The Record - Gordonstoun

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Around The Boarding HousesWindmill LodgeBy Mrs Amy Chapman, Housemistresshouse expedsenior athletics teamAs I look back on the termI can’t quite believe how much theWindmill girls have fitted in. Therehas been lots of laughter and funmixed with a few tears as we saygoodbye to our wonderful Year13s and some exchange students.There have been many highlights.The House exped was fun andchallenging in equal measure.Watching the girls work togetherto put up tents, something someof them had never done before,demonstrated how well these twoyear groups get on with each other.On the Saturday we took the groupover to Treezone, an adventurecourse with a twist - it’s about 15feet up in the tree tops. JessicaLeete, Year 9 said “It was so, soterrifying! We were harnessed to acord, and then had to go on lots ofdifferent obstacles, it was so hard,until you realised that you couldn’tfall! At the end was a long zipline down to the ground - you feltlike you were flying! I particularlyenjoyed that.” It was a greatweekend and the girls came backfeeling even closer than before.Tears flowed at the WindmillLeavers’ Tea Party where the girlstook the opportunity to thank theYear 13 for all they had done andwish them well for the future. Asis tradition in Windmill, each Year12 writes a poem about a Year 13and their time at Gordonstoun andreads it to the House; there wasn’ta dry eye in the room at the end.Another great highlight for theHouse was the inter-House athleticscompetition on Open Day. Thegirls were able to send out strongteams in both the Junior and Seniorcompetitions. The Juniors narrowlymissed out on the title but, in theSenior competition, Windmill won,which was a lovely way for our Year13s to finish their time here, loyalto their House to the end.On an academic front the girlshave been working hard andgaining many credit slips. In themost recent contract period 50of the 67 girls in the House werecommended at either Gold,Silver or Bronze level. A fantasticachievement and one of which weare very proud. The Windmill girlshave certainly excelled in all areasof Gordonstoun life.Not to be content with takingopportunities during the term, anumber of girls will be taking ona variety of challenges over thesummer holiday, from sailing tothe Arctic on board Ocean Spiritof Moray, taking part in ServiceProjects to Romania and Thailandand accompanying the SamworthSail Training Voyage.8Inter-House CompetitionsThere are an incredible numberof inter-House competitions,many - but not all - of which areof a sporting nature. They are anopportunity for students who likeparticipating in sports, but whoare not at a level to represent theSchool, to enter a competitiveevent during which they will comeup against keen sportsmen of allabilities.Seniors and Juniors have separateteam events in the mainstreamsports as well as in squash,badminton, table-tennis, swimming,golf, basketball, volleyball and tugof-war.Some competitions presentopportunities for individuals tocompete as well, and there arealways a hardy few every year whotake on the triathlon event.Of course, not all inter-Houseevents are sporting ones; this yearsaw the introduction of a keenlycontested Bake-off and Househymn-singing in Chapel to go withthe more cerebral debating andchess competitions.Whatever the event, theparticipants are very competitiveand keen to do the best for theirHouse and the support fromnon-participating House membersis always extremely vocal, goodnaturedand enthusiastic.
At the start of the Summer Term, a team of Royal Marinescame the School to put potential Marine candidates throughtheir paces, giving them a taste of what to expect if they areaccepted for training. The basic fitness tests were carriedout on the South Lawn where the candidates were subjectedto cries of encouragement, along with some good-naturedheckling, from students who had gathered outside to enjoy arare warm and sunny afternoon.The Gujral AwardsNEWSextrasYear 13 students JacobBunn and Sasha Norrishave become the firstrecipients of the GujralAwards for Footballand Art, donated bythe Gujral Foundation,headed by recent formerparents Mohit and FerozGujral, in recognition oftheir son Armaan anddaughter Alaiia’s careersat Gordonstoun. Jacobreceived a cut glass trophyand will also be attendinga week-long trainingacademy with Manchester United in August as part of theaward and Sasha also received a trophy and a week’s courseat the prestigious St Martin’s Art School in London.Round Square Adventure RaceA group of six Year 9 and 10 students won the Round SquareAdventure Race, held this year in Snowdonia, North Wales.After demonstrating their skills in climbing, mountain biking,night navigation, problem solving, orienteering, camp craft,canoeing and a mountain race between Nant Ffrancon valleyand Llanberis, the three girls - Joanna Monkman, IsabellaMackenzie and Catherine Prendergast - and three boys -Frankie Vetch, Archie Houldsworth and Ed Gledson, pippedtheir closest rivals, Abbotsholme, to the post by a small marginto win the event for the fourth consecutive year.The Porsche ChallengeGordonstoun Year 12 Business students have beenchallenged by Porsche’s Aberdeen Centre to hold an eventto mark the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911. Usingall of their knowledge of business, as well as their neverendingcreativity, they have come up with a plan to catchthe public’s imagination. Mr Patrick Conway, Principal ofPorsche Aberdeen, recently brought a brand new 911 toschool to help the students understand the ‘product’ part ofthe marketing mix and, while he was here, he watched thestudents’ presentations and chose a winner. The students willnow move ahead with the organisation of the October event.Staff Sporting ChallengesFollowing on from ourThey did it - Al and Kim celebratenews item in the Autumnthe end of their epic cycle.2012 Record, we aredelighted to report thatteachers Simon Burbury,Kim Barton and Al McNeillhave succeeded in theirpersonal challenges tocomplete the Marathondes Sables (Simon) and tocycle a virtual 13,800 kmroute from Gordonstounto Thailand in time for thestart of this year’s WaterProject (Kim and Al). Welldone to all three of them on their remarkable achievements.HMS Edinburgh Farewell TourGordonstoun was one of four schools in the North-East ofScotland to be chosen for a visit from a Lynx helicopter fromHMS Edinburgh, which has been making her farewell touraround the UK, prior to being de-commissioned. The Schoolhas excellent ties with the Royal Navy, presenting severalcandidates every year for consideration, and everyonewas thrilled to watch the Lynx being expertly landed on theSouth Lawn. The helicopter stayed for over an hour, duringwhich time many students, including a group from the JuniorSchool, got the opportunity to sit in the hot seats, before itheaded off to the next school eagerly awaiting its arrival.9
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Page 13 and 14: spring and summer term sportsNetbal
Page 15 and 16: ge welsh sports centreA grim Future
Page 17 and 18: sixth form lecture programmeThe Six
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The Record - Gordonstoun

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