Ewell Castle Senior School Newsletter 3 — December 2012

‘Head’ lines With the end of term now upon us, we look forward to our traditional, and ever popular, Carol Service in St Mary’s Church. The undoubted highlight this term has been the success of the School production of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’. All three nights were sold out and it was a wonderful effort by all involved from the Director/Producer, to the performers, to the stage, lighting crews and those that assisted with Front of House. The hard work and attention to detail paid off with some fabulous performances, thoroughly appreciated by those in the audience. The Lower School Music Recital was also a marvellous evening. The preparation here was no less demanding with some of the boys making their debut public appearances. It was a perfectly balanced programme and those who were able to attend, for what was another sell out occasion, were well entertained. With so many boys involved on a weekly basis, the sporting programme is always the mainstay throughout the term. Despite some cancellations due to weather conditions, the rugby and football games that were played produced commendable results. Thankfully our sports curriculum includes a range of sports that are less weather dependent - basketball, hockey and badminton- and these matches have allowed more boys to represent Ewell Castle. More sedentary competition also saw the Chess team in action and our Public Speakers who were very successful.

Co-curricular ventures continue to augment the term’s activity. The annual trip to the battlefields in France for Year 9 held particular significance as we located the grave of a relative of one of the boys on the trip. Our musicians made trips to London to the Royal Festival Hall and the Victoria Apollo (Wicked); with both trips it was the lead performances that stood out for the boys and staff. There have been numerous educational conferences attended - Politics, History, Physics and Biology. The Design and Technology Department took the A level candidates to visit the workshops at seymourpowell. Much consideration is given to these trips to ensure that the curriculum is enhanced and extended. Furthermore, it would be remiss of me not to mention the hardy Sixth Formers who took to the mountainous region of Snowdonia for some fresh air and ‘light’ walking. A great way to spend three days in late October! As we look forward to the Christmas break there will be some serious business to be attended to by the prospective examination candidates amongst us. To them I will say: use your time wisely; re-charge your batteries and have some down time; but do not overlook the required revision to ensure a performance to reflect your ability in the examinations approaching in January. A mature and industrious approach is the only way to be sure of doing this. Good luck to you all. To everybody I wish you all an enjoyable and safe holiday, not to mention a Happy New Year! Mr M. Holder-Williams

Artist of the Term, Yr 12 Photography

Politics Conference Day The A level students studying Government and Politics

attended a politics conference in the heart of Westminster

in November, to gain more of an insight into the political

world. There was a wide array of speakers at the

conference, ranging from politics lecturers at universities -

such as Philip Cowley and Vernon Bogdanor from

Nottingham and Oxford respectively - to current MEP and

UKIP leader, the domineering and amusing Nigel Farage.

Other speakers included the BBC’s Economics

correspondent Hugh Pym, the Shadow Secretary of State

for Defra Mary Creagh and Lord Norton of Louth.

All of the speeches were very educational and extremely

interesting, with personal highlights being Nigel Farage’s

eccentric yet highly entertaining speech on why the UK

should leave the EU. Francis Humphreys even had the

desire and confidence in front of an audience of 400 to ask

Farage a question on UKIP’s relations with the

Conservatives. I also summoned the bravado to stand up

and ask Professor Philip Cowley from Nottingham

University whether compulsory voting should be

introduced within the UK.

Thank you to Mr Krause for arranging such an enjoyable and compelling trip and we look forward to further politics events in the future. Danny Archer

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Year 10 We had a very successful presentation to parents and pupils in Year 10 on the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. The presentation was well attended and the uptake promises to be even larger than in previous years. The boys will be registered online and can then progress with their skills service and sports units. They can fulfil many of these with the extra-curricular activities they already do at school. The expedition element of the award will be in the spring and summer. Mr J C W Blencowe

World-class Designers Inspire Sixth Form Design and Technology A level students paid a visit to world famous product design company, seymourpowell, based in Fulham. Some of the designers explained their roles and the career path they had taken to get to seymourpowell. There was a clear link between their jobs and the Product Design coursework at GCSE and A level. Seymourpowell's reputation alone means they are approached from a vast range of international companies - recently completing work for KT (Korea's BT), the interior for Virgin Galactic’s space tourism aircraft and Japanese sneaker design. They were also the first company to design the cordless kettle, which is a concept that is still in use to this day. Mr S Getty

Rotary Youth Speaks

Ewell Castle entered a team from the Lower Sixth into the Rotary Youth Speaks competition in November. Chaired by Hugo Bromley, with Danny Archer speaking on “The Sport of Kings” and Kavien Sribalakrishnan proposing the Vote of Thanks. Our team put up a superb performance in the first round, with stiff competition from The Warwick School and Royal Alexandra and Albert School speaking on Ash dieback disease and cheating respectively. The judges commented on the Ewell Castle team being well prepared and confident and, after nearly an hour of deliberation, they decided that we came out as the winners. This excellent performance means that we now progress to the next round.

