St Bede’s College, ManchesterBAEDA

Volume 29, Issue 2, 2013

Contents...News 1-3Music Festival 4-5Art & Design Technology 6-7The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 8Lourdes Pilgrimage 9Bonding Day 10New York & Madrid 11Leavers Ball 12-13Ski Trip 14Drama 15Upper Sixth Awards 16-17Alumni 18-19Library News 20-21Mathematics 22Educational Visits 23Upper Sixth Destinations 24Charities 25Co-curricular & Activities Week 26-27Boys Sport 28-29Girls Sport 30-31Staff Departures 32-33

Words fRoM THe HEadmaster

It never ceases to amaze me how much we pack into a year at St Bede’s. We are never idle and we are always striving to improve on the previous year. This edition of Baeda captures many events and moments which illustrate the rich and varied interests of our pupils, the unstinting efforts and commitments of our staff and the sheer fun and wide range of opportunities here at SBC.

Baeda is much more than simply a record of a particular year’s events. It is an essential part of our history. We have copies of Baeda stretching back to the very beginning of the College. These link all Bedians together in a special and timeless chain of events, sporting fixtures, trips, and drama productions to convey a sense of history and community that will last and grow for many years to come.

Siena House DayThe staff and pupils of Siena House celebrated their Saint’s Day in fine style, on Friday 26th April. The day began with Mass in the Chapel with the House Captains taking charge of the readings and bidding prayers and the whole House joining in with the singing of hymns prepared at the Monday Assembly that week.Then it was straight to the coaches and off to Parrs Wood for ten pin bowling, slush puppies and other pleasing diversions. Upon our return the catering staff were poised to serve fish and chips to the hungry multitude, followed by a return to the Chapel where the singing was even more energetic than it had been in the morning. Thanks are due to all the House Tutors who contributed so enthusiastically to the day; not least at the Bowling where Messrs Hennigan, Nagib and Davies all gave clear indications of having played before!

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House News...The Academic Year 2012-2013 was a busy one for Siena, Bosco and Campion. In the opening weeks a hotly contested Dodgeball Competition took place, with enthusiastic competitors and a series of bemused umpires.

This year’s Junior Competition should involve a more consistent set of rules but may, as a result, be a little less fun! Meanwhile rehearsals were already under way for Shakespeare Live! which saw scores of young actors tread the boards for the first time, with Macbeth, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream being the weapons of choice for the respective houses. Catering and Front of House were also devolved successfully to House responsibility.

The first of the house feast days took place during the Michaelmas Term, that of Campion, with bowling, cake and a very energetic Mass, singing led by the House Captains and Prefects. Both Bosco and Siena were to follow this excellent precedent. The Christmas Card and Fish competitions were soon to follow, with The Great St Bedes’s Bake Off not far behind.

By the mid-way point in the academic year the girls’ sports competitions were reaching a climax, with particpation for all being key to the tournament. It is, nevertheless, pleasing to note that Siena were the victors. The boys too, were engaged in a titanic struggle for the Football Trophy, with Bosco winning out in the final. A series of summer sports were added to the list with many more certificates obtained.

In the final assembly of the term, we celebrated those students who had won Gold House Points Awards, while Campion. carried off the overall points shield, kindly donated by Monsignor Quinlan.

Siena House Winners

“The Christmas Card and Fish competitions were soon to fol-low, with The Great St Bedes’s Bake Off not far behind.”

Campion Feast DayIn a week of breathless activity, with Shakespeare Live at its hectic climax, Mrs Girolami, Mr Bargery and house tutors organised a celebration on the feast day of St Edmund Campion. While members of the other houses pursued an alternative academic timetable, Campion scholars met for a House Mass, said by Fr Flynn and went on to test their ten pin bowling skills at the Parrs Wood Recreation Centre. The afternoon saw dining as a house and time learning about their House Saint in his historical context.

Bosco BowlingBonanzaNovember 30th was the first day on which the St Bede’s students celebrated their Saint’s Day last Friday in and out of College. Though John Bosco’s feast is celebrated on 31 January, the pupils and staff of Bosco House celebrated Mass on Friday morning. The pupils were then taken to Parrswood to show off their bowling prowess, where Joe Stiles, Luca Sivori, Laura Dench and Clara Ashton shone, whilst Christian Thomason, Natasha Forshaw and Olivia Boylan certainly did not! We returned to College for a House Dinner, followed by a prize-giving assembly for the best and worst performers in the morning’s sporting endeavours. The day was rounded off with cookies and cake, and a literally all-singing all-dancing performance of our unofficial House Hymn, led by Mr Davies and the House Captains.

St Bedes’s Bake Off

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The main aim of the Trust is to nurture future leaders in engineering and related areas of design. This is achieved by awarding prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarships through a rigorous selection process, to high ability 15 /16 year olds students. The College has two applicants this year, Thomas Johnson and Ciaran Baxendale from the Upper fifth. Both boys are talented Design Technology students and are hoping to pursue a career in the field of design or engineering.

The Engineering Scholarships support students through their A levels and

encourage students to pursue engineering at University. The College Arkwright coordinator Mr Lalley, himself an Engineering Graduate said‘this is a wonderful opportunity for our students to access this scheme and this will set them apart from other engineering and design students both at University and in the workplace’.

The scheme gives students a financial award in both sixth form years and a professional mentor to guide and help them with work experience and interview practice. They also give guidance throughout their time at University.

DOUBLE BIG BANG TRIUMPH!On Wednesday 26th June, two teams left St Bede’s College at 7:15am for Liverpool to enter the Regional Big Bang Science Fair.

One team had their remote controlled tank and home built GPS system, programmed on the Raspberry Pi. The other project carried strands of hair, chemicals and weights to demonstrate the results of research into hair-strengthening shampoo!The venue for the event was the impressive St George’s Hall, and with over 60 projects selected from entries from schools across the North West, competition was going to be fierce.The remote control tank team soon attracted plenty of attention from both young and older people alike. The judges were impressed by the programming skills of the team (Thomas Oulton, Thomas Starkie, Vincent Kan and Michael James) and their keen commercial acumen in identifying how the system could be adapted to track lost bicycles. The team were awarded the prestigious

‘Young Engineer for Britain Regional Excellence Award’ together with a cheque for £100. The other team of Victoria Pike and Isabelle Lannigan had done some impressive research, including making their own shampoo and testing the strengthening properties of various substances. The answer to strong hair is apparently to wash it in rosemary! They won the ‘CREST prize for Creativity’ and are seen showing off the trophy above. As regional prize-winners, both projects are invited to represent their regions at the National Finals in London later in the year. St Bede’s has a strong track record in Engineering, with students from this year’s U6 being offered places to study Engineering at universities including Oxford and Imperial College, London and the College winning the national ‘GoCracker’ Engineering Award in February.

General College News...

Can We Do It? YASS we can.

Many of St Bede’s talented science students experienced university level study this year by taking part in the Open University’s Young Applicants in School Scheme (YASS). YASS allows students to take undergraduate modules from degree level courses online.

The courses are highly regarded by universities. One of our students was quizzed on her YASS course for an hour by an admissions tutor at Imperial College, London before receiving an offer for Engineering!

Others found their studies highly helpful in applications for Medicine and Physiotherapy courses. This year 16 students from St Bede’s studied courses including ‘’Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis’’, ‘Molecules, Medicines and Drugs’, and ‘The Future Without Oil?’Joining them was Chemistry Teacher Mr. Gill. A Biochemist by training, he was intrigued by the ‘Elements of Forensic Science’ module and especially enjoyed solving a series of crime scene puzzles!

YASS is one of the many extended study opportunities at St Bede’s. Sixth Formers can extend their studies by taking YASS, the Extended Project Qualification, a gold CREST award or the Duke of Edinburgh Gold - and some do more than one!

The College has recently been awarded Arkwright Scholarship status from the prestigious Arkwright foundation. The Arkwright Scholarships Trust is a community of 700 schools whose pupils benefit from the financial and professional help which scholars receive from the trust.

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General College News...

Velodrome Cycling...St Bede’s have entered a team for the Greater Manchester Track Championships at the Velodrome. The Lower School students attended the velodrome for a course of six weeks. The best track cyclist will then compete in the main finals on Sunday the 7th of July. Fifteen students from the Upper Third and Lower Fourth took part in the event which proved to be extremely popular with all involved.

NEW KIT! St Bede’s has just received delivery of its new cycling kit. The kit has been sponsored by parents at the school, Mr Martin O’Brien of Homes 2 share, and Mr Paul Bullman of Lesley Roberts. Bedians Danny McDonald and Luke Worth of the Cheshire Cleaning Co and Mr Nick Howe of Holroyd Howe the College’s caterers.

