No: 1107 13th May 2016 www.yarmschool.org

Newsletter

We are delighted to announce that the school’s drone video has been selected for screening at the prestigious London Drone Film Festival at the Institute of Contemporary Art on 23rd May. The video which was planned and filmed by Dependable Productions has been viewed thousands of times and shared across the world on social media. The video showcases sports, music and outdoor activities from the air filmed during a school day, as well as some footage shot by Max Critchlow on the day of the Boathouse and Astro opening. The film was submitted to the film festival by Richard Critchlow, Creative Director of Dependable Productions, who said: “Drones are now prevalent in almost all aspects of filming, so it's no surprise that a drone specific film festival has been launched. We're delighted the film has been selected to be shown at the London Drone Film Festival in the prestigious Institute of Contemporary Art. I’m really proud of the team that worked on it. It required detailed planning, very careful flying, a fantastic "cast", precision camera work and brilliant editing.” To view the film please visit the school website or https://vimeo.com/144336981 Internal examinations

Pupils in First, Second, Third and Fourth Year

received their internal examination timetables at the

end of last week. This year, members of the Lower

Sixth will also be sitting internal exams in

“reformed” A-Level subjects, which will take place

during their weeks of study leave.

Electronic copies of all timetables are available on

the ‘Academic Calendar’ page of the school website.

http://www.yarmschool.org/senior-school-amp-

sixth-form/academic-curriculum/academic-

calendar/

London Drone Film Festival

NEWS

13th May |Yarm School Newsletter 2 |

Chess Mega Final

The History Society met last week on the same day that the General Strike began in 1926. In early May 1926 the TUC (Trades Union Congress) called a strike for workers to support miners in their fight against a 13 % reduction in wages and an hour increase in shift time. The strike began on Tuesday May 4th. It appeared that this strike would cause major problems for the British government as huge numbers of workers from key industries stopped working. However, the government was prepared and they called on masses of volunteers to step in and keep the country running. The army also continued the transportation of key supplies from docks to the cities. The strike was called off on May 11th and, with the exception of the coal industry, all key industries went back to work. Attendees discussed how far the events of the General Strike can give us an insight into British culture and traditions. The strikers received a lot of negative press, comparing their efforts to the beginning of the Communist revolution in Russia in 1917. This message scared many people into supporting the government’s response. Furthermore, many people were willing to step in and drive buses and trains to keep the country running. For some people it had been a childhood dream to drive a train or a tram and an army of volunteers ensured that the strikers did not bring the country to a halt. We drew comparisons to the events of the recent Doctor’s strike and addressed some press cuttings, comparing the reaction to the strike with that of the General Strike in 1926. We concluded that through times of trouble and hardship it is perhaps a key feature of British culture that people are willing to “keep calm and carry on” rather than turn to extreme measures. The History Society meets every Tuesday in H2. Please come along.

Mr Morrison Abigail Goodchild-Maguire, Jessica Bowes

First Years, Cuthbert House

Yarm Prep School hosted the Chess Mega Final on Saturday. Representing the senior school were the following: Adam Wright, Kaushiki Dasgupta, Abhinav Ramisetty, Max Newbold, Freddie Wiles and Vivek Mathews. The competition was over six rounds following the Swiss format, and some fantastically precise and exciting chess was played. The star of the show was Abhinav who scored 5/6. All Yarm pupils won trophies for their age group and qualify for the Giga finals in Manchester next month. Well done!

