pupils from st petroc’s had a blast this week in a physics ...€¦ · team are edging ever...

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

29th April 2016Issue No 104

Dear Parents,The weather this week has suggested that an attack from Ming the Merciless is imminent. Where is Flash Gordon when you need him? Amazingly, despite the snow (a first for our two students from Barbados) and the hail, we have played some cricket this week and our first eleven enjoyed a cracking win against Blundell’s on Wednesday to match the performance of our First Formers who won their Devon cup match.

Our female cricketers are once again leading the way with Eloise Maxa being selected for the senior Devon development squad and Sophie Gillies also in the county set up. Not far behind is Jemima Vereker in the Prep, who looks set to have an excellent future in the game.

On Wednesday our older pupils had a talk from old boy Phil Pugsley who has worked extensively with charities in Africa and is keen for us to mount another expedition to Uganda. There is always a great deal of interest in this venture and we are very hopeful it will be all systems go in 2017. This is the only school trip where the risk assessments include the word Hippopotamus.

One person who would have jumped at the opportunity to go to Uganda was Charlotte Simpson and on Sunday at 3.00pm we will celebrate her life in a service in Lake Chapel. If you are coming Charlotte’s family hope you will wear something bright and uplifting.

Bright clothing is a feature of this week and we recently discovered this old school blazer. It could be the fashion item to wear in our 175th anniversary year. I will see if I can get it copied when I next go to Hong Kong.

Monday is our Open Day and this year you are welcome to come along and enjoy the concert in the afternoon, but also have a look round the new Sixth form Centre. Hopefully I will see you there.

Simon Weale

Pupils from St Petroc’s had a blast this week in a Physics lesson at Shebbear



the two packets of seeds but we will have to wait and see how the investigation progresses over the next few weeks.

On the sports field, Shebbear Prep continues to impress, with the girls taking centre stage this week.

On Monday Lillie Sealey led her team of High 5 netballers to yet another victory in the Holsworthy District League. A comprehensive 13-3 victory against last year’s champions, Bradford, means that the team are edging ever closer to becoming this year’s title holders. Eliza Stenning was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ award, but there were other stand-out performances from Aleyna Singleton and Emily Forwood.

On Wednesday the girls then turned their attention to rounders and delivered another strong performance to run out winners in both their matches away at St Joseph’s School in Launceston.

Shebbear Prep 6 St Joseph’s A 1Shebbear Prep 6 St Joseph’s B 1

In the corresponding cricket fixture, the boys (and captain Jemima of course!) were narrowly beaten in a closely contested match. Some excellent cricket was played by both teams, but despite a valiant effort, Shebbear weren’t quite able to recover from losing two wickets right at the start of their innings due to some excellent bowling from the St Joseph’s captain. However, I was very proud of the way the team stuck to the task, despite some challenging weather conditions and with the way they supported and encouraged each other throughout.

St Joseph’s 242 for 3Shebbear Prep 234 for 5

News from the Prep SchoolDear Parents,As part of their History studies on the Tudors, Prep 5 visited Chambercombe Manor in Ilfracombe this week. However, there were some strange and unexplained goings-on which baffled teachers and pupils alike, and certainly added to the enjoyment and intrigue of the visit.

On their arrival in the Great Hall the group were greeted by a door being slammed shut, but with no-one there. Those who dared, then had the opportunity to sit on the manor’s infamous ‘haunted bed’ before the class returned downstairs from the bedrooms only to discover that the door at the bottom of the stairs had mysteriously locked itself! Strange indeed!

These slightly disconcerting events may have shaken poor Mrs Partridge, but just added to the pupils interest and desire to learn more about life in Tudor Britain - Horrible Histories indeed!

This enjoyable day was rounded off with an ice-cream and a chance to play on the beach at Instow.

Back at School, Mr Clewley’s space seeds investigation is progressing well. Early this week the first seeds had already germinated and were sprouting out of the soil. On Thursday the Prep 4 pupils took on their role in this by identifying which of the 200 seeds had actually germinated as well as measuring the heights of the seedlings. The group did this very well and with great enthusiasm. At the moment there does not seem to be a clear difference between



This week was the last of the Year 6 swimming sessions and was rounded off with an extended ‘play time’ and a game of water polo. Next week our Year 1 and 2 class will start their lessons.

