An engineering specialism within a grammar school

A belated happy New Year to you. The term has started with a closure due to snow and I would like to extend my apologies for the inconvenience that such an event can cause for working parents. The decision to close the school is not taken lightly but the health and safety of staff and students is paramount. External examinations did take place when the school was closed which was a very high priority. I hope that the cold weather will soon be a thing of the past and we can look forward to uninterrupted teaching for the remainder of the Spring term.

The usual battery of A2, AS and GCSE examinations are coming to an end and we look forward to the results on Thursday, 7 March. This will, of course, be the last time for January examinations and any proposed re-sits will now have to be taken in the summer term. A major advantage of not taking examinations in January will be that teaching and learning can carry on uninterrupted. A possible re-introduction of mock examinations for sixth form students in the January period is being discussed but the introduction of these will be considered very carefully to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.

I was delighted with the news of Oxbridge successes with a record ten students receiving offers, six from Oxford and four from Cambridge. All the students deserve much praise for the preparation that they undertook and I am also very grateful to the staff for all the support and encouragement that they gave to the students. Nine of these offers are conditional and one is unconditional. The full list of the students is as follows:

Oxford

Madeline Corman Chemistry St Hilda’s

Jack Lale PPE Wadham

Hugh McHale-Maughan PPE Brasenose

Benjamin Nabarro PPE Pembroke

Georgina Sanderson Medicine Brasenose

Elizabeth Tearle Archaeology
& Anthropology St John’s

Cambridge

Siân Avery English Gonville & Caius

Cameron McCormack Engineering King’s

Fionnuala Morris Veterinary Science Newnham (unconditional offer)

Julia Stanyard Classics Girton

I am also delighted that students in the Upper Sixth who are seeking university places are being extremely successful with offers for courses. These include medicine, optometry, history, psychology, chemistry, biology, biomedical science, classical studies, architecture, natural science, computer science and mathematics to name but a few.

Major refurbishment work on the swimming pool will take place over half term with the installation of air handling units which will heat the swimming pool and keep condensation down to a minimum. The cost of this project is just over £50,000 so it is a very expensive investment in what is a very valuable facility. The work should take approximately two to three weeks to complete.

There have been on-going problems with slates coming adrift from the roof of the new sixth form centre and this is currently being tackled with support from the local authority. I hope to find a resolution to this problem as soon as possible.

A feasibility study is underway for a new classroom block comprising ten new classrooms to allow for the removal of the Temporary Classroom Units (TCUs) from the school site. The local authority are due to produce plans for this new building by the end of the month. Due consideration will then be given by NYCC members to see whether funding for this project can be found. There is strong support from the local authority in terms of it being a priority and I hope that funding will be found for this vital development. I will keep you informed of the outcome as soon as I know.

The refurbishment of boys’ boarding is now complete. Both School House and Johnson House have undergone complete refurbishment over the last two years. The standard of accommodation is now extremely high and provides the students with a level of accommodation that they deserve.

Mrs Mars, teacher of English, and Mr Winston, teacher of history, both started in January and have settled well. Mrs Mars replaces Mrs Garner who left at Christmas whilst Mr Winston is covering Mrs Fell’s maternity leave. Mr Jack Marchinton, the new GAP student from Australia, has arrived in school. He has experienced a considerable drop in temperature since his arrival but I hope he will enjoy his time at Ripon Grammar School!

The Sixth Form Open Evening on 28 January was extremely successful with all of our fifth form students attending plus a very high number of students from other schools. The reputation of the school in the area, as well as nationally, is very high and competition for places from students outside Ripon Grammar School is clearly going to be very strong. I would expect the lower sixth in September 2013 to be around 140. The closing date for sixth form applications for September is Monday, 25 February 2013.

Sporting achievements

Congratulations to Dominic Butler and James McDaniel, both of whom have gained selection to the North of England rugby squads. To attain this level of excellence is a considerable achievement which deserves the fullest recognition and celebration.

Dominic plays at senior level in the under-18 age group and he managed to supplant the current England hooker from Lancashire to win his place this year. Dominic has captained the school's 1st XV this year with distinction and he has led from the front by showing an ultra-competitive but sporting edge to his play.

James has developed impressively as a scrum half, having moved in from centre last year and he has been selected at the under-16 age level. In addition, James has shone against opposition a year older and is a free scoring player with a real eye for the tiniest of gaps and the acceleration to match.

School colours in senior rugby this year have been awarded to the following students:

Peter Marsden, Dominic Butler, Guy Watkinson, Ben Nabarro, Scott Christy, Glenn May (full colours)

Sam Hudson, Jonathan Bucktrout, Reece Farren, Sam Wainwright, Joe Peill, James Woolfenden, Oliver Baldwin (half colours).

Hockey

The following students have got through to JAC and have been selected to represent North Yorkshire: U13 - Ella Durkin and Lucy Williams; U15 - Anna Durkin and Holly Oldham.

Badminton

The KS4 Boys won both their matches in the second round of Area Games. They beat Harrogate Grammar School 5.0 and Rossett School 5.0 – an excellent performance by the team which consisted of Matthew Cotton, Chris Lythe, David Bates and James Donaldson. The team will now represent the area in the regionals on 13 February in York.

Steve Matthews, who refereed the ladies volleyball final in the Olympics, is setting up a club for the seated version of the sport. He and Steve Jones, who is the Team GB paralympic coach, have chosen Ripon Grammar School to be the hub school for this new activity. The club will take place on a Wednesday evening from 6pm in the school gymnasium. Although Seated Volleyball is a paralympic sport, you don't have to have a disability to play it. Mr Matthews will be running a Level 1 Seated Volleyball coaching course this term as well as putting Ripon Grammar School Sports Leaders through the ‘Young Volleyball Leadership Award’. This is a very exciting partnership to be involved in and it is possible that RGS will be able to host courses and international festivals as the club becomes more established.

A reminder that school will be closed on Friday,15 February for a staff training day. The day will involve staff visiting other schools to share good practice. Half term for the students will therefore start on Thursday, 14 February at 3.55pm and we return on Monday, 25 February.

A list of forthcoming events is attached for your information. This letter is also on our school website, as are other key letters and notices. Please do refer to our website to keep up to date with school news and events.

With best wishes for a happy and successful 2013.

Yours sincerely

M L Pearman
Headmaster

To view forthcoming events please click the link below.

Attached Letter Document - click here to view

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