The History Society

SPORT

13th May |Yarm School Newsletter 3|

Rounders 1st XI v Barnard Castle Lost 9-17 The Upper Sixth had their final school match and it was a memorable one (not for the fantastic rounders played (!) but for the giggles). With the sun shinning it was a great way to finish playing sport for Yarm. The girls had a close, competitive first innings, however the second innings proved to be a different story. Barnard Castle got our whole team out with 13 balls left to bowl. Thus before Barnard Castle had started their batting they had won, but the whole game was played with great sprit and bundles of fun. We will miss you all girls! Keep playing sport! 2nd XI v Barnard Castle Won 24-15 This week we hosted Barnard Castle school U18 A&B rounders teams at Green Lane. As this was the Upper Sixth’s last fixture for school they became the A team and the Lower Sixth and Fifth Year made up the B team. The B team, led by Captain Rebecca Boston, made a great start in the field, with some excellent catching and fielding by Amy Gray, getting the opposition all out before the end of the 36 balls . This left us with a total of 8 to chase in the first innings. The girls stepped up and put in an excellent batting performance, with Laurie Elder, Rebecca Boston, Amy Gray and Flora Leith-Ross all scoring. This saw us 10.5 – 8 up after the first innings. In the second innings we kept their score to 7 with some great fielding again by Amy Gray, Natasha Grylls and Fiona Weatherhead. This gave our batters a target of 15 and us needing 5 rounders to win. We scored 13.5 picking out the gaps in the field really well. As a result we came away with the win 24-15. Well done girls! Player of the match – Amy Gray U13A v Durham School Won 10-3.5 It was good for this team to get a win this season after their narrow defeat by Queen Mary’s. We batted well in the first innings and had won the game before our second innings as we limited Durham to a total of 3.5 across their 2 innings. Olivia Barber and Katie Dent batted very well and scored the rounders, along with Evie Pallister and Lucy Hattersley. In the second innings the girls tried some backhand shots and were able to experiment as we do in training. Overall a pleasing win. Player of the match- Olivia Barber

U12 A&B Shropshire Netball Tour Last weekend the U12 A&B netball team travelled to Condover Hall in Shropshire for a mini netball tour. We set off just after lunch on Friday, all kitted out in our tour kit that was kindly sponsored by Care Protect, Charles Clinkard and Weatherhead Construction Limited. We arrived raring to go and went straight into the activities that they offered such as climbing, high ropes, laser maze and tunnelling. The netball started early on the Saturday with the group stages all being played before lunch. The girls had a really good day, performing extremely well against some good club sides and both finished third in their respective groups. This meant that both teams were in the cup competition going into the Sunday in 2 very tough groups. The B team played the club team Northwich Sapphires A and B teams and the A team played 2 club sides; Crystal Palace, who had previously topped their group, and another Bramcote, who they drew with in the group stages. The first 2 games on the Sunday were the highlight of the weekend with regards to the quality of the netball. The B team kicked off with their toughest game of the weekend against Northwich Sapphires A team. The girls battled well, but were ultimately beaten by a very good side 9-1. The A team won their first game of the day in what was a very close game against Crystal Palace 4-3 with some excellent defence and some calm and collected heads up front. The final group games saw the B team work hard as a team and finish the weekend with a good performance, but ultimately beaten 9-4 by Northwich Sapphires B. The A team played Bramcote, needing the win to progress through to the final. They really stepped up their game with some excellent, crisp passing and lovely movement around the court. They finished this game on top and now waited to play Northwich Sapphires A team in the final. Unfortunately, Abby Scott hurt her foot before the final and was not able to play which significantly weakened our attack as she had been shooting well all weekend. However, in the end it may not have made a massive difference to the score line as the Sapphires were superb in the final eventually winning 14-0. Well done to all the girls - to finish second and to be one of the top 2 school sides in the competition was an amazing achievement. It was an excellent weekend all round with the staff and the girls thoroughly enjoying the netball and activities. Well done girls! Players of the tournament – Charlotte Dean and Hasmeet Gill

Sports reports

SPORT

13th May |Yarm School Newsletter 4|

Cricket Monday 9th May 2016 U14A v Newcastle School for Boys Won by 5 wickets Netball Friday 6th May 2016 U12A - Shropshire Netball Tour See report U12B - Shropshire Netball Tour See report Rounders Wednesday 4th May 2016 Girls’ 1st XI v Barnard Castle Lost 9-17 Girls’ 2nd XI v Barnard Castle Won 24-15 Thursday 5th May 2016 Girls’ U13A v Durham School Won 10-3.5 Girls’ U12A v Durham School Won 18-9.5 Tennis Tuesday 10th May 2016 Girls’ U15A v Conyers Won 5-1 Girls’ U15B v Conyers Won 6-0

