Dover Grammar School for Boys
THE "FIRST THURSDAY"
NEWSLETTERGUEST EVENING - 15th November 1996
A very successful evening was held when prizes were awarded on the basis of GCSE and 'A' level performance including, for the first time, prizes to two members of Dover Grammar School for Girls, Rebecca Steele and Elizabeth Archbold, who took an 'A' level here. Guest of Honour, Mr Chris McDonald, an old pharosian, made a witty and provocative speech, and excellent entertainment was provided by members of the school's musical groups and through some dramatic readings. A very nice touch was provided by Mr J H Turnpenny of the Dubris Trust who presented Matthew Ridley with the James A Johnson Scholarship. Mr Turnpenny brought greetings from his mother who, at 103 years old, is almost certainly the oldest former member of this school still living.
PHAROS ENTERPRISES UPDATE
As you may or may not know, Pharos Enterprises is the company set up by members of the school to take part in this year's Young Enterprise Scheme. After our initial success we are pleased to report that we will soon be able to offer you our second product. This will be a recording of the school's Christmas Carol Service. This will be available to anyone and will cost £5.00 (inc. tax). If you wish to order a copy of this audio cassette please stay posted, as an order form will be distributed to every school member as soon as possible.
MUSIC
On Wednesday 18th December at 8.00 pm we will be presenting our annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Charlton, Dover.
The service includes favourite Christmas hymns for all to sing and the traditional nine Bible readings telling the story of Christmas read by pupils, staff, parents, old boys and governors.
The carols sung by the School Choir will range from medieval plainsong through traditional favourites including Harold Darke's 'In the bleak mid-winter' to three pieces by contemporary composers.
The Service will be sung by candlelight and afterwards coffee and mince pies will be served in the Church Hall.
The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight is one of the highlights of the school year and you are warmly invited to attend and to bring family and friends. We do hope that you will be able to join us.
MINCE PIES!
The mince pies served after the Carol Service are traditionally donated by parents and every year some 300 or so are provided in this way. If you can give some mince pies or similar savouries, either home-baked or shop bought, please send them in to the School Office on either Monday 16th or Tuesday 17th in preparation for the Carol Service on Wednesday 18th December. The help which you give in this way is deeply appreciated and contributes to the success of the school's celebration of Christmas.
TV APPEARANCE
On the last day of term the School Choir and Brass Ensemble will be taking part in a special event with P & 0 European Ferries and Meridian Television who will be broadcasting their "Meridian Tonight" programme live from the 'Pride of Dover' between 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm on Friday 20th December. Watch your television carefully and you will see our musicians on screen!
DGSB SKI TRIP 1998
Plans for next season's ski trip are now being made. Here are some brief details.
We will be returning to a resort that the school has used before, it is the Swiss village of Evolene, which is a picturesque Alpine village and is an ideal resort for beginners and intermediates. The price of £489 is inclusive of: accommodation and food, insurance, ski lessons, ski pass, equipment hire, excursions and evening activities and represents excellent value for money. A snowboarding option is available at an extra cost of £40.
The trip will take place during the February half-term break.
Application forms and/or further information are available from Mr Boardman.
PFA
The Wine & Wisdom evening held on Friday 29th November was successful and raised approximately £300.
We would like to remind you that all draw tickets must be returned to the School Office by Wednesday 18th December in readiness for the draw being held on Thursday 19th.
The next PFA meeting will be held on 13th January 1997 at 7.30 pm.
200 CLUB
The winners of the November draw are as follows:
1st prize (£25) Mr & Mrs Farmery (48), 2nd prize (£15) Mr & Mrs Hughes (23) and 3rd prize (£10) Mr P Lynes (158). The next draw will take place on 19th December.
SPORTS NEWS
Football Fixtures
1st XI - Wed. 4th at 2.00 pm -v- Rainham Mark (A). Wed. 11th 1st XI Kent Football Match -v- Essex.
2nd XI - Wed. 4th at 2.00 -v- Norton Knatchbull (H). Wed. 11th at 2.00 pm -v- Maidstone G.S. (A). Wed. 18th at 2.00 pm -v- Simon Langton (H).
