Oswestry School Bellan House

Oswestry School 

Bellan House 

The Bellan House choir during Speech Day 

DRUM CRAZY 

BELLAN HOUSE was rocked to the beat when the pupils 

took part in a series of percussion workshops, led by John 

Walker of the Totnes-based organization Drum Crazy. 

Responding with enthusiasm to John’s energetic 

direction, the children participated in a multicultural 

percussive experience as they played different varieties of 

drums and other instruments, often accompanied by 

rhythmic chanting and lively dance. 

“It’s been really interesting”, said Henry, a year 4 pupil. 

“I enjoyed playing all the different kinds of drums.” 

“I’ve had a great day”, said John Walker at the end of 

the concert. Bellan House has a strong music department 

and the children got the hang of things really quickly. It’s 

all about teamwork and clearly the pupils were supporting 

each other”. 

The Oswestrian 49

OSWESTRY SCHOOL BELLAN HOUSE 

THE TUDOR EXPERIENCE 

YEAR 4 PUPILS enjoyed a taste of Tudor life at Chirk Castle. 

Dressed in authentic costume, members of the National Trust 

Education team gave the children a fascinating experience 

of life in Tudor times, based on the history of the Myddelton 

family, who bought the castle in 1595. 

“It was an excellent day”, said Mrs Greatorex, the 

headmistress of Bellan House. “The pupils all enjoyed their 

visit and were helped to understand what it was like to live 

in the sixteenth century, as well as learning more about our 

local history”. 

Having a taste of life in a Tudor kitchen—Freya Morris, Hannah 

Spalding, Hannah Jones, Flossie Bebb, Lottie Hulme, Robert Duncan, 

Henry Bowen 

TALENTED YOUNG RIDER 

FIVE-YEAR-OLD Kinvara Garner qualified for a place in 

the Royal International Horse Show in July, after coming 

fourth in the Lead Rein Show pony class at Royal Windsor. 

Kinvara, who is in year 1 has been riding since she was 

two and has collected a string of trophies, including nine for 

best rider, in county and national competitions. She says: “I 

like riding. It is fun and my pony is nice and cuddly”. 

Tudor toys—back: Iwan Williams, Andrew Warner, Cameron Hughes, 

Armani Roberts, Donald Gray, Dominic Fisher, Oliver Woodward; 

front: Fiona Newman, Arianna Herbert, Caro Hulme, Alex Dewing 

SPONSORED SWIMMING 

FIFTEEN PUPILS from year 4 took part in a sponsored swim 

in February. Along with pupils from the Senior School they 

raised over £2,000 for the three good causes: LEAP School, 

Childline and Shelterbox. Mr Don Howard and Mrs Jayne 

Middleton of Oswestry Rotary Club presented them with 

certificates and Mr Howard thanked the pupils for working 

so hard to improve the lives of other people. 

50 The Oswestrian

OSWESTRY SCHOOL BELLAN HOUSE 

The Watery Babies 

THE PUPILS of Bellan House brought the house down 

with their summer show this year: a terrific 

performance of The Watery Babies. 

Most of the staff at Bellan were involved but particular 

mention should be made of Mrs Woollam and Miss 

Thompson, who were in charge of the music and 

choreography respectively. 

Thanks were also due to the many parents who helped, 

including Mrs Spalding, her mother Mrs Munford, and Mrs 

Brennan for their assistance in making the wonderful 

costumes. Thanks also Mrs Hulme for all her help with the 

administration. 

Donations this year were divided between Hope House, 

Debra and Bellan House. 

The Oswestrian 51

Out & About 

Year 7 at Blencathra 

IT IS WITH a fair amount of sadness that I write this 

report. The year 7 field trip to Blencathra Centre has 

become somewhat of an institution, as this year was its 

seventeenth anniversary. Although I did not start it off—it 

actually started the year before I came—it has become an 

important part of the Trinity term for me. As a measure of 

its popularity several year 8 pupils have asked if they could 

sneak along again and even pupils in year 5 have been 

known to say they were looking forward to going. 

Since the beginning various changes have taken place. 

Initially there used to be a bivouac out one night in a field 

at the end of Thirlmere, having paddled there by open canoe. 

Then one year, owing to foot-and-mouth restrictions, a lot 

of the activities had to be altered and instead of a mountain 

hike we walked along the eastern shore of Derwent Water 

and caught the launch back. We also looked at the flood 

defences in Keswick, as we could not go up the 

Glenderaterra Valley to study the river. 

However, gradually the course as it is now came into 

being, and there have been very few changes since about 

2002. It now suits us very well. 

Over the years pupils have gone canoeing on 

Bassenthwaite Lake, Thirlmere and three different venues 

on Derwent Water, but every time they have enjoyed getting 

as wet as possible! Catbells has been climbed many times 

and some pupils have been rewarded with a lovely sunny 

view of the surrounding fells and lake, unlike this year when 

the wind and rain made it difficult to stand up on the 

summit. 

I’m sure the trip will continue to be popular and 

enjoyable under the leadership of Mrs Lentink, and pupils 

will continue to be amazed at the grizzly goings on in the 

pond where food chains can be witnessed in action! 

M Hart 

52 The Oswestrian

BLENCATHRA 

At Derwent Water the pupils went canoeing 

and they all jumped in. Christian Blount-Powell 

and I were eager to get in the water and 

Christian capsized the boat. Richard Herbert 

was not so eager and only went half in and 

screamed. Sebastian Potter helped him. 

Natalie Makin 

While I was in 

Blencathra and we 

were having the 

games night, one of 

the games had people 

feeling the pressure 

so I said to Mrs 

Lentink that it was 

very “pressurating!” 

Mrs Lentink let me 

have this amazing 

word. 

Holly Payne 

The Oswestrian 53

ON MOUNT SNOWDON 

Outdoor Education 

THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION department has gone 

from strength to strength this year with the activities 

it is offering having increased both for recreational 

users as well as Duke of Edinburgh award options for 

different modes of travel. 

MOUNT SNOWDON 

The year opened with a trip to Snowdon for all years over 

a wet and windy weekend in October. The group of mainly 

year 10 boys successfully ascended Tryfan in the Ogwen 

Valley after setting up camp at its base in less than pleasant 

conditions. The boys scrambled up the east face by a stony 

gully using hands and feet at times, before gaining a windy, 

wet and icy summit. We spent only a short time on top as 

there wasn’t a view! We quickly made our way off before 

returning to the campsite below where it was hoped to find 

the tents up and intact; this was the case to everyone’s relief! 

The group then set about cooking and during this time 

the wind picked up and started knocking down tents! The 

group made a quick exit to the buses and escaped the 

conditions to School House, where the day students were 

made comfortable in the TV room and everyone had a warm 

shower as well as a hot drink in the new supper room. The 

place also resembled a street market as all items were draped 

over whatever was available to dry. 

The following day saw the group ascend Cadair Berwyn 

from Pistyl Llanrhaeadr and the weather hadn’t changed! 

Instead the group had to descend in blizzard conditions 

which they thoroughly enjoyed before getting a well-earned 

hot chocolate in the cafe below. The group also managed to 

work toward the practical navigation element of the CCF 

proficiency certificate. 

THE GOLD AWARD 

The winter was quiet this year and no more activity was 

undertaken until the beginning of Easter. This saw two 

groups heading for Capel Curig in Snowdonia to participate 

in two different training packages for two very different 

On the pathway to Ben Alder 

modes of transport for the gold Duke of Edinburgh’s award. 

A group of six lower-sixth students embarked on training 

for crossing wild country by foot on a self-contained journey; 

the other group chose to learn how to control and journey 

by sea kayak. 

Both groups met a mixture of weather with a 

combination of strong winds, sunshine, rain and at times 

snow, which was the first time that Shenna and Desiree 

Wong (two students from Brunei) had seen it! After three 

days of intense training each group undertook a threeday/two-night 

journey, with the walkers encountering snow 

and cloud over the Rhinogs from Penmachno to Harlech, 

whilst the sea kayakers enjoyed a sun-drenched journey 

from Criccieth to Abersoch along the South Lleyn, which 

involved pulling the boats above the high tide line and 

camping on the beach. 

Both groups have since had further individual practices, 

with the walkers crossing the Berywn mountains whilst the 

sea kayakers have kept on practising the skills of paddling 

on the occasional summer’s evening and also on a windy 

Saturday during the first weekend of the Trinity half term 

resulting in an example of how a minor incident can quickly 

develop into a situation that requires outside assistance to 

resolve it. 

The group that has chosen to undertake a journey by 

canoe also combined forces for the second year running with 

Pates Grammar School in Cheltenham, a relationship that 

is working well for both schools. The group had a five-day 

package which was delivered on lakes and rivers around 

Cheltenham before a journey along the Wye Valley, again 

over three days and two nights. 

