Easter Term 2012 - St Bees School

St. Bees School 

Easter Term 2012 

Newsletter

LETTER FROM THE HEAD 

Letter From the Head 

Dates for your Diary 

Summer Term 

Dear Parents, 

As ever, this has been a busy term 

and the following pages will give you 

a snapshot of some of the events that 

have taken place over the past twelve 

weeks; illustrating everything from 

the busy sporting programme and 

musical season to charity events, the 

debating competition, senior play and 

boarding activities. 

One of the many privileges I have enjoyed as Headmaster is the 

beautiful view from my office window, which is particularly stunning 

at this time of year. During busy days in the office it is good to hear 

pupils and staff out on the pitches, whatever the weather, getting 

stuck into the sport of the season; one cannot fail to recognise the 

sound of the Prep. Department pupils running past or boys and girls 

chatting excitedly. As the pupils grow up, the sounds alter and are 

replaced by more mature conversations as young men and women 

make plans for their futures. Perhaps this is one of the greatest 

privileges a Headmaster enjoys to see pupils enter as young children 

and grow through the School into young men and women of integrity 

and confidence with aspirations for the future. Throughout their time 

at St. Bees, our pupils are guided by a dedicated staff body – who 

offer them support and encouragement throughout their educational 

careers and take great satisfaction in each individual’s success. We 

take great pride in our ability to nurture our students and aim to bring 

out the best in every individual. 

I hope you enjoy the Newsletter and I wish you a very happy Easter. 

Thursday 19th April 

Start of term 

Thursday 26th April 

Whole School Photograph 

Monday 7th May 

10.00am - Prep. Department Open Day for 

Prospective Parents 

2.00pm - Main School Open Day for 

Prospective Parents 

2.00pm - Senior Sports Day 

Sunday 13th May 

Midday - Reception for Confirmation 

Candidates and their Families in Quad 

Monday 14th May 

Start of GCE AS papers and GCSE papers 

Tuesday 15th May 

7.00pm - Family Association Meeting in the 

Whitelaw Building 

Saturday 19th May 

3.00pm - Proms on the Crease 

Saturday 26th May 

10.00am - Speech Day 

7.30am - Sixth Form Summer Ball 

Friday 1st June 

Half Term Begins 

Wednesday 20th June 

Closing Date for submission of School Prefect 

2012/13 

Thursday 21st June 

1.00pm - Tom Wright’s Olympic Torch Run 

5.30pm - Jazz Concert with Pimms in the 

Head’s Garden 

Friday 22nd June 

Prep 1& 2 Athletics Sports Day 

Monday 25th June 

3.00pm - Prep 1&2 Production - Little Monsters 

Thursday 28th June 

7.30pm - Priory Summer Concert 

Friday 29th June 

Induction Day for New Pupils 

Tuesday 3rd July 

3.00pm - Prep. Department End of Year 

Celebrations 

Wednesday 4th July 

7.30pm - Summer Term production 

Thursday 5th July 

7.30pm - Summer Term production 

Friday 6th July 

End of Term 

The full Term Calendar is now available on the 

School website www.st-bees-school.org

Hockey 

SPORTS 

During the first part of term mixed hockey is offered to all pupils and as well as the annual House matches, this 

year the U15s beat Limehouse and the U18 team also won against Austin Frairs and Limehouse. Girls and boys 

hockey is going from strength-to-strength in the area with many of St. Bees pupils playing for local clubs such 

as Western Lakes based at the Cleator Moor astro-turf and Keswick, who train at the Cockermouth astro-turf. 

Congratulations to Jonty Styles (Captain of the team) and Michael McClusky for being picked to play hockey for 

Cumbria Boys U14s. 

A recent development within the second half of the Easter term 

hockey has been the inclusion of 7s training, matches and 

tournaments. Previously it was only the senior girls who prepared 

for games and tournaments held at Carlisle, Penrith and Cleator. 

However with the U15s successes earlier in the season, it was felt 

that they were also ‘up for the task’ and they enjoyed training and 

playing matches as a 7s team. 

This season has been a very successful one for the U13 hockey 

team, both in the 11 a-side and 7 a-side format of the game. The team, ably lead by captain Sophie Kenmare, 

has developed into one of our strongest sides and, finished the season with an impressive tally of results (played 

14, won 9, drew 3, lost 2) . There has not been a shortage of goals this season, (our downfall in the past) with 

Alisha Tyson top scorer with an outstanding 13 goals, followed by Sarah Hooper and Austen Gubanc, both with 5 

goals each. It was fitting that at the end of the season the girls won their District Tournament and qualified for the 

finals tournament as U13 North County winners. Despite a solid performance against Casterton (1-1), the team 

did not win but the squad’s excellent team spirit, which has shone all season, saw them compete well against 

strong opposition. 

