St Richard's

Netball Tournaments - March 2013

Congratulations to our U12 Netball team
who came 1st in the Herefordshire
County Netball Tournament at
Hereford Academy on Thursday 14th March

and our U11 Netball team who came 2nd
in the Shrewsbury School Tournament
on Wednesday 13th March

Fullboarding Weekend - Saturday 23rd/Sunday 24th February 2013
Cinema Saturday and Ski Sunday

Xavier Project - Friday, 1st March 2013

On Friday 1st March Old Ricardian Edmund Page together with his girlfriend Mildred Mugenya, visited St Richard’s to talk to us about a project he is working with in Uganda.

The Xavier Project aims to provide education to refugee children who have fled to Uganda and Kenya and to offer hope and prospects for their communities.  It was founded in 2008.  They have 2 headquarters spread across 2 countries, they have 10 full time members of staff from 6 different nationalities.  By paying school fees and through other support they are enabling 80 refugee children to go to school: 30 secondary school students in Kenya and 50 primary school students in Uganda.

They run English and extra-curricular camps for all of these children 2 times per year. They have a resource hub in Kampala with 12 computers, and this acts as a base for their media platform which receives 200 SMS messages a month sent for free by refugees.  They also publish a newsletter written by refugees which has a circulation of 1000 in each city, and the best of the SMS’s are published on their twitter account XavierProj which they aim to reach to over 1000 followers by June 2013.

After a brief introduction, Boz linked St Richard’s through Skype to a Xavier Project school, with over 100 children in the class.  Both schools had a wonderful time asking each other questions and each singing their National Anthem.

The Peter Pan raffle raised £125, £50 of which will also go to the Xavier Project! The remaining £75 will support Comic Relief.

Worcester Warriors - Friday, 1st March 2013

Hereford County Athletics Association Meeting
Sunday, 3rd March 2013

Brilliantly done - congratulations!

Girls			Boys
1st	T Roberts		1st	T Jackson (U10)
2nd	L Marriott		1st	A Powell (U9)
3rd	G Powell

Primary and Prep Schools Cross Country at St Richard's School
Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th February 2013

Primary Schools Cross Country

Our U11 Girls team kept the St. Richard’s flag flying high with a team win and some good individual places.  A very good result from a very young team which bodes well for the future.  Well done to the ladies games staff and Mrs Marriott for helping and of course the girls.

Mercian Prep Schools Cross Country

The girls in the B team did extremely well to finish in 5th place.  The A Team however, finished in first place to retain the shield.   Generally the visiting schools had some good individual runners which made for good racing and close competition.

King, Queen, Jack - Half-term of Lent Term, 2013

Congratulations to

King – Jess Kenyon-Slaney
Queen – India Roberts
Jack – Scarlett Whittal

Lucton Cross-Country - February, 2013

The going was extremely muddy and wet but we had a great day and got some good results.   Overall we came first as a school and retained the shield for the second year in succession!   Thank you to children, parents and sports staff for attending this during half-term.

Tatiana Roberts	U9	2nd
Alex Powell	U9	2nd
India Roberts	U11	3rd

King, Queen, Jack - End of the Michaelmas Term, 2012

Congratulations to

King – Alex Powell
Queen – Ali Hawkins
Jack – Scarlett Whittal

Bridge evening for the appeal - December 2012

The evening raised £943 for the Appeal.
Well played everyone!

Candlelit Dinner - Saturday 24th November, 2012

From the sublime to the ridiculous and back again ... each year St Richard’s School alternates an evening late in November between the sublime Candlelit Dinner (black tie, posh food, serious conversation, lively banter) and the ridiculous (but fantastically popular festive) pantomime.  This year (2012 for those who are uncertain or reading this in Archived News) it was the turn of the Candlelit Dinner.

As on previous such occasions (there have now been three such evenings) it was an opportunity for parents across the spectrum of the school to mingle, chat, drink, eat and be merry.  This year was no exception and the evening was a very relaxed but vivacious occasion.
To ring the changes we dined in the Drawing Room which had been smartly decked-out with linen-covered tables and eye-catching table decorations.  Soft-cushioned dining chairs were imported for the night and Rococo caterers were employed to stimulate our palates – which they duly did.
The food was served to us by the country’s youngest waitresses – smartly dressed in the St Richard’s blazer!  They performed their role to perfection and with typically charming smiles.
Wine flowed copiously (for some more fluidly than for others, but no matter!) and carriages at midnight were rather late.

A fabulous evening and I’m already looking forward to going back to the ridiculous next year...

St Richard's Christmas Fayre - Wednesday 21st November, 2012 * * * £4,500 Raised * * *

On Wednesday, 21st November, for the 7th consecutive year, St Richard’s School was transforpmed into what even the red-cloaked, bearded, merry gentleman himself might have fleetingly thought was heaven.  The front rooms of the school were beautifully decorated with swathes of glorious holly, sprigs of bright copper beech, wreathes of deep-green, shiny ivy and a hugely optimistic ball of mistletoe! There were tables covered in traditional and original Christmas wares and the air was filled with the deliciously evocative smell of Christmas. Shoppers came from far and wide, despite the atrocious driving conditions, to enjoy the excited atmosphere, listen to the School Choir sing in true festive spirit, sample the tasty food on offer in the café and of course do some very essential and enjoyable shopping.

By the time Thursday morning dawned St Richard’s School had settled back into its peaceful routine of day to day school life – and you would never have known the Fayre had happened at all! Huge thanks to all the St Richard’s ‘elves’ who engineered the event, helped out on the day and magically swept it all away.

As You Like It performed by Forms V and VI, St Richard's at The Conquest Theatre, Bromyard

November 2012

Cast list St Richard's Forms V and VI made a cast of proficient and confident actors of Shakespeare's As You Like It.   They all participated with intelligence and grace having learnt their lines faultlessly, grasped the humour with relish and assumed the character of Elizabethan players in a tale that is as relevant to our lives now as it was then.
In addition to the excellence of the acting skills and delivery of Shakespeare's prose and poetry the children managed the timing and dramatic elements very well.
How lucky we are to have Adrian Williams to compose such sweet and sensitive tunes into which the children can weave their acting skills! The music was a delight and the children again played sweetly, in a way that displayed confidence and a sense of security in the material.

The whole cast were integral to the complete success of the play: each and every role was performed with stunning confidence, clarity and expression - we really were transported to a time and place in the Elizabethan imagination. Thank you to the entire crew for keeping the audience laughing throughout with their complete control of Shakespeare's wit! A special privilege was bestowed upon the audience though whilst Eugene Williams sang so perfectly, songs to music composed by his father, that drew us mysteriously into the forested world of a bygone age in old England? or Tuscany? or a Mediterranean Island?  Who knows?  The magic of Shakespeare was woven by the Children of St Richard's.

The Opening Meet of the North Herefordshire Foxhounds

St Richard's School, Bredenbury - Saturday 3rd November 2012

After a night of heavy rain, the sun shone, enabling lovely overhead conditions but crikey .......... was it wet underfoot!   All that rain last night on already saturated ground ensured the Field Master's task was not an envied one, to say the least!

The Senior Master, Mr Phillip Blackman Howard (and father of St Richard's old girls, May and Harriet) thanked the host, Nathan Cheesman, for making us so welcome.  He also thanked Richard and Dicky Coghlan and their helpers for their delicious mince pies and lovely punch!

I rode Sid, the Eckley/de Rohan pony, escorting Tiggy Cowan Taylor on her relatively young 14.2hh Chester and Lucy Blum on the 13.2hh roan mare, Pepper.  We said our "Good Mornings" to The Masters.

We enjoyed the usual jumps around the St Richard's park and paddock, then onto The Manor Farm old turf of David and Jane Jones (parents of St Richard's old boy and girl, Edward and Lizzie), where we enjoyed a couple more jumps out on to their tree-lined avenue drive.  Hounds were already on to the laid trail, speaking well to Tack Wood of Henry and Sue Lewis's (parents of St Richard's old boy and girl, James and Eleanor), over Alan and Stephanie Pitt's Ganderland before crossing Butterley Brook and heading to the disused railway line running from Rowden to Butterley Court, home of Richard and Sybil Legge (parents of St Richard's old girl, Lisa) on John and Sally Pearson's (parents of St Richard's old boy and girl, James and Alice) Great Wacton Farm.

Lucy and Tiggy had a wonderful time looking good over the obstacles and handling their ponies well.

After a busy morning, it was time to head home, rub the ponies down, give them a small feed, turn them back out in their field and have a good munch on some excellent hay, provided by the Hodges family from Little Cowarne.

Interschool Show Jumping - Saturday 3rd November 2012

The St. Richard's show jumping team won both the 1'8" and the 2' classes at Kings Equestrian Centre on Saturday.

The team was
Natalya Wolloshin on the Goff pony, Smokey Joe
Georgia Barrett on her own pony, Jimmy
Ali Hawkins on her own pony, Harry Potter
Sam Dent on Georgia Barrett's pony, Jimmy

They won a clutch of individual rosettes too, with Natalya coming out the best with a bronze medal.  Libby Glanville also won an individual rosette in her class.

All ponies and children were very well turned out, especially the Wolloshins - Smokey Joe, back at St Richard's after being on sabbatical in a de Rohan field for two years, was pristine!

Leavers 2012

The Leavers 2012 gave three fatyaks (kayaks to those of us who haven't got a clue about these things) to St Richard's as a thank you for all the time and effort invested by the teachers throughout their time at the school.

Pictured are some of the leavers with Hardy and the colourful fatyaks; Gwen and Abi demonstrate how to use them....

Red Priest - October 2012

Two members of the internationally renowned Baroque quartet Red Priest came to St Richard's on Friday, October 5, to give a concert presentation.  This is Baroque music with a difference, and though we didn't hear the complete quartet, we did get a sample of the most phenomenal recorder playing from Piers Adams accompanied and enhanced by violinist Julia Bishop.  Everyone in the school learns the recorder when in Pre-Prep 2 up to Form II, so the virtuoso flying fingers drew gasps of amazement from children - and staff.   We had a guided tour through all the possible recorder sizes and types, including one the size of a palm which Piers drew out of his pocket.

Red Priest arrange much of their music - so well known parts of the repertoire, such as the Four Seasons (they play Vivaldi a fair bit, given their name - Red Priest refers to Vivaldi with his long red hair and priestly vocation) appeared in a different guise.   We were asked to think of a Caribbean island with rain drops for 'Winter' (splendid use of the bass recorder).  We heard a thrilling set of variations by Dutch composer Jacob van Eyck (fast and complicated), there were rounds between violin and recorder, and a little uninterrupted presentation at the end of three linked pieces.

Plenty of good questions from the floor, and at the end both Julia and Piers were happy to be surrounded by more children asking questions, not least on Baroque violin technique. An excellent, stimulating morning.

Royal Shrewsbury Hunt - Sunday 14th October, 2012

On Sunday 14th October our U11 and U13 girls' teams showed strong team performances and were placed an impressive second in the Royal Shrewsbury Hunt which has the distinction of being the oldest cross-country club in the world, with records going back as far as 1831.