Football Results
In recent football fixtures against Harvey Grammar School results were mixed. Year 7 lost 2 - 1 at home, Year 9 won in a very good team performance 3 - 1 at home. Year 8 played with a depleted side due to a District game and lost 4 - 1. Year 10 drew with Harvey G.S. at Folkestone 4 - 4
Year 10 lost 5 - 3 in their County Cup football match on Thursday 21st November playing against a very experienced Channel High School.
On 23rd November, a fine Saturday morning, Year 7, in the third round of the County Cup, lost 3 - 2 to Tunbridge Wells G.S. in a very close match.
The school 'B' team from Year 7 fared rather better and beat Tunbridge Wells G.S. 5 - 2 in a well deserved win.
On the 26th November Year 8, with their full team available, lost in their County Cup match against Harvey G.S. at home, the score being 3 - 0.
Rugby News
Dan Holdsworth has established himself in the Dover Rugby Club's first XV where he has played very well at stand off. He is not yet 18 so cannot play in league fixtures but he is eligible to play in any friendly.
Rugby Results
Earlier in the term four Year 11 rugby players, Adam Husk, Tom Scrivener, Gareth McCarthy and Philip Disbrey, went to a preliminary trial at Canterbury. Gareth McCarthy was selected for the Final 16 Group trial at Sidcup. All are to be congratulated for their efforts.
1st XI Football Reports
Simon Langton 3 - Dover G.S. 4 8th November
This was an excellent result against a strong Langton side. I half expected to lose and despite scoring first through the injured Chris Alcock (who said you can't play with a broken toe?), Langton looked as if they would overwhelm us at the back, where we sorely missed the influence of Kristian Allen. John Castle and Dan Holdsworth failed to cope with the Langton strikers who scored twice in quick succession with swift breakaways.
It looked bleak until Jon Coates strolled through several tackles to blast through the keeper to equalise the scores. Within a minute we went ahead when Lee Neiles, who had come on for the injured Jon Spence, capitalised on another mistake from their keeper. We managed to hold out until half time mainly due to switching JC into midfield and bringing man of the match Marc Garrood back to sweep. It made all of the difference - and with excellent goalkeeping from Ian Matthews - we kept the Langton strikers quiet. Lee Neiles grabbed another fine goal and we lead quite comfortably until the last minute when Langton scored a goal from a great diving header. So we held on thanks also to strong defending from James Durrant who had replaced the lethargic Dan Holdsworth. It's a funny old game! Oakwood at home in the Quarter Final.
Dover G.S. 9 - Queen Elizabeth School 0 13th November
A very good result after an indifferent first half performance.
QES played well in the first half on a very difficult pitch and we struggled to find shape and form. Despite this we still went into the interval 4 - 0 up!
Changing to 4 - 4 - 2 in the second half improved our play significantly. Probably this match posed more questions than answers to our team selection next week - but at least we have options!
Quarter Final of Kent Schools Under 19 Cup
Dover G.S. 3 - Oakwood Park G.S. 5 21st November
A very disappointing result! Sometimes the ball doesn't run for you, and this was certainly the case in this match. With five regular 1st team players absent (Kristian Allen going home ill, in particular), the team played well in the first half after a slow start. Ian Banks finished a fine move just before half-time so that we reached the interval 1 - 0 ahead.
After the break, and against the run of play, Oakwood Park scored five goals in fifteen minutes to wrap up the game. Only one of them was a 'good' goal - the others being the result of bad mistakes, own goals or unlucky rebounds from the cross-bar. Ian Matthews was a virtual spectator through the half and yet conceded five goals! Our pressure paid off with goals from Alan Tingey and John Castle but the damage was one. At full strength I have little doubt that we would have turned over Oakwood Park but at least we showed excellent team spirit and pride, never giving up, in the face of considerable intimidation.
Dover G.S. 6 - Norton Knatchbull G.S. 4 27th November
A very entertaining match played in an excellent spirit. Following the niggly match against Oakwood Park last week it was a pleasure to see a match where both teams were out to enjoy themselves. Tim Falconbridge deputised for Ian Matthews (and did a good job) and Kristian Allen returned to good effect. Both defences obviously decided to give early Christmas presents by gifting a whole string of chances, and the deciding factor was that our goal finishing was superior to theirs.
It was very pleasing to win our last home match of the season, especially with some fine goals from Jon Coates (2), Chris Alcock (2), Ian Banks and Alan Tingey.