The group has had two further practices, with the sea 

kayakers going out first for a three-day expedition. The 

walkers then followed the kayakers out to Wales and 

completed a traverse of the Carneddau range from Capel 

Curig to Conway. During this trek they practised further 

navigational techniques as well as going through incident 

management and continual weather and ground assessment 

54 The Oswestrian

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD 

to ensure that they can read the environment they will be 

working in. The canoeists had the opportunity to undertake 

a second practice but were unable to. 

The school took three gold groups and one silver group 

to the Lochaber area of Scotland for their assessment 

expeditions. It was an ambitious expedition as it involved 

groups walking, canoeing and sea kayaking. 

The group drove in convoy to Fort William and settled 

into the Snowgoose Mountain Centre where they were able 

to prepare for the following four-day, three-night expedition 

through buying food, checking and packing equipment and 

then most nerve-rackingly meeting their assessors. The 

assessors where all fantastic, being practitioners in the 

various disciplines and thus intent on the groups not only 

meeting the requirements of the award but also having an 

enjoyable expedition in one of the most scenic and vast 

mountain areas in Europe, let alone the UK. 

The walkers embarked on a journey which had them 

leave a road on the first morning then not see one again until 

the end of the last day, which gives an idea of how remote 

and big the landscape is. They travelled through Ardverikie, 

which is the setting for Monarch of the Glen, and then 

through Ben Alder Forest (which curiously had no trees) 

before a very scenic and remote leg through to Glen Nevis 

under the shadow of Ben Nevis and numerous other vast 

mountains that dominate the scenery. 

They had an eventful first day which involved the 

crossing of a fairly full ford before moving into Culra Lodge 

Bothy, which is an open building that walkers use free of 

charge in this area; it provides simple accommodation and 

shelter from the elements and more importantly the midges! 

The walkers were blessed with reasonable weather that 

allowed them to enjoy the setting they found themselves in 

which they all were awe struck by. 

The sea kayakers had to lower their sights regarding their 

journey which initially was going to be down the Sound of 

Mull before turning left up Loch Linnhe to finish in Fort 

William. The large seas and strong winds forced the team 

inland to start at Kinlochleven after a visit to the Ice Factor— 

the UK’s largest indoor ice climbing facility. The group 

undertook a wet first day (although they were lucky enough 

to see an otter) before setting camp at the foot of Glencoe. 

The second day had them investigating the massacre of 

Glencoe, which is one of the major historic events in Scottish 

history. 

After taking notes at the visitor centre the group paddled 

to the isle of the dead where all the members of the 

McDonald clan who were killed in the event were laid to 

rest. The team then moved to their campsite around an area 

exposed to the onshore wind that generated some lumpy 

waves which the team enjoyed. Fortunately, the group had 

the wind at their backs on the third day and enjoyed a swift 

passage up Loch Linnhe and Fort William which included 

spending some time seal watching at a rocky island part 

way up. The fourth and final day’s paddle was spent in the 

initial stages on a glass flat Loch Eil and finished in more 

magnificent mountain scenery at Garvan, situated at the 

loch’s head. 

The canoeists had a fast passage up the great glen along 

the Caledonian Canal from Fort William to Inverness. This 

element was a joint venture with Pates Grammar School. 

The team was involved in a historic buildings project during 

their journey and had specific points to stop, such as the 

impressive abbey at Fort Augustus at the head of Loch Ness. 

The groups had the wind at their back for the entire journey 

and were able to raft their boats together so they could erect 

a sail and use this power to travel along the lochs. The group 

was also the first group in our experience to travel the length 

of Loch Ness in a single day owing to the wind’s help. The 

canoeists were slightly spoilt through using official campsites 

and having access to showers and loos, unlike the other 

groups who all wild camped which is a joy of working in 

the Highlands. 

All the groups passed and impressed their assessors 

hugely who all commented independently of each other that 

the groups were both competent as well as good people to 

work with. The owner of Snowgoose Mountain Centre, John 

Cuthbertson who has worked in the mountains, rivers and 

lochs of the area for over 30 years, said that you can tell in 

ten minutes if a group is able or not. He was highly 

impressed with all of the Oswestry students and commented 

on the fact that many were working at a level above the 

Sam Bainbridge, Victoria Bateman, Oliver Szikszay and Katy Yates 

Navigating the Caledonian canal in Scotland 

The Oswestrian 55

OUTDOOR EDUCATION 

standard for D of E and were obviously competent canoeists, 

walkers and sea kayakers. High praise indeed! 

THE BRONZE AWARD 

The new cohort of “bronzes” has had a revamped training 

package that has concentrated on developing skills and 

attitudes for all three sections of the award rather than as a 

stand-alone process for bronze. This has involved not only 

the successful progressive weekend training but also 

lunchtime sessions to ensure that participants are fully aware 

of nutritional requirements and route-planning principles. 

This has resulted in the cohort enjoying and easily achieving 

their assessment routes over and around the Long Mynd 

area above Church Stretton to Stiperstones. 

It was very pleasing to see members of the group 

navigate with confidence and assuredness whilst others 

contributed in other ways either on the move through 

physical ability or morale boosting, or even just as 

importantly when in camp through cooking or organizing 

tents. This was a very positive experience for both the 

participants and the staff delivering the training or assessing 

the candidates, and is a blueprint of good practice in 

preparing young people for the expedition section of the 

award that will stick. 

All the participants felt the assessment was not as 

physically challenging as the second practice over the 

Berwyn near Llangollen but was far more testing 

navigationally. It was also really pleasing to hear the 

participants openly show appreciation for the countryside 

around them. They now have a thorough grounding for 

moving on to the silver award in September. This will 

include a canoeing option which will be reported on in the 

next issue. 

KAYAKING 

In addition to this award-directed work we have also been 

able to offer kayaking on Wednesday afternoons to students 

in year 10 and above. This has been helped greatly by the 

school being able to purchase ten new, general-purpose 

kayaks at the beginning of the year as a boat share with 

Shrewsbury School, Shropshire Army Cadet Force and 

Oswestry Canoe Club. 

These sessions have been very popular and have seen 

the participants graduate from flat-water sessions, where 

they learned the basics of controlling their kayaks, to using 

the white-water course at Llangollen where they learnt how 

to shoot rapids as well as cross them and, in some cases, surf 

the waves. This involved plenty of swimming at times but 

every session finished with the participants grinning from 

ear to ear. 

delights of Marrakech and its bustling square, famed for its 

street traders and entertainers. 

FUTURE PLANS 

Next year will be just as busy with walking and canoeing 

groups at silver level for the Duke of Edinburgh’s award in 

early September, as well as the possibility of a few weekends 

which are not award related, allowing further sessions of 

white-water kayaking, mountain biking or climbing in 

Snowdonia. There is the redelivering of the successful bronze 

training for the next cohort to embark on the worthwhile 

Duke of Edinburgh’s award. The next cohort of golds will 

also start their award. There are also the preparations for 

eight students to embark on the training and final expedition 

involving two sea-kayak expeditions in the Knoydart and 

Outer Hebrides area of Scotland. 

I would encourage all readers and both current and 

former members of the school to look at the outdoor 

education section of the activities area of the school website 

to keep abreast of the ever-increasing number of 

opportunities open to our school community. 

All that is left is to thank the hard work and efforts of all 

the staff who have added to the experiences that the young 

people of the school have had, both through their individual 

knowledge and enthusiasm for the environments they work 

in, but also for their humour and interest in making the 

experiences they deliver inspiring and educational. These 

include our own staff of Mrs Lentink, Jason Till and Mr 

Stockdale, but also our regular freelancers who are Di Lee, 

Paul Kelsall, Sarah Tansell, Jo Billington, Dave Brown and 

Louise Kennedy. A final big thank you must also go to Mr 

Neville, Mr Arnott and Mr Morris for their support in 

driving the groups to their drop off and pick up points, and 

without whose logistical help none of this could have 

happened. 

AD Othen 

MOROCCO 

The last event to happen this year will be the group of twelve 

students and two staff who are going to Morocco with the 

intention of climbing Toubkal, which at 4200 metres is the 

highest point in northern Africa. As well as the extended 

trek in the Atlas Mountains the group will also enjoy the 

Liam Chambers and Tom Llewellyn 

56 The Oswestrian

A SCIENTIFIC TRIP 

The Catalyst Museum 

On 30 April, year 6 went to the Catalyst Museum in Widnes. 

Here are some of their observations. 

When we got all 

the rules out of the way 

we went into a glass 

elevator. I thought to 

myself: “It’s Charlie and the 

Great Glass Elevator”, from 

a book written by Roald 

Dahl. After we got out of 

the elevator we were in 

the observatory. It was 

very hot because of all the 

glass windows but there 

was a wonderful view of 

Runcorn Bridge, power 

stations, churches and the 

Mersey. 

Cameron Biles- 

Liddell 

On the top floor we 

built a giant jigsaw puzzle, 

built a bridge and tested our 

brains. 

My favourite part of the 

day was when we made a 

floating soap holder. We 

heated the foam and that 

made it flexible so it could 

bend round the mould. I made 

a butterfly. 

