The boys in Year 5 have been busy during their ICT lessons designing Snowflakes which will be displayed on the tree. This year’s festival runs from 3rd – 10th December – we are supporting the Liverpool based Mark McQueen Foundation; the charity offers support to young men and teenagers with Mental Health issues. You can find more information by visiting www.lancsfoundation.org.uk
Church will be open daily during this period so please try to pop along. Thank you for your support.
Petty Officer Cadet Jack Bostock in the Lower Sixth Form, has been selected as one of three cadets Nationally as First Sea Lord (1SL) Cadet for 2018. He will become part of the First Sea Lord Cadet Board.
This is a very prestigious title to hold and he will be invited to attend some of the Royal Navy’s key events. This year those events will include a vesting day on HMS Victory, meeting with the Navy Board and visiting 10 Downing Street. They will also witness HMS Queen Elizabeth entering Portsmouth for the first time from the deck of a Type 45 destroyer, have a three day visit to Flag Officer Sea Training (including witnessing a Thursday war), and be invited on to HMS Queen Elizabeth as VIP’s for her commissioning ceremony.
Jack’s role will include:
· To attend a number of key RN/RM events during their tenure to represent CCF RN/RM Cadets.
· All 1SL cadets are eligible to apply for the Greenwich Hospital 1SL cadet scholarship which would entitle them to up to £1,000 towards further or higher education.
· The cadets would work alongside SCC and VCC cadets during these high profile events.
· The cadets will serve for a 12 month period from 1st Jan 18 – 31st Dec 18.
· The cadets would be presented with a 1SL Cadet Board badge to put on their uniform.
· There will be a Vesting day on HMS Victory with the First Sea Lord attending in January.
Please click the link below to read the Sports Centre Newsletter for December 2017
The Board of Governors is delighted to announce the appointment of two new Heads to lead the Boys’ and Girls’ Senior Schools in 2018.
Mrs Claire Tao, who is currently Deputy Head at the City of London School for Girls (CLSG), will take over as Headmistress from Mrs Louise Robinson when she leaves at Easter 2018. Mr David Wickes will join Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School as Headmaster in September 2018. David is currently the Deputy Headmaster at Warwick School.
Claire started her career in industry and following the completion of an MSc in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics in 1993 and a PGCE at Roehampton University in 2004 moved into education working for the Old Palace School of John Whitgift as a Biology Teacher & Head of House. She then went to Dulwich College Preparatory School as a Chemistry Teacher and Housemistress before moving to CSLG where she has been for 10 years. Claire’s interests include the theatre and hosting social events and she is also looking forward to continuing her love of cycling in the Northern hills.
Upon the appointment Claire commented, “I am delighted to be joining Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School at this exciting time in their development. I have been hugely impressed by members of the School community who I have encountered on my visits to the School. I am looking forward to joining you after Easter and the prospect of working collaboratively with the staff and the other Heads to ensure the girls’ learning experience is positive, fun and rewarding for them.”
After achieving a Master of Arts degree at Oxford in History and a further Master of Arts from King’s College, London David pursued a teaching career at Dulwich College and then Abingdon School. He enjoys travelling in Europe, visiting the theatre and watching most sports including following the ups and downs of Southampton FC.
David said, “I am honoured to have been appointed Head of Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, one of the most prestigious schools in the north of England. It has a strong tradition and wonderful values and I am thrilled to be taking over at such an exciting time in its history. From the moment I visited the school, I was struck by the warmth of the welcome and the tremendous community spirit. Over the coming months I am greatly looking forward to getting to know the schools’ staff, parents, alumni and, most especially, the boys. I am also looking forward to working alongside Mrs Thomas, Miss Yardley and, of course, Mrs Tao to ensure that our family of schools continues to offer the best education in the area.”
These key appointments will lead the Schools into the next important stage of their development as top North West independent day schools. Working closely together the new Heads will guide these historic establishments through an exciting period of celebration and change as they move toward the 400th anniversary of its foundation in 2020.