The kit consists of a blue and gold long sleeved winter jersey, winter jacket and long bib tights. It is available to purchase from the College Cycling Club.See Mr Lalley for details.

A very special ‘Cycling’ assemblyPrep 6 pupils joined the College for a very special ‘Cycling’ assembly where Team GB Track cyclist Lewis Oliva gave a very interesting and informative talk about his route to professional cycling for Team GB and his hopes,training and preparation for the Olympics in Rio in 2016.Lewis was Born in Devauden, Monmouthshire and he was inspired to take up track cycling after watching sprint legend Jason Queally train at Newport Velodrome. Having risen through the ranks of British Cycling’s Olympic Development and Academy Programmes, he was accepted onto the Podium Sprint Programme in April 2013.

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The College choirs performed a selection of Christmas Carols and readings to a packed Academic Hall. Led by Subject Leader of Music, Mr Davies, and Mrs Cavanagh, the Senior and Junior Choirs performed individually and as a collective. Mr Davies was delighted with the evening, and commented “This was my first Christmas ceremony at the College, and I was thrilled with the performances of all the pupils.”

Mr Kearney also added his praise at the end of the evening.

“These type of events are a wonderful way of bringing the College community together, as we had performances from the very young to our most senior pupils.”

christmasceremony � carols

The evening got off to an energetic and foot-tapping start with our very own professionally smooth Jazz Band who set the enthusiastic pace for the acts to follow, not least a range of choir offerings under the assured baton of Mr Davies. Highlights included a very spirited Gospel Choir rendition of “Lean On Me” (including gospel gowns and dancing), the Vocal Group’s “Gonna Rise Up” and the Staff and Sixth Form Choir’s “Selection from Les Miserables”. There were also two stunning solo singing performances from Charlotte Killingley and Ellie McLoughlin which brought a tear to many an eye and, if more proof were needed of the incredible range of musical activities in the school, Mr Gibson and Mrs Wallwork’s Early Music Group effortlessly transported us back to the Medieval period for a few moments.

Students who are regular members of Mrs Alderson’s Acting Club demonstrated their skills in physical theatre and large scale choral work through their interpretation of the Cyclops story from Homer’s “Odyssey” – complete with a shadow puppet Cyclops capable of swallowing half a dozen members of the cast most convincingly which Mr Mason’s stage crew

had great fun constructing. The Sixth Form Drama Group performed well polished comedy sketches and a very unusual slow arrangement of “You’re the One that I Want” from “Grease”, using their experience and honed talent to produce work of a very accomplished standard.

Mrs McGuire’s Musical Theatre group danced, sang and acted their way through a medley from “Annie Get Your Gun” which was enthusiastically received, as were monologues from our award winning Festival performers, Thomas Oulton, Andrew Shires and Alice Webb. Incidentally, Thomas Oulton played a significant role throughout the whole show alongside his “sidekick” Thomas Starkie who, as the St Bede’s answer to Ant and Dec, kept the audience entertained through set changes with their amusing anecdotes and cringingly awful jokes.

Also bringing the whole company together was the finale where all staff and student performers came together to sing the popular ballad “True Colours” which seemed to capture what is best about the spirit of our St Bede’s community.

A cavalcade of Bedian artists, musicians and thespians showcased their talents at our May Serenade on the evening of 1st May. In addition to summer fruit punch served for charity in the very conducive surroundings of an artistically transformed Main Corridor, the audience were treated to a range of performances from the College’s co-curricular musical and dramatic groups.

may serenade

Jazz Band

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The Jazz Band led by Mr Davies and supported by Tour Manager Mr Hennigan visited nine schools, playing to over 2,400 pupils in three action packed days.

All who listened to the band play were very impressed and many schools asked for a return visit next year.

One Jazz band member commented“It is the best music event I have been involved in and to see the reaction from the junior school pupils was a real buzz.”

Mr Davies commented“It was a fantastic three days and the feedback from the schools visited was extremely complimentary and the Jazz Band members are really keen to do it again.”

If you would like our jazz band to visit your school or business please contact adavies@stbedescollege.co.uk

Our College Jazz band has been touring the local Primary schools to showcase the talented Musicians in the College and bring a musical interlude for the primary children.

ARTThe Art Exhibition took place in early July, showcasing the work of talented GCSE and A Levelstudents in Fine Art and Photography. As ever the walls were adorned with a wealth of talent, dedication and creativity. We congratulate all students on their outstanding achievement.

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Rachael Devine Ryan French

Rachael Devine Lucy Charleson Hannah Turner

Bemnet Carr

Rachael Devine Ryan French

Louise Rezek

Lauren RichardsPatrick King

Patrick King

Cleo Fearon

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The Design Technology Exhibition displayed a varied and exciting range of projects. The work exhibited is a testimony to the hard work and dedication the students put into their artefacts. Included here is only a small sample of the students’ work but we would like to congratulate all the Design students for an excellent and creative array of products. The exhibition is an annual event that takes place in early July that showcases work from all year groups. A selection of work from the GCSE students...

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Record numbers of students have this year completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award at St Bede’s.

Following on from a preparatory expedition in beautiful although cold weather in October, the Silver Award students in the U6 completed their final expedition in the Yorkshire Dales in early April. Braving cold nights and the occasional wade through the remains of a snow drift, the groups completed the demanding expedition in good spirits.

Our U5th Bronze Award students have also recently completed their qualifying expeditions in Buxton. Having had their expedition plans shelved through heavy snow in March, the majority of the pupils went out at the start of July, under cloudless skies and temperatures in the high 20s. With the pressure of GCSE exams behind them, the students thoroughly enjoyed the expedition, though some found it tough going in the unusually high temperatures! The remainder of the students went out in the last week of the summer holiday, meaning that this year 60 pupils completed the Bronze expedition.

ST BEDE’S COLLEGEMANCHESTER

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We were joined by a significant number of ‘Old Bedians’, a group of U6 students, the majority of whom had been with the College at least once previously. The students and staff got stuck into the usual jobs of a volunteer on pilgrimage, pushing and pulling from hotels and from the Accueil St Frai, where those pilgrims who require more personal and longer-term care stay for the week. The whole-heartedness and selflessness of our hard working students was evident right from the outset through the zeal with which they applied themselves to their tasks. They were great ambassadors for the College throughout, and it was a real privilege for the staff to be able to share the week with such a fantastic group of young Bedians. It was very inspiring to hear their stories and reflections of the week, and perhaps the best feedback of all is simply the number of them who wish to return next year with our ‘Old Bedians’ group. Next year’s volunteers have much to live up to, but I am sure they will rise to the challenge and make our fifth pilgrimage a special one.

St Bede’s College returned to Lourdes with the Salford Diocese for a fourth time this summer. The party included 21 Lower Sixth students and 4 College staff.

LOURDES

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Even though we are separated now I still talk to the people in my old form all the time thanks to my bonding day. Altogether I would say that my bonding day was absolutely brilliant and I loved it. I would love to do it again.James Mee

I remember my induction day like it was yesterday, our bonding day was absolutely brilliant and I really enjoyed working with my form to complete different team building activities. We all got to know each other and had a brilliant day.

bonding day

Joseph Karran writes:Bonding Day- I’ll never forget it! It was one of the most active and creative days in the first year of my school career at St. Bede’s College. We learned the skills of teamwork and friendship, with our peers and teachers. My favourite activity on that great day was the bridge building activity where we built a bridge out of a plank and blocks, then we had to pick up a box, with a rope, that was 10 feet away! It was unbelievable fun!

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Our New York and Washington Trip this year would easily take the title

of the most eventful so far as 29 students and three staff spent an

extended stay covering the whole half term thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

New York & Washington...

The start of the trip was like clockwork – 29 fresh faces assembled at Manchester

Airport at 4.00am for the exciting journey across to Washington DC. Washington

has many landmarks very familiar to the students and they loved spending time

exploring The Capitol Building, The Pentagon, Airlington Cemetery, Washington

Monument and the White House.

On our bus ride to New York there was much talk of this Hurricane which seemed

determined to follow us directly to midtown Manhattan. Unperturbed, the students

couldn’t wait to hit New York and see the sights. Our first days were spent sightseeing

atop the Empire State Building, walking through Central Park and of course an

unforgettable dinner in Time’s Square. We enjoyed a rather upbeat cultural day

exploring iconic New York suburbs of Little Italy, chic Soho and crazy Chinatown,

before visiting Wall Street and the Federal Reserve we then made a solemn visit to

the Ground Zero Memorial to pay our respects.

It was rather fitting that on our trip to immigration centre Ellis Island we got the

call that our flight was indefinitely delayed and we would not be leaving New York

anytime soon. Despite the weather

and the passing Hurricane our

spirits were good and most importantly the behaviour of the students on the trip was commendable and a real credit to St Bede’s.

