SPRING TERM 2012 - Ellesmere College

Ellesmere news 

SPRING TERM 2012

Ellesmere College Newsletter - SPRING TERM 2012 

Ellesmere Students 

at Westminster Abbey 

The College Choir and Orchestra had an 

outstanding Autumn Term performing at the 

usual annual events such as the Autumn Concert 

and the Carol Services. However, in November the Music 

Scholars enjoyed a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience of being 

invited to travel down to London to sing at Westminster 

Abbey. This was for a special service to celebrate the life 

of Nathanial Woodard, the founder of all the Woodard 

Schools like Ellesmere. 

Thirty-nine pupils attended from College, with an early 

start of 5am to ensure they arrived at the Abbey in time 

Page 02 

for the rehearsal at 10am. The combined Senior Choir for 

the service consisted of nearly 200 singers from various 

Woodard schools. They led the congregation in the 

hymns and psalms and sang Parry’s famous anthem 

‘I was glad’, which was sung at the Queen’s Coronation 

and the recent Royal Wedding. 

Lower School Choir members (also pictured on the front 

cover) gave a confident performance of ‘Arise and Shine 

Forth’ by Sally DeFord as an introit. It was an amazing 

musical experience for everyone involved.


Choir Members with Director of Music, Mr Roger Paul (left) 

and Head Master, Mr Brendan Wignall (right) 

Page 03


In November a group of students from Year 11 and the Sixth Form took part in an 

international Model United Nations conference, this time in the beautiful city of 

Leiden in The Netherlands. We asked them to give us a flavour of the experience: 

While the other Ellesmere College pupils participated as 

delegates in various Committees at this year’s LEMUN 2011 

in Leiden, I served as Press Officer instead, and may I say 

I loved the experience! 

The amazing press team at the Stedelijk Gymnasium 

compiled, edited and printed off four newspapers known 

as ‘Limes’ in the space of just three days. Everyone worked 

to the best of their abilities and we also had great fun and 

a fair few lollipops, as the pictures prove. 

The press team was responsible for writing about issues 

relevant to the MUN delegates. It featured interviews with 

the different committees and reports on the conference, 

Page 04 

The view from 

the Press Room 

– by Alice Tow of Year 11 

but also reported on the fun side of the weekend, such as 

the costume contest and the search for the LEMUN (lemon) 

in the school. 

Walking into a room full of unfamiliar Dutch-speaking 

students on my first morning was scary. But after two hours 

of writing my first article, I felt I had made friends. I soon 

learned that there isn’t much time for the press team to 

produce each article. We usually had around two and a half 

hours to write an article, and sometimes only two. 

My three days as part of the press team definitely gave 

me lots of experience as well as a true taste of journalism, 

which is what I hoped for in the first place.

After several months of researching issues of global 

importance such as nanotechnology and the protection of 

minority populations, the 17th of November 2011 finally 

arrived: time to depart for this year’s Model United Nations 

Conference in Leiden. 

After travelling first to Manchester airport and then by train 

from Amsterdam to Leiden, we arrived at our destination in 

the early evening. Wes and Jan, our Dutch hosts, were on hand 

to welcome us to their guesthouse and we immediately settled 

in. It was not long until our group of fourteen pupils and two 

teachers had completely taken over the whole guest house. 

Friday morning started with a historical tour of Leiden 

organised by the students from the Dutch Stedelijk Grammar 

School. Oisin, our guide, showed us several historic buildings, 

the many canals running through the town and the worldrenowned 

University. He was happy to answer lots of 

questions, too. 

Upon return to the Stedelijk, it was time to collect our badges 

and attend the opening ceremonies. Then we met in our 

various committees for the first time. We acted as representatives 

for South Korea for the Human Rights Council and The General 

Assembly for Disarmament and National Security. We shared 

resolutions with delegates from many European countries 

and the US who in turn represented countries as diverse as 

Malaysia, China, Cameroon and Gabon. Having successfully 

passed several resolutions, these were sent to the approval 

panel for debate on the following day. 

