Wycliffe Times Summer 2017 MOBILE

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2017

SUMMER

Rowing Success

Hare we go!

Ten Tors Challenge

Fundraising Adventures

In terms of facilities, we are indebted to our Trustees for their vision and support in prioritising the very exciting project to transform the accommodation provided to boys and girls in Ward’s and Ivy Grove. The central importance of Boarding in Wycliffe’s future is now secured. Furthermore, the building has acted as a catalyst to enable us to have a clear and formalised Flexi-Boarding offer in place which, we hope, will work extremely well for some of our Wycliffe families who, hitherto, have been 100% ‘Day’ and should also extend the ‘reach’ of our catchment area given that pupils would not now have to make a long-ish journey to and from school every single day. The chance to board can act as a valuable ‘bridge’ in terms of experience of living away from home and developing the necessary independence and self-reliance that will be required after school be that at University, in the world of work or on a gap year. It can also of course simply be an enjoyable and/or convenient experience in its own right and a means of helping busy families manage hectic, respective schedules. And linked to all of this of course, the current Ivy Grove building will be adapted over the Summer to allow the academic departments of Government and Politics, Psychology and Religious Studies/Philosophy and Ethics to move into it ready for September. As we all head off into the Summer, please allow me one more time to ‘bang my drum’ on the subject of my principal theme in this short-ish piece: that the future can and must be approached with gratitude, with optimism and with a sense of possibility. The world does change quickly and the key thing for today’s children is to embrace and accept that and to adapt to those changes. In a book called ‘The Rational Optimist’, the writer and scientist Matt Ridley summarises in thirty-odd words the things that have been seen as ‘new’ and ‘innovative’ in the past two hundred years: ‘… Very roughly, the best industry to be in as an innovator was: 1800 – textiles; 1830 – railways; 1860 – chemicals; 1890 – electricity; 1920 – cars; 1950 – aeroplanes; 1980 – computers; 2010 – the Internet …’ The challenge for today’s and tomorrow’s Wycliffians is to work out ways to respond to (and perhaps even ‘invent’) whatever the things are going to be in tomorrow’s world that are going to be seen as ‘new’ and ‘innovative’, be that robotics and artificial intelligence, further developments in the Internet and/or nanotechnology or the possibilities presented to us by our greater understanding of how genetics works. The world is changing – the challenge is to make those changes work positively for us, for our school, for our society. The challenge for those of us with the privilege of working at Wycliffe is to do all that we can to ‘buck the trends’ that the media are presenting in such a pessimistic fashion to us all and make the teenage years for Wycliffians the happy and fulfilled times they can, and should, be for most – if not all – of our children.

During the course of 2016/17, pupils in this school have achieved an array of fantastic things (about which we will hear lots at our Speech Day events); we have a wonderful new building to reinvigorate Ward’s and Ivy Grove as Houses and as ‘places to belong’ for the girls and boys who are their members; we are creating new teaching space for Politics, for Religious Studies and for Psychology; we will move proudly around Gloucestershire and beyond from September with a new uniform and new set of sports kit, representing Wycliffe with our customary ‘boldness’ and ‘loyalty’; and August will once again see a group of Year 13 leavers secure a great crop of A Level results that will enable them to head off to a wide range of University courses and University destinations and, most importantly, they will be a marvellous group of people, comfortable in their own skin and confident to be individuals. So… what else does the future hold for Wycliffe? As I said this time last year, I feel the weight of responsibility as Head to strike a careful balance between emphasising academic achievement as being of fundamental, but not all-consuming, importance whilst continuing to realise our aim to provide a genuinely broad and balanced education. Our teams are working to deliver objectives that form part of a 2016-2019 Improvement Plan. I shared some of the ‘Top-Line Priorities’ with parents earlier this year and I think these bear repeating: • Increase academic aspiration and achievement at all levels and inculcate an appreciation of the importance of academic learning. • Make provision for Sport – through specific planning and investment - a strategic imperative in order to build further on one of the College’s most recognised and most valued strengths. • Ensure our all-round extra-curricular provision is as complete as it can be in order to offer the widest possible range of activities so that all children enjoy a variety of different, educational experiences during their time here. • Review and develop PSHEE/Life Skills, Careers, trips/visits etc. provision to ensure we provide an all-round, holistic education that is the best possible ‘preparation for life’ for all Wycliffians.

