4.3 MB - Blundell's School

James Mayes, left and Ali Taylor, rightMr James MayesMoving to Blundell’s, having studied History and Ancient History atNottingham University, it is easy to speculate, why here? We do not haveto look far for the connection between Mr Mayes and Blundell’s. He waseducated at nearby Wellington School – the bucolic setting is not dissimilarto Blundell’s, although let’s not allow local rivalries to come in here - andMr Mayes’ sister, Emily, actually attended Blundell’s, leaving just last year.It is immediately evident that Mr Mayes has a passion and understandingfor Classics. He is one of our two Graduate Assistants and has settled invery quickly. Currently in his first teaching year, he has made animmediate impact on the Classics department, concentrating on theyounger end of the Blundell’s community, which undoubtedly is whereone requires unconditional patience. When students first learn Latin it canbe a daunting and mystifying process, as is the case with all foreignlanguages. I suspect that Mr Mayes has managed to be both forgiving andinformative with his classes and it is this ethos that has already made himso popular with his SH students. He is also teaching some World Studies.Outside the classroom Mr Mayes is a very accomplished hockey playerand he has already become deeply involved with both the girls’ and boys’hockey programmes. Having helped Mrs K with the 1st X1 girls last term,he has now taken charge of his first solo team, the U13A boys.We are all very fortunate that he has chosen to start his career atBlundell’s and we hope that he continues to enjoy it as much as heobviously has to date.Oscar Mustard Yr 10Mr Ali TaylorAt the beginning of this year, we werejoined by Mr Ali Taylor, who had recentlycome from Nottingham Trent Universityafter studying Sports Sciences andManagement. Since being accepted towork at Blundell's as part of a one yearcontract, he has already been a greataddition to school life.Mr Taylor attended King's Hall and thenKing's College Taunton – for which weforgive him! – so he was very familiar withBlundell's from an early age. Rugby is hismajor passion and he has experiencedwinning the Rosslyn Park Sevens title andhe still plays for Wellington RFC. Last termhe coached the U14B team and the boysresponded well to his competitive spirit byhaving a very strong season; we can onlyspeculate as to whether he enjoyed their37-0 win over his old school or not!Mr Taylor is proving to be an invaluablesupport to the PE and GamesDepartments.Mr Taylor says that he is already very fondof Blundell's and is especially grateful forthe warm welcome that students and staffhave given him. We all wish Mr. Taylor anenjoyable rest of the year at Blundell's!Rowan Carew Yr 1023