Summer 2012 - The Downs School

THE DOWNS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2012
Downs Matters
Drama at The Downs
For teachers, parents – and indeed for the
prime consumers themselves – the
children, there is much for which to be
thankful, for all that has flowed from the
pen of JK Rowling. The Year 7 and 8 play
this year however did not so much flow
from the pen of Ms Rowling as leap from
the heat oppresséd brain of Mr Penny!
The senior pupils, as ever, gave
some wonderful performances. Champagne
moments included the sight of Eddie and
Patsy (Ellen Cooke and Petra Harding)
tottering on high heels while swigging
champagne, and Dell Boy Trotter (Vinnie
Baker) selling dodgy merchandise to
teachers! Aficionados of Monty Python’s
Flying Circus will agree that the “What
have the parents ever done for us?” sketch
was masterfully conceived and played. And
without doubt every lady on the front row
of the audience will remember the ‘oh
so dashing’ Frederick Flasheart (Beckett
Potty about
Harry
Charlton) as he wooed them with corny
chat up lines!
That every member of Year 7 and 8 took
part in “Potty” is to be celebrated. That all
of them gave such wonderful performances
is worthy of high praise indeed.
Kushdi!
Inside
this issue
French Trips
Caring with Cars in
aid of the CHSW
Cross Country Results
Music Examination Results
and much more!
Your work could feature
in ‘The Matters’
Have you taken a photograph of friends,
activities or perhaps wildlife within the School
grounds? Have you produced a painting,
sculpture or written a piece of creative
writing? If so we would like to
hear from you. The chosen work could
be featured in the next Downs Matters.
If you would like to submit an article or
photograph please contact: Mr Dickinson.

2 Downs Matters Summer 2012
Into the Bluebell Wood
It is the end of an era for Clifton Children’s House
who have been visiting The Downs for many years.
Roz Payne the principal, and Sue Lowe her trusted
colleague are retiring after many years of dedicated
service to hundreds of Bristol children at this very
The Coachman’s Cottage
The Coachman’s Cottage (parent café)
seems to be a facility in the school
already appreciated by many. As I have
previously stated ‘we intend letting the
concept slowly evolve as we gather a
better understanding of the demand’.
With this in mind, during the Easter
holiday we refurbished the upstairs of the
cottage to create impressive After School
Thursday 24th May was a day of Chinese
languages for the Year 4-7 scholars. We
started off in Miss Brinster’s room where
we were taught how to count to 99 and
some basic symbols. We had a short ten
minute break before heading back up to
Miss Brinster’s class for some Chinese
painting; this was enjoyed by all.
At 11.30 food beckoned and we all headed
for Cosmo’s, a Pan Asian buffet. We ate
Care facilities. I suspect that when
parents are planning clubs for next term
they will have this provision in mind. In
the meantime if you have any idea about
how the facility might evolve we would
be pleased to learn of them by use of the
Suggestion Box located in Coachman’s
Cottage.
Chinese and Mandarin
more than our fair share of food before
getting back on the bus.
After a short drive, we arrived at our next
destination where we had a Mandarin
Chinese lesson followed by some Chinese
dancing!
We all had a great time and would like to
thank Miss Brinster for organising such a
great day out
Harry Isaacs
special Montessori school in Clifton. CCH will
continue to visit The Downs for their forest school
trips and woodland walks but we wish a sad farewell
to these two very special ladies.
Audrey Marsden
Lucky Oliver Buckle not only got to see the
Olympic Torch as it was lit 500m from his
house, but also got to hold it as well!
Well and truly shriven
The Pre-Prep enjoyed their annual race on Pancake
Day with great energy and enthusiasm. Every child
took part and a spendid time was had by all! Pre Prep
pupils enjoyed their traditional pancake races in an
afternoon of fun. Children wielded frying pans and
attempted to toss their pancake high into the air. Our
friends in the kitchen served pancakes as a pudding
treat, with Darren and Steven cooking pancakes for
everyone in the school and Matthew Merlin-Cone in
Year 1 guessing the exact amount of eggs used.
Yummy!
Audrey Marsden

