Languages Day
What a lovely day we had for Languages Day. The sun shone and the pupils looked lovely as they munched on paté, olives, baguette, cheeses from four different countries and various types of brioche. Everybody had made a huge effort and particular congratulations should go to Ethan Watkins, Florry Wharton, Taebyn McIntosh, Isobel Saxby, Katie Wilkinson and Henry Scagell for their super costumes. See Mme Hunzinger before the end of term to collect a little prize!
Form 5 Spanish Trip
Monday 22nd June saw 23 excited Form 5 pupils jet off to Murcia for a week of Spanish immersion at the Arbolar Centre. After arriving they were introduced to the monitores and shown their dorms before quickly heading to the beach for a game of volleyball – in Spanish! After supper there was a game of Bingo and then it was time for bed. Tuesday morning the sun was shining and the pupils enjoyed their first Spanish lesson, learning how to cook gazpacho and tortilla. They then got to taste their culinary delights for supper in the evening. The afternoon was spent sailing, kayaking and windsurfing on the beautiful Mar Menor. The pupils were up early on Wednesday ready for a trip to the local mercadillo. After learning all the important vocabulary and phrases in the morning, including asking for the correct size, the price and even how to barter for a better deal, they headed for the market. The children showed off their Spanish skills and treated themselves to churros y chocolate! The afternoon was spent playing a round robin of different beach sports with the Spanish children from the centre – a fantastic opportunity to make friends, speak Spanish and show off Cundall’s rugby prowess. On Thursday Form 5 enjoyed a fabulous day out at the port town of Cartagena. After being taught about directions, places in town and how to ask questions, the children were set a quiz to find out more about the historic town. They then headed to the Roman Theatre – a real treat, especially for our Latin students. The guide really took the pupils back in time and told them all about how the theatre was built and the spectacles that were staged there. In the afternoon there was some free time to use their Spanish skills to buy souvenirs and ice creams. The last night was a karaoke competition where everyone present was extremely impressed with the offerings of our Cundall children. The evening was topped off with a rather impromptu foam crossbow shoot out! Form 5 would like to thank all the staff who accompanied the trip and commented on the superb behaviour of all the children. A fabulous time was had by all.
Form 3’s Castle Adventure
On Tuesday 16th June, the students in Form Three visited Conisbrough Castle near Doncaster as part of their Medieval topic in History. They have been learning all about what castle life was like during the medieval era and a ‘Meet the Medievals’ workshop at the castle helped to consolidate their learning in a fun and interactive way. The children were divided into groups and had to give short presentations after working out what would have happened in different rooms within the castle using a bag of clues. The peasants group discovered how smelly and unpleasant the dungeons would have been with rats scuttling around in the sewage that would have leaked from the overflowing toilet. The lords group had the chance to tell everyone all about the banquets in the great hall and the kitchens, with its great fireplace, was investigated by the final group. With rotten meat disguised by adding extra herbs and spices, it is no wonder medieval health was not good! The children also enjoyed exploring the castle keep and learning about each of the rooms inside it. The garderobe (toilet) was a particular attraction and the children learned how young children got the very unpleasant job of being lowered down the chute to clean them. The last hour of the day was devoted to developing the children’s art skills as they drew the castle from a lovely sunny spot on the hill. The magnificent cylindrical keep at the heart of Conisbrough Castle is one of South Yorkshire’s most striking landmarks and as they drew, the children were able to imagine the busy bustling place it would have been eight hundred years ago.
Form 2 Harlow Carr
Form 2 visited Harlow Carr in Harrogate and were Woodland Explorers for the afternoon. On arrival at Harlow Carr, the children enjoyed a picnic in the beautiful gardens before heading off to the educational room to discuss what our tour of the woodland would involve. After our briefing we set off looking at the trees and working out the names with the help from the leaf guides and learned which trees are of the same family. The children also learned how to age trees. The day may have been a little chilly but the children were ready for the adventure with the usual Cundall gusto.
