Prestigious Speaker

It was a great pleasure to welcome to our school the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Stephen Twigg MP on Friday 9th November. Stephen addressed over 60 of our students who have been selected to take part in the Prestigious Universities Programme. Stephen spoke about his time growing up in Enfield, London where he attended the local comprehensive school. From there he went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University before making a spectacular entry into Parliament by defeating Michael Portillo in the 1997 General Election.

Our students listened very attentively as he described his journey from humble beginnings to one of the best Universities in the world. It was inspiring stuff and I hope our students on the programme will aspire to reach the top also.

In a question and answer session that followed, Stephen was bombarded with questions including from Hannah Smith who asked him “Were you treated any differently at Oxford because you came from a Comprehensive school?” Stephen replied that he was treated like anyone else and enjoyed his time at Oxford mixing with students from all walks of life. Tyler Kneale and Luke Eaton asked him how difficult it was to get into Oxford and how hard he had to work while he was there. Stephen explained

how the life of an undergraduate was at times a lot of fun there was also a lot of hard work involved in being successful.

Other contributors included Chloe Furnival, Alex Edwards and Charley Day who asked about life as a prominent politician including from Charley “How did it feel when you defeated Michael Portillo in the 1997 General Election?”

Jack McAdam and Lauren Sutherland asked searching questions about the selection process at Universities and the financial and personal support an undergraduate could expect to receive. Leanne Rigby and Shannon Dennett looked ahead and asked Stephen if he thought that attending a prestigious university would enhance their careers and how he saw Britain’s economic future affecting job prospects.

In true “Question Time” style, Amy Dignall put the politician on the spot when she asked him “Is there anything you would change in the current education system?” to which Stephen responded immediately, explaining fully his ideas.

Stephen then had a tour of our new building and then joined Y10 and Y11 students for lunch before departing for his constituency in West Derby.

It was a resounding success largely because Stephen was so approachable and took time to converse with the students who unanimously agreed that the event was inspirational, informative and thoroughly engaging.

I felt quite privileged that such a prominent politician, particularly the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, was able to visit and spend over 3 hours with us and I would like to thank Stephen for his generosity and his commitment to young people and schools (this one in particular!).

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. November 2012 Issue

Children in Need

The whole school joined in the fun and raised money for BBC’s Children in Need charity. We ran a series of fundraising activities throughout the week but the main events were organised by the House Captains. Brindley’s house captains, Georgia Robinson and Ryan Bellfied, magnificently rose to the occasion and organised a penalty shoot-out competition in the sports hall. The competition was split between years 7 and 8 on the Wednesday and 9, 10 and 11 on the Thursday. Georgia and Ryan spent the previous two weeks campaigning for as many students to attend as possible, with the help of Mr Buckley. They produced posters, arranged for adverts to be placed on the plasma screens and even went around forms pushing the competition.

The competition was a straight knock-out, meaning that competitors had to score to progress to the next round. On the nights, Reece Moore (goal keeper extraordinaire) stood in nets and the eventual winners were given a certificate to show their goal scoring prowess.

Winners: Jordan Jones for Y7 & 8, John Young for Y9 and Shaun Keogh for Y10 & 11. Jack McAdam and Megan Traynor House Captains for Bridgewater came up with the most fiendish way of raising money by persuading 4 male members of staff to pluck up the courage to put themselves forward for the Staff Leg Waxing Contest. The idea was simple, each of the staff would have a collecting tub placed in the dining hall each day and the tub with the most money collected would result in that member of staff having his legs waxed!

The gang of 4 included Messrs Downey, Gill, Milne and Warburton but there could only be one “winner”. Mr Downey, did it bring tears to your eyes?

James Grave and Jake Gayter Castle House Captains suggested guessing the amount of sweets in a jar to be sold around schools at form time break and lunch.

Students and staff from all years got involved and the total money raised was £31.39 which at 20p a go was an excellent result.