The U12 hockey squad has also had a good season, with all First Form 

girls gaining regular valuable match practice, which will stand them in 

good stead for the future. This year has seen the advent of the much 

enjoyed U12 West Coast Triangular Hockey Tournament between A & 

B teams from St. Bees, Nelson Thomlinson and Caldew Schools. St. 

Bees U12 A team finished second in each of the three tournaments 

(with Gemma Styles our top goal scorer) and used this experience to 

good effect to finish off the season with a sound performance in the 

North Cumbria County Tournament. 

S. Bromiley, P.E. 

Sports Dinner Dance 2012 

The annual Sports Dinner Dance was once again another 

successful evening with over seventy team players, who 

represent the School in competitive matches in more than 

14 different sports, present. The formal dinner, Captains’ 

speeches, presentation of Colours, Ceilidh and disco helped 

to create an excellent atmosphere and sports players, staff, 

parents and supporters all had an excellent evening. 


www.st-bees-school.org

Rugby 

SPORTS 

The School entered the usual 4 Sevens competitions this 

season at Austin Friars, Fylde, Keswick and the Rosslyn 

Park Nation sevens in London. This year the team was 

young and inexperienced with only one player remaining 

from the previous year’s team along with two other players 

who had some previous experience at this level. Early 

training showed some good skill levels and a willingness 

to learn and adapt to new roles. Enthusiasm was high and 

work rates were impressive at all times and the boys focus 

was very good. Unusually this year the tournaments were 

very close together and this meant recovery periods from 

injury were short, 3 tournaments in 7 days was a major commitment for a young side. 

In the first outing at Austin Friars we lost to Gigglewick 0-38, beat Durham 24-7 and lost to QEGS Penrith 5-17. 

This first outing showed a lack of real pace but also huge commitment with excellent performances by Joe 

Greene and Seb Wilson with newcomers Roy Donnan, Pete Edwards and Josh Williams showing well. The win 

against Durham was a great result. 

At Fylde the competition was very tough but we managed to reach the quarter final of the Bowl competition by 

beating Arnold 17-0 in the group and again in the play off 17-5. We also lost to Birkdale 0-29 and to St. Ambrose 

5-25. In the quarter final we lost to Dame Allan’s 5-20. Some very good performances by Dan Jones, Hayden 

Taylor and Cameron Macintosh showed we had some improving skill levels. 

At Keswick we lost to Keswick 12-5, and to Dame Allan’s 7-14 but beat Ullswater2, 19-5 . However we did not 

qualify for the final rounds. 

Rosslyn Park was blessed with very hot weather, something that was at times difficult to play in. We were in a very 

tough group and despite valiant efforts from all of the squad we lost our 

4 games. All of the team tried very hard and never let themselves or the 

School down in any way . 

Overall the lack of experience and speed were two of the determining 

factors this year, with most of the team back next year things will get 

stronger. Dan Jones captained the side well and gave his all in difficult 

circumstances, he was very ably supported by Hayden Taylor, both of 

them and the team can look back with pride in how they tried to play and 

the effort and commitment they showed. 

H.Lewis, P.E. 

Rugby 7’s Team Meet Stuart Lancaster 

After the difficult day playing Sevens at Rosslyn Park, Huw Lewis had arranged for 

the boys to meet Stuart Lancaster and be shown around Twickenham. This was an 

amazing experience and Stuart, along with OSB and Harlequins Academy Manager 

Howard Graham, gave us an hour of their time and reflected on their experiences 

whist at the School. The boys were shown backstage in the England dressing room 

and even went onto the pitch in an empty stadium still full of atmosphere. Some 

memories to hold for many years. 

Thank you both and, of course, congratulations to Stuart on his outstanding 

achievement of being appointed to the full-time post of England Rugby Manager. 

A. Keep, Rugby Coach 


Sports Relief 2012 - Pupils v Staff 

After the success of last year’s event, the pupils 

versus staff basketball match, took place in order to 

raise funds for Sports Relief 2012. A new addition this 

year was netball and the staff have recently been so 

inspired by the game that they are entering a team into 

the local Summer League (any interested parents or 

others, please contact the School for more details). 

The edges of the Sports Hall were lined with pupil 

supporters and although one of the staff’s best players 

Sandy Rogers was injured in the first few minutes, a 

notable debut performance came from the Rev Clifford 

Swartz. Thank you to all those who contributed their 

20p on the door and helped raise funds of £41.93 for 

the charity. 


SPORTS 

Harriet MacRae Competes in National 

Cross Country Championships 

For the second year running Harriet MacRae qualified 

to compete in the ESAA English Schools’ National 

Cross Country Championship. We are delighted that 

she was selected to represent Cumbria and this was an 

opportunity for her to compete against the best Cross 

Country runners in the country 

This was the 52nd Boys and 44th Girls Aviva ESAA 

English Schools’ Cross Country Championship which, 

this year, took place at NAS Merryfield, Ilton, Somerset 

on Saturday 17th March 2012. 

