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Royal Award for Rossall CCF
On Tuesday 29th June Rossall CCF was delighted to accept a new banner to mark the anniversary of the 150th year of Rossall Combined Cadet Force from the Lord Lieutenant Shuttleworth. As Rossall CCF is the oldest in the country this was a very special occasion and spectators were moved at the chapel service that involved the blessing of the banner.
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We are one of only four schools in the country to be awarded a new banner. After the Chapel service the pupils lined the square to greet the parade lead by the outstanding CCF band, who were playing the tune to the Carmen, Floreat Rossallia.
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Listen out for our radio piece on Radio Wave on Wednesday morning breakfast time.
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To see more pictures please click here....
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24 Hour Christmas Music Marathon Raises £1,000 for Brian House!
Rossall pupils throughout the whole school worked extremely hard in producing a fantastic start to the festive season with their 24 hour music marathon. From the Infants to the Upper Sixth, pupils performed a wide range of musical delights to spell-bound spectators, including midnight Carols by Candlelight, Jazz music accompanied by mulled wine and performances by our Chamber Choir. Donations were given to Brian House and we managed to raise a whopping £1,000 for the charity.
Thank you to all those that took part and for all your donations.
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Latest Update on Old Rossallian Francesca Parker's fund-raising expedition!
100k Sahara Trek in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care
On Sunday Francesca was dropped off at Heathrow airport where she joined an eclectic group of people from all geographical areas of the UK, all of whom have a different reason for being there. One woman was there for her parents, one who was in remission when she signed up but is again receiving treatment, another whose mother lost her battle only 3 months ago, a patient who was in remission himself and wanted to live life not knowing whether it would return, people walking in memory of a friend or relative and then at least 4 Macmillan nurses who, amazingly, were raising money for their own cause.
Francesca's family wish to thank everyone at Rossall for their support so far.
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If you would like to make a donation to this great cause please click here.
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Fantastic Sporting Achievements for Lucy
Countless victories for local Rossall pupil Lucy in Year 8 have resulted in a fantastic sporting profile for the 13 year old. In the 2008-09 hockey season she was selected to be the vice captain for Lancashire's A team where she was top goal scorer in five matches for our red rose county. A couple of years ago at the very young age of 11 she was selected for our Under 13 A team, playing every match and contributing to our winning of Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde schools league.
While she was still 11 she was selected for the Lytham hockey club who went on to win the Lancashire league. In December of that year she won a trophy for the most improved player.
In the summer of 2009 Lucy attended Giggleswick Master Class five day hockey academy and again won a trophy for the most improved player.
Lucy's hockey continued to become stronger throughout the following season in 2009-10 when she was selected for Lancashire's hockey academy, Lytham hockey club under 13s and she has even made several appearances for the under 15s. Continuing the tradition, she won the most improved player at the Lytham hockey club presentation evening. She is an essential player in the school's under 13 A team and is the leading goal scorere to date.
Lucy's talents broaden much wider than just hockey. She is also a talented biathlete, and has recently qualified for the Great Britain finals of the schools biathlon championships representing our school. Just 50 young people have been selected from 440 regional qualifyers which will take place at Crystal Palace on 21st March.
She finished 5th in the North West Championships Triathlon in September 2009.
Running cross country championships saw Lucy become 3rd in the Manchester championships (November 2009) and 6th in the Red Rose championships (December 2009).
Lucy has been selected to run for Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Athletics club in the North of England and National cross country championships. Also she has been selected to run for Wyre schools in the Lancashire schools cross country championships.
As if that weren't enough, Lucy is a fantastic swimmer and recently in the North Lancashire Competiton she won 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals along with 2 speeding tickets for the 50m and 100m butterfly for exceeding the qualifying time.
A Bronze award for the 1500m free swimming was also Lucys. In addition she won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal for the North Wales and Cheshire open competition; 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze in the Cumbria open; and she is also a regular member of Blackpool Aquatics swimming team.
Well done Lucy from all of us at Rossall!
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24 Hour Christmas Music Marathon Raises £1,000 for Brian House!
Rossall pupils throughout the whole school worked extremely hard in producing a fantastic start to the festive season with their 24 hour music marathon. From the Infants to the Upper Sixth, pupils performed a wide range of musical delights to spell-bound spectators, including midnight Carols by Candlelight, Jazz music accompanied by mulled wine and performances by our Chamber Choir. Donations were given to Brian House and we managed to raise a whopping £1,000 for the charity.
Thank you to all those that took part and for all your donations.
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Latest Update on Old Rossallian Francesca Parker's fund-raising expedition!
100k Sahara Trek in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care
On Sunday Francesca was dropped off at Heathrow airport where she joined an eclectic group of people from all geographical areas of the UK, all of whom have a different reason for being there. One woman was there for her parents, one who was in remission when she signed up but is again receiving treatment, another whose mother lost her battle only 3 months ago, a patient who was in remission himself and wanted to live life not knowing whether it would return, people walking in memory of a friend or relative and then at least 4 Macmillan nurses who, amazingly, were raising money for their own cause.
Francesca's family wish to thank everyone at Rossall for their support so far.
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If you would like to make a donation to this great cause please click here.
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Top of the Lancashire League Table!
Rossall is top of the Lancashire league in tables published today for GCSE results for the academic year 2008/09. Headmaster Dr Stephen Winkley commented: We are thrilled but not surprised by our position in the GCSE league tables. As a non-selective school with a developing academic reputation we are particularly gratified at outperforming our local competitors who include a number of prestigious selective schools. Rossall children work hard but they have lots of fun too. In a school with a strong tradition of high achievement and where it’s cool to try hard you find that weaker candidates are lifted by the performance of those around them. And it helps, of course, to have small classes led by exceptionally talented and hard-working teachers.
