2006_2007.pdf - The FRIENDS OF DURHAM SCHOOL

Trips

Essential Information 4 France 32 Barbados Hockey 33

Headmaster's Notes 6 Broom House farm 35 Edinburgh Festival 36

House Reports Hong Kong 37

The Caffinites World Challege -Uganda 38

7 School House 8 Walking Poole House 9 Pimlico House 10 Skye 42 Macleod 11 Wales 43

Macleod Opening 12 Sport

Girls' Games 45 Speech Day 14 Water Polo 54

Speech Day Prizes 15 Swimming 56 Athletics 56

Headmaster's Report 16 Hockey -(boys) 57 Squash 58

Chaplaincy News Cross-Country 58

20 Rugby 59 Cricket 64

Music 21 Rowing 68

The Sage, Gateshead 22 CCF

Drama 25 CCF Report 73 Army Section 74 Royal Navy Section 75

Geography Field studies 29 RAF Section 77

News from the Common Room 78

OD Society 79

The Dunelrni an 3

Headmaster NG Kern, MA (Oxford), MSc (Pretoria)

Deputy Headmaste1· D R Best, BA (Belfast) PGCE

Director of Development and Services Mr G Simpson

Director of Studies J D Everatt, MA (Durham)

Senior Master R Thomas, MA (St Andrews)

Senior Mistress Mrs FM Parker, BEd (Oxon)

Chaplain Mrs A de Lange, BA (Exeter), MA (Sheffield)

Academic Staff DB Aitken BSc, (Edinburgh); PGCE

M P Alderson, BA, MA (Durham); PGCE

MC T Baldwin, BA (Kent); PGCE

JA Burgess, MA , BSc (St Andrews)

Miss J M Burns, BA (Durham)

M J Bushnell, BSc (Swansea) (Housemaster of Poole House)

I J Campbell , BEng (Bangor); PGCE

J Curry, BSc, MA (Durham)

TA Davies BA (Newcastle); PGCE

H S Dias, BA (Ulster); PGCE

Mrs KE Dougall , BA, QTS (Warwick)

R Duff BEd (NCE Aberdeen)

MB Fishwick

C S Fordyce, BSc (Herriot Watt) PGCE

M A Gardner, BSc MA (Dunelm)

PC Gerrard , BEd (Leeds Met.Carnegie College)

R Gibbon, BSc (Sheffield)

li•,iMtjiiiiiHEii ...

Head of History

Head of Classics

Director of Marketing

Chemistry

Modem Languages

Head of Art and DT

Head of Science and Biology

Modern Languges

Head of Economics & Business Studies

Physics

Head of Physics & Careers

Head of Classics

English

Girls' Games and Geography

Assistant Director of Music

Professional Cricket Coach

Mathemat.ics

IT Director of Physical Education

Computer Studies

MG Gibson, MA (Kent) PGCE (Housemaster of Pimlico) English & Media Studies

Mrs S L Gibson, BA , MA (Middlesex) (Housemistress of Pimlico) Drama & Media Studies

G Hallam, BSc (Leeds) (Housemaster of Caffinites)

Mrs EL P Hewitt, BA (London), MA (OU)

R N Hewitt, BEd (Durham)

J G James, BSc (Wales); PGCE

K S Jones, BSc, PGCE (Dunelm) (Housemaster of School House)

Miss L Joss , PGCE

S J M Kime, BA , PGCE, FRSA (Aberystwyth)

Miss J M Linthwaite, BA (Newcastle); MPhil ; MEd; DipESL

B Mason BEd (de Montfort)

R A Muttitt, BMus (Hull),ARCO, FRSAS

Mrs MF Proud, MA (Durham)

J C Renshaw, BA (Durham); PGCE

Ms. E J Ross, BA (Durham)

Miss RHP Taylor BSc (Aberystwyth); PGCE

S Thompson BA (Sunderland);PGCE

Mrs N J Thompson (Leeds) BA;PGCE

S Tween, BSc (Sheffield)

A R Wallace, BSc (Lancaster); PGCE

M D Ward, BEd (Sheffield); PGCE

Mrs KL Wilkinson, BA (Durham); PGCE

J Williamson , BA (York)

PR Wilson, MA, BA (Cantab); PGCE

M Younger, BA (Sunderland); PGCE

Part Time Teaching Staff

D M Cowgill

Mrs L Dobison

Mrs D Evans , MA (Oxon)

A Gouge, BA; PGCE

Mrs J Mason

DP Singleton

MO Stephens, BA; Ce1t Ed , MCollT, PGC in SpLD

Mrs F Swan, BA (Durham); PGCE

Mrs S Sweeting

English

Mathematics

History

Geography

PE and Games

Head of Chemistry

PE and Games

HeadofEMD

English as a Second Language

Director of Sport

Director of Music

Head of Religious Studies

Head of Geography

Head of Learning Support

Economics & Business studies

DT & Art

DTand Art

Chemistry

Head of ICT

Modern Languages

ilc Rowing, History

Head of Mathematics

Art & DT

Rugby

Hockey

Biology

Economics & Bnfiness Studies

Librarian

Rowing

Leaming Support

English

Netball

Pastoral Staff Miss H Wood

Mrs J Haley

Mrs J Gorton

Mrs A Dutton

Estates Staff B M Hunter

PR Atkinson

Administrative Staff Mrs S Spence

Mrs D Woodlands

Mrs AM Wides

Mrs N McCann

Mrs R Gardner

Mrs R Hetherington-Seymour

Ms K Hunt

Mrs T Hogg

Mrs C Varty

Technical Staff C Looker

Ms L Bailey

J Hind

Governing Body Dr. J W Marshall

Mr F Nicholson

Mr S B Anderson

Prof. J H Anstee

Mr PS Bell

Canon S Cherry

Mrs A Galbraith

Miss J L Hobbs

Dr ED Hunt

Miss G Kerr

Mr R H Langdon

Dr S M Oliver

Mr D W Welsh

Mrs H G Weston

Poole House (Resident)

Pimlico House

RGN - Nurse

RGN- Nurse

Estates Manager

School Marshall/SS!

Headmaster's Secretary

Admissions Secretary

School Secretary

Marketing Secretary

Finance Office

Finance Office

Finance Office

Secretary

School Shop Manager

Laboratory Technician

Laboratory Technician

(Chairman)

(Vice Chairman)

Head of the School Will Dias

Deputy Head of School Jenny Kirtley

Head of School House Richard Smedley

Head of Poole House Will Dias

Head of Caffinites Davis Reader

Head of Pimlico Britta Norpoth

Head of MacLeod Iona Hughes

Monitors

School Bruce Middleton Alex Treliving

Caffinites Aaron Arkley Luke.Mills

Poole House Tom Chen

Pimlico House Jenny Kirtley

MacLeod House Steph Maddison

King's Scholars Luke Mills Kim Forrest Richard Smedley Alex Duell Alexander Grant Jonny Brooke Matthew Turnbull Kate Finch Toby Bain Thomas Clarke Mark Owen James Grant Matthew Tiffin Jack Deverson Ben Wooff Oli Bell

Burkitt Scholars Jamie Jones Jamie Oyebade E-J Saxby Antonia Storey

Numbers in School girls 125

boys 309

Total 434

-Ml·iii,QHEhii

As I write this Headmaster's Report at the strut of the

new academic yeru·, 2007-08 , and look back at last year, 2006-07, with which this Dunelmian issue is concerned , it is difficult to find an original slant on an annual theme. The same problems beset the Headmaster's Report each yeru· at Speech Day. Essentially every school year is much the same: academic work and leruning predominate; there are spmts fixtures, conceits, plays, activities. There ru·e trips and outings, field work and expeditions. A few new events take place; a few events are missed out, but "business as usual" summru·ises each and every yeru·. "As usual" maybe, but no less busy and hectic, with no less work and commitment than any other yeru·. The pages of this Dunel111.iru1 issue are testament both to the activity and to the endeavour behind it. However, there ru·e some aspects of Durham School that will not necessarily be covered by the repo1ting of events that follows. Durham School is in the very best of health and advancing rapidly on many fronts, changing and evolving without losing its traditional values. 2006-07 saw the highest number of pupils in the School's history, 434 last September, (although 452 is the figure a

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year later) with 125 of those in the two girls' houses. Facilities have never been better, following massive investment in maintenance, refurbishment and development. Academic results saw the A level goal exceeded, with a LOO% pass rate (including 46.5% A-B grades) while GCSE results were at our usual level, helping to maintain a 5-year average of 35. I% A*-A grades overall and 78% for the top set. New uniform has meant pupils look better and smarter thru1 ever, especially in the Sixth Form. Durham School pupils continue to present themselves as a top quality product, and feedback from regional employers rates them highly. Durham School pupils ru·e happy, fulfilled , confident , polite and pleasant and still have time to do everything else, as you will see as you read on.

Mr N.G.Kem Headmaster

houstj report

inites Caffinites House is driven

by enthusiasm and tremendous house spiri t. This has been demonstrated throughout the year in several areas. This year the Caffinites have enjoyed a number of successes, drawing together boys from all year groups who have used their skills in interhouse drama, music and sport competitions.

The year began with the first competition being the House Drama. Alex Duell was in charge for the second year running and we were very unlucky not to walk away with a victory to start off the year, as Poole narrowly got the judge's decision. Thanks to everyone who took part in that competition including the new Shell group who seemed to grow as a year group after putting in a good pe1formance.

The next competition was the House swimming contest. With the House spirit high we knew that this could be our chance to win our first competition of the year. With fantast ic performances from Aaron Arkely, Andy Barratclough, Alex Docx and a little bit of luck as School house was disquali fied, we

ended up winning both the junior and the senior sections of the competition. Unfortunately we just missed out on doing the treble as the year 7 and 8s narrowly came second.

Two tournaments then came in quick succession: the House squash and the House rowing. We eased to a victory in the House squash with Shaakir Salam and Andrew Shaw putting in solid performances for the House. The House rowing, however, was not so successful ; however, with an interesting warm up , our House spirit continued to grow.

Next came the House running competition. All put in a good effort under the controversial choice of captain Graeme Johnston , and we were unfortunate not to win the Swainston or the Dunelm; however, we had great success at the junior end of the competition wi th good pe1formances from many of the year 7 and 8s.

Perhaps the most popular of all the inter-house competitions is the House Music Competition , which this year we had the privilege of holding in the magnificent Gateshead Sage.

The competition was open to parents and friends for the first time and was a comple te sellout. The whole House took part, giving up much of their free time to attend months of rehearsals. A special mention must go to everyone who took part in the instrumental and the part song. Under the expert guidance of our musical director Luke Mills the rehearsals paid off and we were victorious for the first time since I joined the School .

We remained unbeaten for the

seventh straight year in the House general knowledge competition with masterminds Alex Grant and, surprisingly, Nick Lynch chipping in to give us an unbeatable total in the end .

T he final tournament of the

year was House cricket. With cricket tops being provided by Mr. Hallam all hopes were high that we could finish the year on top. Unfortunately it was not to be, although there were some great performances notably from younger years where Lewis Hall played exceptionally well.

The ends of the Christmas and summer terms were topped off by two hugely enjoyable nights at the House Suppers and the barbeque, providing a lot of ente11ainment and a nice send off to the leavers of the

Caffinites

It only remains for me now to thank those who have played a huge role in the life of the House this year. A special mention must go to thi s year's Upper Sixth . The support I have enjoyed

throughout the year has been fantastic, especially from my colleagues Luke Mills and Aaron Arkley; without thei1· help the year would not have been as great a success A big thank you must go to all the tutors with in Caffinites: Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Burgess for their

contributions to the Shell, Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth respectively. We are very grateful to our resident tutor Mr. Campbell and new Caffinite Mr. Fordyce who has taken over the role of Assistant Housemaster, and to Mr.Tween who has done a fine job as the Junior Housemaster of Caffinites, helping the new year 7 and 8s settle into the House spirit. Special mention must go to Mr. Renshaw who has had the delightful task of looking after our year group for three years at the School , guiding us through both our GCSE and A level examinations. My final thanks must go to Mr Hallam , whose guidance and support to each and every Caffinite has been invaluable throughout the year. Mr. Hallam combines a high level of discipUne and strong friendship within the House gaining the respect of all the boys and encouraging tremendous House spirit. I wish him all the best for the future. In closing I would like to wish Alex Duell all the best for the forthcoming year as Head of Caffinites and Head of School. I am very proud to call my self a Caffinite and will forever cherish the memories of my time at School.

Davis Reader UVI

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School House Avery busy school year

began with the first interhouse competition, the swimming gala. The Seniors failed to disappoint, managing to win the relay. Although we didn't win the competition overall, our success in the relay was appreciated by many members of the House who came to watch the gala. The Junior part of the house, hoping to follow in the footsteps of their seniors, gave their all, and their effort did not go unnoticed by the House.

Next on the School calendar were the House Suppers which were held at the end of the Christmas term. As anticipated by everyone in the House, it turned out to be a very enjoyable evening. The entertainment prepared by the House was very weU constructed. Each year group contributed, and we were treated to 'A Question of Sport' and 'FamiJy Fortunes', but unfortunately Mr. Jones failed to win the £250,000 in 'Deal or No Deal' . The evening was a great way for everybody in the House to enjoy themselves after a busy term and look forward to the holidays.

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Moving onto the Easter term, for the fi rst time in the school's history, the House Music Competition was held outside the school grounds. This year we were all lucky enough to be able to perform at the fantastic venue of the 'Sage Concert Hall' in Gateshead. To say that we were aU looking forward to the competition would be an understatement. There was a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness around the House, especially leading up to the competition. Just like every year, the music was chosen, rehearsed and performed entirely by the pupils of the House. The Unison Song, which everybody in the House takes part in, was Five's 'Keep On Moving'. Much of the credit must go to Richard Smedley who worked hard to organise and lead the preparation of the song. The part song, 'Patience' by Take That, was an impressive performance. EquaJly impressive was the fact that the instrumental piece was written by Richard himself and this, also, was an entertaining performance. The evening's entertainment was

outstanding, and we finished a respectable third place. Everybody had a great time performing on the stage, and the audience seemed to enjoy the choreography during our unison song! At the end of the night, we left knowing we had given our all and that all the hard work prior to the competition was worthwhile.

We had tasted success in the pool earlier in the year, and we were hoping for some success out of the pool in the InterHouse cross-country competition. We were not let down. Tom Hand won the senior

event and his brother, Matthew Hand, won the junior event! They both helped the House win both the Senior and Junior competitions which made the trophy cabinet look a bit more healthy! The effort from everybody in the House was impressive, as the course was far from easy.

The Summer term saw the Seniors in the House claim the

water-polo trophy with some confident performances in the pool. School House also managed to win the rowing competition , which rounded of a somewhat successful year. Whilst on the subject of sport,

particular congratulations must go to Tom Hand, Kris Shuttleworth and Matthew Hand who all represented their age groups in cross-country at County level. Tom Edwards won a silver medal at the National Rowing Championships and two members of the House were selected for their respective county rugby sides, Toby Bain and David Taylor.

The building work over the summer saw an entirely ' new' top floor opened in School House. The top floor has been re-designed and re-decorated to accommodate the ever increasing number of pupils in the house.

Finally, all that is left to say is a thank you to the staff in School House, who all play an important role in ensuring the school year runs as smoothly as possible. Special thanks need to go to Mr and Mrs Jones for all their hard work; they put in a tremendous amount of time and effort for which we are all extremely grateful.

Matthew Turnbull LVI

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l am sure I am not alone in the upper sixth by saying that my

final year in Poole House has been the most enjoyable of all. Since entering the house at the age of 13 I have learnt to appreciate the benefits of being part of such a strong community that brings out the best of all those within it.

The first major event of the year was House drama which, as a lways, was greeted with great enthusiasm. Both Charlie Parkin and Jamie Mitchell deserve praise for the amount of effort and commitment they showed helping create what turned out to be an outstanding winning production of "The long and the short and the tall". Jamie went on to receive an award for his confident, assured performance. The juniors also produced an inventive and witty sketch, thanks largely due to the help of Will Gibson , who showed great maturity in his leadership of a young cast.

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,W~~Jj;& Baird continued his form from the previous year and newcomer Rob Bell showed his credentials as a profess ional athlete by fini shing in the top 5.

The general knowledge competition proved to be extremely close this year with ourselves and Caffinites locked in a close battle that was only decided by a single question. In the end we just lost out through points accumulation despite defeating Caffinites one on one.

House music was next on the agenda and with the Sage, Gateshead as the venue all minds were focused on bringing the best out of everyone in the house. We were lucky enough to have some extremely talented musicians in our midst with David Quinn , Charlie Parkin and Tom Chen leading the way. The amount of work

The Easter term saw the boys they put towards making that perform very well in the cross nig ht one to remember was country runs. The effort staggering: the instrumental and that everyone showed part song were flawless and epitomised the spirit within the contained a range of pupils house; the turnout was second th rough the house ageing from to none with performances of as young as l 2 to 18. Matthew

one to look out for in the future as he played brilliantly despite only being in his first year at the school .

The next event was House Water Polo. The removes and inters gave solid displays, with their efforts second to none . The seniors (with only one regular school player) put in an outstanding effort beating Caffinites comfortably 5-4 but unfo1tunately, lost in a close fought match with School in the final.

We were back in the pool for the House swimming competition. The boys all performed excellently throughout the competition and and were unlucky to finish in third place. In the juniors Jonathan S impson swam very well , as did Mathew Tostevin in the seniors. Gavin

Dingley also did a very good job in the inters. The house rowing competition saw a good number of j uniors do their bit for the House. Liam Cunningham captained the side well. He led by example and was ably supported by James Pinner who shows great potential as a leader for the future.

Towards the end of the summer term it was time for the house cricket competition. T his capped off an outstanding year for Poole House. The younger boys in the side

(such as Henry Pemberton) bowled tight lines that restricted the run rate and were backed up by superb fielding by the likes of Joe Terry and the agile, quick footed Richard McGlasham . The pe1formances of a ll involved helped to produce memorable victories against school and the confident Caffinites

in the final.

Away from the house events, I would like to thank Mr. Younger who has continued to do an outstanding job as junior Housemaster, Mr Duff, Mr Tween, Mr Williamson and Mr Burke also deserve our gratitude

for their support during evenings even though Mr Duff's and Mr Younger's football skills seem to be deteriorating!! A special thanks must also go to our new matron Helen as she puts in a tremendous amount of work around the house. She is with us twenty four hours of the day and we have valued her patience and understanding.

I would like to thank all the boys for the support and effort they have given throughout the year. The enthusiasm they show and their remarkable commitment towards a common goal is truly astounding - it is this that makes the house such a breeding ground for winners at every level and in every sphere of school activity.

Finally to Mr Bushnell and his family. His efforts, guidance and support over the years have been invaluable to everyone in the House. It is really his personal interest in every single individual , and his blend of firmness and good humour that have helped to make Poole such a great place to grow up in. I wish him, Harry Booth (my successor) and the boys of Poole House all the best for the future.

merit present throughout. Pe ter Calvert showed himself to be .::.::.::::::..::.::.:::=.:..:.:..:....:.:....:_..:.. _____________ _;_ ____________________________ 1_.,;;,n;,;;u;;,w Will Dias UVI

The evolution of ' new' Pimlico has continued

apace in the last year. We regained our first and second floor rooms, helping us to accommodate a steeply rising number of boarders. The overall refu rbishment of Pimlico has meant that boarding and day girls alike now have excellent living and working fac ilities. We also welcomed a resident House Tutor, Miss Ruth Taylor; her presence which has importantly developed our provision of pastoral care .

The major priority in the House is to foster academic ambi tion and excellence. The Pimlico Tutor team has devoted much time and effort to thjs end . The 2006 results were very pleasing both at GCSE and A2. Jn the 2007 round of examinations the small U6th group achieved their higher education goals. T he l l GCSE candidates achieved a commendable 45% A* and A grade pass rate , with Kate Finch gaining a full set of grades at this level. We were very pleased to collect the Marsden Trophy again for the effort the g irls maintained in the c lassroom over the

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Summer Term . Of course we also set considerable emphasis on extra-curricular life. The performances in the House Music event at the Sage were splendid. Specia l mention here must go to Natalie Carro ll and Christina Cuthbertson for doing so much work to guide our fortunes. We continue to have many girls taking part in the Choi r and in instrumental music.

The House Drama Competition saw a very worthy performance indeed . Ell a Davison , Caroline Cleary and Becky Heslop took part in a splendid 'Shakers' in December. Ella and Christina Cuthbertson also performed magnificently in 'Teechers' as part of their curriculum drama. Chri stina gained a place on a highly prestig ious National Youth Theatre course this summer. Several girls in the House took part in a trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

The House sporting profi le has grown; we captured various trophies over the course of the year. The Pimlico presence in school teams has been significant. Both the Under 14 and Under 15 Hockey sides had good seasons. Sarah O 'Hare, Emily Allen , Rosie Hannah , Jordan Hewitt and

Zoe Smith joined the U l 4 hockey tour to Barbados in July. Our senior players all made significant progress. We are pleased that Jul iet S lade has been e lected l st X l Hockey Captain for the 2007

season. We wi ll have many girls vy ing for places in that team. Much the same can be sa id for ne tball and rounders , where we captured the House trophies . P imlico g irls have made a significant impact on rowing and it is a tonic to see a

growing body of young ladies taking up this rigorous sport.

Our fortunes were guided in 2006 - 7 by Britta Norpoth, a fi ne Head of House. Originally Britta was only due to stay with us for one term , but this

became the full six.! We wish her well as she starts university life in the Netherlands . She received much valuable support fro m Jenny Kirkley. In January our GAP student Emma Oberg returned to Australia after making a valuable contribution to our life in Pimlico. Our current GAP student is Frances Douch , also fro m Australia. Our new Head of House is Juliet Slade, with Ella Davison as Deputy Head . Our large UVI contingent gives us the opportunity for a st rong Monitor team of Jenny Park, Robyn Hornby and Rachel Bradley. We wish a ll of them well in the ir new roles.

We are delighted that Mrs Haley has become our full time Matron , an important figure bringing with her an unrivalled knowledge of Pimlico life. Our thanks go to all the Pimlico team who clean and mainta in the House so well and with such good humour.

We also thank our excellent Tutor team of Miss Taylor, Mrs Ecclestone and Mr Dias for a ll the ir support and hard work. We look forward to 2007 - 8 with great excitement.

Mrs S L G ibson and Mr M G G ibson

house report

Macleod House As the end of MacLeod's first

year quickly approaches, it must be said that it has been hugely successful for pupils and staff al ike - the most important progression, of course, being the eagerly awaited move into our brand new house at the beginning of October.

Starting th is year with all 63 MacLeod girls squeezed into the Exhibition Room and Lecture Theatre naturally tested our fierce house spirit but we held fast and; as the 13th October rapidly approached, the excitement began to bui ld . I know I can speak for all the girls when I say that we all felt hugely privileged to be involved in the official opening of MacLeod House and to meet Janet MacLeod who honored us by opening the House. It was fascinating to hear so many people telling stories about her father, our House's namesake, and wonderful to take pait in paying tribute to and insuring the memory of Norman MacLeod, who was loved and respected by everyone, lives on.

The first Christmas Party ever to be held in MacLeod took place after House Suppers this year and proved to us all that our House had an incredibly strong bond. No doubt the bigger kitchens and common rooms have given us

more space but despite this we seemed to have come even closer together - we have a huge house, yet it seems that every lunch time at least half the house will be sitting in the common room watching "The Sound of Music" for the fomth time that week! The party was a fantastic way to end the year and an even better way to usher in the new one. MacLeod House has yet again thrived in the inter-house competitions. House Drama seemed to creep up on us before we knew where we were but the girls , directed by Antonia Storey, yet again showed their dedication to the House, remaining behind most njghts to rehearse well into the evening. "As you like it" seemed a brave choice with Jess Hannah steal ing the show in the very difficult patt of Rosal ind - a girl playing a man playing a gi rl (try getting your head around that one!). She was supported manfully by Chloe Deighton, Katie Davison , Becky Storey and Sophie Henderson (all playing male pa1ts) and Alex Scott feeling relieved as Rosalind's sister with no twists in the tale! The Shell play was also a huge success with the actresses, notably Flora Bell, Annelies Docx , Harriet Brooks and Beatrice Williams, propelling us into third place. I feel that I must say a very big thank you to the directors , Becky Maddison

and Verity Richardson, who spent a great deal of time organizing the play. The inte r-house swimming competition was a great success with swimmers EJ Saxby, Jenny Earl and Kim Connor helping to guarantee a sure win for MacLeod. There was a really encouraging attendance th is year too, with the numbers up significantly from last year. We also dominated in other sports such as water polo, rounders and netball. As you all know, the annual House Music competition was held at the Sage this year, which

added a great deal of excitement to the event but also a huge amount of pressure, as we would be watched by an enormous audience. As expected, the competition was fiercer than ever.

This however, MacLeod the perfect opportunity to shine. And we did. Sophie Henderson and Antonia Storey set the example by putting a tremendous amount of work into the organisation and preparation of the competition and not forgetting Harriet Brooks, who arranged both the part song and the instrumental without her we would have been truly lost. The real credit, however, must go to all the girls who made us so proud of their house spirit, commitment and determination.

To finish the year off we had our first MacLeod House barbecue which provided the girls with the perfect opportunity to relax and have some fun . For the senior house barbecue we were lucky enough to have a caricaturist and

a bouncy castle which naturally made us the envy of all the other houses. It was an emotional evening for the girls and provided the Upper Sixth with the perfect send off. It was particularly enjoyable to watch all the year grnups chatting together with age no barrier to interaction between the girls. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers , tutors, staff and parents for all the ir love and support. Our thanks must go to Mrs. Thompson and Miss Joss who have suppotted the House throughout the year and helped to make it such a success. My special thanks go to all the girls in helping to support me in my role as Head of House - without them MacLeod House would definitely not have enjoyed such success. Looking back to when when [ first arrived at Durham school in the Removes r never thought in a million years that I would see my self serving as Head of House but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity. r wish EJ Saxby and Becky Maddison, the future Head and Deputy Head of MacLeod House respectively, and all the girls , the best of luck next year. Hold fast!

Tona Hughes UVI

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-~-Macleod House

MacLeod House:

On Friday 13 October the School was delighted and

honoured to welcome the MacLeod family to the official opening of MacLeod House. Although the first girls had joined MacLeod in September 2005, this auspicious occasion had been deliberately delayed until after the completion of the magnificent new extension which was handed over to the School on the 6th October. We were del ighted that Janet MacLeod-Trotter, eldest daughter of Norman and Sheila MacLeod and highly successful author in her own right, was able to pe1fonn the opening ceremony.

In his speech the Headmaster o utlined the history of girls at Durham School. The first girls had joined Durham School in September 1985 - all were sixth formers , mostly boarders, and a ll had resided in Pimlico House, then newly opened to accommodate girls in the School. Over the years the number of 6th form girls had seen peaks and troughs until , in 1998 , girls were admit-ted to all year groups in the School. Since then the number of g irls had risen dramatically so that in 2005 a second girls' house (MacLeod) was opened, occupying some of Pimlico as it moved further up the street.

However, the crowding was not really eased and the Governors

------------12 The Dunelmi an

had therefore approved the extension of the girls' accommodation. After something of a mad scramble, we now had at our disposal the fabulous building that Janet was there to open, providing top-quality working, recreational and pastoral space for the girls in MacLeod House.

Many people had been involved in the project and deserved

recognition and thanks. From outside the School , thanks were due to Mr Hugh Massey, the architect, for creating a facility that would be the envy of everyone in Durham School and in other schools; to P.F. Burridge and Sons Ltd. , our contractors, who had been wonderfully cooperative to work with and had worked extremely hard to overcome all difficulties - the end

result was testimony to their eff01ts. He also expressed thanks to the Durham City planners , who, from the outset, had been sympathetic and helpful in guiding the project to its successful assimilation into the locality.