Many of the old traditions remain today, with the Captain of cross-country known as the Huntsman; his two deputies being the Senior and Junior Whips!  This was the first time in the history of the race that girls were admitted and the determination and commitment of all runners was a pleasure for our supporting parents and games staff to see.

Hunter Trials - Monday 15th October, 2012

As you can imagine, ground conditions were quite wet after all the wet weather we've had this year, so the brook at the bottom of the Lower Woods, with the help of some damming, was actually a running brook this year!  The timed section was purely uphill, so as not to cut up the ground.
• Harry Potter did really not want to leave the other ponies and gave Ali Hawkins a fairly horrendous time all round.

• Pepsi, Imogen Marriott's palomino mare was having a PMT day.  Sam Dent coped admirably and once Pepsi had used up excess energy by galloping up from the Lower Woods twice without Sam, she settled down and the partnership completed with no penalties around the second half of the course.

• Natalya Wolloshin has only been riding St Richard's Old Boy, Smokey Joe, for about a month or so.  They encountered a couple of random stops but on the whole had a lovely confident round.  They were the second fastest in the timed section too.  They must surely be looking forward to many happy days together.  The native Connemara, Smokey Joe has got a mind of his own but once he knows who is boss, is putty in your hands!

• Lucy Blum needed a bit more conviction and a little less "hand" on her approach to fence one to negotiate it first time but sailed round the rest of the course on Sid.  Without those 10 penalties, they'd have won the competition.  Hey ho, never mind, Lucy has won quite a few red rosettes at St Richard's.  Healthy to share it round!

• Tiggy Cowan Taylor for some reason, took her eye off the fence coming into the first, Chester got confused and they had a run out. The remainder of her round went incident free.  Chester is a lovely genuine pony and they too can look forward to some happy days together.  They were the fastest in the timed section by nine seconds!  The first fence run out was an expensive mistake....always look were you want to go!

• Georgia Barrett, riding her own Welsh Sec, a palomino gelding, Jimmy, not even 10, showed great potential.  (The Harrington genes are shining through.)  Georgia and Jimmy looked a good item together and sailed round competently, gaining the only clear of the afternoon.

Jimmy and Smokey Joe were the only two to jump the first fence at the first attempt.

All in all, the hunter trials were very much a learning curve, as most competitions are.  The experience will stand them in good stead for the One Day Event next summer.

Many thanks to all the parents, friends and relations who came to help fence judge and keep time!  Also, to John, my long suffering husband, for helping me flag the course a few days prior to the competition.  The flags were very kindly lent from the British Eventing Homme House Horse Trials, Much Marcle, through St Richard's stalwart and great supporter, Stella Robertson.

Prize giving took place in the Front Hall, after we'd all enjoyed a thirst quenching cup of tea and some absolutely marvellous cakes made by the culinary goddess, Liz Foster.  Stella Robertson very kindly presented the rosettes.

Congratulations to Georgia Barrett who came first on Jimmy.

Junior Maths Challenge 2012

20 pupils at St Richard’s School, Bromyard took part in the 2012 Junior Maths Challenge: they achieved one Gold (Phoebe Jackson), three Silver (Caspian Cowan Taylor, Claudia Jackson and Ali Hawkins) and two Bronze awards ( Pablo Salcines and Caroline Lewis).  Over 240,000 pupils from across the UK sat the Junior Maths Challenge with roughly the top 6% receiving a gold certificate, the next 13% silver, and the next 21% bronze.   Congratulations to all our medallists.

Approximately 1200 of the top students in the country were then invited to sit the 2012 Junior Maths Olympiad, amongst them Phoebe Jackson.  Phoebe had already achieved Gold awards in the Challenge in the last three years, and this year she achieved a very high score in the Olympiad, a much more challenging competition.
Phoebe can be seen holding her Bronze Medal and Certificate of Distinction which she won in the Olympiad.   This puts her in the top 25% of the pupils competing in the Olympiad, and in the top 0.1% of all mathematicians of her age in the country: a fantastic achievement.

Lacon Childes Interschool Show Jumping - Saturday 29th September

Three St Richard’s girls entered into the Lacon Childes Interschool Show jumping competition on Saturday 29th September.   In show jumping a team can consist of three or four, if four the team is able to drop it’s lowest score and count the three best.   In the 2 foot 3 class, Head Rider, Lucy Blum, went first on Dougal with a really fast round, and four faults at the last fence.   Tiggy Cowan Taylor went next on Chester and jumped a lovely clear round.  Libby Glanville was riding Libby and flew over the first two fences; unfortunately Libby (pony) stopped twice at the third and was disqualified.  However, the girls were thrilled to come third.

In the 2 foot 6 class Lucy and Tiggy entered as individuals.  Both girls were quite surprised by the size of some of the jumps, and felt a little nervous.  Many of the competitors came to grief before the individuals jumped but Lucy and Dougal had a brilliant clear round.  Tiggy and Chester had a great round too, one pole down meant four faults.  They were delighted to come second and sixth respectively.

Well done Team St Richard's, Lucy's and Libby's fathers for getting the girls and the ponies to Kings, and thank you to Lacon Childes School for such a well organised and enjoyable event.

Malvern College Arts Day - Thursday 27th September, 2012

Forms V and VI enjoyed an Art, Drama and Music Day at Malvern College. The pupils had just a few hours in which to prepare for an exhibition or a performance that was presented at the end of the afternoon. The singers opened the concert with a lively range of songs from unison to three part and the Drama presentations, which delighted the audience, followed. The artwork was displayed in an impressive gallery and the concert ended with a performance by the orchestra.

Macmillan's Biggest Coffee Morning (in the Afternoon!) And Cake Sale - Friday 28th September 2012

Yet again the Front Hall was brought to life by an amazing collection of colourful cakes.   Adults and children alike buzzed round them until they had all gone!

Many seized the opportunity to have a coffee and talk to friends at the same time as buying the chance to win a bottle of bubbly. Many thanks to the valiant bakers who, as always, came up trumps and to the donors of the champagne for the raffle - PurpleSki and Tanners Wine.

The afternoon raised just under £500 in total:
£314 for Macmillan,
£131 for the 2014 Marbella Tour and
£54 for the Appeal.

The Roald Dahl's Marvellous Childrens' Charity Day - Friday 28th September 2012

Pre-Prep One and Two wrote particularly nasty Marvellous Medicine Recipes, with PP2 using millilitres, grams, kilograms and litres to measure the imaginary slime, slugs and dragon teeth!

Reception hosted a Marvellous Cake Factory in the afternoon with entry only by golden ticket!  A lovely, gooey, time was had by all.

The Nursery enjoyed an edited version of James and the Giant Peach.  After checking there were no creatures living in it they had fun planting the peach stone!

They raised over £38 for the charity.

Cluedo ... with a twist - September 2012

This year’s characters were from books:

• Ratatouille and Emile
• Alice (in Wonderland) and Mad Hatter
• Snow White’s Wicked Stepmother
• Saphira (Eragon’s dragon)
• James Bond
• Cruella deVille (from 101 Dalmations)

The children had to work out which character, in which room found out some exciting news, ranging from the possibility of:

• A life size statue of themselves to be placed in Hyde Park
• Have a full length feature in ‘Hello’ magazine
• Win the Smartie Book Prize for new book with them as a central character
• Voted sexiest Man/Woman/Animal in FHM magazine
• Win a week’s holiday to destination of their choice
• Be awarded an OBE
• Have tea with the Queen
• Asked to duet with Justin Bieber on his latest single

Once they managed to get into a room before they could ask the character 1 of 3 questions (who, where, what??), they had to perform a team task successfully, ranging from Apple bobbing, memory games, sporting skills and much more.

The successful team managed it in half an hour, but 4 of the 9 teams never solved the clues and teams 2,3,4 and 5 came in a whole 20 minutes after the Yellow Bobble team scooped First prize.  Well done to Claudia, Nacho, Jess, Natasia and Sam.

Leavers Photos 2012 - click photo for gallery

One Day Event - Spread over 2 weeks in June 2012!

Show Jumping
Seniors			Juniors
1st	Phoebe Jackson (Sid)		Sam Dent (Jimmy)
2nd	Tiggy Cowan T (Chester)		Georgia Barrett (Jimmy)
3rd	Lucy Blum (Chester)		Amber Jolly (Mr Jones)
4th	Ali Hawkins (Harry Potter)		Natasia Singleton (Jimmy)
5th	Natalya Wolloshin (Ivor)		Imogen Marriott (Mr Jones)
Dressage
Seniors			Juniors
1st	Lucy Blum (Dougle)		Sam Dent (Jimmy)
2nd	Natalya Wolloshin (Ivor)		Imogen Marriott (Mr Jones)
3rd	Tiggy Cowan T(Chester)		Casey Kincaid (Ivor)
4th	Ali Hawkins (Harry P)		Natasia Singleton (Jimmy)
5th	Phoebe Jackson (Sid)		(4th eq) Lydia Clifton (Mr Jones)
6th			George Harris (Sid)
Cross-Country
1st	Lucy Blum (Dougle)
2nd	Tiggy Cowan T (Chester)
3rd	Ali Hawkins (Harry Potter)
4th	Sam Dent (Jimmy)
5th	Phoebe Jackson (Sid)
6th	Natalya Wolloshin (Ivor)

Well done to Lucy Blum who came first overall, Tiggy Cowan Taylor who came second and Sam Dent who came third.

Hike for Hirons - supporting the St Richard's Appeal, the Hirons Hall Project - Monday 25th June

Over £2,700 raised!

Who would have thought that the sun would shine on the ‘Hike for Hirons’ Day?  Not the staff it would seem, whom were mainly clad in wellies and trousers, but the children, undeterred by a bit of mud along the way, bravely set off in shorts and sports tops, in what resulted as a rather hot hike!

Spirits were high as well as the temperatures but all groups with their various different distances, came home triumphant.

Forms V and VI managed 10.7km, Forms III and IV 6.5km, Forms I and II 4.5km, Pre-Prep 2.2km and Nursery 1km.

Well done to everyone who joined in, including Darcie and Taly, the school dogs!

Midsummer Madness - Saturday 16th June 2012

The sun did not shine, but the rain at least held off as 200 guests gathered in the Hirons Hall for what will surely go down as one of the most memorable social events in the history of the school.  It was a terrific reunion of past and current pupils, parents, staff and friends of the school, in a stunningly decorated Hirons Hall, and it was a tremendous launch for the Appeal.

£13,780 was raised and a wonderful evening was had by all.

Thanks to all involved, and we can but hope that this will become a regular event.

Wednesday 6th June saw the Diamond Jubilee celebrated the St Richard’s way

Watch the video of our Jubilee Day (less than 5 minutes); YouTube will open in a new window.

Celebrations started, in the sunshine, with traditional British outdoor games: three-legged races, egg and spoon, sack races and so forth. The games were played inter-house and Wall came first in every race! As the weather threatened to deteriorate the focus moved to the arena where the 6 senior horsemen of the school rode their magnificent mounts in a wonderful synchronised musical movement; riders and ponies were bedecked with patriotic decoration: rugs, silks, sashes left us in no doubt that we were in the heart of England and glad to be there. And, as if we needed further proof of being in England, the sun disappeared behind a cloud but the rain held off just long enough for the fabulous pageant to make its way from the top of the front drive towards the house. It was a superbly colourful display of banners and flags – accompanied by some expert recorder playing; and the best thing was the happy smiles on all the faces as they went past. The whole school, including pre-prep, was involved in the parade and the drive was lined with proud parents.

