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The Grovian

woodhousegrove.co.uk

The Grovian 2018

2018

All Cinderella photos are courtesy of Gavin Priestley Photography

The Grovian2018

O�cial Reports

Brontë House

Boarding

Out of the Classroom

Trips and Tours

Performing Arts

Sports Reports

House Reports

3 - 14

15 - 31

33 - 35

37 - 41

42 - 55

56 - 71

72 - 104

105 - 111

Contents

OfficialReports

It is was a huge honour and privilege to welcome to Woodhouse Grove our Prize Day Guest of Honour, Kim Leadbeater. Kim is the sister of Jo Cox, the Batley and Spen MP who was tragically murdered on 16th June, 2016. Since her sister’s death, Kim has worked tirelessly to create a positive legacy for Jo, with a specific focus on social cohesion and creating positive relationships. Under the ‘More In Common’ theme, taken from Jo’s maiden speech in parliament, Kim has organised various community-based initiatives; focusing on the things we all share, which can bring people together.

Kim is also a lifelong educationalist; a lecturer in higher and further education, and a personal trainer, who, like Woodhouse Grove, has always adopted a holistic view of education and well-being. As demonstrated by her powerful words, following her sister’s tragic murder, Kim continues to approach life with a passion, empathy and positive attitude. Her address was truly inspirational and I for one cannot remember a Prize Day Guest at any of the schools at which I have been lucky enough to teach receive such a long and rousing ovation.

The sta� here work tirelessly to shape your son or daughter’s future. My colleagues inspire in many ways and when the world appears not to care, they do, they care about each and every student. It is a fact that, in time, every pupil will remember one or two teachers with deepest gratitude, for some spark of inspiration, which set their course. In the words of Old Grovian, Phillip Hall, “passable teachers are common; good ones much less so. To encounter a truly great teacher is a rare privilege that many children never experience”.

In my view, a truly great teacher is able to step beyond his or her own competence. This requires the individual to put themselves in the shoes of the student; breaking down the theory or concept into learnable parts. This takes empathy, imagination, insight and other qualities we might bracket under the term “teaching craft”.

When John Hattie, a leading researcher, analysed educational performance around the world, he discovered that class size is not as significant as parents tend to think; neither is setting or streaming by ability. Indeed, he found that only one factor made a major di�erence, teacher quality.

I am GrovianPage 4

In an academic year, the top 10 percent of teachers take their students through 18 months-worth of material, while the bottom 10 percent take them through only six months-worth. As Eric Hanushek, a researcher at Stamford University, told The Economist: “No other attribute of schools comes close to having as much influence on student achievement as teacher quality”. Academic researchers have found something else too. Great teachers have a number of qualities; such as deep subject knowledge and high levels of emotional intelligence, but one is more important than any other: they are, first and foremost, avid students themselves. They do not fall for what Elizabeth Green, the author of Building a Better Teacher, calls the “myth of the natural born teacher”. Instead, they are always looking to extend their knowledge of teaching to improve their skills and develop fresh insights.

However, whilst considering what makes a great teacher, we need to acknowledge that teaching has changed beyond recognition during my time in the profession, and this change has brought with it additional pressures. In my early years of teaching, I felt accountable more than anything else to the pupils I taught, and the school that employed me to teach them. The pressures have since grown enormously. Some of this is externally imposed; for example, a meddlesome, unnecessarily bureaucratic and punitive Inspection regime leaves schools in fear, while examination performance tables – whether government or newspaper derived – hold schools to account in crude terms that often say more about the academic ability profile of a school than the quality of teaching and care within it.

Notwithstanding all these challenges, our goal as educators remains unwavering, namely, to equip young people with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resilience to enable them to thrive in the future and be happy, confident citizens of the world. Thanks to Government intervention, the curriculum ebbs and flows. The timetable is so congested that there is little time to teach ethics and morals; and, as parents and teachers, we are all alarmed by issues relating to the role social media plays in young people’s lives. However, despite new social problems, schools and society must do their best to maximize the benefits technology bestows. Whether we like it or not, social media has changed language and the way children see the world. At times, when dealing with some of these issues in school, I often think that society as a whole now requires a new code of conduct, so that harmful misuse does not prevail.

We live in a world that is intensely fluid and changing; as a result of technology, communications, travel, migration and other forms of globalization. However, looking ahead, one thing never changes, and this should give is all colossal hope. Adolescents are essentially optimistic. They are full of talent and today’s young people are less prejudiced and more principled, with a healthy respect for those of di�erent backgrounds and beliefs. Such a realisation should give us all infinite hope of a bright new dawn.

When education is complete, the one thing that is essential in schools is to build personality, develop character and confidence, train resilience and promote courage through the attitudes and values inculcated. The youth of tomorrow know this and, for the most part, are ready to contend with the complexities of an anguished world. An education which is not based upon principle, and a core set of values, is almost worthless. That is why at Woodhouse Grove we place so much emphasis on our Grovian Values. It is who you are, not what you know, that carries you through life; that is what determines whether or not you find true happiness and self-fulfillment; and that is what defines what an education should really be about. It is the set of our sails and not the wind and the gales that determine where we go, and which course we take in life. Nowhere else is this more the case than in schools like Woodhouse Grove where the next generation of movers and shakers, of leaders and decision makers, spend their most formative years.

Whilst immensely important, examination results say nothing about the quality of scholarship, the creativity, or the humanity of a school; and we all know that you cannot equate examination results with the financial results of companies, as the best measure of success. That is why, at its heart, the business of Woodhouse Grove will always be rooted in the people that make up our community; the building of relationships between parents, sta� and pupils; and the value placed on each individual. This is what makes the Grove such a special place; as the poem goes, “We are all individuals, yet we are part of something incredible”.

Finally, I should like to record my thanks and gratitude to the team responsible for putting together another excellent publication.

Headmaster’s Report

I am Grovian Page 5

It is was a huge honour and privilege to welcome to Woodhouse Grove our Prize Day Guest of Honour, Kim Leadbeater. Kim is the sister of Jo Cox, the Batley and Spen MP who was tragically murdered on 16th June, 2016. Since her sister’s death, Kim has worked tirelessly to create a positive legacy for Jo, with a specific focus on social cohesion and creating positive relationships. Under the ‘More In Common’ theme, taken from Jo’s maiden speech in parliament, Kim has organised various community-based initiatives; focusing on the things we all share, which can bring people together.

Kim is also a lifelong educationalist; a lecturer in higher and further education, and a personal trainer, who, like Woodhouse Grove, has always adopted a holistic view of education and well-being. As demonstrated by her powerful words, following her sister’s tragic murder, Kim continues to approach life with a passion, empathy and positive attitude. Her address was truly inspirational and I for one cannot remember a Prize Day Guest at any of the schools at which I have been lucky enough to teach receive such a long and rousing ovation.

The sta� here work tirelessly to shape your son or daughter’s future. My colleagues inspire in many ways and when the world appears not to care, they do, they care about each and every student. It is a fact that, in time, every pupil will remember one or two teachers with deepest gratitude, for some spark of inspiration, which set their course. In the words of Old Grovian, Phillip Hall, “passable teachers are common; good ones much less so. To encounter a truly great teacher is a rare privilege that many children never experience”.

In my view, a truly great teacher is able to step beyond his or her own competence. This requires the individual to put themselves in the shoes of the student; breaking down the theory or concept into learnable parts. This takes empathy, imagination, insight and other qualities we might bracket under the term “teaching craft”.

When John Hattie, a leading researcher, analysed educational performance around the world, he discovered that class size is not as significant as parents tend to think; neither is setting or streaming by ability. Indeed, he found that only one factor made a major di�erence, teacher quality.

In an academic year, the top 10 percent of teachers take their students through 18 months-worth of material, while the bottom 10 percent take them through only six months-worth. As Eric Hanushek, a researcher at Stamford University, told The Economist: “No other attribute of schools comes close to having as much influence on student achievement as teacher quality”. Academic researchers have found something else too. Great teachers have a number of qualities; such as deep subject knowledge and high levels of emotional intelligence, but one is more important than any other: they are, first and foremost, avid students themselves. They do not fall for what Elizabeth Green, the author of Building a Better Teacher, calls the “myth of the natural born teacher”. Instead, they are always looking to extend their knowledge of teaching to improve their skills and develop fresh insights.

However, whilst considering what makes a great teacher, we need to acknowledge that teaching has changed beyond recognition during my time in the profession, and this change has brought with it additional pressures. In my early years of teaching, I felt accountable more than anything else to the pupils I taught, and the school that employed me to teach them. The pressures have since grown enormously. Some of this is externally imposed; for example, a meddlesome, unnecessarily bureaucratic and punitive Inspection regime leaves schools in fear, while examination performance tables – whether government or newspaper derived – hold schools to account in crude terms that often say more about the academic ability profile of a school than the quality of teaching and care within it.

Notwithstanding all these challenges, our goal as educators remains unwavering, namely, to equip young people with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resilience to enable them to thrive in the future and be happy, confident citizens of the world. Thanks to Government intervention, the curriculum ebbs and flows. The timetable is so congested that there is little time to teach ethics and morals; and, as parents and teachers, we are all alarmed by issues relating to the role social media plays in young people’s lives. However, despite new social problems, schools and society must do their best to maximize the benefits technology bestows. Whether we like it or not, social media has changed language and the way children see the world. At times, when dealing with some of these issues in school, I often think that society as a whole now requires a new code of conduct, so that harmful misuse does not prevail.

We live in a world that is intensely fluid and changing; as a result of technology, communications, travel, migration and other forms of globalization. However, looking ahead, one thing never changes, and this should give is all colossal hope. Adolescents are essentially optimistic. They are full of talent and today’s young people are less prejudiced and more principled, with a healthy respect for those of di�erent backgrounds and beliefs. Such a realisation should give us all infinite hope of a bright new dawn.

When education is complete, the one thing that is essential in schools is to build personality, develop character and confidence, train resilience and promote courage through the attitudes and values inculcated. The youth of tomorrow know this and, for the most part, are ready to contend with the complexities of an anguished world. An education which is not based upon principle, and a core set of values, is almost worthless. That is why at Woodhouse Grove we place so much emphasis on our Grovian Values. It is who you are, not what you know, that carries you through life; that is what determines whether or not you find true happiness and self-fulfillment; and that is what defines what an education should really be about. It is the set of our sails and not the wind and the gales that determine where we go, and which course we take in life. Nowhere else is this more the case than in schools like Woodhouse Grove where the next generation of movers and shakers, of leaders and decision makers, spend their most formative years.

Whilst immensely important, examination results say nothing about the quality of scholarship, the creativity, or the humanity of a school; and we all know that you cannot equate examination results with the financial results of companies, as the best measure of success. That is why, at its heart, the business of Woodhouse Grove will always be rooted in the people that make up our community; the building of relationships between parents, sta� and pupils; and the value placed on each individual. This is what makes the Grove such a special place; as the poem goes, “We are all individuals, yet we are part of something incredible”.

Finally, I should like to record my thanks and gratitude to the team responsible for putting together another excellent publication.

Mr. James LockwoodHeadmaster

Football is coming home, or at least that is what we choose to believe. In many ways, your whole time at the Grove is much like the World Cup you might say. Whether you are in the qualifying rounds in Year 7, or at the final as a Year 13 leaver, the stages of the ongoing tournament resemble (if loosely!) our time here as Grovians. The World Cup is so much more than sport, and Woodhouse Grove is so much more than a school. Pride, passion and jubilation: our time here has been very special. When we gather for our Leavers' Service tomorrow with our own Hand of God, otherwise known as Rev. Bonny, it will be after an academic year of achievements and success, all of which are as important as the World Cup to the Woodhouse Grove family.

Of course, there is more to life than football and the World Cup and Woodhouse Grove exemplifies this. Under the guidance of musical master Mr. Crawford and part time athlete and full time Victorian Gent, Mr. Tedd, this year has demonstrated Woodhouse Grove’s superb pool of musical and thespian talent. Beginning the term with the By Request concert in September, the ‘spell binding performances’ as described by Mr. Lockwood set a precedent for the rest of the year in the Performing Arts department. With performances from Hamilton and the Phantom of the Opera to name a few, the concert made a real impression on the school community, particularly myself who thought Hamilton was a centre back for Stoke City.

Being lucky enough to go to such an inclusive school as Woodhouse Grove, we have both enjoyed the incredible talent that the Performing Arts department has nurtured.

This was particularly so, in this year’s school Christmas production, Cinderella, a pantomime directed by Mrs. Couper. The show ‘had it all’, comic acting, even more comic dancing and an inflatable cactus (no we’re not sure why either). In recent weeks, the school also thoroughly enjoyed a gifted Year 7 perform in a night originally entitled ‘Year 7’s Got Talent’. The show went down a storm, receiving a great reception from parents and sta� alike.

Concerts this year have proved equally successful. Both the Christmas and Chamber concerts provided moving performances that were delivered to an excellent standard with young talent showing the future is bright for the Mozarts, Beethovens and Kanye Wests of Woodhouse Grove.

At Easter, the Music department raised a significant sum of money for Action for Children; as ever, the Performing Arts department continue to be one of the driving forces behind the School’s continued charitable e�orts.

The Performing Arts department remains key to helping make Woodhouse Grove what it is. Talent is encouraged to blossom by the tremendous e�orts and passion that the sta� have in the arena of music and drama. The sta� truly make what the Performing Arts department is. A standard 4 4 2 formation with one central midfielder holding? Or perhaps simply an incredible group of people whose achievements cannot be overstated. I think it would be fair to say that the Grove has seen some remarkable achievement in sport too this year. Mr. King’s accession to the throne of Director of Sport has allowed for continued diverse sporting and co-curricular opportunities for the students here. Students at the Grove have an enormous range of sporting activities to choose from: rugby, cricket, netball, athletics, rounders, football, swimming, climbing, cross country, triathlon, hockey, basketball, shin kicking and bear-baiting… well maybe not the last one unless it refers to getting on Mr. Frost’s nerves.

In rugby, the 1st XV were successful in winning the U18s National Plate competition, the first national success the school has achieved at this level. It was a remarkable day at a fantastic venue, the Sixways Stadium in Worcester; and the final was a great occasion not just for the team but for the school as a whole. The large procession of fans down to Worcester - students, parents and sta�-alike - illustrated the unity of our school. Inspired by our coach Mr. Bedford, Woodhouse showed rugby was coming home with a 36-14 victory against Croydon School.

National success was not exclusive to the 1st XV, with the U15s reaching the quarter final of the National Cup. After beating Bradford Grammar, QEGS and St. Peter’s to name a few, the U15s met Manchester Grammar School in the quarter final, eventual finalists of the competition. This success is remarkable considering the size of years at Woodhouse but also unsurprising due to the dedication of the coaching sta�. The values of sportsmanship are deeply embedded within the ethos of Grove rugby.

I am GrovianPage 6

The same could be said for netball at the Grove. We experienced unprecedented success this year, with a record 150 girls attending weekly training. Particular success was enjoyed by the U16s, who this year reached the National Finals. Reaching the semi-final of the tournament, the team achieved 4th place nationally. This is the furthest any

Woodhouse Grove team has gone, and the future looks very bright, going into next season.

Sporting opportunities and achievements at the Grove span a range of di�erent sports. The World Cup this year has been criticised for featuring a lot of diving, but one place this is acceptable is the

Head Prefects’ Report pool. Hermione Roe has enjoyed superb individual success in swimming this year and currently holds multiple national records for her age group. This was recognised with her nomination for Young Sportswoman of the Year at the Bradford sports awards. The Grove was also represented at the awards by Harrison Green, who was the recipient of Young Sportsman of the Year for representing Team GB at the European Gymnastics Championships.

Individual success was also enjoyed by Ben Hill in cross country, becoming Leeds Cross Country Champion under the guidance of Mr. Tedd. Grove cross country continues to get stronger and stronger – or should I say faster and faster. The introduction of triathlon to the school has suited the well-rounded athletes of the Grove well. Next week, the school is hosting its first ever aquathon where we imagine the first thing you do is work out what on earth you are meant to do.

And while the Grove may enjoy individual success, as the failures of Argentina in this World Cup has proved, one person will not bring a whole team success. The successes we have enjoyed during our schooldays are, in fact, a culmination of a wide range of e�orts not exclusive to the students but generated by the passion and dedication of the sta� - from coaches to groundsmen, caterers to conductors.

I started at Brontë when I was 4 years old and feel extremely lucky to have grown up here. I feel proud that things have gone well for me academically and I’ve had the most amazing opportunities but there’s something more important about this place that has made my time here happy, that’s made me look forward to coming back after the holidays and that makes me feel sad when I think about leaving. It’s something about the ethos of the place - pupils and sta� are positive and encouraging, they recognise the need to work hard but to also have fun, and most importantly people are open minded and kind to each other.

It’s something that can’t be measured by exam results but is probably more important.

So many teachers give their all in order to make this place work. Whether it’s the sports coaches there on a freezing Saturday morning when we have to leave for a fixture before it’s even light or the musician and play directors rehearsing for hours on end, or my history teacher staying late to help me prepare for an exam – the teachers go above and beyond to make sure we all get the most out of our time here.

Thinking about it, perhaps the opening analogy of the World Cup was not totally accurate. Leaving school is not really like being in the final. Just like England, we have come so far and find ourselves a little bit surprised to be here….but there are lots of games to come and our experiences in the early rounds will set us up superbly for the challenges ahead.

Yes – whilst England will be a little bit sad when the matches end and they go home, we have the advantage of knowing that what we have gained here is valuable for life and as Old Grovians, we are always in the tournament.

Hannah Waddington and Paddy Ziegler













I am Grovian Page 7

pool. Hermione Roe has enjoyed superb individual success in swimming this year and currently holds multiple national records for her age group. This was recognised with her nomination for Young Sportswoman of the Year at the Bradford sports awards. The Grove was also represented at the awards by Harrison Green, who was the recipient of Young Sportsman of the Year for representing Team GB at the European Gymnastics Championships.









“The teachers go above and beyond to make sure we all get the most out of our time here.”

I am GrovianPage 8













pool. Hermione Roe has enjoyed superb individual success in swimming this year and currently holds multiple national records for her age group. This was recognised with her nomination for Young Sportswoman of the Year at the Bradford sports awards. The Grove was also represented at the awards by Harrison Green, who was the recipient of Young Sportsman of the Year for representing Team GB at the European Gymnastics Championships.









As the Headmaster often reminds us, Woodhouse Grove is more than just the school, it is a learning community.

A strong community is one which o�ers its members high levels of pastoral care and support. Woodhouse Grove is, of course, rightly proud of the pastoral care it provides. As you may know, the school is doing a huge amount to support pupil mental health and well-being. Many thanks to all those pupils, parents and sta� who completed the Wellbeing Award Stakeholder questionnaires. This highlighted all the areas in which we are excelling, and the few areas that require further development.

Our interim visit on the 13th June was very successful and Optimus Education was very impressed with the work that had been done so far. By the time you read this report in The Grovian, the final verification visit for the Wellbeing Award will have taken place. I write with crossed fingers and the hope that all our hard work will have been rewarded!

At the end of the Summer Term, we said farewell to 3 members of sta� who have played a critical role in the well-being and pastoral care of our young people and who between them have served the school for nearly 100 years.

Heather Garner retired after 26 years. Heather helped run Junior Boarding prior to taking on the role of Boarding Administrator. Totally devoted to the school, her care for the boarders, and in particular their travel arrangements to and from school, was outstanding.

Belinda Frost was a member of the Grove for 35 years. As we all know, a good school marches on its stomach and good food builds school communities. The Grove was very fortunate indeed to have had someone so committed to providing such wonderful meals to countless generations of Grovians.

David Wood retired after 31 years at the school; 14 years as Deputy Head. The words most frequently used to describe David by his students are: outstanding, inspirational, passionate, wonderful sense of humour. During his time at the Grove,

David was renowned for being meticulous in correcting misspelling, punctuation errors and poor grammar. No doubt he is sitting at home, reading this report in his copy of The Grovian, cup of tea in one hand and red corrector pen in the other!

To all the sta� who left us this year – thank you for your dedication to Woodhouse Grove and our students.

I am delighted to be able to report that the school goes from strength to strength. Once again, the vast majority of our Upper Sixth students have been successful in moving on to the University of their choice. Thank you to all our dedicated teaching sta� for preparing and nurturing our students so well.

I am also very pleased to report that interest in places at both Brontë and the Grove has never been higher. My thanks to the support sta� for all that they do, and a particular thank you to Mrs. Sam Cadman and her Marketing team. How lucky we are to have a Marketing and Admissions department who ensure that, year upon year, Woodhouse Grove recruit the right number of pupils, of the right calibre, who want to come to the school for the right reasons.

Thank you also to Roger Howard for his work with the newly formed Woodhouse Grove Foundation; its primary aim being to enhance existing fund raising structures and further develop relationships with the school’s Alumni body.

From a personal point of view, one of the most exciting developments this year has been the school’s new collaboration with The One In A Million Free School.

The partnership aspires to encourage pupils to consider what lies beyond their existing social, intellectual and cultural experience; and a very special element to the collaboration is a formal agreement which will see Woodhouse Grove award two full Sixth Form bursaries per annum to promising One In A Million students. As a Trustee of the overarching One In A Million charity, I could not be more thrilled that, as you read this, our first two bursary recipients will already be enjoying all that The Grove has to o�er.

Whilst Woodhouse Grove and the One In A Million Free School are very di�erent schools, operating in considerably di�erent environments, the one thing that brings them together are the values they both share.

I am Grovian Page 9

This year, we said goodbye to Governor Val Snowden, who retired from the Board. Val Snowden joined the Woodhouse Grove Governing Body in January 2013, following the acquisition of Moorlands by the Methodist Independent Schools Trust. Val has been a member of Moorlands Committee, a Safeguarding representative and the Governor with specific interest in Early Years. We are very grateful for Val’s contribution to our school community.

We have welcomed Martin Pearman to the Governing Body. Martin is of course no stranger to Woodhouse Grove, having served the school as Deputy Head between 1999 and 2004. Martin left the Grove to become Headmaster of Ripon Grammar School, a post he held until his retirement last summer. Martin has a wealth of school experience and I have no doubt he will serve the Woodhouse Grove Governing Body with distinction.

I would like to thank all my Governors for their considerable e�orts, support and expertise, given willingly and freely, in order to enhance the school. I would particularly like to thank my vice-chairman, Dr. Georgina Haslam, for deputising for me during what was a very challenging time. The school is very lucky indeed to have someone of Georgina’s calibre and experience to serve as Acting Chairman of Governors during my enforced absence and, on behalf of the whole school community, I thank her for taking on this additional responsibility with such vigour and distinction.

The school is in fantastic shape. At every level, our pupils are making what they will one day realise to be giant academic strides, as well as being involved in a multiplicity of activities.

Final thanks must, of course, go to our parents, for their unstinting support. It is through the building of good relationships between pupils, parents and teaching sta� that truly e�ective school communities are created.

Alan Wintersgill BEM, FCAChairman of Governors

Chairman’s Report

I am GrovianPage 10

As the Headmaster often reminds us, Woodhouse Grove is more than just the school, it is a learning community.

A strong community is one which o�ers its members high levels of pastoral care and support. Woodhouse Grove is, of course, rightly proud of the pastoral care it provides. As you may know, the school is doing a huge amount to support pupil mental health and well-being. Many thanks to all those pupils, parents and sta� who completed the Wellbeing Award Stakeholder questionnaires. This highlighted all the areas in which we are excelling, and the few areas that require further development.

Our interim visit on the 13th June was very successful and Optimus Education was very impressed with the work that had been done so far. By the time you read this report in The Grovian, the final verification visit for the Wellbeing Award will have taken place. I write with crossed fingers and the hope that all our hard work will have been rewarded!

At the end of the Summer Term, we said farewell to 3 members of sta� who have played a critical role in the well-being and pastoral care of our young people and who between them have served the school for nearly 100 years.

Heather Garner retired after 26 years. Heather helped run Junior Boarding prior to taking on the role of Boarding Administrator. Totally devoted to the school, her care for the boarders, and in particular their travel arrangements to and from school, was outstanding.

Belinda Frost was a member of the Grove for 35 years. As we all know, a good school marches on its stomach and good food builds school communities. The Grove was very fortunate indeed to have had someone so committed to providing such wonderful meals to countless generations of Grovians.

David Wood retired after 31 years at the school; 14 years as Deputy Head. The words most frequently used to describe David by his students are: outstanding, inspirational, passionate, wonderful sense of humour. During his time at the Grove,

David was renowned for being meticulous in correcting misspelling, punctuation errors and poor grammar. No doubt he is sitting at home, reading this report in his copy of The Grovian, cup of tea in one hand and red corrector pen in the other!

To all the sta� who left us this year – thank you for your dedication to Woodhouse Grove and our students.

I am delighted to be able to report that the school goes from strength to strength. Once again, the vast majority of our Upper Sixth students have been successful in moving on to the University of their choice. Thank you to all our dedicated teaching sta� for preparing and nurturing our students so well.

I am also very pleased to report that interest in places at both Brontë and the Grove has never been higher. My thanks to the support sta� for all that they do, and a particular thank you to Mrs. Sam Cadman and her Marketing team. How lucky we are to have a Marketing and Admissions department who ensure that, year upon year, Woodhouse Grove recruit the right number of pupils, of the right calibre, who want to come to the school for the right reasons.

Thank you also to Roger Howard for his work with the newly formed Woodhouse Grove Foundation; its primary aim being to enhance existing fund raising structures and further develop relationships with the school’s Alumni body.

From a personal point of view, one of the most exciting developments this year has been the school’s new collaboration with The One In A Million Free School.

The partnership aspires to encourage pupils to consider what lies beyond their existing social, intellectual and cultural experience; and a very special element to the collaboration is a formal agreement which will see Woodhouse Grove award two full Sixth Form bursaries per annum to promising One In A Million students. As a Trustee of the overarching One In A Million charity, I could not be more thrilled that, as you read this, our first two bursary recipients will already be enjoying all that The Grove has to o�er.

Whilst Woodhouse Grove and the One In A Million Free School are very di�erent schools, operating in considerably di�erent environments, the one thing that brings them together are the values they both share.

This year, we said goodbye to Governor Val Snowden, who retired from the Board. Val Snowden joined the Woodhouse Grove Governing Body in January 2013, following the acquisition of Moorlands by the Methodist Independent Schools Trust. Val has been a member of Moorlands Committee, a Safeguarding representative and the Governor with specific interest in Early Years. We are very grateful for Val’s contribution to our school community.

We have welcomed Martin Pearman to the Governing Body. Martin is of course no stranger to Woodhouse Grove, having served the school as Deputy Head between 1999 and 2004. Martin left the Grove to become Headmaster of Ripon Grammar School, a post he held until his retirement last summer. Martin has a wealth of school experience and I have no doubt he will serve the Woodhouse Grove Governing Body with distinction.

I would like to thank all my Governors for their considerable e�orts, support and expertise, given willingly and freely, in order to enhance the school. I would particularly like to thank my vice-chairman, Dr. Georgina Haslam, for deputising for me during what was a very challenging time. The school is very lucky indeed to have someone of Georgina’s calibre and experience to serve as Acting Chairman of Governors during my enforced absence and, on behalf of the whole school community, I thank her for taking on this additional responsibility with such vigour and distinction.

The school is in fantastic shape. At every level, our pupils are making what they will one day realise to be giant academic strides, as well as being involved in a multiplicity of activities.

Final thanks must, of course, go to our parents, for their unstinting support. It is through the building of good relationships between pupils, parents and teaching sta� that truly e�ective school communities are created.

Alan Wintersgill BEM, FCAChairman of Governors

Gillam’sButchers

Unit 7, Industrial Estate, Road, Yeadon,

LS19 7BN

Tel: 0113 250 8818WHOLESALE & CATERING

BUTCHERS

Suppliers of quality home produced meats to

Woodhouse Grove School

I am Grovian Page 11

I seem to have spent a great deal of time in the last year, in addresses and lessons, sermons and letters, conversations and personal reflection, focussing on di�erent aspects of the topic of character. In parallel to this, I think our country and society has been continually brought back to the same issue, as high profile people in various walks of life have fallen from power because of character-led failure.When we talk about character, what matters most? In theology and moral philosophy, love is usually the cardinal virtue. Love brings us to a place of commitment, care and compassion. Love teaches us to endure through hard times and allows us to forgive. Love is the foundation of hope and trust, of persistence and community. Love is powerful.Love, however, has a rival. When I was an O�ciating Chaplain to the Forces, I had to deliver an annual lesson in moral understanding to all ranks. In the notes from which I had to direct the session, there was a quote from Winston Churchill,

in which he said that courage was the chief moral virtue, because without courage nothing, including love, was possible.

He had a point. Living a good life, becoming and being the best version of ourselves that we can be, cannot happen without courage. We will fail. We will despair. We will quit. We will find ourselves unable to face down the challenges before us, and be unable to challenge others as we should. Courage is vital; but love teaches us what it is worth doing, and why. Love inspires us to expend our energy on what we believe to be worthwhile. Love arouses our courage, determination and endurance to take our place in the world.Perhaps the motivating quality of human e�ort, then, is what we might call courageous love or loving courage: the strength and authority to do our best and hold others to account for doing the same, whilst recognising that we will all fail at times.

I have long felt that the saddest thing a person can say is, “I can’t be bothered!” I am beginning to wonder if it is not necessarily a bad case of apathy when they do, but more a failure of courage and love. This person may not care enough to make the e�ort, or may not have found a reason to love what they must do. Or they may be afraid to try, afraid of failing, afraid of paying the price. Either way, an opportunity is going to waste and a person is diminished. At the same time, they may be taking something away from the benefit of others: failing to care, to support, to challenge and to respect others as they deserve.

In the world of martial arts, which I was part of for 15 years, there is a high expectation that you will o�er your best when you are training, especially in one-to-one situations. Your uke, your partner, cannot improve properly if you don’t bring your best against them. In “not bothering” you impoverish your opponent.It is always so.

Each day we face afresh the challenge to o�er our best and to call others to do the same. Character is the foundation of our action and motivation. Is anything more worthy of our attention?

