"The First Thursday Newsletter No. 37."

I invited the three main parties to hold a question and answer session with the Sixth Form during the election period. Many of the students have the vote today, the others are nearly eighteen.

The first to visit us was Mr Mark Corney, the Liberal Democratic candidate for Dover and Deal. The questions were challenging and Mr Corney gave us interesting answers which were largely dispassionate and informative. Later Mr David Shaw, the Conservative candidate visited bringing in support Rt. Hon. Gillian Shephard, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. The questions were just as challenging. The answers were less dispassionate.

Mrs Shephard was most complimentary about her audience, said talking to our Sixth Form was the highlight of her election campaign! The students certainly handled themselves extremely well and the whole occasion was very impressive.

The Labour candidate replied to say he was very pleased to be invited but he did not think he would have time. He expressed some worry about parties which may hand biased literature to school children outside their school gate. I replied to say that I do not condone such a practise but I do regard the boys as part of the democratic process and I want them to be well informed and involved, so I would like him to come and put his point of view.

I hope you received my letter about our new homework policy which was, on Monday, given to the boys in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 to take home. It is important that you see this so if you did not get a letter then please ask your son for it or ring the school office to ask to be sent one.

The Governing Body confirmed John Hogg as their new Responsible Officer at their meeting on Monday 21st April. Appointed by the Governing Body as a First Governor last September John is quickly "learning the ropes" in this new role. Like all governor activities the role of Responsible Officer is a monitoring and supportive one to the school; in this case involving the school's financial operations.

The appointment follows the resignation of our previous Responsible Officer, Norman Gilliland, from the Governing Body in March due to pressure of work. We express our thanks to Norman for the time he has spent helping the school in his capacity as a parent governor.

The parent governor vacancy which now exists on the Governing Body is subject to an election as we have received two nominations for which you will have all received a ballot paper. The two candidates are:

The Revd. Nick De Keyser who is Rector of SS Peter & Paul, Charlton-in-Dover. Aged 48, married with two sons, Jonathan in Year 8 and Thomas at Charlton Primary. Member of PFA Committee. Vice Chairman of Governors of Charlton Primary School. Hobbies are playing piano, listening to classical music and bellringing at Canterbury Cathedral.

Mr John English who is Head of the Geography Department and a Housemaster of a senior boys boarding house at a local boarding school. Aged 41, married with three children, two of whom attend the school. Attended the school from 1966 to 1973.

Ballot papers must be received by the Clerk to the Governors by 3.30 pm on Friday 9th May 1997. The successful candidate will be announced as soon as possible after the count has taken place.

The Upper Sixth history form met at the port on 18th April to travel to the battlefields of the Somme. The trip tied in with the Military Developments Module of the course.

The first stop was unscheduled - at one of the hundreds of small cemeteries that litter this part of France. It was there, at Highwood Cemetery, where we found the grave of the son of the First World War Labour Party Leader, Arthur Henderson.

For lunch we stopped at the Delville Wood Museum and cemetery. The museum is dedicated to the South African Defence Force who fought to occupy the wood during the war. After the fighting only one tree was left standing, pock marked with bullet holes.

All the cemeteries are a moving testament to the tragedy of war and a major source of evidence. They provide information about individual histories, the nation involved, the number of casualties and their ages. At Delville Wood the group examined half of the graves (764). These included the graves of 51 officers, 84 NCOs and 629 private soldiers. The oldest casualty was 40, while the youngest was 17. Each named grave has an individual epitaph written by the soldier's friends and family. However, the unnamed graves (474) bare the words 'known unto God'.

After lunch we travelled to the Lochnager Mine Crater, one of 19 mines that were blown under German positions on 1st July 1916, marking the start of the Somme offensive. The crater is 270' wide and over 70' deep. More than 70,000 British and French soldiers were left messing after the Somme offensive. The memorial to these unfound men is at Thiepval where a huge building with every missing soldier's name and regiment carved onto the great stone walls dominates the landscape for miles. Here the group looked for relatives and the school teacher Oliver Tunnel who died in the war.

