our ten tors competitors setting off from shebbear this ... · wickets in a tremendous spell of ......

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

6th May 2016Issue No 105

Dear Parents,Another extraordinary week. On Sunday the Shebbear family stood as one and we laughed and cried together at Charlotte Simpson’s memorial service. Several pupils bravely recounted their memories of Charlotte and we were also treated to the first public performances of ‘Poem for Charlotte’ written and read by Mr Burnett and Mr Oxenham’s magnificent song ‘Chill’.

On Monday morning the rain did not stop a host of visitors to our Open Day. As the sun popped out many were treated to a number of excellent performances in our May Day Concert (more about this later in the newsletter). News of our Steinway piano seems to have travelled far, as several visitors were keen on seeing it in action.

The cricket season has continued to pick up momentum. On Sunday we hosted a district match - North Devon U13s v East Devon U13s and on Tuesday we welcomed two teams from Okehampton

College. The highlight however was an epic encounter with Mount Kelly which we looked like losing until Riou Thomas took five wickets in a tremendous spell of bowling. Both teams contributed to a magnificent match which we somehow won by three runs.

With just one week to go before the exam season kicks off in earnest the focus for many this weekend will be a world away from books. The Ten Tors event is one of the foremost outward bound challenges in the UK and we have two teams on the moor this weekend. One team member is Stuart Williams whose remarkable footballing exploits you will read about later in the newsletter. The return of the teams on Sunday afternoon is always a wonderful spectacle (I also saw a cuckoo last time) and I would recommend it as a family excursion. Hopefully I will see you there.

Simon Weale

Our Ten Tors competitors setting off from Shebbear this morning



intimidating Head Housekeeper all quite amusing! As you can see from the delightful photos, I don’t think they considered it to be as much of a hardship, as I am sure it really was 100 years ago.

As the sun continued to shine on Wednesday, some of our cricketers travelled to Hatherleigh Cricket Club to compete in a Kwik cricket tournament. However, things didn’t quite go to plan, as we arrived to find an empty ground. It appears that unlike the other schools involved, Shebbear had not been informed of a change in date. However, please don’t feel too sorry for the children, as we took the opportunity to stage our own mini-cricket match before heading off into Hatherleigh village for ice-cream! In fact several pupils asked if we could do it all again next week!

The weather couldn’t have been any better for ‘Bikeability’ on Thursday and Friday. While our Year 6 pupils will have to wait until after half-term for their turn, this was a chance for the children in Year 5 to receive some expert instruction in riding safely on their bikes. The sessions started with practicing a range of manoeuvres on the playground before pupils took to the roads in and around the village to learn how to enjoy bike riding with safety in mind. We are once again very grateful to the instructors from Bikeability

News from the Prep SchoolDear Parents,It is certainly true that when the sun comes out there can be fewer more agreeable places to work at than Shebbear College. To see pupils of all ages out around the school campus, making the most of the space and facilities we have here, is just wonderful. The appearance of the sun couldn’t have been more timely for us here in the Prep School as this week saw the beginning of ‘Bikeability’ training for our Year 5 pupils, a trip to Powderham Castle for Pre- Prep 2 and both the Prep School and whole school photographs.

On Tuesday our Year 1 and 2 pupils were transported back in time as they visited Powderham Castle near Exeter. The day was intended to be one of gruelling and back-breaking labour for some of our youngest pupils, as they got a taste of life for those in service in Victorian Britain. However, listening to their enthusiastic recollections of the visit, all the cleaning, dusting and polishing they did in the castle did nothing to dampen their spirits, in fact quite the opposite.

They clearly enjoyed dressing up and taking on different roles for the day and even found being bossed around by the rather



West Country Training, Mike Culley and Ian Jewell who always make these valuable sessions so enjoyable for the pupils.

In Science this week, Year 3 have been learning all about the invisible magnetic field with Mrs Partridge and were able to demonstrate this with the aid of a paperclip secured to a piece of cotton - a great magic trick!’

