Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 1
FREE
COVER
DISC
PLAY LOUD >>
A night with
the stars...
Clare Balding joins
our stars at Prize Giving
See pages 2–7 and centre pages for more!
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Singing our students’ praises!
Personal Best was launched almost ten years ago to proudly celebrate the talent and creativity of our
students. Those talents have gone on to be showcased in thousands of photos and hundreds of pages of
text since our first four-sided edition back in the summer of 2004.
But this is the first time that we’ve also captured our students’ creativity on disc! The accompanying CD features
four songs from Rebels Of The South, the brilliant Park House Battle of the Bands winners who so appropriately
opened our ex-Year 11 Prize Giving Ceremony in November with their version of ‘We Are The Champions’.
That marvellous annual celebration of student achievement, shared with very special guest Clare Balding, is just
one of the other many highlights of this really wonderful Winter Term edition of Personal Best. I’m sure you’ll
agree that the time is certainly right to be singing our students’ praises as we also celebrate appearing in The
Sunday Times List of the country’s Top 500 State Schools! • Derek Peaple, Headteacher
14 years after...
I was delighted to bring Clare Balding to Park House for Prize Giving and return to school myself, 14 years
after I left. Things came full circle for me because nearly two decades earlier at my own Year 11 prize giving,
PE teacher Doug Cook introduced me to that year’s special guest, BBC Sport reporter Garry Richardson
(another former Park House student).
As soon as I asked Clare back in the summer, she was keen not to let anyone down and put it in her diary
immediately. “Text me the day before so I don't forget my Olympic Torch!” she cried. I know she was really impressed
by the efforts of the Year 11 students and was bowled over by her gifts, as was I by mine.
I had been working with Clare for around six months on her new chat show on BT Sport. We had some real
superstars on the sofa including Lennox Lewis, Victoria Pendleton and Michael Owen. Sadly I had to leave The Clare
Balding Show because the commute to the BT Sport studios on the Olympic Park was a killer. I still get to work with
Clare as I’ve returned to the BBC to work on Sport Relief for which I am currently setting up a very exciting challenge
which you will see in March. And, I’m again looking after Berkshire-based sporting hero AP McCoy at my fifth Sports
Personality of the Year show as Assistant Producer.
I’m always happy to give advice to anyone interested in working in TV or Radio, so feel free to email me at
andy.stevenson@bbc.co.uk or tweet me at @AndyStevenson81 • Andy Stevenson
Isn’t it about time
you followed us?
Most of you will have already seen that we have made a few changes
and improvements to the school website which will now be updated
more regularly with news, blogs, features and video content from our
YouTube channel.
In addition to the website updates we will now be sharing more on
Facebook and twitter for those of you who enjoy social media.
Rest assured both streams are moderated and watched regularly and the
aim, as with Personal Best, will be to deliver positive news stories about
school life and student achievements along with the occasional announcement
and link to interesting educational or inspiring stories elsewhere on the web.
So please click like and follow and if you think we’ve missed a great news
story about Park House School and its community let us know! •
Park House School A Leading Academy for the Whole Community
Personal Best is published by Park House School. It is distributed termly
to students, staff, parents, stakeholders, alumni and friends of Park
House School. Issue No 29 will be published Easter 2014.
We need the help of staff and students to produce Personal Best – thank
you again to all those who have contributed to this issue – we’re sorry if
your story couldn’t be included this time.
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Do you wish to say something positive about school life? Please submit
ideas, stories, copy and high resolution photos for future issues to
Headteacher, Mr Derek Peaple.
Park House School, Andover Road,
Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 6NQ
T 01635 573911
E office@parkhouseschool.org
W www.parkhouseschool.org
/ParkHouseSchool
@PHSNewbury
Designed and produced by
Waddell Digital Limited
/WaddellDigital
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 3
Rebels of the South
So I believe it may have been early 2011. I was sat on an amp on the
side of the road with a guy named Elliot Page. We were talking about
general music things when I asked him if he wanted to make a band.
So we did. We recruited a drummer, a singer (I’ve never wanted to
sing) and a bassist who started to learn that very day I asked. His
name was Alex Stevens, and he had curly blonde hair.
Away (So You Can Be Free)’ and ‘We Will Never Die’ sounded more from
the other side of the Atlantic as we became more influence by bands like
The Killers and The Black Keys. We’ve played plenty of shows since then in
and around Newbury, but I think we all agree our best show to date was
our slot at the Arlington Arts Centre, where we all felt we hit the best we’ve
ever played.
We played one Bands Week show as ‘The Experience’, featuring a few
moments which we’d rather forget. And I think I recall sitting backstage
with my head in my hands saying “we’re never to make it” or something
along those lines.
After a bit of a summer hiatus we got back to work on some new ideas
and a bundle of new songs. Four of which are featured on the EP you are
receiving with this edition of Personal Best; ‘Under The Lights’
‘American Song’ ‘Desperate’ and ‘Blow Up The World’ are all songs we’re
really proud of. Each one is very different but all put across similar
messages about how it feels being of such a young age in the modern
world and all these things that you feel and run through your head. The
titles may sound quite dark, but hopefully the songs put across a more
positive message about how our time as a band has been affected by our
lives and experiences.
Anyway we began writing songs – just Elliot and I – and I brought a
bunch of my own songs to jam along to and mess around with. I believe it
was the singer who left first, and we embarked on a separate project to be
known to be known as ‘Lee Robert’s Rebels Of The South’.
We were set to play a slot at the Corn Exchange ‘Music For Mencap’
show but our drummer unfortunately couldn’t make it, so I contacted a
young lad called Elliott Lelaure to fill in. We played the gig, the line-up
stuck, and as the cliché goes ‘the rest is history’. Rebels Of The South
became a band.
The name doesn’t mean the same now, as we were heavily influenced
by the northern likes of Oasis and The Smiths, therefore ‘rebelling’ against
the music scene in the south. But as we gathered pace, songs like ‘Run
“We wouldn’t have
made it this far
without the support
of this school...”
We wouldn’t have made it this far without the support of this school,
and the particular enthusiasm from our Headteacher Mr Peaple, and
the heavy support of Mrs Simpson and Ms Van Kempen of the Music
Department, all being so involved and helping us develop as musicians.
So the cover EP is our way of saying thank you , from all of us, for
your continued faith in us as a band and that hopefully one day we
can reach the places we want to. Cheers. • Lee Robert Bouzida
rebelsofthesouth
@ROTSMusic
rebelsofthesouthmusic.weebly.com
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Prize Giving achievements
capture the spirit and
values of 2012 with Clare Balding
On 25 November we proudly celebrated
the record-breaking achievements of our
ex-Year 11 students at our annual Prize
Giving Evening with a very special guest
speaker - Kingsclere-born and now
internationally renowned media presenter
and author, Clare Balding. Clare presented
students with their GCSE certificates and
special awards for academic achievement,
progress, charity work and contribution to
the community.
Award winners included Penny
Atkinson, Heather Barr, Beth Buckland,
Gareth Carless, Marcus Davies, Anna
Gildersleeves, Harriet Gray, Jessica
Harris, Issie Hawker, Louisa Hygate,
Wojciech Klimowicz, William Matthews,
Katie Morton, Karolina Pyrzanowska,
Stephanie Restivo, Grace Towey and
Josh Wilkinson – all achieving nine or
more GCSEs at A*-A.
Heather Barr
Chemistry, History, Physics
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Headteacher’s
Living the Values Award
Twin Town Award
Runner up
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Penny was awarded the overall Prize for
the best GCSE results, with 13 grade A*s
and an A and Heather became the second
recipient of my special ‘Living the Values
2012 Legacy’ Award for her outstanding
contribution to the school and community.
Just as Clare brilliantly captured the
spirit of inspiration and achievement at
London 2012 in her commentaries and
interviews, so she equally captivated the
imagination of our students with her
message of having the confidence to
seize every opportunity that life presents.
I was especially thrilled that Clare
commented on how our commitment to
the Values of London 2012 had been
reflected in a tangible achievement
culture; a culture which contributed so
much to our students’ record-breaking
achievements and recent placement in
Penny Atkinson
The Sunday Times’ list of Top 500
State Schools.
This very special evening was further
enriched by the opportunity to welcome
back former Head Boy (of 1998-99
vintage!), Andy Stevenson. Andy works
alongside Clare on a number of BBC and
BT Channel projects and last featured in
Issue 26 for his work co-presenting the
Channel 4 Paralympic Show alongside
former Prize Giving Speaker, Paralympic
Gold Medalist Danny Crates.
A final great development this year saw
us joined for the evening by another
former student, Lottie Walker, who is in
her third year studying Journalism at the
University of South Wales in Cardiff. In the
spirit of ‘inspiring a generation’ you can
read Lottie’s account of our evening on
page 8. • Derek Peaple
Louisa Hygate
Beth Buckland
Textiles
Paul Barker Memorial Prize
Computer Science
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Music
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For best GCSE results
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Twin Town Award
For excellence in languages
See more
Prize Giving
photos on pages
6, 7, 18 and 19...
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 5
Luke Harden
Anna Gildersleeves
Steph Restivo
Tesni Fakes
Dance
English Literature, French
Neil Jones Memorial Prize
Science
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Governor’s Prize
For student who has excelled academically
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Peel Cup
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For service to the community and school
Girl athlete of the year
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Liam Wright
Emma Pavier
Sophia Devaney
Julia Thorp
Schneider Memorial Prize
Btech Science
Economics, English Language
Dawson’s Prize
Jack Rogers
Marcus Tu
Issie Hawker
Marcus Davies
Best Bricklayer
Photography
Eileen Hanks Cup
Spanish
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For outstanding artwork
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
For student who has persevered and exceeded
Sponsored by Adie Drewitt
For student most deserving of success
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
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Georgia Radley
Matthew Penlington
Kane Voss
Grace Towey
Drama
Gemini Services Award
Geography
Physical Education
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For excellent work in IT
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Sam Archibald
Niall Madden-Blain
Lewis Caddy
Jordan Freemantle
Physical Education
David Clark Shield
Media
Newbury Oils Cup
For significant progress throughout school life
James Kilpatrick
Will Rawlings
Wojciech Klimowicz
Brandon Butterworth
Jim Roberts Shield
Food Technology
Business Studies, German
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Best Carpenter
Officiating in sport
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
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Boy athlete of the year
Sponsored by Ollie Drewitt
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 7
Emma Lawson
Aiden Ferris
Harry Asquith-Beard
Yolanda Dipheko
David Welch Memorial Trophy
Graphic Products
Governor’s Shield
Psychology
For continuous progress throughout the school
Academic progress
Courtney Burnett
Shannon Burnett
Gareth Carless
Lee Bouzida
Maths
Maths, Btech Sport
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Gordon Clewes Memorial Prize
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
Harriet Gray
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
For services to music
“I have never known a school
so positively embrace the
Olympic and Paralympic
spirit and values. This has
to be a major reason for
the year group’s recordbreaking achievements”
Clare Balding
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Lottie Walker stays in touch
Hi, my name is Lottie Walker and I
am an ex-Park House student.