Saturday was by far the longest day, as the various committees 

were in session from 9am to 6pm. An international atmosphere 

pervaded everything. It was good to have an input into the 

resolutions. Various delegates were asked to speak to the 

whole committee, including both of us. A scary experience 

at first, but one which you quickly become used to! 


The view from the 

Committees 

– by Vicky Schaeff and Anne 

Bartels in the Upper Sixth 

The day was not quite over, though, as the communal dinner 

at the guest house had to be prepared – rustling up a starter, 

main course and dessert for 16 people tested our culinary 

skills. There were not many volunteers for the washing up 

afterwards, but everybody enjoyed eating and talking together. 

Then it was time to get ready for the LEMUN party, themed 

‘Brave New World’. Many different costumes were produced 

and Charlie Chaplin attended the party, too! 

Our final day was Sunday. Time to conclude the debates, swap 

e-mail addresses with new friends from all over the world and 

set off for Amsterdam’s airport. Fog delayed our evening flight 

to the UK but the resulting tiredness was nothing compared to 

the enormous benefits of the trip: numerous new friends from 

all over the world, an improved confidence in public speaking, 

a heightened awareness of urgent global issues and a first 

taste of the Dutch language. We thoroughly enjoyed the MUN 

conference and would strongly encourage all Sixth Formers to 

participate in future conferences if they are offered the chance 

as it’s an unforgettable experience. 

Page 05


In November, Big School once again reverberated 

to the voice of the historic Schulze Organ, 

this time brought to life by the sure touch of 

international concert organist Roger Fisher. 

Formerly Organist and Master of the Choristers 

at Chester Cathedral for twenty-nine years, Roger 

joined with the College’s Music Scholars’ Ensemble 

to inaugurate a series of concerts in aid of the 

Schulze Organ Appeal Fund. 

The Organ, which began its life in St Mary’s Church, 

Tyne Dock, South Shields, is one of only a handful 

of instruments remaining in this country which 

are the work of the great German organ builder, 

Schulze, whose instruments became notable after 

he exhibited in the Great Exhibition of 1851. 

Page 06 

Schulze 

Organ 

Concert 

Roger Fisher 

brings the mighty Schulze to life 

It was rescued and brought to its new home at 

the College after St Mary’s was made redundant in 

1981, and is in the care of the St Mary’s Tyne Dock 

Schulze Organ Trust, who are currently raising 

money to pay for a much needed scheme of repair 

and cleaning. 

As well as being played by pupils and sounding out 

the music of ‘Jerusalem’ for every Sixth Former’s 

last moments in school at the annual Ball, the 

Schulze Organ is regularly visited and played by 

organ enthusiasts from around the world, and 

will be the focus of further fundraising concerts 

this year. 

If you would like to know more about the Schulze, 

or how you can contribute to the appeal, go to 

www.schulzeorgan.co.uk

“ 


CCF Army Autumn Expedition 

Ready to go with webbing, weapons and kit, the coaches 

delivered us at Nesscliffe for another three days of little sleep 

between late night patrols, platoon attacks, ambushes and lots 

of running and crawling around covered in cam cream. 

Along field boundaries and across obstacles, patrolling gave 

us a chance to familiarise ourselves with the training area’s 

network of fields. After arriving at the bunker where we were 

to sleep for the next two nights, we were given radios before 

setting off on reconnaissance patrols to gather information 

on ‘terrorist activities’. 

Co-ordinated as a platoon, one section would provide a 

running commentary of the enemy’s activities and give the 

word go, when the other two would push forward from two 

angles, arrest and disarm the terrorist groups. When the last 

enemy decided not to co-operate we had a chance to use 

up the rest of our ammo in a final push to arrest, disarm and 

clear the area. Still awake from the excitement, we patrolled 

back to the bunker in the early hours of the morning where 

our sleeping bags waited. 