Well done to all pupils who sat their GCSEs in summer!
To see the league tables for yourself please click on this link
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/6975386/GCSE-league-tables-2010-how-to-read-the-tables.html
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Rossall teacher and Fives coach Tom Root, proudly displays the national trophies watched by the school’s ‘fantastic fives’ champions, left to right: Luke Williams, Christopher Metcalfe and Jack Morrison.
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Success in the Palm of their Hands
Newly crowned world heavyweight boxing champion, David Haye may have made a decent fist of his assault on the world title by beating Russian giant, Nikolai Valuev, but nearer to home several pupils at one of the region’s leading independent schools have also had a hand in a major sporting triumph that sees a national title coming to the North West for the first time.
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Thankfully there wasn’t a broken hand in sight as pupils from Rossall rose to the top of the pile in the National Fives Championships, taking the Open Competition title and also winning the U-15 trophy, with impressive victories over some of the most competitive schools in the one of the country’s oldest sports.
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Over 100 schools entered this year’s event and in the Open competition, the Rossall pairing of Christopher Metcalfe, 17, and Luke Williams, 14, went through all stages unbeaten, winning their group and dropping only five points before a quarter final victory against Oundle School 1, followed by a comfortable win against St Olave’s 3 of London in the semis. In the final, Metcalfe and Williams met last year’s champions, St Olave’s 1, running out 15-7 winners, following some excellent points-winning shots from both boys. Their victory sees the trophy coming to Rossall for the first time in the school’s history.
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In the U-15 national competition, Luke Williams featured again, this time paired with partner, Jack Morrison, 15. Their final opponents were St Olave’s U-15 first team who made a tight match of it before some neat, cross-court shots from Williams enabled Rossall to claim a 15-11 victory and a second piece of silverware.
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In a busy competition for Williams, he also reached the final of the national U-15 singles, losing narrowly to first seed, Weston, of Wolverhampton Grammar School, 15-13. Metcalfe also came close in the Open singles, falling 15-12 at the semi final stage to eventual winner, Hewlett of St Olave’s.
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In the U-13 age category, Rossall’s Tom Morrison and Harry Andrews, both 12, reached the final of the plate competition, showing a promising future for the ancient sport of Fives on the Fylde Coast.
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School Fives coach; Tom Root believes that Rossall’s emergence as a national force is down to the enhanced facilities at the School, where eight fully covered courts have been refurbished, giving the school the largest facility of its kind in Britain.
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Says Root: “Fives is a fantastic sport, which for the uninitiated is similar to squash, with shots being played with the hand rather than with racquets. Along with its close companion, Handball, it’s becoming increasingly popular amongst school children in both independent and state schools, so much so that we plan to run coaching courses here at school.”
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Rossall Fives, which is an amalgam of Eton and Winchester Fives, has been played at the school since Victorian times and is a great spectator sport as well as fiercely competitive and demanding. Now, with more doubles and singles players donning the special padded gloves and taking to the school’s refurbished courts it is conceivable that the Rossall will be a regular challenger for the national title.
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Added Root: “To win in one national age group is good, but to win in two and have finalists in the singles and junior pairs this year is testament to the potential here at Rossall for years to come. Our next goal will be the world championships, which will be an even bigger test for our boys, but one they’ll relish, as nothing seems to faze them, which is why we’ve won our first titles so convincingly. Our progression is great for the school and I hope it will help to inspire more children from across Wyre and Fylde to consider playing Fives.”
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MF Mad Night
A capacity crowd of 300 fought the elements to make their way to Big School last Saturday (7th November). The MF boys thrilled the audience with a feast of varied talent.
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Hushed anticipation as the overture played turned into rapturous applause as the show opened with a nervous but colourful Mambo No. 5. This led to a hilarious sketch, MF Hospital where Dr Bob (Sinan Ozkoc), with the help of his nurses (Timo Zielinsky and Felix Simkovic), treated a cow (Dan Yanovskiy) and the train conductor with a one-track mind (Dan Petrov). The cow jokes were milked a little, but the conductor gained much symphony.
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In a rare moment of culture, Scott Sloane (Viola) played Gossec’s Tambourin. Then, going from the sublime to the ridiculous, followed a highlight of the evening, The Sand Dance. James Wilson, Asa Watson and Josh Lee brought the house down with an accomplished performance as Wilson, Kepple and Betty.
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The host for the evening, star of his own back yard, Mr Martin Metcalfe stole the show with The Mimic Man. Willing volunteers from the audience (!) showed off their impersonation talents. Many thanks must go to Messers McCafferty, Pryor, Maree, Parsons, Bradley and Emmett for being such good sports. To close the first half, we had a rather entertaining tribute to Madness: Our House! (in the corner of the square).
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During the interval, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy an exhibition of MF art work.
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The second half started with a moving performance of Hero. Comedy wasn’t too far away though as Toby Holder-Williams followed this with an incredible rendition of Rowan Atkinson’s The Headmaster. Watch out for Toby in the future!
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The second moment of culture occurred with Mark Williams playing the piano. This was a splendid performance of Paparazzi. What is even more spectacular is that this was Mark’s debut performance in a concert, and that he is largely self-taught.
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Scott Sloane and Sam Butler as The Two Ronnies for the Fork Handles sketch was also rather special. They both captured the spirit of the sketch perfectly and were extremely well received.
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The House Tutors did not escape an act and entertained the crowd, complete with top hats, singing Bring me sunshine. This was a memorable performance, but probably for the wrong reasons!