Since leaving Park House in 2011
when I finished my A Levels, I
have now gone on to study
Journalism at The University of
South Wales.
Now in my third year, I have been
taught a lot since starting, and one of
my particularly favourite modules
was social media. I learnt how to
have a professional presence on
social media sites and to keep
constant on them, especially twitter.
It was from this that I saw Mr
Peaple tweeting about the ex-Year
11 Presentation Evening, where
journalists Clare Balding and
Andrew Stevenson were to be the
special guests. After exchanging a
few tweets I was invited to come to
the Presentation Evening to meet
with them.
Clare Balding’s speech to the exYear 11s was very motivational. With
the amazing results from their
GCSE’s she told them to have
confidence in everything they do, as
it will help them get to where they
want to be. She also told them to
take every opportunity they get
given, as that is how she has had
such an amazing career.
Listening to Clare was brilliant as
I am hoping to go into her area of
work; sports broadcast journalism.
I am also currently working on my
dissertation on how sportswomen
are represented in the media, and
the little coverage that they get
compared to men, something that I
know Clare is also passionate about.
After the presentation I was able to
speak to Andrew in more detail as
well. We were talking about the
media industry and we found out that
we had a mutual friend, showing how
small the media world is!
I am very thankful to Mr Peaple for
giving me the opportunity to come
back to Park House where was able
see some of my old teachers as well.
Clare’s words to the ex-Year 11s
have helped me with my studies,
and I have realised that only with
hard work will I end up with a career
similar to Clare’s. •
A truly unique learning partnership
The week of 11-15 November saw us act as proud and privileged
hosts to a delegation of 21 Senior Educational Officials and
Headteachers from Baghdad.
This unique visit represented the culmination of the EU-funded and British
Council/Youth Sport Trust co-ordinated Iraqi education reconstruction
programme that we have been supporting since 2011. The programme has
focused on the wider role of PE and school sport in motivating effective
learning right across the curriculum and in the development of student
leadership. We have specifically been working with two secondary schools in
Baghdad – Al Mansour Boys and Al Resala Girls. November’s visit widened
that partnership by including representatives from Al Mansour and Al Resala’s
feeder primary schools as they roll out this approach to learning across the
wider community.
The response to the
programme from staff and
students in these brilliantly
creative schools has been nothing
short of amazing; watching the
positive changes in learning styles
and the empowerment of both
teachers and young people has
been very moving, and the visit
certainly captured the imagination
and interest of the media
with coverage from BBC
Radio Berkshire, BBC
World Service, BBC Five
Live and BBC South Today
and national News. The
week-long programme
included classroom
observations, a visit to
Reading University to
experience a Student Leadership Academy in preparation for the Berkshire
School Games, watching our Sports Leaders in action at Brightwalton
Primary School and discussions with students and staff about their learning
at Park House.
I am particularly proud of the key role played by our students in supporting
this visit and making it so successful and informative for our Iraqi colleagues as
they plan for the next stage in their very special learning journey. • Mr Peaple
A taste of England…
During their visit the Iraqi delegation were given a quintessentially
English experience, staying at the Donnington Grove Hotel. The Hotel
was absolutely superb in their response to our request to
accommodate the delegation and I am delighted to feature its
facilities and services below:
Simply an amazing
venue in Newbury
• Championship 18 hole golf
course, membership available
• Conference and banqueting
facilities
• Unique wedding venue licensed
for ceremonies
• 18th Century manor house set in
over 500 acres
• Bar and restaurant open daily
• Non-members welcome
www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/donningtongrove
Grove Road, Newbury RG14 2LA
01635 581000
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• Golf Pro shop offering latest
brands in clothing and accessories
• Hotel accommodation in the
manor or lodges on the estate
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 9
AWE Young
Scientist
of the Year
This is an annual event set up by the Atomic
Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston.
Designed to celebrate outstanding young scientists
in Berkshire and Hampshire. The competition is
open to all Year 9 students from all schools in the
counties. Gemma Maynard, now Year 10, entered
after writing a concise scientific article about her
Inspiration in Science. Gemma did extremely well
receiving a commendation from the judges and a
place in the final. Well done Gemma for achieving
a Personal Best. • Mr Miller
AWE Sixth Form Science Challenge
During October a group of six Year 12 scientists attended a
challenge event organised by AWE at Tadley Community
Centre. The students, Gareth Carless, Beth Buckland, Brad
Agar, Louisa Hygate, Will Matthews and Anna Gildersleeves
faced a number of challenges covering all three main scientific
disciplines. They investigated the efficiency of wind power, the
data storage capability of CDs and DVDs using lasers and
carried out a crime scene investigation using forensic diagnostic
chemistry techniques. Up against teams from other schools,
mostly Year 13s, they competed well and showed excellent
scientific thinking skills. Whilst learning new skills lots of fun was
had by all, well done to the team. Here’s looking forward to the
next challenge event! • Mr Miller
Thatcham Motor Industry Research Centre
In November our AS Physics
students visited Thatcham
Automotive Research Centre.
This visit is an essential part of
the A Level Physics programme
and is used by the students to
describe the application of
physics to everyday life. The
report that they write forms a
large part of their practical
examination module. Covering
many aspects of the course,
mechanics and electrics, the
visit also brings into focus the
social impact of car design
and development. Reviewing
the impact that this can have
on the everyday lives of people
in society.
The visit took in the crash laboratory, where Thatcham carry
out new car safety assessments, as part of the New Car Euro
NCAP programme. This provides a European wide accepted
standard for vehicle performance in a crash. This can give a
good indication of occupant survival in real everyday road
impacts. The centre also tests car seats and head restraints for
whiplash prevention. Whiplash is the major cause of fraudulent
insurance claims in the UK and adds an estimated £90 to each
and every car insurance premium in the country. Seats are fixed
to a high velocity sled and a sophisticated crash test dummy is
strapped into the seat.
The dummy is seated in exactly the position he would be in a
car, this position is measured to an accuracy of four decimal
places so that tests can be accurately repeated if necessary.
Scientific credibility is maintained by controlling all of the
variables surrounding the dummy, including the clothes they
wear! The forces are measured as the sled is accelerated and
then braked rapidly resulting in simulated whiplash for the
dummy. Special cameras that can shoot 200,000 frames per
second are used to record the motion of the dummy and this
data is analysed to see how a person would respond in a similar
situation. Data for different cars is compared and the seats are
ranked. You can see how your car performs in these tests at
www.thatcham.org/myvehicle
The students were also shown the training facilities at the
centre. Here technicians are put through a rigorous programme
of skills development as part of their apprenticeship or for
refresher skills training during their career. In the large workshop
area new cars are assessed for ease of repair. Standard repair
times and manuals are produced for sale to the motor trade
repairers. This standard ‘bible’ of times and data helps
bodyshops to give insurance companies accurate estimates for
vehicle repairs following road accidents. • Mr Miller
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Harry Ashton – English Youth Ballet’s production of Swan Lake
Harry Ashton (pictured far right)
shares his experience from The
English Youth Ballet – a dance
charity that stages a variety of full
length productions around the UK,
with the majority of the cast made
up of children between the ages
of eight and eighteen:
I was very nervous but excited when
I arrived for my audition for Swan
Lake at the New Oxford Theatre
earlier this year, however I needn't
have worried as everyone was very
friendly and I really enjoyed the
whole experience. All in all they saw
over 300 children and had to choose
120 for the cast. I was lucky enough
to have been chosen along with only
seven other boys.
Rehearsals started in the last week
of the summer holidays and
continued every weekend up to the
shows at the end of September, I
was really anxious before the start of
rehearsals but soon got used to the
schedule and made some great new
friends. Each session started with an
hour long lesson with the
professional dancers then a short
break followed by rehearsals until
the end of the day.
We did two evening performances
and a Saturday matinee, which were
all sold out! Being part of the EYB's
production of Swan Lake was hard
work, with lots of travelling and long,
tiring days; but I learnt loads, made
some great friends and loved every
minute of it! • Harry Ashton, Year 7
Outstanding talent of Park House Dancers
The Place’s Centre for Advanced Training (CAT)
is part of a national intensive dance
programme for 10-18 year olds who display
exceptional potential and passion for dance.
CAT nurtures young dancers to enable them to
maximise their potential, creating world-class
dancers who can engage and compete with
their international peers around the globe. We
are in the exceptional position of having four
talented young dancers on this outstanding
scheme. Both Freya Lawson, Year 10 and Luke
Harden, Year 11, have been attending ‘The
Place’ for the last year and are currently
continuing with the second year of training.
This September two further dancers from our
school, Pascale Barrett, Year 11 and Matthew
Lawson, Year 12 have been offered a place and
are both thrilled to have been accepted. They
share their thoughts here:
“I have been dancing since I was three years old
and coming to Park House has reinforced my love
for dance. In April 2013, I applied for a place on
the CAT scheme having attended a taster day at
The London Contemporary Dance School. I was
one of 40 girls in my audition; there were also six
further auditions to follow and the standard was
extremely high as the scheme is open to students
from across the country.
“I waited two months before finally receiving an
email asking me to return for an interview. I was in
the top 50! But, I was determined to win my place!
I eventually received the exciting email confirming
my place. Only 30 dancers were selected in total
from over 250 applicants so I felt thrilled to accept
my place!” Pascale Barrett, Year 11
“I auditioned for CAT twice and was successful on
my second attempt. The audition itself was in two
stages. There was a contemporary, ballet and
creative class which really show your talents and
how well you can cope with the speed and
intensity of the CAT training. I personally found the
ballet very difficult due to my lack of experience in
this discipline. Secondly there was an interview
accompanied by your parents to assess
commitment, dedication and the amount of family
support available.
“Since joining CAT last year, I feel that I have vastly
improved my technical and creative ability. I would
never have had the opportunity to reach this
standard without the intensity of the training. Also,
I have been exposed to so many experiences and
have worked with some amazing choreographers.