The next morning found us playing hide and seek army-style, 

an exercise that made us approach the look out point as 

closely as possible in 30 minutes and made us creep and 

crawl slowly through the forest trying to remain undetected; 

more of a challenge for some than others. 

With slick obstacle crossings and squeezing under hedge lines 

where there were no crossings, our close target reconnaissance 

missions found us within hearing range of the enemy’s briefing 

for later section attacks, but attempts at circling the area found 

all four of us diving over a fence to avoid being seen by passing 

vehicles, climbing over swampy riverbanks to remain unseen, 

and getting right up against the walls of the bunker where the 

enemy were all gathered together. 

That evening we were given the opportunity to be section 

commanders for the first time and lead the evening exercise – 

a nerve-wracking experience that made me appreciate my 

section’s scout’s acute sense of direction! My section tried 

approaching our target from three different directions, only to 

run up against stationary sentries surrounding it in all directions 

and so we returned to the rendezvous to hear the heroic story of 

two of the third section section being separated and holding an 

officer at gunpoint to help them capture the ammunition stash. 

On the final day we played enemy to another platoon, and 

were supplied with endless rounds to make a lot of noise and 

chaos. With no planned movement we slowly retreated back 

to the bunker where, firing off the last of our round, there were 

numerous epic deaths from our entire platoon. 

After many ‘well dones’ and ‘thank yous’ (not forgetting the 

chocolates from Sister Blister) we patrolled back to the 

” 

coaches from the best CCF expeditions to date. 

Emily Palmer, Year 11 

Page 07


Autumn 

in the Theatre 

The Autumn Term was an incredibly busy one for Drama at Ellesmere and, as usual, 

appreciative audiences of pupils, staff, parents and the local community were able to 

enjoy a rich diet of performances ranging from the emotional and provocative to the 

downright hilarious. Here is a lightening tour through some of the term’s highlights: 

Senior House Plays 

This year’s Festival had no discernable theme, other than enthusiastic 

casts from each of the Competitive Houses throwing themselves into 

some challenging plays and pulling off some sterling performances. 

Wakeman-Lambart’s ‘The Real Inspector Hound’ by Tom Stoppard 

produced some of the best physical comedy of the two evenings, 

particularly from Vicky von Hoven as Mrs Drudge and Rory Maclean 

as Magnus, whereas Meynell’s ‘Abigail’s Party’ by Mike Leigh was 

a delightful period piece of verbal wit and frustrated middle class 

ambition. On the second evening Talbot’s ‘Ruckus in the Garden’ 

by David Farr gave a strong ensemble performance and revealed 

the previously unsuspected thespian talents of Mike Finnemore 

and Leroy Tonge as the arboreal ‘Fairies’. Finally Woodard’s moving 

production of ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ by Dennis Potter left the 

audience in a more reflective mood, and brought to a fitting conclusion 

what many agreed had been an outstanding House Play Festival. 

Page 08 

The Importance of Being Earnest 

On Friday November 4th New Century Theatre Company presented 

their version of the much loved comedy of manners ‘The Importance 

of being Earnest’ in the Arts Centre. Penned by Oscar Wilde more than 

a century ago, this farcical tale of handbags, train stations, ‘Bunburying’ 

and blueberry muffins still enchants the audiences of today every 

time it is performed. New Century Theatre’s performance, which 

used minimalistic props and set, was full of fun and had the audience 

chuckling and laughing from almost as soon as it had begun until the 

curtain came down.

Reminiscence Theatre 

Towards the end of last term the A2 Theatre Studies group worked on 

a devised Reminiscence Theatre piece which they performed in the 

Arts Centre to the Ellemere Age UK group. The students conducted 

several interviews with Age UK members at their weekly meetings 

in the Town Hall, where the group recalled family memories and 

experiences to provide material for a piece of drama. Slowly but surely 

a plot line surrounding the friendship of two girls took shape. This was 

further structured by research by the students of both the local area 

and the periods of time the pensioners referred to in their interviews. 