The weather was reasonably good (for a change!) and 

Harriet finished fourth in the Cumbria team. She is 

now looking forward to the track and field season in 

the summer and we wish her luck in all her forthcoming 

competitions. 

R. Evans, Athletics Co-ordinator 

St. Bees staff compete in ‘Back to Netball’ Tournament 

A charity ‘Back to Netball’ Tournament was held at 

Whitehaven Sports Centre on Sunday 4th March to 

raise money for Cancer Research. Teams from all over 

Cumbria were invited to play as an introduction to the 

competition for those women who have returned to the 

sport of Netball. There were two categories; teams who 

have been playing for less than one year, and teams 

who have been playing for longer than one year. 

St. Bees School had entered a team of elite women, 

but as none were available on the day, we cobbled 

together an ad-hoc collection of staff instead. Matches 

were played on two courts for 4 hours, and all teams 

were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the Tournament. Overall winners for those more established teams were 

the Millom Zebras, and the winners of the second category were the Carlisle Meerkats. The St. Bees School team 

did not disgrace themselves, and managed to secure third place in the Tournament, including a win against the 

overall winners. Emma Graham was also awarded Player of the Tournament, for her interceptions and speed on 

the court. All the teams who took part had a thoroughly enjoyable day, and raised over £200 for Cancer Research. 

E. Graham, Head’s P.A. 


SPORT IN PICTURES

Easter Music Concert 

MUSIC AND DRAMA 

Fringe Week 

This term saw another impressive performance by the 

School’s Orchestra directed by Mr. Hugh Turpin in the 

Easter Concert held in the Priory. Pupils, teachers and 

talented individuals came together to play pieces from 

the big film screen including Black Swan, The Pink 

Panther, Pirates of the Carribean and Star Wars. In 

the second half, soloists Lucy Bushby, Bryan Wong, 

Claire Evans and Megan Bardsley played pieces 

by the famous musicians, Hendryk Wieniawski and 

Hendri Vieuxtemps. The soloists were backed by the 

string orchestra. 

Thank you once again to the Family Association who 

served refreshments after the Concert. 

C. Armstrong, Marketing Dept. 

During the week (6th Feb. to the 10th of Feb.) St. Bees 

School echoed to the sound of music. In the Dining 

Halls during lunchtime, around every corner during 

break times, in the Mem Hall in activity time, performers 

could be heard singing, strumming, playing and 

generally making wonderful sounds together. It is a 

great tribute to the strength and enthusiasm of the 

Music Department at St. Bees that our performers and 

musicians are able to produce such a diverse range 

of polished performances. The acts are too numerous 

to mention, but each and every one of them needs to 

know that they give us immense pleasure and a feeling 

of great pride when we see them perform. 

J. Hawley, Marketing Dept. 

A Chorus of Disapproval 

A ‘Chorus of Disapproval’ is a play set around the rehearsals for an amateur production of John Gay’s ‘The Beggar’s 

Opera.’ Guy Jones (Dan Jones) finds himself at an audition for a part in the play and has his first encounter 

with the director of the Pendon Amateur Light Operatic Society, Dafyyd ap Llewellyn (Hugo Graham). Having 

successfully auditioned, Guy - a man who has difficulty saying no to anyone - is introduced to the rest of the Am’ 

Dram’ society: Ian and Fay Hubbard (Mac Beckwith and Amelia Pagan); Councillor Jarvis Huntley-Pike and his 

wife, Rebecca (Jack Crosby and Kelly Malan); Ted and Enid Washbrook (James Last and Elyse Adams) and their 

daughter Linda (Aditi Jehangir), who is the girlfriend of Crispin Usher (Jamie Harris) who is also seeing the brash 

stage manager Bridget Baines (Claire Evans). A tangled web of 

affairs (business and romantic) and innuendo ensues very wittily and 

engagingly performed by a wonderfully strong cast. Hugo Graham 

“played a blinder” and didn’t drop the welsh “valleys” twang for one 

instant. The cast seemed to relish the sometimes “fruity” language 

and amorous interplay. The set was, as ever, superbly designed by 

Jon Mellor and was well constructed by the School’s maintenance 

staff. This was St. Bees Drama at its best and congratulations go to 

everyone for a hilarious production. 

J. Hawley, Marketing Dept. 


This year so far... 

CHARITY 

Since September 2011 the Charity 

Committee has raised a staggering 

£2684.33 for their selected charities. 

The Committee has recently donated 

£2300 from last year’s fund-raising 

efforts, to Medic Malawi, a charity 

supporting St. Andrew’s Hospital in the 

Mtunthama region of Malawi. 


Sports Relief 

The School raised £515 for Sports Relief 

on Friday 23rd March 2012. The students 

contributed £2 each for the privilage of 

a non-uniform day. Some pupils went all 

out and came to School wearing fancy 

dress. 


