THE "FIRST THURSDAY" NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER SEPT 1994 No. 10

Welcome!

We are very pleased to welcome the 90 boys who have joined Year 7 at our school this week.

This is the largest number of new boys at the school for several years, and we are delighted to hive reached this admission figure so soon after becoming a Grant Maintained school.

We hope the new pupils and their parents will soon feel very much a part of our school community, and we wish the boys well as they start this new stage in their school career.

We are also pleased to welcome two new members of staff to the school. Dr. Reeta S. Sweetman has joined us to teach science, biology and chemistry, and Mr. George Harby is teaching religious education. We hope they both have an enjoyable time at the school.

Their arrival follows the retirement of two long-serving teachers. We are very grateful to Mrs. Danielle Middleton and Major Richard Hoeren for all they have done for the school, and we wish them well in their retirement.

For the benefit of the new parents, we ought to explain that this "First Thursday" newsletter is a monthly publication, issued - as you might expect - on the first Thursday of every month, so you know when your son(s) should bring it home with them

It keeps you up to date with whit is happening at the school, and it reminds you of events that are coming up.

Congratulations!

We congratulate all the boys on their A level and G.C.S.E. results which were announced in August.

Both sets of results were better thin the previous year, and in statistical terms, our average points score per candidate at A level went up to 15.6 (putting us into one Sunday newspaper's league table of the top 200 schools in the country), and 97 per cent of our Year 11 students passed five G.C.S.E. exams at grades A to C, making ours the 27th top boys' school in the country in another national newspaper's table. The average number of passes per G.C.S.E. candidate was 8.5.

But the exam successes are far more than just statistics. They represent a great deal of hard work by the boys, and we congratulate them all on their achievements.

Special congratulations to seven boys - Michael Burkimsher, Andrew Gray, Robert Maynard, Simon Redfern, Stevan Riley, Mark Tredgett and Matthew Wilkinson - who passed three A levels at Grade A, and to Allan Hickie who passed 10 G.C.S.E.s all at the new Grade A* or Grade A. Five boys gained two A levels at Grade A and one at Grade B, and at G.C.S.E. David Hughes, Daniel Crush and Christopher Birt passed eight subjects at Grades A *, A or B.

We wish last year's Year 11 boys well as they enter the sixth form to start their A level courses, and we congratulate Kenan Deniz on being appointed the new Head Prefect, with Jonathan Clark and Stephen Durrant as his deputies.

The school is always delighted to hear of the subsequent success of our former pupils, am among those we have heard of during this summer are: Giles Guest B.Sc. (2:1 in Natural Sciences at Durham University), Justin Allen B.A. (2:1 in French/Spanish, Swansea), Scott McFarnell B.A. (2:1 in History), Mark Ebden B.Sc. (1st in Chemistry, Bath), Michael Reeder B.Sc. (1st in Geology, London), and David and Ronal McCullough, one has just gained a 2:1 in Maths and Management from Brunel, while the other has just opened his own chiropody practice.

Under the eye of the inspectors

Just a year or so after surviving the county's merger/moving proposals, five months after becoming Grant Maintained, and less than a week into the new academic year, the school is to undergo a full inspection!

OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education) now has a duty to arrange for every school to be inspected every four years, and our school's number has come up sooner rather than later. Next Monday (12 September), the team of 13 inspectors will move into the school to spend a week thoroughly examining every aspect of the school's life. We are grateful to the Parents who attended the meeting on Monday to express their views about the school to the inspectors. It was interesting to see how many head teachers and teachers, who are parents at our school, were at the meeting! The inspectors' report will be published five weeks after the inspection, and the Governing Body has 40 days in which to publish it's "action plan" in response. A summary of the report, and a copy of the action plan, will be sent to all parents.

Parents and Friends Association

All parents are automatically members of the P.F.A., and we are grateful to all those who do so much to support the school through the association's activities.

The P.F.A. committee meets tonight (Thursday), and the association's annual meeting takes place at the school on Tuesday 20 September at 7.30 p.m., when we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

The next fund-raising activity is a Wine and Wisdom evening which will be held on Friday 30 September at 7.30 p.m., in the school hall. Tickets are £2 each. Please bring your own food and drink. Why not invite your friends to join you to make up a table of eight, and come along for a very enjoyable evening. These events are a lot of fun, and help raise valuable funds for the school.

200 Club

Another of the P.F.A.'s very successful fund-raisers is the 200 Club. For just £1 a month, members stand the chnce of winning one of three cash prizes every month - £25, £15 or £10 - and a special £100 prize in June and December. The draw takes place on the third Thursday of each month, so if you would like to be included in this month's draw, send a cheque for £12 (to cover the whole year's subscription) to Jill Tutthill c/o the school, by next Tuesday, September 13. If you would like more information, Jill can be contacted on Dover 822121.

