Nuntius
W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
C r o s s L a n e , B e b i n g t o n , W i r r a l , C H 6 3 3 A Q | Te l : 0 1 5 1 6 4 4
0908
December 2010
TOP AS LEVEL GEOLOGY STUDENT
IN THE UK FOR 2010
Jack Neil of Wirral Grammar School for Boys has gained the top mark in
the United Kingdom for geology at AS Level this summer. As a reward for
his success he has been invited by the British Geological Survey to their
175th anniversary science symposium on the 28th of September. The event
is being held at the Royal Institution in London. The prize includes travelling
expenses and overnight accommodation for one parent and himself. He will
have the opportunity to question face to face a number of the world’s leading
geologists and the two television personalities, Sir David Attenborough
and Prof Iain Stewart. Mr Youd, his geology teacher, says that Jack is an
extremely hard-working and intelligent student who should have a very bright
future in front of him.
Rugby and Hockey Tour – Australia 2010
On Sunday 11 July, 80 boys and 7 staff departed
for Australia on the biggest overseas sports tour the
school has ever embarked upon.
The tour was a huge success both in terms of results and perhaps more
importantly, the fabulous experience of an 18 day trip to Australia!
The 1st XV won four of their five games, only losing to Merewether
High School 12 – 11 in contentious circumstances.
The 2nd XV won three and lost two, and the U16s won one and lost
one. The Hockey 1st XI won four and lost two of their games and
the 2nd XI won five and lost one game. All the players deserve great
credit for their performances on the field. They prepared well for the
games and gave a good account of themselves in some tough fixtures.
However, there is much more to touring than playing fixtures! After
landing in Brisbane, we began a couple of days acclimatisation at
the ‘Sports Super Centre’ in Runaway Bay, a truly magnificent training
environment with superb facilities and the choice of many international
teams beginning tours ‘Down Under’.
A two night billet at John Paul College, Daisy Hill, just south of
Brisbane followed, where we also took in a visit to ‘Australia Zoo’,
the creation of Australia’s very own Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. We
moved south to the beautiful Gold Coast resort of Surfers Paradise via
‘Dreamworld’, a theme park filled with ‘white knuckle’ rides, which
very much lived up to their name!
The Gold Coast International Hotel is a fabulous base, and one
enjoyed by previous tourists in 2007. The beach and surf here are
second to none in Australia, and for many of the boys, this leg of the
tour was a real highlight. The climate, a luxurious hotel and the ‘buzz’
of ‘Surfers’ was everything the tourists had been hoping for!
The second week of the
tour saw us continue our
journey south to Coffs
Harbour via Byron Bay,
the most easterly point of
Australia, and surely one
of the most beautiful. From
Coffs Harbour we moved
on to Newcastle before
progressing to Sydney
where we were based
for our last four days.
Sydney is a magnificent
city and all the tourists
enjoyed it immensely.
Some did the ‘Bridge
Walk’ – 150ft up on
the Sydney Harbour
Bridge, others enjoyed
corporate hospitality
with their hosts at a rugby league game at the very impressive ‘Stadium
Australia’, which hosted the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Everyone raved
about the ‘jet boat’ ride around the harbour!
As on previous tours, we received many compliments about the
appearance, behaviour and general demeanour of the boys from
fellow travellers and hosting families. They were a credit to themselves,
the school and their own families. They were superb ambassadors for
British sport and deserve great credit for ensuring this was indeed the
‘trip of a lifetime’ as promised.
Mr P Crowley
Head of Physical Education
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
Welcome
Meet the New French Foreign Language
Assistant
Dear All
The Autumn Term this year has been an
especially busy one and this is one of
those issues of Nuntius where we have
had to hold back some of the content and
reserve it for the Spring Term issue.
Over the pages you will read a wide
range of achievements on both the
academic and extra-curricular sides to
school life. It is very pleasing to see so
many boys fully engaging in the life of the
school in such a wide variety of ways.
Support for our Parents’ Associate
continues to grow. This year’s Christmas
Fair raised £5,500 which is a very
impressive sum from a single event. Each
year, PA funding is spent directly on
resources that are of benefit to the pupils.
At the end of the term we say farewell to
Mr Alistair Baker who has been with us
for the duration of the Autumn Term while
Mr Metcalf has been absent. We are
very grateful to him for his support.
Finally, I would like to take the opportunity
to extend very best wishes to everyone for
the Christmas and New Year period. We
have every expectation that 2011 will be
another very successful year in the life of
our school.
Yours sincerely,
Bonjour à tous,
Je m’appelle Cécile et j’ai 20 ans. Je vis actuellement à Caen
en Normandie, bien que je sois née à Nogent sur Marne,
dans la banlieue parisienne. La Normandie est la région
des pommes et du Calvados et nous avons des spécialités
culinaires assez particulières, comme les tripes... (je n’aime
pas ça!).
Je ne connais pas bien l’Angleterre car je ne suis allée que quelques jours à Londres où j’ai
pu voir les monuments touristiques comme Big Ben et le British Museum. Pourtant Caen est
tout près de la mer et du Ferry pour aller en Angleterre et la Normandie est fortement liée
à l’Angleterre avec des personnages historiques comme Guillaume le Conquérant, ou des
évènements comme le débarquement. Cette expérience dans votre pays sera une grande
première pour moi!
Je viens d’obtenir un diplôme en Information & Communication donc je suis habituée à
parler devant les autres et à beaucoup écrire. J’ai hâte de faire votre connaissance. Nous
aurons beaucoup de choses à nous apprendre mutuellement et j’espère être à la hauteur de
vos attentes pour cette mission qui m’est confiée.
Cecile Thevenon
Year 9 at the URENCO Challenge
As part of our Business and Enterprise initiative eight Year 9 boys recently attended a full
day Enterprise challenge held by URENCO at the Holiday Inn in Ellesmere Port. Up to 20
Merseyside and Cheshire
based schools were invited
to the event along with
accompanying members
of staff. URENCO are a
manufacturer of nuclear fuels
for the power industry and
gave the invited students a
presentation of the work of
the company along with the
opportunity to meet some
young apprentices who
have chosen a career with
URENCO.
The challenge facing the
boys was challenging
indeed! Plan, design, cost and build a method of transportation for Uranium Hexafluoride (the
fuel used in nuclear power stations) from The Wirral to Southampton. Factors such as safety,
security, cost, publicity and viability all had to be taken into consideration. When completed, the
team were given just two minutes
to present their ideas to an audience
of 250 people.
I close with saying what an enjoyable and rewarding day it was which gave the boys an insight
into the career opportunities available in advanced manufacturing.
Paul Ronayne
Community Partnership Manager
Academy Latest
David Hazeldine
Headteacher
December 2010
On the 9th November, the Governing Body voted in favour of moving to a formal consultation
stage ahead of a conversion to academy status. All schools in the country have now been
invited to become academies and increasing numbers are doing so. We are aware of sixty
five Grammar Schools across the country that are in the process of converting. A change to
academy status will not change the type of school we are in anyway and we would remain
‘Wirral Grammar School for Boys’. A more detailed letter will be sent to parents in January
when a period of consultation will begin. Further information can be obtained from the
‘Academy Up-date’ link on our school website.
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Nuntius
Comenius Exchange 2010
The Netherlands
You may already know that
Wirral Grammar School for
Boys has been accepted into
the Comenius Project. Towards
the end of last year you may
remember that students from
Norway, The Netherlands
and Spain came to England
in the first part of the
exchange. The second
part of the exchange
happened last week.
12 boys from the
school along with one
member of staff visited
Emelwerda College
in Emmeloord, The
Netherlands. The title of
our Comenius project
is ‘What’s Happening’, and aim
to see what teenagers think of the
world around them.
Sustaining High Standards
Our public examination results for 2010 maintained the very
high standards of recent years and there were a number of
improvement in key areas.
At GCSE 97% of pupils gained five or more GCSEs at grades
A* to C and 95% gained five or more GCSEs at grades A* to
C including English and Maths.
A Level results presented a number of new records for the
school. New this year was the introduction of the A* grade at
A Level and 10% of all grades were at A* standard. Over a
quarter of all grades (28%) were A* or A grades and well over
half were at top grades A*/A/B. 97.6% gained at least three
A Level passes and 86% gained at least 4.
In the last week of the Autumn Term we celebrated the
achievements of all students in last year’s Years 11 and 13 at
our Certificate Evening at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight.
Smile Train Collection
Early Tuesday morning, we touched
down at Schiphol Airport, ready for
a day in Amsterdam before visiting
the school. At 3pm, we met with the
students from Norway and Spain, and
then got picked up by the coach for a
2 hour coach trip to the school. When we got there, we went home with our host
families for dinner and an early night!
Wednesday was the first day on the official schedule. First we had icebreakers,
whilst the teachers had a meeting. It went on for about an hour and a half,
working in groups of students from each country, where we had to come up with
different things depending on the instructions. After the icebreakers, we went to
the lesson our exchange student had. They aren’t much different from our lessons,
except theirs only last half an hour.
After lunch we went to visit the ‘Old Land’. This was a section of the region that
is connected by canals, with lots of history, as you can imagine. The only way to
get out of the village is by boat.
On Thursday, we had icebreakers again, which was about the same thing as
yesterday. We visited Urk, which is where we went to see a fish factory and how
it produces the fish we get on our plates. It was smelly but interesting, and we
learnt a lot about how it gets from sea to plate! After the fish factory we looked
around the town to see the old houses and the geographical features of the area.
Thursday was the final day on the schedule. In the morning we showed the group
presentations about our school and country, and the other students likewise. After
this we went to visit the ‘New Land’, which was a few greenhouses and lots of
fields, a large contrast to the old land! The greenhouse we first went to grew
lots of different types of flower in different areas, each with its own temperature
control. The second one we went to was specifically for roses, and grew, cut and
bunched them up all in the same building.
That night was the buffet and talent show. The buffet was first, with food from
Norway, Spain, England and the Netherlands for the families of the school to
eat. There was a huge range of food, from biscuits to reindeer! The talent show
signalled the end of our week in Holland. First, the Dutch had dancers from the
school on, followed by a few more talents. The Norwegians offered a singing
performance from one of the students. The Spanish had a pianist from their
school, whilst England had all of us doing the Cha Cha Slide!
Early Saturday morning we departed the school for the airport, and landed
in Liverpool at 10am local time.
