weekly newsletter from the headmaster · pdf filesimon weale our a2 biology class took part in...

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

19th January 2018Issue No 156

Dear Parents,

It was interesting to learn that 15th January (last Monday) or its equivalent is regarded by many psychologists as the most miserable day of the year. Despite that gloomy prognosis, the unrelenting weather and the many coughs and colds that seem to be around there has been a great deal of activity at school.

A highlight was the very moving talk given by Baraa Kouja, a Syrian refugee, to the Upper School about the plight of his country. Baraa, a university student, has been acting as an interpreter for fellow refugees, but has also founded a charity to publicise the appalling things that are happening in Syria. More details in this newsletter.

I am hoping that tomorrow’s annual OSA dinner in London will be slightly less intense. Once again over one hundred guests are expected and this will be a good chance to catch up on the fortunes of some of our recent leavers. The OSA are a key stakeholder for the school and a number of its members have volunteered to help at our forthcoming Careers Fair ‘Life Beyond 18’. Another key stakeholder are FOSC (the Friends of Shebbear College) and I know the committee are anxious to recruit some new faces at the AGM next week. Details in this newsletter. Hopefully we will see you there?

Simon Weale

Our A2 Biology class took part in DNA workshops at Plymouth University this week



Our weekly Chapel Run took place as usual at lunchtime today and the best of luck to Demelza and Millie, who are both playing for the U.12 netball team tomorrow. Good luck also to our Year 6 pupils, who have their Entrance Exams on Monday, and some are involved in the range of scholarship assessments throughout the week.

I hope you have a good weekend.Matthew Foale

Victorian Games for Years 1 and 2Pre-Prep have continued learning all about Victorian life this week when we looked at some of the different toys the Victorian children might have played with. The children voted the hoop and stick as their favourite activity.

Prep SchoolTeamwork and supporting each other have been our main themes this week and there have been several examples evident throughout the school. From various sports fixtures to helping visiting children on taster days and from helping our younger children to volunteering to help each other, the children have been excellent.

Our House Captains, Willow, Maddie and Will, led yesterday’s House assemblies and they chose their own themes. Ruddle spoke about New Year’s resolutions, Way spoke about loyalty and Thorne discussed trust. These assemblies were also an opportunity for the latest House point tallies to be given out, for each House to look ahead to this term’s competitions and for the House prayers to be said together.

Other events this week include Year 3 and 4 swimming on Wednesday and sports fixtures against St. Petroc’s and a football

tournament at St. Joseph’s.

Congratulations to Reem, Carter, Jack, Ahmad, James, Lottie and Sebastian for winning last week’s Golden Stickers. Our BAFTA (Behaviour Award For Thoughtful Actions) was awarded to Jack, with the Manners Medals going to Harry. Bronze Award certificates and badges were presented to Albert and Izzy, and Joseph is our musician of the week for his trumpet rendition of ‘The Bare Necessities’. Well done to them all.



Under 11 Netball SuccessOn Friday the 12th of January, the Under 11 girls’ netball team drove to West Buckland to play in their annual tournament. We have a very capable squad of players this year and we arrived feeling confident. However, our performance on the court exceeded all expectations and in our first match against West Buckland we won 6 - 2. Bethan Molnar provided really solid support as Wing Defence and was Player of the Match for her efforts. Demelza as Goal Defence worked valiantly in conjunction with Millie as Centre to keep West Buckland at bay. A hard-fought and well-deserved victory.

We then followed that up with a convincing win against Kingsley with the final score being 8 - 0. During that match, both Savanah and Freyja excelled when shooting and the range and accuracy of their shots was outstanding. They were both awarded Player of the Match certificates for their hard work. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could not stay for the final match but were declared the tournament winners anyway. Many congratulations to the Under 11 squad. They are a very talented and tenacious bunch and we enjoy coaching them tremendously.

U.11 Football Tournament at St. Joseph’sThe re-arranged friendly tournament took place on Wednesday afternoon and we took two 6-a-side teams. Our ‘B’ team consisted of Millie, Maddie, Rosie, Ben, Jack and Freyja and their first three matches, against Lewannick, Egloskerry and Truro High School for Girls, were all closely-fought games, ending in 0-0 draws. Their final match was against St. Catherine’s School and in the gales and torrential rain, the team played superbly. They battled for everything and although we lost 2-1, Maddie scored an excellent goal, Jack pulled off some superb saves in goal and the whole team played their hearts out.