Hamish’s grandmother provided the inspiration for raising money for Cancer Research UK when he swam the distance from home to school in her memory – the same distance as the English Channel. Eleanor also supported the charity, raising £1,104 by walking the entire 177 miles of the 8th Century Offa’s Dyke. “The challenge helps you set higher standards for yourself. It makes you think that if you can achieve this then you can achieve even more,” said Eleanor. Eve decided that rather than raising money for charity she wanted to do something pro-active for her community so she organised a tea dance for pensioners. She made finger sandwiches and cakes and organised the music, ensuring that each and every guest got to hear one of their favourite songs. Pupils pushed their physical endurance too. Isabella walked a marathon while Paddy ran up Snowdon via the Crib Goch Ridge route. Isabella not only completed the Ten Tors for her challenge but made her own dress for the formal dinner along with fellow pupil Freya. The girls, along with Echo and Isabella baked 150 cakes to sell in aid of Cancer Research UK. George got up at 5.30am for a week to walk the 11km to school. Mr Adrian Palmer, Wycliffe Prep Headmaster, said: “The ‘Kirby Challenge’ award was developed to take the Year 8 pupils out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to do something different. This year the pupils have gone above and beyond with some truly inspiring challenges.”

Q. What have finger sandwiches, buckets of spring water, and an 8th Century dyke got in common? A. They were all part of Year 8’s efforts to complete the Kirby Challenge. Year 8 pupils never cease to impress with the ideas they come up with for the annual challenge which benefits either the community or school. And this year was no exception. Henry, 13, decided to live on the same amount of water that most people in Africa use every day. For three days he used just 20 litres of water a day. To put that in to perspective, that’s how much you use by showering for 1.5-minutes. To make it even tougher, Henry walked 3km to a spring every day to collect his water as many people in Africa do, carrying it another 3km home even though it was half his body weight.All his drinking, cooking and cleaning water had to come out of the 20 litres and at the end of the day he would use whatever was left over to have a flannel wash with. Despite being keen to have a power shower by the end Henry was pleased to have raised £540 for WaterAid.

No challenge is too big for Year 8 adventurers

Miranda Holden, Head of Careers

Year 9 pupils learned about the business world during the Enterprise and Options Day. The first part of the day, Young Entrepreneurs, run in partnership with the GFutures Education team, involved pupils working in small teams on a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style activity to develop solutions to a business-based problem with the support of local employers. Pupils had to pitch their idea to their peer group and the judges. Year 9 worked hard and came up with some very interesting and innovative ideas. The winning team then went on to deliver their pitch again at GCHQ in Cheltenham on Friday 19th May, competing against other Gloucestershire schools in the Young Entrepreneurs’ Final. The winning team pitched their ‘All-in-One’ idea to four GCHQ ‘judges’ as well as a room full of GCHQ employees and teams from six other schools. Whilst they may not have won, we were particularly proud of the way they all engaged with the whole process and worked together to research funding sources, marketing ideas and costings. Feedback from the judges was good, they liked the fact that they had clearly identified a gap in the market and had highlighted Crowdfunding as a source of financing the app.They were also impressed with the statistical data they had produced on the success rate of marketing on the London Underground. It was a valuable experience for the team and helped them develop skills such as presenting and teamwork, they also gained a great insight into what GCHQ do and future careers that they may be interested in. “It was a great experience visiting GCHQ,” “it was interesting hearing the other schools’ ideas,” “the talks from GCHQ staff were great,” were just some of the positive comments from our pupils.

Young entrepreneurs face the Dragons’ Den

It is undoubtedly true that modern life does bring new and challenging pressures and difficulties but we must all feel able to push back against the current orthodoxy that those pressures and difficulties are in any way inevitable, insurmountable and bound to affect every single child – this really does not have to be the case. I want Wycliffians to have the strength of character, the critical faculties and the independence of mind to challenge the prevailing message in the media and elsewhere.

However, I would argue that we have a responsibility to imbue our pupils with a sense of optimism and perspective and possibility. This is in fact a time to be enormously up-beat and grateful and through developing a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunities and privileges that we enjoy, we can all go on to lead happy, positive and fulfilled lives and not succumb to the modern view that life has never been more stressful, more damaging, more brutal, less kind etc. etc.