From inside the School, Geoff Simpson, Development Director, had played a significant role, but

the principal work had been done by Bryan Hunter, our Estates Manager, who had been responsible for all the liaison and management from our end.

Given the impmtance of houses in the structure and functioning of a school like Durham, the creation of a new house represented a major event in the School's history: a new house

therefore needed a suitable name and ideally one linked to the School's history. Some eighteen months ago, having decided to create a second girls' house, we were approaching the interviews to appoint the housemistress for that unnamed house when, sadly, Norman MacLeod died. His funeral service took place in the School Chapel on the day of the interviews.

It was Nicola Hipkiss (now Mrs Thompson) who picked up on the significance of the day and who articulated the thought that had been going round in the minds of several staff and gov-ernors, that the new house should be named in Norman's honour.

Norman taught history at Durham School from 1950 to 1985; some of his history teaching erred north of the border in its factual emphasis but no teacher inspired a greater love of the subject in his pupils than Norman did. He was housemas-ter of Caffinites , was involved with the naval section of the CCF, with sport and with the Highland Cattle Society. More than that, for four decades wo1th of Old Dunelmians Norman was Durham School , embodying everything that was intrinsically good about its ethos and its activities. He Loved school pupils and they loved him. He was a gentleman in the most literal sense of the word . Norman became a legend. To name a

house in Norman's honour represented a fitting tribute to all that Norman did for and meant to Durham School; Mr Kern expressed the hope that all associated with the house, now and in the future, would live up to the honour of being in a house that was named after someone whose life and values embraced those aspects of human life and relationships that matter most.

Before declaring the magnificent new building officially open , Janet Macleod-Trotter spoke poignantly and movingly about how much Durham School had meant to her fam ily in general and to Norman and Sheila in paiticular. She paid tribute to her father 's memory, giving eloquent voice to what evetyone present who knew Norman was thinking - how immensely pleased and proud he would have been to know that this house was named after him. She also shared with those present some of her memories of life as a child growing up in The Caffinites and read an extract from one of her very successful books.

The ceremony was followed by a splendid meal for invited guests in the Exhibition Room, during which the future success of MacLeod House was toasted in an appropriately Scottish fashion!

II

. -. '"'

The Dune lm ian 13

Speech Day 2007

Syeech 'Day

2007

111•,ii-M,AMFi,-

Speech Day Prize List 2007 _ The Ian Nuttall Prize for Biology

The Metcalf Prize for Mathematics The Lowson and Salkeld Prize for Chemistry

The Lowson and Salkeld Pri;,:e for Chemistry

The Morley-Wells Prize for Geography The Senior Prize for Music

The Senior Prize for Economics

The Senior Prize for Economics The Bishop Lee Prize for Religious Studies

The Gawan-Taylor Prize for English Essay

The Woodard Chaplain's Prize The C.H.A. Howe Prize for Practical Skills

The Port wood Prize for Computer Studies

The Richardson Bunbury Prize for Modern Languages The Hodgson Prize for English

The Hodgson Prize for English

The Kerr Memorial Prize for Modern History The Richardson Bunbury Prize for Modern Languages The Senior Prize for Art

T he Senior Prize for Music

The Robson Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the Sixth Form The Robson Prize For Outstanding Contribution to the Sixth Form The Reader Trophy

The Sidney Dunn Prize for Black & White Photography

The Kerr Memoi·ial Prize for Ancient History The Senior Business Studies Prize The Rayner Ancient History Prize

L6 Biology Prize L6 Chemistry Prize L6 Mathematics Prize

L6 Physics Prize

L6 Mathematics Prize The Scott Latimer Prize for Modern Languages L6 Chemistry Prize

L6 Physics Prize The Tom Percival Prize for History The Scott Latimer Prize for Modern Languages

L6 Business Studies Pri ze

L6 Business Studies Prize L6 Economics Prize L6 Economics Prize

The Freel Hurrell Prize for Music

The Special Prize for Excellence in English L6 Further Mathematics Prize

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Kim J . Forrest J<.S.

Kim J. Forrest K.S.

Kim J. Forrest K .S. Z.J. (Tom) Chen

Z.J. (Tom) Chen

Z.J . (Tom) Chen Charlie G.J . Parkin

Jamie P. Mi tchell Jamie P. Mitchell Jamie P. Mitchell

Jamie P. Mitchell Davis J . Reader Davis J. Reader

Amonia J . Storey B.S.

Antonia J. Storey B.S. Kruina-Mmie Reisslm1d-Burghru1

Kmina-Marie Reis.~J:md-Burghru1 Kruina-M,uie Reisslmid-B1ughmt

M.M.C. (Melody) Chan Richard J. Smedley K.S.

Richard J. Smedley K.S .

Jenny L. Kirkley Luke A. Mills K.S.

Matt R.J. Jeffrey Alexander J. Treli ving

Michael Young Andrew Barratdough

Jonny C. Brooke K.S.

Jonny C. Brooke K.S. Jonny C. Brooke K.S . Jonny C. Brooke K.S.

Matthew L. Turnbull K.S.

Matthew L. Turnbull K.S. Matt hew L. Turnbull K.S.

Verity E.G. Richardson

Alexander C. Duell K.S. Alexander C. Duell K.S. Oliver W. Holmes

Caroline S. Curry

Ben O.J. Flowers Alexander C.S. Grant K.S. Alexander C .S. Grant K.S.

Richard J. Gregory Y.H . (Alex) Lai

L6 Geography Prize L6 Computer Studies Prize L6 Art Prize L6 D & T Prize L6 D & T Prize L6 PE Prize L6 Media Sudies Prize L6 Theatre Studies Prize The Senior Prize for English Recitations The Senior Prize for Drama The Special Prize for Services to Drama The Stationers' Prize for Printing The Stationers' Prize for Printing The Stationers' Priie for Printing Year I O Prize The Gough Prize for English Verse Yew· 11 Prize Year 11 Prize The Robin Myerscough Cup for Singing The Junior Prize for Art Year I O Prize Yew· 9 Prize The Middle School Prize for Music The Middle School Prize for Music Year 9 Prize The Middle School Drama Cup The Junjor Pri1,e for English Recitations The Chadeyron Music Advanced Competition The Chadeyron Music Elementary Competition The Vernon Ferens Community Service Award

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The Junior Drama Cup shared The Junior Drama Cup shared Year 8 Prize The Removes Prize for Engl ish Recitations The Keeton Prize for Removes Music shared Year 7 Pri7e The Johnson Perkins Prize for Fieldwork in Biology in the Removes shm-ecl The Johnson Perkins Prize for Fieldwork in Biology in the Removes shared The Johnson Perkins Prize for Fieldwork in Biology in the Removes shai-ecl The Keeton Prize for Removes Music shared The Bell Twins Prize in the Lower Remove shared The Bell Twins Prize in the Lower Remove shared The Keeton Prize fo r Removes Music shared The Chadcyron Music Intermediate Competition The Whitlie lcl Cup The Senior PE Prize The Headmaster's Prize

Alexander B. Willings Alexander B. Willings Jenny Park Kim L. Connor Lewis G. Banks Jenny Earl Rachel L. Bradley Maxwell W. Edge Christina E. Cuthbertson Christina E. Cuthbertson Josh Daniels Josh Daniels Jack R.C. Deverson K.S . Alexander L. Turnbull Alexander L. Turnbull Kate Dudgeon Toby A.M. Bain K.S David E. Quinn David E. Quinn James P. Stansby Matthw E. Tiffin K .S. Harriet R. Brooks K .S. Harriet R. Brooks K.S . Natalie H. Carroll Benjamin A. Robinson K.S. Sam S. Armstrong Caitlin V. Errington Phillip D. Tait Flora C. Bell Jon-Ross Kemp Hannah C. Neal Sam Weston Jonathan P. Simpson Graham J. Thorpe Graham J. Thorpe Jared McCann Jared Mccann John C. Izatt-Lowry Zoe G. Jackson Zoe G. Jackson Zoe G. Jackson Michael H.M. White Matthew Calvert Matthew Calvert Will iam H. Dias William H. Dias Wil liam H. Dias

Headmaster's Report - Speech Day Colonel Hackett, Mrs Hackett, Chairman, Governors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: may I add my thoughts to those already expressed by the Chairman - it is indeed a great pleasure to welcome you here today. In particular, a very warm welcome, and thank you, to our guest of honour, Colonel Jonny Hackett, and to Mrs Hackett.

Colonel Hackett has had a long and distinguished military career since graduating from Sandhurst in 1967, with a succession of regimental , staff and command positions, culminating in three years as Commander, Catterick Garrison. Now retired, he is currently Chief Executive of the North of England Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (an organisation with strong links to the School's CCF contingent) and is Colonel of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Colonel Hackett, thank you for agreeing to present the prizes today and to addressing us afterwards.

After the welcomes, the difficulty for me each year is what to say next? It 's not easy because at its heart, Durham School has changed little in the last 12 months; its basic structures are still the same. We still had a Christmas Term, followed by an

Easter and a Summer Term; sports seasons came and went; annual events, public examinations and such like had their allotted times, just like the previous year and just like next year. The difference is in the detail but that can result in a mere list of statistics and event descriptions. What this occasion warrants is a theme, and I must confess that this year I have been stuck.

I , therefore, consulted my wife and she in turn, seeking to be helpful , consulted the preprep pupils at Bow, where she teaches. The discussion with these very young children went something like this, as far as I can recall her acount.

"Now, class, Mr Kern, he's the big school Headmaster ...... " (this followed by a gratifying gasp of awe, generally absent actually at the big school, but never mind); "He has to make a big speech and ... " "Please, miss, what 's a big speech?" "Ah! He has to talk for a long time to all the mummies and all the daddies and lots of important people and all the children in a big tent." "Please, miss, how many?" "Oh, lots, I don ' t know exactly

"Is it 17, miss?"

"Oh no, more than that." "Is it 12?" "No, that 's fewer ... "

Some minutes later, after a brief mathematical digression ....... . "Now, class, back to the speech .... " "Please, miss, why are the children in a tent; have they been naughty, miss?" "No, it's just that ......... "

Some further minutes later, after a digression on retribution, justice and punishment, we at last get to ....... "So, class, what do you think Mr Kern should talk about?" Immediately 33 hands go up, this from a class of 18 pupils: "Yes, Martin?" "Please miss, mice!" "Mice? Don' t be silly; why on earth would Mr Kern .......... " (Mrs Kern suddenly remembers potential damage to tender psyche ....... ); "That 's very interesting, Martin, and why do you think Mr Kern should talk about mice?" "Miss , I've got a mouse!"

This comment of course elicited a barrage of others , "Ooh ," "Ah," "Can Martin bring it to School, Miss?", and finally: "My Mum says we've got rats in our house, miss"; another brief digression , this time on pest control , before discussion

returned once more to the speech and some further suggestions: David Beckham , trains , even School dinners, before a general consensus was reached that by far the most interesting topic would, indeed, be mice.

By now regretting having raised the issue in the first place , my wife asked, "Shouldn ' t he talk about the School?" A chorus of derision, shouts of "boring" and the brief chant of "Beckham , Beckham" from his particular proponent, led to affirmation that I really would be best advised to stick to mice. So, courtesy of the Bow pre-prep, mice it is.

However, I'm going to cheat and use mice in the sense of 'm', 'i', 'c' and 'e' as a launch pad, starting, obviously, with 'm' .... ..... 'm' for "Moments".

There have been several high points in the year and I want to start with one that involved all pupils in the School , the Concert and House Music Competition at the Sage , Gateshead. Let me repeat my thanks to the principal organisers, Mr. Muttitt and Mr. Duff, Mrs Parker, Mr. Thomas and Mrs McCann, but it 's really the pupils I want to focus on. That our regular musicians would deliver their usual high quality was never in doubt. That

the Houses, rehearsed only by pupils, would produce high standards was expected and fulfilled. But the real sense of moment came from the behaviour and deportment of the pupil body as a whole: excellent is not an adequate word. The Sage staff were unstinting in their praise of the tidiness, co-operation and pleasantness of our pupils in comparison with the many other school groups that visit there. Two prep school Heads told me that if they had not actually witnessed it for themselves, they would not have believed it possible that 430 senior school pupils,-teenagers,- could conduct themselves in such a perfect manner.

Now, to me that says more than anything else can about Durham School; more than league tables, sports results or any statistics . Those intangible values, that sense of community and loyalty, in significant part derived from the House system .. ... ; (actually, how do you describe it?); that "je ne sais quoi" about Durham School: that, alone, sets us apart from most other senior schools.

Another good moment, although one affecting far fewer, was theformal opening of MacLeod House by Norman MacLeod's daughter, Janet MacLeod-Trotter in October.

If ever there was a tangible and visible demonstration needed of Durham School's commitment to co-education, this superb new building was it.

In similar vein , it was a g reat day earlier this year when Mr Hunter, (our wonderful Estates Manager, who, with bis superb Maintenance Team, is responsible for the recent advances in the School's physical state,) announced that the refurbishment of School House was complete, thereby fi nishi ng an 18 month programme of renovation and re-development in the four older houses. Every House now has accommodation of which it can feel justifiably proud and which I trust every pupil will endeavour to maintain in its current good condition .

I am using the ' i' of mice for " initiatives", of which there are many. Some are ongoing (for example , our new uniform -just look at a group of 6th formers in the new uniform and you see smart young adults, not school pupils); others are in the process of starting up. I cannot list them all and so will pick out just the most significant. The first concerns IT: over the last 12 months we have been steadily networking the School site, includ ing the creation of a th ird

IT suite in the Library last September, and have gradually been link ing in the Departments and classrooms. This physical , hardware advance now allows us to introduce significant and very exciting advances in processes and data handling, that wi ll revolutionise much of what we do. We have found the school management software system that we have been waiting for and that system will be in place and functional as of the start of next term .

As parents know from talks and le tters, a re-designed dai ly and weekly programme comes into operation in September and has been successfu lly tri alled for two weeks this term. There are many reasons for this re-design , re lating to increasing the focus on academic work without losing the broad curriculum that includes the non-academic , to providing better extra-curricular opportunities, to increasing staff-pupil contact opportunities and to reducing the impact of the winter season on the timetable.

We think we have asked the right questions and are confident we have come up with appropriate answers , unlike some of the lawyers whose court room questions and witnesses' responses were reported

in one of the legal journals. For example .... Question: "The youngest son, the 20 year old, how old is he?" Question: "And were you present when your picture was taken?" Or my favori te: Question: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?" Answer: "No" Question: "Did you check for blood pressure?" "No." "Did you check for breathing?" "No." "So, then, is it possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?" "No." "And how can you be so sure?" "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar". "But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?" Answer: "It is possible that he could have been alive and practising law somewhere."

Apologies to any here from the legal profession but I'm having to avoid political jokes because some of them get elected.

The programme developments go hand in hand with a large number of other September changes, all des igned to increase academic performance , not just in absolute levels but in

Headmaster's Report re lative levels, i.e. maximising the realisation of individual potential. These include extending targeting and tracking down to Year 7, adopting a different approach to assessment processes, expanding some aspects of reporting, the introduction of a qualify ing standard for embarking on A2 courses in the Upper Sixth (i .e. an AS level pass in the subject) and many others .

Continuing wi th our rodent a lphabet , the 'c' and 'e' I am taking as curriculum (i.e. the academic curriculum) and extra-curricular. I apologise for the air of desperation but these are things that need mentioning, however one gets round to introducing them. Our academic curriculum results last year were the usual mix of ups and downs thrown out by statistical analysis. We were pleased to see our GCSE results bounce back from the predicted low of the previous year to the sort of region we would normally expect to see: 35% A *-A grades, the same as the four-year average, with an average total points per pupil over 4 years that is equ ivalent to just under 7 A grades per pupi I. The pass rate and 5 A* -C percentage were both the 2nd best figures ever.

At A level the figures helped maintain our 4-year average at over 50% A-B grades, 5 1.3 to be precise. Such figures do not reveal much in isolation, however. Our best results were not just from the most academically gifted who gained their deserved A grades or A* grades but a lso from those of more modest or even very modest ability who nonetheless gained , say, pass grades that represented personal triumphs and huge successes for their teachers .

It was , therefore, the valueadded information that told a more realistic story and here there was very pleasing feedback. One statistic only to illustrate the point: at GCSE every subject gained a positive MidYIS value added score, with 11 out of 15 subjects gaining value added figures at the statistically most significant level; and the value added statistics for Key Stage 3 were simply outstanding.

The 'e', the extra-curricular programme, provides cultural , noncul tural and sporting components and in all these areas a great deal goes on. The examination Art display, this year in Big School, is fantastic - if you haven't done so , go and see it!

- ··Mml•@Hihiii

Headmaster's Report House Drama, the School Play, the Removes Play (with Mr Dias' excellently witty script) have all taken to the boards in the refurbished Luce Theatre, once again to the huge satisfaction of the audiences.

The Combined Cadet Force, with its three sections, (Army, Navy and RAF), has provided opportunities on site, locally and across the country with camps, courses and regular training. Having been compulsory in one form or another at Durham School for probably the best part of 100 years, the CCF becomes voluntary from September: the heavy demands of satisfying MOD requirements while trying to provide the best offering to the cadets will be better met with a smaller group , and Mr Jones and his officer team will continue to provide high-quality opportunities. As our guest of honour can no doubt testify, command is never easy, as evinced by the commanding officer of an Army barracks, who had been ignored by the Guardhouse Sentry as he entered his establishment in plain clothes. Arriving at his office he telephoned the Duty Officer, who in turn telephoned the Regimental Sergeant Major, who in his turn stormed off down to the gate and the sentry, "You there, you scruffy, 'orrible man ; have you seen the

if:i••NmMJi,iiFI,_

Commandant?": "No, RSM," the sentry said , so the RSM phoned the Duty Officer, who phoned the Commandant and told him that the sentry had definitely not seen him pass through. The CO thought he would sort this out once and for all and went in person (again) to the Gate. "Do you know who I am?" he asked the sentry, who replied: "No, mate". "Well , I am the Commanding Officer". Completely unabashed , the sentry responded: "In that case, mate, I'd push off if I were you, there's a very angry RSM out looking for you". (I might add, that joke is especially for New Zealand-based ODs.)

Three World Challenge teams leave for Kenya and Uganda on Monday for a 4-week expedition that they have been planning for almost two years. Our sports men and women have also been abroad, with the rugby tour to Australia last summer, hockey tours to Ireland (also last summer) and Barbados (coming up this summer) and the girls' football tour to Spain; these alongside skiing and academic trips to France for Year 9, Iceland for geographers of all ages, and walking and music trips to Scotland.

The sports programme gets bigger and bigger as numbers in the School increase and this year

saw, yet again, the highest pupil numbers in the School's history: at the same time, though , we have the highest ever number of teachers at the School, as you would expect as we continue to cater at a very high level for that personal provision of care, support, time and attention that forms pait of that "je ne sais quoi" to which I referred earlier.

It is always slightly invidious to single out individual sports successes in the context of some 300 pupils having represented the School in sports fixtures during the year in some 17 different sports, and in the context most teams winning some and losing some, and so many pupils training so hard and committing so much of their time to improving, but here is a small sample: Our U16 rugby Ts side won the county tournament, the 2nd XV reached the final of the County Cup; the Ul3 cricket team won the Durham prep schools tournament; hockey and netball sides have both done well in area competitions. Our rowers of all ages have amassed 24 regatta wins and 6 second places so far this year, with almost a quarter of those results coming from girls' crews, as girls' rowing enjoys a resurgence towards matching the superb achievements of the boys ' crews. We have had significant representation at area, county and regional

level or higher, including national representatives in rugby (Rob Bell) and rowing (Isaac Parker); and it's not just in sport -Graham Thorpe plays in the National Youth Wind Band and Christina Cuthbertson has been accepted into the National Youth Theatre.

So, sadly, that is the end of "mice" and I hope that the Bow pre-prep are satisfied. In a strange way, though , I wish there were more letters in "mice" (and I suppose that those staff with the higher times in the book running on the length of this speech wish the same).

We could do with an "h" for Houses , such a critical and uniquely strong point of what we are. Here I need to pay tribute to Mrs Proud, who is giving up her role as Junior Housemistress in Pimlico , where her wisdom, care and guidance have been invaluable s ince the establishment of Junior House sections four years ago. She is actively developing the School 's staff training programmes and can now concentrate more fully on th is vital role. Miss Joss relinqui shes her position as MacLeod Junior Housemistress; and in September Dr Burns takes over in Pimlico and Miss Nicholson in MacLeod.

Another "c" would be welcome for Chaplain, and for the Chapel with its place at the heart of the School's focus on those intangible qualities we seek to develop in our pupils, those issues of right and wrong, of the spiritual versus the temporal. Such processes always represent a delicate balance, one that it is fairly easy to demon strate.

In Music, I have already mentioned the Sage but we also had an Autumn, Christmas and Scholars Concerts, Music for a Summer's Evening, the Chadeyron Competition and the Carol Service: no listener left these events disappointed.

A vicar once thought that a bold poster campaign might increase the size of his congregation. Almost overnight the churchyard was covered in posters bearing the slogan " If you are tired of sin , step in" . The vicar was later very upset when he noticed that someone had written in large letters under the biggest one , "If you are not , phone 268 3075" . (And I can let anyone have that number afterwards if they would like it.)

Here at Durham, we get the spiritual bit right , I think , although it can sometimes be overplayed. A former Bishop of

Guildford was holding a retreat for trainee clergy and left them to an afternoon of prayer and meditation. He was therefore somewhat surprised to meet one of them an hour or so later in the streets of Guildford and remarked, not without initation: "I thought I left you to prayer and meditation." "Ah, yes, my lord," the young man replied , "But I received strict instructions from the Holy Spirit that I was to do my shopping this afternoon and I couldn't ve1y well go against the Holy Spirit, could ?" "Well ," said the Bishop, "One of you must be wrong - today is early closing day".

Back to the theme , and perhaps I should have used the word "mouse" to get an "s" for the staff. A customer waiting for an appointment in the hall of a large city bank , asked the uniformed commissioner: "How many people work here?" The Commissioner's response -"About half of them, sir". That is not tme of Durham School where the teaching staff work extremely hard for long hours and long weeks: thanks are due to them all , with their multi-tasking roles as tutors, Housemasters or mistresses, managers , coaches, activities providers, conductors and such like, on top of teaching.

Mrs Evans retires fully this summer, having taught Biology patt-

time for the last 2 years, after her previous 26 years of full-time service to Durham School. Mr Bell has helped out with Physics teaching this year, after retiring from full-time teaching here three years ago. And while mentioning the Physics Department, we are delighted to see Mr Cuny back at School this term after his heatt attack and surgery before Christmas.

We also need to remember the administrative and supp01t staff, catering, cleaning, maintenance , grounds and technical staff, without whose loyal suppoit the School would grind to a halt.

We could really do with a double "s" (mousse? - getting frivolous!) to allow for students as well as staff - our pupils also deserve praise and I would like to single out the Upper Sixth for their work and achievements in so many spheres over the years, and not least the School Monitors and the Head of School, Will Dias, for their work for the community this year. By and large, our young people are a credit to the School and to themselves. However, the media often pmtrays young people in a negative light; just like the two elderly retired army officers sitting together in their club, discussing the woeful shortcomings of the younger generation. "Do you know," said the General, "J was telling my young daugh-

ter-in-law that my great grandfather was killed at Waterloo. And you know, the silly young gal looked up , sympathetic expression and all , and said, 'How terribly sad; on which platfmm did it happen."' "Ridiculous," said the Brigadier, "as if it mattered which platform it was on!"

In a way it is a pity the Bow boys didn 't say "voles" instead of "mice" - the common British bank vole , Clethrionymus glareolus britannicus, has enough letters in its name to do everyone associated with Durham School justice, along with all that they achieve, but that would keep you all here until some time this afternoon . And even so, there still would not be a Jetter for the Friends of Durham School who make a valued contribution to our community and its facilities. But now a line in the so-called 'public speakers' prayer' is worthwhile quoting: "Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I have said enough". I feel a nudge and must draw to a close with two final points. First , one of the frequent pupil set books in School is John Steinbeck 's "Of Mice and Men": you 've all read it of course, but I mention it only to make a semantic link that in focussing on "mice" I hope that I have given you some indication of what the men and women, boys and girls of

Headmaster's Report Durham School do and achieve, and of what they are like.

Secondly, a sho1t story. An elderly British woman had served for many years as a missionary in a Middle Eastern Islamic countJy. During this time she had many vigorous debates with the local Muslim clergy, with much discussion of doctrine and especially the doctrine of miracles which the Missiona1y ardently espoused. One day, driving to new accommodation with a car full of furniture and luggage, her car ran out of fuel just a mile or so outside a small town with a petrol station. Taking the only sizeable container she could find in the vehicle,- a large old fashioned chamber pot, she duly walked to the garage, filled the pot with petrol and returned to her car, at which point another vehicle containing the local Muslim clergy came by and stopped. She explained that she had run out of petrol but that it would be alright now, and then knelt in prayer beside the chamber pot to thank the Lord for deliverance from her problem. Her prayers finished , she stood up and was about to pour the petJ·ol from the chamber pot into the tank when the leading Imam said very respectfully, "Madam, we have had our disagreements and we do not share your religion, but we do admire your faith".

Ladies and gentlemen: the Governors, the staff and I have immense and unshakeable faith in what Durham School is doing now, and in where it is going, in a future that, despite all the challenges facing education in the 21st century, looks bright and positive.

Durham School pupils have a happy knack of coming up trumps when required and, knowing this, we should not really be surprised when they do. However, pupils don ' t always do what you expect, they very often do surprise you.

A primary teacher, for example, collected old well -known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the fast half of a proverb and each child's task was to complete the second half. Here are some of the responses.

"Don't bite the hand that ... looks dirty" "If you lie down with the dogs you will ... smell in the morning" "An idle mind is ... the best way to relax" "A penny saved is ... not much" "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and ... you have to blow your nose"

-------------------------------------------------------...,-• .,,.,..,am,0111

Chaplaincy News

Chapel is one of the constants in the life of the

School, with its regular pattern of morning and evening services and a lunchtime discussion g roup on Tuesdays, discussing the hot issues of the day or week. However, there have been some memorable highlights .

autumn term was Dino, an intelligent young Peruvian who, when we first heard about him ,

had a large and disfiguring facial tumour and had been thrown out of home by his mother. Aged 18 , he was still at the equivalent of Year 8, unable to afford the £30 a month to pay for his fees (20p a day), fares and materials. Mr Quentin Smith (father of Matthew Smith, Year 10) came to speak to us about the conditions Dino lives in. We have sent enough money to Father Joe Plumb, the mi ssion priest in that area of Peru , to pay for Dino's education for two years, and to help repay his medical costs .

20 The Dunelmian

service just before the half-term holiday was one to make us all think . After opening prayers and a hymn, pupils dispersed into groups around the building , using the architecture to focus their thoughts and prayers. To take just three examples: under the tower we thought of the commitment of and risks taken by the medieval stonemasons; at the millennium window the

focus was the world of work; in the Gregory Chapel we reflected on finding God in the quiet. Before returning to school we came together again for closing prayers, a hymn , and to bring any tokens of our thinking to the cross. My thanks to the many staff who helped to supervise the groups of pupils.

On a lighter note, we celebrated Red Nose Day with a service to which pupils were allowed to wear an item of red clothing and/or a red nose. We heard stories of the difference that Comic Relief

can make to lives around the world.

In the summer term four pupils were confirmed by the Bishop of Durham at St Cuthbert's Church . Three of them -Dominic Turnbull (Year 7, School), Josh Knaggs (Yr 7, Poole), Guy Needham (Yr 11 , Poole) were prepared for confi rmation by me through school; the fourth , William Dooley (Yr 9 , Caffinites) came to the service after preparation through his church.