Mr S Bromley

The Castle Society The Castle Society is a selected group of academic high achievers who are invited to participate in a programme of lectures from staff and outside speakers. This term’s meetings were all well attended. Mrs McManus presented a consideration of ‘The Olympic Games’ both classical and modern. Mr Leigh preferred a literary theme as we considered ‘Why Shakespeare is so popular’? Mr M Holder-Williams

Staff News At the end of this term we will say goodbye to two

members of the Modern Languages department. Mrs

Catherine Roy has only been with us a short time, but

personal circumstances have required her to move on.

She taught French and Spanish, and was a Year 10 tutor.

Mrs Virginia Kennedy has made the decision to reassess

her teaching role based on changing personal

circumstances. She originally joined the school in

September 2005 teaching French and Spanish. Having

taken maternity leave she returned on a full-time basis in

April 2009 and, most recently, assumed responsibility for

French. She has been an excellent form tutor and has

contributed to many extra-curricular and co-curricular

activities. We wish both of these colleagues well.

Mr Stuart Bland also leaves after an association which stretches back to 1978 when he accepted a temporary teaching post as Head of Woodwork and Technical Drawing. He has witnessed considerable change in the school in many respects, but most especially in the facilities! His contributions have been wide ranging, not just in the area of Design and Technology: he was responsible for the development of the ICT suite; he served on the PTA; he was instrumental in developing the DT national curriculum; he was a Graphical Communication examiner; he has always assisted with the technical side of school productions; and he has taken numerous Geology field trips. Mr Bland retired as Head of Design and Technology and ICT in 2000, but continued in a part-time capacity as a technician for DT. As well as achieving all this, he found time to publish books on Technical Drawing and Graphical Communication which are still selling well worldwide! He has also edited several technical manuscripts for West African authors. His association with Zambia lasted eight years where he taught DT, Physics and Chemistry before arriving at Ewell Castle. He is a man of many talents and we wish him the very best of luck as he now contemplates final retirement. Mr M. Holder-Williams

Dragon Supports Ewellian Entrepreneurs The entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE, has selected Kearin Mulcock and Thomas Runacres to receive funding, based on their business proposal which succeeded in the nationwide competition Tycoon in Schools. More than 50 schools across the country competed in the enterprise challenge to inspire Britain’s young people to start their own business.

Kearin and Thomas impressed Peter Jones with their ‘Fitness Fanatics’ business which runs fitness boot camps. The Ewellian entrepreneurs are both keen sportsmen in Year 10. Peter Jones commented, “I have been hugely impressed by the quality of business plans submitted. Students are already wearing their exclusive Tycoon in Schools lapel badges with pride and one teacher referred to them as the Blue Peter badge for business because they are so exclusive. I will follow the progress of the competing teams closely over the next few weeks and look forward to seeing their achievements.” Mr Manley

Fitness Fanatics running one of the weekly sessions for staff

1st XV Rugby The Ewell Castle 1st XV has had a challenging 2012 season

with the team made up mainly of young and enthusiastic

Year 11 boys. We had a core of experienced players who

remained from the year before and they have provided

great leadership and set a good example for the new

members of the squad. The captain for the season, Ben

Fifield, has led by example on the field and was backed up

well by his fellow senior players, in particular Harry

Keohane who had some outstanding performances in the

front row and Greg Le Lay who was a constant offensive

and defensive threat to our opponents in the backline.

Tom Radley also had a great nose for the try line and

ended up the top try scorer for the year playing at number

8. Other younger boys that have performed consistently

well and will be important to building the team for the

future were: Khaya Mtunzi at full-back, Tom Palmer at

flanker and Mark Goulder who showed great pace on the

wing. The team has performed well in the second half of

the term with wins over Esher High and St Paul’s, as well

as an extremely close loss to Charterhouse going down 33

to 32. If we could convert more of our tries we would be

unstoppable!