Beaumont Hamel is one of a few battlefields left preserved. It was given to the Newfoundland government as a memorial to Canadian soldiers of the 1st Newfoundlanders who died on 1st July 1916. The British 29th Division led an attack on Beaumont Hamel which failed. The Newfoundlanders were ordered forward. To speed their advance, they climbed out of their communication trenches and were massacred by the German guns, supposedly silenced by the British.

The next visit to the Ulster Tower, a replica of a tower in Ulster housing a museum commemorating Irish soldiers was a disappointment as it was closed. However, a visit to the nearby town of Albert averted the catastrophe and Mr Falconer got to buy his cakes!

All students enjoyed the day and would like to thank the Senior Teacher and the Deputy Head for taking them.

Immediately before the Easter holidays, the Lower Sixth French group went to Paris for four days. Our first experience of French culture was the driving and parking skills of the Parisians. It had to be seen to be believed! After eventually parking the minibus, which is never easy in Paris, we started our tour of the sights. We saw the lot: the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, all the top museums and even had a guided tour of the "Assemblée Nationale (the French Parliament) by the Member of Parliament for Calais, Monsieur Desmassieur, who is also the Headteacher of our French twin school The Collège St. Pierre. However, the highlight of the trip was probably the boat trip along the River Seine where we saw Paris by night. There were many memorable experiences in the four days, and we saw all sides of French culture: the restaurant meals were experiences in their own right, but we also saw the beauty of Paris in the paintings and architecture of the city. A good time was had by all and we hope to go back next year.

These last few weeks have been very busy for the French Department. Year 7 have all now spent a day in France meeting their penfriends for the first time at the College St Pierre, experiencing a French canteen lunch and buying French goodies in Calais. Return visits from the French pupils have now started.

Year 8 and 9 pupils involved in the exchange went to stay with their penfriends on March 9th & 10th and we were joined by a group of girls from the Dover Grammar School for Girls. Hosted by their French counterparts, and being accompanied by the girls, proved very successful.

Year 8 pupils visited the Nausicaa Centre in Boulogne, whilst Year 9 pupils visited the town of Arras as well as the Lace Museum in Calais the following morning.

Last weekend it was Year 9's turn to host their penfriends. A day trip to Greenwich was organised along with a visit to Dover Castle. Both parties have arranged further stays and invitations have even been extended to the whole family. Being invited to a French family for Sunday lunch need no longer be a problem or costly arrangement.

Following the recent Lenten Appeal and participation for the first time of the Library I would like to express my thanks to all pupils and staff for their support. The quest was to answer 50 Questions For 50p. Forty questionnaires were brought and £20 for the appeal raised.

Spirits were high and competition healthy, the Library skills of Year 7 & 8 matched against the wider knowledge of older boys, sixth form and staff.

I think it would be fair to say that it was enjoyed by all participants, though not without its frustrating moments when answers proved evasive. Thank you to parents who also doubtless became involved.

The first prize of a £5.00 gift voucher went to Paul Mitchell, 8R, with Edward Smith, 8SE, coming second and receiving an Easter egg and the third prize of a large slab of chocolate went to James Parker, 12CH.

Hopefully this will herald the start of many more such events in the future. Well done to all participants.

The PFA has some new officers. Mrs Jill Tutthill has become Chairman and Mrs Sandra Wright is the new Secretary. They have taken over from Paul Hough and Tim Moseling respectively. We would like to express our thanks to Paul and Tim for all the work they have done over many years in office. Milford Lingard remains as Treasurer.

The Committee would welcome any new members to the next meeting on 17th June at 7.30 pm at the school.

Help will be needed with serving refreshments at the school Sports Day on 2nd July. Volunteers are asked to contact Sandra on Dover 820709 or Jill on 822121.

March - £25 Mrs A Stewart (114), £15 Mr D Bull (55) and £10 Mrs M Betts (165).