I have met so many new and incredible dancers
and have realised how hard you have to work to
reach your potential in dance. This helps me
continue to strive to become greater and more
determined every week.” Luke Harden, Year 12
“I’ve been at CAT for almost one term and am
finding it to be an amazing and exciting
opportunity. I am also currently in rehearsals with
a selected group of boys to perform a curtain
raiser in January for Matthew Bourne’s famous
Swan Lake at the Sadlers Wells Theatre, London.
What an incredible opportunity!”
Matthew Lawson, Year 12
“The past year at CAT has been amazing. The
scheme has built my confidence and improved my
dancing immensely. The whole year has involved
many theatre trips, triage sessions, choreographic
intensives during the Easter and summer holidays
and also many guest teachers such as the
Matthew Bourne Company, H2O, Hoffesh Shechter
Company and many more. Many teachers have
been past performers from famous companies so
they have the best training and experience to be
able to teach and inspire us at a professional level.
I am now in my second year and have had a great
start. I am sure I will enjoy it as much as I did last
year especially now my bother Matt and my friend
Pascale have also joined from our school.”
Freya Lawson, Year 10
Freya and Matt Lawson, two of our four CAT scheme dancers
Milly on top of the world after feature on www.paragraphplanet.com
Milly Hoggard has recently enjoyed being a published author on
Paragraph Planet – a creative writing website which has been
publishing one 75-word paragraph every day since November
2008. Here’s another fantastic 75-worder from Milly about
writing a 75-word paragraph for Paragraph Planet:
“Once upon a time a dyslexic girl got involved in Paragraph Planet
through her parents. The challenge was to write a short story in
seventy five words exactly. It made her think, helped her edit and
improved her storytelling. She was so good her paragraph was the
story of the day. She told her Headteacher and he asked her to write the story of how she got
involved. Why don’t you have a go?” • Milly Hoggard, Year 7
10
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 11
House Colours
Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards
During this term’s House Assemblies awards were given out to
students who have gained 150, 200 and 250+ House points over the
past year. We now have over twenty Gold students working towards
their House Colours.
With the new improved House System taking more shape this
past year we don’t want to leave anybody out. A group of Year
10 students have been discussing ways to reward the older
students and those who may have joined us later in the year.
Alternative steps to success than those below are being created
so that we can celebrate every student’s achievements inside
and outside of the school community. It is a very exciting time so
watch this space! • Miss Atkinson
BRONZE AWARD
Hana Robinson
Aaron Vass
Millie Tapping
Devin Bowers
Kate Hardiman
Shona Fogarty
Zoe Forte
Cian Weedon
Millie Mayo
Alexandra Ross
Ashleigh Haines
Emma Cummins
Tom Agar
Ben Canning
Ethan Burt
Ian Levett
Niamh Jones
Sophie Burgess
Bradley Congerton
Dani Newton
Jessica Homersham
Fran Murrell
Harry Bowness
Stephanie Hoy
Michael Carlile
Dulcie Crosby
Maha Bryan
Rebekah Cussen
Matthew Rhodes
Charles Matthews
Sam Coyne
Bradley Munslow
Will Cox
Jasmine Wills
Josh Lawson
Rebecca Sheppard
Charlotte Stacey
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To qualify for House Colours Year 7, 8 and 9 students are being
asked to collect evidence of the following either through their
SIMS Achievement log, certificates, photographs, letters etc:
• Helped at an Open Evening or other evening events
• Taken part in House activities
• Contributed to a charitable event
• Represented your school in the wider community—competitions,
teams, volunteer work, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Scouts, Guides etc
• Taken on roles within subject departments
• Peer Mentoring, Learning Makers Programme
• Assisted in Years 5 and 6 Taster Days
• Collected a minimum of 500 House Points.
Your attendance, punctuality and behaviour logs will also be taken into
consideration.
SILVER AWARD
George Hawkins
Katie Higgs
Oliver Hewitt
Stephanie Gadd
Stephen Leonard
Alice Parker
Luke Barlow
Rebecca Robinson
Bethany Lee
Eleanor Penfound
Katherine Part
Ewan Tweedie
Chloe-Louise Alsbury
Isobel Fry
Olivia Gibson
Alix Pells
Toby Southey
Abby Holloway
Amelia McKay
BEECH
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Holly Donohoe
David Lee
Joseph Lardner
Bridget Skinner
Fiona Davies
Luke Donohoe
Harley Bloomfield
Jocelyn Row
Max McDougall
Amy Drake
Millie King
Brodie Twining
Harrison Phippen
Connor Humphreys
Elle Chandler
Aimee Shannon
Sam Robinson
Jasmine Jackson
Katy Jones
Leon Crossman
Megan Somerville
Annabel Chitty
Gemma Maynard
Charlotte Johnson
Honey Howell-Williams
Katherine Langley
Gemma Forte
Harry Waye-Branch
GOLD AWARD
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Daniel Roch
Neve Sanders
Sania Kelly
Hannah Crookall
Josh Witting
Georgia Pike
Imogen Townsend
Jacob Smith
Sophie O'Connor
Ellie Gudgeon
Daisy Coyle
Rosie Johnson
Ryan Fisher
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OAK
ELM
CEDAR
11
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 12
Shadowing the Head
My name is Bethany Lee and I am a Year 11
student here at Park House. I have recently
started thinking about what I want to do after
leaving school. I am currently a young leader
at guides and I help out with the Junior Dance
Club at school because I really enjoy being
with young people. This inspired me to look
into becoming a teacher. I really want to aim
high so this got me thinking about becoming a
Headteacher. I talked to our careers advisor,
Mrs Bestwick, and she arranged for me to
have a meeting with Mr Peaple to see what
it’s like. He explained some of the basic
principles and responsibilities about being a
head. He also suggested that I might like to
shadow him for a day.
So, on 13 November I arrived bright
and early to school at 7:00 am to start my
day as a Headteacher. It was still dark and
no-one else was on site. The first thing we
did was to write personal thank you letters
to all those who had spoken at the Park
House Open Evening the night before.
We discussed in more detail some of the
responsibilities a Headteacher has and Mr
Peaple explained some of the things he
regularly does and why. We checked the
diary and drew up a list of things to do
and priorities for the day.
12
He showed me the app on his iPad
which he uses to approve school trips. It
had every detail of the trips arranged and
extra notes from Ms Howard. We then
approved the Year 10 Work Experience trip.
Mr Peaple has an ‘open door policy’
which means that if his office door is open
any person can come in to discuss any
issues with him. Our first visit was from
Mr Froom. We evaluated the success of
the Open evening and Mr Froom
suggested some follow-up activities.
During the course of the morning we had
discussions with Mrs Whyatt about the
upcoming day with our Iraqi visitors; Mrs
Robinson-Slater about cover supervision
for the day and finally a Year 13 student
about which universities would be suitable
for him.
Next, a BBC camera man arrived and I
was asked to greet him in reception and
make him welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed
this as he showed me how all his
equipment worked. After a short wait our
Iraqi visitors arrived. I joined them and the
other Student Ambassadors and first we
went to the gym to show them
trampolining. They asked lots of questions
about how sports education in this country
works. This was a real learning curve for
me as we often had to speak through a
translator which I had never done before.
Some of the braver Iraqi Heads even had a
go on the trampolines! I will never forget the
look on Mrs Whyatt’s face when one of
them attempted a straddle jump and nearly
landed on top of her! We also took them to
the 3G pitch and the Wellness Centre.
After this, it was my job to lead the
whole group to the Library for a final
meeting with Mr Peaple before he had to
leave for a meeting elsewhere. Mr Peaple
had explained to some of them that I was
shadowing him and some of them asked
me questions as if I was the head! We
had drinks and biscuits before Mr Peaple
did his speech.
I thoroughly enjoyed my day and it has
really inspired me! Next, I plan to have a
day shadowing my old primary school
Headteacher on an inset day to compare
the differences between primary and
secondary school leadership. • Bethany Lee
“I thoroughly
enjoyed my day
and it has really
inspired me!”
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 13
Berkshire Debating
competition winners
On 22 October, Mr Hammond
took four of us, Tom Davis,
Heather Barr, Sam Forrest and
Gareth Carless, up to the Piggott
School in Wargrave. After
preparing our debating skills,
arguments and counter
questions, we felt nervous but
comfortable as we arrived at the
school for the Berkshire round of
the National ‘Debating Matters’
Competition. After all we had no
idea what kind of debaters they
we’re going to be. After a short
wait, which included talking to
the judges and drinking coffee,
the first debate began.
The topic: ‘Should hate
speech be given a public
platform?’. The teams: Park
House versus the hosts,
The Piggott. Every debate
commenced with each team’s
starting speeches, followed by
scrutinising questions by the
judges – all leading people in
their respective fields. Our
representatives for this debate,
Tom and Heather, did well to
defend themselves from their
onslaught of logic. Tom and
Heather then proceeded to not
only answer all the audience’s
questions; but were also able
to give the other school
questions they just couldn’t
answer and had to wriggle out
of! After this debate we found
shortly after that we had
defeated the host school and
were through to the final.
We watched the other two
schools, Godalming College
and Newland’s Girls School.
They debated about whether
or not now was the time to
invest in green energy. The
debate was a close match and
entertaining to watch. It gave
me and Gareth a chance to
see what kind of competition
we would be up against. The
date went a little apocalyptic
and left Godalming sitting out
of the last contest.
The final – on our side, myself
and Gareth – The Newland’s
Girls argued that we shouldn’t
take advantage of smart drugs.
We set about proving them
wrong. After opening speeches
we were quizzed by the
Judges. Although we had to
backtrack on a particular point
we were then left open to
attack. Newlands missed their
chance and let us get past it.
The Chairman then made me
answer two of the audience’s
questions during my one
minute closing statement.
Luckily I was able to get my
points across as well as answer
the questions quickly. Gareth
was then able to deliver his final
speech that summarised
everything we’d said.
Whist the judges deliberated
we were all given sandwiches
and cakes to pass the long,
nervous wait. The judges
came into the room and after
an X-Factor wait we were told
that we had won! We were
now the Berkshire Debating
Champions! We now look
forward to facing other schools
in the Regional and National
Finals when we get there. It
was a good night! • Sam Forrest
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Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 14
Cool Runnings Park House style!
Two days before Christmas 2011, I had the pleasure of making a
fantastic phone call to eleven Park House students to tell them that they
were to be Gamesmakers on the track in the Olympic Stadium at the
London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. I was delighted
when one of these students had the opportunity to surprise me with
fantastic news of her own. Sixth Former Codie Burnett could not contain
her joy as she told me that she had been selected to attend an Ice Camp
in Austria with Bob Team GB. She was going Bobsleighing!