3 Downs Matters Summer 2012
After a long but comfortable journey,
twenty Year 7 pupils and three excited
members of staff arrived at the Château, to
be welcomed by enthusiastic ‘animateurs’,
chocolat chaud and madeleines! Then the
boys were sent to a rickety, old house,
while the girls enjoyed the relative luxury
of the brand new block next door!
The next four days were filled with
fantastic activities, ranging from breadmaking
and circus skills to orienteering and
archery – the only catch was that all
Quiz question:
What are the ingredients necessary
for a fantastic ski holiday?
Answer:
Snow: Easter skiing used to be a bit
of a lottery. In recent years though
the high resorts all seem to have
kept their snow well into April. The
snow gauges said there were 3
metres of the crisp white stuff at the
top of the mountain (well it was at
3300m!!) and we were able to ski
right back to the hotel every day.
Sun: Everyone soon realised that all
that was needed under ski jackets
was a T shirt! Snoods were soon reconsigned
to suitcases as we basked
in 25 degree heat!
Big mileage skiing: Alpe d’Huez
certainly lived up to its reputation as
Château de la Baudonnière, 2012
instructions and communication were in
French! The pupils relied on teamwork,
sign language and lots of repetition to
communicate with their instructors, and
not a dictionary was to be seen!
We were treated to the full Normandy
experience – the food, the cider, and of
course the unpredictable weather.
Fortunately all activities went ahead
despite the rain, although one group did
have to make an early return from the
woods when the wind picked up and
Alpe d’Huez
one of Europe’s premier big mileage
resorts. The top two groups tried
manfully to ski as much of it as they
could – but even they have lots to
discover in this fabulous resort still.
Good company: Young and old alike
were all good company. One of the
important things about school trips
is that children learn something new
about each other – and indeed about
themselves. Sharing ski school with
another school was also an excellent
experience for everyone, not least
because it enabled everyone to
benefit more from the excellent
teaching of the French Ski School.
Quiz question:
Would you like to go skiing again?
Answer:
As soon as possible please…
Clive Dickinson
branches started flying!
Our trip to the market in the neighbouring
town of Juloville was an opportunity for
the pupils to see, hear, taste and smell the
local produce, and buy some typical
souvenirs. Baseball caps and sunglasses
proved most popular!
It was an excellent week, and all returned
with a renewed passion for all things
French!
Beckie Parker

4 Downs Matters Summer 2012
Caring with Cars
On the 20th May 2012 the Downs held
host to Caring with Cars in aid for the
CHSW. This event was packed with
supercars and dragsters from around the
UK. Around 400 cars were on our fields
stretching from the tip of the Colts A
cricket pitch all the way to the courtyard,
all cars ranging from Volkswagen Beetles (!)
to a F1 Car. Many petrol heads and car club
members were gazing in awe at the
spectacular sight laid out before them.
As I was walking around I met up with the
owner of Wild Bunch Club as well as one
of the oldest dragsters in the UK – The
Backdraft Slingshot Dragster. It was by far
the strangest looking car in the event but
also the coolest.
While I was walking around I came up
with a fun idea, to match cars with
some of the staff. These are some of the
cars I found…
Harry Vyvyan-Robinson
Mr Morgan
This is the dragster at Shakespeare County
Raceway doing a wheelie! I had a small QA
session with the owner Chris Hartnell and
his wife Claire. This is it…
How fast can you do a standing quarter mile?
(Quarter mile is 402.3 metres and a standing
race is when you accelerate from 0 straight
from the grid rather than taking a run up)
A: 151.7 mph which is 8.747 seconds!
How much horsepower has the engine got?
(Horsepower is the unit of measurement used
to measure how much power the engine has)
A: 650 hp
What is the fuel consumption? (Fuel
consumption is how much fuel the engine
drinks at a certain speed at a certain distance)
Mr Hughes-Games
Mr Marsden
A: A gallon (4.5 litres) every quarter mile
What fuel do you use for the car?
A: We use methanol which is an alcoholic
based flammable liquid
Where do you race?
A: Shakespeare County Raceway
Santapod Raceway
York Raceway
How do you brake the car?
A:There is a lever to pull but if that breaks
you will have to deploy the parachute
Chris and his team have won various
trophies in his racing class – Wild Bunch. We
all wish them the best in the future.
Mrs Parker
Mr Penny Mr Hatton Mr Mann
Mr Weaver