Emily Roberts 

This was a science museum 

about the early development of industries 

and chemistry. We learnt about how solids, 

liquids and gases can be changed to make useful 

compounds, which early materials were used to 

make dyes and which chemicals were used 

to make acids. 

Richard Christie 

I learnt on the top floor that some coats 

are made from plastic bottles and that Mr 

Birchwood has one! My favourite part on this 

floor was making a bridge out of foam blocks 

with a space underneath and putting three 

chubby people on it. It didn’t collapse! On the 

ground floor we did lots of fun experiments in 

“scientrific”, including making bubbles by 

pushing a lever, talking to each other through 

a long tube and building a giant cube out of 

foam blocks. 

Elwy Clarke 

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The Oswestrian 57

MOROCCO 

The Road to Morocco 

A MOROCCO-BOUND DIARY 

DAYS 1 & 2 – SUNDAY/MONDAY 6/7 JULY 

Mint tea is OK; sometimes I’d have preferred a coke… 

We all arrived at school bright and early, especially 

considering it was the summer ball the night before, but no 

one was looking too bad. After a quick kit check and saying 

goodbye to the parents, we set off for Heathrow Airport 

where we had a while to wait before take-off. 

A few hours later the plane landed at Casablanca Airport 

where unfortunately the connecting flight to Marrakech was 

delayed. By this time it was early Monday morning and I 

could’ve fallen asleep on the floor, given the chance. Another 

long wait before we boarded the plane for a short flight, an 

The hard work begins: no more tarmac for the next ten days 

where we had our first try of mint tea, which was OK and, 

as it’s what the Berbers drink, it became the main drink of 

the trek, although sometimes I’d have preferred a coke. 

After the tour we had a quick bite to eat and then set off 

to Oukaimeden in the Atlas Mountains which, on looking 

at them, are quite big. Tonight we were staying at a refuge, 

which is also a ski resort when there’s snow. Was fine, 

nothing special, but at least it had toilets and showers. Then 

for the rest of the day we just sat outside on these weird 

seats. 

DAY 3 – TUESDAY 8 JULY 

All ready to set off on another day’s walking 

interesting landing, and arrival at Marrakech Airport. 

A short drive into old Marrakech, near the Djemma El 

Fna, brought us to our hotel, the Hotel de Foucauld, where 

we shown to our rooms, which were all right. The lights 

went out whilst we were getting ready for bed, so we three 

girls were left wandering around in the dark. Interestingly, 

there was a guy sleeping out on the patio—not sure why as 

there are plenty of beds in the hotel. 

After a few hours’ sleep, I was woken up by the call to 

prayer from the Koutoubia Mosque, but then the others 

woke up too so we got ready and admired the view from 

the balcony. It was quite fun to watch the roads in the Place 

de Foucauld as there didn’t appear to be any order, and to 

cross you just walked out and hoped for the best. 

Breakfast was good and then we were given a tour of 

the city, riding in horse-drawn carts, before going into the 

city on foot. The city was different to anywhere I’d been 

before—very alive—and it smelt a lot, but our guide had 

given us some mint to hide the stench. Our guide led us to 

a bakery, the Bab ed Dabbagh, a vast network of dyeing vats 

and the old Koranic school, to show us the Moroccan way 

of life. Next stop, a herbalist shop where a man gave us a 

talk on the different uses of the herbs, and I also had a 

massage, as did a few others, which was good. This was 

Chairs are always higher then the tables over here, making 

eating harder then it should be… 

First day of walking, led by our guide Mohammed, we 

ascended the pass of Tizi n’ou Addi. Not too bad at first but 

then it got steeper and hotter. Thankfully, the mules carried 

Martha Twigg and Victoria Bateman enjoying the special atmosphere 

our baggage. The downhill bit was slippery as the stones 

were loose and Ben Draper almost fell off at one point. 

After a few hours of walking we arrived at our beds in 

Tacchedirt. We were supposed to be camping but one of the 

Berbers owned a very nice hostel and he said we could stay 

there. On arrival we had lunch, and I don’t know why but 

the chairs are always higher then the tables over here, so 

58 The Oswestrian

MOROCCO 

Escaping the afternoon sun and relaxing in a stone shelter at Lac D’ifni 

you can’t get your legs underneath, making eating harder 

than it should be. 

Then our muleteers turned up despite us leaving well 

before them, but they do this every day. It was quite amazing 

to watch one of the Berbers run down the mountain in about 

half the time it took us; he didn’t bother with the paths. For 

the rest of the day we did nothing apart from lounging 

around and washing some clothes in the sinks. Also there 

was some drama with Tristan as we weren’t sure if he was 

staying on or not, but he did in the end, which was good. 

When it came to night time we had to do everything in 

torchlight because, even though this place has light switches 

and plugs, they don’t work, so I decided they’re for show. 

It also made having a shower interesting and even more so 

because of the windows in them. 

DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY 9 JULY 

After that, Mr S gave us a tune on his harmonica… 

Got up at 4.40 in the morning, when it was still dark and 

starry, so we’d do most of the forthcoming climb in the cool. 

Got dressed and packed before breakfast which was 

porridge, one of the most filling things in the world. Then 

we left and started to climb to a col at Tizi Likempt, which 

took about four hours and was quite tough in places, but 

my dextrose tablets seemed to help. Also some of the guys 

had thought to bring some music along, which took your 

mind off the climb. 

Eventually we reached the top and there was this slightly 

odd man selling cola and Mars bars, but I think it was quite 

a good place to have a shop—it makes the climb even more 

worth it if there’s a coke waiting for you. Then we headed 

down, undoing all the hard work of the previous few hours. 

We’d climbed over 1,000m: one of the hardest climbs of the 

trek. 

Tonight we were camping and we arrived by a river at 

Azib Likempt, in the Tifni Valley. Lunch was good again— 

pasta salad and fish. Thoughtfully our Berber had provided 

us with a toilet, albeit a tent with a hole in the ground, but 

it was either that or behind a rock. With the help of the 

Berbers we put up our tents, after which we went to the river 

to cool off. A few boys went for a swim as did Martha, 

unintentionally, because Ollie picked her up and dropped 

Following the mule tracks above the Tifni Valley 

her in. Unfortunately, Norrie has a fever and it’s raining but 

that’s it so far. For the rest of the afternoon we just hung 

around in the group tent till it was time to eat. After that, 

Mr S gave us a tune on his harmonica then it was bed. 

DAY 5 – THURSDAY 10 JULY 

Lunch was beautifully arranged; it seemed a shame to eat 

it… 

Got up at seven today, and took the tent down before 

heading down the Tinzer valley. This was quite easy as it 

was flat but still hot, and at a break we cooled off in the river 

and this time Martha fell in. We carried on, had a few more 

breaks and got to our next camp, Azib Ouraine, at about 12. 

Lunch was beautifully arranged; it seemed a shame to eat 

it. 

Having free time all afternoon every afternoon, meant 

we had to find ways to amuse ourselves, so we played the 

letter game. It was fun. Some very competitive people 

(Martha) took losing very badly. Something else to mention: 

George came across a skeleton on the hillside when he went 

to the toilet and when it started to rain the mules went a bit 

crazy and you could just hear animals galloping past your 

tent. 

Dinner was soup, rice and salad, and melon after which 

the Berbers provided us with the night’s entertainment by 

performing a few tricks on people. For example, they 

brought two plates of water in. Mo, our guide, told Charlie 

to dip his finger in the water and write a 1 and a 2 on his 

cheeks and showed him what to do with water from his own 

plate, telling Charlie to do the same. However there was 

soot at the bottom of Charlie’s plate, which left a black mark 

on his cheek. He saw the funny side, I think, but then it 

wouldn’t come off. After that we went to sleep. 

DAY 6 – FRIDAY 11 JULY 

Ollie, George and Charlie ran out of their tent screaming… 

Today we were heading to Amsouzerte, a village where 

we’d stay a couple of nights and have a break. It was a bit 

of a climb at first up to Tizi Ouraine but then it was downhill 

for most of the way, and as the ground wasn’t as rocky today 

but more sandy, it reminded me of a desert. It was just a 

The Oswestrian 59

MOROCCO 

slight change to show we were on the Saharan side of the 

mountains. 

We soon got to the village, and I was glad to be there as 

the heat had picked up. We were welcomed with the drink 

of the trek—mint tea—and lunch. There was also a shop 

there so I treated myself to a Fanta. 

After putting up our tents, we went for a swim in the 

river to cool off and give our clothes a wash in the process. 

Everything gets really dusty here; my legs were brown from 

the dirt. We were also given the opportunity to have a 

shower, though not many people took it. 

Again we were left to our own devices and some of the 

guys bought a football and had a game with some of the 

locals—that is until Charlie burst it. Martha and Katy made 

some interesting dance videos while everyone else either 

read or just sat there in the sun. An amusing game with some 

sweets just showed what some people will do for food. 

Tonight we had a treat of chicken and chips, and 

everyone welcomed it if it meant no rice or couscous. 