Also, in the Kindergarten’s Forest School lesson this week, Mrs Partridge was encouraging the children to build Creepy Crawly Palaces for the mini-beasts to live in. Some palaces even had duvets, pillows and lights! This followed on from last week’s session, where they all had great fun making ‘Fairy Front Doors’ at the base of tree trunks. Apparently, there have even been reports of sightings of little visitors to the trees!

The week ended with Mr Rogers, our College Religious Studies specialist, taking assembly for the Prep School about Deaf Awareness Week, although a number of our Year 6 pupils will be back in school on Saturday to take part in a Sports morning as part of their induction into the Senior School. Let’s hope for more sunshine for them.

Mike Furber

Next Week in the Prep School:Monday 9th MaySATs week beginsHigh 5 Netball fixture v St Giles School, 4.30pmYear 5 trip to Rosemoor GardensU9 Football/Rounders v Kingsley (H), 2.00pm

Wednesday 11th MayU9 Cricket/Rounders v St Petroc’s (A) 1.45pm

Thursday 12th MaySATs finishYear 3 to Rosemoor GardensU11 Cricket/Rounders v Kingsley (A) 2.00pm

Friday 13th MayAssembly: Mrs F.LovettU10 Football Tournament (H)

ISFA U15 Selection for StuartCongratulations to Stuart Williams who has been selected to represent the Independent Schools Football Association U15s at Manchester United Academy for their annual invitational tournament.

The four team tournament involving Manchester United, ISFA and two other academy teams will take place on Saturday 14th May at the Aon Training Centre, Carrington, (Manchester United’s training ground). The weekend will also include a training session on the Friday.

Shebbear College PE department wishes Stuart and the team all the best at what will be a fantastic opportunity for all involved.

Arron Steel

A Word from the Library‘Parents and the home environment are essential to the early teaching of reading and fostering a love of reading; children are more likely to continue to be readers in homes where books and reading are valued’. (Clark and Rumbold, 2006).

Education Standards Research Team (2012) Research evidence on reading for pleasure Department for Education.



Ten Tors Challenge 2016As you are reading this week’s newsletter, two ‘35 Mile’ teams are down in Okehampton Army Camp going through the Ten Tors ‘scrutineering’ process and being told their routes for this weekend’s event. With over 2000 young people taking part from all across the South West, today is spent looking over last minute plans and enjoying the ‘festival feel’ of the tented city that springs up on the hills of Okehampton at this time each year.

Thankfully the weather this week has been sunny and dry. Navigating across Dartmoor should be easy and if everybody keeps their fingers crossed for 100% visibility all weekend, then hopefully we should see the two teams successfully coming over the finish line in a good time.

If you would like to come down to Okehampton Army Camp to support our teams, you are more than welcome. For those of you who are super keen, the event starts at 7.00am on Saturday morning and a fantastic view point to watch the ‘off’ is Rowtor (SX594917).

For those less keen for an early start, I anticipate our teams coming in around 2.00pm on Sunday, so if you make your way to the finish line and look for the yellow and black Shebbear flags (a huge thank you to the Old Shebbearians’ Association for the addition of two new bright yellow 4m high flags - they truly are fantastic), you can join in the celebrations. Having experienced it last year for the first time, it really is something not to be missed.

This year’s teams consist of:

Team 1: Robin Dalton (Leader), Pat Faulkner, Connie Gillies, Cloe Westaway, Nathan Coates and Olivia Rolls

Team 2: Alex Watling (Leader), James Bennett, James Edge, Toby Biggs, Jess Biggs, Harriet Allin

On top of this, Jack Joslin has taken up the challenge of walking with the Torridge Explorer Scouts and Ryan Stairs who is walking with 874 Sherborne Squadron ATC (45 miles).

Let’s all wish them the world of luck as they survive the wilds of Dartmoor for the next 24 hours.