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We Will Rock You as a production number brought the event to an end and again the stage was a kaleidoscope of colour.
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The real reason for this evening of entertainment was to raise money for Brian House Children’s Hospice and Donna’s Dream House. It is particularly pleasing to note that over £1000 has been raised. Work has already begun on the next event.
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Poetry Please
The English Department presented 'Poetry Please' to a packed Museum Theatre on Thursday, 22nd October. There were 40 different items from individuals and groups from year 7 to Upper Sixth.The range of poetry was wide from 'Albert and the Lion' to Shakespeare's sonnets.
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Most had learnt their contributions by heart - that was impressive in itself, but the audience was moved almost to tears at times, listening to a poem about the Holocaust, moved to laughter by the poem about Matilda who perished in a fire; there were some spooky moments - gothic poems set in mysterious lands, and some old poems made new like 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' read with such drama and pathos.
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It was wonderful to see so many pupils involved and so many poems learnt by heart. Watch out for 'More Poetry Please' next year.
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Solid Performance in A-Levels
We returned a solid performance in this year’s A-level results with a percentage pass rate of 91% A-E grades and a 6% rise in A-B grades to 63%, a rise which is significant given the school’s non-selective policy.
Among the straight ‘A’ students this year was outgoing school captain, James Cross and he is now on his way to study English at Oxford University. Also among the ‘A’ grades with four top passes was Toby Ma, who joined Rossall in 1994. Toby gained his straight ‘A’s’ in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.
Alex Alonso will head for York University and an English degree course following his three A’s in Chemistry, English Literature and Mathematics, and a ‘B’ in Further Mathematics.
Charlotte Armstrong has double reason to celebrate today, with two A grades in English Literature and Music and a B in Religious Studies paving the way for her acceptance by Durham University, where she’ll study music in an attempt to emulate her cousin, Jane Wilkinson, also a former Rossall pupil, who is now one of Britain’s up and coming operatic sopranos. However, she won’t take up her place at Durham until next year, because she is also one of only 35 UK students to have gained a scholarship to a top independent school in America through the English Speaking Union, and in September she’ll take a place at the prestigious Tabor Academy in Massachusetts.
Commenting on this year’s performance, Rossall’s senior mistress, Jean Briggs said: “Although our pass rate overall was similar to last year it is particularly encouraging to see that we have more students achieving higher grades, as illustrated by our 6% increase in A-B grades, taking us to 63%.
“As a non-selective school we believe that even those pupils with weaker academic backgrounds should be given every opportunity possible, and our improvement in the A-B grades is proof that our policy is successful for the school and more importantly, for the pupils. Some students have achieved beyond their expectations, and all have worked very hard, managing to balance study with a full programme of extra-curricular activity and still achieving excellent results, which is extremely gratifying.”
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Ten out of ten for Rossall A Team, Swie Joo and Bethany
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Core Subjects on the Rise
Core subjects of English and Maths scored particularly well in this year’s GCSE results and science A-grades were also encouraging, as more students opted for the traditional subject areas for GCSE. In English, the school recorded a 51% pass rate A*-A grades, 40% A*-A in Maths and 43% A*-A across all three science subjects.
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To read the full story and see the results in full, please click here......
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Sam Ireland, pictured with Rossall headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley at the School’s Prize Day, where the top International Baccalaureate student also scooped five of Rossall’s most coveted awards.
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International Baccalaureate Results up at Rossall
The eagerly awaited International Baccalaureate results are out and as the area’s longest-established study centre for the prestigious Diploma, we are proud to record a 10% overall increase in pass rate, taking it above the world average.
Now in our twelfth year of teaching IB, we have increased the I.B. pass rate to 84.38% and have a number of the world’s top scoring Diploma students. Our top scoring student, Isabell Mencher from Stuttgart, Germany achieved 44 from a possible maximum points total of 45 for six subjects (the maximum number of subjects permissible), but also added an extra seven points by passing a seventh subject, Spanish, which regrettably won’t be counted in her total. She is joined in the high pass grades by local student, 18-year-old, Sam Ireland of Bispham (42 points) and local golfing sensation, Jenna Birch, also 18, of Larkholme (33 points). Anh Vu, a Vietnamese boarder at the school achieved the school’s second highest total with 43 points.
Last year, there was not one recorded pass in the world with a full 45 points and only 0.03% of all students achieved 44 points, and there were similar percentage passes for 43 and 42 points totals. Those statistics show that this year’s figures indicate a remarkable performance from a non-selective school, and IB supporters will also suggest that the consistency of annual pass rates indicates that, unlike A-Levels, there is no grade inflation with the International Baccalaureate. This they argue is because the IB is free of political interference.
With more than a decade’s involvement with the International Baccalaureate, Rossall’s experience has been the key to its successful year. Commented Rossall IB Co-ordinator, Dr Doris Dohmen: “Although we have a percentage of overseas students coming here specifically to study for the IB, the number of local students taking the Diploma is on the increase. Many take the IB because of its acceptance by the world’s leading universities, but equally they are taking it to stretch themselves and because they know it will improve them in so many ways. It’s an extremely demanding two-year study, but I’m delighted with the application of our students this year who have reaped the rewards for their efforts with outstanding pass scores.”
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Nursery, Infant and Junior Schools are awarded IBO World School Status
Following a very successful IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation) inspection, Rossall Junior, Infant and Nursery School is proud to announce that it is now an IBO World School and fully authorised to teach the Primary Years Programme, the first independent school in the North of England.
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What is the Primary Years Programme?
