Twycross Newsletter AutumnWinter 2021

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
2020/2021

First Year - Autumn Term Activities
LIGHT
We brought
torches into
school and
explored all of
the dark places
that we could
find. The cellar
was incredibly
dark, and very
exciting.
AUTUMN TERM 2020
First Year children have settled into
school life at The Hollies very well.
We are, making friends, working
hard and learning so much!
SHAPES
We can make amazing pictures
with 2D shapes.
Bee Bot
We have been
using Bee
Bot to learn
about simple
programming.
SPECIAL PLACES
We have been exploring the garden
at The Hollies. We had to find a
special place. There were so many
to choose from.
Sukkot
We made a
Sukkah when we
were finding out
about Sukkot.
The roof has to
have holes in it
so that you can
see the stars.
Atherstone Food Bank
“A Gift for a child at Christmas”.
Thank you for your generous
donations.
Wellbeing
This year, as part of the overall
Mental Health and Emotional
Wellbeing programme, we have
introduced Yoga and Mindfulness
classes for the children. The aim is
to improve the children’s strength,
motor skills and balance, whilst,
at the same time, enhancing their
focus and concentration. Each
session typically includes breathing
exercises, a Cosmic Kids adventure
and guided relaxation meditation.
A Special, virtual
visit from Father
Christmas
2

First Year - Autumn Term Activities
Our displays this term show how hard we have been working
3

First Year - Summer Term Activities
Ahoy there!
The First Year children had an
exciting time in the Pirate Wood
(more usually know as Orton Wood).
They found campfires, saw holes
made by cannon balls and followed
clues to find golden treasure. Some
children even walked the plank!
Billy Goats Gruff
The First Year children had a very
urgent letter from the Three Billy
Goats Gruff. They had run out of
grass in their new field!
The children decided to help and
grow some more grass. They used
a tray, compost, water and seeds.
The tray was put in a bright place.
When the grass had grown they
cut it and sent it off to the Billy
Goats; Mrs Bryan and Mrs Rayson
gave them a stamp!
Delicious!
The First Year children made delicious
sandwiches using healthy ingredients.
We were hoping to have a picnic
in the garden but rainy weather
meant we had a ‘carpet’ picnic in the
classrooms.
4

Second Year - Autumn Term Activities
Baking
We enjoyed making delicious apple
pies with apples from our very own
school garden.
Bear Hunt
In September, the 2nd Years enjoyed a visit to
Orton Woods. We marched around the woods
hunting for bears who were hiding!
Science
This term the 2nd Year children have been carrying out several science
investigations. In our first half term we explored the human body and our senses.
Thinking of others
- Christmas Cards
to Linden Lodge
Residents
We have sent cards to local care
homes, our local elderly, Twycross
Zoo and local support services such
as the Fire Station in Bosworth. We
hope that the children’s creations
will put a smile on people’s faces
and cheer the hearts of every one
who receives a card.
Wellbeing
This year, as part of the overall
Mental Health and Emotional
Wellbeing programme, we have
introduced Yoga and Mindfulness
classes for the children. The aim is
to improve the children’s strength,
motor skills and balance, whilst,
at the same time, enhancing their
focus and concentration. Each
session typically includes breathing
exercises, a Cosmic Kids adventure
and guided relaxation meditation.
Diwali
We have been learning about the
festivals of light including Diwali,
Hanukkah and Christmas.
A Special, virtual
visit from Father
Christmas
5

Second Year - Autumn Term Activities
Gingerbread Treats!
Christmas Puddings
Beautiful handmade Christmas
pudding decorations will adorn
your tree this season, thanks to our
difficult but delicate work.
We each sent a letter to Her
Majesty the Queen telling her
all about ourselves. We were
delighted to receive a royal
response!
We have been working really hard
and have produced some lovely
writing & art work.
6

Second Year - Summer Term Activities
Strawberry Farm
Following on from learning about growing we had a lovely morning at the
strawberry farm. We saw how the plants are grown, had a trailer ride, and each
of us picked a full punnet of delicious strawberries to take home. Thank you to
Mr Busby and his team!
Magnetic attraction
After predicting and testing a
variety of objects to see if they
were magnetic, we had a fun
magnetic fishing game.
Recycle
In the Second
Year we have
been talking
about looking after our planet by
reducing, re-using and recycling.
We are all delighted to have been
awarded a Green Blue Peter badge!
Easter egg drop
Using a variety of materials
we investigated which material
would best protect an egg dropped
from a height. We had
a smashing time!
7

Third Year - Autumn Term Activities
Cooking
The third year enjoyed cooking this half term. Firstly as part of science the
children made healthy vegetable wraps, discussing the benefits of healthy
choices. The children all got involved with cutting, grating and slicing, the
children produced some very delicious looking wraps. The following week
the children made some “Fire of London” biscuits. These, thankfully, didn’t
burn, and were very tasty.
Hand Washing
As we continue to emphasise
hygiene, 3o and 3y experimented the
best ways to wash our hands. The
children rubbed oil and cinnamon
into their hands and then washed
them in different water bowls.
Thankfully, the warm water and soap
was the winner!
How exercise affects our bodies
In science we have been
finding out how exercising
can affect our bodies. We
found our pulse and noticed
how it increased after
exercise. We are very fit!
Great Fire of London
As a conclusion to the topic
“The Great Fire of London”, the
third years experienced how a
fire spreads.
We assembled our Tudor Houses
in tight rows, as they would have
been in 1666. The fire was started
at one end of the street and
with the wind, it carried quickly
and spread to the other houses.
Thankfully some of the houses
beyond the fire break survived.
We collected water from the “River
Thames” in buckets and worked
as a team to put the fire out! Our
own firefighters did a super job of
extinguishing the blaze!
Wellbeing
This year, as part of the overall
Mental Health and Emotional
Wellbeing programme, we have
introduced Yoga and Mindfulness
classes for the children. The aim is
to improve the children’s strength,
motor skills and balance, whilst,
at the same time, enhancing their
focus and concentration. Each
session typically includes breathing
exercises, a Cosmic Kids adventure
and guided relaxation meditation.
8

Third Year - Autumn Term Activities
Electricity
This term we have had fun learning
all about electricity. The children
have learnt how to make their own
electrical circuits to light up a bulb,
sound a buzzer and power a motor.
Outside learning
We use the school grounds whenever we can to explore our curriculum. We
went outside to look closely through magnifying glasses, try bark rubbings,
collect interesting artefacts and make rainbow sticks.
A Special, virtual visit from Father Christmas
As always, Christmas time is busy with craft making; using our skills to create
cards, calendars and decorations.
Releasing Butterflies
As part of our science work this
term we studied the life-cycle of
butterflies. There was great joy
when we successfully released
the Painted Ladies into the
school garden.
9

Third Year - Autumn Term Activities
As always, Christmas time is busy with craft making; using our skills to create cards, calendars and decorations.
10

Third Year - Summer Term Activities
Science
Our Science topic ‘Plants’ started with the Third Year
learning about seed dispersal. We researched different
types of seeds and then had a go at making our own
seed models. Then we investigated hydroponics systems
and experimented with germinating and growing seeds
without soil.
We finished the topic by harvesting our cress plants and
making some yummy egg and cress sandwiches.
Pond Dipping
Following on from our trip to Orton Woods, the Third
Year visited the natural pond at Twycross House. The
children have been studying different habitats and
food cycles. They were very excited to discover lots
of water beetles, fresh water shrimp and two large
smooth newts.
Rainforest
As part of our topic work the children constructed their
own 3D models of a rainforest. Their superb models
featured the different layers of vegetation and a variety
of rainforest animals. These models were completed at
home, many thanks to all the parents and carers for their
support in creating these magnificent models!
11