Back at the start of the academic year, we were being invited to see 2016 as a year of potentially catastrophic change: Donald Trump becoming the 45th President of the USA, the United Kingdom voting in favour of ‘Brexit’ and ‘The Great British Bake Off’ being taken from the BBC to Channel 4.

Word from The Head

Senior

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Gemma Russell, Director of Music

Julie White, Head of Learning Support / SENCo, Senior School Christopher Guest, Head of Learning Support / SENCo, Prep School

Capt. Paul Rothwell

Wycliffe Bees

If you are interested in beekeeping, and would like to join the Bee Club in caring for the bees, please contact Mrs Hodgkins in the Library. We meet every Monday lunchtime. Sharon.hodgkins@wycliffe.co.uk

#WycliffeBees welcomed a new colony to the bee garden kindly donated by Mr Smith. It was a peculiar feeling, knowing that there were about 20,000 honeybees in the back of the van as we were driving along! However, they arrived safely and we gently moved the whole hive into the bee garden. Both colonies are thriving and we hope to get some honey this year.

Year 12 Music Scholar Beth performed as a concerto soloist at the Wycliffe Choral Society’s summer concert in the Chapel on Sunday 14th May. She played the whole of Mozart’s ‘Clarinet Concerto’, accompanied by a chamber orchestra and in the presence of a large audience. It is very unusual for a musician so young to perform as a concerto soloist so Beth should be incredibly proud of her superb performance.

Year 12 Music Scholar Beth performed as a concerto soloist at the Wycliffe Choral Society’s summer concert in the Chapel on Sunday 14th May.

Beth gives superb solo performance

The fabulous result placed Hannah in 43rd in the world competition and marked 10 days of fierce language learning. The Year 9 pupil was competing against pupils up to the age of 19, making her success an even greater achievement.

Hannah achieved the highest score in the country in the 2017 Language Perfect World Championships.

Hannah is 43rd in the World

Wycliffe College underwent a robust and successful inspection of our approach to pupils with a range of Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) on 16th May. The outcomes were very positive, and we have been recommended for reaccreditation for CReSTeD status, with a specialist dyslexia unit. The inspection process covers all aspects of management and support of our pupils, from admissions to outcomes, and the inspector took a keen interest in both what was happening in the classroom in a variety of subjects across the curriculum, and how pupils are given specialist and individual support and assessment in our Learning Support Department. She took into account the very positive feedback from both parents and pupils with SEND. With regards to Learning Support staff, one parent reported that her son’s teacher ‘just gets him, and he has made good progress. She has not only supported him with his dyslexia, but also with excellent pastoral care’. Pupils were overwhelmingly positive about the support they are given by staff, and she concluded that “they each thought that their SEN support and staff awareness of their needs had played a key role in their current successes”.

Over the last 35 years, The Ten Tors Challenge has been a major part of the CCF adventure training programme. Not only is it a superb medium for providing many of our cadets with outdoor challenge, team work skills, comradeship and the determination to succeed. Above all it has also proved to be an invaluable life skill in itself, by making our young people aware in what often may seem impossible can be achieved by bravely stepping outside their comfort zone. Over the weekend a team of Year 10 Cadets took part in this Challenge. This was after months of dedicated and committed training. The two-day expedition was held on the remote and rugged terrain of Dartmoor National Park. Accurate navigation skills are essential if the demanding challenge is to be completed successfully. All teams have to be self-contained, they carry all their own individual and group equipment, which weighs about 35 lbs, and they have to wild camp out overnight on the Moors. Our young team led by James did exceptionally well in completing their route well within the allocated time, one of the fastest by a Wycliffe team, even though this is not a race! There was little doubt that all were very weary at the end, however team spirits were high, as they finished the Challenge arm in arm. All should be very proud of what they have achieved over the weekend, as were the many parents, family members and Head who were there to see them at the finish line.

May 2017

Cadets take on Ten Tors Challenge

College re-awarded CReSTeD status

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Senior

Chris Hancock, Deputy Head of Lower School and Religious Studies Teacher

Kate Elliott, Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

The Gold group ventured into the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons. This took place at the end of Easter term and into the first week of the holiday. Pupils averaged walking distances of 20 to 25 kilometres per day, traversing south west over steep terrain between the area near Hay Bluff to south west of Pen y Fan, near Ystradfellte. There was a night in a bunk house to acclimatise before the event proper, which for two of the five participants constituted their assessed expedition. All acquitted themselves very well and congratulations are due to Sam and Oliver who have now completed their expedition section at Gold level. Mary, a current Year 11 pupil, is also worth mentioning as she went on to complete her final with the air cadets only 10 days later in Dartmoor, so covered a huge distances on foot in an intense period.

