Upper School Team building
The first day of term started with a challenge for the Upper School as they headed to Ripley Castle for a team building day. With mixed age groups, everyone had to work closely and forge new friendships with students they perhaps didn’t know as well as their own peers. Half of the day was spent on the High Ropes course, 50 feet in the air, walking on beams or climbing up poles, where they had to take ‘leaps of faith’ to trapezes. They had to use team work to climb Jacob’s Ladder and to tightrope round the ropes course. The afternoon was spent playing team games which included wearing blindfolds to negotiate a maze, transporting eggs without dropping them and walking the plank as a team, to name a few! The day was won by the team which included Head Girl Ellie Jolliffe, but everyone enjoyed chocolate at the end of the day. Any ice was well and truly broken.
Canada Expedition 2015
The end of a hard working GCSE exam term for Thornton was rounded off by an amazing expedition to Canada, the cost of which trip most of the students had covered themselves with their own sterling fundraising efforts. On arrival in Canada the group, accompanied by Mrs Hall, Miss Stovin and Mr Kirby, spent the day exploring the quay in Toronto and finding their bearings, followed by watching an evening baseball game hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Thankfully Mr Kirby was on hand to explain the rules! The students then headed 300 miles north to Temagami in the lakes, where they spent eight fabulous days canoeing, wild camping, cooking for themselves and carrying all their worldly possessions with them! The scenery was amazing where they saw beavers, snapper turtles, chipmunks in their camp and a fleeting glimpse of a bear. The food was excellent as it had been individually prepared for each person to cook on the camping stoves. The evenings were spent swimming and cliff diving and eating marsh mellows round the campfire. Mosquitoes were the size of hornets (that’s the size they felt like at the time of being bitten!) but Cundallites are made of tough stuff so the group just got on with it! Once back in Toronto the group took in the sights of the CN Tower, the Baseball museum, the Toronto Museum and the Science Museum. They had a fantastic day at the zoo and an amazing highlight of the trip was seeing Niagara Falls and going on the Maid of the Mist which took them a mere 10m away from the foot of the falls. With the exchange rate being in the UK’s favour, many squeezed in some retail therapy. All the pupils really enjoyed their final fews days together before they all moved on to their new schools this term.
GCSE Geography fieldtrip
On Tuesday 8thSeptember ten Thornton pupils who are taking GCSE Geography went out into Swaledale to investigate how Cogden Gill changes as it moves downstream. The weather was kind and conditions were perfect for collecting fieldwork data. Pupils will now use this data to complete their Geography GCSE controlled assessment, worth 25% of their final grade.
Ross reports on his Summer Maths Masterclasses
Following his exceptional performance in the UK Maths Challenge last academic year, former Thornton pupil Ross Sullivan was invited to take part in the National Mathematics Summer School at St Anne’s College, Oxford: “I recently spent the week in Oxford at a Mathematical Camp organised by the UK Mathematics Trust. Myself and around 45 other students spent the nights at Saint Anne’s College and walked a minute or two down the road to the newly-built Mathematical Institute each morning for a full day of maths. We took part in group sessions led by professors at Oxford and got the chance to explore some interesting mathematical concepts. The material was challenging and intense and I had a fantastic time and made many good friends. The experience is one I will not soon forget and it opened my eyes to the options that maths can present further down the road in life.” Congratulations Ross and good luck on your continued Maths studies.
GCSE Results
We are delighted to report on a hugely successful GCSE results day today. The Library has been a hive of activity and celebration this morning as our Thornton pupils came in to collect their results and share their news with family and teachers. 100% of our Thornton pupils have achieved at least 5 GCSEs at the all important A*-C level. No less than 80% of their grades are B and above, and a staggering 53% off all grades are either A or A* This is a phenomenal performance and reflects the calibre and hard work of our pupils, as well as the wonderful teaching that goes on at Cundall. All our Thornton pupils are now perfectly primed to take up their places at their chosen sixth form destinations, secure in the knowledge that they have a very solid foundation for their A level studies. We pass on special congratulations to two pupils in particular who are celebrating a clean sweep of As and A*s today: Charlotte Saxby achieved a total of 8 A*s and 3 As whilst classmate Ross Sullivan is celebrating no less than 11 A*s and 2 As. Ross’s celebrations were further heightened by learning that he is one of three pupils of the school to achieve a rare and highly coveted A* with Distinction in his favourite subject of Further Maths.
Silver D of E
Last week saw a select group of Thornton students complete their silver D of E expedition. Typically, as soon as our keen cyclists mounted their bikes, the rain and cold returned to North Yorkshire but in true Cundall style they did not let this deter them. On Tuesday afternoon they victoriously cycled in to school after their three day expedition, and after several memorable moments: Charlotte had a ‘little tumble’ but still managed to keep a smile firmly fixed to her face, they rescued a fellow cyclist who got in to some difficulty, and their bike maintenance knowledge came in handy as they successfully managed to fix broken brakes. Well done Thornton, you did us proud!
Leckby’s Wilderness trip
Leckby had their first taste of what is involved in the expedition section of the Duke of Edinburgh award. On Monday morning they all arrived with their very heavy, and in some cases large, rucksacks filled to the brim with everything they would need for their three day expedition. It was certainly an eventful trip; we had birthday celebrations on the first night, marshmallow competitions, lots of games of rounders and Callum still had time to rescue a sheep! Well done Leckby!
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!
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.