Fourth Year - Autumn Term Activities
Climate Change
The 4th Years have been
discovering ways in which they
can protect the planet and prevent
further global warming. Reduce,
re-use, and recycle!
Finbar’s walk
Congratulations to Finbar Millen
from class 4O who walked the 42
mile Battlefield and Borderlands
Way to raise money for the
charity Riding for the Disabled
Association. In total he raised
£289.
Investigating
The 4th Year children have shown a real interest in their science topic this
term. They have learned about the bones and muscles in a human body
and about rocks and fossils. They have really enjoyed learning about two
prominent scientists in history- Marie Curie and Mary Anning.
Finbar said,’I chose RDA because
I love riding and horses and I was
really sad to hear that during the
Covid pandemic, they had to sell
one of their horses’.
Finbar has his own fundraising
page at www.gofundme.com and
search ‘Finbar’s Battlefield and
Borderlands Way walk’.
Volcano Experiment
As part of the geography topic
“Extreme Earth” the 4th Years
conducted an explosive experiment,
recreating a volcanic eruption. The
lesson certainly went with a BANG!
Autumn Art
This term, the 4th Years have been
busy creating autumn art. Much fun
was had using clay to model their
hedgehogs – ready for hibernation!
12

Fourth Year - Autumn Term Activities
Sewing and Christmas Art
The children have been very busy creating lots of Christmas art work. They are very proud of their finished products!
Wellbeing
This year, as part of
the overall Mental
Health and Emotional
Wellbeing programme,
we have introduced
Yoga and Mindfulness
classes for the
children. The aim is to
improve the children’s
strength, motor skills
and balance, whilst
at the same time,
enhancing their focus
and concentration.
Each session typically
includes breathing
exercises, a Cosmic
Kids adventure and
guided relaxation
meditation.
A Special, virtual
visit from Father
Christmas
13

Fourth Year - Summer Term Activities
Game planning
What fun we had when the Fourth Year children worked collaboratively to
plan a game using a variety of PE equipment. The children then had to write
a carefully, clear set of instructions explaining the rules of their game for
another group of children to follow. We realised how important it is to plan
our writing carefully!
Strawberries
Alice Busby kindly brought in a
whole range of different sized
strawberries to demonstrate the
life cycle of a strawberry plant. It
was great to see.
Victorians
In lieu of our usual Victorian school trip, The Hollies Museum provided the
children with an opportunity to have a hands-on Victorian experience. The
teachers particularly enjoyed wielding the cane!
Bees and Walk
around the garden
The Fourth Years have marked
World Bee Day by completing a
variety of bee- related activities.
They enjoyed a science walk
around The Hollies garden,
admiring the beautiful flowers
coming into bloom.
Shadows
We were fortunate
that the sun shone for
us when we wanted
to investigate how
the length, shape and
position of shadows
changes during the
day. Thanks to Alice
for being our model.
14

Whole School
Sports Day
What a fabulous morning we had on a sunny morning in June! Miss Blencoe organised a super morning of races and
PE skills. She even arranged for the sun to shine. We were sorry not to be able to have spectators this year but much
fun was had by children and staff alike. The morning ended with a chest full of stickers and a well-earned ice lolly!
Thank you, Miss Blencoe, for all of your enthusiasm and hard work.
Charity
Christopher (left)
raised £1,347 for
The Captain Tom
Moore Foundation,
by completing 100
laps of his local park,
after hearing that
Captain Tom had
sadly passed away.
Seren rings in the
end of her Treatment
It was the Fourth Years’ great
pleasure to be able to celebrate
the end of Seren’s treatment by
watching her ring the Children with
Cancer bell. Many congratulations
to Seren on reaching this wonderful
milestone on her journey.
Oliver (left) raised
£2,192 for Cancer
research, by cycling
200 miles in a month!
Layla (right) had her
first ever haircut,
donating her hair
along with £1,224 for
Little Princess Trust .
15

Whole School
A tree for every child
We managed to secure, through The
Woodland Trust, a tree for each child
at The Hollies to take home to plant.
Yoga
This year all of The Hollies students
have enjoyed regular yoga sessions.
A typical session begins with a
breathing exercise, followed by
a Cosmic Kids Yoga adventure
and finally a guided relaxation/
meditation.
Cups
Huge congratulations to the children who were
nominated for The Hollies annual cups.
Drowning Prevention
During Drowning Prevention week,
all children at The Hollies watched a
PowerPoint presentation on Safety
in the water by the RLSS.
Fire Safety
All children at The Hollies watched
a video about Fire Safety,
presented by the Leicestershire Fire
and Rescue Service.
16

Summer School - Art
17

Summer School - New Intake
18

Summer School - Sport
19

Key Stage 3
Bake off challenge
Bake off challenge winners. This
was so tricky, they all looked so
yummy (I do love cake!!)
The winners are:
Neave O’Shea
FA-BU-LOUS!
Lauren Garland for her
rainbow cake (a brilliant
theme combining hope,
thanks and cake!)
Daisy Whitehall
BE-AU-TI-FUL (breathtaking
decoration, Daisy!)
Harry Trye Instagrammable
loveliness in a sponge :)
(extremely professional)
Thank you so much to all of you
who took part, I hope you enjoyed
the baking and the eating of it as
much as I enjoyed judging!
Lockdown
Photo Challenge
I have been very impressed with
the photography skills and the
quality of the compositions.
Some photos have been carefully posed and composed with varying
subjects whereas others have been successful through chance encounters
in the natural world.
Congratulations to everyone who took part.
Mrs V Knight
The winners are:
Ellen Simmons S2Y A very striking flower composition with vivid
colours. This really stands out and makes me think of spring.
Tom Blood S2Y Two beautiful spaniels sitting to attention. Really
nicely composed photo and the snow on the field really helps the dogs
to stand out.
Harry Trye S1Y A family of ducks beautifully composed and you have
really caught the action on the water.
Harry Ewing-Gerrard S1Y A fabulous bird life shot. A super photo of a
baby bird caught in a snowy garden. Although you must have had to
be quick at taking this, Harry, the compostition is really good
Scarlett Tombs S1Y A beautiful close up – not easy to achieve – and it
is well balanced. You really capture the personality of your lovely dog.
Saehj Bisel 5Y Your shot of a frosty field is not only really well composed
but your soft colours give a very atmospheric feel to the photo
20

WINNER
WINNER
WINNER
Form 5Y Isolation
Bake-off!
Owing to isolation Form 5Y missed
a number of days from school. For a
challenge Mr Knight asked them to
bake a marble cake and send photos
of the results to him for judging.
Congratulations to the winners:
Best decoration:
Lilly Winter (top left)
Commitment to cake:
Ella Walker (top middle)
Best Cake Selfie:
Oliver Timberlake (top right)
21