Nothing much happened except Mohammed the cook 

showed off his strength by picking everyone up and Semen 

got very amused over Ollie’s sunglasses. After a while it was 

bedtime but something very amusing happened after we 

were all in our tents. Ollie, George and Charlie ran out of 

their tent screaming because something had stung Ollie— 

something huge and terrible apparently. However, I think 

it turned out to be a wasp, though they managed to cover 

their embarrassment up rather well. 

DAY 7 – SATURDAY 12 JULY 

At least the tea was good and we were offered some bread 

and honey… 

The rest day, apparently. 

We had a bit of a lie in today and got up at 7.30. We had 

the added bonus of not having to pack as we were staying 

here for another night. Couldn’t manage my porridge again 

and there was a hot chocolate incident, whether adding 

water before the hot chocolate and powdered milk caused 

Charles Pierce enjoying fun and games with the Berber guides 

lumps, lumps were caused. 

Breakfast over, we got ready to go for some mint tea in 

a real Berber house. At the time I thought it would be a quick 

stroll down the track. However, I was greatly mistaken; it 

turned out to the hardest, hottest walk so far. It was not a 

rest day. 

We reached the house hot and tired, but at least the tea 

A spontaneous kick about with the local children at Amsousette 

was good and we were offered some bread and honey. 

After the hot walk back we had lunch and went for a 

swim, which was refreshing. 

Later on we presented our gifts we’d brought from home, 

such as pencils and balloons to the chief of the village. Draper 

also chucked Katy’s sandal over the side of the ledge. Poor 

Ben got quite a lot of abuse for that. 

DAY 8 – SUNDAY 13 JULY 

Martha felt the need to stay awake to make sure the tent 

didn’t blow away… 

Got up quite early today—5.30, in order to miss the 

extreme heat—and got ready to set off. The first bit of 

walking I found quite hard because I was still tired but the 

boys put the music back on, which took everyone’s mind 

off the walking. 

Heading up the Islani valley, we eventually saw Lac 

D’Ifni, quite an amazing sight: a huge, bright blue pool 

surrounded by the mountains. After a short walk down to 

it, we had lunch and waited till the afternoon, when it was 

cooler, to head to our campsite. During that time, quite a 

few of us took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. 

Feeling a bit restless, we set off again only to find a steep 

walk a head of us, but by walking now the journey the next 

day would be cut down. 

Tonight our campsite was situated halfway up a 

mountain, but it made a change. The only problem was it 

was very windy up there and our group tent started to blow 

away. Martha and I put rocks in our tent to stop it blowing 

away as Mr Stockdale and Martin’s had. 

Tonight the food was not so good: spaghetti, or elastic 

bands according to Ollie. After this disaster, we did a quiz 

which Martin, our guide, had written for us. Thankfully, it 

was time for bed and Katy and Martha then sang a rendition 

60 The Oswestrian

MOROCCO 

of all of the Grease songs. 

During the night the wind picked up. It was very noisy 

and Martha felt the need to stay awake to make sure the tent 

didn’t blow away—despite all the stuff in it—but it was a 

nice thought. 

DAY 9 – MONDAY 14 JULY 

Charlie amusingly sang I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing to 

a group of French people… 

Another early start. We packed away quickly before 

tucking into some more porridge: yum! Then we continued 

up the mountain and, once I realized the walk ahead, I really 

be staying in that night and somewhere on the horizon was 

the Sahara desert. However the whole experience of being 

really high was cool, especially with all the other mountains 

below us. 

We spent some time up there and had some food before 

starting our descent, which I was glad of as it was cold up 

there. It didn’t take as long to get back but you had to be 

careful or you’d slip off the edge as the ground was really 

loose in some places. Charlie also hurt his leg and, as he put 

it, he “manned his way down the mountain”, so that turned 

out all right. 

Got back to the hostel around 11 and had lunch. After 

this daily event we did a little presentation to our Berbers 

Lunch time—always a feast of flavours and colours 

appreciated that we had done the extra walking yesterday 

to cut down today’s journey. For a change we saw some 

snow although it was not cold. 

After a couple of hours, we reached Tizi Ouanoums from 

where we could see back to the lake and I didn’t think it 

looked that far, but I guess most of the time we were gaining 

height more than distance. We had a fairly quick descent to 

the hostel where, on arrival, we had tea and lunch. This 

hostel is very busy because it is situated right by Mount 

Toubkal. After lunch it was back to hanging around for the 

rest of the day. Charlie amusingly sang I Don’t Want to Miss 

a Thing to group of French people, but this was after drinking 

loads of coffee with George. They both began to shake and 

didn’t feel too great afterwards. 

DAY 10 – TUESDAY 15 JULY 

Somewhere on the horizon was the Sahara desert… 

The last day of walking. 

Today we were woken up at 4.30 and had breakfast 

before sorting ourselves out for the climb of the trek. This 

morning we were going to ascend Mount Toubkal (4,167m), 

the highest point in the Atlas Mountains and north Africa. 

We set off at 5.50 when it was still dark, which made 

climbing the steep, rocky path even more fun. The walk 

didn’t turn out to be that bad though. I thought we’d had 

harder climbs but the views were definitely the best. After 

a few hours we reached the top and took loads of photos. 

Because we were so high we could see the village we would 

Our early morning porridge sets us up for the day ahead 

to say thank you for looking after us and feeding us. Liam 

made a quick speech and then a few of us gave them their 

tips. 

After a bit of sunbathing we set off to Aremd, the village 

where our guide Mo lives; it was a gently descending walk 

but took a few hours. On the way we stopped off at a sacred 

rock in a village, but as none of us were Muslim, we weren’t 

allowed to go to the other side of the bridge and have a look 

at it. There were also lots of flies there. I didn’t like it. 

We soon turned up to where we were staying tonight, 

our last night in the mountains, and it was better than I 

expected. We were shown to our rooms. None of us had had 

a proper shower or wash since our last hostel—six days 

ago—so we looked good! After showering and washing 

some clothes, we had supper—chicken—which wasn’t that 

bad. Back to our balcony and someone found some balloons 

and came up with the bright idea with filling them with 

water. Eventually we went to bed and Katy and I slept in 

our sleeping bags instead of the bed because Ollie and Norrie 

said they’d got bitten whilst in theirs. 

DAY 11 – WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 

Time for shopping; we went to the souk… 

Got up and packed our mess away. Our last Berber meal 

was muesli instead of porridge, after which we said our final 

goodbyes to the cook Mohammed and started the short 

walk, about half an hour, to the next village where we were 

getting the minibuses back to Marrakech. We had a short 

The Oswestrian 61

MOROCCO 

No camping tonight: a welcome supper inside the kazbar at Tacchedirt 

break and a drink instead of leaving straight away as this 

was our last time in the mountains. 

After a hairy drive back to Marrakech we checked in at 

the same hotel as before and then had the best lunch. We 

had spaghetti and coke; it was just good. 

Time for shopping; we went to the souk and wandered 

around for a while before going back to the hotel and 

returning on our own. Martha, Katy and I wandered off 

together and tried our haggling skills, which were all right, 

but some of the stallholders not so all right. It was really hot 

in the souk (market-place) and the three of us had to go back 

and cool off. I don’t think I even got that hot when we were 

walking. 

Before, I mentioned that lunch was good, but at supper 

there was pizza, so I think this meal wins. Then it was back 

to the souk to experience the Djemma El Fna at night. This 

time we girls had to go with the boys for safety, so we found 

a boy. It was a fun experience, especially when you walked 

into all the restaurant stalls as everyone came up and tried 

to get you to eat at theirs, grabbing you and saying crazy 

stuff like the food was from Sainsbury’s or M&S. However, 

we picked one place to try the local delicacy. I had some 

chips. I know, very Moroccan! 

Then we split into groups and were set a task by Mr 

Stockdale and Mrs Lentink. We were given a certain amount 

of money and told what we had to buy. Our group had to 

buy a cotham (a Moroccan shirt) for 50 dirham. Our first 

Victoria Bateman, Martha Twigg and Katy Yates at the top of Toubkal 

offer was at 700 dirham, so we left that stall when they 

wouldn’t budge. Then at the next stall, thanks to the brilliant 

haggling skills of Ollie and Norrie, they got the price from 

400 dirham to the target of 50 dirham. Poor guy, he won’t 

eat tonight. With the challenge completed, we returned to 

the cafe, unsure if the teachers expected success or not. Liam 

still was feeling the effects of foreign food and after a bit 

more shopping we went back to the hotel and met the other 

group. 

When we eventually went to bed, it was too hot to sleep 

because I don’t think we figured out how to use the air 

conditioning right. 

DAY 12 – THURSDAY 17 JULY 

I wouldn’t mind if I was still there… 

Had our final Moroccan meal—croissants and bread— 

before packing up and heading to the airport. We were again 

stopping at Casablanca and the flight was OK, although the 

landing sort of shook us around a bit, like a ride at a theme 

park. 

After a short wait we took off, finally leaving Morocco 

to return home. We eventually met up with our parents at 

around 10 that night. 

And that’s that! It was a really good experience, loads of 

fun and I wouldn’t mind if I was still there. 