Andrew McLannahan 9IPT
Throughout the world the lives of thousands
of children are blighted by the fact that
they are born with a cleft palate. Apart
from the obvious facial disfigurement
and difficulties in eating, they often suffer from serious prejudice,
even to the extent that they are not allowed to go to school. A
straightforward operation can give these children a fresh start and
the Smile Train, a charity supported by US General Colin Powell,
is dedicated to making this possible. Thanks to the generosity of
our pupils giving their pennies and five pences (and in some cases
considerably more) when confronted by a rattling collecting box
we have already sent off £45 to support their work and there is
more still to be sent. Every donation, however small, is greatly
appreciated.
Dr. D. Favager
Meet The New Spanish Modern Foreign
Language Assistant
¡Hola chicos!
Me llamo Carlos y este año seré vuestro
auxiliar de conversación. Tengo 23
años, vengo de Aranjuez – que es una
pequeña ciudad al sur de Madrid,
la capital – y acabo de terminar la
universidad. Soy licenciado en Filología
Inglesa (todo lo que tiene que ver con la lengua inglesa) y en
Literatura.
Hablando un poco sobre mí, entre mis aficiones se encuentran el
fútbol y la música. Cuando era más pequeño jugaba de portero al
fútbol sala en el equipo del colegio. Ahora que soy más mayor veo al
FC Barcelona, mi equipo favorito, en la televisión. Mi música preferida
es el rock, con grupos como The Beatles (¡qué suerte estar tan cerca
de donde nacieron!) o The Who.
Este año espero poder aprender mucho de vosotros, y vosotros de
mí. Espero que nos lo pasemos genial y que aprendáis un montón de
español.
Carlos Garijo Resino
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
December 2010
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
POLITICS OF EUROPEAN UNION BROUGHT
TO LIFE FOR WIRRAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL
FOR BOYS
The politics of the European Union
were brought to life for students
from Wirral Grammar School for
Boys when they took part in a Mock
Council of the European Union on
18th November.
News of the royal engagement on the same
day in London made the day even more
special for the students as the event was held
in the historic Lancaster House right next door
to Clarence House where the engagement
was announced.
Twenty-nine
secondary schools
and colleges from
across England
gathered in
Lancaster House on
16 November to
debate and make
decisions on the
future of the Roma
community and
on the creation
of an EU energy
market for greater
security of the gas
supply. The event
was organised by
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council and the European
Commission and was held during International Education Week.
Each school represented one of the 27 EU Member States, the European
Commission or the Secretariat-General of the Council. Wirral Grammar School
for Boys represented The Netherlands.
Upper Sixth student Jack Neil said: “I found the day extremely interesting as I got
to experience firsthand the workings of the European Council. I learned about the
processes involved and improved my debating and organisational skills. It has
inspired me to consider working in the EU and politics as a possible career. It
was interesting to represent a different country to my own and to understand the
issues from their perspective.”
Head teacher, David Hazeldine, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for
students to learn about the politics of the European Union. I am very proud of the
way they researched, debated and presented their case at the Mock Council.
It is a fantastic event that truly brings learning to life for our students.”
Minister for Europe David Lidington, who welcomed the students to the Mock
Council, said: “The European Union is an institution that enables European
countries to argue out their differences peacefully with respect for one another’s
positions. The Mock Council is an excellent way to show young people just how
the big decisions are made at a European level.”
British Council Chief Executive Martin Davidson said: “The way in which
the students grasped the issues and debated them with such passion is
commendable. The British Council works hard to build and ensure cultural
understanding between the UK, Europe and countries around the world through
initiatives such as the European Union’s Comenius programme and is pleased
to be able to offer events like the Mock Council to our up-and-coming young
leaders.”
Jonathan Scheele, Head of the European Commission Representation in the
UK, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed chairing the debate on inclusion of Roma and
was impressed by the research done by the students and their self-confidence in
taking the floor and arguing their case. As a veteran of many such councils in my
European Commission career, this experience was very close to the real thing,
and I hope the students got a lot out of their day.”
Business Links
In July this
year the
school held
its inaugural
Business
Network
event which
was an
opportunity to
develop the
relationship
between
WGSB
and local
Mr. D Hazeldene and Mr P Harrison with Mrs Julie Knights
business partners.
from Wirral Chamber of Commerce
The keynote
speaker at the
meeting was Richard
Mawdsley from
Peel Holdings Ltd,
a company involved
in the current project
to develop and
regenerate the
waterfront on both
sides of the River
Mersey-a scheme
which could create
20,000 new jobs in Wirral. Following on from this successful
venture the school has become a member of Wirral Chamber of
Commerce which will enable it to develop and establish links with
local, regional and national business partners.
Mr P Ronayne Community Partnership Manager
UKMT SENIOR MATHEMATICAL
CHALLENGE 2010
There were 95 750 entries for this year’s UK SMC and this was the highest
ever, showing the growing interest and importance of these events. Wirral
had 30 participants from years 10 to 13 and once again some excellent
performances, but many found the questions somewhat harder than the
usual GCSE and A-Level stereotypes.
The grade boundaries were:
GOLD ≥ 85 SILVER ≥ 70
BRONZE ≥ 58
Best performers were:
• Edward Kenny (SCORE 90) and that consistent performer Michael
Hinchliffe (87) from Y13
• Best in Y12 was Luke Cartwright (80)
• Best in Y11 was James Whitehouse (64)
• Best in Y10 Isaac Barnes and Patrick Richardson (both with 73)
All students are reminded that they can now download extended solutions
to all questions from the website www.ukmt.org.uk.
Well done to the boys who took part!
Mr J Hough, Maths Department
Footnote:
Question 1. This cross-number was meant to be the easiest on the paper
and accessible to all, but only 60% of those who answered it got it correct.
Have a go – you will find the answer elsewhere in this Nuntius edition!
What is the digit x in this cross number?
Across
1 A Cube
3 A Cube
Down
1 One less than a cube
A 2
B 3 C 4 D5
Answer is on the back cover
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E 6
1
2
3
x
Nuntius
Community Development
Welcome to the New Community
Partnership Manager!
Hello!... I have recently taken over from Tony Boustead as
WGSBs Community Partnerships Manager. I am looking forward
to continuing the excellent work that Tony pioneered at the school
and maintaining and developing the work with pupils, parents, the
wider school community and the local business community. Please
feel free to contact me at the school if you have any comments,
ideas or suggestions, I look forward to speaking with you!
Primary School Support
As part of Extended Services partnerships support to local primary
schools is being offered and delivered in a number of areas. 6th
Form boys have been giving assistance to schools in Maths, ICT,
Science and MFL. Benjamin Caveen from L64 writes...
Mr. P. Ronayne
[email protected]
‘G E W’
Stands for Global Entrepreneurship Week which this year took
place between 15th and 21st November. Together with our
partners Wirral Metropolitan College and Outhouse Design 16
Wirral Primary schools were invited to a GEW challenge around
a theme of saving energy. The results will be judged at Wirral
Grammar in early February.
Ben and the Boys at Irby Primary School
‘On Tuesday 2nd November Sam Black, Chris Hatter, Matthew
Brennan and myself volunteered to take part in Irby Primary
School’s Maths Day. It was a great experience involving
challenging tasks but each of us coped well and kept the Year 4
to 6 pupils entertained. We held quizzes and showed the children
other fun ways of learning Maths. The day was organised by Mr.
Ronayne (Community Manager) On behalf of all the volunteers we
would like to thank him for giving us the opportunity to experience
teaching Maths in a primary school, which we all enjoyed and I
think the children did too.’
Paul Ronayne
Community Partnership Manager
Children at Thornton Hough Primary School working on their
energy saving project during GEW
Doctor Faustus
Admissions 2012
If you had the chance to sell your soul to the devil
and get everything you ever wanted, would you
do it? Nine Year 12 pupils went to see Doctor
Faustus at Manchester’s spectacular Royal Exchange
theatre last month where the dilemma was directly
addressed in such fashion that kept the whole
audience on the edge of their seats. It was fantastic
to experience such a quality production even with
Mrs Campbell and Mrs Davies’ company!
Peter Pegasiou L64KC
If you have a son who is
currently in Year 5 and
you are considering Wirral
Grammar School for Boys
for September 2011, please
note that we will be holding
an Information Evening on
Tuesday 28th June 2011. Full
details will be available on
our school website from May
onwards.
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Mobile Phone
Policy –
Reminder
Our policy on mobile phones is
very clear. Pupils are permitted
to have phones available for
use before and after school
but during the school day they
must be switched off. Staff will
confiscate mobile phones that are
on view/in use during the day.
W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
An Introduction to Einstein
On 6th October all 94 A Level physics students
from our sixth form, as well as other students from
across the Wirral, descended on Wirral Grammar
School for Girls for a talk on Albert Einstein. Dr
Peter Ford of the University of Bath and Dr Vincent
Smith of the University of Bristol were conducting
the talk.
Dr Ford began by discussing the work of two Russian
scientists from the University of Manchester who had just been
awarded a Nobel Prize. He then began talking about what
life was like in 1879, the year Einstein was born. It was
then that we learned of his early years in the German town of
Ulm, including how he struggled at school in Munich despite
being a very intelligent boy. We were also told of his five
important papers which were explained in detail to us by Dr
Smith.
December 2010
Salters’ Chemistry Camp
– York University
From the 18th to the 20th of August I
participated in the Salters’ Chemistry
camp at York University. The purpose of
Chemistry Camps is to allow young people
to explore some of the more fun and
interesting aspects of chemistry, as well as
broadening their knowledge of the subject
as a whole.
Dr Smith discussed the theories which Einstein had put
forward. He talked about Brownian Motion, the nature of
light, E=mc2, the speed of light constant, and time slowing
from very fast moving objects.
My experience of Salters’ at York was very enjoyable, and I would
happily go again. It allowed me to perform experiments that I would
never be able to do at school, such as cold light experiments and
work with the so-called “fourth state of matter”, liquid crystals (used in
LCD TVs, to my surprise!).
Peter returned at this point to talk of his life after the papers
were published, specifically his life in America after fleeing
Nazi Germany and his travels through several universities in
Europe and America, for example at Princeton and Zürich.
This concluded the talk which had proved insightful and
beneficial to our A Level studies. We would therefore like to
thank Dr Vincent Smith & Peter Ford for the talk as well as the
girls’ school for hosting the event.