Twycross Music – the year of the video
COVID has of course affected all
our lives with restrictions to what
we can and cannot do in both our
personal and professional lives.
In the music department this
has prevented us from running
ensembles of children from different
year groups (such as the school
orchestra and the choirs), putting
on concerts and it has even affected
what we are permitted to teach in
the classroom.
However, from this pit of negativity
has emerged, like the phoenix rising
from the ashes, a series of musical
and dramatic opportunities for
the children of Twycross House
School and The Hollies with videoed
performances, creatively edited
together and presented to parents
for a lifetime of enjoyment and
shared to extended family members,
who would not normally be able to
attend our school performances.
By filming the children individually
or in small groups from the same
bubble, we were then able to put
them together with other children
to form a virtual orchestra or
virtual choir. This had the benefits
of being able to record their music
a number of times for improved
performance, have their sound
edited (e.g. to balance with other
instruments) and even enable
them to appear more than once,
singing and playing “at the same
time”! The musicians were even
given music in different keys to
make it easier to play on their
instruments and subsequently their
sound was put into the same key
with the use of computer software
– if they perform in different keys
in a live concert, it would sound
terrible! Here they are playing
and/or singing A Moment, which
was a song written by Mr. Taylor,
based on the chord sequence of
Pachelbel’s Canon, and it’s about
taking a moment to think about
our actions that impact on global
warming and on plastic waste.
We also had many more musical
children taking part in these videos
than we would normally see at one
of our concerts, including here a
group from Form 5 performing
The Cup Song (from the film Pitch
Perfect). Each performer recorded
themselves from their own homes
during the Spring home-schooling
period and uploaded to video to us.
It wasn’t just additional children
taking part in these videos. For the
Christmas DVD we had 12 members
of staff, who kindly volunteered to
each sing a verse of The Twelve
Days Of Christmas, accompanied
by the virtual school orchestra. This
is quite a long and complicated
Christmas carol to sing but its
structure allowed for quite a lot of
“copy and paste” of video files!
We were disappointed not to be
able to perform to parents at The
Hollies last December but instead
parents were treated to a videoed
performance of the show. One of
the highlights from this video was
watching the Christmas Boogie
Bugs speeded up 2½ times for
the end credits – something that
in a live show would have been
impossible!
One of the challenges of putting
together these videos during this
year has been to come up with
new creative ideas and learn new
video editing techniques. These
have included the use of a green
screen (to make the background
transparent) and for the latest DVD,
the use of stop motion animation.
Here both techniques are combined
to show a rocket taking off from
the school grounds for a journey
into space!
So, while this year has been sadly
devoid of live performances and
rehearsals in schools all across
the country, it has certainly not
been a year without musical and
dramatic performing opportunities
at Twycross House School and
The Hollies. Instead of dwelling on
what cannot be done because of
the COVID restrictions, we have
embraced what we can do to keep
music and drama very much alive
in school, exploiting the benefits of
video recording the children and
exploring new creative ideas to
deliver an end result that is far from
a compromise to our traditional
performances.
Mr A Taylor
22

Monologue of a life
in lockdown
When bad things happen to
people, the only thing we can
control is our reaction to it, and
the aftermath. This statement
is extremely true to Lockdown
and Covid.
My dad asks if we live in a
dystopian novel, then I wonder if
dystopian novels are stories that
tell you different futures so that
we learn life lessons like Aesop’s
morals, and we all know what
happened to him.
Ever since Lockdown began, I
have despised every minute of
it, everything has been turned
upside-down, and I dread to turn
on the news for more surreal
stories to enter my depressed
mindset.
People say to not run away
from the problems that are
ahead of you, but since they’re
being thrown at me everywhere
I have to dodge some.
The only light in the empty abyss
of Covid is history documentaries
and books, and they all have to
eventually end.
Written by a member of Senior 1
FLYIN’ DOWN TO RIO
As part of their study of Brazil this
term, pupils from Form 4 enjoyed
recreating some of the glitz and
glamour of the Rio Carnival which
attracts visitors from all over the
country and the globe. They produced
wonderfully creative masks which
wouldn’t have looked out of place in
one of the exotic parades that dazzle
the spectators. Other pupils chose to
recreate the facial paint and designs
originally worn in battles with rival
tribes by indigenous warriors but
now worn for ceremonial reasons on
special occasions and as a display for
adventurous tourists. The patterns
were designed to confuse and
intimidate the enemy and were created
from natural materials such as ochre.
The pupils also enjoyed creating
models of the type of simple, self-built
houses that might be found in a favela
built on the hills surrounding São Paulo,
Rio de Janeiro and other major cities
in Brazil. Some buildings were decorated with authentic graffiti, had washing
lines strung between them, displayed brightly coloured walls and corrugated
iron roofs, imitating the appearance and construction techniques of the
dwellings in which nearly half of São Paulo’s population live.
Their new topic of Kenya has produced a plethora of cuddly toy animals
that would be found in one of Kenya’s many National Parks along with
an abundance of Kenco coffee, photographs from safaris and a genuine
Shuka, the red chequered tribal robe worn by the Maasai. The highlight
of the Kenyan exhibits was a 3m long Back Mamba snakeskin, a precious
family heirloom brought in by Alec Simpson, which wowed 4Y and made
some of the class thankful that snakes are a rarity in the UK.
Mr C Perry
Twycross Census
Following the UK Census day in March, Twycross House Geography department devised our very own school census
for pupils and staff to complete anonymously. These are some of the findings with more information being used
internally in other school projects.
The census was offered to Form 5 upwards and to members of staff – roughly 380 people. Thank you to those who
responded – we had 257 responses – which represents a 68% turnout. The groups who mainly responded were year
groups Form 5, S2, S3 and L6, with 33 members of staff also completing the form.
23

Form 4X Show
and Tell
Pupils from 4x had a very
successful show and tell in which
each member of the form brought
in a specific item in relation to their
hobbies. There was a wide variety
of topics from die cast model
cars to gymnastics and various
running activities. Some were even
involved in charitable fundraising.
It was good to see a wide variety
of hobbies that did not include
Maths!
Mrs G Leney
Success for
Twycross chemists!
Congratulations to Alex Jackson
and Warren Smith who were
both awarded gold in the 2021
Chemistry Olympiad competition.
Mr I Smaditch
Form 3 -
Computer Studies
In Computer Studies this term,
pupils have been developing their
hand-eye coordination with their
mouse, screen and keyboard as they
learnt to insert pictures and put
them into place, while also recalling
key skills from lesson to lesson.
Form 3 were challenged with the
task of planning, designing and
creating their own Christmas Dinner
Place mat using Word. As you can
see their designs are fantastic and
will brighten up each and every
Christmas table.
My favourite thing that I have done
on Computer Studies was making
a Christmas Dinner Place mat. I
enjoyed it so much that I decided
to design my own Christmas Cards
for my friends and family on my
computer at home. Isabel Greenall
We all loved making the Christmas
place mats. Selecting the picture
was my favourite as you had so
many festive pictures to select
from. Mrs Williams showed us how
to get snowflakes and baubles onto
our design. All form 3Y loved the
whole process. It was fun and we
were so excited to see the finished
mats. Now bring on my Christmas
Dinner! Ava Price
We loved making Christmas dinner
place mats. I really loved searching
through for festive pictures and
inserting them into my mat. We
also learnt how to place a Santa hat
and baubles onto our name which
was set in word art. Rhia Khela
I really enjoyed finding and
inserting the pictures I especially
liked it when Mrs Williams showed
us how to crop and paste multiple
copies of the same picture. It was
fun being able to put a Santa hat
onto my word Art. AG
I liked how we could pick from
lots of different clip art pictures
to insert onto our mat. Word art is
really good as you can pick your
style of writing and you can change
the colours. Martha Harris
We really enjoyed being able to
design our own dinner placemat
and insert festive clip art images.
We liked how you can move the
pictures around to have them in
different places. Harry Eidukas and
Sam Gobey
We both liked finding the festive
clip art pictures and how Mrs
Williams showed us how to us a
Santa hat on our names, which we
had created using word art. Vinny
Mountjoy and Bobby Sun
Mrs H Williams
24