Prize winners for the past two months were: July, £25 Mr. P. Hinkins (club membership number 129), £15 Mr. P. Waller (151), £10 Mr. R. Wilkie (180); August, £25 Mr. M. McCann (10), £15 Mrs. A. Dadd (154) and £10 Mr. and Mrs. F. Waugh (64).

Governors

Members of the Governing Body have several meetings this term, particularly in relation to the inspection that is taking place. The Governors are due to meet the Inspectors next Monday, and then the Governing Body meets on Tuesday 20 September at 7 p.m. for their normal monthly meeting. On Wednesday 28 September, the Governors meet again to receive the draft report from the Inspectors.

Old Pharosians

The school's old boys' association also plays an important part in the life of the school, and we are grateful to them for their continuing support.

They have their annual meeting on the morning of Saturday 17 September, followed at 2.30 p.m. by a football match between an Old Pharosians' team am the school's 1st XI. Spectators will be very welcome.

The annual dinner will be held in the evening. Barry Crush, who has been the association's president for the past year, will hand over the chain of office for the coming year to Graham Tutthill. We know that many fathers of present pupils are old boys of the school, so whether you belong to the Old Pharosians' Association or not, why not book a seat for this annual dinner (and bring your partner with you). You will have to hurry! Tickets are £12 each, and must be booked through Maurice Smith (68 Minnis Lane, River, Dover CTl7 OPT, phone Dover 822429) by this Saturday, 10 September. (Cheques should be made payable to "Old Pharosians".) It is always an enjoyable occasion.

News of another old boy . . . Stephen Wood, who was a pupil at this school in the 1970's, came third in this year's final of "Mastermind", the B.B.C. television quiz programme.

We had a ball!

Just a quick look back into last term, and our congratulations to all those involved in the Grand Ball. It really was a superb event that was enjoyed by everyone who attended. Our thanks to those who organised and supported it. Plans are already being made for a similar event next summer, so watch out for more details - and don't miss it!

The Music and Drama for a Summer's Evening was also an excellent evening's entertainment, and we congratulate all those who took part.

On the last Monday of the term the school seemed eerily quiet after the Summer Ball festivities. The reason was that 160 boys, the majority from Years 7 and 8, were away on two separate day trips. The larger party nearly filled two coaches taking them to Thorpe Park.

The deuxième group completely filled the double deck coach that met them at the Eastern Docks at 6.15 a.m. to take them to Pare Asterix near Paris.

The weather was glorious, the rides and attractions in both parks came up to expectations, and a very happy time was had by all.

Also in July, the Year 12 French group went to Ardres in the Pas de Calais. Leaving at 6.30 a.m. and returning at 10 p.m. it was quite a full and long day. Activities at the centre included sailing, windsurflng, canoeing and swimming. Instruction was given in French so the students really had no choice but to practice their listening and comprehension skills when they were in the water desperately trying to understand how to right a capsized canoe. Everyone had a good day and would like to repeat the experience.

Down in the workshops, during the summer holidays both Mr. Alistair Gardiner and Mr. Paul Skelton attended a welding course, held on the school premises. As their skills developed, they produced a number of "Jump Cups", a device used at horse trials to hold the poles in place on the uprights. These cups have already been used by the Dover and District Horse Society. This is just another example of how our excellent workshop facilities, along with in service training, can benefit the community as well.

Sports news

The school sports day and swimming sports were very successful events, with one record being broken at each.

At the sports day, Ian Banks clipped more than half a second off the best time for the under 14s 75-metre hurdle race, crossing the finishing line in 11.81 seconds. The previous record, 12.47, was set in 1990.

Castle House were overall winners, with 507 points, Port had 453.5 and Channel scored 292.5.

In the swimming sports, Mark Gaunt was the only record breaker. He finished the 40-metre backstroke event in 30.25 seconds, taking nearly half a second off the previous record which had been set by Richard Davey 17 years ago.

The battle for the overall championship was a closely-fought contest. With only six races to go, Port House led by one point, with Castle and Channel joint second. Three races from the end, Castle and Channel were still neck and neck, but Port had increased their lead to five points, and victory in two of these races assured Port of the title.

Final points were: Port 120, Channel 113 and Castle 111.