Madrid exchange return tripMarch this year saw the eagerly awaited return visit of the Spanish exchange pupils. Having become firm friends on their visit to Nuestra Señora de la Consolación in Madrid in October, the St Bede’s pupils could hardly contain their excitement at being reunited with their exchange partners. Following the arrival of the Spaniards, and their initial shock due to the rainy and cold March Manchester climate. The pupils continued their budding linguistic and social relationships, getting to know the area and participating in many exciting activities hosted by our generous pupils and parents. St Bede’s organised activities such as a guided tour of Manchester city centre, a trip to Manchester United, and a day in Liverpool, all of which were greatly enjoyed by our visitors. The Spaniards also found time to spend in College, making valuable contributions to A-level Spanish language lessons and even joining in with some English sports! The return leg of this new academic exchange, in keeping with the initial trip to Madrid, proved to be a great success, and with pupils already signed up for next October, a long and fruitful partnership between the two schools will surely develop.

Leavers’Ball 201 3 The Ball is one of the most anticipated events of the year for Sixth Formers and this year’s event certainly did not disappoint. Students and staff gathered at the Etihad Stadium where a blue and gold theme temporarily replaced the traditional blue and white of the Citizens Suite.The band ‘Mr and Mrs’ entertained the crowd with a variety of classics during the meal before handing over to the DJ who delivered a selection of tunes and ensured the dance floor was never empty.

The conduct of the students demonstrated yet again why we are proud to have the class of 2013 as representatives of St Bede’s, they are a credit to their families and the college. It was an entirely enjoyable evening and a fitting way to say goodbye to our current Upper Sixth.

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With an equal measure of cunning and pure fluke I was somehow able to solve the impossible so that everyone could sit next to who they needed to, thus ensuring that friendships could be preserved, at least for the ensuing two hours. Yes Molly and Faye, I am talking about you. Our first day on the slopes began with the team breaking up into groups of beginners, intermediate and advanced and given our instructors; some incredibly gregarious and fun and others a little less so. This day started with invaluable lessons -with the more inexperienced skiers learning the value of a good “snow plough” and keeping well clear of Henri, our instructor, and his wild flying ski poles during his incomprehensible, but gesticulatory interpretable, rants as another beginner had the audacity to slow the group by falling over down the slope.The more experienced groups moved straight away onto the more challenging red and black runs. The instructors were duly impressed with the attitude of the group and happily noted their quick progression. Over the next few days the beginners a.k.a. the “dream team” spent less time putting their skies back on half way down the slope and more time perfecting their turns much to the relief of Henri and anyone stood within 5 feet of him. It was a real treat to see their joy of overcoming some of the fears of day one.The more experienced groups advanced quickly as well with some spending the final days imitating rockets flying down the slope. Thankfully the only breakage on the trip was two pairs of skis courtesy of James Davies who ‘apparently’ did not see the jump. The jury’s still out on that one I’m afraid James.We had a great time après ski as well with fantastic meals, discos and a long line of students coming off second best in the challenge the teacher table tennis/foosball tournaments. No hard feelings team, I hope!As always a big thank you must go to the parents who paid for their children to go on the trip, Mrs Girolami who helped look after everyone and the brave skiers who made it so much fun.

During the Easter break St Bede’s travelled to Saint Lary in France for their biennial College Ski Trip. After a cold 4am meet we headed down to London by coach for our flight where my most difficult task of the trip was to confront me – plane seats and friendship groups.

ski trip

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We also stage a Drama Festival every year where students in our drama clubs show their work to a wider audience alongside that of our LAMDA students. (LAMDA Speech and Drama students are taken out of lessons on a rota basis and work towards their examinations and competitions such as the Heaton Mersey Festival).

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Every Autumn Term we mount a full scale production either in our Drama Studio or in the Academic Hall, depending on the size of the show. Recent productions have included: “The Accrington Pals”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance” and “West Side Story”.

Shakespeare Live...The curtain recently came down on the most ambitious piece of Shakespearean theatre in the school’s history. More than 100 pupils, from all years, took part in the college’s Shakespeare Live festival from 29th November to 1st December. Four plays were performed on each of the three nights and all of them received much acclaim.Shakespeare Live made use of the school’s exciting new house system, which encourages interaction between year groups, to turn the Academic Hall into a hub of dramatic activity. And in an interesting twist, each house hosted

one of the three evenings by providing refreshments and hospitality. Upper Thirds to Upper Fifth pupils from Campion, Bosco and Siena houses staged “The Tempest”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Macbeth” respectively. The house system allowed younger pupils to take principal roles in their productions. In addition, A cast of talented sixth form actors put on “Kiss Me Quick”, a shortened version of “Kiss Me Kate”, which itself is inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Taming Of The Shrew”.

UPPEr sixthawards

Congratulations to:Nick Hanrahan

Congratulations to:Peter Woolridge

Congratulations to:Orla Mchugh

Congratulations to:Catherine Livesey

Congratulations to:Anna Grace

Congratulations to:Hana Griffin

Congratulations to:Daniel Grogan

Congratulations to:Andrew Robins

Congratulations to:Catherine Livesey

Congratulations to:Ciara Goodwin / John Carey

Congratulations to:Callum Lloyd

Congratulations to:Theo Sharrock

Congratulations to:Chantal Ratcliffe

Congratulations to:Hannah Turner

Congratulations to:Chantal Ratcliffe

Congratulations to:Connor Hey

Winner of the prestigiousFr Coulthard Award- Robert Gleave

The Headmaster’s awards recognise exceptional service to the College. They are given to pupils who have made a significant and lasting contribution to Sport, Drama, Charity Work and Music

Fr Coulthard AwardRobert Gleave

Congratulations to: Catriona Edwards, Annie O’Brien, Gabriella Bullman, Miranda Cordwell, Georgia Peden

Congratulations to:Leah Grace

Congratulations to:Hana Griffin

Congratulations to:Sarah-Jessica Jemitola

Congratulations to:Kofo Spaine

Congratulations to:Tom Lyons, Ciara Goodwin, John Fox, Samantha Green, John Carey

Congratulations to:Harriet Rumble, Robert Gleave

Congratulations to:Michael Hoban

Congratulations to:Danny Grogan, Joe Kennedy, Luke Burke Costello, Joe O’Loughlin

Congratulations to:Annie O’Brien

Congratulations to:Hannah Turner

Congratulations to:Anna Grace, Leah Grace, Joe Perry, Molly Richards, Jessica McNamee

Congratulations to: Rob Bensen May, Patrick King, Yoon Hyung Lee,Adam Crewdson, Xavi Ashurst, Ross Wherrit, Jake Williams,

Jack Morris, Alex Caroll, Dimitri KitromilidesCongratulations to:

Connor Hey & Theo Sharrock

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Alumni...

2012

Laura McLean

What are you studying?I have just competed my first year of a degree in dentistry. My studies this year have been really varied. The main focus has been on the anatomy, physiology and histology of the whole digestive system and associated organs and of course the anatomy of the teeth. My week is quite structured with clinical, anatomy and histology sessions, a weekly symposia and EBL (enquiry based learning) groups. Clinical skills involve practising certain procedures on my fellow students and role play. Anatomy is a rather hands on learning aid, using human cadavers to demonstrate the study topic of the week. I also had the opportunity to do my own dissection project, where I undertook to showcase the structure of the jaw joint. Histology supports the weekly topic at a cellular level. For EBL, in a class of around 8 students, we read through a set case study to devise our own learning objectives and talk about the stuff we would like to know. The group then studies individually and brings back learned information to share with the group with the use of a white board and diagrams. You are not allowed notes in these sessions so you have to memorise everything you have learnt. Each group member in turn has to chair the feedback meetings. This seemed very daunting at first but it has been one of the best ways I have learned information.

What has this involved?The main difference between school and university life for me would be the independence. There are no teachers watching your every move forcing you to do your work. You have to want to learn and you have to be your own motivator. With a medical based course, it’s not an easy work load and if you are not fascinated by the subject it will be hard to meet your learning objectives every week.

How does your University life compare to St Bede’s College?The change from school to university is really exciting but there is no doubt that it was scary at first. There are lots of activities to get students to know each other but it takes some time to get used to living with 5 strangers in a student flat. There is also the ordeal of flat inspections to make sure the place is kept clean and tidy.

What is the pastoral support like?If anything, the pastoral experience at Bede’s was too good. Now the tutors are not even required to know my name. However, I have been prepared well, Bede’s taught me the essential skills to cope and work well in a completely new environment.