PE Staff at Park House initially
informed Codie that an
Assessment and Training Day
was happening in July. Codie
was both disappointed and
determined – disappointed as
she was carrying an injury which
meant that she was unable to
perform in the testing at the
assessment day but she was
determined to attend and
introduce herself to the coaches.
Attending made her all the more
determined to be prepared for
any future opportunity. Boy, was
she ready!
On Saturday 23 November she attended a second Assessment
Day at the University of Bath and this time Codie was fully fit and
raring to go. She finished the day as the highest ranked sprinter
and was pleased with her performance, but with others there that
had been part of the programme previously she was still not
expecting to make the camp.
STOP PRESS!
At the time of going to print we just found out that Annabel
Chaffey from Year 10 also made an impression at the Assessment
Day and will be joining Codie at the Ice Camp. Annabel couldn’t
contain her joy on finding out: “I’m very excited and looking
forward to getting on the ice and future opportunities. I can’t
believe this is happening!”
So, next year we will have two Park House students training with
the Team GB Bobsleigh. We are so proud of both of you!
14
She then received the email that topped the one I sent to her
two years ago – she was going Bobsleighing with Team GB and
hopefully starting her own little Olympic story!
As Codie said: “I am thrilled and feel really privileged to have
been selected by GB Bobsleigh for this opportunity. I am truly
looking forward to the experience and I am very excited about
going to the Ice Camp Training venue in Austria this coming
January! Thank you to Mr Tree especially for telling me about the
opportunity and the trials, and the PE Department and Mr Peaple
for all the interest, support and encouragement they have been
giving me throughout all of this. Bring it on! Feel the rhythm! Feel
the rhyme! Get on up, it’s bobsled time!”
Huge congratulations Codie from all of us at Park House,
especially the PE Department! • Mr Tree
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 15
Mrs Clarke interviews Toby Radford
– Head Coach of Glamorgan County Cricket
Mrs Clarke: 1988 I was a Year 10
student at Park House School,
loving playing all sports, and
Toby Radford was the year above
me just about to finish his time
at Park House! Here we are,
several years later, me a PE
Teacher at Park House, inspiring
the future population to have a
love and passion of sport and the
desire to be physically active for
the future and Toby has just been
appointed Head Coach of
Glamorgan Cricket Club.
Firstly Toby, congratulations on
your new job, can you take us on
the journey that got you to where
you are now?
Toby Radford: I started playing
cricket at the age of four. My Dad
introduced me to the game and took
me for coaching in all parts of the
country and threw balls to me in
empty tennis courts, car parks and
any unused bits of land we could
find. He threw so many balls at me
that he has one arm longer than the
other! He was hugely influential in
my development as a player and
coach. A great mentor, really.
I played for Berkshire Under 11s
as a nine year old and then went on
to represent England at Under 17
and Under 19 age levels before
playing professional cricket for
Middlesex and Sussex as an opening
batsman.
When I finished playing
professionally in my mid
twenties, I took the role of
Berkshire Cricket
Development Officer, which
involved a lot of coaching.
Quite soon afterwards, I
became a National Coach for
the England and Wales
Cricket Board before returning
to Middlesex firstly as
Academy Director and then as
Second Team and First Team
Coach. I was fortunate to be
in charge of the Middlesex
team that won the 2008
domestic Twenty20
Competition.
Four years ago, I travelled to
Barbados to set up and direct the
West Indies High Performance
Centre. That was a wonderful
experience and thoroughly
enjoyable. I was delighted as well
that more than half of the first intake
of players went on to represent the
West Indies at International level.
For the past two years I have been
batting coach and assistant coach
for the West Indies first team,
working with the likes of Chris Gayle,
Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine
Chanderpaul. I have been lucky to
travel the Caribbean with the team
and also to tour Australia, Sri Lanka,
England and Bangladesh. My
highlight with the team was
undoubtedly winning the Twenty20
World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2012.
I have just been appointed as
Head Coach for Glamorgan County
Cricket Club and have been in the
role for a week. It is an exciting time
for me, returning to coach the team
that I supported as a youngster. Born
and bred in Cardiff, to Welsh parents,
the opportunity for me to work with
my ‘home’ team is thrilling and I
have no doubt that a wonderful
challenge lies ahead.
Mrs Clarke: What are your
memories of Park House?
Toby: I really enjoyed my time at
Park House - not only were the
teachers knowledgeable in their
specialist subjects, they showed a
genuine interest in their students and
their overall personal development. I
thought my Biology teacher Hugh
Ennion was outstanding, as too was
Mr Cook – a disciple of discipline
and good behaviour – and my
Geography teacher Mr Collins.
Mrs Clarke: What sports did you
get involved with at Park House?
Toby: I played scrum half in the
school rugby team - enjoyed
attacking but wasn’t too brave when
having to tackle the large looming
forwards. I enjoyed cross country,
badminton and played right back in
the school football team. Our cricket
season was pretty short in those
days, but I did enjoy launching one or
two deliveries onto the main road.
Mrs Clarke: We both had the
privilege of inspirational PE
teachers Mr Czerpak and Mr Cook
– how did they contribute to your
success?
Toby: Mr Cook was an inspirational
teacher. He was a stickler for oldfashioned morals and behaviour and I really admired him for trying to
develop respectful and fully-rounded
individuals. I used the gym to
practice my batting every lunch hour.
He was always supportive of me and
went out of his way to enable me to
access the hall. I will be forever
grateful for his help and support.
Mr Czerpak was an excellent
rugby coach. He was passionate
about the sport and his enthusiasm
rubbed off on all the students. He
didn’t really have any direct impact
on my cricket but did inspire me in
sport, generally.
Mrs Clarke: When did you decide
to pursue coaching rather than
playing and why was this?
Toby: In my early twenties, I took my
first cricket coaching qualification
and when I was a professional at
Middlesex CCC I started to coach in
the winter in the primary and
secondary schools of North London.
Delivering safe, enjoyable and
informative sessions to 30 students
in the confines of hastily cleared
dining rooms provided an excellent
grounding for me in what has now
become my full profession. I studied
for a degree in journalism at City
University and had to make the
decision on leaving Sussex in the
mid/late 1990s whether to use that
degree and move into journalism or
stay in cricket and develop my
coaching.
Cricket had been in my blood for
so long and I felt I had something to
offer the sport. I remember thinking
at the time that because I hadn’t
quite fulfilled my potential as a
player, that I was going to use hard
work, determination and any
acquired knowledge to turn myself
into a top coach. I had always been a
self-starter and a driven player. Once
I made that decision to become a
professional coach, I knew I would
give it my all to make it work.
As with teaching, coaching is very
much a giving profession. Nothing
gives me more pleasure than seeing
players I work with developing well
and improving. It makes all their and
my hard work worthwhile.
Mrs Clarke: What advice would
you give to any student today that
has a goal they want to achieve?
Toby: As I often tell my players –
there is no simple way to success. It
comes from hard work, also • Be open to advice from people
and see if it works for you
• Set yourself high, but attainable
targets
• Review your performance
honestly - don’t make excuses.
The ‘world’s best’ are very honest
in their self-appraisal
• Be resilient – don’t give up
• Enjoy the challenge
• Really believe that success is
attainable for you!
Thank you Toby for such an
interesting insight into life as a
professional sportsman and Good
Luck for the new season!
15
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 16
Volunteering in Gambia
Sophie Hygate, Matt Zieba and Holly Anderson
left Park House in the summer of 2013 after
successfully completing their AS and A2
studies. Sophie has since been in touch since
to update us on their adventures...
When we first discussed where we would go
for the first part of our gap year, we knew we
wanted to dedicate part of the year to volunteering
and helping people who don’t and won’t have
the same opportunities we have had. We wanted
to experience a different culture, meet new
people, experience how they lived, and try to
make a difference.
There were a number of schools around where
we lived for the seven weeks in The Gambia. The
first school we visited was a German sponsored
school. One of the daughters of the family we
were living with was married to one of the
teachers, so he showed us round the school. He
also let us watch him teach his class of 6-7 year
olds, and a few days later, he let us teach them! It
was a nerve wracking experience standing at the
front of a class of 30 students staring up at you.
We found that everyone could complete the work
as a whole class; however they struggled when
doing work individually.
The next week, we visited The Scandaid
Secondary School, which was for Years 10-12.
I found this school absolutely fascinating, as they
were people our own age. They studied similar
things to us, at a similar level. I found it surprising
to have A Level standard content being taught in
a concrete hut, it was surreal having two very
different worlds mixing. The students are all
fascinated by England, and their aim is to go to
university here. They bombarded us with questions
16
about everything, and I think both us and them
were surprised by the number of similarities
between our school experiences.
We also volunteered at a play group in a small
village called Nema. Previously, the village had no
form of school. The children were expected to do
the chores around the compound (the house and
surrounding area) from a very young age, with no
question of going to school. Hildred, a British
expat, originally started the nursery in a tent in her
back garden, and through donations of people’s
time and money, she has slowly built up a school
with as many resources a play group in England.
Their one set back is they only have one trained
teacher. Teaching at this school was a very
challenging experience; it was a big struggle with
the language barriers. However, if you took a step
back, you could see the huge difference the school
was making to the community.
The school taught British values, such as
sharing, saying please and thank you, and setting
them up for further education in general. The
nursery has showed the community how
important education is, and even if they couldn’t
write the alphabet past C, it taught them a way of
acting and gave them a positive opinion of going
to school.
The whole thing was an absolutely life changing
experience; a massive eye opener. It has shown us
that, everyone is the same, despite different
cultures, different life styles, different education,
and different views on life. As people in The Gambia
liked to put it, “we all have the same colour blood”.
We really enjoyed our time in a country full of
people who made us feel like we were at home,
and we can’t wait to go back one day.
We stayed at Mango Lodge and apartments
www.mangolodgegambia.com – set in the heart
of the local community and just 500m from the
beach. We were able to relax by the pool or
explore and meet local people right outside our
front gate. • Sophie Hygate
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 17
Barcelona
Earlier this summer, 40 students from Year 9 and Year 10 embarked on
a trip to Cataluña. This was yet another successful experience. Every
day was filled with different activities, including a treasure hunt to
discover the town of Tossa de Mar, a visit to Poble Espanyol,
Montjuic, and a visit to the Cathedral Sagrada Familia and Parc
Guell with its famous long bench. We also had a guided tour to
discover Barcelona and its famous artists, such as Antonio
Gaudi who was responsible for some breathtaking buildings .
“The school trip to
Spain was one of the
best trips I have had.
We stayed in a hotel
with a swimming
pool which was right
by the beach.”