We have continued to help others, ra ising almost £3,500 in chapel collections and another £653 at the Speech Day service. As well as the money sent to Father Joe for Dino, we have

made sign ificant donations to organi sations such as St Cuthbert 's Hospice, Comic Relief and Send a Cow (after the Carol Service), and several medical research charities.

My thanks, as always, to the young people who have organised and taken part in several pupil-led services, to the music department, and to members of staff for their continued willingness to speak in chapel on Thursdays.

Mrs A. de Lange Chaplain

1

The first highlight of the term was the Autumn Concert, which got off to a toe-tapping start with music from the Big Band (including some dancing in the aisles!) and debuts from some of our new music scholars. A couple of weeks later the Year 10 GCSE set spent two hours at The Sage, Gateshead in a hands-on Gamelan workshop given by a touring group of profess ional players from Indonesia; it was hugely enjoyed by all lucky enough to take part. As usual, the last week of term offered the first sample of festive music as part of the Christmas Concert, much appreciated by the audience which filled the chapel. The School's larger ensembles performed magnificently, from the orchestra's rendition of highlights from ' Les Miserables' and Ravel's 'Bolero' to the choir's and Junior Orchestra's more seasonal fayre. A similarly enjoyable concert was performed in a candlelit church in deepest, rural North Yorkshire two days later. The Carol Service in Durham Cathedral paved the way for Christmas in typically atmospheric fashion .

Easter Term

Our pianists were treated to the arrival of a brand new 'Boston' grand piano (along with three new uprights) at the end of November. The inaugural performance took place on February 15th during the Scholars' Concert. Three weeks later saw a night that will linger long in the memory; a packed house at The Sage, Gateshead was treated to a feast of music performed by the enti re pupil population. The event , in

aid of Durham's St Cuthbert's Hospice, lived up to its spectacular billing in every way, with music of an extraordinarily high standard. An audience of 1700 people were present at the first ever public staging of our House Music Competition. The first part of the evening saw six junior schools combine with our own choir and musicians to perform two movements from Karl Jenkin 's 'Songs of Sanctuary' . The Big Band, with solo singers Sophia Ward and Dav id Quinn , the Orchestra, the Bow choir all delighted the audience , whilst Richard Smedley combined wi.th his percussion teacher for a scintillating Drum Duo. We were most grateful to our judges (Mr Cameron Leckie, Mrs Jennifer Tasker and Mr Tim Rhodes) who had the seemingly impossible task of choosing a winning house in the second half of the evening. Poole House won the 'Instru mental' section , but Caffinites' Breakfast at Tiffany's was, in the opinion of many, the performance of the night and they proved to be the overall victors . The whole evening showed off the tale nts and deportment of a whole school that would surely be the envy of many others. Congratulations were due to every pupil in every House for the hard work put in .

Summer Term

The thirteenth 'Music for a Summer's Evening' took place on Saturday 19th May and our pupils provided a spectacular evening's entertainment for over 220 guests, raising over £ 1,200 for Cancer Research UK i_n the process. The standard of the music and the food was higher than ever. As well as a host of ensemble items, orchestral and choral, there were some particularly accomplished individual performances, including items by some of our leaving musicians by Richard Smedley (voice) , Antonia Storey (oboe) and Tom Chen on saxophone in the Big Band. We wish them well in their future enterprises. The Chadeyron Music Competition took place towards the end of term over two days. The winner of this year's competition (advanced) was Phillip Tait on the cornet. Phillip, who also won the Brass section , faced fierce competition from the other eighteen performers in this category in a wonderful evening's music-making. The adjudicator (Mr Les Inness, Head of Music at Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen) paid tribute to the very high standard of music he had been privileged to listen to throughout the day.

'Tuesda 6 'March 2007

The Dunelmian 23

The other major winners in this section were Harriet Brooks

who won the piano section, David Quinn (singing section)

and Natalie Carroll (woodwind section). Earlier in

the day, winners of the intermediate section were Henry Pemberton

(voice), William

Dooley (violin) and Matthew Calvert (piano and trumpet), the latter being the overall intermediate winner. Elementary section winners included Vivan Choi, Michael Dawson , David Ell iott and Hannah Phillips with Flora Bell the overall Elementary winner. Congratulations to all the

musicians who contributed to a memorable competition.

_ ih,.,.o;;o;;,•

The Big Band continues to improve, on occasion reach

ing near-professional standards. As well as regular performances within school , it has also performed further a field this year. Playing at Newcastle race course as part of the Living North Fair during the Christmas Term and outside Waitrose for the first anniversary of the Durham Branch, the band was commended for its playing; 'by far the best school group we've heard', said many of the organisers.

In March, as part of the Sunderland University Jazz Festival, the trumpeters of the Big Band (Phillip Tait, Alastair Galbraith-Brown , Matthew Calvert and Andrew Barratclough) won the "Best Section within a Band" award in the Schools' Big Band Competition. The Band itself was awarded second place in the overall competition, being narrowly beaten into second place by Queen Elizabeth's Sixth Form College in Darlington. Soloists Tom Chen, Philip Anderson, Phillip Tait, David Quinn and Sophia Ward were all given a special mention when it came to judging the 'Best Soloist' category.

On Saturday 28th April the Big

Band and Chamber Choir gave an informal concert at the fabulous venue of the Nevis Centre in Fort William. Our musicians provided a concert full of variety and contrast for the enthusiastic Scottish audience. A total of 22 pupils, accompanied by 4 members of staff, spent 2 nights in the region as a reward for the pupils' continued dedication to their music. The weather was glorious for the time of year and a good time was had by all.

The Big Band also performed to a large crowd at the Durham Regatta in June .

And so concluded another busy musical year. In addi

tion to the above, special congratulations went to Harriet Brooks on winning (for the sec-

ond year running) the U 14 Piano category at the Tynedale Music Festival held at Hexham. Harriet also came 3rd in the Ul6 Piano section, competing against older musicians. As a result of her success at the Festival, she was invited to play at a special winners' concert held at QE High School, Hexham in March.

Congratulations also to Phillip Tait who has won a place with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain involving attendance at two residential courses and playing in a concert held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Phillip has also won a number of regional music competitions: the Tynedale Music Festival in March (where he was awarded 'Outstanding Junior Brass player of the Festival') , the Consett

Music Festival in May and at the Elland Brass Solo Contest in Halifax in May. In June he performed at the All England National Championships in Preston with the Reg Vardy Band.

The Royal College of Organists and the summer organisers of the Charles Wood Summer School offered David Quinn a scholarship allowing him to attend the Summer School and study choral directing with Adrian Lucas of Worcester Cathedral. The Summer School Choirs sang two services and were broadcast on BBC radios 3 & 4 and also joined David Hill and the Ulster Orchestra in a performance of Haydn's ' Paukenmesse' .

Such successes do not come by chance. They, and other memorable performances heard over the year are clue to sheer hard work and commitment. We are fortunate to have a wealth of musical talent in school but most of our pupils are coming to appreciate that success comes from 99% perspiration and l % inspiration . Reach for the deodorant .....

Mr R A Muttitt & Mr R J Duff

Re-Furbishment of the Luce Theatre In the Summer of 2006, the Luce theatre was totally gutted and refurbished. Designed by Sarah Gibson, Director of Drama the project was overseen and managed by Bryan Hunter and team and executed by 'White Light' a professional company. In essence , the design is a 'Black Box' which gives a blank canvas on which to place any number of Drama Activities ranging from everyday drama lessons to a fullscale production. We now have a safe lighting rig with 42 channels, allowing many options for lighting design in all areas of the space. Black curtains and walls allow it to be divided up into areas and to go quickly from classroom to performance space. We also have a new sound system, including a 12 channel mixer. It is now an extremely versatile space which can convert quickly from one activity to another. Never was this more necessary than in the summer term when an incredible 5 productions took place with a turnaround time between each that riva lled the busiest Fringe theatres.

Year 9 House Drama This year, Shell (Year 9) had an evening of drama all to themselves and they deserved the

recognition. With 3 of the plays on offer written by students (Henry Cockburn, Alex Duell and William Gibson) it is clear to see that Durham School is a hotbed of young writing talent as well as increasing performing and techn ical abi li ties. The directing skills on display were a great credit to each House and another indication of the varied way in which this subject is developing at the School. School House won Shell House Drama with a play written and directed by Henry Cockburn who was also awarded the prize for best script. Commended performers were Bea Will iams (M), Rosie Hannah (Pi) , and David Lyall (P) with the Outstanding Performance Award going to Joe Owens (S) for a truly entertaining and accomplished interpretation. The Award for Most Original Talent of the even ing went to William Gibson (P), who wrote an impressive script which aimed high and had a real message.

Senior House Drama This year the standard of Senior Drama was as high as anyone can remember and it was a memorable evening with a charged atmosphere. Many of the senior directors however, chose classical plays, a decision that limited the performing

opportunities of the respective casts. Next year, perhaps with more confidence, directors might take some more risks. Best production went to Poole House who performed a tightly directed extract from 'The long the short and the tall '.

Congratulations to Charlie Parkin for an arresting production. Caffinites were runners up with a very good interpretation of an extract from Macbeth, directed by and starring Alex Duell. Best

new talent also went to the Caffinites in the form of Andy Barratc lough. Commended pe1formers were Becky Heslop (Pi) , Jamie Mitchell (P), and Andy

Barratclough, (C) and the prize for originality went to Pimlico with their choice of play 'Be my Baby' by Shei la Whittington , a play that was

different, fresh and utilised the strengths

of the performers.

"Hilarious", "The best thing I've ever seen at the theatre", "Refreshingly different" "Wish I could have got tickets to see them again" These were just some of the comments made by the audience as they left the newly refurbished Luce Theatre after this term's main double-bill production. Bouncers and Shakers. The plays, by John

physically demanding, creatively exhausting roles that captivated and thrilled everyone that saw them. These two classic plays that are an established part of the Drama repertoire proved to be enormous fun for all involved. Ella Davison, Becky Heslop, Chloe Deighton and Caroline Cleary played the four waitresses in Shakers as well as all the customers that visit the trendy cocktail bar. Their ability to physi

calise and vocalise the

Godber and John Godber and Jane Thornton were chosen partly to show off the new

"Hilarious", "The best thing

many different characters was truly admirable. In Bouncers, a play centred on the concept of a group of mates going to a nightclub for the evening and being confronted by a quartet of

I've ever seen at the theatre", "Refreshingly

Luce at its best, partly to fit in different" with the House "Wish I could Drama schedule but mostly to showcase the

have got tickets Bouncers, we were all enormously impressed by the slickness and pace of this ensemble as well as their acting skills - Max Edge,

to see them best acting talent again" in the School. We were not disappointed. Over three sell -out nights attended by students, teachers and parents alike (as well as members of the public), 8 Actors performed high energy,

26 The Dunelmian

Richard Gregory, Andy Barratclough and Alex Duell all gave us, in the words of Shalamar, 'A Night to Remember'!

January Performance Showcase This now established event saw some interesting work from Year 11 and gave the new Year 10 pupils an important opportunity to practise their pe1forming skills. The L6 gave some especially good performances from one of their set texts , 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg' by Peter Nichols. This included Christina Cuthbertson who performed the role of Grace (a long monologue); Jamie Robson (with a very effective interpretation as Bri impersonating a German Doctor) and Max Edge and Ella Davison as Bri and Sheila respectively.

National Youth Theafre Thorough congratulations go to Christina Cuthbertson who was accepted this year into the National Youth Theatre. She performed her monologue from 'Joe Egg' at her audition! We look forward to hearing all about it.

Theatre Visits and Trips This year's trips have included a trip to see Tony Kushner's 'Angels of America' which lasted an incredible 9 hours!!! 'Ramayana' at the Leeds Playhouse 'Perfect Pitch' in York and 'Blood Brothers' in Sunderland were some of the other treats on offer.

Summer Performance Showcase The Summer Showcase began with a Year 10 production of Alan Ayckbourn's classic comedy, 'Confusions' and ended with the L6 production of 'Teechers ' by John Godber. In between we had some of the

GCSE work that Year J l created for their exam earlier in the term. There were some very good performances, especially from Sam Armstrong, Michael Cuthbertson , Matthew Haley and Katy Paxton with some notably improved performances from Joe Clark , Zoe Smith , Charles Robinson and Chelsea Marshall .

Curriculum drama has exploded onto the scene at Durham this year and the demands of the various courses have had a huge impact in all areas of school life, from staffing to

looking for rehearsal oppo1tunities and spaces. There are currently nearly 40 students studying the subject at GCSE and 4 at AS Level. This will increase to include approximately students next year in the L6 as the courses offered extend to A Level Theatre Studies. With these 4 students cutTently looking at University Drama Courses or Drama Schools, the future of Drama as an integral part of Durham life, is now well established.

The Dunelmian 27

"Much ado about Money"

Removes Play.

It was money, not the dark lady that was on Will Shakespeare's mind in the removes play during the summer term. More than 40 pupils took part in an irreverent rip off of The Great Man. Hamlet, King Lear, Puck , Prospero , Ariel. HenryV and even the Montagues and The Capulets, all met outside his head in a free for all production that some people actually were able at times to follow during the three evening performances. Shakespeare was in debt and had to write three plays in three

months or face Smasher and Henry, two East End thugs working for Sue Grabhit and Run, the slick city solicitors. His work is sabotaged however by three witches and the wrong characters from his plays keep turning up at the wrong time. Henry V meets Cleopatra in the Forest OfArden and Puck tries to outdo the magic of Ariel with disastrous consequences. King Lear chats away to Hamlet and The Montagues and The Capulets are reunited by Prospero. It's all very confusing but everyone lives happily ever after with Ariel (Graham Thorpe) leading the cavalry charge against the forces of evil and "All's well That Ends Well " ...

The cast started rehearsals in February and were ready to roll in early May. The play was wri tten and produced by Mr. Dias and Mr Kime and Mrs Gibson was choreographer and in charge of all the technical and backstage crew. There is not enough space to mention everyone, but the play was held together by Shakespeare (Sam Weston) , Mrs Shakespeare (Hannah Neal) and the narrator, (Jonathan Simpson). Other supporting principals were Puck (James Vardy), Prospero (Cian Robinson) , Mrs Capulet (Lucy Pedley) and Ariel (Graham Thorpe) . There were many others who had cameo parts and it was a delight to see

all these young actors growing in confidence from night to night and really enjoying themselves on stage. There were no pretensions that the play had a "message" , but in a light hearted way it did touch on some of the themes in "A Midsummer Night's Dream " and "The Tempest". G .K. Chesterton once said that he could never read the ending of "The

Dream" without the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in fright.. He meant that when all the mortals wander off to bed. On to the stage to have the last word trips Puck ... In other words which is the real world ..... ? The mortals or the Fairies ... ? Prospero's final words in "The Tempest" perhaps offer a clue: "We are such stuff as dreams are

with a sleep".

Many thanks to all those who helped behind the scenes, particularly Mr Kem who generously offered help backstage and Mrs Vardy and Mrs Dingley and many others who helped with the costumes

and props.

Lower 6th Geography field study in Arran, 17th-22nd June 2007

The five Lower Sixth geographers had excellent weather for fieldwork on Arran this year. The first day was spent studying coastal features in preparation for next term's module. On day 2 students learnt new fieldwork investigation techniques which they could use to collect data. Days 3 and 4 were spent planning and collecting data for the A2 coursework projects. Three students examined changes in beach material and beach profile between Lochranza and Catacol, while two studied footpath erosion on three contrasting footpaths in the north of the island.

AU five students made use of the geography department's Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) to locate their fieldwork sites and subsequently to link their sites

to a Geographical Information System (GIS) so that the data they collected can be easily searched and almost instantly presented on a map. For instance, the GIS can be instructed to plot all footpaths with erosion deeper than 10cm, or all beaches on which granite of a particular sphericity is the predominant material.

Geography Field Studies GCSE Geography Field Study in Iceland, 24th-29th June 2007.

Day 1: Sunday

We had to be at school for 5 :20am. On the coach there were twenty-nine students and three staff, and a four hour drive took us up to Glasgow airport. Once we got to Glasgow we met Stuart who was going to be our guide for the week. We boarded the two hour flight to Keflavik, where we met up with our Icelandic guide called Gudrun.

Our first stop was the famous Blue Lagoon, an outdoor swimming pool which is heated by geothermal energy; in some places it's too hot to stand in. Once we had all had a relaxing swim we got back in the bus and went to climb a cinder cone, where the rocks have tiny shards of volcanic glass in them so we had to put on our gloves. Our fi nal stop was at boiling mud pots. It was fun to watch the mud boil , but most people didn 't like the smell of hydrogen sulphide (the rotten egg smell !). We spent our first night at Smaratun guest house. Some of us were staying in the main house, and others were in the cabins. Many of us spent our time relaxing in the hot tubs.

M0i•·M·i·le@i,!iii·-

Day 2: Monday

After we made our packed lunches, we packed our suitcases and got in the coach. Our first stop was at NesjavelliT geothermal power station , where we had an interesting talk about how the energy was obtained and what it was used for. The hot water is transferred by pipeline to Reykjavik, 25km away. Its uses include heating swimming pools and houses, and under pavement heating to melt snow in the winter. Next we headed to Thingvell ir, the site of Iceland's ancient parliament, where the north American and Eurasian plates meet. We got the chance to stand in America and Europe during the

11 , ,. .... . •.• __! • .,.,. e"~

same hour! Then we got on the bus and went to Geysir. It was a magnificent seeing water and steam erupting 30 metres up into the air every four minutes! Our final stop for today was at Gulfoss, which is a spectacular double waterfall. We stayed the night at Vik Youth Hostel.

Day 3: Tuesday

We visited Skaftafell National Park. We set off for a 2 hour walk, stopping for lunch near the

end . By the end of the walk we were 1000 feet up and got a superb view of Skaftafe ll glacier with its crevasses, moraines, pro-glacial lake and outwash plain below us. We then walked back down and headed for our final stop of the day, which was at the Jokulsarlon ice lagoon where they filmed scenes from two of the James Bond films. It's a very deep lagoon at the snout of a glacier, full of icebergs! We were told by our guide Gudrun that we were not allowed to swim in it because the water was very cold.

Day 4: Wednesday

We had a 30 minute drive to Bakki. At Bakki there is a tiny airport from which we had an 8-minute flight to Heimaey, one of

the Westman Islands. There were two planes running, a five

seater and a nine-seater, so it took several trips to get the group across to Heimaey. The frrst thing we did was to climb Eldfell , a volcanic cone that formed in 1973. Most of the group climbed right to the top,

but some weren 't so brave! We then went for a walk to see how the lava from the 1973 eruption had buried half the town, and how they had managed to stop

the lava flow by continuously spraying it with seawater to

cool it.

Day 5: Thursday

We packed our bags and left

Smaratun. Our fi rst stop was to study coastal features at

Reynishverfi. The cliff here is made up of magnificent basaltic columns, rather like Giant's Causeway in Ireland. There are also two stacks here, reputed to be night trolls who went out fish

ing and got caught by the rays of the sun and turned to stone.

After looking at coastal features

and singing Stuart 's song "Caves, arches, stacks and stumps" (to the tune of "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes"), we

got back on the bus and headed for Solheimajokull , which is a glacier. We got out and went for a short walk across the moraine

and climbed onto the glacier. In some places the ice was beautifu lly clear; in others it was black

with volcanic ash.

We then headed off to Skogafoss,

which is a huge wateifall. We got drenched at the foot of the fall s, but thankfully we had our

waterproofs on! Our next waterfall was called Seljalandsfoss. We walked behind this spectacular waterfall and got soaked! Our

final stop on our last full day was Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. We were given some free time to look around Reykjavik and we had our evening meal there. We spent our final night at Keflavik

Youth Hostel.

Day 6: Friday

We had to get up at 4:00am. This may sound early, but we needed an early start to get to

Durham by mid-afternoon. Our flight was one hour late we got back to Durham for 3:30pm. We were very lucky with the weath

er; it was warm and sunny most of the week. I would like to thank Mr. Renshaw, Mr. Hewitt, Mrs. Dougall , Stuart and Gudrun for making this excellent trip

possible.

Donald Gaze, Year 10.

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Trips Year 9 Educational Visit to Burgundy June 2007

Flying from Newcastle Airport was a welcome

hand at a wonderful variety of different activities including archery, stone sculpting and mosaics. Harriet Brooks is pictured here in the large circus

relief from the long.---=i.------------- ----i

coach journey we usually endure to visit Northern France each year. Thirty pupils from Year 9 accompani ed by Mrs. Parker, Mr. Dias and Mrs. Eccleston, set off in eager expectation of five exciting days in Burgundy. We had chosen a different kind of trip from previous visits to the Loire Valley and the World War 1 sites of Arras. Our base near Avallon provided a taste of a sleepy Burgundy village combined with the energy of a marvellous teaching team. Our accommodation included classrooms where the groups were taught entirely in French all morning . Despite a few moans and groans at the start, pupils managed really well and there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of their comprehension and communication in French by the end of the week. We were inspired to try our

- .. M,)11,QMEO•

tent trying her hand at the new skill of • tir a l' arc •. In our ' bleu, blanc, rouge' teams, we set out to discover the historical sites of the region, visiting the Chateau D' Epoisses with its famous 'pigeonnnier'. Our pupils wasted no time in enlisting the help of some local school children who were on their afternoon break to help them answer the questions on the treasure hunt. I shall never forget the sight of our tall rugby players running round the quadrangle followed by groups of tiny chattering primary school children. The image of the Pied Piper came to mind!

Another special moment was as we entered the Church at Vezeley, a point of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world. Pupils visited the shrine which houses the relics of Mary Magdalene and sketched different aspects of the Basilica in preparation for their stone sculptures the following morning. Several of the pupils were visably moved by the atmosphere

inside this reverent place of pilgrimage, lighting candles or pausing for a quiet moment's contemplation.

One of the top three events as voted by the pupils was undoubtedly our visit to the

restaurant where the pupils tasted the delights of Burgundy cuisine including snails and other local delicacies. To see our pupils rise to the challenge of these new flavours and communicate with the staff in French filled my colleagues and me with a great sense of pride. For many of our pupils this was the first visit

away from home on their own and the snatches of football or rugby .in the grounds of the centre in between showers rated amongst the top events of the week. In the end , that is what we do well at Durham; we encourage a strong sense of the Durham family. Everyone who reads this will appreciate the comm itment of staff who accompany and lead such a trip. Some credit must go , not only to our fantastic team of teachers but to our Year 9 parents and their wonderful support to me in the preparation

children themselves who were a complete pleasure to be with . Congratulations to Sarah O'Hare ( Pimlico), Abi Wilson ( MacLeod) and Sam Storer ( School ) who were voted students of the week by the French staff for their enthusiasm and commitment in class.

Mrs F M Parker Head of Modern Languages

Trips

Barbados Hockey Tour July 2007.

Aparty of 15 girls undertook a memorable nine day hockey tour of

Barbados. The squad consisted of 12 of last domestic season 's Under 14 group bolstered by 3 Under 15 players. In hockey terms the tour was planned to develop the players' experience.

Hockey is well established in Barbados and we met tough opposition of school 1st Xl standard. We were pitched against sides of 16 to 18 years with high individual skill and fitness levels. We did not manage to win any of our 4 games, but did extremely well to be no more than two goals adrift in any of the matches. The girls performed with immense tenacity in 84 degree plus temperatures against older opponents.

In our first game against Presentation School we took a two goal lead, but jet-lag got to us and we eventually lost 2-3. A tough Combined Schools side beat us 2-0 in our second game. Our defence in thfa match was outstanding and we managed to create a few chances of our own. Alexandra School put out a rather 'mature' and robust side against us, but we did not fold in difficult circumstances losing 1-3.

Trips

The final match was against Combermere School, the leading sporting school on the island .

Combemere played very

much as a team, passing the ball

quickly and accu

rately. We gained a lot from

this game and competed admirably in a 0-2 defeat. The girls emerged from these encounters with much credit. The experience will surely pay off when they start their 2007 domestic season.

The joys of Barbados were such that the g irls wanted to stay longer! They enjoyed a water sp011s extravaganza at the sumptuous Mullins Beach on the West Coast, testing out the banana boats and an inflatable armchair called 'Mabel' towed at high speed. On the last day the party cruised the coast on a catamaran, including swimming with giant turtles. We starred in entertainments at Harbour Lights in Bridgetown and enjoyed a whole is land bus tour with our driver Sheldon , a Michael Jackson fan and Kantian philosopher.

lll•UMMIAMEt,-

Our hotel classed us as the most pleasant and well-disciplined group ever to stay with them. This testament was wholly deserved: the girls were an immense credit to Durham School. It remains for me to thank Mrs Gibson for all her support and her unstinting contribution to the welfare and happiness of the girls during the tour. I must add my congratulations to the girls for their conduct on and off the pitch, their good humour and for making me laugh so much! It was a pleasure to be associated with them. My thanks also to the parents who supported us both before and during the tour.

The Touring party: Sarah O 'Hare; May Hunter; Jordan Hewitt; Gabby Minchella; Beatrice Williams; Sophia Ward; Abigai l Wilson; Flora Bell ; Pip Heron ; Annelies Docx; Emily Allen ; EJ Smith; Rosie Hannah; Zoe Smith; Emily Davison.

Will Gibson was 'guest GK ' for 3 games .

Trips

Year 8 Field Study at Broom House Farm

Wednesday 2nd May 2007 was Year 8's geography

field trip to Broom House Farm near Witton Gilbert. Half the year went by coach in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. We were fortunate to have fine, warm weather. The farm is on a hill about 800ft above sea level so it is usually windy but the views were spectacular. We could see Durham Cathedral.

It is a mixed farm which covers about 1500acres. Also it is becoming organic and will have full organic status on the J st October 2007. They keep Aberdeen Angus cattle which

tastes really good and it sells well because people want to buy high quali ty meat. They also keep Saddleback pigs and a flock of Lleyn Sheep which are rare breeds of animal, for which there is a government subsidy. This helps to keep the rare breed gene pool. They own a smal I number of poultry. The crops they grow include red clover, barley, peas, lupins, tritikale and broad beans. Many of these crops are grown to feed their animals. When we arrived , we saw piglets

running around the yard . We were taken to the cafe where there is an education area . There we were told about the farm and the farmer's year. We found out that the gestation period of a

cow is nine months, a sheep is five months and ·a pig is four months. T he animals naturally know when it is mating season so all you have to do is put them together in the right month. It is

possible to breed out diseases like foot rot and worms by slaughtering the animals which often have those d iseases and breeding with the anjmals which do not. They will clip an ear each time an animal has been treated , and if it has to be treated more than three times it is slaughtered. As the farm is organk they will only use chemicals for treatment as a last resort.

large field containing red clover. We found out that this crop is the most important for feeding the animal s. The cows love it but they can't feed on it all the time because they get bloat (too much wind) which can be fatal. Around each field they have a six metre gap between the hedge and the crops as a wildlife corridor. This is encouraging more wildlife such as brown hares and birds like lapwings, curlews and partridge. Then we walked back and looked at the pigs in the farmyards and the sties . Two Saddleback Pigs were given as a present and they have been breeding from them ever since. As with the cows they want to breed their own replacement animals (instead of buying

other methods of income to supplement the farm if there is a crisis which stops farms from making money. For example, they encourage other people to visit the farm, particularly children, by attractions such as a maze, school visits, the farm shop, open days and an Adventure Trail during the summer. They also sell Christmas trees and wooden furn iture . Finally we had a quick 'find the word' quiz about plants and then we

new ones from other _,_· H2--_1,1,,,;~~

farms) to improve the quality of their meat. Next we went to the silage pi ts and discussed the different types and how they are made. One type is of grass and the other contains extra ingredients like red clover, peas and grain. The latter smells like a brewery, and gives a slightly different diet for the animals . The owners of the farm use

returned to school. Thank you to the geography department and Ms Ross for taking us, and to the Mrs Gray for showing us round the farm and giving us such an informative visit.