The PYP provides an international curriculum that meets the needs of young learners between the ages of 3 and 11. We believe everyone at Rossall to be life long learners and we are preparing our children to face the fast changing world and enabling them to connect their learning to real life situations.
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Our children are encouraged to be inquisitive, ask questions, explore and interact with their environment.
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The programme is built around the children engaging in half termly Units of Inquiry where they are able to make connection in their learning across the curriculum and between subject disciplines.
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At the heart of the programme lies the Pupil Learner Profile; which encourages the children to be inquirers, communicators, open-minded and reflective. It provides them with confidence, empathy and independence as well as giving them the life-long skills of self-management, research and communication.
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The IBO were delighted with Rossall’s teaching and the progress the children are making under the programme. It is truly a curriculum for tomorrow’s child and Rossall Junior, Infants and Nursery are clearly providing this as the outstanding inspection report bore testament to. The report praised the outstanding pastoral care the children receive in their formative years. We are first and foremost a place of learning where the curriculum challenges the children to strive for personal standards of excellence and to reach their full potential.
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Rossall Prize Day 2009
The Headmaster, Dr Stephen Winkley,writes:
The true feeling of Rossall is revealed in its attitude to Prize Day. What in other schools can be a tense and pompous occasion
-- will hats be worn? Will someone hide an alarm clock among the platform flowers? That hateful child has got five prizes and my little boy has none? Whatever makes her think she can wear that skirt at her age? ---
is at Rossall a mellow genial and unexaggerated celebration. People are happy to be themselves. They are happy to applaud generously. It’s a happy unstuffy event.
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And it’s an inclusive event. At some other schools the prizewinners are the same every year. At Rossall, because we want to congratulate all the leavers, all the leavers appear and are applauded. This is in keeping with our traditions. Everyone has something to contribute. Everyone will be carrying the Rossall name out into the world.
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And the third very special thing is the series of reflections by leavers in Chapel. Five or six leavers prepare their own text and read it out. The texts are moving and individual and summative: some of our leavers, after all, will have been at the school for sixteen years. I thought this year’s reflections were remarkable.
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We had a wonderful day.
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To view the full gallery of images of the day, please click here.......
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If any parent or student would like a full size copy of any image in the gallery just send the number(s) to julieb@rossallcorporation.co.uk and the images will be emailed to your inbox.
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For a full list of prizewinners please click here.......
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Rossall Leavers' Ball
Summer 2009
On Saturday 23rd May at 7.00pm, Rossall held its annual 6th Form Leavers’ Ball at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool.
It was a truly international event, with twelve different countries represented by the 6th Form leavers. Everyone looked very glamorous in full evening dress instead of the usual school uniform.
After feasting on a superb meal, all attending were able to dance the night away.
Thanks go to the Imperial Hotel staff for hosting an unforgettable evening, and to Mrs Sharon Alonso for organising the event.
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To view a gallery of photographs of the choir trip to Venice, please click here.....
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If you would like copies of any of these photographs, please email julieb@rossallcorporation.co.uk
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Choir Tour to Venice 2009
After a fairly uneventful journey the choir settled in to Hotel Canova just before midnight on Thursday. The structure of the first three days then remained the same; breakfast followed by a two hour rehearsal in the hotel lobby, attracting the attention of numerous passer-bys, lunch and off to Venice; coach to Punta Sabbioni, followed by a private boat to San Marco. The students then explored the sights in small groups absorbing the fantastic architecture, art, cuisine and music.
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The first of the concerts was in the exquisite 15th century pale marble Chiesa Santa Maria dei Miracoli. After a very warm and sticky rehearsal the choir went on to give the performance of a lifetime to a very receptive and appreciative audience. The highlight of the programme was Fauré’s Requiem in which the soloists, Sing Liem, Charlotte Armstrong and James Cross, sang with real conviction, professionalism and flair.
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Saturday’s performance was the one that the students had been waiting for; High Mass of the week in St. Mark’s. This was also the most difficult of the performances as the choir, singing a cappell,a battled against a band rehearsing in the square for a concert later in the evening. Fortunately, by the Offertory peace had been resumed and the choir was able to appreciate more fully the vibrant acoustic of the building with an excellent performance of Stanford’s Beati Quorum. It was the final motet however, that saw the choir reach a new height. The congregation, a mix of visiting tourists, locals and parents, sat silently listening to the Ave Maria by Arcadelt, an experience that will live with the choristers for ever. After thunderous applause several members of the congregation came to give their thanks and appreciation to the choir; despite the language barrier it was clear that the choir had made a hit with the locals.
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Sunday brought the final performance; a concert in the former cathedral of Venice, Chiesa San Pietro di Castello. St Mark’s was going to be difficult to match but on entering the cathedral the choristers were immediately speech-bound by the ornate interior; the impressive marble throne, frescoes attributed to Pietro Ricchi, the principal altar that is attributed to Moli and la pala Madonna con Bambino e Purged Souls by Luca Giordano. The concert was part of a four day festival and the cathedral was packed with locals throughout the rehearsal and later in the concert itself. The choir, despite all the hard work and unusually high temperature, again gave a fantastic performance of well known choral favourites including Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Ave Verum and Haydn’s The heavens are telling.
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The remainder of the tour was spent having some well earned relaxation time enjoying further exploration of Venice and playing team games on the beach.
On return the choir celebrated their success with an Awards presentation and meal in Mondo’s and a final performance of their favourite pieces to parents and friends in Chapel.
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Venice 2009 was undoubtedly a huge triumph for all concerned; plans are already in place for 2010!