FORM 4 GEOGRAPHERS
BRING SUBJECT TO LIFE
As part of their studies of the
UK’s physical features, the Form 4
Geography classes showed their
talents as model and map-makers
with some superb examples worthy
of a place in any museum. The
cliffs, bays, stacks and arches of the
coastline were a popular subject
matter, particularly the arch of
Durdle Door in Dorset, and included
some amazing detail, but there were
also a couple of accurate models of
Ben Nevis, meandering river valleys
and wonderfully illustrated maps of
the UK.
To reinforce their learning about
settlements, the pupils enjoyed
their first field trip to the village
of Shenton, where they were able
to complete a worksheet with
questions on the settlement pattern,
whether its function had changed,
the role of the railway station and
canal through the years and the
importance of Shenton Hall to
the structure and economy of the
village in the past. The children
were rewarded for their excellent
behaviour with a visit to get an icecream
treat for which they patiently
queued, representing the school in
an exemplary manner.
Mr C Perry
25

Fruit and
Vegetable animals
In junior Biology we finished the
term with some more light-hearted
activities. What animals and
creatures could you make from fruit
and vegetables?
26

Citizen Science!
Two A Level biology students have
been Citizen Scientists for a project
run by Tame Valley Wetlands
and funded by the Environment
Agency. Langley Brook is a site
owned by The Samuel White Trust
in Middleton. The brook has been
channelized, is surrounded by
agricultural land, has issues with
flooding and potentially suffers
from pollution events. The brook
can be improved by interventions
and has been identified as having
the potential for designation as a
Local Wildlife Site. The brook is of
ecological importance and once
water quality issues have been
addressed there is the potential
for fish stocking (e.g. Brown trout,
Bullhead and Stone loach) and
reintroduction of white clawed
crayfish.
Langley Brook, Middleton.
The Tame Valley Wetlands team
have been making improvements
to the brook and surrounding land.
Interventions include control of the
invasive species Himalayan Balsam,
bank reprofiling and stabilisation,
intensive planting of reeds, rushes
etc., introducing more gravel and the
placing of woody debris to act as
flow detectors.
Weekly water samples are being
taken from the brook to assess
the quality of the water, which
was found to be poor on initial
assessments. The A level students
have been trained in using a water
testing probe to carry out a variety of
tests on the samples that they receive
each week. These include measuring
the pH, electrical conductivity and
the levels of ions such as nitrates,
phosphates, aluminium and
chromium. Each week the data is
reported back to the project. This
will help to identify any patterns or
pollution events and monitor the
effect of any interventions at the site
over the course of the project. (www.
tamevalleywetlands.co.uk).
A level biology students have also
been looking at indicators of health
School woods.
in some of the trees in the school
wood. Students identified trees
using identification guides and took
measurements of height, girth of
trunk and leaf coverage. Specific
trees (e.g. Ash) were then examined
using information from the OPAL
(Open Air Laboratory) tree health
survey. (www.imperial.ac.uk/opal/).
27

Twycross talents
have written their
way to success in
story competitions
The school was one of seven in the
area invited to enter the Young
Writer Competition, run by the
Market Bosworth Rotary Club. Out
of 243 entrants, Twycross students
secured five of the overall top spots
in the two ages categories 7-10, and
11-13. Judges, including a local author,
set the title “A New Start” and were
looking for signs of positivity or hope
in a story of no more than 550 words,
or poem no longer than 40 lines.
John Whitehead is the Youth Coordinator
of the Rotary Club Market
Bosworth and organiser of the
competition. Congratulating the
winners, he said, “We have chosen to
award joint 1st prizes to May and Lily.
May’s strong “New Leaf - New Life”
storyline empathised with abandoned
children taken into care, fostered and
adopted. Lily brilliantly described all
the emotions on the day in which a
trans Rose is supported in outing to
become Dylan.
The six judges, including local author
Samantha Ridgway, commented on
the high standard of work submitted
by Twycross pupils. They loved
Archie Clark’s “The Water Bottle”,
a recycling story told in the first
person by the bottle! Also impressive
were Frieda Pienaar’s story of a
girl in the forest becoming a wolf
and Eva Williams’ domestic cat
surviving within the territory of the
feral cats. They would also like to
highly commend Monty Fisher for a
powerful and moving story set in a
Nazi concentration camp. Some of
these pieces will be published in
local magazines.
Mr Whitehead also praised the
“enthusiastic response and the
creative work from Twycross pupils,”
passing on the organisers’ admiration
for the wide variety of short stories
and poems submitted by our pupils.
The Rotary Club competition
success came alongside the
Twycross Story Writing Competition.
All students from Form 3 to Senior
2 entered the contest and produced
impressive, imaginative and
thoroughly entertaining pieces
of writing to be proud of.
Voucher prizes of £15 for
first prize, £10 for second
and £5 for third, as well as
certificates, were awarded to:
Form 3
1st - Eva Williams
2nd - Frieda Pienaar
3rd - Sammy Mobayed
Form 4
1st - George Davies
2nd - Alex Pallett
3rd - Penelope Fisher
Form 5
1st - Grace Claringbull
2nd - Leo Geston
3rd - Harriet Guinan
Senior 1
1st - Lily Messer
2nd - Mya Khela
3rd - Jonty Gilman
Senior 2
1st - Keira Day
2nd - Jessica Salt
3rd - Lauren Garland
28

The Lower Sixth Friday challenge
Lower Sixth students have been competing in our challenges every Friday during form time. The students have been put
through their paces with mental, physical, and funny challenges to test all of their teamwork skills – sadly due to lockdown
we have not been able to complete as many challenges as previous years. Challenges have ranged from ‘pointless’
quizzes, balancing ability, Malteser eating, basketball skills and cup drops. The one here is the ‘paper airplane’ challenge!
Remembrance Day at Twycross House
On Wednesday 11th November
pupils and staff from Twycross
House School gathered to pay
tribute to the men and women of
the armed forces who have died in
the line of duty.
Mr Taylor sounded the last post
and then Christopher Lumb from
the Upper Sixth read a verse from
the Remembrance Day poem ‘For
the Fallen,’
“They shall grow not old, as we that
are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the
years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in
the morning
We will remember them.”
After the two minutes silence
the Reveille was sounded and
the parade was dismissed.
We were proud to support the
British Legion and wear poppies as
a symbol of Remembrance and in
the hope for a peaceful future.
29

Library News
Back to school!
Despite the multitude of pandemic
related challenges we had to face
in the library this term, we did
manage to keep it open with all
the necessary measures in place,
to have fun and celebrate the
festivals and events which were
largely cancelled for most people.
In September we focused our
activities on the students’ wellbeing
and how they felt returning to school
after the lockdown. We created
a display with our thoughts and
feelings on this and were delighted
to find that we were all grateful to be
back in our school community.
Halloween and Harry Potter Experience!
After some mindful and calm
autumn activities, such as crafts
involving autumn leaves and
other natural materials, Halloween
brought a lot of excited children in
the library, grateful for the chance
to celebrate it in school with
crafts and a fantastic Harry Potter
experience!
The team of students responsible for
bringing some Harry Potter magic
in the Library was none other than
the amazing S1 group, who designed
and set it up in record time!
They scripted it, decorated the
library in a very atmospheric way,
tested the guest’s knowledge of
these wonderful books, impressed
them with magic tricks and
offered, to those who dared have
them, Bertie Botts Every Flavour
Beans, and generous helpings of
Butterbeer. Thank you, Mr Hennigan,
for providing those!
We took the opportunity to make
wands with sticks and yarn with the
students who were waiting to enter
the experience room. The sorting
hat sorted many students into their
houses, with some thoughtful help
from their friends; I was delighted to
see so many Ravenclaws!
Unfortunately, due to the students
having to self-isolate, the experience
did not run for the scheduled second
week and alongside many guests,
I was deeply sorry I missed the
opportunity to watch it! Hopefully
next year? (Hint, hint!)
A huge thank you and
very well done to Amelia
Carthy, Scarlett Tombs, Kara
Mitchell, Isabelle Randle, May
Minderides, Jonty Gilman,
Niamh Daniels, Lily Messer and
their helper, Bethan Tombs.
November
The children explored the chemistry
of fireworks and made pyrotechnic
rockets leading up to Bonfire Night. For
Remembrance Day we made poppies
out of red chocolate wrappers. We
discussed peer friendship issues during
anti-bullying week and made friendship
bracelets which proved to be a highly
popular activity. Many children carried
on making them at home.
30