Silver: Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

While waiting in the embassy’s foyer for the final segment of our day, we were able to take in a selection of splendid artworks by Hokusai, the celebrated print-maker of the 18th-19th century, most famously responsible for his classic Great Wave off Kanagawa. Subsequently, we filtered through to the heart of the sumptuous Georgian building that hosts the embassy to enjoy the Club Taishikan. We were first given a talk on Japan from a British representative, her enthusiasm for the country and culture reflected in having lived there for eight years, initially through a language teaching programme sponsored by the embassy before coming to work for them. This presentation led into some instruction in the energetic dance style of Yosakoi, before us splitting into two groups to show off our skills with naruko (bird-scaring clappers) against each other. To top off the day, we were fortunate to experience Japanese folk music styles played by the visiting musicians, Hibiki Ichikawa and Akari Mochizuki. These ranged from the melodic sounds of the sunny southern island of Okinawa, to the more robust rhythms typical of Akita prefecture in the north of Japan. A few pupils and Mrs Suzui herself were also invited to have a go at playing the traditional Japanese stringed instrument, the shamisen – a lively end to a full and stimulating day out!

On Wednesday 7th June, Wycliffe’s pupils studying Japanese were joined for the day by some A-level pupils who are exploring Buddhism as part of their Religious Studies course. They journeyed to London to experience a number of facets of belief, custom and culture in Japan. In preparation for the trip, pupils crafted their own juzu (prayer beads) to be used in the first session. Our first stop en route to the Japanese embassy was a Jōdo Shinshū (Shin Buddhist) Temple within the Pure Land tradition which venerates Amida, the “Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light.” After a brief but affecting opening talk on cultural contact and exchange between Japan and the United Kingdom in the last few hundred years, the group divided into two for the next activity. The Year 9 pupils had a talk from Rev. Hiroshi Kenshin Ishii in the Zen garden with a taster of zazen (sitting meditation) while the older pupils were given an absorbing talk from the Rev. Kemmyo Taira Sato on Shin Buddhism and his own experience of coming to the faith, including his time spent under the world-famous 20th century Zen master D.T. Suzuki. The pupils then traded places so that all were afforded the chance to hear a talk and visit the peaceful Zen garden and learn about its collaborative creation by members of the London Shogyoji Trust. This peaceful experience was contrasted with the flurry of activity when the hungry pupils, staff and temple members were treated to another taste of Japanese culture, this time in the form of a range of delicious bento boxes accompanied by miso soup and sushi. Sufficiently replete, we continued on with our sojourn in London, stopping at the Japanese embassy in Mayfair for further cultural edification.

The end of April saw the Bronze group’s first venture. Thirty-seven Year 9 pupils from Wycliffe, as well as a participant from Stroud High School took part in the expedition in the local area, with overnight camping at Cranham Scout Camp. As to be expected it was a steep learning curve for participants on their first expedition; nevertheless all impressed the staff with their great energy and enthusiasm. They are now getting ready for their final expedition in the Gower after half term.

Bronze: Cranham Scout Camp

A practice Silver level expedition took place in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley area. A multi-national selection of pupils formed three teams from Years 11, DY and Year 12. They hiked for two-and-a-half days covering an area between Tintern Abbey, Symond’s Yat and on to the National Cycle Centre in the central area of The Forest of Dean. We were extremely fortunate with the weather and pupils were hiking in idyllic conditions during the day, with starry but extremely cold nights at the two campsites. Their final expedition takes place in June and will include a wild camp in the Forest of Dean.

Gold: Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons

Three Duke of Edinburgh expeditions have taken place in quick succession between the latter part of the Spring Term and start of Summer Term

Pupils learn firsthand about Japanese culture

D of E Expeditions

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Senior

“Her dad is in the Parachute Regiment like my dad and I wanted to do something to help her,” said Emma, who is a boarder at Wycliffe. Breya, from Colchester, was diagnosed at the age of two with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Her parents are hoping to raise £250,000 to send their daughter to the USA to receive what could be life-saving treatment if the current treatment does not work.