Harry McDougall , Year 10
This immersion into the Spanish culture was a great opportunity to
give our students insight into a different way of life. We closed
our trip with a delightful visit to Water World in Lloret de Mar. Our
students made their accompanying teachers very proud because
of their good behaviour and their group spirit. The five days were a
valuable experience which will hopefully encourage students to keep
exploring and discovering new things. • Mrs H. Nait-Ladjemil
“We saw amazing
and spectacular
monuments like the
Sagrada Familia.
We ate some
Spanish food and
basically had a
fantastic time!”
Bella Atkins-Kendall, Year 11
17
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:42 Page 18
More Prize Giving highlights...
Elliot Laker, Head Boy and
Rachael Green, Head Girl with Clare.
18
Alex Gallo, Duncan Shelton (Year 11 guest singer), Anna Neary, Harriet Gray,
Julia Etheridge and Mary Nash enjoy meeting Clare.
Students pose for the obligatory duck-face selfie with Clare who tweeted: “Had a
fun evening giving out Year 11 prizes at Park House School. There are some very
dodgy selfies out there!”
Josh Wilkinson
Tom Davis
Gil Appleby Memorial Prize
Trevor Fisher Memorial Prize
For achieving 9 or more A*/A grades
For outstanding attitude to work and school life
19
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 20
A-Level students
visit Jurassic Coast
Between 9–11 October our A Level class visited the
Jurassic coast of Hampshire and Dorset. Based in
Swanage, we visited a range of locations including
The Olympic Sailing National Academy based within
Osprey Quay, we were studying the legacy of the
games and how many people still visit the venue site
after the months that have passed by.
Following this we went to Chesil Beach to see
how this area was being managed to avoid
coastal flooding. We stayed at the Limes Hotel in
Swanage where, in the evening, we presented
the results of our first day’s investigations to the
rest of the group. Day two involved going on a
20
guided tour of Studland sand dunes, before
collecting data about the sand dune profile and
the biodiversity. We finished the day at Lulworth.
On the final day we took the chain ferry to
Sandbanks before making stops at Boscombe,
Highcliffe and finally making a geographical
pilgrimage to Barton on Sea where the cliffs are
falling into the sea and are a real mess.
The trip was a great success and will help us
answer questions in our January exam. Thank
you to the Geography Department’s efforts in
organising this for us – Mr Toner, Miss Bunn and
Mr Davis. • Year 12 Geographers
“The trip
was a
great
success
and will
help us
answer
questions
in our
January
exam.”
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 21
Inspiration at
Kew Gardens
In the beautiful surroundings of Kew Gardens, our students worked in
groups to create their own sculptures inspired by the work of Andy
Goldsworthy. Natural materials were used to create, spirals, circles
and trailing lines. In addition to the sculptures, the students were
able to make sketches and take photographs of the wonderful
natural forms found in the glass houses of Kew.
An added bonus was coming across the amazing Willow
sculptures by artist Tom Hare. These giant fungi were dotted
around the grounds and gave us a surreal Alice in Wonderland
feeling of having been shrunk.
Back at school students have continued to experiment with
Andy Goldsworthy ideas to create 3D leaf sculptures, ‘sewn’
together with thorns. • Mrs Waddell
“I really enjoyed the
visit to Kew Gardens.
It was great doing a
joint sculpture in the
style of Andy
Goldsworthy. We
really tried to find
interesting coloured
leaves to graduate as
they came towards
the middle.”Gemma Maynard
21
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 22
National Apprentice of the Year
Ex-Park House student Sadie Hawkins,
previously featured in Personal Best, has
recently enjoyed national success when she
became Apprentice of the Year. She shares her
experience with us here:
Earlier this month I was named Advanced
Apprentice of the Year at the National
Apprenticeship Awards held at the NEC in
Birmingham. The award was presented by
Government Minister, Matthew Hancock
(Minister of Skills and Enterprise) and Nick
Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister) opened the
event addressing the 700+ attendees.
After completing A Levels at Park House
School I joined IBM in August 2011 as an
Apprentice. During Sixth Form I was
fortunate enough to be a part of the ‘IBM
Out-Reach Scheme’ a programme
designed to provide students with unique
opportunities and insight into both
business and technology through events,
workshops and work experience. Over the
last two years I’ve been involved with
running a range of activities with Park
House including Cyber Champions, Lego
Robots, careers week workshops and
Work Experience at IBM Hursley.
Within IBM I’m currently a Project
Manager working within the
Communication sector. As a Project
Manager I’m responsible for the end-toend delivery of changes to my clients
current application. The role encompasses
a whole range of activities from project
planning, budget management, estimating,
risk management and liaising with the
client. Despite being fairly junior I’m already
delivering complex application changes
and receiving excellent customer
satisfaction feedback.
Winning this award is a huge
achievement for both myself and IBM. I’m
the first IBM Apprentice to win a National
Award since the scheme launched in
November 2010. The support and
comments I have received since winning
the award have been incredible including
congratulations from IBM CEO Ginni
Rometty. • Sadie Hawkins, Project Manager Companion, AMS - Global Business Services
“Winning
this award
is a huge
achievement...”
‘Hear, Hear!’ MP brings important message
Regardless of political perspective (I may
regret saying that), we’d all have to agree
Richard Benyon MP was another superb
guest in the line-up of recent key speakers
for the Sixth Form. Past involvement with the
school included a special visit to Politics
students and also organising the Politics trip
to Parliament a few months ago. The MP for
Newbury came to talk to the Sixth Form about
an important element of our political system
which will be affecting many Sixth Formers
fairly soon – voting.
Now, I think I should make it clear at this
point that the visit was not a brainwashing
exercise with the sole aim of securing Tory
votes! On the contrary, I clearly remember
the striking point made about how he’d
rather someone vote Liberal Democrat
than not at all! The importance of voting in
elections and the consequences of apathy
was a key message delivered; a relevant
and significant one to both Year 12s and
Year 13s.
22
He then went on to talk about his role
as a Minister in Government but also gave
us an insight into what it is like to be a
Member of Parliament representing
Newbury. Many Sixth Formers soon
realised Mr Benyon’s job lent itself to
more than just sending out Happy
Birthday cards to 18 year olds.
The floor was then opened to
questions directed at the Member of
Parliament which transformed into
numerous discussions regarding
controversial and political issues such as
fracking, the horsemeat scandal, HS2,
climate change and whether young
people still have a voice in today’s
politics, the latter, Mr Benyon was
particularly keen to address.
Mr Benyon came across as very
understandable, whilst still not patronising
(a weakness of some politicians) and I
was thankful for that. It was a pleasure to
see our local MP taking a genuine interest
in the issues that affect young people and
the fact that he took time out of his busy
schedule to speak to us was greatly
appreciated. We all avidly anticipate his
next visit. • Tom Graves, Year 13
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 23
Max Anstie
World Championship Motocross
We last featured Max Anstie in Personal
Best Issue 3 back in 2005! And now we’re
delighted to feature him again as he updates
us on his progress since leaving us:
Hi, I’m Max Anstie, I am 20 years old – I race
the World Championship Motocross series
and used to go to Park House School.
Since I left Park House I headed over to
California where I got a deal to ride for KTM –
one of the major teams over there. Just after I
turned 16, I started racing professionally in the
American Motocross and Supercross Series.
Supercross is run indoors, in baseball stadiums
or American Football stadiums. For the next two
years I travelled all over the US, I had some good
results and great races which then gave me the
opportunity to get a deal with Monster Energy
Kawasaki Europe to race the World
Championship when I was 18. The team was
based in the South of France, so I lived and
trained down there for the season. We start off
the season in Qatar, then to Thailand, then Brazil,
before heading back to Europe for a few rounds,
Russia, then to Mexico and South America again.
I ended up sixth in the World in 2011!
In 2012 I signed with Factory Honda and
moved to Milan, Italy where the team’s
workshops were. I struggled in 2012 with a few
crashes and some bike problems so then this
year in 2013 I moved over to the Factory
Rockstar Energy Suzuki team. It was a solid
team based in Belgium and things started off
well, but after the Japanese GP we
had a few issues and struggled to
get the bike competitive enough. I
had a few good races but the
British GP in Matterly Basin,
Winchester, was pretty cool,
where I came from the
back of the start through
the field. The British GP is
always a special one with
the fans, but especially for me
as Winchester is where I was born
and its so close to where I grew up
in Newbury.
I have a good group of people around me now
(that speak English!) and the right tools to do
the job next year. The goal is to get on the
podium every weekend and start winning races,
then put ourselves in a good position for the
Championship at the end of the year.
Park House supported me so much through
school. From a young age I already knew my
goal was to be World Champion. And now I have
that opportunity in front of me. I believe that
what you put in you get out, and the school
helped me understand this. I used to come in
early and do my basic fitness training routines in
the hall, or out on the field every Tuesday and
Thursday for three years.
Just the basics of that discipline and the
motivation to work at your dreams can lead you
to where you want to be. I wasn’t the smartest
kid in school, but I made things easy for myself
by getting the work done in school so as soon as
the bell rang I would be on the way to my track
and on my bike. I can’t thank the school enough
for allowing me to follow my dreams and work
on something only I saw possible.
Anyway its back to work now, I have to go
win this championship! •
“Park House
supported me
so much
through school.
I can’t thank
the school
enough for
allowing me to
follow my
dreams and
work on
something only
I saw possible.”
The last few years have definitely
been a journey. I have learnt a lot
and want to now give myself the best
chance at this title next year. I have just
finalised a deal for the next two years
where I will be riding for Bike It,
Cosworth, Factory Yamaha that is
running out of Southampton. So it’s
pretty nice to be back here in the UK.
23
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 24
Sixth Form Physics visit
to IBM Hursley Park
On 19 November the AS Physics students
visited the IBM Development Site at Hursley
Park. This site used to be the largest
development site outside the USA but that
honour has now been taken by the site in
Bangalore India, I guess a sign of the times
and where the rapidly developing markets are
situated. Hursley Park is still a huge and
fascinating site full of Science in action, one
of IBMs major sites in Europe.
Our IBM hosts started our day with a
talk about IBM and the roles and career
opportunities available in Science,
Technology, Engineering and
Manufacturing businesses (STEM). This
was followed by some detailed discussion
about the physics of disc drives: inspiring
and fascinating facts about how
aerodynamic engineering plays a major
part in disc drive design. You’d be
amazed at where you find disc drives, not
just in your PC where you might expect,
but in cars, fridge freezers and all manner
of appliances!
24
Following the discussions the students
were able to get hands on with some disc
drives. The idea being to take them apart
and see how they work, you really do end
up with a lot of bits. The challenge came
with putting the drive together again and
not getting left with a few screws at the
end!