Rev D BonnySchool Chaplain

Chaplain’s Report

I am GrovianPage 12

AH Ahmed - biol*, chem*, maths**, frth maths**H Anwar - biol*, chem*, maths*A Ayling - phil, psych, gen stK Basra - eng lit, hist, psychA Bateman - econ, geog, gen stJ Beamish - bus, phil, psychY Bhardwaj - chem, econ, fin*,maths, gen stJ Bousfield - biol, bus, fin*,hist*T Bradshaw - biol, econ, fin*, geogB Brennan - geol, phys, sport*D Bulcock - phil, pysch, gen st, sportM Burke - bus, media st, sport*H Butler - bus*, fin, phil*, psychJ Chang - chem*, hist, span*N Charlton - biol, chem, histX Chen - bus, maths*, frth maths, chin*HY Chim - chem**, maths**, frth maths**, phys**T Colilles - art, eng lit, sport*P Craven - bus, geogA Crossley - hist*, phil, polT Dickson - art, eng lang & lit, psychM Dixon - biol, chem, mathsF Downes - bus, fin, sport*S Escreet - design, geol, physB Evans - art**, eng lit, media st*M Evans - bus, eng lit, fin, media stM Farley - biol, eng lit, psychJ Fay - maths*, psych, span, gen stL Gerrard - biol, bus*, maths*W Gerrard – bus, design*, maths*R Gibson - bus, design, sport*J Godfrey - bus, fin*, psych, sport*F Green - art, psych, sport*J Green - bus, geog, sport*E Grote - drama, eng lit*, fren*, musE Hall - bus, drama, eng litM Halliday - bus, med stud, psychJ Hellyer - chem, geol, maths, gen stP Hodgson - biol, eng lit, gen stA Holt - hist, phil, polE Horne - art, designA Hussain - design, eng lit, mus stL Hutchinson - design, mus st, sport*C Jackson - bus, geog, sport*L Je�rey - biol, bus, psychN Kanda - biol, bus, psychH Kershaw - art, eng lit, psych

J King - sportATH Lai - biol, econ, maths, chinC Laycock - biol, drama, eng lit, finM Lennon - eng lang & lit, fin, phil, psychY Li - art*, biol, psych, chinW Linkogel - biol**, chem*, phys*C Littlejohns - econ*, hist**, maths*J Lumley - bus, fin, geog, media stM Harrison - design*, econ*, fin*, maths*G Marker - biol**, eng lit**, fren*, hist**, gen st*L McPherson - drama, eng lit, psychE Monaghan - biol, drama, psychD Netherwood - chem, design*, sport*J Oakes - bus, media st, sport*E Pickett - art, econ, finS Preston - bus, drama, eng litO Priestley - media st, mus, mus tech*N Pucekova - biol**, chem*, maths*M Raja - art, hist, media stA Rika-Rayne – design, fin, sport*L Robertshaw - econ**, eng lit, maths**, frth maths**T Sagar - geog, geol, media stW Sagar - econ, hist*, phys*M Sajjad – fin, geog, media stZ Saleem - biol*, chem*, maths*E Short - biol, eng lit, maths*E Smith - design, eng lang & lit, fin*, geogP Smyrniahina - eng lit, hist, russ*C Stone - eng lit, geog, sport*B Teale - biol, geog*, histE Temple-Clothier - biol, bus*, psychS Templeman - biol, phys, psychH Waddington - bus, fin, pol, spanYC Wan - bus, eng lang & lit*, hist**K Warden - art, media stE Wilson - eng lit, hist, pol, gen stK Wilyman - bus, geol, media st, gen stA Yang - econ*, hist**, mathsKM Yu - chem, econ, maths, chin*W Zhang - art, maths, chinP Ziegler - hist**, phil, pol**

Grade A (or equivalent) passes are marked with an asterisk and Grade A Star passes are marked with two asterisks.

Year 13 Results

I am Grovian Page 13

M Aliev 11 H Barber 10 M Barker 5E Bean 10 J Bhangoo 6M Bickerton 10I Birdsall 10 H Blakey 10 M Bradshaw 10 Z Butt 7A Calvert 8M Cavaliere 10 K Chan 3T Cheung 2P Cli�e 6M Corkindale 9 D Culyer 6 H Davison 9 E De Luca 9 G Dobbins-Crosswaite 6 Z Doidge 1A Downes 7 C Eaton 10S Emmett-Spanton 9M Feroz 7 J Firth 10 J Fletcher-Stega 9 G Foster 9 G Galins 8D Gallagher 9R Gallagher 10 S Garber 7H Gilbert 8T Glendinning 6C Greig 7A Hall 8L Hargreaves-Madhas 2I Hill 9 J Holland 9 A Howe 9 H Hudson 9 L Hyland Dugbo 7E Illingworth 10 S Jagdev Virdee 8 A Kaye 7R Keeble 9

A Khadam 4H Khan 7Z Khan 8 D King 9 E King 10 R Kundola 9C Lam 3F Lawson 9M Li 3S Littlejohns 9 A Mettrick 10 L Middlemiss 4G Middleton 1L Moorhouse 8M Navaid 9A Naylor 9M Nesbit 6R Newman 9G Newton 5M Ngala 7A Nott 10 E Nott 10 B O'Shea 5J Pan 3L Pang 8R Patel 9J Popely 7T Pratt 9E Reed 3S Reilly 9C Ribeiro 8M Ritson 9J Robbins 8H Robertshaw 6L Rushton 9 T Shao 5D Sharda 9M Shaw 9J Shoesmith-Evans 9C Slater 7M Smith 7O Smithson-Horsfall 9W Snowden 8E Sugden 10 P Suli 4K Sweetman 5

The number following the student’s name represents the number of GCSEs attained at Pass grade or better.

GCSE Results

J Syrat 4I Taylor 11 I Teale 9M Tse 8J Vickers 9E Vickersta� 8O Walker 8E Whittington 2L Williams 9D Wilson 7M Woods-Rickerby 7I Worthington 9E Young 10 G Young 10 Z Zhuang 10

I am GrovianPage 14

School Colours 2017/18

Academic

U6Hayden Chim, Lucy Gerrard, William Gerrard, Emily Grote, William Linkogel, Callum Littlejohns, Marcus Harrison, Georgia Marker, Nina Pucekova, Lucy Robertshaw, Saleem Zakareya

L6Imogen Amos, Joshua Binns, Alex Dalton,Chloe Fairbank, Luke Fairbank, Samuel Halstead,Molly Leslie, Maimoona Malik, Robert Mitchell,Charlotte Proctor, Kaitlin Smith, Laura Sutcli�e, Finlay Wilkinson, Thomas Wood.

Creative Arts

Imogen Amos, Joshua Binns, Alex Dalton,Lucy Dodd, Matilda Evans, William Gerrard,Charlotte Laycock, Leah McPherson,Harrison Marcus, Eleanor Monaghan,Charlotte Proctor, Archie Rika-Rayne,Laura Sutcli�e, Thomas Wood

Sports

Cricket - Ethan Horne, Tom Kaznowski, Owen Tennant, Luke Fairbank

Football - Fraser Downes, Ethan Horne, George Judson, Jonah King, Jake Oakes, Josh Rika,Patrick Ziegler

Netball - Teah Colilles, Maisie Bickerton,Elle Pickett, Charlotte Stone, Kirstie Thomson, Hannah Waddington

Rugby - Luke Fairbank, Joseph Green, Ryan Gibson, Edward King, Frank Malir, Luke Punton, Archie Rika-Rayne, Will Robinson, William Sagar, Eddie Wainibuli, Kieran Wilyman,James Whitcombe, Patrick Ziegler

Swimming - Lisa Paul

Autumn 2017Year 71st Mary Murphy2nd Rory Henderson3rd Nicola Trimby

Year 8 1st Eleanor Manogue2nd Harry Shaw3rd Lily Sugden

Year 91st Alexander Broome2nd Holly Lamb3rd Luke Schoeman

Year 101st Nicole Swinnerton2nd Ned Hawker3rd Harriet Green

Year 111st Eleanor Nott2nd Olivia Smithson-Horsfall3rd Edward King

Summer 2018Year 71st Hritik Bhangoo2nd Jessica Jones3rd Lalita Braithwaite-Shro�

Year 8 1st Olivia Speed2nd Evie Hamer3rd Hafeez Iqbal

Year 91st Alexander Broome2nd Katherine Knight3rd Rafael Marcus

Year 101st Abbie Hinchli�e2nd Olivia Eastell3rd Louis Tarleton

Year 111st Eleanor Nott 2nd Flora Lawson3rd Isaac Birdsall

Year 8Megan Barnes, Kadiatou Barry, Samuel Binns, Scarlett Birdsall, Chloe Cater, Amy Cavaliere, Dudley Clarkson, Elizabeth Deall, Isabelle Fay, Martha Fellows, Mark Graesslin, Evie Hamer, Ruby Hawker, Olivia Helliwell, Peter Hellyer-Whitworth, Harriet Jones, Ritika Kanda,Jayaa Kaur, Harriet King, Joseph Lawson, Eleanor Manogue, Aaliyah Mian, Emmanuela Okpala, Ranjana Panesar, Rupert Pickard, Catherine Potter, Olivia Ranson, Molly Richardson, Hermione Roe, Andrew Salvador-Medina, Harry Shaw, Olivia Speed, Freddie Stubbs, Lily Sugden, Isla Swarbrigg, Emily Tang, Simeon Townsend, Alice Wright, Kathy Xiao

Year 7Serena Ahmed, Yasmin Amrat, Summer Anderson, Zaynah Arif, Niamh Armstrong, Aymaan Asif, Callum Atkins, Hritik Bhangoo, Lalita Braithwaite-Shro�, Ashley Broome, Edward Bywell, Harvey Cheng, Ruby Clark, Sienna Craven, Thomas Craven, Oliver Defurey, Jacob Eaglestone, Zaynah Farid, Kokolo Finn-Hirose, Emily Greenwood, Maya Gri�ths, Nina Hawkshaw, Lola Henderson, Rory Henderson, Benjamin Hill, Emily Hinchli�e, Rowan Horton, Evie Hunter, Unaisah Hussain, Callum Hyland Dugbo, Isobelle Jennings, Maidie Jennings, Jessica Jones, Summer Lawrence, Abigail Lewis, Madeline Liptrot, Ciara Long, Lucy Lund, Millie Middleton, Mary Murphy, Bella Noscoe-Rose, Winifred O�and, Jessie Pearson, Samuel Pickles, Lena Plein, Hugo Poole, Zaina Rajput, Avantika Sarai, Amy Sherlock, Eleanor Smith, Lila Stoner, Grace Thirkill, Nicola Trimby, Matilda Wilson, Philip Wright, Sumaiyah Yusuf

Colours & Credit Awards Credits

Platinum Awards

Brontë House

Brontë HousePage 16

Thursday 28th June 2018 and at 6.30pm there are some two hundred and fifty children and their parents and families waiting for what is, in many ways, the most important night of the year. Important in many di�erent ways: for the children wondering expectantly whether the awards are going to feature their name this time; for the parents eagerly awaiting the possibility of their child being chosen to be a Head of School; for the sta� taking some time to look back with satisfaction on a job well done and for all a celebration of what Brontë House means to so many people. We often compare our school to a large and happy family and such an event is an important family occasion. The Guest of Honour was David Wood who was soon to retire from a distinguished and valued role at Woodhouse Grove over many years. David spoke to all of us on di�erent levels. Laughs there were, especially with the supposed artwork from his own children whilst they were young, but food for thought also about what it means to be part of the wider Grovian family. Our sincere thanks go to David for his work

and friendship towards Brontë House over the last three decades and the very best of wishes for a well-earned retirement. Barnaby and Phoebe were excellent hosts and commentators on the events of the year: their pride and a�ection for their time at school evident in every well-chosen word and funny reminiscence that perhaps only their peers fully understood. The children, shiny and well attired in crisp school uniform, both entertaining us and receiving awards and commendations for so many di�erent aspects of school life. Year Six gave us a lively sneak preview of their swan song musical and all the children movingly stood and sang together towards the end of the video montage chronicling the high points of the year. For me, standing at the front, it is the great feeling of pride for the achievements of all the children and the school as a whole that defines the evening. What also marks the occasion as special is the support the children give each other: by the nature of the event, not everyone can win a prize but their pride in their friends’ achievements is something really special.

Headmaster’s Report So the evening was about celebrating the achievements of the past year: achievements in so many di�erent and varied arenas. It has certainly been a busy and productive year with the activities and involvement of the children at its centre. In the classroom the children continue to work hard: to make progress against targets that are set and to enjoy and fully immerse themselves in the learning experience. Throughout the school we have been trying to embed the ideas behind ‘growth mindset’: that belief in the fact that intelligence and ability is not fixed: that great things can be achieved by hard work and repeated practice. Your children will tell you of our shared belief in the power of the word ‘yet’. It is fine not be able to do something…yet. We also have been looking at the power of mistakes as positive learning opportunities that are essential to developing a deeper understanding of what we are learning. Alongside the challenging topic work in the classes lie our visit programme, both day and residentials. Overnight trips to Ilkley, Whitby, Grasmere and Paris have all been successfully undertaken and enjoyed.

There are two areas of school life that I speak about frequently with parents: music and sport and we have been very busy in both of these. In addition to the usual musical life of the school, this year saw a return of ‘Brontë’s Got Talent’. To a packed audience at the Grove Theatre, the children were an inspiration and for them and us it was a truly memorable evening. In the sporting area, we continue to perform at a very high level whilst encouraging all children, of di�ering abilities, to represent the school at inter school fixtures.

The Potting Shed, whilst still not 100% finished, has been in use for most of this year and the Eco Garden a sanctuary for those who like to get their hands dirty. Gardening Club are to be commended,

in particular, for their year round work and enthusiasm for the great outdoors.

Thinking of others and the school’s charitable giving has always been a big part of school life. This year, the chosen charity was The Forget-Me-Not Hospice and thanks to the work of the school council and Mrs. Chatterton, all were energized and motivated to complete the walk 500 miles target. This led to a massive donation of £7000 being sent to this deserving cause. School Council have been really busy this year as have our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors – both giving a presentation to the Governing Body at the Summer meeting.

The school has been wonderfully busy and the sense of purpose and endeavor is apparent as soon as you set foot in the door. Many parents comment on this when they tour for the first time. They also comment on the caring and family orientated atmosphere in the school. Friendly and polite children complete the picture: the children value where they are and being part of the Brontë family. It has been my privilege to lead this work over the last ten years. This gives me great pride in the achievement of the team: all sta� work hard and show such commitment to the school and they have my thanks.

Looking forward, Ashdown celebrates its 25th anniversary in October and Brontë House reaches the grand old age of 85 in May. These are important milestones in the history of the school. Opportunities to celebrate what we are and what we are part of. Whilst Brontë House has its own identity and character - we are all proud to state ‘We are Grovian!’

Simon Dunn - Headmaster

Brontë House Page 17

Thursday 28th June 2018 and at 6.30pm there are some two hundred and fifty children and their parents and families waiting for what is, in many ways, the most important night of the year. Important in many di�erent ways: for the children wondering expectantly whether the awards are going to feature their name this time; for the parents eagerly awaiting the possibility of their child being chosen to be a Head of School; for the sta� taking some time to look back with satisfaction on a job well done and for all a celebration of what Brontë House means to so many people. We often compare our school to a large and happy family and such an event is an important family occasion. The Guest of Honour was David Wood who was soon to retire from a distinguished and valued role at Woodhouse Grove over many years. David spoke to all of us on di�erent levels. Laughs there were, especially with the supposed artwork from his own children whilst they were young, but food for thought also about what it means to be part of the wider Grovian family. Our sincere thanks go to David for his work

and friendship towards Brontë House over the last three decades and the very best of wishes for a well-earned retirement. Barnaby and Phoebe were excellent hosts and commentators on the events of the year: their pride and a�ection for their time at school evident in every well-chosen word and funny reminiscence that perhaps only their peers fully understood. The children, shiny and well attired in crisp school uniform, both entertaining us and receiving awards and commendations for so many di�erent aspects of school life. Year Six gave us a lively sneak preview of their swan song musical and all the children movingly stood and sang together towards the end of the video montage chronicling the high points of the year. For me, standing at the front, it is the great feeling of pride for the achievements of all the children and the school as a whole that defines the evening. What also marks the occasion as special is the support the children give each other: by the nature of the event, not everyone can win a prize but their pride in their friends’ achievements is something really special.

So the evening was about celebrating the achievements of the past year: achievements in so many di�erent and varied arenas. It has certainly been a busy and productive year with the activities and involvement of the children at its centre. In the classroom the children continue to work hard: to make progress against targets that are set and to enjoy and fully immerse themselves in the learning experience. Throughout the school we have been trying to embed the ideas behind ‘growth mindset’: that belief in the fact that intelligence and ability is not fixed: that great things can be achieved by hard work and repeated practice. Your children will tell you of our shared belief in the power of the word ‘yet’. It is fine not be able to do something…yet. We also have been looking at the power of mistakes as positive learning opportunities that are essential to developing a deeper understanding of what we are learning. Alongside the challenging topic work in the classes lie our visit programme, both day and residentials. Overnight trips to Ilkley, Whitby, Grasmere and Paris have all been successfully undertaken and enjoyed.

There are two areas of school life that I speak about frequently with parents: music and sport and we have been very busy in both of these. In addition to the usual musical life of the school, this year saw a return of ‘Brontë’s Got Talent’. To a packed audience at the Grove Theatre, the children were an inspiration and for them and us it was a truly memorable evening. In the sporting area, we continue to perform at a very high level whilst encouraging all children, of di�ering abilities, to represent the school at inter school fixtures.

The Potting Shed, whilst still not 100% finished, has been in use for most of this year and the Eco Garden a sanctuary for those who like to get their hands dirty. Gardening Club are to be commended,

in particular, for their year round work and enthusiasm for the great outdoors.

Thinking of others and the school’s charitable giving has always been a big part of school life. This year, the chosen charity was The Forget-Me-Not Hospice and thanks to the work of the school council and Mrs. Chatterton, all were energized and motivated to complete the walk 500 miles target. This led to a massive donation of £7000 being sent to this deserving cause. School Council have been really busy this year as have our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors – both giving a presentation to the Governing Body at the Summer meeting.

The school has been wonderfully busy and the sense of purpose and endeavor is apparent as soon as you set foot in the door. Many parents comment on this when they tour for the first time. They also comment on the caring and family orientated atmosphere in the school. Friendly and polite children complete the picture: the children value where they are and being part of the Brontë family. It has been my privilege to lead this work over the last ten years. This gives me great pride in the achievement of the team: all sta� work hard and show such commitment to the school and they have my thanks.

Looking forward, Ashdown celebrates its 25th anniversary in October and Brontë House reaches the grand old age of 85 in May. These are important milestones in the history of the school. Opportunities to celebrate what we are and what we are part of. Whilst Brontë House has its own identity and character - we are all proud to state ‘We are Grovian!’

Simon Dunn - Headmaster


As another busy year in Ashdown Lodge came to an end, we said farewell and good luck to our Reception children (soon to be Year 1) as they prepared to leave us to go to ‘big school’. We wrapped the year up with a Celebration day and shared it with our parents. The children talked about what they have enjoyed about their time in Ashdown and what they would like to do when they grow up. They presented this as a very amusing ‘news broadcast’ on the stage at Brontë House and the whole thing finished o� with a video of the children playing and learning throughout the year. We wish them all well in their new Year 1 classes.

Sports Day was a fabulous event with our parents enjoying the sunshine and races and the children enjoying the fun. The ABA ran a stall with a BBQ for all those hungry mouths afterwards. Well done to all the mums and dads who took part in the parents’ race too!

The children at Ashdown can take part in various clubs throughout the week. We run yoga, dance, rugby and multisports clubs for the children who stay after 3.30. These are very popular with the children and help them to learn lots of new things. We had a fantastic Summer so far and really took advantage of the hot weather and used our wonderful outdoor space to the full. Amongst other things the children could choose to play in a cooling stream, investigate bugs and mini beasts in the shady woodland area or ‘cook’ in our mud kitchen. A favourite activity was feeding the resident crow family and making sure they had enough water to drink.

We had a pup date from Brontë the guide dog puppy when she came into school to visit us. She was very brave facing all the children in assembly to show us how much she had grown and how important her work really is. Hopefully she will come and visit us again soon.

We finished the year with a seaside topic and had a great time dressing up, writing postcards and catching fish!

We have introduced Yoga into Ashdown. The sessions are based around stories and involve lots of singing and stretching. This is a great way to develop co-ordination and concentration in our youngest children.

Ashdown Lodge

As another busy year in Ashdown Lodge came to an end, we said farewell and good luck to our Reception children (soon to be Year 1) as they prepared to leave us to go to ‘big school’. We wrapped the year up with a Celebration day and shared it with our parents. The children talked about what they have enjoyed about their time in Ashdown and what they would like to do when they grow up. They presented this as a very amusing ‘news broadcast’ on the stage at Brontë House and the whole thing finished o� with a video of the children playing and learning throughout the year. We wish them all well in their new Year 1 classes.

Sports Day was a fabulous event with our parents enjoying the sunshine and races and the children enjoying the fun. The ABA ran a stall with a BBQ for all those hungry mouths afterwards. Well done to all the mums and dads who took part in the parents’ race too!

The children at Ashdown can take part in various clubs throughout the week. We run yoga, dance, rugby and multisports clubs for the children who stay after 3.30. These are very popular with the children and help them to learn lots of new things. We had a fantastic Summer so far and really took advantage of the hot weather and used our wonderful outdoor space to the full. Amongst other things the children could choose to play in a cooling stream, investigate bugs and mini beasts in the shady woodland area or ‘cook’ in our mud kitchen. A favourite activity was feeding the resident crow family and making sure they had enough water to drink.

We had a pup date from Brontë the guide dog puppy when she came into school to visit us. She was very brave facing all the children in assembly to show us how much she had grown and how important her work really is. Hopefully she will come and visit us again soon.

We finished the year with a seaside topic and had a great time dressing up, writing postcards and catching fish!

We have introduced Yoga into Ashdown. The sessions are based around stories and involve lots of singing and stretching. This is a great way to develop co-ordination and concentration in our youngest children.


Ali Hinchli�e

This has been another busy year for the performing arts at Brontë House. The number of pupils receiving individual instrumental tuition is healthy with just over half of our pupils playing a musical instrument. We have continued to gain good results in Associated Board Music Exams, Rock School Exams and Trinity Guild Hall Exams. More pupils than ever have achieved Grades 3 or 4 which is fantastic for children of primary school age. For the first time, our recorder players took exams and they all achieved merits or distinctions.

We have had more pupils than ever in the school orchestra and choir and they continue to provide a high standard of music for school events. This year they have performed at the Harvest Festival Service, Christmas Fayre, Founders’ Day, the Summer Garden Party and Prize Giving.As well as these events, there have been many small and large scale productions and concerts involving pupils from all year groups in the school: A Little Nativity, (Nursery and Reception), A King is Born (Years 1 & 2), It’s Chriiiiistmas!!! - (Years 3 & 4) and the Annual Carol Service in the school chapel (Years 5 & 6).

To help prepare younger players for orchestral playing we have continued to hold extra weekly rehearsals for them. The number of instrumental ensembles has increased this year. This gives our

pupils more opportunities to perform with others and to prepare pieces for school events. New ensembles for this year have included: Clarinet Group, Junior Recorders and Brass Group. These ensembles have run alongside the more established groups such as Rock Band, Senior Recorders and the School Orchestra. Mr. Dunn has also continued to lead a singing group made up from the most talented pupils in the school choir.We were unable to attend the HMC Music Day at Ashville College this year due to severe snow. However, we were able to attend the second HMC Choral Day held at Yarm School. The Year 5 members of our school choir sang a varied repertoire with approximately 200 pupils from other HMC schools. This was a fantastic day and it is one of the few HMC events that is collaborative rather than competitive.

One of the highlights of the Year was Brontë’s Got Talent. This was an evening of pure entertainment in the Grove Theatre featuring over 120 pupils aged 7-11.

The show featured big song and dance numbers from the school choir and all pupils in Years 3 and 4. There were medleys from the shows Joseph and the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat, Bugsy Malone, songs by Madness and 1980s Rock Classics. These large group numbers were punctuated with some fantastic variety acts from

our older pupils in Years 5 and 6. We saw a vast range of talents on display including instrumentalists, vocalists, magicians and comedy. The show was compered by our very own Ant and Dec - Trey and Rudy Halliday. They had the audience in the palm of their hands, having them crying with laughter one moment and having a lump in their throats the next.

It was an amazing evening and the audience were wowed by the confidence and professionalism shown by the pupils of Brontë House.

Our Year ended with our Year 6 leavers presenting a stunning performance of ‘The Rocky Monster Show.’ This show told the story of a professor who aimed to use genetics to create his very own ‘supergroup’ of popstars. The principal actors were supported by an enthusiastic ensemble. Their choreography was slick and their vocal performances were strong.

Paul Phenny Director of Performing Arts


Performing Arts


This has been another busy year for the performing arts at Brontë House. The number of pupils receiving individual instrumental tuition is healthy with just over half of our pupils playing a musical instrument. We have continued to gain good results in Associated Board Music Exams, Rock School Exams and Trinity Guild Hall Exams. More pupils than ever have achieved Grades 3 or 4 which is fantastic for children of primary school age. For the first time, our recorder players took exams and they all achieved merits or distinctions.

We have had more pupils than ever in the school orchestra and choir and they continue to provide a high standard of music for school events. This year they have performed at the Harvest Festival Service, Christmas Fayre, Founders’ Day, the Summer Garden Party and Prize Giving.As well as these events, there have been many small and large scale productions and concerts involving pupils from all year groups in the school: A Little Nativity, (Nursery and Reception), A King is Born (Years 1 & 2), It’s Chriiiiistmas!!! - (Years 3 & 4) and the Annual Carol Service in the school chapel (Years 5 & 6).

To help prepare younger players for orchestral playing we have continued to hold extra weekly rehearsals for them. The number of instrumental ensembles has increased this year. This gives our

pupils more opportunities to perform with others and to prepare pieces for school events. New ensembles for this year have included: Clarinet Group, Junior Recorders and Brass Group. These ensembles have run alongside the more established groups such as Rock Band, Senior Recorders and the School Orchestra. Mr. Dunn has also continued to lead a singing group made up from the most talented pupils in the school choir.We were unable to attend the HMC Music Day at Ashville College this year due to severe snow. However, we were able to attend the second HMC Choral Day held at Yarm School. The Year 5 members of our school choir sang a varied repertoire with approximately 200 pupils from other HMC schools. This was a fantastic day and it is one of the few HMC events that is collaborative rather than competitive.

One of the highlights of the Year was Brontë’s Got Talent. This was an evening of pure entertainment in the Grove Theatre featuring over 120 pupils aged 7-11.

The show featured big song and dance numbers from the school choir and all pupils in Years 3 and 4. There were medleys from the shows Joseph and the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat, Bugsy Malone, songs by Madness and 1980s Rock Classics. These large group numbers were punctuated with some fantastic variety acts from

our older pupils in Years 5 and 6. We saw a vast range of talents on display including instrumentalists, vocalists, magicians and comedy. The show was compered by our very own Ant and Dec - Trey and Rudy Halliday. They had the audience in the palm of their hands, having them crying with laughter one moment and having a lump in their throats the next.

It was an amazing evening and the audience were wowed by the confidence and professionalism shown by the pupils of Brontë House.

Our Year ended with our Year 6 leavers presenting a stunning performance of ‘The Rocky Monster Show.’ This show told the story of a professor who aimed to use genetics to create his very own ‘supergroup’ of popstars. The principal actors were supported by an enthusiastic ensemble. Their choreography was slick and their vocal performances were strong.

Paul Phenny Director of Performing Arts

Year 3/4 Whitby Trip


Year 6 had a fantastic residential week at Le Chateau de Grand Romaine, just outside Paris at the end of May. This year we flew from Leeds Bradford Airport and this gave us extra time in France and more activities.

After settling into the Chateau and admiring its beautiful grounds, our first task was to follow a quiz trail around the local town, Brie le Comte. Then each group had to purchase ingredients for a healthy picnic lunch at the market, using as much French as possible. Every single child spoke some French, with some even sustaining a little conversation. The afternoon was spent admiring the iconic sights of Paris from a boat trip on the Seine.

Wednesday is always Parc Asterix day. There are so many amazing rides and some Y6s managed to do nearly all of them! The next day we had a calm, relaxing but still challenging morning at the Chateau. The children tried archery, abseiling, a climbing wall and team challenges. Thursday afternoon saw us heading back into Paris for another challenge – climbing up lots of stairs at the Ei�el Tower! This was followed by a fun filled evening at the huge Aquaboulevard water park.

On our last day we had time to visit the amazing Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Europe’s largest Science Museum, before heading to Charles de Gaulle Airport and a quick flight home.

Well done to all of Year 6 for brilliant behaviour, excellent engagement and fabulous fun!

Fiona Cohen

Years 3 and 4 had a fantastic 3 days in Whitby. The highlights were visiting the Royal National Lifeboat Museum and then having a trip on the old life boat. The children enjoyed learning about Captain Cook and doing activities in the museum and learning about Whitby from the commentary on the open top bus tour. We also went to Pannett Park and looked at the art work and sculptures there. The town trail around Whitby featured a walk around the graveyard and around the Abbey where Bram Stoker got his inspiration writing the famous story of Dracula. No trip to the seaside is complete without building sandcastles on the beach and searching for fossils. The children had lots of fun and the weather was glorious.

Fiona Pearson

Year 6 French Trip

Trips

Year 2 Nell Bank Residential Trip

Year 5 Lake District Trip


Year 5 enjoyed an action packed 3 days in Coniston. We started o with raft building on Lake Coniston in cold conditions, working as a team to launch the raft and race against the other teams. Unfortunately, due to the amount of rain, we were unable to go gorge walking so we had fun in the lake learning river crossing techniques. On the final day we walked around the stunning peaks of the Coniston Fells. In the evenings we shared our talents and did team building activities. The children had a fantastic time and gained a lot from their experience.

Fiona Pearson

Year 2 experienced their first Brontë House residential to Nell Bank Outdoor Education Centre on the 5th June. The excited children enjoyed a morning at Clip ‘n’ Climb in Ilkley where they bravely tackled the climbing walls. Then it was o to Nell Bank and after a picnic lunch it was straight into an afternoon of fun where they participated in a series of animal senses and species identification activities which allowed them to experience first-hand how animals survive in the wild. In the first activity the children were transformed into mice. They had to use what they knew about predators and prey to avoid being eaten by the owls. The Badger Sni had them using their sense of smell to identify their given scent on dierent trees and much fun was had trying to complete the Mole Walk whilst blindfolded.

Water play came next and everyone enjoyed ignoring the teacher’s requests not to get too wet. Luckily the sun was shining and everybody was dry in time for tea. Portions of delicious fish and chips

were wolfed down by the now famished Year 2 children whilst sitting outside enjoying the beautiful afternoon. Once tea had settled it was time for the adventure playground. A firm favourite with everybody.

Eventually it was time for a story and o to bed. Well done to Denton Dorm who won an award for their sensible behaviour at bedtime. Some took longer than others to get to sleep!

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, it was time for pond-dipping and mini-beast hunting. It was a fruitful search and the children were able to find all sorts of pond life and minibeasts including newts, tadpoles and a rather large caterpillar.

Congratulations Year 2 on an engaging and enjoyable residential.