“We had a lot of ideas and we didn’t want to leave any of them out so we incorporated them making sure everyone had some involvement,” said Izzy. The pupils visited Tracy while she was working as artist in residence on her own creation at the Museum in the Park which now proudly stands outside in the courtyard. It celebrates the Scarlet Red, tennis ball yellow and billiard green cloth which is still made in the Stroud valleys as well as referencing railway and time. “Ivy Grove House won me over due to the overall design, the fact that the house community all took part and the hare’s brilliant false eyelashes,” said Tracy. The hares will be displayed around the College during Speech Day. The school hopes to auction them off to raise money for charity.

Wycliffe Seniors have been rabbiting on about art for good reason. The College’s eight houses were challenged to design and decorate a mini hare which best represents the community in their house. The results were judged by Stroud illustrator Tracy Spiers, who has created her own giant version, called Scarlet Red Hare, for The Cotswold Hare Trail. The competition was the brainchild of Nikki Green, Head of Art. “It started because former parent Caroline Wynn, who runs Wynn’s Coffee Co in the High Street, Stonehouse, kindly donated five hares,” said Ms Green. “We thought it would make a great community competition and the Parents Association Senior School kindly donated the money for us to buy another three.” The winners were Luba and Izzy, both aged 15, from Ivy Grove House. Everyone in Ivy Grove House had a finger in the creation - literally. The base colours of green and yellow was applied by finger painting. Then the hare is covered in symbols to represent the different nationalities of the pupils along with an ivy motif.

Hare’s to our house creativity

When Year 11 pupil Emma heard about a two-year-old’s fight with cancer she decided to do something to help. The 16-year-old has raised more than £800 in a sponsored tandem skydive at Langar in Nottinghamshire.

Emma proves she has a head for heights

News from Prep >>

Senior

Mr Stopforth

A group of Year 6 pupils made it through the first two rounds of a national maths competition. Mr Palmer, Headmaster of the Prep, said the questions were very challenging. A group from Year 5 also took part in the competition. ‘We’re very proud that the Year 6 team qualified for the next round. The questions were incredibly hard and it was an achievement to make it through to the next round,” he said.

Maths talent adds up to success

Year 2 pupils enjoyed an action-packed day at Weston-super-Mare as they learned about the past and present in their humanities studies. They experienced the joys of the pier firsthand, posing in traditional seaside picture boards and enjoying ice cream. The youngsters learned about what seaside communities of the past were like and about the natural life of the beach.

We do like to be beside the seaside!

Year 5 pupils went back in time during a residential trip to York where they visited York Minister, a range of Roman sites and the Viking Village.

The children all agreed that the Viking Village was the highlight of the trip. There they spent the day as Vikings and staff became ‘slaves’. “I had to remind my ‘masters’ that normal service would resume as soon as we got on the bus,” said Mr Palmer.

Year 5 pupils go back in time

The trip started off by looking at some original Banksy’s down Park Street if only to fill time as we were early. Once inside Bristol Museum Art Gallery the girls looked at a variety of works both past and present but were particularly engaged by the Art on show in particular work by Frank Auerbach and Damian Hirst. The girls then visited the Royal Academy to see an exhibition called “Drawn” which was an open exhibition of drawings by artists across the country. They enjoyed this show more as “there was a greater variety of artist work on show and it was also more contemporary”. They particularly enjoyed the “drawing lab” where they got to create drawings using a variety of techniques and media which included an old Olivetti typewriter which was great fun for the girls to use. As part of the exhibition there was also on display a selection of drawings from the Royal Collection and Nikol especially enjoyed the story of Antony Blunt the spy who was the Royal Art Historian and whose name was stamped on some of the frames. All in all a very enlightening morning of culture.

Gifted and talented art trip

More News from Prep >>

Prep

Ross Irwin Director of Studies Learning

Here is a selection of some of the imaginative creations on show at the Lower Prep art exhibition. Pupils in Reception and Years 1 and 2 painted, glued and ‘upcycled’ all sorts of things to create everything from a three-dimensional seaside scene to a plane full of Wycliffe Explorers.

Just some of our creative lot

It was a super day out which helped Year 8 to fully appreciate the significant contributions William Shakespeare made to the English language and the continual relevance of his plays in modern times.