The week was rounded off with an assembly by Mr Barnes, our former Headmaster and we now look forward to an equally busy programme of events next week, kicking off with the College Open Day on Monday.

Mike Furber

Next Week in the Prep School:Monday 2nd MayOpen Day

Tuesday 3rd MayYear 1 and 2 visiting Powderham Castle

Wednesday 4th MayWhole Prep school photographYear 1 and 2 swimmingU11 Kwik Cricket Competition at HatherleighCricket Club, 1.00pm

Thursday 5th MayYear 5 BikeabilityWhole School Photograph

Friday 6th MayYear 5 BikeabilityAssembly with Mr M Rodgers

Saturday 7th MayYear 6 Sports morning

Open Day and May Day ConcertWe would be delighted to see as many parents, grandparents and families during our Open Day this coming Monday. Take the opportunity to have a look around our new Sixth Form Centre and Sports Pavilion and the progress with our new Music building along with other developments around the school.

You can also enjoy open rehearsals from 1.45pm, followed by our May Day Concert at 3.00pm in the Assembly Hall which will feature our new Steinway Grand Piano in action. Free admission and light refreshments afterwards.

Full details at the end of this newsletter. See you on the day!

LAMDA Examination SuccessThe London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Examinations were held in late February and the students involved have now received their excellent results:

Connie Gillies Grade 8 Acting Merit Lucy-ann Nadin Grade 7 Devising Drama Merit Imogen Mathews Grade 4 Acting Merit Mayaray Tuncel Grade 3 Acting Merit Billie Powell Grade 1 Acting Distinction

Ms Susannah Billeter, the LAMDA teacher, is very pleased with the student’s results and congratulates them wholeheartedly for their consistent work in the preparation for their exams.

There are still lesson times available for further students to work towards the LAMDA Examinations in Acting, Speaking in Public or Speaking Verse and Prose. If your child would be interested in working towards a LAMDA Exam, please contact Ms Billeter on [email protected]

Inaugral Inter-house Swimming Competition Over the past two weeks students from the Senior School have successfully participated in the first ever inter-house swimming competition. This competition featured three sections; Junior, Intermediate and Upper School.

Representatives from each house (Thorne, Ruddle and Way) eagerly made their way down to Aqua Stars Swimming Pool at Ruby Oak Park to participate in a different sort of games lesson than usual. Students were able to show off their swimming ability in all four strokes and the day was finished off with medley relays.

The Junior competition showed great teamwork and some outstanding individual performances with Way taking home the title, followed by Ruddle in second and Thorne not far behind in third. This was the same result in our Intermediate competition, with a fierce race between Ruddle and Way in the final relay. Our Senior competition was very close and exciting with Ruddle finally taking home the gold, followed very closely by Thorne and then by Way.



Overall, it was great to see so many students enjoying the opportunity to compete in a different sport than usual and we hope this will be the first of many inter-house swimming competitions at Shebbear.

Rebecca Mcguire

Super Thursday Blasts Off!This week St. Petroc’s Years 5 and 6 pupils had fun experimenting with water rockets in their regular ‘Super Thursday’ sessions at Shebbear. Their learning objectives over the last few weeks have become progressively harder, and have focused on learning how to transfer experimental results to graphs, analysing them and comparing to predicted outcomes. Pupils chose to investigate the relationship between the differing volumes of water used as the reaction force, with time spent reaching the highest points. With plenty of wind, mud and splashing about to factor in, they all had a real blast!

Mark Palmer and Stuart Clewley

Coaching from Top National MusiciansMusicians from both the BBC Concert and Symphony Orchestras provided a full day of coaching to members of the Devon Youth Symphony Orchestra last weekend. The day provided intensive coaching to each section of the orchestra, concluding with a concert featuring pieces from the day. Shebbear pupil Lydia Bowering-Sheehan said the day was hard work but very enjoyable. It provided an insight into the work of professional musicians and also helped them improve theirr playing and teamwork.

The Devon Symphony Orchestra will be playing at the Devon County Show on the 21st May. If you are there please make a note and come along to hear and support the young musicians.

Special KnickersA story book that always makes the children in the Kindergarten laugh is a book by Nicholas Allan called ‘The Queen’s Knickers’. So as part of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration’s they all made knickers that she might like to wear for certain occasions. Holidays, weddings, farming and fishing were just a number of occasions the children thought she might need special knickers. It resulted in a fun wall display which will hopefully be enjoyed by others. They even made and decorated knicker shaped biscuits which the Queen would definitely have enjoyed.