As well as chemistry, there were also a wide range of activities to do
at the end of the day, such as a quiz, a materials lecture, sports and a
“ghost walk”, where we were given a guided tour of the haunted sites
of York. I also met some very interesting people, and enjoyed their
company in a casual atmosphere. If anything, the Salters’ Chemistry
Camp gave me something to do over the long summer holiday, and I
did not regret attending.
By Jamie Lamb & James Ollerhead U61
I hope this has encouraged you to find out more about the camps,
and possibly even persuaded you to come along. After all, the only
way you can discover what it’s really like is to find out for yourself!
Geography Lake District Trip
We departed from school on the 8th of October, along with
a group of Wirral girls, on to what was surely going to be an
interesting but amusing weekend, especially with the presence
of Mr. Hughes (and Miss Strand). We arrived in the Lake District
and set off on our study straight away in and around the town of
Kendal, interviewing local residents, Oh the joy! After finishing this
we went to our youth hostel for an evening of ‘great food’ (mainly
consisting of Mr. Hughes’ jam and sponge cake) and the comfort
of a warm bed.
James Sexty 11CCC
Any Year 10 who is interested in applying for a Salters’ Chemistry
Camp place next summer should see
Dr Bromley.
Why science? – Why indeed!
On the Saturday of the trip, we set off on our study of the river
Eea, gathering results at 4 different sites and stopping off in the
small village of Cartmel for some deliciously spiffing sticky toffee
pudding. We then had an evening meal and had the chance to
celebrate another birthday and yet another fantastic cake made
by the one and only Mr. Hughes. Another night at the hostel was
topped off with some brilliant fashion sense, which included some
amusing costumes, none better than a mankini!!
On the 11th of November three Y9 pupils and I travelled to the “Why Science?”
conference at Ridgeway secondary school. At the beginning of the conference
we were able to speak to many different scientists. After meeting the scientists we
then had a coastal protection workshop where we learned about under water
exploration. We then had a speech by two mechanical engineers and learned
how to make a maglev train. Finally we learned about nanotechnology and we
made
a football using it!
Sunday was our final day and we had a day on the beach,
gathering information from the great sand dunes, just outside the
town of Barrow. We enjoyed a long, hard morning of ‘sandduning’ and at the end; we all had fun rolling around in the
golden beaches.
“It was really good because it showed us the science of medicine and making
pills.”
Lee Haslam 9IPT
Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable weekend, admiring the
beauty and elegance of the wonderful scenery of the Lakes and
also we had a few laughs and stories to take back to school with
us.
Sam Black L62DMF
Curtis Betley 9IPT
“The mechanics and engineering were really fun and interesting.”
Ben Barnard 9IPT
Abubkr Ahmed 9IPT also went along and had a good time!
Thanks to Mrs Senior for taking us.
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Nuntius
Coming in
April 2011
CABARET
COMPANY
Our school production
this year is the musical
‘Cabaret’. Rehearsals
are well underway.
Please watch out for
information about ticket
sales next year and be
warned... they will sell
out quickly!
The Cabaret Company
is as follows:
Emcee
Sally Bowles
Cliff
Schneider
Shultz
Ernst
KOST
Sailor 1 / Waiter
Sailor 2 / Waiter
Sailor 3 / Waiter
Telephone Boy /
Officer
Telephone Boy /
Waiter
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Waiter & Party Guest
Kit Kat Girl / 2 Ladies
Ktt Kat Girl / 2 Ladies
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Daniel Byrne
Sophie Money
David Field
Rowen Darroch
Ben Caveen
Yyannis Johnson
Jenny Finch
Tom Smith
Mike Bowen
Andy Arathoon
Josh Finan
Kit Kat Girl
Bex Leeman
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Kit Kat Girl
Party Guest
Party Guest
Party Guest
Party Guest
Hollie Jackson
Hannah Winstanley
Becki Kirkby
Hannah Barnes
Steph Mortimore
Ellie Murray
Emmily Goodyear
Geoff Hinde - Director
Joe Oxton
Kieran France
Andrew Sephton
Daniel Galvin
Chris Wiles
Gareth Mattey
Robert Barton
Nathan Just
Jon Howes
Tom Ramsey
Gina Sinclair
Catherine Cassidy
Laura Condon
Vicki Adegoke
Cara Wilson
Abby Hannah
Annie Field
Charlotte Cumming
Stepping Back to Medievil England
On Tuesday October 12th, a theatre company called ‘Say
Two’ came into school and performed a play on Medieval
England and the key events of this period. This was for the
whole of year seven. This was a great way of learning
about the many significant events of the period, including
the battles of 1066, the building of Motte and Bailey
castles, the murder of Thomas Beckett and the Black Death.
At the end of the play we all had to split up into groups to do
different workshops and then present them to the rest of the year.
Most of them were plays but one of them, with the majority of the
people in it, saw us all re-enact the Feudal System. We all got to
wear suitable costumes and were given instruction about how to
move around the stage and project our voices.
It was great fun and everybody thought so, even the teachers.
They taught the whole of Year Seven about things related to 1066
in a really exciting and inter-active way. Even though some people
didn’t get picked to act, everyone enjoyed it, even just watching.
In the play there was information and humour; a great way to
learn about history!
Daniel Hale & Luke Cresswell 7RB
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
Nuffield Bursaries
This year the school had
the three impressive
entries for this science
and technology universitybased research project.
This is a review of the
work carried out by our
students.
Ronan Duffey U68
The Geography Department at the University
of Liverpool was the location for my Nuffield
Bursary, where I was kindly hosted for four
weeks throughout the summer as I investigated
how changes in the environment have an
effect on the composition of the lake sediments
found in a particular area. My research
used infra red spectroscopy to analyse lake
sediment samples from four sites - Sweden,
Norway, and closer to home from lakes in
Cheshire. The work gave me a great insight
into university research work, and it has
improved my overall scientific knowledge
considerably!
Jack Neil U64
For my placement I was kindly hosted
by Liverpool University’s Department of
Mathematical Sciences, within the Pure
Mathematics Division. I worked on sequences
of real numbers and investigated the strange
world of complex numbers and how they
behave when iterated. It gave me the
opportunity to work independently, allowing
me to steer the project in a direction I found
more interesting. The placement also gave me
an insight into how research is conducted at
December 2010
a university, helping my decision
of what career I may want to enter
later in life.
George Schenck U61
After being initially disappointed
having received a placement at
Ness Botanical Gardens, I came
to very much enjoy my Nuffield
Experience. My project title was
‘Breadth and Specificity of the
colour matching abilities of the
Peppered Moth, Biston betularia’.
This entailed measuring the colour
change of 315 caterpillars exposed
to different coloured artificial branches.
I was working outside in the summer with
three other students and it was great to
‘muck in’ with their projects.
The scheme gave me a great chance
to experience real scientific research
at first hand and helped confirm my
career choice as a research chemist.
Although the subject matter was not
my original choice I learned skills
such as experimental design and time
management which will serve
me for years to come.
Thanks, as always, goes to Tim
Sibthorp and his team at Maestro
Services Ltd who administer the
Nuffield scheme in the North West.
We would also like to recognise
the contribution made by the
Nuffield Foundation in providing
opportunities for young scientists
from this school and many others.
New Transition
Programme for Year 6
A new transition programme developed by the Local Authority called
‘Family Welcome’ was started this year for some Year 6 boys and
their parents. The course was run by Mrs Walker, Learning Mentor
and Mrs Bradshaw, Teaching Assistant.
The aim of the programme is to help and support boys and their
parents through the transition of moving to secondary school and
included sessions on self-esteem, motivation, friendship, working
together, understanding and managing feelings.
The course started in July and ran as a pilot scheme with the support of
Mark Holton, Headteacher at Higher Bebington Junior School and was
completed in October.
From left to right: Sharon Walker, Edward Elliott, Harvey Young, Kalem Bateman,
Max Derbyshire, Sam Davis, Tom Gerrard, Oliver Lloyd, Cameron Buchannon,
Will Goodwin, Tom Forsey, Adrienne Bradshaw.
Pupils reported “it was fun, I cant wait to start at Wirral Grammar Boys”, “I have learnt ways to calm down”, and some comments received
from parents proved that the programme was a success “a great idea to help boys with the move to big school”, “we were lucky to have this
programme offered to us in school”, “loved that we looked at positive stuff about our children, and turning negatives into positives”.
Mrs Walker and Mrs Bradshaw will be running the course again next year and hope to make it available to students from three local primary
schools from February 2011.
Sharon Walker, Learning Mentor
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Nuntius
Visit to Madrid
Imagine the scenario: you’re packed and ready to go
on what will be an enjoyable school trip, and whilst en
route to the airport, you are told that your flight has been
cancelled, due to a strike by French air traffic controllers.
Unfortunately, such an occurrence befell the Upper Sixth
Spanish group, as well as the Sixth Form Spanish groups
from Wirral Grammar School for Girls. Arriving back at
school to bemused, unsympathetic classmates, I’m sure you
can imagine, seemed like rubbing salt in the wound. As
anticipated, the trip was re-scheduled, and I’m pleased to
say that a group of 30 students and 3 teachers departed
from school on Thursday 11th November for a 3-night visit
to Madrid.
Day 1 – Thursday
After a serious case of déjà vu, we left for Madrid from Liverpool John
Lennon Airport just after lunchtime. Having arrived at Madrid in the late
afternoon, we took a series of frequently busy metros across the capital
to arrive at our accommodation. For dinner, we went to the Museo del
Jamón (Ham Museum). It is an institution in Madrid, with joints of ham
dangling rather peculiarly behind the bar.
Day 2 – Friday
In the morning, we travelled by foot to Madrid’s Atocha railway station to
make our way to Toledo, a city roughly 40 miles south of the capital.
Toledo is famed for being one of the former capitals of the Spanish
Empire, and a city where Jews, Christians and Muslims enriched
Spain’s culture and co-existed there for many hundreds of years. This is
immediately apparent once you take in
views of the city’s incredible buildings
and architecture. Upon the backdrop
of a clear, sunny day, the city’s
Cathedral and the Alcázar fortification
were breathtaking. We indulged in
Spain’s serene café culture, sampling
some of the local cuisine.
of World War II. Picasso captures the mood with a scene of chaos and
desperation. So significant is the painting that a tapestry hangs in the UN
headquarters, serving as a stark reminder of the horrors of war.
Another marvel of the city is the Parque del Buen Retiro. The park is filled
with elaborate sculptures and water features; it is also a perfect setting for
a mid-morning walk away from the hive of activity in Madrid.