The morning continued with a tour of
the Innovations Centre and we were able
to see a number of laboratories where
new technology is tested and trialled for
various business uses. We visited the
Public Services Lab, where IBM are using
RFID (radio frequency identification) and
tablet computing to allow remote access
on the go to public services, The Police,
Fire and Ambulance. There was also a
clever interactive bed tablet that replaced
the clip board hanging on a patient’s bed.
The tablet displayed only the information
that that particular care worker was
entitled to see following sign in, again
using RFID. This protects patient
confidentiality and ensures that access
to information and care plans is
instantaneous, no more trying to
understand the doctor’s writing. We also
had a demonstration of the latest
marketing and EPOS (Electronic Point of
Sale) technology for the retail industry.
Our visit ended with an inspirational
presentation from Sadie Hawkins, a
former Park House student and now a
successful IBM apprentice based at
Hursley. Sadie described the opportunities
that she’d gained as a result of the IBM
School’s Outreach programme with Park
House and IBM. Sadie has just been
voted the National UK Apprentice of the
Year showing just how far you can get
with some focus and application (see
page 22). Our congratulations go to her
for that success – our students continue
to achieve their ‘Personal Best’. Look out
for other opportunities from the Outreach
programme in the future.
• Mr Miller, Head of Physics
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 25
A day in the life of an Oxford student
On the 5 November 2013, a group of
students from Year 10 and Sixth Form,
including myself, were given the opportunity
to take a day out of our normal timetable for
a trip to the renowned Oxford University; we
were given the chance to visit two of the
many colleges that make up Oxford
University, these were Oriel and Univ
(University College Oxford).
We were first given a brief tour of Oriel
College. We were shown various parts of
the College, such as the grand dining
room, the recreational areas, the rooms
and the Library by David Skuse, a former
Park House student who now attends
Oriel. It was an interesting experience in
itself, but many of us were also surprised
by how casual the atmosphere appeared,
for we had all expected to see ‘clever
people’ running around in formal suits.
We then moved onto Univ, which is the
oldest college in Oxford, where we were
greeted with a delicious meal straight
from the College’s cafeteria, served in a
rather majestic hall. Over lunch many of
us discussed the pros and cons of
university life with our guides and learnt
lots more on what it was like to come to
Oxford and how we could improve our
chances of joining, many of them had
interesting and funny stories to tell about
university life and were very entertaining
and welcoming.
After lunch our guides split us into
groups and took us on a tour of Univ,
which has lots of interesting and quirky
bits of history, including a statue to the
19th Century Romantic poet Percy
Bysshe Shelley and a Library designed
as a church by the architect even though
he was building a library. We were
shown the living spaces, which were
surprisingly large, and the areas which
the students can relax, including their
own bar and common room.
Finally we were reunited with the other
groups and given a few activities to
complete related to Oxford, such as
listing words that came to mind when
Oxford was mentioned (‘clever’ came up
often). We enjoyed a brief presentation on
how we could improve our chances of
getting a place at Oxford, what they were
looking for and what we could do to
show interest early. Just before the end
of the day we addressed a postcard to
ourselves from Univ with a list of things
we could do to improve our chances,
which the University kindly posted to us a
few days later.
Overall it was a very enjoyable day; we
all had lots of fun, learnt a lot about
university life, and thoroughly enjoyed
seeing the University. I can also add that
many of us were pleasantly surprised,
shocked even, by how relaxed and cool
everyone was. Many thanks to Mr Peaple
and Mr Hammond for allowing us this
opportunity, and to both the University
Colleges for giving us a fantastic and
memorable experience.
• Oliver Harrison, Year 10
“We enjoyed
a brief
presentation
on how we
could improve
our chances
of getting
a place at
Oxford...”
25
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 26
Matt Fenton Rocks
Matt Fenton left Park House in 2009 and came
back to visit us recently. We were delighted to
have the chance to catch up with him:
PB: What stands out for you from your time at
Park House?
Matt: My time at Park House is most memorable
for the friends I made whilst there; many of whom
I am still in close contact with now, including staff!
PB: Were there any teachers who particularly
shaped your view of school and your career
ambitions?
Matt: Having developed a passion for Earth
Science, I would have to say that I was greatly
encouraged by my old Geography teachers, Mr
Toner and Mrs Mittell, who helped me to develop a
natural interest in the subject. I would also say that
I was greatly helped by my old Biology teacher, Dr
Wilcox, whose teaching style I believe best
prepared me for higher education.
PB: Were you involved in any amusing
(publishable) incidents while at Park House?
Matt: I seem to recall our Head Boy playing a
‘prank’ which is unprintable for fear of copy-cats!
Also quite hilarious (but not at the time!), was an
occasion at a rugby match at another school
where our then coach, Mr Jones, collected all of
the team’s valuables and put them in a soft bootbag. In an attempt to protect them from torrential
rain he placed the bag under the wheel arch of the
parked coach (without informing the driver) which
subsequently had to drive off to park elsewhere,
causing sudden panic.
PB: You went to Birmingham to study Geology
and Geography. How was your time there?
Matt: The time I spent at university in Birmingham
was fantastic. The city itself isn’t as picturesque as
many of the more ‘traditional’ university towns but
the university itself with a beautiful redbrick
building at its centre and that sits on a green,
expansive campus in Edgbaston – one of the
nicest areas of the city.
Its many impressive features include the tallest
free-standing clock tower in the world (Old Joe)
and facilities to rival anywhere else in the country.
This means that most of the sports teams are
competing for their respective national titles with
brand new sports facilities currently being built. It
is part of the Russell Group and is flying up the
league tables. University is what you make of it
and as long as you enter with the right mindset
you will meet like-minded people and have a great
time, wherever you may finally choose to go.
26
PB: As it’s your area of expertise do you have
any thoughts regarding fracking which has
been in the media a lot lately?
Matt: I understand people’s concerns over the
environmental impact of fracking and encourage
scrutiny when a relatively new industry has the
potential to expand rapidly as this is what ensures
careful regulation. Otherwise companies would do
what they wanted without asking questions. I am
also a huge advocate of environmental
preservation, my passion for geography stemming
from a love for the natural world, and the use of
renewable energy sources to provide us with a
greater chunk of our electricity, eventually
replacing non-renewable fossil fuels. I accept that
this might come across as slightly hypocritical
with me potentially starting a fledging career in
searching for hydrocarbon resources. However, it
must be understood that with renewable
technologies still insufficient at present, it would
be unwise to completely dismiss fracking.
PB: Do you have advice for students wishing to
go to university – particularly those wishing to
study your specialisms?
Matt: Do it. Geology and Geography are incredibly
rewarding, enjoyable and sociable subjects to
study at university. I realise that these days the
decision of whether or not to go to university is
harder due to the huge tuition fees that students
have to pay. At least with a science-based course
in Earth Sciences or Geography one could at least
argue that you get your money’s worth. The
necessity for fieldwork means plenty of enjoyable
field trips, perfect for lovers of the great outdoors
and if you love
meeting people.
PB: You
gained a
scholarship
while at
Birmingham–
how did that
help you?
Matt: I gained the
‘School of Geography,
Earth & Environmental
Science
Undergraduate
Scholarship Prize’
for the best
academic
performance within
the School following
my degree result
(this was less of a
‘pay my tuition
fees’ – type of
scholarship – more of a one off payment of a
lump-sum). The money I was granted greatly
helped with living costs and the expenses that
come with studying a science subject such as
books and field trips.
PB: What are your ambitions for the future?
Matt: I spent the summer/autumn applying for
graduate schemes and roles within geologicallyrelated industries. I didn’t have much luck at first.
Most of the graduate schemes take months to
process. I tried focussing on the Mining industry as
I have a keen interest in sourcing mineral
resources such as gold, diamonds, copper,
aluminium and platinum etc. and I have an
ambition to go into exploration Geology with all the
travel opportunities that go with it. Also many of
the major mining companies are based in London
which wouldn’t require a massive upheaval in
terms of relocating in the UK. Major companies
include Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton with
countless other small and mid-tier firms.
I’ve heard directly from people inside the mining
industry that the industry on the whole is currently
experiencing a large downturn making it extremely
difficult for hopeful graduates to find work so I
decided to focus my efforts elsewhere.
I saw that a petroleum geoscience consultancy
company that I had been intrigued by at university
following a guest lecture, were advertising for new
recruits. The company, called ‘Neftex’, specialise in
using techniques that I had become interested in
within one of my final year modules and used
myself in the final year project/dissertation. I
submitted an online application and have since
attended a formal interview and a full assessment
day and only in the last few weeks discovered I
had been offered the role of ‘Geoscientist
Technical Assistant’ starting in the new year which
I am very pleased with!
PB: Thanks for your time
Matt – congratulations
and good luck in the
new job!
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 27
Do you recognise any of
these boys?
We were delighted to spot this old photo of the School Band on the
Park House School Association Facebook page and then contact old
boy David Bill who posted it. David Bill (front row, fourth from left) was
at Park House in the early sixties and told us he has fond memories of
the school and the friendships he had here:
“I joined the school in 1961 and left in 64 – we could all leave school at
15 in those days if we wanted. I left because I wanted to earn money and
travel. I hitchhiked around Europe doing basic jobs, working on fruit farms for
example, then aged twenty I travelled to the USA, Canada, Mexico, Central
America and ended up in Medellin, Columbia teaching English.
“Charlie Blatch was a good mate of mine (front row, second from left) we
were both Mods at the time of the notorious Mods vs Rockers battles down
in Brighton. Charles is now a drugs counsellor in Australia and one of the few
people I have kept in touch with.
“I recognise Mr Smout on the back row (seventh from left in glasses) of
the band photo too but with most of the others I am struggling to remember
their full names.
“I remember my music teacher Mr Alan Lanskoy – he was inspirational
and the reason I joined the band and latterly the youth orchestra.
“I met my wife Nora, who is Columbian, while hitchhiking round South
America and after my travels there I ended up studying again firstly at
Portsmouth Polytechnic for Economics and then in Liverpool for a postgraduate course in Development Economics followed by my MBA at Durham.
“Since 1997 I have been running
my own business – we are
commercial agents for chemicals
companies in the far east selling into
Europe to companies such as
Unilever. Business is going well and
my job still allows me to indulge my
hobby of travelling. I am also fluent in
Spanish and Portuguese
“Nora and I have been married for
41 years have one son and two
grandchildren and we now live in
Bathgate in Scotland.”
David has also been kind enough
to send us some extra pictures to
share with you: “The oldest picture
was taken is when I was a South
American ‘cowboy’ helping out on my
Colombian father-in-law’s ranch in the
Andes mountains. The more recent photo is from when Nora accompanied
me on a Trip to China.”