It would have been too much to ask that the heavens didn’t open and, as we neared the school, it tipped down! The wet weather plan was plunged (deliberate choice of word) into action and tea was arranged in the Assembly Hall to the audible backdrop of Land of Hope and Glory played movingly by the orchestra - in the library! Further celebrations manifested themselves in the form of dance groups – each year group doing their own routine; Form VI boys and girls split to do their own thing – which is just well given what they danced to. It seemed that Form V were being taught their choreography ‘live’ – a very impressive display! All dances were a colourful array of outfits, interesting (and unusual) dance steps and another show of happy smiley faces – it was a charmingly informal event with the whole school, teachers and parents all packed into the bulging Assembly Hall!

God Save the Queen - and Mrs Harvey, Miss Cook and Mrs Pearson too who organised the day masterfully.

The National Three Peaks Challenge - June 2012

The Air Ambulance is presented with an enormous cheque!
The climbers raised £2,000 for the Air Ambulance and £2000 for our own Appeal.

After a lovely send off from school we were all excited and possibly a little nervous of what we were about to take on.   After our first stop on the M6 in Cumbria we discovered Mrs Morgan had a stowaway, it was HARDY and what a great surprise it was, we were very grateful to have him on board.

After a good night’s sleep we were ready to tackle Ben Nevis so off we went at 0610hrs, the weather was amazing and after a great climb we came down to bacon rolls, a quick change of clothes and off we headed south to Scafell in Cumbria.   We set off in blazing sunshine but still managed it in less than 5hrs; we all found this mountain the most difficult. On our return to the cars our mums and Mr Morgan had a hot meal ready for us which were much appreciated.  Another quick change and it was back in the cars to head further south to Snowdon, arriving at 0100hrs.  We were ready to go at 0115hrs head torches at the ready, it was a great atmosphere as there were lots of other people doing the challenge.  We left our mums and Mr Morgan to get some much needed sleep in the cars.  Mrs Morgan led the way and we arrived at the summit in 1hr 50m.  We knew at this point we had plenty of time to get back down but to our delight we were at the bottom with 1hr to spare.  We were very very tired but elated that we had completed the The National Three Peaks 24hr Challenge.

Callum & Abi would like to thank their parents, Mr & Mrs Morgan and Hardy for all their support, and to all our sponsors for very kindly donating to two very good causes.

Strings Day - Friday 4th May

                           

The Carducci String Quartet is one of the great young quartets of today.

Recipients of various top prizes and wonderful reviews, it has carved out a place on the concert platform in an extremely competitive marketplace.  That’s the playing side.  All four members are also dedicated teachers.

The string players at St Richard’s from Form II upwards (12 altogether), our music gap Nathan, and I set off on May 4th for a day of group playing at Dean Close School in Cheltenham with tuition from the Carducci String Quartet.
Eight-seven children had enrolled, and there were several orchestras and single instrument groups, with the children switched around during the day.  Each group or orchestra participated in an excellent concert at the end of the afternoon.


On our arrival the beginners were allocated a group led by Caroline Lumsden, mother of Carducci cellist Emma and an extremely eminent early years teacher.  So Ben Hoverd, Cole Gallagher, Thomas Jackson, and Maisie Clay were in just excellent hands with games, playing rhythms, and then playing in parts. 





Children in the Grades 1 to 3 bracket (Natalya Wolloshin, Katy Garrett, Jack Bell, Caspian Cowan Taylor, Flavian Roberts) were allocated one orchestra and Ali Hawkins, Libby Glanville went to the senior slot.  All sorts of music appeared and was sight-read, learned and subsequently performed.  Instrument groups were formed after lunch and coached by individual members of the quartet (not many violas, but they managed splendid part-playing).





Sitting next to someone you’ve never met, playing new music, being coached by a new teacher – all this added up to a really worthwhile day.  And the children knew what they were aspiring to, as the Carduccis started the day demonstrating a movement from a Haydn Quartet.


The St Richard’s gang were in the second row of the hall, and were visibly caught up in the sound, volume, and brilliance of the playing.  Next year please!

Congratulations to our King, Queen, Jack
First half, Michaelmas Term, 2012

King – Alexandra Hawkins
Queen – Lucy Marriott and Georgina Clarke (joint)
Jack – Jessica Crichard and Alexander Powell (joint)

Scholarships and Entrances - Summer 2012
William Hayward	Shrewsbury School
Phoebe Jackson	Academic Scholarship to Moreton Hall
Tom Harvey	Sports Scholarship to Malvern College
Callum Brayshaw	Top Sports Scholarship to Christ College Brecon
Charlie Barrett	Sports Exhibition to Christ College Brecon
Rhys Clifton	Christ College Brecon and Hereford Cathedral School
James Hoverd	Hereford Cathedral School
Jack Bell	Christ College Brecon
Tom Bradley	Sidcot School
Phoebe Boswell-Ellis	Sports Exhibition to Christ College Brecon (declined); St Mary's Lugwardine
Gwenllian Thomas	The Dean’s Scholarship to Hereford Cathedral School
Caroline Lewis	All-Round Scholarship to Hereford Cathedral School
Holly Dales	Sports Scholarship to Hereford Cathedral School
Abigail Cunningham	Malvernian Society Award (All-rounder Scholarship) to Malvern College
Isolde Watt	St Mary's Calne
Caspian Cowan Taylor	Shrewsbury School

Townsend-Warner - History Prize 2012

The Townsend Warner History Prize is one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in the preparatory school world.  Started 126 years ago, it is one of the oldest institutions in the preparatory school world.  It has proved endurably popular in encouraging the study of history.   It is not linked to any national testing or examinations, but aims to provoke interest and delight in historical reading, facts and analysis.  It regularly produces winners of remarkable calibre, writing history of much flair and knowledge.  The first fifty candidates receive generous prizes and the next fifty are sent cards of commendation.

The Prize consists of two papers. The first has 100 questions demanding one-word, or one-sentence, answers from world history, but with a strong emphasis on British history.  Many are straightforward, some a little more obscure.  Two hundred candidates qualify from Paper 1 to sit Paper 2.  This is in the form of essay questions, but allows candidates a very wide choice so that they can write on what they know, but also show analytical skill and historical imagination.

Nearly 70 schools entered approximately 800 scripts for this year’s Paper 1.

Caspian Cowan Taylor recently sat Paper 1 for the Townsend-Warner History Prize and achieved a place in the top 200.   He went on to tackle the challenges posed in Paper 2 and the scope of the answers he produced were particularly impressive and placed him in the same bracket as some of the top History students in the country. He came 83rd out of 200 candidates in Paper 2 - a superb result.  Caspian can be thoroughly proud of what he has achieved.

To find out more about the Townsend-Warner History Prize please visit their website.

Complete Loonies - performed by Forms I and II on Friday 25th May, 2012

Who would have thought, that when invited to ‘Twisty Towers’ for the reading of the late Agatha Twisty’s will, the guests should come to such an untimely end!  In a comical playlet, written by Mike Hurst (he of our Pantomime fame!) Forms I and II had great fun with their end-of-year production.

We saw some of the world’s greatest detectives (James Pond, Hercule Petit-Pois, Miss Marbles – you get the idea!) coming to grief over odd mishaps such as being poisoned by an empty glass, being thrown from a window, despite the fact that the house was a bungalow, and being eaten by a stuffed dog on wheels, amongst equally other strange deaths!

That the cast should all spring back to life at the end, for a quick rendition of Olly Murs ‘Dance with me tonight’ just added to the madness and everyone left commenting on how wonderfully self-assured every cast member of the lower Main School was, in such a polished and slick production.

Well done to the cast, the director Alexis Cheesman and the many volunteers who helped make this production the tremendous success that it was.

Cake Sale - Summer Term 2012

Thank you to all those who supported the Cake Sale just before half-term.
We raised £300.00 - giving £150 for the Marbella trip and £150 for furniture for the courtyard.

County Qualifications - Summer 2012

Congratulations to Tom Harvey who qualified for County Cricket and Callum Brayshaw who have qualified for County Rugby; and to Abigail Cunningham and Phoebe Boswell-Ellis who have qualified for U14 County Netball.

Girl's Cricket at Abberley - May 2012

Another excellent cricket season for St Richard's girls!

We came, we played, we didn't win
but we had a great game!
We looked good and played well, especially considering the disparate ages and restricted time spent on training.

Thanks Abberley for a great afternoon!

On the trail of William Penny Brookes - Thursday 17th May 2012

Form V and the Olympian Commemoration Sculpture

Not a lot of people know that it was in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, that the modern Olympic Games found their inspirations.   Form V went on the trail of William Penny Brooks (1809-1895), the man responsible for starting the Shropshire Olympian’s Games in 1861 and founding father of the Olympics as we know it today.
The children spent the day exploring Much Wenlock: following the trail of William Penny Brookes from the museum around the town, visiting the museum, climbing to the summit of Windmill Hill to inspect the remains of a mysterious stone tower and, of course, doing some shopping.

The journey home took them to the Iron Bridge - the world’s first iron bridge, erected over the River Severn in 1779.   What is not recorded in any documentation about the world famous bridge is that it is an ideal location for playing Pooh Sticks!

Wrekin College Tournament - Sunday 13th May 2012

Every year, twice a year (weather permitting) we make the trip to Wrekin College, Telford to play Rounders and Cricket or Netball and Rugby in the Wrekin College Tournament.  The children thrive on the competition and throw themselves into it with gusto and enthusiasm.

This Sunday was no exception.  We took two Rounders teams - U13 and U11 - and both performed superbly.  Both teams played as only good teams can play and with carefully thought out tactics.  They played four games virtually back to back and must have been exhausted but continued to play to a high and very respectable standard.

Everyone came away with medals (specially designed for the Olympic year): congratulations to the U11 who came first and to the U13 who came second - missing first place by only half a rounder!

Thank you Wrekin College for inviting us - we always enjoy it and you organise it so perfectly.

The Lady who put her Skates on ... - Wednesday 9th May

Lady Bengough inspired would-be Olympians of St Richard’s as she related her experiences as a member of the Figure Skating team in St Moritz for the Winter Olympics, 1948.

She shared some wonderful anecdotes with us and left us all feeling that we should give everything our best shot and, at all times, aim for gold. She was charming and interesting to listen to and, for those of us further up the ladder of age than the majority of her audience, she was an encouraging example of both mental and physical agility.

Thank you so much, Lady Bengough, for coming to visit us and giving us an insight into a whole different world.

Green Cards - Summer 2012

Congratulations to our 'royal' family
for the first half of this term :

KING: Lucy Marriott
QUEEN: Laura Browne
JACK: Kinvara Clarke

Inter-School Show Jumping at Kings Equestrian, Bromyard - April 2012

Well done to the St Richard's Riding Team who competed in the Kings Equestrian Inter-Schools Event.

National Schools Hockey Championships - Saturday 28th April 2012

On Saturday 28th April, our U11 Colts girls travelled to play at the National Schools Hockey Championships held at Millfield School in Somerset.