Our ‘A’ team consisted of Billy, Khaled, Alfie, Demelza, Will and Max. Their first game was against a strong Tregadillett side, which we narrowly lost 1-0. A 3-0 win against St. Joseph’s B and a 2-2 draw against Lewannick followed and our final game ended in a 1-0 win against St. Joseph’s A. The team played well against some strong opponents, with some notable goals scored by Demelza in particular.

U.11 Football v St. Petroc’sHail, sleet, driving rain and dipping temperatures would not put off this hardy bunch, as they took to the pitch, full of energy and enthusiasm.

Joseph was captain for this match and he rallied the troops and led by example. The first part of the game was very close, with both teams creating chances. Some strong tackling by Albert, Joseph and Sebastian helped to close down several opposition attacks, and Finlay and Max, who shared the goalkeeping duties, both pulled off some fine saves. Will was a constant threat, as he controlled the ball well and attacked consistently. Two goals from Billy, one each from Max and Freddie, together with an own-goal, helped us to a 5-1 win. Thank you also to Harry, who proved to be a superb defender, whilst on a taster day with us.

Gliddon and Squire Cross-CountryThe latest round of the league was held at Northam Burrows on Sunday morning. Thomas ran in the under 9 race and Freyja, Alfie, and Ben ran in the under 11 races.

Many congratulations to all of them and the final round is on Sunday 4th February at West Buckland.

U11 Girls Position U11 Boys Position U9 Boys PositionFreyja 23 Alfie 26 Thomas 83 Ben 39

Events in the Prep School Next WeekMonday 22nd JanuaryEntrance AssessmentsHigh 5 netball vs Halwill (4.00pm)

Tuesday 23rd JanuaryDrama Scholarship assessments (morning)Art Scholarship assessments (afternoon)

Wednesday 24th JanuaryMusic Scholarship assessmentsPre-School visit to WaitroseYears 3 and 4 swimming

Thursday 25th JanuarySports Scholarship assessments

Friday 26th JanuaryAssembly: Mrs F. LovettSchool Council meetingChapel Run 11



A Taste of PolandA group of pupils, parents and staff enjoyed a traditional home-cooked Polish meal at Kuchnia Polska Restaurant in Plymouth on Sunday evening. For the pupils attending the trip to Krakow in February this was a nice social opportunity for them to try Polish food with their parents and friends before the trip. Everyone enjoyed their meals and at the end of the evening Merryn, Holly, Anna and Charlotte presented flowers to the cooks, waiters and waitresses.

We will be holding another meal at the restaurant on Sunday 28th January at 6.00pm and there are still a few seats available. If anyone is interested in joining us please email me for a menu:[email protected]

Mark Charman

Biology Trip On Friday the 5th January, the A2 biology class took a trip down to Plymouth University where they took part in different workshops throughout the day.

From Syria with Love Form Five and the Lower Sixth welcomed Baraa Kouja from a charity called ‘From Syria with Love’ on Tuesday. Baraa spoke about the challenges faced for those living in, and trying to leave his birth country of Syria. It was a passionate and tear jerking presentation, but one which will help to educate our older pupils about the world they live in.

It was very pleasing that following the presentation, a number of the Lower Sixth volunteered to help the Syrian children who have joined the Prep School; highlighting again the importance of taking every opportunity to embrace a rounded education in our Sixth Form.

Jamie Sanders

Burton Gallery Schools’ Art ExhibitionThe annual Burton Art Gallery Schools Exhibition in Bideford will start on 27th January and run through to 5th March. Once again we will have an impressive number of pieces on display from across many ages and forms. Please do visit and take a look at the impressive artwork that is always on show.

Dixie Wahl

Friends of Shebbear College AGMThe Annual General meeting will be held on Thursday 25th January at 7.00pm in the Assembly Hall. Parents and staff are invited to attend and find out more about the work of the Friends and perhaps consider joining the committee. We would welcome new ideas for events that will benefit our school community. Refreshments will be available.