April - £25 Mr J Roberts (72), £15 Mr D Bull (55) and £10 Mr & Mrs D Waller (125).

At the end of term the CCF successfully underwent the annual Handover Parade where the Upper Sixth cadets took on a non effective role within the CCF to enable them to concentrate on their exams. The Lower Sixth cadets took on new roles in command positions within the Unit. Cadet NCO Mitu Islam was promoted to Cadet Warrant Officer and took on the much coveted role of Contingent Senior Cadet. Cadet NCO Richard Berridge was promoted to Cadet Flight Sergeant and took on the role of Cadet NCO in charge of the RAF Section and finally Cadet NCO Kieron Dennard was promoted to Cadet Staff Sergeant and took on the role of Cadet NCO in charge of the Army Section. There were also other promotions within the Unit. Well done to all the Cadets.

After a gruelling 6 hour drive (in the extremely cramped school minibus) we arrived at Okehampton with chronic back pain, not quite ready for our four days of adventurous activities.

We began the first day with an hour long pony trek along the idyllic hills of Devon. For many of us it was the first time on the back of a, somewhat big, pony. However, the trek was extremely enjoyable.

In the afternoon we did a 14 mile mountain-biking course, which, coupled with the pony trekking, led to some extremely sore backsides.

The next day we left Okehampton for the coastal town of Bude to do some kayaking (similar to canoeing, but there is a difference). On arrival, we realised that were going out into the sea, not into the relative safety of a calm lake. It was a cold and windy day; the water was freezing and the waves were huge. Surprisingly, it made for a more enjoyable day. Surfing on the waves in an 8ft (ish) kayak was amazing... That was until you realised you were a novice and that you couldn't quite handle the waves, at which point the kayak capsized. Fortunately we had the training to deal with such an emergency.

Firstly you try the Eskimo roll so when you come up you look like a pro. But, it doesn't work and your feeble attempt gets you knocked back down with the next wave and you're still upside down drinking the salt water. You remember about the spray-deck handle and fumble around for it. Aaah *@"!~# where is it? You find it at last and manage to get out without getting your legs stuck only to find that your standing in water which is only waist high in depth.

To recover from the ordeal we went on a coastal walk, taking in the fresh air and amazing views.

On the third day we travelled to Sheepstor to do some rock-climbing and abseiling on the granite rock faces. There were various climbs to choose from: from the challenging uneven rock face with the overhangs to the daunting sheer vertical rock face with only cracks to lock your hands in. We also did abseiling from the top of the rocks, some 50 feet up.

The evening was spent doing an assault course on the base, which was particularly amusing as a number of cadets got wet on the water jumps and monkey bars (which just happened to have a pit of water up to chest height below).

The final full day was spent at Ashburton, where we went caving. This was a new experience for many of the cadets and thoroughly enjoyable. The complex network of caves at Ashburton are some of the muddiest in the country. We had great fun crawling and sliding through them, with some of the passages less that half a metre in height. A couple of groups were unlucky enough to get soaking wet in the underground reservoir. We also learnt about the interesting history and geology of the caves.

On returning back at the camp we went on a navigational exercise on the Moors. After all, you can't go to Dartmoor without going on the Moors.

The Adventurous Training Camp was extremely enjoyable, with some of the staff, and even cadets, not wanting to come back. We all look forward to the next one.

Richard Berridge (Yr12) was awarded a Flying Scholarship last October and did his flying training at RAF Manston over the Easter holidays. The flying scholarship scheme gives prospective RAF officers the opportunity to experience some of what it is like to be in the RAF, although there is no committment to join. Applicants to the scheme undergo national selection and successful candidates receive 20 hours free flying training including some solo, worth over £2000.

On Wednesday 23rd April a group of cadets were invited to join 1039 (Gillingham) ATC Squadron to go Hercules flying at RAF Lyneham.