The Sixth Formers were inspired in their ideas from live theatre they 

had watched over the course of the term and several last minute 

changes were made after a very helpful ‘dry run’ for the school a few 

days before the performance. The piece went down extremely well with 

the Age UK members who afterwards had a sing song of the tunes from 

bygone days and then a mince pie and cup of tea whilst they chatted 

to the students involved. The performance then went ‘on tour’ to the 

Boathouse Restaurant down by the Mere so that more local people 

could enjoy it. Well done to Upper Sixth students Sarah Richardson 

and Rebekah Dale for all their hard work and also to new Director of 

Drama, Mrs Pippa Bell. Thank you also to our new Theatre Manager 

and Technician, Mr Stuart Lord, who created some wonderful lighting 

and soundscapes for the performances. 


Lower School House Plays 

The Lower School House Plays began a new tradition this year, and 

each House was given a pantomime which could represent their house 

colour in some way. For example, Philips (green) Aladdin – the genie 

was the inspiration here, Heywood (yellow) made Cinderella’s magical 

transformation the hook and finally Brownlow (red), perhaps the hardest 

colour to match to a pantomime, ended up going for the Brothers’ 

Grimm tale of Rose Red and Snow White. 

All of the children involved in all three pantomimes worked hard 

to develop their performances throughout the term’s Survive and 

Thrive sessions. 

When the fateful day arrived for the performance to be judged each 

House definitely performed their very best and stand-out performances 

could be seen from all Houses. However there could only be one winner, 

and Heywood’s superior wit, timing and stellar cast pulled off a fantastic 

pantomime which won them the honour of performing again to a rapt 

audience at the Staff children’s Christmas Party. 

GCSE Devised Performances 

At the very end of a long term, and proving that Ellesmere students 

certainly do have stamina, the Year 11 Drama classes staged their 

own devised work in a series of performances which entertained and 

impressed those who saw them with both the quality of drama skills 

and the depth of thought which had gone into them. Ranging from 

Brechtian interpretations of last summer’s London riots, to physical 

theatre exploration of the psychology of serial killers, there was both 

entertainment and food for thought, and a timely reminder of how 

much young people have to contribute to important 

debates in society. 

Page 09


House Mother, Liz Embrey (left), 

with House Mistress, Jan Purcell (right). 

Page 10 

EXTENDING

Last summer saw St Oswald’s Sixth Form 

Girls’ House taken over by builders who 

worked tirelessly through holidays to 

extend the existing facilities and create 

some fabulous new ones. Girls returning to 

Ellesmere in September were thrilled to find an 

additional seventeen new en-suite single study 

bedrooms, as well as a beautiful new kitchen and 

conservatory dining area to add to St Oswald’s 

traditionally warm and friendly atmosphere. 

St Oswald’s is currently home to 65 girls, 

of whom 56 are boarders, with many local 

students opting to board to make the most of 

opportunities here and to maximise their study 

time at a crucial period of their school life. 

Touring the House at the end of the Autumn 

Term in the company of House Mistress, 


Mrs Jan Purcell and House Mother, Mrs Liz 

Embrey, it was clear to see how much the 

students appreciate both the practical facilities 

and the warm family ethos of St Oswald’s. 

As Jan commented: ‘We like to think of ourselves 

as a big multicultural family where all fourteen 

nationalities live happily together, and we are 

especially pleased with our new kitchen, which 

has made it possible for some very adventurous 

cooking and entertaining to take place. 

From small-scale dining to our Christmas tapas 

evening, this superb facility has added a 

welcome dimension to life here. 

St Oswald’s life is a busy one, and throughout 

the day the huge common room is a bustle of 

activity, but some of the most pleasant times are 

evenings and weekends when the atmosphere 

is relaxed but full of fun.’ 

ST OSWALD’S HOUSE 

Page 11


Parents’ Society Christmas Ball 2011 Parents’ Society News 

A 

new Chairperson has been elected 

to the parents’ committee that 

supports social functions at the 

School. After a busy and successful year, 

former Chairperson, Sena Parry, has 

relinquished the reigns of the Parents’ 

Society Committee to Helen Ainge. 

