Form 1’s Science ‘High Flyers’
As most of Form 1B went off to play rugby for the afternoon, science got a little creative for the three boys that remained. It began with a trip to the roof of the main building, looking at supporting shapes and structures. The boys soon realised how triangles could be used to make things stronger and spotted other examples around the school. Whilst in the eaves, the boys spotted a large kite and asked if they could build it. As a box kite, it used rods and triangles to strengthen it and so the answer was of course yes. Once built and briefly discussed, the boys tested it on the field. The wind was rather strong and the lesson ended with a sprint across the field, chasing the runaway kite which eventually got caught up in the cricket nets. Once rescued, the boys returned to the classroom to have a go at building their own supportive structure. Great fun.
Bonfire Night
Thank you to all parents, pupils, families and friends who supported our bonfire and fireworks part y this year. It really was a very successful evening. Special thanks go to Carl and the groundsmen for putting on such a fabulous display, and to Sylvia, April and the kitchen staff for their wonderfully warming bonfire supper.
Christmas preparations in the Boarding House
The weekend boarders had a great time making their Christmas cakes this weekend. They were picked at random to work in pairs or small groups and each team tried really hard to produce something special. They all agreed that it was hard work but fun! The proof really is in the eating though and the winner will be announced nearer to Christmas.
U15 Hambleton and Richmond Area Netball
Cundall had a brilliant tournament and played out of their skins, the result resting on the very final match – Cundall v Queen Mary’s. This time, crucially, Cundall won! Congratulations to all the girls, particularly to Sophie Lake for such good shooting and to Lucy Auckland for captaining the winning team.
Honours for our own hockey hero
We are delighted to bring news this week of a wonderful accolade for our matron and hockey coach Mrs Bev Longthorne. Bev’s commission and passion for hockey was formally recognised by Hambleton District Council at the recent Hambleton Sports Awards. Bev was one of a group of sports performers, coaches and volunteers whose contribution to their chosen sport deserves particular recognition; Bev’s involvement in hockey at county level is extensive and it is lovely to see it recognised by so many in the form of this award. Well done Bev. Bev, top left, is pictured with fellow Hambleton District Council Sports Award recipients
Sports report
Boys and Girls of the Main School and Upper School were once again busy representing the school in several disciplines. On Tuesday the Under 14 boys had a cracking game against Ampleforth College with the lead changing several times, only for the game to finish in a thrilling 28-28 draw. On Wednesday it was the turn of Main School with the boys having the return block fixture against Aysgarth and demonstrating much improvement since their first encounter. The Under 13A team demonstrated great courage and endeavour despite the 0-27 loss, the scoreline not reflecting the closeness of the game. The Under 13B team continued their winning ways with a close 12-5 victory. The Under 11 teams also displayed improved performances in their losses by 10-45 and 0-31. The Under 9s then finished the fixture on a high with a 5-5 draw for the A team and a 9-2 victory for the B team.For the girls there was a block fixture with Gateways School in which the Under 11A team won 6-0 and the Under 11 B team won 7-0 at hockey. For the Under 13 and Under 12 girls the focus turned to netball: the Under 13s had a close match, coming out as winners by 10-8, whilst the Under 12s found things slightly tougher in their 3-23 loss. There was also a victory over Hill House for the Under 10 hockey team.On Thursday the Under 8 boys enjoyed another tag fixture, this time against Aysgarth, in which all those Form 1 boys who had had less competitive experience during the term competed. They performed extremely well, scoring many tries in the process. For the Upper School the Under 16 girls continued their impressive season with a 7-1 victory over Silcoates. For the boys it was their turn to compete in football against Ackworth School and in very windy conditions they played some nice football at times and finished with a 1-1 draw.Finally on Saturday the Under 13 boys completed the week with two resounding victories over local rivals St Martin’s, Ampleforth. The Under 13As romped home by 51-0 and the Under 13 Bs once again recorded a convincing victory by 42-0.
Sports Report
With over a week’s rest from competitive school fixtures, the Cundall boys and girls returned to another busy week of sport. On the first day back the Under 9 boys played Hill House and were victorious in both the A and B team matches by 7-6 and 8-1 respectively. On Wednesday the major fixture was against Mowden Hall in which the girls were successful in their two hockey fixtures, winning at Under 13 by 3-1 and at Under 12 by 4-1. In netball the Under 11As found the opposition too strong and, although battling hard, they eventually lost 5-18, whilst the Under 11B team were victorious by 5-2. The Under 9s also won their netball game. Also at netball the Under 10s competed against Lyndhurst School in which the A team lost 2-5 and the B team drew 1-1. Finally on Wednesday the Under 11C team took to the field for the second time this term against Aysgarth and they had a close, competitive match in losing 14-29. On Thursday the Under 15 girls’ hockey took to the field against Silcoates School and recorded a narrow but well-earned win by 2-1. On Saturday Cundall hosted touring side Spratton Hall from Northamptonshire in three fantastically competitive games. The boys had a tense finish with the lead changing hands on several occasions, only getting ahead in the final 5 minutes and then sadly losing to a penalty, finishing the game 17-18. The Under 13 B played three sessions of 10 minutes in a 7-a-side game and returned as winners by 52-28. The girls finished the week with an excellent narrow hockey victory by 2-1.
Conker Cup 2014
What a sight it was to see the whole of Main and Upper School take to the quad for the inaugural whole school conker competition just before the exeat weekend last month. Equipped with the requisite conker on a string (all 200 of which were patiently prepared by Mr Bayne and his team of able Teaching Assistants!) every single pupil took on another pupil from another house in a knock out competition. It was good to see that age offers neither advantage nor disadvantage in the battle for conker supremacy as younger pupils pitted their skills against older pupils to whittle the field down to just two competitors from each House. These final eight competitors then faced each other one morning break time just before half term in the Conker Cup final, where again, older pupils found themselves being challenged by some of our youngest competitors. Huge congratulations go to Form 1’s Harvey Auckland who took on Thornton pupil Pippa Cook to win the Conker Cup 2014.
Halloween disco
As the sun went down and dusk fell on Cundall Manor, all manner of ghost and ghoul, witch and wizard, vampire and werewolf made their way to the darkest recesses of the school gym for the annual spectacular that is the Halloween Disco. Organised by Thornton and Mrs Hall, the Halloween Disco is a major event in the Upper School Expedition fundraising calendar and it was wonderful to see so much effort going into the event and so many children supporting it. Mrs Hall is very proud of the Thornton crew who decorated the gym, ran the tuck bar, and laid on an array of attractions for the children including a ‘tattoo’ parlour, nail bar and glow stick stall. Special thanks must also go to Mr Smith for all his help and support, ex pupils Will and Louis Shaw for their fabulous disco, Mrs Edgar for running the photo booth, and Miss Creed for keeping the dancing going! Thank you too to all those who attended and helped Thornton raise over £400 for their summer expedition.
Pre-Prep’s Halloween transformation
Pre-Prep children arrived on the last day of the half term to a big surprise. Mrs Feeley and Mrs Majewski had transformed the Pre-Prep main building into a Halloween extravaganza with pumpkins, cauldrons, giant spiders and spooky ghosts! The children then had great fun playing games, decorating biscuits and listening to spooky stories. The highlight was to make your teacher into a mummy game where the children raced to cover their teacher in toilet roll to look like a mummy. The poor teacher’s couldn’t even see by the end of it, but the children all thought it was hilarious, especially Mrs Weber and Mrs Living who were wrapped together! It was a lovely way to round off the half term and to celebrate the hard work of the children in Pre-Prep.