FOCUS

The New Half-Term Newsletter

Issue 1 - October 2003

It gives me great pleasure to write the first of my contributions to ‘Focus’. It is hard to believe we’ve reached half term already!
 

The term didn’t start well – staffing recruitment at the end of the Summer term meant that the timetable, the core of our school, could not be constructed until August and thus the usual consultation and checking procedures could not be undertaken. Hopefully all the glitches will be ironed out and after half term, although there will be some inevitable changes for some boys, we should have a working timetable. Work has already begun on the timetable for next year (2004/5) so I can assure parents this will not happen again.

The good news was that at the start of term the huge redecoration / refurbishment programme had been successfully completed and I am very grateful to Mrs Pardoe, Mr Chatfield and Mr Powell for all their hard work. There is still much to do, but I hope that each holiday will see some part of the school being updated. Major works on the toilets and changing rooms should begin within the year – major works require major money but we are on the KCC Capital Works Programme. How much we receive is still a mystery – but there’s £20 million available for schools on the list. The Governors and I take every opportunity to push our case with the County Councillors – parents doing the same could either really push our case or drive them mad. But let’s take that risk.

We welcomed several new members of staff to the school – including me! I am sure you will come to know them all in the coming months and I wish them well in their new careers with us.

 Jean-François Andrieux – Modern Languages
 Catherine Dawson - Science
 Patricia Durning - English
 Susan Faulkner - Part time Psychology
 Adrian Greenwood - ICT
 Lisa Grilli - English
 Bernard Johnson - Science
 Marie Mangenot - Modern Languages (Previously on placement with us)
 Sarah Olver - Administrative Assistant
 Paul Powell - Assistant Caretaker
 Nina Watkins - School Secretary

In my first assembly to the boys – and in several since – I have talked about the four key areas of focus in our drive for improvement.
 Excellent appearance (ties really are not an optional extra!)
 Excellent behaviour (in and out of the classroom)
 Excellent environment (football practice with litter aimed at the bins is fine but if your aim is as good as Beckham’s in Turkey pick it up and place it in!)
 Excellent academic achievement (the core business)
I know parents will support us in this – the aim is simple – to be the best boy’s grammar school in Kent. I would like to thank those many parents who have sent me good wishes – I really appreciate your comments. Thanks also to those parents who’ve contacted us with concerns and complaints. I would always rather have criticisms voiced, giving us a chance to improve what we do. We are far from perfect but we are working at it. Your help, your support and your comments will help us move in the right direction.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my half term at Dover Boys (I have never worked so hard or been so tired), but it has been good to see the changes take place, to meet the boys and to begin to hear their views on their school and their learning. It is difficult to be in two places at once, but I relish a challenge. Thank you for the support you give to your sons and through them the support you give to the school. A close partnership between boys, home and school is an awesome power when it comes to improvement.

Julia Bell – Headteacher – October 2003

Guest Evening

Annual Guest Evening for Year 13 Leavers and High Achievers at GCSE took place on the 12th September.

Guests included Local Primary Headteachers, School Governors, the Mayor of Dover, George Alt, and guest of honour, the President Elect of the Old Pharosians, Mr Ian Pascall, who presented the prizes.

Musical interludes from the school’s musicians included solo items by Aaron Hobday and David Buhler, with the school’s Big Band concluding the night. All were gratefully received.

Notable achievements were Alan Blanchflower at A Level and Chris Leach at GCSE.

Thank you to Mrs Bell for her encouraging speech, and particular mention must go to Mr Davies and all others whose hard work and attention to detail contributed to the success of the evening.

Ed Close, Head Prefect – 13 DM

The Old Pharosians’ Dinner

On Saturday 13th September, the Old Pharosians’ Association kindly invited the Head Prefect and a Prefect Mentor and I to their annual dinner in the school hall.

The meal was preceded by drinks and socialising with some respected members of Dover’s community, including Rev. David Ridley, Vicar of St. Mary’s Town Parish Church, and, of course, our new head teacher Mrs Bell, not to mention the countless numbers of Old Boys and teachers who joined the gathering. Mrs Bell was later to become the only woman to take a place in the Old Pharosians’ photograph. After some very pleasant conversation, underlined by Mr Baldock’s fabulous mastery of the organ, we took our places to say grace and eat our feast.

All of the food was wonderfully prepared, from the Pâté Maison starter, to the Smoked Haddock fish course and the delicious roast-beef main course. The desert was an extra treat – apple pie, for which we all found room! Ed Close honoured the tradition of the Head Prefect’s toast, and led everybody in toasting the queen.

Now came the time to sit and digest our food, whilst listening to the dulcet tones of Mr Ian Pascall – President of the Old Pharosians. Despite some rather dubious accountant jokes, his speech was well received by everyone. Some amusement was created by the seemingly magical popping microphone, a phenomenon which Mrs Bell endeavoured to expel during her speech. She outlined the importance of a changing school and the role of the Old Pharosians in that change, and was thoroughly congratulated on her plans and vision for the school.