Day 4 – Sunday
Before we left Madrid, we decided to visit El Rastro, a flea market which
takes places every Sunday and bank holiday. To me, most of the items
on sale were of limited value and use, and nothing really grabbed
my attention. Nonetheless, it was a good opportunity to get gifts and
presents for the teachers.
Another of the main museums of Madrid is the Museo del Prado, housing
works of European art from the 12th to the 19th centuries. Amongst its
main attractions are the works of Velazquez, El Greco and Goya; artists
which make the museum the ninth most popular in the world. The sheer
extensiveness of Spanish art was practically a timeline of Spanish history,
reflecting the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods to name only a
few.
Finally, on behalf of everyone, I have to thank the three teachers: Mr
Hughes, as well as Mrs Anderson and Mrs Hammond from Wirral
Grammar School for Girls who accompanied us on the trip and made it
very enjoyable.
I would definitely encourage those on next year’s trip to really reap the
benefits of being in such a magnificent city.
Andrew Connell U65
Day 3 – Saturday
In the morning, we visited the Museo
Reina Sofía. The highlights of the
museum are those of the two greatest
20th century Spanish masters, Pablo
Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The first
stop was Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ painting;
arguably his most famous and poignant
work. The painting takes inspiration
from the mass bombing of the Basque
town during the Spanish Civil War.
Supported by Fascists in both Germany
and Italy, the large-scale destruction
caused by the aerial attack was a
prelude to the Blitzkrieg Campaign
History Trip Germany and Poland 2011
Boys in Y9 and Y10 have almost completed paying in instalments
for the trip at Easter. 47 boys plus 5 staff will be going to Berlin and
Auschwitz for 6 days to enhance their History syllabuses at KS3 and
GCSE. This is surely going to be a fascinating and enjoyable trip.
Visiting sites of the former Nazi state and what should be a moving
visit to the world’s most notorious former extermination camp are
bound to stir emotions. Boys currently in Years 7 and 8 will have
the opportunity to go on a similar trip in the future. Details of future
History trips, not necessarily to the same venues, are given out in
the Summer term, so boys in current Y8 and Y9 should wait for this
information which will be give out via History teachers and a notice
on the door of Hi1. Previous pictures from previous trips dating back
10 years can be seen on the walls around Hi1 and in the classroom
itself. These trips have been to Berlin, Belgium, Poland, France, The
Netherlands and Russia. Watch this space!
Mr L McKibbin
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
Anglesey Geology Field Trip
A geologist
is only as
good as his
fieldwork, at
least that’s
the motto of
teacher of
50 years,
Mr Youd.
With this in
mind, A-Level
geologists
undertook
three visits
over a one
month period
to sites in
Anglesey, a
place with
some of the
oldest rocks,
and some of
the most complicated geology, in the British Isles.
Trips to Porth Dafarch, and Newborough Warren were
planned for dates in September and October, with
a total of 8 geologists on each. Diversity and a new
perspective was acquired with a true cross curriculum
relationship when sixth form Art students also made the
trip to Newborough Warren, a place we were extremely
fortunate to visit, as it is a site that has been voted as
one of the most outstanding areas in the world. Further
investigations into rocks and geological structures, some
of which are up to 450 million years old, on the beach
at Porth Dafarch, as well as igneous bodies of rock,
reminded us that the Anglesey coast wasn’t always as
serene and tranquil as it appears today.
On behalf of the A Level geologists, thanks must go Mr
Hughes and Mr Youd for organising the trips, as well
as Mrs Youd for her accompaniment and the additional
insight she provided in the field.
Ronan Duffey U6
December 2010
Bio-bots: Wirral Grammar in the
First Lego League!
This year a team of Year 9 students from Wirral Grammar School
for Boys, named Doctor Bots, will take part in the First Lego
League Robotics Challenge. We will compete at Manchester
University on Thursday 9th December, with the potential to then
move on to the national finals in London and then the World
Festival in America.
The theme of the competition is Biomedical Engineering, which involves taking
engineering methods and applying them to the medical field – pace makers, false
eyes and mechanical arms are all examples of Biomedical Engineering.
For the Regional Tournament in Manchester we need to develop and complete
certain tasks involving Biomedical Engineering:
• Body Forward Robot Challenge
For this part of the competition we have to design, build and program a robot
using NXT hardware and software, to carry out set tasks on a large game
board. On competition day we will compete head-to-head with other schools
and gain points for each of the tasks we complete successfully but we only
have 2 ½ minutes to do them all.
• Research Project
We have spent a lot of time researching into Biomedical Engineering to find
out more about it and to inform other people know about the subject. As well
as this article, you have probably seen the information we have put up in
the ICT department and around school. You may have also heard our team
member, James Edmond, being interviewed about Biomedical Engineering on
Livewire Radio. In Manchester we will present our research on display boards
and will perform a play to a panel of judges – we will also show the play in
our year group assembly in the run up to the competition – to show them how
Biomedical Engineering has changed since it was founded in the 1800s.
• Teamwork
The First Lego League judges will also be looking at how well we’ve worked
as a team to complete the tasks and challenges. We will be interviewed both
formally and informally and points will be awarded to our team accordingly.
Our local rivals, Calday and St Anselms are also entering teams into the
competition so we will be hoping to beat them in the robot arena as well as on the
rugby pitch. Wish us luck!
Mr C Lageu
Design & Technology
Author visits to the Learning Resources
Centre
The Learning Resources Centre has this term hosted the visit of author Mark Walden, who
came in to school to speak to pupils from years 7 and 8. The theme of his talk was “villains”,
and what makes a good villain – an important concept in his popular series of H.I.V.E. (Higher
Institute for Villainous Education) books. The visit was a huge success, and those boys who
heard Mark have enjoyed reading his books.
Mark Walden
Building on the enthusiasm of Mark’s visit, the 6th December sees a visit by Joseph Delaney –
the popular author of the Spook’s Apprentice series of books –who will also be talking to boys
from years 7 and 8. All pupils will have a chance to meet Joe and buy signed copies of his
books.
Julia Hale
LRC Manager
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Nuntius
MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS
A big welcome to all new musicians in the School! The Music Department now
has 18 instrumental, vocal and ensemble teachers, together with 303 boys having
lessons each week. There are seventeen instrumental and vocal ensembles which are
represented by a Music Forum. This years’ representatives are:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Concert Band
Choir
Pop Choir
Orchestra
Electric Guitar Group
String Group
Brass Group
Samba Band
Rock Bands
Woodwind Group
Junior Brass Group
Treble Choir
Ben Sharrock
Calum Redhead
Andrew Burgess
William Vick
Matthew Lochhead
Oliver Wedgwood
Tom Ramsay
Matthew Dobson
David Field
Richard Milnes
Jack Griffith
Lewis Yii
Luke Goldsmith
Sam Hartharn-Evans
Ben Turner
U61
L66
L65
U61
U61
10WS
U65
11JLH
L65
L65
11JLH
11CCC
11JLH
9SMC
8KM
A true and accurate likeness of each of these important people is displayed in the Music
Department as well as on the music notice board outside the Headmaster’s office for ease of
identification. There is a Forum meeting once every half-term, and the minutes of these meetings
are displayed on the Music Society notice board. Every boy who plays or sings in an ensemble
is automatically a member of the Music Society, so if you have any questions regarding your
ensemble, speak to your Forum representative!
The first few concerts of the new school year have now taken place, including the Chamber
Concert on Wednesday 20 October involving 26 boys, 3 of whom are in the new year 7,
(Freddie Tedstone 7RW on saxophone, Aled Davies 7GA on trumpet and William Bracken
7LEM on piano). The Autumn concert involved fifteen different ensembles which rehearse each
week, and the highlights included diverse singing from the year 7 choir, full choir and the pop
choir. The Carol Service with the traditional nine lessons and carols provided an opportunity for
the Choir with accompanying brass group to provide a fitting musical setting for this joyous time
of year, and was enjoyed by parents and friends in the evening service, and at the very least
tolerated by years 7-9 in the afternoon!
Some examination results from the Associated Board were not with us in time for the last summer
edition of Nuntius. Congratulations and recognition should therefore go to the following
successful candidates:
Name
GEORGE ANDERSON
JAMES BARNES
JOSHUA BEALE
JAMES BLUCK
RYAN CLARKE
JAKE CLEMENT-JONES
AARON COVE
THOMAS DEAKIN
MATTHEW DOBSON
DRUVI EDIRISINGHE
KEIRON EVANS
JOHN FIELDHOUSE
ROBERT FOARD
LUKE GOLDSMITH
SAM HARTHARN-EVANS
LOUIS MCGILLOWAY
TOM SMITH
SAMUEL WICKS
TOM WOOD
Form
10WS
9JHH
7AD
8AJM
9JMC
8AJM
9SMC
11SPA
11JLH
8KM
10AB
8KM
9JMC
11JLH
9SMC
9JHH
U64
10HS
10HS
Instrument
HORN
CLARINET
VIOLIN
B FLAT CORNET
JAZZ ALTO SAX
VIOLIN
FLUTE
TROMBONE
CLARINET
CLARINET
CLARINET
EUPHONIUM
TRUMPET
JAZZ ALTO SAX
TROMBONE
E FLAT HORN
JAZZ ALTO SAX
CLARINET
CLARINET
Grade
04
01
02
02
01
02
03
04
04
01
04
02
01
02
04
03
02
03
02
Result
Merit
Merit
Distinction
Merit
Merit
Pass
Merit
Merit
Pass
Merit
Pass
Distinction
Merit
Merit
Merit
Merit
Merit
Pass
Pass
Two year 7 classes (7GA and 7RW) were treated to a visit by the School of Rock and Pop on
Wednesday 17 November. Advertising their new evening school soon to open in West Kirby,
the boys were all invited to play guitars, drums and make up a rock song, and by the end of the
hour’s lesson, the whole class presented a respectable rendition of the song they had worked on.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Rock School and how it operates, please see Mr
Thomas or Mr Snowdon.
The Music Department’s tour to Italy is gathering pace, although there are still 3 spaces available
which we need to fill. Anyone interested in going on this trip of a lifetime should see
Mr Snowdon as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you want to get the most out of music
at Wirral Grammar School, get involved and get practising!
