtures.
D.Williams.
Yr 7 Cricket
Numbers at QES cricket training have been very strong this
year, with 25+ regularly turning out. Despite creating Mr
Mayhew some selection headaches, nearly all those boys
have so far had the opportunity to represent the school.
The season kicked off with a
gripping game against Dallam,
with QES going down to a one
run defeat. This was followed
by the County Cup match away
to Sedbergh. Sedbergh batted
first and scored 138. Undaunted by their task, QES batted
sensibly to finish proceedings
on 99 for 3 in reply. Leaving
wiser, and with dignity intact,
the lads understood that time
together as a team was the
difference between the two
sides.
ning between the wickets saw
them narrowly home against a
strong Heysham side.
Having improved with every
game, QES U12s can now look
forward to an end to the season involving games against
QEGS, Kirkbie Kendal and Ullswater. Good luck!
R.Mayhew
Rounders
A recreational rounders practice has been taking place after school on Tuesdays since
May, with numbers gradually increasing over the last few
weeks, as the weather warms
up and rounders becomes part
of the girl’s curriculum. We did
host a match against a touring
team on Saturday 12th June.
Malsis School from near Skipton finished their short tour
with a fixture against a combined Year7/8 team. Despite
some excellent batting from
our Year 8s, Malsis proved to
be the better tacticians with
some superb fielding by their
players. Hopefully, next year
we can encourage greater
numbers to our practices early
on and arrange some more fixtures across the season.
J.Winstanley
QES Director of Sport
Richard Mayhew is
leaving the school after
four years to take up a
post in York. Read the
full tribute to Richard’s
work in our HEADlines
section.
For our next issue.....
Next came the U12 South
Lakes Tournament. The lads
played well, scoring runs for
fun. QES finished equal top of
the group, but were pipped for
a place in the final as they had
lost more wickets. So much for
run rate!
QKS away were next up, with
QES securing a comfortable
win by 19 runs. The following
week saw another away game
at Heysham High Sports College. The U12s were now into
their stride, as excellent run-
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
Rosslyn Park National Rugby 7s Tournament
A year on from a superb performance in the Colts Tournament (U16) last year, a similar
group of players was assembled this year for the Open
Competition (U18).
With no Year 13 students in the
squad and with depleted numbers (nine instead of twelve) it
was always going to be a tough
assignment.
Match 1:
QES 17, St Benedicts 22
A terrible start to the match
saw QES trailing 17-0 after
not very long! It took a captain’s try from Leo Mercer to
jolt everyone awake. Showing
characteristic strength and
agility, Mercer crossed to get
QES back into it. A quick brace
of tries from Josh Pewsey then
brought the scores level and
it looked as though QES had
wrestled back the momentum.
Unfortunately, with the players
tiring and with Benedicts having more options on the bench,
they managed to sneak over
late on for a decisive score.
Match 2:
QES 21, Richmond 33
QES made a brighter start in
this match but were again
on the wrong end of the result. Richmond had a lot of
power and pace but, for the
most part, QES matched them
in both these departments.
Unfortunately two tries from
Grant Smille and one by Josh
Pewsey weren’t enough to
edge fortunes our way.
Match 3:
QES 33, King Henry
VIII, Coventry19
In a total try-fest QES finally
managed to finish on the
right end of the result. Tries
by Jack Akrigg, Josh Pewsey,
Liam Cleary and two from Leo
Mercer gave QES a comfortable cushion. In an eventful
match, Coventry did mount
something of a comeback
when Grant Smillie was controversially sin-binned, although
even the referee didn’t seem
entirely sure why! Certainly the
most entertaining and, from
a QES perspective, the most
pleasing match so far though.
Match 4:
QES 7, Llandovery 34
By this stage it was mathemati-
cally impossible to progress
through the group stages. Furthermore, the final match was
against the pool favourites and
former tournament winners.
The size, speed and organisation of the Welsh side proved
too much for a weary QES side,
but special mention must go
to the consolation try by Grant
Smille and the performance of
Josh Pewsey who, throughout
this match, repeatedly got the
better of his opposite number
who was allegedly one of the
fastest players in the tournament.
Despite the three defeats, QES
have got a lot to be proud of
after often being pitted against
older, more experienced players, some with regional or even
national representative honours to their name.
In the face of such pedigree,
QES rose to the challenge and
competed admirably, regularly
demonstrating their own considerable quality. In another
year’s time, with a bit more
experience, I believe that this
group of players could be a
very real threat in this most
prestigious of tournaments.
I would also like to extend my
thanks to the parents who travelled to London to support the
team and cheer the lads on.
Your presence was much appreciated by both the staff and
the players.
