2007 ARCHIVE NEWS
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- Annie Get Your Gun 16th February 2007
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Mrs Cuthbertson [drama], aided by Mr Sammons [music] and supported by several other staff, put on a triumphant Annie Get Your Gun just before the February half-term.
It was a great collaborative effort and involved members from all sections of the school, including the juniors. - St. Gerard's pupils perform brilliantly 7th March 2007
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Different age groups within the school have taken part in competitive events and done well...
Mrs Price: [maths] took three of Yr8 to a mathematics challenge run by the UK Mathematics Trust at the University of Liverpool attended by representatives of 42 schools. They did not win but acquitted themselves very well , given it was their first such event. Mrs Price says she knows what to do next time!
Mr Mort: [chemistry] took three of Yr12 to a science challenge run at the University of Wales: the Royal Society of Chemistry's Schools' Analyst Competition, in which they came 3rd out of 24 teams from schools in the north-west, winning a scanner for the school.
Mr Hanlon :[biology] also took some Yr8 pupils to take part in a challenge at the university: the Salters' Festival of Chemistry. There were 14 schools represented and St Gerards won the University Challenge, one section in the overall event.
Mrs Pethig: [English] once again entered students for the ISA english essay competition. Elise Songhurst won first prize in the senior category.
Mr Harrison and Ms Roberts: [PE] The netball U16s were runners-up [to Rydal] in the Eryri Championships. As Eryri cricket champions, a group of boys entered the next stage of a Lord's Taverners' competition, involving a match against a team from Shrewsbury School on its ground at the end of April. They were beaten but the experience was certainly formative for them.
Rob Jones has been playing regularly for North Wales rugby this year. James Hawley had trials with Lancashire Cricket Club.Many school pupils have been selected to play for Eryri in a variety of sports including, Netball, Cricket, Rugby, Golf, Athletics and Swimming. - St. Gerard's end of year report 2007 10th July 2007
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Dear Parents,
Included in this news item is the end-of-year report and a list of term dates with one amendment.
The comprehensive picture of the academic health of the school via these various twice-yearly summaries is very reassuring and encouraging, even if one or two in the senior school may sometimes require discussion and a firm purpose of amendment!
I am taking the opportunity to pass on news of staff who are leaving and of some successes of which you may not otherwise be aware.
This term, three staff are leaving the senior school: Mr Mort, after 12 years, Mrs Benson after 7 years and Mr Dickins, after 2 years. We thank them for the work they have done and wish them well for the future. Mrs Houseman retires from teaching, leaving the junior school after 25 years' service in the early years, championing the phonic approach which has recently been so vindicated by research.
Mr Hanlon will be Head of Science to succeed Mr Mort and teachers of chemistry, French and history have been appointed.
Different age groups within the school have taken part in competitive events and done well:
Mrs Price [maths] took three of Yr8 to a mathematics challenge run by the UK Mathematics Trust at the University of Liverpool attended by representatives of 42 schools. They acquitted themselves very well, given it was their first such event.
Mr Mort [chemistry] took three of Yr12 to a science challenge run at the University of Wales: the Royal Society of Chemistry's Schools' Analyst Competition, in which they came 3rd out of 24 teams from schools in the north-west, winning a scanner for the school.
Mr Hanlon [biology] also took some Yr8 pupils to take part in a challenge at the university: the Salters' Festival of Chemistry. There were 14 schools represented and St Gerard's won the University Challenge, one section in the overall event.
Sport
Mr Harrison and Ms Roberts continue successfully to enter teams for sports' competitions locally and beyond. The netball U16s were runners -up [to Rydal] in the Eryri Championships. As Eryri cricket champions last season, a group of boys entered the next stage of a Lord's Taverners' competition, involving a match against a team from Shrewsbury School on its ground at the end of April. They were beaten but the experience was certainly formative for them. Three of the team: Waleed Ahmed [Yr9], Ben Howarth and Faizan Asad [Yr8] are Eryri cricketers. In cricket also, James Hawley [Yr13] has had trials with Lancashire.
Eryri tennis champions [Yr9/10 girls]: Lucy Webb, Zoe Webb, Hannah Jones [all Yr10] and Rosie Lowe [Yr9].