5 Downs Matters Summer 2012
Sport at The Downs
May Day Cross Country
It was once said of a school in the north
of England that, at all times of the year it
possessed the two vital ingredients for a
good cross country event – mud… and
more mud! The annual Inter House Cross
Country event at The Downs is usually
Nearly two years ago, under the guidance of
Mrs Bigwood, a ladies’ netball club was
established at school. Mums, teachers and
gap students joined in together on a Tuesday
evening for a fun game of netball and a
chance to socialise afterwards. Many of us
haven’t played since our schooldays so there
have been a lot of laughs whilst enjoying
some exercise.
This season we entered the Weston and
District netball league (second division) and
those of us who wanted to, delighted in the
chance to play more competitively. We put
Mums’ Netball
blessed with more clement weather and
underfoot conditions. Not so this year!
Amidst the mud and rain of early May Mr
Mann and Mrs Bray hastily re-routed the
cross country courses to do minimum
damage to cricket and rounders pitches
Cross Country Results
YEAR 1
BOYS GIRLS
1st James Askey 1st Annabel Nichols
2nd Finn Ellis 2nd Alice McMichael
3rd Rory Denison 3rd Ella Ferris
YEAR 2
BOYS GIRLS
1st William Barbour 1st Olivia Vyvyan-Robinson
2nd Harry Kennedy 2nd Rebecca Pritchard
3rd Cameron Livingstone
YEAR 3
3rd Nuala Lixton
BOYS GIRLS
1st Christopher Patreane 1st Sophia Trujillo
2nd Sam Homer 2nd Lydia Weston
3rd James Goodrum 3rd Alice Vyvyan-Robinson
YEAR 4
4th Loyce James
BOYS GIRLS
1st Luke Swann 1st Ellie Kennedy
2nd Alex Grubb 2nd Honor Mead
3rd Archie Grayson 3rd Poppy Morgan
YEAR 5
BOYS GIRLS
1st Harry Ascherl 1st Bethan James
2nd Will Grubb 2nd Marcie Holt
3rd Will Jones 3rd Tate Oliphant
out a different team every game and rose to
the challenge! Promotion success has come
our way! We played 12 games, won 11 and
came runners up in our league.
Thanks must go to Sally Rollings for all her hard
work in managing the admin for the team.
Back row: Thea Adamson-Lewis, Lara Houtman,
Clair Willis, Laura Mordecai, Ali Nichols
Middle row: Tracey Richards, Katie Burchfield,
Jan Grimshaw, Jo Weston
Bottom row: Sarah Gerardi, Victoria Grubb
Key players not included in the photograph:
Ali Trujillo, Amanda Matthews, Trina Isaacs
and prayed for a rain free May Day.
Luckily the last race finished literally
seconds before the heavens opened and
sent spectators rushing to tea in the
dining hall.
YEAR 6
BOYS GIRLS
1st Max Teixeira 1st Louise Smith
2nd Jake Thompson 2nd Isabella Wynn
3rd Henry Weston 3rd Olivia Dunn
YEAR 7
BOYS GIRLS
1st Ethan Organ 1st Flo Wring
2nd Matt Cherry 2nd Sarah Cross
3rd Tomas Levy 3rd Steffanie French
YEAR 8
BOYS GIRLS
1st Alfie Light 1st Ellen Cooke
2nd Vincent Baker 2nd Molly Spink
3rd Fraser Gough 3rd Rosie Sewell
Overall House Results:
1st Drake
2nd Howe
3rd Collingwood
4th Nelson

6 Downs Matters Summer 2012
Sport at The Downs
The girls in Year 7 and 8 – aided on one occasion by some
‘guests from Year 6’ – have been carrying all before them so far
in the Joint Educational Trust national rounders competition. So
far, in the regional heats of the competition , wins have been
recorded against Sandroyd, All Hallows and Badminton. One
more win at the regional level straight after the half term
holiday will see the girls qualify for the National Finals day in
Oxford at the end of June.
The following pupils were
successful in their recent
Music Examinations
Angus Allen Alto Saxophone Grade 1 Distinction
Augusta Arron Piano Grade 1 Pass
Charlie Bates Singing Grade 1 Pass
Oliver Buckle Piano Prep Test
Thomas Cain Clarinet Grade 2 Distinction
Willem Cole Alto Saxophone Grade 1 Pass
Olivia Dunn Flute Grade 3 Pass
Callum Farnden Alto Saxophone Grade 4 Pass
Steffanie French Piano Prep Test
Alicia Gerardi Piano Prep Test
Alexander Hann Piano Grade 3 Pass
Ellie Kennedy Piano Prep Test
Cameron Livingstone Piano Prep Test
Lara Livingstone Piano Grade 1 Merit
Alexander Hann Alto Saxophone Grade 1 Distinction
Ben Manson Violin Grade 2 Distinction
Charlotte Pavey Flute Grade 2 Merit
Maximillian Penney Clarinet Grade 2 Pass
Charlotte Pavey Piano Grade 3 Merit
Daniel Pitt Piano Grade 2 Merit
Lulu Price Piano Grade 2 Pass
Matthew Savill Singing Grade 1 Pass
Rosie Sewell Piano Grade 5 Pass
Luke Swan Singing Grade 1 Pass
Raphael Chung Piano Grade 5 Distinction
Harry Ascherl Guitar Grade 1 Distinction
Luke Sutor Guitar Grade 1 Merit
Harry Isaacs Guitar Grade 1 Merit
Jason Phillips Keyboard Initial Test Merit
Tomas Levy Theory Grade 5 Merit
Freddie Lock Theory Grade 5 Pass
First Team Rounders
Success
The U13 hockey team who qualified as one of the ten teams
to go forward to the National Finals to represent
The West of England.
The Downs School Network
‘Food for Thought’
In February The Downs School Network (DSN) was pleased to be
invited to an evening at The Mud Dock (Courtesy of Jerry and Beverly
Arron) to listen to Andrew Quinlan. Andrew is the founder and coowner
of Orchard Pig, a company that provides exceptional ciders and
apple juices. He gave an interesting talk on the growth of the business
before a large audience tucked into an excellent buffet.
Most recently the DSN was invited to Yeo Valley. In the beautiful setting
of Lakewood, Graham Keating gave some fascinating insights into Yeo
Valley and the effect a unique TV advert during the finals of X Factor had
on the company. Those attending were then treated to an excellent meal
produced entirely from the Yeo Valley Farms.
The DSN has hosted some very interesting and entertaining evenings
this year and I am grateful to Mr James Isaacs who has driven the
development of the concept. Next year we will learn about the Gibbs
Family, at one time amongst the wealthiest families in England and
owners of the Tyntesfield Estate. We hope also to hear about the eating
habits in the House of Lords.