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Please click above for the full-size image
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Rossall International Celebration
This event ran from the 4th to the 6th of June this year. It was initiated and organised almost exclusively by the students in Wren House, led by Metera Bale and Yui Kim.
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The celebration opened with a National Costume Day which was an enormous success, mainly due to the lovely sunshine which always enhances the beauty of the school and puts everyone in a good mood. There was an international menu at lunch and the flags of all the nations represented at Rossall flew proudly in the square. Funds raised from this event went to a charity called ECHOPPE which promotes and subsidises the initiation of small businesses for women in Africa and Indonesia.
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On the following day, a service was presented in chapel which included talks by students and common room on their experiences of different cultures, singing accompanied by drums and tambourines and a prayer asking for peace and understanding between nations. The quiz that night in the infants’ hall was very well attended and the quizmaster entertained students of all ages for over two hours. The wonderful prizes were much appreciated.
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The highlight of the day on the Saturday was the disco held in the Museum Theatre. Once the ice had been broken girls and boys danced without inhibitions to the music from different continents. Sadly, when the dancing was over, so was the celebration. Next time, The Rossall International Celebration will take place in the Michaelmas Term and is scheduled for the beginning of October this year.
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To read the press release about Rossall International Week, please click here
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To download the poster please click the image above
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Francesca's Just Deserts!
Fran Parker is taking on the gruelling hike of 100km across the Sahara Desert in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support next February.
She has set a target of £5000 but she is trying to beat this.
Participants have to be 18 to take on the Challenge and Francesca will probably be the youngest to participate.
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To make a charitable donation and support Fran's cause please click the link below:
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Jonny Wins National Prize at the Cranmer Awards
THE best-selling author PD James presented thirty young people with prizes and certificates at this year's Cranmer Awards finals. They were held amid the finery of the chapel of Sutton's Hospital, at Charterhouse in the City of London, on Wednesday 25 February.
The annual contest, arranged by the Prayer Book Society, sees youngsters reciting, by heart, passages from Cranmer's great work, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and this year's exciting nail-biting contest had judges deliberating long and hard, and they congratulated all the young contestants on the very high standards achieved.
This year's Junior Winner (for 11-14 year olds) was no other than our own Jonny Chard who represented the diocese of Blackburn. Jonny read his chosen passage of Psalms 4 and 9 with what the judges described as ‘breathtaking composure and confidence, and with a natural and intelligent delivery worthy of the Scriptures’.
Brilliant Jonny! Congratulations!
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New Star on the Horizon
Dr Nick Lister, Rossall's own astronomer, will tell you all about the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing in 1969.
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But for all you star-gazers, Rossall has its very own new star on the horizon in the shape of Steph Fraser who is currently making waves on the Canadian music scene.
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To read more about Steph and her new cd, please click here.....
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To view a larger image please click the picture above
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Rossall Skills Day: Summer 2009
On Sunday 10th May we had our first Skills Day which was a tremendous success and very popular. Over 50 children aged 9-13 came from the local area and took part in exciting activities such as Orienteering, Pond Dipping, Product Design and for the sporty ones Fives and Cricket. It was a great opportunity for children to see what Rossall is all about and they all enjoyed getting to know each other better and creating friendships. There will be another Skills Day in the Michaelmas term, keep checking our website for details.
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To view a gallery of images of Skills Day please click here.....
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Hazal pictured centre
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News From Maths!
Another astonishing achievement.
Hazal Kurtcu, brilliant Year 10 mathematician, has followed up her success in the Intermediate Maths Challenge with a Distinction in the Mathematical Olympiad.
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Her score of 46 out of sixty in this very challenging paper was one of the best 50 scores from the 1450 pupils in the country. These 1450 pupils were the best of the 250,000 nationally who sat the Intermediate Maths Challenge. She has been invited to attend a special summer course at Queens College, Birmingham, in July. This 5-day course assembles 40 of the brightest year 10s and year 11s in the country and is designed to stimulate further interest in the subject.
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Hazal’s achievements since gaining her A* in Year Nine have been truly remarkable. Firstly, she finished second in the Senior Maths Challenge in November, despite being the school’s youngest ever competitor. Then, she helped secure a very good second place in the Regional Senior Maths Team Challenge, Rossall beaten only by Stonyhurst. Her Gold Award in the Intermediate Maths Challenge led to this most recent success.
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WELL DONE, HAZAL.
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Agents Visit Rossall
On Thursday 19th March, a glorious Spring morning, a group of agents from all over the world came to visit our stunning campus.
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After an initial presentation from Mr Livingstone, they were taken on an informative guided tour of Rossall by our very own students, who did a fantastic job. The visit to Rossall is part of a tour of the Northern England schools following the recent British Boarding Schools Workshop in Solihull.
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The group were very impressed by our polite and lively students who gave them a true flavour of what a Rossall education is like.
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Jenna Proves a Tough Nut in Brazil
Talented young golfer, Jenna Birch has proved that she’s a tough nut to crack on the golf course with a stunning performance in the Grand Final of the Nick Faldo Series at Costa Do Sanipe in Brazil, that gave her the runners up position, only two shots behind the eventual winner, English girls’ champion, Hannah Barwood.
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To read the full story of Jenna's golfing success, please click here......
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AMDIS Conference 2008 -2009
Dr Winkley Wows Hinckley!
Rossall once again attended the annual AMDIS Conference at Hinkley in Leicestershire and once again it was very successful as representatives from leading independent schools attended presentations, lectures and workshops on best practice in independent education today.
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It is a terrific opportunity to share knowledge and it is always a pleasure to meet with other schools on a professional and social level.
