It’s smiles all round as the boarders return
Who would have thought there would be such delight and excitement on the first night back of a new term in the boarding house! Given the wonderful welcome they received from Mr Coates and Mrs Conway, and the remarkable transformation of the Boarding House, perhaps it’s not so surprising. Before coming down to enjoy a wonderful barbecue on the lawn with boarding staff and parents, the boarders enjoyed settling into their newly appointed and decorated dorms. All the dormitories have been given a total revamp, with new furniture comprising study beds or bed and separate desks. The new arrangements guarantees that every boarder has their own wardrobe and their own private study area – and a lot more space! The boys’ top floor also has a new common room area, whilst the Form 6 girls have an extra ensuite shower. The rearrangement of the dormitories also means that all boarders can now enjoy a larger, bright common room. We look forward to bringing you more news and pictures of the Boarding House refurbishment shortly.
Sports Report
Cundall Manor have had a fantastic start to the sporting season with the girls showing the way with some emphatic victories in Hockey. Against St Martin’s Ampleforth the Under 12s won 7-0, as did the Under 13s by the same scoreline. Against Giggleswick, the Under 14s recorded a 3-1 victory and the result of the day was the Under 16s’ 8-0 victory in which some very sskillfulhockey was displayed. For the boys in Rugby the Under 11 and Under 13 teams travelled to St Martin’s Ampleforth for a warm-up practice tournament. The Under 11s equipped themselves well in beating St Martin’s Ampleforth by 3 tries to nil and then narrowly losing to Aysgarth by 2 tries to nil in a close contest. The Under 13s impressed by beating Aysgarth by 4 tries to 1 and then followed that up with a victory against the hosts by 3 tries to nil at half time, when the game had to be postponed due to a suspected serious injury to a St Martin’s player. This all bodes well for the term ahead. Mr Liley and the games department would like to thank all parents, in advance, for their support of the girls and boys at fixtures. Cundall Manor is very proud of its excellent reputation as supporters; we continue to forever encourage our own players and to applaud the good play of both teams.
Cundall GCSE results are “fantastique”!
Outgoing Thornton’s French students have ‘beaucoup’to celebrate on GCSE results day. Every single pupil who took GCSE French last term has achieved an A or A*. And it is not just modern foreign languages where Cundall pupils excel – our Science department was in an equally celebratory mood as all pupils taking individual GCSEs in Chemistry, Biology and Physics achieved A* – B grades in each discipline. We are delighted to see 86% of all Thornton pupils achieve A*- C in at least 5 GCSE subjects, a significant achievement for a non-selective independent school. Mr Sample summed up the sentiment: “We are delighted with the calibre of results published today. We are very proud of our non-selective status, and of the work we do to help each and every pupil reach, if not exceed, their own personal goals. In terms of value added, measuring the actual performance of pupils against statistically predicted outcomes, these results represent a gain of 0.5 of a grade per pupil per subject. This figure itself reflects the hard work and application of our pupils and the wonderful teaching skills and commitment of our staff.” Amongst those celebrating at Cundall today was Edward Kettleborough, who achieved a phenomenal 11 A*s and As. Edward, whose ambition is to become a museum curator, can now look forward to studying Latin, English, History and History of Art at A level. All our GCSE pupils have achieved the grades they require for their chosen higher education paths; we wish them every success in their new schools and colleges
Form 6 leavers
The last day of term was a particularly poignant day for those Form 6 pupils who were saying goodbye to Cundall for the very last time, prior to heading off to their chosen public schools in September. After the final whole school assembly of term, the departing pupils were given the customary send-off by the rest of the school before heading down to join parents and staff for the Leavers’ Service in Cundall Church. Afterwards the leavers and their parents enjoyed a celebration lunch in the Dining Room during which many of the youngsters entertained the guests with hilarious anecdotes about their more covert escapades at Cundall. After being presented with their Leavers’ caps, the pupils gathered on the front steps for a final celebratory photo and send-off.
Salcombe Sailing Week
Leckby enjoyed a typically British summer week down in Salcombe this year. The sunshine welcomed the group to the south coast and everyone was excited by the prospect of topping up their northern tans. Gusty winds and low water put their sailing skills to the test from day one and there were more than a few who ended up in the water, or in the mud! The weather turned on Wednesday, bringing a harsh reminder of just how cold it can be in England, especially in the water. Lightning on Thursday put a quick end to sailing that day, and driving the group into the classroom to look at sailing theory and rope work. A great week was had by all; everyone got fully involved in the sailing, kayaking, raft building, team games and famous ‘wet night’.
