"The First Thursday Newsletter No. 103."

At dawn on Friday 10th April, Nick Beech, Markus Wilder and Jonathan Pearson-Wood, ably chauffeured by Ms Ball, started the long trip to attend a Visitor's Day at Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire. Why so far? Grendon is the only therapeutic prison in England. Psychology, Law and Sociology students who have attended the annual Youth Conference on Crime in London each November will have heard talks from prisoners about life in Grendon and how unique a prison it is.

We were privileged to be the only school members amongst mostly professional visitors such as Probation Officers, Home Office employees and therapists. Grendon, despite its liberal approach, is definitely not an open prison as it houses Category B prisoners convicted of murder, rape, and armed robbery, many of whom have severe personality disorders and are 'lifers'. Having passed through the massive gates, which were topped with barbed wire, we were examined by a sniffer dog for drugs and then searched. Even Markus passed uneventfully through the metal detector. We were then given different badges which assigned us to the various wings we were each to visit in the afternoon.

Greeting us over a cup of coffee were prisoners ready to escort us to the Conference Centre, where a prisoner named Colin gave the whole group a warm and more formal welcome. He later revealed he had been heavily involved in organised football hooliganism, which surprised all of us as he appeared so affable. The prison psychologist talked next, stating research which shows that prisoners from Grendon have significantly lower reconviction rates than comparable prisoners. At the end of the minimum 18 months which prisoners have to spend at Grendon in order for therapy to be effective, they are found to have more empathy, greater social skills and less hostility to authority figures. Every prisoner at Grendon has applied to move there from another prison, presumably because they want to change. 'Treatment' tends to be daily group therapy sessions where prisoners are encouraged to confront their past, deal with issues which have lead to their criminal behaviour and find ways to avoid relapsing into it again.

We then listened to a number of different prisoners, the first being one who had recently been released and was finding life in the 'real world' very hard, only managing through the loyal support of his partner, which many prisoners do not have. The bail hostel which he had to live in for an interim period so that probation officers could monitor him, was definitely not a good place for him to be, due to the influence of other criminals there who were not so intent on 'staying clean'. The theme of the Visitor's Day was resettlement and a recurring theme which arose during the day was the prisoners' great fear of the outside world, especially in those who had been virtually institutionalised, and the hostility that was to be faced after the comparative safe haven and support of Grendon. One prisoner said that Grendon was the only place he had ever felt safe: many prisoners had been both physically and sexually abused as children, often whilst in care.

Inmates told us that the wings, or communities as they are also called, are mostly self-regulating. Within this system, prisoners are both supported and challenged by fellow inmates; they are challenged if they break one of the three crucial rules: no violence, no sex, no drugs. Even the threat of violence is not tolerated and prisoners can be voted off their wing for such aggression. Prisoners are also challenged by their peers during therapy sessions, for example if they are not being completely honest ("you can't con a con" is a well-used saying there) or if they are not taking full responsibility for their own actions. On the surface, Grendon appears to be a 'soft' option but the therapy is often intensive, gruelling, painful and ultimately demands that people change in a dramatic way. There is no more hiding behind old patterns of behaviour.

After the morning session, we were taken to the wings by prisoners and guards, between whom there appeared to be a very open and relaxed rapport. There was certainly no atmosphere of tension, or a feeling of 'them' and 'us'. This may partly be because the prisoners are also encouraged to challenge any inappropriate behaviour carried out by the guards. There we 'enjoyed' our respective lunches and later compared the colour of the mashed potato, which ranged from grey to green. Conversations over lunch and during the afternoon discussions in each wing focused on life in Grendon, the ways in which it had changed individuals, prisoners' concerns about resettlement, and consideration of the support and strategies they needed in order not to re-offend. Some of these discussions took place without the guards present, such was the atmosphere of trust. In my group one visitor asked whether the prisoners found our visit voyeuristic or intrusive. On the contrary, prisoners said our presence was useful in building their confidence regarding talking to 'ordinary' people and was one kind of preparation for their eventual release, as well as offering a day out of the usual routine. What they did resent, however, was being frequently used as guinea pigs for research purposes.

