issue no 61 weekly newsletter from the...

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster

Issue No 6130th January 2015

Dear Parents,Another week of mad weather has gone by with just about every meteorological phenomena occurring at least once, but nevertheless the relentless pace of life at school has continued. It cannot have been much fun working on our two building sites in weather not dissimilar from the film ‘Aliens’, but real progress has been made and we can soon look forward to seeing more than just the foundations of the new builds. Unfortunately the result of moving machinery in the wet has made the Chapel car park and road very muddy, but we will endeavour to sort this out this weekend.

We welcomed a host of very talented young people to our entrance exams and our scholarship days this week. The entrance exam day is a daunting one for many, but they seemed to cope admirably. Similarly, there was some serious sporting, artistic, musical and acting talent on show, so I am hopeful the class of 2015 will more than match their predecessors.

Clearly there is potential for some snowfall in the next few weeks. The school will be open because of our boarding community, but

please make sure it is safe to travel before trying to get in - we will use the website to pass on any news in this regard. Much as I would like to stay and enjoy the bracing Arctic winds, I am travelling to Hong Kong at the end of next week to meet up with parents from our boarding community. We have enjoyed a long relationship with families from Hong Kong and China and a joy of this annual visit is the chance to meet up with various former pupils who remember their time at Shebbear very fondly.

Every day brings a new challenge as a Head and this proved true yesterday when I was phoned up at 0830hrs to be told that two ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) inspectors would be arriving at 0900hrs to check on our progress in implementing the recommendations from our last inspection report. I am very pleased to say we got a clean bill of health and even more pleased to say that we shouldn’t now be inspected until 2017. Enjoy the weekend - I will.

Simon Weale

Mr Anderson also shared his photographs of Scott’s original expedition hut where, due to the atmospheric conditions, everything is perfectly preserved.

On the same day, all of the Junior School were treated to a wonderful ‘story telling’ session from the Reverend Bandelier. In true ‘Jackanory’ style (for those of us old enough to remember this!) the Reverend shared a range of songs and stories with the children, each with a valuable life-lesson or moral for them to consider. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her and Mr Anderson for giving up their time to entertain and educate our pupils in this way.

On Wednesday our youngest pupils were out and about on various educational trips. As you will hear from Mrs Biddlecombe, later in the newsletter, the Kindergarten were at the pantomime, enjoying a performance of Aladdin, while our Year 1 and 2 pupils continued their Science work, investigating ‘changes to materials’ with a visit to Dartington Crystal to see how glass is made, formed and then shaped.

On Thursday, due to the weather and a nasty bug going around Kingsley School, our U11 football and netball fixtures were cancelled. However, our U9 teams will hopefully be in action (weather and illness permitting) on Monday, also away at KIngsley.

News from the Junior SchoolDear Parents,In somewhat of a contrast to the relative calm of last week, this has been a very busy week in the Junior School.

On Monday our Year 6 pupils sat their entrance examinations in preparation for their transition to the Senior School in September. The prospect of sitting four separate exams all in one day is daunting enough, even for many of our students in the Sixth Form, so both Mrs Lovett and myself were very impressed with the way our pupils (and those attending from other schools) took to the challenge.

However, it wasn’t all hard graft! The lunch break activity, designing and building marble runs, provided some much needed light relief and gave the children a chance to cement new friendships. It was also wonderful to see so many parents joining us either for lunch, or for refreshments at the end of the day. I am sure all the pupils appreciated the support.

Throughout the rest of the week many of these same pupils were also involved in various auditions and assessments for the College’s Scholarship programme. As well as performing music and drama pieces, Mr Barlow, Head of Art, was casting his watchful eye over some talented young artists, and the PE Department were putting our future sports stars through their paces. We wish them all the very best of luck.

Despite a brief interruption for a fire drill, on Tuesday morning, our Year 1 and 2 pupils were delighted to have a visit from BAFTA award-winning cameraman Doug Anderson (top right). Doug, who has kindly become a regular visitor to the Junior School, spoke to the children about his many adventures filming for the series Frozen Planet and showed them some fascinating slides and extracts from the programme. Our children were very excited to welcome Mr Anderson into their class to support their topic work. They were bursting with curiosity and questions about the wonders of the Antarctic of which Mr Anderson is extremely fortunate to have experienced during his career. He talked about different types of ice, such as glacier, ice shelf, iceberg and sea ice. The children were amazed to see the beautiful world in the ocean under the ice and the creatures that make it their home in the extremely cold conditions.