Under Helen’s leadership the new 

Executive Committee laid on an excellent 

programme of events last term which gave 

parents the opportunity to support the 

College as well as to get to know each 

other better. At the end of September 

an afternoon of champagne tasting 

and presentations about the School’s 

Tables are being booked and dorms are being requested for 

the Big College Weekend 20-22 April 2012. To reserve your place, 

at what promises to be the largest gathering of OEs and their 

partners since the Centenary Celebrations, fill in the enclosed 

registration form or contact the Development Office. 

We guarantee some superb music and great food within the 

fabulous setting of Big School. You will be entertained all weekend 

with the Golf Master Class, Archery and Clay Shooting, with the 

Champagne Reception and a Black Tie Gala Dinner with a guest 

speaker, with a Lecture and Wine Tasting through to the Sunday 

Morning Eucharist and our guest preacher, and lots of opportunities 

to chat and catch up with old friends. Spaces are limited so book 

now on 01691 626541 or e-mail development@ellesmere.com 

Page 12 

Academies saw a number of new parents 

being introduced to the role of the 

Parents’ Society and volunteers being 

recruited to boost the School’s weekly 

flower-arranging rota. 

Then, at the beginning of December, 

thirty parents enjoyed three creative 

workshops and made an array of beautiful 

Christmas decorations at a Creative Day. 

This finished with the lighting of the 

Christmas Tree and refreshments being 

served during a Christmas market in the 

Arts Centre which was enjoyed by many 

Lower School pupils and their families. 

One of the term’s highlights is always the 

annual Parents’ Society KS2 Christmas 

Party. This year had a Harry Potter theme, 

which was a huge success, with pupils 

having a most exciting time as they 

travelled to Hogwarts and eagerly 

anticipated a visit by Father Christmas. 

The end of Michaelmas Term concluded 

with the annual Parents’ Society Ball, 

which attracted 200 guests. With a 

traditional theme to the evening, much 

care and time was invested in the decoration 

for the Dining Hall and surrounding area 

and guests were wowed by the traditional 

festive atmosphere that was so successfully 

created around the School. 

Old Ellesmerians College Weekend

Congratulations 

to Becky Orr 

A 

talented young historian at Ellesmere College has 

reached the finals of a national History competition. 

Rebecca Orr, who lives in Ellesmere and is a former 

pupil of Lakelands School, joined the Sixth Form to 

study the International Baccalaureate. She took part in the 

National Debating Competition, organised by the Historical 

Association, on the topic ‘Why History matters to you’. 

Louise Paton, Head of History, explained, ‘Becky talked about 

the Brixton Riots of 1981 and was commended for her 

intelligent and well researched speech and consequently 

won the regional heat’. 

Rebecca now goes through to the National Finals which are 

to be held in Merton College Oxford in March this year. 


Maths Beyond the Classroom 

Maths enrichment has taken a variety of 

forms this year, with able students being 

given the opportunity to challenge and 

stretch themselves in a variety of ways. 

Year 11 students from Set 1 have volunteered to study 

an extended GCSE in Maths called the Free standing 

Maths Qualification. It takes some of the topics beyond 

GCSE A ★ standard and introduces the topic of calculus. 

In Lower School pupils were involved in a Code Breaking 

Event, sponsored by Southampton University. Able 

mathematicians Chelsea Watson, Andrew Nelhans, 

Ben Palmer, Luke Parker and Elinor Haworth were given 

a written message to decode and various techniques 

were explained to them to enable them to crack it. 

The hidden message told them the story of Alan Turing 

and the wartime decoders at Bletchley Park. Mrs Elaine 

Philips also runs a regular Maths Club where Lower 

School pupils can stretch their computational and 

problem solving skills in a fun way. 