They enjoyed a challenging day’s play against some of the following leading West of England prep schools: The Elms School, The Downs MCP, Exeter School, Queen’s College, Beaudesert Park, Truro Prep, Clayesmore Prep/Warminster School, Blundell’s Millfield Prep, BGS, Castle Court, Chafyn Gove, Dean Close and St. Petroc’s.

Well done to them all.

ESB results - March 2012

Congratulations to all the ESB candidates who, as always, pulled out all the stops and did not only themselves, but their teacher Alexis Cheesman, their parents (whose input is always invaluable) and their school, PROUD!

They all achieved outstanding results and followed this up with performing publicly at the Hereford Performing Arts Festival the following week and came back with a healthy crop of Certificates and Medals.

Well done to them all.

Senior Level 2
Gwen Thomas	Distinction
Abigail Cunningham	Distinction
Senior Level 1
Caroline Lewis	Distinction
Tom Harvey	Distinction
Junior Medallion (Grade 4)
Laura Browne	Distinction
Octavia Riggall	Distinction
Emily Lewis	Merit +
Claudia Jackson	Merit +
Junior Grade 3
Lydia Clifton	Distinction
Natalya Wolloshin	Merit +
Arabella Green	Merit +

The Marathon - April 2012

Congratulations to Jo Marriott
who completed the marathon
in 3 hours 53 minutes and 17 seconds
and has raised ₤1,216 for Cancer Research!

Herefordshire County Netball Tournament - March 2012

Congratulations to an ad hoc team of netball players who came joint 3rd out of 12 teams in the Herefordshire County Netball Tournament at the beginning of the Easter holidays.

With two Jacksons in attack, two Lewis in defence, a Thomas, a Nelson, a Bunce and a Riggall also making up the team, and over 50% of the players being U11 in an U13 tournament, they did terrifically well.

There was some lovely play and impressive tactics despite only having previously played together once as a team.

Well done and thank you to the team members and sports staff for convening out of office hours!

Wrekin Maths Challenge - March 2012

On 9th March, four brave children from Form III ventured out to Wrekin College, Telford, to take part in a Maths Challenge.  Louis de Rohan, Imogen Marriott, James Hyett and Tiggy Cowan Taylor pitted their brains against 148 other Mathematicians from all over the West Midlands.  After a journey playing Botticelli and I Spy, the team arrived at Wrekin in time for a delicious lunch of Fish and Chips.  At 1.30pm the challenge began: working in pairs, the Stoats and Weasels competed in six different challenges ranging from Numeracy to Space and Dominoes.  In the end, the St Richards’ Weasels came 43rd out of 75, and the Stoats came 61st.  

Good fun was had by all, and certificates and badges were presented to the hard-working contestants.  The journey back involved some sweet rewards and, happily, the team arrived at St Richard's just after the end of lessons.  Well done, the Wrekin Challengers!

Hereford Performing Arts Festival - March 2012

Click here for Mrs Bull's full write-up of the our participation in the musical part of the Festival.

Eugene Williams is to be congratulated on winning the Piano Solo Recital and the Original Composition classes, both with Outstanding.  Eugene was then invited to take part in the Festival Concert on the final Saturday, and was awarded an additional prize, the 2012 Eric Sanders Award.

George Harris was awarded Outstanding and the gold medal in the Grade 1 Piano class, and again performed in the Festival Concert.  Elsewhere Maisie Clay and Ali Hawkins both won gold for their violin solos, and Form II won the Junior Recorder Cup.

Geni Bunce, silver in the Youth Solo (girls 9-11), with 87 points - distinction (there were 21 entries so she did exceptionally well).
In the Songs from the Shows she had 86 points - commended and was 4th so didn't get a medal. And Louis de Rohan, on the French Horn, earnt a Silver Medal.
In the English Speaking section, entered by Mrs Cheesman, we had the following excellent results:

Presentations	Medal	Subject
Lydia Clifton	Silver	Small Breeds Park, Kington
Gwen Thomas	Bronze	Zara Phillips
Octavia Riggall	Bronze	Cooking
Laura Browne	Bronze	Daniel Radcliffe
Natalya Wolloshin	Bronze	J.K. Rowling
Caroline Lewis	Silver	Coral Reefs
Abigail Cunningham	Bronze	Kate Middleton
Sight Reading
Gwen Thomas	Silver
Octavia Riggall	Silver
Laura Browne	Bronze
Lydia Clifton	Bronze
Poetry Recital
Abigail Cunningham	Gold

National Youth Choirs Great Britain

Many congratulations and good luck to Sam Dent, Anna Skyrme and Geni Bunce who will all be attending the NYCGB course in Easter culminating in the concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall on the 9th April 2012.  The concert, NYCGB's biggest to date, will combine Mike Brewer OBE’s ‘Worldsong’ masterpiece with other works from around the world.

The concert will be a celebration of music from each continent represented at the Olympics and the seven National Youth Choirs will be performing music from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. As part of this thrilling event, NYCGB are inviting guest choirs from around the UK to join them and form a massed children’s choir to sing with Mike Brewer in his ‘Worldsong’.  The piece, composed for the schools’ proms, involves five pieces, one from each continent, which can all be performed at the same time.

To find out more about the National Youth Choirs Great Britain please visit their website.

Marmalade Coffee Morning

Thank you to all those who supported the Marmalade Coffee Morning in aid of St Michael's Hospice.
We raised £128.60.

Green Cards - Lent 2012

Congratulations to our 'royal' family for the second half of this term ...:

KING: Lucy Marriott

QUEEN: Rory Crichard

JACK: Katy Garratt



...and congratulations to our 'royal' family for the first half of this term:

KING: Katy Garratt

QUEENS: Byron Hodgetts and Rory Crichard: Lucy Marriott

JACK: Jessica Crichard

Bromyard Poetry for Pleasure - March 2012

Bromyard Poetry for Pleasure ran a Children's Poetry Competition this month.
Children compose their own poetry which is judged for originality, sincerity and form of poetry.  There are three age brackets and overall they received 176 entries.

In the 11-14 age group, congratulations to Tom Bradley who came first with The Battle of Autumn and Spring and to Abigail Cunningham who came second with Changes.

Lucton Cross-Country - Thursday 8th March

Another fantastic afternoon : the teams won the glittering schools shield as overall best times on the day out of 15 schools.


U11 Girls
F. Hayward (1st) L. Nelson (3rd) H. Dales, O. Riggall,
K. Garratt (4th), I. Marriott


U9 Girls
I. Roberts (2nd), C. Roberts (3rd), T. Roberts (4th ),
J. Kenyon-Slaney, L. Marriott (1st), G. Barrett


U11 Boys
D. Clark, B. Hodgetts, C. Gallagher, B. Nelson,
T. Garness, T. Harris


U9 Boys
T. Jackson (2nd), P. Howells, R. Crichard, A. Whittal,
C. Canton-Smith, T. Dent

National Preparatory Schools' Cross Country Championships, Malvern College
Sunday 4th March

Some 860 runners aged 9-13 braved the mud and the rain to compete in the 20th National Preparatory Schools' Cross Country Championships at Malvern College on Sunday 4th March.  Drawn from as far away as Kent, Cumbria, Lincolnshire and Dorset the runners battled out over a series of courses, ranging from 1.7km to 3.2km, set out on Malvern Wells Common and the College campus.

Our U11 Girls Team: Felicity Hayward, Lucy Nelson, Holly Dales, Octavia Riggall, Katy Garratt and Imogen Marriott, achieved a tremendous result in gaining 27th place out of 40 teams.  Felicity, herself, won an individual place of 34th out of 225 girls.  William Hayward ran individually in the U13 boys race and achieved an outstanding position of 19th out of 166 boys.  Ben Nelson ran individually in the U11 boys race and gained a terrific 195 position out of 225 boys. It was a fantastic day, brilliantly organised and all the competitors came away with renewed confidence and a bright blue goodie bag!

St Richard's - Primary and Prep Schools' Cross Country

For both days the weather conditions were perfect, in fact the best for many years.  All the children ran very well and felt a great sense of achievement.  See below for the teams and their results.

Primary Schools' Cross Country - Monday 20th February 2012

U11 Boys - 4th out of 8 teams
Cole Gallagher, Thomas Jackson, Patrick Howells, Rory Crichard

U11 Girls - 1st out of 8 teams
Natalya Wolloshin, Lucy Marriott, India Roberts, Cecilia Roberts,
Jess Kenyon-Slaney, Tatiana Roberts (4th individual and only U8)

Prep Schools' Cross Country - Tuesday 21st February 2012

Senior Boys - 4th out of 8 teams
Will Hayward (3rd individual), Pablo Salcines, Tom Harvey, Jo Bell, Charlie Barrett, Jose Arauz de Robles

Junior Boys
Danny Clark (3rd individual), George Harris, Tom Garness,
Byron Hodgetts, Sam Dent

Senior Girls - 2nd out of 5 teams
Abi Cunningham (2nd individual), Blanca Oliden, Lucy Blum,
Isolde Watt, Casey Kincaid

Junior Girls - 2nd out of 9 teams
Felicity Hayward (1st individual), Katy Garratt, Lucy Nelson,
Holly Dales, Octavia Riggall, Imogen Marriott

Fiona Rhatigan - A Tribute by Hugh Farey

Whoops-A-Daisy Angel - Michaelmas 2011

December came and the school and parents of the Pre-Prep enjoyed the Nativity, this year based on the children’s production ‘Whoops-A-Daisy Angel’.  All the children from Reception age had at least one line, with the children in Pre-Prep Two learning some pretty large amounts of script, written for each individual!  The children, however, really enjoyed the production and were somewhat disappointed when after showing their talents to the main school and then parents the production was over.

The play was complete with angelic angels, shivering shepherds, the dignified Three Kings complete with a King’s Astrologer leading the way, as well as an accident-prone angel played with several worrying trips and stumbles by Charlotte Northcott!   The children had rehearsed very hard and performed really well.  We listened to their lovely singing and enjoyed the dance routine by the ‘Snowflakes’ in Reception.  The Nursery were dressed as little animals visiting the manger and beautifully sang ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’, to great applause.   Costumes were designed and made by Mrs Bennett, again our chief Wardrobe Mistress!  Boz arranged the lighting and Mrs Bull, Head of Music, taught and practised the songs with the children until each word was heard and the tunes forever in our heads!  The children spent many play sessions singing while climbing the trees and rolling down banks and also as they walked to lessons around the school.  The main school probably knew the songs quite well themselves by the time of the production!

The children understood the importance of the message, achieved what quite a few thought they couldn’t and most of all enjoyed themselves and that really is the point.

In the words of Ariel the Angel, played by Alexis Loveday:
“On behalf of the Pre-Prep Department may we wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.”

Aladdin - The Conquest - Michaelmas 2011

The script was witty, casting perfect, acting accomplished, directing superb – yet another polished performance from the St Richard’s Pantomime team.

As always the senior members of school rose to the occasion and relished their roles.   While the lead parts taken by the children were central, the foil produced by the two adults was sublime.

Disappointing though it was not to see the Headmaster in drag again, it was more than made up for by Hardy’s wonderful Widow Twanky – especially his/her leap into Fu Manchu’s arms.