Graham Thorpe Y8

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Trips Durham School visit the Edinbm·gh Festival Fringe. August2007

COLOUR, VlTAUTY, ORlGINALITY! Theses are just some of the words that come to mind when the Edinburgh Festival is mentioned and we were not disappointed. 18 students from years 9 to 11

accompanied by Mr and Mrs Gibson spent a week at the fringe and saw over 15 shows!

We stayed at the Edinburgh University Halls of Residence near the Meadows in fl ats of 5. Students took it in turns to help shop, cook and clean up and this atmosphere was conducive to much discussion and banter often late into the night about what we had seen and how students could invent and develop original ideas of their own. Throughout the week, students periodically split up into groups to do some creative writing and/or improvisation and they pe1formed this in front of the others (and the unwitting Edinburgh public) on the Meadows at the end of the week.

We saw classic plays , musicals, 2 -handers, stand-up comedy, a pe1formance poet, a Radio 4 recording, a lot of physical theatre (especially at the Critics Choice: Assembly Aurora Nova), and more. Many of the students were

36 Th e Dunelmian

confident enough by the end of the week to take a risk with the very thick Fringe Programme (which has over 6000

own choice. Jess Hannah 'collected' the most posters as souvenirs .

For me there were 3 shows that were particularly memorable. The first was an outdoor production of 'Macbeth' by a Polish theatre company with Witches on stilts and soldiers on motorbikes. Although much of the text had been edited out, the speech that was used meant that the integrity of the piece was re tained.Some of the visual images and inter -textual messages (references to the Third Reich in the soldier's costumes and the Burkhas of the witches for example) meant that we always knew what was going on and

what the sub-text was. As an

though we were actually taking part in the middle of a fi lm -exciting,

dangerous and very noisy!

A show called 'Di m1er Patty' consisted of I 0 students and myself turning up at a dodgy looking student flat and thence literally taking patt in a 'Dinner Patty' at a table, with a 3 course meal and 5 hosts who proceeded to 'act' (helped by a lot of impro. from all

the students, but especially Chelsea and Zoe) their way

through a domestic drama. Many of us will have experienced such scenes before in real life! Unfortunately, most of what they said is unprintable, but suffice it to say that we left with our bellies full and our imaginations totally bamboozled!

'Subway' by Tron Theatre a t the Dri ll Hall as part of the Traverse season , was a beautiful p iece that moved me to tears (I never fee l that I' ve got my money's worth in Edinburgh unless I'm deeply moved at least once!) . 2 Actors, very I ittle scenery, no props , one costume , they were supported by a 7 piece Kosovan band. The skill of the piece lay in the partnership

between the Music and the Drama and the integration of each element at key moments of the text. At one point the musicians stood up, walked forward and became obstacles for the protagonist to overcomem both musically and dramaticall y. Set in the not too distant future and concerned with G lobal issues, it was, in essence a story about the relationship between a father and his son . Very, very good . We returned energ ised , enthused and inspired despite many late nights and lots of walking! Let us hope that it wi ll not be too long before Durham School are performing there for themselves.

Trips/ activities

Mrs Parke1· visits our Overseas Families in Hong Kong.

During the Easter holidays, Mrs. Parker visited Hong Kong with her husband , Professor Parker who was giving a symposium at Hong Kong University.

They spent a fascinating day as the guest of one of our Old Dunelmians, Peter Lee. He left the school in 1932 and be spoke with great warmth about his time

at Durham and of all that it meant to him. His progression to university was interrupted by the war, where as Flight Lieutenant, he was captured and held for three years in a Prisoner of War camp. In 1946 he went to the London School of Economics

worked for the Hong Kong Government gaining an O.B .E in 1973 and a C.B.E in 1982. Peter is currently finishing his diaries from Prisoner of War camp and is resident in Hong Kong where he is a hugely respected

member of the Kowloon District Community and known throughout this international city as a true English gentleman.

He is pictured here beside the dam in the New Territories with Mrs. Parker.

Mrs. Parker took the opportunity while on her visit to meet with several of our overseas families and was invited to visit the hometown in Mainland China of Cassy Hiuming ,one of our current boarders in Pimlico House. There she spent a day site-seeing and shopping for bargains on the markets . Wilson Chan who was a member of Caffinites, met up with the party for lunch and exchanged anecdotes about his time at Durham in the late nineties .

Cassy is pictured here with Mrs. Parker.

Ski Trips 2007

The school went on two ski trips this year. In February half-term 28 pupils and 3 members of staff went to Folgaria in Italy. At Easter 36 pupils and 5 members of staff went to La Plagne in France. On both occasions we were lucky with the snow conditions. A great time was bad by everyone, both on the slopes and whilst taking part in the numerous evening activities including ; ice-skating, bumboarding, discos, ten-pin bowling, quiz nights and a Durham School talent night.

I would like to thank the staff who helped me on the trips; Mr. Mason, Miss Joss, Mr. HaJiam and Mr. Duff.

Mr P C Gerrard

The Inter-House General Knowledge Competition 2006-2007

As usual each House played the others over 4 rounds , gaining five points per question, whether a starter or a follow-up. The starters were loosely themed across popular culture, geography, books, history, food, mythology, science, current affairs, sport and art, while the follow-ups were pot luck. The teams of four could vary from round to round but could never have more than two Sixth Fonners at a time. They aJI competed with good humour, although perhaps this time some teams were more reluctant to have a guess than in past years. The play-off was closer than I can remember for several years. The final scores were Caffinites 160 Poole 155 School 110 MacLeod 75 Pimlico 60

Congratulations go, yet again, to the Caffinites and its squad of Alex Grant (Capt) , Davis Reader, Nick Lynch, Luke Mills, Alex Duell, James Grant, Christopher Reissland-Burghart and Richard Dennis.

Mr DR Best

The Dunelmian 37

- -----------------------------World Challenge Expedition: Uganda and Western Kenya 2007

p art of the challenge of a World

Challenge expedition at Durham

School is the fact that they always

leave hot on the heels of the end of the

Summer Term. So every couple of years, when

others are winding down, thinking of beach

holidays or just planning their schedule of

daytime TV, a group of school pupils becomes

a group of Challengers and they set off on a

month-long trip to a developing country. This

year saw the largest ever group of pupils from

Durham go on expedition: 27 of them! Split

into three groups and led by KSJ , ARW and

SJMK, the mixed Year 11 and 12 parties set

off for Uganda and Western Kenya.

No sooner than we had embedded

ourselves into the luxurious

accommodation of Emirates (our much

lauded airline) did things begin to go

awry. For personal reasons, a

passenger (not one of our group!)

decided to leave the flight as we taxied

to the runway, causing a delay

signi ficant enough to return us to the

Manchester Airport gate from whence we

had recently come. This delay, in turn, led to

our missing the connecting flight in

Dubai, necessitating a stay in this

extraordinarily hot (flesh-meltingly hot)

and generally odd city. 24-hour

construction in temperatures up to the

low 50s using architectural styles

informed more by Disney World than

Da Vinci creates a strange sense of

impermanence and lack of substance in

thi s, the fastest growing economy in the

world. That left aside , we were

accommodated in a pleasant air

conditioned hotel that had an all-you

can-eat buffet, so things weren't all

doom and gloom.

So the itinerary went out the window on

the first day. The challenge had begun.

After a day's layover, we made it to Entebbe

Airport in Uganda and on to Kampala, the

capital. Our base (Backpacker 's Hostel)

provided a pleasant place to stay and make

preparations for the weeks ahead . With the

assistance of John Hunwick (in-country agent,

Australian ex-pat and former explosives

expert. .. ) the groups began sorting transport

and accommodation. Essentially, this is where

one of the most challenging parts of an

expedition such as this resides. As leaders, we

deliberately take a back seat iu order to all.ow

the Challengers the opportunity of experiential

learning. Often , thi s is manifested in a

Challenger's question such as "How do I

arrange transport for tomorrow?" being met

with the reply "J don't know", much to the

infuriation of some, particularly in the early

stages. As they become used to their leaders

appearing a) ignorant, b) obstruct ive or c)

antagonistic , Challengers adapt the ways in

which they operate and , ultimately.just tend to

get on with things on their own (the ultimate object of such a trip).

It was at this point , in Kampala, that the

groups' paths diverged. Having had an

enormous Durham School version of 'Carry on

in Kampala" (a 33 person trip into the city

centre on foot) to change money and buy

provisions, the groups departed for their

various next phases .

As the three teams (Team 1 with me, Team

Andy (ARW's 'Pinkies ', so-called in

reference to their lurid pink team T-shirts)

and Team 3 with KSJ) went the ir separate

ways at this juncture, I will reserve my

comments for my own team, and use their

_ experience as one narrative for the trip. For

fu rther details about the experiences of Team Andy and Team 3, you'll have to ask those

who went! Nonetheless, while our itineraries

may have been differen t , the phases of the

expedition were, broadly, similar.

Trips Acclimatisation was spent in the Rwenzori Mountains in the south west of Uganda. A beautiful area of lush tropical greenery, the area around Kilembe provided a good place to begin the expedition. Staying at another Backpackers' Hostel, we were warmly welcomed by the locals, being received in the evening by the Chairman of the

district and one of his councillors . Along with some low-level trekking we also had an introduction to some of the cultural aspects of life in the area, hearing

songs from local school children (speak to Jess Grahamslaw and Becky Heslop if you want to hear their version of one of them!) and viewing a circumcision dance (thankfully, it was only a 'dry

run').

Following our time in Kilembe, we moved on to Queen Elizabeth National Park, staying at the Jshasha River Camp . This was a magnificent place to stay and, while our game drive lacked any sight of the illusive lions, we were privileged (if not a little scared!) to be camped lOm from a bloat of hippos, beasts that nightly will eat their way through many tens of kilos of vegetation and for whom a tent is a trifling obstacle ...

From lshasha, we moved on to Mount Elgon (via Kampala) for the main trekking phase of the trip. Due to another day lost as a result of an 'interesting' transport experience, and as a result of my

being ill, Team I didn't ascend the mountain. Both Team Andy and Team 3 did so successfully and reported enjoyment and a sense of collective and personal satisfaction as a result. At 4321 m, the caldera atop this volcano is qu ite stunning

(so I'm told!).

In order to do some trekking, Team

I decided to spend a few days exploring the area around Sipi Falls, which involved spending a

night in an enormous cave. This amazing experience offered some intrepid Challengers the opportunity of an early-morni11g shower in the waterfall immediately outside the entrance to the cave; if only more of them had fol lowed their lead . ..

Returning to Sipi Falls, the team made preparations for the border crossing into Kenya. The Team changed currency (some of it anyway!) from Ugandan Shillings to Kenyan Shillings and had a demonstration from Verity Richardson that , despite a calm exterior and a placid manner, she is not to be messed with when she wants to get a job done. Like so many of the Challengers, she was beginning to realise skills that lay within her but had not had such significant opportunities to shine. Once over the border, we proceeded to Njoro, a small town near Nakuru and a couple of hours north of Nairobi. This was the site of our project phase and the location for some TLC provided by our contacts Lucy and Joshua.

Before describing this phase in relation to Team J , it must be stated that we appear to have had a vastly different experience to the other two teams here and, as such it is worthwhile outlining their ventures. Team Andy, through slight miscommunication, ended up doing two projects! Their work in the schools that they visited, however, provided the Team with an

" opportunity to get to know the local people and to develop their building skills. Team 3 had a tougher time physically than the other two teams, having to carry water over significant distances and camping throughout. The story of Team l , however, is a different one ...

Having spent a couple of nights in temporary accommodation, the Team was moved by our host Lucy to her own house. She gave us every room in her house and, despite much pleading on our part, spent the week sleeping on her kitchen floor. She cooked breakfas t for us before we headed off to the project site and made some magnificent African dinners for us on our return in the evening. All this, and the only

~ payment she requested was whatever we thought her hospitality was worth.

I\ 4 The Jehovah Jire Junior Academy was the location for our week's project which, according to the information received previously, was to plant trees at the school . There were no trees to plant so the Team built a classroom instead. Sourcing aJl the building materials and expert advice from Fundu (builder) in the local dialect - a man whose ability to adhere himself to a slippery roof is awesome - the Team planned the project and ensured its completion.

40 The Dunelmian

At the end of the week, the Challengers had done that which they set out to do, leaving the school with the shell of their new classroom. In a school set up to provide education to poor children from ages 2 .5 to 6 years, this new building will be a s ignificant addition. A third of the children at the school cannot afford the school fees and, as such , the school relies on the generosity of the community and charitable donors to educate them.

The week spent with Lucy, Joshua, James and Mary was a hugely enjoyable one and moving. Several Challengers began to question how some in the UK view education when compared with what they had seen in Kenya. It was particularly pertinent to put into context some of the financial aspects of their discoveries. The realisation that school fees for a term at the Jehovah Jire Jun ior Academy are

, 250KSh (£1 .89 at today's exchange , rate) came hard to several members

of the team and reinforced their desire to help the school in whatever way they could. Seeing the pupils learn and play, ta lking to the teachers and the local people left the Team with a lasting fondness for Njoro.

F inally came the Rest and Relaxation (R&R) phase. For us, this involved a safari at Lake Nakuru (where we saw giraffe, white rhino , flamingo, zebra amongst others) and white water rafting at Sagana. The Team enjoyed these activities; they provided a pleasant way to send us Nairobi-bound.

Ending up in a very pleasant hotel (thanks to some serious forwardplanning by Oliver Holmes and Catherine McKernan) we explored

Nairobi. I 00 years ago , it was a swamp; I O years ago it was known as a dangerous city of which travellers should be particularly wary (often, it was known as Nairobbery!). T he city today is no longer a swamp and it has done much to 'clean up' its image: walking the streets does not feel

I threatening and there is a civilised atmosphere to the place. Nairobi provided the perfect opportunity to go shopping in craft markets and buy the souvenirs that , along with photographs and memories , would help to keep the expedition alive long after its end.

Thereafter, we headed back to Manchester Airport in true Emirates style and , thankfully, reached our final destination without delay.

In summary, this report of the Durham School Teams expeditions

to Uganda and Western Kenya 2007 is, in many ways , wholly inaccurate. What is written he re is a collection of fragmentary memories to provide an overview

of the activities of some 27 pupils/Challengers. As such , it can only ever give the briefest of insights.

One of the questions that people ask Challengers when they return to the UK is "What was it like?" Answering th is question honestly

and accurately is almost imposs ible , simple because of the diverse experiences that Challengers have. In the course of a month they wi ll be elated, saddened, annoyed , jubilant, devastated , triumphant, surprised , bored, scared , pressurised .. . and quite often all in one day! Consequently, the question " What was it like?" ought to be replaced with "What did you learn?" Learning is at the heart of these expeditions and , ultimately, regardless of what the trip was ' like' , each Challenger wil l have learned things about the countries to wh ich they have travelled, about the people whom they have met and , crucially, about themselves. They wi ll have developed theil' leadership skills and become better team players; they will have cooked for themselves; looked after themselves and others; considered their environmental impact on the places; made new friends; done things they never

thought of before.

Mr S JM Kime

The Dunelrnian 41

Walking

Having returned from World Challenge training in London Mr Wallace and I found ourselves packing the minibus and trailer once again to head north to Scotland. En route we made a detour to Corby's Crag near Alnwick to practise abseiling and ensure that all were sufficiently well practised to prevent serious delays on the Cuillin. The Isle of Skye is a special place and I had never seen it naked - it's usually draped with a skein of cloud and not for nothing is it known as the 'isle of mists'. Arriving at the Loch Brittle campsite at around 11.00 pm to find it closed for the Talisker Challenge event we returned to Sligachan and were camped by midnight. The next day started with a tour of the Talisker distillery and then having permitted other walkers time to get on to the tops we started for the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Sgurr Dearg, the second highest peak on the ridge and the only Monro to require climbing ropes to get to, and down from, the top. A steady pace and some gentle scrambling brought us to the great fin of basalt that is the ' Jn Pinn' and

the inevitable queue that had formed. Fortunately although the wind was keen the cloud had lifted and there was a panorama, unequalled in Britain, laid out around us. The hours passed all too quickly and yet it was at sunset that the last of us abseiled down from the peak. A steady pace brought darkness and some careful route finding found the path at the bottom of the hill leading back to the minibus. The next day was essentially a day to relax and see the island stopping to view tourist sites before making our way to the village of Elgon for the walk in to the Camasunary bothy. Following occupation of the vacant bothy, there was time for a brief 'dip' in the sea, collection of firewood and further inspection of the site before a barbeque courtesy of Michael Silcock. We waited up until midnight by the fire on the beach in front of the bothy looking out to Eigg, Muck and Rhum in order to celebrate Maxine's birthday. I am always grateful to members of staff willing to give up half of their well-earned half-term break in order to supervise young

people in the mountains . Mr Wallace and Miss Frankie Douch accompanied this trip and ensured it was truly memorable. Pupils climbing the 'In Pinn' Sam Armstrong, Lewis Fraser, Peter Holder, Michael Silcock, Becky and Maxine Brewster, Kate Dudgeon and Sam Wilkes.

Mr KS Jones

• .;s@,iiHii,_r ________________________________ ;;;_ ___ -=::::::::::::::::::::= :::::::::===:::::::::::::=

Walking Walking Club Half-term Walk

North Wales 20th Oct - 24th Oct 2006

Region visited: Carnedclau and Snowdonia

Crete, sand and sun or Wales in the wind and rain? For nine members of Y 10 and Y l l accompanied by Mr Kime, Miss Oberg and Mr Jones there was no choice they just had to get wet and dirty. After a five and a half hour journey, including a quick circuit of Manchester United's football ground , we camped at the end of the track , on the edge of the car park rather than walk for two hours through the night only to find the bothy full. A windy and wet night showed no improvement during the next day and we set off in the hope rather than the expectation of an improvement. A vis it to the disused slate quarries in Cwm Eigiau ( coombe of the shoal of fish) was followed by a steep ascent through the workings to Pen yr Helgi Du (summit of the black dog). Thereafter some very s trong and gusting wind meant a diversion from the exposed ridge path and we scrambled down to Bwlch Eryl Farchog. Thereafter a little scrambling Jed us up to gentler

slopes and to the second highest mountain in Wales, Carnedd Llewelyn. A brief look in the

'emergency shelter' on Foe! Grach (scabby bald hill) then onto Garnedd Uchaf (the upper cairn) and dropped down the s ide of Foel-fras working our

way through crags down to Dulyn reservoir and the bothy. Recently renovated , the main room now has four pine beds, with mattresses, and there is a nesting box on the gable. It was occupied and there was no room for our party so we continued on back to the minibus, travelled round to Ogwen and camped below Tryfan. An atrocious night saw one tent collapse and the residents retreat to the minibus after another tent pole broke. It was universally accepted that the following day should be a 'rest day' and we gradually dried out as we travelled in the wet to Bangor, Anglesey, Caermufon and Llanberis including a visit to the Dinorwig Power Station, or as the tourist literature has it 'Electric mountain'. We 'wild'camped by Llyn Cwmffynnon not too far from the car park at Pen-y-pass and passed a calm and peaceful night. Monday provided a drier day with low cloud but the forecast was promising and so we set off for Snowdon. As there was little likelihood of rain and the wind had dropped considerably a decis ion was taken to proceed via Crib Goch to the a iry and exposed ridge along to Crib Ddysgl and thence gain Yr Wyddfa (the cairn or tumulus) the highest point of Snowdon. All performed well on the ridge undaunted either by the exposure on the north side of the knife-edge arete or by three terrified ladies who welcomed the opportunity to share our safety rope. One of our group was heard to comment later, ' that's the most I've ever concentrated in my life! If I could concentrate like that in exams I could get all A*s! ! !'

• ibi~M,GHFi,i-

Walking

Having gained the tourist path the way to the top

seemed an anticlimax and several wished to return to camp by the same route. At this point the group split and those wishing to continue the Snowdon horseshoe continued on down the twisting, steep and eroded slope and on to Bwlch Ciliau. There being only an hour and a half of daylight we needed to get over the twin peaks of Y Lliwedd (the stained or coloured peak) before getting down the steep slope from the ridge to the Miners ' Track by Llyn Llydaw. The group was reunited in the car park and enjoyed a last meal in the dark. The return to Durham was broken by a visit to the Great Orme's Head near Llandudno. Archaeologists have uncovered Bronze Age mine with extensive workings on nine levels where malachite was won from the altered limestone and , it is estimated, produced sufficient copper to make several million axe heads - possibly traded all over Europe. We did the tour underground and headed north; excavation work continues. I must thank Mr Kime and Miss Oberg for giving up half of their half-term in order to help wi th the trip, the young people for their enthusiasm and helpfulness; several walkers that we passed were amazed that there were still school age pupils

44 The Dunelmi an

that voluntarily went onto hills and that they were not doing it for some award or as part of a course but just for the pleasure of being out. Long may such opportunities exist and staff be prepared to make them happen. Having gained some scrambling experience next we will turn our attention to the Cuillin on Skye.

Mr KS Jones

Els'Games

With ever increasing numbers the number of com

petitive girls' teams fielded has been greatly increased this year. The majority of pupils have played for at least one team and many have played for four or five different teams. Inter-house events have also become more competitive. The reports on the major sports reflect the effort and time put in by staff and pupils alike and the enjoyment of the g irls was evident on a large number of occasions. Other sports which are not reported on but need a mention are squash, cricket, aerobics and pilates; they all take place for recreation and fitness. Badminton had its annual match against Barnard Castle, which was won 4-0 and cricket paws played for the first time this year.

Inter-house events in the major sports were keenly contested with many extremely close and exciting finishes. The senior hockey was a draw,

the junior was won by MacLeod, but unfortunately the inter-house competition had to be cancelled owing to poor weather conditions. MacLeod also won the senior and junior netball with Pimlico winning the inter-house competition .

The senior swimming was won overall by MacLeod

with the girl s taking all but the Y 11 races . In the junior event each House won one age group but Pimlico were overalJ winners.

Particular mention must go to Rachel Bradley,

E.J .Saxby, Sophia Ward, Annelies Docx , Becky

Storey, Katy Paxton and Rosie Barron who all won two events in the gala.

The following girls received awards:-

The annual junior hockey tournament was a highlight of the year and took place on a much warmer day than in 2006. Red House eventually became overall winners.

The annual sp011s dim1er was extremely well attended pai1icularly as it happened on a Bank Holiday weekend . The captains all gave ente11aining speeches and a great evening was had by all .

Many tha!lks to all the staff who have been involved and a particular thank you to Lynne Dobison who has left us to take up a full time development job; her expertise over the last few years has been of great benefit to our pupils.

Mrs K E Dougall

Year 7 Louise Elliott and Mary McAneney. Year 8 Philippa Heron, Anna Connaughton-Cartwright and Harriet Ward. Year 9 Sophia Ward and Flora Bell. Year 10 Katy Paxton and Gabby Minchella. Year 11 Kate Finch, Caroline Cleary and Chloe Deighton. Year 12 Juliet Slade and Jenny Earl Hockey Improvement was awarded to Kim Connor Netball Captain's Award was awarded to Rachel Bradley Hockey Captain's Award was awarded to Jess Grahamslaw Netball; Kim Forrest Dedication to Sport and Tennis; Iona Hughes Cross-Country and Swimming E.J. Saxby Hockey and Sportswoman of the year Steph Maddison .

The 1st XI hockey squad began their season in August 2006 in good shape, after a successfu l 5 day pre-season trip to Ireland. In their first game of the season the Maddison family met for the first time on opposite sides of the pitch when new captain ,

Steph met last year 's captain , her sister Jo Jo in the traditional OD's match . Pre-season fitness training paid off with a resounding 6- 1 victory, whilst the ODs struggled to keep up with a strong and determined I st XI .

The annual visit to Barney

School proved, yet again , to be a tough match with the Durham forwards struggling to find the net. Once again , the girls worked extremely hard but struggled against a Barney side that had played together for a number of years. The deficit reduced by 2 goals on last year 's match, result 4-0 to Barney.

The following few weeks brought a series of wins, seeing Steph Maddison 's penalty corner strike find the back of the net on several occasions , plus some well engineered goals from Kim Conner, Juliet Slade , Amy Gadd and Charlotte Campbell .

The Dunelmian 45

• ROS 10-1 win • Polam Hall 2-0 win • Durham High School 4-0 win • Dame Allans 4-1 win

In the U18 Schools Tournament at Silksworth, Durham School first XI finished in 3rd place winning 2 games , drawing 2 and losing only 1.

After the half term break, the girls, now in exceptionally good shape and playing well as a team, but short of tougher opposition. Ampleforth proved to be much more exciting prospect and the game finished an even 2-2, a very strange umpiring decision allowing Ampleforth to pull back the equaliser in the final seconds of the match. Some excellent defending from Jenny Earl and Iona Hughes backed up by a confident Vicky Trotter in goal.

Barney School returned to Durham for the 2nd round of the National Schools Competition. Durham fought hard from the first whistle. The half backs, Steph Maddison, Charlotte Campbell , and Jess Grahamslaw stepping up at every opportunity to put pressure on the Barney midfield . Neither the score at

full time, 5-1 to Barney, reflected how hard the girls worked nor how many opportunities they created but failed to take. A consolation goal for Steph Maddison failed to quell the team's disappointment.

Inability to conve1t chances dogged the girls again when St Peter's visited Durham; a single goal for the visiting side proved the decider in a game which saw Durham create at least 6 clear goal scoring opportunities . Durham was much the better team but in the end it was St Peter 's who took the points and Durham, the pride of knowing they had put in a good team performance and had continued to improve together.

The last few games of the season proved disappointing with a 3- 1 defeat to Kings and going down 5-3 to Sedbergh (although this was the greatest number of goals we had scored against Sedbergh in a long time).

A visit by Loretto School, from Edinburgh at the end of January improved our goal average by l . Loretto had travelled the night before just to play Durham School (and fit in a bit of shopping!) so when the school pitch was still frozen at I l ain , great co-operation and flexibil ity from

the Durham girls ensured that games went ahead up at Meadowfield Leisure Centre. Juliet Slade scoring the only goal of the game making it all worthwhile!

Overall a successful season, with 12 full matches played , 6 wins, 5 defeats and I draw resulting in 33 goals scored and 22 conceded . The girls definitely built on last year 's emphasis on fitness and attitudes to training and overall they had a very pleasing season.

Ms LDobison

With girls turning up in excellent numbers last

hockey season, the School was able to continually turn out a 2nd XI Hockey team that not only pe1formed well throughout the season , but also put pressure on positions in the 1st XI. Ella Davison is one example. She established herself in the 1st team by the end of the season.

The g irls play against other schools I st and 2nd teams so they rarely have an easy fixture. This has resulted in the girls improving both individually and as a team.

Results Durham v Barnard Castle Lost Durham v R G S Won Durham v Sedbergh Lost Durham v Fyling Hall Lost Durham v Ampleforth Won Durham v Kings' Tynemouth Lost Durham v St Peter's, York Won Durham v Durham High School Drew Durham v Loretto Lost

1 - 3 4-0 0-2 1 - 3 2 - 1 0-3 2 - 1 2-2 0 - 11

With no captain at the start of the season, we needed someone to put up their hand and

Caroline Cleary did just that and became an excellent captain. Hopefully more of the team will force their way into next year's lst XI and the new girls will

work just as hard and continue the development of the 2nd

team. I am sure all the girls are looking forward to next season

Mr M Fishwick

EHockey

The year began with some

inte nse pre-season training trying

to encourage all the U l 5 team

that with maximum effort they

could be successful. They settled

down and began to train with a

great deal of commitment

towards the end of the week.