LEFT to RIGHT are: Chelsea Watson, Elinor Haworth, 

Mrs Susan Bogue, Luke Parker and Andrew Nehlans 

During the Autumn Term four lucky Year 8 and 9 

students were specially selected to participate in 

fortnightly Maths Masterclasses at Liverpool University: 

James Bateman, Sebastian McCarthy, Georgina 

Freer-Carmichael and Jake Thomas. 

Finally, students across the School are busy preparing 

for this year’s UK Maths Challenge competition 

with weekly workouts on challenge questions. 

Page 13


The College first XI had a particularly 

good season, especially in tournaments. 

They were runners up in the Wrekin 7’s 

competition and then winners of the 

Shropshire County Tournament, where 

they beat Wrekin College 3-2 in the final, 

and went on to represent Shropshire in the 

Midlands Zonal Tournament at Oakham 

School. The Under 14s also won the 

County Tournament in convincing fashion 

and also represented Shropshire in the 

Midlands Zonal Tournament, where they 

finished third. The Under 12s XI have had 

an unbeaten season in fixtures and were 

runners up in the North Shropshire U13 7s 

Tournament. 

Page 14 

At representative level, county trials are 

still in progress, but Jess Martin-Jones and 

Tilly Walker in Year 9 have been successful 

in being selected for the U14 Shropshire 

County Squad. 

The term ended with an exciting Senior 

House Hockey event, which went to a 

dramatic penalty flick competition which 

was eventually won by Talbot. Winners of 

the Junior House Hockey were Wakeman- 

Lambart. However, all College hockey 

players are very much looking forward to 

the installation of the new Astro Turf this 

year, which will certainly usher in a new 

era for the game at Ellesmere. 

Hockey 

Highlights 

AWARDS 

Best Player - Ellie Halstead 

Most Improved - Sam Williams 

Players’ Player - Ellie Halstead 

World Champion Returns in Triumph 

Tom Rylands, Ellesmere’s Senior 

Shooting Academy Coach, returned 

recently from Australia as part of the 

victorious Great Britain Rifle Team 

which retained the World Long Range Rifle 

Championship in Brisbane. 

Tom explained, ‘The Championships, called 

the Palma Trophy, represents the culmination 

of nearly two years of practice and training 

and the British team set several records on the 

way, including achieving a third successive 

Palma victory. It is always an honour to 

represent one’s country in your chosen 

sport, particularly in a sport which is open 

to all ages at the highest levels’. In a letter of 

congratulation to Tom, Hugh Robertson MP, 

Minister for Sport and the Olympics, stated, 

‘Results such as this are not only great news 

for the team but also reflect enormously well 

on sport in general – particularly in the build 

up to a home Olympics’. 

Target Rifle shooting is one of the oldest 

recognised sports, the UK national body being 

formed in 1859 and the first Queen’s prize 

held in 1860. The Palma Trophy (originally 

the Creedmoor Match) was first competed 

for in 1876 and is now held every four years. 

Ellesmere College Shooting Academy provides 

an opportunity for aspiring elite athletes 

to train and develop their abilities towards 

gaining representative honours and 

ultimately a potential Olympic place. 

HOCKEY COLOURS 

Senior Full - No Senior Full 

Senior Half - Kate Norman, Marina Sieber 

Junior Full - Rebecca Neary 

Junior Half - Molly Broster, Sam Williams

Year 11 pupils, George Beal from Sandbach, 

Ali Miller from Tarporley and James Slater 

from Malpas were recently selected to play 

for the Cheshire Under 16 Squad. 

Last term saw some tremendous rugby played with 

nearly 100 fixtures and many boys going forward to 

representative rugby at County, North Midlands and 

above. Colin Dickson has been selected in the final 

group of Midlands players so will trial for England again next 

term. Adam King is still involved with the Irish U18 side and 

is hoping for a start and Ted Parker has been selected in the 

final trial group for the Midlands U16’s. 


Rugby Roundup 

Scott Leckie in action against Bromsgrove. 

The College U16 side finished first in the league tables in the 

Midlands at the end of their season and tenth in the country. 