Finally, Mr Baldock led the congregation in singing the song ‘Forty Years On’, the words of which perhaps were not wholly suitable considering the presence of certain ladies, but they made the effort to join in nonetheless.

Special thanks go to Mr Maurice Smith for organising the entire gathering, and to the Association as a whole for their kind invitation.

Bob McKay – Deputy Head Prefect

Activities in the History Department

Jacob Ball of 10 Castle won October’s History prize by answering all questions correctly:
 Adlai Stevenson was talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis;
 The photograph was of Yuri Gagarin, who was the first man in space;
 Preston North End, then known as the ‘Invincibles’, did not concede a goal in winning the FA Cup of 1889 – 1890.
Jacob wins a GCSE History Revision guide.

The History Forum has been debating whether Britain was right to declare war on Germany in September 1939, thus escalating the crisis that was to become World War 2.
The arguments of Daniel Robinson (9 Castle), Dale King (9 Port), Daniel Knox and Michael Schlamm (both 10 Priory) can be read below.

History students have been very busy already this term and you can read accounts of trips to Berlin, the Somme and the National Army Museum below.

Jonathan Gaskell – Head of History Department

Should Britain have gone into war in 1939?
‘Yes’ say Daniel Robinson (9 Castle) and Dale King (9 Port)

The issue concerning if Britain should have joined the Second World War or not is a controversial and a highly debateable one. There are many supporters for both sides of an argument that has been going on for decades. A conclusion, which can be agreed upon by all has never been reached, until now, that is. We believe that Britain should have gone to war with Germany and it’s Allies for many reasons.

When Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 many people believed that the British Government had tolerated Hitler for long enough. He was now clearly in breach of the Treaty of Versailles that had been drawn up and signed at the close of the First World War. The British public were convinced that Hitler had finally overstepped the line and that he was a threat to civilisation that needed removing, the sooner the better. He had been appeased for too long, and somebody needed to stand up to him.
The final straw was when Hitler asked the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, for the Polish corridor, a narrow strip of land stretching as far as the port of Danzig, to be surrendered to him. Hitler had already remilitarised Germany, in the 1930s, also not allowed after the treaty, and now he was asking for lands taken from Germany to be given back to him, as if nothing had ever happened. Many British citizens felt that if Chamberlain gave in to these demands, he would be forfeiting everything that the Allies had gained by achieving victory in World War 1. Hitler’s demands were refused and so he mobilised his armies and took Poland by force. Britain had sworn to protect Poland in the event of an attack by Hitler’s troops and now Britain could hardly let the act go unheeded, for fear of being branded unmoral and not prepared to commit to anything. Also, if they refused to act then Hitler would see it as a sign that he could get away with anything and that Britain was not prepared to stand up to him.

At this point, there were still a small minority who were suggesting that Britain would be better off if it stayed out of the war and left Hitler alone. They argued that his problem was the Bolsheviks in Russia and the communist system, which he wanted to get rid of for good. However, if he had been allowed to take Russia then his power would have grown so great that any resistance to him would be rendered useless, and even the military might of the USA might not be enough to stop him if he decided to attempt to invade the West.
Hitler also persecuted Jewish people during the well known Holocaust. If Britain hadn’t defeated Germany in 1945 then maybe he would have killed 5 million more Jews and undertaken in even more crimes against humanity.

Another good reason for war was the fact that Hitler remilitarised Rhineland in 1936, the piece of Germany on the left bank of the Rhine had been kept demilitarised since the end of the First World War. Moving troops in was the first thing Hitler did that flaunted his inconsistency with the Versailles treaty.

‘No’ say Daniel Knox and Michael Schlamm (both 10 Priory)

In September 1939 Britain went to war with Hitler’s Germany in honour of the commitment to support Poland in the event of the German attack. There are strong arguments to show that Britain was wrong in it’s action both in terms of the situation in 1939 and with hindsight.

Germany had been badly treated at the end of World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh terms on Germany. Not surprisingly Hitler was determined to overturn these measures by re-arming, uniting with Austria and taking the Sudetenland and eventually the whole of Czechoslovakia. Throughout the League of Nations, France and Britain had appeased German ambitions in part as legitimate claims and in the interests of peace and disarmament.

Britain was not ready for war in 1939 and Poland was not a special case. Chamberlain may have been humiliated after the Munich Pact but Britain was no more obliged to support Poland than it had been to defend Czechoslovakia. Britain’s main interests lay in the Empire, which Hitler did not threaten. Hitler actually respected Britain and it was Britain who declared war, not Germany. Indeed ‘lebensraum’ threatened not just Poland but also the Communist Soviet Union. It could only be in Britain’s interest for Germany to fight and destroy Communism. Significantly, the destruction of Communism would have meant that there would have been no reason for the Cold War. Similarly, with hindsight, it could be argued that Britain did not wage war in 1939 but in fact ‘The Polish Paradox’ was exposed by the Phoney War and the failure to save Poland.