The public performance ethos that is so important to St Richard’s was fully evident in the confidence displayed by all the cast, right down to the young Weenie Geenies.

Space on this page limits too much individual comment but as always the leads played just the right mix of acting and overacting that Panto demands, while as always there were the ‘cheeky chappies/chappesses’ who almost stole the show.
Well done to all. Click here to see the Aladdin Collage.

Staff Netball Match - December 2011

The Staff Netball match was played last week.  The volunteers from the Staff enabled there to be 3 teams – The Elves, The Snowmen and The Reindeer.  Clad in an array of costumes – lots of Rudolph’s flashing noses and antlers, a bizarre assortment of snowmen and then those who just grabbed any fancy dress item they possessed, the motley crew made their way down to the netball courts.

The spectators, many of whom seemed to be supporting the Elves team which consisted of a lot of teachers who happened to have mentioned that reports were still to be finished, watched aghast as there seemed to be a fair deal of dubious play and lots of whistle-blowing from the Umpire, Dicky.

Fortunately each team managed a win in the 3 matches played.  Luckily each match only lasted 12 minutes as most members were struggling with all that running, and, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, the most yellow cards were issued to the rather excitable Gap student, Adrian, who was also sent off briefly after some manhandling of fellow Gappie, Jessie!

Mr B managed to win the Fancy Dress costume, which was a bizarre concoction of ski clothing and balloons, but the extra padding served him well as he was knocked to the floor in a moment of excitement!

Fun was had by all, and talks are already in hand for the next Staff Sporting event!

RGS The Grange Cross Country - Friday 25th November 2011

Congratulations to the U11 Girls team who came 1st ...
and Flick Hayward who came 2nd overall and won a Silver Medal ...

... and to the U9 Girls team who also came 1st ...
and India Roberts who came 1st overall and won a gold Medal !

Well done the boys too : Danny Clark who came 3rd overall for the U11 Boys and won a Bronze medal
and the U9 Boys team who came fourth.

Christmas Fayre - 23rd November 2011

This year's Christmas Fayre has been another huge success raising a total profit of £4712.95.  This is just under £700 more than last year and, considering our numbers on the door were down by 20 people, is a great result.

£1,000 of this will go towards Salter's Hill, the charity that we are supporting this year.   They are based in Ledbury and provide services for people with learning disabilities.   £1,000 will make a great difference for them.   £2,000 is going to buy us a new piano - to be used by all examinees, in the various concerts, to accompany the Nativity plays and so forth; the remaining £1,700+ will go towards comprehensive storage for musical instruments in the Trophy Display passage.

Thank you to all parents, children and grandparents that donated their time and energy to the St Richard's Country Kitchen and to helping Lucy and I on the day.  Kim Cunningham, Lisa Elliott and Jane Lewis took the St Richard's Country Kitchen stall to a new level this year ...  the stall looked absolutely amazing and took over £900 on the day.  After scooping up the produce that was left and filling beautiful baskets and hampers to be raffled at the Pantomime, that total was increased by around £400.

With thanks to all, Alice Crichard

 

Cluedo Night - Christmas 2011

Informal Concert - 8th November 2011

For our second, and probably last, Informal Concert this term, we gathered in the Front Hall to listen to a good mix of items.  There was an excellent turnout of parents (a number of grandparents, too), which always gives a good atmosphere and so much support – I did say in my introduction, though, that if friends and relations can’t make it, then we always have a good school audience of friends and teachers.  These events are designed to give the children confidence, from the initial announcing of name and piece to the performance itself.

In this second half of term, we were able to hear a number of children who started learning the piano this term.  Rory Crichard gave a splendidly authoritative Old Macdonald, Arabella Green gave good accounts of both Mary had a Little Lamb and Marching, and Laetitia Watt had worked hard to deliver a perfect Yankee Doodle.  A little more experienced were James Kemp with an excellent demonstration of playing ‘hands together’ in Autumn, Lucy Marriott in confident renditions of Boating Lake and We Three Kings, Ben Humphrey with an authoritative version of the popular Grade 1 piece Tarantella, India Roberts in a delightful Study, and both Georgia Barrett and Cecilia Roberts in parts of the Prep Test syllabus, playing Jogalong and Boating respectively. Jess Kenyon-Slaney generously played two pieces with The Little Cossack and Unto Us a Boy is born, showing noticeable improvement since the previous Informal. George Harris delivered the Grade 1 Vampire Blues with splendid assurance.

The concert opened with all of Form I playing Walking in the Air on the recorder – a super performance where the children played accurately and confidently, helped by our music gap student Hugh Bortolotti. Hugh stepped into the limelight again at the end of the concert, when he conducted the Junior Brass Group in Gentle River – difficult without a warm-up, but this large group acquitted itself with aplomb.

Elsewhere we heard some promising string playing. Thomas Jackson, violin, played an atmospheric Walk on Mars with lots of sliding up and down to harmonics, and Maisie Clay performed a beautifully tuned Go Tell Aunt Rhody (her own choice piece for her Prep Test later this term). Libby Glanville, violin, let us hear one of her Grade 3 pieces, The Two Grenadiers, played with excellent ‘slurred staccato’ bowing (not easy) and Katy Garratt, also on the violin, projected her Grade 1 Toodle Pip extremely well.

Jessica Crichard, flute, performed a lovely Menuet with some beautifully judged trills, and Lucy Nelson, also flute, showed her lovely tone in The Snowman.  Laura Browne did well on the trumpet with an excellently rhythmic Ländler by Diabelli.

Finally, there were a few songs performed in preparation for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain auditions.  Sam Dent sang a perfectly pitched ‘Where a Knight Won his Spurs’, Anna Skyrme dramatised beautifully her ‘I know where I’m Going’, and Geni Bunce delivered a catchy ‘I have a Bonnet trimmed with Blue’.

Annie Bull
Head of Music

Fundraising - Michaelmas 2011

Many thanks to everyone who bought Thank You Cards (Main School) or Christmas Cards (Pre-Prep & Nursery) :
we have raised over £500.

Many thanks to all those who contributed to the Bag2School last term - we raised £315 !

NSEA Dressage

Saturday October 22nd

Congratulations to Gwen Thomas, riding for St Richard's on Skeyria Davy, who won the prelim 14 individual title with a fantastic score of 72.08; and to Abi Cunningham, riding Henry V, who also rode a lovely test in their first ever pure dressage competition.
It was a large class of 26 riders from schools including Malvern St James, Oswestry, Lucton, Hereford Cathedral, Tewkesbury and HMSG and Bridgnorth.

Gwen is pictured with Grace Thomas who won the individual Novice24 for Hereford Cathedral.

Abberley Cross Country

20th October 2011

Abigail Cunningham – first in the Senior Girls
William Hayward – first in the Senior Boys
Senior Girls Team – third place
Senior Boys Team – second place

Felicity Hayward – third in the Junior Girls
Junior Girls Team – third place



"It was excellent to be part of a very successful St Richard's effort across all four teams.  Abberley organised it brilliantly and I will cherish the memory of the success."  William Hayward

Informal Concert - October 2011

As one parent said, who came to hear her child in our first Informal Concert of the term, ‘How lovely, we don’t get lunchtime concerts in Hay on Wye’. And indeed I thought this event worked particularly well, with an excellent combination of children and music, and a splendid turnout from parents, children and staff.  The Front Hall was full, and the length exactly right, the music finishing in plenty of time for the younger girls to change for their match.

We started with the junior string group, Puppy Dog Strings, with footprints in the Snow, a jazzy piece much enjoyed in rehearsal.  Several young pianists announced themselves and their music, starting with Octavia Riggall and an imaginatively played Sleigh Ride.  Geni Bunce gave splendid lilt and rhythm to Stroll On, part of the Grade 3 syllabus, and Ali Hawkins, more usually at home in the senior concerts on her violin, showed a confident start on the piano.  Brother Jamie Hawkins displayed great stage presence with the guitar in Mountain Tune.

Jessica Crichard dispatched Fun Run on the flute with great aplomb and lovely tone, while Emily Archer enjoyed a jazzed up version of Twinkle on the clarinet. Imogen Marriott, also on the piano, in her first concert at St Richard’s played a confident My Black Cat on the piano and sister Lucy Marriott gave us a splendid Hot Cross Buns; another newcomer pianist to the school Isabel Franco-Garrido also did well with Row your Boat.

Katy Garratt, violin, gave us an immaculate, beautifully judged Vicar of Bray and Louis de Rohan on the piano gave Captain Silver the full benefit of his enjoyment of the piece.  Pianists India Roberts and Jess Kenyon-Slaney both played two pieces, making the audience wait to clap at the end of the second, showing some confidence in presenting a short programme. Natasia Singleton, piano, gave a wonderfully authoritative account of the Grade 1 piece Tarantella, and George Harris showed some promising playing in another Grade 1 piano choice, Andante. Caspian Cowan Taylor, viola, played a splendid Jupiter, with plenty of dynamics and feeling, fresh from playing to the music department at Shrewsbury.  The concert finished with the Junior Boys’ Choir in Michaelmas Daisies – all the boys from Forms I, II & III disguising nerves and bashfulness and sending the audience away with a smile.

My thanks to all the music staff.

Annie Bull

Interschool Showjumping, Kings Equestrian Centre

Sunday 16th October 2011

Sunday dawned to a slightly cold but clear morning to find Mrs P already boxing up the horses at St Richard's for the trip to Kings Equestrian Centre. Having asked for an early start to accommodate the other activities over the Full Boarding Weekend she was perhaps slightly regretting it (as were the parents who were helping!). However the 6 horses and riders assembled in good time to walk the course at the splendid arena. The jumps were gaily painted and set at the challenging 2’ height and the sound system played ‘comfortable’ music (ie suitable for the riders’ parents!).

This was a strong competition with schools coming from Shropshire, Powys as well as closer to home. The course was quick and combined both a need for a clear round and a quick time in one go – no opportunity for a steady clear round to get into one’s stride.  The enthusiasm of the riders overcame their nerves and produced some excellent displays. There were some falls, some faults and one clear round but all enjoyed it.

Phoebe Jackson	on Harry Potter
Ali Hawkins	on Jimmy
Lucy Blum	on Ruby
Natalya Wolloshin	on Sid
Tiggy Cowan Taylor	on Chester
Emily Archer	on Gracie

Congratulations to all participants, especially Lucy and Emily for their quick times and Phoebe Jackson for her clear round. Later in the day Lucy also competed at the 2'3" to 2'6" class and came a very admirable 6th; and Gwen Thomas came an equally admirable 10th in the 3'2" class.  All the classes were very well subscribed. Thank you as ever to Mrs P and also to the parents who helped with the transport and support.

Prep Schools' Netball Tournament

Wrekin College

On 2nd October 2011 the U11 Netball team went to Wrekin College for the Prep Schools’ Netball Tournament.   There were nine other schools – (most, if not all, of which play netball this term while we play only hockey!). The 10 teams were split into two groups of five and everyone played everyone within their group.   St Richard’s won all four matches in their heat (6 minutes each way) !  We entered the semi-finals aware that we had a good chance of winning but sadly, despite a valiant fight, we lost by just one goal – and that was scored in the last minute !  But, not downcast for long, we went into the play-off for third place and came out victorious.