The U13’s finished their season in style by beating Packwood 

in a close game and the U15 A had a fantastic run in the 

Daily Mail Cup and were very unlucky to lose to Bromsgrove 

0-7 in the Midlands semi-final. They did, however, finish 

third in the Midlands League table. 

Page 15


Ellesmere 

Connect 

Page 16 

OE Geoffrey Ellis inspiring today’s students 

Ellesmere Connect is the new online 

community for Old Ellesmerians, Parents, Upper Sixth Students, Staff and Friends 

of the College. As a member of the Ellesmere College Community, you now have 

access to our private Online Community which allows you to: 

■ stay in touch with friends from College and search for those that you have lost touch with 

■ hear about upcoming dinners, reunions and events – book and pay online 

■ keep up-to-date with important information via our newsletters and news alerts 

■ post and share your news and photos with the Ellesmere community 

■ participate in various competitions with great prizes up for grabs 

■ add your company details to our Business Directory and attend professional networking events 

■ offer mentoring to our students or receive professional mentoring yourself 

Simply go to www.ellesmereconnect.com enter your email address, create a password and 

you’ll be up and running. We really look forward to hearing from you and sharing your latest 

news with our community. If you have any problems logging on or have any queries, contact the 

Development Office on 01691 626541 or email ellesmereconnect@ellesmere.com 

We hope you enjoy the Ellesmere Connect experience! 

Only those details that you choose will be visible to other members of the Ellesmere 

Community and none of them can be seen by the general public. 

Old Ellesmerians 

CITY DRINKS 

The second informal gathering of London based OEs and current 

parents who work or live in the City will be held at The Antelope, 

Eaton Terrace, close to Sloane Square Tube Station, at 6.30pm on 

Thursday 9th February 2012. 

Our special guests on the evening will be Terry Howitt-Dring and 

his wife Andrea. Terry taught at the College for 40 years from 1970, 

only retiring in 2010 and is credited with starting the Design and 

Technology Department at Ellesmere. Many will remember his passion 

for building and restoring old cars and even trying to float one or two on 

the Mere. Terry will no doubt have many amusing stories to tell us over 

a beer or two. Our other guest will be Malcolm Howe, who was Head 

of Chemistry from 1962 to 1969 and was Ian Beer’s first appointment. 

Let us know if you are able to make it, so that we can help the pub 

with catering – call Doris Taylor on 01691 626541 or e-mail: 

doris.taylor@ellesmere.com 

The next date for your diary at The Antelope is Thursday, 17th May.

The Science of Success 

A Sixth Form lecture by The Times journalist, 

Matthew Syed 

Wednesday 29th February 2012 at 7.00pm 

Matthew graduated from Oxford University in 1995 with 

a prize-winning first class degree in philosophy, politics 

and economics. 

His first book ‘Bounce’, published in April 2010, has been 

described as “one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking 

books about sport ever written”. Matthew is currently a columnist 

and feature writer for The Times. He has won numerous prizes 

for his writing including Sports Journalist of the Year and Sports 

Feature Writer of the Year. 

Before becoming a writer Matthew was the England table tennis 

number one for almost a decade and three-times Commonwealth 

Champion. In addition to writing, Matthew also commentates on 

sport for the BBC and Eurosport. His film for the BBC, China and 

Table Tennis, won a bronze medal at the Olympic Golden Rings 

ceremony in Lausanne. 


Matthew was one of the 

co-founders of TTK Greenhouse, 

a charity which “empowers 

youngsters through sport” 

and which currently supports 

more than 10,000 young 

people on 31 full-time 

school programmes. 

From Ellesmere to Outer Space 

How do you get from selling vinyl LPs to fellow students at 

Ellesmere in the early 70’s to being a leading exponent of the 

emerging private space industry? Ask Richard Godwin, 

Old Ellesmerian, who visited us in December to chat to the 

Sixth Form. Captivated by his inspirational presentation, 

students surrounded Richard at the end of his talk, so much so 

that Marietta, Richard’s wife had to eventually drag him away 

to get something to eat. 