World War 2 brought millions of casualties, both military and civilians, in all the participating countries. The economies of Europe were shattered and billions of dollars of American aid was used for reconstruction. This brought America out of isolation and ensured superpower status whilst British influence declined and the Empire collapsed.

GCSE History Trip to Berlin –
12th to 14th September 2003

After studying Germany between the wars for over a year I felt the trip to Berlin would give me even more insight about the recent history of Germany. So Mr Gaskell, his mate Phil, 13 other pupils and I headed to Germany for three days and two nights. We got there after 10½ hours of travelling (and a quick game of footy outside Stansted airport). The first thing we did there was to catch the underground (U-Bahn in German) to our Youth Hostel. After dropping our bags off and a quick rest we were off again to see Checkpoint Charlie. This is a famous spot where the Russian side of Berlin met the American side. It was the only place where you could cross from East Berlin to West Berlin. We then had some free time to wander the magnificent city, which we used wisely. The Brandenburg gate was next on our tour with the Reichstag (German Houses of Parliament) soon after. Well, that’s what we thought. After trying that day we tried twice on Saturday and once again on Sunday. On each of the times the queue was twice as long as expected. After that mishap we walked to Potsdamer Platz and the huge shopping mall there. After a short stay there we headed back to our Youth Hostel for an early night in.

Day two was by far the best day of our trip. We visited the World’s most famous wall. This, as you all should know, was erected by the East German people to prevent fascism from coming to their part of the country. The whole of West Berlin was cut off from Germany. It was estimated that 70 people died trying to cross the wall. This was some job as the wall was actually two walls, with guard towers, snipers, barbed wire and angry dogs between them! We also visited Kaiser Wilhelm’s church, which was completely demolished by the RAF in World War 2. It is an immaculately decorated building, which also holds 4 nails from Coventry Cathedral, which the Germans had bombed. The Soviet War Museum was also on our tour. This commemorated the Soviet soldiers who died in the effort of taking Berlin. Ironically, this was on the British part of Berlin and was surrounded with barbed wire just like West Berlin. After a hard day’s work we decided to let our hair down and go to East Berlin, which I have to say was a bit on the down side to West Berlin. It was the poorer side but no doubt the better side. We encountered £3 pizzas, Turkish waiters and shall I say, ‘Ladies of the Night’. We got back to the hostel at about 1 o’clock that night.

Our last day was the most relaxing. We spent at least 2½ hours on the train going to a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. It was by far the most disturbing thing I have encountered first hand. It felt cold to say the least. And to cheer ourselves up we decided to go back to Wansee Villa, where the ‘problem’ of the Jews was corrected. The top Nazi’s decided in that building to start to kill the Jews in masses. But one thing that did cheer us up was the last event of the trip. We went to see the Berlin Flug Tag, which consisted of crazy people flying off a platform into a lake wearing crazy costumes. Although we missed the jumping we still had a good time. The hectic trip had come to an end. We all wished it would have been longer. At least we all got to see one of the most historic cities in Europe.
Aaron Brading – 11 FL

History trip to the Somme

On Wednesday 8th October the Year 10 GCSE History group, together with four Year 9 students, went on a trip to the Somme region of France. It was to help learn about the Battle of the Somme, which took place throughout the 2nd half of 1916, starting on July 1st. We left school at 8.00 a.m. and travelled via the Euro tunnel. First up was the Newfoundland Memorial Park near the village of Beaumont-Hamel. The park contained some carefully preserved original trenches that had been occupied by the Allied and German forces during World War 1.

There was also a large monument to the first Newfoundland regiment, who had been completely obliterated within an hour of leaving their trenches. This took the form of a calibu moose, the symbol that the Newfoundlanders wore on their uniform.

We were able to walk down from the British trenches, over No-Man’s land and down to the German trenches and infamous ‘Y-Ravine’, where the German troops had been waiting for the assault to begin. Here was another memorial, this time to the 51st Highland regiment, which had eventually taken the Y-Ravine on November 13th 1916.

Between the two lines of trenches was the Danger tree, a place where the British barbed wire formed a bottleneck and many troops perished, mercilessly cut down by German machine guns. There was also a museum where we had to take notes and learn about the part that the Newfoundlanders played in the battle.

Secondly, we visited the ‘Memorial to the Missing’ at Thiepval. It is constructed of several arches supported by numerous pillars, a replica of the Arc de Triomph. Each pillar was dedicated to a different regiment of the Allied forces who had fought in the Battle of the Somme. Somewhere on the memorial was the name of one of Charles Dickens’ descendants, Cedric Dickens, although none of us could find him!