The day finished with groups reconvening and sharing impressions of Grendon. Most people were quite taken aback by the frankness and honesty of the prisoners concerning their crimes. What was particularly interesting for our small group from DGSB was the disconcerting mismatch between our personal response to how warm, open and friendly the prisoners were and our simultaneous awareness of the nature of the crimes they were responsible for. It was not the stereotype of the monster that we came into contact with that day; what I think we saw was the person rather than the crime committed.

Serving time at Grendon is definitely no miracle cure and re-offending still does occur. Moreover, there is always the danger that some psychopaths may simply learn to be more manipulative. However, we all agreed as a result of our visit that there should be more prisons run along therapeutic lines, both for the sake of the humane and constructive treatment of the prisoners who inhabit them, and for the benefit of society as a whole through the reduction of re-offending. We were very fortunate to have such an unforgettable opportunity to see Applied Psychology in action as part of the A2 Psychology of Crime course and are very grateful to H.M.P. Grendon for accepting us on their Visitor's Day.

After our long journey from Heathrow via Miami to Quito (don't fly American Airways unless you have no alternative!) we were up early the next morning for a quick tour of the city. This included visiting a street with seven large churches all of which had masses of gold leaf panelling (over 5 tons of gold in one case) which indicated the depth of religious feeling in a country which is 95% Roman Catholic. As we approached the main square we saw a noisy demonstration outside the Presidential Palace by maroon uniformed students and stilted clowns protesting at the lack of funding for their school. This apparently happens very often, at least four demonstrations a week.

We left Quito in a 12-seater minibus to drive down to the valley and up and over a 4,400 metre pass in the eastern Andean cordillera for lunch and an overnight stay at a spa with hot volcanic springs providing warm pools outside each cabin - luxury. A short trek through the Cloud Forest introduced us to a different micro-climate (of which there are 52 in Ecuador). This one is a bit like Wales with Llamas and bromeliads - our guide pointed out several different orchids, some of them microscopic!

Another early rise for the long drive down from 4,200 metres to the Amazon Basin and we were greeted by the glistening, snow-capped peak of the volcano Antizana which, according to our guide, was a very unusual sight as it is nearly always wreathed in cloud. Our uncomfortable journey down un-made roads was further delayed by the combination of heavy rainfall and volcanic activity that had destroyed the road in two places. We waited hopefully, watching bulldozers and diggers battling with the floodwater rather than returning to the previous turn-off ninety minutes back the way we had come. Our wait was rewarded eventually and we arrived at our river boat tired and only two hours late. We shipped anchor and navigated down the Napo River for three hours - dodging driftwood and sandbanks - before tying up for the night on a large mid-river island. The canoe trip after dark looking for "eyes in the spotlight" was an interesting end of our second day.

Day Three saw us trekking through the primary rainforest with another native guide explaining the uses of various plants and the names of insects, birds and small reptiles we happened upon. No monkeys or other larger mammals showed themselves. The black water lake by which we camped for the night provided a warm (in parts) swim but we were alarmed to see our guide catching piranhas with a simple hook and line using raw meat as bait just where we had been splashing about. We also saw a huge four metre long fish whilst we were out in the canoe later and the eyes of a cayman lurking in the undergrowth by the bank. After an uncomfortable night during which my dad kept the whole forest awake with his snoring - preventing the rest of us from hearing the sounds of the jungle as advertised! - we set off in a dug out canoe back to the main river, stopping to watch the macaws and parrots getting minerals they need from a clay bank. We spent a relaxing afternoon complete with bar-be-cue and tropical storm with two problems - a sandbank took out one of the engines, and the boat's bar ran out of beer! Our guide ran a slide show in the evening recalling our walk through the forest, then early to bed before yet another pre-dawn start for our journey back up the mountains to the capital.

The next day was spent relaxing, exploring Quito on our own and swimming in the Hilton's pool to prepare for our last full day visiting the north of the country. Our trip began with a visit to the equator (it was discovered or defined in Ecuador, hence the name, by French scientists in the 18th century) and a stop at a native shop where bread ornaments are produced for the various holidays and tourists. The large produce market at Otavalo was smelly but interesting and the 'tourist' market allowed us to hone our bargaining skills. A view inside an indigenous dwelling revealed four generations living in two or three smoke-darkened rooms with sleek guinea pigs (a local delicacy) running around the floor.