Year 8 visited Stratford-Upon-Avon on 28th April, as part of their English unit on ‘Our Literary Heritage’. They had a tour around Shakespeare’s birthplace (the house he was born and brought up in) and enjoyed live - and sometimes interactive - performances of scenes from a range of his plays in the garden. The pupils were also given an hour’s talk at the Shakespeare Centre on the life and times of William Shakespeare. Following that, the group headed off to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage to have lunch in the beautiful grounds and walk around the cottage which belonged to the Hathaway family.

Alas, we enjoyed our visit

On Saturday 20th May, Year 6 experienced the 1960s first hand as part of their Music and History studies about John Lennon and the Beatles. Using artefacts and costumes on loan from the Cheltenham museum, and videos and music recordings from the period, pupils were immersed in the era. Mr Arman and Mrs Taylor led sessions which included a whole class version of ‘Juke Box Jury’, a Beatles singalong, exploring artefacts and learning about the cultural and musical influences of the Beatles. Pupils can now return to 2017 where they have just started rehearsing their own group versions of ‘Let it Be’ in Music and are now learning about the CND movement in History. Wycliffe has most definitely gained a lot of new Beatles’ fans!

We dig flower power

Year 4 pupils were in fine voice when they gave a polished performance of the musical Aladdin. With just weeks to prepare for the production the children wowed the crowds with their singing and lavish costumes. “The children themselves took control of this production and worked together to create a smooth and polished performance. They should feel proud of the end result,” said Mr Palmer.

What stage presence

Pupils at the Prep School were fortunate enough to be visited by an associate from Google Expeditions. This is a new app developed by Google to open up the classroom for an immersive learning experience, helping teachers to demonstrate learning in a unique way by leading pupils on a virtual reality field trip. Every pupil from Years 1-8 was involved in the workshops, in which a leading year group teacher chose an ‘Expedition’ that either linked in with past, present or future learning from the curriculum, or enriched pupils’ knowledge through a new curriculum topic by diving into a series of wow experiences, such as ‘Swimming with Sharks’

Year 1 submerged themselves in an ‘Ocean Safari’, linked to their learning in Geography, whilst Year 2 learnt about one of the great children’s authors, working through the ‘Roald Dahl: Phizz Whizzing’ expedition. Year 3 were enriched through an ‘Underwater Excursion’, followed by Year 4 who stepped back in time as they visited the pyramids of ‘Ancient Egypt’ to support their learning across the Humanities subjects. Year 5 were literally taken out of this world as they explored the visual wonders of the ‘Solar System’, whilst Year 6 linked into their studies in English with an expedition on ‘Charles Dickens’. Year 7 were split across two expeditions as they undertook a ‘Medieval Castle Expedition to Castle Rushden’ as part of their History Study, or were virtual visitors to various museums to look at ‘Impressionist Art’. Year 8’s expedition took them to the trenches of the World War 1 battlefields, linking in with the centenary of the Great War by looking at the ‘Ypres WW1’ expedition. The pupils clearly enjoyed the alternative approach to learning, and hopefully will have left feeling inspired to undertake virtual and real-life ‘expeditions’ of their own.

Virtual learning

Prep

Nursery >>

A bright red truck, flashing blue lights, yellow helmets and wellies sent children at Lower Prep into squeals of delight when a fire engine visited their school. They could hardly contain themselves as the engine from SkillZONE Gloucester rolled up. The firefighters also visited the Nursery and Reception. “I want to be a fireman when I grow up because I want to drive the fire engine,” said Peter, aged four. Firefighter Chris Hale and his colleague talked to the children about fire safety before the real excitement took place - having a go with the water hose.