Next up was the Lochnager crater, created when the British tunnelled under the German Redoubt and detonated 60,000 lbs of explosives. It is the largest manmade crater in Europe and geologists, who were in Belgium at the time of the explosion thought that it was an earthquake. The tremors from the formation of this crater were felt in London, hundreds of kilometres away, so imagine what it must have been like for the troops standing above the explosives when they were detonated. At the site of the crater there is a large cross of memorial to all the dead and wounded.

Finally we went to a cemetery and museum / memorial to the South African forces who were killed during the attempt to take Delville Wood. We did a survey in the cemetery to establish what the average age of the troops was and their rank. Finally we went over to the museum to learn the details of the assault on Delville Wood, which was led by South African forces. The colonel led 121 officers and 3,032 of his soldiers into the wood and six days later he led two officers and 140 soldiers out of it. During the battle an average of 400 artillery shells were exploding every minute, making almost 7 a second. Given this information it is not surprising that only one tree managed to survive the battle. Mr Gaskell showed us the tree and then we came back to school.

Thanks to Mr Gaskell, Mr Morrissey and all of the other adults who accompanied us on this extremely moving and educational day.
Dale King – 9 Port

History Trip to The National Army Museum
7th October 2003

The day started like any other (freezing cold) as we, Year 13 History students, gathered at the minibus at 8.10 in the morning. The purpose of this trip was to get extra-curricular information for our coursework, ‘The Development of Land Warfare 1815 – 1918’.

We set off for London and arrived at the museum at around 11.00. Since admission was free, the whole trip was free. We were greeted by a security guard, who checked our bags and left us with only pen and paper and a donation box. We were all quite stingy, apart from Jonathan Fullarton, who owes the museum £100.

Without much time to spare, we hurried to the Lecture Room to receive a lecture on warfare from 1815 – 1918. The talk was split into three parts:
1) An hour on the development of weapons from Napoleon to World War 1. This included authentic exhibits of the weapons, such as the Minnie Rifle, Brown Bess and the Lee Enfield rifle. We were also told about ammunition, artillery and explosive development. (If anyone wants to know what a Full Metal Jacket is, ask a Year 13 History Student). We were also allowed to handle the guns but they were unfortunately not loaded.
2) After a short break, Marlborough College and we were treated to a slideshow with vivid explanations as to the many developments, which led from a Napoleonic British Army to a Great War British Army.
3) After a very amusing lunch break with amusing ‘whoopsy-daisy’ consequences, we returned to a lecture on the life of a British soldier through the time period.

After some explanations, Ben Bulow and a boy from Marlborough College (who did not look unlike one David Holder) were dressed in traditional British Redcoat and functional British Khaki. This segment showed us how both soldiers varied in appearance but not so much in experience.

Feeling thoroughly knowledgeable and very tired, we headed to the minibus and we were soon on our way back home. After feeling alienated in London, we had a series of song selections on the way back. After arriving nearly an hour early; 5.20, we all left to go our separate ways and sleep until the next day.
Noel D’Arcy – 13 DM

School Library News

Tesco Computers for Schools 2003
I am informed that we should take delivery of our new computer by the end of October. Hopefully it will be ready for action after half term. Thank you to all who contributed.

Book Week 6th to 12th October
National Poetry Day 9th October

This year we celebrated by holding an internal Book Ballot to find out the Top Ten Favourite Authors. The results are as follows:

1) JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2) JRR Tolkein

Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit

3) Anthony Horowitz

Storm Breaker

Point Blanc

Skeleton Key

Eagle Strike

4) Philip Pullman

Northern Lights

Subtle Knife

The Amber Spyglass

5) Terry Pratchett

Discworld Novels

6) Roald Dahl

Going Solo

The Twits

BFG

7) Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl

The Arctic Incident

The Eternity Code

8) Sue Townsend

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole

9) Louis Sachar

Holes

10) William Nicholson

The Wind Singer

Slaves of Mastery

Firesong
and

Terry Deary

Horrible Histories Series

Three quizzes were also set with £5 book tokens for the winners:

Pen Names
Jack Starling, 11RF
Creatures Great and Small
To be announced
What were they famous for
Richard McKeown, 7 Priory
 

Encyclopaedia Britannica School Edition

Online Remote Access
This website is a very useful resource tool. Try this site out in school and at home:
Go to: www.school.eb.com
Enter the following details:
Username: *
Password: *

* (This was published in the paper version of the Focus newsletter for boys of the school only)
The school has a contract with Britannica making access to the website available from September 2003 to September 2004.
 

Nestlé Box Tops Collection

Please keep collecting the cereal box tops this Autumn/Winter. In the Spring I am able to transfer them into cash and purchase a selection of Fiction Titles. Tokens can be placed in the box outside the main Library doors or at the school office.