Victoria Bateman 

Tristan, Norrie, George, Charles and Ollie on the summit 

On top of Mount Toubkal (4,167m) in three and a half hours 

62 The Oswestrian

Music & Drama 

Blast Off! 

BATTLING in the teeth of circumstantial adversity, the 

Lower and Middle School pulled out all the stops to 

produce an entertainingly spectacular showing of 

Blast Off! for their music and drama workshop. 

Introducing the performance to the audience of parents 

and friends, Mrs Leonard reminded them that rehearsals 

had been disrupted for very good reasons: such as exams, 

the year 7 field trip and the sponsored walk. However, the 

cast rose to the occasion and played their parts with such 

confidence and clear delivery that the occasional missed cue 

passed almost unnoticed. Colourful costumes and a simple 

but effective set served to enhance the visual effect of the 

performance. 

A special mention must be made of the band, whose tight 

rhythms provided a strong platform for the singers and 

dancers and enabled them to display their talents to the full. 

The Oswestrian 63

OUR SEXCENTENARY CONCERT 

The 600th Anniversary Concert 

IN THE YEARS building up to our 600th anniversary 

celebrations, several of us from different areas of the 

school attended a series of meetings to plan events that 

would mark this important year. Many ideas were put 

forward and when it came to my turn I said that I’d been to 

a concert of past and present pupils and staff at another 

school and it had been a huge success. 

There are times when it is best to keep quiet at meetings 

and as 2007 came closer I began to think that I should have 

done just that. There it was in the brochure. It was going to 

happen. We even had a date, 13 October, and a venue, St 

Oswald’s Church. 

The next stage was to contact people and let them know 

it was happening. This proved to be quite an object exercise 

in investigation, but slowly, over the months, more and more 

people came forward. Letters, emails and newspaper adverts 

were sent out. Music was hired, programmes written and 

rehearsals organized. Wine was ordered (of course) and a 

small army of people was “invited” to lend a hand. 

My earlier fears that we might not have enough 

performers soon disappeared as offers came in from many 

different quarters. Some had to be gently persuaded, but 

others offered their services in more than one area. 

The afternoon before the concert was spent busily 

rehearsing. Performers came from as far away as Devon, 

Manchester, Leeds and Rugby and some were seeing the 

music for the first time. It became very clear that Oswestry 

School, including Bellan House, has a long history of 

encouraging music at a variety of levels. Concerts and shows 

were remembered and it was a time for old friends to 

perform together again. 

A packed church listened to a programme which ranged 

from two young harpists to experienced opera singers: from 

a string orchestra to a wind ensemble. 

One of the wonderful things to come out of this event 

(and there were many) was talking to people I’d never met 

before who told me of their experiences at the school, either 

as a teacher, or as a pupil. We made many new friends, 

including an ex-pupil James Jones, the conductor of the 

National Children’s Choir, who was the guest conductor for 

one of the choral pieces and who also proved that he was a 

fine baritone. We are hoping that James will visit the school 

soon to take a choral workshop. 

It was quite a sacrifice for some of our performers as that 

was the evening when an important rugby match was taking 

place—England v Australia in the quarter final of the Rugby 

World Cup. Videos had been set to record the event. 

However, part way through the evening, we became aware 

of what sounded like a rowdy crowd in Church Street, which 

we could hear quite clearly in the church. Much to the delight 

of some in the audience—but to the horror of others who 

didn’t want to know—the Rev Preb David Crowhurst 

stepped up to announce that England had won. 

So—a successful night all round! 

I would personally like to thank Mrs Sue Morris who, 

as always, worked so hard preparing groups and rehearsing 

soloists to her usual high standard; without her the evening 

couldn’t have happened. And Mr Christopher Symons, who 

not only entertained us (as he often has in partnership with 

Mr John Croft) but who also accompanied many of the 

performers. Behind the scenes Mrs Hazel Yates was, as 

always, a great support. 

Thank you to all who took part. As you can see from the 

programme on the opposite page and the “cast list”, we were 

lucky to have so many musicians performing on this special 

occasion. Let’s hope the concert for the 700th anniversary is 

just as successful! 

Juliet E Woollam 

64 The Oswestrian

OUR SEXCENTENARY CONCERT 

Choir 

The Heavens are Telling (Haydn) 

Soloists: Carolyn Chadwick, Robin Woollam and 

Michael Birchwood 

Medley from Les Misérables 

Soloists: Biba Gonzalez, Tanny Gliksman, Tom 

Gonzalez, Michael Birchwood, Emily Middleton, 

James Woollam 

Harp Duet 

Elizabeth Hulme and Quiana Booker 

The Ash Grove (trad) 

Vocal Solo 

Hannah-May Elmasry 

Time to Say Goodbye (Sartori and Quarantotto) 

Brass Solo 

Alister Talbot 

Ave Maria (Bruckner) 

Organ Solo 

Eric Jones 

Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach) 

Concert Band 

Music (John Miles arr Philip Sparks) 

Birdland (J Zawinul arr Sweeney) 

Vocal Solo 

Biba Gonzalez 

Voi Che Sapete 

from The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) 

Flute Solo 

Jenny Collinge 

Flute Sonata opus 120 (York Bowen) 

Vocal Solo 

Libby Gliksman 

Songbird (C McVie) 

Saxophone Solo 

Tom Niblock 

Aria (Bozza) 

Piano Solo 

Robin Woollam 

Rosemary (Frank Bridge) 

Duet 

John Croft and Chris Symons 

Banjolele and Piano 

Melody in F (Rubinstein) 

I N T E R V A L 

The Spirit Carries On 

Dream Theatre 

Mikael Hopkins, Edward Roberts, John Harvey 

String Ensemble 

Upstairs, Downstairs (Paris arr Frazer) 

Romance, Minuet and March (Mozart) 

Vocal Solo 

James Jones 

Bravo, Signer Padrone, Se Vuol Ballare 

from The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) 

Brass Solo 

Rachael King 

Ballade (John Gotland) 

Vocal Solo 

Carolyn Chadwick 

Orchestra 

Finale, Symphony no 5 (Beethoven) 

Choir and Orchestra 

Zadok the Priest (Handel) 

Choir 

Rebecca Adcock, Louise Aust, Paige Baker, Mr D Banks (F), Ms 

Melanie Barth, Catherine Bateman, Mrs Val Baty, Emma Bell, 

Chelsea Bentley, Christian Blount Powell, Mr Michael Birchwood, 

Roy Cheung, Ms Jenny Collinge, Charlotte Dingwall-Fordyce, Mrs 

Mary Croft (F), Mrs Catherine Eve, Ms Caroline Fisher (F), Ms Libby 

Gliksman (OO), Nathaniel Gliksman, Ms Abigail Gomina, Mrs 

Arabella Gonzalez, Biba Gonzalez, Tom Gonzalez, Lorna Hankey, 

Tristan Hartey, Christopher Harvey, Mr John Marvey (OO), 

Alexander Herbert, Ms Samantha Herbert (OO), Mrs Margaret 

Hogg (PS), Mr Mikael Hopkins (OO), Katie Hughes, William Hung, 

Evie Lacey, Douglas Laundy, Mrs Karen Lentink, Ms Sarah Lentink 

(F), Ms Fiona Lloyd (PS), Emily Lunt Evans, Isabelle Makin, Natalie 

Makin, Ms Katie McNeil, Mrs Kath Mellor (PS), Emily Middleton, 

Ms Louisa Mitchell (OO), Polly Morgan, Mrs S Morris, Alexandra 

Mowbray, Tom Niblock, Mrs Madge Paggett (F), Alice Parker, Mrs 

Anne Payne, Ruth Reynolds, Mrs Geri Richards, Mr Edward 

Roberts (OO), Brooke Simons-Akwah, Jade Taylor, Ms Liz Thomas 

(OO), Isobel Tomley, Daisy Tickner, Kendal Welsby, Lara White, 

Lucy Whitthread, Lucy Williams, Natasha Williams, Mr James 

Woollam (OO), Mrs Juliet Woollam, Mr Robin Woollam (OO) 

Guest Conductor: Mr James Jones 

F = friend of Oswestry School, PS = past staff, OO = past pupil 

String Group 

Dr Jim Ayres (PS), Victoria Bateman, Mr Abbas Bowen (OO), 

Matthew Bunby, Laura Doyle, Emma Duncombe, Ms Hannah-May 

Elmasry (OO), Tristan Hartey, Mandy Kwan, Evie Lacey, Natalie 

Lee, Vivian Lee, Ms Sarah Lentink (F), Nichola Lawrence Millard, 

Ms Louisa Mitchell (OO), Ruth Reynolds, Ms Elizabeth Thomas 

(OO), Daisy Tickner, Jasmine Tickner, Victoria Whittingham, Mr 

Robin Woollam (OO) 

Concert Band 

Stacey Baker, Catherine Bateman, Mrs Val Baty, Mrs Sarah Bromley, 

Ms Jenny Collinge, Vincent Chu, Mr Colin Hooper, Charlotte Dade, 

Matthew Dundon, Lorna Hankey, Seren Heyward-Jones, Katie 

Hughes, Mr Roy Johnson, Annie Keogh, Ms Rachael King, Douglas 

Laundy, Natalie Lee, Vivian Lee, Mr Mark Parry, Dr Martin Phillips, 

Victoria Martoccia, Jonathan Molesworth, Callum Morris, Tom 

Niblock, George Read, Thomas Rose, Sophie Serrell-Cooke, Alister 

Talbot, Dougie Williams, Lucy Williams, Tom Wilson, Mr Robin 

Woollam (OO), Katy Yates 

Accompanists: Mr Christopher Symons, Mrs Sue Morris 

The Oswestrian 65

THE RECITAL SERIES 

The Recital Series 

BY COMMON CONSENT—and this means record 

audience numbers—the past season has continued 

to delight music lovers from the school, town, 

Shropshire and the Welsh Marches. A very varied line-up 

of artistes has provided something for everyone, and 

ensured that the reputation of the series remains high 

throughout the region. 