Helen Simpson


Netball

U9s

The U9 Netball girls have had an impressive season competing in two festivals and 9 further fixtures. With our initial aim for U9s being to involve as many girls as possible in matches, for each fixture we were often able to field 3 teams. Most of the matches were played with "High Five" rules which is the junior version of netball. As the season progressed the girls were ready to make the transition to traditional netball rules.

I couldn't be prouder of the U9 girls this year as they have all progressed and developed their skill set in preparation for the competitive matches ahead of them in upper Key Stage 2.

Most Improved: Martha WilsonCoaches’ Player of the Year: Emily Robinson Player of the Year: Isla Eaglestone

U10s

With 23 girls in the year group, I am delighted to say that every single girl has represented the school competitively, often putting out 3 teams in many of the fixtures and festivals throughout the season.

With an almost unbeaten record for the A team, we’ve had a phenomenal season; the quality of play and athleticism within the team proving to be invaluable. With the exception of one goal in one match early on in the season against Harrogate Ladies, the A team were able to maintain their winning record.

I am really excited for the girls and what they are capable of achieving as they become U11s next season.

The B team girls are also showing great potential, demonstrating great strength and depth across the

court. With 14 girls, we were frequently able to field two B teams, often playing simultaneously.

The introduction of Old Grovian Ella Williams has undoubtedly strengthened the coaching team and the girls have thoroughly enjoyed learning from her expertise.

Overall, an amazing season. I look forward to continued success in Year 6. Well done girls!

Player of the Year:A team - Pippa Green B team - Sarah ReugerMost Improved Player:A team - Olivia Lockwood & Olivia GlossopB team - Harlei-Jade Iles-Binns Coaches’ Award:A team – Belle Nimmo B team – Thea Hayes

Sports Reports


U11s

Throughout the season the U11 netball squad has gone from strength to strength. Every girl in the year has represented Brontë House in a match and on many occasions we have put out three teams.

Excluding tournaments, the A team have won all their matches, totalling an impressive 140 goals, only conceding 47.

The B team have had similar success with only one loss (against our own U12 team!) scoring 65 goals and only conceding 23.

At the North East Schools’ tournament, the A team beat 5 other schools to gain the title and at the HMC tournament at Hymers they narrowly lost in a very exciting final to a well deserving Yarm 9-7.What an impressive year! Thank you to all the girls for your hard work and commitment to netball and Brontë House.

Most Improved Players’ awardsEmma Burrows, Kira Grahamslaw, Lexie CadmanPlayers of the seasonDaisy-May Hurford, Ella Hamer, Grace Ross

Swimming

This has been a prosperous season for Brontë House with again, more swimmers representing the school than ever before. Team captain Mabel Walker did an excellent job leading the team by example.

All age groups performed well, gaining speed and strength throughout the season. A total of 32 children represented the school, which meant Brontë House were regularly able to field A and B team swimmers in all individual and relay events.

Thank you to all the dedicated swimmers who have trained regularly and represented the Brontë House team this season.

AwardsU9 Swimmer of the Year(Boy) Thomas Edgar(Girl) Isla EaglestoneU9 Most ImprovedWilliam Thornhill U10 Swimmer of the YearNicole Cater U10 Most Improved(Boy) Jack McElhone (Girl) Lorna Kerr U11 Swimmer of the YearMabel Walker U11 Most ImprovedPhoebe Turner & Grace Ross


U9s

The cricket season began for the U9 A and B teams back in May with a tough opening fixture against QEGS in Wakefield. It was clear that the boys possessed natural talent in abundance, but needed to take more quick singles with the bat to increase their run rate. This they began to do in their next two fixtures against GSAL and BGS, winning the latter match comfortably. In terms of pure entertainment though, it was the away fixture at Ashville College in Harrogate that will live long in the memory for all who played and spectated.

After a close match the Brontë boys needed 2 runs

o� the final delivery to win the game…..and cometh the hour cometh the boy! That boy was Tom Kerfoot, who trotted down the wicket unfazed by the pressure of the situation and smashed the ball over deep square leg for a six! The season was rounded o� with a good performance against Westville House, in which we won comfortably. Well done to everyone who represented the U9s this season.

Player of the Year: Theo McLelland

Most Improved Player: William Thornhill

U10s

The U10s have enjoyed a successful summer of cricket, making excellent progress and winning some games along the way. There were impressive victories against Silcoates and Bradford Grammar, as well as promising performances against GSAL and QEGS. The boys had experiences playing with a hard ball and an incrediball, which allowed them to develop their technique and confidence. The strength of the team was probably the bowling, with Ben, Henry H, Henry M, Oliver S and Noah all proving to be very accurate bowlers. The batting

improved throughout the season and the boys learnt to value their wicket and spend more time at the crease. Jesse Gordon, Henry Hinchli�e and Noah Thirkhill captained the side at various stages of the season and all did a fine job. I wish the boys every success next season with Mr. Bedford and I am sure they will make even more progress.

Player of the Year: Noah Thirkhill

Most Improved Player: Jesse Gordon

Cricket


U11s

It has been a season of improvement for the Under 11s cricket team this year. The boys have worked really hard to improve their technical skills with most progress being made with their bowling accuracy. They have come up against some strong opposition, most notably QEGS and Aysgarth, who had a few County players amongst their ranks. The team played 6 full matches and the HMC 6 a side tournament, winning only two matches. However, the boys produced some good team displays with the win at Westville House being the highlight. The whole team contributed to win batting sensibly to chase down 131 in 20 overs. Zak Shahzad scored 29 runs with the bat and took 4 wickets for 13 runs with the ball. Other major contributors were Henry Barton (23), Jack Tattersall (24no) and Barnaby Steere (15). Justin Crowther, the team’s captain, had a good season with the ball and his best performance was against Bradford Grammar School when he took

2 wickets for 8 runs. The HMC 6 a side tournament was a good day as Brontë progressed to the semi-final of the plate competition after an excellent 3 run win over Ackworth. In the group stages, the boys were unlucky to lose all 3 matches narrowly but they bowled accurately, fielded well and Zak and Henry got the team o� to a good start in each match with the bat. It has been an enjoyable season coaching the players and it has been very rewarding to see how much the boys have improved and enjoyed their cricket.

Batsman of the Year: Henry Barton

Bowler of the Year: Justin Crowther

Player of the Year: Zak Shahzad

Most Improved player: Barnaby Steere

A Team

B Team


Rugby

U9s

A thoroughly enjoyable season for the U9s began back in September with a good 8 tries all draw against a strong GSAL team, and this hinted at the talent in the team. The B team also managed a battling draw that day playing well defensively. Indeed victories at Westville House and super performances in the BGS tournament proved that the A team had plenty of potency in attack, though they did need to pass the ball more into wide areas. It was in two tough defeats – the St.Olave’s and QEGS encounters - that the U9s played some

of their best rugby with ball in hand though. In both matches the boys tackled superbly and passed the ball better than earlier in the season.

For the B team it was their excellent 18 tries to 7 win against Richmond House that will be remembered for the sheer number of tries scored!Congratulations to Theo McLelland, Sam Johnson and Harrison Riley for their awards on presentation evening, and a huge well done to everyone who represented Brontë House U9s this season.

U10s

This season has been one that I have enjoyed immensely. There is quite a talented group of boys

in Y5 and there is some depth and competition for places.

A Team

B Team

13 boys played for the A team during the season, often making selection very tough. Not only was the A team strong, but there was a tremendous B team. Mr. Ryder enjoyed working with the killer Bees and I am sure some of these boys will break into the A team soon. This should stand the boys in good stead for next season with Mr. Bedford. Not only are they a talented group of lads, but they absolutely love their rugby. The intensity and e�ort they would display in every games lesson and fixture was really pleasing and it’s because of this attitude that I know they will develop into a really good team.

I think that the boys have made excellent progress this year. It is clear that they have improved their knowledge of the game and are capable of playing proper rugby now. With this being said, there is still a long way to go.

Player of the Year: Phil Trimby

Most Improved Player: Ben Vernon

Players’ Player of the Year: Oliver Stoner

U10s

This season has been one that I have enjoyed immensely. There is quite a talented group of boys

in Y5 and there is some depth and competition for places.


U11s

This has been the most rewarding season I have had as the coach of the U11s. There were only 12 boys in this year group in Year 4. That number has now doubled but to be able to maintain such a competitive fixture list and perform to the standard the boys did, is a fantastic achievement. In terms of the progress made by each player, it is almost immeasurable and their attitude throughout the season has been superb.

We had some excellent wins and performances along the way, most notably beating Bradford Grammar 6 tries to 1 in the first match and Silcoates at the end of the first term, 7 tries to 4. There were also some excellent team displays away at Birkdale where, despite losing narrowly, we managed to play some good rugby in attack and defence and at home to Richmond House where we recorded another victory. The boys saved their best performance for the last match on the Sports Tour in Newcastle. We drew 7

tries all with RGS Newcastle in a great match that saw Sam Batty receive the man of the match award for a hat trick of tries.

A special mention must go to Henry Barton, who captained the side superbly and led by example every week. He rallied the troops both on and o� the field and he worked tirelessly in training and in matches.

However, I am incredibly proud of all of the 15 players that represented Brontë House at rugby this year. I hope they have enjoyed it and feel they have made progress with their game. They have been a pleasure to coach.

Player of the Year: Toby FarndonPlayers’ Player of the Year: Sam BattyMost Improved Player: Jake FawcettCoaches’ Award: Tom Fell and Jack Tattersall

A Team

B Team

13 boys played for the A team during the season, often making selection very tough. Not only was the A team strong, but there was a tremendous B team. Mr. Ryder enjoyed working with the killer Bees and I am sure some of these boys will break into the A team soon. This should stand the boys in good stead for next season with Mr. Bedford. Not only are they a talented group of lads, but they absolutely love their rugby. The intensity and e�ort they would display in every games lesson and fixture was really pleasing and it’s because of this attitude that I know they will develop into a really good team.

I think that the boys have made excellent progress this year. It is clear that they have improved their knowledge of the game and are capable of playing proper rugby now. With this being said, there is still a long way to go.

Player of the Year: Phil Trimby

Most Improved Player: Ben Vernon

Players’ Player of the Year: Oliver Stoner

Rounders


This season has been slightly di�erent from the traditional rounders teams. In games lessons there has been a shift towards cricket skills although we have still fielded rounders teams at all age groups in Key Stage 2.

All the girls have represented the school in the many di�erent festivals, competitions and individual games with many successful results, finishing with the U11 HMC tournament held at Pocklington with the following results.

BH v RGS Newcastle lost 3-2

BH v Silcoates won 10 – 5.5

BH v Pocklington Prep won 8 – 5.5

BH v St. Olave lost 2-8

BH v Hymers won 7-4

BH v BGS won 5-2

U9s

U10s

U11s


Athletics & Cross CountryThe Athletics team competed in three meetings this year. The first meet was at QEGS, Thornes Park and Year 5 and 6 entered mixed teams. The Year 6 relay team were the only gold medalists on the day but everyone competed well. There was an all-girls competition at GSAL for Year 5 and 6 and the girls again competed well. This was good preparation for the HMC Athletics at Gateshead Stadium where 34 children for Years 4, 5 and 6 represented the school. Belle Nimmo achieved a gold medal in the 80m sprint and Charley-Megan Whiteley was awarded a bronze medal for high jump. The Year 4 boys team were 3rd overall.

The Cross Country runners faced all manner of weather conditions this winter, in some fantastic races in the North Bradford League. In a format where the first four runners’ performances count, it was good to have a real depth of talent in both the girls’ and boys’ teams. After the four league races the girls finished in an amazing second place with Grace Ross in third place individually! The boys finished in fourth place overall, with Finlay Hainsworth in seventh place individually. In addition to this the girls won the end of season relays, while the boys finished fourth.

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Boarding

BoardingPage 34

When I first came to boarding in Year 6, I was very excited and interested in what boarding was like. I was also quite nervous because I hadn’t been away from home much before. But as soon as I arrived everyone was friendly and making sure I settled in. I made friends quickly of all ages and nationalities getting to know di�erent cultures. Now I am in my final year at the Grove I have been given the responsibility of House Captain. Because of boarding I have found that I have grown more mature and responsible yet approachable. Sadly the same cannot be said of my height. Boarding is where I’ve grown up and now I don’t want to leave!

What I enjoy most at boarding is the family environment and getting to know each and every person individually.

When I first came to boarding I was very nervous and shy, after spending 4 years in boarding I have learnt to be independent and more confident all round especially in talking and meeting new people of di�erent cultures. I came to boarding in Year 9 and was surprised to find that people where friendly and approachable. Now that I am in my final year at the Grove and therefore boarding, I don’t want to leave! Luckily I was given the

Boarding Review

responsibility of House Captain. This taught leadership qualities that will set me up in later life. What I really enjoy doing is visiting all other boarders’ rooms and getting to know them better and having a laugh with all the boys - which can get me in trouble with Mr. Vernon as it is usually during prep time.

Weekends are always enjoyable as they try to get everyone involved. They are full of activities in and outside of the school environment. One weekend we could be doing silly sports on the sports field, whereas another weekend we could be at getting up at 8:00 heading to Alton Towers. The trips and activities are not compulsory so, if you needed to get work done, the library is always open for you to catch up. Our favourite trip is Alton Towers and Laser Tag because it gets everyone involved and everybody always has fun - even the teachers including Mr. Barr.

During the week we are encouraged to do school homework during Prep time, where teachers are available for help if needed. Being a boarder and living on school site means we get free use of the excellent facilities that the school has to o�er such as the gym, swimming pool and sports hall. Boarders of all ages are encouraged to make use of these facilities.

Overall we have loved our time being boarders at the Grove and would do it all again if we could. We have done a lot of growing up at this school and we definitely believe we wouldn’t have turned into the people we are today if it wasn’t for the former boarders and, most importantly, the sta�.

Jake Oakes and Megan Lennon

Boarding Page 35

When I first came to boarding in Year 6, I was very excited and interested in what boarding was like. I was also quite nervous because I hadn’t been away from home much before. But as soon as I arrived everyone was friendly and making sure I settled in. I made friends quickly of all ages and nationalities getting to know di�erent cultures. Now I am in my final year at the Grove I have been given the responsibility of House Captain. Because of boarding I have found that I have grown more mature and responsible yet approachable. Sadly the same cannot be said of my height. Boarding is where I’ve grown up and now I don’t want to leave!

What I enjoy most at boarding is the family environment and getting to know each and every person individually.

When I first came to boarding I was very nervous and shy, after spending 4 years in boarding I have learnt to be independent and more confident all round especially in talking and meeting new people of di�erent cultures. I came to boarding in Year 9 and was surprised to find that people where friendly and approachable. Now that I am in my final year at the Grove and therefore boarding, I don’t want to leave! Luckily I was given the

responsibility of House Captain. This taught leadership qualities that will set me up in later life. What I really enjoy doing is visiting all other boarders’ rooms and getting to know them better and having a laugh with all the boys - which can get me in trouble with Mr. Vernon as it is usually during prep time.

Weekends are always enjoyable as they try to get everyone involved. They are full of activities in and outside of the school environment. One weekend we could be doing silly sports on the sports field, whereas another weekend we could be at getting up at 8:00 heading to Alton Towers. The trips and activities are not compulsory so, if you needed to get work done, the library is always open for you to catch up. Our favourite trip is Alton Towers and Laser Tag because it gets everyone involved and everybody always has fun - even the teachers including Mr. Barr.

During the week we are encouraged to do school homework during Prep time, where teachers are available for help if needed. Being a boarder and living on school site means we get free use of the excellent facilities that the school has to o�er such as the gym, swimming pool and sports hall. Boarders of all ages are encouraged to make use of these facilities.

Overall we have loved our time being boarders at the Grove and would do it all again if we could. We have done a lot of growing up at this school and we definitely believe we wouldn’t have turned into the people we are today if it wasn’t for the former boarders and, most importantly, the sta�.

Jake Oakes and Megan Lennon

VICTORIA QUARTER, LEEDS TRINITY, LEEDS SPINNINGFIELDS, MANCHESTER

+ 44 (0) 113 242 7888 WWW.PHILLIPSTONER.COM

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Out of theClassroom

Out of the ClassroomPage 38

Outdoor Education at the Grove

I have been continually impressed by the commitment of our pupils from Year 10 as they completed their D of E Bronze award. It has been a joy to see 47 of our students contribute to making a di�erence in their community through their volunteering section which saw students undertake activities such as litter picking, charity work and sports coaching. Students have also picked up new skills and improved their physical fitness through a

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

variety of activities such as climbing, karate and horse riding. Pupils had to undertake a practice and an assessed expedition across the Yorkshire countryside, carrying everything they needed for two days: food, tents, cooking equipment, clothes and drinks. For a number of the students this was the first time they had walked for 6 hours carrying a heavy pack. The practice expedition went from Baildon, through Guiseley, across Otley Chevin and

camp was in Bramhope. On day 2, students walked from Bramhope, towards Eccup reservoir and finished at Harewood House. On this expedition they practised their navigational skills and camp craft, as well as developing their resilience. The assessed expedition had to be completed unaided and students set o� from Ilkley, walking around the

Moor and camping in Baildon. They then journeyed down to Saltaire and on to Bingley St. Ives. Students were fortunate enough to encounter some of the warmest weather on record – great for the views, but not so great for the blisters! Many congratulations to those who have successfully completed the Award!

Out of the Classroom Page 39

I have been continually impressed by the commitment of our pupils from Year 10 as they completed their D of E Bronze award. It has been a joy to see 47 of our students contribute to making a di�erence in their community through their volunteering section which saw students undertake activities such as litter picking, charity work and sports coaching. Students have also picked up new skills and improved their physical fitness through a

Adventure Days

variety of activities such as climbing, karate and horse riding. Pupils had to undertake a practice and an assessed expedition across the Yorkshire countryside, carrying everything they needed for two days: food, tents, cooking equipment, clothes and drinks. For a number of the students this was the first time they had walked for 6 hours carrying a heavy pack. The practice expedition went from Baildon, through Guiseley, across Otley Chevin and

camp was in Bramhope. On day 2, students walked from Bramhope, towards Eccup reservoir and finished at Harewood House. On this expedition they practised their navigational skills and camp craft, as well as developing their resilience. The assessed expedition had to be completed unaided and students set o� from Ilkley, walking around the

Moor and camping in Baildon. They then journeyed down to Saltaire and on to Bingley St. Ives. Students were fortunate enough to encounter some of the warmest weather on record – great for the views, but not so great for the blisters! Many congratulations to those who have successfully completed the Award!

Every summer Years 7, 8 & 9 undertake an Adventure Day. This day takes advantage of the beautiful scenery we have on our doorstep and helps push students to achieve success with activities they may never have experienced.

Over 300 students participated in these days, with activities designed to stretch them physically, emotionally, socially and mentally and which were spread across the region from Gisburn Forest, across the Yorkshire moors and down to Rother Valley in She�eld.

Out of the ClassroomPage 40

Year 7 students were scattered over the Dales completing a variety of activities in which they had chosen to participate. Activities included: mountain biking, climbing, abseiling, caving, ghyll scrambling and kayaking. For many this was their first taste of being underground in a cave or feeling the thrill of standing high on a cli� face.

Year 8 students journeyed to Rother Valley Watersports Park and had the opportunity to try their hand at windsurfing, Canadian canoeing, kayaking, sailing, zorbing, raft building or mountain biking. The raft building was particularly competitive, however not many rafts made it back in one piece, with plenty of capsizing taking place across all disciplines – a fabulous day with everyone wanting to go back again!

Year 9 students undertook a team building day based at Leeds Carnegie University. Students were split into their Houses and worked to complete a range of mental and physical challenges in an attempt to secure the Headingley Trophy for their House. It was great to watch the students work as a team, with many discovering hidden talents or skills. Congratulations to Findlay House who were worthy winners!

Out of the Classroom Page 41

Bouldering Competition

For the last 5 years we have entered a team into the Yorkshire Schools Climbing Competition, held at the Depot in Pudsey and this year was no di�erent. The competition comprised of 25 climbs throughout the Depot, with students having 3 attempts at each ‘problem’ – points were scored for a ‘flash’ (climbing up in one go) and

were reduced for each subsequent attempt. WGS entered with a strong team, with Matiyah Meer winning her group. Overall the team came 6th out of 17, a good e�ort, but we will return next year to chase our 2013 victory!

Miss F Alimundo

Trips &Tours

Tours and TripsTours & Trips Page 43

On the first day we got up early to catch the plane from Manchester to Berlin Schonefeld so that we could get lots done on the first day. The first thing we saw on the Friday was the Reichstag building, which was an important building in the Weimar republic as well as the rise to power of Hitler. The Reichstag fire was an essential step in Hitler banning the communist parties from Germany and turning Germany into a dictatorship. The building now houses the German Bundestag and has been rebuilt with lots of glass to symbolise governmental transparency. There is also a striking monument in front of the Reichstag to all the politicians killed during the Weimar and Nazi periods – memorialising how this political violence should never be repeated. After the Reichstag we went to see the Brandenburg gate, one of the most famous monuments in Germany. Facing the gate, we saw the hotel where communist revolutionaries, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, were killed. Then we walked across the city to the place where it is believed Hitler’s body was burned after he killed himself. It’s now just a plain-looking car park and apartment block to avoid people who support Hitler coming there. Then we walked to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, on the way we walked past one of the remaining guard towers marking the boundary between East and West Berlin and were able to climb up it. In the German History Museum there was information on all periods of German history from the Holy Roman Empire to the leading

German states of Austria and Prussia. We also learned about Otto von Bismarck and German unification as well as more recent Weimar and Nazi history as well as Germany during the cold war.

The start to the second day was lethargic, especially for me as I was in a 6-person room. Luckily I was the first person up so I could get my shower first. The light but reviving breakfast got us ready for a full tour of Berlin. It started o� with the very interesting and sobering tour of SachsenHausen Concentration camp. Our tour guide first explained the workings and layout of the camp and then we had the chance to view some historical artefacts like the uniform of the SS guards. We also learnt more about the people that were sent to the concentration camp. They were Jews, Communists, political opponents and anyone who did not conform to the Nazi ideals. The saddest part of this place was the hut where they kept the prisoners because it was damaged in an arson attack by Neo Nazis after the war. After we had viewed everything we sat down and ate our homemade lunch, however I could have done with a Schnitzel sandwich, my favourite.

On our final day in Berlin, we visited some places that related to the Cold War. Our first stop was looking at parts of the Berlin Wall, and we learnt about the ‘death strip’ and how people tried to cross the wall. They did this in lots of ways,

including jumping across from building windows or by digging tunnels underneath the wall’s boundaries. We also climbed up a tower to see over into a part of the ‘death strip’, which was really interesting. Next, we visited the DDR museum which showed what life was like in East Germany; this included a model flat like the ones the majority of East Germans lived in, the types of cars everyone drove and where people went on holiday! The last main stop of the day was the Hohenschönhausen Stasi prison, where we had a tour of the older and newer cells used for interrogation and we learnt about how prisoners were forced to co-operate. We saw the standing cells used to torture inmates, and we were shown how all the corridors looked the same, giving the prison the feeling of a maze. This visit was very eye-opening and showed just how controlling the government and secret police were. This was an interesting end to a great trip, and after a short stop at Alexanderplatz we headed to the airport for our flight home!

Berlin

On the first day we got up early to catch the plane from Manchester to Berlin Schonefeld so that we could get lots done on the first day. The first thing we saw on the Friday was the Reichstag building, which was an important building in the Weimar republic as well as the rise to power of Hitler. The Reichstag fire was an essential step in Hitler banning the communist parties from Germany and turning Germany into a dictatorship. The building now houses the German Bundestag and has been rebuilt with lots of glass to symbolise governmental transparency. There is also a striking monument in front of the Reichstag to all the politicians killed during the Weimar and Nazi periods – memorialising how this political violence should never be repeated. After the Reichstag we went to see the Brandenburg gate, one of the most famous monuments in Germany. Facing the gate, we saw the hotel where communist revolutionaries, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, were killed. Then we walked across the city to the place where it is believed Hitler’s body was burned after he killed himself. It’s now just a plain-looking car park and apartment block to avoid people who support Hitler coming there. Then we walked to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, on the way we walked past one of the remaining guard towers marking the boundary between East and West Berlin and were able to climb up it. In the German History Museum there was information on all periods of German history from the Holy Roman Empire to the leading

German states of Austria and Prussia. We also learned about Otto von Bismarck and German unification as well as more recent Weimar and Nazi history as well as Germany during the cold war.

Tours and TripsTours & TripsPage 44

The start to the second day was lethargic, especially for me as I was in a 6-person room. Luckily I was the first person up so I could get my shower first. The light but reviving breakfast got us ready for a full tour of Berlin. It started o� with the very interesting and sobering tour of SachsenHausen Concentration camp. Our tour guide first explained the workings and layout of the camp and then we had the chance to view some historical artefacts like the uniform of the SS guards. We also learnt more about the people that were sent to the concentration camp. They were Jews, Communists, political opponents and anyone who did not conform to the Nazi ideals. The saddest part of this place was the hut where they kept the prisoners because it was damaged in an arson attack by Neo Nazis after the war. After we had viewed everything we sat down and ate our homemade lunch, however I could have done with a Schnitzel sandwich, my favourite.

On our final day in Berlin, we visited some places that related to the Cold War. Our first stop was looking at parts of the Berlin Wall, and we learnt about the ‘death strip’ and how people tried to cross the wall. They did this in lots of ways,

including jumping across from building windows or by digging tunnels underneath the wall’s boundaries. We also climbed up a tower to see over into a part of the ‘death strip’, which was really interesting. Next, we visited the DDR museum which showed what life was like in East Germany; this included a model flat like the ones the majority of East Germans lived in, the types of cars everyone drove and where people went on holiday! The last main stop of the day was the Hohenschönhausen Stasi prison, where we had a tour of the older and newer cells used for interrogation and we learnt about how prisoners were forced to co-operate. We saw the standing cells used to torture inmates, and we were shown how all the corridors looked the same, giving the prison the feeling of a maze. This visit was very eye-opening and showed just how controlling the government and secret police were. This was an interesting end to a great trip, and after a short stop at Alexanderplatz we headed to the airport for our flight home!

By Rory Gallagher, Michael Cavaliere, Abbie Nott, Georgia Young and Ellie Nott, Tom Pratt and Robert Mitchell

At 5 o’clock in the morning everyone arrived at school ready to head for the ferry after a treacherous 6 hour drive all the way down to the White Cli�s of Dover. We boarded the ferry where we sat down and had lunch for an hour until we arrived in Calais. We then drove to our first cemetery through France to Belgium, before stopping at Ypres. We looked around the cemetery at Ypres at all the French and English soldiers who gave their lives to fight for their country. We learnt that Jewish relatives put stones on top of their headstones whist other religions were left with flowers, such as poppies, in front of the headstone as a sign of respect. After this we went to the Peace Village where we had our evening meal before returning to our rooms to get prepared for the next day.

On Saturday the 24th of March, the second day of the Battlefields Trip, we visited the Bayernwald trenches. It is a carefully restored section of an original German trench system that was made in 1916. After that we visited the Menin Gate Memorial for the missing on the Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders. The memorial bears 54,000 names of soldiers from the UK and Commonwealth Forces (except New Zealand and Newfoundland) who died before the 16th of August 1917 and have no known grave. Next, (after we all went chocolate shopping) we arrived at the Essex Farm cemetery.

At the rear of Essex Farm cemetery, near the western bank of the Leper-Ijser canal, there is a British concrete bunker with a series of rooms. We learnt about the Canadian surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, John McCrae and his famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ that was written there. Then we went to Langemark, a German cemetery. This cemetery had black gravestones and an open, mass grave that contains the remains of 24,917 servicemen (7,997 are unknown soldiers). This cemetery contains more than 44,000 buried soldiers. Then, we visited Vancouver Corner; the memorial commemorates the Canadian 1st Division in action on the 22nd to the 24th of April, 1915. The Canadian division held its position on the left flank of the British Army after the German Army launched the first ever large-scale gas attack against two French divisions on the left of the Canadians. It was fascinating, learning about all of the types of gas mask and how they needed to adapt them in order to protect themselves. After that we visited the Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum. The museum was one of my favourite parts of the whole trip! It was extremely interesting, we went through underground model trenches with sound e�ects and realistic rooms that contained replicas of beds, toilets, o¢ces and many more. After we went inside the museum, a volunteer (Tim Kemp) was dressed in uniform and we were taught each part of the uniform and what


soldiers would carry in the trenches and how their uniform had to change as the war progressed. Next, we went to the Tyne Cot memorial; a few people found their relatives’ names engraved there including my great, great-uncle, Edwin Warrior. Finally, after dinner in Ypres, the day ended with the moving Last Post Ceremony. This is a solemn and dignified event that takes place at the Menin Gate Memorial. This ceremony has been carried on nearly uninterrupted since the 2nd of July, 1928. Our school laid a wreath to commemorate the fallen. It was a very touching, poignant and emotional ceremony to the fallen.

On Sunday we focused on the events and places linked to the Battle of the Somme. First, we had a 2-hour bus journey to Sunken Lane which was a place where the Lancashire Fusiliers fought during the war. Then we collected our lunch about half an hour later and had lunch next to the Newfoundland Memorial Park, where we saw a preserved trench system which we walked through with our tour guide. In the afternoon we went to the Theipval Memorial which is the largest commonwealth memorial for the missing. After this, we headed back to the next hostel where we stayed for the last night. We then went for tea at the Le Corner’s Pub, returned to the hostel, and went to bed.

We were all very sad to be going home after the wonderful trip. We got on the bus and went to the Wellington Quarry which was an amazing experience. We went underground and saw pictures and videos of the soldiers in action as well as objects such as uniforms which the soldiers had abandoned after the war had finished. The quarry was a great way to learn about the soldier’s lifestyle while in war as we could actually see for ourselves how they were living their life underground. After that we went to a Canadian memorial in an area called Vimy near Arras. Vimy had many statues of soldiers. In the distance you could see mountains that were actually made from the waste of mining. The Canadian Vimy memorial in the town of Govenchy is in memory of the 60,000 Canadian forces killed during the war, many of them on the Vimy Ridge. This battle started on Easter Monday 9th April 1917. In the memorial there is a statue with a reference to the popular poem In Flanders Fields. After that we went to Dover and got on the ferry back to England. We have all learnt a lot on this trip and we would definitely recommend this trip to people who would like to learn more about World War One.

Battlefields Trip

At 5 o’clock in the morning everyone arrived at school ready to head for the ferry after a treacherous 6 hour drive all the way down to the White Cli�s of Dover. We boarded the ferry where we sat down and had lunch for an hour until we arrived in Calais. We then drove to our first cemetery through France to Belgium, before stopping at Ypres. We looked around the cemetery at Ypres at all the French and English soldiers who gave their lives to fight for their country. We learnt that Jewish relatives put stones on top of their headstones whist other religions were left with flowers, such as poppies, in front of the headstone as a sign of respect. After this we went to the Peace Village where we had our evening meal before returning to our rooms to get prepared for the next day.