Hunger Lunch 

On Friday 9th March 2012, the Catering Department swapped the usual array of delicious salads and homely hot 

meals for soup and bread in order to raise money for the School’s Charities. The Charity Committee raised £95 

in their collection on the day and £263 was saved from the usual catering costs. 


Junior Disco 

The Junior Disco raised £167 for the School Charity Committee. 

It began with an air of excitement as everyone bustled into the 

Salad Room. The atmosphere was bouncing and everybody 

appeared to enjoy themselves, dancing and having a good time 

with friends. 

C. Adams & A. McKay 

Auction of Promises 

Just under £600 was raised at this years’ “Auction 

of Promises” held on Tuesday 20th March 2012. The 

Auction had some interesting and exciting items 

including Audi R8 passenger rides, gourmet meals, 

baby sitting and even the opportunity to become a 

character in a “Mills and Boon” book. Bidders were 

more than generous and nearly all the items were 

sold. Thank you to all the buyers and contributors of 

the lots and a special thank you to Mr. Jon Mellor who 

did an excellent job as ‘Master of Ceremonies.’ 



History Trip to Germany 

OUT AND ABOUT 

The 2012 History Trip to Germany left just before 

the start of the Easter half term, with a tiring 27 hour 

journey on the coach to Wiemar, where we stayed for 

the first night, before moving on to Leipzig, Dresden 

and finally Berlin. On the way, we visited Buchenwald 

and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camps. The biting 

cold bringing home to all one of the hardships faced by 

the prisoners in these camps. We also visited several 

important locations in Berlin, such as the Brandenburg 

Gate, the Reichstag, the Stasi headquarters and more 

unusually, a former nuclear bunker... 

In the cities of Dresden and Leipzig we explored the architecture of the old quarters, and took a day out to visit 

Colditz, a POW camp in a Castle famed for the many escape attempts made from there. One evening was, of 

course, devoted to the traditional quiz, in which the Upper 6th comfortably retained their title, having won two 

years ago when they were in the 5th Form! 

We returned to St. Bees very tired after the journey back, but everybody had enjoyed themselves. We would all 

like to thank the staff and the coach drivers associated with the Trip. 

John Evans, Head Boy 

Horse Riding at Rookin House Farm 

Seven St. Bees boarders had the great opportunity to visit Rookin 

House Farm in Penrith and have a riding lesson as part of their 

weekend activity. For many it was the first time they had ridden. 

However, by the end of two hours they had all started to get to grips 

with steering and trotting. Once taught the basics, the riders were 

challenged to a game of musical cones; this involved riding their 

mounts around the outside of the arena and when the instructor 

called ‘cones’ they steered their horses to a cone. After each round 

a cone was removed. To end the session the students rode back 

through the fields to the stables. The day was great fun and a new 

experience for both horse and rider alike. 

S. Ollis, Learning Support Unit 


Morocco 2013 

OUT AND ABOUT 

We are pleased to announce that the School is planning a 14 day trip to Morocco during July 2013. Ian Carter, 

who is an International Mountain Leader and known to pupils through his work with them on Adventure Training, 

will be leading the trip, supported by other St. Bees Staff. 

The trip will be open to all pupils in Forms Four and Five as well as those studying in the Sixth Form during the 

2012-13 academic year. This is an exciting opportunity for pupils to not only visit a new country, but to extend 

their skills gained during Adventure Training and develop their independence by not only being fully involved in 

the planning and preparation for the trip, but also taking responsibility for various sections of the stay in Morocco. 

The proposed itinerary will include visits to Marrakesh, Aroumd and Essaoira and will involve trekking to Jebel 

Toubkal in the High Atlas mountains, which at 4167m is the highest summit in North Africa. 

Pupils will be involved in a community project in Aroumd, experience the delights (!) of a camel ride and enjoy 

some well-deserved rest and relaxation at the beach before returning to the excitement of Marrakesh prior to the 

return flight home. 

Further details of the trip will be sent to all eligible pupils early next year, but additional information can be sought 

from Miss Gray. 

L. Gray, Modern Languages 

Annual Skiing Trip 

Pupils from throughout the School have departed for their annual skiing 

trip to Santa Catarina, Italy. Santa Catarina is a quiet friendly village in 

the Valfurva Valley above Bormio with perfect ski slopes for beginners 

and intermediates. In the Summer Newsletter we look forward to 

hearing about their exploits and viewing snowy photographs, we hope 

they have a fantastic time. 



Easedale and Newcastle Geography Trip 

OUT AND ABOUT 

This year’s annual foray to Borrowdale and Easedale took 

part in the Spring term. We had to postpone the initial 

outing to the River Calder as the weather was atrocious on 

two occasions and so we should run this at the beginning 

of the summer term. 