Library News
Festive Fun!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Experience!
What better way to conclude our
festive fun than with the amazing
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
experience, organised and run
over two weeks by our creative
and talented Form 5Y students,
mentioned below. The decorations
they had made were phenomenal
and the whole library was
transformed into the interior of Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate factory, with
chocolate wrappers and Golden
Tickets everywhere we looked!
The students, like the S1s had
done with their HP experience,
adjusted their script to include virus
related safety measures. Guests
were given, as they were waiting,
themed activities to do, including
a chocolate wrapper and a sweet
wrapper competition, organised by
Ella Walker. During the experience,
the guests would be entertained
with a little history of what brought
them there, a chocolate related
mischief, a quiz on Roald Dahl’s
iconic book, a magic trick and
colourful samples of the factory’s
products, namely yummy drinks
and chocolates. Many thanks to
Mr Hennigan for providing the
lemonade and shot glasses.
The experience was so popular,
that the organisers had to
adjust the script several times
to accommodate a few more
enthusiastic form 5Ys who wanted
to help out. Very well done to:
Ella Walker, Darcey Gibson, Oliver
Timberlake, Anmaul Lehal, Grace
Siame, Zoe Wolferstan, Nishita
Srinivas, with support from Vivaan
Srinivas, Niharika Juneenath and
Izzy Jones on their respective form
days. Thank you also to the students
of form 5Y who joined later in the
team effort: Harriet Guinan, Amret
Nijjer, Lilly Winter, Hari Rajkumar
and Leo Geston. Thank you all so
much, you were wonderful!
We celebrated the festive season by
making and putting up decorations.
Our super creative S1 group made
the VI form room in the Library
their Christmas HQ from which an
endless stream of paperchains and
snowflakes was produced!
Children from F3 to S1 took part
in the “Snowmen of Literature”
competition which gave us some
amazing snowmen dressed as book
characters. Congratulation to the
winners! They were: Lily Messer,
Amelia Carthy + Scarlett Tombs,
Poppy Ward, Amelie Ewing-Gerrard,
Tanveer Nijjer.
Congratulations to our new Student Librarians!
A huge thank you to Ella Walker
from form 5Y who organised the
training of 22 student librarians!
What a superstar! Many thanks also
to Nishita Srinivas, Zoe Wolferstan
and Izzy Jones for all their help
training the new librarians.
Congratulations and a very warm
welcome to the following students
who have now successfully qualified
as student librarians! I am looking
forward to working with all of you!
Our new Student Librarians are:
Form 3X: Amelie Ewing-Gerrard, Martha Harris, Ellie Lowe, Phoebe
Philips, Jessica Rayson.
Form 3Y: Vivaan Srinivas, Jessica Fenwick, Eliza Gilman, Isabel Greenall,
Niharika Juneenath, Rhia Khela, Frieda Pienaar, Ava Price, Chloe Psaras,
Hemma Sanghera, Bethan Tombs, Marissa Wilson.
Form 4X: Evie Hart, Rose Redfern, Matilda Shade.
Form 4Y: Poppy Ward.
31

Library News
Dressing up for World Book Day!
It was fantastic to see the children
back in the Library this March! In
the short time we had together
before the Easter holidays, we had
fun making Mother’s Day cards and
enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt, the clues
for which were all book related.
We celebrated the joy of reading
by having belated World Book Day
activities. During the last week of
term, children from Forms 3 and
4 dressed up as book characters
and F5 and S1 students brought an
accessory connected to a book.
Each form visited the library dressed
up on their respective days and took
part in a book swap.
Book Prizes go to:
Form 3X: Jessica Rayson,
Harry Eidukas
Form 3Y: Frieda Pienaar,
Ava Price
Form 4X: Oscar Thompson,
Alexandros Pallett
Form 4Y: Charlie White,
Isabelle Jones
Form 5: Lilly Winter, Corbin
Morris
It was extremely hard to choose
the winners as all the children had
amazing outfits!
S1: Scarlett Tombs,
Jonty Gilman
32

Library News
Summer term in the Main School Library
During the Summer Term, the forms of Swallows’ Hill spent several
lunch breaks in the Library planning and creating their own individual
experiences, since they can only perform in front of their own bubble.
Form 5Y put on a magical experience based on Jill Murphy’s: “Worst
Witch”! Congratulations to Ella, Darcey, Lilly, Anmaul, Zoe, Grace, Amret,
Harriet for the planning, script, decorations and performance and to Leo for
his impressive mind reading card trick!
Bookmark
Competition!
Our bookmark competition
produced many stunning
bookmarks.
Honour marks were awarded to:
Samuel Gobey, Sofia Centonze,
Freya Brown, Eloise Winfield, Tejas
Thakrar, Tashinga Musoko from F3X
Bethan Tombs and Vivaan Srinivas
from F3Y
Ella Walker from F5Y and a merit
for Scarlett Tombs from S1Y for the
most extraordinary Harry Potter
bookmark I’ve ever seen!
Isabelle Jones
and Rose Redfern
from form 4
entertained their
peers with a
Witch themed fun
Quiz and games.
Well done both!
Form 3 created three brilliant scenes from David Walliams’: “Demon Dentist”!
Congratulations to Bethan, Eliza, Jessica R., Niharika, Chloe, Isabel G.,
Vivaan, Annabel, Martha, Hemma, Rhia, Ellie, Phoebe for a hilariously funny
performance! Many thanks to the kitchen who provided treats and drinks to
the audience and performers.
Student Librarians
Congratulations to Ben Clark and
Edward Lauder for completing
their Librarian training. Welcome
to our Student Librarian team!
A big thank you to Ben Clark (4X)
and George Landsborough (S5)
for all their help with electronically
cataloging our library books!
33

Charity Head Shave
Congratulations to Andrew
MacCallum from the Lower Sixth
who volunteered to have his head
shaved in December to raise money
for the charity Newlife.
Every day, Newlife changes the
lives of disabled and terminally ill
children across the UK. They provide
thousands of items of equipment
every year, fast-tracking delivery, to
prevent suffering and when time is
very precious. Childhood cancers,
birth defects, accidents, diseases
and infections can all cause disability
and are affecting children and their
families every day.
Thank you to everyone who donated
both at Twycross House and the
Hollies. Andrew was able to donate
over £1700 to this wonderful charity.
Edward’s Conqueror Challenges
During lockdown I started doing
online Conqueror challenges.
The first challenge I did was
Hadrian’s Wall. I set myself the
target to complete the 90 miles in
84 days but I manged to complete
it in 26 days. I enjoyed it so much I
did a longer trail called the Grand
Canyon which was 280 miles long!
I enjoyed this one because we were
following a river and it looked like I
was swimming the whole way.
I did two more challenges. In the
Great Ocean road I raised £614 for
prostate cancer and in Kilimanjaro
I raised £2000 for cancer patients.
I chose Mt Kilimanjaro because my
grandad wanted to do it in real
life, but he couldn’t because he
broke his neck and had cancer. We
climbed together and we really
enjoyed it especially the 360°
picture at the summit.
Altogether I walked 547 miles!
Every 20% completed Conqueror
challenge planted a tree, so I
have planted 20 trees for the
environment.
Edward Lauder
Bake off for charity
This year after watching the
‘Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off’
programme, Sophia Anderson
decided to raise money through
baking to support the charity.
Sophia set a target of £150 and
reached this within 48 hours. As it
stands to date she has now raised
£450 (on top of this £112.50 is gift
aid) reaching a fantastic 300% of
her original £150 target.
In June 2020 she raised £204 for
her dance school by doing a bake
sale at home.
Congratulations, Sophia
Food Aid – thank you!
Thank you to pupils, parents and
staff who donated to our Food Aid
charity. We were very pleased to
send this amazing contribution to the
Atherstone Food Bank in December.
34