Do you have any advice for St Bede’s students about to apply to University? My advice to the lower 6th students would be to go with a course that interests and fascinates you. If you are not interested in the topic you will have no drive or motivation to overcome the workload you are given. I would also suggest not to exclude Universities nearer home. I am currently studying at the University of Manchester. I moved into university halls and I am still having the same experience as my old Bede’s friends further afield. I was shocked at how much of a new community I discovered. It didn’t even feel like I knew the city I grew up in.

What extra-curricular activities have you tried at university?I played for my university hall’s netball team for the year. We played competitively against other Faculties within and around the university. I also played for the dental girl’s football team. This was much less competitive with the only matches being against the girl medics. However there is pretty much an extracurricular activity for everything you could imagine and that’s a great way to get stuck in.

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“I will be starting on an undergraduate apprenticeship with Airbus based at their factory in Broughton from September. I will be studying for my degree in aeronautical engineering through them whilst also working for them at the factory so will be splitting my time between the two. The course lasts for three years and there is a high chance of permanent employment at the end.I read about it on their website. The application took a long time as I had to do an interview, group exercise and maths and physics exam so was quite difficult. I believe there was 25 places and around 3,000 applicants.”

“I left St Bede’s last year but after a difficult year due to my brother being critically ill my grades were quite poor. I got into my insurance university but decided to resit as I didn’t want to settle for my second choice so this year I have studied to improve my a levels and gained ABB this time.”

Alumni...

Jane Ryder will be starting an undergraduate apprenticeship with Airbus...

“there was 25 places and around 3,000 applicants.”

Jane Ryder

2011

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Moon Rocks Landat St Bede’sExciting rare samples of moon rocks and a collection of impressive meteorites landed at the College for a weeks’ visit.

Students were able to enjoy a unique, interactive experience of astronomy during their lessons. Highlights included getting up close and personal with some hand sized meteorites, enabling students to touch a real piece of space.As pupils held the 1.2 billion year old piece of Mars and a 4.3 billion year old nickel meteorite they could only wonder! This is the oldest thing they will ever hold in their hands; our solar system is only 4.6 billion years old.The lunar samples, provided by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council were collected in the late 1960s and early 1970s during some of NASA’s first manned space missions to the moon. A massive 382kg of lunar material was brought back to Earth – mostly used by scientists in their studies of the moon.The week of moon based activities also included a visit from Star Lab, a mobile planetarium, which was “blown up” in the Library. Pupils were able to enjoy a voyage round the solar system and a look at the night sky guided by an expert from Daresbury Laboratory.The Library also staged a special open evening for parents and visitors to see the collection and over seventy people could only marvel at the amazing display.

World Book Day QuizWe marked World Book Day with an inter-house book quiz in the Library. Nine teams battled for victory answering questions about film adaptations of books, James Bond and fictional cats!

This year in the Maher Library...This year has seen events as diverse as film showings, moon rocks, origami sessions, treasure hunts and a blow up planetarium, all taking place within the Maher Library! We are also pleased to have been able to extend our opening hours in the morning so pupils can now study and read from 8am.

These are some of the highlights of another busy year in the Maher Library:

BookBuzzThe year started with the launch of BookBuzz, a scheme where each Upper 3rd Pupil is given a book. Pupils had great fun selecting a book to own from a choice of 12 titles covering different styles and genres. The arrival of the books in October was keenly anticipated and led to much discussion of the merits of different books and to some enjoyable reading!

CompetitionsQuizzes and competitions have become a regular feature of the Library at St Bede’s. These always have the aim of encouraging reading or using information. Highlights this year have included a Roald Dahl Day competition where pupils were asked to identify Roald Dahl books from objects such as bars of chocolate, glue and raisins. This was followed by the most popular competition we have ever held – origami! Pupils of all ages submitted a fantastic array of objects created from folded paper. Subsequent competitions have included one based around the theme of diaries and another on The Hobbit and Gollum’s riddles.

Britannica OnlineIn January we launched online access to Encyclopaedia Britannica for all St Bede’s pupils, staff and parents both in College and at home. The trusted and prestigious name of Britannica has proved a success. In the first month of use over 650 Britannica articles were accessed! Access in College is via the drop down “Applications” menu on the home page or via Moodle for use at home.

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BOOK AWARD SHADOWING Once again, pupils have been involved in judging national book awards. We entered a judging panel for the Royal Society Science Book Award in the autumn and in the spring 2013 we formed shadowing groups for the Carnegie and Greenaway Awards.The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the author of an outstanding book for children or young people. A record 14 pupils and 1 Librarian began reading the 8 shortlisted books in April and by June we voted for our winner – “Wonder” by R.J Palacio, the moving, funny and heart-warming story of 10 year old Auggie who has been born with a terrible facial abnormality, as he is about to start “real” school for the first time. The book our group voted into second place turned out to be the national winner – “Maggot Moon” by Sally Gardner which tells the story of Standish, an amazing character who copes with the loss of his family and best friend and stands up to the oppressive Motherland.

One Friday in June 2013 a visitor came to St Bede’s College. He wasn’t the usual sort of visitor. Gaius was a Roman Legionnaire. He came from Chester (although he called it Deva).

He wasn’t fazed by the challenge that faced him - to educate and entertain three U3 Latin classes as well as Sixth Formers studying Latin and Classical Civilisation.To help with his task, Gaius brought with him the equipment a legionnaire carries - the deadly weapons and armour (very heavy said the pupils who tried it on); the clothes (including underpants that last a week without washing!) and food; and the two essentials - wine for making water drinkable and olive oil for light, cleaning and eating. He also brought a range of fascinating stories of legionary and civilian life as a Roman, bringing Roman history and culture to life in an incredibly engaging way. He also answered some challenging questions from the pupils. Vale, Gaius - but you’re welcome back here anytime!

Award winning author Paula Rawsthorne spent the afternoon with Lower 4th pupils telling her them about her life and career as an author and entertaining them with readings from her latest book.A former social worker, Paula’s writing career started with a BBC Radio 4 competition, with her winning entry read on air by actor Bill Nighy. Since then she has started writing for young people and her first novel won a number of regional book awards. Her latest book “Blood Tracks” is a psychological thriller which is full of unexpected twists and turns and thrilling revelations.

After her talk pupils were able to ask questions and Paula passed on her top tips for becoming a writer. One of these was to enter writing competitions! Pupils were able to buy signed copies of Paula’s books and they are also available to borrow from the Library.

Paula Rawsthorne visits St Bede’s

‘He came, he saw, he made our day’

MATHEMATICS2012-13Mathematics PrizesFor the year 2012-13 the Further Mathematics Prize went to Samuel Walsh who has been offered a place at Trinity College (Cambridge) to read Mathematics. The Mathematics Prize for 2012-13 went to Sarah-Jessica Jemitola who has been offered a place at Imperial College to read Engineering.

November 2012 - UK Senior Mathematics Challenge Another impressive year as 20 of our 28 students who sat the challenge achieved certificates. “Best in College” went to Samuel Walsh who was one of 3 students who achieved the Gold Certificate. Samuel also qualified for the first and second rounds of the British Olympiad (which placed him in the top 100 students nationally). Theodore Sharrock again qualified for the first Olympiad Challenge round (by finishing in the top 500) and also achieved a Gold Certificate, as did Isabella Zhang who qualified for the Senior Kangaroo Challenge (for the students ranked 501-1500), repeating her achievement of last year. Special mention should also go to Caleb Ogwuru and Thomas Hamshire from the U5th who achieved bronze certificates, though they were eclipsed by classmates Thomas Johnson and Nathan Cullen who achieved silver certificates.

January 2013 - UK Intermediate Mathematics ChallengeThe Intermediate Challenge was sat by students from the U5th, L5th and U4th. Joint “Best in School” went to IGCSE students Yuhang Zhang and Zixuan Chen, who both achieved Gold Certificates. Max Hayes performed best out of the L5th students achieving a Silver Certificate, and Mark Barry scored the highest mark out of the U4th students and achieved a Gold Certificate. Impressively Mark also qualified for the “Grey Kangaroo” follow on round in which he achieved a Certificate of Merit. Credit too must also go to Kieran Scammell, Grace Hamshire, Daniel Ridley, Conor Wall, Aisling Eyers, Antonia Czornenkyj and Tom Brewer who all performed admirably in their first attempt at the Intermediate Challenge.