Fitness was lacking but a big

improvement could be seen.

Throughout the year the ir matu

rity towards training developed

and they began to think about

how they were play ing . Their

season was extremely successful

with wins over many rivals who

they had lost to during the previ

ous season.

Katy Paxton played well as cap

tain and joined the forwards and

backs with consistently good

attacking and defensive play.

The first match was against old

rivals Barnard Castle and they

started the season extremely well

with a pleasing win 2-1. Strong

defensive play by Gabby

Minchella and Emily Bowes in

the first half he ld off a lot of

attacks from the opposition, and

an excellent save by Sam Wilkes

kept the score at 1-1 for much of

the game. The winning goal

came towards the end of the

match with a strong run by

Annastasia Kellett into the circle ..

An easy win 4-0 over Polam was

to follow; the team were begin

ning to use set plays more readi

ly which allowed space to be

created .

Kings Tynemouth was the next

victory. After a slow start 2

excellent goals were scored in

the last phases of the game.

Maxine Brewster played an

excellent game in defence put

ting in many saving tackles ,

while Sophie Dugdale and Abby

Arkley attacked at speed and had

a number of chances from top

' D', 2-1 was the final score,

which was a huge improveme nt

on the same match the year

before.

Na1Tow losses against Amplefo1t h

on a freezing winter 's day and

St. Peters which was played on

grass , made the girls work a lit

tle harder in traini ng to get back

to their winning ways.

Johanna Kellet played good

games despite struggling with

injury. They came back with deter

mination beating Fyling Hall 1-0

Emily Smith began to create

chances in the circle and Zoe

Smith 's relentless running made it

hard for the opposition to find

space in the mid-field. The final

game of the season was against

Durham High. We had all the pos

session but could not put the ball in

the back of the net. It was 1-0 at

half time; Hollie Harrison having

set up the first goal. The High

School scored quickly in the second

half due to a lack of concentration

in mid-field but we stuck in , re

arranged our attacking positions

and scored 4 goals in the space of

15 minutes. The final score of 5-0

was a credit to the efforts of the

whole team.

The U/15 B team combined year 9

and JO pupils and played 2 games .

They won one and lost one but

enj oyed the experiences and played

with great commitment. Sarah

Cooke and Zoe Rutter were particu

larly strong players.

Mrs K E Dougall

,. '

EHockey

The development of this squad could be seen in the way we handled Yarm School in the final match of the season. Against a ve1y physical side we maintained our shape and played some splendid hockey to win the game. At the strut of the season we would have crumbled and fallen away.

The girls gained some impo1tant ideas about teamwork as the season progressed and applied new ideas with great tenacity. Their development does them ve1y great credit. The domestic season results

reflected growing confidence and match skills . Even our defeats showed growing levels of competitiveness. This group will certainly be a force to be reckoned with next season and beyond.

In the County Tournament we remained unbeaten and did not concede a goal, an indication of the defensive skills the team had embraced. We needed to beat Barnard Castle, but a sti1Ting game ended in a 0-0 draw. Sixteen girls played in this tour-

nament and indeed throughout the domestic season. Several girls who had little or no previous match experience ended up as seasoned campaigners. In July the team played in the sunshine on tour in Barbados. I

wish to thank all the players for the ir excellent attitude and desire to learn about the game. Their conduct on and off the pitch was a credit to the School.

Squad: S.Ward; N .Rogers; S ,O ' Hare; M.Hunter; J.Hewitt; A .Wilson; B.Williams; A.Docx; F.Be ll ; P.Heron; E.Allen; B.Richardson; H .Brooks; R.Hannah; J .Graham; E.Davison .

Mr MG Gibson

&Hockey

Every g irl played for the team at some point. They trained hard and began to play as a team rather than individuals. Philippa Heron was captain and showed not only a high level of skill but also that she can motivate the players around her. The attacking ski lls of Anna Connaughton-Cartwright and

Kate Emmerton led to a number of well-timed goals. The A team won their first match 4-0 against Sunderland High but struggled for the rest of the season. The ir skill s improved and the support play improved considerably with Harrie t Ward and Nao mi Gourlay becoming strong mid-field players who regularly played the ball back

into the c irc le. A draw against Kings was the best game of the

season . Jess O 'Connor played extremely well in goal saving many difficult shots and S teph Harland timed her tackles well to stop all but one goal being scored. Other p layers were Soo Cho i and Ros ie Wilkinson who developed well-timed runs o nto goal and scored a large number of goals. Some Year 7 pupils such

as Louise Ell iott , M ary McAneney and Anna McKernan played well for the older age group . In the junior hockey tournament they won one and drew one match. This was a little disappointing but they gained experience and began to understand the importance o f team work.

The B team drew against Sunderland High. Ha nnah Neal played in goal for the first time and p layed with dete rmination and confidence. Lindsay Bolton , Jessica Forste r and Lucy Pedley all gave their best and managed to hold them to a 1-1 draw. Vivian Cho i also p layed well this season.

Well done to all the players who trained and played hard .

Mrs K E Dougall

Eetball

For the firs t year we had a very large senior squad . Forty girls turned up to the first session which with one coach was quite a challenge, but we soon gained another coach and training started in earnest. We were to field four teams in the Easter term so the Christmas term was spent preparing. Skills training, fitness training and match practice in the form of an internal tournament. We played our first match in November. This was the first round of the area tournament both the I st and 2nd teams were determined to prove themselves and with close competition for team places, the standard of play was high. The A team won all their matches quite convincingly and led the tournament at the end of the fi rst leg. The B team won 2 and drew two, fi nishing 3rd overall ; a great start. In the main season a confident squad led by Kim Forrest was determined to do well . The first game of the season was played against Arnpleforth. The I st team led all the way until the final quarter. Strong defence by

Juliet Slade and Vicky Trotter tried to hold the score but they just overtook us in the final 2 minutes to win 26-24. This made the girls think, and they took the court against Yann with great determination. Rachel Bradley slowed her shooting down and became much more accurate than the previous week and Kim Forrest began to move more quickly to create space under the post. A win 4 1-21 was extremely pleasing and the efforts had paid off. Another clean win 29-14 against RGS on a cold windy day helped lift spi rits even more. Despite the speed and good handling skills of Kate Finch and E .J . Saxby they could not quite

beat Barnard Castle, but it was a very close, quick, skilful game .The final score was 17-20 away from home.

A change in defence due to injury brought Sarah Antonopoulos onto the fi rst team. The second round of the area tournament started well with wins over G ilesgate 6th Form and Framwellgate . The team was a I ittle lethargic and made hard work of the matches but they knew they had to beat Durham High in the last match to win the tournament. A couple of poor passes put us under pressure but the tight defence by Steph Maddison and the accuracy of

the shooters helped us to win 6-2; therefore winning the competition. The next two wins against Durham High and Durham 6th Form in normal school matches meant the tenu had finished with some of the best 1st team results in the last 10 years.

Well done to all the players and next year we will hopefully see even better results.

Mrs K E Dougall

Eetball

This year the U 15 girls' netball team outdid themselves. The A team played eight competitive games against various schools. This team won five games , drew one and lost two. The first win came against Ampleforth with a fine score of 9-2. They also won with a comfortable score of 9-4 against Barnard Castle . The win against Grindon Hall was incredibly convincing and at the fi nal

whistle the girls had scored eleven goals to one. Everyone held their breath as the team were once again victorious against Durham High, leaving the court with a score of 11 -10. Their enthusiasm and fine play allowed them to beat Framwellgate School 11 -7. At St. Peter 's the team managed a draw in what was a very exciting game . Unfortunately, they lost to Sedbergh 9-23 and at Yarm the score was equally disappointing 14-19 , but the match was very entertaining to watch. The A team deserve to be mentioned by name and included; Katy Paxton, Sophie Dugdale, Abbey Arkley, Zoe Smith, Annastasia Kellett, Amy Matthews and Gabby Minchella. They worked well as a team and deserve praise for an excellent season.

The Dunelmian 49

It is pleasing to note that the B team also played to a very high standard. They played seven games, winning three and losing four. They demonstrated some fine skills throughout the season alongside an enormous amount of determination. They won against Ampleforth scoring 14-6 and followed this victory with a win against Barnard Castle 14-3. At Grindon Hall , they took the game by storm and walked away with a very sound victory, scoring 13-0. Unfortunately, the following

games were lost but the girls fought hard to ensure that they walked away with a very

respectable score-sheet. The B team included; Johanna Kellett, Chelsea Marshall, Rosie Edge, Sarah Cooke, Zoe Rutter, Sam Wilkes, Maxine Brewster and Hollie Harrison. All of the girls played very well and it has been my pleasure to coach them this year.

Mrs S Sweeting

E•d, 4th Netball

The 2nd team were also very successful; they won 6 of their 9 matches and came 3rd overall in the area tournament. They beat

all of the schools except Durham High. In the interschool matches they also lost their first match narrowly against Ampleforth. Iona Hughes as captain defended well and brought the ball down the court effectively. She was supported by the athleticism of Sarah

Antonopoulos. Their second match was a turn in fortunes; a win 28-13 was very pleasing.

The height of Ella Davison was used to our advantage when shooting, and Kim Connor moved at speed to create space close to the circle. Two more convincing wins against Yann, 29-5 and RGS 31-7 showed that the team's strength in depth was beg.inning to show through in their netball. Jenny Earl timed her runs into the ci rcle effectively so was able to score a large number of goals. Becky Maddison and Charlotte Campbell began to link well in mid-court, allowing clean balls to be passed into the attacking third. A close l.oss 11-14 by Barny was followed by convincing wins against Durham High 17- 1 and Sedbergh 2 1-16. This was an excellent way to finish an extremely successful season. For the I st time a 3rd and 4th team played matches too. The 3rd team won three out of s ix. They started the term with a win against Ampleforth. Chloe Deighton led the team very

effectively and controlled the mid-court well. She was supported by a strong defence with Becky Storey and accurate shooting by Caroline Cleary, Alex Scott and Eleanor Harper. With a couple of close losses against Yarm U16 and St. Peters they pulJed themselves together, trained hard and went on to beat Barnard Castle quite convincingly with a score of22-13. Frances Dennis, Jay Appleby, Becky Heslop and Jess Grahamslaw all gave their best and contributed to their success . In their final match they lost to Sedbergh but they never gave up and enjoyed the whole experience.

The fourth team which included: Amy Gadd and Hollie Wheeler, played one match against Sedbergh. The team was made up of some younger players but they enjoyed the day and only Jost by only 4 goals.

Thank you to Miss Robinson

&Netball

Last season the under 14A netball team had a terrific season winning six out of eight fixtures. The team consisted of May

Hunter and Sarah O'Hare in defence with Beatrice Williams on the wing who made some excellent interceptions especially against Durham High School where we won convincingly I l-6. Sophia Ward worked well up and down the court as Centre. She worked

well with Jordan Hewitt and Abbie Wilson, who together made great passes into the circle to Flora Bell and Annelies Docx. In the matches against Deerness our team spirit and commitment paid off as we secured a very healthy win 24-0 . Against Framwellgate Moor we continued in our winning ways with a score of 12-3.

On behalf of the team I would like to thank Miss Joss and Mrs Sweeting for their excellent coaching and to our parents for suppmting us at all of our matches. Thank you.

Annelies Docx Yr9

ENetbaD

The U 14 Netball B team began with a slow start , with only having five matches in the term the team worked very hard trying to succeed in every match.

The first match was away at Yarm. After a long bus journey of music and laughter, the newly formed team began their preparations focusing on what they had practised in training. Although the team fought bravely we had a 16-3 defeat. Nevertheless, the team's camaraderie was not disheartened , as the fun continued home on the bus .

Our second game took us away to St.Peter's, where after a hard fought battle we were finally defeated by three late goals from the opposition's strong attack.

Then came the third game, the game we always fear - away at Barnard Castle, our main rivals. It began with a slow start but after a team talk at half-time our tactics improved and finally our hard work paid off with a triumphant win of l 3- 1 .

With confidence running high Durham 's next match was to be

at home against Durham High School. At the half-time whistle Durham School was just ahead by 6-5. Durham then battled through the second-half only to see their lead slip away in the last quarter of the match; this was due to the strong attacking side of Durham High School; the result was a disappointing 11-7 defeat.

Finally our term ended with our last match at home against Sedbergh. Even though the team worked well together to beat the opposition, the Sedbergh girls were just too strong and beat us 3 1-9.

OveraJl I would like to say a big thank you to the whole team , the girls have put a huge amount of effort in to every match they have played and have shown a lot of commitment throughout the netball season.

Jordan Hewitt Yr 9

ENetball

The year started with a group of enthusiastic pupils many of whom had never played netball. We were to train hard then play some matches at both A and B team level to allow all the girls to take part and learn from their experiences. The pupils quickly picked up the

rules and despite some difficulties with the footwork, it was not long until they could play a match. They lost to Yarm 3-16 but learnt a lot from the experience. Rosie Barron used her height to great advantage Mary McAneney and Anna McKernan moved fluently in mid-court. The shooters, Scarlett Walker-Smith and Louise Elliott worked hard but realized their accuracy was a little wayward. They improved in the second match against Choristers' U 13 team and scored a lot more goals. The team then went to the area tournament where they beat Belmont and Framwellgate. Laura Edwards, Monique Dingly and Olivia White worked well in mid-court creating space for the attackers. They ended up fourth overall in the tournament.

The B team also lost closely to Yarm but Zoe Jackson, Savannah Holmes and Hannah Phillips showed great spirit and also proved that they can pass the ball effectively. The team drew the next match 6-6. A high scoring game which was good to watch. Lauren Brennan defended well and Rhianna Connor, Bethany Dodds and Catherine Hand all moved into and out of the middle third with increasing confidence. In the area tournament they beat Johnson and drew with Framwellgate but because they lost to Durham High they ended up third overall.

All the tear 7 girls have trnined and played hard and now have a good base to develop more rapidly next season. Well done.

Mrs K E Dougall

The Dunelmian 51

EnnIB 2007 has proved to be a busy season, with all the tennis matches being played during the summer term.

• •,M@,iidii,_

The first YI team , under the captaincy of Jona Hughes, consisted of Caroline Curry, Katy Willett, Jenny Park, Ella Davison and Jenny Earl. This team progressed well through their school matches and some good individual results were attained.

The first Vl team battled very well to beat Barnard Castle School and progress to the semi final of the County Cup. They then lost narrowly to a strong Durham

Outstanding wins in this match were Jenny Park and Katy Wi!Jett winning their doubles, and Jenny then going on to win her singles match. In the Aberdare Cup the team lost to an exceptional Central High School team. Well done to the first team for their enthusiastic and sometimes inspirational performances .

Ms C Heppell

mJennis The team consisted of Samantha Wilkes (captain), Sophia Ward , Sophie Dugdale and Abby Arkley or Emily Allen. This team found their matches tough this year , but they worked hard and some good individual results were recorded. They beat St. Bedes in their final match, however loses were sustained to Ampleforth, St Peters, the High School and Barnard Castle. Well done to everyone who has represented the School on the tennis teams this year.

Ms C Heppell

mJennIB The Ul4 have played three matches . They have struggled with small numbers but the team has trained and played hard. Sophia Ward played extremely well showing excellent strokes and strength of shots. She has been partnered by Emily Allen and Flora Bell with Beatrice Williams and Anna Connaughton-Cartwright completing the team. Their losses were in closely fought battles against strong St. Peters and Sedbergh teams.

Mrs KE Dougall

The Ul3 team of Anna Connaughton-Cartwright, Laura Edwards, Philippa Heron , Jess O'Connor, Rosie Wilkinson and Harriet Ward won the first round of their County Cup game convincingly against Hummersknott. They then played Durham High but struggled to keep pace and lost 1-5. Anna played a good game keep

ing all the balls coming back and Jess moved round

the court quickly. Laura Edwards was placing the ball effectively to gain a lot of points but they lacked consistency. Their

game then improved and they had close

matches against Polam Hall which they narrowly lost. Rosie and Anna then played St. Martins

and held their own in a long doubles

match. Rosie also won her singles. A

Year 7 couple of Monique Dingley and Savannah Holmes fought off a tough St. Martin 's pair and Monjque also won her singles matches.

Hopefully there will be some tennis coaching throughout the winter months next year, as the summer term is too short to allow large

improvements in such a technical game.

Mrs K E Dougall

The I st rounders team were unbeated this year. The closest anyone got to them was 11 rounders. Exceptional teamwork when fielding and accurate hitting helped their success. Steph Maddison was a very competitive captain who motivated the team well and took a number of catches and stumpings herself. The season started with a 24-7 win over Barnard Castle. High scorers were Juliet Slade and Kate Finch with Kim Forrest bowling hard and accurate balls to prevent them scoring. Sedbergh went down 22-8; Kim Connor took two good catches at backstop and Chloe Deighton stopped a lot of through balls. The tennis players joined the team to beat Pol am Hall 23-9. Iona Hughes batted extremely well and Jenny Earl stepped into 3rd base. They won 21-9 at St. Peter's and beat Durham High 2 1-10. Other girls who played were Becky Maddison, Caroline Cleary, Robyn Hornby and E.J. Saxby.

Well done and hopefully next season will be as successful.

Mrs K E Dougall

ERounders

In the summer term of 2006 , Durham School's U 14 rounders team began the season with a win against Barnard Castle , our most competitive school, 18-6. The team we had was very strong, with Sarah O'Hare as our bowler, Nikki Rogers as our backstop and Flora Bell , Sophia Ward, Beatrice Williams· and Annelies Docx on first, second third and fourth base. Jordan Hewitt, Harriet Brooks and Jess Graham also played on a base in some matches. The deep fielders were Abbie Wilson, May Hunter, Rebecca Richardson and Lindsay Connor who also played for us occasionally.

After our win against Barnard Castle, we then went on to win against Polam Hall , Durham High School, Ampleforth and Red House. The only let down to these fantastic achievements was the loss against Sedbergh, 18-11 , after a highly competitive game.

After the great season we had in 2006, we hope we will achieve the same brilliant results next year and have the same amount of fu n and enjoyment every game.

Abbie Wilson Yr9

Iii Rounders

Due to poor weather the UJ3 team was only able to play 3 matches . They lost to St. Mrutin's in a very competitive game. Jess O 'Connor bowled accurately and PhiLippa Heron stumped a lot of players at second but they were a little sloppy with some fielding. They then went to Durham High where the High School were favomites, but the team played extremely well gaining a draw 18-18. Kate Emme1ton and Steph Hru·land fielded well while Anna Connaughton-Crutwright and Rosie Wilkinson began to hit the ball more consistently. All of the girls played their prut and Hannah Neal captained the team against Polam with Jess O'Connor on the other two occasions.

Mrs K E Dougall

l5erPolo

Water Polo runs as a games option for boys and girls

throughout the year and, in total, 18 games were played. With several good players leaving last July, I wasn't expecting there to be a senior team this year. However, four sixth formers joined the squad - Tom Anderson, Andrew Barratclough , Sam HatTison and Tom Hand -and a senior team was formed, and improved as the year

, 54 The Dune l mi an

progressed. The Under 16s trained hard and did well by winning the English Schools' NE England tournaments in Bradford. Matthew Hand (captain) and Thomas Edwards

were awarded the Connor Cup for their high standard of play this year. The Under 15s, most of whom are just beginning the sport, have made an encouraging start. At the end of the year we said goodbye to Tom Hand (senior team captain), Daniel Maughan and John Taylor, all of whom have given good service to the water polo club . I hope they will all keep playing water polo

after they leave school. Two of last year 's players have been appointed captains of their university water polo teams next year: Alex Cronin (Glasgow) and Stephen Earl (Stirling). Congratulations to both of them.

Mr J C Renshaw

Under 18

22nd Nov. v. Newcastle RGS (h) Won 11 - 6 7th February v. Durham City Water Polo Club (a) Lost 8-9 20th March v. Sedgefield Water Polo Club (a) Lost 3 -15

Under 17

18th October v. Durham City Water Polo Club (a) Lost 10 -15 9th March v. Catterick Water Polo Club (a) Won 15 - 8

Under 16

2nd October v. St. John's School, Bishop Auckland (h) Lost 9-11

17th Nov. English Schools' N.E. England tournament in Bradford: v. Bradford Grammar School Won 4 -1 v. Yorkshire Martyrs Won 5-3 v. Beech House Won 14 - 3

20th January v. Durham City Water Polo Club (h) Drew 6-6 4th February v. Durham University women's team (a) Won 11 - 4 4th March v. Durham University women's team (a) Won 9-4

17th March English Schools' N.E. England tournament in Bradford: v. Bradford Grammar School Won 12 - 3 v. Yorkshire Martyrs Won 3-2

Under 15

17th October v. St. John's School, Bishop Auckland (h) Lost 6 -10 2nd March v. Sedgefield Water Polo Club (h) Lost 6 -18 12th March v. St. John's School, Bishop Auckland (h) Lost 9 -19 20th March v. St. John's School, Bishop Auckland (h) Won 8 -5

The Dunelmian 55

Eming The first gala of the year was the School's House Swimming competition. The senior boys' event was first and once again this was a hard fought competition with The Caffinites

sneaking the overall title and sharing the relay trophy with School House. The gi1·ls were next with Macleod taking the overall title. Lastly then was the Removes with the Year 7 title going to Poole House and the Year 8 and overall trophy going to The Caffinites. There were a

56 Th e Dune lmian

number of girls' records broken this year. In the seniors Rachel Bradley took the 2 lengths backcrawl record to 32.42 seconds and the 2 lengths butterfly record to 29 .72 seconds. In the Under 16's Becky Storey broke her own 2 lengths butterfly record to take it to 3 1.20 seconds and in the under 14s Annelies Docx broke the 2 lengths backstroke record to take it to 34.23 seconds .

Our inter-school competitions started with an away trip to Ampleforth. Our intermediate and senior teams got off to a good start by winning their respective events and thus winning the overall event. Our next event was a home tie against Ashville boys; despite

some good swims both the intermediate and senior teams came second best to a very strong Ashville squad. Next was an away trip to Barnard Castle and the first outing for the senior girls' team. The senior girls won by 55 points to 23. Sadly the boys lost in both the intermediate and senior events. Next was a home boys' tie against Sedbergh; pride was restored to the senjor team with a comprehensive 57 to 15 win , sadly another narrow loss for the intermediates. The final gala of the term was a three-way girls' event against Ashville College and Queen Margaret's. The senior girls did exceptionally well taking the senior event with our jun iors and intermediates coming in third. Some notable swims were Maxine Brewster winning the U 15s Backstroke and E-J Saxby winnjng in both the senior backcrawl and freestyle events.

The swimming season finished with the school 's participation in the British Independent Schools Relay Championships in London on Friday ll May. The team consisted of Tom Hand , Andrew Ban-atclough, Ni.ck Shaw, Tom Edwards, Matthew Hand , E-J Saxby, Jenny Earl, Rachel Bradley, Becky Storey and Katy Paxton. For the fist time the School competed in a pre-event gala at Whitgift School on

Thursday 10 May. Our swimmers pe1formed well coming sixth out of eight overall. The highlight of thjs event was Tom Edwards who came second in the 50m Butterfly. The main event on the Friday was as usual a very competitive event, with the girls placing 25th in the Medley Relay and 24th in the Freestyle Relay and the boys placing 26th in the Medley and 36th in the Freestyle. All of these placings are higher than they have been over the last few years.

Mr C S Fordyce

I Athletics

The 2007 athletics season began with the North of England HMC Track & Field Championships at Gateshead International Stadium on Wednesday 2nd May. On a bright and sunny day athletes were prepared and ready for the up and coming season. The day began well with one of the junior athletes, Michael O ' Brien, coming 2nd in the Long Jump. Intermediate athlete Zoe Smith (High Jump) and senior athlete Simon Bence (Hammer) also came 2nd in their events .

There were several athletes who

managed a very good 3rd place; in the junior age group Lewis Hall (Shot Putt) and Bradley Pears (Javelin) and in the intermediates Reece Ingham (Discus). Other notable performances included; Michael O ' Brien (1 500m) , Alex Sinkinson (High Jump) and Greg Turner (Pole Vault).

The athletic season started in a very positive fashion and there was a great deal more success as the season progressed. A number of Durham School pupils produced some outstanding performances at the Durham Central Schools Area Athletic Championshjps on Wednesday 16th May. Junior athletes winrung their events were Rebecca ruchardson (High Jump), Michael O'Brien (Long Jump), Lewis HaJI (Shot Putt) and Bradley Pears (Javelin) while in the intermediate age group , Kate Finch (300m), Chelsea Marshall and Reece Ingham (Discus) and Matthew Hand (800m) performed exceptionally well.

A number of other excellent performances contributed to a very successful day for Durham School. Our junior girls' team finjshed 5th and the in termediate girls gained 6th place overall.

Congratulations go to the boys with both their junior and intermediate teams coming 3rd

.,..,._,--,_... overall. Ultimately,

this meant that Durham School finished 3rd out of 13 other schools, a fabulous result which augurs well for the future. All winning athletes were then selected to represent Durham Central Schools at the Durham County Athletic Championships. Reece Ingham (Yr 10) won the discus competition when competing against athletes a year older. He was then due to represent Durham County, but unfmtunately owing to illness, he was unable to attend on the day.

Unfmtunately, the Durham School InterHouse Athletics Championships had to be abandoned this year because of the ho1Tendous weather we have had this summer.

In conclusion it has been a much improved season this year with Durham School's Athletics Club making positive progress in both track and field. There are some excellent athletic prospects in James Grant, Cameron Davidson and Reece Ingham to name but a few. The future of Durham School Athletics looks bright and long may it continue.

Mr JG James

Eockey Xl (boys)

In the boys' second full hockey season we found the going tougher than the first. With viitually all the team stepping up from last year's Ul 5s team the young side did theu· best every time we played. Although we did not win a game, our improvement was evident in our two results against Ashville. At the stait of the season we lost badly at 5 - 0. At the end of the season we played them at home and lost a close game 2 - 0. The standard of the game was much improved with a higher skill level displayed . All our fixtures against established hockey schools such as Yann, Egglescliffe, Barnard

Castle , Sedbergh, were played with great enthusiasm and we made each of them work hard but in the end we were overpowered by their experience and strength. The team was captained by Greg Turner who developed into an excellent leader. All the other boys are improving quickly, and if we can keep their interest and enthusiasm going we will improve dramatically in the years to come.

We are all looking fo1wai·d to next season.

Mike Fishwick

E Hockey Xl (boys)

Hockey at this level continues to develop. We find it obviously difficult against large schools w ith a hockey tradition, but in these games we played w ith determination and skill. We started the season with a rea lly fine display against Ashville and this did the confidence some good. Certainly the skill level and tactical

awareness grew over the term.

As with last year boys from Years 9 and l O joined to form the squad. Some were back for a second year and showed encouraging skill levels. Others were new to competitive hockey, but I was struck by the manner in which these lads sought to develop their game. I would like to thank all the boys who represented us th is year and conducted themselves so splendidly. My thanks a lso to Callum Bryden and Will Gibson who shared the responsibility for captaincy and for pre-match warm ups.

I hope these lads wi ll continue to play and enjoy their hockey.

Mr MG Gibson

The Dunelmian 57

This year it was decided not to have inter-school fixtures as they had caused quite a conflict of interests last year as most of the decent squash players were also required for other sports. This made turning out a respectable team virtually impossible.

The Easter term was therefore devoted to house leagues, in which each House played every other House at both senior and Under-15 levels.

There was quite a lot of enthusiasm for this format and the matches were well contested. At senior level, although Caffinites won convincingly (they only conceded one rubber Will Dias from Poole beat Richard Gregory). There were some very close rubbers, especially between Caffinites and School, with Matthew Turnbull just losing out to both Shaakir Salam and Ross Beeson and Jonny Brooke just losing to Richard Gregory and Will Cleaver.