It was a brilliant afternoon : as always beautifully organised by Wrekin College and all the play went smoothly.   Our team played with style and agility employing some very successful tactics : they were a pleasure to watch and clearly enjoyed partaking too.
Any consolation for not coming first or second was quickly found in the delicious scones and cream tea after the presentation of medals and a trophy !

Congratulations to our players : Back row : Flick, Holly, Claudie, Katy; Front row : Emily, Octavia, Geni, Lucy
and of course big thanks to Mrs Harvey and Pip, not only for taking them, but their continual devotion to the cause.

Inter School Show Jumping - Hartbury, Gloucestershire

Saturday 1st October

Isolde Watt	on Puzzle
Gwen Thomas	on Davy
Abigail Cunningham	on Henry V
Caroline Lewis	on Kizmet

The girls had a lovely time at Hartpury International arena on Saturday.  They entered the 80cm JWS (Jumping with Style). 
The course consists of show jumps and then a timed section of cross-country-style jumps.  Style marks are awarded and the usual faults system is in place.
The team rode well and they finished third, only four faults behind Kings Worcester and Pinewood Swindon.

Secondary School Entrance Examinations - Summer 2011

Congratulations to all last year's candidates, all of whom achieved entrance into their first choice of Secondary School.
Best of luck to them all, including our overseas students who have returned to their home countries.

Plain Sailing for Jamie Hawkins - Summer 2011

Jamie Hawkins has had his wish to go on a cruise around the Greek Islands with his family granted by Starlight Children’s Foundation, the UK’s leading wish granting charity for children with serious and terminal illnesses. Described by his mother Katie as a “fantastic, brave little boy who loves to entertain”, Jamie was sadly diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2007. As a result of his life-threatening condition, Jamie had to undergo an intensive form of treatment and spent a lot of time in hospital away from his friends.

Jamie was referred to Starlight for a once-in-a-lifetime wish and although he has plenty of hobbies and interests, such as Star Wars, the army, cricket and snorkelling, the youngster knew exactly what his wish would be. Fascinated by the idea of a ‘hotel ship’, Jamie asked to go on a cruise around the Greek Islands with his family.

Starlight organised for Jamie, his parents Katie and Anthony, and sisters Ali and Matilda to spend seven nights aboard ‘Pearls of the Aegean’, which is a cruise ship that sails from Corfu to a number of world-famous Greek destinations, such as Athens and Crete, and idyllic islands, such as Mykonos and Katakolon.

Starlight grants once-in-a-lifetime wishes for seriously and terminally ill children, restoring the magic and fun of childhood and giving the whole family happy memories to share, whatever the future holds.

Starlight also creates entertainment in every hospital and hospice throughout the UK. Sick children go to Starlight parties, laugh their way through pantomimes, go out on Starlight Escapes, play games and watch films on the Starlight Fun Centre, and enjoy the toys and puzzles of the Starlight Distraction Box. Happy children respond better to treatment and Starlight helps children to forget about their illness and simply have a bit of fun.

To refer a brave child like Jamie or to make a donation visit www.starlight.org.uk or call 020 7262 2881.  For every £1 you donate, Starlight can assure you that over 91p goes towards helping Starlight’s very ill children.

Phoebe Jackson and the Junior Maths Challenge

Phoebe Jackson, having gained a gold certificate in the Junior Maths Challenge this year, participated in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, putting her in the top 0.6% in her age group across the country.

Collage of Parents' Weekend 2011 - click for larger image

Robert Dover's Cotswold Olimpick Games - Friday 3rd June

Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden and overlooking the Vale of Evesham, is a beautiful plateau commanding extensive views from the plains of the Avon and the Severn to the foothills of the Welsh mountains. Owned by the National Trust, it provides an ideal setting for open air games.

Each year, on the traditional date of Friday after Spring Bank Holiday the hill echoes with the shouts and cheers of competitors and spectators as Robert Dover’s Cotswold ‘Olimpick’ Games (not Olympic Games) are celebrated.  Bands march, cannon fire, rustic activities and wrestling take place, and the evening is brought to a close with fireworks and a torchlight procession into Campden followed by dancing in the square.

Congratulations to Abigail Cunningham who won the 800 metres and got her first Olimpick gold medal !

Girls Cricket - June 2011

After an all too brief introduction to the rules and techniques we took a Senior Girls cricket team to Abberley.   We played a version of pairs cricket with each pair of batsmen sharing three overs and runs being deducted for wickets but the batsmen stayed in. This gives all players a good opportunity to experience batting while retaining some semblance of ‘normal’ play. We played their ‘B’ team competitively and then split in half with each half playing with a half of their ‘A’ team.

This was in the best tradition of the sport – playing was more important than winning – and produced a fair competition, enabling the St Richard’s Girls to really watch and learn and as always they equipped themselves with enthusiastic aplomb.

Many girls go onto mixed schools where cricket is a natural choice and this was a valuable introduction to the sport.

Shrewsbury School - Languages Day

We were delighted to welcome the St Richard's School scholarship class for a Languages Day on Thursday 16th June. This is the third year running that this very special day has taken place, and it is becoming a high point in the calendars of both our schools.

Twelve Year 7 and 8 pupils enjoyed a very busy day, with taster lessons in Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Japanese and even Serbo-Croat.  Even the lunch break was language-based, with the group being taken on a guided tour of the school - the catch being that the tour was delivered entirely in French by two of our sixth formers.

It was a terrific day, and an absolute joy to welcome such a wonderfully bright, enthusiastic and impeccably mannered group of youngsters to Shrewsbury.   I dare say their Headmaster will have told them often that they should be good ambassadors for St Richard's - they certainly were!

Matthew Mostyn, Modern Languages, Shrewsbury School

The Last Great Race On Earth

The last great race on earth took place exactly a hundred years ago.   In 1911, Captain Scott was beaten to the South Pole by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.   A century later, six members of the British Army
(amongst them Danny's and Laura's father, Lennie Browne) will run the same race following the exact routes used by Scott and Amundsen.
This unique expedition will be used to spotlight the centenary of a historic national event celebrating a gallant yet tragic hero and as a nationally publicised project to raise money for The Royal British Legion - in particular for their Personnel Recovery Centres in the four Garrison towns across UK.

Henry Worsley, who is organising the expedition, also had two children at St Richard's not so long ago !

Visit the Scott/Amundsen website to find out more and donate via Just Giving.

 

Show Jumping - 15th May 2011

Many thanks, as always, to Mrs Pearson and our excellent judges, Sarah de Rohan and Pip Jones.

Advanced

First	Lucy Blum	Jimmy
Second	Marta de Velasco	Sid
Third	Katie Archer	Sid
Best dressed	Katie Archer

Intermediate

First	Tiggy Cowan-Taylor	Sid
Second	Emily Archer	Trixie
Third	Letitia SR	Sid
Best dressed	Natalya Wolloshin

Inter-School Show Jumping Competition - Bow House Equestrian Centre

On Saturday 30th April, Bridgnorth Endowed School hosted an Inter-School Show Jumping Competition at Bow House Equestrian Centre, between Craven Arms and Bishops Castle.  Despite the ETD of 6:30am from St. Richard’s, we all had a fun day.  The weather was good, we shared breakfast around the table and the children enjoyed and benefitted from the experience.

The first class won the Clear Round at 8.30am.  Despite Katie’s urgings, Mr Jones, showed his dislike of appearing in public by refusing quite a few times.  Tiggy and Sid had one refusal and one knock down, and Lucy and Jimmy had a clear round albeit taking the ‘scenic route’.  They won a rosette.

In the team competition, Tiggy and Sid had a fantastic clear round, Lucy and Jimmy had just one down, and Mr Jones and Katie had a couple of stops. We came third!

London Marathon 2011

Congratulations to at least four old Ricardians who completed the London Marathon this year :
Hugh-Guy Lorriman
in a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes; and Jane Sewell, Francie Page and Eleanor Rous-Aire in times of 5 hours plus.
All ran for various charities.

The Stonemason's Tale,  Hereford Cathedral

St Richard’s, with 13 other Herefordshire schools, has taken part in a year-long project to celebrate a thousand years of Hereford Cathedral and the replanning of the Cathedral Close.

At the school there have been art projects, film-making, stone-carving, structure making (a magnificent Hereford Bull was the St. Richard’s contribution), history events, and on 29th June, the culmination of the Stonemason’s, members of the school choir in Forms IV - VI donned monks’ habits and started proceedings for the whole day in the Cathedral. The choir processed up and down the transepts singing Salve Regina from memory – this started the whole of the Stonemason’s theatrical show in the morning – to be repeated in the afternoon.

Later in this event the choir contributed Veni Spiritu Sanctus by Georg Vogler , again from memory, and accompanied by the Cathedral’s assistant organist Peter Dyke. In the middle of these two performances was a procession throughout Hereford, including the monks and the St Richard’s bull.

At the prize-giving at the end of term, the choir sang both the pieces sung at the Stonemason’s Tale – but in school uniform, not their habits. It was an extraordinarily wide-ranging experience, and we were lucky to be part of a project with great ambition and breadth.

Andrew Knights Weekend

Well known recitalist, orchestral player, and teacher, oboist Andrew Knights visited St Richard’s on the 1st  and 2nd July and gave an example of wind playing at the highest level. 

First, he entertained and played to the Pre-Prep in the Assembly Hall, bringing out all sorts of different instruments from different bags. He did demonstrate the oboe, Yes, but also different types of oboe, producing sounds that brought to life medieval, country, French, and dance music.  The children clapped, counted, joined in with the rhythms, and applauded Andrew’s ability to change from bagpipes to saxophone, from Indian pipe to the modern oboe we all know.  The children were handed out a variety of percussion instruments, from tambourines of different sizes to wood blocks and shakers. It was a wonderful introduction to the sounds of this double reed instrument – so difficult to do well, and deceptively easy.

That it looks easier to play than it might be was shown to the whole school in the workshop on 2nd July when Andrew handed out reeds to anyone who wanted to have a go to make a sound.  Three intrepid children tried their best : the first to do well was Tiggy Cowan-Taylor who transferred her skills on the clarinet to making very acceptable notes.  William Hayward and Jessica Crichard soon joined in, making excellent attempts.  That the oboe uses the same fingering as the recorder was helpful in allowing the children who tried to find their bearings.  Elsewhere in this workshop, he gave a more detailed version of his talk to the Pre-Prep, and played a variety of music to demonstrate the various instruments.  Every child was given a piece of percussion, and Andrew bravely encouraged total participation in Sundance, a contemporary piece with plenty of cross rhythms.

Sandwiched between these two events was a recital with pianist Adrian Williams.  This informal event in the Front Hall on the Friday evening gave Andrew a chance to show his skills, without interruption, on the oboe and oboe d’amore in a programme including Vaughan Williams and Britten.  Attending this concert was part of the leavers’ programme, and as at other similar events this year the children were able to sit inches away from the performers – a great treat.  To have music-making of this level at St Richard’s was a terrific inspiration for all.