April 2013 - UK Junior Mathematics ChallengeIn the UK Junior Mathematics Challenge which students from the U3rd and L4th sat, Joshua Cox starred by achieving a score of 110 marks which was the best result in the school, and also enough to earn him a Gold certificate.Isobel West, Lucy Driscoll and Anja Jungmayr (all from the L4th) also performed admirably gaining Gold certificates.In the U3rd the highest mark in the year was scored by Patrick Quinn which earned him a Silver certificate. James Mee, Aaron Kadercutty and Sarah Arenyeka all performed well enough to achieve a Silver certificate also, and Bronze Certificates were awarded to Eva Freeman, Joseph Karran, Patrick Renehan, Emily Jones, Charlie Concannon, Richard Pollard, Patrick Kitchen, Emily MacDonald, Richard Hall and Demara Darkwah. These were impressive performances from students who will all be able eligible to sit the Junior Maths Challenge next year too.Numerous students from both year groups narrowly missed out on achieving a Bronze certificate, but generally the students seemed to enjoy taking on the different and varied Mathematical problems that the Challenge contains.

Gold Certificates Silver Certificates Bronze CertificatesSamuel Walsh Luke Webb Joe KennedyTheodore Sharrock Kofo Spaine Sarah-Jessica JemitolaIsabella Zhang Michael James Lawrie Plummer William Simpson Seamus Brennan Chen Zixuan Tom Jowett Nathan Cullen Derrick Lau Thomas Johnson Joseph Gould Zhang Yuhang Thomas Hamshire Caleb Ogwuru

Gold Certificates Silver Certificates Bronze CertificatesYuhang Zhang Max Hayes Patrick Carberry-PowerZixuan Chen Thomas Johnson Joseph HillsMark Barry Harry Visoni Nick Grogan Kieran Scammell Kelvin Wong Grace Hamshire Timothy Mak Daniel Ridley Conor Wall Aisling Eyers Antonia Czornenkyj Tom Brewer Vanisha Maisuria

Gold Certificates Silver Certificates Bronze CertificatesJoshua Cox Grace Faulkner Matthew StrogenIsobel West Andrew Hartley Victoria PierogLucy Driscoll Amy McGuinness Andreas KitromolidesAnja Jungmayr Orla Hogan Jennifer Lawlor James Dillon Eve Cox Declan Scammell Eva Freeman Patrick Quinn Joseph Karran James Mee Patrick Renehan Aaron Kadercutty Emily Jones Sarah Arenyeka Charlie Concannon Lydia Askew Richard Pollard Hollie Hyde Patrick Kitchen Emily MacDonald Richard Hall Demara Darkwah

SARAH-JESSICA JEMITOLA SAMUEL WALSH

Sixth Form Mathematics Lecture (by Theodore Sharrock)On Tuesday 12th March, 7 Upper Sixth mathematicians ventured across town to The Manchester Grammar School for a lecture given by Dr James Grime of the University of Cambridge, about Alan Turing and the cracking of the Enigma

code. As well as the exuberant nature of the speaker, the topic was really brought to life by the presence, right in front of us, of a real, working Enigma machine, recovered from the battlefields after the war. Throughout the lecture Dr Grime took us through the inner workings of the Enigma machine and told the story of the breaking of the

‘unbreakable’ code by Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park (with some help from the Poles pre-war).Kofo Spaine summed up the feelings of our group by describing the talk as “informative and enjoyable”, or “OMPSFTPLPDS THR LHNBEQVKQ” as the Enigma Simulator would put it!22

Salters Chemistry Prize winnersA team of L4 pupils from St Bede’s won 3rd prize in the ‘University Challenge’ competition at the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry held at Manchester University on 12th June.

Gold Certificates Silver Certificates Bronze CertificatesJoshua Cox Grace Faulkner Matthew StrogenIsobel West Andrew Hartley Victoria PierogLucy Driscoll Amy McGuinness Andreas KitromolidesAnja Jungmayr Orla Hogan Jennifer Lawlor James Dillon Eve Cox Declan Scammell Eva Freeman Patrick Quinn Joseph Karran James Mee Patrick Renehan Aaron Kadercutty Emily Jones Sarah Arenyeka Charlie Concannon Lydia Askew Richard Pollard Hollie Hyde Patrick Kitchen Emily MacDonald Richard Hall Demara Darkwah

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Science Live!On Monday 19th November members of the U4 and L5 went to the Lowry Theatre to see Science Live!, a show for GCSE students.Our first speaker was the biologist Professor Lord Robert Winston. He spoke to us about genes and inheritance, including an interesting bit on genetic modification in mice.Then Chemistry Professor Andreas Sella spoke to us and showed us some experiments, for example a substance that kept changing colour in a cycle, to show that not all chemical reactions are linear.

After a short break we had a talk from an examiner who gave tips for our GCSE exams. Next we had an interesting talk from a computer scientist about technology and what it will be like in the future, for example Quantum Computing will be used.Finally we had a talk from a physicist who spoke to us about Einstein’s theories of Special and General Relativity and about time travel. It was overall a very fun and exciting day which everyone enjoyed and gained a lot from it.Rachael Brown. L5

As we indulged in chocolate on the coach down, it didn’t take long before we were all singing and probably starting to give Mrs Driscoll and Mr Rafferty a slight headache! But we soon arrived at the beautiful little town of Keswick; where we met our new friend Richard who, along with colleague Pippa, became our new teachers for the weekend. After stretching our legs on a tour of Keswick, we were soon taken to Blencathra centre where we settled into our new rooms.One successful night down, the morning came and we piled on the jumpers and the socks, the hats and the wellies, and we got ready and set for our walk and studies on the Glenderterra Beck River. The day was surprisingly fun; doing investigations whilst kneedeep in the freezing river water was certainly a new experience. Although Victoria did slip into the river, so I’m not sure it was the best experience for her!That night was a long night. Our work in the classroom took a little longer than expected. But by the time the exhaustion finally sunk in, our bunk beds in our little white cottage became very comforting amongst the vast, foggy mountains

surrounding us. The next day was even colder; I was tired but there was another climb up a mountain planned for us. So the hats and jumpers went on again and we set off. As Pippa led us up the mountain, which was almost as steep as Everest, everyone was tired and planning their own secret escape routes back to the minibus, Peter even started having strange fascinations with the mountain goats.But, eventually, we reached the mountaintop to see a huge and beautiful glacial tarn spread across the mountain in front of us. And for the first time all weekend, everybody took a step back in silent admiration.When we finally reached the bottom of our Everest and boarded the coach home, everyone was so dozy and quiet. Compared to the usual noises of laughter and singing and shouting from us, Mr Rafferty and Mrs Driscoll were relieved to hear nothing but the occasional snore from us on the journey back.

Hannah O’Sullivan, L6

ST BEDE’S IN THE FIELDOn Friday 12th October, we L6 Geographers stood in the play-ground waiting for the minibus to take us to Blencathra in the Lake District. We stood, preparing ourselves for the long nights stuck in a classroom and freezing cold walks during the days looking at rivers. It’s safe to say I was anticipating the worst.

William Janes, Anja Jungmayr, Victoria Pierog and Alice Webb correctly identified a series of unknown compounds including acids, alkalis and indicators. They were specifically commended by the judging panel for their ingenuity and initiative.The Salters Festival, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, brought together teams from 19 schools from across the North West.As well as the University Challenge, the team took on the role of forensic investigatorsin the ‘Salters’ Challenge’ and correctly identified the murderer of a fiction-al school’s Headteacher (the Chemistry teacher was

innocent, by the way!).They were also treated to an amazing ‘Flash Bang Show’ by the ever-impressive Dr Frank Mair of the University of Manchester which included a mixture of cutting edge chemistry (making the exciting new carbon allotrope graphene from dry ice and magnesium powder!) and some amazingly powerful chemical reactions.Mr Hepburn, Subject Leader of Combined Science, said, ‘I was impressed by the way they worked together as a team to solve a problem that had experienced chemists scratching their heads’.