We left Quito the next day with the impression of a resource rich country suffering grinding poverty due to the lack of infrastructure, the emigration of their best minds and most ambitious labourers and the burden of their class system and religion.

Thank you to all those who contributed to the "Nestle Box Tops for Education". A cheque to the value of £27.90 has been received. A small selection of fiction titles will be purchased for the Library.

The "Tesco Computers for Schools" scheme has ended for this year. The response has been very good so far but every last voucher counts, a new computer is now in our sights. Vouchers will continue to be collected with the final despatch in early June.

With the examinations fast approaching please could pupils in Years 11 and 13 collect together library books ready for return after the examinations.

Together with Mr Skelton, Year 7 pupils have been producing bookmarks. I hope to view these and select a number which will be reproduced and be made available in the Library. Watch this space for further developments!!

The problem about the two mobile phone masts brought in an early rush of wrong solutions! Two masts, each of 264 inches, would certainly satisfy the conditions of the problem except that the masts would not simply + appear to be of the same height, they would be of the same height. There are several ways of solving this problem, one of which was leaked early in the month. The one I favour is as follows:

Let the two masts be 'a' and 'b' inches high, then the reciprocal of 'a' plus the reciprocal of ''b' must equal the reciprocal of the height of the wires' cross point. As we know that a trivial solution exists at a=b=264 we need only search around this number to find the next integer solution to be at a=253 and b=276. So the masts are 23 feet and 21 feet 1 inch.

The winner of April's challenge is Mr M Brett. He receives £10 and our congratulations.

On the Isle of Mythomania the uniform stone weights used to weigh food lose a fixed percentage of their weight each day by a strange form of radioactive decay. Every Monday Darren, the Spam Vendor, opens for trade charging each of his customers according to the number of stones required to balance the weight of Spam purchased.

Darren, being a friendly White Dwarf, helps his customers by compensating them for their potential loss by using two stones as the unit of weight on Wednesdays and Thursdays and three on Friday.

His first customer at 7.00 am each morning is Nabob, a wealthy merchant, who always buys the same amount of Spam for his emporium every day. On Monday Nabob's Spam cost him 243 Frank, whereas on Friday he had to pay 256 Frank.

Congratulations to the following students who have recently passed the Associated Board Grade 5 Examination in the Theory of Music:

I recently carried out a survey of boys in the school who are currently learning to play a musical instrument. Some 177 boys are having instrumental lessons with guitar and electric guitar the most popular instruments. 45 boys are having guitar lessons that I know about, but there may be more! 8 Channel currently hold the record for guitarists with no less than 8 boys in the class having lessons. No surprise that guitars are the favoured instruments in a boy's school, but the piano is still a popular instrument with 39 students having lessons.

Violin 6, Cello 2, Flute 4, Clarinet 13, Saxophone 20, Trumpet 15, Trombone 4, Drums 15, Electronic Keyboard 8, Voice 2.

In addition there are solitary players of viola, recorder, tenor horn, voice and organ.

If any students are interested in having instrumental lessons please ask me for an application form. The school has most instruments available for loan and I am able to give advice as to what instrument may be suitable.

Thank you very much to all the parents who kindly donated cakes for the cake sale last month and also to the boys for buying them. It was a fantastic response raising a total of £107.

The only way the PFA can be successful in raising money for the school to benefit all the boys is with your support. If there are any events you would like to see organised please let the PFA know via the School Office.

If anyone would like to join the PFA just come along to the next meeting. The dates and time are mentioned in the First Thursday newsletters.

We have been asked if we would help by distributing the attached questionnaire (last page of the newsletter) to all parents. If you feel that a bi-lingual nursery pre-school specialising in English and French would be something you would like to have then please complete the questionnaire and return it to the address at the bottom of the form.

Year 7 -v- St Anselms (Home)
League Semi-Final - 8th April 2003
DGSB 7 St Anselms 24

This was a game where we came up against a well-drilled squad and we ended up achieving fourth place in the local league. An excellent try by Michael Kelly gave us 7 points. St Anselms had some strong running players both in their pack and backs and we were not able to stop them. Being our last match of the season this game highlighted areas that we need to work on for next year, namely tackling and support play.