A return visit from the London Mozart Trio got the 

season off to a brilliant start. A packed PHC was treated to 

some scintillating chamber music playing, from a very 

international trio—English pianist, Polish violinist and 

Russian cellist! The central work of their very full 

programme was one of the towering works for this 

combination—the Archduke Trio by Beethoven. 

The next concert, at our other main venue (Holy 

Trinity Church) 

featured the fun of two 

grand pianos in 

concert, played by the 

acclaimed pianist 

Martin Roscoe with 

the director of the 

series and local lad 

Christopher Symons as 

his partner. A large 

audience thrilled to 

music by Mozart, 

Saint-Saëns and 

Rachmaninov, but 

perhaps saved their 

loudest cheers for the 

final work—a Fantasia 

on Porgy and Bess 

with music from the 

opera by George Gershwin arranged by Percy Grainger. 

Back to the PHC for the next concert—a song recital by 

one of the UK’s most admired baritones, Stephen Varcoe. 

Both he and his accompanist—again the local lad—are 

Cornishmen, and the first half (songs about the sea) 

featured a couple of Cornish ditties—sung by both 

performers. The main work of the evening was the 

wonderful setting by Gerald Finzi of Thomas Hardy 

poems entitled Earth and Air and Rain in which a perfect 

rapport between the performers, coupled to a telling and 

inspired feeling for the words by the singer ensured a fine 

performance. A lusty drinking song encore by Warlock 

sent the crowd home with a warm glow. 

66 The Oswestrian 

ENSEMBLE 360 

The next concert was given by eight players from the 

chamber group Ensemble 360. These superb young 

musicians are based in Sheffield, as part of the Music in 

the Round scheme (hence their name) and they are fast 

becoming a big name throughout the UK. Their 

Red Priest with Christopher Symons 

programme included a horn quintet by Mozart (on a 

natural early horn which was demonstrated individually 

and brilliantly!) and the ever-popular Octet by Schubert. 

A true celebrity concert followed next, when we were 

treated to a glorious evening’s music in Holy Trinity by 

the highly acclaimed violinist Tasmin Little, with the 

London Mozart Players. The church was literally 

overflowing at the start of the evening, and the buzz of 

excitement was truly tangible. We were treated to 

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro Overture, then the Serenade 

for Strings by Tchaikovsky in the first half. However, the 

Beethoven Violin Concerto which concluded the concert 

was a never-to-be-forgotten finale to a great night in 

Oswestry’s musical history. 

To end the season on a note of fun and brilliance, the 

eccentric early music 

group Red Priest 

proved highly 

entertaining and 

exciting. Dressed as 

pirates, the four 

virtuoso players— 

harpsichord, violin, 

cello and various 

recorders—gave a new 

twist to the term 

‘pirating’ as they 

performed their highly 

popular evening of 

baroque music from 

the time of Vivaldi (the 

original Red Priest) 

entitled Pirates of the 

Baroque. Their 

happiness and sheer pleasure in making great music 

summed up what the series is all about, and it is to be 

hoped that an increasing number of Oswestry School’s 

own music-loving pupils, parents and staff will find 

something in the nineteenth season’s brochure which will 

entice them to come and experience the thrill and pleasure 

of live music at its very best, played by internationally 

famous stars. 

Finally, it is with enormous pleasure (and relief) that 

the school now boasts ownership of a glorious new grand 

piano in the PHC. Largely thanks to the generosity of an 

OO, Denis Inchbald, we now possess a seven-foot-six-inch 

brand new Yamaha grand piano, replacing the old (over 

100 years, in fact) Bechstein, which has done remarkable 

service since its purchase in 1989. This means that we can 

now invite any concert pianist to the school, which 

widens the scope of the series enormously. We are truly 

grateful to Denis, and hope that he will be present when 

the inaugural recital is given on it in October by John Lill. 

Christopher Symons, series director

THE HOUSE MUSIC COMPETITION 

HOUSE MUSIC COMPETITION—Adjudicators: Mrs K Lentink and Mr M Birchwood 

SPOONER 

Captains Tanny Gliksman, Charles Pierce and Brooke 

Simons-Akwah 

Choir Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (George 

Michael) 

OSWALD 

Captains 

Choir 

DONNE 

Captains 

Choir 

Tristan Hartey, Kristina Kingolts and Oliver 

Szikszay 

When I’m Sixty-Four (Lennon and McCartney) 

Tom Gonzalez and Lara White 

Something Stupid (Carson and Parks) 

BURNABY 

Captains Alice Parker, Emily Middleton and Luke 

Broster 

Choir You’re The One That I Want from Grease (Jacobs 

and Casey) 

JUNIOR SOLOISTS 

Spooner Alice Gray, voice—A Whole New World from 

Aladdin (Menken, Ashman and Rice) 

Oswald Richard Christie, piano—Für Elise (Beethoven) 

Donne Evie Lacey, piano—Petit Bateau Sur L’Eau 

(Sandre) 

Burnaby Cameron Biles-Liddell, cornet—Somewhere 

from West Side Story (Bernstein) 

INTERMEDIATE SOLOISTS 

Spooner Lucy Whitthread, voice—Girl, Put Your 

Records On (Rae) 

Oswald Thomas Rose, cornet—Adios (Madrigueva) 

Donne Tom Wilson, clarinet—Rondo (Mozart) 

Burnaby Alister Talbot, euphonium—Nessun Dorma 

(Puccini arr Wyss) 

SENIOR SOLOISTS 

Spooner Chelsea Bentley, voice—Memories from Cats 

(Lloyd Webber) 

Oswald Chuck Roberts, piano—But In Dreams from 

Lord of the Rings (Shore) 

Donne Vincent Chu, guitar—I Believe (Hyung and 

Yang arr Chris Wong) 

Burnaby Vivian Lee, piano—Fantasia in D Minor 

(Mozart) 

ENSEMBLES 

Spooner Tanny Gliksman, voice; Brooke Simons- 

Akwah, guitar; Charlotte Dade, flute; Victoria 

Bateman, cello; Oliver Dowen, bass; James 

Dawson, drums—Valerie (Thomson) 

Oswald Josh Austin, guitar; Jonathan Molesworth, 

drums; Oliver Clarke, vocals; Sam Bainbridge, 

guitar; Kristina Kingolts, guitar—I Bet You 

Look Good On The Dance Floor (Arctic 

Monkeys) 

Donne George Read, sax; Charlie Underhill, sax; 

Jessica Smith, sax; Paige Baker, brass—Groovy 

Kind of Love (Wine and Sager) 

Burnaby Emily Middleton, vocals; Natalie Lee, piano; 

Charles Manford, drums; Tom Niblock, 

saxophone—Somebody To Love (Queen) 

Captain Noah’s Zoo 

CAPTAIN NOAH and his Floating Zoo, a cantata by 

Michael Flanders and Joseph Horovitz, was 

performed by pupils in years 3 to 6 in the Peter 

Humphreys Centre. 

Singers and musicians worked hard all morning to polish 

their performance, under the skilful and encouraging 

direction of Mrs Morris and Mrs Woollam and their team. 

Their hard work paid off, for the performance proceeded 

with near perfection to a near-capacity audience who 

thoroughly enjoyed the excellent presentation. 

The pupils concentrated well and followed the direction 

sensitively. Narrators spoke their words with great clarity 

and the solo and choral singing was delivered with strength 

and feeling. The many talented musicians were confident 

and extremely proficient in their playing. 

The audience responded well and at one stage they were 

co-opted willingly into the band with a display of human 

percussion. 

As one proud parent commented on his way out: “I 

enjoyed it tremendously. The choir sang with enthusiasm 

and the musicians played to a high standard”. 