TWENTY ELEVEN

Allen Catherine Louise Chester English Armstrong-Benson Rebecca Leanne Oxford English Bourke Kathryn St Andrew’s Theological Studies Brady Fergal Warwick Economics Bradley Joseph Gap Year Breen Anton Edinburgh Economics Brennan Christopher Keele Geoscience Butcher Jonjo Queen Mary’s, London Geography Byrne Liam Salford Performance: Contemporary Practices Cabrera Max Birmingham Engineering Callow Hannah Nottingham Philosophy and Theology Candlin Rosy Edinburgh Divinity (MA) Cassidy Grace Oxford Brooks English Language and Communication Catterall-Decalmer Victoria Newcastle Ancient History Cawley Kerrianne Kings, London Religion, Philosophy and Ethics Chen Hangong Warwick Civil Engineering Connolly Grace Niamh Leicester Geography Corcoran Holly Ann Nottingham Trent Criminology Dada Babatola Aston Business and Sociology De Rome Moss Georgina Durham Ancient History Debono Thomas Liverpool John Moores Real Estate Management Doyle Emily Patricia Manchester Met Events Management Duncan Jacob Manchester Ancient History Edwards Isabel Nottingham Theology Faux-Wilkins Mollie Newcastle English Language Fraine William Durham General Engineering Garratt Patrick Edinburgh Philosophy and Economics Gillespie Iain Keele Geoscience Goodair Alexander Manchester Met Computing Hamilton Anthony York St John Marketing Management Hampson Mark Leicester Politics and Economics Hayes Hannah Leeds Theology and Religious Studies Hayes Patrick Liverpool Business Studies Henshaw Daniel Plymouth Geology Hillyard Michael Manchester Met Business Management Horne Amy Newcastle Chemistry Hughes Sarah Liverpool Geography Hulme Luke Leeds Metroplitan Sports Business Management Jepson Michael Edinburgh Chemistry Jones Vanessa York Economics Keaveney John Nottingham Economics Keenan Ryder Oliver Leeds Metroplitan Business and Management Kelly Sarah Elizabeth Sheffield Chemistry (4 years) Kendal Christopher Northampton Politics Keyworth Natasha Marie Hull and York Medicine Kilroe Mary-Anne Caitriona Leeds Geological Sciences Komolafe Joshua Brunel Economics Lavery Rebecca Hull American Studies (4 years) Le Helen Bradford Chemistry with Industrial Experience Liu Sisi Manchester Management and Leisure Lopeman Sarah Oxford French and Spanish Maguire Nathan Thomas Edinburgh Italian and Classics Maloney James Newcastle Architecture and Urban Planning Mannion Alexander Central Lancashire Chemistry

McCormack Joseph Sheffield Hallam Quantity Surveying McDermott Lucy Liverpool Medicine McKavney Niamh Leicester Geography McLean Laura Elizabeth Manchester Dentistry (BDS first-year entry) Meadows Amy Edinburgh Philosophy and Theology Molloy Ciaran Edinburgh Physics Morton Darius Manchester Ancient History Murphy Luke Sheffield Hallam Criminology and Psychology Murphy Martin Nottingham Economics Murphy Olivia Jane Heytrop Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Norton Gerard Cambridge Theology and Religious Studies O’ Brien Pierce Westminster Business Management Obi Anselm Warwick Law O’Brien Catherine Northumbria Business with Marketing O’Brien Emma Newcastle Business Management O’Brien Holly Grace Salford Performance: Drama and Theatre O’Brien Lauren Manchester Met Business Management (Sandwich) O’Flynn Ruth Lancaster Geography O’Gara Joseph Derby Geology Ogilvie Eleanor Leicester Geography O’Hara Joshua Sheffield Hallam Film and Screenwriting O’Shea Ciaran Newcastle Computing Science Owolabi Olamide Newcastle Electronic Engineering Quinn Shauna Sheffield Hallam Business / Management Reynolds Shannon Manchester Law Ryder Jane Loughborough Automotive Engineering Shires Helen Durham Modern Languages Silcock Olivia J Bath Management and Modern Languages Tang Yuewen Kings, London Mathematics / Finance Totterdell Benjamin Gap Year Vollam Hannah Sarah Gap Year Walsh-Alexander Brandon Queen Mary’s French and History (4 years) Ward Joseph Gap Year Wilcox Michael Leeds Law Williams Ella Liverpool Medicine Young Andrew Lancaster Criminology Yu Youngtaek Sheffield Accounting / Mathematics Zhao Juanshu London Statistics, Economics and Finance

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Since its founding in 2011, the project has expanded and now cares for a number of abandoned and orphaned children in the village, with an emphasis on providing them with a future through education and the stability, care and love of a family environment which was so lacking in the formative years of many of their lives. The contribution of St Bede’s College has been invaluable to the project and has helped to fund the work of a small project team in Tanzania, providing school-fees, food, foster-care and other essentials to children in the village.Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa and as such, desperately sad situations occur frequently. One of the saddest cases that the project has dealt with is that of Aikia (5) and Zuwena (2). The two sisters were found by chance by

the project manager on a visit to the village. They had been orphaned and the baby girl Zuwena was being cared for by her elder sister Aikia. Both were malnourished, dirty and in a desperate situation. The help of St Bede’s College over the past two years has allowed us to secure the short term future of both children by having them fostered by a local family - placing them in a secure and loving environment. Although the project is relatively small scale, it has made a huge difference to a number of families and to the lives of a number of children in the village. We hope that with your continued support we can continue to make a difference, no matter how small, to the huge beast that is global poverty.Miriam Fahey and Tim Keaveney

CHARITIES 2012-13

Christmas HampersMembers of the Upper Third took time out from their Michaelmas Retreat to admire the Christmas hampers collected by forms, which were distributed to various groups around Manchester, who will in turn identify families and individuals who were the most appropriate recipients. Cornerstone, The Contact Refuge and Our Lady’s Primary School Moss Side were among the destinations for the hampers, which hopefully spread a little cheer in these difficult times.

A Handful of Hope was co-founded by two old-Bedians, Miriam Fahey and Tim Keaveney, moved by the plight of a child they saw salvaging food amongst stray dogs in a rubbish dump in a small village in rural Tanzania.

Christmas Card CompetitionIn the build up to Christmas the Heads of House ran a competition to design a Christmas card. The winners had their designs printed and sold at the Christmas Fair. The standard was very high and the winners in each house were:

James Walsh - Siena House Hannah Baxendale - Bosco HouseJames Mee - Campion HouseThe overall winner was:Yuki Igarashi - Bosco House

James Walsh - Siena House

Hannah Baxendale - Bosco House

James Mee - Campion House The overall winner was:

Yuki Igarashi - Bosco House

Great Bede’sBake OffEleven budding bakers kicked off the inaugural Great Bede’s Bake Off in style. Judges were impressed by the talents on display, especially the creativity, professional presentation, uniformity, and most importantly, taste. Praise must go to all competitors, in particular Saoirse Killingley in the U3 for her excellent presentation complete with cake stand, and William Morrow, also in the U3, for gaining the Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood Award for good all round performance.

However, the Star Baker Award in the Cupcake Round went to James Walsh of the U5th for his highly creative Cookie Monster cupcakes. The remaining cupcakes were sold at lunch time, raising nearly £20 for the Lenten Charities. Mrs Boylan and Mrs Girolami are already planning round two, where even more participation is encouraged.

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Overview...Another fantastic year for our Co-Curricular programme with a new range of activities, trips and sports taking place which have been eagerly received by our students.

The beauty of this programme is it allows us to go “off piste” – providing students with an opportunity to participate in activities not necessarily found in the mainstream academic or sporting areas of the College. Once again our popular activities; Horse Riding, Engineering along with Music, Art and Drama Clubs have seen strong participation. I have been most pleased to see the prominence of student run clubs, such as Lit and Phil, Model United Nations and the Economics Forum, which really highlight the diverse appeal and inclusive nature of our Co-curricular programme.This year has also seen the growth of our Co-curricular sports which have seen great participation from students who have enjoyed representing St Bede’s in competitions in non-traditional sports. St Bede’s Sixth Form students have been involved in a Skiing programme run through the Chillfactore; we have also been able to expand our representation into Manchester competitions to include Table Tennis, Badminton, Squash and Swimming. Through this development St Bede’s can now boast at having Manchester champions in Badminton – 4th Year student Mary Tran, and Swimming with great prospect Matthew Williams winning through to become Manchester Breaststroke champion.

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CO-CURRICULARIn house activities...In house activities proved quite popular too. Arts, music and drama departments put on some great activities for the students from printing their own t-shirts to learning and performing a play in a day. Our budding entrepreneurs were catered for with the Technology Apprentice and Miss Delaney’s RBS Enterprise day, which gained a large following and will surely be a popular activity again next year. Sciences had students solving crimes CSI style and investigating moon rock. While Geography’s aptly title “Make a Mess and Model” was always going to be well supported!

Sports are always going to prove popular choices and the beautiful sunshine only encouraged students to want to head out doors. Our outdoor pursuits included Horse Riding, Orienteering and Bushcraft, starring Mr “Bear Grylls” Pedan and his offsider Tom “Crocodile” Diggins, Rock Climbing, Skiing and Archery.

Although there were too many activities on offer to mention them all here I would like to thank the staff who, after a long year, helped create such a rewarding and fun atmosphere for the students through their hard work and preparation.

Mary Tran WinsManchester Schools TitleSt Bede’s Lower Fifth student Mary Tran has become a sporting champion after winning the Manchester Schools Singles Badminton Title in a comprehensive display. On a highly competitive stage, Mary was able to maintain her composure in coming from behind to win two of her matches and ultimately go through the finals tournament undefeated with a record of five wins and no losses. Mary’s abundant talent was flagged by tournament organisers in the recent team’s competition where she impressively went through undefeated, often playing fixtures against girls a year older than her. Congratulations to Mary, a fantastic athlete and a perfect example of how the Co-curricular sporting programme at St Bede’s is providing opportunities for students to excel in their chosen sports.