We began by heading out on the A1056 to Rowrah and 

exploring the fluvial aligned landforms that the road avoids, 

cuts through or is diverted around. This drumlin field is not 

well known, but once the basic characteristics are pointed 

out the students are quite able to identify these features 

themselves - lee and stoss slopes, tree crested humps in ‘fields’ and marshy drainage in between, including 

kettle features. 

In Portinscale we visited the new soft engineering, now so well integrated that it is almost impossible to identify. 

In Keswick we talked to the engineering company that is extending the river wall with glass panels and has built 

the new bund. We spent time in 1847, the triple rated cafe in Booths, and a link to locally produced food. The 

new option at AS is ‘the Geography of Food’. This option explores the globalisation of supplies, introduction of 

new technologies such as GM food as well as organic and fair trade production. 

From here we headed to Crow Park, a drumlin in Keswick and a good 

viewing point for truncated spurs and the jaws of Borrowdale before 

heading on to Calf Close Bay. Erratics are explored here and the 

identifiable aspects of a kame introduced. There is then a drive over 

the top to Grasmere. The bulk of the day is then spent walking to 

Easedale Tarn passing Roche Moutonnee and Hanging Valley. This 

just leaves a visit to Grasmere Gingerbread, a local foodstuff with 

Cumbrian cultural identity and links to Whitehaven. 

The Upper Sixth headed to Newcastle as an example of a world city 

to support the A2 course. After a brief stop at the Metro Centre to 

explore industry, we then considered the idea of branding a city by 

visiting the Angel of the North, the Sage and the Millennium Bridge. 

We also looked at housing types and particularity the Byker Wall 

community architecture and ACANE integration project for black 

immigrants. Gaby Kitoko from DRC gave us an excellent talk before 

moving on to sustainable solutions at the Ouseburn Urban Farm. We 

had arranged to meet up with a volunteer and an ex-student currently 

studying Geography in Newcastle, Becky Paul. 

Continuing the exploration of housing we explored studentification in Jesmond before moving outwards and 

looking at semi-detached and detached housing. We dropped into Wylam, finally investigating the role of villages 

in the rural urban fringe. With fish and chips in Haydon Bridge, we then drove back to St. Bees arriving late after 

some 11 hours in the field exploring the built environment. 

M. Ollis, Geography 


CCF 

CCF 

Although this is the “closed” season for D. of E. 

expeditions, many groups have been busy making 

plans and writing route cards. We expect several 

expeditions to take place during the coming holiday, 

and other groups will be on the fells as soon as they 

have finished their public examinations in the Summer. 

All of these cadets will be overseen and sometimes 

assessed by Major Linda Johnston and WO1 Sandy 

Rogers, to whom we extend our thanks. 

We also warmly congratulate Sandy on the honour 

of being awarded a Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate for 

excellent service to the CCF, which he will receive from Sir James Cropper, one of our governors, towards the end 

of May. No one deserves it more. 

The main event of this term was the Biennial Review of the 

Contingent. We have an Inspection Day annually, of course, but it is 

“official” only on alternate years, when we hope that the Reviewing 

Officer will find us efficient and worthy of continued funding. This 

year, our Reviewing Officer was Colonel Tom McMullen, MBE, the 

Commandant of Cumbria ACF. Although he has wide experience 

of the cadet world, we were the first CCF Contingent that he had 

visited. 

On a cold and intermittently wet day, he saw a variety of training. 

3 Platoon were preparing for their Military Expedition in June, and 

were learning how to pitch tents; what to do in an emergency; 

how to cook in the field; how to pack a rucksack and how to 

read a map. Meanwhile, 4 Platoon, courageously led by 5 

Platoon, spent the morning 

training for a Platoon attack 

exercise, in which the Senior 

NCOs played the enemy. 

This was carried out after 

lunch with great élan. The rain stopped, and the instructors from 40 Cadet 

Training Team were pleased with the military skills on display. Many thanks 

to Sergeant Tony Pearson and his team. 

At the end of the day, Colonel McMullan presented the trophies and prizes. 

He began by presenting D. of E. Gold Awards to thirteen past and present 

members of the Contingent. All of these had been achieved during the last 

year, which is a remarkable total in a School of our size. He left, apparently 

well pleased by what he had seen. We look forward to reading his report! 

Lt.Col. J D Evans, Contingent Commander. 


BBC School Report 

BBC News School Report gives 11-16 year old students 

in the UK the chance to make their own news reports for a 

real audience. Using lesson plans and materials from the 

BBC website, and with support from BBC staff and partners, 

teachers help students develop their journalistic skills to 

become School Reporters. Pupils from the Second Form 

participated in this event on Thursday 15th March and all 

pupils had a role to play in getting the news published on 

their web page by 14:00 hours. The computer rooms were 

transformed into a news room and news studio where local and 

national news reports were produced. Some pupils then wrote 

articles for publication and 

others became news readers for the day. The pupils managed to talk to 

Stuart Lancaster the England Rugby coach and Old St Beghian, as well as 

interviewing the prospective Headmaster Mr. James Davies. A wide variety of 

articles appeared on the web site and all pupils had a great experience of what 

it might be like to work in a busy news room. 