Selected for the Welsh netball Talent Centre this year: Lucy and Zoe Webb [Yr10] and Rose Sutton, Jessica Watters and Alice Williams [Yr9]
Selected in netball for Eryri U14s: Lucy and Zoe Webb
Selected to represent Gwynedd:
in netball: Helena Barr [Yr10], Hannah Knightly and Hannah Niesser [Yr7]
in athletics: Danny Benson [Yr13]
in gymnastics: Josh Jones and Holly Gulesserian [Yr10]
Representing Wales:
in hockey and skiing: James Frost [Yr8]
in sailing: Toby Collinson [Yr12], Henry Collinson [Yr10] and Gareth Henshall [Yr10]
in golf: Jessica Watters [Yr9] and Toby O'Connor [Yr7]
Representing north Wales in rugby: Robert Jones [Yr8]
Creative and Performing Arts
Mrs Cuthbertson [drama] and Mr Sammons [music], supported by several other staff, put on a triumphant Annie Get Your Gun just before the February half-term. It was a great collaborative effort and involved members from throughout the senior school and upper juniors.
This week, an evening combining performances in drama and music, supported by an impressive exhibition of art, both prepared by candidates for GCSE and A level and by others in lower years, was well-attended and appreciated.
Other events
Yr10 and Yrs12/13 took part in different Careers Challenges organised by Careers Wales. These were team-building and enterprise exercises and were enjoyable as well as instructive.
Junior school sports day and swimming gala saw some excellent performances. The sports were won by the blues under the captaincy of Henni Hill and Bradley Roberts [both Yr6], with best achievers Emily Clark [Yr1] and Billy Songhurst [Yr2], the swimming gala by the reds under the captaincy of Lottie Brooke and Connor Tindall-Read [both Yr6].
The junior reading competition was won by Kazima Abbas in Yr1.
The public examinations went well and candidates approached them calmly and level-headedly. Results are due on August 16th for AS/A level and August 23rd for GCSE. Key Stage 3 and 2 testing in English, maths and science, now optional in Wales, was conducted internally in recent weeks and results included in reports.
One of our Yr 13 students, Bodhi Hunt, who has a place at Emmanuel, Cambridge for Natural Sciences in October, entered the British Biology Olympiad run by the Institute of Biology and was among 40 successful candidates chosen from more than 2000 of the country's best young scientists to go on to the next stage. Two other Yr13 students [Sarah Healy and Daniel Benson] were also commended in the same competition, as a result of which the Institute of Biology has awarded the school a certificate as "top school in Wales" by the Institute of Biology
Elise Songhurst [Yr11] achieved first prize in a nationwide English essay competition run by the Independent Schools' Association. It was our "first" first in this annual event.
The school will have its own website again in the coming weeks in time for 2007/2008.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy summer - with, I hope, some sunshine too. The school office will usually be open during the mornings.
Yours sincerely,
Anne Parkinson - September 2007 Newsletter 14th September 2007
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Dear Parents,
At the start of the new academic year, I am sending you some important information for reference throughout the school year:
• A calendar of events [green sheet] as far as these are known at present. Please keep this safe because you will need to refer to it for term dates and consultations
• A homework schedule for Yrs7-9 [Yrs10-13 do not have a set schedule although we monitor their workload carefully]
There is also information on the public examination performances this summer in the form of analyses of results at GCSE and A level [blue sheet]. For a little more on this, please see the addendum to this letter.
The term has begun well and we shall all benefit from the work of maintenance and improvement undertaken over the holiday in both schools. We have welcomed new students - into Yr7, of course, and elsewhere, and a good number of Yr11s have returned into Yr12. Three new members of staff join the senior school: Mrs Manfredi for chemistry, Mrs Lievens for French and Miss Olsson for history. In the context of staff, parents may not be aware of some sad news we received in late July of the death of Mrs Jenny Walley, who retired three years ago after a number of years teaching in the junior school. I am sure she will be remembered with affection and in their prayers by those of you who knew her.