After exam activities
Pupils from Form 3 upwards enjoyed
activities after their school exams.
These included: archery, bushcraft,
a visit to the Twin Lakes, Magna
Science Park, the Black Country
Museum and S1 camp to Wales.
35

Duke of Edinburgh
At a time when many activities
for young people have been put
on hold and some schools have
not been able to complete Duke
of Edinburgh expeditions, we are
proud that our D of E teams have
successfully participated in their
Gold, Silver and Bronze practice
expeditions this year. During
the last twelve months we have
undertaken the expedition section
for the award with all our D of E
participants and supported them
in their other chosen activities.
It was poignant that on the day
that HRH Prince Philip, the Duke
of Edinburgh was laid to rest,
our Gold team were out on their
practice expedition. Two weeks
later it was the turn of the Bronze
groups to undertake their first
expedition. After twelve months
of lockdowns and home-schooling
the sheer enjoyment of the young
people at being together and
working as a team was palpable.
Congratulations to all for the
successful completion of these
practice and final expeditions and
to the Twycross House D of E
staff team who train, organise, and
supervise our young people to
achieve their awards.
36

S1 Camp 2021
After a long, tiring exam week we
finally set off for Wales…
After 2 hours on the coach we arrived
at Powis castle in Welshpool for lunch
and a look around the grounds, before
walking to the famous sweetshop!
They had every sweet imaginable!
Pockets full of sweets, we headed
back to the bus and continued
our journey to the campsite.
Unfortunately, as we arrived we
were told that we were too heavy
to drive all the way to the site and
so began the long walk through the
countryside towards the campsite.
We finally arrived exhausted,
but there was no time to rest as
everyone set about putting up their
tents before cooking tea –pasta
and tomato sauce! As night fell we
all set out on a badger-spotting
walk. Everyone was excited but
unfortunately we were too loud and
there was no sight of any badgers!
The following day we woke up early,
had breakfast and made sandwiches
ready to take with us for lunch. We
were off to Red Ridge Outdoor
Centre. Here we took part in several
activities including archery, kayaking,
paddle boarding and a rope course.
It was great fun and many of us did
things we had never done before.
After a full afternoon we headed
back to camp for a well-earned
BBQ which we finished off with
toasted marshmallows. All full we
settled down outside wrapped in our
sleeping bags to watch a movie with
hot chocolate and popcorn.
On Sunday we woke to a great cooked
breakfast (cooked by the teachers),
before breaking camp and tidying
our mess! We were heading to lake
Vyrnwy, so we made some lunch and
headed off in the bus. After a short
trip we had lunch and ice creams and
camp awards were given out. We all
embarked on a nature walk around the
lake before heading for home.
We arrived back at school Sunday
afternoon, tired but ready to do it
all again!!
E Limer, S1X
37

Senior 2 trip to
the Black Country
Museum
On July 7th, Senior 2 visited the
Black Country Living Museum to
bring to life their learning about the
Industrial Revolution. A fantastic day
was had by all, despite very heavy
rain showers! We went through
limestone miners’ caves on a canal
boat, where James, Ben, Linda and
Indiana showed off their ‘legging’
skills and pulled the boat through a
tunnel with their feet! We visited the
village shops, with plenty of money
being spent in the sweet shop, before
our fish and chip lunch. Our guide
showed us a range of Black Country
industries being performed, including
chain making and we went inside
various homes and shops that have
been authentically restored in the
village. The students asked some
excellent questions and I was proud
of both their historical knowledge and
exemplary behaviour throughout the
day. A fantastic school trip with a
delightful year group. Many thanks to
Mr Buckton, Miss Robinson and Mrs
Shaw for accompanying us.
Mrs S Adam
Lower Sixth Geology
A level fieldtrips
The LVI geologists managed to fit
in three field trips at the end of term
giving them the opportunity to put
into practice the skills that they have
learnt in the classroom.
38

FORM 5 GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP TO BRADGATE PARK
What a delight it was to finally escape
the classroom and make a Covidsecure
trip to the beautiful deer park
north-west of the city of Leicester!
This enabled the excited pupils of
Form 5 to engage in a river studies
investigation and to capture and
examine the varied invertebrates
inhabiting the shallow pools of the
meandering River Lin.
Tramping through the crystal
clear, babbling waters of the river
in bare feet or brightly-patterned
wellies seemed to bring a delight
to the pupils akin to an Enid Blyton
adventure as rare fresh-water crayfish
and newts swam for cover under the
river-bed rocks. Measurements of
water acidity, flow and depth were
duly taken and recorded, river bank
erosion and river-bed deposition
were observed and, in the excitement,
equipment was often abandoned to
leave the site looking somewhat like a
medieval battlefield at times.
The tranquil calm of the
invertebrates’ afternoon in the
pools was also disturbed as water
boatmen, larvae and even some fry
were gently whisked out of their
peaceful environment by a giant net
to be carefully but unceremoniously
examined on gleaming, white
trays by wide-eyed pupils with all
the curiosity of medical students
observing in the operating theatre
for the first time. Having passed
Mrs Lauder’s identity parade, the
creatures were gently and gratefully
returned to their riverside homes
and a mental note taken by the
students of the diversity of wildlife
Twycross House Equestrian Team success
Congratulations to our equestrian team who competed in the British Show
jumping ‘Just for Schools’ competition on 27th July at Pickering Grange. The
team came second in the 60cm class on a tricky course.
The team members were Sophie Mawdesley 4o, Lilyanne Sullivan 4o, Harriet
Bennett 4y all from the Hollies and Jessica Fenwick and Lara Davenport from
Form 3 at Swallows’ Hill.
inhabiting the aquatic regions of
the park.
The field trip concluded with the
undoubted highlight of a visit to Eric’s
Ice Cream Kiosk where the children
patiently queued to sample the
delicious delights on offer and greatly
impressed other customers and the
proprietor by their good behaviour
and friendly demeanour. With
battered worksheets and raspberrytopping
stained tops, the weary party
reinstalled their masks and wended
their way back to Twycross hoping
that they would not have to attempt
to retrieve information for homework
from their disintegrating worksheets
or that homework would be forgotten
about altogether as long as everyone
in the class kept quiet about it!
Mr C Perry
Tennis experience
Congratulations to Isabella
Savania who was chosen to take
on the role of ball girl during the
Nottingham Open and the Ilkley
Trophy tennis tournaments.
39