Mr M Bradshaw

Under 15 Rugby By contrast with the first half of term, when many games were played, only one of the eight scheduled games took place: the inclement weather made many pitches unplayable which was a shame. The fixture that was played did not go our way as we went down to Grey Court (43-17). The team was captained by Kearin Mulcock and the top try scorer was Nathaniel Richards-Martin (11). Mr M Holder-Williams

Under 14 Rugby The Under 14 rugby team have had one win (19-5) against St John Bosco, and three losses recorded. Julius Banks continued his fantastic form and ended the year as leading try scorer with 14. Choong Seo has also developed as a winger this year and used his determined running and genuine pace to score seven tries throughout the season. Louis Yapp-Davis has continued to be a strong ball runner with Tayler Woodcraft a dependable goal kicker and fly half. The team has shown much potential this season and could turn into a really great outfit if they are prepared to put in the effort week in, week out at training. Mr P Krause

Under 13 Rugby The squad represented the school at the Surrey U13 Whitgift Rugby Festival; a good experience for the team to pit their wits against some of the best rugby schools in the county. Drawn in a tough pool, with RGS Guildford, the hosts Whitgift and Gordon’s School, our team struggled. The final match saw a nail-biting, but disappointing, finish as a missed conversion with the last kick of the game resulted in Ewell Castle losing 7-5 to Gordon’s. Defeat the following Monday to Grey Court School (42-24) showed that the team needed to regroup and do some hard work on the training ground. Their final match of the season against CLFS was a very tough encounter with a hard loss. It was a disappointing finish, but nonetheless a very productive season as the final statistics show: Played 12, Won 9, Lost 3. The squad have made great progress this year, our challenge is to train hard and step up another level to compete with the very best rugby squads in the county. Mr J Grindrod

Under 12 Rugby This term we had 25 boys represent the school rugby team and fielded A and B teams. This was very pleasing to see and competition for places was strong as a result. Overall the squad had a very good season, winning eight of their ten matches. The squad entered two Surrey Schools Tournaments and the learning experience was invaluable to all. Rugby promises to be a strong sport for this group of Year 7 pupils and it will be interesting to see how the team improves next season. Mr N Turk

Sport for all and in all weathers!

We have had a very busy twelve weeks in terms of sport at

the school. Rugby has seen some great talent emerge and

fantastic tries scored with a total of 66 matches played this

term. The minor sports of hockey, basketball, badminton

and table tennis have thrived this term; we have had

matches against the likes of Kingston Grammar, St James,

Epsom College, Glyn, Grey Court and Halliford. Our teams

have trained hard and played exceptionally well, in many

instances clocking up some emphatic wins. Next term we

will be playing football and training for Rugby 7s

competitions which commence in March; we will have

more basketball matches and a plethora of extra-curricular

clubs.

Mr S Casey

Senior Option XI Soccer A fabulous term’s soccer, which involved seventeen players, with only one defeat in six matches. Highlights were the hard earned draw with Whitgift and the two encounters with KGS. The fixture against Kingston, in the second half of term, being one of the squad’s best footballing displays of the season. Goalkeeper Lewis Bensley impressed throughout, as did the settled defence comprising, variously: Ollie Larrisey, Seok Hong, captain Danny Archer, Sean Farley and Amer Nazir. Shamin Patel was most influential in midfield, energetically supported by Robbie Pfeifer, Zain Ahmed and Dan Collins. Lone striker, in the 4-5-1 formation, Ben Ramphul worked tirelessly on the team’s behalf scoring, like David Beckham, from the half way line in the match against Trinity Grammar School. A goal to long remember! Mr K Peto

Hockey This term saw an enthusiastic take-up of hockey and we hope to run more fixtures in the spring term as the devel-opment programme begins. Year 7-10 all had fixtures and we have quite a few boys who could make good players in the next few years. Mr N Turk

Congratulations Josh Rose has been selected to represent the ISFA South Central District team. The team will attend the Independent Schools FA Under 13 Festival to play against District teams from across the country. This Festival is at Shrewsbury School from 25th to 27th March 2013. During this Festival, the ISFA selectors will select an England Representative team.

House Football was as fiercely contested as ever. With a nail biting finish and a goal in the last minute igniting a roar from the spectators , Castlemaine won the A team House Football.

Raleigh were the ecstatic winners of the B team House Football.