Mr P Thomas
YEAR 8 CAKE BAKE
FOR CHILDREN IN
NEED
On Friday 19th November, Year 8 were invited
to bring in home baked cakes to sell at break
and lunch to raise money for the BBC Children in
Need appeal. The five forms went head-to-head
to compete against each other to see who could
raise the most money for this fantastic cause. Four
members from each form became the tradesmen
on their forms’ stall to sell cakes to the masses
and sell they did! The total amount raised was a
massive £323.84! The winning form was 8AJM
raising £86.31, followed by 8RR with £73.44,
then 8KLJ with £61.88, 8KM with £45.63 and
8GWG with £28.51. As a prize for raising the
most money for charity, 8AJM got to sample my
very own special fairy cakes when I brought in
cakes for all! Each form did a fantastic job and
well done! Thank you to everyone who baked,
bought, sold or ate the cakes on the day, parents
included! A big thank you must also go to the
Cove family – Mr Cove for baking the wonderful
Pudsey Bear cake and Aaron Cove (9SMC) for
selling the raffle tickets. The cake was won by
Daniel Threlfall in 9OA and had raised £27.84
for the cause. Thank you also to everyone who
helped to make the event a success (particularly
those who had to clean the mess up afterwards!)
I am very proud of the efforts of the entire year
group and am already thinking up ideas for future
charity events!
Mrs D Hynes (Head of Year 8)
MOTIVATED AND
LOVING IT!
Year Twelve were treated to a day of motivational
coaching combined with study skills back in
September. The company ‘MALIT’, delivered the
day’s activities in a light-hearted yet practical
manner and pupils learned a lot.
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
Former Pupil Update
From time to time we receive updates on the
career successes and achievements of former
pupils. Such accounts are greatly welcomed
and serve to provide our current pupils with
examples of potential career progression.
Professor David Fishwick, Consultant Respiratory Physician and
Honorary Professor of Occupational and Environmental Respiratory
Medicine at the University of Sheffield. David was born in 1962
and was educated at St Andrews and Brackenwood Primary Schools,
followed by Wirral Grammar School for Boys in Bebington, the latter
between 1972 and 1980. He then studied Medicine at the Victoria
University of Manchester, where in addition to gaining his MBChB,
was awarded the Turner Prize
in Medicine. He subsequently trained in General Internal, Respiratory
and Occupational Medicine, being awarded the AFOM and MRCP,
and later the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London
and Glasgow (FRCP).
Since completing his postgraduate training, he has worked in
various hospitals in Manchester including the Manchester Royal
Infirmary and Wythenshawe Hospital, Dryburn Hospital in Durham
and Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne. During his time
in Manchester he gained his MD degree, studying the plight of
modern cotton and textile workers, and in particular the respiratory
diseases they are at risk of developing. He later held a Research
Fellowship at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand
December 2010
for 2 years, again focussing on the
environmental respiratory influences
on newborn babies’ lungs, as well as
the occupational burden of respiratory
diseases in New Zealand.
He now works as a Consultant in
Respiratory and General Medicine at
the University of Sheffield and Sheffield
Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust, and has been in this role since
1997. He also works as the Chief
Medical Officer at the Health and
Safety Laboratory, Buxton and is a
co-Director of the Centre for Workplace
Health, a tripartite collaboration
between STH NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Sheffield and the
Health and Safety Laboratory.
In October 2010 he was appointed as an Honorary Professor by the
University of Sheffield, following review of his work by an international
panel coordinated by the Vice Chancellor. The panel also took into
account ‘esteem factors’ such as David’s roles on HSE’s Asthma
Board and Disease Reduction Programme Strategic Board, as well
as his work on numerous peer reviewed publications. David married
a Geordie and has a busy family life with three young children, but
additionally remains passionate about preventing lung diseases,
before they have the opportunity to destroy patients’ lives.
National Poetry Day
FILM CLUB
Film Club member, Nathan Rimmer, successfully
auditioned to become one of a small group
of students from across the country chosen
as Young Ambassadors. As such, he recently
attended a Media Training Day in London where
he met CBBC presenter Johnny Pitts and Blue
Peter presenter Andy Akinwolere. Film Club
Ambassadors get involved in attending film
premieres, workshops and other activities. Nathan
was recently interviewed on BBC Radio 5 – a
recording of the interview can be listened to here:
http://www.filmclub.org/past-vip-visits
To mark National Poetry day in October, every pupil in Year Ten had an hour long session with the
much lauded performance poet Ash Dickinson. As well as treating them to a taste of his ‘ Fringe’
material (Edinburgh 2010!) he helped pupils to write their own short poems. Whoever said poetry
was boring?
GIFTED AND TALENTED SUMMER
SCHOOL
Two pupils were fortunate enough to win a place at Durham University’s renowned Summer
schools prior to the start of the Autumn term. A Y8 pupil spent a week studying Anthropology and
a Y9 pupil Ancient History.
School Book Groups
This half-term sees the Senior Poets (sixth-form) looking at ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony
Burgess ; the Dead Poets (Years 10 and 11), William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies and the Junior
poets ‘ Paper Towns’ by John Green. Mini poets (Years 7 and 8) will be discussing ‘The Stuff of
Nightmares’ by Malorie Blackman. New members are always welcome.
Building Programme Latest
Unfortunately, poor weather and a relatively minor steel supply issue have led to delays in
the completion of our new changing rooms. We now expect this work to be completed by
the end of January. Work has already started on the creation of a new Food and Cookery
Room and this should be completed next term. Work will commence on the new Art
Teaching Area as soon as the current changing rooms are vacated. We expect all building
work to have been completed by the end of Summer Term.
w w w. w i r r a l g r a m m a r b o y s . c o m
Nuntius
Geology : Traeth
Bychan Anglesey
On the 16th of September our class travelled to Traeth Bychan in
Anglesey, Wales. As we left the minibus, the rare Welsh sun shone
down on us as if it were summer! We took our equipment and split
into groups of threes. We set about instantly putting into action the
skills we had learned in the classroom, and before long, we were
all scrambling over the rocks, with clinometres and field notebooks
in our hands. The beach stretched out as far as the eye could see
and we slowly, but surely, made our way from one end to the
other, to traverse seaweed and
rocks to see the main attraction of
the day, an ancient dyke formed
millions of years ago by magma
from the Earth’s core, forcing its
way through cracks in the rocks
before it broke free and cooled to
form what it is now. We all spent a
few moments staring at it in silence
before taking more measurements
and photographs. It was a really
enjoyable day and we would all
love to go back again.
Jack Griffith and Matt Siddorn
11JH and 11CCC
D of E Bronze Practice 2010
At the end of September, 30 Y10 pupils braved the elements near Llyn
Brenig for their Bronze practice expedition. The expedition was a huge
success with all
group members
displaying
excellent
teamwork and
communication
skills – well
done! All
Bronze and
Silver D of
E members
should now
be working on
their physical,
skill and
volunteering
sections in their
own time. Don’t
forget to record
your progress
on the electronic D of E; if you haven’t received your username or password
yet see me ASAP.
Roll on Moel Famau 2011!
Mrs. B. Clements
1Goal Success
Today, 69 million children in the world are denied the chance
to go to school. These children could be our next generation’s
leaders, sports stars, doctors and teachers. But they face a lifelong
struggle against poverty. As part of our International Week
celebrations in the summer term, the Art Department instructed the
Key Stage 3 boys to design scarves to make our local MP aware
of the 1Goal Scheme.
During our summer prize giving ceremony our scarves were presented to our MP
and guest speaker, Alison McGovern MP.
Gary Lineker said: “Delivering education for the 72 million children that are
currently denied access to education is an achievable dream. We know that the
world has the resources to deliver it. Now it’s time for world leaders to make it
happen – for rich countries to deliver the funding needed, and for governments of
developing countries
to ensure that education is the top priority in
their country.”
David Archer, International Board Member for the Global Campaign for
Education said:
“This year 1 million pupils in 9000 schools across the UK joined the Global
Campaign for Education’s 1Goal Send My Friend to School campaign, linked
to the World Cup, which focused on getting every child in the world into school.
Pupils and teachers understand the importance of this issue. The UK government
has already committed to keep up overall spending on aid but we need them to
become a real champion by recommitting to the target of £1 billion in aid to education each year and by calling on other world leaders to put their
hands up for education at the UN Summit next week”.
Alison McGovern MP said:
“I have been inspired by the efforts of the pupils at Wirral Grammar School for Boys. I was alerted to the important work that 1Goal does. Mobilising
the passion millions of people have for football is a great way of raising the profile of a campaign which aims to increase access to education for some
of the world’s poorest children. Education is a basic right and is the foundation for strong, prosperous and peaceful societies around the world. It is the
most effective development intervention possible, contributing powerfully to economic growth, poverty reduction and better health.”
Well done boys
James Hughes
Head of Modern Foreign Languages
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
December 2010
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
Physics Olympics
On October 18th 2010 a team of Abdullah Ali, Islam Ahmed, Sam
Wood and I embarked on a journey to Liverpool University to
participate in the Physics Olympics 2010 competition. Firstly we
were given a quiz sheet to answer throughout the day. In typical
physicist fashion our answers had to be in the form of the power
of ten required.
The first task was to find the height of a crater on the moon using only an image of
the moon, a close up of the crater and one or two distances. Using our knowledge
of Pythagoras and triangle theory we attempted to find the depth using an estimated
angle at which the Sun was hitting the moon. Secondly we applied our knowledge
of aerodynamics to construct a paper aeroplane that would travel through a ring
and land as close to a target as possible. We attached blue-tack to the head
of our plane so it would drop rapidly instead of dragging away from the target
across the ground. Unfortunately our thrower missed the ring, incurring a 2 metre
penalty. However in a stroke of luck Sam Wood threw a random plane we had not
tested and it landed 23cm away from the target and earned us 3rd place in that
event! Next we used our knowledge of buoyancy and its relation to surface area
to construct a boat of straw and paper to hold marbles. Our contraption held 180
marbles before capsizing. After this we needed to navigate a blindfolded member
of the team around a course without using any speech or touch. We opted for a
code of claps to signal linear movement, stop, 45 degree right turn and 45 degree
left turn. We produced an impressive time but were unfortunately beaten by a
team consisting of air cadets that apparently do this type of activity as part of their
training.
After completing our tasks we reported back to the main hall. Out of 35 teams our
efforts earned us 5th place and a lovely physics mug (although admittedly they were
given to everybody!) I recommend that any lower sixth form physicists try it next
year, although, unfortunately, it will no longer be called the Olympics as there is a
copyright issue with some, less important, event occurring in London 2012!