42
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
Squad: Grant Smillie, Harry
Neale, George Close, Liam
Cleary, Jack Akrigg, Leo Mercer
(c), Josh Pewsey, Will Heginbotham, James Cox.
A.Rawson
U18 First XI
The first XI had their most
successful season ever, finishing up with two pieces of
silverware. They are Cumbria
Schools County Champions
and the winners of the new
South Lakes Schools U18 cup.
The squad has worked very
hard all year and every one
has played their part. It was
fantastic to see a group of lads
get what they deserved at the.
There won’t be many lads who
have won the county cup twice
at U18 level as some had previously tasted success two years
ago - good to see a “golden
generation” come good!
I would like to congratulate
Jack Smith who had to miss
out on both finals as he was in
the USA on trials and was a key
member of the squad in all of
the earlier rounds of both cups.
He has been awarded a football
scholarship for next year. This is
fantastic news and I hope that
he makes that a successful time
for him - he may be a name to
watch out for in the future!
South Lakes Final
This final took place at the
home of Kendal Town, thanks
to some wangling by a certain
town player, and the lads made
the most of it by winning the
game 4-2 against local rivals
Kirbie Kendal.
Over the years these two have
had some excellent games and
this was no different. It was a
tense affair but the forward
play of Ross Kilshaw and Adam
Garnett in particular proved to
be the thorn in Kirkbie Kendal’s
side. Some strong defending
from the back four snuffed out
43
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
any attacks and formed the
base for the rest of the team.
County Cup Final
This was against Cockermouth
School containing some County standard players and was
played at French fields, Penrith
on an unsuprisingly windy day!
With an under-strength squad
of only twelve players Mr Foster made his expectations
clear before kick-off and QES
made an excellent start kicking with the wind. Once again
Ross Kilshaw and Adam Garnett were causing the opposition defence problems and it
wasn’t long before Ross scored
his first goal of the game.
The whole squad worked very
hard and were fully committed
as apparent from the midfield
marshalling of Adam Caton
and Jake Fawcett. Nathan Dixon, Tom Holland and Jackson
Eatherden were as efficient
and committed as ever in defence, and David Leinweber
proved what excellent potential he has for the future with a
fantastic display against one of
their better players at left back.
Jason Roper and Jordan Field
made endless runs in the wide
positions and supplied endless crosses and passes for the
forwards to thrive on. It was a
very pleasing sight from the
sidelines as the team dominated the game and further goals
followed from Jordan Field,
Jake Fawcett, Jason Roper and
a second from Ross Kilshaw.
It was one of the few times I
have stood on a touchline and
been able to relax and enjoy
watching a group of lads play
and perform at their optimum
- a very proud moment indeed
and hopefully not the last for
QES. Final score was QES 5,
Cockermouth 0.
Down under
More from this summer’s extensive programme
of outdoor pursuits: top and centre, Year 9 in Long
Churn Cave. Bottom, Year 7 Residential pupils ghyll
scrambling.
It just remains for me to thank
all the players who have given
their time and been committed to representing football
at QES in the U18 this year. I
wish those Year 13 lads all the
best for the future and I am delighted that in their time in the
U18 squad they have achieved
what their potential suggested
they might. It leaves a standard
for others to strive for and I
look forward to seeing others
face up to the challenge. Don’t
forget - play as high as you can
for as long as you can!
D.Foster
THANKS to
Above: more from the Art & Design display
clockwise from top left: Adam Lewis, photography, AS;
Ross Kilshaw, painted field, AS; Sarinda Devine, portrait
A2; Ben Hall, graphics, AS; Ben Chetwood, baby, A2
Thanks to all contributors. Apologies to anyone omitted:
H Baines, T Barker, S Bennett, M Brooks, J Brown, Hannah Burch, Alisha Casement, C Clarke,
C Dennett, S Dent, A Douglas, David Ely, L Fleming, D Foster, S Garne, A Hall, J Hartley,
Jools Hirons, S Holmes, Josh Ireland, D Leedham, D Lequitte, S Lomax, Connie Luckham,
J Marriott, H Martin, R Mayhew, J McElroy, D McGregor, M McNulty, Kate Mee,
Ryan Metcalfe, Luke Morris, Annie Neat, Josh Norman, C O’Neill, Faye Oliver, Katie Onions,
Emily Phillips, A Rawson, Anna Ressler, A Rogers, Oliver Schofield Robinson, D Sharratt, F
Sheldon, Rachel Smith, G Sosnowski, S Stephens, Megan Stevenson, Rachel Todner, K Vose,
A Waters, Dannie Watts, S Weber, A Wilkinson, D Williams, J Winstanley
44
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
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SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591
46
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOOL
SCHOLARSHIP AND CARE — SINCE 1591