Weekly Newsletter from the Headmaster www.shebbearcollege.co.uk



Please note the following additional/rearranged fixtures which are different to the published Junior School calendar:

U11 football v Bradworthy, Thursday 12th Feb (H) at 3.00pm

U11 football/netball v Kingsley, Thursday 5th Feb (A) at 2.00pm (rearranged cancelled match from Thursday 29th Jan)

Can I also remind all the parents of our Year 6 pupils that on Wednesday, next week the children have their first swimming session. Mike Furber

A Word from the Library“Those who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gained higher results in all three tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly”.

Institute of Education, 2013

Spanish Spelling Bee 2015Year 7 are competing again this year in The Spelling Bee Modern Foreign Languages competition. The class competitions were held in December. Although many competed with noticeable confidence and scored highly, only eight pupils will take part in the school competition this term, fighting for the four remaining places. Best of luck to competitors (pictured on the front page) Jabez Kent, Poppy Daniel, Alex Bird, Cameron Young, Owen Hendry (not pictured), Maggie Dorey, Ellerker Singleton and Findlay Irish.

Christine Fanet

Lower 6th Biology at Paignton ZooReport by Abby Selwyn.

On Wednesday the Lower 6th Biology class went to Paignton Zoo to help with their studies in understanding the nature of extinction and the conservation of animal species, as well as to help them with their AS Level coursework.

At the zoo we had a presentation by one of the members of staff about the role of conservation in zoos. This was very informative and spoke about how, without the role of zoos, some species

may be either critically endangered or completely extinct by now; how the destruction of habitats, such as deforestation, can cause animals to become endangered; about the bans on hunting animals, such as elephants for ivory; also about the advantages of captive breeding and how to make it successful and avoid inbreeding.

Whilst looking around the zoo, many characteristics were seen which showed us signs of adaptation and evolution of species, as well as some behaviours which were not completely natural. For example, we noticed in the goats that their eyes would always stay horizontal at the same level even if their head was put down to eat, this is to make sure they can always see their surroundings in order to be aware of any predators.

Whilst looking at the animals we spotted some behaviour which was not natural, such as how the rhino was walking in the same footsteps again and again, completely repeating itself, and this could be due to boredom. Another is example is how the perimeter on the inside of the enclosures all had a clearly marked track, showing how the animals in these enclosures walked the same path. This was spotted largely in the zebras, lions and tigers enclosures.

We had a great day out and whilst having an enjoyable day we learnt a lot too.



Oh Yes They Did!Once again the Kindergarten were lucky to be invited to Langtree Community School to watch a pantomime performed by M&M Theatrical Productions. There was lots of cheering, booing and singing during the performance of Aladdin, with all the children joining in. A wonderful time was had by all.

Jacqueline Biddlecombe

FootballA mix of our U15 and U16 sides travelled to Wellington last Saturday for a fixture against their U16s. Led by Captain and keeper Max Warren, the sides were well matched for most of the game. Parker Griffin won man of the match with a solid display at centre half, and Stuart Williams worked hard in attack and defence. Unfortunately, with 5 minutes to go, the Wellington striker scuffed a shot that just beat our keeper and rolled over the line. The game finished 1-0, but it was a good performance and an excellent second half, which saw the Shebbear lads put together some decent passages of play. The highlight was Shebbear’s best chance after a well-worked move down the right wing saw Stuart Williams put an accurate cross into Harry Scambler who headed the ball on target, just not enough to beat the keeper. Well done to all.

The 1st XI welcomed Wellington to Shebbear last Saturday without their key midfield player Harry Dymond and after a well-contested first half the visitors went in with a 2-0 lead following a couple of defensive errors. A missed penalty early in the second half and a third goal for the visitors immediately afterwards sealed Shebbear’s fate, but two late goals from Joe Gobara at least added some respectability to the final score of 5-2. Will Cox (in goal), who, despite an early mistake, made a number of outstanding saves in the second half and Sam Westlake, who worked tirelessly in midfield, took the men of the match award.

The U14/15s travelled to St. Joseph’s this week to play on their new astro pitch. There were four 7-a-side matches played before a 10-a-side match on the full pitch. The boys won three of the first set of matches, with goals from Carl Stanbury, Will Cowan-Dickie, Jabez Weale and Stuart Williams, with Olly Ryder-Green scoring in the only match we lost.

In the 10-a-side match, Ryan Stairs and Kai Freisem kept things tight

at the back and two stunning goals from Stuart Williams and another from Carl Stanbury sealed a 3-1 victory. Well done to all.