Andrew Strong U65
Remembrance Day
Service 2010
Our Annual
Rembrance Service
was held in school
on Friday 12th
November. The
service is in memory
of the 46 former pupils
of our school who
gave their lives in the
Second World War.
Former pupils also attended the service
together with all pupils in Years 7 and 8.
Two wreaths were laid before the Memorial
Plaque in our Entrance Foyer; one on behalf
of the ‘Old Boys’ and one on behalf of the
school..
The service consisted of a collection of
hymns and readings. Deputy Head Boy
Jamie McCann read the Roll of Honour, the
Head Boy, Jan Greenshaw gave a reading,
and Deputy Head Boy, Andrew Rich read a
prayer.
In his address, Mr Hazeldine emphasised
that the act of remembrance is a very real
and important one; “Their sacrifice is a
monument to future generations” he said
and “we have a duty to remember those
who gave and continue to give their lives for
values that we hold dear.”
Christmas Fair 2010
The school’s Christmas Fair
took place on Saturday 27
November 2010. As well as
the usual array of Tombola stalls,
Book and Bric a Brac stalls, this
year saw the introduction of a
reptile room which proved to be
very popular.
The fair is organised by the Parents Association on an annual basis. Chair
person David Elliott said ‘ I am delighted to say that thanks to the support of
the boys and their parents we have this year raised somewhere in the region
of £5,500 which in the current climate is a fantastic result In particular I would
like to extend my thanks to all members of the PA and all our helpers who
helped achieve this’.
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Nuntius
Anti Bullying Conference
Anti Bullying Week
Wirral Grammar School for Boys hosted the Wirral wide
conference on Anti –Bullying on Tuesday 16th November
2010. The conference was attended by approximately
60 delegates from many agencies, including Police,
Merseytravel, Transport Providers, Youth Services, Healthy
Schools, and Response. The theme of anti bullying week this
year is ‘Taking Action Together – the role of the Bystander’
and we focused on safer schools transport.
A number of events took place during anti bullying week in
school such as assemblies for each year group from 7 – 11
run by the heads of year with help from members of the antibullying committee, on the importance of making a difference
to someone by standing up for them, not being a bystander.
The event was opened by the Interim Director of Education,
Mr David Armstrong, and chaired by Corinne Lands,
Principal Manager for PSHE at the Local Authority. Other
Wirral schools
also took part by sending pupils to attend the conference
(Park High, Woodchurch, West Kirby Grammar, Wirral
Grammar Girls, Joseph Paxton, and Weatherhead High
School), showing the importance of all the schools and
agencies working together to make a difference.
Our cake sale was a great success, raising over £90. Many
thanks to all the students, parents and grandparents who spent
a considerable amount of time baking and icing!
Le Paquet Mysterieux
A number of presentations took place, including those from
Bullybusters, Merseytravel and Wirral Youth Theatre. Two of
our
bus stewards (Lloyd Jackson & Scott Watson) also did a
presentation on our new bus steward scheme.
On the 20th September, Set 1 French students from Year 10,
were given the opportunity to see a play, completely in French,
called, ‘Le Paquet Mysterieux’. The play focused on two
characters, Lucas and Vanessa, who work at the same cafe/
sports shop. On their way to work one morning they find that
the shop’s door is open, drops of blood are everywhere and
a mysterious package hidden inside. From there they come up
with many theories about the mysterious package including, a
bomb, drugs and a decapitated head!
The outcome of the conference will be a report compiled by
the local authority to be sent out to all the schools on the
Wirral in order to share ideas on the best way forward
to improve the journey to and from school and to share
examples of
good practice.
Overall we thought the play was good and especially enjoyed
the parts when a member of the audience was called upon
to ‘help’ out. The play covered a wide range of topics from
holidays to work experience and hopefully will come in useful
at GCSE.
Daniel Kowalski 10
Senior Team
Maths Challenge
On Friday 19th November, Mike
Parsons, Sean Cavanagh, Luke
Cartwright and myself were taken to
Christleton High School in Chester,
thanks to Mrs. Brinkman, to take part in
the UK Mathematics Trust and Further
Mathematics Support Programme’s Senior
Maths Team Challenge. Our team was
bolstered by my confidence after having
come third last year. Thus with me as
captain, we had fairly high team morale.
In the first round, we were presented with
a set of “warm up” challenges which
the full team applied themselves to, and
in which we established each other’s
relative strengths and weaknesses. We
scored highly in this round and positioned
ourselves near the top of the leaders’
board.
The second round was a more difficult
“cross-number” in which we were split
into two teams of two and had to wait for
across groups’ answers before we could
fill in the answers to our down questions,
which proved fairly time consuming.
Despite doing very well, we still managed
to do relatively poorly when compared
to our competitors, moving us down the
leaders’ board.
Jaguar Spanish
Trip
When the scores were totalled we had
finished mid-table, achieving eighth
position out of 15 teams, a perfectly
respectable result considering the quality
of the competitors we faced. Overall, the
day was very enjoyable and has shown
me the type of Maths I should expect
to face at degree level. Hopefully next
year, the questions may be slightly less
challenging and the competition slightly
less fierce, enabling our school to return
to former glory.
On 9th July 2010 Miss Burns and Mr
McKinney took 30 boys from the languages
department to the Jaguar and Land Rover
factory in Halewood to see how languages
are used in the workplace. When we arrived,
we were split into 2 groups and shown
around the factory. We saw how the different
parts are made and the final construction of
the car. After being shown around the factory
both groups met up in an office upstairs where
we met Alejandro and Pablo, two Spanish
students studying at Liverpool University and
now working at Halewood. They explained
to us how important a second language is
in a workplace and we then got the chance
to ask them some questions in Spanish. They
explained how easy it is to get a job with a
second language as you are put ahead of
people with only 1 language. After this we
were all taken around the off road track in
groups of 6 in one of the new Land Rovers.
This was a good experience for all that took
part and really enjoyable.
Edward Kenny U6
Daniel Edwards 11SPA
However, as was the case last year,
they decided to save the hardest for
last. Round three consisted of immensely
difficult questions in which we had to wait
for the other pair to generate the correct
answer before we were could calculate
our own. It is safe to say this round was
not the team’s strong point and was by far
the lowest scoring round for our team.
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
December 2010
Wirral Colts
Year 7 Rugby
Played 11 - Won 7 lost 4
The year 7 Rugby Squad have made a fantastic start
to their first season as Wirral Grammar School rugby
players. The squad as a whole have worked very
hard in training and in games at both A and B
team level.
The Colts have had an excellent season so far and
have been involved in some exciting rugby matches,
with very close finishes. We are still in the Daily Mail
Cup, and have progressed to the last 64 in the county.
The competition started with a record entry of 596
school. The fifth round game will take place on the
24th November at Wirral against Woodhouse Grove.
The 4 losses have come against traditionally good rugby
schools, when the squad has been depleted due to other school
commitments. However the players that came in did not let
themselves down and competed well against A team opposition.
Kirkham, Hutton, Merchant Taylors and Kings Macc could all
have been beaten. If we progress further in the Daily Mail we will
have the opportunity to avenge our defeats. Excellent wins against
Wilmslow, St Ambrose and Stockport have cemented our wins in
the cup and the team is building nicely into a good rugby side.
The Cup run has brought the squad together and the incentive
of playing at Twickenham on April 6th has fuelled enthusiasm
at training, with players competing for places. In the first round
we beat Liverpool College in a hard fought game, which sent us
to Bridgewater HS in Warrington, a team that were the current
Cheshire Champions and one of the favourites for the competition.
In what turned out to be an outstanding performance by the team,
Ben Brookes converted 5 penalties, the last one with only seconds
remaining. We were successful 15-12, if the game had finished
tied, Wirral would have gone out on tries conceded, so imagine the
joy at the full time whistle.
A bye in the next round meant we would have a home tie against
Calday or Wilmslow, which turned out to be out local rivals Calday
who won the game 59-0, a team we had never beaten before.
Wet conditions at Wirral meant the team with the most heart would
win, in the first half Wirral were on top and although coming close
to scoring a try on a few occasions, great Calday defence and
discipline kept the score to a solitary Ben Brookes kick 3-0. The
reverse happened in a very exciting second half. With Calday on
top, Max Sedgwick kicked a penalty to tie the scores 3-3, Wirral
now having to score or go out as the home team. All seemed to be
pointing to a Calday victory, and the game was deep into injury
time when an offside by them in a kickable position gave Wirral a
lifeline and one last chance at victory. This was literally the last kick
of the match: miss and we were out, score, we would march into
the next round, Ben Brookes placed the ball and calmly slotted the
kick 6-3. Jubilation followed as the ref blew his whistle.
I would like to thank all the players for their efforts thus far, please
continue to train, as we still have a long season ahead. Thanks to
Tom Parry who Captains the team by example. I would also like to
thank the parents for their magnificent support both home and away
and my thanks also to those parents who help with refreshments on
Saturday mornings.
Andy McKinney - Wirral Colts Coach
The commitment and enthusiasm of the lads has paid off so far as
the A team have had an outstanding, unbeaten start to the season,
winning 7 out of their first 8 games and drawing the other. The ‘A’
team have been clinical in attack all season scoring 158 points in 8
games. Just as importantly, the defence has been first rate, with the
team only conceding 4 tries so far this season.
The ‘A’ team started the season with a comprehensive 31- 0 win
over Kirkham Grammar school. This was followed by our biggest
test of the season, a 7-7 draw with Stockport Grammar School.
Well earned victories followed over Hutton (43- 7), Bridgewater (50) and Wilmslow (19- 7).
The team showed a great deal of character throughout this period
and were then able to continue their run of impressive results with
wins over Kings School Maccelsfield (24- 0), St Ambrose (21- 0),
and Manchester Grammar School (17- 5)
The squad has gelled quickly with a mixture of boys who have had
some experience of rugby before and some boys who are getting
their first taste of rugby as part of the year 7 squad. It is important
that the boys stay focussed and aim to keep improving week on
week. If they can maintain their current attitude I will be more
than pleased.
Congratulations must go to Scott Southwell who has been appointed
captain of the ‘A’ team and has led the team well so far.
We look forward to the remainder of the season with much
confidence and hope to continue our pleasing start.
Mr Atkinson
Master in charge of Year 7 Rugby.
Year 7 “B team “ Rugby
What a great start to the season! With an extremely
strong squad and significant contributions from
everybody who has been involved, the “Bs” have
taken no prisoners and beaten all the teams faced
convincingly.