On Saturday the 24th of March, the second day of the Battlefields Trip, we visited the Bayernwald trenches. It is a carefully restored section of an original German trench system that was made in 1916. After that we visited the Menin Gate Memorial for the missing on the Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders. The memorial bears 54,000 names of soldiers from the UK and Commonwealth Forces (except New Zealand and Newfoundland) who died before the 16th of August 1917 and have no known grave. Next, (after we all went chocolate shopping) we arrived at the Essex Farm cemetery.

At the rear of Essex Farm cemetery, near the western bank of the Leper-Ijser canal, there is a British concrete bunker with a series of rooms. We learnt about the Canadian surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, John McCrae and his famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ that was written there. Then we went to Langemark, a German cemetery. This cemetery had black gravestones and an open, mass grave that contains the remains of 24,917 servicemen (7,997 are unknown soldiers). This cemetery contains more than 44,000 buried soldiers. Then, we visited Vancouver Corner; the memorial commemorates the Canadian 1st Division in action on the 22nd to the 24th of April, 1915. The Canadian division held its position on the left flank of the British Army after the German Army launched the first ever large-scale gas attack against two French divisions on the left of the Canadians. It was fascinating, learning about all of the types of gas mask and how they needed to adapt them in order to protect themselves. After that we visited the Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum. The museum was one of my favourite parts of the whole trip! It was extremely interesting, we went through underground model trenches with sound e�ects and realistic rooms that contained replicas of beds, toilets, o¢ces and many more. After we went inside the museum, a volunteer (Tim Kemp) was dressed in uniform and we were taught each part of the uniform and what

soldiers would carry in the trenches and how their uniform had to change as the war progressed. Next, we went to the Tyne Cot memorial; a few people found their relatives’ names engraved there including my great, great-uncle, Edwin Warrior. Finally, after dinner in Ypres, the day ended with the moving Last Post Ceremony. This is a solemn and dignified event that takes place at the Menin Gate Memorial. This ceremony has been carried on nearly uninterrupted since the 2nd of July, 1928. Our school laid a wreath to commemorate the fallen. It was a very touching, poignant and emotional ceremony to the fallen.

On Sunday we focused on the events and places linked to the Battle of the Somme. First, we had a 2-hour bus journey to Sunken Lane which was a place where the Lancashire Fusiliers fought during the war. Then we collected our lunch about half an hour later and had lunch next to the Newfoundland Memorial Park, where we saw a preserved trench system which we walked through with our tour guide. In the afternoon we went to the Theipval Memorial which is the largest commonwealth memorial for the missing. After this, we headed back to the next hostel where we stayed for the last night. We then went for tea at the Le Corner’s Pub, returned to the hostel, and went to bed.

We were all very sad to be going home after the wonderful trip. We got on the bus and went to the Wellington Quarry which was an amazing experience. We went underground and saw pictures and videos of the soldiers in action as well as objects such as uniforms which the soldiers had abandoned after the war had finished. The quarry was a great way to learn about the soldier’s lifestyle while in war as we could actually see for ourselves how they were living their life underground. After that we went to a Canadian memorial in an area called Vimy near Arras. Vimy had many statues of soldiers. In the distance you could see mountains that were actually made from the waste of mining. The Canadian Vimy memorial in the town of Govenchy is in memory of the 60,000 Canadian forces killed during the war, many of them on the Vimy Ridge. This battle started on Easter Monday 9th April 1917. In the memorial there is a statue with a reference to the popular poem In Flanders Fields. After that we went to Dover and got on the ferry back to England. We have all learnt a lot on this trip and we would definitely recommend this trip to people who would like to learn more about World War One.


By Rafael Marcus, Alex Broome, Joe Myers, Elsa Beese, Imogen Hearn, Katherine Knight, Catriona Cochrane and India Appleton-Gregg

In September 2016 we received an email message from Rosalind Streeter, the Chief Executive of the Sister Schools of Kentucky, suggesting that there were schools in the organisation seeking partnerships with those in the UK. We were put in touch with Kentucky Country Day School, a Lower, Middle and High School with a similar number of students to our own and also independent and fee-paying.

Our American colleagues were particularly interested in music and art and so I put Jeannine in touch with Andrew Pickles and Phillip Tedd. It was not long before we were talking about an initial visit to the UK

Our first ever guests from the USA arrived in October and spent the week with us, visiting lessons, especially but not exclusively in art and music, taking in short trips to Saltaire and Haworth and a day tour of York. There was still time at the end of the week for a shopping trip to Leeds, preceded by a visit to the Royal Armouries. The highlight of the week and evidence of what can truly be called “a special relationship” was the joint


concert featuring KCD sta� and students alongside their WGS counterparts. As they were Edinburgh-bound on their Saturday morning departure, a certain member of sta� piped them out!

By March 2018, plans were already in hand for a return visit to Kentucky and in the summer, we took 12 very fortunate students on the visit of a lifetime to Louisville via a two-day whizz round New York. They were hosted to a large extent by the families of friends they had first made last October on the inward visit. Miss Alimundo showed considerable expertise throughout the visit and especially with her extensive knowledge of the Big Apple!

Here are some of our students’ memories of the trip…

AndyAfter a very long and exhausting flight we started our trip with many exciting places and buildings to see in New York. We started our adventure by visiting the 9/11 memorial. This was a very quiet

KentuckyExchange


place for reflection which was very peaceful. We then continued to see Wall Street, the Raging Bull, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. These were all very interesting places to visit which I enjoyed very much. After lunch in Washington Square Park we visited many places where TV shows had been filmed, including the apartment from the TV show ‘Friends’. In the evening we had tea at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square and visited Top of the Rock to see amazing views of the city at night.

EllaOn our first day in Kentucky a few hosts, Isla and I went to the Kentucky Horse Park. We walked to the Breeds Barn where there was a show of di�erent breeds and riders. After that we went on a ride – our horses were Pocahontas and Cowboy. It was really fun, as we saw all of the beautiful scenery. We were really hungry after lunch and ate while watching a jumping show. In the evening we ate pizza and went to Champs roller skating. Isla was really fast and didn’t slip once! I was the complete opposite and still have bruises from falling so much! After such a busy day we slept well! It was such a great day in Kentucky!

ClaudiaAs the first day of the weekend approached us, Annabelle and I had a sleep over with our hosts Kaylee, Lily and their friend Natalie. It was our first full day of the trip and the mum of our host took us all to a traditional American supermarket – we went round picking up sweets and snacks for the sleep over. It was so fun! The next morning Kaylee’s dad made us a breakfast of wa�es and bacon and it was delicious! It was a great start to our trip with an amazing group of girls I will never forget!

FreddyI woke up at 6am on the Monday morning and got ready for school. We drove by car to KCD and arrived for a tour of the school. The tour was very interesting, as I had never visited another school and to do it in Kentucky was very exciting. After the tour I went to my first class, I had art with Evan my host. I was surprised by the friendliness of the other students and made close friends during the day. I finished the school day with lots of di�erent lessons and left for home.

Mr. P Lambert

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On 22nd March 2018, 22 girls and 4 sta� departed on a Tour of a lifetime to New York, Trinidad and Tobago. It started with a coach journey down to Gatwick followed by a 7 and a half hour flight to JFK airport in New York. The four nights we had in New York were spent at Hotel Pennsylvania, which was located in Madison Square Gardens. On our first day in New York we had a tour of the area and this included visiting the Statue of Liberty, the Raging Bull of Wall Street and the 911 memorial. Despite all the site seeing there was still plenty of time for… shopping of course. The next day we enjoyed teaching some of the New York local boys how to play Netball and hopefully spread the passion for the sport. This was enjoyable to watch, as they couldn’t quite get the hang of a non-contact sport or not running with the ball! During the rest of our time in New York we visited Grand Central station, the Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue, Central Park and Ellen Stardust Diner where we enjoyed some delicious burgers whilst being entertained by waiters and waitresses singing songs from musicals. I guess as this was a netball tour we had to play some games and I am pleased to report that of the 6 matches we won 4 and lost 2. Everyone played so well against extremely competitive and skilled teams. We then flew from JFK airport to Trinidad followed by a connecting flight to Tobago, however we did

lose a passport and suitcase on our way! We enjoyed a luxurious two-night stay in Tobago where we visited Pigeon Point and relaxed by the sea and pool. The first and second team played a game each and triumphed in the extreme heat against some impressive and athletic opponents. We even made our claim to fame on Tobago’s local news channel! We then flew back to Trinidad for the final leg of our tour, where we stayed at the Hilton Hotel for 4 nights. While in Trinidad we played in two tournaments with the first team winning both trophies and the second team also coming out on top to bring even more trophies home. We then had a day of well-deserved rest – and what a day this was. We all boarded a boat and sailed around the coastline of Trinidad. However, our relaxation wasn’t to last long as we were put into teams to compete to find the most amount of eggs on a beach that revealed challenges that we needed to complete. For all 22 girls it has been a fantastic experience and one that we will never forget. Thank you to Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Curtis, Miss Thompson and Mrs. Vernon for giving up their Easter break to share the memories with us!


Imogen Amos and Charlotte Proctor

Senior Netball Tour


A large group of 72 students and 9 sta travelled to Italy, for a week of skiing in the Olympic resort of Sestriere. The resort was created by the founder of FIAT car company, Giovanni Agnelli and it still regularly hosts FIS Alpine Ski events. The ski area is huge and covers six other resorts including Serre Chevalier and Mont Genevre in France. The whole linked ski area is known as the Via Lattea or Milky Way. During the summer months Sestriere has staged both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

The conditions were fantastic, with lots of fresh powder, and the variety of skiing on o er catered easily for all abilities of skier with Mr. Barr, in particular, demonstrating a novel technique for getting down the slopes. The more advanced skiers were able to travel across on the gondola to enjoy the tree lined runs of Sauze d’Oulx. On return from there, they could experience for themselves the Olympic level piste from Motta to Banchetta.

As part of the après ski programme, students were able to enjoy open air swimming in a heated pool overlooking the valley, tasty crepes and wa�es topped with delicious Italian ice cream, and a fantastic night throwing some shapes at a disco that even Tony Manero would have been proud to have been seen in!

The only downside to an excellent week was our 30 hour journey home!

Mr. J Robb

Sestriere Ski Trip


A small group of 24 Year 9 students and 3 sta travelled to Andorra last New Year to enjoy a fabulous week of skiing in blue skies and sunshine. The group stayed in the Hotel Panorama, situated in the Principality’s capital city, Andorra la Vella.

As part of the experience during our stay, the group were able to witness the festival of Epiphany also known as the Festival of the Three Kings, a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate. Crowds lined the streets and a huge procession with carnival floats, troupes of dancers, musicians and stilted characters of various kinds, entertained us under the canopy of glittering Christmas lights that adorned the main streets. As the floats passed by the occupants threw handfuls of sweets into the crowds, much to everyone’s delight! At the end of the procession, we made our way back to the hotel on a carpet of crushed confectionery.

Before our return to the UK we were able to spend a few hours in Barcelona, enjoying a stroll along Las Ramblas and it was a very moving experience to witness some of our students oer their packed lunches to the poor and homeless who were sheltering under the colonnades of the Placa Reial.

This was one of the most enjoyable ski trips that I have arranged in recent years, and that is down to the fact that the students were an absolute pleasure to be with!

Mr. J Robb

Ski Andorra


During October half term the team embarked on the biennial trip to the Best Swim Camp in Majorca. The trip got o� to rocky start when I nearly missed the 6am flight due to sleeping in (something I daresay I shall never live down), but we all made it there in one piece and arrived in time for the first training session that afternoon. We were all very excited on arrival at the 50m swimming pool (double the size of the Jubilee Pool), to discover part of the Danish and Swiss national teams also training there – an intimidating sight for us all. Nonetheless we managed to compose ourselves and all of the team (bar Umar and Jasper) made it on time to the 6:30am meet the next morning. Through the week we slowly adjusted to the early starts and two hour training sessions and it was obvious that the team were making significant improvements; Evie Burns (Year 8), Lucy Lund (Year 7) and Ethan McLelland (Year 10) just to name a few. At the end of the trip, specific congratulations and awards were given to both Ben Hill and Emily Hinchcli�e for their outstanding e�ort and improvement during the week away. We must give a huge thank you to Mrs. Watson, Miss Russell, Mr. Barr and Mr. Softley for taking the trip and for putting up with the team’s ongoing complaints about lack of sleep.

Lisa Paul, Swim Captain

Swim Team Majorca Camp


Playing Record

Under 18

Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2Botoka W 62 - 12Durban HS L 9 - 12Cambridge HS W 34 - 21Point HS L 19 - 38Tygerberg W 40 - 19

Under 17

Played 5, Won 2, Lost 3Botoka W 58 - 14Durban HS L 6 - 28Cambridge HS L 30 - 49Point HS W 35 - 21Tygerberg L 17 - 21

The Senior Rugby tour to South Africa was a very successful one, both on and o� the field. The boys enjoyed an experience that will live long in their memories and in doing so I am sure they will have forged friendships that will last a lifetime.

A visit to South Africa has allowed the boys to witness a culture that is very di�erent to home. Playing against a township side and some of the other schools has helped them to recognise how

fortunate they are. Having spent time with the opposition after the matches at Botoka, Cambridge and Tygerberg, the boys were made aware of some of the sacrifices that the South African players have to make just to get to school. They were also exposed to a culture of Rugby very di�erent from our own. Rugby is everywhere and means everything to the locals.

The fixtures were very evenly matched and each match tested our boys in a di�erent way. For example, Tygerberg played a fast running game, attacking from anywhere on the field. They had some very fast and elusive runners. Point High, on the other hand, were of Afrikaans origin and were aggressive, abrasive and strong; providing a completely di�erent challenge. The Durban High School match was a great experience not only due to its steeped history and facilities, but the atmosphere was intense and the match was a real challenge for the boys, both physically and emotionally. In the build up to the Durban match, you could sense the nerves (almost fear) and energy within the group. The players knew that it was going to be tough match, having done their research and finding out that Durban had 11 players who had been involved in Craven Week and also had the current SA Schools’ number 8. The performances put in by our players that night were heroic and in the U18 match, we were desperately unlucky not to get the win.

Rugby TourSouth Africa 2018


Some good rugby was played against Cambridge High in the U17s and especially in the U18 team. The U17 performance at Point High was a real highlight. In di�cult circumstances, we came back from 21-7 down to win 35-21. However, the best performance of the tour was in the final U18 match against Tygerberg. They have a strong rugby tradition with Eben Etzebeth, the Springbok Lock, being a recent alumnus. We simply dispatched them in the end with some outstanding attacking rugby, combining the forwards and backs to score some super team tries. We did, however, have a tendency to kick the ball away aimlessly at times, to allow their exceptional full back to run it back with flair and pace and put us under pressure. Once we eliminated this from our game, we ran away 40-19 winners. A number of parents were present for the matches in Durban and Cape Town and they commented on how much they had enjoyed their time in South Africa and watching the boys play. Each match on tour was a great learning experience for the players and undoubtedly challenged their rugby playing ability.

The tour has also been great preparation for the forthcoming season, giving us a clearer picture of our strengths and weaknesses as a group. The players were given opportunities to stake a claim for a place in the team and some of them really enhanced their credentials. As coaches, we spent some time with all of the players on a one-to-one basis to set personal goals for the forthcoming season and to highlight areas to work on. This was very useful and another good opportunity for learning and reflection.

The time in between fixtures and travelling was spent taking part in a number of excursions. The Safari experience at Kariega Game Reserve was a definite highlight with the opportunity to see the ‘Big 5’. This was a 2 night stay and 4 game drives were included. Some of the sights and photographs taken were simply ‘out of this world’. The boys were

also able to sample a ‘Braai’ on the second night. A day at the Cape Canopy Tours in Grabouw was also another amazing experience, with the opportunity to zip line through the mountains. There were a total of 12 canopies at heights of 1000 metres and some of the zip-lines were up to 350 metres long. It was a pulse-raising experience and the scenery in the Cape countryside was simply breath-taking.

In Durban, the boys were able to enjoy some downtime at a local water park and on the beach with the opportunity to have a training session. We visited a few beaches on the trip, as the weather was so good. The boys were able to hire surfboards, bikes and pedal go karts. The beach at Mossel Bay was beautiful and the pitch we played on at Point HS overlooked the sea.

We also visited the KZN Maritime Centre to witness a shark dissection which was very interesting. In Cape Town, we visited the Springbok museum to learn about the history of South African Rugby but unfortunately, the trip to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was in prison, was cancelled as the sea was too choppy.

Overall, a brilliant experience and an extremely enjoyable 17 days. I would like to say a huge thank you to the parents for their support with the fundraising for the tour and their support out in South Africa. Thanks must also go to the Marketing and Finance department for their help and support throughout the planning for the tour. Finally, my sincere thanks must go to the sta�, Mr. Howard, Mr. Barr, Mr. Ryder and Mr. Softley who gave up their time to come on the tour with us. However, a special thanks must go to Mr. Johnson (“Safari Ken”) for his role as Tour Manager. Not only for his organisation and leadership on the tour but also for his e�orts prior to departure.

Mr. J Bedford Master i/c 1st XV Rugby

PerformingArts

Perfoming Arts Page 57

Performing Arts continues to flourish with a wide range of opportunities across the year.

2017/18 has seen high-profile goodbyes from two of the longest serving members of the WGS arts scene. With almost unprecedented longevity of 32 years, Mike Woodhead retired from teaching brass lessons here. Mike is co-principal of Opera North’s trumpet section and has trained up a dedicated band of brass players here. Meanwhile Mr. Wood leaves us, a great loss to drama and the spoken word but somewhat unheralded for his key roles in the percussion section on concert days. His sage counsel and erstwhile directorship of Performing Arts have kept many productions and events on track over the years and all since he was most active as theatre director for a plethora of high-quality and often groundsman-breaking productions.

Mrs. Priestley left at Easter for the birth of her first child Beatrix and we look forward to welcoming her back in due course.

The Year Thirteen Drama Exam Performances

The Year Thirteen Theatre Studies students performed their Examination Pieces to a select audience. The scripted pieces covered The Memory of Water by Stephenson, which sparkled with the acerbic wit aptly invoked by Sophie Preston, Ellie Monaghan and Leah McPherson. The trio really delved under the skin of the characters as they dealt with the death of their mother. 100 by Monaghan examined three characters’ experience of the afterlife, with Emily Grote, Emily Hall and Charlotte Laycock marooned in an eternal waiting room.

In the devised pieces, motifs such as the suitcase from practitioners The Paper Birds’ In a Thousand Pieces made an appearance, whilst a lipstick and wind-blown skirt motif provided a refrain in Monroe. Both motifs were used to striking visual e�ect throughout, as were the repeated vocal ideas in di�erent contexts.

The Informal Concert - Thursday 12th October

This took place in the recital room and gave a small group of musicians the chance to open their performing accounts for the academic year. Year 7 pupil Robbie Higgins was outstanding with improvisations around the theme Baby Elephant Walk.

Chamber Concert - Thursday 23rd November The school’s chamber groups and soloists performed items that ranged from unaccompanied solo Laura Sutcli�e with a Bach sonata on violin and Cameron Tonge’s excellent debut in the Grove Theatre on drumkit to the Flute Choir’s Carmen Gypsy Song and Year 8 Rock Band’s Attention and Havana. Performance of the night probably went to Georgia Marker with her soulful rendition of Chopin’s E Minor Nocturne from memory or Alex Dalton’s Adagio from the Weber Clarinet Concerto. Unfortunately, the February Chamber Concert fell victim to ‘The Beast from the East’ polar weather.

First chapel service of the year: Remembrance Day, Sunday 12th November

The Grove Singers once again led the service with For the Fallen by David Terry and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by Ralph Vaughan-Williams. Joshua Firth took over the last post and reveille duties (now his brother has left us) with an assured performance.

Later, seven pupils and four sta� formed the brass group for the Rawdon Remembrance service with Mr. Woodhead providing the last post and reveille. It was especially pleasing to note the number of younger pupils in the brass group, five are from Years 8-10.

The Christmas Service

Sunday 10th December saw the chapel bedecked with its customary greenery and candles courtesy of the grounds sta� as the Grove Singers led the singing. Tilly Evans opened the service with the solo for Once in Royal David’s City before items including the evocative Jesus Child by Rutter and God Rest You arranged by Chilcott. Years 7 to 9 Pop Choir sang Star Bright by Tedd and Mary Did You Know? - made famous by Pentatonix. Barbershop and Girls’ Choir combined for Sally Beamish’s In The Stillness. As ever the service was a fantastic start to the festive celebrations and was topped o� with the catering team’s fantastic mulled wine, mince-pies and festive biscuits.

The Leavers’ Service

This was led on 1st July by Grove Singers. The introit God Be In My Head by Walford-Davies set a suitably formal and reflective tone for the service. A more jubilant middle section of the service saw a rousing rendition of Mold’s anthem Praise The Lord of Highest Heaven and an equally exuberant congregational Shine , Jesus Shine. The customary dose of John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You triggered some in the Upper Sixth to break down

as the service closed. The end of another chapter in the school is closed by this final service; the choristers will be missed by the Grove Singers, particularly Milly, but a new cohort will replace them and we will begin once again.

January Scholars’ Day

All scholars performed on Wednesday January 10th in two special lunchtime concerts. From the toe-tapping folk fiddle played by Laura Sutcli�e to Max Warland’s rendition of a Grieg Waltz from memory on piano, the performances were well-received by the select gathering of sta� and pupils.

The music scholars met for their first skills workshop in the ‘January Jam’ on the evening of Wednesday 10th January. Miss James’ vocal workshop and Dr. Longbottom’s ‘ensemble in an hour’ were followed by Mr. Wears’ improvisation masterclass. All three workshops were a great success and helped to further inspire pupils and refine their aural and performance skills.

RAF Swing Wing - Tuesday 16th January

The RAF’s swing band ‘Swing Wing’ visited to perform to Year 9 and invited musicians from across the school. The band performed a range of items from an Adele Medley, through House of The Rising Sun and Dark Orchid to Beauty and The Beast as arranged by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. The standard of musicianship from the band was incredibly high and the pupils were enthralled (some were even asked on stage to fill in auxiliary percussion parts for one item). The rumour that the RAF band only returned to sample Mrs. Frost’s catering one last time is, as yet, unsubstantiated.

During the year Grove Musicians continued to head ‘out and about’ leaving the comforts of concert settings…

The Friends of Woodhouse Grove Christmas Fair - Saturday 25th November

A small group of instrumentalists and singers moved out of their comfort zone to try and entertain shoppers at the fair.

Rawdon Christmas Lights gig - Tuesday 6th December This now customary event saw the Brass Group once again supply festive music, to popular acclaim - and included the addition of festive head gear for nearly all the players.

The Orchestra Through the Ages at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

In February, this was a chance for A level and GCSE pupils to visit the Halle’s home for a concert charting the orchestra’s development throughout the ages. The concert covered several set works and moved from Gabrieli’s early music (died 1612) to John Williams’ (still with us) film music.

GCSE and A level visit to Opera North’s Don Giovanni

Sadly this fell victim to yet another snow day on 1st March meaning Mr. Tedd jogged to the opera house on his own through the snow-covered streets.

Scholars’ trip to Cambridge - Friday 27th April

Dr. Longbottom and Mr. Crawford took a group of eight senior music scholars for a behind the scenes tour of King’s College, where they sat in on the final rehearsal for evensong and attended the evensong service. Former WGS scholar, now King’s Choral Scholar, Christopher Nehaul was on hand to act as tour guide and answer questions before taking his

place in the choir for the service.

The Davy Block and Grove Theatre continue to grow as a hub for visitors, external events and bookings...

The Kentucky County District School visit – 9th-13th October This included a concert on Wednesday 11th October. The concert incorporated two ensemble items from the By Request performance as well as five solos from WGS Year 8 pupils and several items from the KCDS choir and soloists, further cementing the artistic linkage between the two schools.

Aire Valley Singers The Aire Valley Singers performed a concert of works linked to Remembrance in the School Chapel on Saturday 11th November. The central item in the programme was Duruflé’s Requiem. It is hoped that future bookings of this type will occur and that the Grove Singers can work alongside the Aire Valley Singers at some point in the future.

The Pauline Quirke Academy

The Academy continue to use the school Performing Arts facilities on Saturdays, as well as for their summer show (ably tech’d by Andrew Mettrick) - and this year for a week-long summer Performing Arts camp. This booking seems to be of mutual benefit with Mrs. Kimberley Baker producing three plays in the coming academic year, coinciding with Miss Couper and Mrs. Priestley’s maternity leave and should ensure high-quality drama over the year ahead.

Year 5 Creative Arts Day - Wednesday 23rd May

50 pupils from Moorlands, Moorfield and Westville House visited to take part in the annual Creative Arts Day. The day was very successful with pupils experiencing a range of workshops including recording in the Studio, dance, lighting technology, music video, samba drumming and laser cutting in Design. The new workshops have all proved a great success and now rival the quality of the catering in the children’s feedback.

One In A Million School and WGS joint performance for Speakers’ Trust competition

On Tuesday 26th June, ten pupils accompanied by Mr. Wears and Mr. Tedd performed as a scratch band with singers from One In A Million School in our first public collaboration. The band and singers were very impressive and this collaboration continues to flourish with members of the school attending the WGS Summer Concert.

The usual ‘terminal concerts’ closed each section of the academic year with customary panache. Highlights of the year include…

Christmas Concert - Thursday December 14th The Christmas concert took place on the last evening of Michaelmas term, as usual. Emily Grote opened the event reciting Winter by De La Mare before the Concert Band mixed seasonal favourites The Ukranian Bell carol and Do You Hear What I Hear? with a Michael Jackson medley. This continued dual approach, typical of most ensembles, was bucked by Soul and Rock Band who eschewed Festive Fare for straight up Soul and Rock favourites from Spencer Davis, Jean Knight, Kings of Leon and The Strokes. Georgia Marker’s recitation of Anne Brontë’s Music on Christmas Morning (typical of the English department giving us the unexpected and yet closely related, mere days before Emily Brontë’s

bicentenary) closed the event before Swing Band’s A Big Band Christmas.

The Easter Charity Concert - 22nd March This raised £700 for Action for Children and may long be remembered for Barbershop’s rendition of The Four Chord Song, although the Year Eight Rock Band delighted with an eclectic mix of The Script and Frankie Valli. Junior Pop Choir delivered some fine pop renditions with well worked harmonies in Sign of The Times and Love Runs Out - a complete contrast to the Girls’ Choir who opened with Mozart’s Ave Verum. Junior Brass covered a wide area of musical ground from Tallis to Sheeran whilst Swing Band’s Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers and On Broadway by Mann and Weil closed another varied and high-quality evening in the Theatre.

Summer Concert - Thursday 5th July

We bade farewell to Mr. Wood, Mr. Woodhead and a selection of Upper Sixth Leavers with their final concert. Mr. Wood’s solo in Chamber Orchestra’s The Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s opera ‘il Trovatore’ may rival his infamous cowbell debut of 2017, although perhaps even he was surprised by Mr. Allison actually procuring an anvil and copper hammer for the occasion. Brass Group almost pre-empted the moment with their rendition of The Harmonious Blacksmith by Handel. The Grove Singers went truly ballistic with a medley from Wicked showcasing the range of soprano talent in the Upper Sixth. Junior Orchestra’s Thank You For The Music and Mission Impossible summed up the year rather well.

House Music - Friday 20th April

The term opened with the House Music competition, with the Senior Solo unequivocally won by Georgia Marker’s sublime rendition of Chopin’s B Minor Nocturne from memory. The Junior Solo category was won by Katherine Knight on saxophone and the House Ensemble by Stephenson with Hold Back the River performed by band and singers. The overall title went to Towlson with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the respective categories.

Leavers’ Soireé - Wednesday 16th May

The annual leavers’ soiree was a relaxed tribute to a handful of musicians who have graced the Grove Theatre over the past seven years. Senior Flute Choir performed alongside several soloists,

perhaps most poignantly Ellie Monaghan’s Tightrope and Isabelle Wan’s Make You Feel My Love stood out as they tapped into the emotion of the occasion. Oliver Priestley performed with technical wizardry on electric guitar and Georgia Marker closed the programme playing more Chopin with typical aplomb.

Annual Arts’ Dinner - Friday 18th May

This year’s Arts’ Dinner saw Mr. David Wood inducted into the ‘College of Arts’ here at Woodhouse Grove in honour of his service to the Performing Arts over his time here. Alongside this momentous honour, the usual semi-serious awards and prizes were distributed and pupils summed up their year with some humour.

Drummers’ Concert

Mr. Brickel’s usual battery festival was held on Thursday 14th June, with 14 drummers from Oliver Priestley in Year 13 to seven Year 7 pupils. Moh Ritson flew in fresh from the racing circuit to open the concert with (appropriately) Mohair Mountain. Sam Halstead and Eddie King were duelling for flair performance of the evening with perhaps Sam’s Enter The Haggis taking the headlines, maybe for the name as much as the outrageous syncopation and polyrhythms.

String Players’ Concert

Mr. Gillett’s first String Concert at WGS was on Wednesday 27th June, covering a range of performers from Sixth Form to Year 7. An hour’s playing was topped by the Senior Quartet featuring Georgia Marker (‘cello) and Laura Sutcli�e (first violin) with Mr. Gillet (violin) and Miss Susin (viola) performing the first movement of Dvorak’s American String Quartet. Harry Cheung (violin) and Bella Lawson (‘cello) with Mr. G, performed Pachelbel’s famous Kanon in D and Laura Sutcli�e once more impressed with an improvised folk medley and four of Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances. A range of Year 7 performers debuted, including Emily Greenwood, Zaynah Farid and Nina Hawkshaw.

The Night of Seven Stars - Year 7 Show

The Year 7 Performing Arts Competition was held on Thursday 21st June. Ten solo/duet items were performed with éclat and confidence alongside two Year 7 Rock Bands and three class songs. Amy Hanson was judged to have made the performance of the night and carried o� the

improbably large trophy for her drumming in Samba. The night was compered by Grayson Oldridge and Hritik Bhangoo whilst Mustansir Burhani and Abbie Lewis injected comedy to the evening with their stand-up act. The new format proved a resounding success and continued to raise the bar for this event which has had radical surgery over the past three years.

Prize Day

This was led by the Brass Group with Mr. O’Farrell, our new brass teacher, at the helm. Mr. Tedd sought another moment of limelight with an unusual introduction to the National Anthem before normal service resumed for the rest of the music.

The Leavers’ Ball reception

This saw Mr. Wears (jazz piano) and Dr. Longbottom (saxophone) leading a small jazz group including Sam Halstead (drums), Eddie King (bass) and Alex Dalton (saxophone). The group worked well together and have clear potential for the coming year, immediately securing a booking from Brontë House for September.