The 1st XI bounced back from their defeat on Saturday by beating Mount Kelly 5-3 on the all-weather pitch. No fewer than 19 players got some game time and the match was won with goals from Harry Dymond, Connor Roberts, Patrick Marks, Harry Scambler and an own goal. With two key players missing, Harry Dymond and Laurence Reinert took control in difficult conditions, playing some delightful football and carving out a number of chances, giving us a comfortable 5-1 lead early in the second half.

A flurry of substitutions clearly affected the shape of the team and two late goals for Kelly added some respectability to the scoreline in what was a comprehensive victory.

Jamie Sanders and Andy Bryan

NetballLast Saturday Shebbear’s 1st Form team travelled away on a bright sunny morning to Kingsley School in Bideford. The match started fairly evenly but the 1st Formers really settled into the game by the end of the first quarter. It became apparent that they were the far more accomplished team. It should be noted that the most impressive part of their game was the fact that the girls played as a very well practiced team. This was the key to their success and the final result was 19-4 to Shebbear, which was a commanding win. I will not pick out any single player because they all performed brilliantly and we very much look forward to building their skill levels and confidence.

On Thursday Shebbear’s 2nd Form team travelled away on a very cold afternoon to Bude. From the start the match was going to be close. Shebbear worked hard but lost focus a little bit, therefore not getting ahead in the game. The desire to win the match needed to be focused on. It was a well-contested match with Shebbear seeing slightly more possession of the ball but unfortunately not converting that to enough goals. The final score being a narrow loss was 11-8 to Budehaven. Cara Phillips playing centre was given player of the match for the second time in a row. Maddie Traxton moved position out to Goal Attack and played extremely competently and Jessica Biggs worked hard in defence.

On Monday, Holsworthy Community School Senior team travelled to Shebbear. We fielded a hybrid 1st/2nd team against a robust



Holsworthy. Taking the opportunity to mix up the team and positions, all the girls played with focus and commitment, always staying ahead. This clearly showed the improving abilities of both teams to cope with the degree of movement and combinations played. Lucy Taylor shot particularly well and Emily Dunn slotted alongside her seamlessly. It was a confident, well played match and the girls should be commended. The final score was 25-15 to Shebbear.

The U14s played St. Joseph’s this week and had an easy win of 13-4. Kitty Scambler as GD stopped a number of scoring opportunities for St. Joseph’s and Rosie Kivell as GA worked hard in centre court. Eevee Banbury, with her boundless energy as centre, linked attack and defence together beautifully. Well done girls, it is all good practise for Barbados!

A fixture which saw our U14/U15s play Kingsley gave us the chance to practise the team that will soon be on their way to Barbados. Well, that was the plan! With girls dropping like flies through illness, and Kingsley unable to field an U13 side, we pulled in U13 shooter Maddie Traxton to play. The team got off to a slow start due to an eventful journey and the sun being in their eyes in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter the girls pulled away and the defence of Annie Westlake and Kitty Scambler meant Kingsley didn’t get to score in this quarter. Shebbear continued well, Merryn Alderson was strong as Wing Defence, intercepting many passes, resulting in a Shebbear win 16-9. Player of the match was Rosie Kivell.

Serena Ham and Vicky Ennis


Fairtrade Fashion ShowUrgent Request for Second Hand ClothesIf you have any used ladies, mens or childrens clothes in good condition that you could donate for use in our Fairtrade Fashion Show we would be very grateful. Any excess clothes will be sent

to Uganda to be put to good use.

Please bring anything you can spare to Fran Lovett as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your support!

Request for VolunteersOnce again we are hosting the music section of the very

successful North Devon Performing Arts Festival. In order for this to run smoothly we need volunteers to help steward the Festival over the two days of Tuesday 10th February and

Wednesday 11th February.

If you can help please contact Mrs Goode: Email: [email protected] or tel: 01409 282009

We would be very grateful for all offers, even if you can only spare a couple of hours. Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far (we still need a few more).

Fiona Goode


Picture this ... ‘Youth Speaks’ and Doug Anderson (Frozen Planet Cameraman)



Picture this ... Some of this week’s sport

Shebbear College, Shebbear, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5HJ Telephone: 01409 282001 Email: [email protected]


Staff Cast Murder Mystery

Saturday 7th February5th/6th Form & Adults Only

7.00pm for 7.30pm start in the Memorial Hall

Tickets - reservedor on the door:£7.50 or £10.00 VIP(VIP includes drink on arrivaland nibbles)

Refreshments availablePrizes for winning team

For tickets or more info contact Claire Cardoo on [email protected]

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