Newsletter - Winter Term 20.09.11
The 1st XI after beating Windlesham 3-1
From bushcraft to big cats via mosaics and musical toys, it’s been a diverse week for Cottesmorians.
Academic News
Geography
The term has seen the Geography Department leading the way with two major field trips, which both took place on gloriously sunny days in the beautiful Sussex countryside.
The top year group have been to the Seven Sisters Country Park on the South Downs to study the conflicting land uses and consider the way the Park is managed, with particular emphasis on the environmental impact of large numbers of tourists. They also revised their knowledge of river and coastal processes while exploring the Cuckmere valley and the towering cliff of Haven Brow.
The Sussex Wildlife Trust provided a knowledgeable guide to show the group around Cuckmere Haven. She drew the pupils’ attention to the Heritage Coast protection given to wartime buildings and the Napoleonic War structures located across the valley. She also pointed out the large numbers of insects, variety of wildlife and rare flowers which flourish in this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It was agreed that the valley is certainly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and everyone was impressed by its unique four-fold protection within the bounds of the National Park. The pupils gained a detailed insight into the management of the Country Park whilst viewing clear examples of natural processes being enhanced by human activity. This valuable visit will form the basis of an extended project as part of the pupils’ Common Entrance final assessment in geography.
The 4th Form completed a similar visit locally to Tilgate Park in Crawley where they spent a day examining the management of the Park and reviewing the progress of the £4.5 million dam project first viewed by Cottesmore pupils in January.
Crawley Borough Council provided similar expertise: the Tilgate Park Manager has 21 years of experience which enabled him to give a fascinating and detailed two-hour tour of the Park and Lake. Pupils were able to view the changes made by the raising of the massive dam, enhancement of the scenery and the biodiversity of the Park. The Manager was also able to show clear evidence of the conflicts within the Park and explain the manner in which these are managed to enable nearly a third of a million visitors to enjoy its facilities every year as an amenity of Crawley Borough Council. It was fascinating to hear about future plans for the Park and also concern about the need to find ways to provide better revenue streams, threatening the delightful family feel of this superb open area.
Maths
The Maths Challenge at Windlesham was a great success; Cottesmore entered 6 pupils. The Red section - higher level questions which were completed by Georgina and H. Park. The Blue section - middle level questions which were completed by Olly, Alex, Coco and Antonio.
Mr Nicholas was very pleased with the Cottesmorians' mature approach to the challenge. It comprised of a twenty question mental arithmetic section, twenty questions of 'Countdown' style challenges. The final section to the challenge included twenty problem solving questions and they had to answer as many as they could in half an hour.
It was very exciting and our Red section came 3rd out of 31 schools. Well done to all of them.
Latin
The 3rd Form travelled to Fishbourne Roman Palace yesterday, once one of the greatest buildings in the Empire; more news on this visit next week.
Sports News
Soccer
Colts A deserved their 2-1 victory over Handcross; well done to Antonio who scored both goals. The Colts B team powered their way to a 7-1 victory, also against Handcross. Congratulations to Adam who played a tremendous game, scoring a double hat-trick.
The Under-9As won their match 3-0, with Marcus awarded Man of the Match for some skilful play.
The 1st XI played a commanding match against Windlesham, securing a 3-1 victory with goals by Diego and Christophe. The Colts D team showed their mastery over the Windlesham side with a scorching 7-0 victory. Congratulations to Tom for his hat-trick and well done to Naoki and Egor who scored 2 goals each.
Hockey
The Girls U11 and U10 teams were unstoppable in their Great Walstead fixtures with 10-2 and 5-0 victories respectively. Isabel was Girl of The Game for the Under 10s.
Netball
The Under-10s played a thrilling fixture against Windlesham, resulting in a 6-6 draw. Paige was awarded Girl of the Game.
Swimming Update
Training in the pool is under way with fifty swimmers competing for places in both Senior and Junior Squads. Monday morning is particularly exciting with the Junior ‘A’ squad training hard, completing in excess of 40 lengths within the short time frame available. Our training regime has been improved with the addition of ‘B’ Squad sessions on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Games sessions remain firmly fitness orientated to underpin the success of other sports whilst allowing our top swimmers extra pool time to train and develop their technique.