Sports Presentation!
After a year where normal fixtures
could not take place our Sports
Presentation had to alter to reflect
the outstanding effort made by the
students. As a department we wanted
to acknowledge the fantastic effort
made by all students along with an
additional tangible reward for those
who went above and beyond.
Once again, throughout this period
the students’ commitment to Games
and House Competitions has been
exceptional and I cannot thank them
enough for all of their efforts, well
done everyone.
Mr L Knight
2020-2021 JUNIOR AND SENIOR EFFORT AWARDS
GIRLS
BOYS
Hockey Junior: Poppy Ward
Hockey Senior: Isabella White
Rounders Junior: Darcey Gibson
Rounders Senior: Molly Williams
Football Junior: Romy Saaman
Football Senior: Layla Guintoli
Athletics Junior: Lucy Adey
Athletics Senior:
Madeleine Kerrigan
Cross country Junior:
Eliza Gilman
Cross country Inter: Jessica Salt
Cross country Senior:
Abigail Mitchell
Tennis Junior: Ella-May Gretton
Tennis Senior: Sophie Ashford
All Rounder Junior: Poppy Ward
All Rounder Inter: Daisy Whitehall
All Rounder Senior:
Isabel Whitehall
Football Junior: Rudi Carr
Football Senior: Michael Li
Cricket Junior: Stan Howley
Cricket Senior: Lewis Duffield
Basketball Junior: Baris Clarke
Basketball Senior: James Hicks
Cross country Junior:
Oliver Guintoli
Cross country Inter:
Arthur Davies
Cross country Senior:
Joe Callery
Tennis Junior: Oscar Carley
Tennis Senior: Stephen McHale
All Rounder Junior:
Toby Sanders
All Rounder Inter:
Oliver Salt
All Rounder Senior:
Evan Gilman
40

41

Sports Day
Although our Sports Day missed
the roar of support from parents
this year, the students still
gave the events their all and I
was delighted with the level of
competition and commitment
shown by every single student.
After combining the final positions
from all track events, Scott
finished 3rd, Hillary and Drake
tied for first in an extremely
tight competition.
Special mentions to our
record breakers:
James Hicks
New 50m Inter record
Ayaan Obaid
New 100m Junior record
James McKenzie
New 100m Inter Boys record
Madelaine Kluger
New 100m Inter Girls record
Sam McKenzie
New 100m Senior Boys record
Jessica Morrell
New 200m Inter record
Well done to all of the students
and I look forward to welcoming
back the crowds next year to
share in the excitement and
success!
Mr L Knight
42

Inter House Sports
After a year with restricted
competition against other
schools, we adapted the House
Competition to create a full
tournament experience. Across all
year groups we hosted over 110
House Competitions in Basketball,
Football, Hockey, Netball, TAG
Rugby, Ultimate, Cross Country,
Dodgeball, Orienteering, Cricket,
Rounders, Athletics, Tennis and
Table Tennis! The competitions
were fantastic to witness and I
was delighted that even under
the restrictions, students were still
offered the opportunity to play new
sports and compete against each
other. After fierce competition the
results finished up as Drake and
Scott in Joint 2nd, with this year’s
House Winners as Hillary.
A fantastic well done to every
student who took part throughout
the year.
Mr L Knight
43

TENNIS SUCCESS 2021
Once again, the LTA team tennis
competition proved to be a fertile
hunting ground for Twycross
tennis teams as much larger
schools came up against our
talented and competitive players
and found themselves outplayed
and outfought. Three inter-school
lunchtime tournaments at Junior,
Inter and Senior level were also
fiercely contested and produced
some outstanding rallies with the
closely-fought House competition
played during Games going down
to the wire. Additional coaching
from a local tennis specialist
and the added experience and
enthusiasm of Miss Blencoe have
given a further boost to tennis in
the school.
Stars of the competitive season
were the U13 Girls team, captained
by Sophie Ashford, along with
Emily Carley, Jessica Salt and
Emily Bewsher, who played
in the top division of the LTA
Leicestershire tournament and
superbly saw off prestigious
competition in the shape of
Leicester Grammar, defeating
them 10-2, winning all but one
44

match including an awesome
display against a talented and
experienced opponent in the
singles by Sophie Ashford and a
hugely impressive performance
with her partner Emily Carley in
the doubles. With Covid limiting
entries, this victory enabled
Twycross to progress to the
regional finals in September as
champions of Leicestershire.
The U13 Boys team of Oliver Salt,
Michael Li, Sebastian Savania and
Henry Blunt also enjoyed success
in Division 2 of their competition
and progressed to the regional
tournament as group winners. As
with the girls competition, a series
of withdrawals saw them just
needing to win one match and they
comfortably beat an inexperienced
Countesthorpe team without losing
a match to qualify.
The U15 Boys team of Finlay
Thompson-Lowe, Steven McHale,
Lewis Duffield and Will Simmons
faced far stiffer and much more
experienced opposition in their
Division 2 competition, coming
up against A and B teams from
Uppingham. Steven McHale was
the pick of the Twycross players,
winning both of his singles
matches and one doubles while the
heat and lack of match practice
(and a punishing migraine)
generally took its toll on the
others who struggled to find their
rhythm. The team ended up losing
narrowly to Uppingham’s B team in
a sudden death shoot-out and then
by some margin to the A team in
a match played straight after the
first match due to the distances
involved and the limited dates
available.
Lawrence Cockrell triumphed in
the Senior Tennis Final defeating
Michael McHale 6-2 in a pulsating
match whilst Michael’s brother
went one better and lifted the Inter
title after beating Sophie Ashford
6-4 in a tense but high-quality final.
The Junior Final was an equally
tight affair with Toby Sanders
ultimately defeating Oscar Carley
in a match brimming with long
rallies in an amazing base-line duel.
Mr C Perry
The Thomas Trophy
We were very fortunate that Mrs Thomas returned to school in September
to present the new Thomas Trophy which is awarded to a girl and boy in
Form 3 for their outstanding commitment and enthusiasm in games lesson
and matches.
The Thomas Trophy for 2019/2020 was presented to Poppy Ward and
Henry Jeans.
Congratulations!
Jill B Thomas
S1 Rounders
Despite COVID restrictions on competitive fixtures, a small number of
students from Senior 1 regularly attended Rounders after-school practice,
which was great to see. They worked on lots of different throwing and
catching drills and had fun practising their batting technique and improving
their power. It was also great to see them remembering what they had
learnt in after-school practice and applying it in lessons, coaching others.
Well done, I’ve been very impressed with your commitment this year!
Miss S Robinson
S2 Rounders
Despite not being able to participate in competitive fixtures, the response
from students to after-school practice has been fantastic. Each practice
would see approximately 25 students (with a good mix of boys and girls)
turning up to have fun and get competitive! They were always enthusiastic
and applied their knowledge and practical skills to every game; it was a
pleasure to take their after-school practice this term. I look forward to
seeing what they will achieve in competitive fixtures next year!
Miss S Robinson
45