We have scored the first try in all of our matches so far and then
never looked back, amassing a huge total of 266 points and only
conceding a meagre 20. Furthermore, we have not conceded more
than a single try in any one game. This is outcome of the boys’
dedication and commitment in defence and their enthusiasm and
directness in attack. There have been outstanding performances by
all players and a fantastic team spirit. A large part of the thanks
for the positive attitude in the team should go to the captain James
Richards, who has led by example from the very first training
session. Let’s stay hungry for points!
Mr J Marshall-Clarke
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Nuntius
Year 8 Rugby Report
(up to Saturday 20th November)
Results so far: A team Played 10 won 4 lost 6; B team
played 9 won 3 lost 6
This has been a tough time for the Junior Bantams squad with results
not truly reflecting the performances on the field. I have been
impressed with the level of commitment shown by many of the
squad, and there are clearly some talented players in our ranks.
Some games have been lost by the odd point and I would say
that it was only Kings Macclesfield who have beaten us this term.
However even in that game, 22-0 down at half time, the A team
showed great character in only going down eventually by 27 points
in a fine second half display.
Easily the most impressive performance came at home to
Bridgewater. The visitors were a good and well organised side who
took an early lead. But then the Wirral team fought back with some
good play and determined defence. It was nip and tuck all game
until Lewis Adams finally went over in the dying seconds to record
a 14-10 in that was in fact well deserved. The A team have played
well in other wins against Merchant Taylors, Hutton, St Ambrose,
and could easily have won against Kirkham, St Edwards, Stockport
and Wilmslow but didn’t take their chances in those games. The
last game for this report was against Manchester GS and even
though the eventual effort was pleasing to see, the first 15 minutes
of that game cost them victory after conceding too many points!
The B team have found victories hard to come by, mainly due to
playing teams with bigger and more physical opponents. However
they have stuck in there, and their most pleasing win was against
Manchester GS by 27 points to 25. This game was a right ding
dong affair, with George Welch scoring two tries and Alex Brophy
converting at least 2, though apparently the ref didn’t see 2 others
due to the fog!!
The squad has to improve on its basic skills and concentration in
matches if they are to earn more wins after Christmas. A 7s season
then beckons where the ability of this year group should shine
through. I want to thank all those who have played and trained
for the squad so far and hope that they keep up their commitment
levels in the coming months. I would like to thank Mr McKinney
for his help and to Mr Bailey and Mr Bowen for reffing games
on a Saturday morning. Mr King has helped out too and the
encouragement of parents on the touch line is always a bonus. I
have to say though, for the first time in all my 25 years at the school
how disappointed I am that some boys are refusing to play for the
school teams at this level. I hope this is not a trend and that boys
who are selected to represent their school feel it is an honour to
do so. In all those years of involvement with school rugby I can
only say that they are ultimately losing out in all sorts of ways.
Nevertheless I wish all concerned a Happy Christmas!
Those who have represented the school this term are:
Year 9 Rugby Report
It has been a very good start to the season for both
A and B Teams with some very good victories. Both
teams have given some very strong performances
and produced some exciting Rugby which has been
commented upon by the opposition coaches. This is
due to their determination and positive attitudes on
and off the pitch and to the energy they put
into training.
The A team, captained by Arran Drury have played 11 games up
to when this had been written. Out of those 11 games they have
won 8 and lost 3 with 1 of those victories being in the Cheshire
Cup against Chester Catholic High, where they had a strong
performance, winning 43-10. They have had other big wins
against other schools including Merchant Taylors (43-7), Hutton
(34-0) and St Ambrose (43-5) where they were clearly the dominant
side. Unfortunately, there have been 3 losses against Stockport,
Bridgewater and Kings Macclesfield where our usual strong defence
was not present. All 3 losses were disappointing as the boys knew
the scores would have been different if they had played to the best
of their ability.
However, take nothing away from the boys as they have had
a great start to the season and there have been many standout
performances by them. I believe this has also been helped by the
positive support they have been receiving from the parents, who
have been attending both home and away matches and who I’d
like to thank and hope for it to continue in the New Year. As it
stands the boys have scored 295 points and conceded 163 points.
The B team captained by Matthew Taylor have unfortunately been
only able to play 5 games so far this season due to many schools
being unable to produce a B team. However, this does not mean
that they have been unable to develop as a team and produce
quality performances. Out of the 5 games played they have won 4
and lost 1. After a close first game of the season where they played
St Edwards and won 5-0 they went on a demolishing spree against
Merchant Taylors (24-5), Kings Macclesfield (34-0) and Manchester
GS (55-0). Unfortunately, they were beaten by Stockport who, as
with their A team were a very strong outfit. Even with only playing
5 games the boys have produced some fantastic rugby and have
attended all training sessions with positive attitudes, all eager to fight
their way into the A team. As it stands the boys have scored 125
points and conceded only 48 points.
As a squad the year 9 boys season has started off very well and
I believe this will improve further next year. As long as they all
continue to give 100% at training sessions and in the games,
I’m positive that this could be the best season they have had in
the school so far and that they will develop to become a very
strong team.
Mr A Baker
Physical Education
Harry Cumming (Captain), Callum Bedson, Alex Brophy, Matthew
Callanan, Jake Clement-Jones, Matthew Crowe, Lewis Davies, Lewis
Favager, James Porter-Smith, Oliver Sinclair Matt Sutton, Lewis Adams,
Will Hardy, Liam Hayes, Theo Johnston, Elias Larsen, Michael Morris,
George Welch, Michael Armand, Matthew Jardine, James Parnell, Ben
Reilly, Sam Reilly, Ben Thomas , Sean Griffiths, Jack Johnson, Sam Lock,
Ben Lockwood, Jamie Norris, Alex Ruscoe, Alex Lambert, Sam Hannah,
John Fieldhouse, Ross Triggs, Nick Morris, Ed Williams, Tom Flooks,
Liam Richardson Conor Baker and Tom James.
Mr L McKibbin
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W I R R A L
G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
December 2010
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
1ST XV Rugby
This is proving to be another tough, tough season for
the First XV with the games following a similar pattern
to last year. Our fixture list is very strong and need to
be at our absolute best every week in order to win.
Unfortunately, this season the opposition has been just
too strong for us, despite our best efforts!
The highlight of the season so far has been our mini-run in the Daily
Mail Cup Competition. We eventually went out in Round 4, losing
15 – 6 to a good Merchant Taylors team. We had previously
beaten Liverpool College 44 – 7 and King William’s College, Isle of
Man 36 – 24, playing some exciting rugby and scoring good tries.
A recurring theme is one of the scoreline very much flattering the
opposition, and that for much of the game. We have parity and
are very competitive. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to lose
concentration and intensity for short periods and at these times we
ship ‘soft ‘ tries and the score line racks up! Nevertheless, the spirit
within the Senior Squad has remained high; and I am sure new First
XV Captain, Jan Greenshaw and his Vice Captain, Jack Yarker, can
rely upon the support of all the players in continuing to work hard
and turn the season around with some good results in the new year.
Mr P Crowley (Head of Physical Education)
1ST XV Coach
2nd XV Rugby Report
The start of this year was somewhat confused by the
lack of appointment of a 2nd XV skipper. Fortunately,
Jonny Morris came to the rescue to start another year of
Saturday morning rugby and Monday evening frolics.
The season started well enough with a win against St Edwards.
The boys showed that they can play in sideways rain and the
only damaged item was Liam Smith’s fringe. This was a pleasing
aggressive performance with hope that we could move forward and
bring on some of the lower sixth and Y11 pupils.
Naivety resulted in a loss against Merchants followed by tough
games at Kirkham and home against Stockport. In those two fixtures
we only scored one try despite, as always, the great efforts of all
concerned.
We came back to form with a win against Hutton. Played five and
won two; not bad considering the opposition. Then came Wallasey
consortium; a team who were clearly so impressed with Wirral
rugby that they decided to help themselves to our jerseys before the
game. Even with our shirts returned we failed to perform and the
lack of aggression and concentration that has blighted some games
resulted in the most disappointing performance to date.
We had brighter outings at Wilmslow and Kings School,
Macclesfield but never looked like winning either. A draw away
at St Ambrose, with a last play wonder try by Michael Bowen
converted impressively by Ronan Duffey, and a battle in the mud
against Manchester have finished this phase of the season with a
record of P10 W2 D1 L7.
Progress needs to be made in putting sides under more pressure at
the breakdown and maintaining concentration for more than the
fifteen minutes spells we are seeing now. However, there is great
spirit and camaraderie and I would like to thank the squad and all
the parents who support their sons at home and on the side of the
pitch. Special thanks go to Barry and Sue Smith who have patched
together broken bodies from ours and other teams during every
game this year.
Top try scorers – Ed Forshaw
Top points scorer - Ronan Duffey
Mr A P White
Deputy Headteacher
U16 Rugby 2010
Played 8 Won 4 Lost 2 Drawn 2
This season started so well with an excellent performance against
Merchants which saw Wirral winning 26-5. This was an emphatic
win with the team being better in all areas of the pitch than the
opposition. A draw against Kirkham away, and another good win
against Stockport meant the team were in good spirits and good
form.
The first defeat was against a very strong Wilmslow side who last
year won the Daily Mail Cup. At half time there was nothing in the
scores and even with ten minutes to go, Wirral were in contention at
27-19. There is no doubt that the score flatters the opposition and
the match was much closer than the score suggests.
The match of the season came next in the Cheshire cup against St
Anselms who really fancied their chances to win the cup this year.
The first half saw Wirral in complete control but only one score
ahead which was a travesty. Then St Anselms came back a little.
Wirral scored again but then the opposition went ahead 17-12,
with only minutes to go. At this point I was so proud of the players
and was preparing my losers speech when we attacked from deep
and scored with the last play of the game. We missed the kick but it
did not matter as the away team go through in the event of a draw.
This really was a superb match which Wirral thoroughly deserved to
win and was as good a team performance as I have seen for many
years. I was very proud, not of winning, but the way they played.
A loss was on the cards against Lancaster. The team was not at
full strength because of injuries, but this was a game that got away
and we simply made too many mistakes at key times. The season
continued with two good wins against Manchester and Macclesfield
away, which are always difficult places to go and get a result, but
on both occasions, we were against huge players which made it
difficult, but the result was ours.
All in all a good season so far keep it up lads and keep training as
this is the key to even better performances.