The cadets travelled up there on Wednesday after school, staying the night at the base. On Thursday, the cadets were fortunate enough to get a 300-mile round trip on the huge Hercules transport aircraft, which is also used to take supplies on relief missions to countries such as Bosnia and Rwanda.

Royal Navy Liaison Officer, Lt. Hayter, will deliver a presentation on the Royal Navy. Previous presentations have been quite spectacular.

Hercules flying at RAF Lyneham - a great opportunity for the Cadet, one not to be missed.

This was an excellent result from a scrappy and ill-tempered match, played in very difficult conditions with a strong wind and firm pitch. Playing attractive, constructive football was impossible, especially as both mid fields competed hard and closed down any space.

We won the toss and elected to kick into the wind in the first half, and this proved to be the best strategy. Astor scored early on from an excellent long shot into the top corner but from then on we restricted them to a series of corners and nearly scored ourselves through Gary Beeden.

Unfortunately, Astor scored two more just before half-time:- one where we lined up badly to defend a free kick leaving an easy back-post header and the other when a cross was not cut out and Astor's dangerman, Stephen Mart, turned smartly to score in the bottom corner. I was particularly impressed with our two Year 11 centres backs, Marc Garrood and James Durrant, who played with a determination and maturity beyond their years under the most intense pressure.

It was important to score a goal early in the second half to get back into the match and put Astor on the back foot, and we got it from a most unlikely source - our goalkeeper Tim Falconbridge! Tim had a torrid time in the first half with the swirling wind and uneven bounce, but now it was his turn to cause havoc and with a huge punt from his own area the ball took one bounce, gathered topspin, and powered into the Astor net. This is the first time I can remember seeing a goalkeeper score in this way in schoolboy football. It changed the match and from then on we pressed forward creating several chances. As Astor became more rattled, the referee awarded us a penalty as Ian Banks was blatantly pushed in the back and Gary Beeden blasted in the goal, via the keeper and the crossbar. The game became more ill-tempered, and culminated in a confrontation between Dover player Stephen Mart and his man-marker James Durrant - both players were booked (from all accounts James was standing up for Marc who was kicked on the ground).

The equaliser came from Alan Tingey, who had an otherwise quiet game, with a 30 yard side-foot shot into the top corner. The eventual winner was scored by Ian Banks who tucked in a cross from close range. Tim made one fine save but from then on it was more a case of how many more we would score rather than extra time.

I was very impressed with the attitude and determination of the team - it was an outstanding fight-back. John Castle received the shield after the match and remarkably I notice that this is the first time that we have won it since its inception in 1908.

On the last day of the Spring Term a number of boys from Year 7 competed in a District Rugby Tournament which was featured on the Meridian News. Dover 'A' won the competition winning all their games. Dover 'B' finished in second place.

The Nets are once again in operation and providing a valuable facility for those wishing to improve their skills or just to enjoy a bit of batting and bowling.

1st XI - Simon North is this season's Captain and John Castle the Vice-Captain. The team has no great stars, as in many previous years, but the overall standard is high. Many of the squad play for local teams at weekends so there is a strong basic understanding of the game. We are again playing in the K.S.C.A. Under 19 League and there is also Cup competition.

In their first league match, played on Wednesday 23 April the school side met a very strong Simon Langton XI at Canterbury. Simon Langton scored 233 for 6 in their innings which included 140 from their Captain after being dropped three times - the first on 20. The flat pitch offered no help to our bowlers but they kept a good line and length throughout to make the batsmen work for their runs. Ian Matthews kept a particularly good line and he deserved a much better return for his efforts.

Simon North and Paul Padfield bowled well and, in one inspired change, Jon Spence took a good wicket with his first ball. The batsman, used to defending against tighter bowling, was completely taken in by Jon's bouncer - 6 bounces before it got to the batsman.

Chris Searle and Jon Spence opened our innings and the score progressed steadily. We never looked as if we could win the game but we played for pride and points. Chris eventually went out for an excellent 66 and we finally closed our allotted innings on 155 for 5.