Mrs L K George – School Librarian

Sixth Form Visit to London
9th October 2003

This was the third visit by the Sixth Form to London, providing a useful basis for general studies and citizenship. The morning was spent visiting the Houses of Parliament, including a video presentation on the work of Parliament followed by a chance to question an MP. This resulted in a lively discussion on issues from the legalisation of cannabis, to what an MP actually does for his/her constituents. Finally the students had a guided tour of the Palace of Westminster during which they were allowed to sit in the gallery of the House of Lords whilst a debate was going on. Despite appearances, nobody was actually asleep!

In the afternoon we split into groups. Some went with Mr Crofts to visit the Inns of Court and the High Court of Justice, some went to the Imperial War Museum to research material relevant to their A Level history studies, another group went with Mrs Harrison to the British Museum while a large group chose the Science Museum, partly to visit the Lord of the Rings exhibition.

This was a valuable opportunity to gain an experience, however brief, of some of the cultural and intellectual wealth of London, and to get used to travelling on the underground. It is a pity that more members of Year 12 were not able to take advantage of the visit.

M G Thomas – Head of Upper School

Music Department

Music is flourishing this term with a large number of boys in Year 7 beginning instrumental lessons. The music department subsidy reduces the cost of lessons and this cost can be reduced further if students have group lessons. Parents will be sent a progress report from the instrumental teacher at the end of each term. Students can begin instrumental lessons at any time – just ask me for a yellow application form.

It is encouraging to report that the new singing group ILLUMINA has attracted considerable interest from boys, mainly in Year 7. This group, along with the Dover Grammar School for Boys Singers will be performing at the School Carol Service in Charlton Church, Dover on Wednesday 17th December at 8.00 p.m. This event is one of the highlights of the school year. Please come and support this if you can. The service always has a beautiful atmosphere, being conducted in candlelight. The school singing groups will be performing a wide variety of Christmas music supported by the organ and brass ensemble. In addition to the items performed by the school’s singers and musicians, there will be familiar carols for everyone to sing as well as the traditional readings telling the nativity story.

On Wednesday 10th December there will be a Lunchtime Concert in the School Hall commencing at 1.05 p.m. This concert will feature the School Big Band directed by Mr Brian Shaw and the School String Quartet. In addition, there will be solos on piano, electric guitar and flute performed by Year 13 A Level students. Entrance is free of charge. All students, staff and parents are welcome to attend the concert, which will end at 1.35 p.m.

Mr P Baldock – Director of Music

Naming the Newsletter Competition

I’m sure you will have noticed the new name for the newsletter – Focus.

In September’s edition of the First Thursday, pupils were requested to submit suggestions for a new name and these were then voted on at the last School Council Meeting.

The lucky winner of £25.00 is Joshua (or Joe, as he likes to be called) Brown of 8 Castle. Joe was presented with the cheque in assembly by Mrs Bell.
Well done Joe!

Jeans for Genes

On Friday 17th October boys, along with staff, paid £1.00 each to take part in a Jeans for Genes day arranged by with the assistance of Steven King in Year 12.

The amount raised for this worthy cause will be published in the next edition of the newsletter.

German Pupils Visit the School

On the same day as Jeans for Genes, a party of German pupils from Bavaria spent the morning with the Modern Foreign Languages department. Great efforts were made at communicating both in German and in English. We hope to eventually return the visit. Watch this space! If you wish to write to some of the German students, please see Mrs Lloyd.

Mrs F Lloyd – Subject Leader for Modern Foreign Languages
 

University Successes

Congratulations to the following former students, who have gained degrees since leaving the Dover Grammar School for Boys:

 Duncan Barrett has gained a BA with Honours in Illustration.

 Mark D Callanan has gained a Bachelor of Science with Honours (Upper Second Class Honours) in Computer Science.

 J Coates has achieved a Medical Degree (MBBS).

 Danilo Del Duca has obtained a BA in French and Italian (Lower Second Class).

 Mitu Islam has qualified for the award of the Meng degree with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in Aerospace Materials.

 Oliver Lansley has qualified for the award of the BSc degree with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in Biochemistry.

 Bradley S Powlter has gained a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Lower Second Class Honours) in Accounting & Finance and Business Administration.

 P Woodland has achieved a Medical Degree (MBBS).

Second Hand Clothing

We have various items of used uniform for sale at reasonable prices. Parents may come to the school on a Tuesday or Thursday to inspect the items for sale. Please call the school office to make an appointment prior to your visit.

Football News

Trial/Development Matches
These were set up against strong opposition to finalise team positions prior to the main Kent Cups this year instead of playing in the Dover League. As the results in the Kent Cups and English Cups show, the teams have developed well, especially from their defeats during the experimental games.
 