The Chair of Governors, Mrs Beverley Bell, CBE, who worked with a number of her colleagues, assisted by Saxton Bampfylde, to recruit Claire and David said, “We were impressed by the calibre and number of applicants the posts attracted. Both are highly qualified for the roles and are experts in male and female pedagogy which is crucial for the Schools’ single sex education focus. In addition, they will work closely together, along with the Heads of the Primary and Junior Schools, Janet Thomas and Julie Yardley, to maximise the opportunities for all our pupils to mix together outside the classroom – one of the key unique benefits of our 4-18 family of schools set up. In the meantime, the Board of Governors would like to express its sincere gratitude to Louise Robinson for her dedication and commitment to her role as Headmistress at the Senior Girls’ School and the Primary School for so many years and to Deiniol Williams for taking up the post of Acting Head at the Boys’ School following David Cook’s move to a new Headship. In ensuring the smooth running of the school Deiniol has shown the highest levels of professionalism and commitment. We are all extremely grateful to him.”
Congratulations to Cosgrove brothers, Joe (Year 7) & Dan (Year 5), who competed in the North of England Cyclo-cross Championships at the weekend, winning in the U12 & U10 age groups respectively. They competed in South Shields against riders from all across the north and came away as the North Champions. Well done boys!
Year Two were thrilled to visit MTBS science laboratories. Linking to our History topic of The Great Fire of London, we wanted to explore the reasons why the fire spread so easily though London and why it was so difficult to contain. An afternoon at the Senior Boys’ School was a wonderful way to bring to life our History topic and explore practically the reasons why so much of London burned during the Great Fire.
We were invited to don our safety goggles, whilst the Senior School teachers helped the children to understand the effects of burning different materials, whilst exploring different methods to extinguish a flame. We concluded that water can be used to extinguish a fire and that flames needs oxygen to burn. We were able to watch a super experiment showing how fire spread along a row of connected houses and how a fire break can stop this.
The children also enjoyed other exciting demonstrations. Dr Clay held out his palm filled with bubbles. He chose a child to take a lighted taper and place it in the bubbles mixture on his hand. Imagine our surprise as he held a ball of flames in his palm. In a further experiment, demonstrated by Mrs Wright, the children watched in eager anticipation as she was able to make flour explode. The miracle of science!
All teachers emphasised the importance of safety at all times. Whilst enjoying ourselves immensely, we were constantly reminded that these experiments were only safe to conduct, because we were in the school science laboratories, watching demonstrations by fully trained scientists, who were using the correct safety equipment.
Year Two thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon and really appreciated the time, effort and care shown by our colleagues in the Senior school- we are greatly looking forward to our next trip!
For the full album please visit our Facebook by clicking here.
Tickets are now available for the forthcoming Joint Schools’ musical. Bob Carlton’s ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’ will be staged at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School from Wednesday 29th November to Saturday 2nd December at 7 pm.
Directed by Dr John Gill, with music directed by Mr Stephen Newlove and choreography by Ms Louise Edge, this is a hugely entertaining rock and roll ‘Jukebox’ musical based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ but totally rewritten with a Sci-fi context and over twenty great numbers such as ‘ Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Born to be Wild’. With a band onstage, dancers and a large chorus, the cast will tell the story of Captain Tempest’s journey into space on the starship Albatross, his love affair with Miranda and his battle with the monster on the Planet D’Illyria.
Tickets are also available from Pritchards’s bookshop in Crosby village, from Dr Gill on 07784 530562 as well as from both Senior School’s receptions.
Return to the Forbidden Planet Joint Schools Production 2017 Letter and Form
As part of their History topic on World War Two, Year 6 spent the day experiencing life as an evacuee. They were marched down to the Senior Girls’ School where they were billeted to various classes to give them an idea of how it felt to be in an unfamiliar environment. Following this they each wrote a letter home to families, describing what it was like to be evacuated.
Films were made in the Green Room of the girls talking about life during the war. The girls impressed staff with their knowledge of this era and their excellent presentation skills. At break time they enjoyed eating jam sandwiches, apples and plain biscuits.
Throughout the day Year 6 had to be prepared for air raids and carried their gas masks everywhere. When sirens were sounded, everyone had to put on their mask and shelter underneath the tables until the ‘all clear’ siren was heard.
Rations were served for lunch: delicious stew and jelly – a hearty meal before experiencing wartime PE. This session was delivered as it would have been in 1939 and focussed on agility, marching, strength and responding quickly to commands – important wartime requirements.
The day ended by watching Carrie’s War and one last air raid. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their day as evacuees, which brought to life this important period in history.