Speech Day 2015
Last Saturday saw the whole school come together to celebrate the achievements and successes of the last academic year. In a packed marquee Upper School Head Laura Aspinall gave a brilliant and amusing opening address before handing over to Chair of Governors, Sir Thomas Ingilby, and then Headmaster Mr Sample. Main School Head Boy James Neilson-Clark entertained us with his reminiscences about life at Cundall before welcoming the guest speaker The Rt Hon Lady Justice Eleanor King DBE to the floor. Dame Eleanor offered the pupils some sound advice about finding and following their own particular star in fulfilling their personal and career ambitions, before presenting this year’s prizes and trophies to their deserving recipients from throughout the school. Main School Head Girl Ellen Watkins took the unique and all too apt theme of mud, in all its various guises, to sum up her experiences so far of life at Cundall Manor, before Upper School Head Boy James Gordon, with eleven years of material to draw upon, an abundance of charm and mastery of comic timing, brought the day’s proceedings to a hilarious close.
Sports Day in Main and Upper School
A hugely enjoyable and successful day of athletics for pupils in Main and Upper School.
Form 4 visit Harlow Carr
Form 4 enjoyed a lovely day at Harlow Carr Gardens last Thursday. They were incredibly lucky to see the garden in the sunshine and had timed their visit well to see the rare blue poppies in flower. (Many thanks to Mrs Kirby for her beautiful photographs of all the fabulous blooms.) The morning was spent doing some beautiful sketches, focusing on unusual shapes and detail. In the afternoon the pupils learned about the Brammall Learning Centre Building and looked at ways that the architects and designers had made it sustainable. Their findings provided much inspiration for some very simple ideas that we could all use to help make our own homes more sustainable too!
Form 3 Perform Romeo and Juliet
Form 3 gave a wonderful performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet just before the half term holiday. The production was a contemporary version of the original play and proved to be a very challenging task for the children to undertake. Nevertheless, the children worked extremely hard in the run up to the performance and really ‘pulled it off’ on the night. They acted with sympathy and humour in equal parts, resulting in a captivating and enchanting recital. It took a lot of dedication to learn a complicated script; many members of the audience commented on how well the children had done.
PP2 visit Castle Museum
As part of our ‘Back in the Day’ theme, PP2 visited the Castle Museum for a taste of life in the 60s. They took part in a totally groovy and fab workshop which involved learning the Twist where they had to imagine they were cleaning the floor with their feet and drying their back with a towel! We found out that the word ‘groovy’ came from the grooves in the records. The children also got to try on some 1950s and 1960s outfits and compare them to see how different fashion was in the two decades. PP2 knew that the first man landed on the moon in the 1960s, but they found out even more about the space race, including climbing into a model of John Glenn’s capsule that went into space in 1962. They couldn’t believe how cramped it was. We also looked at inventions and gadgets such as 1960s cookers, irons and hair dryers. The children learned a lot through handling and investigating artefacts and most of all had a fantastic time. Cool!
Form 6 at Bowes Museum
On Monday 18th May, Form 6 were invited by Greville Worthington to visit the Bowes Museum to view the Gerald Scarfe “Milk Snatcher” exhibition that he has recently curated. The exhibition presents a selection of the many satirical cartoons made of Margaret Thatcher over a period of 22 years from her days as a member of the shadow cabinet to her leadership of the Conservative Party and her tenure as Prime Minister, as well as her political decline. Scarfe pulls no punches, portraying Thatcher as equally cunning, ruthless, mean spirited, vain, terrifying, sharp and sexy. The cartoons, mainly from Scarfe’s own archive, highlight key moments in British social history, such as the Winter of Discontent, the Miners’ Strike and the Falklands War. It was a fascinating exhibition encapsulating great artistic skill, wit and social history and it stimulated some interesting discussion. After viewing the exhibition there was an opportunity for Form 6 to see the impressive permanent collection housed at the Bowes before returning to school to continue preparations for their Common Entrance exams. The school is indebted to Mr. Worthington for so kindly giving the pupils his time and expertise.