S. McNee, IT 

Lower Sixth Formers are top performing in Shares4Schools competition 

MAIN SCHOOL 

St. Bees School has been entering the Shares4Schools Competition, run by 

The Share Centre, for the past four years. Presently the St. Bees team of 

three Lower Sixth Formers is the top performing team out of the 54 schools 

entered for the competition. Each team has a £1500 sum of money to invest 

in the London stockmarket with the aim of increasing the capital sum over 

the period from October 2011 through to May 2012. Presently the St. Bees 

portfolio is worth nearly 50% above its original value, and is holding shares 

principally in the Oil & Mineral Sectors. 

Stop Motion 

Team members – Bruce Bardsley, Mac Beckwith and Will Fennell, all day 

pupils from the local area - meet at least once a week to discuss present 

and future strategies. The Headmaster, Philip Capes, and Bursar, Gordon 

Stokes who mentor the team are delighted with their pupils’ performance in 

the competition this year. All three students have learnt a great deal about 

investing in the stockmarket and now realise the importance of researching a 

company’s history thoroughly before purchasing any shares. 

P. Capes, Headmaster 

This term the Third Form have been learning the fun and creative 

animation technique, ‘stop motion’. To create a ‘stop motion’ video 

an object is moved in small increments between individually 

photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when 

the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. The 

class worked in teams and created short video using poker 

chips, stick men and small manikins. 



MAIN SCHOOL 

Young Enterprise 

Congratulations to Young Enterprise for winning first 

prize at the West Cumbria Area Final held at Maryport 

on Thursday 22nd March 2012. 

This term the team have been selling a new version 

of their cookbook with laminated pages. They have 

also developed a new Best of British colouring book, 

with traditional British images to colour. Finally, for 

Valentines Day, the team sold tasty treats to pupils and 

staff which were then delivered by some very tanned 

cupids (see below). 

Young Enterprise will take their products to the Cumbria 

Area Final in Carlisle on Thursday 10th May 2012. 

A. Carnegie, Economics 

ESU Debating Competition 

The Debating Team from the Upper Sixth 

was in action recently in the ESU Mace 

Debating Competition in Blackpool. 

The team, consisting of John Evans 

and Hayden Taylor, had qualified from 

the first round match that was held at 

St. Bees last term, and this time were 

debating the motion “Celebrities who 

commit crimes should be punished 

more harshly”. The opposing team 

was the hosts, Blackpool Sixth Form 

College. We were well matched with 

our opponents, and a fierce debate on 

the ethics of punishment and justice 

followed. Unfortunately the opposition 

team were judged to have just beaten 

us this time, but the judges commended 

both sides, and we will return next year 

with a new team to try again. 

John Evans, Head Boy 

Twenty three St. Bees pupils score within the top 40% 

in national maths competition! 

The UKMT Individual Maths Challenges are lively, intriguing multiple 

choice question papers, which are designed to stimulate interest in 

Maths. The Intermediate Challenge is aimed at the top third of pupils 

in Years 9 - 11. The challenge involves answering 25 questions in one 

hour. 

This year we entered 51 pupils and were awarded 23 certificates: 

Gold certificates were awarded to - Thomas George, Bronte Armstrong 

and Hamish Smeaton. 

Silver certificates were awarded to - Thomas Howarth, Tom Hooper, 

Claire Evans, Pamela Fell, Yiyan Li, Moritz Wietlisbach, Holly Gubanc, 

Charles Adams, Amelia Tyson, Matthew Last and Jonty Styles. 

Bronze certificates were awarded to - Drew Cox, Callum Waite, Heather 

Redhead, Emerson Beckwith, Olivia Graham, Daniel Roberts, Tia 

Pullin, Alistair Craig and Ciaron Newland. 

Special congratulations go to Thomas George and Hamish Smeaton 

who have both qualified for the European Kangaroo. 

R. Evans, Maths 


INTERNATIONAL PUPILS 

International Pupil of the Term 

Anson Tang, an International Student from Hong Kong, joined the School at 

the beginning of the Easter term. In just short three months Anson’s English 

has improved dramatically, impressing both Mr. Williams, the Director of the 

International Centre and Anson’s class mates. Anson tells us why he is working so 

hard and his ambitions for the future: 

‘My name is Anson Tang and I am 17 years old. I am working hard for future, 

which has a long way to go. My ambition, which is quite competitive, is to pursue 

engineering at university, and I want to study at Imperial College. Although it is 

extremely difficult, it is my dream so now I must fulfill it. For the time being, I have 

a satisfied school life. I am now in a good study atmosphere, which means I have 

no excuse to fail in my study. Added to this, my life is getting healthier. I have met 

many friends here and have a regular exercise routine to keep my body physically 

healthy. I used to be very vulnerable, always suffering from illness. I think studying abroad is a turning point in 

my life. 