Fiona Goode

Rosa Rebecka ConcertShebbear singing teacher and singer/songwriter Rosa Rebecka will be performing at St Anne’s Chapel in Barnstaple on Friday 26th January with support from The Resonance, a group of her past pupils including Shebbear alumni Alex Harrod and Catherine Kotarski who dazzle with their voices and harmonies. Rebecka’s emotive blend of traditional folk and her own songs has won plaudits up and down the country, and BBC Music described her sound as “a lyrical, sun-dappled and golden voice, tinged with a hint of steely moonlight”.

St Anne’s Chapel itself is a unique venue in the heart of Barnstaple, full of history and charm.

St Anne’s Chapel, Barnstaple, Fri 26th January at 8.00pmTickets £8 from www.theploughartscentre.org.uk or 01805 624624



The first part of the morning was spent running a thermal cyclometer used to amplify short segments of DNA in a Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA is mixed with other molecules which is then heated so that the DNA double helix breaks down into two separate strands. The temperature is then reduced and other molecules can bind to each separate strand of DNA and create a complimentary one. The thermal cyclometer then heats up again and the process repeats so that millions of strands of DNA can be made in few hours. This process is commonly used in molecular biology, from forensic scientists to biomedical researchers. It also played a crucial role in the analysis of the small amounts of DNA taken from the 40,000 year old mammoth found in 2013.

After setting off the PCR machine the rest of the morning was spent setting up electrophoresis gels.This is used to separate molecules based on their sizes which can then be visualised using radiation markers.

After a quick lunch stop, the day was finished by extracting students’ own DNA to be made into a pendant…apparently thats a thing! DNA from cheeks was extracted then suspended in ethanol, allowing it to be seen by the naked eye, and even given as a unique gift to family and friends. Thanks to Mr. Petley and Miss. Little for organising the trip and taking us down to Plymouth.

Heather Mathews

Coming up in the Senior School:Saturday 20th JanuaryOSA Dinner - RAF Club, London09:30: Boarders’ Barnstaple Trip10:30: Boys Hockey U12, U13 v Mount Kelly (A)10:30: Boys Hockey U14/15 v Mount Kelly (H)11:00: Netball U12A, U13A v West Buckland/Mount Kelly (H)13:00: Netball 1st VII, U15, U14 v West Buckland/Mount Kelly (H)13:30: Boarders’ Climbing Wall Trip

Monday 22nd JanuaryEntrance Assessments17:00: H&S Committee Meeting

Tuesday 23rd JanuaryDrama Scholarship AssessmentArt Scholarship AssessmentJonathan Schnarr14:15: Football U14/15s v Bramdean (A)15:30: Netball U14, U15 v Okehampton School (H)

Wednesday 24th JanuaryMusic Scholarship Assessment13:40-14:45: Spanish Theatre Group Play14:00: Football 1st XI v Plymouth College (A)14:45: Netball 1st and 2nd VII v Petroc College (H)17:15: F5 Parents’ Evening

Thursday 25th JanuaryUKMT Intermediate ChallengeSports Scholarship Assessment14:15: Football U12 & 13s v Stover & St Joseph’s (H)15:20: Netball U12 & U13 v Okehampton (A) - Okehampton19:00: Friends of Shebbear College AGM

Friday 26th JanuaryReadathon money due inF5 & 6th Form Subject Experience



NetballU14 v Holsworthy Lost 20-11On Thursday 11th January, Holsworthy’s U14 netball team travelled to Shebbear for what was to be a very friendly yet competitive match. It was the U14 first match of the season, and everybody played very well. Lot of the girls had not played for a while or were still getting used new positions but this did not phase them, and everybody still tried extremely hard. By the end of the second quarter Holsworthy were starting to pull away and despite our best efforts the final score was 20-11. Holsworthy picked Blythe Hill as player of the match for her excellent dodging. All the girls should be very proud of themselves for their first match of the season.