David can now be contacted via davidbill@plexuschem.com
Please get in touch with us if you are a Park House old boy, or girl and
if you have any more info on the photo below!
27
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 28
West Berkshire Paralympic Festival
We hosted a Paralympic multisport festival in October, inviting ten
local primary schools to give their students an opportunity to
experience some of the magic and inspiration the Paralympics
brought to London in 2012. The competition included Archery, New
Age Kurling, Boccia and Seated Volleyball. All these sports are fully
inclusive and engaging to suit all individual needs.
The event was co-ordinated and delivered by the Park House
PE Change Team (see opposite) – a talented team of leaders
who organised and officiated at the event. Schools competed in
mini leagues with Hermitage, The Ilsleys, St Nicolas’ and St
Martin’s winning their groups. It was inspiring to see over 60
talented young people engage in these fully inclusive sports with
all engaged and active.
It was a fun and action packed atmosphere with all young
people striving to be their best. It was great to see a competitive
event with fair play and respect evident throughout. The PE
Change Team were outstanding – they were excellent role
models for the school. • Mr Mandry
School Games National Recognition
28
The Berkshire School Games were nationally recognised for the
second year running for their outstanding delivery of School Games
across the county. In 2012, Berkshire were Southern Regional
winners and National runners up. In 2013, we were again National
runners up losing out narrowly to Leicestershire.
Park House students played a huge part in the success of the
Games both as competitors, leaders and officials. A team of
volunteer students helped deliver at the event, including running
the Cultural Village which had up to 1000 young people attend
on each day.
With 49 counties competing for this award it is an outstanding
achievement. Park House is instrumental in the delivery of the
School Games with Mr Peaple acting as Chair of the School
Games Local Organising Committee for Berkshire.
Three students were also identified as Creative Leaders and
were recognised for their contribution by gaining their Bronze
Arts Award Qualification. • Mr J Mandry
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 29
PE Change Team
The year started off with the Year 11 students
heading to Sheffield for five days to volunteer
at the Sainsbury’s 2013 School Games, which
was an extremely memorable experience for
all involved (see page 31).
The Year 10 students also went through an
application process and after a huge number of
applications and some difficult decisions; the
newest members of the PE Change Team were
selected. Together both year groups have now
been working on various projects. The first of
these projects saw seven students travel to
London for the ‘Get Set to Make a Change’ road
show. This was aimed at giving the students the
skills to live the Legacy of the Olympic and
Paralympic Games by involving the community in
physical activity. The team are currently working
on ideas for this project.
Next up was the annual Paralympic competition
between local Primary Schools, where the Change
Team were involved with running the various
activities, (Boccia, Archery, Seated Volleyball, and
New Age Kurling).
Finally four students were involved with the Step
into Sport Leadership event at Thames Valley
Athletic Centre. This event was aimed at developing
leadership skills and giving the students the
opportunity to try different inclusive sports such as
Judo, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby to
name a few. • Miss Richards
Berkshire U14 Academy Netball Trials
Congratulations to Year 9 students Megan Somerville (pictured left)
and Zoe Forte (pictured right) who have both been selected at the
Netball trials and now form part of the top 30 girls for Berkshire.
Megan was selected for the second year running after two
rounds of rigorous trials for the Satellite 1 Elite Group having
been in the Development Group last year. Zoe was successful at
the trials this year and was selected for the Satellite 2
Development Group.
The girls are now on the England Netball Performance
Pathway and will attend sixteen two-hour training sessions
fortnightly at Ranelagh School in Bracknell. At the end of the
training the top ten athletes in the group attend the South
Region Festival where selection for the Regional Academy will
take place. Well done Zoe and Megan. We wish you luck in the
next round of selections! •
29
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:40 Page 30
Fishing for Schools
Last summer Park House School was very fortunate to be offered the
opportunity to participate in the Fishing for Schools programme. The
charity’s work is led by Charles Jardine, a very well-known game
angler, artist and author, and its activities stretch the length and breadth
of the country with demand far exceeding supply.
The first events were held last summer with the very first session
being held at Meon Springs in Hampshire. Our students had
sessions on everything from “bug hunting” from one of the
country’s leading entomologists – Dr Cyril Bennett MBE – to float
making, fly casting to fly tying, the list goes on. The next day two of
the students were able to take the trout they had caught to their
Food Technology lessons and demonstrate the skills they had
been taught the day before.
Following on from the initial session it was clear we needed to
find venues a little more local. Step forward Newbury Angling
Association who have generously given us access to their waters
when required and offers of additional support and advice.
Events are held monthly in term time for a group of selected Year
10 students. The initial two trips of the Autumn Term were in the
format of a two leg competition with the students divided in to two
groups. The winning team would be the one that caught the most
fish with bonus points for larger fish. The first session each team
had to fish a different technique and the following session they had
to swap techniques. It was a very close run thing with only one fish
deciding who was to be the winning team. The sharing and
communication of information was a key part to making this work
and was the key development goal for the students.
We wanted to give the students another opportunity to try their
hands at fly fishing but where to go? Donnington Grove Hotel &
Country Club stepped in with the kind offer for us to fish on their
water on the River Lambourn. With hopes of many fine autumn
grayling in mind the day began with a classroom briefing from our
three instructors for the day, Charles Jardine, Rob Doyle and
Graham Lambert. The physics of casting were discussed
(potential energy, kinetic energy, velocity, and you thought it was
just fishing?), why the design differences between fly fishing tackle
and normal float fishing tackle and what the fish would be feeding
on at this time of year. And so it went on until it was time to put it
all in to practise.
I would like to end this account with details of many fine grayling
landed, but unfortunately the fish didn’t cooperate! As we were to
return to school the sun came out the water warmed, insects
started to hatch and the fish fed. Graham Lambert was able to
catch a trout and a grayling and they all posed nicely for the
camera! • Mr Froom
Newbury Angling Association can be found here:
www.newburyaa.org.uk
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2013 School Games Volunteers
For the second year running, Park House was
selected from an application process to take
eight students to volunteer at the 2013
Sainsbury’s School Games in Sheffield.
The Games in Sheffield are a Level 4
National competition which is the
culmination of all the competitions held
around the country. This encompasses
twelve current and future Olympic and
Paralympic sports for elite young sports
people.
We travelled up to Sheffield on
Wednesday 12 September arriving at
midday to start our training. Six hours of
training later, but excited for what was in
store for the next four days, we travelled to
our hotel organised by the Youth Sports
Trust and got settled in for dinner.
Thursday saw us up and out to the
English Institute of Sport for day one of the
Volleyball competition. There was an hour
of training on sweeping the court and ball
rotation before the real action begun. It was
an exciting first day especially as the
students hadn’t really seen Volleyball in
action before. After the Volleyball, it was a
quick walk over to the Motor Point arena to
prepare for the Opening Ceremony, where
we had the honour of holding the plaque
and leading the Athletic Teams into the
arena before sitting down to enjoy the
action, and what a fantastic night it was! To
make it more exciting, Annabel Chaffey
went on stage as one of four individuals
representing the volunteers during the
Opening Ceremony volunteer’s oath.
Day two and three of the competition had
us continuing to work in the volleyball and
also at the athletics. Our eight students had
huge responsibility at the athletics, where
they were entering details and checking
results ensuring all was correct before it
went up on the score boards. Paralympic
Gold Medallist Hannah Cockcroft was also
there giving out medals on the day.
Overall it was an amazing experience
and I was immensely proud of our eight
students, Annabel Chaffey, Selina Jones,
Abbie Breach, Becci Pearce, Jaimie
Withers, Imogen Skinner, Michael
Thompson and Austin Jones. Thank
you all for a memorable experience.
• Miss H Richards & Mr G Slater
Saturday night we headed to the
Celebration event which bought together
the 400 Volunteers who had played a part
in the Games, showcasing all the different
roles that individuals had done. At the
event, Austin Jones was the recipient of the
School Games Volunteer Award for
Teamwork receiving an engraved relay
baton from Baroness Sue Campbell.
Finally on Sunday after an early start we
were back to the Volleyball for the finals.
We had the honour of working on the last
match, which was the boys final and what
an incredible atmosphere and athleticism
from those involved! The match went to
three sets and was extremely close and
tense. I can safely say that all ten of us
have a new found love for volleyball!
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Ellie, the Champion of the World
During the weekend of September 20 – 22, the seventh WIKF World
Karate Championships was held at the K2 stadium in Crawley, which I
was lucky enough to be a part of.
I was selected for the England Karate Team. There were 25
countries competing with a total of 450 competitors. My
category was female, under 14 and under 40 kilos.
I beat an Irish girl in the first fight by nine points to nil. I made it
through to the final which was the most amazing thing I have
ever experienced. I had to run down the stairs from the top of
the stadium to the mats at the bottom with music blaring and
the crowd chanting ENGLAND! at the top of their voices and
shouting my name. My Mum was shouting the loudest and my
Nan and Grandad were both crying! I won the fight 5-0 with no
time left, it was a brilliant experience to be a part of and that was
the best day of my life. When I stood on the podium with my
gold medal and they played the National Anthem I felt so proud
– by then even my Dad was crying!
“I felt so
proud...”
In Team Fighting our Team
went out first round as we all
lost but we all tried our hardest,
even when the girls were a lot
bigger than us.
Overall England came second in the medal table being beaten
only by Denmark.
As the competition was in England my family were all involved:
my sister Tilly was a flag bearer in the opening ceremony for
Azerbaijan, my Mum was catering manager and my Dad was a
steward.
On the Sunday night there was a massive party that all the
countries were invited to – I made lots of friends from all over the
world including Holland and the USA. At midnight on the
Sunday it was my 13th birthday. All my karate friends sang
Happy Birthday to me and gave me the bumps/beats! It was the
best birthday ever! • Ellie Gudgeon, Year 7
Brad Chick takes his Judo hobby seriously
Hi, my name is Brad Chick, I am in 8 Delta , I do Judo as a hobby and I
started when I was six years old training for one and a half hours a
week, I now train for seven hours a week and do about ten to twelve
competitions each year.
My recent competition was at Gloucester where I won a bronze medal
but at the beginning of October I was given the chance to go to Belgium
to compete in the Lux Cup Competition with the judo club that I belong
to. In all there were six of us that went. We set off Saturday lunch time
and took the Eurostar and we got to Belgium at about 4.30 in the
afternoon. We all had to get up early the next morning to weight in.
I was in the under 50kgs weight group and I came away with a silver
medal. I was very proud of my achievements!