Senior Basketball The senior basketball team had some strong fixtures against the likes of Epsom College and Glyn this term. The boys undoubtedly gave their best efforts but were second best against some outstanding players. The squad man-aged a convincing win over Grey Court which was pleasing. Our team were relatively young compared to the competi-tion which bodes well for future performances. Mr N Turk

The Upper School Recital was an opportunity to showcase

the musical talents of students from Years 10-13. Many of

our musicians performed their solo pieces in preparation

for their GCSE coursework. Highlights of the evening

included Kieran Blyth performing ‘Albatross’ on electric

guitar, Daniel Crego-Bustello ‘River Flows in You’ on piano,

Hugo Bromley played ‘In Bloom’ on drum kit and Richard

Afful performed Bach’s famous ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s

Desiring.’ The school orchestra opened the second half

with ‘The Mask of Zorro’ theme and Brahms’ ‘Finale’ from

his Symphony No.1. The concert band were the final act

of the evening finishing with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and

‘Don’t Stop Believing’. Our musicians continue to enthral

and inspire with their standard of performance.

Music I am always amazed by how much the musicians manage

to fit into a winter term and this year has been no

different. Since the first day of term musicians have been

preparing for both Upper and Lower School recitals, GCSE

students have been to town to hear the Royal

Philharmonic Orchestra, we went to see Wicked up in the

West End, Year 7 singers and our string trio (Konrad

Cheung, Leo Nam and Jamie Wilkinson) performed in the

school play, and as I write the school choir is in rehearsals

for the Carol Service on the last day of term. All this on

top of coursework being prepared and revising for exams.

Most recently we had the Lower School Recital and pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 took to the stage to perform solo items; every boy played superbly, receiving great applause for each of their pieces. Some standout performances were by Leo Nam on piano, Max Hawkins on drums, Jason Liu on piano, Ollie Rickus on drums and Jamie Wilkinson on violin. The school ensembles delivered some excellent performances: the new ukulele band, the guitar ensemble, and the orchestra. One of the special moments of the evening, however, was the Year 7 choir. After three months of practising they took to the stage, some for the very first time, and sung ‘One Voice’ and ‘Rule the World’. All those months of rehearsing were worth it as they sung marvellously and received great applause from the audience.

Looking ahead to next term, I would love to be able to say things will quieten down.....no such luck! In January we start rehearsals for the first House Music Competition of the year and Upper School Recital (7th March). Furthermore, I am hoping to receive plenty of emails from keen and willing parents who are prepared to join my new venture of a choir for staff and parents! But for now, wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Miss S Brack

“I can’t believe just how good they were…” After three months of hard work and tough rehearsals,

both cast and crew of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ performed

three nights of the play to a very high standard. The play

was enthusiastically received by the audience with such

comments as “I can’t believe that I haven’t seen any

productions until this year... I won’t be missing anymore!”

Students have already been asking what the next

production will be. Next year’s drama calendar will be a

bumper one with: the senior school production; the Year

7, 8 and 9 productions; an A level production; Wassail;

Arts Week; and the Summer Evening. With so much going

on there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to

shine.

The boys’ comic timing and ability to scare the living daylights out of the audience was a delight to behold. Particular praise must be given to the notable performances of: Chris Stevens, Chris Renwick, Louis Tait, Sam Conibear, Kalen Alford and Jack Stace. As well as thanks to the wonderful technical crew including: Dylan Jethwa, Hugo Bromley, Joshua Miller and Tom McDowell.

At the moment Miss Jones is in rehearsal for ‘The Scholarship’ which is based on the well known play, ‘Daisy Pulls it off’. So keep your diary free for what will surely be another production of talent and entertainment! Wishing you all a festive holiday season.

Mr Bader-Clynes and Miss Jones

Art Each term the Art department awards artists of the term within each year group. This term the focus was ‘final pieces’. Below is the list of our winners and runners up. A lot of effort has gone into the artwork from all the students involved, resulting in some stunning ‘final pieces’. Year 7 Winner - Luke Rae Runners Up - Toby Conyers, Luke Hadley, Louis Panayi Year 8 Winner - Juhwi Kim Runners Up - Chanhyuk Park, Leo Nam, Mac Murfitt, William Harding, Kiran Acharya, Patrick Bell Year 9 Winner - Will Ellis Runners Up -Seok Min Hong, Faaris Sheikh, Brian Jung, Milan Andesilic, Nathan Segel Year 10 Winner - Jay Lee Runners Up -Giorgio Benvenuti, Konrad Cheung, Cameron Bell, Harry Fahim Year 11 Winner - Jack Hazell Runners Up -Christian Vander, Alex Devane, Toby Harper Year 12 Fine Art Winner - Cameron Tempest-Hay Year 12 Photography Winner - Harry Keohane Year 13 Fine Art Winner - Jamie Brown Year 13 Photography Winner - JJ Humphries Mrs E Morton