Woodhouse Grove Summer Music Festival

“Grovestock” saw performances from the school Senior Rock, Soul & Swing Bands as well as the Upper Sixth super-group of leavers. Georgia Marker, Oliver Priestley, Emily Grote and Tilly Evans played/sang in various combinations with Eddie King (Bass) and Sam Halstead (Drums) dropping in and out; the event was perhaps more jam session than concert at times. Ellie Monaghan delivered an impromptu solo of The Call to wish the leavers well in a touching tribute with “I’ll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye” being one of the bon mots used as a refrain.

Performing Arts Review



























Perfoming ArtsPage 58






























Drummers’ Concert







Prize Day






























































Drummers’ Concert







Prize Day







Instrumental and Vocal Examination Results

During the year, 134 pupils took and passed practical music examinations with twenty-three attaining distinction and a further forty-seven passing with merit. Nine pupils took and passed Grades Eight examinations with, fourteen taking and passing Grades Seven.

The year’s Grades Eight results were:

Pick of the year’s music percentages were:

Laura Sutcli�e Flute 8 134 Distinction

Laura Sutcli�e Violin 8 130 Distinction

Georgia Marker Cello 8 117 Pass

Abbie Nott Alto Saxophone 8 116 Pass

Ellie Nott Clarinet 8 113 Pass

Emily Grote Flute 8 112 Pass

Joshua Binns Rock School Guitar 8 74 Merit

Oliver Priestley Rock School Guitar 8 60 Pass

Eddie King Rock School Drums 8 87 Merit

Connor Elliott Music Theatre 5 94 Distinction

Mimi Jones Rock School Drums 2 92 Distinction

Yasmin Amrat Music Theatre 3 91 Distinction

Freya Javed Singing 3 90 Distinction

Alice Wright Piano 1 90 Distinction

Laura Sutcli�e Flute 8 89 Distinction

Ella Manogue Singing 3 89 Distinction

Isla Swarbrigg Singing 3 89 Distinction

Nicole Swinnerton Piano 6 89 Distinction

Imogen Idle Piano 1 89 Distinction

Charlotte Slater Music Theatre 7 88 Distinction

Summer Lawrence Music Theatre 2 87 Distinction

Ruby Clark Music Theatre 2 87 Distinction

Laura Sutcli�e Violin 8 87 Distinction

Cameron Tonge Rock School Drums 7 86 Distinction

Annabel Darren Descant Recorder 2 85 Merit

Evie Sugden Music Theatre 6 85 Distinction

Claudia Darren Music Theatre 4 85 Distinction

Chloe Cater Music Theatre 4 85 Distinction

Bella Noscoe-Rose Music Theatre 3 85 Distinction

Charlotte Proctor Singing 7 85 Merit

Name Instrument Grade Mark Category


Performance Stars

Alex Dalton topped the performance lists with 17 public performances this academic year, Ella Manogue and Abbie Nott performed 14 times each. Emily Grote, Katherine Knight, Flora Lawson, Matiyah Meer, Ellie Nott and Charlotte Proctor all notched up 13 performances. The highest placed Year 7 pupil was Maidie Jennings with eight public performances. Break-time concert performers were many and varied from the Year 10 ‘Humming Scrum’ through to the Year 7 pupils who opened their accounts at the Wednesday co�ee festival. The highest total for break-time performances was logged by Abbie Nott with seven performances whilst Nicole Swinnerton and Ellie Nott both logged four performances.

External Representation:

Grove performers continue to excel beyond the bounds of the school as follows:

Laura Sutcli�e (Violin) and Alex Dalton (Clarinet) continued to play key roles in the City of Leeds Youth Orchestra. Alex also contributing to the City of Leeds Youth Wind Orchestra and Laura joining the National Folk Ensemble. Ella Manogue (Trumpet) continues to excel the Northern Children's Orchestra and is auditioning for the National Children’s Orchestra. Scarlett Reilly is a soprano with the Opera North Youth Company performing in staged and concert productions each term.

Connor Elliott has been filming with CBBC for the BAFTA award winning Class Dismissed series, winning a tough audition process from a large pool of youngsters before filming for seven weeks over the summer.

Speech and Drama Examinations:

Fifty six pupils took and passed Speech and Drama examinations in June, with 10 gaining distinctions and 30 passing with merit.

The highest grades were:

Whilst the highest percentages were:

Name Grade Mark Category

Ellie Young 8 78 MeritJames Shoesmith-Evans 8 77 MeritLouis Moorhouse 7 86 DistinctionIsaac Birdsall 7 73 PassScarlett Reilly 7 73 PassJake Fletcher-Stega 7 72 Pass

Name Grade Mark Category

Tilly Raj 3 89 DistinctionFreya Mcdonald 1 88 DistinctionReuven Walker 1 88 DistinctionCatriona Cochrane 5 87 DistinctionUmar Khan 4 87 DistinctionMax Mackenzie 3 87 DistinctionAvantika Sarai 1 87 DistinctionLouis Moorhouse 7 86 DistinctionBella Noscoe-Rose 3 86 DistinctionGeorgina Dutton 2 86 Distinction


The Pantomime season started early at the Grove as Miss Couper directed Cinderella for two nights with a matinee performance for Brontë House’s Year 5 and 6 pupils. The slapstick and audience participation went down particularly well with the junior pupils but less well with the cleaners the following day! Emily Grote and Ellie Monaghan starred as the eponymous heroine with Joshua Binns as Prince Charming, naturally. Archie Rika-Rayne's portrayal of 'Buttons' was typically e�usive and over-the-top, as he warmed up the audience ready for their participation. His frequent ad-libs and comic timing definitely made it memorable for all! Comedy duo, Jake Fletcher Stega and Isaac Birdsall, were the source of the messy, slapstick scenes as Salt and Vinnie. Eva DeLuca and Phoebe Cli�e were almost unrecognisable as the Ugly Sisters and frequently

competed to steal the scene. Nina Pucekova’s dance moves will long be remembered as the Baron Hardup hit the dance-floor.

The technical side of the show was another first with ‘floating image’ technology creating magic that was fully integrated with the actors. The magic-gauze meant impressive visual e�ects that flowed into and out of props and showing complete transformations for the fairy godmother’s final preparations. Thanks to Mr. Middleton, as ever, for the wizardry assisted by his team of Andrew Mettrick (lighting), Matthew Barker (AV) and Alex Kaye (sound). Mr. David Hunter also contributed various elements of the animations for the tech team which were extremely impressive.

One last time, with feeling, “It’s behind you!”

Cinderella


On 28 September 2017 a select group of 6th formers entertained a packed theatre for a ‘Night At The Musicals’. The group of eight singers were all invited to take part in the show based upon their previous performances and achievements in high level singing exams. They were ‘requested’ to sing certain songs in order to give the show a varied structure and mixed programme. The night began in rather a sinister way with a song from American Psycho The Musical, sang in harmony in the dark with the performers surrounding the audience. The programme then saw a good mix of musicals old and new, the latest being a song from brand new Broadway smash Dear Evan Hansen; Josh Binns giving a performance of an extremely di�cult song called ‘For Forever’. He sang about the death of the character’s best friend superbly, and brought many members of the audience to tears.

All eight singers were incredible and gave performances worthy of professional theatre, leading some members of the audience not too familiar with the school to question if they really were ‘just students’. The excellent-eight all deserve a mention for some of their most memorable solo songs on the night: Lucy Dodd ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’ from The Phantom of the Opera, Georgia Marker ‘Unexpected Song’ from Song & Dance, Emily Grote ‘Broadway Baby’ from Follies, Josh Binns ‘Wondering’ from The Bridges of Madison County, Imogen Amos ‘I’d Give My Life For You’ from Miss Saigon, Tom Wood ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserables, Charlotte Proctor

‘Little Known Facts’ from You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown and Tilly Evans ‘My House’ from Matilda the Musical.

Particularly worthy of note was the humorous song from the Charlie Brown musical, sung by Charlotte Proctor and featuring Mr. Crawford. In ‘Little Known Facts’ Charlotte portrayed the part of Lucy, trying to convince the audience of some made-up statements like “snow comes up out of the ground”. Mr. Crawford was having none of this, interrupting with a cry of “Lucy, you know that’s wrong!” His American accent was astounding, particularly because it sounded very much like he hailed from Yorkshire!

The slick transitions between songs on the night was achieved by having two separate stages in the theatre, meaning that the band were required non-stop for long periods of time. Eddie King (bass), Oliver Priestley (drum kit) and Mr. Crawford (piano) did a fantastic job, playing superb quality music to accompany all the singers. With Alex Dalton helping backstage and Mr. Middleton in the tech box, the concert ran very smoothly and professionally. The Headmaster described the evening as “spell binding, one of the best I have attended in over 20 years of school mastering”. A deserved review for the students who put all their hard work and e¡orts into an incredible night, even rehearsing in the holidays before the beginning of the academic year.

Adam Longbottom

By Request


A NightTo Remember


The moving showcase, ‘A Night to Remember’ treated the audience to a range of musical, solo, dance and drama items on the themes of Love and Death.

The evening was shaped by the A Level drama students’ exam pieces and their decision to create their own devised theatre in the style of The Paper Birds Theatre Company using the topics of love and death. The all-female Paper Birds lean stylistically towards physical theatre and movement technique in the creation of their work. Their predominant focus is to explore subjects and issues of importance to women expanding on relevant political and social ideas/issues within society. They use Verbatim theatre (in which plays are constructed from the precise words spoken by people interviewed or involved in an event) to create raw and original scripts.

The A Level exam pieces were sophisticated and thought provoking, one based on the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe and the second retelling the story of Lynn Gilderdale an M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) su�erer. The students gathered large quantities of research, explored numerous archives and conducted various interviews to gather first hand accounts on their chosen topics to create their devised scripts. As their final performances at The Grove, the A Level drama students (Emily Hall, Emily Grote, Charlotte Laycock, Leah McPherson, Ellie Monaghan, Sophie Preston) demonstrated their refined skill, flair and talent in drama in what was a truly memorable conclusion to their theatrical journey at The Grove.

The showcase also boasted many other dazzling moments which included Junior and Senior Dance Club performing One from the musical 'A Chorus Line'. Once again, it was wonderful to see the dance students’ blossom on stage, which for many was their debut performance. Emily Hall, Sophie Preston and CJ Proctor also sparkled as a trio in the final moments of the dance. In particular, Emily Hall has been a member of Dance Club throughout her career at The Grove and latterly has been an exemplary dance Prefect. She has always been my ‘right hand’ lady at numerous open mornings, taster days and weekly dance clubs. She is a truly wonderful dancer and person and I wish her well as she bows out of her performing career at The Grove. Sophie Preston and CJ Proctor have also continued to choreograph large quantities of dance material, and they did not disappoint in what was also Sophie’s final show at The Grove. The senior girls aided me in realising my creative vision and will remain role models for the younger

dancers as they progress in their own dance careers. Evie Hunter and Maidie Jennings will no doubt follow in their footsteps as they demonstrated their own beautiful talent in their own lyrical and balletic duet.

Will Robinson made his debut performance in the showcase and mesmerised the audience with the quality of his singing and guitar playing. He wowed the audience with Elvis Presley’s Falling in Love which opened the show, later showcasing his musicality in a duet with the talented CJ Proctor.

Connor Elliott owned the stage with his charismatic delivery of Frank Sinatra’s Moon River. As ever, Connor was a delight to work with and I am excited to see how this young man continues to shine and embrace the world of performing arts, within which he is very much a natural.

Other dazzling performances included Ella Manogue who oozed stage presence as she sang On My Own from the musical ‘Les Miserables’ with a quiet confidence. Katherine Knight took centre-stage in her emotive monologue about grief and loss, handling a mature piece of script with subtle dramatic skill. Emily Grote and Joshua Binns moved the audience with their musical duet from the film ‘The Greatest Showman’ and along with Tilly Evans then became charismatic and complimentary backing singers to CJ Proctor, as she concluded the show with a moving rendition of Faith Hill’s There You’ll Be.

Toby Middleton continues to nurture our next generation of theatre technicians. Matthew Barker, Alex Kaye and Andrew Mettrick provided seamless sound operation, A.V and lighting for the showcase. On the night of the showcase, the boys also coordinated the technical aspects of the show on their own and I am grateful for their commitment, professionalism and teamwork in contributing to the undeniable success of the show. William Pratt, Jaipal Singh, Laith McElhone and Holly Lamb ably assisted the stage management and were a delight to work with.

To conclude, I am so grateful for the hard work that all of the students put into the show and for having one last opportunity to work with the A Level Drama students. To quote P.T Barnum, 'The noblest art is that of making others happy' and my A Level Drama students did indeed achieve this throughout their performance career in The Grove Theatre.

Mr. P Tedd


Arts

Teah Colilles, Y13

Georgia Young, Y11

Jacky Pan, Y11

Bethan Evans, Y13

Arts Page 69

Nicole Swinnerton, Y10

Holly Kershaw, Y13

ArtsPage 70

Esther Bean, Y11

Catrina Eaton, Y11

Arts Page 71

Tamla Dickson, Y13

Mike Shao, Y11

SportsReports

The season started once again with a trip to Gateshead for the HMC North Championships. Nineteen Grove athletes took part in what is always a high-quality event. 1st places came for Stan Spence in the Inter Boys 100m, Emma Wood in the Junior Girls LJ and the 4x100m Inter Boys relay team. 2nd places, Emma Okpala Junior Girls javelin, Willem Johnson Inter Boys 200m and Emma Wood 75m hurdles. 3rd places were awarded to Conrad Myers in the Inter Boys LJ, Will Robinson in the Senior Boys discus and Junior Girls 4x100m relay team.

One of the most exciting developments has been the large number of junior athletes training and competing for the school and we took fifty Y7-9 athletes to compete at the Bradford District Championships this season. 1st places were achieved by: Lalita Braithwaite-Shro�, Yasmin Amrat, Ben Hill, Lola Marshall, Chloe Cater, Annabelle Hudson, Lillian Hughes and Emma Wood. Emma Okpala, Scarlett Birdsall & Rory Henderson also took 1st places and broke the championships records in their respective events. Another eight 2nd places and twelve 3rd places from our athletes rounded o� a successful afternoon.

Sixteen of our athletes were then selected from this event to go on a represent the district in the West Yorkshire Championships a couple of weeks later.

The West Yorkshire Championships, gave another opportunity for our athletes to showcase their hard work. Annabelle Hudson and Conrad Myers both won their sprint hurdles events in impressive style. Emma Wood and Emma Okpala both continued their impressive form with wins in the Junior Girls LJ & javelin respectively, Will Robinson took the title in the Senior Boys hammer in his first competition, throwing a 6kg! Our sprinters: Evie Hamer and Lola Marshall in the Junior Girls 200m, Scarlett Birdsall - Junior Girls 300m, Willem Johnson - Inter Boys 200m and Freddy Clark - Inter Boys 400m all ran superbly to reach the finals, an impressive achievement, as they are all at the lower end of their respective age groups. Stan Spence found the going tough in the Inter Boys 100m but this is always one of the hardest events to qualify in, as the number of athletes is high. Ella Manogue rounded o� things in the Junior Girls discus, coming 4th.

There was also lots of success in the team events. Our Junior Girls and Inter Boys teams retained their titles by winning the Bradford Team League competition. The Junior Boys team were made up of Y7s and they acquitted themselves very well against Y8 boys, their performances will stand them in good stead next season.

The Y7s represented the school in the Super 8 competition at the Bradford Schools Summer Games, winning the overall event. They went on to represent Bradford Schools at the West Yorkshire event. Many successes came from this and they did superbly as a team; winning 18 of the 36 events and numerous 2nd and 3rd places meant we came away eventual winners.

One of the stand-out athletes of the season though is Emma Wood. She has competed in several championship events. Earlier in the season, at the county championships, she took 2nd in the shot put and two 3rd places in long jump and hurdles. Later success came in the North East Combined Events Championships, where she won the title and was then selected for the West Yorkshire team to compete at the national championships in September. Selection for Yorkshire to compete at the Inter Counties is also a fantastic achievement for her.

My thanks to all of the coaching sta�, who have helped this season: Mr. Dobson, Mr. Howard, Mr. Barr, Mr. Jones, Miss Thompson, Miss Pearce & Mrs. Wickens. My thanks also to the support from the parents at all of the events this year.

Mrs. Jennings

Sports Reports Page 73

Athletics

Sports ReportsPage 74

Triathlon & Cross Country

The first race of the season took place at Bingley Harriers’ Schools’ Fixture and gave a number of pupils the opportunity to show their potential. Congratulations to Logan Hargreaves-Madhas who won his 4th consecutive title, this time in the Senior Boys’ race. This year Logan was closely followed by (Captain) Robert Mitchell with a perfectly judged run in second place taking a number of key scalps. Ben Hill (Year 7) worked through the field maturely to take second place in the U13 race with Jake Wallace (Year 8) finishing a fine 4th.Imogen Idle (Year 8) ran determinedly for 8th and Lola Henderson (Year 7) debuted well in 10th and Scarlett Birdsall closed the A team in 15th for a team bronze. It was fantastic to start the year o� with two senior boys on the podium and such promise from Years 7 and 8.

In October English Schools’ Cross-Country Cup Round 1, saw three teams U13 boys, U13 girls and U15 boys race at Graves’ Park She�eld. The course was tough, with a fierce wind blowing and many of our athletes were part-time members of the club or last-minute drafts so were put to the test. Ben Hill, however, took the Year 7/8 race on and stretched the field out, swapping the lead regularly before finally being edged out to second place in the final run to the line.

The opening fixture of the Leeds Schools’ Cross-Country League was held at Middleton Park on 4th November. Five pupils turned out for the school

with no complete team on the day.Ben Hill won the U13 race with Jake Wallace in second. Imogen Idle was 9th in the U13 girls’ race, Lola Henderson 10th and Lucy Lund 20th; there were no U15 runners.Disappointingly the senior races have been cut from the Leeds League schedule due to reduced numbers over the last few years. WGS are investigating hosting a race for seniors one Wednesday afternoon for BGS, GSAL, WGS, St Peter’s, Ashville…

In the Leeds Abbey Dash on 5th November, pupil Eddie King (Year 11) debuted with 42 minutes 26 seconds on a day of glorious weather. In the Junior Great North Run on 9th September Jake Wallace ran the 4km course in 15mins 43secs finishing 16 out of 463 in the U12 age group.

In January’s Northern Cross Country Championships on Saturday. Ben Hill (Year 7) and Jake Wallace (Year 8) tackled a very tough course at Harewood House. Ben came 21st (5th Yorkshire athlete) and Jake finished 92nd out of 232 finishers in the Year 7/8 race.Ben Hill, Lola Henderson (both Year 7) and Club Captain Robert Mitchell (Upper Sixth) have been selected to represent West Yorkshire at the English Schools’ Cross-Country races in March. Ben won the West Yorkshire trial in commanding style from the gun and Lola and Robert paced superbly to stay in contention throughout on a muddy and wintry course.


This is the first time we have had three runners compete in the English Schools’ Cross-Country race.

The Northern Schools’ Cross-Country was postponed this year due to the snowfall in early March.

The final Leeds Schools’ Cross-Country League Race was held at Middleton Park on Wednesday 14th March. In the U13 Boys and U13 Girls, WGS fielded complete teams with some promising debuts.Ben Hill won the League title and the race with a commanding run (having won each round this year). Jake Wallace ran a strong second half of the race to claim fourth place whilst Robbie Higgins (on debut) finished twelfth. Rory Henderson and Archie Hurford also debuted well and show much promise for next season. Lola Henderson continued her fine first Grove XC season for seventh place in the U13 Girls, with Imogen Idle returning to something like her best endurance shape with a great middle section of the race for ninth. Grace Thirkill debuted well in thirteenth place supported well by Lucy Lund. Amilia Newsome and Scarlett Birdsall both ran well in some rather classic cross-country mud. Cara Liptrot was the sole Grovian in the U15 girls’ race and she put in a fantastic performance for fifth place showing much potential for next year. Will Eastell and Finn Richards returned to the team for the second time this year and both showed glimmers of their old form. Finn almost catching Will on the last lap.

At the close of the season, Ben Hill (Year 7) and Jake Wallace (Year 8) were ranked 1st and 2nd overall in the Leeds Schools’ Cross-Country League; this is the first time WGS has had two medallists in the same age -group. Imogen Idle and Lola Henderson were ranked 7th in U13 Girls league.

The Apperley Bridge CanterSix pupils and seven sta� competed for WGS in the Horsforth Harriers’ Apperley Bridge Canter which attracted 500 runners. Robert Mitchell (club captain in 26th) led the teams home as the senior boys took the U18 title with George Judson (46th) and Eddie King (Year 11 in 57th).

TriathlonAt the Leeds Bradford Triathlon Club’s Aquathlon the school had a good showing with Ben Hill (Year 7) carding the fastest run section of his age-group to take second overall. In Year 8, Chloe Cater (12th) and Isla Swarbrigg (15th) competed well whilst Brontë House pupils Nicole Cater (38th) and Simeon Tedd (35th) both enjoyed the event.

At the Leeds Bradford Triathlon Club’s Duathlon the school had three entrants. Sam Dowsland (Brontë House) came an incredible 13th in his first event, Simeon Tedd (Brontë House) 49th and Lucy Lund (Year 7) 63rd. Brontë House also entered the Brownlee Triathlon Day at Bradford Grammar School taking 12 pupils along to experience a full triathlon.

Our first home multi-sport fixture, a Duathlon (run-bike-run), was postponed due to ice, but the school’s first Aquathlon (swim-run) took place on Tuesday 3rd July, with 35 entrants from a range of local schools in a taster event for many of the invited schools. Juniors had to swim 200m and run 1800m whilst Year 9 and above had to swim 250m and run 2500m. The weather was perfect ensuring that the pool section was refreshing before a blisteringly hot run section. Ben Hill and Hermione Roe won the Year 7/8 race, whilst Andrew Mettrick just missed the podium behind three visiting athletes in the Year 9-11 race.

Since mid-January we have been delighted to welcome the Brownlee brothers and members of the British Triathlon squad to train at the WGS pool twice per week. The group have enjoyed using our facilities and are now also using the school’s grass pitches for their summer running speed sessions. The Brownlees, Aaron Royle (Aus), Mark Buckingham, Gordon Benson, Non Stanford, Lucy Hall and Georgia Taylor Brown have been regular attendees either in the pool or on the grounds.

CyclingTriathlon has continued to flourish with our monthly cycling sessions at the Brownlee Centre under coach Steve Coy from Leeds Bradford Triathlon and on Monday 2nd July, four Grove cyclists put on their very own 'yellow jerseys' for the West Yorkshire Schools Games cycling finals. Neither the scorching midday sun, nor the swarm of flies attracted to their luminous competitor t-shirts, seemed to detract from their enthusiasm. The team, which consisted of Lucy Lund (Year 7), Isla Swarbrigg (Year 8), Toby Calvert and Oscar Robinson (Year 9), competed in three cycling events throughout the course of the day: a team time trial, a team relay and individual races. When they weren't cycling, they had chance to get some last minute tips from Georgia Taylor-Brown, silver medallist at last month's ITU World Triathlon Leeds, and were congratulated on their e�orts by Councillor Zafar Ali, Lord Mayor of Bradford. Despite a few mechanical issues en route, the team achieved fourth place out of fifteen teams in total - a great result for the Grove's first ever cycling competition. Many congratulations to those involved.

Mr. P Tedd


Swimming

The team started the season o� on a high beating Rishworth both home and away. We then went on to swim away at GSAL where we were met with our first loss of season, but there were some outstanding swims from Chloe Cater, Jasper Hunt and the inters boys’ relay team. After this the girls squad faced Harrogate Ladies College where we sadly narrowly lost by a nail biting 9 points. The juniors brought back a victory for us at the next gala against Horsforth School winning 164 points to 94 at home. The team came together at the end of the season and finished the year o� on a high against Bradford Grammar School winning by 156 points to 145.

Overall it was a good season for the swimming team and particularly pleasing to see the talent of the Year 7 swimmers who made huge progress with the help of our new coach, Shane Dudley. We look forward to continued success next season.

The team sadly bid goodbye to both Miss Russell and Mrs. Watson who have run the team for 14 years at the Grove. Miss Russell and Mrs. Watson started the team in 2003 and have both worked tirelessly running and organising galas and trips and leading both morning and after school training sessions. A huge thank you goes to both teachers for their commitment over the years.

Lisa Paul, Swim Captain


Basketball

Squash

Basketball had another successful season at The Grove this year, with participation numbers growing week on week. Every single week saw at least twenty Y9 pupils train, putting them in fantastic stead for next season's matches and tournaments. I would like to thank Charlie Plein for captaining the U14 team this year and making sure everyone was committed and worked hard.

The U16 team made a slow start in the Leeds North West Basketball league, losing their first two games. However, they turned the season around and finished with a 3-3 record, placing 3rd in the league. Year 8 pupil Enrique Peña, who was at The Grove for the winter term, had a superb season and was pivotal to the team's success. A massive achievement for any student, never mind somebody playing with boys 3 years older and over a foot taller! Enrique returned to Madrid after Christmas to continue to play for Real Madrid's basketball academy. We wish him all the best for the future.

The U18 team played several friendlies throughout the season. A highlight being the double-header fixture against Ackworth School. Both fixtures were extremely close and fiercely competitive, both ending in very narrow losses late in the 4th quarter. Overall, a successful season for a young U18 team. With the majority of the team still being here next year, we will be looking to progress leaps and bounds next season.

Finally, a massive thank you to our U16 and U18 captains Zijian Zhuang and Angus Yu, who are leaving us at the end of this year. Both boys have been committed members of the school basketball for several years and they will be greatly missed.

Mr. M Dobson

Hockey

Although still in its development, hockey has been a huge success this year with participation numbers growing week on week, culminating with the school's first hockey fixture in over 10 years! The fixture was played indoors against Guiseley School in which 13 girls were able to represent the school.

Next year we are planning to build on this great start and are looking to increase the opportunities for hockey at The Grove. There will be a lot more indoor and outdoor fixtures, predominately in the lower school, Years 7-9.

Mr. M Dobson

This season there have been four U18 and four U15 matches against GSAL and three U18 matches against Ilkley Squash Club. There has also been junior squash training on a Thursday and senior squash training on a Tuesday. It has been pleasing to have a number of new players join training and also represent the school in a competitive environment.

Against GSAL the U18s unfortunately did not win an overall match but had several strong individual performances that helped win some tough games.

However, the U15 team had more success on court and won 2 out their 4 matches against GSAL. Against Ilkley Squash club there were again several strong individual performances but no overall team victories. These matches involved students from Y7-Y13 and the matches were an opportunity for a lot of the new players to experience squash in a competitive environment away from school.

The progress shown on court in the 2017-18 season has been impressive and there has been a lot of interest from the younger age groups which is pleasing. Robert Mitchell, Y12, captained well this year and the target next season will be to keep working hard on improving technical and tactical knowledge on court to hopefully gain more success. Well done to all students who have attended training and played against opposition sides this season.

Mr. C L Softley


A real roller coaster of a season for the 1st VII this year. An intense pre-season before the start of school kicked us o� with a positive start. A nail biting fixture against a clever Cheadle Hulme saw us miss out by just 1 goal. Only one week later we came back fighting against another Manchester based team and but this time took the victory (Stockport 41-10). Our focus was then aimed towards the Smile Cup Competition and the West Yorkshire National School Qualifiers.

Drawing close rivals GSAL in the Smile cup meant we knew what we were up against but unfortunately that wasn’t enough. Although this wasn’t our best performance, it was a real learning curve for all the girls involved. Not long after, we competed at the first round of the National Schools Competition. A tough morning of fixtures

saw us miss out on qualifying by just 1 point. The girls soon turned it around after the October break and put in an outstanding performance against Greenhead College, managing to come out on top with a final score of 36-33. We then travelled up to RGS Newcastle for our Plate fixture and, after a challenging game, came out on top winning 49-30.

Just before the Christmas break we played one of our main rivals Bradford Grammar, winning 45-16.

We then worked our way up to the quarter final round of the National Plate; a nail biting game against Berkhamstead - but fell short by 2 goals at the final whistle. A tough result to take but credit to the girls for the intensity. They finished the season o� with some sterling performances in the Caribbean.

Netball 1st Team


Netball 2nd Team

Netball 3rd TeamThe second team have an extremely successful season this year; winning 12 of their 16 fixtures. They had an extremely positive start to the season winning the Alex Reid 2nd Team Tournament. All 11 girls took to the court and showed some encouraging combinations at such an early point in the season.

These combinations continued to show strength as the season progressed with impressive wins against some tough opponents; including convincing wins against GSAL, Sedbergh and Queen Margaret’s throughout the season. The scores and netball on display were a true reflection of the hard work and dedication all players put in this season. The second team continued their impressive form on Tour to win 5 out of their 7 matches in some challenging environments and climates.

The 3rd VII have enjoyed a mixed season this year ending with an unforgettable tour. The season started with two area tournaments resulting in defeats. However the level of skill and netball on display by the team left the girls feeling positive about the potential for the season. This season the girls have worked extremely hard to transfer skills learnt in training into their match play and this hard work paid o� with convincing wins against Bradford Grammar School (30-1), St. Aidan’s (19-3) and St. Mary’s Menston (16-9). Their winning streak unfortunately came to an end with competitive match against Stonyhurst, losing by just 1 goal. Credit to their work ethic in training, the girls finished their season on a high, with a great


Netball U16s A

What a fantastic season for the U16A squad.

A mixed start to the season as the girls beat Cheadle Hulme (44-9), lost to Stockport (34-23), but followed that with two convincing wins against St. Aidan’s and Harrogate Grammar. In October we started our journey to reach National finals. A tough morning but wins across the board and one draw, to GSAL, meant we qualified for the regional round of National Schools - but narrowly lost out on being County Champions, purely on goal di�erence. Feeling confident, we went on to win our matches

against Prince Henry’s, Wakefield Girls, Stonyhurst, Bradford Grammar and GSAL. At the end of January, we travelled to a wet and windy Hymers, to continue our journey to qualify for the National Schools Netball Finals. We played seven matches and had another successful day, winning all matches except one. Regardless, we were runners up and would be representing Yorkshire and Humberside in the National Finals in March.

In the lead up to National Finals, we enjoyed a fixture against local club side, Leeds Athletic Netball Club. The pace and physicality of the club side allowed us to learn a lot of our weaknesses and iron these out over the coming weeks.

On Saturday 17th March we arrived, very early, at Stanborough School in Hertfordshire to compete in the National Netball Finals. Playing in sub-zero temperatures and snow, we started o� with 5 straight wins against Southend High School, Repton, King’s School Worcester, Wycombe High and Canford. Unfortunately, we then lost to Streatham & Clapham High School. Knowing that we needed to win our remaining 2 matches to continue in the competition, we followed this with probably our most significant results, a draw against Oldham Hulme, and a win against Teesside High School, which saw us secure a place in the semi-final stages - creating Woodhouse Grove history as the first netball team to reach this stage at National Finals! The squad lost out in the semi-final to St. Monica’s, who eventually became the National Champions. Finishing 4th overall is such an amazing achievement, one which the girls will remember for a long time to come.