By Poppy Blee

U14 v Plymouth College Lost 17-11On Saturday the 13th of January the U14 netball team travelled to Plymouth for our first Saturday match of the season. We knew it was going to be a tough match but we went in with determination. We started off with 1st centre pass and played well throughout the match with some excellent shots in goal from our shooters Poppy and Niamh as well as excellent play from the defence and mid court players. Towards the end of the match with Plymouth marginally in the lead and both teams starting to tire we carried on with determination Plymouth went on to win but great netball was played. An excellent start to Saturday fixtures. Player of the match: Loveday Trott. Final score:17-11.

By Sophie Temple

U12 Netball v Plymouth CollegeThe first match of the season was played away at Marjohns. Plymouth scored first and were 2-0 up before long. Shebbear fought hard in the mid court and with plenty of interceptions by Demelza Short and good marking by Sophie Luxton we managed not to give Plymouth many more chances to shoot. At the same time however, we also were not getting the ball to our shooters. We did manage to score one goal just before quarter time to leave us 1-2 down. The score continued like this with each team scoring evenly so by ¾ time, we were still one goal down. Determination by Shebbear and lots of mistakes by Plymouth, saw us score one more than them in the final quarter giving us a well-deserved 5-5 draw. Player of the match: Demelza Short.

Claire Cardoo

FootballThe U14s played their first match of the season against Stover this week and won a hard fought match with two second half goals from Jacob Luxton and skipper Luke Maxa. All the boys played their part, but Sean So and Tony Chen in defence and Harry Brown in midfield were the pick of the team.

The 1st XI travelled to Exeter School this week to play in the first senior football match to be played on grass at the school since it was founded in 1633.

Unfortunately, the result went the way of the home side, despite Shebbear more than matching the opposition in terms of skill level.Two individual errors late in the first half proved costly and we turned round with a 3-0 deficit.



However, a spirited second half performance saw Sophie Gillies pull a goal back, but with another effort from man of the match Jack Joslin, disallowed for off side, a draw was never quite achievable.

Andy Bryan

A Shebbear U12/13 side took on Kingsley on Thursday afternoon in a 9-a-side fixture. Shebbear controlled proceedings from the start and created a number of excellent chances, eventually going ahead through a Peter Thorn goal. Shebbear played some outstanding football, moving the ball well and dominating possession and continued to make a number of chances. The score going into half time was 4-0 following further goals from Jack Cotgreave (2) and another for Peter Thorn. The second half was more evenly matched and Kingsley managed to pull a goal back to make it 4-1. However, Shebbear managed to regain control of the ball with the outstanding Henry Richards pulling the strings from the back. Peter Thorn went on to complete his hat-trick before Henry got himself on the score sheet with a fine solo effort, meaning that Shebbear ran out 6-1 winners in what was an excellent performance with a number of positive individual displays, boding well for the rest of the season.Nick Law

Water PoloAngus Cunningham competed in the South West Inter County U19 Water Polo competition at Millfield on Sunday. Sadly they lost the final to a much stronger Gloucester team by a single goal.

With thanks to Mr Cunningham

RugbyLast Tuesday evening saw the under 15s compete in the North Devon Cup final, played at Bideford Rugby Club. It was the third year running that the College’s under 15 side had made the final and once again they found themselves up against Park School.

On what was a bitterly cold and wet evening the team lined up against a physically imposing Park side knowing that a physical encounter awaited them. The boys started impressively and a well coordinated defensive press forced Park backwards into their own half. Superb work from man-of-the-match Ben forced a Shebbear turnover that could and possibly should have resulted in the games opening score, however good work from Park at the breakdown saw them steal the ball back and counter the length of the pitch to score themselves. The opening score was pivital given the conditions, and from the on Park controlled the game.

The boys worked tirelessly in defence, with a number of notable brave performances from the boys in red, including Fin and Freddie. Unfortunately Park’s physicality proved too much for Shebbear to keep out as the opposition ran out comfortable winners in the end. It was a tough finish to a season where the boys have made remarkable progress in reaching a regional final and each and every one of them can be proud of their efforts.

Squad: Cameron, Connor, Thomas, Charlie, Fergus, Ben, Eden, Lewis (Captain), Owen, Cameron, Fin, Tom, Freddie (Vice Captain), Laurenz, Angus, Oli, George and Archie.

Nick Law

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