The teams were: Caffinites: Shaakir Salam. Ross Beeson, Will Cleaver and

58 Th e Dunelmia -

Richard Gregory. Poole: Charles Parkin , Andrew Elliott, Will Dias and Myles Green. School: Rayan Tall, Matthew Turnbull , Jonny Brooke and Kris Shuttleworth.

Final positions were: Caffinites 34 pts

Poole

School

14 pts

11 pts

At Under-15 level the outcome was very similar but this time Caffinites actually lost three rubbers; Callum Bryden beat Tom Newbould, Alastair Brown beat Andrew Shaw and Will Gibson beat Tom Newbould.

The teams were: Caffinites; Scott Gimby, Tom Newbould , Jordan Prudent and Andrew Shaw. Poole: Kieran Thompson, Will Gibson, Alastair Brown, Jack Mitchell and Bradley Murphy. School; Callum Bryden , Matthew Haley, Richard Virgo and Alex Turnbull.

Final positions were: Caffinites 31 pts

School

Poole

16 pts

14 pts

The House competition was quite a success and threw up some players who had never shown an interest in squash previously. It is not, however, a good substitute for inter-school matches as it does not create the tension associated with playing people that are strangers. We hope to resunect the Durham School team in the near future and having the House competition in the Christmas term would be a step in the right direction as it helps to identify decent players.

I would, once again, like to thank Bryan Beeson who has continued to give up his Wednesday evenings to coach anyone who has shown enough interest.

Mr R.Gibbon

EssCountry

On the 11 th December 2006 at the Hermitage School, Chesterle-Street, the annual Durham Central Schools Cross-Country

Championships were held on a cold and wet winter's day. Conditions were very wet and greasy and proved to be testing for all runners; however, spirits were high and all were looking

forward to giving their best and representing Durham School.

The day began well with Adam

Smith finishing 13th with Jess O'Connor 6th in the Year 8 race.

These were good positions considering that they were competing in a field of over one hundred athletes. Jess O'Connor was then automatically selected to represent Durham Central at the Durham County Championships. Other notable performances were; Ben

Thompson 21st, Mary McAneney 2 1st and Louise Elliott 20th.

In the Year 9 age group Emilio Arceri and Michael O 'Brien

performed well, coming 18th and 29th respectively.

The performance of the day came from Matthew Hand Year I l , who competed in the

combined Yrl0/11 age group.

Matthew finished a close 2nd after an excellent run which automatically selected him to represent Durham Central at the Durham County Championships.

Bryn Stephenson also from the

same age group finished 25th.

In the senior combined Year 12/13 event Tom Hand finished 6th and Kris Shuttleworth finished 8th. Such fine performances will give them the

chance to represent Durham Central at the Durham County Championships.

Well done to everyone who competed and represented Durham School on the day and special congratulations go to

those who went on to represent Durham Central Schools.

Mr JG James

This season was always going to be a re-building season

after losing so many of the side that got us to Twickenham last year. It contained its high points and its low points but, as always, the players' attitude to improving and representing their school was excellent.

In order to compete against some of the stronger sides we needed our experienced players to remain injury free and on the field of play. So losing Joe Terry and Bruce Middleton (two starting players at Twickenham last year) for pretty much the whole season as well as Michael Young (England Ul9) up to half term did not really get us off to a great start.

Pre-season went well and the Stamford team was negotiated quite easily. The Tynedale Tournament highlighted that we had many areas to work on against the better sides. Barnard Castle and RGS were both strong this year, but in many ways both score lines did not reflect the games as a competition. We had half a team missing for the Sedbergh game, but no excuses, they were

outstanding and we were convincingly beaten. What I will say here is that we played them again at the National Sevens in London at the end of the season and only lost by 3 tries to 4, which is as good an indicator as any of the degree of improvement that took place throughout the whole team as the season progressed.

The pack took time to gel together, but by the end of the season the boys were imposing themselves around the field and were the dominant force at the line-out and in the catch and drive. The side was magnificently led from the front by Will Dias, who never once shirked his responsibilities both when training and when on the field of play. Will was ably assisted by our vice-captain Michael

Young who, when he came back after half-term, scored at least a try in every game and was the catalyst, allowing us to remain unbeaten throughout November and December. During that time there were very good wins against Ampleforth, Yarm , Dame Al lans and Pocklington.

In terms of the Daily Mail Cup thi s year we did not make a big impact. We lost to RGS in the third round , however, it was an excellent game and we could have won it right at the death. The side did win the Plate at the Mount St. Mary's Sevens in conditions that I can honestly say were as cold and wet as I have ever experienced. Rob Bell who, unfortunately, will only be with us for one year as he is going to Leicester to pursue a professional career,

represented England U 18. Michael Young, who has signed for Newcastle Falcons, played for the U 19 side. Michael Turns and Ian Phillips, both Y 11 , played very well when they were selected. Phil Blenkinsop, Alex Grant, Jamie Oyebade, Lewis Banks, Oliver Holmes, Kieran Forsyth and Derek Chatt also showed that there is a lot of potential for next year.

As always I would like to thank all the parents who followed and supported the team through thick and thin. Thank you also to Mr. Mason for coaching the side with me. Finally, good I uck to the U6th leavers as they move on to another chapter of their lives at university and beyond.

Mr P C Gerrard

Opponents

Stamford Tynedale Tournament

Barnard Castle RGS, Newcastle Kings, Tynemouth Sedbergh Emmanuel College *

Hymers College Edinburgh Academy Hougha ll College,

RGS, Newcastle QEGS Hexham

Ampleforth Yarm DameAllans Pocklington

* = Daily Mail Cup

Played Won 14 7

Date

30.08.06

03.09.06 09.09.06

06.09.06 23.09.06 30.09.06 04.10.06 07.10.06 11 .10.06

RFU Academy * 18.10.06

04.11 .06

11.11.06 18.11.00 25.11.06 02.12.06

Drawn 2

D.S.F.C . Scholarship Fund

Result

20-5 Won Plate final

0 - 25 Lost

12-27 Lost 19 - 5 Won

0 - 102 Lost 48-8 Won 10- 28 Lost 15-15 Drew Cancelled

1 7 - 21 0-10

3 4- 10 0-5

22 - 0 16 - 0

Lost 5

Lost

Drew

Won Won Won Won

The fund is now in its third year and hosted its third annual fundraising dinner at Newcastle United in March 2007 and was attended by 140 people. The fund is a charity that has been set up by two Old Boys, Richard Gilbert and Simon Reay.

The charity aims to help talented rugby players from the local North East area who do not have the financial backing to come to Durham School. Any Old Boys wishing to make a contribution to the fund can contact either Richard or Simon at; Simon [email protected] .uk or Richard.Gilbert@straightlineconstruction .co.uk

- he Dunelmi an 59

ExvRugby

Itend not to look back on rugby seasons in terms of

wins, draws and losses; rather I see them in the context of the players whose company I had for a year or two. In my 6 years as coach of The Hawks, I have seen somewhere in the region of 150 pupils wear the 2nd XV jersey and represent the School with pride.

Seasons merge into one but the characters I have 'coached ' (I prefer to see myself as a facilitator!) stick out very much as individuals: Luke Plunder and his selection of lineout moves, Tim Stonock's mischievous approach to being a 10, Andy Bell's tenacity, Davis Reader's excellence as a Captain ... the list goes on in my mind. What joins all these characters together is not whether they have been on a winning side or a losing side , but that they 'earned their wings' and played rugby in the tradition of The Hawks.

Being a Hawk is a special thing. You can't just don a jersey and say you are one, as it has little to do with what you wear and how many tries you do or don ' t

f oi1nimj•i§•::i111-

score. Being a Hawk is in the mind. It is a mental approach to the game (and hopefull y to life outside it) that says that things will go wrong from time to time, but that a robust person (and a united team) is one who deals with these things head-on and takes responsibility for their individual and collective actions. This ethos has developed over the years and is now firmly rooted in this team. We play to enjoy playing and to win. If we win, we are remarkably happy for a week (but not complacent). If we lose, we are remarkably unhappy for an hour (but not devastated). Hawks do not point the finger of blame at each other when things go wrong; they work out what the problem is and then devise a solution. Sometimes we get it right first time , sometimes we don't. If we don't , we try again. And again.

So to this season ... What a season.

We did not win all of our matches; the statistics are, actually, pretty unfavourable. We got to the final of the Lynn Mock Trophy (the county cup for 2nd teams), but didn' t win it. Those are the realities of the season but tell only a fraction of the story.

Jamie Mitchell came out of retirement to play in the front row and provided a determination and sense of urgency that was hugely influential. Luke Mills played out of his skin on many an occasion and became something of a mascot for the team (mainly due to Davis Reader's adoration of him). Ben Meder and Christof Elsner

- our signings from Germany - came to learn this strange game and loved it. Ben's first game of rugby (ever!) came after only a couple of weeks of training. It was against Sedbergh. Enough said about the tenacity of this young man.

The determination that I saw from the likes of Alex Willings and Toby Rostron-Maher was legendary. Ryan Miller (giant

killer) stopped many a moving 'train ' from his vantage point at 15: his play was inspirational. Matt Turnbull tore up the wing and Richard Gregory scored on both wings in one game (nobody is sure how this happened, even to this day). Adam Rich and Harry Booth took short balls that nobody else wanted and took big hits. Then they got up

and took some more. Will Paxton played some storming games and deli vered quality ball to his outs ide men. And then there was Davis ...

Davis Reader was a great Captain. He led from within and embodied what it is to be a Hawk. He played hard rugby and often ended up in a pretty rough state at the end of a game. He, along with many of

his team mates , put everything he had into a game of rugby. He was respected by his players and by his coaches. We'll not go into his Rugby Dinner speech as Luke Mills is still recovering. Ultimately, Davis did what was necessary to lead a team that just loved to play and that managed to get the balance right: they remembered that rugby is a game. They took their brand of rugby to Gateshead Rugby Club for the final of the Lynn Mock Trophy and were beaten by Macmman College. I've never been more proud of a team than on that day, as they played with passion, determination and discipline well beyond their years.

I have, of course, left out many names here (I am sorry if anyone feels offended) , only due to the constraints of space on the page. This article is, of course, only a minor representation of what happened this season and can never do complete justice to what happened and how it came about. To know that you need to come and watch.

So into a new season and a new set of fledglings keen to earn the ir wings and fly on the nest. If the past is anything to go by it looks set to be a team of more characters and more great rugby.

Mr SJM Kime

mXVRugby

Prior to the launch of the Ul6XV rugby season, Mrs.

Jacque Miller-Charlton, mother to Ryan Miller (LVI), generously offered to sponsor the team kit for the 2006/07 season through her company 'Miller Direct'. This was a very kind and generous gesture and one which the boys appreciated immensely. This now gave the players an added incentive to give of their best in their new blue and white Samurai kit.

The first game of the Durham School season began with Barnard Castle at home. Durham played out of their skins that sunny day, playing some exceptional expansive rugby, running the ball from all over the park and the game ended with Durham as worthy 19-7 winners.

ROS Newcastle away was our next challenge. On that particular occasion Durham met a very big and mobile team who knew how to play rugby. Durham withstood a ba1rnge of attacks from ROS in the first half but the ROS side broke the

deadlock just before half-time putting points on the scoreboard , and this continued into the second half and ended 31-0 to ROS. Our style of playing a fast and expansive style of rugby worked against us that day and could not stop their quick rush defence, which proved extremely effective. Durham would have to

develop their close ball retention skills to combat differing team strengths.

Next up were Fyling Hall and King's Tynemouth. Both games ended convincingly in Durham's favour 62-0 and 49-10 respectively.

Congratulations have to go to both Michael Turns and Ian Philips who were both selected

to play for the I st XV early in the season. A slight re-juggling of the team ensued but Durham still felt confident in its abilities prior to one of the biggest contests of the season; Sedbergh at home on the Playground. Durham came out ferociously and took no backward step; they were determined to erase last year's defeat. Having worked at

length on the 'pick and go' the team was prepared. This tactic proved decisive as Sedbergh could not compete against our robust ball retention. The Durham pack continued to put Sedbergh on the back foot. With a retreating defence Durham waited patiently and when the chance came, the Durham side attacked out wide with devastating effect. Durham opened the proceedings with a

sterling try; however, the Sedbergh boys were soon to level things with a try of their own. Half-time came and Durham was ahead but in the second half Sedbergh 's extreme pace out wide proved decisive and too much for Durham. You cannot compete against sheer pace and Sedbergh ended deserved winners 21-42. So close but yet so far! Durham put up an almighty fight; the boys were down-hearted at the end of the match, but hearing Sedbergh's cries of joy following the whistle for fulltime Durham could take solace knowing that both teams had played a worthy game of rugby.

Durham was in a reflective mood and although the team was disappointed in their defeat all of the boys could take heart in their performance. They used this in the game against Hymers College with Durham ending worthy winners 52-10.

Over the next couple of weeks Durham lost focus.Harton School 7-11, QEGS Hexham 8-17 and Ampleforth College 0-27 all ended in their opponents favour. The team was perhaps a little too confident in its ability to win. Each and every player had some soul-searching to do. Dame Allans followed with a rejuvenated Durham showing

form with the game ending 41- l 3 to Durham. A further hiccup was Pocklington with Durham losing 0-26.

Durham knew they had underperformed against Pocklington . ROS Newcastle was to follow, a rematch from the beginning of the season. With our new playing strategy Durham entered the game with confidence and the desire to make up for past failings. ROS entered the game with confidence and believed that it would be a re-run of the last match result. The game began ferociously with some startling tackles and breath-taking play on show. Durham came out worthy winners that day and showed their true potential winning 15-3.

Special congratulations must go to Gavin Ding ly, Michael Turns, Toby Bain , Ian Philips and James Stansby who were all selected for the North of England development weekend and for gaining their Durham County honours this year.

Good luck to all in your future rugby careers and to those coming back to Durham next year, best of luck with the I stXV.

Mr JG James

•··il-ifi·Affiii,F!a

EvnsRughy

On Monday 12th March 2007 at Barnard Castle School

the annual Durham County U 16 Schools Sevens Championships were held. Durham entered the competition with high expectations. With a team laden

in the true sense of 7's rugby. When the opportunity arose to attack, Durham did so with total commitment and with deadly effect and this ability proved too strong for all of Durham's opponents . Durham continued in this frame of mind into the final where they played against Brierton School who had managed to beat Barnard Castle in a closely contested game in the semi-final.

with talented rugby _...J'-----------

players, Durham began the competition impressively by defeating both Longfield School 43-0 and Blakestone School 45-0 in the Group Stages. This trend continued into the quarter-finals with Durham beating Hurworth House 43-0. The most difficult game the team faced at this stage was against Yarrn School in the semifinals where Durham finally conceded their first points. The team fought valiantly and came out worthy winners in a tricky game 19-5.

Throughout the competition Durham played some exceptional expansive rugby, passing the ball from one touchline to the other

iiiihi+lrtiHif,_

Durham proved too strong for Brierton School and won the tournament convincingly with an impressive score of 36-10.

All players must be commended for the spirit and commitment they showed on the day. Special congratulations and thanks must go the team captain, Michael Turns who played by example and lead with passion and dedication.

Mr JG James

l!Rugby

The under 15 Rugby team enjoyed some excellent performances in and amongst some very tough

show what we were really capable of such as the game against Kings Tynemouth. In that match in particular I thought we lived up to our true potential with a very emphatic 52-0 win. The backs started to make excellent use of the ball from the forwards and

early possession our forwards were rewarded with a deserved try from a catch and drive lineout. Regrettably as they game progressed and the Yann team gained confidence from a string of careless penalties and our backs found it hard to cope with the pace

of their opposition.

With a very much forward orientated side we were always going to find sevens somewhat of a challenge, but as was the case early on in the season the side responded well to training and gave it their all. In all of the sevens competitions we entered we were never disgraced. In our last match in the county sevens we

fixtures. The squad adopted a superb attitude towards training and one thing I can definitely say is that in those tough games they never gave up. The team has a strong core of players, and with most teams they competed extremely well up front and enjoyed the majority of

~_,;;;-.....,....,----- ~--------...---......11 decided to throw the

possession in most games. This is a strong pack which will develop in the next few seasons. Longterm injuries to key players such as James Ritzema and James Grant had a major effect on us and coupled with Alex Sinkinson away for most of the season we knew it was going to be a challenge competing with some of the bigger schools. Despite this the other players rallied around their captain Joe Maw who led by example.

When we did manage to get a full strength side out, we started to

they enjoyed a wide running game for the first time that season. The backs took some undeserved stick through the season as they often found themselves fronting up to much larger and stronger players. We have a talented bunch of backs in this age group and I am sure as they develop physically, they will be abl.e to compete and challenge any other school's backs given the level of their skills.

Unfortunately we were knocked out of the Daily Mail competition early on with a narrow defeat against local rivals YaJm School. After dominating much of the

guidebook to textbook sevens out of the window and play our own very direct game. It paid off with a very aggressive defence and some direct routes towards the try line leading to a well deserved win.

Congratulations to Sam Armstrong, Michael Silcock, Lewis Fraser, Alex Sinkinson, David Thompson, and Joe Maw who all represented Durham County UIS. I must end with a huge thank you all of the players who represented the s ide this year and in particular to Joe Maw who led the team superbly well.

Mr G Hallam

&Rugby

The season did not get off to a flying strut for the U 14 mgby

team. Being a newly established group of players with many having just joined Dw-ham School, it would take a while for the team to come together and play the quality of mgby which we have come to expect.

Barnard Castle proved to be just too strong and we were beaten 24-5. RGS Newcastle followed with much of the same and Durham fell sho1t once again , 5-19. Durham's first · win of the season came at King's Tynemouth 26-5. Unfo1tunately we did not continue in this positive vein and lost 12-57 to Sedbergh and 12-29 to Hymers College.

There was a change on the hotizon; under the capable guidance of Head Coach David Cowgill, the team built strong

foundations and shaped themselves into a group of players who were well-drilled and who knew their position and role on the field. So began a winning streak that continued to the end of the season.

Next were Hruton School, a tough school form South Shields, which would test the sturdiest of defences with their big burly f01wards. Durham stood fast and were deserved winners at the end of the

match with an impressive score line 30-5. The team from QEGS Hexham was also beaten with Durham triumphant in a closely contested match I 5-7.In the battle against Amplef01th the boys won again, this time with a ve1y nrurnw mru·gin of 12-5.

Durham's confidence had grown and their style of rngby became much more expru1sive as they were willing to attack at every

opportunity and from all areas of tl1e pitch. Players such as Bradley Pears and Henry Pembe1ton thrived in the backs and their sheer pace and power both created and finished many tly scoring oppo1tunities throughout the season. None of this would have been possible without the quality of ball provided from a pack of fo1wards lead capably by team Captain Lewis Hall.

Durham was on a roll and Yrum School was next tean1 to falter going down 27-7, then the match against Dame Allans resulted in a convincing victo1y 34-5 with a slightly closer contest to follow against Pocklington 10-0. Durhan1 never gave losing a second thought and continued to play some exceptional mnning rngby at both Duchess High School and Grindon Hall; both teams were beaten comprehensively 56-12 and 78-7 respectively. The future is bright, keep playing with the same pride, passion and commitment and the sky's the limit. WelJ done boys!

Special congratulations must also go to Bradley Pears and Robbie Griffin for gaining their Durham County Ul5 representative honours this year.

Played 13

Won 9

MrJ GJames

Drawn 0

Lost 4

l!A/BRugby

Sir, what is this game ru1d why is the ball shaped funny?'

As a coach this is not exactly the most encouraging strut to a new season but this was the first question I was asked in the ve1y fast t:111.i.ning session.

The first game, for both A and B teams, may not have been pruticularly impressive in terms of skill but the

detennination and effott shown by all pruticipants was tremendous and set the tone for the rest of the yeru·.

The first win of the season came the following week but, in a break with tradition, it was the B team, and not the A team, which was victorious with a 41 to 20 win over RGS Newcastle.

However, the A team was not long to be outdone, replying with a 26 to 5 win of their own against Kings, Tynemouth the ve1y next week.

By now the intensive n·aining regin1e was beginning to take effect and players who, only a few weeks earlier, had been unable to complete even ten sit ups were now completing circuits with ease.

The season fmished on a high with the A team remaining undefeated in its final eight matches and the B team winning two out of its fmal four.

At the start of the season overalJ fitness was poor; many of the Ul4s had never played rngby before ru1d several had never even watched it being played. The mles were unfanliliru· and players tended to be hesitru1t before tackles.

At the end of the season fimess levels had vastly improved, eve1yone had pruticipated successfulJy ru1d basic skills were impressive. Everyone knew the mles and, more importantly, played by them with fairness and sp01tsmanship. Each and eve1y player was there for the team and individual success was celebrated.

Mr I J Campbell

•··il-111,tif,:·Fl,Pal

El Cricket

The 2007 1st XI cricket season was a short one due

to a number of factors. Terrible weather, exams and a short ten week term. Ideally we would have had more time to coach and develop the boys as cricketers. However, we managed to play 12 good quality fixtures against men and schoolboy opposition. The boys played some excellent cricket and developed as a team by the end of the term.

The opening fixture was against Ashville College and we batted first making 178 for 5 off 35 overs. Daniel Petts made 55 Not Out and Tyler Temple made a fine 49 Not Out. We then bowled Ashville out for 132 with both Nick Shaw and Gareth Pratt taking two wickets.

We then played the Middlesbrough Academy Team, An excellent team and a real test for our boys. They batted first and made 248 for 4. We replied 203 for 9 with Michael Turns carrying his bat for a superb J 15 Not Out and ho!ding on for a draw.

We then travelled to Yarm and

MMl,tAM·AIFf·-

won convincingly, bowling them out for 78 and winning the game by 9 wickets with Will Cleaver (36) and Michael Turns (31 Not Out).

Sedbergh then visited the Playground. Bowling first we took two early wickets but a dropped catch led to Sedbergh (who had built up a great partnership) finishing with a grand total of 296 for 9 (Gareth

Pratt 67 for 4 wickets). After losing Turns early,Cleaver (56) and Daniel Petts (3 1) put on a steady partnership but the loss of wickets led to a drawn game (169 for 6).

The MCC arrived for their yearly fixture, captained by Nick Tube

OD. The MCC declared their innings at 194 for 3 wickets. Despite some good batting from Daniel Petts (52) and Richard McGlasham (53) the spin bowling from Simon Birtwistle OD (36 for 5 wickets) provided a good learning experience for the boys and they bowled us out for 189 in an excellent game of cricket.

The RGS game was then washed out with them batting 70 for l.

The next day we played our most difficult fixture against the Durham Academy Team, coached by"John Windows OD. We struggled with the bat making just 110 and then lost the game by 8 wickets with Nick Shaw (26 for 2 wickets) Travell ing to Barnard Castle, we

Durham School1 st X1 Batting 2007 Name Innings Not out Highest Runs Average

Score Scored

M TURNS 10 3 11 9 n.o. 308 44.00 D PETIS 10 2 73 n.o. 303 37.87 N SHAW 6 2 49 n.o. 117 29.25 R CHEEMA 6 1 41 n.o. 124 24.80 R McGLASHAM 11 1 57 223 22.30

W CLEAVER 11 0 56 202 18.36 T TEMPLE 5 1 49 n.o. 65 16.25

WDIAS 10 1 34 75 8.33 R GREGORY 4 0 23 39 9.75 W PAXTON 8 2 21 47 7.83

Also Batted: J. Ritzema, L. Hall, G. Pratt, P.Elliott, G. Turner, A.Willings, H. Booth

Durham School 1 st X1 Bowling 2007 Name Overs Bowled

G PRATI 84

W CLEAVER 22

R GREGORY 62

NSHAW 88

W PAXTON 82

M TURNS 111

R CHEEMA 33

Also Bowled: L.Hall, W. Diaz

played in difficult conditions and performed poorly in a drawn game. Barnard Castle 164 for 8 , Durham School 59 for 6.

Northern Universities arrived for a Sunday fixture which also ended in a draw. (Northern Universities 241 for 9, Durham School 102 for 5). The Durham Pilgrims arrived

Runs Wickets Averaqe

289 17 17.00

97 6 16.16

273 12 22.75

446 15 29.73

303 7 43.28

448 9 49.77

155 2 77.50

packed with ODs which was great to see. It also coincided with the boys starting to play their best cricket of the season.

The Pilgrims batted first and made 239 for 5 declared (Wayne Ritzema OD 80). The School replied with a fantastic run chase winning the game by 2 wickets,

(245 for 6 - McGlashan 57, Petts

73 n.o. and Shaw 31 n.o.).

Ampleforth was our next game

on the Playground. The boys

played their best game of the

season bowling Ampleforth out

for 147 (Turns 35 for 2, Shaw 20 for 3, C leaver 30 for 2). T hen

some excellent batting from

Michael Turns (85 not out)

enabled the School to win the

game convincingly by 6 wickets.

The ODs then played the boys in

a 20/20 fixture for the second

year running with the boys again

winning an entertaining game.

Durham School 17 J for 6 (Shaw

49 N.0.) ODs 151 for 6.

The last fixture was a 40 over

game against a strong RGS team

on a rain affected wicket. It

ended in defeat for Durham

Not the ideal way to end the

season but with 5 wins/ 4 draws

and 3 losses, the team did wel l.

It was captained exceptionally

well by Michael Turns and with

most boys back for next

summer, the team will go from

strength to strength.

Mr M Fishwick

EXlCricket

IatTived in Durham during

Easter to be greeted by some

unusually fine weather and was

looking forward to an excellent

season of cricket at Durham

School. Our first match against

Ashville College was played in

Harrogate on a glorious

summer 's day. Harry Booth

captained the team and had the

boys thinking like winners as we

prepared for the match. Durham

batted first and with fine stroke

play from Andrew Elliott with

73, Ross Beeson with 43 not out,

Alex Willings with 24 and Peter

Baird with 24 we were able to

reach a competitive score of 218 for 7 wickets. Good bowling

effo1ts by Andrew Elliott, Alex

Willings, Shaakir Salam and Tom

Clarke and aided by some

energetic fielding, a llowed

Durham to come away with a

good win by 86 runs.

Our second match followed

sho1tly afterwards away to

Sedbergh. They batted first, but

with fine bowling and fielding

efforts from the Durham side, we

were able to dismiss them for

159. James Gibson , Andrew

Elliott, Greg Turner, Ross Beeson

and Rob Bell all bowled

·~ - ,~ .. r

exceptionally well. At the end of

the game we finished on 96 for 6

wickets thanks to good batting

from Andrew Elliott and Greg Turner.

The weather was still at its best

when we played Barnard Castle

at School. We won the toss and

batted on a well-prepared pitch. A

fine display of batting skills from

Harry Booth and Toby Rostron

Maher opened the scoring with

156. Hany went on to score 10 l

while Toby made 55 runs.

Barnard Castle put up a good

fight to score 189 but excellent

bowling performances by Peter

BaiJd, Rob Weston and Rob Bell

ensured that we walked away

with another win under ouJ belt.

0

,. (,

~ \

At Ampleforth the boys were

ready to give of theiJ best and

they did not disappoint on the

day. Gareth Pratt scored 86 not

out and with excellent support

from Toby Rostron-Maher and

Harry Booth we were able to

declare at 210 for 6 wickets. Two

wickets each to Gareth Pratt ,

Greg Turner, Ross Beeson and

Peter Baird had Amplefo1th 126 for 8 wickets.

The trophy for best batting was

awarded to Harry Booth, for best

bowling to Rob Bell and for best

fielding to Toby Rostron-Maher.

The team should be congratulated

on an excellent season of cricket

and the boys should feel proud of

the way they have represented

Durham School. It has been my

pleasure to coach such an

outstanding side.