We love the fire engine

Nursery

Sports News >>

Ellie, Year 12

It was an early morning start for the 20 girls and four staff bound for Sri Lanka before the Easter break. On arrival into Columbo the tour party headed inland to Kandy stopping for a traditional breakfast en route. The three-night stay included a trip to Kandy University, who hosted the first set of Netball matches against Mahamala College indoors in warm conditions. Two wins set the tone for the tour. The highlight of the tour for most of us was the volunteering at a local deaf and blind school where the pupils welcomed us with traditional dance and singing performances before we lead some activities. A very humbling and rewarding tour experience! We moved from Kandy to Columbo for the second part of the tour. Lunch at the Millennium Elephant Orphanage Foundation on the way broke up the travel time. We explored how paper was made from the Elephant dung in the factory and had an opportunity to ride, shower and feed the elephants who were either rescued Por needed housing. In Columbo, we played both Hockey fixtures, the first against The President’s College, the current U18 Sri Lanka School Champions, a positive 2-0 start finished with a 5-2 defeat after some positive play the heat had a part to play! The second hockey match against Ladies’ College, Columbo went in our favour with a 9-0 victory and a solid team display. Straight after, the squads switched to Netball to play two matches at sunset on hard courts next to the hockey pitch. The final leg of the tour was a move out to the beach, to Negombo. The last set of Netball fixtures were played on grass adding another new experience for us. Wins here meant both Netball teams were undefeated, doing very well to play in the heat and changing conditions. A tour of the local fish market was an experience(!) but it did give an insight as to how Sri Lankans prepare, store and eat their main food source in the country without fridges. The tour finished with a boat ride into sunset and a traditional Sri Lankan barbecue before an early departure and return journey back to Wycliffe. Thank you to the tour party including the staff, Mrs Dudley, Mrs Wright who put a lot of time into organising the best sports tour ever! And to Miss Sherwood and Mr Salmon as well as the 20 girls who made the experience truly memorable!

Netball team tour Sri Lanka

Representing Gloucestershire in South West Schools Athletics Championships Evie was 1st in her heat and 3rd overall with a time of 4m 54s. A new PB and her first time sub 5 minutes! Tom in the 800m was 10th but ran 2m 10s for a huge PB! And Tom in the 400m was 6th with a time of 53.37s which was another PB!

There were some great results for the Wycliffe athletes that attended the District trials held at Deer Park School. First places were achieved by Evie (1500m), Thomas (800m) and Kiran (Triple Jump). This meant automatic qualification into the County Championships and was testament to all their hard work over the past few months. Second placed athletes also qualified and Emma (800m), Thomas (Long Jump), Charlie (1500m), Kiran (Triple Jump) and Evie (Shot) manged this in their respective heats. There were also some determined performances from Amy (1500m), Olivia (800m), Millie (1500m), Holly (800m) and Katie (Javelin) who also qualified for the County Championships by finishing in third place. This ensured that a total of thirteen Wycliffe athletes will represent the South Cotswolds at the Prince of Wales Stadium with Tom (400m & 800m) and Matt (Long Jump) also selected for the squad. The Year 9 & 10 District competition held at Archway School saw some fine individual performances. Holly (800m), Tom (800m), Oliver (Javelin) and Evie (1500m) all won their events, but the highlight of the day was the boys and girls 4 x 100m relays where both year 9 teams produced excellent performances to win their races. The County Championships were particularly windy and it was not easy to record good times, however the Wycliffe athletes all gave their best. Katie finished 3rd in the Javelin improving on her distance in the qualifiers, Evie was 7th in the Shot, Olivia 4th in the 800m and Emma 3rd, also in the 800m, while Amy finished 2nd in the 1500m. Evie ran an impressive race, running inside the qualifying time for the South West Championships being held in Exeter, when she finished 2nd in the Junior Girls 1500m. Tom also made selection for the County team with a 2nd place in the 400m and finished 5th in the 800m. Charlie won the Junior Boys 1500m, controlling the entire race to become the County Champion and - along with Kiran who was second in the Triple Jump and High Jump - is also selected for the County squad. Good luck to these athletes who now represent Gloucestershire.

Athletics Report Summer 2017

Sport

More Sports News >>

Wycliffe hosted a British Shooting Target Sprint Event. This was a wonderful day of competition allowing pupils from Wycliffe and other local schools to compete in a shooting and running combined event. It was also a qualification event for the National finals. The top five in each age group qualified for the National Finals in September to be held in Yate. The following pupils qualified: U15 Girls: Iona, Saffron, Olivia, Rhianna; U18 Girls: Zoe; U15 Boys: Tom, Will, Jamie; U18 Boys: Thomas, Alex, Jacob. At an event at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex, Emma, Lewis and Verity qualified for the National Target Sprint Finals in September for their respective age groups. Following the open National Series races, Thomas is now ranked 2nd from final trials taken from an average of three events and has qualified for the first Target Sprint GB team international competition. Unfortunately he was not selected due to his shooting inexperience compared with his potential team mates - this being his only ever experience of air rifle shooting the smaller 35mm target area. However this is something he will improve with the school’s help and hopefully look forward to future selection.