Playing in Captain Noah 

The Oswestrian 67

VARIETY NIGHT 

Mrs Morris conducts the performers of Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo 

Oswestry School Parents Association Variety Night – 9 May 2008 

Compere: Jamie Graham 

Mr John Croft 

Ukulele Surprise 

Mr Paul Stockdale 

Guitar Medley 

Concert Band 

Watch What Happens 

At The Hop 

Natasha Holmes and Alice Gray 

We’re Together At Last 

Isabelle Makin 

On My Own 


Für Elise 

Becky Long and Chelsea Bentley 

My Immortal 

Emily Lunt-Evans, Evie Lacey 

and Lewis Bebb 

Fix You 

Mrs Fiona Ashby 

Middle-Eastern Belly Dance 

Josh Austin 

Ocean 

Mr David Banks 

You Raise Me Up 

Christian Blount-Powell, Fran Dyke, Ellie Chambers, 

Jake Hunt, Natalie Makin 

Comedy Talent Show 

I N T E R V A L 

Mrs Margaret Hart 

Albert And The Lion 

Paige Baker 

Chasing Pavements 

Richard Christie and Eleanor Christie 

Bouncing Boogie 

Tom Niblock 

La Bamba 

Josh Austin and Josh Simmonds 

Master Of Puppets 

Josh Austin, Sam Bainbridge, Oliver Clarke 

and Jonathan Molesworth 

I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor 

Lucy Whitthread 

Footprints In The Sand 

Josh Simmonds 

She Was Yesterday 

Lynsey Arnott and Simon Lacon 

Time Of Your Life 

Emily Middleton 

To Zanarkand 

Kyle Real, Richard Christie, Edward Ellis-Cooper, 

Harry Williams, Lewis Bebb, Callum Lloyd-Jones 

Wonderwall 

68 The Oswestrian

A WHODUNNIT 

The Real Inspector Hound 

THIS ONE-ACT play by Tom 

Stoppard is a whodunnit spoof 

in the style of Agatha Christie’s 

The Mousetrap and was performed in 

the PHC on Wednesday 2 July in front 

of an audience of about 100. The sixthform 

cast intentionally played it for 

laughs and there were many! 

Emily Middleton (Moon) and 

Charles Manford (Birdboot) start off as 

two theatre critics but, bit by bit, get 

involved in the play they were meant 

to be watching! These two acted with 

confidence: Emily especially had a 

long part to learn and was on stage 

throughout, taking two different roles, 

as did Charles. 

Tristan Hartey (Simon Gascoyne) 

made a fine leading man, showing 

different registers in his acting as he 

moved from besotted lover to 

philanderer to murder suspect. His 

protracted kiss with Lara White (Lady 

Cynthia Muldoon) was most 

memorable! Lara made a stunning 

femme fatale, playing the role with just 

the right amount of hauteur. 

Nick Jensen (Major Magnus 

Muldoon) was hugely entertaining as 

he manoeuvred clumsily about the 

stage in a wheelchair, bumping into 

things and almost losing his stick-on 

moustache several times. Rather than 

detracting from the action this added 

extra laughs and his role was most 

accomplished. 

Others who contributed their 

talents to the production were Chuck 

Roberts (Inspector Hound), Katherine 

Stockdale (radio voice) and Lucy 

Belcher (Felicity Cunningham). Last, 

but by no means least, Abigail Jones 

(Mrs Drudge) absolutely stole the 

show as a housekeeper with a 

Lucy Belcher, Lara White, Tristan Hartey and Nick Jensen 

Abigail Jones as Mrs Drudge 

pronounced Scottish accent who made 

the audience roar with laughter every 

time she appeared on stage. Her comic 

timing was excellent and I look 

forward to seeing more of her talents 

in the future. A brilliant performance! 

Thanks to the back-stage crew as 

well: Dani Jones, Brooke Simons- 

Akwah, Andrew Parker, Katherine 

Stockdale, Jamie Graham, and of 

course to Chuck Roberts, who directed 

the play and whose brainchild the 

whole venture was. I know he sweated 

blood over this production but, Chuck, 

it was SO worth it! 

JGM 

So who dunnit? Was it Lucy Belcher, Lara White, Tristan Hartey, Nick Jensen, Emily Middleton or Charles Manford? 

The Oswestrian 69

The End of the Year 

Examination Results 2008 

GCSE 

Number of grades from A* to G, followed by (in brackets) the number of grades from A* to C. 

Catherine Bateman 10 (10) 

Chelsea Bentley 9 (5) 

Benjamin Chan 9 (9) 

Vladimer Chikvaidze 9 (2) 

Samuel Clifford 9 (6) 

Sean Crompton 9 (9) 

Millicent Evans 9 (9) 

Beatriz Gonzalez 9 (9) 

Chelsea Harper 9 (8) 

Archie Hicklin 9 (9) 

Thomas Horne 8 (3) 

Laurence Huang 9 (7) 

A-level 

Geraint Jones 9 (9) 

Sophie Jones 9 (7) 

Annie Keogh 10 (10) 

Kristian Kynaston-Evans 8 (4) 

Alex Lai 6 (3) 

Steven Leung 7 (3) 

Aaron Lin 7 (3) 

Pavlo Medenets 9 (6) 

George Mitchell 9 (8) 

Hayley Mooney 9 (7) 

Sarah Morgan 9 (5) 

Alexandra Mowbray 9 (6) 

Simeon Norris 9 (6) 

Rebecca Pearce 9 (8) 

Cian Roche 9 (9) 

James Rogers 9 (9) 

Gareth Satchell 9 (9) 

Chantelle Serrell-Cooke 9 (8) 

Joshua Simmonds 9 (9) 

Isabel Tomley 9 (9) 

Kinzi Welsby 9 (8) 

Lucy Williams 9 (9) 

Sam Wong 9 (7) 

Edward Yeung 7 (7) 

The following subjects were passed. 

Ajeeratul Abdullah mathematics, further mathematics, 

physics, chemistry 

Nornadhirah Amdani mathematics, chemistry, biology 

Luke Broster mathematics, art, ICT 

Norman Brown English, critical thinking 

Iqbal Caesar geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry 

Charlotte Canlett business studies, critical thinking, 

physical education 

Roy Cheung mathematics, further mathematics, Chinese, 

psychology 

Vincent Chu chemistry, art, business studies 

JJ Crawford biology, French, business studies 

Charlotte Dade chemistry, biology, German 

Charlotte Dingwall-Fordyce English, history, critical 

thinking 

Oliver Dowen physics, chemistry, biology 

Wen Gao mathematics, further mathematics, chemistry 

Nathaniel Gliksman English, French, art 

Tomas Gonzalez history, biology, French, critical thinking 

James Graham French, business studies 

Tristan Hartey English, history, psychology 

Christopher Harvey English, French, German 

Katie Hughes English, French, music 

William Hung Chinese, art 

Benson Ip mathematics, Chinese, art, physical education 

Carlos Ip mathematics, chemistry, biology, Chinese 

Kristina Kingolts English, French, Russian, art 

Natalie Lee Chinese, art, music 

Vivian Lee mathematics, chemistry, art, music 

Charles Manford English, history, geography 

Emily Middleton English, history, French 

Nelson Ngai mathematics, chemistry, biology, Chinese 

Alice Parker English, business studies, ICT 

Charles Pierce biology, critical thinking, physical 

education 

George Read mathematics, chemistry, biology 

Sally Roberts English, history, biology 

Sophia Serrell-Cooke English, geography, business 

studies 

Anna Shpilman mathematics, French, Russian, business 

studies 

Brooke Simons-Akwah English, history, Spanish 

Oliver Szikszay mathematics, business studies, ICT 

Lara White English, psychology, physical education 

Kevin Yin mathematics, further mathematics, Chinese, 

business studies 

George Yu mathematics, further mathematics, physics, 

Chinese 

Jialong Yu mathematics, further mathematics, Chinese 

70 The Oswestrian

PRIZES 

Prizes Awarded at Speech Day—5 July 2008 

PRIZES FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND EFFORT 

LOWER SCHOOL 

Achievement Effort 

5ARP Quiana Booker Grace Harley 

5MB Sasha Arridge Megan Williams 

6JE Richard Christie Bethan Walford 

6KLe Elwy Clarke Emily Roberts 

MIDDLE SCHOOL 

7MH Louis Fisher Jessica Tomley 

7JNM Emma Duncombe Matteo O’Mahoney 

8JEC Daisy Tickner Emma Bell 

8IJC Emily Bromage Scott Vallely 

UPPER SCHOOL 

Achievement Effort 

Year 9 Louise Aust Natalie Renwick 

Victoria Whittingham Sophie Yates 

Ruth Reynolds 

Year 10 Rebecca Long Alister Talbot 

Jonathan Molesworth David Ward 

Rebecca McMurray Alice Redmond 

Year 11 Catherine Bateman Isabel Tomley 

Annie Keogh Rebecca Pearce 

Biba Gonzalez Sam Wong 

SUBJECT, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL PRIZES 

ART 

Kristina Kingolts 

MUSIC 

Katie Hughes 

TEXTILES 

Millie Evans 

HOME ECONOMICS 

Alexandra Mowbray 

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 

Geraint Jones 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

Oliver Szikszay 

PE & SPORT STUDIES 

Charles Pierce 

GEOGRAPHY 

Iqbal Caesar 

HISTORY 

Tristan Hartey 

BUSINESS STUDIES 

Vincent Chu 

ENGLISH 


MATHEMATICS 

Ajeeratul Abdullah, Carlos Ip 

FURTHER MATHEMATICS 

Gao Wen 

PHYSICS 

Iqbal Caesar 

CHEMISTRY 

Nelson Ngai 

BIOLOGY 

George Read 

EAL 

Edward Yeung 

FRENCH 

Emily Middleton, JJ Crawford 

SPANISH 

Brooke Simons-Akwah 

LOWER SCHOOL 

MUSIC CUP 


TOMLEY CUP (DRAMA) 