ABRSM Practical Results and Music Theory Exam Results - Spring 2011

Prep Test
Natasia Singleton	Piano
Cole Gallagher	Violin
Grade 2
Libby Glanville	Violin	Merit
Sarah Glanville	Violin	Merit
Byron Hodgetts	Trumpet	Pass
Sam Dent	Trumpet	Pass
Caspian Cowan-Taylor	Viola	Merit
Grade 4
Tatiana Watt	Piano	Merit
Katie Durber	Flute	Pass
Isla Gordon	Clarinet	Merit

Grade 1
Undisclosed pupil	Pass
Libby Glanville	Pass
Felicity Hayward	Pass
Fergus Head	Distinction
Megan Kupa	Pass
Oliver Singleton	Merit
Eugene Williams	Merit
Grade 2
Abigail Cunningham	Pass
Isla Gordon	Merit
Alexandra Hawkins	Merit
Gwenllian Thomas	Merit
Isolde Watt	Distinction

Dressage March 2011

The inaugural Dressage afternoon took place on Saturday 12th March.  The more experienced riders took the Pony Club Introductory Test, and the remainder took the Treworgan Walk and Trot test.

Experienced horsewoman and judge, Stella Robertson, kindly officiated as judge and was ably supported by Dicky Coghlan as writer.   All the competitors presented themselves very smartly and were rightly nervous for their tests which they all completed.  Parents and competitors thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon which was followed by Tea and Prize Giving in the Front Hall.

Lucy Blum won first prize for the Pony Club Introductory Test and Octavia Riggall won first prize for the Treworgan Walk and Trot test.

Bob Chilcott Sing Up Day

Bob Chilcott, one of the UK's leading choral composers and conductors, led a Sing Up choral workshop on Sunday, 6 March, in Birmingham Town Hall.  Six children from St Richard's were picked up from school at 8.30, with Mrs Bull, Hugh the music gap, and Mrs King, joining forces with a small cohort from Moor Park.  We were all kindly taken to Birmingham in an MP minibus.  The hall was packed with singers of all ages, though our children were definitely some of the younger ones.  There were rehearsals throughout the day of a selection of music by Chilcott, followed by a concert at 4.30.

The principal musical focus was the learning and performing of A Little Jazz Mass.  In addition, the children learnt several other Chilcott part-songs - the most popular of which was definitely 'Shake the Bottle'.  Some of this singing was complete sight-reading - and the children were totally unfazed by any demands made of them.  Several parents came to the concert, and enjoyed the result of an intensive day's work.  We also heard some items from other choirs in the Midlands.  Great fun, very instructive, and definitely worth doing again.

Diana Galvydyte

The feedback about the workshop given by violinist, Diana Galvydyte, held on Saturday 5th March here at St. Richard's, has been fantastic, from adults and children alike.  We enjoyed a morning of short pieces, some solo, some accompanied by pianist Adrian Williams, by a range of composers including Bach, Bartok, Kreisler and Tchaikovsky.


The string-playing children sat on the floor, almost under Diana's bowing arm, and had the perfect view of violin playing as it should be.  She interspersed her recital with stories of her early life in Lithuania, then at the Yehudi Menuhin School, and her current life as a soloist, and she answered many questions from the floor.  Topics included anything from the choice of her violin and bow to the importance of music theory for a professional musician.

It was a treat to have a violinist of this calibre at the school and we hope to welcome her back again soon.

 

Primary Schools Cross Country Results
Monday 28th February 2011

	Boys	Girls
1st	Brockhampton	St Richard's A
2nd	Orleton	Leominster
3rd	Kimbolton	Kimbolton

Prep Schools Cross Country Results
Tuesday 1st April 2011

	Senior Boys	Junior Boys
1st	Abberley Hall	Moor Park
2nd	The Elms	Hereford Cathedral
3rd	The Downs MCP	The Elms
	Senior Girls	Junior Girls
1st	Abberley Hall	Abberley Hall
2nd	Moor Park	St Richard's
3rd	St. Richard's	Moor Park

Who Killed the Headmaster ?
February 2011

Click here for further pictures and review. 

To view the quiz (without the answers) click here.

To view the quiz (with the answers) click here.

To view the Character List click here.

Cross Country News

Abberley Hall Relays,
Sunday 6th February

Felicity Hayward shone for St Richard's and came first over all other schools.

Lucton Cross Country,
Thursday 10th February

St. Richard's U9s & U11s came 2nd overall out of 16 schools.

Handy Pony Competition

8th - 11th February 2011

The competition atmosphere got to most of the young riders.  The fact that they had to wear the correct dress and be seen in public really set those butterflies off.   All good practice for further competitions, home and away.

We had practised all the elements, eight in fact, during the past few weeks : steering, dismounting, leading, running up the stirrups, mounting, picking up a stick from one barrel, carrying it a few yards then placing on another barrel, negotiating a small jump and then putting the brakes to the test by stopping in a box.  Of course, if they went quite fast over the jump it was more difficult to stop in the box.

Dicky Coghlan and Alice Pearson were the judges.   Old girl, Holly Bradshaw, had agreed to judge on the Friday but had to pull out, hence Dicky came in at short notice.   Dicky is very experienced in all matters equestrian having been a member of the Malvern Croome Pony Club for many years and competing in One Day Events and Hunting under the tutelage of her aunt Mary Ratcliffe.

	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday
First	Katy Archer    and Sid	Marta de Velasco    and Sid	Jessica Crichard    and Ivor
Second	Ali Hawkins    and Jimmy	Josepha Parek    and Rocky	Natasia Singleton    and Jimmy
Third	Phoebe Jackson    and Godfrey	Letitia SR    and Sid;   Cristina SC    and Mr. Jones	Natalya Wolloshin    and Ivor

Lucy Blum and Octavia Riggall are also to be congratulated on their effort and turnout.

Mark Coreth Exhibition and Workshop

One weekend in October 2010 St Richard’s was lucky enough to be the centre of a unique experience.   Mark Coreth, internationally renowned sculptor and old Ricardian, came to visit.   But he didn’t just come to visit, he came to share his talents, his experiences, his humour and his thoughts with us.

Pre-Prep had him to themselves for a couple of hours as they sculpted a polar bear together.   The bear, made with clay, has a metal armature (skeleton) and so cannot be fired : he will dry out and die!   But this illustrates Mark’s point well : the polar bear and the ice he lives on are both in decline.

Friday's Assembly in Main School was different to usual with Mark talking to the children about his work and his memories of St Richard's and how his dream of becoming a sculptor started at the hands of Mrs Tremlett, then Head of Art and wife of the Headmaster, Caspar Tremlett.   In the afternoon 20 lucky winners spent a couple of hours sculpting smaller bears - this time from plasticine : a happier destiny for these little sculptures so long as they can be kept out of the reach of meddlesome siblings.

At long last it was the adults’ turn to benefit from Mark’s enormous charm and enthusiasm.   Saturday evening saw drinks and canapés being served in the Drawing Room, while a crowd that any London Gallery would have been proud of viewed the stunning Exhibition.

In the Assembly Hall he chatted to us about his experiences sculpting in the jungle – precariously balanced on an elephant whilst seemingly surrounded by spiders and tigers; and the contrast of working in the ice-cold arctic where the modelling clay hardens before you can shape it.   We were shown how he spent over a year organising his latest project : to create the Ice Bear in Trafalgar Square; how it too melted away and died.  Yet again Mark’s point is made loud and clear.

Thank you Mark for such a unique weekend and for sharing your dream with us all. Click here to visit our Gallery of the weekend. Anyone wanting further information should visit Mark's website.

Scholarships Awarded for 2010

Fenella Blagg	Sports Scholarship to Hereford Cathedral School
Flavia Cheesman	All rounder to Hereford Cathedral School
Isabella Mulroe	Exhibition to Dean Close (declined)
Molly Piggott	Drama Scholarship to Moreton Hall
Frederick Thomas	Drama Scholarship to Prior Park (declined)

Leavers 2010

Freddie Goff	St Phillips, Kensington, London
Isabella Mulroe	Royal Grammar School, Worcester
Christian Read-Smith	The Patrician Academy, Mallow, Co. Cork, Eire
Georg Riedl-Riedenstein	Malvern College
Harry Riley	Kingstone High School, Hereford
Zara Senior	Monmouth Girls
Fred Thomas	Hereford Cathedral School
Darcy Webb	Monmouth Girls
Javier Garia Vera	returned to school in Ciudad Real, Spain
Juan Carlos Garcia Vera	returned to school in Ciudad Real, Spain
Carlos Riestra	returned to school in Madrid, Spain
Jorge Salcines	returned to school in Santander, Spain
Konstantin Kortschak	returned to school in Austria
Leander Leutzendorff	returned to school in Austria
Marta Valera	Tudor Hall

Pre-Prep Nativity 2010

Fantastic Mr Fox - Christmas Term 2010 - performed by Forms III and IV

Another triumph on the drama front for St Richard's with the superb production of one of Roald Dahl's most popular books.   Boggis, Bunce and Bean were as brilliantly unpleasant as the little fox cubs were cute.  Badgers, rats, moles, weasels and rabbits all made their appearance as the charming tale unfolded.  The meticulously designed costumes and scenery included beautiful ears and brushes for the foxes and a very convincing human tunnel that cleverly enabled the foxes to dig deeper without literally disappearing underground !

Thanks to all those involved for such an entertaining evening.

The Christmas Fayre 2010

The St Richard's Christmas Fayre, for many, is the harbinger of Christmas itself : this is where it really starts.   The truly festive atmosphere created by the colourful stalls and elaborate decorations is infectious and many people were clearly sourcing those elusive presents as well as indulging a little for themselves.  The School Choir sung beautifully as ever and were joined by the Spanish contingency within the school who sung Silent Night ... in Spanish !

Not only was it a very enjoyable day for all involved but we also managed to raise a bit of money !  In total we made a fabulous £4,000 and this means that, combined with related donations, HOPE Family Centre will receive £1,000 and we will have £3,500 to spend.

Many thanks to everyone who helped and supported the event !

11th November 2010

11 year old trumpeter Charlie Barrett, a pupil of St Richard’s Preparatory School in Bredenbury, was called upon this morning to sound the Last Post at a ceremony held in Bromyard at 11.00am to commemorate those fallen in battle.

The Mayor presided accompanied by councillors and civil dignitaries. The Vicar of Bromyard, the Revd. Graham Sykes, referred to those ‘never forgotten’ and prayed that peace may prevail in the world.

Callum Blackwell -
LCRRC Junior A British Champion and Junior Racer of the Year

Callum rides a mini moto in the Low Capacity Road Racing Club.   They race all around the country and have a range of classes.  Callum's class is the Junior A which is for 7 to 10 year olds.  This is only his second season of racing and he finished 3rd in his first winter championship.

The summer season consists of ten races during which Callum broke his arm and actually still raced with it in plaster !  He scored the most overall points in his class which makes him the LCRRC Junior A British Champion.

 The riders in the club also voted Callum the 'Junior Racer of the Year' which he was exceptionally pleased about.  He is currently racing in the winter championship and, at the age of 7, is going into the Junior B class for the summer season 2011, generally for 10 to 14 year olds !

Kidderminster Special Section Officer David Taylor
received the High Sheriff's Trophy.

Not a lot of people know this but David Taylor, when he's not teaching our children woodwind, is a policeman.

However, clearly not the average policeman...please click here to read more about him.