Their commitment and resilience are just a couple of the Grovian Values these girls demonstrated throughout the whole season.

Netball U16s B

scoreline against Queen Margaret’s (39-15) and another well fought match against Ashville to come out just on top (18-17). Most members of the team continued with this form on Tour in the US and Caribbean. Kim Basra had an outstanding tour and receiving numerous POMs and Tour Defender of the 2nd Team. Lucy Dodd also had her match play further against some physical defenders and scored high shooting percentages to keep her team on top. A huge thank you to any of the U16B girls that supported the 3rd VII throughout the season.

This season the U16Bs welcomed new coach, Miss Fowle. This partnership resulted in a successful


Netball U15s AA season of two halves for the U15As this year. The season began with a test against Cheadle Hulme, unfortunately we didn’t get the start we wanted with a 7-22 loss. With tough fitness sessions and work on options the girls came back stronger to win their second match with a comfortable win against Stockport (27-6). Before Christmas our form seemed to be inconstant and against tough opponents we were punished (St. Bede’s College, St. Aidan’s).

Although we weren’t getting the results we wanted, the team performances were improving with some positive shooting statistics from Naveena Amrat, Nicole Swinnerton and Emily Middleton. Following the Christmas break, the team secured wins against Wakefield Girls (36-10), Huddersfield Grammar (12-5) and Bradford Grammar School (31-24). The most exciting fixture of the season had to be Sedburgh. With a couple of injuries depleting the team, a couple of U13s were asked to support the team. The players worked tirelessly to come back from being down by 5 goals in the final quarter to finish with a well earned draw. Big wins over Queen Margaret’s and Hill House meant the season finished on a high. We are looking forward to the girls continuing this form into Senior Netball next season.

Netball U14s A

After a strong start with a win 22-18 against Cheadle Hulme, the 14As su�ered losses to Stockport Grammar (4-17) and Harrogate Grammar (16-39), in tough fought games where all girls took to the court. At Nationals we were unfortunate to draw GSAL first game, which resulted in a loss and a drop in moral. After a shaky next few games we got out first win.

Netball U15s B

season for the team, only losing 2 Saturday fixtures throughout the whole season. The season started well with one of the highest scoring games, a 33-5 win over Cheadle Hulme. The team made good early connections on court which resulted in them winning their second game against St Aidan’s (8-2). A short pause in the season for the good old English weather interrupted the winning ways for the 16Bs. We then faced Stonyhurst in cold conditions and unfortunately didn’t quite manage the win losing by 1 goal (10-11). After a mixed start to the season, the fixture against Queen Margaret’s was a turning point for the U16Bs. The defence pressure from all the girls in this match helped to provide the shooters with more opportunities, and they rewarded the defenders hard work by putting the ball through the net; resulting in the final score of 31-7, with all girls taking to the court. The team continued to apply this tough defensive pressure in the last few games of the season which again helped them to come out on top; with wins against Fulneck (13-12) and Hymers (20-16). The increased defensive skills and improved communication by all members of the team really enabled the team to finish the season on such a high.

This season was a particular challenge for the team, with injuries often leaving our team depleted. With that being said, there was some impressive netball on display. The girls worked hard to establish strong combinations. The team enjoyed success against Harrogate Ladies College (27-3), Hill House (23-9) and Hymers College (13-8) throughout the season but were tested against others such as GSAL. The work ethic of the girls in training was commendable. A special mention to newcomers Abigail Seib and Eleanor Armitage who made outstanding progress as the season continued. Regardless of the results, the girls have made remarkable progress. I look forward to seeing the girls continue to make progress and further their knowledge of the game.


Netball U14s B

The U14Bs got o� to a storming season with a 22-8 win over Cheadle Hulme. A fixture that was much closer in the score line last season, so a great start to the 2017/18 season. The girls continued to build on this performance in training which led to another strong performance beating Harrogate Ladies College 36-4. All girls took to the court and contributed to this very impressive score. During the middle of the season the girls were challenged further with some hard-fought games against Stonyhurst and Harrogate Grammar School, which resulted in 2 losses. The girls regained focus and pushed each other in training to develop their through court play and options work. The early morning start for an away fixture against Hymers didn’t seem to a�ect the girls with a great win against a tough side. A special mention must go to Lily Greenwood-House who gained her team many turnovers and moved with ease between positions.

Netball U13s A

An impressive season from the U13A squad.

Coming back from the summer break eager to get started, the girls came out strong with a 22-8 win against Cheadle Hulme. With the Cup run starting early, the girls faced a tough Oldham side that resulted in a 15-17 loss; a tough result to take but the girls reacted positively. With 10 consecutive including wins against Harrogate Ladies College, Wakefield Girls, Queen Margaret’s, Bradford Grammar School, Sedbergh and Stonyhurst the girls went into the Plate competition confident they could perform. A 27-10 win against Chigwell and a 23-8 win against King High meant the squad had qualified for the Smile Independent Schools Plate Final.

We welcomed Berkhamsted to the Grove for the final. It was goal for goal until the 3rd quarter when the girls took a 4 goal lead. A great battle from the girls but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to take the win, losing by 3 goals. The girls showed their strength and determination by retuning the next day to defend their title as the U13 Leeds Schools Winners.

I look forward to watching the girls continue to grow and progress next season!

The girls really stepped up against Bradford Grammar, losing by just 1 goal, but it was great to see the hunger to win was back. They finished the day … in their pool, so unfortunately didn’t make it through to the semis. A great experience and day of learning to all those Year 9s and 8s who took part.

The rest of the season included loses to St Aidan’s, Wakefield Girls and Bradford Grammar and wins against Queen Margaret’s and Hymers. The results aren’t a true reflection of the individual and team performances given each week and improvements throughout the season, in some miserable weather conditions. There were lots of positives to take away; great flexibility throughout the team with players o�ering more than one position, good shooting and some concrete defence resulting in lots of interceptions from Emma, Pearl and Scarlet. A huge well done to all the girls who were a member of the team this year, it was great to see such great team spirit and resilience in a di¢cult season.

Following this fixture, the girls finished the season with an outstanding performance in some wet weather against Ashville, with the final score being 23-3. A huge well done to all the girls this season for their hard work and commitment to the team. Further congratulations must go to Saba Yasin, on being awarded the Eileen Mollard Shield in recognition of her hard work and commitment to training.


The season started with a storming 26-0 win over Cheadle Hulme. Although the rest of the season did not follow these high score lines, the players did develop their skills and established some fierce combinations. The girls won 6 out of their 13 fixtures and were unlucky to lose 5. Fixtures against Harrogate Grammar (13-9) and Harrogate Ladies College (19-2) allowed the girls to gain confidence which led to some some fantastic passages of play. The commitment of the girls throughout the season allowed the team to develop a great team ethic and further their friendships on and o� the court. A convincing win against Stonyhurst (23-6) kept the spirits high, yet we still had to face Ripon Grammar School and Sedburgh. The results of these fixture did not reflect the games and the girls should be proud of the di�culties they presented to the opposition. The final fixture of the season ended in a rightful draw against Ashville (11-11). The progress these players have made over the year is superb. I’m excited to see these players develop even further next year.

Netball U13s C

A tough season for the U13Cs this year in terms of quantity of fixtures. However, this did not dampen the

Netball U13s B

This year, the U12A team has gone from strength to strength. Working hard at the beginning of the season to establish solid combinations and con-nections on court resulted in winning 15 out of 18 games; with highlight wins so early on in the season against Harrogate Grammar School (25-2), Harrogate Ladies College (38-0) and Bradford Grammar (21-3). Their next nine fixtures carried on in the same fashion with convincing wins against Ripon Grammar School (29-1), Queen Margaret’s (30-0), Sedbergh Prep (29-4) and St. Aidan’s (20-5). To finish the season, the players were involved in the U12 Leeds Schools Tournament and Bradford School Games. This further confirmed the high level of netball this team was performing at.

Netball U12s A

girls’ commitment to training and their focus at practice. The team came up against some strong opponents which reflects the statistics of the season. However, these fixtures helped the players to develop their skills under tough pressure and, at the latter end of the season, the players had developed better decision making under high pressure.

During the season we hosted a friendly fixture against the local club side, Leeds Athletic Netball Club. Unfortunately, LANC came out on top but the score didn’t reflect the game and it turned out to be a great learning experience for all players involved. Some standout performances against Hymers (5-7) and GSAL (5-8) saw the girls narrowly miss out on a win.

The girls finished the season playing in the Leeds Schools Area tournament. It was a tough afternoon in cold conditions, but the girls continued to work hard and played some smooth netball. There were lots of positional changes throughout the season and, as a result, players have developed their all-round ball handling skills.

I look forward to seeing how this group of girls continue to develop in U14 netball.


Many of the girls started the season with very little or no playing experience of netball. The girls explored playing a variety of positions throughout the season and all developed their own strengths that contributed to the team’s success. Starting the season with a 10-0 win against Ripon Grammar gave the girls even more determination to work hard at practice and develop their court craft. Lots of work on creating space and providing options resulted in stronger performances and a solid win against St Aidan’s (8-1). The girls faced some tough opponents at the LSNA U12 Tournament but their encouragement and support for one another heightened. With the help of Mrs. Vernon, the girls developed great defensive pressure and finished the season with a strong score against Hymers College. The girls worked well together and created many opportunities for the shooters resulting in a 13-1 win. It has been pleasing to see the girls develop and grow as a team over the season. I look forward to seeing these girls make further progress next season.

Miss G Thompson

After a tough first game resulting in an 11-17 loss to Cheadle Hulme, it was onwards and upwards for the U12B team with wins against Harrogate Gram-mar (13-7), Wakefield Girls (24-2), Bradford Gram-mar (17-0), Ripon Grammar, Queen Margaret’s (12-1) and a huge 40-0 victory against Harrogate Ladies’. Team selections were extremely competi-tive for each game and the selected girls consist-ently stepped up in each game, with both their attacking and defensive skills, making it a real challenge for most oppositions to score. A special mention must go to Ruby, whose hard work and relentlessness to win the ball saw her moved up to the A team midway through the year. We finished the netball year with the Leeds School Games, in which some super team performances saw the 12Bs into the semi-finals, unfortunately knocked out by Prince Henry’s. Unfortunately, it was the same fate at the Bradford School Games, this time being knocked out by our very own A team. Still an outstanding achievement as the only B team in the competition. A huge thank you and well done to all the girls this year for their hard work and dedica-tion to school netball, come rain, shine and snow. We look forward to seeing you back next year for another great season.

Netball U12s B

Netball U12s CAfter a nail biting semi-final against GSAL which went to extra time, the girls continued through to the final to face a strong Prince Henry’s side. A great afternoon of netball for all the girls which ended with a win. An outstanding first season at the Grove for the U12s, scoring a total of 296 all 18 fixtures. Although the results were certainly impressive, the conduct of every girl in the team and the encouragement and support they o�ered each other was just as important.


Tennis

The 2018 Tennis season started in late March with the first round of the Glanville Cup. The U18 Boys faced Ampleforth and unfortunately, after an even round of singles matches, the boys ended up losing 4-2 in matches. The U18 Girls then faced a very strong Stonyhurst side in the Aberdare Cup but it was a good experience to play on specialised indoor courts. The U18 and U16 Boys also enjoyed a trip to Ampleforth for the North of England Championships. Sayf Abbas and Joe Kelt made it through to the Semi-final of the U18s Cup and unfortunately lost 6-3.

Throughout the season there have been friendly fixtures for both Boys and Girls from U12-U18 against a variety of schools but there have also been Boys and Girls teams entered into the Y7/8 and Y9/10 Aegon Division 2 Leagues. All of the fixtures have enabled a variety of students to experience competitive tennis both home and away and have been a good test for the students. The Y7/8 Boys were particularly successful as they qualified through their league to face Ackworth school in the play-o�s.

The 2018 season has been another year where there has been a lot of intertest from students in Y7-Y13. After school training has been busy and all the students have been eager to learn and improve their ground strokes and tactical knowledge on court. This was aided by the knowledgeable input from an outside tennis coach, along with dedicated sta�.

There was also a successful Y7-9 Road to Wimbledon internal tournament which was won by Sam Farndon for the Boys and Jessica McCormick for the Girls.

Well done to all the students who have attended training throughout the year and also represented the school against opposition teams. We look forward to seeing everyone returning next year for another successful season.

Mrs. K Curtis/Mr. C L Softley

Senior Girls Team Senior Boys Team


Rugby 1st XVThe 1st XV enjoyed what turned out to be one of the best seasons in the school’s history, culminating in their first ever Under 18 National Final. Despite this, the team got o� to a slow start by winning only 2 of their first 6 matches. St. Peter’s York and QEGS Wakefield are always a tough start to the season and the relatively young group of players struggled to get to grips with the intensity of 1st team rugby. A convincing win against Pocklington soon followed but another defeat to St. Peter’s, York in the Natwest Cup (20-27) after conceding a late try, was another di�cult loss to take. However, the first round loss meant that the team continued their cup run in the Natwest Plate competition.It was important to keep moral high and a scrappy win away at Barnard Castle (21-10) helped but again this was followed by a home defeat to RGS Newcastle. The turning point of the season came just after half term with a thumping win over highly rated Denstone College (30-8) which coincided with a few players returning from injury, including vice-captain Ryan Gibson, who made an instant impact. From this moment on, the boys grew in confidence and only su�ered one more defeat all season. This was against the eventual Daily Mail Trophy winners, Sedbergh School (7-31). The score didn’t reflect the match in the end. The players performed heroically and The Grove were described by many as their toughest opponents all season, which was a nice consolation. Other notable performances included a home win against a very strong Durham side (29-15) and the outstanding rugby played against Bradford GS (31-7) under the Friday Night Lights, in freezing conditions at Keighley RUFC.

Post Christmas, the fixtures continued with one eye on the semi final of the NatWest Plate. In the earlier rounds, we beat Dame Allan’s School and Uppingham School in the quarter final. This meant a home tie was to come against former Daily Mail Cup winners, St. Peter’s High School, Gloucester at home. The semi final wasn’t due to be played until the end of February, so in the build up we beat Mount St. Mary’s, Ripon GS and Bishop Burton College despite 7 players not being available due to the RFU U18 Academy League in January and February. This was good preparation however and the boys performed to a very high standard on the day, with a confident 43-5 win. There was some outstanding attacking play on the day but it was the defence in the first half that kept the score to 14-5 at half time that was the real di�erence. The result meant the school had secured its first ever Under 18 National Final to be played at Sixways Stadium, the home of Worcester Warriors in March.There was a lot of excitement surrounding the final and the players did not disappoint on the day. They displayed how much progress they had made as a group and put in a complete performance to beat a very strong Trinity School, Croydon 36-14. The match day squad of 22 players were all able to play some part in the final and there were some outstanding individual performances on the day. Man of the Match, James Whitcombe scored two tries, there was a 'penalty' try and Joe Pearson and Joe Carpenter also scored. Luke Punton added 4 conversions and a penalty.

It was a fine way to end what was a very challenging and successful season. The players’

Rugby 1st VII

attitude was outstanding throughout and they absolutely got what they deserved in the end.The team was led well by the upper sixth players and special mentions must go to captain, Joe Green, vice-captain, Ryan Gibson and Matt Burke who stood in as vice-captain when Ryan was injured. There were also a number of lower sixth players who were mainstays of the team this year which bodes well for next season.


Results

Home | St Peter's School, York Lost : 14 - 24 League

Away | Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Lost : 20 - 33 League

Home | Pocklington School Won : 53 - 0 League

Home | St Peter's School, York Lost : 20 - 27 National Cup - Rd 1

Away | Barnard Castle School Won : 21 - 10 League

Home | RGS, Newcastle Lost : 22 - 32 League

Home | Dame Allan's Schools Won : 50 - 0 National Plate Rd 1

Away | Denstone College Won : 30 - 8 League

Home | Prince Henry's Grammar School Won : 32 - 3 Friendly

Home | Durham School Won : 29 - 15 League

Away | Sedbergh School Lost : 7 - 31 League

Away | Hymers College Won : 52 - 0 League

Away | The Uppingham School Won : 22 - 7 National Plate Qtr Final

Neutral | Bradford Grammar School Won : 31 - 7 League

Home | Mount St Mary's College Won : 10 - 7 Friendly

Home | Ripon Grammar School Won : 24 - 5 Friendly

Home | Bishop Burton College Won : 26 - 12 Friendly

Home | St Peter's RC High School, Gloucester Won : 48 - 5 National Plate Semi Final

Neutral | Trinity School, Croydon Won : 36 - 14 National Plate Final

Thank you boys for a memorable season and achieving something that you should all be very proud of for many years to come.

Player of the Year – Kieran WilymanCoaches’ Player of the Year – Matt BurkeMost Improved Player – Archie Rika-Rayne

The 1st VIIs season was cut short this year due to cancellations. The weather conditions were terrible throughout the months of February and March and the success of the XV a side team also hindered preparations. As a result, we only played in two tournaments this year.

The first tournament was played in early February at Hill House School. We fielded a predominantly lower sixth team and it was an early opportunity to assess the quality of the squad. We performed well in the first two matches, winning both. Eddie Wainibuli demonstrated his ability to beat defenders and Luke Fairbank and Frank Malir showed their sevens qualities. A poor performance

against a strong Durham side meant we went through as runners up. In the semi-final we played Hill House and it was a real end to end battle. In the end, it came down to sudden death as the scores were tied but unfortunately for the Grove, Hill House managed to get the last score.

There were no other tournaments played until the boys were able to defend the Rosslyn Park 7s title from last year and hopefully go one better. On day 1, we had a tough group but managed to sneak past a powerful Haileybury (14-7) in the first match. A comfortable win over Rydal Penrhos (36-0) set up what turned out to be a group decider between the Grove and Harrow. It was close at first but a few


Rugby U15s

Rugby 2nd XV

bits of indecision led to Harrow running away with it either side of half time (14-31). This meant that a win against Newport High School was a must in the last match to progress through in the Plate competition. The players saved their best performance for last and dominated Newport from start to finish, winning 42-7.

Going into Day 2, there were some weary bodies and a few injuries but the boys knew there were some challenging matches ahead. The e�ort put in by the players was outstanding but it just wasn’t their day as all 3 group matches on Day 2 were lost by conversions. We played Cardi� College, Bedford School and Hartpury College, all of whom were very strong teams.

Maybe a lack of sevens practice this year was our downfall but it could very easily have been 3 wins in 3 on Day 2. The boys should be proud of their e�orts as the rugby on display over the two days was of a very high standard.

7’s Player of the year – Luke Fairbank

Played: 10Won: 5Drawn: 0Lost: 5

From the start of the season, the coaches and the senior players knew that this was going to be a challenging campaign. Having been unbeaten the previous year, the team had lost many of its key players who had moved onto pastures new; the harsh reality of what lay ahead was illustrated in defeat in our first game to a very strong and well organised St. Peter’s side.

There was a feeling of resignation on the bus to QEGS the week after. Our unbeaten record gone, we had already lost a couple of players to the 1st XV due to injury and we were facing a fellow powerhouse of northern rugby. However, this fixture was to prove a turning point for this side and gave us a rather large injection of self confidence. We battled to an 8-5 victory, which I believe acted as a spring board for the rest of the season.

Victories followed against Ashville, Pocklington, Barnard Castle, RGS Newcastle, Denstone College and an unbeaten GSAL side. The latter was a particularly pleasing victory; the sizeable crowd that had assembled could have easily mistaken the performance for that of a 1st XV. GSAL were starved of the ball and our finishing was clinical.

A narrow victory to Durham School was disappointing and left a slightly bitter taste in what was otherwise a hugely successful season. The heavy loss to Sedbergh was a good benchmark for the younger boys in the squad to allow them to see what we should be aspiring to next season. However, the boys never threw the towel in and I think all would agree that the scoreline did not reflect the e�ort that the Grove boys put into the game.

The end of the season was quite literally a damp squib as games against Hymers, Bradford GS and Mount St. Mary’s fell foul of the weather.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the boys but in particular: Will Linkogel who captained the side with maturity, Tom Sagar whose barnstorming runs were a trade-mark of the side, Jonah King for the huge amount of pride and passion that he played with and Dan Netherwood whose work rate and set-piece play made a di�erence whenever he played.

All in all, a tremendously successful season for the 2nd XV who were all extremely enjoyable to coach. May I thank Mr. Mo�att for assisting me, as well as Mr. Bedford and Mr. Ryder for helping to prepare the team for the weekend.

Mr. O Mantle/Mr. P Mo�at

Played: 10Won: 7Drawn: 0Lost: 3For: 218Against: 159Di�erence: 59

Mr. J Bedford

Rugby U16s


Rugby U15s A

The U16s had a very enjoyable season and secured a very positive playing record. After a tough start to the season, including a defeat to a very good St. Peter’s York side and a draw against a very aggressive QEGS team, the team started to play the kind of rugby of which they were capable. Victories were secured against Fulneck 1st XV (61-0), Pocklington (38-0), Barnard Castle (35-10) and RGS Newcastle (38-7). The performances against Pocklington and RGS Newcastle in particular showed the growing maturity of the players with some excellent tactical decision making playing a shrewd territorial game.A defeat was then su�ered at the hands of Denstone College. It was an excellent game of rugby marred by injury and leaving us a little stretched by the end of the game. Here mistakes

cost us dear and Denstone scored a couple of breakaway tries from deep in their own territory as we tried to force o�oads that weren’t on.

The 15-a-side season finished with a flourish including an outstanding win (38-0) against Bradford Grammar School and a good performance against a tough Mount St. Mary’s team.

The sevens season was enjoyable despite some bad weather. The team won the Pocklington tournament playing some great sevens. Success was then hard to come by and despite some excellent rugby we could not replicate the success of the first tournament. Rosslyn Park was an enjoyable experience but sadly a tough group meant we failed to qualify for the second day.

I would like to thank the players for all their e�orts throughout the season. Congratulations to all those who played for the 1st XV during the season and I look forward to watching all your progress over the next couple of years.

Mr. A Cadman

Played: 10Won:7Drawn:1Lost:2For:318Against:102Di�erence:216

Wins v St Peter’s (x2), QEGS (x2), Guiseley, Pocklington, Barnard Castle, PHGS, RGS Newcastle,BGS,Denstone,GSAL, Durham (x2), Hymers, Ripon and MSM.Defeats: Sedbergh, MGS.

Players: *Freddy Clark (Capt), *Ned Hawker, *Matt Tanner, *Ben Carpenter, *Will Metcalfe, **Louis Anderson, Sam Kildunne, Lloyd Hudson, Will Cockerham, Farai Kuruvaru, Louis Martin, Stan Spence, James Swarbrigg, Willem Johnson, Conrad Myers, Jude Hall, Oliver Wade, Josh Stephenson, Alex van Ek, Orson Hall, Adam Khan, Saad Malik, Will Collinson, Damien Muchatere.*Denotes Yorkshire U15, ** Yorkshire A.

Convincing triumphs, nailbiting victories and heartbreaking defeats. WGS U15 2017/18 manfully handled the pressure of expectation with great character and determination. The values of application and preparation were learned and the team showed admirable resilience in the face of injury and on field challenge, especially when facing equally determined and larger opposition in the Nat West Cup (where we were eventually narrowly beaten by finalists, Manchester).

An impressive season from the U13A squad.

Coming back from the summer break eager to get started, the girls came out strong with a 22-8 win against Cheadle Hulme. With the Cup run starting early, the girls faced a tough Oldham side that resulted in a 15-17 loss; a tough result to take but the girls reacted positively. With 10 consecutive including wins against Harrogate Ladies College, Wakefield Girls, Queen Margaret’s, Bradford Grammar School, Sedbergh and Stonyhurst the girls went into the Plate competition confident they could perform. A 27-10 win against Chigwell and a 23-8 win against King High meant the squad had qualified for the Smile Independent Schools Plate Final.

We welcomed Berkhamsted to the Grove for the final. It was goal for goal until the 3rd quarter when the girls took a 4 goal lead. A great battle from the girls but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to take the win, losing by 3 goals. The girls showed their strength and determination by retuning the next day to defend their title as the U13 Leeds Schools Winners.

I look forward to watching the girls continue to grow and progress next season!

Rugby U15s B


The side improved throughout the season, strengthened by several additions to the squad who made good impact along with several players adjusting well to new positions and roles. In the cup, a series of encounters against opponents beaten earlier in the season, who all seemed to relish the chance for revenge resulted in several close fought triumphs on the Grainge in front of partisan home support were memorable, while a convincing away triumph at QEGS, in di�cult playing conditions was among the team’s best performances.

Captain, Freddy Clark proved an inspirational leader of a strongly bonded team through the overall quality of his play and commitment. The skill levels, game understanding and conditioning of the side all progressed throughout the season and on behalf of all the players I would wish to reiterate the gratitude expressed by Freddy to all the coaches involved in helping this squad; Messrs Softley, Bedford, Jones and Ryder. As coaches we shall enjoy watching the progress and development of this group of players over the next few seasons. With local and regional rivals determined to close the gap on us, the players know challenges lay ahead, but they have the environment, ability, enthusiasm and love of the game to ensure they remain in contention for regional and national honours.

Mr. E R Howard

Played: 19Won: 17Drawn: 0Lost: 2For: 727Against: 246Di¡erence: 481

This season the U15 B team Won 6 and Lost 1 - scoring 230 points and only conceding 73.

The season started with a tough opening fixture away to St. Peter’s. It was pleasing to see that the pre-season fitness had benefitted the team and although the game ended up 7-15, it was clear that there was a lot of passion and desire in the team.QEGS followed and after a defeat the previous week the team wanted to bounce back, and they did. A strong performance resulted in a convincing 31-14 victory.

Wins followed against Pocklington (48-0), Barnard Castle (48-7) and Denstone College (51-0). The team really showed the progress that both the backs and the forwards were making. A lot of clean ball was created for the backs from the hardworking forwards and this allowed for a lot of creative work by the backs to score tries.

The last two games of the season were against GSAL and Sedbergh. Both games were very challenging and showed how far the players had come from the first game of the season. A superb 20-15 win against GSAL showed resilience and discipline but then a 25-22 win against Sedbergh was the pinnacle of the season. Being down by two tries at half time, the players stuck to their principles and believed in the systems played and this resulted in a well-deserved victory.

There were several key players this season and it was led well by Marshall Dixon and Ethan McLelland. It was also pleasing to have some new players taking up the game and contributing in training and match days. Orson Hall was the top try scorer with 7 tries. It has been a pleasure taking the U15 B team this season and there is a lot of exciting talent that will flourish next season.

Mr. C L Softley

Played: 7Won: 6Drawn: 0Lost: 1For: 230Against: 73Di¡erence: 157

Rugby U13s A


Rugby U14s

The season was summed up really well by the captain Freddie Ziegler: “It was a season of two halves, and we will remember the second half.” The team lost the first four games of the season but would then go on to win seven out of nine fixtures with notable victories against Barnard Castle, Denstone College, Durham, Hymers and Sedbergh.

Throughout the season we had a squad of 24 players who were highly committed to developing their knowledge and understanding of the game of Rugby. It was a very tough start to the season with fixtures against St. Peter’s York and QEGS Wakefield. The boys soon realised that they needed to develop their levels of fitness as the games were relatively close at half time, but the boys faded in the second half. Narrow losses to Ashville and Pocklington followed with Mr. King giving all boys in the 24 man squad at least half a game of rugby. The boys were now in much better condition and started to play for the full duration of fixtures which enabled them to have their first victory of season away at Barnard Castle, followed by a narrow loss away at RGS Newcastle. The boys showed great resilience to defeat Denstone College but then had a tough loss at GSAL, losing 33-0 at half time - but the finishing score was 7-33 which showed how far the boys conditioning had developed. Five straight victories over Durham, Sedbergh, Hymers, Ripon and Mount St. Mary’s proved a great way to end the season.

The squad really developed their technical and tactical attributes this season, but even more impressive were their levels of commitment and enthusiasm in attending all training seasons throughout the season. I would like to thank the boys for a fantastic first year at Woodhouse Grove School and wish them every success next season.

VIIsUnfortunately, the boys only played in one sevens tournament as three of the other tournaments were cancelled due to the poor weather. The boys attended the Rosslyn Park tournament having played no competitive matches and it would prove to be a very di�cult day. First up with Tonbridge school, it was even at half time 5-5, however the opposition were too strong and ran away with it, winning 31-5. The boys then played local opposition Barnard Castle and had opportunities to win the match in the final play, but unfortunately the whistle went, and it ended in a 24-24 draw. A close defeat to Torquay Boys Grammar School (28-17) and a final heavy lose to John Fisher School 43-0 ended the tournament for the boys. The boys will be looking for better weather next season as they did a lot of training but did not get the opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the game of sevens due to a lack of competitive fixtures.

Mr. D King

Results Played: 4Won: 0Drawn: 1Lost: 3For: 46Against: 126Di£erence: -80

Results - Played: 13Won: 7Drawn: 0Lost: 6

For: 306Against:268Di£erence: 38

This season was a mixed bag for the U13s. There were some very good performances during the season, however, injuries to key players made it di�cult to generate momentum. Towards the end of the season, the team started to gel and began to win some more games, finishing the season with an almost 50% win record. Some of the highlights during the season were victories against Pocklington School (25-20), Witham Hall (35-25), Durham School (70-40) and Mount St. Mary’s (20-10). There were also some excellent performances during the sevens season, with the boys displaying excellent attacking flair and ball retention as well as a determined and aggressive attitude in defence. In the sevens season, a record of 16 matches with 8 victories, 3 draws, 5 defeats, 285 points scored, and 195 points conceded was very pleasing and will hopefully encourage the players to continue developing even further next year. Players

Rugby U13s B

Rugby U12s A


such as Ned McCormack, Jack Clark, Will Bagshaw, Jack Luxton, Louis Worrall and Charlie Popely will be extremely important to the team and must work very hard to raise the standards and build towards more victories. It was a an enjoyable season, despite some frustrating times, and I wish the boys every success next season with Mr. King.

Mr. N Barr

Awards:Player of the season: Will BagshawMost Improved: Louis WorrallCoaches’ award: Charlie PopelySevens player: Jack Luxton

Played: 15Won: 5Drawn: 1Lost: 7For: 245Against: 400Di�erence: -155

B team rugby is notoriously di�cult on our circuit and the nature of the schools we play against means we were tested every week. Despite full commitment from the team, the opposition were generally too strong. We had to commit too many to the breakdown which left us short in defence.In a number of games, we did make dominant starts through our running style of play and this was when we were at our most dangerous. Our rucking game was sometimes found wanting and bigger, more dominant, packs were able to lay a platform on which to break.