Jacqueline BiddlecombeA Word from the LibraryWe are all aware that exams are approaching and it’s worth mentioning that the library has numerous resources that can help you to prepare. There are also lots of useful websites, although it is important not to spend so much time looking for things that might help that you run out of time to actually revise. Nicola Morgan, author of ‘The Teenage Brain’ and many other excellent books, has written some useful blogs which can be found via her website. A good place to start, for parents and students, is www.nicolamorgan.com/heartsong-blog/exam-students-this-is-for-you

I have a number of helpful leaflets in the library - including some on coping with stress, help with getting enough sleep, and even recipes for Brain Bars. Just ask ... and don’t panic!

Jane Welby

What’s On:Sunday 1st MayMemorial Service for Charlotte Simpson, 3.00pm in Chapel

Monday 2nd MayOpen Day, all day and concert rehearsals, 1.45 - 3.00pmMay Day Concert, 3.00pm in the Assembly Hall

Tuesday 3rd MayAS Art Exam (3 hours)

Wednesday 4th MayA2 Art Exam (3 hours)Form 4 Road Safety Workshop, Bideford Fire Service

Friday 6th MayTen Tors - scrutineering

Saturday 7th MayTen Tors Challenge, DartmoorSports Fun DayReligious Studies Revision Workshop

Sunday 8th MayTen Tors Challenge



Boarders Trip to Lanhydrock HouseMidsummer Ball 2016If you haven’t booked your tickets yet please do so. Don’t miss out, support the College and celebrate our 175th birthday. This is set to be a superb event.

Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College and hosted by The Friends of Shebbear College and The Old Shebbearians’ Association, the black tie event will be held in a grand marquee in the grounds of the College. Welcome drinks will be at 6.30pm and there will be a Champagne bar and three course gourmet meal from Dartmoor Kitchen, followed by a prize draw and charity auction. Live music will be provided by ‘Joey the Lips’.

Tickets are priced at £75.00 per head and tables of ten are available.

There are also opportunities to support the event and raise awareness for your business as a sponsor or by donating prizes for the charity auction and prize draw. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor please email Rebecca Weale [email protected]

CricketThe 1st XI had a thrilling victory over Blundells this week.

Batting first, the side was given an excellent start by Carl Stanbury (41) and Dylan Swanepoel (19) before skipper Jabez Weale(40) and Rivaldo Clarke (31) took over and with a late flourish from Ryan Stairs (19*) helped take the final score to a challenging 180-7 in their 25 overs.

When Jabez Weale took a wicket with his first ball, it looked as though the game would be over early. However, helped by some sloppy fielding and several dropped catches, Blundells found themselves just 21 runs away from victory with three overs remaining. Then a crucial over from Riou Thomas, who had already taken two catches, yielded just one run and Shebbear had regained the upper hand.With 11 runs needed from the final over Jabez produced three unplayable deliveries to finish the match with a hat-trick and give the side a hard-earned nine run victory.

Andy Bryan



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

Picture this ... Strange weather and wonderful sunsets (sunset photos by Katie Stephens)

SHEBBEAR COLLEGE

MAY DAY

on Monday2nd May

CONCERT

Vocal & InstrumentalSoloists, Choral

& Orchestral MusicOpen rehearsals from 1.45pmPerformance at 3.00pm

in the Assembly Hall

Free entry | Light refreshments

You are invited to hear our newSteinway Grand Piano during our

2nd May is our

Open Dayso please come inand see the school, including our new Sixth Form Centre

175www.midsummerball.co.uk

25th June 2016

Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College

SHEBBEAR COLLEGE

MIDSUMMER BALL

A grand marquee in the grounds of Shebbear College Welcome drinks at 6.30pm

Champagne bar3 course gourmet meal from Dartmoor Kitchen

Prize draw & charity auctionLive music from ‘Joey the Lips’

Carriages 1.00amDress Code: Black Tie

Tickets: £75.00 per Head, Tables of 10 available

Hosted by The Friends of Shebbear College and The Old Shebbearians’ Association

To book:

or email [email protected]

For sponsorship and advertising please email [email protected]

pupils from st petroc’s had a blast this week in a physics ...€¦ · team are edging ever...

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