Year 9 Winner

Year 12 Winner

Year 13 Winner

Year 11 Winner

Year 13 Winner

Pop portraits Year 7 have been studying portraiture this term. Taking their inspiration from Andy Warhol and Julian Opie they created colourful pop portraits of themselves. They then developed memory frames, incorporating a variety of ideas and equipment and exploring their creativity. The work is on show in the Tudor Lounge, please ‘pop’ along to have a look, it is a stunning display. Mrs E Shepherd

Cities Year 8 have been studying the theme of cities. They were taken on a walk around the school site and the church grounds to take photographs. The results were excellent and have been vital in drawing their final pieces. Mrs E Morton

Year 7 Winner

Year 8 Winner

Year 10 Winner

Mac Murfitt and Kiran Acharya

Aidan Gardner

The next leg of our journey took us to the Newfoundland Memorial where we were treated to a guided tour of the trenches and tunnels that made up this part of the British front line on that summer morning in 1916. The boys were taken to the ridge where a Captain J W Blencowe, grandfather of our very own Head of History, stood on that same Summer morning looking out across the Somme Valley at the German positions that he and his unit were about to assail. Mrs Kaegler read several extracts from Captain Blencowe’s war diary which were then fleshed out with the recollections of the author’s own grandson. The next stop was the enormous crater left by the detonation of the Lochnagar mine at the beginning of the offensive, and then the Australian memorial, which was the next stop on our journey through the Somme Valley. Here the boys were given an informative talk about the Australian war effort by Mr Krause, followed by an impassioned account of the New Zealand contribution to the war by myself and Mr Bradshaw.

The last stop was the imposing bulk of the Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval. There the boys, in subdued awe, observed the names of those 70,000 men from the British forces who have no known grave. The boys were reminded of the truly terrible nature of the sacrifices made by these young men. Under the towering arch of the Monument to the Missing, they were aware that every single one of the names above them was a real person once, not dissimilar to themselves. These people had hopes and dreams, fears and uncertainties. Each one was someone’s son, someone’s brother or someone’s father. It was with a sense of quiet reverence that the boys boarded the coach for the trip home. Mr A J C Daroux

In the morning we travelled into

the Somme Valley, the site of the

Somme Offensive itself. The first

stop was at the Ancre British

Cemetery. Here the boys were

intrigued to see a cross marking

the final resting place of Private

C Gostelow: a relative of Adam

Gostelow, one of the boys on the

trip. A small wreath-laying

ceremony was held, with a poem

sympathetically recited by Jamie

Vogel. For many of us the

ceremony was an opportunity to

reflect on the very human nature

of the sacrifices made so long

ago.

The Somme Battlefields Trip At the beginning of November all of Year 9 assembled for the annual trip to the Somme Valley. Our first port of call was the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge. After hearing Mr Blencowe speak on the military results of the Canadians’ action, the boys were treated to a description of the monument itself from Mr Ashby. It was with an air of suppressed awe that the boys then went to read some of the 16,000 names inscribed in memory of those Canadian soldiers whose bodies were never found. The French National Cemetery at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette dwarfed both staff and boys with a vast sea of crosses. With respectful silence, they filed past a pit filled with sarcophagi descending four stories into the earth under the rheumy eyes of uniformed French veterans. For many it was a compelling experience. From the immense scale of the French cemetery the coach pressed on to the last stop of the day: the German War Cemetery at Neuville-Saint-Vaast. This cemetery’s more modest scale was due not to any significant difference in the number of dead. Rather, it was because of unwillingness on the part of the French government to devote too much French soil to the memory of the fallen sons of a nation they saw as being responsible for the tragedy that had occurred there. The fact that the Germans had to be packed in four-to-a-grave made the scale of the legion of black slate crosses stretching off into the dusk no less daunting for its comparative lack of size.

Mr Bradshaw, shaken by the gothic tragedy at the German cemetery

A moment of reflection and respect during the wreath-laying

The North Ridge ascends very steeply, is quite exposed

and affords the most stunning views. For large parts of

the time one needs to use both hands and feet to half

climb, half scramble, to the summit. Precipitous drops on

either side give outstanding views of the Nant Ffrancon

valley and the Carneddau range to the north. As we

neared the summit the cloud closed in a bit, but the sun

was still strong and each of us had the amazing experience

of seeing a Brocken Spectre and Glory. This is one’s own

shadow on the mist surrounded by a circular rainbow. You

can only see your own spectre. Many climbers never see

this phenomenon in their lifetime.