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The highlight of this year's conference was that the After Dinner Speaker was none other than our own Headmaster, Dr. Stephen Winkley. His speech was widely appreciated by the whole audience.
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Ms. Kit Bithrey-George, Marketing Director, AMDIS commented "Stephen's irreverent, humorous but thought provoking speech was well received by all at the AMDIS Conference Dinner. His love of education was apparent, his belief in children was inspiring and his stories were funny and often very moving. He is one of the best after dinner speakers AMDIS has enjoyed."
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George's Best Foot Forward
Cleveleys schoolboy, George Weaver is using his head and his feet in pursuit of his acting goals, and is hoping to notch up a hat-trick of roles in 2008, following his second big break in the currently airing hit BBC Two television comedy series ‘The Cup’, in which he plays the part of schoolboy footballer, Jack Rossi.
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The Rossall year eight pupil who first scored a hit on radio in 2007 with a key part in the BBC Radio play, ‘Moths Ate My Dr Who Scarf’, pipped his school friend, Aidan Parsons to the role of Jack Rossi when both boys were called to audition for the BBC series in London. Aidan had previously had radio experience and a plum role in the hit ITV series ‘Heartbeat’, but on this occasion it was George’s turn to step into the TV spotlight and the pair are still good pals and both still attending auditions, which George hopes will enable him to get his hat-trick of acting roles before the turn of the year.
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For George, 2008 has been an exceptional year, with ‘The Cup’ receiving its first screening on his twelfth birthday and his beloved Stoke City beginning their first stint in football’s Premier League. Although he has lived in Cleveleys for several years he was born in Stoke-On-Trent and has supported the town’s football team for as long as he can remember, so the opportunity to play an aspiring football star has come at a great time for him. George commented: “I’m really lucky to get the chance to be on TV and all my friends think its cool, so I hope I can do more in future. I’m also learning to play some musical instruments now, so I might even become a musician some day, but my mum and dad say that I have to study and pass all my exams before I can think of that.”
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Until the next plum role comes along, George will be concentrating on school life, where he’s showing some musical prowess on drums and guitar in Rossall’s, Beecham Music Centre. He is currently a pupil in Middle School.
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Jenna's Driving Ambition
Any mention of clubbing, is likely to see teenager Jenna Birch reaching for a five iron in preference to lipstick and eye shadow. But her love of her brand of club life has helped her to her first golf title after only four years in the sport and also seen her take the course record at Fleetwood at the tender age of seventeen.
Rossall pupil, Jenna, has taken the Lancashire Schools Championship – Girls’ Trophy, with a winning round of 76 at North Manchester Golf Club; three strokes ahead of her nearest rival. She’s also made it into the top group of girl golfers in England by reaching the final round of the English Girls’ Match Play Championship and has been included in the Lancashire Ladies B Team, where she will compete against tougher, adult opposition.
Although still a novice, Jenna has set a six under par Ladies course record at Fleetwood Golf Club, with a round of 67, and her driving ambition could see her turn professional once she has completed her studies, which includes the final year of her International Baccalaureate Diploma in Rossall’s Sixth Form, followed by university.
The youngster from Rossall, Fleetwood, picked up the golf bug from older brother, Adam, who studied on a golf scholarship in America. Ironically, he has since given up the sport, but Jenna is determined to develop her game and to this end she has been expertly coached by professional, Ian Taylor at Royal Lytham, where she is also a member.
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Says Jenna: “Golf is a fantastic sport and my particular hero is Justin Rose. I think it’s because he’s from the North West and was also very young when he made it onto the senior circuit. If I could emulate his success, but in ladies competition, I’d be really happy. However, first I have to ensure that I get my IB Diploma, which is quite demanding, so golf will have to fit in with study until I graduate from Sixth Form.”
Rossall’s Director of Sport, Katie Lee believes that Jenna is a naturally gifted golfer. She commented: “It’s not often that you see someone so comfortable in a particular sport, but Jenna seems to find it so easy, which is an indication that she could compete at the highest level in the not too distant future. Despite her obvious passion for golf she’s also a typical teenage girl, so has all the other pressures that this age brings with it. However, if anyone can juggle these things successfully it’s Jenna and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her achieving great things both in and outside sport.”
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Will to Win
Hockey’s a family affair for Singleton schoolboy, Will, who has followed in the footsteps of big sister Francesca by winning a place on the North West U-13 hockey team, to add to his appearances for Lancashire at U-13, U-14 and U-15 levels.
Will, 13 and captain of Rossall's U-13 hockey team, has already tasted success at school level by steering his side to victory earlier this season in the North of England U-13 Cup, which they won without conceding a goal. His will to win has also seen his school team winning an U-14 age group tournament at Millfield School in Somerset, beating leading hockey schools, Merchant Taylors, Crosby; Liverpool College and King’s School, Macclesfield along the way.
In his first outing in defence for the North West, Will stopped three certain goals for the opposition and helped his side knock up four wins against, Wales, Scotland, the North East and Midlands, before eventually succumbing to tournament favourites the South East. And, in October this year he’ll captain a Rossall team in competition in Barcelona, where the school will come up against tough and experienced Spanish opposition.
Rossall’s master in charge of boys’ hockey, Anthony Fairhurst is sure that Will could follow sister Francesca and one day compete for a place in the national team. He commented: “Will is an exceptional player and a fine captain, despite his tender years, and I’m sure his experience with the North West will help his game with us. In fact, I’d go as far as saying he’ll help us to national success next year, because he’s got the talent and a great team around him.”
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Francesca, also a Rossall School pupil, has represented Lancashire, the North West and the North of England U-17’s in competition. She is also a member of Preston Ladies hockey team.