Kent Cup Matches

English Schools Trophy Matches

Rugby Matches

Daily Mail Cup

Kent Cup

Mr Wayne Howe – Head of Sports

Sports Reports

Reports by Steven King 12AC

Year 8 v Harvey Grammar: 5-2 (23/September/03)

On Tuesday 23rd September the year 8 team travelled to Harvey Grammar for a  friendly game. This was Dover’s biggest challenge yet as Harvey had a physical side who although didn’t possess much of a passing game did know how to get the ball forward quickly and cause defences problems in a 1990’s Wimbledon style. However Dover managed to combat this to eventually complete a fairly comfortable 5-2 win.

The game started off in a very scrappy fashion on what was a small and very uneven pitch. This suited the hosts as they hoisted the ball forward at every possible opportunity for their strikers. However despite this Dover created the better of the chances with quite a few players guilty of squandering good chances. However Dover did not let the tactics of Harvey effect their rhythm and were still trying to pass the ball around although it was not always possible.

With 10 minutes left of the first half Harvey took the lead against the run of play as another long punt was misjudged by Dover ‘keeper Guy Hopkins, this mistake resulted in a Harvey forward bundling the ball over the line. This saw the hosts take the lead at half time in a game in which Dover deserved to have been leading comfortably. However Harvey’s luck run out 2 minutes into the second half when a superb passing move from Dover saw Michael Kelly slide the ball through to makeshift right winger Jack Staley who slid the ball past the Harvey keeper to give Dover a deserved equaliser.

From this point Dover never looked back and if Harvey thought they had contained Dover’s impressive play in the first half they were totally played off the park in the second. Dover doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when striker Mo Nasr pressured the Harvey defence so much that they ended up presenting him with a tough chance which he duly put away with great ease to see Dover into a very much deserved lead.

The visitors now had their best spell of the game and some of the passing must of impressed the spectators of both sides, moves where starting at the back and the easy ball was being utilised frequently to make Dover look twice the side they had been before. This great spell resulted in Dover adding a third goal which was reward to scorer Dan Allen for the hard work he had done all game, he finished well to take his personal tally to 5 goals in 2 games. Harvey were now struggling to even play their long ball game as they couldn’t get hold of the ball and when they did Gareth Phillips and Tom Penn were dealing with the limited attacks that the hosts mounted. Dover’s confidence was now sky high and they added a fourth goal through the much worked on corner routine. Jack Staley swung the ball in to the back post where Gareth Phillips arrived to force the ball home to score his second goal in two games. Dover then added a fifth goal with 10 minutes remaining when Mo Nasr managed to lob the keeper from 25 yards (please note the keeper was on his line) for his second goal of the game. Dover were really trying to play like the men in the yellow shirts from Brazil in the last 5 minutes and got caught with a lack of numbers as the back as Harvey grabbed what can be best described as a last minute consolation goal.

This was a superb performance from the team and a thoroughly deserved to win in preparation for their next cup game next Wednesday. Praise must go to Gareth Phillips for organising the defence superbly, Jack Staley for playing well out of position, skipper Michael Kelly for leading the team superbly and strikers Allen and Nasr for working hard up front.

This was a good performance and it would be encouraging if people would come and support the team in their next game on Wednesday 1st October at home to Pent Valley.

Team: Guy Hopkins, Kurt Jagger, Gareth Phillips, Tom Penn, Craig Barnes, Jack Staley, Michael Kelly, Jack Knight, Sam Douglas, Mo Nasr, Dan Allen.

Year 8 County Cup v Chatham House: 6-2 (18/September/2003)

The year 8 team started off their County Cup campaign with a potentially tough game away to Chatham House Grammar school. Dover started the game very slowly and never imposed their passing game on their opponents, letting Chatham House get control of the game and cause Dover a few problems. After 10 minutes Chatham took a deserved lead after a mix up in the Dover defence allowed an easy chance to Chatham House which was well converted to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Dover then tried to get back into the game but were playing poorly with only Michael Kelly and Dan Allen playing anywhere near their full potential. As a result of this Chatham House doubled their lead half way through the half when Dover conceded another soft goal. Dover found themselves 2-0 down in the cup, but to the players credit they started to respond and a minute before half time halved the deficit as Dan Allen broke through to finish well.

This gave Dover a lifeline and after having a good chat at half time to try and rectify the problems a change of tactics saw a vastly improved second half performance. Dover started the half superbly with captain Michael Kelly running the game from central midfield. The good start to the half led to Dover winning their first corner of the game, a great ball in from Jack Staley found the head of Dan Allen who bulleted a header in off the underside of the bar to equalise for Dover. This goal gave the team a visible lift in confidence and soon after a great passing move including Kelly and Sam Douglas saw Dover force another corner from the same side.