Links with Crawley Swimming Club remain strong, with several pupils training with the Club both here at Cottesmore and at K2 in the evenings. Aquafins continue to enthusiastically teach and prepare our Pre-Prep swimmers on Wednesday afternoons.
This year’s targets for the Squads are: IAPS qualification for the Nationals; inter schools galas against Windlesham, Duke of Kent, St Piran’s and one at Tonbridge School. New Time Trials will be held after half term to measure our swimmers’ progress.
Golf Family Foursomes
The recent unsettled weather gave way to a bright and clear day for our Golf Family Foursomes yesterday on our ‘Ostrich Feather’ course.
Team Rawlins won the trophy and the Bulls, White-Thomsons and Kennedys came in second and equal-third places respectively.
After the match picnic lunches were enjoyed in the warm sunshine, followed by the toasting of marshmallows by the junior golfers.
Pre-Prep
There was great excitement among the Year 1 pupils yesterday as they travelled to Rudgwick to visit a toy museum. At the Old School House the children learnt all about Victorian musical toys. They saw toys powered by springs, a talking book that was 150 years old which made lots of different animal sounds using a little bellows inside (the cow's moo was a particular favourite!) They were intrigued by a piano which played by itself and a gramophone which needed a sock inserted to turn the volume down, as well as a laughing policeman.
Other News
The Bushcraft Company return
It was Form 4’s turn to ‘Think Outside’ when the Bushcraft Company returned to Cottesmore for another day of outdoor challenges.
Dividing the pupils into three teams or ‘tribes’, the day was structured around a series of leadership and team building exercises emphasising listening and communication skills and which involved collaborative working with qualified instructors.
The majority of the challenges were presented in game form which certainly enhanced the pupils’ enjoyment without detracting from the intellectual challenge. Soft skills were developed through games such as ‘Land-Ski-ing’, ‘Sheep Herding’, ‘Land Mines’ and ‘Marble Rolling’. Decision making processes were refined with an accent on survival games.
At all times the full involvement of every pupil was sought and by the end of the day’s sessions they were thoroughly exhausted after 9 hours of activities in the open air.
As always, a simple lunch of hot soup and a cheese-and-ham toastie cooked over an open fire met with unanimous approval.
At the close of the day’s activities prizes were awarded for best behaviour, best tribal flag and best development. With an emphasis on team skills and team development, the children were further able to consider their individual roles within a collective.
The Bushcraft Company were thanked profusely by Tom Daly and at the end of a long and stimulating day rallied the 4th Form to give a resounding three cheers. The Company leaders commented once again on the positive attitude and good behaviour of Cottesmorians.
Big Cat Lecture
Miss Harris held the whole school spellbound with an absorbing account of her working trip to a big cat reserve near Kroonstad, South Africa during the summer holiday.
Realising a long-held wish to work with big cats, Miss Harris spent a month at the reserve which is home to lions, tigers, caracals, jaguars, leopards and a cheetah; the reserve is dedicated to the preservation of these species. Her duties included cleaning, feeding, playing with the cubs and showing visitors around the reserve.
The children were entranced by her account of her visit and especially of caring for 6 to 8 week old lion and tiger cubs; they also greatly enjoyed a video presentation and photos. They were all fascinated by a real lion’s tooth and are still asking to see it!
At the end of the lecture the children asked some very considered and pertinent questions about animal conservation, the reserve and Miss Harris’ experience there.
Dorm Poster Competition
Tension was mounting, but the wait is finally over: Mr Rogerson has judged the Dorm Poster Competition.
It was a tricky task, but the eventual winners for the girls were Dorm 1, with a mention for Dorm 19. The boys’ winner was Dorm Gym 2, while Dorms 8 and 12 were awarded mentions. The winners will look forward to a stay-up, while those mentioned all enjoyed lunch bars.
Looking forward
The ever-popular Book Fair will be here next week, there’s a field trip to Buchan Country Park, another packed round of sporting fixtures and a swimming gala, along with a trip to the cinema – all after a welcome exeat break this weekend.
We are pleased to welcome the Chaplain of Christ’s Hospital School, the Rev. Stephen Golding to Chapel for Evensong after the exeat. Parents are welcome to join us for a glass of wine in the Drawing Room after the service.