Alumni update
Frances Gordon
Fran Gordon left Twycross in 2017 with A levels in Maths, Classical Greek and Music.
changed my studies at Guildhall
between March 2020 and March
2021. Luckily for us, Guildhall were
very imaginative with how they used
technology for our classes and I was
still able to complete the majority
of my exams either over “Zoom” or
via video recording. I also, as part
of a quartet, won the annual horn
competition in 2020.
After leaving Twycross, I won
a Scholarship to the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama to
study French Horn Performance.
Over the last four years I have,
amongst other things, performed
on many occasions with the
Guildhall Symphony Orchestra
at the Barbican Concert Hall, as
well as with the Jazz Orchestra
and in the pit orchestra for their
2019 opera production of Haydn’s
“La Fedelta Premiata”. I have
also had lots of opportunities to
expand my playing beyond the
walls of Guildhall. After successful
applications, I was able to take the
stage as a soloist and chamber
musician at the British Isles Music
Festival in Surrey, perform in
multiple masterclasses at the
Dublin Brass Week (where I also
discovered a love for Guinness)
and received teaching from one of
the foremost Horn teachers in the
world for a week in Norway. I have
also freelanced on several musical
productions including “West Side
Story” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
the Sibelius Academy Symphony
Orchestra (where we played to an
audience in at the Helsinki Music
Centre) and a performance with
the Sibelius Academy Wind Dectet.
In addition to my performances, I
also received one-to-one lessons,
played regularly in a brass quintet,
tried to learn Finnish (emphasis on
“tried”), worked for the Conducting
Department in their orchestra on a
freelance basis and went to Lapland
during the Autumn break.
Aside from my time abroad, the
coronavirus pandemic very much
Jack Pickering
Oxford Tennis success
Looking ahead to the future, I am
continuing to study at Guildhall
having received a scholarship place
on their Masters course in Orchestral
Artistry, with a view to developing a
career as an orchestral horn player.
Jack left Twycross House in July 2020 to read Chemistry at Merton College,
Oxford. Jack played for the Blues in the recent Varsity tennis where Oxford
won overall. This was the first time in 5 years.
My experience in Norway really
inspired me to take my studies
a step further and, despite the
coronavirus pandemic, I went
to study abroad at the Sibelius
Academy in Helsinki between
September and December 2020.
During my four months there, I
managed to squeeze in a twoweek
quarantine, horn trio and
quartet performances, a stint in
46

Alumni update
Matthew Raybould
Matthew left Twycross House in 2012 to read Chemistry at Oxford (Merton).
After the taught portion of my
undergraduate Master’s in Chemistry
at Oxford, I decided to undertake a
project in computational chemistry
research (much to the relief of
laboratory scientists everywhere
— my practical skills were never
the best!). I enjoyed the challenge
of coding and data analytics but
wanted to apply the methods in a
more biochemical/drug discovery
context. This led me to starting a
DPhil (PhD) in “Systems Approaches
to Biomedical Sciences”, also at
Oxford (2016-2020).
I ended up specialising in antibody
research, under the supervision of
Professor Charlotte Deane in the
Oxford Protein Informatics Group
(OPIG). Antibodies are a fascinating
class of protein, since their highly
mutable (yet well-defined) shape
and chemistry allows them to bind
specifically to harmful targets
and mark them for eradication by
other proteins. The body therefore
produces millions of subtly different
antibodies at any one time, termed
an “antibody repertoire”, as a
defensive mechanism to fend off
pathogens. Individual antibodies
can also be deliberately engineered
in the laboratory to act as ultraspecific
drugs to tackle a huge range
of diseases.
Work in this field couples
intellectually stimulating problems
with clear biomedical applications.
A key publication from my DPhil
was a new tool (the Therapeutic
Antibody Profiler) that analyses
the biophysical properties of
an antibody surface to advise
pharmaceutical scientists when
an antibody drug candidate may
be tricky to manufacture and
formulate into a medicine. I also
developed a method which analyses
the diversity present in a healthy
human antibody repertoire and uses
this understanding to rationally
design more efficient “antibody
screening libraries”. These are initial
pools of candidate antibodies that
a pharmaceutical company can
probe against a new target in the
early stages of a drug discovery
campaign.
When COVID-19 hit back in
March 2020, I was well-placed
to contribute to the pandemic
response efforts. In May 2020, I
worked alongside colleagues at
Oxford, clinicians at Barts Hospital in
London, and scientists at Alchemab
and Illumina, to publish the first
analysis of the antibody repertoires
of UK patients responding to
SARS-CoV-2. We found distinct
molecular patterns indicating
that the repertoires of recovering
patients were responding in a similar
(“convergent”) manner, knowledge
that Alchemab and fellow start-up
Iontas later applied to produce a
COVID-19 therapeutic antibody.
Throughout the pandemic, I’ve also
curated the “Coronavirus Antibody
Database”, a repository of molecular
information of any antibody tested
under laboratory settings and
found to engage a protein on the
surface of any coronavirus. Now
comprising around 3,500 entries,
this has become one of the major
hubs of information for researchers
studying the immune response to
SARS-CoV-2. It has been accessed
by over 6,500 unique users in 85+
countries and was generously
recognised with an Impact Award
by Oxford University earlier this
year. The deluge of studies into
SARS-CoV-2 is now starting to
abate somewhat, but the experience
of working in such a dynamic and
intense environment is one I will
never forget.
After my DPhil ended, I decided
to stay in OPIG to conduct
postdoctoral research alongside
pharmaceutical company Boehringer
Ingelheim. My current project twins
antibody and T-cell receptor analysis
to improve our understanding of
how their biochemical properties
are linked to their bodily functions.
Ultimately, we hope this knowledge
can be translated in oncology drug
discovery, to develop tumourspecific
antibodies that mimic the
behaviour of T-cells.
I’ll always be grateful to the fantastic
teachers at Twycross House (Dr.
Brooks, Mr Pullen, Dr. Wharton, Mrs.
Cartlidge, Mrs. Van Arkel, and many
more besides!) who prepared me so
well for all the challenges I’ve faced
in this first stage of academic life.
I can’t wait to visit again one day,
when the circumstances allow!
47

Twycross House School celebrates A level and GCSE success 2021
A level results
39 students took a total of 122
A levels in 16 subjects.
71% were at A* or A
93% at A*, A or B
100% grades at A* to C.
Students, parents and staff at
Twycross House School are
celebrating an exceptional set
of A level results, which are the
culmination of great hard work
under adverse circumstances.
This year, grades were awarded by
teachers following a rigorous series
of internal assessments and final
examinations. The results have been
subject to extensive quality control
both internally and externally.
The following students all obtained
three or more A* grades and
deserve particular mention: Isabelle
Fellows, who will study International
Business and Modern Languages at
the University of Exeter, Alexander
Jackson, who will read Chemical
Engineering at the University of
Oxford, Amy Nugent, who has
an offer to study Liberal Arts at
Durham University, and Warren
Smith (with an impressive 5 A*
grades) who will study Physics at
Imperial College London with a year
abroad. In total, 19 students gained
three or more A*/A grades.
GCSE results
Number of Senior 5 (Year 11)
students: 42
32% of all subjects achieved
grade 9
53% of all subjects achieved
grade 9 and 8
69% of all subjects achieved
grades 9, 8 and 7
100% with 5 or more 9-4
grades
Twycross House School is
celebrating the achievements of its
Senior 5 students. Many individuals
excelled themselves, but special
congratulations go to Ellen Burton,
Lawrence Cockrell, Evie Gibbs,
Abigail Hamilton, William Meadwell
and Sam Nugent, all of whom
achieved grade 9 in nine or more
subjects. In total, twenty students
achieved grade 7,8 or 9 in eight
subjects or more.
Headmaster Steve Assinder said:
‘We are extremely proud of our
A level and GCSE results, which
are a credit to the students, their
supportive parents and of course
our teaching staff.
At A level despite having both
years of their Sixth Form experience
blighted by the pandemic, the
students have shown immense
resilience, self-discipline and
commitment to achieve these
results. We wish them every success
in the next stage of their educational
journey and look forward to
celebrating their achievements at
Presentation Evening in November.
We are delighted and proud of
all our GCSE students, who have
shown admirable determination
and enthusiasm in the face
of challenging and uncertain
circumstances.
Both the Upper Sixth and Senior 5
students have been helped along
the way by the commitment of
their teachers and of course their
supportive parents. Congratulations
to everyone, and best wishes for
success in all future endeavours.
48