Athletes prove they are on target

Four Wycliffe rugby players were selected from the Gloucester DPP centres to represent the U15 Academy at the Harrow Festival. Due to a clash with Ten Tors training, James was unable to attend. However, Ethan, Will and Thomas all enjoyed the opportunity to play against Academy sides from the country’s leading premiership clubs. The players selected to represent Gloucester were split into two squads for the day. This meant that Will and Tom played matches against Wasps, Exeter and London Irish, while Ethan played against Saracens, Harlequins and Bath. The matches were keenly contested with all the Wycliffe players enjoying game time and adjusting well to the standard and pace of the rugby.

Wycliffe U15 represent Gloucester Academy at Harrow

The Lambs team started well and led the match 5-0 with George scoring the first try. However, Canada were a strong side and eventually won 30-8. The second match was against the Pacific Loggers and the Lambs came away comfortable winners 65-7, playing some ‘fast and free’ rugby which they are famous for. In the final match against a British Columbia select XV the Lambs continued to play some fantastic rugby, showing how well the squad had gelled together during the tour. The final result was 73-0 to the Lambs. This tour was a wonderful opportunity for George and one that he will never forget, forging friendships with players from independent schools throughout the country.

Wycliffe 1st XV captain, George was selected for the Independent Schools Lambs National squad to tour Canada and North America. Despite being the youngest on the tour, George was selected to start the first match against Canada U19. This was a wonderful honour for George and he was part of an impressive performance against an international team.

George joins the Lambs Rugby

On Saturday 20th May, Wycliffe college boat club headed to Worcester regatta. The event featured some very close races throughout the day over the 850-metre course. The junior 14 boys’ squad of Oliver, Charlie, Toby and Jad coxed by Aeden were up against some top rowing schools, with only a term and a half of rowing under their belts. Over the course of four rounds the Wycliffe pupils put in huge efforts both technically and physically to overcome the opposition in the first rounds by a matter of metres. The semi-final, which was arguably the best race of the day, saw Wycliffe racing a strong Cheltenham college crew whom none could argue were the favourites for the event. To the surprise of all spectators and coaches as the crews came around the bend both squads were level. The Wycliffe boys had to fight throughout the whole 850m course to clinch the victory by two feet. The boys put in a controlled, measured and technical performance to win the final over Hereford Cathedral school.

Rowers clinch regatta title

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Wycliffian Tennis and Cricket Day was held on Saturday 29th April. A strong Old Wycliffian cricket XI played the school 1st XI and a high scoring match finished in a draw. The Old Boy’s batting first made 276 for 2, with Noah Cooper-Llanes scoring 134, Ian Collins 56 and Sam Hester 44. The highlight of the Wycliffe batting was a superb 107 runs from Will Naish. Valuable contributions from Harry Rapley (48) and Jamie Ealey (28) helped push the score to 218 for 5. This was a much improved batting performance from the school team and showed what can be achieved with the necessary application at the crease.

The Men’s OW Tennis saw many return to play in a doubles and singles tournament. Both sides were very evenly matched and the day fittingly finished as a 7-7 draw. Highlights of the day were Matt Harris vs Batraz Albegov in their singles round. It was a real head to head battle and Matt gave everything for the OW team to have the win, finishing the set 7-5. It was also wonderful to see the Lister Father and Son partnership return to the Ward’s courts and we hope they play again next year. Sadly the wild card of Mr Will James and Andrew Golding will be leaving us. There will always be a spot for them in the OW team and they will be welcomed onto a Wycliffe tennis court any time.

Wycliffian Football and Netball was held on 25th March which was surprisingly dry and sunny! We witnessed unrelenting play from the OW netball team who displayed incredible stamina and fitness. The result was 32-27 to the school.

The Football was a brilliant game, again with the OWs performing exceptionally well. It was tight and ended in a draw, going on to penalties which were won by the school.

Twice a year a group of golfers meet for the day to play golf in and around Gloucestershire. We’d like to start a Golf Day in the Home Counties. We are active on Facebook and can be contacted here: tinyurl.com/tsw-golfers or email the office to show your interest.

Wycliffian Society Golf

The Wycliffian Society