Cobi Campbell and Theresa Anderton, two lucky year 7 students won the goodies and took them home on Friday Evening. A total of 159 lollypops and 455 Maoams sour sweets.

On Thursday and Friday Priory House ran a Children in Need Breakfast Event to raise money for the charity. They sold morning beverages and a variety of cakes and cookies, all made by our multi-talented Head Girl Amy Pinkney. The House Captains, Reece Moore and Megan Traynor, organised the event. The Head boy, Ritchie Redmond, and Head girl, Amy Pinkney, resourced the event. A selection of year 11 students acted as waiters and waitresses from 8am to 8:35am each morning and served delicious drinks and cakes to staff and students.

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. November 2012 Issue

Children In Need

It got off to a successful start raising £40.08 on the first morning. On Friday the

Priory team were totally overwhelmed and had to turn away customers having

sold nearly £100 worth of drinks and cakes. In total, Priory raised £138.42.

Children In Need

Events and their Totals: -

Leg Waxing Competition:

Mr R. Downey: £118.19

Mr S. Gill: £1.50

Me C. Milne £1.90

Mr N. Warburton: £31.87

Overall Leg Waxing Total: £153.46

Stand up Bingo: £26.99

Sweet Jar: £31.39

Penalty Shoot Out: £8.26

Coffee Morning: £138.42

Limbo Competition: £85.44

Sponsored Silence: £371.70

The day was a huge success and a lot of fun was had whilst raising money for a

very worthy cause. Well done and thank you to everyone involved.

September

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. November 2012 Issue

Master Chef Master Class

Former Grange Student Paul Davies (class of 1987) returned to school to help GCSE Catering students with a Master Class. Since leaving the Grange, Paul has worked in several top class kitchens including at the British Consulate in Brazil, what is now The Hard Day’s Night Hotel in Liverpool and catered for Paul McCartney’s end of tour party on two occasions. Paul now owns and runs his own very successful restaurant, Paul’s Place, on Aigburth Road in Liverpool. Catering student Adam Crowther said “it was fantastic for us to see a trained Chef at work and one who came from this school. Paul inspired us and told us not to be scared of experimenting. I loved it”.

Paul has agreed to return to the Grange in the near future to give the second of a series of master classes. I am extremely grateful to him for giving of his time and expertise so freely and delighted to be able to add his name to our growing list of Alumni.

Remembrance

Following a week of assemblies when students heard about Armistice and the symbolic importance of the poppy, our Head Girl, Amy Pinkney, and Head Boy, Ritchie Redmond, accompanied by Mrs Rutter, Mrs Hall and Miss McGuffie, attended the Remembrance service at Runcorn. I asked Amy to write an account of the day.

“When we arrived at the Cenotaph we were both apprehensive about the event ahead of us, due to both of us never attending a service before. However, when the ceremony commenced there was not a sorrowful atmosphere but a respectful, graceful one in honour of the fallen who had served their country, allowing us to pay our respects as individuals and on behalf of the school.

During the service passages from the bible were read out, hymns were sung and then there was the laying of the wreaths. Ritchie and I were honoured to do this on behalf of the Grange. There were many diverse groups represented including the Major, local MPs, military cadets and schools.

Clutching our wreath nervously, we walked up to the Cenotaph, settled it down on the monument of the unknown soldier and stepped back to reflect upon what the event represented and the many millions of people who had lost their lives during conflict.

Afterwards Ritchie and I reflected upon the event and both of us were very proud and appreciated the opportunity to represent our school at such a special event. Overall it was a very respectful, well-mannered and unforgettable experience and one we hope our successors will experience in the future.”

Pictured with Amy and Ritchie is AB CIS Hall, a former student of the Grange who left in 2006. Better known to me and the staff as Charlotte, she is currently serving on HMS Ocean based at Plymouth before leaving for a 2 year tour of duty in Gibraltar in the New Year. We wish her well.

The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. November 2012 Issue