It was a great pleasure at the end of last term to pass on to parents various items of sports’ news. In the holiday, the success of 5 of our pupils in sailing under the auspices of the Welsh Yachting Association achieved for the school the trophy for “best school in Wales”. The pupils concerned were: Toby Collinson [Yr13], Henry Collinson and Gareth Henshall [Yr11], Jaimie and Daniel Whitely [Yr10 and Yr5 respectively].
Website
A new website is now up and running and parents should be able to view it at www.st-gerards.org. We are very grateful to Yvonne Tsang who has undertaken this project and seen it through to such a splendid conclusion. Ideally, forthcoming events can be highlighted on it and ex-pupils will be able to contact us and keep in touch.
Uniform
I must thank both Mrs Cooper and Mrs Sauter for their organisation and handling of the uniform supply to parents this summer. They ambitiously took on to provide more items than in the past and delivered on all July orders in co-operation with Boppers of Colwyn Bay. Parents can contact the office to buy sweatshirts, polo shirts and items of sportswear throughout the year.
Absences
All pupil absence must be accounted for. A telephone call before 8.40 am on the day in question is the most effective way of notifying absence to form teachers and staff in general. As far as possible, telephone calls should be followed up by an explanatory letter. We are obliged to keep careful records of attendance and have to supply information to the Assembly every May/June in this regard.
Holidays in term-time
These should be avoided as far as possible. For any student in Yrs 10-13, they are plainly detrimental to progress. Parents have to consider carefully the nature and duration of such term-time interruptions and, where unavoidable, ensure absence is minimal.
Messages
The best way of ensuring messages are given to pupils is to telephone by 12.50 pm so that notes can be put in registers for form teachers to pass on. Please avoid contacting pupils via their mobile phones because use of a mobile phone is not allowed for any student below Yr11 and only then outside classtime. I realise the helpfulness of mobiles for students who travel but we take a harsh attitude to having schooltime disrupted by them and will confiscate items interrupting lessons. The office is the first contact for parents, please, so that we are aware of situations and can provide effective support in an emergency.
Access through the school grounds
At present, upper Bangor is particularly congested at the start and end of the school day. However, I must ask parents of senior students to avoid coming down the drive if at all possible in fair weather and not to stop at length outside the senior entrance. At the end of the day, parents of children in the junior school should not use the driveway to queue up before the gate onto the lane is open. This gate, closed during the school day for added security, is opened by the caretaker at 2.30 pm, in good time for the end of the day. I am very aware of the need to keep our pupils safe on the premises and parents can help enormously by following the advice above and driving through slowly and carefully.
Let us all look forward to another productive year in which all make the best of opportunities for personal and academic progress.
Yours sincerely,
Anne Parkinson,
Headteacher
Addendum
A Level
At A level, the 26 Yr13s did exceptionally well with the average points score per student overall [346.5] the equivalent of AAB. All are moving ahead towards their goals in higher education at various universities in the UK. Degree courses include archaeology, engineering, law, medicine and physiotherapy as well as English, modern languages, geography and history. There were exceptional performances by Bodhi Hunt, who goes to Emmanuel Cambridge this year, and Lydia Songhurst, who will go to University College London.
GCSE
At GCSE, the three statistics below indicate the quality of the GCSE results for the whole cohort of 50:
• The overall percentage @81% of the highest grades [A*-B]
•The percentage of students @98% gaining 5+ A*-C grades and, within this,
•The percentage @ 90% who achieved 5+ A*-C including C+ in English, maths and science.
Exceptional performances with 10 or more A*s each were achieved by Gessica Howarth, Elise Songhurst and Lowri Walker. - Physics Award 1st October 2007
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Bodhi Hunt has been awarded a prize for the highest marks achieved by an A level candidate in the country this year in Physics. He received this award at a school assembly on Wednesday 26th September before he left to study at Cambridge.
Almost all of our year 13s are now about to begin their life at university. We shall miss them and we wish them all the best for the future. - Engineering Team Challenge 19th November 2007
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Years 12 and 13 students of maths and science took part in the 2007 Engineering Team Challenge held at the University of Bangor. Members of the school were in the winning teams, which were made up of students from different local schools.
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