For my quiet side, I can play guitar during my leisure time, or do some reading for study and for fun. I think I 

might be an introverted person. Sometimes I prefer a quiet environment rather than a big party, but I like meeting 

many different people.’ 

A. Tang, I.C 

Silvia becomes a published poet! 

Silvia Zhang, an International Pupil studying in the Sixth 

Form has been selected as a winner in the National Young 

Writers’ ‘Express Yourself’ competition. Silvia’s poem, 

The Tree, has been published in the Young Writers’ book. 

Congratulations Silvia! 

The Tree 

She has been standing there over a thousand years, 

Who cares 

Laughing in the air, hiding the tears and despair, 

Who is aware 

The sun will die as the people flow by, 

She is still standing in the river of time, 

Witnessing all the truths and lies, 

Waiting for her leaves to turn to blood red wine. 

The wind blows, 

The leaves flow 

High then low. 

Filling the endless road. 

When is the end 

A deafening silence, 

The life, the mind, the time. 

I am just a moment. 

Silvia Huang (Di Huang) 

Chinese New Year 

On Monday 23rd January our Chinese pupils 

celebrated Chinese New Year - this is the year of 

the Dragon - with a delicious meal in the Dining Hall. 

Traditional Chinese red envelopes containing money 

were exchanged to wish each other good luck and 

fortune for the future. 

During the week, five of the I.C. pupils Angela Chen, 

Anson Tang, Enihs Liao, Holly Zhang and Jane 

Zhang visited three local Primary Schools including 

the Village School to talk to the children about the 

Chinese New Year and how they celebrate this big 

occasion in China. The children were very intrigued 

and even had a go at writing their names in Chinese . 

C. Armstrong, Marketing. Dept. 


Ex - Pupil volunteers as a Law intern in Cape Town 

OSB 

Ben Greene, a young Old St. Beghian who left St. Bees in July 2011, has 

been working at a Human Rights Office in Cape Town, South Africa for 

the past two months. Ben has a keen interest in law and wants to gain 

experience before starting his studies at York University. Ben has kindly 

taken a few moments to describe his ‘eye-opening’ experience helping 

refugees 6000 miles away from home. 

“Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa; 14 hours and 6000 miles away 

from home. A city of 4.5 million people which to a tourist looks deceptively 

“Western”, yet is still subject to the same crime and unemployment 

problems typical of the African continent. 

I have been living here for 10 weeks working as a legal intern in a Human 

Rights Office; providing legal services and representation to some of the poorest people on the Cape Flats. 

My day-to-day work includes writing emails to banks, drafting legal and court documents, researching useful 

legislation, attempting to reason with landlords and employers and generally reassuring clients that their problems 

are solvable given enough time. 

I have been fortunate enough to help around 30 clients during my time here; their problems ranging from debt 

to domestic violence, labour claims to rental housing disputes and rape to immigration issues. I would love to 

publish all their stories, but have neither the time nor the literary skills to do them all justice. At the moment I am 

working on a common assault charge delegated from the Government’s Human Rights Commission. 

My time here has been both eye-opening and awe inspiring. My clients’ stories, often tragic, really emphasise 

the problems faced by Central and Eastern Africa at the moment, in particular Rwanda, Sudan and the DRC. 

Problems that are perhaps not given the media attention they deserve back home. 

I would like to encourage anyone, who has even the vaguest thought of working in this field, to come to Cape 

Town and see what the project is all about. If you were ever unsure about a career in the legal profession I can 

assure you that by the end of this your placement here, you will know one way or the other!” 

B. Greene, Ex-Pupil 

‘Guess who came to Dinner’ 

On the 8th February 2012, we were delighted to 

be visited by Old St. Beghian and well known actor 

Rowan Atkinson. Rowan made a personal visit to the 

School and was shown around by Head Boy, John 

Evans and Head of School, Sam Grunsell. John and 

Sam had the pleasure of joining Rowan for lunch in 

the Dining Hall. 

The staff and pupils were thrilled to be able to welcome 

Rowan back to School and everybody was excited at 

the opportunity of meeting him. 

C. Armstrong, Marketing Dep. 


PREP. IN PICTURES 


Happy 100th Birthday Bill! 

OSB 

Leading allergy expert and Old Boy Dr. William 

Frankland celebrated his 100th birthday on Monday 

19th March 2012, making him St. Bees’ oldest ‘Old 

St. Beghian.’ Bill attended St. Bees School in the early 

1930s before going on to study at Oxford University and 

then St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. Although a century 

old, Bill Frankland is a very busy man – he remains a 

senior practioner in the management and treatment of 

allergies along with attending international conferences, 

speeches and official dinners. 