Once again a good ball was delivered by Staley and this time centre back Gareth Philips met the corner with a superb stooping header which found the bottom corner to put Dover into what was just about a deserved lead. Dover now started to play some superb football and pulled Chatham House all over the pitch, Dan Allen was causing all sort of problems up front and Michael Kelly playing a Zidane role in midfield as Dover were looking to wrap up the game. They indeed managed to do this when Dan Allen forced a defensive mistake and he fully capitalised on this to complete a superb hat trick to put the game firmly in Dover’s hands.

There was no looking back from here for the visitors and before long Allen had scored his fourth goal of the game with a superb finish to stamp Dover’s second half authority down. However Dover had not finished there as with 5 minutes left Mo Nasr managed to add a sixth goal from a tight angle to put a seal on a superb second half performance.

After what was quite frankly a terrible first half performance Dover showed great sprit and skill to respond in such a way in the second half in what was a very important game. Captain and man of the match Michael Kelly was superb as was Dan Allen. Hopefully the team can play like this for the whole game in the next round and save the coach and supporters of the team the worry that was caused in this first cup game.

Team: Guy Hopkins, Tom Penn, Jack Staley, Gareth Phillips, Jeremy Delsignore, Jack Knight, Michael Kelly, Sam Douglas, Dan Allen, Ryan Doble, Jon Townsend, Mo Nasr

Year 8 v Pent Valley: 8-0 (1/October/2003)

The year 8 team continued their impressive start to the season with a 4th consecutive win against Pent Valley in the second round of the County Cup. This was Dover’s first home game of the season and they started in a blazing fashion. Unlike most of my reports I cant really remember the order that things happened in the first half, as there was so much of it.

What I can say is that Dover had opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with a superb strike from Sam Douglas from just inside the area, which gave the Pent Valley keeper absolutely no chance. This set the tone for the rest of the half and to put it mildly Dover tore the visitors apart. I can assure that there was another 6 goals scored and two of them were superb strikes from captain Michael Kelly with both from a good 25 yards.

The others goals were scored by the dynamic strike partnership of Mo Nasr and Daniel Allen. They both bagged a brace in the first half with Allen’s superb pace and body strength causing a large Pent Valley team a huge amount of problems. His partner Nasr also notched a couple of goals with two superb finishes after some great team moves.

However despite going into the break with a 7-0 lead the performance was still not as good as it could and probably should be, the team were struggling on what is a big pitch and played their best football when the game was enclosed in the middle part of the pitch during the first half.

Dover’s second half performance was one that is instantly forgettable with the only memorable moment being Allen completing his hat trick and moving top of the scoring charts with his 8th goal in just 3 games. The team really struggled as the game got stretched beyond all belief and although they tried to play the passing football they are capable of they were struggling to do so. However the hard work was done in the first half and although a late goal was conceded this was a thoroughly satisfying result and almost met Mr Grants 8-0 pre match prediction.

The team can and hopefully will play better than this but I don’t think anyone can moan at what was a very convincing score line in bad conditions on a pitch that really didn’t suit the teams style of play. It was also nice to see Mr Sewell brave the weather to come and support the team and it would be nice if more would follow suit to support a part of the school that is very successful.

Team: Guy Hopkins, Kurt Jagger, Tom Penn, Gareth Phillips, Jack Staley, Ryan Doble, Jack Knight, Michael Kelly, Sam Douglas, Daniel Allen, Mo Nasr, Jon Townsend, Craig Barnes.

Year 8 Football v Dane Court: 4-1 9th September 2003

The year 8 team started of their season with a superb team performance which saw them overpower Dane Court by 4 goals to one. The score flattered the home team as Dover could of easily scored 8 or 9 goals without reply and it wouldn’t of been an injustice. Dover started the game well and settled in never letting Dane Court settle and controlling the game from start to finish.

Dover took a deserve lead after 10 minutes when Dane Court failed to clear a corner and Jack Staley fired a brilliant volley into the top corner from the edge of the box. After this goal went in Dover never looked back and produced an outstanding defensive display starting with the forwards as the whole team defended as a unit to stop any potential Dane Court attacks.

Dover then doubled their lead mid way through the half when Jon Townsend latched onto a through ball to outpace the Dane Court defence and to slot the ball easily past the on rushing keeper. Dane court had yet to register any serious attack by this point and this was to be the story of the rest of the game, Gareth Phillips marshalled the defence superbly and captain Michael Kelly took more and more control of the game as it went on from central midfield. Dover then controlled the rest of the first half and although creating a number of chances were unable to add to their advantage.

Dover started the second half superbly and really should of scored a third goal a minute in with a brilliant passing move which nearly resulted in a goal but unfortunately the final finish was not produced. However Dover did add a 3rd with a superb team goal minutes later. The move started out wide with Jack Staley who played the ball inside to Jack Knight the ball was then played into Michael Kelly who played Jon Townsend through with a superb back heel which wouldn’t of looked out of place at Old Trafford. Jon Townsend then sent in a great cross which Mo Nasr steered home for his first and Dover’s third of the game.