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Bradley's Tangerine Dream
Football mad schoolboy Bradley is only eight years old, but he’s a step closer to achieving his dream and it’s a tangerine one!
The football prowess of Junior School pupil, Bradley has been spotted by Blackpool FC’s scouting network and earned the Thornton boy a place at the Blackpool Youth Academy, where he’ll get a chance to develop his football skills under the watchful eye of the Club’s coaching staff to see if he progresses through the schoolboy ranks.
Like many boys of his age Bradley is of slight build, but even at this age likes to tackle and is skilful on the ball. He currently plays in defence, although his hero is Liverpool and Spain hero, Fernando Torres, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually developed into a fine forward.
Despite being a Liverpool fan Bradley follows Blackpool and may one day have to choose an allegiance if the Seasiders eventually gain promotion to the Premier League. He said: It’s great to be able to learn at the academy. It’s also fun, because I love to play football all the time and I want to be a professional player, but my dad says I have to pass my exams when I get older before I can choose.”
Junior School sports teacher Lawrence Condon believes Bradley has potential. He commented: “We’ve only taken up football recently at Rossall, because our tradition has always been rugby, but just watching Bradley proves he’s got ability and he’s in his element when he’s kicking a ball. He’s also a good academically, so hopefully, if the football progresses he’ll have options when he gets older.”
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Rossall Win on Lucky Number Seven
Seven has proved to be a lucky number for junior pupils at Rossall, who have beaten the region’s independent schools in the prestigious Budge Sevens rugby competition; their first win in eight years.
The competition pits U-11 teams against each other, playing to Rugby Sevens rules and is organised by AJIS, the Association of Junior Independent Schools, in the North West region. Rossall’s victory is impressive considering that the school has fewer year five pupils than some other schools in the region, but despite the smaller pool of players, they comprehensively beat off stiff opposition to become the 33rd winners of the Budge Sevens shield.
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In the final the school beat much-fancied Birkenhead 5-2, despite going a point down in the first few minutes of the match. Other victories included a win against King Edward & Queen Mary’s 6-0; 5-2 over Kirkham; an 8-0 thrashing of Altrincham ‘B’ and a 3-1 win against the stronger Altrincham ‘B’ side.
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Rossall’s deputy head of juniors and sports coach Lawrence Condon believes that his players were technically very good and also strong in the tackle, which gave them an edge over the opposition. He commented: “It’s a great reward for the boys, who put in some sterling performances throughout the competition. To win after eight years against much larger schools shows that we have the nucleus of a great rugby team here that will go on through the senior school, which could mean more silverware in future.”
Rossall School will retain the Budge Sevens shield until next year’s competition.
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Steph Going on Tour
Steph Fraser has brought out her first single "Purple Sun" and will be touring Canada this Summer.
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She will shortly begin recording her new album.
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You can listen to Steph's music, see video footage and photographs by going to her official website at www.stephfraser.co.uk
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Fundraising
The China Earthquake and Burma Floods Red Cross Appeal
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Within one week we have raised some £2000 with an impromptu collection of money for the disasters in Myanmar and China. Three of our Chinese students presented a very moving assembly to show the full effect of the disaster.
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Blackpool Fun Run:
proceeds to The Blackpool's A Knockout MRI Scanning for Kids Appeal
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The school entered 37 competitors in the Blackpool 10k run on Sunday and several other pupils and parents entered for other organisations. In total we raised £1400 for charity, Well done!
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For more on the Blackpool Fun Run, please click here...
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India Cricket Tour 2008
After a blessing from the Reverend Cooper, Rossall headed off to Calcutta via Dubai with Emirates on 19th March.
The Group arrived at their accommodation, The Tollygunge Club (a Colonial club) early the next morning.
For more on the India Cricket Tour, please click here....
To see the India Cricket Tour Team, please click here.....
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Arts Week Round-Up: Friday 7th March - Saturday 15th March
This year’s Rossall Arts Week was the busiest and most exciting yet. The School was transformed into colour in a very wet and windy week. All areas of the School were involved from the Infants & Juniors, to the Seniors and Common Room.
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There are too many highlights of the week to choose a favourite, but it is a delight to report that the efforts of the students and staff raised £1415 for Brian House Children’s Hospice.
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To read about the individual events that made Arts Week such a fantastic success, please click here
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Maths Challenge!
Daniel Liu, Georgina Barry, James Gregory, and Hazal Kurtcu, competed in a full day of mathematical gymnastics, which included practical maths tests, team challenges and a maths relay event. En route to the national final, the team beat all the area’s independent schools including Arnold, Kirkham, King Edward & Queen Mary’s, Lancaster Grammar, Clitheroe, QEGS Blackburn and St Mary’s Hall. The event was held at Arnold School in Blackpool.
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As the North West champions, they took on sixty schools from other regions on 23rd June at Kings’ College London.
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For more details on the Maths Challenge and to read the full press report, please click here.....
Update
Maths Team Challenge National Final
On Monday 23rd June, the National Final of the Team Maths Challenge took place at the Camden Centre in London. Having beaten 30 top local schools in the Regional Final in March, the Rossall team of Hazal Kurtcu, James Gregory, Georgina Barry and Daniel Liu joined the 63 other teams to challenge for this prestigious prize. At the end of a day of intense mathematical competition, they finished 25th of the 64 teams. This is an excellent result and the four star pupils should be very proud of their efforts.
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The top 4 schools were:
1= St Paul's, Richmond, London
1= Sir Roger Manwood's School (Sandwich, Kent)
3 Merchant Taylor's School, Northwood, Middlesex
4 St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington
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With thanks to Maths teachers, Mr Lars Thomsen and Mrs Sue Byrne for their skill and time in preparing the pupils.