CO-CURRICULAR

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This year’s programme was enthusiastically received by students who participated in a variety of in-house activities and trips. One of the great strengths of the week is the diversity of the activities students can participate in; one where we aim to ensure that all students can find an activity or activities that they feel suit them and are specific to their interests. All in all, we want it to be educational and also fun.

Popular amongst the choices for this year were the many trips that were offered. These included:

• London and the theatre district• Manchester’s famed “Mystery Tour”• Chester Zoo where we enjoyed great sunshine and a day remembered best for the ear piercing shrieks in the bat cave thanks to Miss Curry and Mr Dumbill• Our statistical minded and our shopping enthusiasts rubbed shoulders at the Trafford Centre Challenge• We toured Liverpool visiting some of its famed galleries and museums• Our U3rd students visited Alton Towers where the staff found that the new “smiler” ride was more than a little ironic and not necessarily the best way to launch a comeback to rollercoaster rides after a prolonged sabbatical. • Manchester’s Imperial War and National Football Museums

ACTIVITIES WEEK

Tech Big heads prove a big hit with Students

Mr Mason from the College Drama department put on a very successful Puppet making workshop in the Technology department during the activity week. The students produced giant Puppet Heads which were produced from recycled corrugated cardboard using paper engineering techniques.

Despite only having a morning to design, make and manufacture their unique and carefully sculpted creations, all the students managed to complete the task.

The finished creations looked like they could easily be featured in a Carnival or Festival Parade, the students and a number of staff had great fun trying on the creations.Mr Mason is a professional puppeteer and was responsible for creating a number of the Giant Puppets featured on the annual Manchester Day Parade.

An All-Girl group who called themselves ‘Charlie’s Angles’ won this year’s L5th Technology Apprentice during the College Activity week. The team were competing against two other groups and managed to double the profit made by their nearest rivals.During the project the teams had to design, make and sell for a profit a number of promotional gifts to the general public. Head of the Sales team Valentina used her charm and persuasive techniques to create advance orders, whilst Chanel was in charge of production and Henita created the designs. When asked about how they felt about winning the competition Valentina replied“We were delighted to win the competition and enjoyed developing our team building skills, girl power rules”

Subject Leader of Technology Mr Hennigan added“All the groups performed really well, but it was the marketing and sales skills of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ that made the difference.”

One of the great highlights of the year for students is our highly anticipated Activities Week that concludes our summer term.

BOYSSPORT

St Bede’s College U15’s Rugby team secured the Lancashire Emerging Schools Cup in emphatic style with a 38-5 win over St Margaret’s School, Liverpool in the final.

RUGBY CHAMPIONS

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Blackburn Rugby Club hosted the final and the teams did not disappoint the many supporters who had travelled to watch a very entertaining game of rugby.St Bede’s gained the upper hand midway through the first half and never looked like surrendering the lead, despite stiff resistance from the opposition. It was a credit to the players that three years of hard work on technique and skill paid off, particularly pleasing to see lads who had come into the squad late with little experience rewarded for their persistence and determination.During this season the lads played through five rounds of the cup, complimenting a handful of Saturday fixtures in both U15 and older U16 teams. They showed great character and determination throughout the season to go through undefeated a feat that cannot be underestimated. Well done lads and best of luck in the future.Our other rugby teams can also reflect upon successful campaigns. Our under 14 rugby team deserves credit for their great application; with so many

lads new to the sport it was always going to be difficult to win consistently against much more experienced sides. U14’s coach Mr Parker too deserves worthy praise. During this season he has generously given up a great deal of his time and spent long hours with the team on the training paddock. For this reason this team will present themselves as a much sterner test for the opposition next season and look to build on the few good wins from 2013. Our U12 and First XV sides suffered through a lack of numbers, but both teams managed to play fixtures this year despite looking like not playing at all at the start of the year and that is certainly a positive.

FootballAwardsThe football awards assembly was hosted by Mr Spellman on Monday 29th April.There were awards, for all teams, in three catagories.Top Goalscorer, Manager’s Player and Players’ Player awards.Congratulations to all the winners and to all the boys for their hard work and commitment throughout the season.Special thanks also to the team managers for all their efforts during the season.

Players’ Player Award Winners:Jack Shields (2nd Eleven), Billy Gallagher (Under 16), Ross Wherrit (First Eleven),Rory McCormick (Under 15), Joe O’Brien (Under 14), Andreas Kitromilides (Under 13) and Dom Skinkus-Loftus (Under 12).

Top Goalscorer Award Winners:Sean Phythian (Under 15), Ike Obi (Under 14), Xav Ashurst (Second Eleven), Caleb Ogwuru (First Eleven & Under 16), Matthew Strogen (Under 13) and Alessandro Sivori (Under 12).

Manager’s Award Winners:Zac Johnson-Lake (Under 15), Pat King (Second Eleven), Adam Crewdson (First Eleven), Joe Stiles (Under 16), James Dillon (Under 13), Niall Mannion (Under 14) and James McKenna (Under 12).

College Football 2012/2013 Years 7-10

All the teams enjoyed a variety of highlights and varying degrees of success. Highlight of the U12 season was the Catholic cup run which saw them defeat St Peter’s, St Paul’s and St Gabriel’s en route to the final where they lost narrowly to Cardinal Langley 2 - 1. The quarter final victory against St Paul’s was pleasing as they had beaten St Bede’s comfortably earlier in the season and the semi-final victory was probably the best performance of the season against an excellent St Gabriel’s side.U13 highlights included an excellent victory in the Manchester Cup against St Jospeh’s, Bolton and also in the last game of the season away to Bury Grammar. There were many stand out performances over the year especially from Andreas Kitromilides, Matthew Strogen, James Dillon and keeper Thomas Prendergast.The U15’s season was a story of ‘almosts’ when they reached the final of the Catholic Cup (where they were narrowly defeated in extra time) and the ISFA National Cup semi-final where they were beaten in the last minute by the eventual champions, Whitgift. The football played by this team was particularly impressive all season with the best performance of the Saturday season coming against QEGS when St Bede’s won 4-0 away on a swamp of a pitch whilst restricting QEGS to little or no touches of the ball for most of the game!

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Lancashire GAA SelectionCongratulations to Lawrence Hennigan and James McKenna, who have been selected to play for the Lancashire Under 14’s Gaelic football team. The boys played in the celebrated Féile Peile na nÓg tournament in Derry, Northern Ireland from Thursday 27th June to Sunday 31st June. This is a major event in the Gaelic Athletic Association calendar as it has teams entering from throughout Ireland, Europe and America. The boys who both play for St Mary’s GAA Club in Levenshulme are thrilled at the chance to represent Lancashire and Lawrence who plays midfield said “I was delighted to be chosen and cannot wait for the tournament to begin.”James, who plays full forward added “It was great to be selected and I just hope that I can play to my best in the tournament.”

We wish the boys every success!

Senior FootballIt was also a very enjoyable and successful season at Senior Football level at St Bede’s College.

The 1st XI enjoyed a memorable start to their campaign collecting the ISFA Sixes Plate Trophy early in September after beating Dulwich (London) in the final. The team quickly evolved into a blend of youth and experience as six Upper Fifth students complemented the VI Form players perfectly proving that if you are good enough you are old enough. The 1st XI went on to win 13 games throughout the season including memorable victories against MGS, King’s Chester, Hulme GS, Wolverhampton and St Ambrose. On the Cup front, the team made made it through to the Manchester Cup Semi Final where they were beaten by the eventual winners, Manchester College. Caleb Oguwru has been quite prolific in front of goal throughout the campaign scoring 17 times in his 17 appearances. However, the highlight of the season for many of the players and parents was the 1st and 2nd XI victories over Blackrock College from Dublin in March when both teams regained the Challenge Cup from our Irish neighbours. The 1st XI was successful after

a victorious penalty shoot-out where keeper Adam Crewdson was once again the hero for his team. While a superb goal-scoring performance by Xav Ashurst ensured the 2nd XI won in some style for Mr McCotter’s endeavorous team.The Under 16 team also enjoyed a very fruitful season in their Cup competitions They reached the semi-final of the Manchester Cup and were crowned Catholic Cup champions after a thrilling 3-2 victory against Our Lady’s, Blackely with Caleb Oguwru providing 16 goals closely followed by captain Billy Gallagher who scored 11 goals in the 11 Cup games played by the team.

GIRLS SPORT

Third England RoundersInternationalGrace Sloan of the L5 has been selected at first base for the England U16 rounders team – the third current St Bede’s student to achieve this honour!