The second half continued in much of the same vain as the first with Dover totally dominating the game and Dane Court struggling to string any passes together. Dover’s fourth goal was a reward for the hard work of the forwards as they chased the ball down Mo Nasr capitalised on a mistake by a defender, he then beat the keeper in a 50-50 challenge and rolled the ball into the net. This goal rewarded the hard work of the whole team and showed how defending as a unit can also help the team attack.

Dane Court did manage to grab a consolation goal in the last minute when the Dover defence were caught square and the Dane Court forwarded managed to run through and convert their only chance of the whole game.

This was a superb team performance with everyone playing their part in the win, defenders Gareth Phillips and Kurt Jagger deserving special praise. Ryan Doble worked extremely hard on the right hand side of midfield and put in a very impressive performance and Michael Kelly who controlled the game and was at the centre of all Dover’s good moves. Praise also to Mo Nasr who worked tirelessly upfront and was rewarded with two goals. If the team can keep improving on performances like this they will have a very good chance of having a successful season.

Team: Guy Hopkins, Craig Barnes, Tom Penn, Gareth Phillips, Kurt Jagger, Jack Staley, Michael Kelly, Jack Knight, Ryan Doble, Jon Townsend, Mo Nasr.

Care for All

The following information may be of interest and value to parents. However, as the school is unable to endorse this, parents must investigate the company themselves.

‘Care for All Ltd is committed to delivering a professional and flexible home Childcare service to meet Client needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will work in partnership with Parents or Guardians and contribute actively to the Child’s own development. Each Child will be treated with equal concern’.

Mission Statement:

‘At Care for All we care for our Clients, we care for our Staff, we care for ALL’.

Booking a Child Sitter:
‘To book a Child Sitter the client needs to contact the office by phone, fax or email. Once the relevant details have been taken a Home Visit will be arranged by us to check the basic Health and Safety aspects of the home in question. Following this, and before registration can be completed, the Parent/Guardian will inform us of the Child’s own routine, so that we at Care for All Ltd may establish what will be required from the Child Sitter’.

Child Sitter Selection:
‘Our Child Sitters go through rigorous checks before they are selected to work for us. These checks include an Enhanced Level Police Check carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau, production of two references – professional and personal, and interviews. Each of our Child Sitters will hold a suitable Childcare qualification such as NVQ, or would have completed the Care for All Ltd in-house training course’.

Activities for your Child:
‘Our day time activities will be matched to the Child’s age, abilities and interests, and may include the following: imaginative play, drawing and painting, water and/or sand play, modelling, construction sets, books and puzzles. Where possible, and if required, Children will be helped with their homework. Our evening/night-time Child Sitters will read bedtime stories (if required) and maintain regular checks during the night’.

Rates for Regular Clients:
(Minimum 1 session per week)

Standard Hourly rates:
(Minimum of 3 Hours per session is required)

‘We can also accept Childcare Vouchers where you can save up to 11% on Childcare costs’.

Please Note: Prices are charged per hour not per child. The Child Sitter is only responsible for the child(ren) of the registered family.

For more information please telephone
01304 203953, email office@careforall.ltd.uk or view their website at www.careforall.ltd.uk

Care for All Ltd
2nd Floor
Charlton House
Dour Street
Dover
Kent CT16 1AT

Just for Fun…

Dear Editor,
Wood this bee any good four the necks Thirst Firs Daze Edition?
Eye must stress eye did knot right it!!

Spelling Bee
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea
Eye Strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose before two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore yore pleased two no
Its letter perfect all the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew!
(‘The spelling check is complete’, it said!!)
Dr Alan French

Dates for your Diary:

Thursday 23 October - Break up for Half Term
Monday 3 November - Return to School
Tuesday 4 November - Year 12 and 13 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 19 November - Year 10 Parents’ Evening (Full Staff Consultation)
Saturday 22 November - Entrance Exam for Prospective Pupils
Monday 24 November to Friday 28 November - Year 13 Assessment Week
Wednesday 26 November - Year 7 Parents’ Evening (Form Teachers)
Friday 28 November to Friday 5 December - Year 11 Mock GCSEs and Study Leave
Monday 1 December to Friday 5 December - Year 12 Assessment Week
Wednesday 17 December - Carols in Charlton Church
Friday 19 December - Term Ends
Monday 5 January 2004 - Term Begins
 

And finally… An Offer Not to Be Missed

Drake and Fletcher Honda Dealers at Ashford have some exclusive offers for Parents and Teachers of Dover Grammar School for Boys, such as the New Honda Civic 1.6 S 5 door V-tec – was £13,725 now £10,995.

For full details of these special offers please contact Tom Lovelock on 01233 506789 or visit their showroom at The Parade, Orbital Business Park, Ashford. For those of you with Internet access the website is: www.hondaoffers.com