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Sample early dinner menu (click above)
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Full a la carte menu
(click above)
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Enjoy a World of Difference in 2008
There is a world of difference to enjoy on Rossall School campus in January 2008, as Mondo Café by Pulcinella’s opens its doors for the first time to give pupils, parents and friends the finest in international food in superb surroundings.
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Mondo Café is a brand new restaurant operated by leading local restaurant company Pulcinella’s. It is situated right at the heart of Rossall’s campus and is open exclusively for the use of pupils, their parents and friends to enjoy food of an exceptional standard in a relaxed and informal environment.
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The restaurant is the first of its kind in the UK and its name reflects the truly cosmopolitan nature of Rossall School and the exciting menu, which has been created with a fusion of some of the favourite dishes and ingredients from the world’s five continents, prepared by our team of talented chefs.
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Mondo is open from Tuesday to Sunday (closed Monday at present). The early bird is available 4pm-6pm from Tuesday to Friday offering two mouth-watering courses from our menu for just £8.00. From 6.00pm a full a la carte menu is available.
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We are also open most early evenings for coffee, so mums and dads will now have a great place to go while waiting for children involved in after school activities.
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Patrons of the Lawrence House Astronomy and Space Science Centre, are also invited to use Mondo Café if they wish.
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Why not drop in for a meal or a drink.
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Mondo Café is for Rossallians only and is not open to the general public.
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School Counts on the Power of Three
How many maths teachers does it take to open a new maths block? The answer for the Fylde’s oldest independent school is one to the power of three!
Rossall School, Fleetwood decided that three heads were better than one when it came to launching an £80,000 extension and refurbishment of the school’s maths facility, so guest of honour, Alan Clube, a former head of maths between 1966 and 1973, shortened his odds of success by inviting another more recent former head of department, Dr Robin Murphy and current maths head John McCaffety to divide duties between them.
The trio officially opened the completed development, which for the first time sees the school’s mathematics department under one roof and benefiting from an investment that has also helped to preserve an important building on the oldest independent school campus in the area. Work began on the project in Summer following funding from the Rossall Foundation, which was set up to generate funds to cover maintenance and development projects on the 164-year-old campus. For this particular project the Foundation benefited from a generous donation from a former pupil, Simon Borrows, in whose honour the facility will be named
Four new suites have been created, together with administration facilities for teachers and the new development will be commissioned immediately, with the previous, disparate classrooms amalgamated into other departments within the senior school.
Guests at the opening included members of school council led by chairman, David Stockton; representatives of Rossall Foundation; headmaster, Tim Wilbur and many Old Rossallians.
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Rossall National Fives Championship:
6th - 7th October 2007
Schools Entered
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St. Olave's
St. Bart's Newbury
Oakham
Malvern
Westway
Lancing
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In total there were 75 entrants from all over the country, to this year's Rossall Championships. Well done to everyone, for such excellent results!
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For the full story on the Fives Championship, please click here..
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To download the "Fives News" please click here
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Rebecca's Making Waves in the Swimming World
The London Olympics might be five years away but Rebecca, aged 12, is making sufficient waves in the swimming world to be in with a chance of competing when Britain hosts the Games in the Capital for the first time since 1948.
For the full story of Rebecca's swimming success, please click here...
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Rebecca pictured left
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Rebecca Does It Again!
Rebecca competed in the Lancashire County Swimming Championships, which was held over 2 weekends in March 2008. Rebecca had an outstanding meet, obtaining National age group qualifying times in the 200m Butterfly (currently ranked 3rd in the UK) and 800m Freestyle (currently ranked 6th in the UK).
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This qualifies Rebecca to once again swim in the British National Age Group Finals to be held at the Ponds Forge International Pool, Sheffield on 24th - 27th July 08.
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She finished as the County's 2nd best 12 year old girl .
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Rossall Refurbishment
Completed
Rose House: completely refurbished
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Old Rose:The house has undergone a phase 1 upgrade to comply with new fire regulations and to install part of a new central heating system. The house is currently being used as a holding house for Pelican pupils, while a major refurbishment of Pelican is undertaken.
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Maths Dept: re-location of the Maths Department in a suite of 10 refurbished rooms and staff room. Thus for the first time in many years all Maths teaching is in one area.
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Infant and Nursery Extension: The building is now complete and in use. Fencing has been constructed around the South Drive with new gates to protect the children.
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Chapel: The second phase of the refurbishment of the Chapel has been completed with the decoration of the nave. As you can imagine the Chapel looks beautiful now it has been fully restored.
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Design Technology: the area has been revamped with the creation of a new classroom and the practical areas have been reconfigured. Art has also gained two classrooms with a view to teach ceramics and textiles. We are now introducing a BTEC qualification post 16 into the Art and Design area of the curriculum, which would incorporate virtually all sub-disciplines within the art and technology sphere.
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MF: new shower block on 1st floor. Completed
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SE: ground floor refurbished. Completed
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Mondo Cafe: a complete re-furbishment of the old Senior Club ground floor has resulted in the creation of the new Mondo Cafe which opened in January for Rossallians and friends and associates of Rossall. The cafe is run by local restauranteurs, Roberto and Alex, from Pulcinella's in Cleveleys. It is hoped that in the near future the 6th Form Club will be revamped, immediately above Mondos.
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Pelican: refurbishment - work in progress. See the image bottom left: this new bedsit was originally Mr David Stockton's (Chair of Rossall Council) room many years ago!
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