This was a most encouraging performance considering that three first choice players were away on a Geography field trip.

The Dover Grammar School for Boys has been running 5 teams in two divisions in the Dover Table Tennis League this year. Unfortunately. there are a couple of games still to play, so to date the final league tables are unavailable. These should be printed in the next First Thursday newsletter.

For the first time since the late 70’s, the school is running Table Tennis matches for boys in years 7 to 9 and school team players inclusive. The matches being played are to see who the best players are in both attack and control and certificates will be awarded to all who take part.

From the tables below, it can be seen that the positions are split into two tables, firstly, the boys play both singles and doubles, matches
are the first to reach I I points, one leg only. Their scores are averaged out, the highest possible average being II meaning no games have been lost at all. The second part of the table is to ascertain the boys control, again in both singles and doubles, the boys play for one minute, this time not trying to win the point but trying to keep the ball in play, each hit is counted and their average hit rate is again calculated for the minute duration.

NAME

HOUSE

GAMES

TOTAL

AVERAGE

Speed 1 mm

control

TOTAL

AVERAGE

I CHAN

228

1st 10.36

5 games

183

8th 36.60

C HADLEY

2nd 9.83

N/A

R WILLIAMSON

272

3rd 9.71

6 games

235

6th 39.17

D BORELLO

D TEAM

4th 9.67

4 games

153

7th 38.25

A BORELLO

D TEAM

5th 9.67

3 games

192

2nd 64.00

A MANN

277

6th 9.55

4 games

177

5th 44.25

D WATT

7th 9.33

N/A

N BANNISTER

8th 9.33

N/A

M GREEN

138

9th 9.20

5 games

172

10th 34.40

N HAYWARD

179

10th 8.95

N/A

B BLASKETT

176

11th 8.80

N/A

J REAY

285

12th 8.64

3 games

159

4th 53.00

M BURVILL

D TEAM

13th 8.33

4 games

144

9th 36.00

D WILLIAMSON

155

14th 8.16

3 games

196

1st 65.33

H BAINBRIDGE

168

15th 7.64

3 games

163

3rd 54.33

D HARRIS

118

16th 6.56

N/A

The matches are played on Tuesdays after normal school has finished and anyone in years 7 to 9 are welcome. Those wishing to take part must contact Paul Skelton the day before as there is only enough room for the first 18 boys to play. The first 18 to register are guaranteed a place. To date we only have 16 boys who have taken part, but more than that have expressed an interest to play.

The top players in the league tables, who do not already play for any of the school teams will be asked whether they wish to play for the school in the Dover and District Table Tennis Leagues on a regular basis next season.

Fri.2nd at 3.30 Yr7 XI -v- Sir Roger Manwood's
Wed.7th at 2.00 1st XI -v- Queen Elizabeth GS
Thurs.8th at 4.00 Yr7 XI -v- Norton Knatchbull (H)
Tues.13th at 4.00 Yr7 XI -v- Astor (H)
Tues.13th at 4.00 Yr9 XI -v- Astor (A)
Wed.14th at 2.00 1st XI -v- Norton Knatchbull (H)
Thurs.15th at 4.00 Yr8 XI -v- Astor (A)
Thurs.15th at 4.00 Yr10 XI -v- Astor (H)
Mon.19th at 4.00 Y7 XI -v- St Edmund's (H)
Mon.19th at 4.00 Yr9 XI -v- St Edmund's (A)
Wed.21st at 2.00 1st XI -v- Borden GS (H)
Wed.21st at 4.00 Yr8 XI -v- St Edmund's (H)
Wed.21st at 4.00 Yr10 XI -v- St Edmund's (A)

Wed.7th at 4.00 Yrs 8, 9 & 10 S E Kent Championships
Wed.14th at 2.00 Senior Teams to DYRMS
Tues.20th at 4.00 Yrs 7, 8 & 9 -v- Astor & Harvey GS at Astor.