Here are some pictures of the group and of me in action. I am in
training now for my next competition which will be in March next year
in Sheffield. • Brad Chick, Year 8
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Park House Cross-Country runners
go from strength to strength
Park House Inter Girls and Junior Girls Teams both
fought off competition to win the title in the Reading
Cross Country League and qualify for the regional round
of English Schools Cross Country Cup.
Our Cross Country Teams celebrated as they brought
home the title. Every year Park House enter the Reading
Cross Country League for both Girls and Boys Junior and
Intermediate. This year the Inter Girls managed to retain the
overall title, and the Junior Girls team, not to be outdone,
stormed to victory, also gaining the overall title with an
impressive lead over competing schools.
The Boys teams also had a fantastic start to the season.
The new Year 7 students flourished each week, all working
hard to improve their individual placing, which contributed to
the final team position of second place. The Inter boys were
somewhat hampered by injuries, but still managed to finish
in a very respectable third place.
With so many great runners coming through the ranks, the
teams were feeling confident going to the County round of
the English Schools Cross Country Cup. The Inter Girls Team
put in an outstanding team effort and narrowly missed out on
qualification to the regional finals by just one point. However,
the undulating course definitely suited the Junior Girls and
Junior Boys teams, who qualified in first place and third
place respectively, securing both teams a place in the
Regional round of the competition held in Sherborne, Dorset.
This round saw the best twelve schools in the South West
of England competing in this challenging competition.
Despite the weather both teams rose to the challenge and
fought hard through the mud. The Girls finished in fourth
place overall, narrowly missing out on a place in the finals.
The Boys team, comprised predominantly of Year 7s in a joint
Year 7 and 8 competition, also missed out this year but their
hard work and experience should put our teams in a
formidable position for next year.
GIRLS TEAM: Mai Brown, Megan Rogerson, Kira Angel,
Georgia Tomlinson, Lilly Gohara, Elisha Pryor,
Emily Bettles, Bo Stewart, Ella Holmes, Izzy Fry,
Holly Donohoe, Annie Chitty, Jess Chitty, Amelia McKay,
Hannah Crookall, Ellie Gudgeon, Eve Chilton, Zoe Forte,
Megan Somerville, Carys Cox, Abi Scarlett
BOYS TEAM: Ed Fry, Henry Reeves, Adam Taylor,
Dylan Wiltsher, Reuben Langdon, Seb Jordan,
Leroy Pyke, Josh Reeves, Benji Fry, Dion Sankoh,
Sam Robinson, Connor Humphreys, Luke Donohoe
Calling all runners!
If you enjoy running seriously or just for fun then we have a date for your diary. We will
be hosting our first Park House School Run on Sunday 18 May 2014. It will be a family
day for all and will be open to the public with a variety of activities taking place.
Watch out for announcements in the weekly newsletter and online!
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Mo Mo Mo, how do you like it?
November: autumn leaves falling from trees, a cold chill in the air and darker days. It’s that time of year
once again which prompts the arrival of ‘The Mo’. This year the Park House MoBro team have stepped
things up a gear in terms of style, support and facial growth. With Mr Hayes’ Horseshoe/chest hair link up,
Mr Marshall’s 1940’s fighter pilot and Mr Slater’s thick bush, the scale and scope of this year’s charity
appeal is bigger and better than ever before.
This year we have been joined by our female counterparts ‘The Mo Sistas’, with Miss Atkinson leading the way.
As part of a House initiative, students and staff alike joined in the festivities and bolstered the fundraising effort.
Students could be seen sporting their hand crafted moustaches and prizes were awarded for the best efforts.
Also joining the team with his premiere debut tash was Mr Faust.
So far the team has raised several hundred pounds which will help the charity’s funding for raising awareness
of prostate and testicular cancer and mental health issues. • Mr Jones
You can check out the progress of the entire Park House Team on the official Movember website:
uk.movember.com/team/1439597
For more information about Movember please visit www.movember.com
MO VEMB ER U N I TED
Mr Jones
MO VEMB ER U N I TED
Mr Faust
M OV EMB ER UNITED
Mr Slater
M OV EMB ER UNITED
Mr Mackrory
M OV EMB ER UNITED
Mr (!) Atkinson
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MO VEMB ER UNITED
Mr Marshall
MO VEMB ER UNITED
Mr Hayes
MO VEMB ER UNITED
Mr Columbro
MO VEMB E R UNI T E D
Mr Wells
MO VEMB E R UNI T E D
Mr Couling
Winter2013Newsletter_Layout 1 18/12/2013 15:41 Page 35
So, you think you want my job?
Our sports grounds have to work hard for us –
they are, after all, an outdoor classroom.
We caught up with our Groundsman Ashley
Nutley, to find out what exactly goes into
developing and maintaining grounds
of the standard we enjoy here.
PB: What made you
want to do this job?
Ashley: I’ve always enjoyed working
outside, alongside nature. My
parents worked in the farming
industry most of their lives, which
rubbed off on me! I get to work
closely with the PE Department and
as I really enjoy sport, especially
cricket, this job allows me to work
with both my passions.
PB: What’s your typical day like?
Ashley: Most days I get into work
just after 6.30 am – an early start,
but it’s important to get prepared
before the school day kicks off.
I keep up to date with sports fixtures
each week, including the weekend
ones, as our grounds are used for
both school fixtures and local team
fixtures and training. Also, I have to
check the weather – a small thing,
but this dictates what I can achieve
in the day or the coming week and
this has a direct impact on what
spaces are useable.
My days might also include going out
in the tractor to maintain the sports
fields or marking out lines for the
pitches. Every day is different and I
have to be flexible as new jobs
always crop up.
PB: It sounds like you need a lot of
advance planning?
Ashley: Absolutely. All sports have
their season and I have to be ahead
of that to ensure the grounds are fit
for purpose by the time students are
using them. In spring I focus on
cricket and athletics. Preparing the
cricket square takes months and
starts with the pre-season rolling of
the ground. I also mark out all the
track and field events for athletics.
As the year
progresses my
focus will switch from
cricket to rugby to football.
Each sport has its own requirements
and specialist equipment that also
needs to be repaired and maintained
at the end of each season. I also
work with the site staff to keep the
rest of the school grounds in a tidy
and attractive state.
PB: What is the best part of
your job?
Ashley: I take a lot of pride in my
work and it’s very gratifying to see
other people getting enjoyment from
the grounds. I get to use some great
machinery! But mostly, I enjoy the
freedom and creativity of working
outside, surrounded by the wildlife
that can be found at Park House.
Your work is
out there for
everyone to see
and brings a lot of
enjoyment to a lot of
people. You could even end up
working at a prestigious football or
cricket ground, or golf course and
your work will play a big part in
some of the most important sports
events. There is no doubt that the job
is a rewarding one for those who
want to work hard.
PB: So, what qualifications would
somebody need to do your job?
Ashley: I’d suggest a City and Guilds
level 1 in Horticulture l with a City
and Guilds level 2 in Amenity and
Sports Turf Maintenance. You will
need training and certificates of
competence for the use
of most machinery.
These can be obtained via training
course with the national proficiency
test council or NPTC as vocational
courses alongside on the job
training. After some years of
experience you may wish to
specialise in a certain sport and
there are Level 3 and Level 4
qualifications available and also
degree courses. If this is something
you would like to learn during
your time at Park House, let me
and Mr Peaple know. We are
looking into future opportunities!
PB: Thank you Ashley!
For more information visit:
www.iog.org
www.bigga.org.uk.
www.bca.ac.uk
www.sparsholt.ac.uk
PB: And the worst part?
Ashley: The weather. Although the
grounds need the rain, if you get too
much it can makes things difficult.
Then there’s snow!
PB: What kind of opportunities are
there for someone who wants to
become a groundsperson?
Ashley: Firstly, the skills you need to
be a groundsman are transferable to
other manual professions, so the
opportunities are very wide-ranging.
As far as being a groundsman goes,
there are opportunities the world
over – many schools, colleges,
sports grounds and golf courses
need skilled people to look after very
specific types of grounds. You can
even specialise in specific sports.
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Where there’s a Wills
there’s a way!
Year 9 student, Jasmine Wills has recently
faced adversity and an open water swimming
challenge to raise funds for Mencap:
I have been in competitive swimming since I
was nine years old, but Sunday 22 September
2013 presented my biggest challenge yet. I had
decided to put my swimming talents to good use
and raise money for Mencap, by swimming 5km
(3 miles) around Eton Dorney Lake at a
temperature around 10˚C colder than a regular
leisure centre pool. I chose to support Mencap
because they support people with learning
disabilities and do excellent work to ensure that
they gain an equal right to choice, opportunity
and respect.
During the previous swimming season, I had
been struggling with a breathing disorder that
prevented me from swimming competitively, and
even threatened to force me to have to give up
swimming altogether. After several months of
treatment by a respiratory physiotherapist at
North Hampshire Hospital they re-taught me how
to breathe, I decided to try open water swimming.
My first open water event was a 1500m swim
at Reading Lake. With all of the warm weather in
August, the lake temperature was a comfortable
21˚C and I was amazed at the end to be handed
a plaque for the first female to finish in a field of
around 50 mostly adult men and women. I
enjoyed the experience so much, that I
immediately signed up for the longer, more
challenging open water event at the London
2012 Rowing venue.
36
I had never swum as far as 5km competitively
before, let alone in a lake that had dropped to a
chilly 15˚C. However I was determined to raise the
hundreds of pounds pledged for Mencap.
London 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist
Jessica-Jane Applegate (pictured right with me)
started 60 hardy swimmers off on two laps of the
Olympic rowing course. I soon discovered that a
wetsuit and two swimming caps provided little
protection against the cold conditions, and my
exposed head, feet and hands started to go numb.
By the second lap, my head was so cold it was
throbbing. The thought of stopping did cross my
mind, but my determination to raise so much
money to help other people drove me on. Finally
at the end, I managed to crawl out of the water on
my hands and knees, cold and exhausted. My
friend and Basingstoke Bluefins team mate then
helped me to stagger over the finish line for a
time of 1 hour 17 minutes. I was a respectable
eleventh overall and the fifth female over the line,
and had raised over £500 for Mencap. I was then
whisked off to the First Aid tent to warm up, as
the medic said I had started to show the first
signs of hypothermia!
My ambition for this new season in the pool is
to achieve regional qualifying times for the 400m
and 800m Freestyle so that I can compete in the
South East Regional Championships like I did in
2012. I plan to enter more open water swimming
events when the warmer weather comes around
April, and I am hoping that the lakes warm up to
24˚C like they did this summer! • Jasmine Wills