During an interview on BBC’s One Show, Dr. Frankland, who initiated the idea of a pollen count to help hayfever 

suffers, talked about working alongside Alexander Fleming at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, his time spent 

as a Japanese POW and being flown to Iraq to treat Saddam Hussain. Earlier this year, Bill became the oldest 

man to give evidence in court, defending a man who claimed to of lost control of his car after having been stung 

by an insect and then having a severe allergic reaction to it. 

St. Bees School is grateful and honoured to have an centenarian Old Boy as extraordinary as Bill Frankland and 

we are more than delighted that he will be joining the School for Speech Day being held this year on Saturday 

26th May 2012. 

To read more about Dr. William Frankland’s life, please do visit the School website (www.st-bees-school.org). 


Old Boy, Stuart Lancaster 

confirmed as England Head 

Coach! 

St. Bees School is very proud to 

congratulate Old Boy, Stuart Lancaster, 

who has now been appointed as England’s 

RU Head Coach. We wish Stuart the best of 

luck in his new position. 


The School Archives 

Books, prints, photographs, programmes, scrapbooks, silverware, 

guns, swords, oil paintings, school uniforms, musical instruments, 

recordings, canes, diaries, magazines, letters, in fact, you name it 

and the School Archives are probably looking after an example of 

it, and we are always looking for more. 

The collection has not happened by chance. In the 1980s a start 

was made by Mr I.C. Robson, then Head of Physics, to gather 

together what had survived from some four hundred years of 

School life. 

I took over as Archivist in the early 1990s and have continued 

the process of collecting and preserving material. The Archives 

are now stored safely in rooms in Foundation. In recent years 

the collection has been enhanced 

by occasional donations from Old 

St Beghians and every donation is 

welcomed, no matter how apparently 

trivial. Should any reader care to 

look at the Archives, just contact the 

undersigned via the School. 

A.J.H.Reeve, Archivist 


OTHER NEWS 

Tom selected to run with Olympic Torch 

Tom Wright, a Fourth Form pupil who joined St. Bees School in 

September 2011, has been selected as a Torch Bearer for the 

Olympic Torch Relay. Tom was nominated in recognition of his 

dedication to raising money for the Leukaemia & Lymphoma 

Research Charity and for his contribution to Music. In this field 

he has brought local communities together with performances 

in Local Festivals and School shows that always have a charity 

theme. Tom has participated in the BUPA Junior Great North 

Run on three occasions for the Leukaemia & Lymphoma 

Research charity and to date has raised £965 for the Charity. 

Alan Turing Competition 

Tom will be joining the London 2012 Torch relay team at 

Ambleside on 21st June 2012. Members of the School will be 

lining the streets to cheer Tom on as he runs past. For more 

information on this Olympic celebrations trip please contact 

Sarah Bromiley, Head of Girls Games. 


School Debating Competition 

This term the “Gifted and 

Talent” group have been 

cracking codes in the 

Alan Turing Centenary 

Cryptography Competition. 

The competition has been 

organised by the School 

of Mathematics at the 

University of Manchester 

for 11 - 16 year olds to 

celebrate the centenary of 

Alan Turing, mathematician 

and founding father of computer science. The 

competition follows the story about the adventures of 

Mike and Ellie, two children, who get caught up in a 

race around Manchester, solving a number of secret 

codes, as they hunt for the long-lost ‘Turing Treasure’. 

A chapter is released every fortnight. The Gifted and 

Talented group have been working in teams of 4 to 

crack the codes and submit the code word to the 

competition website. The competiton will finish on 16th 

April 2012 and results will be posted on a leaderboard. 

The three teams at the top of the leaderboard will win a 

cash prize. We wish the “Gifted and Talented” group 

good luck for the final stages of the competition. 


The debates, as always, have been a huge success 

as many teams have been involved competing against 

one another. It was a challenge for all the teams. 

Good public speaking skills and self-confidence were 

promoted in the pupils. It was great as a lot of pupils 

turned up at the debates to support their classmates. 

The English Department hopes to see a greater number 

of teams compete year on year and hopes that, even 

those who did not make it to the final this year will return 

in 2013. The success of this competition will result in a 

whole School Debating Competition being held in future 

WinterTerms. Then students can test their skills against 

teams of all ages, from the Prep. Department all the way 

up to a possible staff team. This years’ Junior Debating 

is on Friday 30th March is between Claire Evans & Aditi 

Jehangir from the 5th Form, against Tom Wright & Oscar 

Hendry-Pickup, from the 4th Form. We are sure that, as 

in previous years, it will be a close competition. 

J.Peat & E. Beckwith, Pupils 


EASTER TERM IN PICTURES

Easter Term 2012 - St Bees School

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