Mr I F Davies
Danny Adkins
Max Hunt
Ted Kinsella Danny Phillips Chris Crowley
Brad Taylor
Adam letts
Johnny Greenall
Jack Portbury
Frank Richards
Tom Arthur
Mark Grifiths
Danny Harris
Reece Orton
Olly Jackson
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Alex Griffiths
Simon Flavell
Cameron Hibbert-Jones
Dave Neil
Harry Camp
Luke Harris
Sandy Richardson
Nuntius
Hockey Update
Wirral Club report
The start of the 2010 season came on the back of a very
successful Hockey tour to Australia in which 30 boys
enjoyed an excellent trip. The two squads played 12
games in total with 9 wins and 3 defeats, playing some
impressive hockey throughout. Well done to all of the
lads and I hope that the experiences live long in the
memory. The new Hockey season has started well and
major progress is being made!! The development
of each squad had seen a 1st and 2nd team group
of 28 players. Their difficulties have been in training,
which was restricted due to the slow opening of the
Oval pitch after refurbishment and also the fact that due
to the new timetable they can only play fixtures every
other week.
Wirral Club is located on Thornton Common Road,
Clatterbridge and is the home of Wirral Rugby and
Cricket Clubs. Formerly the Old Wirralians, it was set
up in 1937 to cater for the leisure time of boys from
Wirral Grammar School.
The first term has seen 30 games played by all of the teams. The
1st team has been captained by Jack Evans and thus far has played
some very encouraging hockey, without always getting the results.
The team has had good wins against St Anselm’s (5-4), Neston (6-2
and 5-0), Bolton School (7-0), but in the cup fixtures suffered defeats
against Calday (8-2), Birkenhead School (3-2) and St Anselms (3-1).
In all of these games and the close defeats that we have had, have
seen some excellent periods of play.
The junior sides have continued to flourish and perform very well.
This has seen many of the boys playing regularly in the school
team matches. The U16 team has been lea by George Wilkinson
who himself has been played for the Pennine Pumas and achieved
an England U16 assessment in November. The lads have been
excellent making great progress in qualifying for the Wirral Cup
final on the 9th January unbeaten, winning 6-1 against Birkenhead,
2-0 against Calday and 9-1 win against Neston and in a tight
game achieving a 3-1 victory over St Anselm’s. In addition there
have been some excellent performances against St Anselm’s (2-0
friendly win), defeat against a strong Kings Chester side (5-2),
but a great win against Manchester Grammar (5-1). Notable
performances have come from Jordan Cossins, George Wilkinson,
Ben Crane, Sam Lamen, Matthew Dobson, Ben McGilloway and
the consistent James Graham and Ben Parsons to name a few….
Against Manchester the four goals from Matty Jones were a sight
to behold! Let’s hope that the lads can continue their performances
into the second half of the season.
The U15 squad has been working hard on Mondays at the Oval
and are all making good progress. Many of the squad including
Syd Roberts, Andrew Heath, Josh Helsby and Coby Kendrick-Hall,
have all played as part of the U16 team. Following on from last
year’s National Finals success the lads are improving their individual
skills and have been able to apply those skills in wins against St
Anselm’s 1-0 (Roberts), Birkenhead School 10-1 (Roberts 4, Heath
2, Helsby 2 and Brooks) and a second win over Anselm’s 5-0
(Roberts 2, Brooks 2 and Helsby). The Year 9 team has been
working hard on the tennis courts. After two defeats to Calday and
St Anselms, the lads have three cup games before Christmas against
Neston, Birkenhead and St Anselm’s in their bid to reach the Wirral
Cup final.
In my absence from school I would like to thank Mr Cooper, Mr
Thomason, Mr. Money and Chris Scott and all of the players for
ensuring that when representing Wirral GS, whether it be playing,
umpiring, coaching or supporting we give it our best shot!
Good luck to all players in the fantasy league and for the rest of
the season!
To this day many past and present boys use the facility for these
sports. Currently, Wirral Rugby Club has 4 senior teams and Junior
teams from Under 7s to Colts level. The success of these teams over
the years has been considerable, and currently the First XV, coached
by Mr McKinney, are playing in North West One which is a decent
standard of rugby. Many Wirral Grammar School boys play in the
Junior teams on a Sunday morning at the Club. The Cricket Section
runs three senior teams and Junior teams from Under 9s upwards
and will shortly after Christmas be putting in some pre season
training in winter nets that will be advertised on the website and
around school, so watch this space!
For further information re both rugby and cricket clubs, please visit:
www.pitchero.com/clubs/wirral
www.pitchero.com/clubs/wirralcricketclub
www.pitchero/clubs/wirralccjuniors
Mr L McKibbin, Secretary Wirral Club
House Captains’ Report
This has been an exciting term for the House system
in Wirral Grammar Boys. From the creation of House
banners, to the continuation of Vertical Tutor Groups
and inter-House sporting fixtures, Islam Ahmed, Ronan
Duffy, Edward Kenny, and I all feel privileged and
honoured to have been able to be involved in the recent
rebirth of the House system, one of the oldest traditions
in the school.
As mentioned above, this term has seen the installation of custom
House banners, now hanging proudly in the atrium. They are a
testament to our school’s heritage, and to the creative efforts of
both boys and the Art department, who strove tirelessly to produce
something to do justice to their houses.
Despite what has already been achieved, I feel I can speak for
all your House Captains, when I say that we have no intention of
resting on our Laurels throughout the remaining two terms of the
year. On the contrary, we have a variety of events in the planning
process, designed to further encourage the House system that we
are so proud to represent, that will become known to you in the very
near future.
As yet, the House Point totals are such that Lever are heading the
leader board, with 340 points, Barber are following closely with
290. In a close third place, are Hodgson with 280 points, and
Dodds are, for the moment, in fourth place, with 260 points. These
totals are by no means, final; there is everything to play for as the
next two terms hurtle towards us, so keep earning those points!
Ryan Boocock U61
Hodgson House Captain
Mr. A Metcalf
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G R A M M A R
S C H O O L
A Foundation Business & Enterprise School for Boys
£6,000 Charity
Success for ‘Help
for Heroes’
On Monday 27th September, the
school was able to present a cheque
for £6,000 to two representatives
of Help for Heroes, the school’s
chosen charity in the academic year
2009/2010.
This fantastic sum was the result of a year’s
hard work by the outgoing Head Boy’s team,
led by Harry Bush, who used a combination of
non-uniform days, film screenings and a wide
range of other initiatives in order to raise such
a considerable amount. It must also be noted
this total does not include the money raised
as an emergency response to the 2010 Haiti
earthquake.
This year, the school has elected to support
UNICEF in its response to the 2010 Pakistan
Floods. A multitude of events – cake sales,
classroom collections and a closest to the pin
competition to name but a few – are already
underway in order to raise funds for this most
worthy of causes. In particular, I would like to
thank all those who supported ‘The Yorkshire
Three Peaks Charity Event’, and also Michael
Bowen and David Lawrie for joining me on the
expedition. We have thus far raised in excess of
£1,000 on behalf of UNICEF from this activity
alone, a just reward for ten hours of arduous
and sodden hiking. I would also like to take this
opportunity to commend all pupils and parents
who were involved in fundraising last year; I
hope that you are able to support this year’s
appeal with similar enthusiasm.
Jan Greenshaw - Head Boy
December 2010
Operation Christmas Child
When Ms Razbully first brought this up during assembly, I jumped at the chance to make
someone’s Christmas special. We got an old shoe box to start with; it wasn’t the most
Christmassy thing. We started off with some festive wrapping paper, next, we went off to buy
some presents. We were packing our box for a boy 5 – 9 years old, so we bought him some
Lego, some art stuff and something that bounces 5 metres in air. We also bought a toothbrush
and some toothpaste. Just to give it some class, we put some red tissue paper along the
bottom. When the time came
to hand our box in, I walked
into Ms Razbully’s room and
handed her my box just as
Mrs Turner was giving in
hers, and as I left the room, 3
house points richer, the warm
feeling of caring and doing
something good filled me.
Ho-Ho-Ho Merry Christmas!
Sam Blackwell 7RW
WINNERS AT WIRRAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS AWARD
On 30th June 2010 at Wallasey Town Hall, Jan
Greenshaw, Head Boy gave a presentation to
invited delegates including the Mayor of Wirral,
detailing the international activities we have
pursued this year.
The event encourages international awareness and an
appreciation of the many different cultures and customs taking
place in Wirral primary and secondary schools.
The Mayor of Wirral stated, “The presentations are of the
highest standards and all involved should be very proud of
themselves. The work is very impressive as is their commitment
and enthusiasm. My congratulations go both to the students
and teachers. They are a credit to not only their families and
their schools, but also to Wirral.”
In the event of snow . . .
We all remember the event of 6th and 7th January the year when, for the
first time ever, snow caused massive disruption to Wirral and schools were
forced to close. As a guide, our action plan is as follows:
1. If heavy snow falls overnight, we would make a decision early in
the morning and a message would be posted on our school website
and/or be issued by Parent Mail.
2. If heavy snow falls during the school day we will make a decision
on whether to close the school depending on the time within the
day. Above all, we will not put pupils at risk by simply ‘sending them
home’! Whilst it may be inconvenient to collect pupils from school in
the event of deteriorating weather, at least pupils are safe and warm
and supervised.
3. Regular message updates will be issued through the school website
and through Parent Mail. Please note that radio broadcast messages
are not always reliable.
Maths Challenge Answer is C
Admissions Enquiries: Enquiries relating to admissions
should be directed to Mrs Tanya Fry in school on
0151 644 0908 or by visiting the school website:
www.wirralgrammarboys.com/admission
Parent Mail Reminder
All letters are now being sent through Parent Mail and some letters are
also sent out as paper copies. To remain effective, parents need to keep
their email contact details up-to-date through the Parent Mail website
(www-parentmail.co.uk) and by following the ‘parent log-in’ link.
Lost Property
Hundreds of pounds of unclaimed lost property is left around the school
every year. Simple measures can ensure that missing items are returned to
the owner. It is most helpful for school bags/PE Kit bags to have a key fob
tag on them with the name of the pupil and form.
Cars on the School Site
Please note that for safety reasons,
parents must not drive onto the
school site at the end of school.
Only when buses have departed
is it safe to do so. Parents are
welcome to drive into the car
park when collecting boys from
extra curricular activities.
www.wirralgrammarboys.com
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