Edward Ellis-Cooper 

PUBLIC SPEAKING CUP 

Elizabeth Jones 

MEDDINS CUP (CITIZENSHIP) 

Elizabeth Jones 

GIRLS’SPORTS PRIZE 

Emily Roberts 

BOYS’SPORTS PRIZE 

Edward Ellis-Cooper 

MIDDLE SCHOOL 

ELLIS CUP (MUSIC) 

Evie Lacey 

DRAMA CUP 

Lucy Whitthread 

PUBLIC SPEAKING CUP 

Isabelle Makin 

WARD SHIELD (CITIZENSHIP) 

Scott Vallely 


Lucy Williams 


Scott Vallely 

UPPER SCHOOL 

AND SIXTH FORM 

OSWESTRY TOWN COUNCIL AWARD 

(WORK IN THE COMMUNITY) 

Joshua Simmonds 

CHOIR PRIZE 

Biba Gonzalez 

LOVELL CUP (DRAMA) 


LIM TROPHY (MUSIC) 


TOMLEY CUP (SOCIAL SERVICE) 

Joshua Park 

SPOONER CUP FOR ACHIEVEMENT 

Tom Horne 


Lara White, 

Charlotte Dingwall-Fordyce 


Charles Pierce, George Read 

CUP OF GOOD CHEER 

Jamie Graham 

ENTERPRISE CUP 

Patrick Becker 

HEADMASTER’S PRIZE 

HEAD BOY 

Tristan Hartey 

HEAD GIRL 

Alice Parker 

600 PREFECT 

Nathaniel Gliksman 

POWELL CUP 

(UPPER SCHOOL CITIZENSHIP) 

Chelsea Bentley 

GIBBS CUP 

(SIXTH FORM CITIZENSHIP) 

Sally Roberts 

HOUSE CHALLENGE TROPHY 

OSWALD HOUSE 

The Oswestrian 71

THE HEADMASTER’S SPEECH 

Worshipful mayors, honoured guests, chairman, 

governors, Old Oswestrians, ladies and 

gentlemen, members of the school, 

It gives me great pleasure to welcome 

you to our Speech Day and prize giving. 

May I thank you all for joining 

with us on this very special occasion 

when we meet to celebrate the achievements 

of the pupils and staff this past 

academic year. 

I should like to give a very special 

welcome to our guest speaker and presenter 

of prizes, Jo Gambi. The chairman 

has already given you a brief biography 

of Jo and you will have begun to appreciate 

her range of talents and 

achievements. 

When I first became interested in 

mountaineering back in the early 70s the 

scene was dominated by gristled, gnarly, 

beard-toting men such as Chris 

Bonington, Doug Scott and Don 

Whillans—names with whom some of 

you may be familiar. The contrast with 

Jo, as you can see, is somewhat striking, 

but she has accomplished some amazing 

feats, not least successfully climbing 

(and more impressively descending safely) 

the highest peak on each of the seven 

continents (including Everest). I’ve seen 

pictures of Jo carrying a rucksack in 

which I could have comfortably been 

stowed away. Do not let looks deceive 

you. We are in the company today of a 

woman possessing a steely determination 

with a mental and physical 

toughness which would put many a socalled 

“hard man” to shame. 

Jo, I’m so pleased you accepted my 

invitation to be our guest speaker and 

prize giver. We trust you will enjoy the 

day and we look forward to what you 

have to say to us later. 

OUR SEXCENTENARY 

As you are all already aware 2007 was 

our sexcentenary year and I hope you 

will agree with me that we celebrated it 

in fine fashion. In the first part of the year 

we held an excellent art exhibition in the 

Oswestry Exhibition and Visitor Centre; 

then there was the St David’s Day concert 

when The Armed Man by Karl 

Jenkins was performed; a lecture by Jo 

Gambi (our guest speaker today)— 

Holding on: a story of love and survival; 

a magnificent medieval day when both 

Michael Morpurgo and Robert Hardy 

visited the school; our recital series concerts, 

including The Orchestra for the 

Age of Enlightenment and Alfred 

Brendel; the Old Oswestrians’ Reform 

Club dinner and, of course, our royal 

72 The Oswestrian 

visit by HRH Duke of Gloucester. Then, 

after Speech Day last year, we had the 

last running of the Triangle and a splendid 

summer ball. 

The Michaelmas term kept up the pace 

of activity. In September the Ukulele 

Orchestra of Great Britain performed in 

the Wynnstay Hotel and they provided 

a wonderful evening’s entertainment to 

a packed house. 

The children were entertained and 

learned new skills when Fred’s Flying 

Circus put up their big top here on the 

Maes-y-llan. 

A celebratory dinner was also organized 

at the Ivy in London where Sarah 

and I had to represent the school—well 

someone had to do it. 

Later in the term we held a concert 

in St Oswald’s parish church of music 

performed by pupils past and present, 

as well as other friends of the school. It 

was an eclectic selection of music which 

showcased the huge talent of the performers. 

My thanks to Mrs Morris and 

Mrs Woollam for organizing that event. 

Our Founder’s Day service was very 

special containing as it did some wonderful 

music and two thought 

-provoking addresses from the bishop of 

Lichfield and the president of the Old 

Oswestrians, Judge Bruce Morgan; it was 

terrific to see so many Old Oswestrians 

back to visit their alma mater, to enjoy 

the service and spend time catching up 

with old friends. The annual OO dinner 

was held in the evening in a packed 

Wynnstay Hotel and few who attended 

could have failed to be moved by the 

moving talk given by the Reverend 

Eddie Isaac, recalling the untimely death 

of a childhood sweetheart to polio, a disease 

nowadays so easily controlled. 

During the course of the weekend 

we also held a special service in the 

chapel when the Reverend Eddie Isaac 

was also involved, dedicating our magnificent 

wall hanging. This work of art 

was produced as a labour of love by a 

group of gifted, not to say industrious 

and hard-working, ladies. (Do go and 

have a look at it today if you have not already 

done so.) When I suggested the 

idea of the wall hanging several years 

ago little could I imagine that what 

would be produced would be of such 

stunning quality. Sincere thanks to all 

those involved in its creation. 

The recital series, under the able and 

inspirational leadership of Christopher 

Symons, continues to offer to the school 

and our wider community, the opportunity 

to listen to some (quite literally) 

world-renowned musicians—in the last 

eighteen months we have enjoyed concerts 

given by John Lill, Alfred Brendel 

and Tasmin Little to name but three 

artists of international standing and, my 

absolute favourite, a baroque group 

called Red Priest. At this point I ought 

also to add that, through the generosity 

of Old Oswestrian Denis Inchbald, we 

are now the proud owners of a brandnew 

Yamaha grand piano, which is in 

the PHC. This instrument, which replaces 

our aged Bechstein, is of sufficient 

quality that Chris feels able to use it for 

all the recital series concerts, even those 

including pianists such as John Lill, who 

will give the inaugural concert in 

October. 

Following on from the successful 

medieval day held in 2007 our librarian 

Arabella Gonzalez organized a hugely 

successful week-long book festival for 

all age groups called Booked Up, which 

was also open to many local schools. 

SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS 

We have also enjoyed some excellent 

sporting achievements this year. Almost 

immediately after Speech Day last year 

some of our girls went on a netball tour 

to South Africa and had a wonderful 

time, not only playing sport but also experiencing 

the country. 

Staying with girls’ sports we have, 

once again, been most successful in netball. 

Of note the U13s were so keen that 

we were able to field two teams. The A 

team were runners-up in both the North 

Shropshire tournament and the County 

Plate tournament, which was an excellent 

achievement. The U14s were 

undefeated and won the County Plate 

tournament. 

The U19s had a great season culminating 

in being runners-up in the County 

Plate tournament and winning the North 

Shropshire U19 tournament for the third 

consecutive year. For a small school such 

as ours to feature so strongly in north 

Shropshire, and even more so at county 

level, says a great deal about the enthusiasm 

and commitment of the girls (to 

say nothing of the quality of coaching) 

and they all deserve to be congratulated 

on their efforts. 

In rounders, teams were fielded for 

all age groups and although the short 

season was rain affected the U14 and 

U13 teams reached the semifinals of the 

North Shropshire tournaments. 

I’m pleased to say that tennis is 

building up again in the school with regular 

coaching available throughout the 

year and a variety of fixtures taking 

place.

Oswestry School Bellan House

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