Soccer

Moving onto this term, the senior football teams have a number of fixtures lined up, and it would be encouraging for the boys if parents and friends came along to support them

Tomorrow (Friday, 9 September), the 1st XI play St. Edmund's, Dover, away in the County Cup, and other fixtures for the next few weeks are: 14th Dane Court (home), 16th William Parker, Hastings (away), 17th 2.30 p.m. Old Pharosians (home) for the Andy Kremer Cup, 21st Norton Knatchbull (home), 28th Rainham Mark (away), 1st October - Harvey Grammar (home).

The 2nd XI are away to Canterbury High on 14th September, away to Norton Knatchbull on 21st, at home to Castle High on 28th, and away to Harvey Grammar on 1st October.

Table Tennis

Four teams have been registered into the Dover Table Tennis Association C Division, and the games commence next week.

This is the first time any teams from the school have entered the Dover leagues for more than 10 years and it is hoped that next year they may be at a standard to be able to aim for promotion to Division B.

Time will tell.

Any new boys (Year 7) who are interested in table tennis should approach our workshop technician Mr. Paul Skelton, as there may be a few places for registration in our school teams.

The home night is Wednesday evenings from 7.30 until the and of the match at about 10.30 p.m. Regular practice sessions are being organised after school on Wednesdays.

C.C.F.

During the school holidays, the Combined Cadet Force has been active.

Fifteen members of the army section attended army camp Proteus near Nottingham and came third in the Falling Target competition, and also third in the March and Shoot competition.

Ian Tillyard attended a six-week camp at Banff as a guest of the Canadian army cadet force.

21 members of the R.A.F. section attended R.A.F. Cosford and the following certificates were awarded. Sgt. Matthew Peall was joint best NCO for R.A.F. Cosford camp, Cadet Mark Doel was most improved cadet, and Cadet Chris Hughes was Overall Cadet at R.A.F. Cosford.

Corporal Matthew Dowling, J. Cpl. Dyer and J. Cpl. Robert Cheeseman carried out a collection for the R.A.F.A. Wings Appeal at Tesco's store at Whitfield.

Four R.A.F. cadets went on a day's visit to the Aircraft Research Centre at Boscombe Down, and one cadet from the army section and five R.A.F. cadets attended a training weekend at Chatenden Training Area.

Eleven cadets from the RAF. section helped Shepway District Council as stewards at the Shepway Airshow.

The contingent would like to welcome a new R.A.F. Section officer, Mr. Paul Hannent, a former member of the sixth form at the school. Mr. Hannent has now obtained a Commission in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

As you can tell, the C.C.F. is very active, and new members are always welcome.

News of our neighbours

Work has been going on during the summer holidays to widen the drive leading from Astor Avenue to Astor School (upper building), between our playing fields.

This is being carried out so that more building work can take place on the upper site, helping the school towards its goal of having all its accommodation on one site.

As part of this work, a fence will be erected all the way down the northern edge of the drive, putty for safety reasons, and partly to prevent unauthorised use of our lower fields. It also forms put of the security measures for our school site.

On the subject of safety...

During the past year we have been appealing to parents who bring their sons to school by car to take great care in the area outside the top gate of the school drive. For the benefit of new parents (and just to remind those few who still cause problems), can we repeat the following requests to drivers.

PLEASE DO NOT use the school drive between 8.15 and 8.45 a.m. or between 3.15 and 3.45 p. m. Drivers should approach the top gate from Noahs Ark Road, but please take great care at both ends of the school day.

PLEASE DO NOT stop on the yellow lines. Even just stopping for a few seconds so that passengers can get out of the car can cause congestion. Please stop either further down the road or on the unmade section of the road beyond the gate. Walking a little further won't cause your sons any harm!

PLEASE DO NOT stop in the turning area outside the gate - on either side of the road. This space is very useful for vehicles to turn in, usually in one manoeuvre, thus reducing any possible congestion during the busy times. Again, please stop further away from the gate - your sons are quite capable of walking to where you have parked!

PLEASE DO NOT reverse into the school drive to turn round. There are a lot of boys walking (and sometimes running) in and out of this gate, and they can not always be seen by drivers as they reverse. Staff will also be driving in and out of the gate, and this can obviously cause dangerously conflicting traffic movements.

We are seriously concerned about possible hazards at the top gate and on the drive, and we would be grateful for your continuing cooperation.

Music

The school's music department is planning a busy year, as always, and details of the various concerts and other events that will take place during the year will be announced shortly.

In the meantime, there is one date that you ought to book in your diaries now, and that's Thursday 15 December, at 8 p.m., when the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight will take place in Charlton Church, Dover.

This is one of the most moving and inspirational Christmas services to be held in the town, and we are always pleased to see a large number of parents and friends in the congregation.

So before you book any other Christmas events in your diary, make sure you keep this evening free, and bring your family and friends.