If you want to keep in touch with what is going on, you can follow the teams through the offical Ten Tors website - www.tentors.org.uk or via Twitter @ShebbearCollege

May Day ConcertThis year’s May Day Concert took place for the first time in the newly equipped Assembly Hall. Not many venues in the county are able to provide a Steinway grand piano at all, let alone one of such beauty and elegance. So it was a joy for all to hear such lovely sounds from our gifted pianists. From Bach to Beethoven and Clementi to Chopin, it seemed that all styles of music were enhanced. Special mention must go to our Upper Sixth pianists Alvin Lee and Meaghan Ryder-Green who mesmerised their audience with their exquisite playing.

Other highlights included Sparkle Ip with his highly polished and poised performance of Bach’s Suite in G for unaccompanied cello.

The choirs rose to the occasion and took full advantage of the new acoustics with an eclectic mix of repertoire. The String Ensembles, under the expert guidance of Mrs Frith, delighted us with their contributions and Mr Edwards’ Brass Ensemble showed just what a mellow sound these instruments could make.

The College Orchestra rounded off the afternoon with a challenging selection of pieces and proved what staunch professionals they are.

Kevin Parker

What’s On:Saturday 7th MayTen Tors ChallengeSports Fun Day, 9.00am - 2.00pmReligious Studies Revision Workshop, 9.30 - 11.30am

Sunday 8th MayTen Tors Challenge finishBoarders Trip to Lanhydrock House

Monday 9th MayF4 Science Controlled Assessment Week One

Friday 13th MayForm 5 and Lower 6th Study Leave Begins

Saturday 14th MayPhysical Geography GCSE Revision Morning, 9.30 - 11.30am

Sunday 15th MayGeneration Tennis Tournament, 9.30am

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

Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College and hosted by The Friends of Shebbear College and The Old Shebbearians’ Association, the black tie event will be held in a grand marquee in the grounds of the College. Welcome drinks will be at 6.30pm and there will be a Champagne bar and three course gourmet meal from Dartmoor



Kitchen, followed by a prize draw and charity auction. Live music will be provided by ‘Joey the Lips’.

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

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

CricketThe 1st XI snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their match against Mount Kelly on Wednesday. Batting first on a slow wicket the 1st XI lost two early wickets before Jabez Weale (38), well supported by Rivaldo Clarke (15), Teriq Worrell (19) and Ryan Stairs (16) took the final score to 151 all out.

In reply, Mount Kelly put on more than 100 for the first wicket before Dylan Swanepoel broke the partnership and then man of the match, Riou Thomas (5-13) and Carl Stanbury (4-19) ripped through the opposition to secure an unlikely victory by just three runs. A great team effort which gave the side their second win of the season.

Andy BryanRoundersU14 rounders v Mount KellyThis week the U14 girls played their second successful rounders match of the season against Mount Kelly. The final score was 13.5 rounders to 3.5; an excellent result for the girls. Mount Kelly only managed to bring a team of seven on the day, meaning some of our team could only play one innings when fielding to make the match even. The Captain, Sophie Gillies, showed great leadership skills when managing the team and encouraged her peers throughout. A big well done and thank you goes to Mia Philpott, who stepped in at the last minute and played superbly. Player of the match was Maddie Traxton. Well done girls!

Kate Gunning



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

Picture this ... glorious days at Shebbear

175www.midsummerball.co.uk

25th June 2016

Celebrating 175 Years of Shebbear College

SHEBBEAR COLLEGE

MIDSUMMER BALL

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

Champagne bar3 course gourmet meal from Dartmoor Kitchen

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

Carriages 1.00amDress Code: Black Tie

Tickets: £75.00 per Head, Tables of 10 available

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

To book:

or email [email protected]

For sponsorship and advertising please email [email protected]

our ten tors competitors setting off from shebbear this ... · wickets in a tremendous spell of ......

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