Durham City Regatta Saturday 7th May 2016

Durham City Regatta is one of our local events, with competitive racing for all age groups. YSBC had a very successful day, with the J15 Girls winning their event – consequently losing their novice status! They rowed to a high standard, up against Durham ARC senior women’s eight. The Yarm School senior girls also won their eights event after battling through their heat. They dominated the final with a clean, rapid start and kept the power all the way to the finish.

Our J16 girls coxed four brilliantly raced their way through the semi-finals, making the final look easy as they took another win for Yarm! We had one of our J18 girls taking to the single scull in an attempt to finally loose her novice status, and Catriona McLain

Sports scoreboard

Sports reports

came back triumphant. The J14 year group, as a whole, had a much better racing experience than at York. All crews raced faster and cleaner, and were happy with their overall positions. The J15 Boys took to the water in single sculls in the morning division – after some emergency boat repairs and Sam

Hardy taking a swim before reaching the start line! Overall all boys raced well and have learnt lots over the past two weekends of racing. Three boys made it through to the semi-finals, but unfortunately they were knocked out with close races to faster scullers.

Later in the day, we had the J16 boys coxed four who, after an impressive start, were unfortunate to have to race a much older and experienced crew who bided their time and rowed through the boys to claim the heat win. Aimie Littler attacked her single scull race in the afternoon with an impressive start, holding her position just a length down from her opposition, until unfortunately being pipped at the finish.

Our favourite, and only, twin-double of Michael and James Lister stormed down the course leading from the first stroke of the race against a tough rival, to move through to the final. After some interesting steering, they raced their final and took the finish line to take home a winning silver goblet each! Many thanks to the parents who came and supported – it’s always lovely to see you at events!

With a weekend’s break, we will now focus on

training through to Tees Regatta on Saturday 21st

May. Looking ahead to our biggest, annual

competition of National Schools from Friday 27th –

Monday 30th May – please put the dates in your diary

as we hope to see as many of you there as possible!

FLYER

13th May|Yarm School Newsletter FLYER |

PART-TIME TEACHER OF DANCE

We seek to appoint a part-time Teacher of Dance from September 2016 for approximately 8 – 10 hours/week. Yarm School is located in the beautiful market town of Yarm on the River Tees. It has recently completed the £30m redevelopment of its site, with an outstanding performing arts venue as its centre piece. The stunning 750 seat auditorium and associated dance studio, studio theatre and recital room have won 2 prestigious RIBA design awards. Please download a job description and details of the application procedure from our website under ‘vacancies’. Please apply as soon as possible and no later than Monday, 16th May 2016. Mr D M Dunn, Headmaster

Telephone 01642 786023 www.yarmschool.org e-mail dmd@yarmschool.org

First Year recounts

During a recent English assessment, our First Years were tasked with writing reports about events that happened last year. The teachers were very impressed with their efforts and keen that they be shared with a wider audience. So, over the next few weeks we will be featuring a number of their reports highlighting their superb grasp of report writing style. Here are the next two featured reports.

80’s Night- Explodes with Extreme Talent!