Form 4’s Ripley project
Form 4 enjoyed this term’s English project. They were whisked away on the first day of term to Ripley Castle where they discovered that their task was to write a children’s guide book. They were fascinated by the stories and history at the castle. Fortunate enough to have two further visits before the castle was open to the public the children have amassed a great deal of knowledge, so much in fact that 3 children were asked by the guides to start one of the public tours by explaining all that they knew about the Entrance Hall. What a privilege. They learned so much, especially why you don’t want to be caught ‘red handed’.
Thornton Leavers’ Dinner
The whole of Thornton, their parents and their teachers enjoyed a lovely evening at Rudding Park last Monday. It was super to see the students in their finery, enjoying a formal dinner in the splendid surroundings of one of Rudding’s traditional private dining rooms. After the delicious meal, Head Boy and Girl Will Shaw and Pip Edgar conducted a very amusing Awards Ceremony before Mr Notman and Mrs Hall presented each student with their Cundall memento box. The night was rounded off with much photo taking and farewell bidding. Thank you to all who attended and to Mr Peter Banks who hosting us so wonderfully.
Silver D of E Expedition
Eleven Thornton students went out on their silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition last week to the Whitby area. It was glorious weather for the three days they were out there, which kept them happy even if it was a mission for some to find shade along the route. The bikers set out from Danby in the North York Moors and the walkers set off a little further north in a village called Liverton. Their routes took them to Runswick Bay, where that evening they cooked their tea down on the beach. As the bikers were mainly on country lanes for the duration of the trip, their main worry was tackling the hills in the area whilst the walkers had to deal with other challenges, which included battling with overgrown paths and crossing streams with broken bridges. But in true Cundall spirit they all came out fighting, even if they had a few scrapes and scratches. The second day saw both groups head through Whitby, to the perfect campsite at Beacon Farm complete with its own ice cream parlour! The third day saw both groups heading for Robin Hood’s Bay where they had a bit of time to relax at the seaside. Throughout the routes they had some spectacular views of the coastline. It was a perfect trip to finish off their time at Cundall together.
Form 6 conquer Ben Nevis
Form 6 recently returned from a fabulous trip to Glencoe Outdoor Centre, Fort William where they completed a gruelling challenge, climbing Ben Nevis! The pupils arrived at Fort William after an 8 hour drive on Monday evening in high spirits and ready to face the UK’s highest Mountain. The pupils were split into two groups; the first group climbed on Tuesday and the second the following day. The pupils take an alternative route to the ‘tourist route’ to the summit. It is a challenging climb and scramble to the top, however it was secluded, beautiful and most importantly fun! The weather conditions were not favourable but the pupils continued with determination. After a four hour climb in the rain, the summit was reached at approximately 1pm. The pupils had lunch at the summit and then descended through snow and rain in 2 ½ hours. This extremely impressive time was aided by several games of ’I-spy’ to distract them from the aching muscles! Group 2 faced Ben Nevis on the Wednesday and they were lucky enough to have very little rain, completing the mountain in a similar time to Group 1. We even had a little visit from Mr Simpson in his jet aeroplane. Julia was very impressed with this! Other activities that the pupils completed included kayaking, canyoning and sailing (for one lucky group). Although the canyoning was very cold, it was certainly a popular activity. A fabulous experience was had by all and the teachers were extremely proud of the team work, determination and enthusiasm of all of the pupils. The Mountain Leaders were also very impressed with our students, who were an absolute pleasure to be with!
Form 2 Camp-out
Following their camp-out the previous night, the Form 2 teachers opted to let the children write their own account of the night’s adventures. Here is their rather wonderful report: “ Form 2’s Tuesday camp out began by hauling all our comfy kit down to the tree-like Tepees [sic]. Once arrived, we felt supreme to have the school fields all to ourselves. Rugby, football, wrestling, dancing, sandpit fun and a code cracking team game followed. The barbecue tasted scrumptious and was only better by the toasted marshmallows which we munched greedily as the sun faded and the campfire brightened. We got some sleep. It was wonderful. We felt transformed into our true wild Cundall outside selves!