Dover Grammar School for Boys
THE "FIRST THURSDAY"
NEWSLETTERWelcome to the first edition of a new newsletter which we hope will become a regular feature of our school.
The idea is that on the First Thursday of each month - hence the title - this newsletter will be sent out, via the boys, to let parents know some of the things that are going on.
The purpose of issuing it on a set day each month is so that you know that your son(s) should bring it home on the First Thursday, and you can ask them for it if they don't hand it over voluntarily!
The newsletter will cover a wide range of activities at the school, so we hope you will find it interesting, and that it will provide a useful and informative link between you and the school.
First of all, we would like to welcome new members of staff to the school. Mr. John Blakeley has come to us straight from Loughborough University to teach Physical Education and Science, Dr. Joseph Donnelly has joined us to teach Economics and History, and Dr. Alan Payne is teaching Science and Physics. We are also pleased to welcome two new language assistants, Mlle Celine Sion who is with us for a year, and Fraulein Diane Wolf, who is with us one day a week. We hope they all have an enjoyable time at the-school.
We are delighted to welcome the 78 new boys who came into Year 7 this term. They all made our school their first choice, which is a very encouraging sign, and we hope they are all settling in well.
At the other end of the school, we congratulate last year's sixth form students on their A level successes, particularly David Thomas who was one of the top five candidates in the country in A level maths, and Tim Spence who gained five A levels, all at grade A, and has won the prestigious Dubris Award to help him with his studies at Oxford University where he is reading maths.
As you all probably know by now, the school's Governors submitted an application for Grant Maintained Status to the Secretary of State for Education on 31 August. As expected, Kent Education Committee has decided to lodge a statutory objection. We will be responding to this in due course. We will then have to wait for the Secretary of State's decision. We will keep you informed of progress.
In relation to the GM application, we have to hold an election for another Parent Governor. We currently have four, and as a GM school we would be entitled to have five, So tomorrow (Friday 8 October), your son(s) will bring home a letter, together with a nomination form. Please consider standing as a Parent Governor or nominating another parent who you think would be suitable.
This term has already been a busy ore for staff, parents, governors and even the Old Pharosians - the old boys of the school.
We were pleased to welcome Brian Lowe to the school to present the Records of Achievement which last year's Year 11 boys had compiled. They were the first students in our school to receive these records, which will become increasingly important as they go on to higher education or begin their chosen careers. Mr. Lowe, who is the Area TVEI Director, encouraged the boys to keep their documents up to date, and we are sure they will take toot advice.
Last Thursday, 30 September, members of our School Choir were joined by a professional organist and soloists for a Choral Concert at Charlton Church when they performed Vivaldi's Gloria and Faure's Requiem. It was an excellent evening, and we thank the boys and staff in the choir and Director of Music Mr. Richard Davies for all their work.
On Wednesday we were pleased to welcome the Mayor of Deal, Cllr. Mrs. Audrey Elliott to the school to present the prizes at our Junior Prizegiving. We congratulate the prize winners on their success.
Our School Library has now been officially re-opened by an old boy of the school, Professor George Curry. We used to share a library facility with Astor School, but during the past year that arrangement came to an end, and the library has now been re-established on the top floor of school. We are grateful to Mr. Richard Sewell for his work in setting it up again, and to Professor Curry for making it such a special occasion. We would also like to thank our school caretaker, Mr. Peter Chatfield, and al1 those who helped re-decorate the area leading up to the library and the library itself.
There ms been much activity on the sports field, too.
Football
The 1st XI have made a very good start to the season, and are still unbeaten, having played seven games (won 4, drawn 3 - including the 3-3 draw with the Old Pharosians). The best win so far has been against Welling School in the first round of the County Cup, 6-3 away. At present we are top of the East Kent Schools Under 19 League, with five games still to play"
The next round of the County Cup is against Queen Elizabeth's School, Faversham, away, on Monday, 11 October.