On the 29th November 2015, over 90 pupils took part in an 80’s extravaganza! There were numerous bands including: Vocalise, The Hub, Cantamus, Big Band, Phoenix Rising and many more. This concert was my first ever performance as part of Yarm School; I performed as part of the groups Vocalise ( in which we sang True Colours by Cindi Lauper) and Cantamus ( in which we we sang Take a Chance on Me by ABBA). Surprisingly, I didn’t make any mistakes and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening- especially whilst sharing the experience with my friends. Of course, there were other multiple breath-taking bands included in the jaw-dropping 80’s night. One of them which seized the audience’s attention, was Phoenix Rising. It was unique to all of the other groups: Phoenix Rising was like an actual band. They sang a medley of 80’s songs which contained ‘Fame’, ‘Billy Jean’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’. Act Two was kicked off with a bang when the Big Band started playing. They didn’t play a well- known tune, but no-one was able to count the gargantuan amount of instruments that were included. Finally, the mind-blowing concert reached its end with the well-known tune ‘Ghostbusters’. There was lots of audience participation and clapping involved. In the end, all of the hard work had paid off from the months of rehearsals leading up to the concert. I had enjoyed every single moment of it. That enjoy-ment was partly down to the extremely inspiring teachers who helped everyone through the tough rehearsal schedule. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable night and one to remember.

Annabella Burgess

FLYER

13th May |Yarm School Newsletter FLYER|

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DISCOVERY DAY by OLIVIA DAVIES

Nearly all of the first year gathered on the cold morning of Saturday 5th September 2015. As soon as everyone arrived, we were split into our Houses and I was in Cuthbert House and so met Mrs Nickson with the rest of First Year Cuthbert. When we met Mrs Nickson, she was very smiley and happy. During the activities, Mrs Nickson was very encouraging and helped us all work together. The day had been planned carefully so all would have a go at all the activities, but in separate groups so that we could make friends more easily. Cuthbert’s first activity was raft building, which for me, was the most fun, adventurous and thrilling. We were split into two teams - I was in Group 1. We were all given plastic barrels, rope and wooden planks. We were asked build a raft and we decided to tie the wooden planks to the barrels, with the rope. Our team did not pay attention to the other team, but we knew that we were not doing as well as we could. We all worked together well but maybe we needed more time and direction When both teams had completed their rafts, Mr Van Opstal told us to place the rafts in the water. We decided that Group 2 would go down to the murky brown waters of the River Tees first. Their raft seemed very sturdy and robust. As they gently lowered it into the water, it floated gently, bobbing on the surface like a rubber duck in a bath. Group 2 were delighted at how well their raft performed. Then it was our turn, we were hoping it would be at least as good as Group 2s. There were approximately 12 in each group and as we carried our raft down the hill to the river, the knots started to loosen! As we

approached the pontoon, it started to become a lot more fragile. When we put it in the water, it started to sink and just fall apart. We scrambled to get the raft parts out of the water before they floated off forever. As we were shouting at each other to rescue what we could, we could hear the other team laughing at us, as they climbed aboard their clearly sea-worthy raft! Unfortunately, our teams raft was unfit for even sitting on, never mind sailing. After Group 2 had sailed across the river both ways, with all the group aboard the raft, we then travelled on their raft – without them. We paddled with the oars, there and back, all the time slightly worried that we may fall in the water, although we did find the experience exciting. There were a few more activities that day, including: walking, outdoor team games, and a later on, a barbecue. Unfortunately, I could not go to the barbecue, which I hear was very nice. However, by the end of the day one of the main aims was for us new Senior School pupils to get to know each other and make new friends. I made some good friendships and really enjoyed the day. The raft building was the most memorable and greatest fun – even if my team’s raft failed!

Olivia Davies

Afternoon Tea at the Bistro - £12 for 2!

The bistro now offers afternoon tea on our beautiful terrace. A delicious selection of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats are accompanied by a pot of tea, all for £6 per person! The bistro in the stunning Senior School Atrium is open to parents every school day from 8.00am – 10.00am and from 3.00pm until 5.00pm. Parents and Yarm pupils are most welcome to use the facility provided they do not enter the classroom corridors. Afternoon Tea is served Monday – Friday 3pm – 4.30pm. Advance booking (24 hours) is recommended. To book, ring the Senior School office (01642 786023) or speak to the staff in the Bistro.

Picture shows afternoon tea for two (£12) Each person receives: A variety of 4 mini sandwiches, crisps, half a scone and two cakes