An early try set the tone for the remainder of the first half which found some excellent play from all our team. We had scored over 30 points by half time. The second half saw further tries scored to give the magnificent total of 53 points with no tries being conceded. This was a fine end to the season, well done to all the players.

St Gregory's 3-2 Dover Grammar School for Boys (AET) by Steven King
An exciting finish to a good game saw favourites Dover Grammar School for Boys lose their U-19 Kent Cup Final against St Gregory's school on a golden goal. The game played at Tunbridge Wells' Clevedon Stadium went all the way to the wire but in the end the better team came out on top.

Premier Division Dover started the game brightly and had the better of the early chances with Andy Herbert forcing a couple of successive corners, which Dover failed to make the most of. The game then started to take shape with St Gregory's sitting deep leaving no space in behind for Dover's forwards to exploit. They were well supported by a well-organised midfield and soon started to take control of the game. Dover, easily the better passing side never got started and although forcing those early corners seemed content to play the ball long which was easily dealt with by the tall and strong St Gregory's centre backs.

As the half went on St Gregory's started to show more adventure when going forward and their most creative player Andrew Byford started to get his foot on the ball and got the hosts playing.

In the 18th minute St Gregory's took a deserved lead when forward Liam Gent flicked the ball over his shoulder, the through ball was latched onto by James Stickler who finished well when one on one with the keeper.

Dover's first real chance came five minutes later when wide man Robbie Guy beat his marker and got to the by-line to knock the ball back across goal but agonisingly for Dover there was no-one following in for what would have been an easy tap in. It looked as if this was going to be the catalyst for an improved Grammar performance but it was not to be as too many passes went astray. Even when an easy ball was on, the long ball option was still employed with absolutely no success.

Dover almost got an equaliser with what would have been the luckiest goal of the season. Midfielder Kieran Pettman played an innocuous looking ball forward which should have been easily dealt with by the St Gregory defence. However, instead of clearing the ball to touch, Robert Lawrence tried to head it back to his keeper but as he was coming out there was a collision between the pair and the ball rolled towards the goal, but keeper Sayell had time to recover and stop the ball before it went over the line.

St Gregory's should have doubled their lead ten minutes before half time when some clever work by Byford set up Frith who somehow managed to volley wide when it looked easier to score.

The half time whistle should have given Dover the chance to regroup and come out and play to their full potential, however this was not to be as the second half began how the first ended, in scrappy fashion.

St Gregory's then doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when a hopeful long ball split Dover's two centre halves and a St Gregory's forward latched onto the ball and finished superbly from 20 yards.

The game now seemed to be out of Dover's reach with the hosts seemingly having one hand on the cup but a crazy five minutes changed all this when referee Mr Duffin obviously wanted a bit of the action. Mr Duffin managed to book three Dover players, Herbert, Wilson and Clutton in a four-minute spell for separate offences.

Dover then got back into the game a minute later when some superb midfield play by Herbert set away Robbie Guy who took the ball into his stride and advanced into the area. As he was about to shoot he had his legs cynically taken from behind for one of the clearer penalty awards you will see this season. There was still the responsibility of putting the ball in the net and this honour fell to Kent star Peter McCarvill who despatched the penalty to the keeper's right with the minimal of fuss.

These events spurred the Dover team on and they looked more like their normal selves for the next ten minutes and grabbed a deserved equaliser in the 66th minute. The move once again started with Andy Herbert who delivered a good cross into the box which was only partially cleared by the St Gregory's defenders, Simon Shepherd and Ian Chan then had shots blocked before the ball fell to McCarvill on the edge of the box, he struck the ball sweetly and it flew into the bottom left hand corner to level the scores at 2-2.

The game then settled back down again with Dover satisfied that they had drawn level, St Gregory's re-organised and the next 15 minutes passed by with little event except from the introduction of Luke Cochrane and Steve Horsler for Dover.

St Gregory's really should have scored the winning goal in the 85th minute when a great cross from Byford presented St Gregory's centre forward with a great chance but he somehow managed to make no contact when six yards from goal. The last few minutes of normal time passed with some desperate defending from Dover who were now struggling with many players lack of fitness becoming apparent.