Since he was seven years old, Richard has been a space enthusiast. 

He used to organize trips from school to Jodrell Bank and started 

the School’s first Astronomy Club. He has served as a Director 

of the US based Space Frontier Foundation and has also been 

a Board member of National Space Society from 2003 to 2010. 

He would have loved to have been an astronaut but says he was 

‘born in the wrong country’. 

A serial entrepreneur, he opened a small chain of restaurants in 

1979, and then bought a country hotel. After a profitable sale, 

he started a Restaurant Design and Supply Company in London, 

which grew to become an international trading company, 

eventually shipping commodities around the world. Remembering 

his Ellesmere days and realising that the trading of CDs was very 

lucrative, Richard set up a company in the US and by 1995 this 

was the largest importer of CDs in the States with a turnover in 

excess of $30M. He also founded the Griffin Record label and CG 

Publishing (with his brother Robert, also an OE) which is known 

worldwide as THE space book company. 

At the end of the evening, Richard commented: ‘What a great 

group of students! It makes me think that there’s hope for us all 

yet. I’ll be in contact ASAP about the satellite idea, see if we can 

get that one off the ground both metaphorically and literally.’ 

…More on that later! 

Sixth Form students are encouraged to prepare questions for 

Matthew who will answer them whilst giving a red hot table 

tennis demonstration. 

This event is open to staff, parents, Old Ellesmerians and to 

the members of the Ellesmere community. To book your 

tickets please contact Doris Taylor on 01691 626541 or 

e-mail development@ellesmere.com 

Page 17


Ellesmere Art Exhibition 

Page 18 

Eva Dutton 

In June 2012 College will launch 

its inaugural Ellesmere Art 

Exhibition and Sale of Works. 

All the artists and sculptors 

exhibiting are full time 

professionals, and many are 

members of, or exhibitors at, 

the Royal Cambrian Academy 

of Arts. We will feature the works 

of David Lloyd Griffiths RCA and 

Sally Matthews RCA as well as 

many other nationally known 

artists and sculptors. 

We are delighted to have an Old 

Ellesmerian, Martin Aitchison, 

as guest of honour and exhibiting 

with us. Martin attended the 

College in 1935. After training 

at the Birmingham School of Art 

and a short spell at the Slade, 

Martin exhibited at the Royal 

Academy and then joined Vickers 

Armstrong as a technical artist. 

Here he was recruited by Barnes 

Wallis who needed a ‘good 

illustrator’ to work with him 

on the development of the 

Bouncing Bomb, as epitomised


6th to 10th June 2012 

in the 1955 film The Dam 

Busters. In 1952 he joined 

another boyhood classic, the 

Eagle comic, where he drew the 

‘Luck of the Legion’ stories each 

week. In 1963 he joined Ladybird 

books, illustrating more than 70 

editions, which sold worldwide. 

Our patron is The Lord Lieutenant 

of Shropshire, Mr Algernon 

Heber-Percy, who will host the 

headline sponsors’ champagne 

reception on Friday, 8 June 2012. 

Barbara Goolden 

We look forward to seeing you 

at The Ellesmere Art Exhibition 

during this exciting four day 

event. We have invited a wide 

range of nationally renowned 

artists to give you a wide and 

varied selection of paintings and 

sculptures to experience and to 

purchase. The exhibition will be 

open to the public, parents, staff 

and friends and the aim is to 

raise the profile of the Arts within 

the College and the region. 

If you would like to be the 

Headline Sponsor of this event, 

or sponsor of one of the evenings 

with refreshments, wine and 

canapés, inviting and entertaining 

your own guests and displaying 

your company literature in Big 

School, please contact the 

Development Office to discuss 

further details. 

Phone 01691 626541 or email 

development@ellesmere.com 

Page 19


Congratulations to everyone who supported the Christmas 

Bazaar which raised nearly £500 for the College’s conservation 

and development projects in Monduli Green, Tanzania.

SPRING TERM 2012 - Ellesmere College

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?