Visit the West Mercia Police website to find out even more!

The Opening Meet of the North Herefordshire - October 2010

The North Herefordshire Hunt held their Opening Meet at St Richard's on Saturday 30th October 2010. Georgia Barrett, aged 7, rode Mr Jones.   It was Georgia's first ever day hunting but she was in safe hands with Mr Jones as he has hunted on numerous occasions. They both had an enjoyable day and can't wait to go again soon.



To view the photos please visit Clare Williams Photography.   On the site, go to Web Store, then scroll to the bottom to the North Hereford Hunt Opening Meet 2010.   To view prices and sizes, select a photo and then click on the Product Options dropdown menu.

Music Exam Results Summer 2010
Danielle Browne	Piano	Prep-Test	Pass
Jessica Blackwell	Singing	Grade 1	Distinction
Jessica Blackwell	Flute	Grade 1	Pass
Genevieve Bunce	Singing	Grade 3	Distinction
Flavia Cheesman	Clarinet	Grade 5	Merit
Flavia Cheesman	Music Theory	Grade 4	Pass
Caroline Lewis	Clarinet	Grade 3	Pass
Abigail Cunningham	Clarinet	Grade 3	Pass
Abigail Cunningham	Singing	Grade 2	Pass
Abigail Cunningham	Piano	Grade 3	Pass
Samuel Dent	Trumpet	Grade 1	Pass
Undisclosed pupil	Cello	Grade 2	Merit
Undisclosed pupil	Singing	Grade 1	Merit
Juan-Carlos Garcia	Clarinet	Grade 1	Pass
Libby Glanville	Violin	Grade 1	Merit
Freddie Goff	Singing	Grade 3	Merit
Isla Gordon	Singing	Grade 2	Merit
Isla Gordon	Piano	Grade 2	Pass
Alexandra Hawkins	Violin	Grade 2	Merit
William Hayward	Clarinet	Grade 3	Pass
Byron Hodgetts	Trumpet	Grade 1	Pass
Phoebe Jackson	Clarinet	Grade 3	Pass
Phoebe Jackson	Music Theory	Grade 4	Merit
Emily Lewis	Singing	Grade 1	Pass
Isabella Mulroe	Piano	Grade 3	Pass
Isabella Mulroe	Cello	Grade 3	Pass
Molly Piggott	Piano	Grade 2	Pass
Oliver Singleton	Trumpet	Grade 2	Pass
Anna Skyrme	Singing	Grade 2	Merit
Gwen Thomas	Singing	Grade 2	Merit
Gwen Thomas	Piano	Grade 1	Merit
Frederick Thomas	Trumpet	Grade 3	Pass

Bromyard's Spring Festival of Poetry & Music (2010)

Natasia Singleton	7 years old and under	2nd prize
Jessica Crichard	8-11 years	3rd prize

English Speaking Board Examination Results

Laura Browne	ENT 2	Merit +
Flavia Cheesman	L1 Grade 03	Distinction
Abigail Cunningham	L1 Grade 01	Merit +
Isla Gordon	L1 Grade 01	Distinction
Claudia Jackson	ENT 2	Merit +
Emily Lewis	ENT 2	Distinction
Molly Piggott	L1 Grade 03	Distinction
Octavia Riggall	ENT 2	Merit +
Gwenllian Thomas	L1 Grade 01	Distinction

Maths Challenges

Congratulations to Phoebe Jackson who has won a bronze medal in the Primary Maths Challenge last term.   This puts her in the top 0.4% within her age group across the country. Click here for more information.

Wrekin College Rounders Tournament

On Sunday 9th May, U13 and U11 girls competed in a rounders tournament at Wrekin College.   The sun was shining and, with so many parents to support, and such enthusiasm from the children, it was always going to be a good day.  As soon as we arrived, picnics poured out of every car and everyone had a feast !
The U13 played 4 games and won them all. Some were extremely close, but superb fielding from the whole team and wonderful batting, especially from Flavia Cheesman, kept every opposing team at bay.   Winning all 4 matches meant thay had won the tournament and they all received medals and a shield for the school.

The U11 girls had to play 6 games and won 5 out of the 6.  Again some very disciplined and alert fielding, along with some superb batting, especially from Eugenia Pacheo Aisa, meant they had gone into joint 1st place.   It all came down to the amount of rounders scored and the girls came home with bronze medals.   Both teams had a great day.  They probably learned more rounders in one day than they will for the rest of the year !   Well done to all the girls who took part and a big thanks to both the girls and the parents for giving 100% of their time and support to help the day be so successful. View the collage...

1940's Swing Night Collage

Click here to see 1940's Swing Night Collage

Gymkhana May 2010

The 2010 gymkhana took place on a typical spring day in England - ie. overcast and chilly to say the least. However there was a stalwart crowd of supporters to cheer on the 4 heats of riders as they "bended" their way up the course; raced to one end of the arena and pulled (literally in some cases) their ponies back to the start again; picked up sticks and dropped them in buckets; and leapt off their mounts to compete for ever-depleting mats - apparently Musical Mats but with no music and Mrs P shouting Beep at strategic moments. A fabulous afternoon of nail-biting horsemanship.

Congratulations to Ali Hawkins (and Jimmy and Godfrey) who won the competition.  Ali will be presented with the Maund-Morris Cup on Speech Day at the end of term.

Thanks to Mrs Pearson for another enjoyable and very watchable gymkhana and to the judges, Dicky and Pip, who did seem to do a lot of giggling but also had to make some crucial calls !!

Cake Sale April 2010

Sugar and spice and all things nice - that's what little children are made of : at least St Richard's ones are now after all the delicious cakes that were baked and bought ! Thank you everyone for your usual true support.
The Front Hall was a frenzied hub of activity for at least half an hour while every tray was cleared of the delicious and colourful cakes that adorned them.

£275 was raised in total and this will go towards improving the playground area and new seating for the courtyard. Well done and thank you to all those involved in the organisation and hectic work behind the stall !!

Colin Stoupe's Address

Colin Stoupe, a former and highly popular master from St Richard's, died very recently.

If you would like to read the address given at his funeral by John O'Driscoll, himself an old boy of St Richard's, then please click on the picture to the left.

Cross-Country Lent Term 2010

Congratulations to Felicity Hayward (U9) who won a gold medal in the Primary School Cross-Country and to Abigail Cunningham (U11) who won a gold medal at the West Mercian Cross-Country, both events took place at St Richard's.  Abigail is the first girl to win this race for St Richard's in 10 years.

At the National Preparatory Schools Cross-Country Championships Tatiana Watt came 7th and Abigail Cunningham came 24th.  Our U9 Girls Team also won three competitions held throughout the Lent term, including The King's Hawford Cross-Country.

The boys also achieved excellent results, both individual and team, within all year groups.

Our own Cross-Country course has to be seen to be believed; all the children rise to the challenge of it and, once run, it is never forgotten !

.

Spanish Day

On Tuesday March 2nd, the children from Spain, entertained the school to a wonderful day of Spanish food and culture.  The day began with assembly for the whole school when Dicky introduced the theme to the English children and explained what was to happen during the day.  The amigos then spoke in turn briefly about different aspects of their culture, climate, location and diet, beginning with The Lord's Prayer in Spanish and ending with the Spanish National Anthem, played through Carlos' i-pod ! The children stood proudly to attention.

A wonderful chicken paella accompanied by Spanish omlette, ensaladilla Russa and chorizo was served for lunch and, to the surprise of Liz and Sue in the kitchen, turned out to be a great success.  Melon and a traditional lemon cake followed for pudding and Master Freddie Goff, whose father owns two of the best restaurants in London, (tried, tested and confirmed by Dicky and Sir) was heard to proclaim that this was the BEST lemon pudding he had EVER tasted.

All in all, the Spanish day was a resounding success.  Well done, nos amigos, and we are already looking forward to an Austrian day next term. Schnitzels and noodles....yum.!

Full Boarding Weekend

As dusk fell across the grounds of St Richard’s on Saturday 27th February the air was filled with the screams of terrified children as they crept through the woods desperately gripping ‘The Night Wire’ which they had been promised would lead them to safety. As they made their intrepid journey through the murk they were further petrified by the yells of ROC who hollered into the night with their mean and evil cries. Fear not ! Everyone made it back to Hiron’s Hall in time to watch Madagascar on a DVD before a nice early (not) bed.

The full boarding weekend continued the next day with a delicious cooked breakfast and games. First the children had to say a bizarre sentence several times over without getting it wrong – something about small fellows who felt smart. I don’t think anyone lasted long ! Another game included a fearful amount of putting on and taking off fancy dress to hoots of laughter and throwing of the dice – Megan Kupa got the reward for this (now you know Mum, she can dress quickly if she wants to !).   Swimming in the afternoon. No, despite the balmy weather, not in the school pool but at the Hereford Leisure Pool : fully equipped with wave machine, helter-skelter slide and 5m diving board (well done everybody who braved the latter – whether you jumped or dived !). The day ended with team games of Darts, Pool and Around-the-World Table-Tennis : well done Georg’s team who were victorious.

That’s what you call a very full Full Boarding weekend and, on behalf of the children and parents, an enormous thank you to Hardy and all his helpers for organising it.

 

The Opera Recital - January 2010

On Saturday night St Richard's was treated to singing like it had never heard before. Sadly it was not a couple of star pupils but two very professional soprano singers. Christina Pharo and Livia Farkas were accompanied by Nigel Foster on the piano and gave us all a very enjoyable insight into the world of opera.

Wine and canapés were served during the interval by smartly dressed, but very young, waiters and waitresses and the whole evening was a huge success.

Nearly £1,000 was raised for the school and the medical relief charity, Merlin. We have already sent them a cheque for £500 and they have written to thank us and explain how it will be put towards the Haiti Disaster Relief Appeal.

Cinderella performed by the children of St Richard's

The end of the Michaelmas Term 2009 saw the magnificent performance by the whole of St Richard's from Form 3 up, of the pantomine, Cinderella. It was 2.5 hours of pure bliss as the children lived up to their growing reputation as fearless actors. They were superbly cast, dressed outrageously and only a few of the lines were lost in the guffaws of laughter that could be heard constantly throughout the performance.


If, by some hideous misfortune, you missed all three of the live performances (more credit due to the production staff and stage crew) then you can still see it on a DVD currently available from the School Office @ £16.99. More costly than Brad Pitt's blockbusters but worth every penny.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention the ugly sisters ? ....the Headmaster and Sports Master.   Brad Pitt, eat your heart out !

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St Richard's Christmas Fayre 2009

Last year's Christmas Fayre made a fabulous £4,000 ! This, combined with an associated donation of £500, means that we were able to give £1,000 to HOPE and £250 to Help for Heroes and still retain nearly £3,250 for our own use.  In addition to this, we raised nearly £500 from the Thank You cards.

These proceeds will be spent on a much-needed makeover for the The Drawing Room. Thank you so much to everyone for your stalwart support and generous donations.

Help for Heroes

2009 saw lots of fundraising for Help for Heroes.

Long snakes of coins were laid along the front drive - stretching between the cattlegrids. Children were encouraged to dress up as their hero with characters ranging from Florence Nightingale to Superman.

These events raised over £1,000 for the cause.