The most entertaining match of the season was away at Denstone College. This was a new fixture for us and the game progressed where either side was looking likely to win. Unfortunately, we lost by 10 points with 90 being scored during the game.

Despite the playing record, the season was an enjoyable one and the boys progressed across all facets of their game. A considerable number of boys also made the transition to the A team as their performances warranted.

My thanks go to the boys for playing and training hard, the parents for following the team to support in all weather and to Mr. Barr and Mr. Jones for their coaching assistance.

Mr. K Eaglestone


The U12s enjoyed an outstanding season of achievement and progress, winning all ten matches. In addition the team were the winners of the Sevens competitions at Bradford GS and Pocklington, won the plate competition at St. Olave’s and came third out of 18 schools at the Barnard Castle Tens Tournament.

The team achieved some excellent victories during the season including GSAL 35-15, Bradford GS 35-10, Denstone College 10-0 and RGS Newcastle 40-5. In tournament rugby; RGS Newcatle 25-0 and QEGS 20-0 were overcome in the Cup Finals at Bradford GS and Pocklington respectively.

The pack were aggressive and hard working with Archie Hurford leading from the front and being equally impressive in both attacking and defensive situations. Captain Sam Vernon also played extremely well at Hooker and was most e�ective at the break down. Hugo Poole, William Tate, Grayson Oldridge, Jacob Eaglestone and James Edgely all contributed e�ectively during the season and made some very good progress.

In the backs Fergie McCormack distributed well from fly-half and also proved to be an excellent and elusive runner with the ball. Thomas Rowe and Rufus Halliday formed a strong centre partnership and Callum Hyland-Dugbo, Archie Robinson and Jack Gilbert became an exciting and expolsive back three. At scrum half Harvey Cheug performed increasingly well as the season progressed.

This was an excellent group to work with and they trained extremely hard throughout the season. I firmly believe that as a group they will go from strength to strength during their time at Woodhouse Grove School.

Sincere thanks go to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jones for their e�ort and support throughout what proved to be a most enjoyable and successful season.

Mr. R I Frost

Played: 10Won:10Drawn:0Lost:-For:305Against:45Di�erence:260

Rugby U12s B


The U12s enjoyed an outstanding season of achievement and progress, winning all ten matches. In addition the team were the winners of the Sevens competitions at Bradford GS and Pocklington, won the plate competition at St. Olave’s and came third out of 18 schools at the Barnard Castle Tens Tournament.

The team achieved some excellent victories during the season including GSAL 35-15, Bradford GS 35-10, Denstone College 10-0 and RGS Newcastle 40-5. In tournament rugby; RGS Newcatle 25-0 and QEGS 20-0 were overcome in the Cup Finals at Bradford GS and Pocklington respectively.

The pack were aggressive and hard working with Archie Hurford leading from the front and being equally impressive in both attacking and defensive situations. Captain Sam Vernon also played extremely well at Hooker and was most e�ective at the break down. Hugo Poole, William Tate, Grayson Oldridge, Jacob Eaglestone and James Edgely all contributed e�ectively during the season and made some very good progress.

In the backs Fergie McCormack distributed well from fly-half and also proved to be an excellent and elusive runner with the ball. Thomas Rowe and Rufus Halliday formed a strong centre partnership and Callum Hyland-Dugbo, Archie Robinson and Jack Gilbert became an exciting and expolsive back three. At scrum half Harvey Cheug performed increasingly well as the season progressed.

This was an excellent group to work with and they trained extremely hard throughout the season. I firmly believe that as a group they will go from strength to strength during their time at Woodhouse Grove School.

Sincere thanks go to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jones for their e�ort and support throughout what proved to be a most enjoyable and successful season.

Mr. R I Frost

Played: 10Won:10Drawn:0Lost:-For:305Against:45Di�erence:260

Another generally successful and certainly enjoyable season with a terrific set of U12B team players.

As always some players were new to the game, some had a few years’ experience at Brontë and elsewhere behind them, but all players gelled well together and there was a good squad ethic: enjoyment of the game, and of each game, has always been the number one priority of the U12B, and in this we were highly successful.The season started well with four wins straight on the trot: Pocklington, Barnard Castle, RGS

Newcastle and (a new fixture this) Denstone were put to the sword with keen and enthusiastic rugby. The victory against RGS Newcastle was particularly impressive as they are generally reckoned to be one of our stronger opponents at this level. As the season progressed, and perhaps as the opportunities for running rugby got less and less as weather and pitches worsened, our results dropped o� a little, and a couple of cancelled fixtures rather interrupted our flow a little.

At the conclusion of the season though, a total of five wins from eight games, with many more in the points for than the points against column, can only point to a bright and positive season. It was particularly pleasing to have a regular squad of 15-20 boys to choose from, and to see quite a number of players progress from the B squad to the A squad under Mr. Frost.

All in all, a super bunch of players to be associated with: a credit to themselves and to the school. May this season be the start of a thoroughly enjoyable experience of rugby at The Grove.

Mr. R Johnson


Cricket 1st XI

The summer of 2018 was one where an inexperienced 1st XI made some encouraging progress and achieved a number of impressive victories; including Bradford GS, QEGS, Durham and Huddersfield New College.

Captain Ali Ahmed concluded a fine 1st XI career with 307 runs and 23 wickets including two excellent half-centuries, in the victories against St. Aidan’s and Huddersfield New College, and a best bowling performance of 4-14 against Durham. Ali performed successfully for the 1st XI for five seasons and was a member of the 2014 team which remained undefeated and became National Schools T/20 champions.

Owen Tennant had an outstanding first season with the bat scoring 716 runs at an average of 55 with a top score of 92no against Durham and five other half-centuries. Luke Fairbank made significant progress, both in technique and application, and scored 388 runs at 24 with half-centuries against QEGS and Yorkshire Schools U17s. Matthew Sheard scored 272 runs and showed considerable potential in his innings of 52 against Bradford GS and 63 against Greshams. Ethan Horne with 197 runs and Rhys Newman with 157 also contributed well at

times to a batting unit that proved to be a little more resilient than the previous year.

Opening bowler Tom Kaznowski led the attack consistently well throughout the Summer and took 19 wickets at an average of 21 with best figures of 3-43 against Yorkshire College and 3-37 against the MCC. Fifteen year-old James Swarbrigg broke into the team mid-season and grew in confidence to take ten wickets. His most impressive e�ort was the 4-14 he took in the tense victory at Bradford GS. Owen Tennant with 13 wickets and Josh Stephenson and Daniel Gallagher both with 10 also made some encouraging progress during the Summer.

Wicket keeper Ethan Horne significantly improved his glove work in his final season and set a high standard behind the stumps, achieving 18 victims with seven stumpings. Captain Ali Ahmed, Luke Fairbank, Josh Stephenson and Matthew Sheard also performed well in the field although this is an area that should be targeted for improvement next season.

My thanks go to both the catering and grounds departments who achieve such high standards and make a such a significant contribution to the cricket product that is on o�er at Woodhouse Grove School.


v GSALWoodhouse Grove 113: O Tennant 22, M Sheard 20, E Horne 32GSAL 114-7: A Ahmed 3-20, T Kaznowski 2-15Lost by 3 wkts

v St. Aidan’s (40 overs)Woodhouse Grove 148: L Fairbank 29, A Ahmed 58St. Aidan’s 73: T Kaznowski 2-7, J Stephenson, 2-9, H Sajjad 3-22, A Ahmed 3-14Won by 75 runs

v Manchester GSCancelled – rain

v Bradford GSWoodhouse Grove 196-6: L Fairbank 25, O Tennant 26, M Sheard 52, A Ahmed 44Bradford 156: J Swarbrigg 4-14, O Tennant 3-28Won by 40 runs

v Yorkshire CollegeYorkshire College 208-7: T Kaznowski 3-43, O Tennant 3-60Woodhouse Grove 136: L Fairbank 22, R Newman 21, O Tennant 36Lost by 72 runs

v QEGS WakefieldQEGS 127-8: Kaznowski, Tennant, Sajjad, Ahmed, Stephenson, Firth – 1 wkt eachWoodhouse Grove 128-1: L Fairbank 62no, O Tennant 58noWon by 9 wickets

v DurhamWoodhouse Grove 212-9: R Newman 22, O Tennant 92noDurham 133: T Kaznowski 2-22, D Gallagher 2-33, A Ahmed 4-14Won by 79 runs

v St. Peter’sWoodhouse Grove 145: R Newman 29, J Stephenson 24, L Williams 23St. Peter’s 146-7: T Kaznowski 2-38, J Swarbrigg 3-20, O Tennant 2-29Lost by 3 wkts

v Lancaster RGSWoodhouse Grove 181-5: Luke Fairbank 29, O Tennant 49, Ali Ahmed 30, J Stephenson 35noLancaster 61-0: Match drawn – rsp

v MCCMCC 232-4: T Kaznowski 3-37Woodhouse Grove 165-6: R Newman 21, L Fairbank 48, A Ahmed 38Match drawn

v Ashville CollegeAshville 135: O Tennant 2-10, A Ahmed 4-27, D Gallagher 2-27Woodhouse Grove 139-2: E Horne 41, O Tennant 41no, M Sheard 35noWon by 8 wickets

v YSCA U17YSCA U17 315-4: Stephenson, Gallagher and Tennant 1 wkt eachWoodhouse Grove 206-6: L Fairbank 63, O Tennant 64, A Ahmed 36noLost by 109 runs

v Huddersfield New CollegeHuddersfield 173-9: T Kaznowski 2-32, J Swarbrigg 2-14, J Stephenson 2-29Woodhouse Grove 176-5: R Newman 43, O Tennant 24, A Ahmed 52no, E Horne 31Won by 5 wkts

v Old GroviansWoodhouse Grove 204-7: E Horne 27, O Tennant 79no, A Ahmed 23, L Williams 29, Tim Dalton 2-34, J Wheatley 2-23, N Bulcock 2-14Old Grovians 207-5: J Wheatley 43, N Bulcock 49, j Godfrey 54no, H Patel 2-17Lost by 5 wkts

v Greshams (2 days)Woodhouse Grove 117: O Tennant 77Greshams 238-9dec: D Gallagher 2-62, H Patel 4-29Woodhouse Grove 147: Josh Stephenson 35, M Sheard 63Greshams 27-0:Lost by 10 wkts

National Schools T/20 CompetitionGroup matches:v Ashville CollegeWoodhouse Grove 164-5: O Tennant 69, L Fairbank 43Ashville 132-9: A Ahmed 4-22, L Fairbank 3-16Won by 32 runs

v Worksop CollegeWoodhouse Grove 71-9: Worksop 77-3: J Stephenson 2-17Lost by 7 wkts

Final thanks go to Arnie Sidebottom and all of the cricket coaches who continue to work tirelessly to improve the standard of the cricket that we achieve at the Grove. This was highlighted this Summer by the impressive success achieved at U15 and U14 level. The U15s were crowned ESCA Yorkshire Champions when they beat Shelley HS in a tense County Final and the U14s were Runners

Up in their competition following some excellent performances on the road to the final.

There is much to look forward next year with a senior tour to Barbados and St. Lucia. Indoor practice will start in January and both players and sta¡ will need to work hard to make 2019 a year to remember.Mr. R I Frost

Results - Played: 16 Won: 7 Lost: 7 Drawn: 2 Abd: 2

v GSALWoodhouse Grove 113: O Tennant 22, M Sheard 20, E Horne 32GSAL 114-7: A Ahmed 3-20, T Kaznowski 2-15Lost by 3 wkts

v St. Aidan’s (40 overs)Woodhouse Grove 148: L Fairbank 29, A Ahmed 58St. Aidan’s 73: T Kaznowski 2-7, J Stephenson, 2-9, H Sajjad 3-22, A Ahmed 3-14Won by 75 runs

v Manchester GSCancelled – rain

v Bradford GSWoodhouse Grove 196-6: L Fairbank 25, O Tennant 26, M Sheard 52, A Ahmed 44Bradford 156: J Swarbrigg 4-14, O Tennant 3-28Won by 40 runs

v Yorkshire CollegeYorkshire College 208-7: T Kaznowski 3-43, O Tennant 3-60Woodhouse Grove 136: L Fairbank 22, R Newman 21, O Tennant 36Lost by 72 runs

v QEGS WakefieldQEGS 127-8: Kaznowski, Tennant, Sajjad, Ahmed, Stephenson, Firth – 1 wkt eachWoodhouse Grove 128-1: L Fairbank 62no, O Tennant 58noWon by 9 wickets

v DurhamWoodhouse Grove 212-9: R Newman 22, O Tennant 92noDurham 133: T Kaznowski 2-22, D Gallagher 2-33, A Ahmed 4-14Won by 79 runs

v St. Peter’sWoodhouse Grove 145: R Newman 29, J Stephenson 24, L Williams 23St. Peter’s 146-7: T Kaznowski 2-38, J Swarbrigg 3-20, O Tennant 2-29Lost by 3 wkts

v Lancaster RGSWoodhouse Grove 181-5: Luke Fairbank 29, O Tennant 49, Ali Ahmed 30, J Stephenson 35noLancaster 61-0: Match drawn – rsp

v MCCMCC 232-4: T Kaznowski 3-37Woodhouse Grove 165-6: R Newman 21, L Fairbank 48, A Ahmed 38Match drawn

v Ashville CollegeAshville 135: O Tennant 2-10, A Ahmed 4-27, D Gallagher 2-27Woodhouse Grove 139-2: E Horne 41, O Tennant 41no, M Sheard 35noWon by 8 wickets

v YSCA U17YSCA U17 315-4: Stephenson, Gallagher and Tennant 1 wkt eachWoodhouse Grove 206-6: L Fairbank 63, O Tennant 64, A Ahmed 36noLost by 109 runs

v Huddersfield New CollegeHuddersfield 173-9: T Kaznowski 2-32, J Swarbrigg 2-14, J Stephenson 2-29Woodhouse Grove 176-5: R Newman 43, O Tennant 24, A Ahmed 52no, E Horne 31Won by 5 wkts

v Old GroviansWoodhouse Grove 204-7: E Horne 27, O Tennant 79no, A Ahmed 23, L Williams 29, Tim Dalton 2-34, J Wheatley 2-23, N Bulcock 2-14Old Grovians 207-5: J Wheatley 43, N Bulcock 49, j Godfrey 54no, H Patel 2-17Lost by 5 wkts

v Greshams (2 days)Woodhouse Grove 117: O Tennant 77Greshams 238-9dec: D Gallagher 2-62, H Patel 4-29Woodhouse Grove 147: Josh Stephenson 35, M Sheard 63Greshams 27-0:Lost by 10 wkts

National Schools T/20 CompetitionGroup matches:v Ashville CollegeWoodhouse Grove 164-5: O Tennant 69, L Fairbank 43Ashville 132-9: A Ahmed 4-22, L Fairbank 3-16Won by 32 runs

v Worksop CollegeWoodhouse Grove 71-9: Worksop 77-3: J Stephenson 2-17Lost by 7 wkts


Averages

BattingName Innings Not Outs Runs Highest Score AverageOwen Tennant 17 3 716 92no 55.07Ali Ahmed 14 4 307 58 30.70Luke Fairbank 17 1 388 63 24.25Matthew Sheard 16 1 272 63 17.00Rhys Newman 10 0 157 43 15.70Ethan Horne 14 2 197 41 15.15Josh Stephenson 11 3 118 35no 14.75Louie Williams 14 3 111 29 10.09

Also batted: Tom Kaznowski, Jack Luxton, Hashim Sajjad, Hrithik Patel, Ryan Gibson, Dan Gallagher, James Swarbrigg, Jack Popely, Josh Firth.

BowlingName Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Best Bowling AverageJames Swarbrigg 39.2 2 118 10 4-14 11.8Ali Ahmed 112.5 5 457 23 4-14 19.96Tom Kaznowski 108.1 12 412 19 3-37 21.68Josh Stephenson 55.2 3 226 10 2-9 22.6Owen Tennant 71.5 4 305 13 3-28 23.46Dan Gallagher 74.4 4 319 10 2-27 31.9

Also bowled: Jack Luxton, Hashim Sajjad, Luke Fairbank, Hrithik Patel, Josh Firth, Jack Popely, Matthew Sheard, Louie Williams.

FieldingName Catches/StumpingsEthan Horne 11 + 7Luke Fairbank 8Ali Ahmed 7Josh Stephenson 5Owen Tennant 4Matthew Sheard 4Louie Williams 4

Colours Awards

Re-awards - Ali AhmedAwards - Ethan Horne, Tom Kaznowski, Owen Tennant, Luke FairbankHalf-colours - Matthew Sheard, Rhys NewmanJosh Stephenson, Louie Williams, Dan GallagherJames SwarbriggRepresentative HonoursOwen Tennant – Yorkshire U19 and YSCA U17Josh Stephenson – Yorkshire U15 Development Team


Played - 11 Won - 7 Lost - 4

The 2018 season was a successful one for the 2nd XI due to a combination of enthusiastic newcomers and the more experienced players, some of whom already had two years of playing 2nd XI cricket. Hopes were initially fulfilled with three straight wins and the early matches containing some genuinely impressive performances. The strength of the team was clearly found in its variety but it was the older heads that hit the ground running, with P. Ziegler setting the standard as captain.

Enthusiasm and energy were also a key element of the early success and this was exemplified in the work ethic of those who put their time into practice. Unfortunately, the team was not able to sustain this early season momentum and we were occasionally brought back down to earth, a heavy defeat at Manchester being one such example. However, such games always led us to discuss how we could improve and in this case the lesson for all our batsman was to develop a way of keeping the scoreboard ticking when the bowling is tight.

The second half of the season proved more demanding, with exams meaning the side did change its personnel on a regular basis: this had an impact on the consistency of selection. However, those that did play still kept the 2nd XI spirit high and overall, a winning momentum was maintained. Players such as W. Toplass, T. Thorpe, J. Whitcombe and J. Pearson showed great commitment throughout this period.

There are a number of success stories in the season and particular thanks need to go to those players who kept going throughout the entire season, with 7 victories being a testament to all involved. A mention must also go to the leavers who have served school cricket throughout their years at the Grove (P.Ziegler, D. Bulcock, H. Patel).

Cricket 2nd XI The future is bright, with players such as J. Firth and J. Popely (amongst others) having the potential to take 2nd XI cricket to a new level. The Caribbean tour before the season starts should give a fantastic impetus to train hard, so expectations for 2019 are high.

The side was coached by Mr. Howard and Mr. Jennings, who both enjoyed the season coaching such a positive group.

Mr. A Jennings

Cricket U15s

What a season! It was a pleasure to work with the U15 cricket side and would like to thank the boys for all their e�ort. I would also like to thank Mr. King for his support and of course Messer’s Frost and Sidebottom for their assistance with coaching and training. There were some excellent performances during the season, with the highlight undoubtedly being the Yorkshire Cup Final at Hunslet Nelson CC. The boys played superbly on the day and won a close encounter to be crowned County Champions. After winning this game, we progressed to the North of England Finals Day, where we came third out of four. The success was down to an excellent team spirit and attitude, as well as some fantastic technical and tactical ability. Josh Stephenson was the pick of the batsmen, averaging 63 for the season. Sam Kildunne averaged 32 and also took 13 wickets. Louis Anderson, Alex Pyrah, James Swarbrigg, Jack Luxton and Will Collinson all averaged in the 20s with Ethan McLelland and James also taking 9 wickets each. Mustafa and Louis chipped in with 8 wickets and Oliver Guymer-Gairn took 7 wickets,


Cricket U14s

Cricket U13s

For the second year running, the U14 team reached the final of the Lord’s Taverners Cup, and (although the team lost in the final) that in itself indicates just how successful the 2018 season was. It was a season of a few lows as well as highs, but a season in which players progressed, developed and matured.

The team was perhaps unlucky to lose our opening fixture against GSAL by the close margin of two wickets (Subhaan Habib 67*) , but this was followed by a pretty comprehensive loss to the always-strong Manchester Grammar, and then a 100 drubbing to our closest rivals BGS, despite three wickets for Jack Luxton. It wasn’t until the fourth week of the season that we registered our first Saturday win, by 40 runs, against QEGS. This was the first fixture in which Luxton (79) and George Hammond (78*) both scored heavily, setting a pattern which was to be repeated many times through the long, hot summer.

Things were much better in the Lord’s Taverners Cup, and WGS cruised quite comfortably past Pudsey (three wickets for Harry Pinkney, brought up from Year 8), and an unbroken opening stand of 88 between Luxton and Hammond. A somewhat surprising midweek defeat by PHGS was followed

by extracting sweet revenge against BGS in the cup: an excellent team performance (and especially three wickets for Sam Middleton) saw WGS win by 39 runs. This was sandwiched between a record-breaking 144 run win against Durham School, which saw Luxton score 149, and the team accumulate a new record total of 258-3.

St. Peter’s is always a tough fixture and so it proved again, with WGS losing by 9 wickets despite a fluent 56 from Luxton. Victory against Holmfirth in the Cup (by 6 wickets, Hammond 60*) was followed by a five wicket loss to Lancaster Grammar (Luxton 58) and a midweek loss to Rishworth (Middleton 3-27 and Hammond 66*). There was then a heavy, 8 wicket defeat to Barnard Castle before a terrific 10 64 run win in the semi-final of the Cup against QEGS, Luxton and Hammond sharing an opening and unbeaten partnership of 155.

In the Final of the Cup, WGS posted an impressive 171-4 in 35 overs against St. Aidan’s, Harrogate, with Hammond scoring 81 and Luxton 44. We thought that this might have been a winning total, but a highly impressive unbeaten partnership between St. Aidan’s opening pair meant WGS lost by a cruel 10 wickets: we were well beaten by a better team.As always, a really enjoyable season; many, many thanks to Mr. Frost and Mr. Sidebottom for their invaluable coaching input, to the ground sta£ for great playing surfaces, and to the retiring Mrs. Frost (and her sta£) for the fabulous cricket teas.

Mr. R Johnson

Despite what looks a disappointing playing record, the season was thoroughly enjoyable. The fixture list is exceedingly tough and playing the schools

Played: 11 Won: 3 Lost: 8

Played 14 Won 6 Drawn 0 Lost 8

including an excellent hat-trick against GSAL in the cup. Freddie Clark also scored a phenomenal 150 against Ashville in a midweek friendly. All in all, it was a brilliant season and it was pleasing to see the boys do themselves justice on the field. I am sure a lot of these boys will be pushing for 1st XI cricket next season. Final thank you to the grounds sta£ who prepared some great wickets during the season and to Mrs. Frost who once again (and for the final year) provided the best match teas on the circuit.

Mr. N D Barr


Cricket U12s

we do always provides a stern challenge, but I was delighted with how the boys gave their best and never let their heads go down.

There are a number of boys within the squad who have the potential to develop into fine cricketers. They play the game in the right spirit and work on technique rather than relying on power. The development of the whole squad was very pleasing as the season progressed. This development really became apparent in the fielding. At the start of the season catches and run out opportunities were squandered regularly, but by the end of the season the team took some memorable catches and a�ected some excellent run outs due to improved ground fielding.

The bowling also improved and wherever possible, as many players as possible got the opportunity to bowl. It was encouraging to see the confidence develop over the season. The team had a good variety of bowlers with some pace from Will Wood and Ned McCormack, left arm swing from Harry Shaw and two very promising o� spinners in Harry Pinkney and Will Bagshaw. Harry Pinkney also took a fabulous hattrick against Rishworth. A number of others showed potential to improve as they get older and little stronger.

The batting was an area where the team could struggle. Scoring runs was not easy, although two players provided the bulk of the runs – Charlie Popely scoring 251 runs in the season and Ned McCormack scoring 249 runs. Both showed talent and the ability to score quickly but also survive when the going was a little tougher. Harry Pinkney showed good technique and Will Wood made huge progress through the season. Ed Dixon showed glimpses of ability and he scored a fine 66 in the final game of the season.

I would like to thank the boys for their e�orts and enthusiasm throughout the season. I would also like to thank Mr. Vernon for his fantastic support with the team and taking on much of the umpiring duties.

Mr. A Cadman

The WGS cricket fixture is never an easy one coming up against big grammar schools in the first half of the term. On the ubiquitous cold and windy first day of the season, we played away at GSAL. We batted first and failed to make a big enough

Played: 11 Won: 7 Lost: 4

Mr. K Eaglestone

total to defend, however, a game is never lost until the final ball and with their to best batsmen back in the ‘hut’ we thought a result might come our way…but didn’t. Monsoon conditions wiped out two games in two days so we were somewhat underprepared for our first game in the County Cup against Settle College. Luckily, our winter nets and subsequent training paid o� and we were victorious.

Next came the first of two games against Bradford Grammar. On a hot May Day weekend, a typically close game was fought out in tough conditions. Unfortunately, BGS won; the second game was in the County Cup and another tight game put us on the wrong side of victory again. Loses against Durham School and Prince Henry’s finished the season on rather disappointing terms, but I am confident the boys all learnt something from every game they played in. Being able to play a forward defence or fielding with a long barrier are only parts of the foundations of the game that are essential: resilience when batting to not give the wicket away is key. The boys are a great bunch and trained and played with good humour and enthusiasm and I thank them for this. I would also like to thank the army of supporters that followed the team. Next season, here we come!

Batting Award Oscar Speck Bowling Award Thomas Rowe Fielding Award Harvey Cheng Coaches’ Award James Edgeley

After what had been a successful season last year for the 1st XI, the boys (many of whom had played last year) sought to continue this through to our season. Superbly coached by Mr. Softley and Will Hatfield, the 1st team this season has played some of the nicest football Woodhouse Grove has seen.

The season began with a 6-aside tournament in York. After victories against Hull Collegiate and Birkdale, and an undeserved loss to Bootham, our tournament performance culminated in an emphatic 6-0 victory against St. Peter’s with our very own Beast from the East Matvey Aliev scoring 4. We left the tournament pleased with 2nd place.Our first 11-aside fixture was a cold Wednesday afternoon at St. Peters. We found ourselves 2-1 down at half time after a superb low driven strike from Jonah King. The 2nd half was a di�erent story, with the wind behind us and a new found drive, we put three past them to win the match 4-3. Man of the match certainly went to Matvey Aliev who put in a great shift in defence.

A long journey to Hull Collegiate followed next. The game was hugely frustrating as we played excellent football in parts, but factors such as the pitch and the wind disrupted our play. Losing the game 4-2 was frustrating, especially after equalising to make it 2-2. There was a lot to take away from the game and we looked forward to our local derby with GSAL the following weekend.

GSAL’s team were formidable opponents. However, our eagerness to put pressure on from the start left the scores 1-1 at half time. The 2nd half proved to be the hardest defensive shift we ever had to put in, with Paddy Ziegler dropping into a back three with Koyran Warden and Ethan Horne. Our 2nd half performance showed us to be a mature and disciplined team which GSAL failed to break down. We could have even got the win, as a notorious Josh Rika ball across the goal line travelled millimeters passed our strike force. Mr. Softley certainly carried out a tactical masterclass in that match.

Immanuel College was our first game back after half term. The game was as physical as expected and the lads did not stray from our own game. An exceptionally strong 1st half performance followed by a brief scare in the 2nd, saw the game end 6-4 with a hat-trick from Will Kelly and goals from Josh Rika, George Judson and Fraser Downes. A match against Bradford City U15/U16 followed. We knew any credible performance from us would require patience, discipline and hard work and we were rewarded for this with a goal from George Judson to put us 1-0 ahead. After a bit of a downward spiral in the second half, and two questionable penalties to BCFC, the game ended 5-1 to BCFC.

A period of terrible weather followed, and, our games against Ackworth and Bootham were both


Football 1st XI

cancelled but we then played Harrogate Grammar. Conceding 2 in the first half and a late goal from Billy Snowden, the game was certainly in the balance, but a great finish from their striker put the game to bed.

Birkdale followed on the Saturday. Changing from a back 3 to a back 4 with Jonah King dropping into the backline proved a good move as we looked solid and at half time it was 1-1. Almost immediately in the second half Fraser Downes scored and made the game 2-1. However, after a stupid foul on the edge of the box they scored a free kick. The game ended 2-2 which was frustrating.

Horsforth School was a highly physical game. In midfield we were probably too soft and 50 50s became more 80 20s, but we improved as the game went on. The game ended at 4-2, and while our penultimate match for the season was a loss, we had learnt a considerable amount.

The season ended with a superb 4-2 victory against St. Aidan’s. A very determined performance and also a game where Jonah King scored a 35-yard screamer. It was a fitting end to an enjoyable season.

St. Peter’s School 6-aside tournament – 2nd Place

v St. Peter’s School – Won 4-3

v Hull Collegiate – Lost 2-4

v GSAL – Draw 1-1

v Immanual College – Won 6-4

v Bradford City U16’s – Lost 1-5

v Harrogate Grammar School – Lost 1-3

v Birkdale School – Draw 2-2

v Horsforth School – Lost 2-4

v St. Aidan’s CofE High School – Won 4-2


Football 2nd XIThe 2nd XI had a relatively successful season under the leadership of Mr. Barr. We Won 3, Drew 1 and Lost 2 but also had some games called o� due to the poor weather.

We started o� the season with an excellent 12-2 victory against York St. Peter’s. This was then followed by a 4-0 win against Rishworth. The victory against York was the standout team performance of the season, with everyone putting a good shift in and almost every player getting on the scoresheet. The game was played in some very challenging conditions and a goal that was a particular highlight was Callum Littlejohn’s. The ball hit him in the face, fell to his feet and was bundled in.

The results temporarily dropped o� with losses to GSAL and Fulneck, but we finished the season strong with a 4-2 victory against Birkdale. This

game allowed the team to show everything they had learnt this season and we fully deserved the victory. Playing on the Grainge pitch really helped us keep the football on the ground and it meant that we were able to create a lot of good opportunities.

One standout performer this season was Reece Newman in goal, and in some cases he saved the results for us single handedly in goal. The goal of the season goes to George Waddington and the top goal scorer was Billy Snowden who was soon moved into the 1st XI. Aaron Yang also contributed with 4 goals in his final season at The Grove. The aim for the 2nd XI for next season will be to replace the high contingency of year 13s who are leaving and to hopefully carry on the development that has been occurring in recent years. The 2nd XI would like to thank all the coaches who put e�ort into helping the team have an enjoyable season.

Callum Littlejohns (Captain) and Arthur Bateman (Vice-Captain)

Paddy Ziegler (Captain) and Jake Oakes (Vice-Captain)

Played: 6

Won: 3

Drawn: 1

Lost: 2

For: 22

Against: 10

Di�erence: 12


Football U15s

The U15 football season has been enjoyable but challenging. We have played 8 games overall with 1 having to be abandoned due to injury. The team ended up losing 4 games, drawing 2 and only winning 1. However, the team worked very hard.