A keen sportswoman, Grace also plays netball at school and club level, represents the school at athletics and is a keen horse rider and golfer.She shows her maths ability by working as scorer at a cricket club to earn the money to fund her sporting ambitions. Mrs McCormick, Subject Leader of Girls’ PE, commented ‘Grace exemplifies St Bede’s tradition of sporting success – she is determined, committed and motivated’.

St Bede’s female athletes have had a great start to the year. Here are some of their success stories.

GIRLS’ SPORTING SUCCESSES

Cross CountryThe U12 and U14 teams won the Manchester League and the U16 team finished third.

In the Manchester Schools’ Competition the U12s were winners, the U14s second and the U16s third. In this competition Ella Standring finished 2nd and Eva Freeman 4th from 92 runners.

NetballElla and Faye Standring, Olivia Turner and Tara Quinn have been selected to represent Greater Manchester County and Olivia and Tara to represent the Northern Thunder netball team (the top Premiership netball team in the North West of England).

The U12 team won the Manchester Knockout competition. The U14s were runners up in the Greater Manchester Catholic schools’ netball tournament.

AthleticsIn the Manchester Indoor athletics the U12 and U16 groups reached the final with the U12s finishing fourth from 18 schools and the U16s fifth from 16 schools.

The U14s finished third in their section from 9 schools and missed qualification to the final by 1 point.

Ella Standring came second in the 800m and Sade Teniola second in the 60m in the U12 age group.

Clodagh Whiteside finished second in the High jump and Nenna Obineke second in the 200m in the U16 competition.

SU

CCESS!

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Rounders SuccessCongratulations to the U12 rounder’s team who won the Greater Manchester Catholic Tournament. The girls also won the group section of the Manchester Schools competition and therefore qualify to the semi-final stage. The U14 team have also qualified to the semi final stage and well done to the U15s who are also Catholic champions.

GIRLS SPORT

Clara gets GB CallCongratulations to Clara Ashton of the Upper Fifth.

Clara has been selected to play for the Great Britain U18 womens Ice Hockey team. This is an exceptional achievement as she is still only fifteen years of age. Clara travelled out with the team in mid December for a tournament in Switzerland. We wish her good luck for the future.

The girls in the U16 rounders team won the North West final to qualify for the National final. This is the fourth time that St Bede’s have been represented in this prestigious event. The girls will play the other top teams in England. The final will be on 12th July at Corby.

champions!

champions!

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STAFFDepartures

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SHEILA QUIRKEquipped with a first class degree from UMIST, Sheila Quirk’s academic credentials were beyond reproach, when she joined Dr Slater’s Chemistry Department in 1990. For the past 23 years, she has given unstintingly of her time and expertise. An invaluable member of the Chemistry team, she recently succeeded Sandra Pike as Head of Department.Sheila was an accomplished teacher, who achieved excellent examination results. Pupils appreciated the thoroughness of her preparation and the clarity of her exposition, for she had the knack of distilling the intricacies of A Level Chemistry to their essential components.

PETER LOADERPeter Loader’s rich mixture of infectious personality, wicked humour, dazzling presentational skills and superb teaching has enriched St Bede’s, since his arrival from the University of London in 1975.The very fulcrum of the Common Room, Peter exudes bonhomie and good cheer. Yet, this jovial exterior belies the sharpest of intellects. Passionate about his subject, as to be expected of a chief examiner, Peter made Geology the most credible of A Level options. His combination of humour, lucidity, presentation and sheer work ethic impressed generations of students. A-Level results in Geology have been uniformly excellent for nearly 40 years and scores of his students have progressed to geology- related professions.Yet excellence as a teacher is but part of the man, Peter Loader has given St Bede’s unparalleled commitment to every vestige of College life- camps; outward bounds; expeditions and foreign trips; and front of house at productions. In short, Peter crystallised the selfless Catholic schoolteacher. Never one to count his time, Mr Loader’s deeply hewn compassion and indomitable optimism appealed to all, who worked with him and for him. A supremely committed supporter of College charities, Peter Loader saw the best in people - and, in return, pupils, parents and colleagues identified him as being amongst the very best in the annals of St Bede’s.

HENRY WEISSHenry Weiss brought coherence, reassurance and stability to the younger end of the College during his tenure as Head of Lower School from 1990- 2012. Succeeding the almost legendary Ron Smith in the role, Henry soon demonstrated that he understood pupils. Shrewd, firm, consistent and generally calm, he displayed excellent judgement when dealing with pastoral problems. Though he could adopt a forbidding persona, when the occasion so demanded, his overseeing of the Lower School was a benevolent stewardship. In essence, firmness was leavened with compassion- the ideal combination for a pastoral head. Henry’s cause was helped by his awareness of Bedian tradition. He had joined the College in 1977 as a teacher of Geography and Art. Later, he would introduce Photography as a GCSE subject. St Bede’s owes Henry Weiss a great deal. Replacing someone like Ron Smith in 1990 appeared difficult. Yet, Henry took to this key pastoral role with aplomb. In particular, he ensured that the Lower School was a welcoming and supportive environment for nervous 11 year olds. For their part, pupils soon discerned that behind the gruff exterior was a warm and approachable Head of Lower School. Henry Weiss gave distinguished service to St Bede’s: I wish him well.

MICHAEL NALLYSadly, Mike Nally has announced his retirement after 27 years of excellent service. Appointed by John Byrne as Head of Biology in1986, he brought to St Bede’s an all- consuming passion for his subject. Whilst committed to high academic standards, he also made Science fun for pupils. And yet, this was only part of his outstanding contribution to the College, for Mike epitomised the ultra- committed, generously spirited Catholic schoolteacher. He coached rugby and cricket teams, led fieldwork trips and organised science clubs, yet still found time to play football and cricket for the staff teams. By his very being, both inside and outside of the laboratory, Mike Nally upheld the Catholic character of St Bede’s - an invaluable quality in this secular age. His colleagues will miss his keen wit, his self-deprecatory humour and, above all, his kindness. A great Bedian is leaving our midst and I pay tribute to him.

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MIKE CAHILLShrewd and organised in his preparation, lucid and systematic in his exposition and forever demanding of his pupils, Mike Cahill is a first class teacher of Mathematics. As such, he made a major contribution to the reputation of the Mathematics Department from his arrival in 1980 until his retirement this summer. In recent years, he was also in charge of public examinations. Mike taught across the age range in St Bede’s, but his forte was A level teaching of Maths and Further Maths. Sixth formers knew that he would stretch them intellectually, but they acknowledged his mastery of the subject and they discerned his more relaxed persona with older students. Educated at a Catholic Direct Grant school, Mike understood that academic rigour was vital to the reputation of the College. He provided this par excellence for over 30 years. I wish him a very happy retirement.

MICHAEL BERRYMichael Berry has been devoted to St Bede’s for most of his life. Educated at the College from 1959- 1966, when it was both a Diocesan Direct Grant grammar school and a junior seminary He returned to his Alma Mater in 1980, after a brief sojourn at St Peter’s Grammar School, Prestwich. For 33 years, Michael brought selfless dedication, dry, understated humour, self- effacing scholarship and consummate organisation to the English Department. Though he would readily admit that he owed much to a succession of gifted and inspirational teachers, the essential impetus came from Michael. He was synonymous with English at St Bede’s. In truth, however, he did so much more: first year camp at Ullswater; annual trips to the Dordogne; and a rich variety of dramatic productions all benefited from his unstinting commitment and reassuring competence. Above all, he epitomised the collegiality and Catholicism, which are integral to St Bede’s. An outstanding English teacher, convinced of the holistic education offered by St Bede’s, he was par excellence a superb, credibly Catholic ambassador for the College.

Other staff leavers...Mr Paul Griffin, Subject Leader for History and Examinations Officer, secured a headship at the Fyling Hall School and took up that position along with his wife, Katherine at Easter. Liz O’Neal has taken a position in the PE department at Altrincham Girls.

Mr Haddy Nagib has secured a full-time teaching post at a sixth form college and Mr Peter Gill is moving to St Monica’s. Mrs Maura Welch has taken a position at Loretto Girls School, Mrs Joanne Wallwork has moved to Altrincham Boys School to teach Spanish, Dr Susan Powell (Biology) has taken up a position at Bury Girls’ School.

We thank these colleagues for the contributions they have made to St Bede’s and wish them every happiness and success in their new positions.

If you would like a tour of our College please contact us:

St Bede’s College, Alexandra Park, Manchester M16 8HX tel 0161 226 3323 fax 0161 226 3813

enquiries@stbedescollege.co.uk www.stbedescollege.co.uk C O L L E G E