Yesterday (Wednesday), seven boys, Stefan Peto, Marc Goodacre, Spencer Bowditch, Justin Luchford, Chris Broom, Paul Campling and Matthew Oilier, took part in the final trial for the Kent Schools Under 19 teams, and Mr. Bailey expects the majority to be selected. Matthew and Spencer have already played for Kent Youth this season, and Stefan is captain of the successful Dover Athletic Youth side.
The 2nd XI has made a moderate start to its league programme with a win, a draw and two defeats, but, with the return of several players after injury, Eddy Hinder, the captain, can look forward to a more successful second half of the year.
The Under 16s beat St. Olave's School, Orpington, 8-0 in the first round of the French Cup with Grant Sanders scoring five. In the recent Dover District 6-a -side Tournament at Archers Court we won the Under 13, Under 14 and Under 16 competitions, while the Under 12s lost in their final.
Other year teams have played friendly fixtures against local schools and are waiting to start their County Cup matches, although the Under 14s lost 5-1 to Brockhill in their respective cup.
Kristian Allen ms pulled a stomach muscle which ms prevented him playing any school matches this term and threatens the possibility of his selection for the England Schools Under 15 squad (he trained with the last 80 boys selected at Liverpool during the summer).
Please look at the School Calendar for details of matches, and come along to give your support when you can. It would be a great encouragement to the boys.
Golf
Three boys are playing in the Golf Foundation Championships at Lamberhurst this Friday (8 October) - Danny Oliver, Alex Ridings and Jamie Hitchcock. A further seven boys are playing in the Kent Schools Individual Championships at St. Augustine's Golf Club on Wednesday, 13 October. Walmer and Kingsdown G.C. Junior team won their league with a team made up entirely of boys from our school.
P.F.A.
The annual meeting of the Parents and Friends Association was held two weeks ago. The committee and members of the P.F.A. do a great deal of work during the year, helping to raise money for the school and organising social events. We are grateful to them for all they do.
We welcome Adrian Martin who has been appointed as the P.F.A. treasurer. The next function is a Wine and Wisdom evening at the school on Friday 26 November. These are very popular events, so why not organise a table and come and join in?
200 Club.
The September draw for the P.F.A. 200 Club was made at the annual meeting, and the winners were: £25 Mr. F. Thomson, £15 Mrs. J. Adams, £10 Mr. R. Wilkie. Subscriptions are now due, and there are some spare places if anyone else would like to join.
Forms are available from the school. The draw takes place on the third Thursday of each month, and the next one is on Thursday 21 October.
Governors
At their first meeting of the new school year, the Governors elected Graham Tutthill (one of our Parent Governors) as their chairman and Suzanne Dawson as vice-chairman.
The Governors have been concerned for some time about the possible danger caused to boys by cars as they use the school drive at the start and end of the school day. For that reason, they have decided to impose a ban on vehicles using the drive between 8.15 and 8.45 a.m., and 3.15 and 3.45 p.m. Motorists wishing to get to the top gate can do so quite adequately by using the roads, so there really is no need for the drive to be used. Would all parents please make sure they do not use the drive during these times. We would also be grateful if parents would not reverse into the drive at the top gate to turn round. There is a turning area just outside the gate which should be left clear at all times. Your co-operation would be much appreciated.
Old Pharosians
The Old Pharosians held their annual meeting and dinner in September, when Barry Crush (another of our Parent Governors) was elected President of the Association for the coming year. In the afternoon, an Old Boys XI played the school team at football. It was an excellent match which ended in a 3-3 draw. We are grateful to the old boys for the many ways they support the school. You may be interested to know that the document presented to the school's first headmaster, Mr. Fred Whitehouse, when he was made a Freeman of Dover, has now been presented to the school, and will be displayed in a suitable place.
Don't forget that Friday 22 October is a non-contact day!
This newsletter shows there are many different aspects to the life of this school. We look forward to working together to ensure that the school continues to be so successful.
Thank you for your support.