The first game of the season was away to Hull Collegiate. We started the game slowly and found ourselves 3-1 down. We then started to play and turned the game around and were winning 4-3 but then, with minutes to go, we ended up losing the game 5-4. Despite this, it was one of our best performances of the season.

Our next game was against Guiseley which was a close 2-2 draw; Mustafa Sajjad and Zain Memon scoring one each to help us through the game. We lost 7-2 to Guiseley last season so this was a much better result. Stan Spence had a great game up front. Our second draw came against Benton Park and again it ended up 2-2. There were goals from Louis Anderson and Stan Spence.

We then lost our next 3 games to GSAL, Birkdale and Fulneck and at this point of the season our heads were down. The last game of the season was against Huddersfield Grammar and it was the game we were all looking forward to. Losing 1-0 last season, we were determined to change it. We scored some early goals in the first half and continued to work hard in the second half and the game finished in a 10-1 victory. This was by far our best performance of the season. The best goal of the season came from this game, with everyone having a touch of the ball and Freddy Clark putting it in the back of the net.

It has been an enjoyable season for the U15s this year and several players contributed. Louis Tarleton in goal and Bolan Jepmond-Senior on the wing had particularly good seasons.

Harvey Ormerod and Joshua McCann

Results

Played: 8 (1 abandoned)Won: 1Drawn: 2Lost: 4For: 25Against: 26Di�erence: -1

Football U14s

This season the U14s played 5 games and had 1 tournament. We ended up winning 2, drawing 1 and losing 2 and the tournament was a bit more challenging. The weather this season was poor, but it was great to get the amount of games we did played.

The first game of the season was played against Rishworth. We were 2-1 down and in the last few minutes Teddy McDonald forced an own goal from the opposition. This meant we were 2-2 with 1 minute to play. We put pressure on from kick o� and won the ball back early, which got to the feet of Daniel Kaye who then went on a run and put the ball in the back of the net to win 3-2. It was a great win.

An away trip to play at Birkdale followed and this ended up in a 2-2 draw. There was an outstanding penalty save by Sam Alderson and some excellent attacking moves by the team. We were unfortunate not to get a winning goal.The tournament was played against St. Mary’s, Abbey Grange and Ilkley. There was a good 1-1 draw with Ilkley, a close 3-2 loss to St. Mary’s and we su�ered a heavier 7-0 defeat against Abbey Grange. However, we then played Abbey Grange in a longer match at home on the Grainge pitch. Although we still lost 5-0, we played a lot better and showed some excellent football in the first half.


The best goal of the season was Daniel Kaye’s 2nd goal against Rishworth where he bent the ball into the top right corner but throughout the team there were some excellent performances this season.

Billy Peaker (Captain) and John Emmott (Vice-Captain)

Results


Football U13s

Football U12s

The U13 football season consisted of 7 games with 3 wins and 4 losses. We also had a tournament at St. Mary’s Menston. This was much improved from last season where the team did not win one game. The season started with a very good 3-2 win against Rishworth. Jake Wallace scored twice in the match and it was a great start to the season. It was the first season at 11-aside on bigger pitches and it seemed to suit us.

The next three games were played against Hull Collegiate, GSAL and a mixed Bradford City team and although all ended up in a loss, a lot was learnt from the games. Within these matches Mr. Sidebottom used a wide range of players which helped a lot of players experience a competitive match.

The last three games were against Birkdale, Ackworth and Huddersfield Grammar. We had a really good game in tough conditions against

Birkdale and ended up winning 3-1. Against Ackworth we had a really strong start and went 2-1 up but in the second half Ackworth came back into the game and we ended up losing 6-3. The final game was a 1-0 victory against Huddersfield Grammar. It was really good to end the season with a win.

The tournament was against St. Mary’s, Ilkley and Prince Henry’s. The first two games resulted in narrow defeats to St. Mary’s and Ilkley but we finished with a strong performance against Prince Henry’s and the game finished 1-1.The best goal of the season was scored by Joe Lawson with a scorpion kick and a lot of players had some good performances. Well done to everyone that trained and played this season.

Ed Dixon (Captain) and William Wood (Vice-Captain)

Results


Playing for the U12 Woodhouse Grove Football team has been a privilege. As a team, we developed our cooperation and have improved our friendships and skills. Over the course of the season, we had many highs and lows. With 4 wins and 4 losses, our results were even.

Our first game of the season gave us a great boost. The team played exquisitely and, with goals from


Tom Rowe and Fergie McCormack, we had an amazing start. Unfortunately for Rishworth, they scored an own goal. After the win, our manager, Mr. Madden applauded us all, but it was his ingenious tactics that won us the game.

Our winning streak continued as we came to our second game, with Callum Hyland-Dugbo and Tom Rowe scoring five goals between them - Tom getting a well-deserved hat trick. And, to top o the game, Will Tate curling it into the bottom corner with a stylish finish.

Our next game was di�cult, coming up against a strong GSAL team. Their tactics proved too much for us and the game ended 6-0, thus ending our winning streak. We then went on to lose our next game, one of the two of the friendlies played against Guiseley - we won the other.

A stand out game for the season was definitely the game against Bradford City. The first five minutes were controlled by our superb oence, with Tom Rowe scoring a wonder goal only to be called oside. Then they opposed us pressing high up the pitch and making loads of space for themselves. The game ended 7-0.

The last game of the season was our favourite. We had the home advantage and a roaring crowd to

Proud to support Woodhouse Grove School

support us. The goals were coming thick and fast against this under 13s side. Rory Henderson, Oscar Speck and Ollie McDonald scored in the first half and Rory Henderson and Callum Hyland-Dugbo (who scored 2) kept the goals flowing in the second. We had an amazing season.

It could not have been done without our Manager, Mr. Madden. He was the key to our success. He had coached us, and most importantly, he believed in us. Let’s also not forget about the parents. Thank you so much for being there and most importantly bringing us to school that early in the morning - I mean, I’m sure they’d much rather be asleep in bed on a cold Sunday morning.

Rory Henderson (Captain) and Fergie McCormack

Results

Played: 8Won: 4Drawn: 0Lost: 4For: 21Against: 26Dierence: -5

HouseReports

House ReportsPage 106

Atkinson

We did it, and on reflection relatively comfortably (for the record, 35 points)! After leading the house standings for the vast majority of the year, I am delighted to announce that Atkinson House have won the overall house trophy for the first time in over ten years. A testament to the talent, dedication and commitment to every single student who has represented the house over what has been a jam-packed year. From house debating, to climbing, to the quiz teams to house chess, all of the Atkinson representatives have given their all whenever they have pulled on the red vest. I certainly feel that this is a fitting way for me to say goodbye to the house as their leader after six amazing years and that I leave Miss Holloway with an extremely strong house who can go from strength to strength for years to come!

Writing this report is always one of my main challenges of being a housemaster; having to cram a whole year’s highlights into a very small report is nigh on impossible. But here goes….

The year started well with positive results in the quiz competitions. This was bettered by the senior boys squash team who won their event with relative ease, giving us momentum to also win inters table tennis later on that half term. The first ‘major’ of the year, the house swimming competition saw mixed fortunes for Atkinson with the girls finishing an impressive second position led by our Head of House, Elle Pickett and the boys finishing a more than respectable fourth. Elle has been outstanding for the house since she joined the Grove amassing a staggering 39 house points. Her enthusiasm has no doubt lifted the house to greater things in more recent times and I would like to thank her for all her hard work. When talking about House Swimming, it would be wrong not to talk about our Deputy Head of House, Harrison Marcus. An ever present in the pool over the years, he has often dominated the freestyle event and this year, turned his hand to other disciplines to illustrate his all round talent in the pool.

Following on from the success of the inters table tennis team as referenced above, racquet sports is where we have really stood out from the competition this academic year. Further victories followed in girls and boys junior house squash, as well as senior badminton which featured our other Head of House, Archie Rika-Rayne. As with Elle above, Archie has been an inspirational Head of House, not only with his own performances in the quiz, swimming and cross country events, but in his presence supporting the junior members of the house in such competitions as house basketball. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank them for all that they have done over the course of the year to support me in successfully running Atkinson house. Following on from the theme of success in the racquet sports, further victories were recorded in the inters badminton and senior table tennis, in which the Downes brothers (Fraser and Alex) showed their class around the ping-pong table.

Cross country is always an event that I enjoy supporting as you can have as many competitors as you want, whether you are a super talented runner or someone who wants to secure a house point by making it around the challenging course. We are extremely lucky in Atkinson house as we possess both; not only did we win the senior cross country but we also clearly had the most entrants across the juniors, inters and senior events. Anyone that knows me will know that I like winning, but seeing a sea of red vests at the start line also makes me very proud; it shows that Atkinsonians care and want to take part!

As this report draws to a close, it would be wrong not to mention the junior netball and senior football teams who also won their events, both in extremely competitive competitions.

There are not many years in which the house competition is sewn up before Sports Day, but I am proud to say that this was the case in 2018. As I said above, this is a reflection of all the hard work put in by all members of the house who participated in the house events over the year. Sports Day was no less exciting knowing that we had already won and excellent performances by a number of athletes saw us secure a fantastic second position, just pipped by Findlay. It would be remiss of me not to mention Emma Wood who won the Inters Girls Victrix Ludorum and Freddy Clark who was awarded with the Inters Victor Ludorum.

It has been an honour to lead the house over the last six years and I wish Miss Holloway every success in the future. Thank you, Atkinson, it has been an absolute pleasure!

Mr. O Mantle

House Reports Page 107

Findlay

The year was bookended by the House winning the two big events of the year: Swimming in October and Athletics in June.

In Swimming, the boys won their competition which, combined with the girls being highly placed, resulted in an overall win. There were notable swims from: Amelia Newsome (1st in backstroke, 2nd in freestyle), Isobelle Jennings (1st in breaststroke), Abbey Calvert (2nd in both fly and IM), Jasmine Wilde (2nd in IM) and from the Senior Relay Teams in both IM and freestyle. For the boys: Archie Davison (1st in fly), Callum Ford (1st in backstroke), Toby Calvert (1st in backstroke, 2nd in freestyle), Jack Bateman (1st in breaststroke) Zijian Zhaung (1st in breaststroke), Ben Hill (2nd in IM), Andrew Mettrick (2nd in IM), with some very strong performances in the relays, coming first in the Junior Medley, Freestyle Medley and in the Senior Medley and 2nd in the Inter Medley. A very impressive set of results indeed.

In Athletics, Findlay won the Boys and Junior events, coming second in the Girls and third in the Inters, giving the combined first place. Over half of Findlay pupils taking part in the individual events were placed in the top three. Particular mention to the following on their results: Archie Hurford (1st in 200m & 400m, who also won the Victor Ludorum cup), Robbie Higgins (1st in 800m, 3rd in long jump), Toby Calvert (1st in shot), Will Wood (1st in discus), Ben Hill (1st in 1500m), Will Eastell (1st in 1500m), Louis Anderson (2nd in 200m and long jump), Naveena Amrat (2nd in 100m), Isla Swarbrigg (1st 800m, 2nd in long jump & shot) Summer Anderson (1st in high jump) and Amelia Newsome (1st in 300m). In the relays, the Juniors won both the 4x100m and medley and the Inters came 2nd in the medley.

This result was not perhaps too much of a surprise, as the other big running event, the Cross Country, saw Findlay come first in the Juniors and Inters events and second in the Seniors. Again, some very strong

finishes from all runners. It was perhaps no surprise that the Junior Boys and Junior Girls Cross Country Captains, Ben Hill and Lola Henderson, were first Junior boy and girl respectively, followed swiftly by the rest of the team. In the Inters, Will Eastell and James Swarbrigg also took the top two positions, followed by Toby Calvert in 4th. Arthur Bateman took bronze in the Seniors with Andrew Mettrick closely behind in 5th. Overall, three outstanding results this year in this event, in comparison with the past few years!

Girls netball has been a generally strong event for Findlay over several years now and the Senior girls went on to regain the top spot. The other success this year was the Inters football, team comprising: Jack Bateman, Will Eastell, John Emmott, Josh Green, James Hopwood, Faris Khan, Owen Maiden-Lumb, Zain Memon and James Swarbrigg. The Junior football team must be mentioned: with only a team of 5 players (James Edgley, Rory Henderson, Archie Hurford, Robbie Crowther and Will Wood) they managed to reach the 3rd/4th play-o¡s!

Other notable achievements were the second places for both the Seniors and Inters in table tennis, inters debating, and the Juniors in the boys squash.

Congratulations to the following for gaining a Silver House Badges during the year:Year 7 – Yasmin Amrat, Summer Anderson, James Edgley, Rory Henderson, Ben Hill and Archie HurfordYear 8 – Robbie Crowther and Archie DavisonYear 9 – Jack BatemanYear 10 – Owen Maiden-Lumb and Oliver WatsonYear 12 – Max Pollard

Gold House Badges were awarded to:Year 8 – Isla Swarbrigg Year 10 – Naveena AmratYear 11 – Hannah Davison

The Michael Allewell Trophy was awarded to Isla Swarbrigg for her commitment and contribution to the House, achieving her Gold House Badge in Year 8. On leaving the Grove, Maisie Dixon has gained 65 house points: a highly commendable achievement!

Finally, a thank you to all my Prefects who have helped in the running of the House this year, in particular the Senior team of Jasmin Godfrey (Head of House), Maisie Dixon, Hannah Waddington and Arthur Bateman. Thank you also to the House Tutors who have helped, supported and cajoled students to get involved.

Whilst many pupils have been rightly highlighted for their success, many other students have been involved

in helping the House to achieve 2nd place overall. To them a heartfelt thanks is due. Without, at times, the small but vital contributions, the success of the whole House would not have been possible this year. Thank you! Once again, I look forward to the continuing development of the strength of the House in so many areas and the ultimate prize of overall House Champions!

The year was bookended by the House winning the two big events of the year: Swimming in October and Athletics in June.

In Swimming, the boys won their competition which, combined with the girls being highly placed, resulted in an overall win. There were notable swims from: Amelia Newsome (1st in backstroke, 2nd in freestyle), Isobelle Jennings (1st in breaststroke), Abbey Calvert (2nd in both fly and IM), Jasmine Wilde (2nd in IM) and from the Senior Relay Teams in both IM and freestyle. For the boys: Archie Davison (1st in fly), Callum Ford (1st in backstroke), Toby Calvert (1st in backstroke, 2nd in freestyle), Jack Bateman (1st in breaststroke) Zijian Zhaung (1st in breaststroke), Ben Hill (2nd in IM), Andrew Mettrick (2nd in IM), with some very strong performances in the relays, coming first in the Junior Medley, Freestyle Medley and in the Senior Medley and 2nd in the Inter Medley. A very impressive set of results indeed.

In Athletics, Findlay won the Boys and Junior events, coming second in the Girls and third in the Inters, giving the combined first place. Over half of Findlay pupils taking part in the individual events were placed in the top three. Particular mention to the following on their results: Archie Hurford (1st in 200m & 400m, who also won the Victor Ludorum cup), Robbie Higgins (1st in 800m, 3rd in long jump), Toby Calvert (1st in shot), Will Wood (1st in discus), Ben Hill (1st in 1500m), Will Eastell (1st in 1500m), Louis Anderson (2nd in 200m and long jump), Naveena Amrat (2nd in 100m), Isla Swarbrigg (1st 800m, 2nd in long jump & shot) Summer Anderson (1st in high jump) and Amelia Newsome (1st in 300m). In the relays, the Juniors won both the 4x100m and medley and the Inters came 2nd in the medley.

This result was not perhaps too much of a surprise, as the other big running event, the Cross Country, saw Findlay come first in the Juniors and Inters events and second in the Seniors. Again, some very strong

finishes from all runners. It was perhaps no surprise that the Junior Boys and Junior Girls Cross Country Captains, Ben Hill and Lola Henderson, were first Junior boy and girl respectively, followed swiftly by the rest of the team. In the Inters, Will Eastell and James Swarbrigg also took the top two positions, followed by Toby Calvert in 4th. Arthur Bateman took bronze in the Seniors with Andrew Mettrick closely behind in 5th. Overall, three outstanding results this year in this event, in comparison with the past few years!

Girls netball has been a generally strong event for Findlay over several years now and the Senior girls went on to regain the top spot. The other success this year was the Inters football, team comprising: Jack Bateman, Will Eastell, John Emmott, Josh Green, James Hopwood, Faris Khan, Owen Maiden-Lumb, Zain Memon and James Swarbrigg. The Junior football team must be mentioned: with only a team of 5 players (James Edgley, Rory Henderson, Archie Hurford, Robbie Crowther and Will Wood) they managed to reach the 3rd/4th play-o¡s!

Other notable achievements were the second places for both the Seniors and Inters in table tennis, inters debating, and the Juniors in the boys squash.

Congratulations to the following for gaining a Silver House Badges during the year:Year 7 – Yasmin Amrat, Summer Anderson, James Edgley, Rory Henderson, Ben Hill and Archie HurfordYear 8 – Robbie Crowther and Archie DavisonYear 9 – Jack BatemanYear 10 – Owen Maiden-Lumb and Oliver WatsonYear 12 – Max Pollard

Gold House Badges were awarded to:Year 8 – Isla Swarbrigg Year 10 – Naveena AmratYear 11 – Hannah Davison

The Michael Allewell Trophy was awarded to Isla Swarbrigg for her commitment and contribution to the House, achieving her Gold House Badge in Year 8. On leaving the Grove, Maisie Dixon has gained 65 house points: a highly commendable achievement!

Finally, a thank you to all my Prefects who have helped in the running of the House this year, in particular the Senior team of Jasmin Godfrey (Head of House), Maisie Dixon, Hannah Waddington and Arthur Bateman. Thank you also to the House Tutors who have helped, supported and cajoled students to get involved.

Whilst many pupils have been rightly highlighted for their success, many other students have been involved

in helping the House to achieve 2nd place overall. To them a heartfelt thanks is due. Without, at times, the small but vital contributions, the success of the whole House would not have been possible this year. Thank you! Once again, I look forward to the continuing development of the strength of the House in so many areas and the ultimate prize of overall House Champions!


Southerns

As I think back to last September, my initial feelings of pride and enthusiasm have grown tremendously over the last year. I am proud to say that I am Southerns; and this is largely due to the students and sta¡ that belong to our Southerns ‘family’.

I expected to be running around like a headless chicken, trying to find students to compete in events and I expected that I would be let down; this has simply not been the case! At every single event this year, we have had a fully committed team, without fail, and so I refer back to my favourite feeling of the year, ‘PRIDE’!

It’s been pleasure to work with such amazing young people; I am excited about how we are going to grow stronger together and build upon our successes of 2017/18 in the future. The fact that everyone has taken responsibility, demonstrated commitment and given their all has been the biggest stand out part of the year for me.

Leaders have emerged! Tilly Evans and William Linkogel have been inspirational and reliable Heads of House; it is fair to say that I couldn’t have managed without their support! It is important to mention other stand out leaders too; it is wonderfully refreshing to have such a strong set of young people ready to assume responsibility. I would like to thank Paddy Ziegler and Lucy Hutchinson, our Deputy Heads of House; they were actively involved in a number of house events,

Paddy must be applauded for his e¡ortless and positive manner in which he motivated and managed a variety of teams as well as being an instrumental team player at a number of events. Lucy has been a solid and reliable all-rounder, she has never failed to get involved, even in events that she would rather not; such as cross country; she was at the cold starting line ready and willing to give it her all for our house.

There have been lots highlights this year; we haven’t been victorious in every event, far from it, it is fair to say we have not managed to secure many first places. However, what we have achieved has been far greater. I couldn’t have asked the House for anything more.

In Year 12, Alex Dalton, Matiyah Meer and Charlotte Proctor put in amazing performances across several events, including, the quiz, science, swimming and music events to name but a few. Fraser Best was a quiet, but worthy contender at cross country. Nathan Strauss was a true professional at the swimming event, showing a range of skills in the pool.

In Year 11, James Shoesmith Evans and Emma Illingworth have had a positive approach, showcasing their talents in the events they have been involved in, such as swimming and a range of racquet events. Evie Sugden has been a strong all-rounder, really summing things up for me at sideline of a netball event; she explained how people don’t always want to put their name down for events, but they do because it is part of being part of a House. I have certainly seen this throughout the year; many students surprise themselves when they get involved. Talents emerge, interests develop, fun is had and friends are made.

In Year 10, Nicole Swinnerton, Josh Stevenson and Sam Kildunne have been instrumental this year, they have acted as true leaders! I have relied on them heavily, not only to bring teams together but to compete at events too. Nicole gets involved with no fuss or hesitation. Sam and Josh surprised everyone at how amazing they were in the first round of debating, showing their talents go further than their outstanding sporting abilities. Ellie Driver and Abi Seib have had a great year; they have both taken themselves out of their comfort zones in support of the house, I can certainly see leaders of the future in them. The stand out student in Year 9 has to be Jenson Beecroft, a newcomer this year. He has embraced

Mr. A Crawford

school life, putting himself forward for various events. He was extremely impressive at the chess and cross-country events, where he showcased his ability to run as well as being a strategic thinker. Freddy Ziegler has been extremely supportive of the lower year groups, encouraging them at events such as basketball and football as well as being a strong team player in a number of events himself. It is fair to say that I am counting on his support as a leader of the house next year too!

The e�orts of the Year 7s were encouraging! Maidie Jennings represented the house at the music event and her performance was simply stunning. Maya Gri�ths showcased her talent at the swimming event, her performance in the pool was remarkable and I am excited to see her swim again next year! Niamh Armstrong has had a very impressive year, she has been involved in a record number of events and has always given her all. Her stand out performance has got to be in debating, her articulation and confidence was remarkable. Overall, this has been a great year for Southerns House, our students have displayed, commitment, courage, humility in defeat and in winning, a strong team spirit and most of all PRIDE!

We are building, and the best is yet to come!

Mrs. L Watmough


Stephenson

This year, Stephenson House has had an eventful year, but the team spirit was unwavering. We started the year with high morale, enthusiasm and determination and ended the year proud of what we have achieved. We had a few sport successes such as the boys coming second in House Swimming and winning House Basketball and House Climbing as well as academic victories including Senior House Science, Junior House

Chess and Senior House Chess. As we aren’t the sportiest pair, we went into the role being driven by team work - willing to participate in any events to support the house. Despite not having the most successful year, ourselves and Mr. Barr kept the morale high and encouraged everyone to participate, even if the events weren’t tailored to people’s preferences.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our time as Heads of House and supporting Mr. Barr’s first year as Housemaster of Stephenson. Mr. Barr supported us throughout and promoted sport within the house, which will certainly benefit the house in years to come. Even though we were all new to the role, we communicated well to end the year on a high and we hope Mr. Barr will continue to flourish in his role as House Master. Being a part of Stephenson since joining the school, has been a big part of our school career and the memories we made doing House events will stay with us as we move on to the next chapter in our academic life. We can certainly say being Heads of House was a valuable experience that we will never forget, and the team spirit and drive of the house will help us succeed in the future.

Sophie Preston and Yashica Bhardwaj

I would like to thank Sophie and Yashica for their hard work and dedicated approach to leading Stephenson House in my first year. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to be Heads of House.

Despite the best e�orts, results didn’t go our way and unfortunately, we finished sixth overall in the standings, however, there were some excellent performances by individuals during the year e.g. Tom Vernon winning Junior Chess and Josh Binns winning Senior Science. A more consistent approach is required next year to get Stephenson House back to the top of the house standings.

Sports day was an excellent occasion, my first one as a housemaster, and we had some excellent performances. Emma Okpala was outstanding and won Best Junior Girl, no mean feat!

I would also like to thank the whole Stephenson community for their generosity in the charity e�orts this year. Firstly, the food bank collection at Christmas was incredibly well-supported and one pupil even brought in a huge hamper filled with food and festive drinks and treats. Secondly, the Easter Egg collection for unwell children at BRI and LGI was again well-supported and it was a challenge to find the sta�-room as it was overcome

with Easter Eggs. Charity e�orts are such an important aspect of the house system so I was delighted with the e�orts from Stephenson this year.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the sta� who have supported me this year and would also like to announce a new deadline-day signing as Mr. Dobson transfers to Stephenson House from Atkinson. Hopefully next year will be a more successful one.

Mr. N Barr

This year, Stephenson House has had an eventful year, but the team spirit was unwavering. We started the year with high morale, enthusiasm and determination and ended the year proud of what we have achieved. We had a few sport successes such as the boys coming second in House Swimming and winning House Basketball and House Climbing as well as academic victories including Senior House Science, Junior House

Chess and Senior House Chess. As we aren’t the sportiest pair, we went into the role being driven by team work - willing to participate in any events to support the house. Despite not having the most successful year, ourselves and Mr. Barr kept the morale high and encouraged everyone to participate, even if the events weren’t tailored to people’s preferences.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our time as Heads of House and supporting Mr. Barr’s first year as Housemaster of Stephenson. Mr. Barr supported us throughout and promoted sport within the house, which will certainly benefit the house in years to come. Even though we were all new to the role, we communicated well to end the year on a high and we hope Mr. Barr will continue to flourish in his role as House Master. Being a part of Stephenson since joining the school, has been a big part of our school career and the memories we made doing House events will stay with us as we move on to the next chapter in our academic life. We can certainly say being Heads of House was a valuable experience that we will never forget, and the team spirit and drive of the house will help us succeed in the future.

Sophie Preston and Yashica Bhardwaj

I would like to thank Sophie and Yashica for their hard work and dedicated approach to leading Stephenson House in my first year. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to be Heads of House.

Despite the best e�orts, results didn’t go our way and unfortunately, we finished sixth overall in the standings, however, there were some excellent performances by individuals during the year e.g. Tom Vernon winning Junior Chess and Josh Binns winning Senior Science. A more consistent approach is required next year to get Stephenson House back to the top of the house standings.

Sports day was an excellent occasion, my first one as a housemaster, and we had some excellent performances. Emma Okpala was outstanding and won Best Junior Girl, no mean feat!

I would also like to thank the whole Stephenson community for their generosity in the charity e�orts this year. Firstly, the food bank collection at Christmas was incredibly well-supported and one pupil even brought in a huge hamper filled with food and festive drinks and treats. Secondly, the Easter Egg collection for unwell children at BRI and LGI was again well-supported and it was a challenge to find the sta�-room as it was overcome


Towlson

The autumn term brought mixed success for Towlson. We had a number of sound placings in each quiz round, then the boys went on to secure fourth place in House Swimming with Will Sagar and Tom Steel securing first place in their races. The girls won their swimming event with a number of first places for Hermione Roe, who swam up to the inters category in both the freestyle and fly races and then set new house records. Holly Butler, Esther Bean and Izzy Teale also managed first places in the senior breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke respectively. A big thank you must also go to Georgia Marker and Ellie Monaghan who represented Towlson for the last time in house debating, ending a successful run in this event for the girls. We also had teams representing us in Inters Table Tennis, Senior Girls’ Squash, Senior Badminton and Basketball, ending the term on a high and sharing first place for House Climbing with Stephenson.

Due to the weather and the lots of external events the spring term had lots of changes. Mr. Tedd and I held auditions for the House Music solo performances which were held at the beginning of

the summer term. Georgia Marker and Ellie Monaghan also started rehearsals with the ensemble. As ever Towlson performed beautifully and I am proud to say that we took overall first place, again. I want to thank all the students who auditioned, the standard of music in Towlson house is very high and I would be proud for anyone to represent us. Both the junior and senior teams took part in House Chess with respectable results and the senior scientists also achieved fourth place.

Well done to all the cross-country teams, in particular, Conrad Myers who came third in the inters event and inters team who came second place overall. In total, we had seventeen students who ran across the three races. Callum Atkins, Tom Steel, Will Bagshaw and Louis Worrall took part in Junior Boys’ Squash and we had six students represent the house in inters badminton where we achieved fourth place. Tom Sagar, Allaid Howe, Alfie Holt and Holly Barber also took part in Senior Table Tennis. We also had thirteen girls represent the house in Junior Netball. We achieved joint first place with Atkinson but were placed second on a goal di�erence of plus one. Finally, well done to Imogen Idle and Aaliyah Mian who came first in the Junior Debating this term, taking on board and using the advice that they were given throughout the earlier rounds.

The summer term began with Senior Netball, where the girls secured third and the Boys’ Football events, well done to everybody who took part but, in particular, to the Junior Football team who secured first place. Our success continued with first places in Junior Rounders, and Enterprise. Thank you, also, to the students that took part in Junior Girls’ Squash and Table Tennis. We also had a fantastic time at Sports Day, once again, a large number of students taking part and stepping up to take part in events that they had not originally signed up for. Thank you, also, to Imogen Amos, Peter Davison and India Taylor who did a great job helping organise the team. The term ended with inters Debating and Aisha Mian becoming the second recipient of the James Hole Trophy for commitment to the house. Once again, thank you to everybody who has taken part in house events this year, you continue to show team spirit and a willingness to take part. I also want to say a particular thank you to Tom and Holly who arranged the teams and attended the junior events when I was unable to. They worked together and demonstrated what being a part of Towlson house is all about. Well done everybody!

Mrs. C Spencer

with Easter Eggs. Charity e�orts are such an important aspect of the house system so I was delighted with the e�orts from Stephenson this year.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the sta� who have supported me this year and would also like to announce a new deadline-day signing as Mr. Dobson transfers to Stephenson House from Atkinson. Hopefully next year will be a more successful one.

Mr. N Barr


Vinter

Firstly looking back I must thank our Heads of House this year Teah Collies and Joe Green and their prefect team, including Sammie Templeman, Freddie Green, Koyran Warden, Emily Hall, Morgan Halliday and Ryan Gibson. Without their steadfast help and support many of the events and activities this year would not have run so smoothly. At Juniors my thanks to Chloe Cater and Connor Elliot and likewise at Inters to Josh McCann and Harriet Green for all their work as House Captains this year. As always there is a real core of students willing to be involved and my thanks also go to anyone who has worn the Vinter vest this year in any of the numerous events, well done.

After a hard fought Sports Day, we ended the year in second place overall which I have only ever equalled once before in my six years as Head of House. It is, therefore, time to go out on a high and from September we will be welcoming Miss Follos as Vinter’s new Head of House. She is looking forward to the variety of activities going on throughout the year and is keen to get stuck into the House spirit. She has been a member of the House for two years and is excited to get further involved with the teams and organisation of the House. She is eager to keep the inclusive House spirit alive from September and is enthusiastic about encouraging all to have a go.

In my time as Head of House I have really been able to fully understand the value of House system and how those that fully engage with it, both students and sta�, get both enjoyment and a sense of value in what they are doing. I am sure these students will work hard to acquit themselves during the year and lead from the front as I have seen them do so many times before. I hope for a successful but above all else enjoyable year for all, especially Miss Follos in her new role. GO VINTER!

Mr. J Allison

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The Grovian 2018

2018

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