The game then went into golden goal situation. As normal both teams played this period very cagily and neither wanted to concede and lose the game, which meant a very uneventful first half of extra time. However, at the end of the first half St Gregory's won the game when Byford once again picked up the loose ball, put in a great cross which was met by Stickler who put the ball in from 6 yards. This sparked mass celebration from the home fans in the crowd of over 300.

This was an entertaining game and on the day the fitter more organised side came through. Dover were disappointed with themselves for not playing to their full potential and surely if they had passed the ball the way they can on a decent looking pitch they would have won the game easily. However, after a great run in a top class competition they had to settle for second place.

The team did not play to their potential and the psychological advantage of playing at home spurred on the opposition. Our team were also out of season and were not helped by having no local ground to play at. I would like to thank the boys for a truly memorable season (in many respects) and wish them all the best in their football careers.

Key Stage 3 Tests Tuesday 6th/Friday 9th May
Years 7 & 8 Exams Monday 19th/Friday 23rd May
Half-Term Monday 26th/Friday30th May inclusive
Year 9 Exams Monday 2nd/Friday 6th June

MAR 13	DOVER GS	5	V	0	ASTOR
MAR 11	DOVER GS	W/o	V		WALMER
MAR 25	ST EDMUNDS	10	V	44	DOVER GS
APR 1	N KNATCHBULL	44	V	0	DOVER GS

3RD/4TH	DOVER GS	5	V	34	ST ANSELMS

YEAR 8
MAR 6	DOVER GS	83	V	0	ARCHERS CT
MAR 13	MANWOODS	7	V	20	DOVER GS
MAR 20	DOVER GS	34	V	7	ST EDMUNDS
MAR 27	N KNATCHBULL	5	V	7	DOVER GS

FINAL	DOVER GS	53	V	0	ASTOR

YEAR 9
MAR 7	ASTOR	19	V	41	DOVER GS
MAR 11	WALMER	5	V	41	DOVER GS
MAR 25	DOVER GS	W/o	V		ST EDMUNDS
APR 1	DOVER GS	W/o	V		BROCKHILL

FINAL	MANWOODS	24	V	19	DOVER GS

YEAR 10
MAR 6	CASTLE	28	V	36	DOVER GS
MAR 13	DOVER GS	33	V	7	N KNATCHBULL
MAR 20	MANWOODS	7	V	22	DOVER GS

FINAL	DOVER GS	7	V	40	ST ANSELMS

The rugby teams progressed really well throughout the term. It was frustrating to only win one of the District Finals but Dover GS is definitely the most consistent school in South East Kent. Next year a full fixture list from September through to April will hopefully see us winning several more finals.

There will be Trials during the last 2 weeks of the Summer Term for all Years to select teams for next September. Please be aware of this and be ready to take part if you wish to be considered for selection.

Please look at your Calendar for all Cricket and Athletics Fixtures. There are some omissions such as the South East Kent Championships which will take place within the next 2 weeks and the Powell trophy. No dates have been received yet.

This will be on Friday 27th June. There will be several changes to the format of the day. One of the main changes will be separate competitions for Year 11 and the Sixth Form. If you are in Year 11 or the Sixth Form and are quite good at athletics make an effort to train throughout the Summer and take part.

An extra incentive is that the Sports Day Records have been separated from School Records. There are many Records to be broken - especially in the throwing events where the implement weights have been changed to new specifications.

This year there will also be many fun events such as Welly Throwing, Coconut Shy, Obstacle Courses, Penalty Shooting, Potato and Spoon Races. These are designed to give all of you a bit of fun throughout the day - hopefully you will enjoy yourselves.

A provisional timetable is included on the following page. This is subject to some alterations.

Please note all Field events will be on the top field. The field will be out of bounds to all spectators. Spectators will, however, be allowed to watch from outside the canteen area, which is a great vantage point.

It is the intention of the PE Department to select the Year 11 and Year 12/13 Sports Day teams over the next few weeks prior to study leave. If you wish to take part in any event please give your names to the teacher in charge of your House or the PE Department in plenty of time. It would be fitting if the Senior school was well represented on June 27th.