Team: Hany Booth (Captain), Toby

Rostron-Maher, Andrew Elliott,

Greg Turner, Alex Willings, Ross

Beeson, Philip Blenkinsop, Peter

Baird, James Gibson, Rob Bell,

Rob Weston, Gareth Pratt, Tom

Clarke, Shaakir Salam and John Taylor.

MrR I Booth

Es Cricket

The introduction of Girls' Cticket

at Durham School has been a

welcome addition to the summer

timetable of spo1t this year. I was

given a squad of fowteen girls, most

of whom had had little or no

experience of the game. From the

moment I met the group, I knew that

they wanted to learn new skills and

they were keen to play competitively.

It was great to see that they had no

fear of the very hard ball and their

eagerness to play and learn made

them a delight to coach. Our first

competitive match took place on the

Playground against Willington. We

made a really impressive debut and

won the match convincingly.

Steph Maddison

made 100 runs and the team spirit

was fabulous. I must congratulate

everyone in the squad for the

improvement they showed; they

have clearly set a trend for others

to follow. I would also like to

take this opportunity to thank my

fellow Aussies Mike Fishwick

and Aaron Andrich who

supp01ted the progress and development of the team.

MrR I Booth

l!cdcket It was ce1tainly a pleasure coaching this group and watching them grow into a more mature and skilful side. Practices were always fun , but focus and attention never wavered. The group enjoyed their fielding routines and became very effic ient in the conduct of their out cricket.

The season could not have sta1ted in more spectacular fashion , as we reached our target of 250 off the last ball couitesy of a Jack Mitchell six. This provided an important early season boost. Another highlight was a good

66 The Dunelmi an

win over Barnard Castle on the "minefield" bowling them out for 86 and winning by 7 wickets. Our defeats taught us imp01tant lessons for the future. We came out of the season winning four, losing four and drawing one.

In batting terms we were fo1tunate to have James Ritzema with us for part of the season until the 1st XI stole him! James made two centuries and averaged over 60 for the season. The side has useful potential batsmen in Chris Henderson, Callum Bryden, Jack Deverson and Andrew Shaw. AU four will be looking for a little more consistency next year.

The bowling was spearheaded by Jack Mitchell, who took 15 wickets at 15 apiece. We have

two excellent leg spinners in Jack Deverson and Chris Henderson. It was pleasing to see a phalanx of bowlers developing well: I would include Asim Ali, James Ross and Ali Brown in this category. Jame Ritzema bagged a 5 wicket haul and Callum Bryden often looked threatening with the ball.

We had a trio of competent keepers working by rotation -Andrew Shaw, Will Gibson and Callum Bryden. As I suggested earlier, the overall fielding of the side was highly competitive and efficient. Jack Deverson proved a very able captain. When the rowing fraternity required Jack's services, Chris Henderson stood in admirably.

My thanks to a!J the squad for a great season. I wish this set of

lads all the best for the future.

Squad from: Jack Deverson (Captain); Chris Henderson; James Ritzema; Callum Bryden; Andrew Shaw; Jack Mitchell; Asim Ali ; Will Gibson; James Ross; Ali Brown; Byung Choi; Kieran Thomson; Phil Tait.

MrM G Gibson

Ecricket The Under 14 cricket team made a good start to the season beating Ashville College by 213 runs in their opening game. Lewis Hall madel02 runs in his first match representing Durham School , along with Robbie Griffin who made 49 and Ross

Burdon who took 3 wickets for 7 runs off 5 overs. Unfortunately, the team then took the ir eye off the ball so to speak, and lost against Yarm by 5 w ickets in the following game. As the season progressed the U 14 squad developed a good team spirit but struggled to maintain a consistent batting attack when they needed it most. The team had a good draw against Ampleforth with Ross Burdon scoring 46 runs and then taking 6 wickets for 32 off 14 overs. They then naJTowly lost to Durham County by 23 runs. Richard Dennis scored 55 and Ross Burdon showed once again how impressive bowling can be and took 4 wickets.

There have been a number of outstanding players this season. Lewis Hall has captained the side

U14 Batting Averages 2007

very well and earned a number Name Runs Highest

of caps for the 1st XI. Ross Score

Burdon , Lewis Hall and Henry L.Hall 202 102

Pemberton have all batted well R.Griffin 95 49

with Ross and Hemy also R.Burdon 192 46

corning out on top with the B.Pears 146 40

bowling averages. Bradley Pears H.Pemberton 72 49

has been very alert in the field E.Arceri 1 1

working hard to keep the M.Elder 12 12

oppos ition run rates down by M.Forbes 33 15

putting them under pressure. J.Anderson 2 2 R.Dennis 139 55

The end of season presentation A.Bennett 5 4

evening saw Lewis Hall receive C.Parkinson

the best batsman award with his U14 Bowling Averages 2007

best performance being 102 against Ashville College. Ross

Name Overs Maidens

Burdon received best bowler L.Hall 40 4

with his fine performance taking R.Griffin 37 4

6 wickets for 32 runs off 14 R.Burdon 62 17

overs against Arnpleforth. H.Pemberton 39 2

Bradley Pears received best B.Pears 19 2

fielder with excellent E.Arceri 2

performances throughout the M.Forbes 2

season . Played Won Drawn Lost 8 3 3 2

Mr B M Mason

Innings Not Average Out

6 33.7 7 13.6 8 24.0 8 18.2 7 4 24.0 2 1 1.0 1 12.0 7 2 6.6 5 2 0.4 8 17.4 2 2.5 1

Runs Wickets Average 129 5 25.8 128 5 25.6 186 25 7.4 163 11 14.8 86 1 86.0 16 20 2 10.0

E Cricket

After an all too brief but very successful season our playing record stood at; played 5, won 4, lost I . We a lso won our own prep school 6-a-side to urnament , beating Yann in the final who were the only team to beat us in the e leven-a-side game.

The side had three very good batsmen for the ir ages; James Mitchinson , Robbie McG lasharn and Charlie Baird who alJ made fifties at various times throughout the season. Robbie also represented Durham County Ul3s .

At the c ricket award ceremony at the end of the season , Charlie won the batting prize, Robbie the bowling prize and James the fielding prize. Philip Whitfield and David Elliott also impressed throughout the season with their accurate bowling that put the batsmen under pressure at all times.

Squad ; R.McGLASHAM, J .MITCHINSON, P.BAIRD, D.ELLJOTI, B.CRONIN, P.COOKE, J.POTIER, R.KHAN, P.WHITFIELD, J.BEESON, G .THORPE, L.BLAMIRE, J .WHYTE, A.SMITH, E.ELWOOD, E .DAVISON.

Mr P C GetTard

l:51ctub T his year has seen some

significant steps taken by the Boat Club. The number of

girls rowing and racing increased as did their successes with wins at Junior 13, Junior 15 and Novice levels. A new Eight was bought and with it the Club raced at the Schools Head and the Eights Head, until it was abandoned, and then won at Durham Regatta. A number of pupils represented the North as a region at the Inter Regional Regatta with one pupil representing the School at the Great Britain trials. The Easter training camp yielded some good improvements and the School's first International Rowing medals as the Jl6s won a silver, but that is just a brief summary .. .

T he Christmas term actually

started in the most painful way imaginable with the senior Quad of Dan Ciampolillo, Liam Cunningham, Kris Shuttlew01ih and Isaac Parker taking pati in the Boston Marathon. This is a 31 mile race from Lincoln to Boston where they managed a very credible, if very sore , 4 hours.

After recovering from this we saw the Senior group of pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13 race through the Region 's Sculling series with great success. The Jl6s of Tom Edwards, James Pinner, Cameron Brown, Sam Ciampolillo, and coxed by Marcus Haworth, won at Berwick, Wansbeck and Wear Long Distance Sculling Heads, with the seniors winning at Berwick, Wansbeck, Tees and Wear Long Distance Sculling Heads. They also won the fastest

Quad of the series award. A trip to London to race in the annual Fours Head added to the development of the senior Quad as they came 8th in the Junior Quads. The Jl5 squad had a crew champing at the bit and they soon showed their potential with Philip

Anderson, Matthew Smith , Josh Tognarelli, Tom Maddick and coxed by Jack Deverson winning at Berwick and Wear Sculling Heads. The J 14s were a little slower to develop this year and did not race until the Easter tenn but the growing Girls ' squad sta1ied to make its mark. The Jl5 Girls' quad of Amy Matthews, Emily Bowes, Caitlin Errington and Chloe Hawo1ih raced through the series gaining speed with Amy

Matthews and Emily Bowes winning in a double at the Wear Sculling Head. At the Rutherford Head both JI 6 and J 15 Girls' quads raced with the Jl5s corning in ahead and this sta1ied some positive rivalry. Overall in four of the six sculling Heads that we attended, the club

gained 12 wins doubling the number from last season. At the end of the Christmas tenn the No11h Eastern Indoor Rowing Championships were held at Maiden Castle and the Club entered a number of pupils in the junior events with some very positive results that are worth remembering for the future. In the girls' competition, the Jl6s did very well in the Junior event with a Silver for Jess Hannah and a bronze for Becky Brewster. Whilst in the 115 Girls' Caitlin EITington sto1med through to win the gold medal. In the Junior boys' Liarn Cunningham dug deep to win the gold with some good scores from Tom Edwards and James Pinner despite being only JJ 6. Philip Anderson won a silver medal in the J 15 competition. These were all ve1y commendable perf01mances and ended the Christmas Term on a ve1y high note.

i§:ifhimll&i::iih_r---------------------------------------------------

I n the Easter term we wanted to do well in the National

Junior Scull ing Head and the Schools Head . Our first event was the Durham Small Boats Head. Here the Club performed very well at the top end and introduced some new pupils to racing at the lower end. The senior squad mixed with pupils from other clubs as we had lost Isaac Parker and could not make a club unit. The result was very encouraging, as a quad with Liam Cunningham and Kris Shuttleworth and a Cambois along with a Chester le Street sculler was the fas test boat of the day out of over 300 crews. Kris Shuttleworth then combined with Dan Ciampolillo winning Senior 3 pairs and Marcus Haworth coxed the fastest coxed Four of the day. The JI 6s raced in both pairs, Quads and Fours, as part of their preparation for the Regional

Trials with Tom Edwards and James Pinner showing good form in the pair. The J 15 squad was growing with 2 crews racing and this was underpinned with a J 14 crew and a Jl 3 crew racing below that. The girls' squad again showed up in numbers with a J 16 crew racing as a Novice Four, the J 15 girls racing in doubles and the

Quad. There was success in the Quad, great improvement in the JI 4s racing and a strong pe1formance from the J 13 double of Noami Gourlay and Harriet Ward. After some specific racing at Doncaster and Tyne in preparation for the term's targets, the first test came at the regional trials to represent the No1them Region at

the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta. The Club had entered a J 15 double and sing le and the Jl6 Four and pair. The J 16s were successful in gaining the coxed Four with Marcus Haworth coxing and the pair of Tom Edwards and James Pinner won the pairs race g iving the School two crews in the Jl6 year group. This year for the first time the

Eight was included and with the strength the School had, it made sense to drop the pair and do both the Four and the Eight. This kept Marcus Haworth a little busier as he was coxing both! This was a composite boat made up of the School and rowers from other clubs. The J 15s also performed very well at the trials with Matthew Smith and Philip

Anderson winning the double and Josh Tognarelli doing well in the single coming 5th. Having missed out on the single Josh was included in the Eight, giving the school a total of eight pupils gaining representation for their region. The next event was the National Junior Sculling Head which was moved from Henley owing to the river levels, to Dorney Lake, the site of the 2006 World Rowing Championships. The Jl5s raced well coming 18th nationally, the J 16s moving back from rowing to sculling raced well but found the competition too tough. The seniors racing in the quad that was fas test at the Durham Small Boats Head, just missed out on breaking into the top ten junior quads coming 11 th; a very good

•• ~-· I --

result. After the racing, the crews were given the oppmtunity to sit down and talk with Andy TriggsHodge from the British coxless Four, World Champions in 2005 and 2006. The next day the seniors joined together in the Eight to race over the University Boat Race course in the Schools Head. Given the combination was of Jl 6s and JI 8s they performed well, laying the foundations of an eights group for the next two years. An additional bonus was Jack Deverson also coxing in the Schools Head. Jack coxed an Italian J1 6 crew from Milan, ldroscalo Club . This gave Jack the valuable and enjoyable expetience of coxing over the course as well as contacts in Italy!

Just after the end of term Marcus Haworth was invited to attend the Great Britian Junior Spring Assessments. After some good steering, coxing and racing Marcus gained some valuable feedback that will help him progress fu11her next year. At the end of March the seniors travelled to London to race in the E ights Head with 420 other crews. Unf011unately, the elements got the better of all the crews with a number of top crews actually sinking in front of the School crew!

Before the summer term stai1ed a group of 14 rowers with some parents and staff travelled to G hent in Belgium for the Easter training camp. This took the form of a week's training culminating in the Ghent Spring Regatta. After a productive, albeit tiring, week of training the regatta brought some very good racing which showed the difference a

70 The Dunelmi an

week of consistent time in the boat can make. The Jl6s raced in both the coxed and coxless Fours on both days getting a silver medal on the Sunday in the coxless Four. The seniors raced in the coxless four and after a disappointing Saturday, they moved up a geai· and came a very good 4th in the final against some top level crews. They also raced in the quad again pe1forming very well

coming 5th and 4th over the two days. This camp proved to be perfect preparation for the J 16s and their racing at the Inter Regional Regatta which was a week later. With hindsight though it proved to be a challenge to maintain the momentum gained from the camp

through the rest of the term ; a lesson to learn for next year.

The summer term started with the Inter Regional Regatta

where Matthew Smith and Philip Anderson raced the 115 double finding the standard high but coming in 9th . The coxed Four of Tom Edwai·ds , James Pinner, Cameron Brown, Sam Ciampolillo and Marcus Hawo11h

went through heat and then final of both the Four and the Eight. Perhaps the burden of the races took their toll but given the opposition the result of 4th in both events was an acceptable outcome. After this event the summer regatta season began in earnest.

The seniors of Liam Cunni ngham , Kris Shuttleworth and Dan Ciampolillo raced at Chester le Street winning the Senior 2 coxed Four with Jack Deverson deputising in the cox's seat for Marcus Hawo11h. The Jl6s had this weekend off for exam revision so it was up to the J 15s to fly the flag which they did very successfully with Tom Maddick and Josh Tognarelli winning the J 15 double, Matthew Smith winning in J 16 doubles and then with Jack Deverson narrowly winning the 115 Quad in a very good race. The 11 4 and Jl 3s raced in doubles gaining valuable experience with the girls' squad racing in the Novice Fours, the Jl5 girls' Quads and Doubles and the J 13 girls' double. Again at Durham City Regatta the junior section of the club raced to aid their preparation for Durham Regatta. The JI 3s of Craig Mole and Matthew Evans raced again as did the girls Harriet Ward and Noami Gourlay, who gained their first win and showed increasing confidence . The J 14s including: Edward Lonsdale, Sam Storer, Harry

White and Alan Carter, and the J 14 girls' squad including: Melanie Choi , Jess Graham, Anna

Daglish and Rosie Hannah aU raced well. This

was a useful run up to Durham

Regatta. The ,._.,_._ 11 6 girls' of

Jess Hannah, Kate Dudgeon and Becky

Brewster, joined by

Caitlin Errington, managed to move

on a level , so much so that at the next regatta at Tees

they won Novice coxed Fours . Meanwhile the seniors competed in the No11humbrian Water University Boat Races combining with some girls from a local club. This was the first time the School had been invited to race in this event. For the pupils it was an opp011unity to race in a high profile local event in a new setting, Newcastle town centre , with the fi nish just past the Millennium Bridge. The silver medal will hopefully inspire next year's crew to gold! Tees Regatta is traditionally the last pai1 of the National School preparation; however, owing to a lack of personnel the seniors raced in a composite crew winning both the Junior Quads and the mixed Quads event.

At Durham Regatta Dan Ciampolillo and Liarn Cunningham combined with the Jl6s and won Novice Eights. The Jl6s raced valiantly in Novice coxed Fours but the Eight had depleted their reserves. The Jl5s raced well, but coming up against strong regional opposition both in the Quads and Doubles , with the 115 girls' who showed some very pleasing technical improvements in the Quad. Emily Bowes and Amy Matthews were successful in their combination winning the JJ5 double. The 114 girls' and boys' showed some improvements and will be looking for some healthy improvements next season. Again another positive sign was the Jl 3 crew of Matthew Evans, Jonny Simpson, Car·! Richardson and Graham Thorpe who showed potential with Matthew Evans also playing a part in the J14 crew. The 113 girls' squad raced well in the JI 4 year group and will have an

enjoyable season next year based on their pe1formance this summer. The Annual Dinner the week after the regatta saw presentations and speeches from the Captains and the Guest speaker who two weeks later featured in a Henley Regatta final with the Searle brothers!

After the success of the Parents' Mar·quee at the Regatta it was good to see so many pupils and parents enjoying the progress the Boat Club has again made this season, with over 30 wins across all the age groups in the club and medals at national and international level. Over the last weekend of term several members of the J 15 squad; Philip Anderson, Josh Tognar·elli, Tom Maddick and Jack Deverson, unde1took the endurance challenge of a 24 hour indoor row to raise money for

War·d 16 ( the children's cancer war·d), Royal Victoria Infu-mary, Newcastle. The team was suppo1ted eve1y minute of the way by a committed team lead by Mr Singleton and Dan Ciampolillo with pupils, par·ents and staff. Showing the levels of

motivation and resilience you'd expect from athletes far their senior; the team managed to rack up a total distance of 430,000m and raised a total just short of £3,000. There was still a little more to come before the end of the School's racing season as Liain Cunningham and Kris Shuttlewo1th went on, as pmt of their National Championships prepm·ation, to race at Talkin Tam Regatta. They won the Junior Quads once again and Senior 4 double. James Pinner and Tom Edwards raced in the pair and

!'Bl==========-iiaa::======~ Tom Edwards and

11.nnua( 'Dinner 11.wards James Pinner raced an exceptionally mature race coming through the field in the final with some good technical rowing but just missed out on a silver and were rewarded with a bronze on the medal rostrum. A very positive end to the season, with some exciting prospects the year to come under the Captaincy of Dan Ciampolillo, with Marcus Haworth

Oarsyerson of tfie Year 'Tom Xdwards

'Most 'lm;rovea Oarsyerson Caitlin Xrrineton

'Best 'New junior 'Matthew Xvans

'The Captain's Sfiie(a 'Kris Sfi.uttlewortft and' Liam Cunni11tJham

'DS'BC Crew of tfie Year j15Qyad.

'House %,wine

'lndoor 'House 'fuJwintJ 'House 'fu1wi11tJ

Poore Scfi.oo( and PimUco

singles with a good race in the pair as part of their prepm·ation. Tom came out on top winning the 116 single. The composite Quad with Chester le Street and Cambois Rowing Clubs and J 16 pair joined by the J 15 Quad then finished the season with the National Championships in Nottingham. The J 15s raced in a determined fashion but were in a very tough heat and did not manage to progress. The composite Quad raced with commitment in a tough holding headwind coming 5th in the final of Junior Quads. The J16 pair of

as Vice Captain and Kate Dudgeon as Girls' Captain. The Boat Club continues to grow across all the year groups and provides enjoyment, competition and invaluable experience for all those involved. An integral part of this is the staff, and the Club owes a debt of thanks to the coaches; Dan Singleton, Beth Ross, Simon Tween and the new addition to the club Carolyn Edwards. We have had a number of University student coaches involved which has also helped and added a different perspective for the pupils.

Mr J WiJliamson

•···M+;,;;;,;;;;;;a

24hr Ergo Report

The 115 Squad of Durham School Boat Club decided to do a 24hr ergo for charity,

which was held on Saturday 30th June to Sunday 1st July. All the sponsor money went towards

Ward 16 of the Royal Victoria In fumary, in Newcastle, which is a Children's Cancer Ward.

The squad, consisting of Josh Tognarelli, Jack Deverson, Tom Maddick, Philip Anderson

and Dan Singleton, had been

gathering sponsors and training hard; with the charity meaning so

much to certain members of the crew the determination was as strong as ever, from everyone.

Eventually, the day

arrived with eve1yone's spirits and adrenaline running high. Neives were staiting to kick in and the

hour we had set aside before the strut to set up, flew by. Regru·dless of the risks involved ,

iil•·i-i'l:A·,,·FI·-

the idea was to split up into sections with eve1yone doing 10 minutes every half ru1 hour, so we

could balance our nutrition and gain maximum pe1fom1ance.

However, it wasn't long

before eve1yone realised that maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as we had expected. The 10

minutes went slowly and the 20 minutes rest went very quickly. Also, the carbohydrate solution that was to be our food for the next 24 hours didn 't have the nicest

taste! As we approached midnight, we staited to realise that this was

going to be extremely hru·d to maintain, so we decided to extend

the rest period to 50 minutes. In addition to the squad and coach, Dan Campaillo, the Head of Boats, played a massive pait in keeping

us going and recording times

throughout the night. On top of that, he also joined in with the

ergo. We ru·e all ve1y grateful to him and can't thank him enough.

Once the night was over, it wasn't long before we were in the last

couple of hours. We had watched quite a few movies and listened to an enmmous amount of music: the time eventually passed by.

As we approached the final 15 minutes , all six of us got

onto an ergo to complete the 24 hours. The suppo1t we were

getting was at a high as all the

families turned up for that final moment and the buzz that

eve1yone got was immense. Finally, with a total amount of £2600 raised for Ward 16 (with

our grateful thanks to those who donated money on the night of the school ball), I think I can safely

say that everyone felt a massive sense of achievement. This ce1tainly wouldn't have been able to work if we hadn' t had the help and suppmt from pai·ents, friends

and feUow members ofD.S.B.C. We thank you all.

Phi]jp Anderson YI 0

Combined Cadet Force ARMY SECTION.

Lt.Col. JA Burgess Major NG Kern Major K Jones Lt. AR Wallace 2Lt. SJM Kime 2Lt. A de Lange 2Lt. K Brien won P Atkinson

ROYAL NAVAL SECTION Lieutenant RN Hewitt

ROYAL AIR FORCE Squadron Leader J Curry Pit Off. D. B. Aitken

CCF End of Year Report

This Summer Term has seen the last compulsory entry of Year 9 pupils into the CCF.

During the term Year 9 cadets undertook training in first aid and navigation together with some drill and weapon training on No.8 rifle and cadet weapon SA80 Mk2. Live firing of the latter was not undertaken as the Field work was cancelled due to appal ling weather and consequent flooding of the Catterick training area.

The Army exhibition at Marne Barracks was as spectacular as ever with displays by the 'White Helmets' motorbike display team, a section attack by the 'Rifles' and an exciting descent by members of the Parachute regiment in conditions close to the maximum wind permissible. Despite a poor weather forecast,

73 The Dunelmian

the main issue on the day was that of avoiding sunburn.

Next term we see a new style CCF, entirely voluntary with parades starting during Activities Time and finishing later and the possibility of all three sections having parades on different days. There is a biennial review in October and a field weekend shortly after when we hope that the weather will allow cadets to get out into the field - and hopefully not a boggy one.

We congratulate Mr Aitken on his Commissioning into the RAF section at the end of term and look forward to many years of his reaching for the skies.

Major K S Jones

Crianlarich

Once again, for the 23rd occasion, the Easter camp was run at Crianlarich and was well

attended by 16 cadets and 7 staff.

There were no untoward incidents, the weather was kind and I cannot remember a week with so much achieved with so few cautionary words. Indeed, the week started well with the group of cadets being praised for their behaviour over the public address system by the ticket col lector on the Durham -Edinburgh train.

Duke of Edinburgh training was conducted, all achieved a 'bothy' night, the kayakers all progressed beyond the basic training and completed a river tour (managing to get through the bridge this year); some even went back for another day's tour. Munros 'ticked off' included Beinn Tulaichean, Cruach Ardrain, Stob Garbh then over Stob Coire Bhuidhe and Creag a Phuirt for the girls' group, Ben More and Stob Binnein then across to Stob Garbh for the boys. The bothy trip to Staoineag was uneventful and the weather warm enough for three hardy lads to swim in the burn? before tea. The next day I was very touched as a special concession to my increased age, the group decided to go out of their way so that I could claim Leum Uilleim, at 906m, just below Munro height (914m). The annual competition, the 'bog hop', was once again run along 20 km of the West Highland Way and despite the best attempts of

diabetic horses to spoil the occasion it was won by Becky Brewster, Philip Anderson and Lewis Fraser. Good humour prevailed throughout and it was a credit to the young people that, on returning to Durham, a member of the public also staying at the hostel had some complimentary things to say about how our cadets helped to make their holiday! We look forward to next year the 24th year of the Crianlarich camp.

Major K S Jones

NAVY

R.N. SECTION REPORT 2006-2007

The past year has been a very active one for the Section. Last years very enthusiastic Shell cadets continued to get fully involved in the activities of the section, and as a result got lots of valuable experience out of it. Perhaps the highlight of the autumn term was the raft race. The cadets were split into two teams and charged with the task of building a raft capable of supporting four people. The rafts were to be raced in relays by two people at a time. The construction of the rafts was greatly aided by the dry surroundings of the new locat ion of the Section in the old cattle Byre. The rafts went through a number of design changes during building, but race day came and they were carried down to the river for a hilarious but competitively fought contest. The picture shows the winning crew and raft. Also during the autumn term the Section competed in the National Regatta at Portsmouth. Following a look at HS Victory a trip to the top of the Spinnaker Tower Tom Newbould and Bradley Murphy sailed in the Bosun class, but unfortunately Tom was caught across the forehead by the kicking strap

during an unexpected gybe and had to go to hospital for some stitches thereby ending our involvement in the regatta. The summer term began with a visit from old boy Lt Will Murray who though he was not in the navy section during his CCF days has joined the navy and is now flying helicopters for a living. He arrived in spectacular fashion by landing his Sea King on top ground. Will and his crew then delighted everyone by allowing us all to climb all over the aircraft and by patiently answering all our questions. He also gave us a very enlightening ta lk about his career and life in the Navy. In May a team took part in the North East Area Regatta at Sedbergh. Tom Newbould and Campbell Wilson took second place in the Bosun class. Meanwhile Sam Wilkes, Zoe Rutter and John Weekes sailing in the Topper class had varying results with all of them sailing well at some point or other, but it was Sam Wilkes who did best and claimed the runner up spot. Tom Newbould took part in the North East Regional final of the Honda Youth RIB Challenge and his report is below. This was a new competition for the Section and Tom performed very well indeed, and is keen to have another go next year.

Lieutenant RN Hewitt

NAVY Honda Youth RIB Challenge 2007

The day started with a quick briefing in the Tees and Hartlepool Yacht Club with information about the course and the rules. We were racing in a time trial course around buoys in a 60 horse power Honda rib craft. The course was simple enough and displayed on a board. It started with a ten buoy slalom. The first three or four were quite widely spaced apart and looked easy to get through with speed; however, after the fourth the spacing between the buoys was reduced making it harder to weave through. The best way to manage this was to slow down at the start of the turn and then power out of it kicking out the back end of the craft. After the slalom came the man over board stage. The task involved pulling alongside a life buoy, lifting it out the water and then dropping it back in again. This required good timing and precise positioning of the boat. After that, the next challenge was the 360° backwards turn around a buoy, then the home straight to the finish giving it full throttle!