The summit of the Glyders is a desolate space covered in massive rocks at all angles. One has to pick a route carefully and tread warily to avoid mishap as one progresses from the cantilever to Glyder Fach, then the Castle of the Winds, and finally Glyder Fawr, before descending the scree slopes to Llyn y Cwn and the steep path past the Devil’s Kitchen to Llyn Idwal. As we strolled past the lake to Idwal Cottage we looked back on a superb day’s walk that had encompassed three 3,000 foot peaks, one of the most challenging ascents in the UK and the most spectacular views. The Sixth Formers who came on this trip displayed both fitness and endurance. They accomplished something really quite special and were rewarded with stunning views and a tangible sense of achievement. Mr S D Bromley

Sixth Go Climbing in Snowdonia This term’s Sixth Form trip was a hiking weekend in Snowdonia. Our first walk started at Pen y Gwryd involving steep ascents before achieving the top of the highest peak in England and Wales. In mid afternoon the sky cleared and some fantastic views of the mountain and the surrounding ranges were enjoyed by us all.

Sunday morning did not disappoint. Clear skies, superb light conditions and the fitness levels of the team boded well for a great day on the mountains. On arrival at the foot of Tryfan, we were astonished as a gentleman (Mr Cruikshank, pictured) came over and asked if we were from the same Ewell Castle School that he had attended as a boarder in the 1960s. He remembered Mr Pledger and Mr Saunders and, indeed, Messrs Hadden and Sagar. His party included a gentleman who had just climbed Everest and a mountain guide and they were going to attempt the North Ridge of Tryfan, described in the guide books as the most enjoyable and exciting scramble in Wales. Not to be outdone - we decided to follow them.

The Cantilever

The summit of Snowdon

Mr Cruikshank OE

Overlooking Ogwen Valley and the Carneddau

At the top of Bristly Ridge overlooking the Nant Ffrancon

A Word from the PSFA Fireworks’ night was a tremendous success with over 400 people attending and a spectacular display in the Castle grounds. The croquet lawn made an ideal setting for some stunning pyrotechnics and allowed everyone a great view.

There has been a great response to the PSFA Theatre Club’s ‘Snow White’ ticket offer at the New Wimbledon Theatre, Friday 4th January 2013. The panto has spectacular sets, dazzling dance routines and bags of audience participation. ‘Wicked Queen’, Priscilla Presley, promises a fun filled show: “I am so delighted to be making my pantomime debut in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. The script is hilarious and my costume is sensational …” Back by popular demand, the Quiz Evening will be on Saturday 2nd February 2013 in the Castle. Order forms are on the Parent Portal and should be returned to the school marked PSFA. This event is always popular so please apply early to avoid disappointment. The circus is coming to the Castle! Professional circus acts, traditional circus games, stalls, a grand draw and lots of food and drink will make it a fantastic way to spend this Bank Holiday Sunday, 5th May 2013. All tickets are £8 if bought by 1st February 2013. Tickets will go up to £10 after that date. Please let your friends and family know so that no one misses out on what should be a fabulously fun day!

Finally - thank you to all the parents, staff and friends of

Ewell Castle who have volunteered their services and

helped with events throughout the year. The PSFA

Committee wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy

New Year.

Parental Lobbying Proves Effective Parents may recall that in the summer Epsom & Ewell

Borough Council published a consultation paper under the

title of ‘Development Management Policies Development

Plan’. I wrote to parents in August and was reported in

the local press, to the effect that I believed the proposals

could weaken the protection on open spaces and playing

fields in the borough. I urged you to respond to the

council consultation – and you did in large numbers. At a

Planning Policy Sub Committee on Wednesday 12th

December it was reported that, as a result of the

consultation exercise, the Planning Officers are now

proposing that the National Planning Policy Framework

Paragraph 74 wording on protection of open/recreational

spaces be adopted, instead of the weaker protection

afforded by their previous "positive exceptional loss

policy". The proposals relevant to our interest (7 and 9)

had the highest number of responses - and I recognise

most of the names to whom comments were

attributed. Many congratulations and please accept my

appreciation of your support.

A J Tibble, Principal