76 The Dunelmian

After the briefing we went down to the marina and had a look at the real course. The wind was amazingly strong and so it made the racing that little bit harder. I watched the junior races and learnt from their mistakes. When it came to my turn I was really nervous. I had just watched a guy do the same course I was doing in lminute 20seconds; an extremely good time! However, I gave it my best shot and actually made a good time on my first round! The second round came and I thought I would push the boat to the limits around the course, but I ended up stalling it twice during the run! After all the races had ended we went back to the yacht club for the presentations. It came to the senior races and there were ten competitors representing clubs in the north-east, and to my amazement they called out my name for third place! It was a good experience and an interesting day.

Tom Newbould YlO

~ •

RAF R.A.F. News September 2006 - June 2007

The Durham school R.A.F. contingent has enjoyed another successful year. The cadets contributed to all areas of the training program and the flying expertise of our head cadet, Sergeant Liam Cunningham proved invaluable in instructing the cadets. This year sadly saw the retirement of Squadron Leader Curry from the R.A.F. section as its commanding officer, although I am delighted that he has agreed to stay and lend his considerable knowledge to the instruction of the cadets in many areas of their training program. The section was split

into two flights, Victor and Vulcan, which competed against each other in various tasks including: command tasks, drill, navigation, radio communications, R.A.F. knowledge and flight simulator skills. Victor flight, valiantly led by Junior Corporal Guy Needham, won the overall intersection competition with 241 points compared to Vulcan's 220. Unfortunately, owing to the R.A.F.'s commitments abroad and the weather, our flying days this year have not met with success; However, the sections trips to the Sunderland Aircraft Museum and the Yorkshire Air Museum where both great successes. I

look forward to continuing to work with this elite bunch of fantastic students.

Pilot Officer D. B. Aitken

John Curry, Squadron Leader (RAFVRT) retired

It is fairly unusual to write a tribute to a member of staff who is still a serving full-time teacher. Mr. Jones has, however, asked me to write a few lines about Mr. Curry to mark the end of his involvement with the cadets over a period of some forty years.

During 2006, Mr. Curry decided not to request a renewal of his

R.A.F. commission, thus concluding thirty six years of unbroken service as an officer, three years as a warrant officer, having started as a cadet some three years before that. He served in the Air Training Corps prior to his arrival at Durham School and from the moment he arrived here in the early 1970s, threw himself into C.C.F. activities. Since then he has commanded the R.A.F. Section, sometimes single-handedly. He has also been contingent commander and has served as second-in-command to no fewer than five contingent commanders, including myself. His service goes back to the days when pretty much the entire school (all boys then), had to be in the C.C.F.

Mr. Curry has never been slow in coming forward to help out with pretty much any C.C.F. activity whenever he felt he could make a positive contribution. His work with the R.A.F. Section is a matter of record, but his skills have been utilised in a myriad of other contexts including: shooting, adventure training camps, artillery competitions, field days, the R.E.M.E. Section, Royal Signals Section, help with the Royal Navy .... the list is almost infinite. The level of his commitment has been extraordinary; for example, I

attending a day's training on a Catterick obstacle course and I watched him go through what used to be called an assault course over which servicemen half his age were expected to train. He completed the course. Mr. Curry's phlegmatic approach to a problem, his calmness in the face of adversity and his reliability in stressful situations where life and limb have been at risk, has been of inestimable value in all sorts of situations including: mountain rescues in Scotland, vehicle failure and accident, injuries to cadets and officers, the destruction by fire of the Spean Bridge adventure training accommodation, to name but a few which spring to mind.

Mr. Curry's service to both A.T.C. and C.C.F has been both exemplary and distinguished, and I know that it pleased him that the Royal Air Force granted him the (retired) rank of Squadron Leader, a small token for a lifetime's service to cadets.

Mr J. A. Burgess C.C.F. Contingent Commander 1986-2005

The Dunelmian 77

News from the Common Room New Appointments

At the start of September we welcomed several new members of staff to the Common Room: Mr Trevor Davies joined us as Head of Classics, Miss Ruth Taylor joined the Business and Economics department and was installed as Resident tutor of Pimlico House, Mr

Stephen Thompson took up a post in the English depai1ment, Mr Roy

Currie joined the school to teach Maths, Mrs Corrine Eccleston joined the Modern Languages team,

Mr David Aitken took up a post in Chemistry and Miss Lyn Nicholson joined us a part-time member of staff in the English depai1ment. Mr Mai·k Gai·dner joined the ICT teaching staff and Mr Mai·k Ridsdale took his place as ICT technician. Mr Mike Fishwick was appointed fulltime member of the Games and PE depai1ment. Miss Caroline Snaith joined the school in the Easter term to teach Religious Studies.

New Arrivals

There has been good news this year as four of our Durham School teaching staff have welcomed new anivals to their families. We congratulate Mr and Mrs Mason on the birth of their daughter Isla, Mr and Mrs Swan on the aiTival of Tamsin, Mr and Mrs Fordyce on the birth of their new son, Innes over the summer holidays and Mr and Mrs Fishwick on the bit1h of their son George.

78 The Dunelmi an

Mrs Proud retires as JHM of Pimlico House

At the end of the summer term Mrs Proud retired from her post as Junior Housemistress of Pimlico House. In 2003 with numbers exceeding 100, I was deeply grateful that Mrs Proud accepted the task of being the first JHM in Pimlico House. She was the natural choice and in her capacity as a tutor I had already come to rely upon her thoughtfulness and dedication. She used her skill and understanding to make the House a success and to help many an 11 year old make the transition into senior school. In 2005 Mrs Proud helped with the transition over to Mr and

Mrs Gibson and the splitting into two houses. In the last two years Mrs Proud has proved to be a terrific party maker for the Removes

House suppers at Christmas! Tears, laughter and many other happy memories abound through her four years. Mrs Proud continues in the school and is able to devote more

time to her teaching and many other responsibilities .

Mrs E. L. P. Hewitt

Fond Farewells

At the end of the summer term we said goodbye and thank you to several members of staff who have made invaluable contributions to life at Durham School: Mrs Di Evans

Mrs Evans

(Biology), Mr John Bell (Physics and Rowing) , and Mr Derek Smith (Maths).

Emma Oberg

Last year Emma came to Durham from sunnier climes in Sydney Australia while pursuing new challenges as part of her gap year.

Emma made a significant contribution to the life of our school in many areas. Her duties ranged from classroom assistant at Bow School to assisting the House staff in the senior girls' boarding house. Emma also supported the swimming teacher with the younger pupils.

In Pimlico , Emma assisted with evening duties and supported the girls with their homework. She was an integral part of the school's P.E. staff, accompanying pupils on

fixtures and helping with our

Emma Oberg

extensive Games' programme in the afternoons.

We wish her every success in her Art History course in the future.

Mrs F M Parker

OLD DUNELMIAN SOCIETY-----------------

OLD DUNELMIAN SOCIETY

OfficeJs and contact details

General enquiries and changes of address should be directed to: Nick Gedye (Hon. General Secretary) Durham School, Durham, DHl 4SZ Tel (office) 0191 386 4783, Fax 0191 383 1025 Tel (home) 01913869360 Email [email protected]

Contributions for The Dunelmian can also be sent to Ian Smith (OD Section Editor) using the contact details below. We will accept contributions in any fo1mat, but electronic versions (e.g. Word documents, via email or on disk) are prefe1Ted for text wherever possible as it makes the editing process quicker and less prone to enurs. Photographs are also ve1y welcome ( original prints will of course be returned promptly). We look forward to hearing from you!

Submissions for the 2007-8 Dunelmian need to be received by the end of July 2008 or we can't guarantee that they will be included.

For repo1ts of recent activities of the Society and for details of forthcoming events please visit the Society's website at www.olddunelmian.com

Old Dunelmians who have not already communicated wi.th the Society by email are asked to send a b1ief message to the General Secretaiy, above, or to the Registrar, below, in order that we may confurn email addresses.

President: Rod Hepple-Wilson, The Cobbles, Renton Close, Bishop Monkton, Hrumgate HG3 3UB Tel 01765 676225 Email [email protected]

Chairman of OD Society Committee: Hugh Dias, Durham School, Durham DHl 4SZ Tel 0191 386 4783 (office); 0191 384 7096 (home) Email [email protected]

Annual Reunion Secretruy: Peter Smith, Sidegate House, Sidegate, Durhrun DHl 5SY Tel01913757000 (work); 0191 386 8081 (home) Email [email protected]

Hon Treasurer: Michael Watts, Raven Gill, Parkhead, Renwick, Curnb1ia CAlO lJQ Tel 01768 898688

Hon Registrar (i/c website and electronic communications): Rod Hepple-Wilson (contact details as above)

London Reunion Secretruy: email londondinnersecretary@ olddunel mian .corn

Newcastle Reunion Secretruy: Godfrey Hedley, 5 Fleetham Close, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham DH2 3SX Tel 0191 388 1999

Yorkshire Reunion Secretruy: Kit Hobson, 3 Hengate, Beverley, East YorkshireHU17 8BL Tel 01482 882543, Fax 01482 887343

Dunelmian OD Section Editor: Ian Smith, Hillside House, Neville's Cross Bank, Durhrun DHl 4JP Tel 01913757884 Email [email protected]

Register Editor: Nick Gedye (contact details as above)

Archive Consultant: John Malden, 5 Greenlaw Avenue, Paisley, Renfrewshire PAI 3RB Tel 0141 889 4302 Email [email protected]

Archivist: Mrs Valenda Taylor, Sandside House, Neville's Cmss Bank Durham DHl 4JF Tel 0191 384 6982 Email [email protected]

Durham School Register

The Register consists of five printed editions, 1907-1991 (and an impo1tant supplement dated 1950, which is too often neglected) and a computer database of over 6000 names. The early editions list all Dunelmians from 1840 to the date of p1inting, along with many names from earlier years, arranged alphabetically. The database covers Dunelmians who entered the School duiing or after 1907, when Canon Budw01th was appointed Headmaster. Altogether these make up an invaluable historical resource, and we can access biographical details for ru1y OD ve1y quickly. Enquiries me always welcome. Copies of the 5th edition are still available -no longer strictly "for sale" as the account has been closed, but in return for a small donation to society funds.

OD merchandise

OD ties, bow ties and cufflinks can be obtained from the Society. Please contact the OD office for details of availability and p1ices.

A message from the President of the OD Society

Dear all,

As we draw to the end of 2007 it is time to look both to the past arid to the future. 2007 marked the Centenary of the Old Dunelmian Society. I count myself privileged to be President of the Society in its Centenary Year.

The celebrations commenced with the London OD Dinner on 2nd February 2007 and will conclude with the dinner on 1 st February 2008.

The Society derives from the Old Dunelmian Club, which was founded in 1880. In the early 1900s the Club was used to give the School a big push of support and was reformed as the Old Dunelmian Society in 1907. This impetus was supported by the then Headmaster, Canon Budworth, who stated that the Society as a body would help Old Dunelmians to keep in touch

80 The Dunelmia n

with one another, and he was perfectly sure that it would also help the School.

And so that role continues. We are first and foremost the means by which ODs keep in touch with each other. I am pleased to report that we currently are in touch with 2155 ODs in the UK and 181 overseas. Of these, we can contact 640 by email, some 27%. With ever changing email addresses this is probably the hardest part of the database to keep up to date, but recent contacts confirm that the Society has a truly global reach. We always look forward to hearing from ODs, former staff and other friends of the School.

So we have reached our Centenary and look to the future. On behalf of the committee elected at the Annual General Meeting we confirm that the Society continues to thrive and is ready, willing and able to rise to the challenges presented in the next 100 years.

London Dinner 2007

The 2007 Annual London OD Dinner was held at the Carlton Club, St James Street,

Piccadilly on Friday 2nd February 2007. The event was well attended and Major Adam McRae MBE (1984-88) acted as Chairman for the evening.

The London Old Dunelmian Dinner is held on the first Friday of February every year and is open to all Old Dunelmians. The London Dinner in 2008 will be held as usual at the Carlton Club on Friday 1st February 2008, with Commander Clive Lunn RN Retd (1967-72) as Chairman. Further details will be sent to all on the London mailing list

and we hope as many of Clive's contemporaries as possible will be able to attend. For further details about the London OD Dinner, please see the OD website, www.olddunelmian.com , or email the Reunion Secretary at londondinnersecretary@ olddunelmian .corn

Yorkshire Dinner 2007

The 2007 Yorkshire Dinner took place on Tuesday 24th April 2007, once again at the Crown Hotel, Boroughbridge. The Dinner in 2008 will be held on 14th March 2008.

Further details on the Yorkshire Dinner are available from Kit Hobson (Yorkshire Reunion Secretary).

Newcastle Luncheon 2007

The 2007 Newcastle luncheon took place once more in the Platinum Suite at JCi.ngston Park, the home of Newcastle Falcons RFC, on Monday 19th November 2007.

Further details on the Newcastle Luncheon are available from Godfrey Hedley (Newcastle Reunion Secretary).

OD News and Letters

We received several comments about JRM's clergy list (Dunelmian 2005-6, p81), and we apologise for omitting the names of P E B Welby ( 1948-52) and JDS French (1974-79) from our list. We also apologise for the mis-spelling of the surname of Canon Michael Porteus (1945-50). He tells us that MF C Trotter (1945-50) was missing from the list but sadly both he and his brother T J Trotter (1944-49) have died. We would be grateful for confirmation of this , with dates if possible , so that we can bring our records up to date. Paul Hutchinson (1978-83), the youngest on the list at 41, wonders if he belongs to an endangered species ...

The Caffinities House photograph from 1943 (Dunelmian 2005-6 , p89) also generated a good deal of interest and we are grateful to all those who wrote or telephoned with names to put to faces . Henry Gossman (1939-43) supplied over 20 names, but he was just in fourth place. Second equal were Bill Weightman (1939-43) and Alistair Sinton (1941-45) who both identified more than 50 of the 60 or so Caffinites pictured . The clear "winner"

however was Edgar Cooper (1939-44) who revisited the task several times and succeeded in identifying all but one or two faces. Most of our correspondents on this topic were at least 79 years old, so this was a remarkable feat of memory (and eyesight!). Anyone who would like to acquire the list of names can contact the Hon General Secretary.

A number of ODs have been in contact asking for a reminder of how they can order copies of The Suardal Tapes - "stories of the Clan MacLeod told by Norman MacLeod of Suardal". These recordings (of which there are two: Yo! 1 and Yols 2/3) are available from: Celtic Traditions, Crossnish House, Balmore, Nr. Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, IV55 8ZG. Tel/fax: 01470 521594. http:/ /www.celtictraditions .corn.

Paul Bai·kes (1973-78) opened the Thorpe Farm Country Park and Falconry Centre in Greta Bridge, near Barnard Castle , County Durham after deciding to diversify from pig farming following a decline in the market. The 26-acre country park also features animal paddocks , pets corner, walled gardens , a maze, children's play area , farm shop, crafts and gifts, butcher/deli and bistro and

OLD DUNELMIAN SOCIETY coffee shop. www.tborpefarm .c·o .uk.

The Revd Wealands Bell (1977-82), formerly Chaplain of Aldenham School, St Albans, was installed as Canon Residentiary and Precentor of Lichfield Cathedral on 22nd September 2007.

is available on request from the OD Office to anyone who would like to read it. Ian has also come across a newspaper cutting of the event, which he suspects came from the Durham Advertiser around September or October 1958.

Dan Ford (1995-2000) has contacted us to let us know that his father Geoff Ford ( 1957-62) has received the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion. The award, which is made annually, is given to ten people in the United Kingdom for exceptional commitment to people looking to establish or expand their business activities. South Tyneside, where Geoff works, is an area with particular problems and his efforts are very welcome.

Ian Dunn (1955-58) has followed up his contribution from last year 's Dunelmian with the full story of "The trip that started it all" (a two-week cruise to Norway on the Tyne Royal Naval Reserve's new minesweeper HMS Northumbria, with a crew including pupils from six schools and commanded by Thomas de Winton and Norman Macleod) . The report includes some photographs and

. Boys sail to a 1,500-mile T WENTY - NINEI sun-

tnnned boys from six srhools In the North have Just returned from n seagoing adventure. They wlll never forget how

th~y mnnncd n rnlnc;ll'ce1>cr on a l ,500-mllc cruise In Nor-1\'Pglan waters.

'fhey steered lh• ship through, OUL the 16,dny \'O)'Rge. ThC)' ~r rulJbcd decks C\'CIT mon1in~. pecl<'d lhc potntoe,. and hnndlecl the boals. !,a.st night the mnn who led them said: "1'hC)' b<'l,nvcd mnsnmccntlr."

'LIT<E NEW PIN' )Jr. 'Thomns H. de Winton. n

L1N1tcn1'1nl·Cmnnmnc1c1· in the R.K V.ll Rlll! senior mnstor n1 })JJrham School, nddrd: "On thr

adven tune adventu1·0 •·ere swhmnlug ot Molde, 250 mlles south or the Arctic Clrcle: cmlslng In the fjords; and satllng under cloudlc.<s skies with the temperature touching SO degrees.

Inst morning they were 1111 at 6 a.m. and b111ught lhc ship back lo Newcastle looking like a new pfn.''

NOT ALL FUN The bov~ n~cd rrom 16 lo J9.

rirc .... enio1· niwal cadets. Thcv ctt111e fr(Jm Durham School, Ni:!\\;~ cn.<::!e Roya! Gmmmor School. Damr 1\llmf.~ & hMI, Newcastle, Sl. l'r lri ·~ York. Brndrorcl Grn11111onr. nud noundhny School, Lrrdo::,

Tl1c trip was on H.M.~. Norlhumb1·10. N lhc Tyne Dn•ts,on. RN.\I.R. Also Oil board 11·CJ~ J5 R.N.V.11.. prttr omcm nnd , nllngi,

l!lgl1 llghis or their holiday-

Mr. do Winton said: "U wasn\ nil fun and games. Tiler 11e1e :rr:.:11ng Q grea t deal nllout ship

One l hlng t11c boys will ne1•cr rorgd wns the hOlpllo llt )' 01 the Nor\\'cglans. "H has to be Eecn lo be believed," said ~fr. de Winton.

A feature in Times2 on 14th November 2006 highlighted the wonderful life of Willie Fowler (William Menzies Weekes Fowler, 1928-3 1). Successive editions of the Durham School Register have failed to record the achievements of this remarkable man - a Bomber Command pilot in World War Two, he was shot down over Muenster in 1941 and became a PoW in Stalag Luft 3 where, it is said , his interest in food began when he stewed the commandant's cat with a blackmarket onion ! Fowler has now achieved posthumous acclaim with the republication of his book Countryman 's Cooking (Excellent Press 2006), first publjsbed in 1965. The book comes hjghly recommended by several ODs who have seen the articles in the press and read the book. As well as food, it also reveals Fowler's views on animal welfare , land management and the environment - and it's hilariously funny! Fowler 's death was not reported to us at the time but we now know he lived in Eskdale in Cumbria and died there around 1977.

The Dunelmian 81

OLD DUNELMIAN SOCIETY We' ve heard from Frank Gray (1951-56) who is continuing to gather information and artefacts about the ODs who fell in the First World War. While lunching in a cafe in Alston in August 2006, he happened to bump into Robin Walton (1938-42) . Some years earlier, Robin had provided some information to Frank regarding Nowell Oxland ( 1903-10) who was killed in action in Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on 9th August 1915, and had also lent him a copy of Oxland's poems and stories (Oxland 's poem Outward Bound was written en route to Gallipoli and was published in The Times). Frank also paid a visit to New Zealand in November 2006 and while there he caught up with Peggy de Winton (widow of Thomas de Winton, Second Master 1956-66) for the first time s ince 1963!

It's been 20 years since Chris Harrington ( 1982-87) left Durham after his A-levels. He graduated in Law from Leicester University, passed the Law Society's final examination, trained as a solicitor and qualified in 1993. Having worked for London Transport and for several London firms specialising in employment Jaw, he moved into legal publishing in 1999

_ ,.,,,,,1,;;me1,•

and now works as a writer and editor on employment Jaw matters. He and his wife Fiona are currently living near Epsom in Su1Tey, and have been lucky enough to travel to many far-flung destinations including Cuba, India, Thailand , Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos. He looks back fondly on his time in Durham and is grateful for the grounding that the School and the teachers gave him for later life.

Alex Leung (1 987-89) has been in touch to let us know that he is now living in Hong Kong, although he spends half of his time working in China. After leaving School, Alex studied Electronic Engineering at UMIST (Manchester) and then returned to Hong Kong to help with his father's business . He married Evelyn in 2000 , and their daughter, Eugenia, is now two years old. He 'd love to hear from his old schoolfriends, who can contact him at [email protected].

In December 2006, a group of Upper Sixth-formers and two members of School staff accepted a kind invitation to tea and a guided tour of Durham Town Hall extended by Councillor Jeff Lodge MBE (1945-50), during his year of office as Mayor of Durham. The visitors saw the Guildhall , the Council Chamber

and the Mayor 's Parlour, admired the array of silverware and portraits, and took the opportunity to emulate visiting dignitaries by appearing on the balcony overlooking the Market Place!

Congratulations to Major Adam McRae (1984-88) who was awarded the MBE (Military Division) in the Queen's 2006 Birthday Honours.

Terence Milner ( 1984-89) was elected as Mayor of Ware, Hertfordshi re for the civic year 2006-7 . After leaving Durham, Terence read Politics at Liverpool University and gained a Postgraduate Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing . He began his career as an Account Manager in IT before changing direction to become a headhunter specialising in the IT industry. He is married to Amanda and he represents the Ware Trinity ward on both Ware Town and East Herts District Councils.

On 4th May 1982, HMS Sheffield became the first casualty of the Falklands War when it was struck by an Exocet missile , and 20 sailors lost their lives. Commander Mike Norman OBE AFC RN (1 957-60) was second in command of HMS Sheffield when it was attacked; 25 years later, his story and recollections of that fateful event were serialised in his local newspaper, Yeovil 's Western

Gazette . Anyone who would like to read that serialisation should contact the Hon General Secretary. Mike now lives in Yeovil and works as a logistics manager for AgustaWestland. He 's glad to see that the CCF is still functional , and he suspects that it was probably responsible for him following a naval career!

Streetwise Opera, a charity founded by Matt Peacock ( 1983-90), was featured in a two-part documentary on BBC Radio 4 in December 2006. The documentary followed the charity's work with homeless and ex-homeless people with a focus on the new opera Whirlwind, which was commissioned by the charity and written by Will Todd (198 1-88) with long-time collaborator Ben Dunwell. The opera was performed at The Sage Gateshead in October 2006 and was awarded a four star review by the Guardian.

Nie D S Pratchek (1973-80) has been in touch as he felt it was about time to contribute to the OD news section . Known to most at school as Mad Dom (in retrospect, he says, for very good reasons), Nie went on to university and after his first degree, he completed his PGCE in Outdoor Education and subsequently an MSc in Human Resources Management. He spent over 20

years travelling the world as an Officer in the British Army, serving in the first Gulf War as well as postings to Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Belize. In early 2006, even though he had been selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, Nie retired to concentrate on writing. His first novel , Moves wit.Ii Spirits (written under the nom de plume ND Scott), was released the same year. The book is a supernatural crime thriller based partly in the North East, with landmarks and places including Shincliffe, Newcastle and Count 's House in Durham City. It was ranked in the top one per cent on Amazon.co.uk and in the top five per cent with the Amercian Amazon.com for sales over Clu-istmas 2006. His second novel is due out in early 2008. At the end of the 2006 he was offered a contract with the Australian Defence Force , a job that was just too good to turn down. As a result he is now living in rural Victoria , Australia with his wife, Debbie. Nie is now working on a third novel in the series, this time delving into the weird world of Spontaneous Human Combustion! To contact Nie or for more information about his novels, vis it his website at: www.ndscott.com.

As a footnote, Nic's grandmother Lilli Pratchek was a highly respected milliner and owned Madame Gray's on Durham's North Road for 30 years, while his father Choura Pratchek (1940-47) was a national rowing coach based at Durham Amateur Rowing Club. Nie has contributed a belated obituary for his father, which is included later in the magazine.

The report of the rugby match against Barnard Castle in last year's Dunelmian brought back memories for Philip Purves (I 954-57), who wrote to tell us of one year (which he thinks might be 1956) when the 2nd team were playing at home and, in the last 20 minutes , there were five players ca1Tied off - one with a serious knee injury (Openshaw) , one with a broken collarbone and at least one with concussion. He remembers that the collarbone and concussion were both caused by a collision with the left hand goalpost at the Bungites end. He also remembers the previous year when the first XV were unbeaten all season until the final match against Durham City, which we lost 8-3. City had tlu·ee county players including Stan Hodgson, the England hooker, who was held and occasionally beaten against the head by Marsh, our hooker. The School had Weston and Ranson , who later both

played for England. Philip also reminisces at impressive length about the activities of the Boat Club around that time, including the tradition for disposal of "retired" boats , which were ceremoniously carried onto Prebends Bridge and dropped into the water - if possible to land upside down so as to blow the bottom out. The remains were then carefully recovered and kept as mementoes. He also recalls an incident in which a School boat negotiating "hard arch" of El vet Bridge at full speed drove straight into the side of a pleasure boat which had just pushed out from the bank. Brian Robinson (1955-58) was rowing bow and dived into the water to rescue the youngsters. Philip was cox ing the middle river eight behind them and nearly became invol ved too! Brian and Philip reached the final of the School sculls the following year.

Andrew Reader (1988-93) is writing to rise to the chalJenge laid down of OD reunfons in far off lands . Can anyone beat Cambodia? Andrew met Peter Michelson (1958-62) in Cambodia. After many years in the Australian Army, Peter now works for a humani tarian aid agency in Vietnam and commutes to work from Cambodia to Vietnam (does anyone have a longer

OLD DUNELMIAN SOCIETY commute?). Andrew met Peter in Phnom Penh through his father who is working there. Peter hosted an OD reunion (see picture for evidence!) and some weeks later very generously showed Andrew and his girlfriend , Hannah, around Ho Chi Minh City as they were travelling through. This OD reunion was repeated in December 2006 in grand style in the Elephant Bar of Raffles Hotel, Phnom Penh .

Contemporaries of E W (Bill) Sample ( 1945-49) might be interested to know that he has been "put up with" for fifty years! He and his wife Judith (who met while she was attending Durham High School) celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary at the Hotel St Nicholas in Scarborough on 3 1 st March 2007. Bill's best man Paul Renshaw ( I 946-49) contacted us to te ll us of the enjoyable occasion, with guests

including the Revd Peter Welby (1948-52).

Professor Tony Ridley (1947-52) has been appointed independent non-executive Chairman of Building Schools for the Future Investments LLP (BSFI), the central investment business of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), the Government's capital investment programme to help transform education by rebuilding or renewing every secondary school in England. Tony is the former Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London, and was Senior Transport Advisor to the London 2012 Olympic bid. BSFI invests alongside each local authority and their chosen private sector partner to establish a Local Education Partnership (LEP) to deliver their initial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes. Professor Ridley will Chair both BSFI's Management Board and its Investment Committee, working with representatives from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Partnerships UK.

The tomb of Granville Sharp (cl745-50) has been given listed status in recognition of his pivotal role in the abolition of

the slave trade. The announcement was made by Culture Minister David Lammy on the eve of the bicentenary of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, after ruling that the tomb was of "special historical interest". Granville Sharp was born in Durham in 1735 , and was educated at Durham School before moving to London and becoming a civil servant. Although his campaigning was overshadowed by the work of his successor William Wilberforce, it was Sharp who founded the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787. Sharp died in 18 l 3 at the age of 77, and is buried in a tomb in the Church of All Saints in Fulham, West London. The tomb fell into disrepair, but was renovated in time for the 200th anniversary of the Abolition by a working group who raised £ 15 ,000. More than 300 people, including some descendants of Sharp 's family, came to the service to mark the completion of the conservation work, and to hear broadcaster and historian Simon Schama describe Sharp as an "authentic and unlikely hero" .

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90 The Dune lmian

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